How to use exercise to prepare for the challenges of aging.
Friday, November 14, 2008
How did I end up here?
Keith Sutorius Personal Training Philosophy.
Fitness should be a life long goal. It is something that takes time to develop. There are no miracles. It has taken years to get into your current condition and it will take some time to get the results you desire. A properly designed exercise program will challenge you in little steps. I consider strength training like learning to walk. There is a gradual progression. (You have to learn how to crawl and then walk before you can run) I will show you how to progress from a beginner to a more advanced type of training. Proper technique must be mastered before you begin pushing yourself with an exercise. This maximizes the benefit of that exercise while minimizing the chance of getting injured.
Everyone wants to look good. Exercise will improve the way you look. More importantly, it will improve the way you feel.
How do you begin an exercise program? The most important part of an exercise program is the planning, or goal setting. You would never build a house with blueprints. Why would you try to build a better body without analyzing how to do it?
A properly designed exercise program will include strength training, aerobic conditioning and flexibility training. Of these three things, I feel that strength training is the most Important part of the program. During the 1980's and most of the 1990's I thought aerobic conditioning was the most important part of an exercise program. Due to the knowledge gained by working in the Physical Therapy Department at Barnes West County Hospital, combined with becoming a National Strength and Conditioning Certified Personal Trainer in 1996, I have learned how much more important keeping ones strength level is as we get older. The thing that physically changes the most as we age is our strength level. I feel that strength training is the closet thing we have to the fountain of youth.
The program will teach you how to use strength training and flexibility to improve the way you look and feel. You will learn the proper technique and the reasons why each exercise is important. I will provide you with a physiologically and scientifically sound program that is tailored to your needs. There are a lot of misconceptions out there about fitness, and as a personal trainer I will teach you the truth about what works.
Why did I become a Personal Trainer?
Fitness is my passion. I love to learn more about it every day. Knowledge is power. I want to share this power with you. What is the most important thing that you own? Your health: I can teach you how to treat it like the precious commodity that it is.
It is later than we think. The time to get in shape is before we are so weak that it is necessary.
In 1984 my father had a heart attack. This was an eye opener. I began studying aerobic exercise and how it effects the heart. To this day I like to bicycle 3 - 5 times per week to keep my heart in good shape. Even with this amount of exercise, I was getting fatter. Why? I was not spending much enough time on strength training. During the 1980's I had spent more time strength training. I was in better shape then. All the aerobic exercise did nothing to keep the muscle I already had. Without strength training, I was getting weaker every year.
Since the fall on 2001, I have added 2 - 4 strength training sessions per week and the level of fat in my body has steadily decreased. The muscle added burns calories 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
I love the way a human body can be changed through exercise. You can abuse it for decades, and yet with a properly designed exercise program, it will respond by becoming stronger.
Article #1 (From My Computer)
While looking for something on my computer I stumbled onto some articles that had been forgotten. I hope you enjoy reading them. I will give credit to the author when known.
Article Number 1:
How can you increase your metabolism? (Author unknown)
Metabolism is simply the rate at which the body processes energy, or burns calories. Think of metabolism as the setting on the body’s "furnace". The higher the metabolism, the more calories your body burns, even at rest.
Factors that influence metabolism include genetics, age, sex, activity level, food intake and body composition. Go ahead and blame your parents for genetics and those factors which you can do nothing about, but you do have control over your activity level, food intake, and body composition. These elements play a crucial role in your body’s metabolic rate.
An important factor to understand regarding metabolism is that the body’s primary fuel source during lower energy output activities (sleep, sitting at your desk, watching TV, riding the bus, etc.) is fat. These activities occupy most of your time. When you increase your metabolic rate, you begin to burn more calories in response to all the activities. And the more likely that your body will be using stored fat as an energy source.
The main focus of any worthwhile fitness plan should be to increase metabolism so the body’s furnace is set at a higher level. Some ways to increase metabolism include:
1. Build more muscle.
More of the body’s energy is required to maintain muscle mass. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories your body will burn. In fact, about 50 calories are consumed for every one pound of muscle mass per day. Therefore, the more muscle you carry, the more calories your body burns—even at rest.
2. Moderate aerobic exercise.
You don’t need to spend hours each day on the treadmill, bike or running path. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends as little as 20 minutes of aerobic activity 3 to 5 days per week to achieve fitness, health, and weight management goals. In fact, excessive aerobic exercise may result in the actual loss of lean body mass if caloric requirements are not met, which in turn lowers the metabolism.
3. Increase activity throughout the day.
Instead of using the elevator to get to your fourth floor office, use the stairwell. Park further away from the supermarket door instead of trying the find the closest parking spot. Spend one of your work breaks during the day walking the office halls. Lose the remote control. The point is to get up and MOVE, especially if your job requires you to sit during long periods of time. It also gets you in the habit of increasing your activity level on a regular basis.
4. Eat like a horse, not a bear.
Sound crazy? Think about it. Horses graze on small amounts of food throughout the course of a day. Subsequently, they have very lean, muscular frames. Bears, on the other hand, eat large amounts of food spaced further apart. They carry far more body fat on their frames. Humans are no different. Research supports that the production of thyroid hormones can be negatively affected by repeated bouts of dieting and calorie restriction. Five or six meals spaced evenly from 2.5 to 3 hours make it easier for the body to digest throughout the day; this increases metabolism over the long term.
5. Avoid fad diets.
Fad diets are usually those popularized in the media. They usually call for severely reducing or even eliminating nutrients. "Eat no carbs." "Eliminate all fat." "Eat only protein." Or focus only on one kind of food like The Grapefruit Diet, The Cabbage Soup Diet or "Eat nothing but salad." Current research by the USDA on unbalanced meal plans tells us that too much or too little of any nutrient is likely to result in problems with long-term weight management.
6. Skip the fast food.
Fast food is typically loaded with fat. Fat is relatively easy for the body to absorb and does not require the energy expenditure that protein and carbohydrates do in digestion and assimilation. A gram of fat yields nearly twice the calories as a gram of protein or carbohydrates. Replacing caloric consumption from high amounts of fat to equal portions of protein and carbohydrates stimulate greater caloric usage. However, be sure to not completely eliminate dietary fat. Instead:
7. Eat balanced meals.
Meals should contain adequate and balanced amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fat. In order to support lean body mass, fuel workouts and encourage fat loss, many nutritional experts suggest a 40-20-40 breakdown of these nutrients for each meal. That is, 40 percent of calories from protein, 20 percent from fat, and 40 percent from carbohydrates. An example of a "balanced meal" would be a chicken breast, baked potato, and broccoli. And remember what Mom always said: "Eat your veggies."
8. Drink more water.
Thirst is often mistaken for hunger. Chronic dehydration can also result in mental and physical sluggishness. Be sure to consume at least 64 oz. (8 cups) daily and more when you are exercising.
9. Deal with stress.
Stress increases hormones, such as cortisol, which encourage your body to store fat instead of burning it. Try yoga, meditation, listening to calming music. Exercise, by the way, is a great stress reliever AND it will help to promote lean body mass.
10. Get enough sleep.
Studies have shown that people who don’t get enough sleep have slower metabolisms. Get enough sleep so that you can awake in the morning relatively easily and are not tired throughout the day. Naps during the day can help, too.
While the time it takes for metabolism to increase varies per individual, you can expect to see changes in the body in as little as three to four weeks. The great thing about increasing metabolism is that it makes it easier to keep the extra pounds off over a longer period of time…your body is literally turned into a fat-burning machine.
Increasing your metabolic rate should be the primary goal of any fitness-related/weight loss program. It helps you to become one of those people who can seem to eat anything you want. Before you know it, you’ll have one of those bodies that everyone is dying to have.
Article Number 1:
How can you increase your metabolism? (Author unknown)
Metabolism is simply the rate at which the body processes energy, or burns calories. Think of metabolism as the setting on the body’s "furnace". The higher the metabolism, the more calories your body burns, even at rest.
Factors that influence metabolism include genetics, age, sex, activity level, food intake and body composition. Go ahead and blame your parents for genetics and those factors which you can do nothing about, but you do have control over your activity level, food intake, and body composition. These elements play a crucial role in your body’s metabolic rate.
An important factor to understand regarding metabolism is that the body’s primary fuel source during lower energy output activities (sleep, sitting at your desk, watching TV, riding the bus, etc.) is fat. These activities occupy most of your time. When you increase your metabolic rate, you begin to burn more calories in response to all the activities. And the more likely that your body will be using stored fat as an energy source.
The main focus of any worthwhile fitness plan should be to increase metabolism so the body’s furnace is set at a higher level. Some ways to increase metabolism include:
1. Build more muscle.
More of the body’s energy is required to maintain muscle mass. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories your body will burn. In fact, about 50 calories are consumed for every one pound of muscle mass per day. Therefore, the more muscle you carry, the more calories your body burns—even at rest.
2. Moderate aerobic exercise.
You don’t need to spend hours each day on the treadmill, bike or running path. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends as little as 20 minutes of aerobic activity 3 to 5 days per week to achieve fitness, health, and weight management goals. In fact, excessive aerobic exercise may result in the actual loss of lean body mass if caloric requirements are not met, which in turn lowers the metabolism.
3. Increase activity throughout the day.
Instead of using the elevator to get to your fourth floor office, use the stairwell. Park further away from the supermarket door instead of trying the find the closest parking spot. Spend one of your work breaks during the day walking the office halls. Lose the remote control. The point is to get up and MOVE, especially if your job requires you to sit during long periods of time. It also gets you in the habit of increasing your activity level on a regular basis.
4. Eat like a horse, not a bear.
Sound crazy? Think about it. Horses graze on small amounts of food throughout the course of a day. Subsequently, they have very lean, muscular frames. Bears, on the other hand, eat large amounts of food spaced further apart. They carry far more body fat on their frames. Humans are no different. Research supports that the production of thyroid hormones can be negatively affected by repeated bouts of dieting and calorie restriction. Five or six meals spaced evenly from 2.5 to 3 hours make it easier for the body to digest throughout the day; this increases metabolism over the long term.
5. Avoid fad diets.
Fad diets are usually those popularized in the media. They usually call for severely reducing or even eliminating nutrients. "Eat no carbs." "Eliminate all fat." "Eat only protein." Or focus only on one kind of food like The Grapefruit Diet, The Cabbage Soup Diet or "Eat nothing but salad." Current research by the USDA on unbalanced meal plans tells us that too much or too little of any nutrient is likely to result in problems with long-term weight management.
6. Skip the fast food.
Fast food is typically loaded with fat. Fat is relatively easy for the body to absorb and does not require the energy expenditure that protein and carbohydrates do in digestion and assimilation. A gram of fat yields nearly twice the calories as a gram of protein or carbohydrates. Replacing caloric consumption from high amounts of fat to equal portions of protein and carbohydrates stimulate greater caloric usage. However, be sure to not completely eliminate dietary fat. Instead:
7. Eat balanced meals.
Meals should contain adequate and balanced amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fat. In order to support lean body mass, fuel workouts and encourage fat loss, many nutritional experts suggest a 40-20-40 breakdown of these nutrients for each meal. That is, 40 percent of calories from protein, 20 percent from fat, and 40 percent from carbohydrates. An example of a "balanced meal" would be a chicken breast, baked potato, and broccoli. And remember what Mom always said: "Eat your veggies."
8. Drink more water.
Thirst is often mistaken for hunger. Chronic dehydration can also result in mental and physical sluggishness. Be sure to consume at least 64 oz. (8 cups) daily and more when you are exercising.
9. Deal with stress.
Stress increases hormones, such as cortisol, which encourage your body to store fat instead of burning it. Try yoga, meditation, listening to calming music. Exercise, by the way, is a great stress reliever AND it will help to promote lean body mass.
10. Get enough sleep.
Studies have shown that people who don’t get enough sleep have slower metabolisms. Get enough sleep so that you can awake in the morning relatively easily and are not tired throughout the day. Naps during the day can help, too.
While the time it takes for metabolism to increase varies per individual, you can expect to see changes in the body in as little as three to four weeks. The great thing about increasing metabolism is that it makes it easier to keep the extra pounds off over a longer period of time…your body is literally turned into a fat-burning machine.
Increasing your metabolic rate should be the primary goal of any fitness-related/weight loss program. It helps you to become one of those people who can seem to eat anything you want. Before you know it, you’ll have one of those bodies that everyone is dying to have.
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