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I'm sure you've heard the saying, "a calorie is a calorie," and that when weight loss is the goal, you can probably loose weight on a 1,200 calorie/day diet whether it is 1,200 Twinkie calories or apple calories. At this point, you might be thinking, "Cool! I'll go on the Twinkie diet!"   Our bodies are smarter than that though, and I say, thank goodness. I know - I'm no fun at all :-). Last week at the grocery one of my kiddos held up a box of Twinkies and had the audacity to ask me to purchase them. I nearly burst a vessel in my forehead trying to restrain myself from smashing the box with......
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Being that it is summer, and there are vacations, kids home from school, camps, a lot of running around in circles...sometimes a workout is hard to knock out, even when intentions are high. When that happens, I have a 30-minute, total body workout that requires very little equipment, yet will leave you dripping in sweat. Wanna hear it? Here it is... You'll need:  a set of 10 or 12lb wts (lighter if you like), a resistance tube 5-10 minute warm up @ 40-50% max heart rate Set 1: 10-14 Burpees (also called pop squats) 3-way lunges w/ dumbbells: Start with weaker leg leading. Take one lunge forwa......
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Stumbled upon a few deals I'd like to pass along: 20% off planners! For all of you planners out there (you know who you are, planning each workout weeks in advance), get a head start on school year planning at MomAgenda. MomAgenda is offering 20% off small School Year books (use code: schoolyearsmom) Visit MomAgenda.com, offer expires 7.31.2011 *P.S. I LOVE MomAgenda planners. Seriously, love them - totally created by moms, for moms. Enough said. EatingWell magazine has a new book out: EatingWell 500-calorie Dinners for $22.45 (10% off the regular price). While you are planning workouts in you......
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Check out this video if you are unfamiliar with trigger point therapy... TPR Therapy, Ironman competitor Have you ever wished you could afford a personal masseuse? One who could come to your home, preferably daily, to help relieve you of the knots and muscle tightness that inevitably occur from daily workouts and, well, being a mom? In search of a solution to my IT band issues, I tried a chiropractor (not money well spent), stretching, massage therapy (therapist too gentle to release deep tissue), and my O.D. The O.D. provided the most valuable information: without proper biomechanics, the bod......
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The mysterious " fat burning zone " continues to confuse many gym-goers. The theory goes something like this: working out in a "zone" of intensity that is less intense for at least 20 minutes will burn more fat calories than calories from carbohydrate. Is this true? Yes and no, but mostly no. You actually burn more calories from fat right now, sitting still, reading this post, than you do on the treadmill. That is because in the resting state, the body burns a higher percentage of fat calories. As you crank up the exercise intensity, you burn a little less fat per calorie. However, it really c......
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According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 1 out of 3 Americans have hypertension or high blood pressure (http://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/). This alarming statistic concides with another national epidemic: obesity. While  obesity statistics vary by study and region, the latest research indicates that more than 72 million U.S. adults, and 16% of U.S. children, meet the criteria for obesity. (Obesity: Halting the epidemic by making health easier; CDC At A Glance, 2009 pdf). Because obesity and high blood pressure often go hand-in-hand, a regular exercise program can be a means to manage and treat both conditions simultaneously.

Hypertension and high blood pressure

Normal resting BP is less than 120/80 mmHg. The first number, 120, represents the systolic pressure, or pressure against the artery walls when the heart contracts. The lower number, 80, is the diastolic pressure – pressure against the artery walls between heart beats.

Pre-hypertension  is defined as having a diastolic reading between 120-139 mmHg and systolic reading between 80-89 mmHg. .

Stage 1 hypertension is a BP of 140-159/90-99 mmHg
Stage 2 hypertension is a BP greater thean 160/100 mmHg

The current lifestyle modification recommendation by the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services (JNC 7 Express – 2003)  indicate that exercise can bring about positive and long-term changes in blood pressure. The current benchmark is thirty minutes of “moderate” activity on five or more days of the week.

What is moderate activity?

  • A brisk, 30 minute walk at a 15 min/mile pace
  • Thirty minutes of bicycling at a 6 min/mile pace
  • Twenty minutes of swimming
  • 30-45 mins of gardening
  • Raking leaves for 30 minutes
  • Thirty minutes of water aerobics

If you have “high normal” or stage 1 hypertension, you can expect a 8-10 mg drop in systolic and 6-10 mg drop in diastolic BP during moderate exercise (40-60% of VoO2). Resistance training can also help decrease systolic and diastolic BP, 2 and 4%, respectively, in individuals with high normal and stage 1 hypertension. (IDEA Personal Trainer: Exercise and Resting BP, Len Kravitz, PhD, July-August 2001)

To download the full pdf. version of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s guidelines and suggestions for reducing blood pressure, visit Your Guide to Lowering Blood Pressure.

Also, the CDC Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity is a great resource for indivuals looking for healthy ways to both reduce their weight and blood pressure.

As always, if you have high blood pressure or hypertension, please consult your physician before engaging in a fitness program.



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