By Ryan Brooks

We all know your work schedule can get pretty hectic sometimes. Some days everything goes as planned and you leave work on time. Other days however, things don’t go as planned and you end up staying late. When it is on a day you plan to workout, this can be a problem. Below is a list of exercises you can do during the day to make sure you still get a workout in, even if you are stuck at the office all day.

1. Push-Ups
2. Back Extension
3. Lateral Arm Raises
4. Bicep Curls
5. Chair Dips
6. Air Squats
7. Frontward Lunges
8. Calf Raises
9. Crunches

Most of the exercises above can be done with no weights at all. Depending on the person, you may need to have added weight. For the added weight, any office supplies will work. Books, staplers, et cetera are good go-to’s. The number of sets and repetitions is dependent on the person also. Specialize these numbers to fit you personally. Most importantly, remember to be safe!

By Mark Darter

Along with regular exercise and getting quality sleep, healthy eating is a major part of leading a healthy lifestyle. It is also important in getting good results from the gym when exercise and eating healthy are done in conjunction. Healthy food choices are a large contributor to weight loss and can help or hurt your progress in the gym depending on the food choices you make.

In this blog post I will cover some healthy eating habits and resources that have helped me in my food choices and some that I think will help you too.

Breakfast is a meal that many people struggle with in the mornings, whether they just don’t like to eat in the morning or they don’t have time to make anything. Whatever the reason, breakfast is a crucial meal that can affect your health. Unlike other meals, breakfast follows approximately eight or more hours since your last meal. According to a study done over the effects of breakfast on glucose balance, eating a good breakfast can help improve insulin sensitivity and decrease your chances of diabetes.¹

In today’s culture, most of us have smart phones with us at all times. The good thing about smart phones is the abundance of applications available. One of the applications that I really enjoy using is called MyFitnessPal. The app is beneficial because it allows you to see approximately how much food you should be eating throughout the day and how much you actually ate during the day, whether it was too little or too much.

A continuing goal of Holistic wellness is to transfer your healthy eating habits to your family’s table as well as your own. Setting a good example for children on eating healthy can help them make good food choices in the future and can keep you on the right track too. Something as easy as replacing sugary snacks with fruits and vegetables can help get you started eating healthy. Choosemyplate.gov is a site with information regarding many different aspects of eating and is available to everyone. I recommend checking it out!²

Bringing your lunch with you to work can help save money by not going out to eat every day, it can help you plan your meals, and it allows you to prepare healthy snacks and lunch options. For the busy bee, an option in healthy food preparation is setting aside one day a week to prepare your lunches. With this preparation, all you have to do in the morning is throw the current days’ lunch in your lunch box and head off to work.

Eating healthy is just one aspect of health and wellness and hopefully these tips will allow you to start on, or continue, your journey towards living a healthy life!

¹http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2014/06/04/ajcn.114.083402

²www.choosemyplate.gov

By Matt Prigge

Too often do we sacrifice our health on a nightly basis for one more episode of The Walking Dead, an extra 30 minutes on the iPad, or just another late night cramming for a test.  We all know that not getting enough sleep is never a good thing, but do we truly know the effects it has on our health?  Depriving yourself of sleep can have more detrimental effects on your health than you think.  So let us take a look at the effect sleep has on our mental and physical health, as well as, our daytime performance.

Sleep plays a major role in your mental health.  While you are sleeping your brain begins to form new pathways.  These pathways help you better learn and remember information [1].  While deprived of sleep, your brain activity is altered in some parts of the brain, and sleep deficiency has been linked to depression [1].

Physically depriving yourself of sleep has detrimental effects on your physical health.  While sleeping, your body is repairing its heart and blood vessels [1].  Not getting enough sleep has also been linked to kidney disease, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes [1].  Not only does your physical and mental health suffer, but your daytime performance as well.

Not getting an adequate amount of sleep at night has many detrimental effects on a person’s performance at school or work.  Those who do not get enough sleep at night have a slower reaction time, take longer to finish tasks, and make more mistakes [2].

Since getting a goodnight’s sleep is so vital, Harvard Health has provided 12 tips to follow for a better night’s sleep.

• Establish a regular bedtime and a relaxing bedtime routine—examples might include taking a warm bath or listening to soothing music.
• Use your bed only for sleeping or lovemaking. Avoid reading and watching television in bed.
• If you can’t fall asleep after 15 to 20 minutes, get out of bed and go into another room. Do something relaxing, such as reading quietly with a dim light. Don’t watch television or use a computer, since the light from their screens has an arousing effect. When you feel sleepy, get back into bed. Don’t delay your scheduled wake-up time to make up for lost sleep.
• Get plenty of exercise. Build up to 45 minutes of moderate exercise nearly every day. Get your exercise early in the day. Try some easy stretching exercises or yoga to relax your muscles and your mind at bedtime.
• Whenever possible, schedule stressful or demanding tasks early in the day and less challenging activities later. This helps you wind down at the end of your day.
• Don’t go to bed hungry, but don’t eat a big meal right before getting into bed. If you want a bedtime snack, keep it bland and light.
• Limit caffeine and consume none after 2 p.m.
• To decrease middle-of-the-night urination, don’t drink any fluids after dinner.
• Avoid alcohol after dinnertime. Although many people think of it as a sedative, it can get in the way of quality sleep.
• Be sure your bed is comfortable and your bedroom is dark and quiet. Consider a sleep mask or earplugs.
• Don’t take long naps during the day. If you need a nap, restrict it to 20 to 30 minutes in the early afternoon.

So with all of this said, how much sleep should you be getting?  As pointed out in a Harvard Health article, your goal for sleep should be seven hours a night.  Both, too little and too much sleep can have effects on a person’s memory [2].  So be sure to skip that extra episode on Netflix, because it will always be there in the morning, however, your physical, and mental health may not.

References

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/why

http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/little-sleep-much-affect-memory-201405027136

By Faith Stewart

In the next few blog posts, we will be talking about a more holistic approach to wellness. We will discuss sleeping and eating habits and this post will cover the impact of exercise on stress and depression.

We’ve all heard “exercise is good for you,” and most of us can list several physical benefits of exercise. In truth, however, the benefits of physical activity go way beyond maintaining healthy weight and lowering blood pressure.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), approximately 40 million American adults are affected by an anxiety disorder and 22 million are affected by a depressive disorder. This means that there is good chance that a few people reading this may fall into one of those categories, even those people who do not have a diagnosis have experienced anxiety or depression to some extent at some point in life. Because of that, it is important to know how valuable exercise can be in reducing these troubling feelings.

Many studies have been done on the effect of exercise on the symptoms of anxiety and depression. These studies have shown that due to the release of endorphins during a bout of physical activity (be it structured exercise or play), anxious and depressed feelings are immediately reduced (ADAA). Additionally, these studies have shown that regular physical activity improves the self-perceived quality of life in individuals who previously reported low quality of life.

Wellness is about more than being physically fit. Wellness includes mental health and emotional health, as well. It is important that we focus on all aspects of wellness while we are working to improve physical fitness.

adaa.org

By Ryan Brooks

Going to the gym for the first time should be an exciting experience. It is the start to a journey of achieving your goals and ultimately improving your overall health. But for many, it is often a scary time. Going to the gym for the first time, you might feel like you don’t know what you are doing. That okay, everyone starts out as a beginner. Here some simple tips to help you as you begin your journey to a healthier you.

1. Wear proper attire. You don’t want to wear any clothing that is offensive. You also want to wear clothing that is protective and allows for movement. Wear a shirt, close-toed shoes, athletic shorts, etc. Don’t wear your office attire, or clothing that is vulgar. (2)
2. Bring water. Hydration is very important while exercising. Most gyms will have a water fountain to fill up. Try not to hog the water fountain. If you need to full up, let others who just need a sip go first. (3)
3. Ask for a spot. If you think you might need help with completing a lift, ask someone for a spot. If no gym staff is present, ask someone else in between their lifting sets. Most people won’t mind. (2)
4. Clean equipment after using it. Most gym facilities have towels and disinfectant spray. This is for you to use. Once you are done with a piece of equipment, wipe off any sweat that may have accumulated. (2)
5. Re-rack your weight once you are done with them. You don’t want to leave weight out for someone else to have to put it up. If you are using a machine, then put the weight back to zero. Before moving one to another exercise, take a second to make sure you re-racked all your weight from the previous exercise. (1)
6. Ask someone if you don’t know something. If you don’t know how to do a lift or use a piece of equipment, just ask. Ask one of the facility’s trainer or one of the more experience lifters in the facility. When it comes to lifting, your health is what’s most important. (1)
7. Don’t use your cell phone. While you are at the gym, try not to be on your phone. Others are in the gym are trying to focus on improving their health as well. It can also be dangerous as you are taking your attention away from others around you. (3)

(1) http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2014/08/18/proper-gym-etiquette-how-to-not-be-a-newbie- in-the-gym/

(2) http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/exercise/10-tips-for-proper-gym-etiquette

(3) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jill-s-brown/gym-etiquette_b_2398997.html

By Mark Darter

Whether you are new to working out or just getting back into the swing of things, there are a few things that you will notice as you go through your training program. Anyone who decides to exercise has already made a positive decision in their lives, and the benefits of exercise will be numerous, most of which you won’t be able to see immediately, but if you keep up with the work you will make progress and begin to see results.

There are numerous things that one can expect when beginning a routine, here are my top three:

1. Muscle soreness

Nobody wants to wake up in the morning and feel like they can’t dress themselves because their arms are sore from the workout the day before, but some muscle soreness is to be expected. When our muscles are put through strenuous exercises, they become stressed and are therefore sore the following day or two after the workouts as the muscle repairs itself. There’s no need to worry though, because as you work out, your muscles will begin to adapt to your workout regimen and will not be as sore as after the first workout.

2. Weight loss

Weight loss is a goal that most people have with their workout regimens. It would be great if it was possible to lose large amounts of weight (20+ pounds) in a small amount of time (5 weeks) but in reality, the healthy amount of weight to lose is about 1 to 2 pounds of weight per week. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see any weight loss the first couple weeks, because progress takes time to show results. Many other adaptations are occurring early in a program that may help you lose weight in the long run.

3. Goals

When thinking about goal setting, most people may think of long term goals, such as being able to run a marathon, but let’s not forget the short term goals because those will keep us accountable and give us steps to achieving long term goals. Some good short term goal examples are to workout 2 days a week for 30 minutes or to improve my walk/run time by 30-45 seconds.

These are just a few things you can expect when starting your program, but just know that the soreness will become less of a problem as you exercise, the weight loss will come with time and hard work, and goals will be achieved and surpassed!

By Matt Prigge

Since you were a young child, you have heard how imperative consuming an adequate amount of water throughout the day is.  Whether it be for sports, exercise, or simply because Mother Nature turned up the thermostat, water is vital component to your day.  As much as people preach how vital water is, they never exactly say why.  The next few paragraphs will give you the skinny on why water is important, the symptoms of dehydration, and recommendations for how much water you should be consuming throughout the day.

The human body is made up of 50-70% of water, with that said, I just could just stop writing, but instead, let’s look into the importance of water [1].  As pointed out by the Mayoclinic, water: regulates body temperature, lubricates joints, flushes waste from the kidneys and liver, helps prevent constipation, helps to protect tissues and vital organs, and carries nutrients and oxygen to cells [2].  If that doesn’t have you headed to the water cooler, I don’t know what will.

Neglecting to refuel your tank with the H2O can lead to dehydration which can have some serious symptoms.  Fainting, dizziness, confusion, weakness, inability to sweat, palpitations, and a swollen tongue are not only some of the effects of listening to Nicki Minaj, but the symptoms of dehydration, too[3].

Whenever recommendations for water appear, the conventional line of “drink 8 glasses of water” is always is brought.  To be frank, that is a bunch of rubbish.  There are many factors that need to be taken into account.  For instance, your diet, how much you have been exercising, how hot it is outside, and pregnancy are key factors that need to be taken into account [1].  A more accurate rule of thumb is to listen to your body.  Excessive thirst is a sign of dehydration, and is a sign that you need to start drinking water.  Try and develop habits when it comes to drinking water.  For example, when you wake up, immediately drink 20-30 ounces of water.  So, if you are thirsty…start crushing water.  When you complete a workout…start crushing water.  After a long night out on the town…start crushing water.

All in all, water is the most important thing you will put into your body on a daily basis.  It is a necessity that you keep your body fueled up, healthy and happy.

[1] http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Water_a_vital_nutrient?open

[2] http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/multimedia/functions-of-water-in-the-body/img-20005799

[3] http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/dehydration-adults