Springing into fitness

Spring is just around the corner, and summer isn’t that far away. With this warmer weather (of course that’s subject to change at any given moment) many of us are thinking of becoming more active, and getting outdoors. Some of us are even beginning to look ahead to summer, and are trying to get into shape for swim suit season and those trips to the lake or beach. While I applaud anyone who is interested in becoming more active and more physically fit, a lot of us go about it the wrong way. We try fad diets, or try getting our fitness routines, diets or even cardio workouts via fitness magazines or some other media source. What most people don’t seem to understand is that, those routines or programs were designed for that particular person in the article, and not necessarily for them or their use. In order for a fitness program to be effective, it needs to be designed specifically for you, your body type and your own fitness and health goals and needs. That’s not to say that the routines that you get from those magazines are not good ones and that they won’t work, but rather,  they may not be the most effective workouts for you and your body type and you may not see the same results as the person in that article. That particular workout may also be designed to produce results that differ from the results that you want or the goals that you’ve set for yourself. So, if you truly want to be ready to don on that speedo or bikini, you may want to consider something a little more personalized and tailor made to you and your goals and needs, and not you doing someone else’s workout and trying to tailor yourself to it. A lot of times that’s how injuries occur and most of the time people tend to get discouraged when they don’t see the same results as the person in the article and drop out of the routine and the gym. As for those fad diets that is exactly what they are, Fads or a quick fix, that just doesn’t work. Nutrition is a very important part of any fitness program, but just like your fitness routines, nutrition is very personal. Normally nutrition is based on several factors such as body weight, composition, and other specific health and nutritional concerns that shouldn’t be taken to lightly. So really any nutritional advise that you receive should come from your physician, a fitness professional, or a nutritionist, not Brittney’s How I lost 10 pounds in 10 minutes article in Cosmo! Just kidding Ms. Spears, honest! Some of us will even resort to using diet pills, without fully understanding the risk involved. Most dietary supplements use a stimulant such as caffeine, which may cause a rise in heart rate and in your blood pressure. This could be very dangerous if you already have a heart condition or problems with high blood pressure. Diet pills are normally not that effective anyway, and they do tend to have very dangerous side effects if not taken properly. Here’s part of an article by Phil Kaplan that backs up what I’m saying about diet pills. The article reads as follows. “Here’s what I suggest: Rather than asking if a product works, find out what’s in there? Many of the new promises are made to sell proprietary formulas. A proprietary formula is nothing more than a conglomeration of ingredients and there are some which carry of fat burning products. An understanding of the ingredients should help you recognize precisely what these proprietary formulas do. Each promise comes with its own subliminal message, so let’s explore some  of the promises and messages that are out In the media today. The promises and messages that are in part dictating the spending habits of those seeking physical change. The new promise: A stimulant supplement will burn fat. The message: Just take a pill If you use an ephedrine, caffeine, aspirin stack, it’s still available (though not recommended for random use). Ephedrine is sold for OTC treatment of asthma and respiratory difficulty. The new promise: You’ll lose as much weight as a famous blond former model if you take a new pill The message: Just take a pill Marketing is amazing and is the key to a product’s financial success. The best product in the world marketed poorly is doomed to obscurity; a marginal product with exceptional marketing which taps into human emotion is a sure fire winner- at least from a financial standpoint. The new promise: Cortisol is to blame for fat accumulation, and with a cortisol inhibitor you can reduce the process. Message: Just take a pill One of the new promises to emerge is the promise to control cortisol, and these campaigns identify cortisol as the reason our population struggles with excess body fat. Cortisol in not a new discovery. It is a hormone, referred to as the stress hormone, and while it may contribute to fat accumulation, it’s only one player. Fat accumulation is the result of a skewed balance of exercise and eating leading to multi-faceted shifts in enzyme production, neurotransmission and the endocrine system. To indict cortisol as the culprit is being short sighted, but it works to lead to the effectiveness of a new promise. Of course that’s not the whole article, but I think you get my point. Being active and getting into shape can be fun and effective, even if it’s not always as easy as just taking a pill or reading an article. With the right information, knowledge, and equipment, getting into that speedo or bikini, can be safe, fun, and effective. For questions, comments or information, contact Shannon H. Helton c.p.t. @ 865-599-0162 or 423-487-4309 or E-mail at HELTONS_27@msn.com.