3 - Reduces risks for heart disease, reducing bad LDL cholesterol and increasing good HDL cholesterol.

-                  This was briefly explained in article 2, our main focus for this article is to talk about cholesterol. Most us think of cholesterol as a bad thing, so why are we now reading that cholesterol is good? During this article we aim to discuss this and gather understanding of cholesterol in our body systems.

-          Our bodies are designed to function in the most effective and efficient way. If we did not need cholesterol in our bodies, then our body would not produce it. Cholesterol is found in every cell in our body, maintaining the membranes of the cells, as well as playing an active role of communicating between cells; this is what defines us as humans, instead of a pile of cells. Our cholesterol is created in the liver as Low Density lipoproteins (LDLs) to be dispatched to where it is required. Cholesterol is transported via our blood, through the arteries, adrenals, peripheral tissues, ovaries and testes. When it arrives at its destination, our cholesterol will be used to produce hormones. The cholesterol then takes on the form of high density lipoproteins (HDLs) and cleans our body as it returns back to the liver.

 -          Our cholesterol is the base substance of our hormones, an example of these are our stress relief hormones, and our sexual hormones. These include cortisol, estrogen, DHEA, pregnenolone, progesterone and testosterone. Some ways hormones help us live our lives are:

·         To help repair the body

·         Supporting a healthy brain function

·         Improving our moods

·         Promoting cognitive function

·         Maintaining overall strength stamina and vitality

·         Strengthening our memory

·         Reducing our stress

·         Maintaining stable blood sugar levels

·         Reproducing and increasing energy production.

-          If we don’t exercise and have an unhealthy diet of artificial foods, sweeteners, substances and fluids, our bodies will go into melt down.

-          Imagine the walls of our home where we live, as the walls of our arteries.  If we put a hole in the wall it will start to bleed and the only way to fix this is with plaster. Envision the plaster as our bodies low density cholesterol (LDL) being produced by one of the smallest structures in the room, the liver. Now picture this event, we decide to throw a party, not just any party but the biggest, loudest, most incredible party our street has ever seen. We decide to invite 1,000 of our closest friends to our tiny four bedroom home. The people that we invite to our party are like the blood traveling through our body. Our blood cells at this party are full of alcohol, high energy foods and artificial substances. If any wall or structure is damaged, this party will not stop, it will keep going, and through the crowds of people are the LDL handy men with their plaster boards trying to patch up all the holes that are being created by this unhealthy crowd. Eventually the LDL handy men have to not only patch up all the walls but the structures are now starting to break down. Our main structure the liver is sending out more recruits, but it is increasing in difficultly, the plaster on the walls of the home are coming in on us, making the parties interior smaller, causing more holes. There are still 1,000 people flowing about our home every second. Eventually the hallways become so thick with plaster that it starts to slow down the flow of people between rooms. This is causing confusion and chaos throughout the party.

-          Let’s stop here for a moment. As you are visualising this remember that the same thing is happening to your arteries. The artificial foods, sweeteners and fluids cause these cuts to our artery walls. Your liver produces the low density cholesterol (LDL) to help preserve the health of your arteries. The reason why doctors and people alike say we need to reduce the production of LDL in our bodies is because if our bodies are producing too much LDL as a result of our unhealthy diets and exercise regimes, the walls of our arteries slowly get closer and closer together (As the video demonstrates). This causes reduced amounts of oxygen to our cells and a weaker immune system leading to cause heart disease and diabetes.

-          After our epic feast of a party, we now need to go into clean up mode, this is where our liver structure starts to recruit HDL handy men and it is their job to clean up all the LDL handy man’s plaster off the walls of our home. This process can take weeks or even months to repair all the walls and structures in our home. Without this process of HDL cholesterol in our blood stream the tears and irritation to the arterial walls will lead to aneurisms and ruptures.  This is why doctors say that the production of HDL Cholesterol is good for our body because it means that our systems are running healthy and exercising is a great way to promote this production. The level of damage to our home is dependent on how many parties we throw or how many unhealthy meals we put through our bodies. Over time an unhealthy body system is like an un-serviced car, it starts to slow down and cannot be repaired as quickly. This is why heart disease and diabetes are considered degenerative diseases, because it occurs over time.

-          To slow down the effect from a poor diet and exercise routine, we need to start doing something towards our health. This could include walking a little bit further to work, riding a bike with our family, going for a swim or joining a sporting club. In regards to our eating habits, we need to watch what we are consuming on a daily basis, focusing mainly on natural foods. If

we cannot clear ourselves from an unhealthy diet try the 80% - 20% rule, where we try to consume 80% good foods for example during week days, and consume the 20% not so good foods on the weekends, or something along those lines. Remember, every meal we consume that is unhealthy is preventing us one more day from achieving our full health potential.

Cheers, Xenus Fitness  

2 - Decreases the Risk of heart attack.

-          If something is better than nothing then exercise is a great example of this. For people that do not live active lives, doing anything towards their health and fitness can reduce the risk of a heart attack by up to 55%. This can be achieved because exercise directly relates to improving the following areas of your body that may lead to a heart attack.

-          Improves our heart’s ability to work more effectively and efficiently.

-          Reduces our blood pressure.

-          Increasing HDL cholesterol.

o   Although our doctor may have told us to reduce your total cholesterol, it’s important to raise your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, this is known as “good” cholesterol. It might sound like a mixed message, but reducing “bad” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and increasing HDL cholesterol is a great way to lower our risk of heart disease and preventing the risk of a heart attack.

-          Decreasing the probability of blood to form clots.

o   This is because if we do minimal movement our heart becomes weaker (Remember if you don’t use it you lose it), this means that our heart will not have enough strength to pump the blood vertically from our toes back to our heart. As a consequence blood clots form.To prevent this, we need to exercise so that our body will strengthen to become more efficient in the transportation of blood back to the heart, thus reducing the risk of blood clots and and increasing the density of fresh oxygenated blood cells.

-          Moderating stress.

-          Improving the body’s ability to use insulin to control the glucose levels in the blood.

o   Insulin and glucose are how we describe sugar in the body when it has been broken down by the body’s systems to be used as energy. Controlling the glucose levels in the blood is describing the body’s ability to regulate the glucose amounts in the blood. If a person suffers from diabetes, their body’s ability to maintain this task is low.

-          Improved ability for people to maintain a healthy body weight and image.

o   If we have problems with maintaining our weight, the fluctuation of weight on our body puts added resistance on all body organs. In maintaining our weight, the heart’s blood vessels will be much healthier, improving blood flow and therefore improving the hearts overall state of health.

Above, are all examples of how exercise directly relates to reducing the risk of a heart attack. Doing anything towards your fitness in regards to exercise will improve your heart’s health. The more you do the more you will get results and the more you will improve your hearts ability to prevent a heart attack.

Cheers, Xenus Fitness

1- Strengthens heart muscle.

-    -      Strengthens heart muscle.

-          When exercising the level of intensity increases our heart rate. Imagine as we do squats our quadriceps fill up with blood like a sponge, and then as we contract the muscle it pushes all this blood up to our heart. This blood then needs to be absorbed by the heart as it enters the right atrium and through to the right ventricle. At this stage the right ventricle fills up with blood like a sponge but then needs to pump all of this blood out into our lungs for re-oxygenation. The more blood that is pumped into the heart from the other muscles during exercise the more the muscle belly of the right ventricle fills up. This means that it is under a greater resistance to push the blood out and complete the cycle. Our heart muscle is much like the rest of our skeletal muscles. In order for our muscles to improve in strength we need to exercise them against a greater resistance. In the case of our heart, this increase in blood flow is the resistance to improve our hearts strength. As this cycle repeats, our skeletal muscles (like our Quadriceps) are now requiring more blood and thus our heart will become stronger to supply our quadriceps will the amount of blood and oxygen it requires. A stronger heart will improve all areas of health and fitness in our body, proving to be a great reason as to why we should exercise.

Cheers, Xenus Fitness

25 reasons why exercise is good. Explained.

Hi Team we came across this in our re-search today, Yes it tells us 25 titles of why exercise is good, but we like to dig deeper and discover the reasons as to why these key 25 reasons are good for us and how are they going to improve our body's wellbeing. 

Over the next 2 months we will be uploading new articles about these reasons we hope you enjoy the read and we help you gather motivation towards a healthier future.

  

1 -      Strengthens heart muscle.

2 -      Decreases the incidence of heart attack.

3 -      Reduces risks for heart disease, e.g., reduces bad LDL cholesterol and increases good HDL cholesterol.

4 -      Improves circulation and oxygen/nutrient transport throughout the body.

5 -      Helps lose weight and keep it off.

6 -      Improves breathing efficiency.

7 -      Strengthens & tones muscles and improves appearance.

8 -      Helps prevent back problems and back pain.

9 -      Improves posture.

10 -   Strengthens bones and helps reduce risk of osteoporosis.

11-   Strengthens the tissues around the joints and reduces joint discomfort and arthritis if appropriate exercise is selected and properly performed.

12 -   Decreases risk for several types of cancer.

13 -   Improves immune function which decreases risk for infectious diseases.

14 -   Maintains physical and mental functions throughout the second half of life.

15 -   Increases self-confidence and self-esteem.

16 -   Boosts energy and increases productivity.

17 -   Improves sleep.

18 -   Helps create a positive attitude about life.

19 -   Reduces anxiety and depression.

20 -   Increases resistance to fatigue.

21 -   May lengthen lifespan.

22 -   Reduces blood pressure.

23 -   Decreases the incidence of Type 2 diabetes.

24 -   Reduces stress.

25 -      Improves cognitive function.

Cheers Xenus Fitness

Fitness Success = Content + Consistency

Fitness Success = Content + Consistency

Content plus consistency, is a term often thrown about in many industries, yet rarely throughout the Health & Fitness industry. In the Health & Fitness industry, content should be seen as the type of things what we do towards our Health & Fitness goals. Consistency should be seen as the number of times we do something towards our Health and fitness goals.

How can we be Consistent towards our Fitness?

We all see that exercise is a way of being fit, if we exercise we become fitter and if we don’t exercise we decrease our fitness. Most of us live our lives at a very fast pace and we often find it difficult to stop to change into exercise gear, exercise then change back. We often look at exercise as being a clump of exercises together that span over a certain period of time. Whether it is an hour or half an hour, the amount of exercise will still be the same, whether you spread it over a day in little amounts or clump it together like most of us do. Yes if we spread it over a long period of time our heart rate won’t be as high. But when we look to exercise and we find it hard to have the time, the most common reason as to why we want to exercise, is to lose weight. Therefore to lose weight we need to get our heart rate above 60% of our maximum heart rate, for those that don’t know, your maximum heart rate is roughly 220 minus your age. Thus climbing stairs, walking to work that extra distance, playing with the children, or going for a short walk on your lunch break are all sufficient amounts of exercise. If we could do exercise during our ad breaks when watching TV you will be surprised at how quick the time adds up. A one hour show has eight commercials that go for approximately four minutes. In total that adds up to around about 32mins give or take a few minutes. 30 mins is the government standard, that is, the amount of exercise we should undertake 3 – 5 times a week. The best part is that you can change exercises per commercial thus getting a greater variety into your work out. Now a lot of people will say that’s my time to relax, we all need to remember that when we are exercising our bodies produce endorphins that relax us and make us happy. So to improve our consistency we just need to find small areas or pockets of our day where we can do small amounts of exercise. We should see exercise as an opportunity, not an inconvenience. Next time you’re chatting on the phone to your friend, consider walking around the garden or the block at the same time. This consistent amount of exercise no matter how small will improve your fitness.

How can we maintain the content of the exercise we do?

There is a lot to this question so let’s try to keep it basic. If you do what you enjoy the most then that is the best type of exercise for you. It will help keep you motivated, improve your confidence and you will get more satisfaction from it.

As long as you are keeping your heart rate above 60% you will see improvements. If you are not seeing these improvements it means you are getting fitter, therefore try increasing the intensity of your exercising habits to get results. The closer you come to your optimum potential, the smaller the results become. So be excited about everything you achieve in your fitness, because it is a sign that you are one step closer to achieving your goal!

Cheers, Xenus Fitness

Health Success = Content + Consistency

Health Success = Content + Consistency

Content plus consistency, is a term often thrown about in many industries, yet rarely thought of in the Health & Fitness industry. In the Health & Fitness industry content should be seen as the type of things that we do towards our Health & Fitness goals. Consistency should be seen as the number of times we do something towards our Health & Fitness goals.

How can we be Consistent towards our Health?

We all know eating well is what we need to do to be healthy, but how can we be consistent? Most of us live our lives at a very fast pace and so we often find it difficult to take the time to sit down and eat, and instead we’d prefer to eat on the run. Bringing home-made food with you is usually not possible, but if it were, it would be the preferred option and it saves you money. If you buy food, it tends to be non-healthy and even if it seems healthy, you can never really know all the ingredients. If buying food isn’t possible, we tend not to eat for long periods of time. This works to a point, yet at this point our body is suffering from low blood sugar levels, which is why we crave high sugar foods. It is this cycle that leads to an increase in obesity, that is, because we eat more calories at the end of the day and don’t burn them off. To be consistent we first need a plan. This way we can make sure we are staying on track. Simple things like keeping an apple in your car or in your bag will prevent your sugar cravings at the end of the day. In the time that it takes you to order at a fast food chain, you could go to the local supermarket and buy a bag of vegies. It may not be as tasty but it will be more nourishing, give you more energy and in most cases, it will be easier on your wallet.

How can we maintain the content of food we eat?

Food is the fuel for our body. This is a fact and we should all know this. It works in a similar way to the fuel in our cars if we put the wrong fuel in we will not run efficiently. Let’s take a closer look at a car. If we have a car and it runs on gas yet we hear that diesel is good for your car and it runs smoother, do you think we should now put diesel into our gas car? Of course not, if we did this it would destroy the cars ability to move forward. Our bodies are much the same, if our bodies were designed to run on fruit and vegetables, with small amounts of meat, and you heard that unnatural products with no calories were good for your body, should you eat them? Of course not, if we did this it would destroy our body’s ability to move forward. Everything that is unhealthy for your body will stop you from moving forward. If you have too much unhealthy food your body’s health and abilities will move backwards, hence you will take even longer to reach your goals. This is why the content that you put into your body is so important.

Overall we will need to make sure we first plan what we aim to eat. For example, we need to plan if we should pack lunch or buy it every day. After this we can then focus on the natural things our body needs. This will increase our body’s ability to absorb nutrients from the food and use this fuel as efficiently as possible.

Cheers, Xenus Fitness

How much exercise is enough?

If we asked you how much exercise is enough, would you know? Would we even want to know? Most people give a rough guess at the government recommendations for adults, which is 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, preferably all days.

If we don’t know how much exercise is enough, then the government guidelines are a great place to start. We know a lot of people are saying “but I don’t have 30 minutes”. This is because 30 minutes is seen as a lot of time when put together, but if we break it down, we can see that this goal is very easy to achieve. Whether it is walking up the stairs at work, parking your car a little bit further away, walking the kids to school, riding to work, or when catching up with friends go for a walk with them, rather than sitting down. Your body will love you for it.

Is doing something better than nothing?

When we are doing any form of exercise, at any intensity of course it is better than sitting around doing nothing. A lot of people also see the 30 minutes as “if I can’t do that much today, why bother, I’ll start again tomorrow”. This is a bad approach, try to see the 30 minutes as a target, and if we can achieve this GOAL today, why not try and improve this goal tomorrow to 35 minutes?

If we can’t achieve 30 minutes, don’t worry, in trying to do at least one form of exercise per day, we are now getting one step closer to our goals than we were the day before. This step may be the smallest step, like taking the stairs, but remember it’s still one more step closer to your goals than you were the day before.

How much exercise is enough, to improve and maintain your fitness levels? The answer is at least 30 minutes per day with a well-balanced eating regime. If we cannot achieve this, don’t stress. Doing something is still better than doing nothing. Try to look at our day, what we did; if we have time for Facebook, Twitter or a coffee with a friend, then we have time to exercise. Grab that friend and go explore, our body will thank us.

Cheers, Xenus Fitness

 

Xenus Fitness - Collective Inspiration 01/07/2012