Don’t be left out! Exercise is for everyone, even the health challenged, read more at:

http://tinyurl.com/34xzsrz

As seen on http://cancersensibility.org/

Way back in 1996, the US Surgeon General issued an important report on physical activity and warned us that regardless of our age, we are just not active enough. Since then, you may have been scratching your head, wondering just how much activity would make the Surgeon General happy.

 That number is 10,000 steps a day.

Walking 10K a day for most people (unless you are a postal carrier, a delivery person, work in a big box store, etc.) is just not going to happen in your normal daily routine.  Most Americans take between 900 and 3,000 steps per day. 

 Wearing a step counter (pedometer) can help you understand where you are in regards to the goal of 10K a day.  Research proves that if you begin to wear one of these inexpensive monitors (I call them “motivational monitors” in my personal training practice), you will increase your daily steps by about 25% immediately.  Why?  Because of that old adage “what you measure, you can change”. 

 Americans are in love with numbers, the number on the scale, the number of calories in our food, our telephone number, our social security number and our ATM number code to name a few.  When you look down at your step counter and see a low number, you are more inclined to structure some time to walk and increase your steps.  It’s a fun, inexpensive and non-pharmaceutical way to:

- Feel better about yourself

-Improve your fitness level

- Decrease your weight

 So, what’s stopping you?  Whether you are 16 or 60, healthy or have multiple heath issues, waking more each day should be in your realm of abilities*. 

 My client, Lori didn’t think she could do it.  She was morbidly obese, used a cane to walk and needed her handicapped car sticker to park close to the building to get into the office.  Knowing that “take a walk” wasn’t going to work in her particular situation, I devised a plan that could work for her; something like this might even work for you.

 Before Lori got into her car, she agreed to walk one time around the car, one hand supporting her as she circled the car.  That’s it!

 Beginning with this small strategy, Lori increased the number of car circles, began to park in a regular parking spot at work, walk farther at the grocery store and even take a flight of stairs.  Increasing her daily steps made a dramatic, positive impact on her self esteem, and she continues to increase her activity level while she watches her weight decrease.

 Are you like Lori, or simply one of the millions of Americans that don’t move enough to support your health?  Today’s a new day, how many steps can you take today toward your 10K goal?

 * Consult with your physicians before starting or changing any physical activity program.

OK, a bit of a harsh title, but read on to see my REAL intent:

http://ctchallenge.org/Page/3520/Are-You-a-Fitness-Loser.html

Check out my latest article as seen in the MinuteMan Press: http://tinyurl.com/2462zr5

Let me know your thoughts!

Happy Playing!

by Guest Blogger Kristina Ridley

Our pancreas is affected by diabetes – specifically, Type 2.Our body contains glucose found in the blood stream, which it gets from the sugar in food. Our body uses the glucose, but only when it goes into our blood cells and the insulin released by our pancreas converts it. Insulin production and utilization is difficult for someone who lives with Type 2 diabetes. There is a lot of glucose in the body, but your cells cannot locate them.

The American Diabetes Association has become very important when it comes to gathering critical information about this medical condition. With approximately 23.6 million citizens living with diabetes, America is an extremely unhealthy country. Over 90% of all patients with diabetes have Type 2.Most diabetics tend to be overweight and have relatives with the same condition. Too much glucose can cause serious, irreparable damage to internal organs and to the overall nervous system.

Diabetes and Your Life
If you have Type 2 diabetes, you need to live in a healthy manner. Living healthy and engaging in healthy practices will affect you tremendously. Two common examples of healthy routines include exercising and consuming healthy foods. Making sure that your glucose levels stay in the recommended range translates into being able to avoid complications in your health. A finger prick test is a common and reliable way to monitor your body’s blood glucose levels.

This test, according to physicians, is sufficient enough for glucose monitoring like the HbA1c test. The amount of glycated hemoglobin in your blood is determined by this HbA1c test, aside from it alerting you if you reach a high glucose level. Results of these A1c tests show that people with diabetes are at a seven percent level. The CDC reports that if one maintains their a1c levels at seven percent, they could reduce the possibility of risks as high up as forty percent.

Too Much Control
Recently, there have been medical studies that seem to indicate that maintaining A1c levels below 7% may be a bad idea after all. One of these studies, conducted at the Lancet and Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, has found that people who have median levels may be at a far greater risk of death, especially for those taking insulin. However, other tests have indicated that A1c levels of 7 percent is still perfectly healthy. Matt Davies, An accredited Endocrinologist, has stated that maintaining a 7% A1c level is healthy according to recent studies, but that physicians should always take the individual patient’s history into account prior to planning treatment.

About the Author – Kristina Ridley writes for the  http://www.diabetesmeters.org/diabetes blood glucose meter/blog , her personal hobby blog focused on healthy eating and tips to measure blood glucose levels at home to help people understand early diabetes symptoms.

No one is more shocked to hear the news about her breast cancer diagnosis than Martina, herself. 

http://tinyurl.com/y4rfztp
I had the pleasure of working with Martina at the AARP 50th year conference in Washington DC a few years ago, and it was evident that she lived by a disciplined regime of nutritious food and focused exercise.   It is not unusual to have cancer patients like Martina wonder ”why me?” and “did I do anything to cause it myself?” 

The best minds in medicine are working daily on these questions.  Currently we  don’t know why people get cancer, even those who had a lifetime of living healthy and fit.  Petra Kolber, the stellar athlete that, with Reebok, invented step aerobics is also a cancer survivor.  She was diagnosed in 1999 with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and exercised through her treatment and is stronger now then before. 

You might wonder if you should give up the gym or start eating potato chips for lunch and chocoloate for dinner.  Don’t.

Even if cancer knocks on your door, your positive attitude and attention to your health and fitness will help carry you through.  Lets all send Martina our most thoughtful hopes and prayers for perhaps her toughest opponent yet.

I was intrigued by a study done on one of the most famous paintings of all time, The Last Supper.  Not because of the historic or relgious importance especially timely during this holy week for Christians, but because of the increasing size of the food portions portrayed through the years! 

Check it out! http://tinyurl.com/ykbfzus
What do you think? Happy Holidays all!

Hi everyone.  Perhaps by now you know I am a nationally certified cancer exercise trainer, but if not… I am!  I am honored to be working with YALE University on cancer and exercise clinical trials that hope to further clarify the impact of exercise for the cancer patient.

Here is a very interesting news piece that I thought you might find interesting about how important exercise is in the prevention of breast cancer.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100325/ap_on_he_me/eu_med_avoiding_breast_cancer/print

OK, I hear a lot of exercise excuses, so many that I actually wrote a book called No Ifs Ands or Butts- The Top Ten Exercise Excuses and How to Turn Them Into Fitness Triumphs http://fittraining.net/ebook.html  (shameless plug)

So I guess you could say I was more than mildly amused when I heard one of  the members of FITChicks (www.FITChickSRule.net) (another shameless plug) say about exercise “Why didn’t anyone tell me sooner?” when she bubbled over about her newfound flexibility and improved health, not to mention her smaller jeans. 

” Uh, dunno….  it’s not really a secret” or…is it?

Exercise rocks and rates right up there for me with the fountain of youth.  And, until someone FINDS that fountain I’m gonna stay on my path of daily exercise, cardiovascular training, strength work and flexibility.  Please join me cuz, well, I am Telling you! 

I work with many folks, several with serious medical issues like cancer and heart disease.  I have talked before about the “New Normal” for folks whose lives have been changed dramatically by disease- suggesting that adjusting to a new normal life is a way to enjoy time, be active (maybe in different ways) and make the current moment it’s best.

However, your new normal shouldn’t be used as license to give into an inactive life, poor eating habits or destructive habits like smoking.

Heads up!  You can create a fit and healthy new normal, one that’s better than anything you have experienced before.

So the two morals of this post?  1) Life happens, things change and you can change too, for the better.    2) Life goes on in a pattern, you don’t change, you accept less than your best and get what you expect.

You too, can alter the path of your life by creating your “New Normal” starting with a small change like getting away from your computer right now and taking that walk you know is good for you.  Why not post YOUR New Normal plans here?