Cardio (or) AND Strength

I recently found a great quote from Younger Next Year, written by Chris Crowley and Dr. Henry S. Lodge:  "Cardio may save your life, but resistance training makes it worth living."  This means cardio is keeping our vital organs healthy, for example, heart, lungs, circulatory system, etc.  Resistance training keeps our limbs, muscles, and joints healthy.  Although these are less vital for survival than our heart and lungs, the health of our muscles and joints is essential to having a good quality of life.

Cardiovascular and resistance exercise do share some benefits, but also differ in the merits they provide.  I've compiled 5 of the many benefits of cardio and strength training.  Keep these in mind as you follow your workout program to appreciate the many ways you're improving your health and fitness.

Benefits of Cardiovascular Exercise:

• Improved hormonal profile: ease symptoms of depression and fatigue and release hormones that decrease appetite
• Increased metabolism: can lead to weight loss
• Improved heart health: decrease in blood pressure, decrease in bad (LDL and total cholesterol, increase in good (HDL) cholesterol
• Improved recovery ability
• Diabetes management: increased insulin sensitivity

Benefits of Resistance Training:

• Increased bone density: decreases the risk of osteoporosis
• Increased strength of connective tissue, muscles, and tendons: improved motor performance and decreased injury risk
• Increased muscle mass:  decreases risk of sarcopenia, increased metabolism at rest because muscle maintenance requires greater caloric expenditure
• Improved body mechanics: improved posture, balance, and coordination; reduces risk of falling
• Improved appearance: greater muscle definition, increased tone

Make sure to incorporate both cardio and strength into your workout program!

Full Body Workout with Fit Athletic Carmel Mountain's PT, Viktoria Braut...

Decoding the Nutrition Label

Sometimes we need to take it back to the basics and review the good old nutrition label.  It can be an invaluable guide to helping us eat healthier by providing portion control as well as nutrient limits and goals.

Nutrition Label Powerpoint

Fuel Metabolism

Fuel metabolism can be a confusing subject.  There is a lot of misinformation in popular culture, gym equipment, and gym myths about the "Fat Burn" zone.  The fuel source used at different workout intensities is not as important than the number calories burned.

Fuel Metabolism presentation

Muscle Mass

The following study proves that body composition and not body mass index (BMI) is the a more important factor in determining mortality, or death.  BMI has for decades been the simple measurement used by life insurance companies and doctors to determine a person's expected health outcomes.  This study, however, found that relative muscle mass was a better predictor of how long the subjects lived.  The subjects with greater relative muscle mass lived longer than those with less muscle mass.

This is why measuring body composition (body fat:muscle mass ratio) is an important part of being involved in an exercise program.  If you're trying to lose weight, make sure your body fat percentage is going down along with your weight so that you don't lose too much muscle mass.  If you're trying to gain weight, make sure you're gaining predominantly muscle, and not fat.

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Full Article

DiscoverSD's Top 10 Trainers

I'm excited to announce that I've been named one of DiscoverSD magazine's Top 10 Trainers.  It's an honor to represent Fit in this citywide publication.

Insulin Sensitivity

In the past, I posted an article about cardiovascular exercise and insulin sensitivity.  Research now shows that resistance training as well as cardiovascular exercise increases insulin sensitivity.  Increasing insulin sensitivity reverses the disease process of Type 2 diabetes.  This article explains now exercise increases insulin sensitivity, prevents Type 2 diabetes, as well as which types of exercise are most beneficial.  Note that these benefits of exercise were seen even without any weight loss.  Increasing insulin sensitivity, and preventing Type 2 diabetes, is one of the many benefits of exercise that don't have anything to do with weight loss.  However, weight loss together with exercise does offer greater benefits.

Brazil's Innovative Approach to Dietary Guidelines

Brazil recently revamped their dietary guidelines to focus more on sensible, mindful preparation and consumption of food.  Some are saying these guidelines are better than the nutrient-based American guidelines.  Others are saying more definitive structure, like in the American guidelines, is necessary.

Brazil's Dietary Guidelines

Eight Most Popular Diets Today

I recently found an article describing the eight most popular diets today.  The best diet is made up of mostly whole foods with processed foods kept to a minimum.  As long as you're eating a large amount and variety of fruits and vegetables while also receiving adequate animal protein, you're on the right track.  Of the 8 diets outlined, the Mediterranean has been shown to have the best health outcomes in research studies.  Which diets have you or others had success with.