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 How much of your day is spent sitting? Do you honestly think that our ancestors developed their bodies by parking it for 4, 5 – even 8+ – hours a day?
Our bodies did NOT evolve through the centuries so that we could sit for most of our waking lives.
We’re designed to walk. All day. Every day. That’s what Great-great Grandpa and Grandma did with their lives: they walked.
Look at you. Sitting. Reading a computer screen, probably with some sort of snack at hand. Something you know has too many calories, too much sugar, too much fat.
Sure, 75 to 80% of weight loss results come from proper eating, but you need some muscle tone to really get in shape. Exercise not only helps burn calories, it builds muscles, bones, ligaments, cartiledge, tendons – all the things we need so that we can move through life with greater health.
Exercise gets the heart beating, pushing that blood out of your behind and up to your brain!
Move through your life. Get out of that chair. Walk around a bit.
And then… keep going.
I found an interesting article the other day in Circulation, the Journal of the American Heart Association. The article laments the fact that despite a whole lot of evidence showing how being out of shape is killing us, most people are not changing their habits.
I suspect that one of the reasons that this is so is because the article is so full of jargon and “edu-speak” that the message is getting lost. Yes, the Journal is for medical professionals and all, but learning to speak the language in a manner that the common man can understand is an important first step in communicating such an important message.
Your average reporter isn’t going to wade through this report and boil it down to something understandable for “the rest of us”!
I’m not your average reporter. 
This is my interpretation of only one paragraph in an article that spans 37 pages including tables, charts and 228 footnotes!
I’m putting the original words in italics; my comments will be in brackets in bold text [like this]. I have taken out the footnote references and have broken this single paragraph into it’s 5 individual sentences.
Here we go then:
There are considerable published data to strongly support the benefits of PA [Physical Activity] and dietary changes as a means to decrease the morbidity and mortality of CVD and stroke in adults. ["Morbidity" is a fancy way of saying "having the disease" and "mortality" refers to dying from it. CVD stands for Cardio Vascular Disease. Cardio means heart and Vascular refers to the blood vessels like veins and arteries. Heart attacks, strokes and Atherosclerosis - that's when the arteries are clogged up with junk like cholesterol- are the major Cardio Vascular Diseases.] [What this whole sentence says is that doctors and scientists have done a lot of studies and published their results about how staying active and eating better can keep heart attacks, strokes and related diseases at bay.]
Such data are presented and discussed in detail in the statements from the American Heart Association (AHA) and other sources. [A fairly straight forward sentence explaining that these published studies are quite common.]
Notable statements and studies include, but are not limited to, the statement on exercise (AHA), the statement on PA intervention studies (AHA), the statement on diet and lifestyle recommendations (AHA),10 the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and the recommendation on PA and public health. [Here are a few of the more important articles on Physical Activity and Diet, mostly from the American Heart Association - these were all footnoted, many with links, too.]
Despite the abundance of data supporting the benefits of lifestyle changes for CVD, it is striking that Americans are increasingly more challenged with the growing burdens of excess body weight, limited PA, and suboptimal dietary habits. [Here's the worst jargon. What this sentence says is that despite all the information available on how eating better and exercising more will help stop, prevent and even reverse Cardio Vascular Disease, us Americans are too fat, too lazy and enjoy our snack foods too much to make any changes.]
These lifestyle problems are also associated with many chronic diseases other than CVD and stroke, including type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, depression, and many cancers. [The fact that we're so fat, so lazy and so addicted to twinkies makes us vulnerable to more than just heart problems. Cancer, bone loss, mental problems and diabetes are also just around the corner for many of us.]
So, the next time you’re sitting around the house and find yourself saying to your significant other, “Honey, I’m feeling increasingly more challenged with the growing burdens of excess body weight, limited PA, and suboptimal dietary habits…”, you might want to just put that twinkie down and go for a nice long walk!
Disclaimer: I do have a college education – in Music Ed – so science might not be my strong suit. However, I have been in the Physical Education business for more than a decade. This interpretation is entirely my own. Feel free to re-post and re-interpret my interpretation.
And, no, the AHA didn’t actually mention twinkies specifically!
Circulation published online Jul 12, 2010;
http://circ.ahajournals.org
Part 2: The Exercise Half of the Equation
Read Part 1: Eating is More Important!
Exercise is the second most important part of weight loss. Once again, we  have to understand how our bodies work and aim for efficiency.
First off, there is no such thing as spot reduction. If there was, we’d all have massively chiseled faces from all the food we chew and all the talking we do about how “one day” we’re going to get in shape!
It’s just about impossible to burn enough calories to cause weight loss by only working an individual muscle. You’d never consider finger wiggles or toe curls as effective exercises. The muscles are simply too small to amount to much.
So why do the same people who laugh at finger exercises consider situps a good way to lose weight? The abs, particularly the way they are isolated by situps, are a relatively small muscle group. Yes, they’re bigger than your fingers or toes, but they simply can’t burn enough calories by themselves to cause weight loss.
Having that great “six pack” is not impressive when it’s hidden beneath an entire “keg” of fat!
For efficiency, find your biggest muscle groups and WORK them! Don’t attempt to obliterate little muscles – it just won’t burn as many calories.
The gluteus maximus muscle (you’re probably sitting on it right now) is the largest muscle in the body. Together with the hamstrings (back of the upper leg) and quadriceps (front of the upper leg) they form the largest muscle group in the body. Working the leg muscles is one of the most efficient ways to burn calories.
The latissimus dorsi and pectoralis major are the main muscles of the upper back and chest. These muscles are also quite large and capable of burning lots of calories.
Another major group for burning calories is the “core” and it consists of all of the muscles that wrap your abdomen – those abs plus a whole lot of back muscles, too.
These three major groups, the upper legs, the upper chest and back and the core are where are biggest muscles are. It’s where most of our calories are burned.
Target these in your exercises. Work entire muscle groups. Isolating individual muscles is great for body builders – but they already know how to get in shape! Put those biceps curls on the “one of these days” list – it’s nice to have shapely arms, but they don’t burn many calories.
Pick things up and move with them. Carry your laundry up the stairs. Find a kettle bell class. Keep moving!
What about aerobics vs. anaerobics? Where does stretching fit in?
Here’s a real simple formula for finding the exercises that burn the most calories for your particular genetics and for your current physical shape. Assuming that you have no injuries or conditions that might preclude a certain movement, here’s what I’ve found works for me:
If you don’t like an exercise, it’s probably because it burns more calories. If a particular exercise really tires you out quickly – that’s the one that’s burning those calories. If you find yourself sore the next day (or two days for us older folks!) that’s another indicator that you were making some good progress!
In short, if you don’t like it, it’s probably good for you.
Here’s the next part you won’t like. Our bodies are very good at becoming more efficient. A few weeks working those exercises you targeted because you didn’t like them and you’ll find that they’re suddenly not that bad! Again, assuming that your knees are good, that you don’t have lingering shoulder injuries or the like, your body will quickly become used to the demands you’re putting on it.
In short… it will take less and less work to do these. Your body will adapt, becoming stronger, more flexible and able to do what you’ve demanded of it. This means that you now have to find new challenges for your body!
That’s why so many runners hit plateaus. They run the same route at the same speed for weeks and weeks – and their body adapts. It finds a way to burn as few calories as possible to get the job done.
It happens in every sport, with every exercise. Your body figures out how to make it easier! Your body figures out how to burn less calories, how to save more for that rainy day.
Your job is to mix it up. Change the routine. If you run, find some hills. If you lift weights, lift heavier weights. Stair stepper? Go faster.
Swimming is one of the best exercises for involving the entire body. Try to work in some swimming, some way, some how. Chopping wood is another exercise that burns a lot of calories. Again, it’s because the entire body is involved.
Here’s an advertisement for our Fitness BootCamp. We do kettle bells. Sand bags. Resistance bands. Weight training. Running. Jumping. Floor exercise. Medicine Balls. Giant Ropes. Suspension training. Exercise balls. We’ve even been pushing the MMA van around the parking lot!
Our BootCamp mixes it up every class. Plus, you’ve got the option of adding in our Fitness Kickboxing classes, an entirely different set of exercises and movements to really challenge your body!
Master Kurt Schulenburg has a 4th Degree Black Belt in the traditional Martial Art of Tang Soo Do. He has also studied Judo and Tae Kwon Do, and is currently a Black Belt Instructor of the Mixed Martial Arts. Mr. Schulenburg is a Certified MATA Trainer, Pro-Star Mixed Martial Arts Founding Member and a Certified Fitness Instructor for the Fighting Fit BootCamp program. Kurt Schulenburg also has a degree in Music Education from Lawrence University and has been a prolific composer and recording artist since the mid 1980′s.
Muscle, muscle, muscle. And stop eating too much junk.
I know, tell me something I don’t know, right?
You’ve got to burn more calories than you eat. Again, simple, nothing new… but it’s something we lose sight of with all the fad diets and grueling exercise programs asaulting us at every turn.
Put things into perspective. From a caloric standpoint, your body doesn’t really care if the calories come in the form of protein or twinkies. Sure, there are plenty of reasons to eat a good, balanced diet, but calories are calories from your body’s point of view. And, if you’re too fat, you’re probably eating too many of them.
Exercise – it’s all about burning as many calories in the shortest amount of time. Why a short time? Because not too many of us want to spend our lives in the gym, not too many of us HAVE the time these days to workout for hours on end. And… we don’t really want to either!
We want to be smart about all of this. Wasting money on fad diets that we can’t seem to stick with or expensive health club memberships that never get used is not smart. Should we worry more about eating right or exercising more?
Worry more about eating right.
Part 1: Eating
I tell my training clients that they can’t outrun a bad diet. It’s way too easy too consume far more calories – sometimes at a single meal! – than we can burn in a day.
With all the unusual diets available these days, worrying about a particular diet is NOT efficient. The macro-nutrients (carbs proteins and fats) should be eaten in balance… but from a dieting perspective worrying about low carb or high carb is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Yes, there can be some effect from some of these odd diets, but ultimately the effects are way too small if you’re still eating too much!
Personally, I always love products that are sold because whatever your problem is “isn’t YOUR fault”. It’s not my fault that food manufacturers make these incredible concoctions of fat and sugar that I eat by the truckload. It’s not my fault that I don’t know how to stop. It’s not my fault that it all tastes so good!
Uh. Wait a minute. Yes it is.
Nobody else buys it for you, nobody else puts it in your mouth, nobody chews for you!
We live in a time and place where food is so readily available (and so delicious!) that close to 35% of us Americans are now considered obese.
Our bodies are incredible. They work so hard to extract each and every calorie from our environment. Humans can eat nearly anything -we’re pretty poison-proof compared to most mammals – and pretty much try to eat everything that comes our way.
Bodies are very efficient, too, protecting us from future famine by storing nearly every calorie that isn’t used right away. We’re great at saving all those calories for that rainy day.
We’re fat because, for most of us, that rainy day doesn’t ever show up. We live in good times – with bodies that were developed over millions of years of not so good times, with famines and droughts. We learned to eat meat when we could, berries and fruit in season… and just about anything else we could find the rest of the year. Ask me about the bugs and grubs diet sometime!
In fact, if we reduce our caloric input too suddenly, we can cause our bodies to become even more efficient. The threat of famine can trigger “starvation mode” and every calorie is stored away. Actually fasting for a day or two can cause weight gain when we’re back to our normal diet.
The bottom line? Eat less. But don’t starve yourself. Eat lots and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables – without sauces or toppings – and drink lots and lots of water. Keep it simple!
See Part 2 for the Exercise Half of the Equation!
 I haven’t seen the new Karate Kid movie yet, but the first Karate Kid movie spurred an entire generation of Daniel-san wannabes – and the martial arts industry flurished.
Unfortunately, the quality of many chop-saki karate schools left much to be desired and many disappointed students dropped out, never earning that coveted Black Belt.
And, with such poor instruction, those that did stay and get their belts have to ask what it is they actually learned. Can they break bricks with their bare hands? Can they protect themselves and their families on the streets? Can they catch flies with their chopsticks?
Old School martial arts instructors claimed that only one in a thousand had what it takes to become a Black Belt. I think that this says more about the teaching abilities of these instructors than the challenges of the curriculum! Black Belt level does take dedication, physical fitness and the mastery of many offensive and defensive skills, but it’s not beyond the grasp of an average human being.
Black Belt training isn’t just for that one in a thousand “natural athlete”. Experienced trainers know that even average students can produce above average results. Good instructors not only have an intimate knowledge of their curriculum, they know what it takes to motivate students from all walks of life. They know more than one way to communicate their message.
The Black Belt is a goal to strive for. It’s a measure of physical skills and physical prowess. The Black Belt shows that it’s wearer has studied hard for a long time, mastering each step before moving to the next. It stands for dedication, to achieving goals, to obtaining the first glimpses of mastery.
It’s a beginning, too. The achievement of a Black Belt opens the door for personal goals in every aspect of life.
It’s not for one in a thousand. It’s for everybody.
Although not too many flies are scared when I approach with chopsticks.
 It would be nice to say that those smiles come from the results – fat lost, muscles gained and much more energy – but medical science points to some other factors as well. It appears that regular exercise and a good diet keep the blues away.
A January 2005 article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, explained that adults aged 20 to 45 with mild to moderate depression who participated in 30-minute aerobic exercise sessions three to five times a week reduced their symptoms by almost 50 percent.
Another study compared the effects of exercise, the antidepressant Zoloft, and exercise combined with Zoloft on mood. Researchers found that exercise alone was better at boosting mood than either Zoloft or even Zoloft with exercise. In addition to the release of endorphins and other mood enhancing chemicals, scientists suspect that the feeling of mastery and control over one’s own body is at least partially responsible for these results.
The other half of the equation is good nutrition. According to Lucy Danziger, the Editor-in-Chief of SELF magazine, “Fish that contains omega-3 fatty acids enhances areas of the brain that affect your mood”. Danziger also mentions that eating foods containing B6 and folate can make you feel better – beans, potatoes, spinach and oranges all have the ability to elevate mood.
Regular exercise has been proven to help:
- Reduce stress
- Keep away feelings of anxiety and depression
- Boost self-esteem
- Improve sleep
All of this exercise and good eating sounds an awful lot like BootCamp. Maybe that’s where the phrase “happy campers” really comes from!
 Okay, there’s a whole lot of confusion about dieting and exercise out there – and I doubt that this little article will change much, but I’m hoping it will clear up at least a little of the confusion. It’s not all that complicated, really!
If you burn more calories than you eat, you will lose weight over time.
If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight over time.
That’s it.
And even purists who argue that you can’t “burn calories” or “burn fat” within a human body – hey. Get a life. “Burn” is a lot easier to spell than “metabolize”.
ALL of the other stuff, all that 6 meals a day vs. 3 or whether super-foods like cinnamon can ramp up your metabolism – it’s all window dressing compared to the bottom line. Yes, red pepper will increase your metabolism – slightly – but not enough to offset that Snickers bar!
It’s so funny that people are now arguing about weight lifting vs. aerobics! It doesn’t matter how you burn them, just burn them! It’s much more important that you find a way to do it that puts a smile on your face than how efficient a particular workout is. Yes, if you’re worried about time, by all means go for efficiency – but without fun you won’t be coming back for more!
But what about genetics? What about the NEW and IMPROVED _________ diet? Are eggs good for you or bad?
Well… genetics is contained in that little bit about gaining or losing weight over time. To a certain degree, how we handle the burning and/or storing of calories is genetically controlled. But, unless you have a full blown medical condition, the genetic aspect will be a minor part of the formula. It’s still calories in and calories out.
As far as the latest diet goes? Forget about anything that starves you. Don’t jump on any band wagon that promises more than a maximum loss of about a pound a week. Most of the time, any more than that and you’re losing water – or muscle – along with the fat. You want MORE muscle. LESS fat.
And… I’m not even going to try and figure out eggs!
 When you win a fight, you take home your trophy, your belt, your winning record. When you lose a fight, you take home a lot more. The fighter on top may talk about the move that submitted his opponent, perhaps mention a hit or two. The other fighter, on the other hand, can give you a blow by blow description of the fight. He’ll tell you where he made mistakes, what he’s going to do better at the next outing – and how he’s going to train to get there.
Corey Johnston of Woodstock MMA learned a lot this evening. Yes, he lost, but he lost against a much more experienced opponent. In fact, as trainer and coach, when they told us upon arriving at the venue tonight that Corey would NOT be facing the unknown 0-0 amateur that we’d been told he would fight and instead had been moved the final, featured fight against an experienced MMA fighter, we almost pulled the plug. But, Corey said he’d give him a good fight and that he still wanted to do it.
Out of the other eight fights of the evening, the fighters all showed a lot of respect for their opponents. Glove bumps started each match, hugs and hand shakes at the end. The only exception was the final contest where Corey’s experienced opponent took the opportunity to duck under Corey’s attempt at a fist bump and shoot in for a take down.
The fight ended with a guillotine hold – and the ref thought he saw Corey tap out. Separating the fighters, Corey vehemently protested the tap, denying that he did. His corner argued and the chief ringside ref agreed. Unfortunately, the only way to re-start was to re-position back to the guillotine where Corey’s opponent made sure the slipping guillotine hold of moments before was now locked in. When Corey tapped a few moments later, his opponent was very slow to relinquish the hold, hanging on a good few seconds past the tap – and saying something about “NOW you’ve tapped for sure!”
Overall, some great fights. Good refereeing, good attention paid to the fighters and their safety. A class act, complete with professional announcer, ring girls and play-by-play calling.
And I can certainly understand how a fighter with years of training and many amateur matches under his belt wants to make sure that he’s not taken out by a newbie who has only been training for 5 weeks. Yes, Corey has only been training for 5 weeks. No high school wrestling, no boxing. 5 weeks of training.
I just would have liked to have seen better sportsmanship with a fist bump at the start of the match.
We’re proud of you, Corey. You threw some good uppercuts, you slammed his pull to guard and you even kept some tactics in the heat of battle, forcing him into the corner, working with the cage. You learned a lot tonight.
 Team USA is auditioning for their Mixed Martial Arts National Team and in typical MMA style, the audition is a Fight Off.
Corey Johnston from Woodstock Mixed Martial Arts will be taking part, fighting in the 170 pound amateur weight class. His coach will be Carolyn Schulenburg and his fight crew will be Kurt Schulenburg, Alan Dyson, and Shane Buehn.
The challenge will take place tomorrow (Saturday) night, May 29, at the Holiday Inn in Crystal Lake. Doors open to the public at 6PM, tickets are available on a first come first served basis and the first fight is at 7:30PM.
We’ll see you there! 
 There are a lot of health and fitness gurus and nutritional experts out there who will be glad to sell you the “Secret to Staying Young”. Our TVs are awash in ads for products that restore hair from there or remove it from here, skin and facial creams and… uh… other products to regain youthful vigor.
There are diets left and right, all Protein, no Protein, all Carb, no Carb. Eggs are good for you – eggs aren’t good for you – and, by last survey, eggs are good for you once again! Each fad diet promises that you will lose weight, get in shape, add years to your life. All for $19.95 plus shipping and handling.
And, the best thing about those exercise devices that store under your bed is that… they store under your bed.
Nobody talks about mental health. I don’t mean those sad, depressed individuals or those serious issues that do indeed need proper doctoring. I’m talking about you and me – the so-called “normal” folks that are getting older one day at a time and somehow living to tell about it. I’m talking about our youthful attitude – or lack thereof!
From a physical standpoint, I always teach older people to work on keeping their legs in shape. To do so, you will need to do a combination of weight bearing and aerobic exercises that will keep your heart strong, work the lungs – even take care of the back and stomach muscles. Don’t worry about every little thing, focus on legs – the rest will follow.
I further explain that when your legs are in shape, you’ll have the strength and dexterity to get down on the floor and play with the grandkids.
And there’s the important part, the right attitude, the correct thinking, the Secret of Eternal Youth: Playing. With the grandkids. On the floor.
As adults, when we play, we tend to do things that we enjoy. Too often, the same things, over and over. It’s tough to jump in with new games, unfamiliar ideas or strange directions. But when we play with the grandkids, suddenly we’re swept up into a world of imagination that our ossified brains haven’t visited in years. We are shown new toys with new uses, bright colors and defined shapes that go together in so many ways.
This then, is the fountain of youth, this is how one truly stays young. Don’t sit by yourself and pine for worlds that might have been. Instead, be young. Play young. Don’t be afraid to imagine, to dream of worlds that might be.
Be aware – it’s not easy. It’s tiring – purely exhausting – but don’t be afraid to do what all kids do: take a nap!
And dream some more.
There are always more choices to be made: which ones will bring you to the Best You that you can be?
Reprinted from Kurt Schulenburg’s eZine Article http://ezinearticles.com/?Youthful-Secrets-1&id=2059974
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