4fitbodies.com

Keeping Stress from Destroying You

David Hansey
NASM Certified Performance Enhancement Specialist
NASM Certified Sports Fitness Specialist
NASM Certified Personal Trainer

I write a lot about sports and fitness, but there is something that seriously affects every American and it leads to a multitude of health problems. So for July, I am going to focus on Stress.

Are you completely frazzled? Is the idea of adding anything more to your life overwhelming? Already overwhelmed? Many of us run on frazzled and it is not a good thing or a badge of honor to tell people how little sleep you get, how much travel you have to do, how many hours you are at the office. If you are feeling stressed, there is often nothing you can do to remove some of the stressors. It is hard to reduce work stress, debt, family obligations. These are facts of life.

But that said, here are some things you can do to reduce the effects. These things will keep you healthier and will also help to prevent the weight gain and other health complications that are part of a stressful lifestyle. First you must eliminate some of the things that make it worse. Psychologists call the following three things “avoidance coping” which means that you are using them to cope but basically, they offer no help because you are not confronting your actual stress issues. So, while it may be difficult, ditch the following three things from your life:

- Alcohol – Ditch booze from your diet. It is a depressant and while stress increases the desire to drink, alcohol will do more harm than good leaving you sluggish and depressed.
- Tobacco – Need I actually say it. Tobacco HAS TO GO. The “stress relief” is temporary, stop smoking!!
- Junk Food and Comfort Food. While these make you feel better very temporarily, they make you FAT and they do nothing to eliminate or reduce stress.

Now it is time to think of ways to DESTRESS, now that you have taken away those bad things that were doing nothing for you. While a little bit of TV time (like an hour) might be relaxing, sitting in front of the TV or Internet for hours on end is not and it is a MAJOR waste of time. Exercise is a natural way to reduce your stress and you need to find a way to make it a part of your life. Shifting a couple of hours away from the TV into activities such as walking with your family or dog or hitting the gym can make dramatic changes in not only your stress level but your health.

There are lots of different exercise techniques that help to relax you, the key is to finding the one that works for you. So if you are new to working out, try a variety of things. Breaking a sweat EVERY DAY significantly helps to not only lower your stress level but it also makes you feel like you are working toward a healthier you, taking away that helpless feeling that being overstressed can do to you.

For more information on Sports Specific Training and Personal Training, visit my website at www.4fitbodies.com.

Tags: Chapel Hill News, Douglasville by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
Comments Off

Keeping Summer Sports Safe for Kids

David Hansey
NASM Certified Performance Enhancement Specialist
NASM Certified Sports Fitness Specialist
NASM Certified Personal Trainer

As you read this, you will be seeing more and more kids in the neighborhood and maybe in your household because school is out for summer. And many of those kids will be playing sports. And whether these are organized sports such as baseball or pick up sports like playing in the neighborhood or swimming. Even if it does not seem like a sport, things like inline skating, trampoline or skateboarding are still sports. And these sports still require your kids to be in shape in order to be safe. Think it won’t happen to your kid? Well, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), more than 3.5 million children under age 14 get hurt annually playing sports.

Yes, 3.5 MILLION!!! And it is a sad fact that children die every year doing what they love. This should also be a huge wake up call for you as a parent to ensure you are doing everything that you can to prevent your child from having any kind of injury. There are lots of things you can do to help prevent your child from being a statistic. First, ensure your child has had a recent visit with the doctor and that you discussed the sports they play. And be sure to LISTEN to your doctor. If they talk about your child being overweight or out of shape, then don’t assume your child can just bounce off the couch without you putting some work into it.

So along with ensuring your children are in shape or helping them to get there, you also need to ensure you invest (your money or your time or both) to ensure their safety. Do they have all the safety equipment (does your trampoline have a net – I mention this one because 3 of them in my neighborhood do not!) Do your kids have the right footwear that fits them properly? Do your kids have helmets and gloves and wrist guards and elbow pads, etc?

A missing thing with a lot of kids is knowing the rules of the game (and the rules of the road) Many kids are injured because they don’t know how to do something properly (such as how to hit a ball in tennis or swing a bat) and they end up with injuries from the poor mechanics. And millions of kids are injured because they are unfamiliar with how to properly ride a bike. And by ride, I mean stop quickly as well as which side of the road to ride on and how to signal.

Many kids also do not know how to properly hydrate their bodies. They do not know when to drink water and how much and it is your responsibility as a parent to ensure they have water available and also to tell them how often to drink. Keep in mind that many children visit the emergency room every year for heat related conditions that are preventable. And many kids are dropped off at group sports activities without a bottle of water so be sure that your kid is not one of them.

While these suggestions are directed at children, remember, these guidelines also apply to you!! So do what you can to have a healthy, injury-free summer for the entire family!! For more information on Sports Specific Training and Personal Training, visit my website at www.4fitbodies.com.

Tags: Chapel Hill News by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
Comments Off

I have a lot of great success stories from my clients. They inspire me EVERY DAY to keep going. From J who looks 10 years younger with his much smaller face from his weight loss to L who came to me unable to walk and now walks and does so well — I am so proud!!

And now a new one, Miss T who stuck to her diet this week and lost 7 pounds IN A WEEK. I know it was an eye-opening experience for her and when she told me I was so proud like a father watching his little child learn to walk. She learned this week what her body needs and how to care for it. And while that amazing amount of weight loss will slow — yes, it will – it starts her on a path to her new healthier version of herself and that — MADE MY WEEK. That change right there makes personal training so rewarding. Congrats to her and to all my personal training clients who try and work!!!!!

Dave

Tags: Chapel Hill News, Douglasville, Fitness, Motivation, Personal Training, fitness classes by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
Comments Off

Running — The Sport for you?

David Hansey
NASM Certified Performance Enhancement Specialist
NASM Certified Sports Fitness Specialist
NASM Certified Personal Trainer

As you read this, I will have – hopefully – completed my 6th Marathon, the ING Marathon right here in Atlanta. As I write this I am making the last minute preparations for the race. Since it is not my first race, I know what I need to do so overtraining and undertraining are not really issues anymore.

I remember my first marathon and getting ready for my first marathon. I overtrained. Yet, mentally I was still not prepared for how difficult a marathon is. 26.2 miles is a long run and for most people I suggest a training program that is at least 6 months. But for some people, shorter races might be better if you want to race. Racing is not only a great way to stay in shape but a great sport for many people. It allows you to release of stress and enjoy the “runner’s high”. But for many people, running and racing can be difficult or impossible due to body mechanics or previous injuries. If you have bad knees or a weak back, you want to give some serious thought as to whether you should consider running as a sport. Walking may be a better choice.

For those who can run, the first step is a visit to your doctor – like you should when you start any new fitness plan. He can tell you if this is appropriate for you. The next step is learning how to run. Running is demanding and you can’t just go out and run. You need to build up your endurance so you can run. The best way to do this is using a run-walk-run system where you run for a few minutes and then walk until you catch your breath. Then, you resume running. This will help you build up until you can run for the entire time. If you are planning to train for a race, seeking some professional advice on a training program so you train appropriately for your goal. A Board Certified personal trainer also has the knowledge to look at your posture and movement to be able to give you strength training exercises to ensure you become the best runner you can be.
All runners need one important piece of equipment whether they run indoors or out. That is SHOES. Don’t cheat yourself with cheap shoes (unless you fancy a visit to the orthopedist or podiatrist). Good shoes made specifically for running that are properly fitted to your foot and your gait are critical. Shoes are really the only equipment that a runner cannot do without. Shorts, shirts and socks are all comfort items that become necessary the more you run but the average runner can get by with whatever they find comfortable. Ask experienced racers for race tips on socks, shirts, shorts and preparation so you can avoid anything unpleasant. But for shoes, seek professional help and get fitted for your running shoes. Shoes should also be replaced regularly (for the average runner, this is every 4-6 months). The higher the mileage, the more often you need to replace the shoes.

Tags: Chapel Hill News, Douglasville, Fitness, Running by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
Comments Off

Preventing Injuries
David Hansey
NASM Certified Performance Enhancement Specialist
NASM Certified Sports Fitness Specialist
NASM Certified Personal Trainer

I get a lot of questions from people on how to recover from injury and how to work out without aggravating an injury. Well, the best time to think about injury prevention is before you start training. We are all different. We all have different strengths and weaknesses and different levels of conditioning. This is why regardless of whether you are training for sports or whether you are training for fitness, you should do something that is unique for you.
So before you begin training, approach it in a scientific way so that you do not get to a point where you have to worry about recovery. First, before any training program, you need to sit down with your doctor and your trainer and review your fitness level and overall health. Are you seriously overweight? Then it is great that you want to get in shape or play a sport but it is also crucial that you understand your unique limitations. Are you going to put undue pressure on your joints? Do you have other health concerns? Or previous injuries?
Kids are a perfect example here. Kids today cannot go from couch to playing field. Most of them are just not in condition to play many sports without serious risk of injury. It is important that your body be conditioned to handle the demands of your sport. A study conducted by the National Association of Sport and Physical Education found that 50% of sports injuries are from overuse. You know these injuries. You know these as tennis elbow, golf elbow, lower back pain from golf, shoulder pain from baseball, etc.
The more interesting part of that study was that half of the sports injuries studied were found to have been preventable. How do you prevent them? By warming up, doing proper training for the sport and changing poor mechanics.
Many of us feel we understand these concepts. However, most people do all of these incorrectly or not at all. Warming up is NOT stretching. It is getting the muscle limber and warm so it can handle the demands of stretching during the sport. So, for example, if your sport is golf, this would mean moves like lunges and arm circles more than stretches.
Training for sports is another area where many people think they are doing the right thing. Even coaches get this one wrong. Even professional coaches have had this one wrong at times. Consider the elite tennis player. Coaches in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s used long distance running as a training tool. The mileage these athletes ran was great for cardiovascular conditioning but did nothing for the court game and did damage to joints. Tennis does not require that you can run at a steady pace in a forward motion for several miles. It requires you to run in many different directions (half of the game is lateral movement) in quick sprints. By running long distances, the athletes were never actually training for the sport.
Poor mechanics is another way to easily be injured. Many sports injuries are caused by this but many people also use poor mechanics at the gym. Lifting weights, whether in a fitness class or on a machine or on your own, is not just grabbing a weight and lifting up and down. If it is a machine, there are adjustments to make the machine fit you. If it is a free weight in the gym or in a class, there are key alignment issues for your body. And that is after you have ensured that these exercises are the right ones for you. Poor mechanics means you are not performing the move correctly. Normally this is due to the fact that you have weak or tight muscles that do not allow you to perform the move correctly and you compensate for those. An example is to do a squat and see if you move your knees in or out or turn your feet or lift your heels. Those are all compensation moves that make up for weak and tight muscles. Continually doing moves incorrectly can lead to injury because you put undue pressure on your joints. All the training in the world will not help you improve if you do not identify and target the weak and tight muscles and take steps to do corrective exercises for those muscles.
For more information on Sports Specific Training, visit my website at www.4fitbodies.com.

Tags: Chapel Hill News, Douglasville, Personal Training by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
Comments Off