First off, Happy New Year to our readers! This is the time of the year when we stop and reflect upon what we’ve learned and accomplished in 2012 and look forward to implement things that will make us even better for 2013. Did you know the most popular New Year resolutions involve improving personal well-being? These include eating healthier, losing weight, and kicking bad habits (most commonly smoking).

If you find yourself already lacking motivation to follow through with these new year resolutions, here are some extra reasons to push you forward as we begin 2013. Good nutrition can improve your eye’s health and vision, especially as we age. Studies show that diets high in lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamins A, C, and E, zinc, and omega-3 can slow progression or prevent eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. It’s time to take action: Eat more leafy greens and aim for 2 servings of fish per week!

The effects of obesity are well documented in terms of its impact on overall health, including developing diabetes and hypertension. Obesity is also linked to an increased risk of eye diseases such as age-related cataract, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic or hypertensive retinopathy. It’s time to take action: Find a physical activity you enjoy and do it often!

All smokers are well-aware of its negative effects on the respiratory system (lung cancer, emphysema, etc…) and the cardiovascular system (heart disease). Smoking also increases your risk of developing age-related macular degeneration and some forms of cataracts. It’s time to take action: You know what you have to do!

Now that you know following through with these common New Year resolutions can impact your eye health and vision for years to come, what are you going to do about it?

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Many of you have until the end of the year to take advantage and use your extended health benefits. Acupuncture can be beneficial and is covered under many plans. I often refer to Dr. Eyal Lebel who works out of 2 different clinics. His contact information is below if you would like to take advantage of his treatment and use your benefits plan before December 31.

Rebound To Health Clinic

• Mondays and Thursdays (private acupuncture treatments)
• Book online at www.reboundtohealth.ca

Angel Hands Wellness Clinic

• Tuesdays and Wednesdays (private acupuncture treatments)
• Book online at www.angelhands.ca

Dr. Lebel also offers community acupuncture treatments at Angel Hands Wellness

• $30-$40 visit, first visit an extra $10
• Tuesdays 11am – 2pm and Fridays 12pm – 4pm

Dr. Lebel can also be contacted directly at 604 761-9434, e-mail at drlebeltcm@gmail.com or visit his website atwww.drlebeltcm.com

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Here is a client of mine Owen Clark who has taken this approach and has had tremendous results with his weight and body fat.  Owen’s base line test in February 2012 showed that he was sitting at an unhealthy percentage of 31% and today he is 16%.

Working out is a big part of Owen’s success however supportive eating habits combined with exercise is the key.  Working out takes a maximum of 1 hour a day.  That means you have 23 hours to screw it up.

Success with anything is not a few major decisions it’s a series of small decisions compounded.

Talking with Owen reveals that daily he is literally making 100′s of little decisions.

• Fruit and eggs over cereal in the morning
• Salad instead of fries at restaurants
• Small portions instead of large portions
• Sharing meals when eating out
• Not eating dessert
• Water instead of pop
• No more late night snacks
• Protein supplement instead of chips
• 20 minutes in the gym is better then nothing
• Planning his day around exercise not exercise around his day.

and the list goes on…

Owen’s little decisions have truly produced results, he has gone from a tight 36 inch waist to a loose 32 inch waist.  Body fat has been reduced by 15%.  Weight has dropped a net 12 pounds from 172 down to 160.

Owen told me that it’s way easier to eat healthy when he has put in the effort in the gym.  Having someone keep you accountable in the gym is very important whether it is a personal trainer or a friend you need to find an accountability partner(s).

Here are some great shots of Owen at our last session.  Owen has been seeing me consistently every Monday since he decided to make some lifestyle changes.

Side plank using the TRX suspension to hold his feet off the ground

Pikes using the TRX

Some hamstring work using the TRX

Single leg squats with a jump at the top using the TRX only for balance

The TRX suspension is a great tool to have for your home, if you would like more info or a free 1 on 1 workout with me please reach out and make the decision to better your life.

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Five Tips : The Grouse Grind is an appropriately named hike. It is difficult, and for some people, no fun whatsoever. I enjoy doing “The Grind” every so often to keep my fitness routine interesting.Like many others, I am constantly trying to put up a good time. Looking to put up a good time as well? Consider these tips.

1-    Pace yourself- This is not as easy as it sounds. First of all, you need to go slowly enough so that you don’t need to take any breaks. A slow steady pace will be faster than a quick pace with lots of breaks. Secondly, keep that pace! Don’t allow yourself to slow down. Determine your steady pace and stay at it. This will take some practice.

2-    Hike with others- Group times are usually faster than individual times. Find others to stick with the entire way up and pacing will come more easily. Alternately, decide to hike individually and meet at the top. Having other people near you is a great motivator.

3-    Focus on posture- I see many people on the trail slouching forwards as they climb. There are two main advantages to maintaining an upright posture while you hike. First of all, the weight of your upper body balances on your skeleton instead of placing an increased load on your muscles, which have enough to do already. Secondly, your breathing is more effective. Your windpipe will be straighter and your lungs have more room to expand. Focus on keeping your chin up and your shoulders back

4-    Range of motion- Short steps help you keep a slow pace. However, in order to use all of the muscles in your legs, not just your quads, you need to take fair sized steps. Move from small to medium sized steps and your quads will thank you at the end of the hike.

5-    Practice- The most effective way to improve your time is to work on your fitness. Do “The Grind” a few times a week or do some stairs or running to train for it. You should be accumulating 3-5hours of cardio in a week.

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Best way to assess fitness progress?

Most people who exercise want to see results. Assessing your fitness progress or measuring these results is the only way to know if your exercise routine is right for you.To make the time you spend in the gym count, it is important to be critical of your exercise regiment. If your routine is tailored to match your goals, you should see some measurable results. With weight, BMI (body mass index), skin folds, body fat percentage and other measurements available, which numbers are worth looking at?

What is wrong with weight on a scale? First of all, if you measure body weight alone, you are not differentiating between lean mass and body fat. If your goal is to be leaner, losing body fat is important, losing weight may not be. Improvements in muscle tone and hydration will increase your number on the scale. However, they are celebrated gains that will likely come along with a loss in body fatness. I recommend having a few different measurements done. Specifically, check out your waist circumference, body weight, and skin fold thickness. This will give you three good measurements to come back to in order to gauge your progress.

Can you assess strength and muscle tone? Yes, and you can add power to that list as well! At Ted Loo Fitness, we do comprehensive assessments that are relevant to your goals. If your goal is to improve strength, we do strength testing to get some baseline numbers. These numbers help us design the appropriate program and set realistic goals.

After a phase of strength training, we will transition to power, power endurance, hypertrophy, or conditioning. At the beginning and end of each phase, we go through an assessment that enables us to track your progress. We value assessment because it helps set and track goals. Regardless of what the scales say, the ultimate goal is feeling good about yourself.

Yours in fitness

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Fitness Health : What is Your Definition?

Things have changed a lot since I first started working out as a young 20 year old. Back then both men and women were concerned mostly about how they looked.Lose body fat and gain muscle was the usual mantra. Little thought or effort was put towards inner strength and function. While physically looking better may still be on many goal lists, nowadays it is accompanied by wanting to feel and function better with an emphasis on optimum function.

As a personal trainer we strive to help our clients discover what health and fitness means to them. For some it’s about walking that one extra block or being able to wake up in the morning without that back pain. For others it’s about pushing themselves to their outermost limits. One of the main motivators for exercising for many people is to lose unwanted weight (body fat) to look better and feel good about themselves while for others that same weight loss goal could be motivated by health reasons.

What is your motivator?

I see it all the time where a person embarks on a health and fitness program with with a well defined list of goals that they want to achieve and within a few weeks we have to revise those goals as the realization of what is attainable is exposed. Really, what happens is that the meaning of health and fitness changes for the individual.

Take my client Jackie as an example. When Jackie first started with us about 2 years ago she had never worked out in the gym before. Sure, she had that unused gym membership but she had never actually gone in and picked up a single weight. Her goal 2 years ago was to lose some body fat and get more fit. Well, a couple of half marathons later and she is pushing herself to her limits every single workout and is training for her first adventure “Spartan” race.  The meaning of health and fitness has evolved for Jackie.

What does health and fitness mean to you?

Take some time right now to list out what is important to you health and fitness wise and create your written goals to support them and then revisit them every few months. You might be surprised by what happens!

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When training, remember to build slowly. If you decide to run a Spartan Race, how do you makesure to get enough training in without overdoing it? When training for an endurance event, it is important to start with a manageable amount of exercise.

Get out for a run! Push yourself to go at a moderate pace until you are tired but not exhausted. Running mixed with walking is a good place to start if you findcontinuous running difficult. Keep track of how far you make it as well as how much time you are able to run for; so that you have some numbers to build on.It is useful to write these details down along with how difficult you feel the run was for you. There are many expensive gadgets that will help you track your progress. However, I recommend keeping it simple and just using landmarks near your house.

Are you having trouble with the time commitment? Set realistic goals outlining how much time you will spend on exercise. Try to get in 30- 60 minutes of cardio 3-5 times per week. You can break your runs and walks into smaller more frequent outings.  As long as you keep a brisk pace for at least 15minutes, you will get a cardio training effect. The benefits of four 15minute runs are comparable to one hour long run. Every short walk you get out for is helpful to your training and your health. Work as many low intensity exercise sessions in to your schedule as possible.

Regardless of your level of fitness, after a couple weeks of manageable short runs, it is time to start building up towards the 14km Spartan Race. Add time and distance to your runs slowly. As the duration and intensity of your runs increases, so too should the recovery time in between runs. Remain active on your rest days by walking or doing other light activities. You will avoid injuries by taking a slow and manageable approach to your exercises. Find fun places to run or interesting people to run with. Training should be fun. Get out, be active, and enjoy yourself.

Yours in fitness,

Tim Begley

On behalf of Ted Loo Fitness

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Thank you to all that supported us in the Georgia Straight’s Best of Vancouver awards and choosing Ted Loo Fitness as the Best Vancouver Personal Trainer.

Ted

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A doctor of chinese medicine I deal with recently sent me these natural H1N1 tips below.

A few people have asked for my opinions in regards to the H1N1 Flu problems that we are having these days. I believe there are quite a few natural products on the market that can definitely provide a good protection from any Flu as well as the H1N1. If you have a beginning of symptoms that feel like a Flu, take lots of Vit C, 2-3,000mg a day. You can use simple herbal remedies you can buy in a health food stores, like Goldenseal capsule, Bee Propolis in throat spray or tincture, is very good. Echinacea works good in most cases, and of course there are many Chinese herbs that work good, but they need to be prescribed individually.

There are a few Homeopathic remedies you can buy in health food stores that are good, and are much easier to administer to kids, as they taste like sugar with no other tastes. The main Flu remedy is “Ocillococcinum” and comes from companies like Boiron, or Homeocan.

As prevention, you can use Vit D, adults use 1-2000 IU a day, Vit C, Echinace in tincture or capsules.

Please feel free to call or email me for more question in regards to these conditions.

I have decided not the get vaccinated myself, but each one of us needs to look at the whole issue, and make their own decision.

–
Dr.Eyal Lebel,
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese medicine.
604 761 9434
www.drlebeltcm.com
drlebeltcm@gmail.com

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