For some people a diagnosis of cancer can feel like a death sentence. Many cancer treatments make the patient feel weak; however, maintaining a level of activity while dealing with cancer, such as a mesothelioma prognosis, can have a positive impact on the recovery process. The amount of exercise that is appropriate will vary depending on the patient's abilities before the cancer treatment, and how the person feels. Remember to always consult your doctor before starting any exercise regime.
Exercises
Cancer patients should keep exercise light at first. Gradually increasing activity levels should then be based on the individual comfort levels, as well as the advice of their personal trainer. Always stretch before partaking in any type of exercise. Stretching the muscles helps you warm up and prevent injuries. A light jog or run can have an encouraging impact on raising your heart rate and providing your body with positive endorphins. Light weight lifting and stretching exercises, such as arm circles, toe touches and leg lifts, should also be part of your regime.
Physical Benefits
The benefits of exercising after a breast cancer, mesothelioma, or colon cancer diagnosis can far outweigh the negative impact activity such as soreness. Frequent exercise can also fight off fatigue, blood clots, pain and heart disease in cancer patients. As you stay active, you also increase your chances of being self-dependent and maintaining better physical function. In some cancer patients bone loss is an issue. Exercise can help fight off osteoporosis by keeping your body active. When you are inactive your bones tend to be more susceptible to the disease.
Mental Benefits
Exercise can help you feel better about yourself and fight off the depression that can occur when you suffer from a terminal illness such as cancer. The psychological impact of exercise on a cancer patient often creates the will to live because you feel as though your life hasn't changed as much. When your mind is stimulated, as it is with exercise, your body reaps the benefits.
Risk of Recurrence
Those who exercise after surviving cancer can use exercise as a preventative measure to avoid recurrence of the same cancer or development of new cancers. Exercise has been shown to reduce the risks of certain cancers such as colon and breast cancer. Walking for as little as 30 minutes per day can have a significant impact on the risks of developing or redeveloping cancer. Therefore, participating in other types of exercise, such as running, can have an even bigger impact on your health as you recover from cancer.
While you may not feel like exercising after cancer treatments it is important that you make an effort to exercise at least a couple of times a week. As you feel better you can increase the frequency and duration of your exercise routine and reduce your risks.
Comments are always welcome but before you do please read this.
It won't help you lose a significant amount of fat. It's not going to help you get ready for an upcoming 5K. It's probably not going to become an infomercial sensation but it'll probably make a few people feel better about themselves and keep them somewhat honest.
At least you'll never have to lie to your trainer again or feel guilty about saying you didn't workout.
Comments are always welcome but before you do please read this.
The Few. The Proud. Strip down to your skivvies, stand in front of a full length mirror and perform your own hygiene inspection. Are you proud?
If you're humping with your own "Heavy Section" maybe you've been at ease for too long. Or do you have some excuse, like a "No PT chit?" United States Marine. It's a title that stays with you for life once you EARN it. And earning it ain't easy. Yet I'm seeing too many that have let some of the rewards go U.A. I'm talking about seeing able bodies in full civilian decoration (cap, t-shirt, tattoo, bumper stickers, decals, and pins) proudly displaying proof that they served, but looking like they'd collapse a half mile into a three mile run. Lately I've seen enough to form an entire platoon of run drops.
Where's the discipline? Do you need someone telling you to fall in for PT? Did you forget all that DRILL? You know what you need to do. Put down the pogey bait and start doing those push aways!
You may no longer think you need to be a force in readiness, but what if you do? You can't call on a PFC to come do the hard work for you anymore. You spent years keeping your sh*t together to not only save your ass but also your buddies' who were also fit enough to save themselves as well as yours. But now you're the NCOIC. It could be up to you to save yourself and your family. Can you do it?
You proudly marched across that parade deck after earning the title and the uniform that goes with it. For those of you stretching that USMC t-shirt over an un-sat gut take that shirt OFF and get your ass on the quarter deck!
No apologies. Semper Fi!
Comments are always welcome but before you do please read this.
I don't workout everyday but on the days that I do I make it a highlight of my day. Like most people I want to get the most out of my training and not waste my time and effort.
Would you like to know how I do it? For me it's a simple pre-exercise exercise that I start performing hours prior to starting my workout. Knowing that the body's main limiting factor is the brain I prepare by getting my mind into it. Before going to sleep I say to myself that "Tomorrow I'm going to have a great workout."
In the morning when I look at my schedule for the day I don't just see an opening when I'm going to the gym. Instead it's the time when "I'm going to have a great workout." When I'm changing into my workout clothes and hydrating I'm telling myself that "I'm going to go have a great workout." And once again as I walk into the gym I reinforce in my head that "I'm here to have a great workout." And for me this works.
Try it for yourself. You've got nothing to lose, but you do have the opportunity to take your training (and fitness and physique) to new heights.
What about you, do you have any rituals that get you mentally prepared for exercise? If you do and you'd like to share please leave a comment.
Comments are always welcome but before you do please read this.
Well? You read the title. It's in all caps not because it's a request but a command. If you have time to read this you can take a few seconds to do it. Not minutes, just seconds. You don't even have to get off your seat. Try it. Lace your fingers together, extend your arms out straight in front of you and rotate your shoulders and wrists inward so your palms are facing forward(away from you.) Now press your palms forward letting your shoulder blades separate as your shoulders move forward. Take in a deep breath and as you exhale relax out of the stretch. Felt good huh? Plus it didn't take up much of your day did it?
Stretching has been getting a bad rap lately due to studies on athletes using variables that to me didn't make a whole lot of sense. I've yet to meet a golf fanatic that would spend an entire 20 minutes stretching before teeing up. And unless you are training for sprinting or some sport that has you jumping or changing directions on a dime many of these studies may have very little to do with you and your goals.
If you've got a pet or pets watch them when they get up. Animals have stretching down to a science and they didn't study it in a lab. They hold it for a few seconds not a ridiculously long session then get moving(or go back to sleep.) And yes, even without a thorough warmup. Take a cue from them.
Stretching, when done right has great benefits, is safe, doesn't require any equipment, and doesn't require a great deal of expertise or time. So why aren't you doing it more often?
If you found my blog by searching for San Marcos personal training, North County in home training, Carlsbad, Vista or Oceanside personal trainer or any combination dealing with fitness, exercise, or the north county neighborhoods I serve then this post probably doesn't apply to you. Same for those that arrived by googling site enhancement oil,The Biggest Loser, fat loss, or any genuine health or fitness related topics. If you're here from a link from a comment I posted on your blog, or from my facebook page then this certainly does not pertain to you.
If you found aaronharrisfitness.com/blog by way of searching for joomlacomment, allintext, ubbcode, intext, intitle, inurl or any other comment form related search please take note. I understand your goal of SEO and link building but if you think my blog is a free bulletin board for your SERP and Alexa inspired goals save your time and mine. My blog is not here to promote your knock off Ugg boots or coach handbags, your mortgage loans, or your counterfeit Nikes. I will delete those posts if they somehow happen to get automatically approved. I also will only publish comments from users with actual names. No more search engine terms or phrases for names.
If you do want to leave a comment be sure to read the entire blog I posted, contribute with conversation pertinent to the post and use your name or an alias that you would use in a face to face conversation. Thank you.
Season 12 of The Biggest Loser hasn't even aired its first episode and already I've got a crick in my neck from shaking my head. Now that Jillian Michaels has left the show, again, the producers must have felt the need to keep the male chip-eating-sofa-slouches' viewership. And what better way than sex. Which is why having Anna Kournikova as a trainer makes sense. Not because she's a qualified fitness professional. Not due to her advanced certifications and years of experience helping obese people shed inches and pounds of fat (let's not forget she was on the show before and made the contestants sweat on the tennis court.) Nope, those are secondary. What is important is that she looks good. And she's fit, being a former athlete and all. Well she appears fit anyways. And since she has all that experience in sports she obviously can train people. That goes without saying.
So in keeping with their reputation as a show that is more concerned with getting people to watch to boost ratings to boost ad slots to boost profits over giving those in need some sound, realistic advice on losing fat The Biggest Loser remains champ as the worst misguided thing to happen to exercise and fat loss in the 21st century. Congratulations!!
I was having a great workout this afternoon, as usual. I got to the gym later than I normally do. The business was closed so I knew that most likely the place would be completely empty. That's one of the things I love about the place, its solitude. That along with the "old school" feel, the chamber-like ambiance that reminds me of my old basement gym growing up.
I was upstairs, only had two exercises to go. The lights weren't on, just the sunlight coming in from the window, door and the flicker of the ceiling's turbine vent. That's when I encountered the new member.
I'm an easy going guy. Up until today I got along real well with all the members and the workers of the business. I know most of them by name. Except for the new member. I'll call him Ben. If he was white I'd call him Socrates. Race isn't a factor if you don't have this figured out yet. I guarantee Ben isn't paying to use the facilities.
Even though I rarely need to resort to a Plan B at the gym, Ben was able to make me do so. I was just about to start my next to last set when he caught my attention. He was quickly moving to the machine I was about to use. At first I thought the light from the moving vent was playing tricks on me. But no. Ben's unmistakable appendage let me know right away that my workout wouldn't go on as planned. It seems my presence screwed up his plans too. He hid behind the old water fountain waiting for me to leave, or possibly waiting for me to get engrossed in my set and scare the crap out of me. I went downstairs and cautiously finished hoping that Ben would stay upstairs. I wasn't as focused for the last two exercises as I normally would be, but it was still a great workout.
I might have to bring BC, Mooch or Pepper with me to the gym tomorrow.
I dare you to find any fitness or workout magazine that doesn't mention that you should eat 5-6 meals/snacks a day. It doesn't matter if it's about gaining muscle or losing fat, the prescription is universal. I'm even guilty of suggesting it myself. And occasionally I still do, but only after taking something very important into consideration- the individual I'm talking with.
Here are the factors I consider when discussing meal timing and frequency.
The individual's schedule. Are you capable of getting in 5 - 6 meals/snacks each and every day? Some situations and work setting won't allow a 6 meal a day schedule. And in some cases I'll advise to not try it. An example is a past client who is a surgeon. Some days he could easily fit six meals into his diet, others he was lucky to get three full meals. His case was one where it wouldn't be best for his body to get accustomed to frequently daily feedings. I think that's the last thing some of his patients would want.
The individual's dedication. Not every person that hires a trainer has the dedication, discipline and drive to exercise and diet as well as their trainer. Some trainers ignore this fact and set their clients up for frustration and failure. If someone has a tough enough time preparing and eating a decent healthy breakfast how is forcing them to prepare another 5 feedings worth of food going to make things better? In this situation getting them to consistently eat three balanced healthy meals a day is a good approach.
Their culinary skills. If someone can't cook, doesn't have a family member that can or will do the cooking then here's another sticky situation. Most cases they'll add a MRP bar and another trip to a restaurant to reach meals 5 and 6. If these trips are through the fast foods' drive thru that can be disastrous, even if you think the choices are healthy. If someone is limited in the items they do know how to prepare there's the possibility of boredom and noncompliance. This can lead to bad choices. Once again I want to emphasize the importance of preparing your own food whenever you can. It's the best for you.
Food relationships. Some people live to eat while some eat to live. Again, here's where trainers, dieticians and nutritionists need to step back and look closely at the individual. If portion control can help the client get to their goal that may be a better focal point than splitting up the feedings based on the clock. For some people it becomes a burden having to plan out 42 meals for a week. The last thing someone trying to lose fat needs is the stress of stressing over food. Some people love to eat out. This is something that can make a multiple meal diet plan difficult to adhere to.
The individual's knowledge of nutrition. Setting up and sticking to a diet, whether it's for losing or gaining inches requires research, planning and reevaluating on an ongoing basis. If it was easy for everyone I not only wouldn't need to write this I would probably have a different career and there wouldn't be so many articles online telling you to eat 6 meals a day. What it comes down to is doing it right. Some people do, some don't. Again, it may be better to get someone to learn to properly nourish themselves three times a day instead of having them worry over 6 properly prepared meals or snacks.
One other thing I need to add is the lack of science behind the mini meals suggestion. I first heard of this decades ago reading Muscle and Fitness magazine. It's a common practice among competitive bodybuilders and fitness athletes who carry high amounts of muscle(which require lots of calories to maintain) and need complete control over their body composition. These people's bodies are their livelihood. They may workout multiple times in one day. This is not the case of the average person wanting to get in better shape. Somewhere this advice has gone mainstream. I have searched online for the one definitive study showing how more muscle mass is gained or fat cells are shrunken by this way of eating. I never found it. If you have the name of the study or can provide me a link please share it. I would appreciate it. Until then I see it as nothing more that anecdotal.
Do you eat 5 – 6 times a day? Have you been able to stick to it and have success? Please leave a comment below.
I dare you to find any fitness or workout magazine that doesn't mention that you should eat 5-6 meals/snacks a day. It doesn't matter if it's about gaining muscle or
losing fat, the prescription is universal. I'm even guilty of suggesting it myself. And occasionally I still do, but only after taking something very important into
consideration- the individual I'm talking with.
Here are the factors I consider when discussing meal timing and frequency.
The individual's schedule. Are you capable of getting in 5 - 6 meals/snacks each and every day? Some situations and work setting won't allow a 6 meal a day schedule.
And in some cases I'll advise to not try it. An example is a past client who is a surgeon. Some days he could easily fit six meals into his diet, others he was lucky
to get three full meals. His case was one where it wouldn't be best for his body to get accustomed to frequently daily feedings. I think that's the last thing some of
his patients would want.
The individual's dedication. Not every person that hires a trainer has the dedication, discipline and drive to exercise and diet as well as their trainer. Some
trainers ignore this fact and set their clients up for frustration and failure. If someone has a tough enough time preparing and eating a decent healthy breakfast how
is forcing them to prepare another 5 feedings worth of food going to make things better? In this situation getting them to consistently eat three balanced healthy
meals a day is a good approach.
Their culinary skills. If someone can't cook, doesn't have a family member that can or will do the cooking then here's another sticky situation. Most cases they'll add
a MRP bar and another trip to a restaurant to reach meals 5 and 6. If these trips are through the fast foods' drive thru that can be disastrous, even if you think the
choices are healthy. If someone is limited in the items they do know how to prepare there's the possibility of boredom and noncompliance. This can lead to bad choices. Once again I want to
emphasize the importance of preparing your own food whenever you can. It's the best for you.
Food relationships. Some people live to eat while some eat to live. Again, here's where trainers, dieticians and nutritionists need to step back and look closely at
the individual. If portion control can help the client get to their goal that may be a better focal point than splitting up the feedings based on the clock. For some
people it becomes a burden having to plan out 42 meals for a week. The last thing someone trying to lose fat needs is the stress of stressing over food. Some people love to eat out. This is something that can make a multiple meal diet plan difficult to adhere to.
The individual's knowledge of nutrition. Setting up and sticking to a diet, whether it's for losing or gaining inches requires research, planning and reevaluating on
an ongoing basis. If it was easy for everyone I not only wouldn't need to write this I would probably have a different career and there wouldn't be so many articles
online telling you to eat 6 meals a day. What it comes down to is doing it right. Some people do, some don't. Again, it may be better to get someone to learn to
properly nourish themselves three times a day instead of having them worry over 6 properly prepared meals or snacks.
One other thing I need to add is the lack of science behind the mini meals suggestion. I first heard of this decades ago reading Muscle and Fitness magazine. It's a
common practice among competitive bodybuilders and fitness athletes who carry high amounts of muscle(which require lots of calories to maintain) and need complete
control over their body composition. These people's bodies are their livelihood. They may workout multiple times in one day. This is not the case of the average person
wanting to get in better shape. Somewhere this advice has gone mainstream. I have searched online for the one definitive study showing how more muscle mass is gained or fat cells are shrunken by this way of eating. I never found it. If you
have the name of the study or can provide me a link please share it. I would appreciate it. Until then I see it as nothing more that anecdotal.
Do you eat 5 – 6 times a day? Have you been able to stick to it and have success? Please leave a comment below.
preparing your own food: http://www.aaronharrisfitness.com/component/content/article/2-opinions/9-does-your-fitness-tool-box-contain-this-skill
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