Regular workouts help you feel better

you know that only half who start an exercise program in January are still working out regularly by the time summer rolls around? Are you going to keep exercising? The years do seem to come quicker and soon we realize that as we get older we definitely need to stay active to stay healthy and fit!

It is true, and it is too bad, because regular workouts help you feel better, look better and give you extra energy to do all the things you like to do without getting tired or sick. There are numerous studies of the positive feedback in life if you stay active, exercise!

For those who have e-mailed me for tips this New Year to keep on track, listed below is a few to help your fitness program and to keep you on the right track.

If you don’t like the kind of exercise you are doing, switch to something else.

The key to a successful fitness program is finding activities that you enjoy. If you are not finding pleasure in running, swimming, cycling, etc., now is a good time to experiment with other choices before boredom gets the best of you and you quit or get injured.

Schedule yourself for exercise the way you write in dental or doctor appointments.

In other words, make a date with yourself, on your calendar, written in ink! Whatever physical activities you choose resist your temptation to skip any.

After a year of exercising four or five times a week, maybe you won’t need to write it down, but for now, keep doing it so that you will keep doing it!!

Find a partner and train in tandem. This is a great way to keep motivated to continue as the doldrums set in.

If you can’t find a real partner, find a mutual partner by starting an e-mail support group. Members of the group vow to exercise a certain number of times a week and report weekly to each other on met and missed goals. This is a great support system too.

The key to a successful fitness program is finding activities you enjoy.

I received an e-mail from a 14-year old boy asking this question:

I am a 14-year old boy who works out on a constant basis. I do abdominal crunches with a 10 pound weight on my chest and do other abdominal exercises, but I can’t seem to get the lower part of my abs to show definition. I still have the flab there. Are there any pointers or special exercises I can do to get the definition I want?

You want that six-pack look of the well-sculpted lower ab. Join the crowd. Many people, especially women, who have a natural tendency to store fat on their lower belly. It takes time to get the lower abs to show definition.

Another issue is you are still 14 years of age and you have to be aware of your training (using too heavy of weight) because you can cause damage to the growth plate because you are still growing.

I suggest you do your abdominal exercises (different types) without any weight and add more cardio workout to work the fat and try push-ups they are great for the abdominals working them isometrically. Have you ever tried matpilates? I have had football players doing these exercises which made their core muscles much stronger and leaner in the abdominals!

Slow down your movement and make sure you really squeeze the muscles you are working.

You can target the lower ab area specifically by doing hip thrusts, reverse crunch. Remember, proper technique is crucial. Go slow, be deliberate and concentrate on the area being worked. Tips for how to do a hip thrust.. Lie on the floor, your arms along your sides, hands palm down, eight to ten inches from your hips.

Raise your legs to a 90-degree angle to your torso, toes pointed to the ceiling, knees as straight as you can get them (but not locked).

Slowly raise your hips off the floor so your feet move toward the ceiling in a straight line.

Hold briefly, squeeze, slowly lower your hips to the floor.

It is a short range of motion, but keep doing it until you feel it, then do a few more. Remember to keep breathing, exhaling as you raise your hips, inhaling as you lower them.

Lie on your back, knees bent in line with your hips, heels poised above the backs of your thighs (also known as your hamstrings.)

Squeeze your abdominals and slowly lift your hips off the floor, just a little, then lower them down.

Feel that your lower ab muscles are being used to lift your legs, not your hip muscles.

Be sure you are using muscle power to lift your legs, don’t kick or swing them up.

You will need a stability ball for this exercise (see picture)

Lie on the stability ball as seen in picture, and hold a dumbbell in each hand.

Slowly come up to a crunch as you bring your arms over the chest as doing a chest press.

Lower back down to starting position slow and controlled.

By using the stability ball you are training the core muscles both with a small weight of muscle and isometric exercise. Do not use a weight that is too heavy this can cause you to put pressure in the shoulder and neck. The idea is to do a lot of reps and never sacrifice form for heavy weight.

On a very serious note, a mother who is concerned about her teenage daughter who believes she is too fat and wants to diet. Even if the mother tells her daughter she looks fine, that does not matter to her daughter, she still wants to DIET...What should the mother do?

It is not uncommon for teen-age girls to become body conscious. First, your daughter should have a medical professional assess whether she is actually overweight.

Unfortunately, normal weight adolescent girls can develop unrealistic ideas of how their bodies should look, which can lead to dissatisfaction. If this is the case, helping your daughter build self-confidence and a positive self-image will do the most for her happiness, health and personal development.

Even if your daughter is over-weight, weight loss diets are generally not for growing children unless they are carefully supervised by a health care professional. Unsupervised dieting can jeopardize a child’s intake of calories, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients needed for proper development.

Instead of dieting, it would be better for your daughter to focus on the other half of the energy equation, physical activity. Regular exercise not only helps burns calories, but can also improve your daughter’s sense of well-being.

Parents can also help teens by being good role models. Children are more likely to eat right and exercise regularly if their parents do, too.

The following question from a mother’s concern about her 4 year old.

My 4 year old was just diagnosed with hyperactivity. I have been told all sorts of information about his problem, but I still can’t find the answer to one question. Can you tell me if this is something that he might outgrow?

The following answer I received from James Baker M.D.

Yes, there is a good chance that your son will grow out of this problem. Catching your son’s problem early may improve his chances of this happening.

You can also improve his prognosis by paying attention to how the whole family gets along. Recent research suggests families that stay together and avoid adversities actually improve the outlook for a child with hyperactivity. Dust mites... allergy sufferers beware Allergy sufferers will do just about anything for relief, a fact that thrills enterprising and keeps them marketing their products. Dust mite allergies, specifically, affect a large percent of the population.

These critters, microscopic cousins of the spider, feed on dead skin cells and pet dander. They burrow by the thousands into mattresses, pillows, carpets and upholstery, even in the cleanest homes. They are harmless, but their waste products contain proteins to which many people are sensitive.

For the allergic, breathing them in can cause everything from sneezing and congestion to skin rashes and severe asthma attacks. And many of today’s more energy efficient homes are so well insulated that they create a cozy environment for these creatures.

But there is no reason to worry unless you are seriously allergic. An allergist can conduct a standard skin prick test to determine if you are. If so, you should rid your home of mites, focusing on your bedroom, which is literally a hotbed for them.

There is a special casing for mattresses, covers and comforters, made of a polyurethane barrier covered by tightly woven cotton or polyester. These are said to keep dust allergen from dispersing into the air.

When you are changing your bed sheets, be sure to wash in HOT water, this will help rid your bed of the dust mites. The thing is, we will always have these little critters, try to eliminate items that will cause more problems with them, like removing your dried flowers from your bedroom. Dried flowers are another place where they can be.

I hope the information this week will help you to stay on track with your program this New Year! Don’t Quit, get a partner or do something you like to do when exercising. Whatever the end result is, it will always be a positive one if you just keep going. The idea is to keep moving, the more we move the more calories our body will burn and we will rid our bodies of the unwanted FAT!! Pick yourself up and start fresh. Have a great week! If you have questions, email me at sist2397@bellsouth.net

Lisa is a certified fitness consultant, personal trainer, and cardio kickboxing, aquatic boot camp and aerobic instructress. Lisa is a professional competitor and holds national titles and holds health and fitness seminars in Europe and the United States. If you are interested in a workshop, email her for details.