The Power of Personal Training

Written by: Krista Reader

You have finally decided to take charge of your health and make the physical changes that have been slipping through your clutch for years.  And this time you mean it!  You’re commitment to regular exercise is the first step, but it gets much more complicated..   If our initial optimism and excitement about getting physically fit was enough, then there wouldn’t be a 50% chance that you will quit your exercise routines before you ever have a chance to meet your goals.  Examining the rea

sons why we fail to carry out our healthy intentions, researchers have discovered that the top 4 reasons that you will not achieve your goals are:

√  Lack of social support and accountability

√  Injury

√  Boredom

√  Lack of results

Chances are that you can relate to a least one of these setbacks.  Solutions that can help to properly manage these issues can decrease the rate of exercise dropouts, and in turn, increase the magnitude and sustainability of healthy outcomes.  According to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), approximately 6 million Americans a year utilize the single solution that can alleviate all four of these stumbling blocks.  What is the answer?  These 6 million people have found the benefit of using a Personal Trainer.  Ready to understand how a Personal Trainer can have such a powerful impact in your health and fitness?  Keep reading…

Social Support and Accountability

A personal trainer is more than just a reason to roll out of bed and head out the door before the rest of your family is even awake.  Knowing that someone is waiting for you does help on those early mornings, or after hectic work days, yet most personal trainers still have no-shows every week.  The best personal trainer should be your around-the-clock accountability partner.  They should be the constant voice in your head reminding you to skip the desert order, and go for evening walks with the kids.  In fact, they’re probably more concerned about what you doing outside of the gym than inside the gym.  There should be regular calls, text messages, and emails to prove this commitment to you.  They should provide you social support and constant encouragement.  Your commitment and adherence to accountability should continue to grow as you further bond with your personal trainer.

Injury

Nothing puts the brakes on your health and fitness plans like being sidelined with an injury.  Most of these exercise-related injuries come from either doing too much too soon, using unsafe exercise technique,or performing exercises that can magnify your predispositions to injury.  This is where the education and expertise of a personal trainer comes in.  Some of the ways a personal trainer should help control these issues are:

• implementing a proper warm-up
• designing a balanced routine
• gradually progressing the volume and intensity of your exercise plan
• eliminating unnecessary work, thereby optimizing your exercise time
• conducting an initial fitness evaluation to identify your individual limitations
• teaching you the proper technique for each exercise
• making smart adjustments to your program that work around early signs of physical distress

As a result, people working with personal trainers can expect to spend significantly less time injured than those on self-guided programs.

Boredom

Building long-term health and fitness into your lifestyle will involve elements of routine.  That might mean strength training every Tuesday and Thursday, or starting your workout with the same stretches each session.  The idea is to have something that can be planned into a calendar or act like clockwork.  However, one thing that should not be predictable is the actual workout and the best personal trainers practice this.  Monitoring your progress and determining how long you should stay with an exercise/workout before you physically and mentally get bored with it is a unique talent and can be instrumental in your success.  After a certain point, your body will require variation in order to continue getting results and it is essential that this is consistently evaluated and adjusted.

Results

We now know that success will breed motivation.  When it comes to health and fitness, the opposite is also true; we know that your lack of success will breed discouragement and lack of motivation.  If your health and fitness plans lack support, lead to injury, or are just plain boring, then you will not see results. Your personal achievement will be a natural result of working with a qualified and talented personal trainer.  When you are ready to get started, shop around, interview several trainers, talk to their clients.  Having a good trainer can be the major factor that will lead you to success.

At Personalcare Physicians, we know the power of having a personal trainer that can be your total health coach through our industry leading fitness and nutrition program, Healthfit 4 Life.  Starting in December 2010 we will now be able to offer our clients one on one personal training and nutritional counseling.  Supporting our yearly Healthfit 4 Life membership, the new personal training service provides a more comprehensive and targeted program that will guarantee to give you the results you have always desired.  We start with increasing your level of base conditioning and then progress you gradually to each new level of physical fitness, fully supporting you every step of the way. Each training program is customized to address your unique fitness profile, enabling you to increase your fitness level at your pace and around your schedule.  If you are interested in learning more about our Healthfit 4 Life program and personal training options, please contact us here or call us at (949) 706-3300.

Is Your Stress Making You Sick?

Written by: Dr. Marcia Whalen

Having a busy life can be very fulfilling, but can also be very stressful. Work, family, finances, health issues can all cause us to feel overwhelmed and stressed. For many people, stress is so common that it can become a way of life.  But, did you know that being stressed can actually make you ill? Very often I find myself treating my patients for symptoms and illnesses that are actually a result of stress.  According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, two-thirds of office visits to family doctors are for stress-related symptoms. If you frequently find yourself feeling frazzled and overwhelmed, it’s time to take action and bring your nervous system (the engine for stress) back into balance.  Learning how to recognize the signs and symptoms of stress and learning ways to reduce it, can greatly improve your overall health.

Stress in small doses can help you to perform under pressure and help you to do your best.  But, if you are constantly stressed, your mind and body will pay the price. Studies have shown that ongoing emotional stress can lead to a significant increase in cardiovascular disease, ultimately resulting in a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. Gastrointestinal disease, weakened immune system, muscle tension, headaches, low fertility, erectile dysfunction, pregnancy complications can all be directly related to stress. Emotional stress can also impact your healthy behaviors. It can often cause increases in food intake, cravings for foods high in fat, salt and sugar, alcohol consumption, and prescription drug use. If you are stressed you may even find that your once healthy libido and usual desire to exercise can often be diminished as well.

Why does this happen?  When you perceive a threat, your nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol.  These hormones awaken your body and prepare it for emergency action. Your heart will pound faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and your senses become sharper. These physical changes increase your strength and stamina, speed your reaction time, and enhance your focus – preparing you to either fight or flee. When the stressor is then gone, often so are the hormones. When this level remains constant or very frequent your body then doesn’t have time to recover and the physical damage begins.

What is the answer? One of the best parts of my job as a personal physician is having the time to work with and educate my clients on how they can better deal with and avoid stress. While it can take time to implement, the top two things you can do today that will change your life forever are to:

        #1 Learn to use stress coping mechanisms

       #2 Learn to use a tool that can help you recover or avoid stress

Some of the stress coping mechanisms that will help you to find relief are things such as:

• Lean on your support network – A strong network of supportive friends and family members is an enormous buffer against life’s stressors. On the flip side, the more lonely and isolated you are, the greater your vulnerability to stress.
• Understand your sense of control – If you have confidence in yourself and your ability to influence events and persevere through challenges, it’s easier to take stress in stride. People who are vulnerable to stress tend to feel like things are out of their control. Realistically there is very little that we can actually control in our lives. Recognizing this and “lightening up” can truly change your life.
• Renew your attitude and outlook – Stress-hardy people have an optimistic attitude. They tend to embrace challenges, have a strong sense of humor, accept that change is a part of life, and believe in a higher power or purpose.
• Work on your ability to deal with your emotions – You’re extremely vulnerable to stress if you don’t know how to calm and soothe yourself when you’re feeling sad, angry, or afraid. The ability to bring your emotions into balance helps you bounce back from adversity.
• Your knowledge and preparation – The more you know about a stressful situation, including how long it will last and what to expect, the easier it is to cope.

There are several tools that we have found that can also greatly reduce and improve your physical reaction to stress. Regular exercise is one of the best ways to manage stress. Committing to some sort of physical activity is a great way to get started; even just taking up more regular walking can significantly improve your stress levels. Stretching can also greatly help to relieve your muscle tension.  Relaxation techniques such as regular meditation and deep breathing exercises can improve immunity, decrease blood pressure and ultimately help to reduce your risk for cardiovascular issues. I have also found that using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can be very helpful in reducing stress if you have persistent belief that can be associated with your stress.

Stress is a physical, mental, and emotional response to life’s changes and demands and can have a tremendous effect on your health. The first step to fixing your stress is to acknowledge that it could be a problem for you and that it is time to do something about it. Please contact me if you are interested in learning more and taking the next step to fight your stress and feel better.