Skating the Infosphere

Cardio, Calories, and the Starvation Response

Most of the time, when someone decides that they want to lose
fat, they inevitably head for the nearest fad diet. However, 95%
(closer to 100%) of the time, these fad diets fail. The reason
they fail is because exercise is rarely incorporated into the
program. In order to lose fat, there must be a deficit of
calories in the diet. In other words, your body must use more
calories than you eat in order to use its fat stores for energy.
This seems simple enough; however, it becomes a bit more
complicated. There are two ways a calorie deficit can be
accomplished. The first one is to eat fewer calories. The second
one is to use more calories (exercise). The best way to
accomplish fat loss without hitting a plateau and failing is a
combination of both. You must eat less calories and burn more
calories. If you try to accomplish a calorie deficit only by
eating less calories, then you’re body thinks it’s starving, and
will go into a “starvation mode” where it lowers its metabolism
in order to prepare for a period of little food (this is more
than likely a protective response from years ago when food
actually did become scarce, unlike today). Another reason that
the metabolism is lowered is because when there is a period of
little food, your body tries its best to protect the brain. The
brain always requires glucose (carbohydrates that are in the
body) to run; however, glucose can not be stored in the body.
Therefore, the only way for the body to get glucose is to eat
its own muscle (muscle can be converted to glucose) - which
lowers your metabolism and causes the starvation response. So,
the body accomplishes two things by eating its own muscle: it
provides glucose for the brain and causes your body to require
less food, since less muscle equals a lower metabolism. When the
starvation response is elicited, you smack into the fat loss
plateau and the fad diet fails.

When you incorporate exercise into your routine, your body feels
more comfortable with not lowering your metabolism. If you are
exercising frequently, then your body thinks, “I’m actually
doing something, so there is probably an abundance of food now,
and I shouldn’t worry too much.” Therefore, the starvation
response is mostly avoided. Two important forms of exercise to
produce this affect are weight training and aerobic exercise
(cardio). However, this article is mostly about cardio.

The goal of cardio is to burn calories while avoiding the
starvation response. Many times when you mention “exercise” or
“cardio”, people immediately get negative thoughts in their head
about the extreme difficulty of doing such exercise, but these
thoughts are misguided. Cardio gets easier as your body adapts,
is very rewarding, and can even be fun.

How Cardio Becomes Easier While Still Burning the Same Amount of
Calories

As you do cardio more and more, you body begins to adapt and
become better at performing the same work, but with less
perceived effort. The body becomes able to move nutrients and
oxygen around faster because you build new capillaries, the
cells produce more mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell),
your heart becomes more powerful, your body produces more blood,
and a host of other adaptations that would cover a whole
textbook. The main thing to note here is that you still burn the
same amount of calories, even after your body adapts and cardio
becomes easier. However, with your new, more adapted body, you
will be able to accomplish exercise that burns even more
calories resulting in even more fat loss. For instance, in order
to burn 300 calories, you would have to walk for about 1 hour
and 45 minutes. In contrast, jogging for about 25-30 minutes
(the amount of time will vary depending upon your speed) will
burn 300 calories. Obviously, the last one is more practical
unless you just have a huge amount of time on your hands.
Walking also doesn’t elicit the endorphin high that
running/jogging does either (discussed later).

The Overload Principle

When you begin a cardio program, your first goal should probably
be to adapt to the point where you can burn a sufficient amount
of calories. This involves the overload principle. The overload
principle is simple: in order to initiate adaptations within
your body you must exercise with either a greater intensity,
duration, or frequency. Depending upon the type you decide to
overload (intensity, duration, or frequency), you will adapt to
that type. For instance, if you want to run faster in the same
amount of distance, you should run faster, and your body will
adapt to that. If you want to run farther, you should run
farther, and your body will adapt to that. There is a high
degree of specificy that goals along with this principle, but
that is the topic for another article. Pretty much, the overload
principle reveals that doing the same routine every time without
trying to push yourself harder will result in no adaptations.
For instance, if you do the same aerobics tape everyday, then
your body will never adapt any further - since there is no need
for it to. However, if you were to get a more advanced tape and
do it, this would initiate an adaptation in your body, but then
you would have to find an even harder tape to initiate any
further adaptations. Keep in mind though, if you decide to stay
at the same level of fitness and do the same routine, then you
will still burn the same amount of calories, and if your goal is
just fat loss this may be a potential option for you.

Just Get Started!

If you haven’t done any cardio for a while, you should obviously
start out small. Start out with just a brisk walk, then
intermittent jogs while you are jogging, then finally, you will
be able to jog the whole time, and then increase your
times/speed to the point where you are happy. The hardest part
is really just to start doing something. Once you get your
momentum going by exercising for the first time, even if you
have to start out small, you have already accomplished the
hardest part.

Your Body’s Reward to You: An Endorphin High

In addition to burning off unwanted fat, doing cardio gives you
something called an “endorphin high”. This all natural high
induces a feeling of well-being, relaxation, improvement in
mood, and increase in your ability to think more clearly. It’s
theorized that this is the reason why many long distance runners
are “addicted” to running - they love the high they get
afterwards! Once you’ve experienced one of these, you’re even
more likely to continue your regime and therefore continue to
burn off fat.

Cardio in the Morning?

Although calories are the most important thing when considering
fat loss; you must also realize that not all calories are
created equal. When you wake up in the morning, you body is low
on something called glycogen. Glycogen is essentially another
word for stored carbohydrates in the body. When exercising,
glycogen is a more preferred fuel source to the body in
comparison to fat. Your body always uses a mixture of glycogen
and fat to run, but the ratio is many times dependant upon the
availability of these fuel sources. So, when your body is low on
glycogen in the morning, it is forced to burn fat at a higher
ratio than if you had just eaten. Therefore, doing cardio in a
fasted state will burn more fat than doing it in a non-fasted
state. In one study, the researchers concluded that this method
can burn 17% more fat in comparison to if you had just eaten
(1). Another study agrees with this by stating, “our results
support the hypothesis that endurance training enhances lipid
oxidation (lipid oxidation means the burning of fat) in men
after a 12-h fast at low relative exercise intensities” (2). If
you decide to perform cardio in the morning, remember to drink
lots of water before-hand (you’ll be dehydrated after waking
up), and if you want the extra fat burning response, you’ll have
to avoid breakfast until after you’re done.

Another reason to exercise in the morning is due to the fact
that it will allow you to be in a better mood and to think more
clearly for the rest of the day due to the endorphin high. You
are also probably more likely to perform cardio in the morning
in comparison to the afternoon when you could just blow it off
because you are “too tired”.

Make Sure You’re Hydrated

Before starting on your new cardio regime, make sure you are
properly hydrated. Water increases your capacity to think and
exercise more efficiently. Water is required for nearly every
reaction inside of your body. Most people walk around in a state
of semi-dehydration. Exercising can cause you to get dizzy and
pass-out (this author has experienced this), suffer a heat
injury, or in severe cases, cause death. Ever had that thick,
cotton-like feeling in your mouth while exercising? Cotton-mouth
is an obvious sign that you are dehydrated; if you ever get
cotton-mouth while performing aerobic exercise, please realize
that you could be performing much better and reducing your risk
of experiencing dehydration’s nasty side effects if you only had
drank more water beforehand. It is best to drink water
throughout the day rather than only around the time you exercise.

Music!

One sure fire way to get you pumped up and associate cardio with
something positive is to listen to some music before and while
doing it. You’ll be surprised at how much better you perform and
how much more fun cardio seems.

As stated before, the hardest part about a cardio regime is
starting. Remember to incorporate the overload principle when
trying to cause an adaptative response, to stay hydrated, and to
listen to music while performing your cardio regime. Also, you
may even decide that you want to perform your cardio in the
morning to feel good and be able to think more clearly for the
rest of the day and to burn even more fat. Once you get passed
that point and experience some of cardio’s effects such as fat
loss without hitting a plateau, a feeling of accomplishment, and
that awesome endorphin high, you’ll become addicted. However, no
exercise routine is complete without the proper support from an
intelligent nutritional program; for more information on this
visit this website about weight loss.

1. Brehm, B.A., and Gutin, B. Recovery energy expenditure for
steady state exercise in runners and non-exercisers. Medicine
and Science in Sports and Exercise. (1986) 18: 205.

2. Bergman, BC, Brooks, GA. Respiratory gas-exchange ratios
during graded exercise in fed and fasted trained and untrained
men. Journal of Applied Physiology. (1999) 86: 2.

Wellness of the body occurs when all the body processes,
physical and mental are functioning as the peak levels. What
does it take to achieve a complete body wellness? It requires
more than simply taking a trip to the gym, or a walk in the
park.

To evaluate our state of wellness, we must establish the goals
we achieve through being well. We make our lives more enriched
and easier to live. We are able to reap the benefits of well
thought out plans of diet and exercise many years into our life,
just because we have taken the time to remain well and fit.

Your immune system is a tale tell sign of your state of wellness
and one of the real benefits of a healthy, well immune system is
the prolonging of the onset of many age-related diseases.
Conditions such as macular degeneration, Alzheimer’s, strokes,
heart attacks, and overall feelings of good health depend upon a
healthy immune system.

Our ability to continue in a normal routine many years past the
accepted age of retirement is a goal achieved through
maintaining a state of wellness. To many older people, their
work becomes a genuine source of enjoyment. Work no longer
appears as the thief of our free time, it becomes an old friend
that we are accustomed to visiting with. It can become a reason
to continue to get up and go about our day. Either way, our
ability to continue participating is a direct benefit of our
state of wellness and continued good health.

In evaluating our wellness goals, and state of being, the
mental capacity for continued learning, teaching, and
experiencing is a top priority. Mental sharpness comes from
continued use of the mind to learn, communicate and think. The
benefit of retaining those resources is felt even longer than
the benefit of physical wellness. What about the physical
benefits of continued wellness? The peace of mind that comes
from knowing your body is in top shape, ready to deal whatever
comes along, is a priceless possession. To be able to ascertain
that you’ve spent your day wisely, and invested in yourself is a
real accomplishment. The benefit seen from adding just 20
minutes of exercise to your daily routine are unbelievable. I
can attest to the tremendous increase in energy, as a
participant in walking for exercise. I lost a total of 74 lbs.
in one year, by simply adding walking to may routine. I had been
dieting for almost two months, with very little in the way of
results. Walking was suggested by my physician, and I’ve never
been so impressed. My energy levels were three times what they
were prior to beginning the exercise program. Increased energy
levels are one of the greatest benefits of a well and fit body.
Continued wellness and evaluation of our level of wellness is a
lifetime responsibility.

If we use our resources wisely and educate our selves about the
things our body needs to maintain wellness, over the duration of
our life, it isn’t a difficult thing to attain. The benefits of
continued wellness are reaped will into our later years. Look at
it as an investment you make, not of dollars and cents, but of
time and education. The return on your investment is as yet
unmatched by any prescription available.

Sure, your stylist tells you to return for a trim every 6 to 8
weeks, but who actually keeps that timetable? I mean, life is
just too busy to keep regular appointments these days. And many
people can get by much longer than 6 weeks without a haircut.
So, how can you tell when it is time to get a cut?

For many styles, like short and textured cuts, regular haircuts
are a must or your style just looks ragged. For others, such as
long and sleek cuts, you can get by without a cut for a few
months without noticing any change in your style. The key then
to knowing when it is time to get a cut lies in knowing your
hair inside and out.

It is fairly easy to tell when short cuts need to be revived. It
becomes almost impossible to style your hair the way that you
like it and it takes more and more spray to keep your style in
place. Many people will also experience a style that goes flat
halfway through the day due to the extra length pulling their
style out.

But when it comes to longer styles, the line of when it is time
to get a cut often gets blurred, especially if you don’t do much
styling. For these types of styles, you should look for the
following clues to know when it is time to get a cut:

Overall frizzy, dry or dull appearance Frayed ends or ends
with white colored or burnt tips Feeling of roughness close to
the ends of the hair Change in color on the ends of hair
Inability of hair to hold curl Loss of shape or style of cut

In most cases, the appearance of your hair and style will have
you headed to the salon before much damage occurs. That way your
stylist can get rid of the split ends by only taking off ” to
1″. But there are those few that let their hair go without a cut
for months and maybe even years. When these clients come into
the salon, sometimes the only thing to do to get their hair back
into shape is take off several inches. So, if you have long hair
and want to keep it healthy and long, be sure to take your hair
seriously when it tells you that it is time for a cut.

As of the writing of this article, May 16, 2005, we are all
almost 5 months into our New Year’s Resolutions.

Are you skinny yet?

Did you find your six-pack?

Does your butt look like you wanted it to in those jeans?

For a lot of you, the answers to these questions are going to be
“No, No, and, I took the jeans back to the store”.

Why? You are a victim of the Fitness Wars, that’s why. Your
Girth is winning out over your Resolution, and you are probably
more frustrated now than you were when you started!

Is there some master conspiracy that is keeping you from getting
in shape? Do the rules of energy in vs. energy out not apply to
you? Are you in a fat-loss vacuum where the normal laws of
weight loss don’t work?

Of course not. Yet, you still can’t lose the bodyfat, and it is
likely because you are simply confused.

If you are like most people, you have gotten fitness advice from
the radio, TV, friends, family members, magazines, maybe even a
Personal Trainer. Who had the most to gain from giving you
fitness advice?

The radio, TV, magazines, and even your trainer are all
interested in getting paid for handing out advice to you. Does
that make them the most qualified to help you? With the possible
exception of your personal trainer, no, it really doesn’t.

What about your friends and family? Let’s answer this question
first: Was the person who gave you the advice in good shape? If
not, then the point of that question should be clear!

Fitness Wars - all of these different people and agencies trying
to get you to do something or buy something.

How about a little thing that some people like to call “Back to
Basics”? Prepare Thyself! You are about to be shown the true
secrets to fitness success!!

1.Proper Nutrition. For those of you who don’t know what that
is, a good rule of thumb is that if man made it, don’t eat it!
If that isn’t enough information for you, then consult a
professional nutritionist, or do free research online. If you
pay a professional, make sure they are properly credentialed. If
you do the research yourself, don’t believe what you find if
that site is obviously more interested in your money than in
your health.

2.Eat 5 to 6 small meals a day. You say that you’ve heard this a
thousand times already? Well, that should tell you something -
it works! Your body is a calorie burning machine. If you are an
average female, you can only burn about 300 calories at a time.
An average male can burn about 400. It doesn’t matter how much
you exercise - if you eat more than that during any one sitting,
some of it is going to be stored as bodyfat.

3.Exercise - at least 60 minutes a day. It doesn’t matter what
the magazines say, or what you hear on the “1-Second Abs”
commercial, or who tells you anything else. Exercise - at least
60 minutes a day. It bears repeating, so feel free at this time
to keep saying it out loud until you feel that you have it
memorized.

4.Believe. This final step is really the most important. Most
people have self-limiting beliefs. In a nutshell, that means
that no matter how much education or assistance that they
receive, they don’t BELIEVE that they can lose weight! Let’s
see…. how does that saying go? “Whether you think you can, or
think you can’t, you’re right!” Believe it can happen, because
it can. Then you will be only 3 short steps away from success.

Wow, what a revelation this article has been! In fewer words
than it takes to list the dozens of unhealthy circumstances and
afflictions related to being overweight, you have just been
given a guaranteed 4-step system for fitness success!

Are you willing to take care of yourself and finally meet those
fitness goals, or do you have another 5 months to waste?

Do yourself this one small favor. Count to four, beat the Girth,
and remember that January 1st is just another day!

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Copyright 2005 Trevor Dumbleton

Learning methods of stress elimination is a vital skill in the
modern world. After all, there is no way to get away from stress
these days, thanks to work, life, family, the economy, the state
of the world, global warming, and an overabundance of people who
are reminding you constantly about all of these. Not to mention
the fact that you are stressed about everything and you know
that stress can cause major health problems, so you are stressed
about your own stress! Thus, you need some stress elimination
strategies before you worry yourself silly.

The first stress elimination method is simply that of getting
away. If you are feeling the heat from stress, you find yourself
anxious, and you cannot concentrate, it is time for a break.
That means that, if you are at work, get up from your desk and
take a walk around. If you are at home, take a walk around the
block. If homework is getting you stressed, go make a sandwich.
Just walk away and take a break and come back in about five
minutes.

As a matter of fact, when you are concentrating on something,
you should breaks anyway in order to let your mind rest. After
all, when you exercise your body, you take breaks to let it
recover. Why should your mind be any different. By simply
stretching in your seat every 15 minutes or so, then getting up
and walking around for a couple of minutes every hour, you can
ensure that your brain will stay sharp and stay focused.
However, if you do not take these breaks, your mind will start
wandering and you will find that you are stressed out because
you cannot concentrate. Of course, you cannot concentrate
because you are trying to force yourself to concentrate rather
than giving yourself a quick break that would help you do that
very thing.

However, sometimes it takes more than just a few minutes of
walking to get rid of stress. After all, life is stressful in
itself and you need to get away from it every once in a while.
Thus, part of your stress elimination strategy should include
some vacations. By getting away for a week or so every year, you
can alleviate stress and prevent it from appearing very often.
The simple act of being someplace else where you don’t have to
worry about anything other than relaxing will help you
immeasurably and it will allow you to keep stress away. Just
leave it all behind for a while and you will be able to deal
with it better when you get back.

Another good method for stress elimination is through exercise.
It has been shown that people who are fit tend to deal with
stress much more effectively than people who are not, so it is
necessary to get out to the gym every so often. Or, if you don’t
feel like going to the gym, you can do a few things from your
home, such as running, walking or biking. Also, one very
effective way to stay fit is to go out to your local swimming
pool and get a few laps in. Swimming is not only a very good way
to exercise your entire body, it is also a very low-impact
method of exercise that does not strain the joints as much as
something like running. Just remember to do something that will
keep you in shape.

Also, yoga is a very popular way for people to stay fit when
they do not enjoy exercising in such standard ways. In itself,
yoga is a very effective method for relaxation and teachers
often put a great deal of emphasis on relaxing while going
through the various poses of yoga. Thus, you can learn methods
of relaxation, stay fit, stay limber, and even have fun doing
it. Likewise, studying martial arts such as karate, ju jitsu,
judo, or even the relaxing forms of tai chi can provide
substantial health benefits that will help you on the road
toward stress elimination.

Finally, another good method for stress elimination is through
meditation. Not only can you learn to eliminate stress
generally, there are some methods of meditation that can be
performed at a moment’s notice. Just by sitting down, closing
your eyes, and concentrating on taking deep breaths, you can
push all that stress out of your body and ease your mind of all
its concerns. In fact, simply meditating in this manner for
about a minute can ease your stress levels almost instantly by
clearing your mind of all its concerns and allowing it to start
out fresh. In fact, with a little practice, you can meditate for
a short period of time and feel as refreshed as though you just
took a nap.

Stress elimination is a vital skill for people who want to stay
healthy, stay productive, and keep their minds sharp. Though
some of the methods take some practice and take some time to
master, a little effort and a little dedication can go a long
way. So learn a few methods, figure out what is right for you,
and stress elimination will be possible for you now and in the
future.

Inversion tables are available from a range of companies. They are known to release tension from the back and stimulate the joints especially the ankles. Most inversion table have a tether strap to fasten the feet. They can be rotated at even a 90-degree angle. In this position, its even possible to do squats and sit ups. The table can also be motorized and therefore will need no adjustments. It’s not necessary to do full inversion if one is not comfortable with it. This is meant for athletes and those at the expert level.

Many feel that inversion may cause a rise in the blood pressure and the pressure in the eyes of a person when doing this physical study. However according to latest research, it has been concluded that you are as much as risk as you when you are up. Our body has natural mechanisms, which prevent damage while we are upside down. Even Yoga has exercises, which make you hang up side down, and Yoga is known to have positive effects.

The mat is usually of nylon material that can be easily washed. The table can also be stopped at any point where the person is comfortable. Inversion tables are required to meet the standards that are set for medical equipment. The inversion table should also have firm handlebars, which are non-slip. This helps the user to mount and dismount the inversion table. It’s important that the motion of the inversion table is smooth and therefore there should be good roller bearings, which will aid in the smooth jerk free motion.

Inversion tables will come with their own guides for the user and will also have at least a two-year warranty for most parts of the inversion table. You can look at the inversion table reviews as well as ratings on various websites before you decide to purchase one.

If you enjoyed this article check out this list of inversion tables related articles and here you’ll find our most recently added inversion tables for your reading.

Tempo refers to the speed of movement and is usually represented by a
4-digit number: eccentric (negative) contraction - isometric (pause
between negative and positive) contraction - concentric (positive)
contraction - isometric (pause between positive and negative)
contraction. For example, a tempo of 3-1-2-0 means to lower the weight
for a count of 3, pause for a count of 1, raise the weight for a count of 2, and do not pause before starting the next repetition. An “X” designation denotes eXplosive, meaning to lift the weight as fast as possible.

It’s not uncommon for people to race through their sets in order to get
done sooner. Although this could benefit power development,
hypertrophy might be sacrificed. For instance, if two individuals were to
perform the same number of repetitions, but one completes the set in 6
seconds and the other takes 60 seconds, is the training effect the same?
Obviously not! Tempo is a training parameter that is quite often
neglected. You can calculate total time under tension (TUT) of a set
simply by multiplying tempo (add all 4 digits) and the number of
repetitions performed.

The problem with tempo prescription is that cadence tends to vary
among individuals and also between reps and sets. (Generally, the
count speeds up as you fatigue!) For this reason, I recommend that you
purchase a metronome - the Robic SC-700 Sports Chronometer
available at Creative Health Products is a good choice. Set the watch to
60 beats per minute so that it beeps every second and try to keep the
cadence uniform throughout the entire range of motion.

John Paul Catanzaro is a certified kinesiologist and professional fitness
and lifestyle consultant with a specialized honours Bachelor of Science
degree in Kinesiology and Health Science. He owns and operates a
private gym in Toronto, Ontario providing training and nutritional
consulting services. For additional information, visit his website at
www.BodyEssence.ca or call 416-292-4356.