Exercising Safely For Your Fitness Level

Beginner Fitness Level: You do little to no exercise. Your strenuous exercise endurance is a few minutes. For your workout safety, you should begin with short bouts of light-moderate exercise (such as 10 minutes, 2x/day). Good options are water aerobics, walking, stationary bike, any light cardio, light strength training. Seek guidance from a personal trainer, exercise website, exercise video, group class, book, etc. Your goal should be to work up to 30 minutes per day, 3-4x/week.

Intermediate Fitness Level: You do occasional exercise at a moderate intensity. For your safety, be careful not to injure yourself with a new or overly strenuous workout. Try to exercise consistenly 3-5x/week in order to stay in shape. Try to challenge yourself progressively with higher intensity of exercise. 30 minutes should be your minimum workout time, and try to work up to 45 minutes. Appropriate workouts are light jogging, elliptical, swimming, Zumba, aerobics class, and strength training.

Advanced Fitness Level: You exercise vigorously at least 3-4x/week. You have good muscle strength and cardiopulmonary endurance. You usually work out for at least 1 hour at a time, and you could easily do more. For injury-free workouts, know your pain-tendency areas and be sure to strengthen and stretch them appropriately. Do not forget to take rest days. Be sure to vary your workouts with cross-training, intervals and plyometrics (pending sports activities). Drink sufficient water during your workouts. Do not push through an injury during training, sports or races. Train properly for all your athletics and races in order to avoid stress or overuse injuries. Otherwise, keep up the good work! If you are in this fitness group but need to lose more weight, you must increase exercise levels. This means increasing from 60 minutes/day to 90 minutes/day, modifying your workouts to boost your metabolism (such as weight training or intervals), or increasing your resistance levels.

Guru Fitness Level: You design your own workouts, and you are able to teach others. For your safety, remember that you are not exempt from workout injuries. Be sure to maintain balance between the muscle groups on the front and back of the body. Do not forget the importance of upper body, lower body and core strength. Use your knowledge to educate those around you with less exercise experience. Good goals for you are marathons, triathlons, fitness instructor certifications and/or exercise/sports competitions.

Weight Loss Perseverance

If you are in the process of losing weight, the single most important thing to remember is to persevere! Do not give up when you fail or cheat or gain a pound or go two weeks without exercising. Just start fresh right now (don't wait until tomorrow)! Review the weight loss program you are supposed to be on, and see how you may have fallen off track. Modify the areas you have not been consistent with, and maintain the ones you are doing well!

Don't forget that losing weight and keeping it off requires long-term healthy decisions, starting now and continuing after you have met your weight loss goals. A healthy lifestyle is not one you will ever give up because you will love the results: look amazing, feel even better, have more energy, sleep well, decrease the need for some medicines, do the activities you enjoy, and the list goes on!

It is never too late to start new, healthy habits! What are your bad habits that keep your weight above where you want it? If you do not have the willpower to eat less, then start with replacements. Replace your high-calorie, high-fat, high-grease, high-sugar foods with healthier ones. And for those here in the South, replace your sweet tea with ice water! You will not lose the weight you want without such replacements.

At some point you will grow tired of making excuses. Stop blaming other people/things, and take responsibility for your own body, your own weight and your own health! No matter how you became overweight, you are the only one who can lose the weight and keep it off. That is the choice before you today! Don't look at the past, your childhood, your family, your difficult circumstances, your prior failures, your successes, your previous diets, etc. Simply make the decision to be healthier starting now and to not give up on weight loss. If you persevere long-term, you will achieve weight loss and all your healthy goals! You will be able to do much more than you can imagine!


"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." -Philippians 4:13

The Best Way To Treat Low Back Pain

The answer is prophylaxis (prevention)! What other things are best treated with prophylaxis? Cold, flu, heart attack, diabetes type 2, blood clot, stroke, HIV, lung cancer, etc.  Prevention is the easiest and best way to approach low back pain, so whether you have pain or not, this applies to you!

What factors put you at risk for low back pain (LBP)?
1. Prior episode of low back pain.
2. Repetitive lifting (with incorrect body mechanics).
3. Repetitive vibration at work or leisure (example: truck driving).
4. Repetitive forward bending and twisting of the low back.
5. Repetitive poor posture.

What are the components of low back pain prevention?
1. Staying fit/exercising consistently.
2. Progressing your fitness program slowly and with caution.
3. Keeping your back flexible.
4. Maintaining good POSTURE!
5. Changing positions frequently.
6. Standing frequently between longer bouts of sitting.
7. Standing and bending backwards (5-10 reps, 1-2x/day). (Note, this exercise is contraindicated for some individuals, so please consult your physician).


Reference: McKenzie, Robin. Mechanical Diagnosis & Therapy: Lumbar Spine. 2009: The McKenzie Institute International, Part A, pages 126-127.

Health/Fitness Review: Gold's Gym

My review of Gold's Gym (Village at Sandhill in Columbia, SC)

The facility is a good size, with 3 main workout areas. The largest one has around 15 treadmills, 15 elliptical machines, 8 stationary bikes, 3 stair climbers, 1 upper body bike and a lot of machine weights. 

The second area has around 8 treadmills, 8 elliptical machines, machine weights, small dumbbells (2-15 lbs), exercise balls, medicine balls and mats.

The third area has all the free weights plus some machine weights. Very few women exercise in that area of the gym. Next to the free weights area is a basketball court.

There is a 3-lane pool, which is a comfortable temperature for swimming laps or doing water aerobics. When the water classes are in session, there is only 1 lane for lap swimming.

There is 1 large room for classes, including Zumba, body pump, aerobics, yoga, etc. The Zumba class (at least in the evenings) is always jam-packed! Classes are offered various times of the day and appear to be sufficient for the demand.

Another workout space is the cinema room, which plays movies and stays very dark. So bring your flashlight so you can see the buttons to start the treadmills. This room includes around 5 treadmills, 5 ellipticals and 5 recumbent bikes.

There is a small spinning room, which I have not yet used. It does not appear to get over-filled though.

For the more athletic type, there are 2 raquetball courts, which stay booked every evening and frequently at lunchtimes also. They can be booked ahead, if you call first! Good luck beating the veterans to the calendar!

The non-exercise areas include tanning, water massage table, whirlpool, steam room, sauna room, locker rooms, and the huge Kids Care room. I have been 100% pleased with the childcare providers there! The childcare hours are reasonable.

The staff are friendly and helpful. And there is a large staff of personal trainers available for an added cost.

The location of the gym is good, with easy access from Two Notch Rd, Clemson Rd or North Springs Rd. It is located in the Village at Sandhill mall, which makes it close to shopping and eating venues.

So...do I recommend Gold's Gym? Yes! The membership price is comparable to the other gyms and if you pay up-front for 1-2 year memberships you get quite a good rate. The price may even be lower than other gyms, depending on which specials you catch.

Is there a down side? Yes. The gym is very full in the early evening hours, making it difficult to find your cardio machine of choice. But that is expected, and you can always vary your workout by using a different machine until a treadmill opens up.

10 most convenient ways to exercise

1. Go for a walk in your neighborhood. Take your dogs. Take your kids. Walk to the park instead of driving. Walk 10 blocks instead of taking the subway or taxi. Look for an excuse to get out of the house!

2. Walk around the block on your lunch break. If you have an hour for lunch, use 30 minutes for exercise! If you have a desk job, be intentional about moving around during lunchtime and other breaks.

3. Ride a stationary bike while watching TV. If you have little time or ability to exercise outside of the home, consider buying a stationary bike, which is cheaper than a 6-month gym membership.

4. Take the stairs (every time)! Make it your routine, whether 1 flight or 5.


5. Go window shopping. Walk around town or the mall. And next time you are tempted to shop online, spend the time actually going to the store.

6. Go to the gym on your way to or from work. Be sure to choose one that is on your route. Or take advantage of the gym at work. If you are on a time budget, just work out for 30 minutes.

7. Play chase with your children or pets. This is an easy way to get your heart rate up quickly. And your babies will love you for it.

8. Do housework or yardwork. Try to work for 30-60 straight minutes. And use good body mechanics by squatting frequently.


9. Do jumping jacks, push-ups and crunches at home. Or use an exercise DVD. This is an ideal option for young moms during naptime!

10. Stand up while using your laptop or phone. Standing burns more calories than sitting. And it is a better position for your back!

LOSING WEIGHT in February

January is almost over, and so far this year you have worked hard to lose weight. But how do you keep your New Year's drive and motivation for losing weight and/or improving your health as the year continues?

1. Select a diet program that you actually enjoy. Don't do the "subway diet" if you hate sandwiches. And don't do weight watchers if you hate counting calories. Don't go vegetarian if you love meat. You get the idea. Know yourself and your strengths/weaknesses. Nutrisystem may work for you or may be the worst option for you. If you cannot leave the grocery store without your stash of junk food, then consider something like Nutrisystem because they will send all your meals/snacks to you. If you hate cooking, don't select a diet that requires cooking your own foods. There are a ton of weight loss techniques out there, so be sure to choose the right one FOR YOU! Don't choose one simply because a lot of people are doing it. If you enjoy it, you will stick with it (year-round)!

2. Select an exercise program that you actually enjoy. Be creative in selecting your choice of exercise(s)! There are endless options for exercise/sports, so find one that you like! If you cannot motivate yourself, join an exercise class or group. Is there a sport that you and your family/friends could play together? Or would it be most convenient for you to start a walking program with some co-workers during lunch? P90X or Cross Fit might be ideal for you to do at home by yourself. If you have cable/satellite, check out the exercise channels for some good challenges. Find an exercise that you enjoy, so you will continue it after January ends.

3. Select a partner to lose weight with. You must know someone who is also trying to lose weight, so join together to motivate each other! Your spouse, a friend, a co-worker, or family member can provide the accountability you need to actually stick with your improved eating and exercise habits. Losing weight is not easy, so you need all the support you can get! If you have the means, hire a personal trainer to help. We need each other, especially when we are trying to make difficult choices/changes in life. So find a partner, and get to work! Let 2012 be the year you actually fulfill your New Year's resolutions!