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Top 10 Fitness Trends of 2010

Saturday, March 27th, 2010 | The Chief Weight Loss Competition | 1 Comment

 According to the American College of Sports Medicine’s Heath & Fitness Journal survey, these are the top ten “Fitness Trends for 2010”. A trend is defined as “a general development or change in a situation or the way people are behaving” and is not the same as a fad. Along with each trend, I will mention a few of the current “fads” that may go along with the general tendencies or trends.

    1.    For 2008 through to 2010, the first and foremost trend is that of educated and experienced fitness professionals. This means that there are certification and education programs that are fully “accredited” by third party organizations and these lead to recognized designations. In Canada, this might involve carrying a degree from a university in kinesiology or “exercise science”. The graduate can then apply to be registered with the provincial College of Kinesiologists. Each province has it’s own recognized programs, in BC fr example, fitness professionals can gain certification for teaching  land-based or aquatic classes through BCRPA. Ask the trainers you are keen to work with what their certifications are. Do an internet search to find out if it is widely recognized. There is a very wide range of education and backgrounds and you should be informed.
    2.    Strength Training. While this was number 6 on the list of trends in 2007, it is now number 2, possibly as it is becoming common knowledge that increasing muscle mass helps with weight management and in rehabilitation to name but two benefits. This is where there is a broad range of WAYS to go about strength training, from weight-lifting at the gym (traditionally) to all the latest gadgets and classes that have been developed to alleviate boredom. The list for 2010 includes things like kettlebells and the TRX systems, which involves a system of webbing with handles attached firmly to a door or the ceiling using your own body weight as resistance!
    3.    A focus on childhood obesity. This issue has been making the news and is beginning to be seen as an issue in not only the US but in Canada as well.  Obese kids today will be the obese adults of tomorrow so there is an increased focus on programs designed to prevent this. Check out the TV program X-Weighted Families on Slice Network  to see what it takes to turn overweight families around- it’s a multifactorial approach.

    4.    Personal training now seems to be for everyone, not just the celebrities or the very well-off. Personal training requires a higher level of financial and personal commitment which, I suspect, helps foster accountability and results! The cost maybe higher but often the effectiveness of the workouts will also be much higher. Back to point number 2, find out what your potential trainers credentials are and ask them if they have experience working with clients like yourself (if you have any special requirements, ie. recently post-partum, recovering from cancer, have had surgery recently etc etc.)
    5.    Core training. This trend has been around a while now and describes the focus of exercise on strengthening of the back and abdominal muscles. The equipment could include BOSU balls, stability balls, foam rollers, wobble boards and the like. This is a form of strength training (as in #2) but it is thought that the focus on the abs and back muscles helps support the spine. From a physiotherapy perspective, this is not an absolute correlation, but that is an entirely different article and I won’t go into that here!
    6.    Special Fitness Programs for Older Adults- there’s no limit as to when you can benefit from exercise, so even at 70+, there are health benefits to exercise.
    7.     Functional Fitness. This refers to exercise programs that the reflect actual activities that someone might do during the day.
    8.     Sports-Specific Training.  Twist Conditioning has built a reputation in this area by providing products and training systems to build speed and coordination to name but a few benefits for sports like soccer and hockey. They are located in North Vancouver and offer programs for kids and adults alike who wish to improve their sports performance.
    9.   Pilates.  This form of exercise focuses on alignment, breathing, coordination and the entire body in progressively challenging positions and variations. Exercises can be done on a mat or with complex (and expensive) equipment. These exercises work well for clients recovering for various medical conditions but require highly trained teachers to get you to perform the exercises with the exactitude they require. Caution: It looks much easier than it is!
    10.    Group Personal Training. For the budget conscious, these sessions offer guidance in appropriate technique but with a social element. Groups can be small (as in 2-3 clients) making it more affordable but  still giving many of the benefits of a trained instructor who can give personalized exercises for the most efficiency in training.

So if you’re feeling bored  or stalled with your  exercise routine, this is what’s trendy on 2010. If you’re not sure how to proceed, talk to your favorite health practitioner.

Sue Shalanski BScPT

Registered Physical Therapist and Owner of Reach Physio Solutions in Squamish, BC

Want to be a lifelong exerciser?

Thursday, March 18th, 2010 | The Chief Weight Loss Competition | No Comments

Which describes you best? Are you someone who is active every day, without giving it much thought, or are you someone who jumps on a bandwagon of exercise for bouts at a time, in between periods of inactivity. I was very lucky to grow up being active nearly every day. I’ve remained this way pretty much throughout my life. If I’m unable to be active (due to injury, for example) I’m a bit lost, to be honest. But I know not everyone is driven this way about exercising.

It’s fairly commonly known that exercise has a multitude of health benefits. Not only does it help the immune system, it also improves our mood. So why do some people find it so hard to choose lifelong exercising habits?

One reason could be starting out a new exercise habit with too much volume or intensity. Depending on your age and past activity, this could be a recipe for injury. Injury leads to time off exercise, which leads to inactivity…a law of physics that I have never forgotten from high school was “a body at rest tends to STAY at rest” whereas “a body IN MOTION tends to stay in motion”. This is a bit of a mantra for me, when I start feeling a little sluggish. Slow motion is still motion! If you are just beginning to be active, start SLOW rather than blasting and then crashing!

An unfortunate finding from the America College of Sports Medicine is that 50% of people who begin an exercise plan drop out after 6 months. So what do the 50% of exercisers who sustain their exercise do differently?

Well, maybe they talk about exercise differently. Remember when you were a kid running around the neighborhood with friends, on bikes, building forts, making snow angels. Did you ever say “I HAVE to go out and play now” the way we might say “I HAVE to go to the gym after work”. Being active as a kid was natural and FUN. Is it possible to view exercise in your life as PLAY instead of more “work” to get done?

Becoming a lifelong exerciser is all about making it a habit that becomes integrated and natural. Experts say it takes 21 days to make a habit. I suspect it could take ONE day if you choose to accept the new habit as you. But if suddenly taking on a new persona isn’t you, and you’d prefer social support and a FUN focus, why not join our next 30 Day Challenge, starting May 3^rd. Everyday we will have an exercise “event” you can attend. Group exercise and a goal (completing 30 minutes of activity for 30 days in a row) can be what will take you from being an “dabbler” in the world of exercise to a full fledged “fitness-freak”! Find out how to sign up for our event by clicking here.

Sue Shalanski

Registered Physiotherapist, Clinic Owner and regular exerciser

Turning up the intensity

Friday, March 5th, 2010 | The Chief Weight Loss Competition | No Comments

Ugh. The painful element of exercise…the BURN in the muscles, the struggle to breathe. It’s what’s necessary to get results and that’s such a kicker. It’s one of the aspects of exercise that deters many people. But if you’re seeking results in the form of improved fitness or some weight-loss from your exercise efforts, it is a necessary element.

It’s pretty straight forward-  walking faster burns more calories than walking slower- due to simple physics required to move a mass (the body) at a higher velocity/speed means more energy is being generated to propel the body! What also happens if the body registers a “challenge” (ie. the fatigue point you reach when you can’t possibly do another repetition) is that it prompts the build itself up after the activity to prepare for the next bout that might be tougher!

But HOW intense must it be? There was a trend that involved promotion of the “fat-burning” zone to be labeled on cardio equipment  a while back, which could be from 50-60% of max heart rate (we’ll get to that in a minute). People LOVED this because the intensity was very very comfortable. One would barely have to breathe hard. This was bliss, except that the “fat burning” would only happen if the exercise lasted for a LONG time (usually longer than the 20 minutes most people would use on cardio equipment but certainly acceptable for those new to exercise or better than NO EXERCISE, of course). It was thought that exercising too hard would only burn up carbohydrates, a fast burning fuel. More recently, we’ve come to learn that burning off fat requires more intensity than the 50-60% of max heart rate because OVERALL calories burnt is muc higher (and that’s great news given that we continue to burn calories AFTER the exercise is over at a more elevated rate too).

Now, I confess, I am not a exercise scientist but consider myself a “translator of the information” for the public (and my patients). What this all means to me is that we need to feel a little uncomfortable during exercise!

If you like to be a bit more technical than that, there are two ways (one electronic and one not) that I think can help you determine if you are working hard enough.

Way #1 (non technical) is to use THE BORG RATE OF PERCEIVED EXERTION SCALE. This is a scale from 6-20 that helps you personally “rate” the level of effort you are expending. It is well linked with heart rate so that adding a zero (so a score of 12 is equivalent to 120 beats per minute in heart rate). More info on heart rates comes a bit later. This link contains more detailed info on the Borg Scale.

Way #2 (technical) is to use a heart rate monitor. A heart rate monitor uses a strap around your chest to detect your heart rate and is transmitted wirelessly to a device shaped like a wrist watch for you to read. It’s instantaneous and quite accurate, depending on the model and can we worn during most activity even swimming. If you are “normal” (ha ha), your maximum heart rate can be estimated as 220-your age. This is then multiplied by the percentage you wish to work at (say 70%) and can be even set to beat when you are not exercise hard enough (this feature can be quite annoying). This is a great tool, if you can program a watch, you can use a heart rate monitor. Some are very fancy and can link to your computer, be uploaded to the internet, graphed out etc etc. A basic one can be about $90. Definitely get some advice from shop clerks in a specialty shop when purchasing (like a running or cycling shop) as the options/choice can be quite stunning.

A few caveats about intensity…if you are NEW to exercise or have any cardiovascular conditions or take certain medications, you may not be a good candidate for this kind of training and should stick to a personalized (ie. appropriate for you) program. The best thing to do would be to consult your physician then a  qualified exercise specialist such as a kinesiologist (one local Kinesiologist we recommend is Erica Otto) or a physical therapist to help you exercise safely at a level right for you. No need to get injured or worse yet, find yourself in the hospital undergoing stress-tests.

I encourage you to post your own suggestions below. Comments have a short delay before they appear so please be patient. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for next week’s post on breaking through a plateau in your fitness level.

Til then,

Sue Shalanski

Registered Physiotherapist

Clinic Owner of Reach Physio Solutions