Measuring up

From personal trainer Christie Bridges. 

A recent article in Consumer Reports on Health says “Position Yourself to Stay Well.” The main point is that good posture not only looks good but is good for you. “Good posture can prevent aches and pains, improve balance, and decrease the risk of falls.” Statistics for 2004 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that an estimated 1.85 million emergency room visits by people 65 and older were the result of falls. I know most of you aren’t over 65 yet, but one day you will be! Because most bad posture is the result of two things—bad habits and weak muscles—there’s no time like the present to improve it.

The first thing you need to know is how good posture looks. Michelle Olson, Ph.D., professor of exercise physiology at Auburn University, Montgomery, says, “Good posture looks straight and great.” You have three small, natural curves—one in each of the three parts of the spine. There is a slight forward curve in the neck or cervical spine; the upper back (thoracic spine) should curve slightly backward, and the lumbar or lower back reverses this. Also, if you were to hang a plumb line from your ear, it should fall straight by your shoulder, hip, knee and ankle bones. Try standing in front of a mirror and see how you “measure up.”

If you don’t feel as tall as you want, you can try these four, simple exercises suggested by the American Physical Therapy Association.

• First, practice standing with your back against a wall with all posterior body parts “plastered” to the wall except your feet which are 3–6″ away. Draw in your belly button to take the arch out of your back.
• The second exercise is to stand tall and pretend a string is pulling you up. You can save time by combining exercises one and two. Just slide the back of your head along the wall and slightly tuck your chin to lengthen the neck.
• Exercise number three is what we trainers call scapular retraction. Place your arms in a “W” position—similar to the “I give up position” I’ve shown my clients. Bring your elbows back and pinch your shoulder blades together—like you’re holding a pencil or chopstick between them.
• Last but not least is the pelvic tilt. Lying on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat, press the small of your back toward the floor and hold 3 to 5 seconds.

Of course, if you need help evaluating your posture or stretching and strengthening the appropriate muscles, I’d be happy to help!

Christie Bridges
Personal Trainer
24 Hour Fitness
951-7677 gym

Desert Essence hair & body wash

One thing I love about sales is that I sometimes pick up something I wouldn’t have bought otherwise. Such is the case with this hair and body wash, which was on sale at my local health-food store for $5.25—a bargain for the tall bottle.

The front says that the wash contains sea kelp, tea tree, and aloe vera and “replenishes electrolytes & minerals.” The back says the wash is

Perfect after intensive activity or workout. Organic Tea Tree Oil provides deep cleansing properties, while advanced technology quenches the skin with electrolytes and minerals naturally lost in perspiration. Leaves skin and hair feeling hydrated and conditioned. No sodium lauryl sulfate or other harsh surfactants. No parabens or artificial colorants.

My evaluation:

• Smell: refreshing.
• Lather: very little.
• Cleaning power: good.
• Effect on hair: mine was soft after washing, but this might have been due to my Pureology conditioner.

Fit tip

Christie Bridges, a personal trainer at 24-Hour Fitness, regularly sends her clients Fit Tips. Here is one she sent recently.

According to Paul Chek, one of the most recognized experts in the fitness industry, “There is no metabolic pathway from the muscle cells in your midsection to the fat cells surrounding them. For the abdominal muscles to use stored fat for energy, your body must first send it to the liver. The liver converts this fat into fatty acids and sends it back to the abdominal muscles to be used as fuel. Unfortunately, the stored fat the abdominal muscles use first may not be from the abdominal region. (In fact, it’s possible the energy to perform an abdominal exercise may come from fat stores in your arms.) This is because your body uses its fat stores such that the last place you added fat to it is the first place you will lose it. This order is genetically determined and influenced by sex and age. For example, the females in one family may tend to store fat on their hips while the males tend to store fat on their waist.”

We Personal Trainers have a saying, “You cannot spot reduce, but you can spot tone.” In other words, you cannot target the area from which you choose to lose fat, but you can train the muscle under the fat so that when the fat is gone, the muscle is visible.

When it comes to burning calories, any kind of activity is good. What we call ADLs or Activities of Daily Living can substantially increase the number of calories burned. Generally speaking, your Resting Metabolic Rate, the number of calories you’d burn if you laid on the couch all day, is about 75% of the total calories burned. However, the latter number can be considerably increased by activity. One way to increase RMR is to add lean body mass, i.e., muscle. Since muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue, it uses more calories.

Christie Bridges

Personal Trainer

24 Hour Fitness

951-7677 gym