Guest Writer - Megan Miralgia, MS, RD, LDN

 Is Your Plate in Shape?

Megan Miraglia, MS, RD, LDN

Wellness Workdays

March is National Nutrition Month and what perfect timing with the release of the new and improved USDA Dietary Guidelines and MyPlate. MyPlate translates scientific nutrition facts into simple, clear-cut, and visual ways to improve your health. The straightforward message of MyPlate simply states, fill half of your plate with fruits and vegetables, ¼ of your plate with lean proteins, ¼ with whole grains and add in a serving of low-fat dairy. It’s that simple!

You may be familiar with the older, MyPyramid, which possesses more information to take with you, but can be hard to navigate and apply. The new MyPlate icon provides valuable, practical concepts that can be easily used with your plate on a daily basis. MyPlate will show you that with a few simple changes to your plate, you can make modifications to improve your overall health and possibly your waistline! Simple changes such as swapping refined grains for whole, saturated fat meats for lean proteins, and piling up on the fruits and veggies, can make a positive impact on your health. Try these quick tips below to get your plate in shape and be on your way to a more healthful and energetic you!

Tips To Get Your Plate In Shape

1. Get started by filling:
1. half your plate with vegetables and some fruit
2. ¼ of your plate with grains, preferably whole grains
3. ¼ of your plate with lean protein
4. Top it off with a serving of dairy such as a glass of 1% or non-fat milk
2. Use a 9" plate to keep portions in check. Try using a colorful or fun plate that you look forward to using. 
3. Fill half your plate with a rainbow of fruits and vegetables to amp up your vitamin, mineral and antioxidant intake. The USDA recommends 5- 9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Choose fresh or frozen most often to eat the most nutrients.
4. Cooking for 1? Get the most bang for your buck by choosing frozen fruits and vegetables to keep healthy foods on hand without the spoilage.
5. Make at least half of the grains you eat, whole grains (ideally even more than that!). Fiber rich whole grains such as brown rice, whole-wheat breads, pasta or cereal, will help you stay full longer, control weight and maintain digestive health. Check the ingredient section on the nutrition facts label to make sure the first word is "whole".
6. Try a new whole grain such as quinoa, wild rice, amaranth, barley or oatmeal to switch it up! Try this recipe for a healthy dose of whole grains AND veggies. Click HERE
7. Stick to lean proteins such as chicken, turkey, fish, tofu or beans to limit unhealthy, saturated fat.
8. Make the switch - to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk. Full-fat dairy products include excess calories and saturated fat that provide no nutritional benefit. Stick to 1% or nonfat versions to reap the benefits of the calcium, vitamin D and lean protein.

United States Department of Agriculture: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. US Department of Agriculture website http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/DGAs2010-PolicyDocument.htm Accessed March 19, 2012.

"For more tips to get your plate in shape, follow Wellness Workdays on twitter, @debrawein"

We have been posting tips daily throughout march so it might be nice!

Treadmill Workouts

With all of the following routines, you can play around with the speed and the incline. It will be vastly different from performing a routine 40 to 60-minute jog on the treadmill or outdoors that you may already used to completing. All of the following may also be completed while fast-walking as well.

Track Routine (a.k.a., "Track Day") - It can either be done on a treadmill or on a track. Since there are many types of routines to perform, here is one example of what "track day" may look like:
         
          Warm-up jog/walk
          400m run (4x) - at a good running speed
          200m run (2x) - at a good running speed
          100m run (2x) - at a good running speed

Interval Routine (a.k.a. "Speed Intervals" or "Distance Intervals") - The interval routine, like the track routine, will boost your metabolism. For most people, it will be a different type of cardio routine with heavier breathing and a shorter duration. Most individuals spend way over the recommended number of minutes on a cardio machine. You can finish an interval routine in about 20 minutes. Here's an example:
          Warm-up jog/walk - 2 minutes at 5.8mph with incline 1.0 degrees
          "Fast-Pace" - 30 to 40 seconds at 10.0mph (just an example) with incline 4.0 degrees
          "Rest-Pace" - 2 minutes at 4.0mph with incline 1.0 or 0.0 degrees
          "Fast-Pace" - 30 to 40 seconds at 10.0mph with incline 4.0 degrees
          Repeat the "fast-pace" and "rest-pace" for roughly 4 to 6 sets (or more sets depending on the workout day)

Ladder Routine - Again, you can play around with the speed and incline. The emphasis will be laid on increasing your drive and pushing through to the most difficult peak or point of the ladder routine. Walk it out afterwards at a slower pace. Example:

          Warm-up jog/walk
          6.0mph, 1.0 degree incline, 4 minutes
          7.5mph, 3.0 degree incline, 4 minutes
          9.0mph, 5.0 degree incline, 4 minutes.....

Of course, you can manipulate the speed, incline, distance, and time in this case. Many variables. Good results.
Pyramid Routine - Emphasis will be on getting over "the hump" and then not giving up on the way back down the backside of the pyramid. Example:

          Warm-up jog/walk
          6.0mph, 1.0 degree incline, 4 minutes
          7.5mph, 3.0 degree incline, 4 minutes
          9.0mph, 5.0 degree incline, 4 minutes
          7.5mph, 3.0 degree incline, 4 minutes
          6.0mph, 1.0 degree incline, 4 minutes.....
       
Do it up!

Derek

10 Performance Tips To Effectively Start Off 2012

With all do respect to well-known fitness trainers who get to post their tips on traffic-heavy websites, here is access to 10 tips that you can follow. Of course, adequate nutrition and proper exercise are key points. However, some of these lists (and I have not seen all of them...actually not a single one. Oops?) miss out on the details:

1. Your belly = your heart - Belly fat affects your heart. If you look down and can't see your feet, chances remain that your heart is also affected...

2. Save $ - As an example, see how much you are driving and spending on gas...

3. Spend $ - Wisely, that is...

4. Eat - Whether you have a goal to lose, maintain, or gain weight, or gain muscle. Let me put out this plug now...a lose weight goal should be a gain muscle goal, and you do not have to fear getting too big...

5. Move - Do you sit a lot? Do you commute long distances? Do you lounge too often? Fuel yourself with good foods and then construct some movement...

6. Have an Active Motivational Source - What does this mean? Well, pick a person who you normally see working out. How are they inspiring you? Instead of saying to yourself, "I wish I were like him/her," be like him/her or them. These people are your neighborhood exercisers, typically...

7. Explore Your Options - Walk, run, bike, home exercise, group, individual, and more. Whatever you choose, just do not settle on saying, "Oh, I do not know what to do." Or, "I do not have enough time" because these thoughts lead to greater excuses for escaping even general health...

8. Be consistent - Do NOT start a regimen for two weeks. Stop for 2 months. Re-start for 1 day. Then, "rest" for a year. It is just not going to happen or to be allowed...

9. Believe and Do - First, believe that you can change, perform/exercise, or adopt good habits, then do them...

10. Laugh - Hey, laughing works facial muscles (buccinator, mentalis, etc....just work them), abdominal muscles, and make you feel happy and willing to enjoy an activity...

 

Do It Up!

Derek

 

 

Be: Let's Shed The Excuses

As we venture past the first part of January 2012, let us all enter a new level. Let us enter a new height in our lives. One in which we perform well physically, mentally, and faithfully (everyone has something they believe in!) Shed the excuses that hold us back, especially when it comes to participating in fitness/exercise/physical activity. New Year's resolutions on fitness...ah, throw them out if they are going to disappear within the first month of 2012. Instead, adopt a new a way of living and adapt to it. Just do it...in the way that works for you!

So, here are 54 ways:

Be honest...Be determined...Be busy...Be coachable...Be rested...Be challenged...Be mindful

Be thankful...Be energetic...Be aggressive...Be thoughtful...Be new...Be strong...Be fast

Be swift...Be mobile...Be rewarded...Be flexible...Be balanced...Be versatile...Be open-minded

Be goal-oriented...Be aimful...Be fueled up...Be hungry...Be humble...Be joyful...Be re-inventive

Be innovative...Be rested...Be invigorated...Be catalytic...Be inspired...Be triumphant...Be firm

Be fulfilled...Be powerful...Be dynamic...Be escalating...Be enriched...Be served...Be complete

Be solid...Be lean...Be encouraged...Be tough...Be physical..Be tenacious...Be better


Be developed...Be different...Be progressive...Be blessed...Be you!

Take care of yourself,
Derek

Derek Arledge, CSCS

Athlete Needs

Skill sets. Athletes need skill sets.

Why?

Because skill sets make the athlete the total package. Within these skill sets function, position-specific, player-specific, and a challenging order of exercises/drills are possessed. Gone are the days when a college and especially a professional athlete can gain a considerable competitive advantage by simply being the highest jumper or the fastest runner on a team and have the title of best player on that squad- it works in the 100m dash and in the high jump because those events measure running and jumping.

I am willing to hold steadfastly that the fastest runner in the NFL is not going to the Pro Bowl. The strongest defenseman in the NHL is not the absolute best defenseman.

I am not saying that these prototypical athletes do not have skills, but the top-notch players in these sport leagues can play and entertain audiences with their many skill sets. These athletes truly work at their game physically and mentally. They are dynamic in preparation and stagnant in mistakes - many faults do not flow. The athletes that tone their skills minimize total dependency and optimize proficiency - they most likely get the job done!!!

Aside from all of this information, training the body in non-traditional ways is as important as rest and sleep because the body makes necessary adjustments. It is great that an athlete or non-athlete can squat 500lbs. or bench press 325lbs; in addition, it is also great that the same individuals can do a lot of unbalanced work or large reaction work. Sports such as, football and ice hockey, are as physical as they are reactive. Moving a sofa is as physically demanding as it is important to get in the right position to move the sofa.

We all have an inner athlete, but the major difference is our athleticism is vastly contrasted and some skill sets are more toned than others by sport, by age, by experience, by desire, and by talent. Everyone needs skill sets, but it is an athlete's job/career to perfect this practice year-round with necessary breaks and with re-invention!

Take care of yourself,
Derek

Derek Arledge, CSCS

Isometrics - Ho! Ho! Hold'em!

Video: Theme #6 of the 2011 Yuletide Mania Video Series

Isometric holds work!

They recruit motor units.
They burn (your muscles work!)
They can be used as active rest exercises.
They help to increase muscle stability, making movements smoother and more efficient.
They can be used as substitutes when you cannot do an exercise full range.
If you have not exercised in a while, then they work to slowly get you back to speed.
They are used in rehabilitation.
They are used in athletics.
They are used in everyday life: carrying groceries, manipulating a steering wheel, carrying a full tray of food to a Christmas holiday gathering, and more.
If you have bad knees, they can protect cartilage more than a full range movement's job.
They do not require any equipment even though equipment and weights can be used as a progression.
There are more benefits, but lastly, isometric holds work well and the beginning of a workout and at the end of one. Following up this hold with full a range of movement does work to get the most out of a muscle group.

So, have you included isometric holds into your routine?

On another note, are you STILL using the same exercise routine from years ago or from last year? Why, let's change up that order!

Take care of yourself,
Derek

Derek Arledge, CSCS
Founder, TEEM Performance Training
Strength & Conditioning Specialist

2011 Welcome the Newbies

See the video.

New exercises should arise every year in our exercise routines. Here are just a few news ones or "newbies" to include and that have been included:

1) Revised Quadruped - it is actually on all-fours (hands and toes) and not on all-sixes (hands, knees, and toes). It is more difficult than the all-six position. You should feel it through your abdominal region more than your hip flexors. If your hip flexors are struggling, then, one they are too tight. Two, your weight is not distributed evenly. Thirdly, you have not engaged or braced your abs. See more here

2) Dog Switch - the name is also synonymous with cobra to downward dog. The modified version is performed on your knees. This particular exercise is a good warm-up, a good active rest, and a good routine for an interval station. However, you do need upper body strength and good control of your body.

3) Supine Combo - instead of picking one exercise and moving to the next, do them all at the same time. The supine combo allows for this, well, combo, to occur. It's nothing crazy. But, it's something tolerable. A main point is to make sure you do not arch your back. Keep your back flat and abs engaged. You get more bang for your body then simply waiting between individual exercises.

4) Push-Up Fold - bet...if you can do 30 push-ups, for example, you will perform less when you add the fold. However, your shoulders and chest get a good workout! No cheating! Meet your chest to a tennis ball or roughly 2.5 inches off the ground and keep that tempo going the whole time!

5) Kettlebell Split-Stance Lunge Hold with Around the World - simply stated but leg-burn solid: do not bend or flex at the hips. If you find yourself flexing too much, then there are some tight muscles present. Get both knees to 90 degrees and carry that kettlebell around your body.

6) Tubing Resisted Kicks - these are difficult if you have never kicked before. Even if you cannot get your leg up high, PLEASE KEEP YOUR GUARD UP! I cannot stress this position enough. When kicking and punching are involved, it is very important to keep your guard up - as if you were in a real fight. Balance and focus are crucial in this exercise.

Enjoy!
Derek