Creating Time to Workout
 By: Sondra Lieder, CSCS, CPT


www.bodybysondra.com
 
You just put in a long work day, shuffled the kids to soccer and
dance, put dinner together, helped with the homework and still haven’t checked email… and your personal trainer expects you to fit in a workout? It’s no wonder people find it difficult to make time to exercise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends adults participate in at least
150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week and two days of muscle-strengthening activity. That is equivalent to approximately 20 minutes per day.  The American College of Sports Medicine reports that less than two-thirds of adults in the United States get the recommended minimum amount of exercise. If you find yourself bailing on exercise, try some of these tips to incorporate fitness into your daily routine.


1. Sign off of Facebook and shut the computer off!

 2.Pick out your workout clothes the day before
and have your gym bag and lunch ready to go for the morning. 
 
3. Include your friends, family and coworkers in your goals. Having a supportive and encouraging support system makes skipping workouts less tempting.

4. Find a personal trainer in Austin so you can get an individualized fitness plan to save time. This decreases the risk of getting injured and makes the most of the time that you’ve set aside. There’s no point in going to crossfit with 20 other people and working out until you hurt yourself. You’ll end up in pain and put yourself out of commission for potentially weeks at a time.

 5. Make Exercise Time Flexible. Split up your workout time to better fit your schedule. Instead of doing your 30 minute walk all after work when you’re exhausted try 15 min in the morning and 15 min in the evening. You will still get the same health benefits as one longer session.

 6. Add Workouts To Your Calendar. You should plan your workout for the day just like you map out your work day with
business or family events. This allows you to prepare mentally and physically to start and complete the workout of your choice.

 7. Have a Backup Plan.Prepare for unexpected circumstances by having exercise alternatives available just in case you can’t make your fitness class, the weather forces you to stay home, the gym closes or any other excuse. A personal trainer can create a customized home workout that doesn’t require equipment.

 8. Change Your Way of Thinking. Exercise isn’t an optional activity. With obesity rates continuously rising and chronic diseases at an all-time high, exercise is an investment likened to a retirement account. It increases the quality your life now and in the future. Just like you must eat, sleep, and breathe… you must exercise.

9. Do What You Enjoy. Running and spin classes aren’t for everyone…and that’s perfectly ok! Don’t force yourself to do workouts that you hate. This almost guarantees that you won’t stick with the program. Instead, pick an activity that you like or can tolerate and find ways to make it physically challenging.  In addition to your personal training sessions you can walk, use the elliptical or bike, play a group sport, swim, or even chase kids around (they don’t have to  be yours! Kidding.)

It is so easy to go an entire day without giving much attention to exercise. With these small adjustments on how you view exercise, staying active isn’t as overwhelming. You’ll be able to stay consistent, see results, and be motivated to continue. Live a longer, healthier life and enjoy the benefits of all of your hard work.

Don’t let watery eyes and a runny nose keep you from a spring workout. Avoid the pitfalls of allergy season with these expert tips.

1.)Reschedule Your Workout. Exercising in the AM makes you more likely to stick with your workout routine, according to various studies. But the prime time for fitness is also the worst time for your outdoor allergies. Generally, pollen counts peak in the morning between 6 AM and 10 AM, says Frederick M. Schaffer, MD, chief medical officer of United Allergy Services. Unless you can get yourself in the habit of rising with the sun, consider moving your run to lunchtime or immediately after work. “Trees don’t like to pollinate when it’s very warm out,” says Paul Ehrlich, MD, a fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. “During the day pollen is less of a problem—but in the mornings and evenings when it’s cool and there’s a breeze, the pollen just goes crazy.”In addition to avoiding peak times, regularly check your local weather forecast for days when the pollen count will be particularly high—and have a backup plan ready. Consider heading to the gym or hitting the pool when the pollen count reaches more than 900 grains per cubic meter (high)—and definitely stick with indoor workouts when the count hits 1,500 grains per cubic meter (very high).

2.)Stay Indoors When You Need to De-Stress.  As if you need one more thing to worry about—your immune system may react more severely to allergens when you’re feeling frazzled, according to researchers at Ohio State University Medical Center. After skin prick tests, study subjects with a history of seasonal allergies developed raised, itchy patches on their skin that were more red and twice as big when they were stressed compared to when they were feeling calmer.

3.)Avoid Allergy-Aggravating Foods Eating fruits and veggies is never a bad idea, but during allergy season, it’s important to pick the right ones. Many seasonal allergy sufferers are also affected by oral allergy syndrome, a reaction that occurs when pollen crosses paths with proteins from certain fruits and vegetables in the body, causing your lips to tingle and swell and your mouth to itch. According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, those allergic to birch or alder trees may also react to celery, carrots, parsley, fennel, coriander, cherries, peaches, pears, kiwi, plums, and apples (cooked or canned varieties may produce less of a reaction). Grass allergy sufferers should steer clear of tomatoes, celery, peaches, melons, and oranges. Those with reactions to ragweed should pass on bananas, cucumbers, melon, and zucchini.

4.)Stock Up On Superfoods. A diet rich in vitamins and minerals helps keep your body in peak condition, but several small studies suggest that adding certain food compounds or supplements may give you an allergy-busting boost. Probiotic yogurt may prevent your body from overreacting to outdoor allergens, according to a study published in Clinical and Experimental Allergy. Allergy sufferers who consumed a daily dose of yogurt containing the good bacteria Lactobacillus casei had lower levels of an antibody that triggers the release of histamine, the key player in runny noses, watery eyes, and nonstop sneezing.

A spirulina supplement, which is rich in plant-based protein, iron, calcium, and vitamins A and C, may un-stuff your nose while enhancing your exercise performance. Allergy sufferers who took 2,000 mg of the blue-green algae daily experienced improvements in nasal allergy symptoms, according to a study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food. What’s more, men who took spirulina supplements for four weeks tired less rapidly during two-hour treadmill runs, compared to men who took a placebo, according to a study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. The men who took spirulina also burned 11% more fat than those who took a placebo.

5.)Strip Down Before You Step Inside. You’d take off muddy shoes and clothes before heading inside your house, and you need to treat pollen the same way. “What’s the first thing you do after you get home? Flop down on your couch or your bed,” says Ehrlich. “We track pollen into our homes and spread it out everywhere.” Before you leave for a workout, place a clean set of clothing in your entryway or garage so you can change as soon as you’re back. It’s also helpful to have a plastic bag handy so you can contain your affected clothing until laundry day. And remember to hit the showers before bedtime. If the pollen that’s settled in your hair gets on your pillowcase, you’ll breathe it in all night.

6.)Ditch Glasses for Dailies. Even after shedding your workout clothes and hitting the shower, your eyes are still red, itchy, and watery. What gives? If you’ve been wearing the same contact lenses for weeks, they could be the culprit.

But don’t dig out your spectacles just yet. Contact lenses create a helpful barrier between the eyes and airborne allergens, suggests a report published in Contact Lens & Anterior Eye. Thing is, your eyes pollen filters need to be changed often. In other words, pick lenses that you can toss in the trash each day. When British researchers exposed grass allergy suffers to bursts of pollen, they experienced fewer overall allergy symptoms when wearing daily disposable contact lenses than when they ditched their contacts altogether.

By: Hollis Templeton and Alyssa Wells