CardioBriefs is not the latest craze in undergarments, but a brief discussion on the cardiovascular system and the importance of aerobic training.

The cardiovascular system is comprised of the heart, lungs and vessels that move blood and lymph through the body.

As a trainer, when meeting with people who experience unexplained fatigue and/or appear to have nervous energy, our first question is, are they getting enough oxygen? If not, we prescribe aerobic activity.

Aerobic activity is muscular work that elevates the heart rate and breathing for extended periods of time. This action delivers an abundance of blood and oxygen to working cells creating efficiencies such as: a stronger heart, cleaner, more subtle vessels and oxygen receptive lungs. Other benefits include: increased energy levels, enhanced endurance, fat loss, detoxification, lower blood pressure, reduced risk of major chronic and fatal diseases, relaxation, better sleep patterns, better moods and even financial gains.

TIPS FOR GETTING STARTED

Fuel-up and gear-up properly with a couple hundred calories of easily digested carbohydrates, comfortable clothing and well-fitting and supportive shoes. Drink a little water prior and carry a bottle with you if exercising over 15-20 minutes or if it’s hot or cold out.

Start out slowly and simply by walking short (1–2 mi.) routes that interest you. Mark down the time it takes you in minutes and seconds. Exercise in the range of 60 – 75 % of your max heart rate. It should feel moderately hard. If you can continue a conversation, but need to stop and catch your breath every sentence or so, there is a good chance you are working in this zone. Work up to at least 30 minutes per day, 4 - 5 days per week. However, if you are feeling busy and can only do 10 or 15 minutes on a given day, go for it!

Breathe deep conscious breaths inhaling through the mouth and nose and exhaling through the mouth.

Monitor your resting and working heart rates by counting the number of beats per minute when completely relaxed to get a fair idea of your resting rate (take the lowest number over several readings). Stop periodically during exercise to obtain your working heart rate (take at the wrist for 15 seconds and multiply times four). For more accurate information, use a heart rate monitor. Garmin, Polar and Timex make good devices.

Attempt to better your times and vary and intensify your movements - this will peak your interest and keep results from flattening out.

Choose activities you really enjoy and have fun! Grab a friend and go for a power walk on the streets or a hike in the hills, ride a bike, swim, in-line skate, play tennis, play outside with the kids or grandkids, join a team or start working with a trainer.

Visit www.OutdoorOdyssey.com and our Wellness Resources page to get information on training and topics such as: FITT Principle / Interval Training / Karvonen Formula and Heart Rate Calculation / VO2 MAX and Lactate Thresholds / Proper Programming Progression and Periodization.

This is Part 2 of a 5-part series on Fitness and Wellness. In our next article we will discuss issues surrounding supplementation.

Hey Rik, do you believe the expression, “You are what you eat?”
I most certainly do Fredrico!
Me too...which leads me to believe that you've been gobbling up a lot of turkey lately.
Hardy-har-har Freddy!!!

Food for Thought – Part 1 of a 5 Part Series on Fitness and Wellness
It is generally agreed upon in the fitness industry that 75% to 80% of the health-wellness equation can be attributed to one’s dietary intake. Therefore, when Fred and I meet with clients we spend a fair amount of time discussing the importance of proper nutrition and provide guidelines to not only help them reach their morphological goals but to live long and healthy lives. One of the first things we suggest is to start journalizing their intake.

First Course: The Basics of Keeping a Personal Nutritional Journal
1. Write down every thing you eat and drink in a small book or note pad dedicated to the task – be detailed (e.g. the type/brand of cereal you had and what you put on it – ( e.g. type of milk: cow, goat, whole or skim, rice, soy, yogurt, fresh fruit, raisins, ground flax seed, etc.).
2. Make entries directly after each meal/snack rather than trying to recollect what you had during the course of the day and include the approximate time.
3. Measure in ounces or at least gauge/estimate portion size.
4. Note how you felt during and afterwards. Were you sluggish or did you feel energized?
5. Given what you know about nutrition now, how healthy is each meal (assign a number e.g. 1 = unhealthy, 5 = super healthy/nutritive)?
6. In addition to writing down everything you eat and drink, create a list of all the foods you like whether or not you’ve had them recently. Organize this list to include meat and/or other protein sources, fruits, vegetables, oils, nuts and starches. Healthy foods from this list will be used to “plug in the holes” of any nutritional deficits/gaps that your journaling reveals.
7. Do this for several weeks. We also suggest doing this for a few weeks each season if your diet tends to change, which it should.

Second Course: What the Nutritional Journal Should Reveal
Your journal can provide valuable information that you and/or a health professional can use to help you reach your goals be it weight loss or gain or simply feeling better. With a good journal one can recognize things such as eating too much or too little and/or too large or too small portions, or that you are only eating once or twice a day. It can also illuminate just how limited your diet may be (very little variety). It may also highlight overindulgence of sweets, salty, fried or fatty foods to name a few. The process of reviewing and therefore identifying poor eating habits (and good ones) is the first step in making positive changes and patting yourself on the back for healthy habits.

Caloric Intake - The simple equation for weight (fat) loss and weight (muscle) gain is: calories in vs. calories out in a given twenty four hour period. By using exchange guides which list the amount of calories in certain foods, one can get a bead on their caloric intake and adjust accordingly based on weight gain or loss given a certain expenditure during workout regiments and daily activities. It is important to be monitoring changes in composition (lean vs. fat mass) rather than just scale weight. This can be done several ways which will be discussed in parts 2 and 4 of this series.

Macronutrient Ratios - Macronutrients are carbohydrates, proteins, fats and water. A good rule of thumb for most people is a ratio of 60/20/20 (percent of caloric intake of carbohydrates, proteins and fats respectively). Carbohydrates (sugars) should be the highest as they are the preferred source of fuel for the body and the only fuel for brain function, a good source of fiber (all fruits and many vegetables), and have a hydrating effect as carbohydrate molecules store in the body with water. What is important is the choice of the carbohydrate. Unprocessed whole grains and fruits should be the majority of this intake – examples like multi/whole grain bread rather than white or plain wheat, wild or brown rice, purple rather than white potatoes and fresh spinach rather than ‘enriched’ semolina pasta. Proteins are the building blocks of all lean tissue (everything other than fat in the body) and are the most satiating of the three solid macronutrients. Protein sources should be lean (i.e. buffalo or venison rather than prime rib) and clean free range and/or organically grown. Fats provide cell permeability (which allows nutrients to enter and waste products to exit), joint lubrication and insulation. Furthermore, fat provides more than twice the energy as carbohydrates and proteins. Of the 20% total fat in calories the majority should come from non-saturated sources. All meals should have all these components except for pre-workout meals which should generally consist of a couple of hundred calories of easily digestible carbohydrates (unless the exercise duration is longer than 90 minutes).

Meal Frequency/Timing - Eating smaller meals more frequently (about every four waking hours) is very beneficial. Doing so keeps blood sugar (energy levels) consistent and high and one’s digestive system working (one of the main drivers of our metabolism). Eating this way rather than getting all your calories in one or two meals can ensure functioning systems have fuel and help burn unwanted fat. It is a good idea to eat at least three hours before going to bed for better digestion.

Water - A much better recommendation for hydration than 8-eight ounce glasses a day is half an ounce per body weight in pounds per day (e.g. 150 lb person should consume a minimum of 75 oz of water). This can be too little if you have sweat a great deal or eaten very salty foods. Also, drinking too much before a meal (especially alcohol) will hinder good digestion as this dilutes digestive juices and enzymes.

Dessert Cart - Seek out foods that you like that happen to be healthy for you

• Find joy in cooking for yourself and others
  
• Eat whole foods rather than processed
  
• Eat with the seasons
  
• Eat plenty of raw foods
  
• Never microwave or burn food
  
• Demand organic and local foods and/or grow your own
  
• Reduce salt, sugar, dairy, heavy meat consumption (especially red), fat, preservatives and chemicals and genetically modified foods
  

Next month we will be addressing topics surrounding cardiovascular (aerobic) fitness.

Erik and Fred hold advanced national personal training and coaching certifications and have over 25 combined years of formal experience in fitness and wellness. They are the owners of Outdoor Odyssey: Group Fitness and Adventure, coming to Jacksonville on August 30. As always, send questions, comments and witty asides to: LifesFitPageant@gmail.com.

Fred: How's it going, E? How are you feeling?
Erik: Great FreddyO! As you well know there are many layers to my wellness though. Are you asking specifically about my Spiritual,Physical or Social wellness or my...?
Fred: Whoa E! I just wanted to know if your quads were still hurting after yesterday's 6-mile trail run.

Well, Well...Wellness

What exactly is Wellness? In Jacksonville, ask and you will receive 2,181 individualized definitions for this term. Generally speaking, wellness is about wanting to look and feel our best, about nourishing our bodies, minds and souls. It's about sleeping well and enjoying our waking hours. It's about avoiding pain and healing quickly when we hurt, and seeking equilibrium and serenity in our lives. It's also about feeling connected and admired amongst others in our community by looking our best in that summer dress and/or performing well on the trails of Jacksonville. Hey, we're not ashamed to admit we may even be a little six-pack-abs driven at times.

When Whit Parker suggested we write a “fitness” column for his fine newspaper we both knew that there would have to be more to it than promising our readership those six pack abs (in only 8 minutes-a-day mind you)or reviewing and passing judgment on the latest (87 Days of Garbanzos to a Better You) fad diet or program. We would want to share and communicate fitness as an element of the bigger picture that is wellness (albeit viewed through the lens of the fitness professional). This (our) holistic and natural approach to fitness has proven beneficial in our lives and in the lives of our clients, so we want to show our readers how physical fitness and healthy living can help everyone reach a more optimal state of wellness.

As informed members of the health and fitness community, we not only have strong opinions but systems for effectively addressing the various components of fitness. We will endeavor to support these opinions with facts (with references when necessary) and concrete suggestions for steps you can take. We want to make things uncomplicated and very doable. And so, in the next five editions of this great paper we will focus on the key components of fitness. We will be addressing (in this order): nutrition, cardiovascular fitness, supplementation, resistance training and how all of these pieces can coalesce into a broader picture of wellness with professional assistance if needed and/or support systems.

Next month, we begin with our take on sound nutrition because of its immense importance in any fitness plan. Not only does proper intake help determine your morphological self (by trimming unwanted fat, toning muscles and making positive changes in your body composition), but it's also very important on a cellular level. On a larger (much larger!) scale, informed food choices and diet are, perhaps, the most important of the five components because it's here where the health of the individual meets the health of the community - and even that of the globe! Specifically, we will promote the creation of a nutrition journal that will reveal your caloric intake in the aggregate while helping to ensure you are getting a fuller spectrum of local and organic nutrient sources.

The following month (September’s edition) we look at cardiovascular health with a focus on heart rate training and modes/choices of movement to achieve a healthier circulatory system.

In October we look at the role of supplementation – specifically ‘supps’ that we have found to be truly effective (not just a waste of money and/or even detrimental to one's health).

In November we will get into resistance training (with an eye on integrated functional training) and will include proper stretching modalities to maintain good posture and gait (proper length-and-tension relationships in the body).

Finally, in December we will discuss what to look for if/when seeking professional assistance to help get you to your goals, or to at least get you started. We will also discuss the need for a support network (we humans are pack animals, after all) to keep you on track and motivated.

A journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step – so take it! Take it for your family and friends. Take it for your doctor’s relief. Take it for that Biggest Loser contest at work or create your own Biggest Winner contest. Most importantly, take it for you. Find that core “Why?” for doing all of this and, for goodness sake, derive as much fun and pleasure as you can from the process!

Erik: Life's a journey, so wake, stretch, move, perform well then relax, snuggle and tingle...

Fred: ...smell the manzanita, hydrate, laugh, love and eat your Muesli!

Get out those composition books, sharpen your pencils and see you next month!
Erik and Fred hold advanced national personal training and coaching certifications and have over 25 combined years formal experience in fitness and wellness. Send hellos, questions, comments or ideas for topics to us at LifesFitPageant@gmail.com.