FitSugar -- Healthy, happy you.

Another Reason to Exercise: Be Happier at Work

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:00:00 -0800

There are so many reasons to exercise, from deeper sleep to boosting your immune system, but I have a few more work-related reasons to add the list. Exercising before or during your workday will improve your productivity. Adding workouts to your workweek doesn't just help your boss; exercising on a workday helps with stress management and can make you happier. If you can't fit in a workout before heading to the office, schedule one during your lunch hour. Instead of a coffee break, take an activity break. Who knows? You might just start to whistle while you work.

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Another Reason to Exercise: Deeper Sleep

FitSugar — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:00:00 -0800

At a time when money is keeping worried people up at night, finding ways to get quality rest is a challenge for more people than before the economy was a constant stress. Efficient solutions are important for busy gals like us, and this two-in-one formula is a welcome fix: exercise can help you battle the money-induced stress and get you to sleep through the night.

A recent study involving insomniac patients in Brazil found that moderate cardio exercise has a calming affect on anxiety and improves sleep quality, both in the amount of time it takes to fall asleep and total sleep time. It is noteworthy that the patients participated in moderate, not heavy, aerobic exercise.

Sleep gives us energy for the day, improves mental clarity, and allows us to get through the day with wide-open eyes and diminished dark circles. If exercise can help us achieve a good night's rest, it's just another reason to get moving!

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Another Reason to Exercise: Prevent Breast Cancer

FitSugar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 03:00:00 -0800

October may have been Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but we've all been affected by the disease in one way or another and it's important that we keep on top of breast cancer news and research throughout the year as well.

Researchers have recently found that the higher a person's body mass index, the more likely she is to develop breast cancer. Obese women are also more likely to live shorter lives and suffer a recurrence of their cancer, and may also get a more deadly form of breast cancer (inflammatory breast cancer).

On the flip side, a separate study has found that vigorous exercise (running, fast jogging, aerobics, bicycling on hills, etc.) can reduce the risk of breast cancer by about 30 percent in normal-weight women.

So the moral of the story is to exercise and try and keep your body weight down as much as possible. The ways in which exercise helps your health far exceeds the annoyance of putting on your gym shoes and pounding through an hour at the gym. It's important that we keep reminding ourselves of this from time to time.

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Another Reason to Exercise: Relieve IBS Symptoms

FitSugar — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:30:00 -0700

It seems like almost anyone who's ever had stomach issues for more than a week has been diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. If you've got IBS then you know it's no fun, but it's also not an excuse to skip your exercise routine. In fact, Reuters recently reported on a new study that found that regular exercise can relieve constipation and feelings of bloating in folks with IBS. So, if you're stopped up, don't stop moving — it could help more than you think.

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Another Reason to Weight Train: Reduce Neck and Shoulder Pain

FitSugar — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:00:00 -0700

If you've been relying on cardio as your main form of exercise, it's time you think about stepping it up, especially if you suffer from neck and/or shoulder pain.

Recent research has found that women with work related neck pain (often a result of poor posture from sitting all day) experienced significant relief by regularly practicing strengthening exercises that work the neck and/or upper back. So add resistance exercises such as reverse flies, lateral raises, and rows to your plan and you'll not only tone your upper body, but you could also reap the benefits of being free of aches and pains in the long run.

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Another Reason to Exercise: It's Keeps You Sharp

FitSugar — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:00:00 -0700

A daily dose of aerobic exercise is good for your mind just as much as it is for your heart and waistline.

One of the many downfalls of aging is that our brains become not as sharp as they used to be resulting in forgetting things easily along with the reduced ability to pay attention. Recent research out of the Netherlands has found that aerobics can boost cognitive processing speed, motor function, and visual and auditory attention in older adults. In other words: regular aerobic exercise may actually help keep that brain of yours sharp as a needle well into your golden years.

Looking for ideas? Check out some of my own cardio ideas, sign up for a fun new class, or try out an exercise DVD.

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Another Reason to Exercise: Ease Migraine Pain

FitSugar — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:00:00 -0700

Any migraine sufferer will tell you that exercise is the last thing on her mind during an attack, but a new study has found that exercise may help lessen the pain when it comes back the next time.

The research claims that the simple combination of aerobic exercise and muscle relaxation will not prevent migraines from occurring (bummer), but can actually help ease migraine pain if and when you get migraines in the future. If you're a migraine sufferer, you won't have to add anything too extreme to your routine, either: just 45 minutes of aerobic exercise and 15 minutes of progressive muscle relaxation is all it takes.

And in case you need a little extra motivation to hit the gym, here are many more great reasons to exercise.

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Another Reason to Exercise: Ease Menstrual Cramps

FitSugar — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 03:30:00 -0700

Cramps during that time of the month can be debilitating — so much so that the last thing you want to do is hit the gym.

One thing you should know is that exercise can actually help relieve those painful cramps. Here's WebMD's explanation:

Exercise relieves cramps because it helps release beta-endorphins, which are internal opioids -- your own “human morphine,” according to Gustavo Rossi, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington. “It produces analgesia [pain relief] and helps to burn the prostaglandins -- chemicals released during menstruation that cause muscle contractions -- much faster.”

Human morphine? Too bad they can't bottle that. Should you hit the weights or the treadmill? The best form of exercise for PMS relief is aerobic exercise or anything that gets your blood flowing and heart pumping.

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Another Reason to Exercise: It May Ward Off Addiction

FitSugar — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:00:00 -0700

I love it when a new report comes out that pinpoints yet another reason we should all exercise. As if being mortified to put on a bikini this Summer wasn't enough, now CNN is reporting on new research that says exercise may also help prevent addiction to drugs or alcohol. Here's why:

Brown University took smokers to the gym three times a week and found adding the exercise to a smoking-cessation program doubled women's chances of successfully kicking the habit. The quitters who worked out got an extra benefit: They gained half as much weight as women who managed to quit without exercising, says lead researcher Dr. Bess Marcus.

What's more? In people, exercise acts as an antidepressant and can relieve stress, which has been linked to an increased risk of alcoholism, smoking or drug abuse. All that and it's good for your health! So hit the gym today and you'll be less likely to hit the bottle tomorrow.

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Another Reason to Exercise: Relieve Stress

FitSugar — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:00:00 -0700

I've mentioned several times that exercise is one of my favorite ways to relieve stress but I never really quite understood why it felt so good, all I knew is that it just did. Well recent research explains that the reason exercise helps to relieve stress is because it not only serves as a distraction from the stressor, but it also results in reduced muscle tension and cortisol secretion. So if you're like me and think that exercise is the best way to reduce stress, it's not all in your head (literally).

What's more? Exercise, as you already know, also improves physical fitness and can reduce your risk of disease. Knowing I am reducing my risk of disease . . . well that's enough to reduce my stress level right there. Does exercise typically help relieve you from your major causes of stress?

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Another Reason to Exercise: Boost Your Immune System

FitSugar — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:00:00 -0700

We're nearing the end of flu season and heading into allergy season, but that doesn't mean we should get complacent about fighting off illness. Since I am always looking for new reasons to exercise and new ways to avoid getting sick, I was excited to find this research suggesting that consistent exercise can boost your immune system.

Moderate exercise temporarily increases your body's production of macrophages, the cells designed to fend off bacteria, and allows them to travel more efficiently through the body. Though these are temporary responses to working out, new research suggests that the more often you exercise, the more permanent the health benefits become. According to Dr. David Nieman of Appalachian State University, moderate exercise on a regular basis also strengthens your immune system in the long run.

But for super-serious athletes like marathoners, exercise can actually make the body more susceptible to illness, so be sure to give yourself plenty of recovery days if you're training for a big event.

Do you exercise daily? If so, do you think it helps you avoid getting sick?

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Another Reason to Exercise: It Gives You Energy

FitSugar — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 08:45:00 -0800

When you are feeling chronically fatigued, chances are high the last thing you want to do is exercise. However, a new study shows that a little exercise might just be what you need.

Researchers found that young adults, who complained they were tired all the time, benefited from exercising three days a week for 25 minutes, which included a warm up. Study participants who biked for exercise at a low intensity, had the greatest gains in energy and they didn't even need to break a sweat. None of the participants became exercise fanatics; most stayed sedentary except for their time on the stationary bike, yet they felt a 20 percent boost in their energy levels.

Take home message: If you are feeling tired don't melt into oblivion on your couch, get up and exercise.

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Another Reason For Men To Exercise: Live Longer

FitSugar — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 02:00:00 -0800

A new study found that a simple regimen of brisk walking 30 minutes a day at least four to six days a week was enough to halve the risk of premature death from all causes in men. Researchers found that in men it was their fitness level, rather than their age, blood pressure or body-mass index that was most strongly linked to their future risk for death.

What's more? This proves that you, especially all you men, really don't need special clothes, equipment or even a special gym membership to decrease your risk of premature death — a good pair of walking shoes and about 120 minutes per week is all it takes. Plus, walking with your honey is a great way to hang out!

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Another Reason to Lose a Few: Bad Breath

FitSugar — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 02:00:00 -0800

Bad breath, a common side effect of dry mouth, poor dental hygiene, the morning cup of coffee, and a big meal heavy in garlic and onions, has added a new cause to the list.

Obesity is the latest perpetrator for causing bad breath among many of us. New research out of Tel Aviv has found that overweight patients were more likely to have foul-smelling breath than the non overweight patients in the study. As to why this is the case is still up in the air, however researchers believe that obese people may have a diet that promotes the condition of dry mouth or that people who are obese may be less in tune with taking care of their mouths and bodies. Regardless, it's just another reason to eat healthy, exercise, and practice good dental hygiene.

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Another Reason to Exercise: Sleep More Deeply

FitSugar — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 03:00:00 -0800

If you are looking to settle down for a long Winter's nap, you should look into adding some exercise into your life. eDiets thinks doing cardio between 4 and 6 p.m. might just help you snooze more deeply. Circadian rhythms that affect our sleep and wake cycle are heat sensitive. When you exercise you increase your body temperature, which is the opposite of what your body does when sleeping. By raising your temperature before dinner, your body will experience a steeper drop in temperature by bed time. This more dramatic temperature change might just help escort you to the land of nod more quickly and help you stay there.

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Another Reason to Exercise: Enhance Your Love Life

FitSugar — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:30:00 -0800

As if you needed yet another great reason to get moving, it is well known that exercise can lead to a more satisfying love life. In fact, certain types of exercise are more likely to get you in the mood.

The following exercises have fewer calories and could do more for getting you in the mood than chocolate and a bottle of wine:

Pilates increases blood flow to the pelvic region.
Taking walks together and talking can do wonders for the emotional aspects of a relationship.
Strength training builds and stretches your love-life muscles and boosts confidence.
Belly dancing loosens your hips and pelvis.
Yoga increases flexibility.
Doubles tennis builds teamwork — as long as one of you isn't too competitive.
Salsa, tango, or swing dance lessons offer a reason to hold each other close — and set off at least a few sparks!

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Another Reason to Exercise: Parents Who Exercise Raise Healthier Kids

FitSugar — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 02:00:00 -0800

One of the common statements to come out of a pregnant woman's mouth it that she doesn't care if her baby is a boy or a girl; she just wants her baby to be healthy. Well, there are ways to stack the cards in your favor. New research indicates that children with active parents, even during pregnancy, are more active and healthy too. The research doesn't indicate that biological factors were involved, but it seems to be more about role modeling healthy behaviors. Children who see their parents being physically active learn that exercising is a normal part of life. Active parents influence their children's perception of exercise at an early age.

I love that my daughters ask me, when I am lacing up my sneakers, if I am going for a run. They think it is so cool. Plus, as they age and get bigger if I didn't lift weights I wouldn't be able to lift them.

Karol Ward, a therapist in private practice in New York City, weighs in on getting emotional while working out:

The body holds on to feelings, even if it seems the mind has dealt with them. So if a person has the opportunity to relax that area, whatever has been held there can come to the surface. The body wants to complete the emotional experience.

This may explain why some of us find a good hard workout at the gym a very liberating and stress releasing experience after a hardship in our lives. If you find yourself in tears, then it should not be anything to worry about (unless you are in pain of course). I will say, however, that I have not been moved (pun intended) to tears, but I would love to hear from anyone that has so share your stories in the comments section below.

Fit's Tip: Crying during exercise can be a great stress-reliever, but sometimes people need professional help outside of working out to deal with their own issues.

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Another Reason to Exercise: It's Good for Business

FitSugar — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 08:45:00 -0700

I've given you a lot of reasons to exercise aside from it just being plain old good for you. Here's one that should pump up your muscles and your bank account.

New research has found that nearly 30% of business owners with companies over $1 million in revenues say they exercise every day. What's more? Female business owners are five times more likely than males to come up with their best ideas while exercising.

So next time you're feeling a lack of creativity or motivation at work, try a power workout instead of a power lunch.

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Another Reason to Exercise: Beat Depression

FitSugar — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 04:00:00 -0700

Perhaps the phrase jumping for joy means more than we thought...

New research has found that regular exercise may work as well as medication in improving symptoms of major depression. Not only does exercise affect some key chemicals of the nervous system (norepinephrine and serotonin) that are targets of antidepressant drugs, but exercise may also boost people's feelings of self-efficacy and promote positive thinking. Some experts also speculate that group exercise may have even more added benefits.

Doctors may not start widely prescribing exercise as a depression treatment just yet. However, for patients who are motivated, exercise could be a great option to start on their own.

For those not depressed, per se, exercise is still a great way to boost your mood even if you've just had a bad day.

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Another Reason to Exercise: Varicose Veins

FitSugar — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:30:00 -0700

Have varicose veins and looking for a way to keep them under check? Or worried about getting varicose veins in the future?

Well exercise is an easy and effective way to relieve and prevent varicose veins -- gnarled, enlarged veins. Exercise helps push stagnant blood from the bottom of the legs back to the heart. Furthermore, Luis Navarro, M.D., founder and director of the Vein Treatment Center and senior clinical instructor of surgery at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, suggests working your calf muscles more too. "When you exercise your calf muscles, they act as a pump, taking over for weak valves," Dr. Navarro explains. "So the stronger your calf muscles, and the more you move them, the better." Many women find that exercising on a regular basis helps to ease the pain and discomfort associated with varicose veins and can help prevent the condition from worsening.

So start moving ladies and hop on the calf raise machine at the gym or simply do a few standing calf raises (raise yourself onto your toes and lower your heels back down to the floor) at home to work those calves. Your legs will thank you!

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Another Reason to Exercise: Feel Good Right Now

FitSugar — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:30:00 -0700

I have written a lot about the health benefits of regular exercise. Science has proven that if you exercise regularly, you live longer. I am here to tell you though you will get some instant gratification from exercising regularly since it makes activities of daily life so much easier. Here's why:

Cardio: Regular cardio helps when you need to sprint after the bus so you are not late for work. Running regularly will help you not rip a hamstring when you chase your toddler who is headed for the street and ignoring your pleas for her to stop. Just imagine if you had to run from a bear!

Strength Training: Building strong muscle will help you lug your big Fendi bag around. Not to mention the power you will feel when you can twist open that stubborn lid on that jar of spaghetti sauce

Flexibility Training: Stretching regularly makes twisting around to grab your purse from the back seat easy. Not to mention flexibility helps when contorting your body to retrieve your earring from under the couch.

Core Training: Staying strong in your center helps you stay balanced as you walk quickly downstairs in your new 3 inch heels. Plus, keeping a strong core will help you protect your back when you carry a heavy bag of groceries, a heavy baby, or a big ol' sack of dirt when you are gardening.

So workout for yourself today. If you are going to live a long and happy life you want to feel strong for every day of it.

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Another Reason to Exercise: Keeping Your Wits About You

FitSugar — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 07:30:00 -0700

Did you know that exercise might actually slow the shrinking process of your hippocampus? Huh? Hippo-what? This is good news, I swear, and here's why...

Apparently, the hippocampus is the part of the brain that plays a large role in how mammals create and process memories; it also plays a role in cognition. If your hippocampus is damaged (or shrunken), you most likely have trouble learning facts and forming new memories. For example, a number of studies have shown that people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia tend to have smaller-than-normal hippocampi. All the mumbo jumbo aside, turns out that shrinkage to parts of the hippocampus can be slowed via, you've guessed it, exercise. So start moving and if not for your health and not your vanity, at least do it to keep your wits about you.

(Points to ponder: Dumb jocks and Mike Tyson.)

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Another Reason to Exercise: Stress Reduction

FitSugar — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:00:00 -0700

It is no real news that exercise helps reduce stress. I am a living proof of that fact. Scientists are continuing to study the relationship between stress reduction and exercise.

In a recent study participants had their blood drawn before and after completing two really frustrating tasks. The stress induced heart damaging chemicals spiked 5 times higher in the least fit subjects. The fit subjects were folks that jogged or cycled twice a week as well as walked for 30 - 40 minutes twice a week. The fitter people were generally leaner, minimizing their body fat. And it is fat that produces inflammatory chemicals that lead to heart disease.

The researchers conducting this study feel that two intense workouts a week should be enough to beat the stress. I just want to reiterate that was just 2 workouts a week. If you tend to fly off the handle, this could be the prescription for you.

Another Reason to Exercise: It Is Good For Your Brain

FitSugar — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 03:00:00 -0700

Sometimes we all seem to need yet another reason to exercise and here is a great one - it is good for the brain. CNN.com reported recently on a new study that exercise boosts brainpower by building new brain cells in a brain region linked with memory and memory loss (the dentate gyrus, a part of the hippocampus).

Dr. Scott Small, a neurologist at Columbia University Medical Center in New York led the study that used MRI scans to study participants brains before and after exercise. They found that people (like the mice tested before them) grew new brain cells in a brain region known to be affected in the age-related memory decline that begins around age 30 for most humans. Since the researchers could not dissect the brains of people to see if new neurons grew, instead they used MRI readings to measure cerebral blood flow. They also measured the fitness of each volunteer by measuring oxygen volume before and after the training program. What is interesting and super motivational is the more fit participants became the more blood flow was detected to the dentate gyrus (remember that is the region of the brain linked to memory - it you forgot already, maybe you should get out and exercise).

The next step? Figuring out the most effective exercise regimen, so doctors can prescribe specific types of exercise to improve memory. Do you think we will all be doing sit-ups for our brains soon?

Another Reason to Exercise: Breast Cancer Prevention

FitSugar — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 07:30:00 -0800

I find the benefits of exercise most often overwhelm my inertia. Benefits like: staying calm when my kids give the dog a macaroni and cheese body scrub, or being able to eat a cookie without remorse. A new study on exercise and breast cancer will definitely help me on those days when the couch and Oprah seem like a better choice than running.

Web M.D. recently reported on a study that had "raise your heart rate" motivating results. It seems that women who reported getting more than six hours of strenuous recreational physical activity a week were 23% less likely to have breast cancer, when compared with sedentary women. Now 6 hours of strenuous exercise may seem like a lot, but the benefits seems to cross all age ranges of women who participated in the study - meaning both pre- and post menopausal women. That is good news since eating over 20 grams of fiber a day only benefit pre-menopausal women,

Although the study doesn't prove that exercise single-handedly prevented breast cancer nor does it show how exercise may lower breast cancer risk, researchers believe that exercise has a healthy effect on hormone levels and weight maintenance.

The study does note that the women interviewed might not have accurately recalled their workout habits - we tend to exaggerate our healthy habits. To read more on the study check it out on Web MD. For guidance on cardio workouts check out these FitSugar exercise plans.