Club Blog

Here are some ideas for ways you can reward yourself for reaching your exercise goals:

1. A Day at the Spa: Everyone deserves a little pampering, especially after reaching such a tremendous goal of sticking to your exercise goals. A day of massages, saunas, or other spa treatments may be just what you need to reward yourself.

2. A Mini-Vacation: Many people do not have it within their means to plan a full blown vacation each month, but you can give yourself a day for a special trip somewhere. Maybe there is an art exhibit you’ve been wanting to see, or a day at a lake or beach. Traveling to places that are just an hour or two away can be a fun way to give yourself a mini-vacation.

3. A New Book: If you enjoy reading, buying a new book for yourself can be a real treat. It can also be inexpensive – there are many great books available out there for less than $10!

4. Music: Do you enjoy exercising to music? Downloading a few new songs can be a great way to reward yourself and keep motivated for your exercise routine.

5. New Shoes: Buying shoes is a great way to reward yourself for exercising, and best of all as you continue to exercise and lose weight, they will more than likely still fit! You can decide on a new pair of exercise shoes, or a pair of shoes for special occasions.

     Why are more than 12 years of education considered a protective factor in longevity? Well, according to research, educated people are able to take the long view, helping them have better self-care and life-long learning.  Additionally, educated people recognize the connection between learning, personal behavior and the consequences of their behavior.

                         Harvard University’s Adult Development research followed 800 participants from their adolescence throughout their lives.  Surprisingly, they found that aging well did NOT depend on one’s genetic pool, or stress and cholesterol levels. 

                            They did find that four personal character qualities predicted well-being:

                            1.  A future orientation and the ability to anticipate and plan positively (hope and optimism)

                            2.  The capacity for both gratitude and forgiveness

                            3.  The ability to see the world through the eyes of another (the capacity to love and be loved)

                            4.  The desire to do things with and for people (kindness, social intelligence)

                            It’s clear that the choices we make matter, our behavior certainly matters, our education and our character also matters.  We are far more responsible for our well-being, health and longevity than we may realize.  Exercising is a large part of it in that working-out encourages so many other positive choices and behaviors.

Working out keeps us feeling well, thinking well, looking well and being well. That’s a whole lot of well-being that can come from hitting the gym floor a few hours each week.

Of course science tells us every day that there are lots of other factors that go into living well, being healthy, aging well and being happy besides just being an active and regular member of The Sporting Club.

Keep in mind that 50% of the variance in our happiness may be the result of what some researchers call our “genetic setpoint,” while another 10% comes from life circumstances and 40% is the result of the choices we make.
More well-being  better-health  living longer. We would be wise to make smart choices today if we want to have many more tomorrows.

Having the following protective behavioral factors predict health and longevity 30 or more years into the future:

Never smoking or stopping young
Adaptive coping (turning lemons into lemonade)
No alcohol abuse
A stable marriage
12+ years of education
Not being overweight/getting some regular exercise

Perhaps it’s the result of having a new job, a new mate, or a new baby.You are overwhelmed with a feeling of excitement.Yet, you feel inadequate as well.As a result, you are under a tremendous amount of stress.At times, you might feel as if there’s no relief in sight as if you’re on a treadmill which shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

However, the secret to effectively dealing with the stress may be to get your body onto an actual treadmill. Exercise can be the key to stress relief.It’s an obvious antidote to fatigue.It can make you feel more energetic, improving your strength and resiliency.

It has been shown that individuals who are more physically fit often experience fewer health troubles.In addition,exercisers are less likely to suffer from psychological problems such as depression, binge eating, or insomnia.

Without exercise, you are increasing the likelihood that you will be afflicted with colds, flu, or other medical problems.Aerobic exercise in particular can improve your cardiovascular system and decrease your anxiety level.

Some studies have shown that, during aerobic exercise, a chemical is produced in the brain which helps to heal the body from stress-related conditions. You should exercise at least three days a week for 30 minutes at a time in order to improve not only your health but your mental outlook.

If you find it difficult to become motivated to exercise, there are a number of steps you can take.To begin with, you can join an exercise club.Knowing that you’ll have to pay dues to a gym may make it more likely that you will actually end up exercising.You might also consider enlisting the aid of a personal trainer.

The amount of physical activity that you do during the day is a key ingredient to helping you sleep restfully at night. The more active your body is during the day, the more likely you are able to relax fully at night and fall asleep easily.

With regular exercise your sleep quality is improved and the transition between the cycles and phases of sleep becomes smoother and more regular.

Keeping up your physical activity during the day may also help you deal with the stress and worry in your life.

Exercise relaxes the body and calms the mind as well as help reducing depression and anxiety – two common causes of sleep problems. Exercise gives signals to the body that more and deeper sleep at night is needed, although how this occurs is unknown. Usually improvements in sleep are not
always immediate; they may not be apparent until a week or two after beginning an exercise program.

People who regularly exercise report having fewer episodes of sleeplessness than people who don’t exercise. This is due, in part, to the fact that exercise helps our body transition between the phases of sleep more regularly and more smoothly.

Exercise causing a significant rise in body temperature, followed by a compensatory drop a few hours later. The drop in body temperature, which persists for two to four hours after exercise, makes it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Exercise reduces stress by helping to dissipate the lactic acid that accumulates in the blood.

Exercise eases the muscular tension that can build up.

Exercise sharpens the brain by increasing the amount of oxygen available.

Exercise strengthens and stimulates the heart and lungs.

Here are 3 proven ways to trick yourself into thinking exercise is something you love.

How To Love Exercise Trick #1: Get The Right Nutrition
How is this going to trick myself, you ask? Well, what happens when you provide your body with the right nutrition? You feel healthier and more energetic. This energy usually calls out to you to hit the gym, or even a simple walk around the block without you even knowing it. When you eat poorly, you feel like sitting on the couch and eating even more junk food.

Proper nutrition for me is a soy-based protein drink every morning along with a cup of hot green tea. This gives me nutrition and energy I need to get me through the day without ever even thinking about taking a nap. What’s even better is that green tea has been known to increase metabolism, so the more I drink the more I shrink. (width wise, not length!)

How To Love Exercise Trick #2: Baby Steps
Ease into exercise. Do not start out with a bang or you will burn out just as fast as you started. Take a laid back approach to exercise at first. Make small goals and achieve them every single day. If you have never been a runner but would like to begin, do not try to run 5 miles a day. Start with a half mile and increase it by a half mile each week.

So many people quit exercising after only a week because they over exert themselves and drain too much energy in too little time. Stretch properly to avoid muscle soreness and by all means drink plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated. This little trick of taking baby steps into an exercise program will allow you to enjoy the journey you are taking to good health.

How To Love Exercise Trick #3: Join A Class
Being around others who want to achieve the same goals as yourself will take the edge off your worries about exercise being too much work and not enough fun. Exercise is what you make of it. If you want it fun, make it fun. Think beyond the treadmill and stationary bicycle, and do not worry about the abilities of others. Focus on improving only yourself.

There are many classes that offer activities other than typical exercise that will give you the same benefits. You do not have to run like a hamster for an hour to get a great workout. Remember dancing? How about karate? Even joining a bowling league is more active that sitting on the couch. Just remember to choose a lane far away from the vending machine!

Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.

Fitness Psychologist

The Sporting Club

Ever wish your telomere was longer?  What’s that, you don’t know what your telomere is?  No fear, most people probably don’t know either.  But don’t spend too much time in the locker room looking for it.  You won’t see them.  Telomeres are protective strips of DNA that cap the ends of your chromosomes and stop them from unraveling.  They are a bit like the little plastic tips of your shoelaces.

So why care if your telomeres are long or short?  The length of your telomere is thought to be a biological marker of life’s stresses, the wear and tear of living on your body.  In other words, short telomeres may result in cellular aging and illness. 

Aging? Nobody likes that word.  So what can you do about it?  Plastic surgery doesn’t make you any younger though you may look a bit more “refreshed.”

If you want to truly keep your cells from prematurely aging and stay healthy for as long as possible, there is plenty you can do about it.  Scientists at the University of California at San Francisco recently published a paper that points to a simple antidote:  EXERCISE.

That’s right.  The Sporting Club is an ideal place to lengthen, or at least prevent shortening, your telomeres, keep your cells young, beat back stress of everyday life and stay healthy.  All under one roof.

The researchers found that even a moderate amount of vigorous exercise provides a critical amount of protection for your all-important telomeres.  There continues to be growing data that short telomeres are linked to several illness including diabetes and coronary heart disease, and early death. 

How much exercise is enough? According to 2009 Nobel Laureate Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, one of the study’s authors, even as little as 42 minutes of vigorous exercise, getting your heart and sweat rates up, over a 3-day period may protect you from the effects of stress by reducing its effect on telomere length.  So if you are a regular at The Sporting Club, think just how much you are doing for your cellular aging and overall health.

The study’s lead author Dr Eli Puterman, a psychologist in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry, pointed out that this study showed yet another link between life stress and the dynamics of how cells—your body—may age.

Fortunately, there are things that we can do about it and we’d be foolish if we don’t increase our exercise levels to prevent the effects that psychological stress can have on our well-being—and aging!

Once again, this proves my adage that mind IS body.