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How Much Exercise Do You Really Need?

Fitness, HealthFitness Risk Management

Everyone, no matter your age or gender, needs exercise. At some point, you may even realise that your fitness isn’t up to scratch and that you have to do something about it. But how much exercise do you really need? Is there a golden number or a guideline? Read on to find out.

Exercise for the Average Adult

The Department of Health and Human Services has a figure in mind when it comes to determining how much exercise you need. And that figure is 150 minutes. That is, of course, if you are doing moderate aerobic exercise. However, if you are taking part in vigorous aerobic exercises, then 75 minutes per week is enough to keep your fitness levels at a premium.

In saying that, you shouldn’t just pound the pavement for 150 minutes and call it a week. It’s important to spread that exercise out over the course of the week – even if you can only spare ten minutes here and there to work on your fitness. Some excellent options for those 150 minutes are running, dancing, swimming, walking, and even chores like lawn mowing and gardening.

Alongside aerobic activity, it’s also a good idea to squeeze in some strength training. Work on each of your major muscle groups at least twice per week. This can involve using a weight or resistance to tire out your muscles.

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Taking Care of Tennis Elbow

Exercise, Fitness, HealthFitness Risk Management

Taking Care of Tennis Elbow 

In recent years, more and more people are becoming aware that Botox is more than just a cosmetic injectable. It can also be useful for a variety of medical conditions, particularly relating to muscles. Let’s take, for example, someone suffering from tennis elbow. This condition can be debilitating, but could Botox be of assistance? Let’s find out.

What is Tennis Elbow?

Overuse of tendons and muscles in your forearm can result in a condition known as tennis elbow. It causes pain and swelling on the outside area of your elbow, alongside inflammation. Without treatment, this condition can get much, much worse.

Repetitive activity is one of the major causes of this condition. Your forearm muscles are placed under strain, and this causes your tendon fibres to strain at the point where they join from the bone to the outside of your elbow.

Contrary to popular belief that only tennis players get it, that’s not entirely true. Anyone in labour-intensive industries can be at risk, such as plumbers, painters, golfers, and carpenters, for example.

What are the Symptoms of Tennis Elbow?

The most common symptoms of tennis elbow are pain and a burning feeling around the elbow. This pain may radiate down your forearm, and your elbow might be painful to touch. If you grip, rotate, or even grasp your elbow, that may also cause pain. A physical examination from your doctor can offer a diagnosis.

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Your Diet and How It Affects Cataracts

HealthFitness Risk Management

Usually, cataract surgery is recommended to resolve clouding or blurring of the lens –– generally referred as cataracts, one of the main causes of visual impairment, particularly in older people.

Women are often more vulnerable to cataracts due to hormonal changes, but the most important way to avoid degenerative eye disorders such as cataracts is to get a balanced diet consisting of antioxidants.

Although science recommends a good diet for all kinds of health reasons, it has also made it perfectly obvious that a good diet will avoid cataracts. To avoid cataracts, increasing intake of foods high in antioxidants and B vitamins is the strongest protection.

You’ll probably also have to significantly decrease the consumption of low-quality carbs — sugary foods and drinks and processed white starches if you want to avoid having ultimately having to undergo cataract surgery. Let us look at antioxidants and some of the nutrient-rich foods that can help decrease the risk of cataracts, along with some of the foods to avoid.

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Fun Exercise to Do with Friends

Exercise, FitnessFitness Risk Management

One of the hardest things about exercise is not so much the act itself, but the motivation for doing it. When you are trying to work on your fitness on your own, it’s hard to get into the right mindset. But what if you got your friends involved and made it a social occasion?

There are many different and fun exercises you can do with those you love. You then not only reap the physical benefits but the mental ones as well.

Cycling

Whether you’re going for a casual pedal around your city streets or something more exhilarating on a mountain biking track, there’s no denying it can be a rewarding form of exercise. While cycling is a fun pastime on your own, it becomes a social occasion with friends.

What’s more, it’s good for your body. If you bike at a moderate speed of 19km per hour, you can lose up to 298 calories in just half an hour.

Attend a Group Fitness Class

Going to a gym class on your own can be quite daunting at first. You can also struggle with motivation to turn up in the first place. However, if a friend enrols with you, you rely upon each other to attend. You can end up having a lot of fun and getting that much-needed 30 minutes of moderate to intense exercise every day.

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How to Heal Strained Muscles from Exercise

FitnessFitness Risk Management

Most people are aware of how critical exercise can be for your fitness and health. In saying that, there may come a time when your body says, wow, that was a bit too hard. You may just end up with a strained or pulled muscle as a result. So, what can you do about those pulled and strained muscles so that you can be back in action as soon as possible?

How Do You Pull or Strain a Muscle?

Before we help you take care of your pulled or strained muscle, it’s essential to get to know how they come about in the first place. Extensive pressure, sudden pressure, or overstretching are the most common causes. They can happen during a regular workout or during everyday tasks such as lifting something heavy or moving in a way you don’t usually.

A strained muscle can be quite painful, but it’s also something you can take care of at home. If, however, you feel extreme pain that doesn’t subside, a trip to your doctor may be in order.

How to Know You’ve Pulled a Muscle

When you pull a muscle during exercise, you will most likely know about it. A spasming feeling often follows immediate pain. You may also notice redness, bruising, swelling, weakness, and limited flexibility. The discomfort may also continue long after that muscle or muscles are at rest.

Pain from a strained muscle usually dissipates after a day. However, ongoing discomfort may mean you’ve got a sprain or tear, rather than a strain.

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What’s the Difference Between Dermal Fillers and Botox?

HealthFitness Risk Management

Many of us don’t like the thought of getting older. It’s not so much the aging, as the side effects of getting older. That’s why many people look at Botox and dermal fillers as a way to combat some of those more common side effects – wrinkles.

But during your homework phase, you may come across mention of both Botox and dermal fillers. What’s the difference, and do you need one or the other to slow down the signs of aging? Read on to find out.

What is Botox?

Botox is a cosmetic injectable and muscle relaxer made from bacteria. For over two decades, it has been used to treat muscular conditions and neurological disorders that result in muscle weakness. It’s even useful for the treatment of migraines, overactive bladder, and vaginismus.

Its use in the cosmetic field is also widely known, for it can treat the wrinkles that form between your eyebrows and around your mouth and eyes. As you age, these wrinkles become more pronounced, and the job of Botox is to relax them and reduce their appearance.

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How to Avoid Shin Splints During Exercise

Exercise, FitnessFitness Risk Management

Have you ever noticed an intense pain in the front of your lower legs, next to your shin bones, during exercise? No matter your fitness level, that pain you’re experiencing may be shin splints, or medial tibial stress syndrome, as the condition is also known.

Shin splints occur when you put too much stress on your tibia, or the muscle next to the tibia, during exercise. High energy exercise programmes and sports can be to blame. However, you can also experience shin splints after a lot of running or jumping.

As painful as they can be, they are not permanent. There are things you can do to avoid them and treat them.

Stretching

Before you begin exercising, take the time to stretch your hamstrings and calf muscles. Having tight muscles in your legs can put you at a higher risk of suffering from shin splints.

Transition Through Exercises Carefully

Even if you at the top of your game when it comes to fitness, it still pays to transition through exercises carefully. This means avoiding a sudden increase in activity when your body is not expecting it.

When you start running, jumping, and walking, do it gradually over several days. Don’t change up your workout routine drastically because it can be detrimental to your muscles and bones.

Choose Your Surfaces Carefully

Ask anyone who has suffered from shin splints, and they will tell you that hard surfaces like concrete are not doing you any favours. Hard materials can increase how much force your muscles and bones need to absorb during your fitness routine.

Whether you’ve suffered from shin splints in the past, or you want to prevent them, be more particular with your workout surfaces. Where possible, opt for grass, synthetic surfaces, sand, dirt, or even sprung wood flooring.

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What to do when you have a cold

HealthFitness Risk Management

Sometimes no matter how hard you try to fight it you could end up with a cold this winter. Some over-the-counter pharmaceuticals may mask the symptoms of colds or flu, but don’t help your body to overcome the illness. Natural herbal supplements like Echinacea, Olive leaf or Elderberry may help to reduce the durations of colds whilst supporting your immunity at the same time.

Echinacea is native to North America and has been used by the American Indians for over 400 years. Research has shown that Echinacea can increase our white blood cell numbers which are the cells that help fight infection. Interestingly, Echinacea was used medicinally until the introduction of antibiotics in the 1950s. Several research studies have shown that taking Echinacea reduces the chance of catching the common cold by 58% and can reduce the length of colds by 1 ½ days.

Olive leaf has been used for healing for thousands of years and was first used by the Ancient Egyptians. The leaf, not the actual fruit, of the olive tree has been found to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties with research showing that one of its active compounds called Oleuropein has strong antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal actions. It is these properties that may help to support our immune system by fighting against viruses which cause respiratory infections and flu.

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Avoid the Christmas Party Buffet Blow Out!

HealthFitness Risk Management

It’s another Christmas party & time to tackle the buffet which is covered in delectable & delicious treats which might be great for the taste buds but not so good for our bods. Here’s 6 ways to avoid buffet table blow out!

1. Plan ahead

Ok so it’s awesome for the boss to put on a freebie dinner but try not to think of it as an all you can eat restaurant! Eat a healthy nutritious snack BEFORE the party. Have a banana, grab some sushi or whizz up a protein smoothie. That way you will be fuller when you arrive & won’t be tempted to pig out when the pastries come by (BTW: pastries are high in saturated fats so try to avoid where possible)

2. Drink water

A sign of being dehydrated is hunger so make sure you drink a glass of water when you first arrive. If you are drinking alcohol alternate one drink with one glass of water to stay hydrated & avoid being the office party catastrophe. Better yet, swap your alcoholic drinks for sparkling water with ice & lemon. It looks just like a G & T but without the hangover.

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Adrenal fatigue – Do you have it?

HealthFitness Risk Management

Adrenal fatigue is a term thrown around (especially in health food) for various symptoms. It is commonly associated with feeling tired and stressed and not having enough energy to face the day. However, adrenal fatigue is a very real and debilitating syndrome. It is under recognised and under diagnosed and I wonder to what point we are all pushing past the ability of our poor little adrenal glands to keep up with modern life.

Considering the massive job they do, the adrenal glands are only little guys. They live on your kidneys and release hormones in response to any and all stress you experience. Cortisol, adrenaline and epinephrine are systematically released as needed to deal with anything from a broken nail to a job interview, a car accident or a breakup. These hormones allow your body to respond to stress itself, and also determine how you respond. But that’s not it; these workaholics also have an impact on weight gain and the body’s ability to shed excess weight as the secretion of stress hormones regulates sugar release in muscles and can determine the rate of your metabolism.

Adrenal fatigue commonly occurs after a prolonged period of stress (hello daily life) or an infection (hello winter and pre-school children). It’s important to note that although adrenals are related, chronic fatigue syndrome differs to adrenal fatigue as it is more serious with severe unexplained fatigue for 6 months or more.

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