Frequently Asked Questions:
Why is regular exercise good for me?
Physical exercise can improve both your mental and physical health. The benefits of aerobic
exercise include improved cardiovascular endurance, muscle strength and flexibility. Exercise pumps
more blood through your arteries. This increases the size of your arteries, prevents fat from clogging
your arteries and helps prevent blood clots. A strong heart does not have to work so hard so you are
less likely to have a heart attack. Regular exercise also increases your HDL (good) cholesterol and
helps lower your total cholesterol . Exercise also helps lower your blood pressure.
Breathing easier is another benefit from exercise as your cardiovascular system become more efficient
at using oxygen. Activities such as climbing the stairs will not leave you out of breath.
Muscles that are not used become small and inelastic, but
aerobic exercise will help your body by increasing muscle tone, strength and flexibility
while burning fat. Exercise can also help alleviate stress and make you more productive, so
choose something that you enjoy and stick with it. Aerobic exercise can also decrease risk of
diabetes while a weight bearing exercise program will decrease osteoporosis risk.
Why should I do strength training?
• Sedentary individuals (someone who does little or no regular exercise) can lose up to 30% of their muscle between ages of 20 and 70, averaging several pounds of muscle per decade.
• Muscle loss means your metabolism will slow down.
• Slower metabolism means the body is burning less calories which can cause you to gain weight.
• Muscle is an active tissue. A pound of muscle burns 30 to 50 calories per day just to maintain itself. Add three pounds of muscle and burn 630 to 1,050 extra calories per week. A pound of fat only burns 3 calories per day. So you can see by lifting weights and gaining muscle you will burn more calories every day.
• Strength training can increase your muscle mass and this can happen at any age.
• You're never too old to start strength training, so today is the day!
How does a personal trainer help?
An experienced personal trainer can answer the technical questions of what to do to reach your goals.
Then they help you tap into your motivation source to keep you active and on track once your program is
established. Individual programs on average last less then six months. Lastly, a profession trainer
provides is in skilled observation of your movement patterns. This maximizes you activity while reducing your injury
risk. Injury is a leading cause of why individuals stop being active!
When is it safe to resume activities after an injury?
This is a very individual decision. The answer lies in becoming adept at listening to your own body. Knowing
what is expected soreness and what is detrimental pain. A skilled personal trainer can assist you in learning
the essential clues to doing his safely. Muscle response often becomes inhibited after a period of injury and
pain, so care needs to be taken that the proper muscles are supporting any activity undertaken.
