HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wishing you all the best in 2017!

"You can focus on the barriers or you can focus on scaling the wall or redefining the problem"

Tim Cook.

Stop the Negative Habits - it's time for a change.  We can help!

Best of the Holiday Season!

To all the Dynabods everywhere,

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas.
May the Holiday Season bring you abundant joy
and happiness in your life!

Best Fats for Cooking and Baking

I just had my usual morning breakfast (a bowl of steel-cut oats with fruit and an omlet).  While enjoying each delicious bite, I wondered if most people know which cooking oils are good for you.  

Do you?

Do you cook or bake with Vegetable Oils? Canola Oil? Coconut Oil? Olive Oil?

First, Vegetable oils are NOT good for you.  They are processed under high heat and use solvents to produce.  This includes soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, grapeseed oil, safflower, etc.   Because these oils are composed of polyunsaturated fats, when exposed to heat and light they are prone to oxidation and free radical production.  This is one of the main causes of inflammation.  And this is why you feel bloated after a bowl of cereal (if you don't cook breakfast)….

Now not all polyunsaturated fats are bad. Nuts and seeds are very good for you – as long as they are natural and raw (opposed to roast).   And, refrigerate you nut containers once opened to maintain freshness.

Next throw out Margarine and Canola Oil.  Remember in chemistry class that margarine is one molecule chain from plastic?  And Canola Oil?  It’s not called rapeseed for a reason.  Although it’s more of a monounsaturated fat, like vegetable oils it is chemically processed.  Would you ingest petroleum????

Good monounsaturated fat oils include Avocado Oil Macadamia Nut Oil and Olive Oil.  They can be used under LOW heat.  These are best used in salads and dressings.

So what is best for cooking in high heat?

Saturated Fats! 

Wow! So cooking in bacon fat is actually better than cooking in a rancid oil??!! – who’d have thought….. well...before you pull out the butter and lard, consider Coconut Oil as your first choice.  Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Coconut oil is made of natural saturated fat and is great for high heat cooking. As a tropical oil, it contains Lauric Acid which helps support the immune system and fights inflammation.

So when you are cooking or baking use Coconut Oil….and… feel free to bring any of your yummy baking to class :0)

Brain Shrinkage

Did you know that your brain shrinks by 10% by the time you’re 55?

And it shrinks 20% by the age of 75?

Brain Atrophy was always thought of a part of growing older .  Well it’s NOT inevitable!

Causes of brain shrinkage does mirror the symptoms of aging;  obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, poor sleep, distress, etc, but it doesn’t have to be. 1

So how do you protect the brain from shrinkage?

1)      A Healthy Diet.  Duh a No Brainer…..lol.   Increase your consumption of fish and seafood (ie: sardines, herring, salmon, shrimp, cod & tuna).

And, “EAT THE RAINBOW”. 

2)      Add antioxidant supplements to your diet that help reduce cardiovascular risk, lowers your blood sugar and improves your sleep. 2.  Aim for natural foods and drinks.  Some examples include; Spinach, Carrots, broccoli, citrus fruits, berries, dark grapes, nuts (Walnuts, Brazil Nuts, Peanuts), Seeds (Pumpkin, Squash & Safflower).  

3)      Minimize your alcohol consumption.

4)      Exercise the Brain.  Switch from your dominate hand,  Do puzzles and Problem Solving Games or games that involve Memory Recall. (I like Stratego…) and Reading all help.

5)      Physical Exercise.  This is one of the biggest brain robbers (lack of).  By increasing fitness white and grey tissue density of the brain improves.  Exercise has been shown to build new brain cells.

According to a study in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, regular aerobic exercise increased blood flow to the memory-related areas of the brain in just 3 months.3

6)      Meditation Yoga and Prayer  . Hospitals call this “relaxation response,” as it lowers blood pressure and anxiety.

7)      Socializing – Take a tip from Centurions,  keeping an active family/social life is not only important for living a long life, but a sharp one too…

One more point regarding exercise - According to a University of Edinburgh study, Those that exercised more had less brain atrophy, less damage to the wiring of the brain and greater volumes of grey matter - your "thinking" cells.  And, they did NOT find any association between being more socially or intellectually engaged and Brain Health!

So, Hey…..when it comes to your brain – SIZE DOES MATTER!

1 http://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2015/2/combat-age-related-brain-atrophy/page-01

2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › NCBI › Literature › PubMed Central (PMC)

3 http://www.symptomfind.com/healthy-living/brain-exercises-for-memory/#uFFSIxKscygKHmp7.99

4 https://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-01-2013/exercise-may-protect-aging-brain.html

FALL CLASSES START OCTOBER - REGISTER TODAY!

10 Tuesdays starting  Oct.11th, 2016 
Class Code:  FFT12-16

 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Location:   Banatynne School,
363 Thompson Drive,
St. James Assiniboia, Winnipeg, MB
$89.00 for 10 classes

http://www.localcourses.com: DYNABODY

10 Thursdays starting Oct.13th, 2016  
Class Code:  FFT13-16 

 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Location:   Strathmillan School,
339 Strathmillan Road,
St. James Assiniboia, Winnipeg MB

http://www.localcourses.com : DYNABODY

See: St.James Continuing Education: 

Fitness / Aerobics / Challenging   SFT12-16 or SFT13-16
or type in "Dynabody" in the search box

or call: 832-9637 to Register by phone

Summer Dynabody Total Fitness Class Schedule

SUMMER CLASSES START JUNE 28th - sign up now!

Dynabody Total Fitness Summer Classes are set for Tuesdays and Thursdays evenings

 

starting June 28th  

 

and runs through September

 

6:30 – 7:30 pm.

 

ALL classes throughout the summer for just $100*!

Bring a Partner for an additional $60. That’s $160* FOR TWO!

 

*gst extra

Email me at dynabody@gmail.com for more information.

PHYSICAL LITERACY

At a recent Manitoba Fitness Council conference there was a very interesting Presentation by Dr. Dean Kriellaars on Physical Literacy.  Not only a professor at the U of M, but also a Doctor for the Cirque de Soleil performers training centre in Montreal, he knows first hand the importance of movement and the need to have people active.

 

Simply put, YOU CANNOT GET FIT WITHOUT PARTICIPATION!

Dr. Kriellaars would know, he was one of the key players in developing Canada’s Physical Literacy program which is now well known and used throughout the world.   Just like reading and writing, children need to learn how to move.  If we want children to be active for life, they need to develop physical literacy at a young age.

In many countries the Literacy Model has been improved upon.  Not only is it (1) Learning your ABC’s but; (2) Numerical Literacy (1,2,3’s) (3) Musical Literacy (Do Re Mi) and (4) Physical Literacy – movement vocabulary. 

Without the ability, confidence and desire to be physically active just knowing the fundamental land based skills are lost.  Unstructured play become extinct, obesity and diabetes increases and bone density decreases. Eg: Obesity went from 9% in 1970 to over 26% in 2015 and is estimated to be 2/3 by 2030!   How many kids do you see playing outside after school or on weekends?  What are YOU doing after work???

 

And, what about Happiness and Physical Activity?  At Age 5 all kids love it.  At the Age of 10 -13, most Girls feel unhappy with Physical Activity!

  

This doesn’t have to be.  Functional Fitness is in the right direction.  Something that I have been emphasizing since I started teaching fitness classes over 9 years ago….mainly to adults, however, the requirements are the same.

Physical Literacy enrichs the core – involves strength, endurance, flexibility, cardio and body mass.  Does this sound familiar?  Dynabods can agree with this.  And talent is owning the movement – not being on the podium.  This is where you build confidence.  If it’s fun, you will want to do it again.

Dr. Kriellaars had mentioned that the Bone mass in the Cirque de Soleil performers aged 20 to 65 years of age did NOT change.  They have a low injury rate (half that of gymnists) and only train 270 minutes per week.

So what is the take on all this?

YOUR MIND AND BODY ARE ONE.  LEARNING TO MOVE IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS LEARNING TO READ AND WRITE.

As Dr. Dean Kriellaars stated “You can learn at any age”. 

And Remember – “USE IT OR LOSE IT”

Power of the Mind - the Placebo Effect

Last month I discussed the key to happiness is to write things down, on the second installment of

Improving your life for the better I’m going to get into your mind.

 According to the book "59 Seconds - Think a Little, Change a Lot" from Richard Wiseman, Researchers at Harvard University studied over 80 hotel room cleaning attendants from 7 different hotels.   What they wanted to find out was;  Would telling the participants that their work was great exercise improve their health compared to those that didn't realize their work was in fact "exercise"?

  

Neither group changed their lifestyle.

Remarkably those who had been told how many calories they burned on a daily basis had lost a significant amount of weight, lowered their body mass index and waist-to-hip ration and decreased blood pressure.  The other group showed no similar change.

It was the power of the placebo that caused the health boost.  By reminding the attendants of the amount of exercise that they were getting on a daily basis, the researchers altered the attendant’s beliefs about themselves and their bodies responded to make these beliefs a reality. 

So merely thinking about their normal daily exercise made them healthier. 

That’s why at my classes I emphasis focus and giving effort.  If you are too busy talking to your exercise buddy than concentrating on your workout you drastically reduce your success.  .  I have a wide variety of participants and it’s that mental focus that tells them apart.  

At a recent Fitness Conference, one of the presenters Dr. Dean Kriellaars…. who is involved with the Cirque de Solei in Montreal stated that the Body and Mind are all one.  Working with some of the best conditioned athletes in the world he would know.  He also stated that you cannot get fit without participation.

So, when it comes to improving your health, don’t underestimate the power of your mind.  Visualize.  And remember, you may already be putting in the necessary effort, you just need to realize it…..

Spring Sessions start  soon – on Tuesday April 12 & Thursday April 14^th, 2016.

Register online at  http://www.localcourses.com : DYNABODY
See: St.James Continuing Education: 

Fitness / Aerobics / Challenging   SFT12-16 or SFT12-16
or type in "Dynabody" in the search box

or call: 832-9637 to Register by phone

 

 

** Crum, A.J. & Langer, E.J. (2007) Mind-set maters: Exercise and the placebo effect. Psychological Science, 18, 165-171

 

Are you Exercising or Training?

Ok,

Are you Exercising or Training?

Exercising - is moving without full engagement.

Exercising is physical movement.
Exercising is going through the motions.

Training is goal oriented.
Training is with a purpose, outcome and a result.
Training is pushing yourself to get optimum results.

So what are you doing????

Regrets

Not happy with your body but finding it difficult to motivate yourself to go to the gym? Harness the power of regret and avoid reflection.    According to Richard Wiseman, the author of 59 Seconds: Change your life in under a minute, taking a few moments thinking about how much you will regret NOT going to the gym will help motivate you to get going.

And when you get there, stay away from mirrors.  Researchers believe that the mirrors may encourage people to focus on their less than perfect bodies and do more harm than good.

Better yet, come out to this weeks Dynabody Total Fitness class.  You definitely won’t regret coming and you don’t have to worry about mirrors :0)

This Tuesday March 15 – Bannatyne School 6:30 pm

This Thursday March 17– Strathmillan School  6:30 pm

Can’t make it?  Mark it on your calendar – the spring session starts April 12^th and 14^th and goes until mid June. 

Hope to see you there!

Doug

A KEY TO HAPPINESS - WRITE IT DOWN!

I am reading an interesting book "59 Seconds - Think a Little, Change a Lot" from Richard Wiseman.

What I found was quite interesting is that a Key to Happiness boils down to writing things down.   Many people keep diaries on events but the important thing is to express gratitude for what transpired during the day.

This is even more important if you have been affected by an unfortunate event.  Writing encourages the creation of a story line and structure that help people make sense of what has happened and work toward a solution.

Expressing gratitude by writing down what transpired during the day rather than  on events makes you happier, more optimistic about the future and physically healthier – they even exercised more!

Professor Wiseman also suggested that you think about a perfect future and write about topics that will help create that happier future.  Just spend a couple of moments each day to write something into your "Affectionate Diary" and you will quickly notice a difference in mood and happiness.

Start today!

59 SECONDS – THINK A LITTLE, CHANGE A LOT  (page 20-22)  Richard Wiseman Copyright 2010 RandomHouse Canada

Newest trend? Not for the Dynabods!!

Well I just heard what’s the newest fad of fitness trends.   Can you guess?

Single Dumbbell workouts!

Wow!  I’ve been doing it for years at my fitness classes.  All the Dynabods would agree that doing a multi-functional workout with a single dumbbell not only works your major muscle groups but also activates your core stabilizer muscles.

Single Dumbbell workouts would be considered specialized Functional Training – the meat and potatoes of my classes.    This not only improves your strength and mobility but carries over into better posture and control as you have to isometrically maintain stability while working the other side of the body. 

And for those that do make it to my classes know, you need to use a heavy enough weight to make it worthwhile. I usually only bring 5 or 10 lb dumbbells at my first class of the session and hide them off in the corner – lol.   

Most of the newbies are surprised at what they can do when they take on a “can do” attitude and stop thinking that they “can’t” do that weight.  Of course safety is always number one priority, and when using a heavier weight maintaining the load throughout the motion is much easier on the body.  With a heavier weight there is less jerking and snapping of the joints, and thus, less chance of injury.

Plus you build strength rather than just go through the motions.   I like to use the example of painting a ceiling, you can do it for a long time and your shoulder gets sore.  But you didn’t strengthen the shoulder.  It’s just like going to the gym and seeing someone grab that 10 lb weight and rattle of 20 reps while chatting to their buddy.  A total waste of time!

Use of Single Dumbbells helps your body learn to adapt. This neurological adaptation brings a natural progression of your fitness abilities.  You activate more muscles fibers while concentrating form.  It has been a staple of my workouts for years! 

If you haven’t tried Single Dumbbell training I high recommend it.  It’s a great way to stay motivated, challenged and have fun. So grab that 20, 30 or 40 lb dumbbell and try it - you’ll love it!

Dynabody Fitness Classes for the New Year!

Start your New Year’s the right way!

10 Tuesdays starting  January 12th, 2016 

Class Code:  FFT15-15

 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Location:   Banatynne School,
363 Thompson Drive,
St. James Assiniboia, Winnipeg, MB
$89.00 for 10 classes

10 Thursdays starting January 14, 2016  
Class Code:  FFT20-15 

 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Location:   Strathmillan School,
339 Strathmillan Road,
St. James Assiniboia, Winnipeg MB

$89.00 for 10 classes

Register online at:

http://www.localcourses.com : DYNABODY

See: St.James Continuing Education: 

Fitness / Aerobics / Challenging   FFT15-15 or FFT20-15
or type in "Dynabody" in the search box

go online: http://www.localcourses.com/sjsd

Dynabody Fitness Bootcamp - Tuesdays from January 12th

Dynabody Fitness Bootcamp – Thursdays from January 14th

or call: 832-9637 to Register by phone

To get updated info. regarding the Fitness Bootcamps visit my website:  Dynabody.net or by emailing me at dynabody@gmail.com.

For Corporate/Employee Wellness visit: http://dynabody.ca

" True enjoyment comes from activity of the mind and exercise of the body; the two are ever united.”  Wilhelm von Humboldt