LIFE EXPECTANCY & HEALTHY LIFE EXPECTANCY

Current life expectancy for Canadians is 82.5 years, although not in the top 10 (11^th) we are doing much better than our friends  South of the 49^th parallel (ranked 36^th) (1)…

According to Employment and Social Development Canada, men were expected to spend 88.0% (68.9 years) of their life in good health, compared with 85.8% (71.2 years) for women. Although women had higher life expectancy, men were expected to spend a higher proportion of their life in good health.

Wow!  In other words you can expect about 10 years of life in poor health.   Yikes!

Taking gender out of the equation, Chronic conditions are the main cause of lowered HALE (Health-Adjusted Life Expectancy.    Of that, Depression is a major cause.  In addition, obesity and stress continues to be on the rise. 

For the majority of people, they can improve their healthy life.

There are no magic pills, no short-cuts, no special diets, machines or routines that will result in “getting into shape”    Even if there was a magic pill – and you could afford it…there are much more benefits to exercise.  Besides adding strength and tone to the muscles, exercise works your heart and lungs.  An exercise pill won’t build your self-esteem and confidence you get from a good work-out.  Resistance and Aerobic exercise can improve your mood, add brain power, help your sex life, and change your body for the better.

Your food intake is also so very important.  -  Proper nutrition is 60% of the effort in building a healthy strong body.   Follow a properly balanced eating schedule.  Eat 5 or 6 meals of fruits, vegetables, lean cuts of meat, chicken and fish per day.  Stay away from sugar, processed and fast foods.   Focus on Calories in vs Calories out.  Do not fall in the Diet Trap and become part of the yo-yo phenomenon.  You can’t stay on a diet forever. 

It is important to find a lifestyle that works for you.  The best results come from a long-term strategy involving permanent change in both eating and activity habits.  

You can live your life in good health – start now!

  

DYNABODY TOTAL FITNESS SPRING CLASSES!

Well it sure did feel like spring outside didn’t it? !

There is still a couple of DTF classes available before the new sessions start.  Feel free to come out (at no charge) this Tuesday or Thursday  17^th at Bannatyne School (A whole lotta Gumbo) and 19th at Strathmillan School (SuperDuper Slow wins the race).  6:30pm start.  

Hope to see you there.

Spring Sessions start April 14^th and 16^th, 2015.  Refer a new Dynabod and wins some swag!

References:

1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy

2 http://www4.hrsdc.gc.ca/.3ndic.1t.4r@-eng.jsp?iid=3

Happy New Year - See you in 2015!

To Dynabods everywhere - Happy Holidays!

Classes start January 13th (Tuesday evenings) and January 22, 2015 (Thursday evenings)

DTF Holiday Fitness Challenge Winner

The Holiday Fitness Challenge is over it’s the time to announce the winner.

The person that came out on top this year was Ione R. 

It looks like her new Easy Glider machine made the difference. And yes, she did win it two years ago. Congratulations Ione!

All the Dynabods are winners in my books! 

I hope that everyone that participated in the six week challenge continue to keeping some type of training diary and remember to read and reevaluate your goals regularly.  Daily reflection turns dreams into reality!

Merry Christmas Everyone

 Merry Christmas to all the Dynabods out there!

Survivors of the last DTF class of 2013!

Final Tuesday DTF class of 2013

Thanks to all the Dynabods that made it out to the Tuesday's classes.  It was a lot of fun.  Have a great Holiday season and see you in the New Year!

BRAIN GAINS - Kids need exercise more than ever!

Now that summer is winding down and kids are back in school, reality sets in.   Did you know that close to 50% of school children are overweight?   It’s surprising that current guidelines recommend that children engage in at least 1 hour of physical activity daily yet only 6% to 8% of primary and secondary school kids reach that mark.

Did you know that;

- Fewer than one in four students gets at least 30 minutes of daily exercise?

- School-age kids and teens spend an average of 6 hours per day on the computer, watching TV, or playing video games and 7 hours each weekend day?

- It is estimated that by 2015 75% of Canada’s population will be overweight or obese!

- They are now saying that our children will not live as long as we will.

- 80% of money spent on disease could be prevented by exercise and diet alone.

Yikes!  I’d like to share with you an interesting article that the CBC news (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) put out about a High School in Saskatoon that put treadmills and exercise bikes into a math classroom.  Students did 20 minutes of cardio before class.

An interesting point is that this school is for those with learning difficulties, with over half the students having ADHD. They couldn't sit still, many had behavioral problems, and couldn't learn. With the cardio equipment in the classroom, most of the kids had jumped a full grade in reading, writing and math in one semester.  Plus their attention span increased from 10 minutes to 3 hours!

The exercise altered their brain chemistry enough to make learning possible, AND it greatly improved their behavior.  Exercise is food for the brain,” says Dr. John Ratey of Harvard University. Studies show that exercise builds new brain cells in the part of the brain that helps with memory and learning, he added.

If you want to hear more about the CBC report on exercise and the Saskatoon school’s pilot project click here=> Brain gains.

As a teenager, many students are overworked at school and overstressed at home.  They engross their spare time on facebook, television and video games and can never put down their iphone or android.  Encouraging exercise helps to overcome the stress of growing up and adds energy, confidence and makes you look and feel good.

Exercise is just one part of maintaining a healthy body weight and a fit mind.  Nutrition plays an important part.  Did you know that certain foods help your grey matter?  Eating fish helps prevent stroke.  Eating steak helps to reduce brain shrinkage.  Blueberries helps shield your brain from stress.  And kids of all ages should stay away from diet soda – the aspartame is linked to headaches – which may increase migraines and have no nutritional value.

The best health results come from a long-term strategy involving a permanent change in both eating and activity habits.  It is important to make physical activity a priority for both you and your children.  The more active the exercise the better.   The human body was meant to move and physical activity should be part of your life.

Strive for an overall plan to increase your health, fitness, well-being and quality of life.  Creating an exercise habit starts with you!

SUMMER FITNESS CLASSES - GOING STRONG!

Did you know that sitting 6+ hours per day makes you 40% likelier to die within 15 years than someone who sits less than 3?  Even if you exercise?  If you sit a lot, interrupt your sitting time whenever you can.  Your body was meant to move – so it’s time to get outside and be active!!!!

The Spring Fitness Classes at Bannatynne School and Strathmillan School are done until the fall (October 8th & 10th).  I’ve seen some great progress by all of the participants.  Great job everyone!  

SUMMER FITNESS CLASSES

Dynabody Total Fitness Summer Classes are Tuesdays and Thursdays evenings 

6:30 – 7:30 pm.

starting June 18^th and June 20^th and runs through September!

 A positive mental attitude + positive environment + positive support system = RESULTS 

Get those results with DTF - the ultimate in summer fitness.   

I realize summer is a busy time.  Even if you are unsure if you can make it to every class this summer, we are up & running all summer - from June to the end of September!

This 1 hour session is fun and a great challenge for all!  Along with the meat & potatoes - strength training, we will be incorporating TRX Suspension training for core and muscular endurance.  Then ignite your metabolism with Dynabody Finishers – some High Intensity Finales before cooling down after a great workout session.

Email me at dynabody@gmail.com.

And don't forget - visit the St. James School Division Continuing Education website and sign up for the fall classes starting October 8th and 10th, 2013!

Tuesday: Bannatyne School  Thursday: Strathmillan School             6:30 to 8:00 pm

 

NO PAIN NO GAIN

First - Congratulations to both Colleen and Ione for winning the free personal TRX suspension training workout sessions! 

Dynabody Total Fitness classes now incorporate the TRX Suspesnion Trainer which challenges the interconnected chain of muscles in every plane of motion.  Like your typical body weight exercises, the TRX(which stands for Total body Resistance eXercise) works on functional use and incorporates a good portion of your body's muscle mass along with variable resistance that works the corer.  Adding a new a new twist to the most sophisticated fitness machine ever - your body!

NO PAIN NO GAIN

In order to build muscle and increase strength we need to apply the right stimulus and intensity, taking yourself to muscular failure so that you progress.

Discomfort caused by muscle fatigue or lactic acid build up is GOOD.  It means that you are pushing yourself.  Some muscle soreness a day or two after a workout is also GOOD, it means that your muscles are recuperating, repairing and growing.

Discomfort in your bones, joints, tendons, or ligaments or a sharp shooting sensation is BAD.  When this happens you should stop exercising immediately.  Pushing through this sort of discomfort hurts your fitness and may force you to take off more time than necessary.

While resistance training should be intense and discomfort may result PAIN is not a part of a successful workout.  Pain is your body’s warning system that enough is enough.  So listen!!!!

For maximum recovery you should only train each body part twice a week with an optimal high intensity workout.  One of the biggest mistake people make is “wanting it” so bad that they overtrain.  Be aware of the warning signs of overtraining such as lack of motivation, trouble sleeping, poor nutrition, and of course lack of progress.

Whenever you push through that discomfort of hard work and put your goals before your comfort your resolve is strengthened.  Feeling good after a good workout session helps reinforce a behavior that you are more likely to do the next time.  It actually gets better than coasting through a ho-hum workout  - which in time you will quit for lack of progress and mental and physical satisfaction.  You will want to workout and feel good about it.

Remember

INTENSITY = A LITTLE DISCOMFORT = FITNESS GAINS

SIT-UP FOR PENNIES A SUCCESS!

After the Tuesday Leg workout and Thursday Upper Body workout participants spent the final part of their Total Fitness Class helping to raise money for the Heart & Stroke Foundation.

Some of the Dynabods stuck with traditional sit-ups, others added in crunches.  For Thursday a 15 minute “Ab Explosion” was included where participants did a different core exercise every minute – from crunches to elbow planks, from Russian twists to the tough “Superman to Banana rolls” to name a few.   

The response was fantastic! 

Here are some of the results;

Shannon          280 sit-ups!

Tara                 350 sit-ups/crunches!

Tim                  375

Colleen            487

Tania               600

I surpassed my goal – I did 1,001!

Sit-Up for Pennies raised over $780!

Thanks to everyone that donated.  Your effort brings us one step closer to “Crunching out Heart Disease & Stroke!

Sit-Up for Pennies T-Shirt - Crunch out Heart Disease!

Order your Sit-ups for Pennies T-Shirt for $10.

All proceeds go to the Heart & Stroke Foundation. Pledge a penny a sit-up, buy a t-shirt, or give a flat donation and help promote Heart Health Programs and Research.

Join my DynaBods and help raise funds for Heart & Stroke research;
Dates:  Tuesday, February 26, 2013 – Bannatynne School

          Thursday, February 28, 2013 – Strathmillan School

To place your order, or other information phone/text Doug at 204-771-0061 or email: dynabody@gmail.com.T-shirt orders are due in by Friday February 22nd