James Stabile Informational Newsletter

 February 2005

Health, Fitness and Lifestyle...

Top 10 Mistakes at the Gym...I read this article in USA Weekend, an insert in the Sunday paper. 

The first mistake - Bad Form. Pushing yourself too hard, not using the machines correctly, eager beavers tend to cause more injuries by their eagerness to get fit by working out without getting all the help they need.

The second mistake - The all-or-nothing approach - You don't need to spend one complete hour on your workout, use the time you have, you can do your workout in intervals, space it out over an entire day if necessary.

The third mistake - Unbalanced strength training - Don't just work on the muscles that you can see the effects, work on all muscles, a total workout, hire a trainer or consult a professional, remember Stability Fitness and exercise physiologist, Tom Stabile.

The fourth mistake - The too-much factor - Exercising too much or too often can keep you from progressing. Don't over-train, that's one of my weaknesses, sometimes.

The fifth mistake - Poor gym etiquette - Wipe your sweat off the machines, clean up after yourself. This won't improve your training, but it will make you well-liked at the gym.

The sixth mistake - not enough variety - Tweak your routine every 3 or 4 months, add variety to your workout.

The seventh mistake - Lack of focus - Focus on what you are doing. Keep up the pace. As my brother would post on the wall when he worked out, "GROW".

The eighth mistake - Not adjusting the equipment - Learn hoe to use the machines. Once again, ask the trainer for advice.

The ninth mistake - Setting vague goals - Be specific in setting goals. You are going to loose a particular number of pounds by a specific date. Or you are going to be able to run a 10K by a specific date.

The tenth mistake - Not cooling down - Cool down after a work out or you may injure yourself. Take ten minutes to walk at a lower intensity, then spend a few minutes stretching.

Going to a gym is one way to stay in shape. A gym is not for everyone. One can maintain a fitness program right at home. The key - be consistent and vary your training. Home equipment is good, but you need a minimum of equipment to stay in shape. I will emphasize, good, substantial, and effective work out equipment maybe more motivating and effective in your fitness program. 

Personally, I walk about 4 or 5 days a week, about an hour a day. I go to the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk and well, walk. I walk at a fast rate, brisk rate. About five days a week I do push ups and crunches. Several years ago I bought one of those crunch apparatus, you know the kind. It was on sale, about $30.00 or $40.00. That cheap little baby has served me well over the years.

A quick story about walking on the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk - over the holidays I was doing my walking in the late afternoon, I believe it was the Monday after New Years, they had that "Orange Bowl Patch" thing on Hollywood Beach for the Orange Bowl. The beach was crowded. I walk pretty fast. I was walking past two little brothers. The older about 5 was riding one of those beach bikes, the kind that the tourists rent from the beach personnel, he was kind of teasing his little brother who was about 3 years old. The older brother was saying something like, "I have a beach bike and you don't ha, ha, ha" to his younger brother. Then the older brother dashed off right in front of me. I was looking at the older brother thinking, "that was really a rude thing you did to your little brother", then it happened. The little guy darted out in front of me and I totally knocked him to the ground. I looked behind me and saw this little kid lying down, crying his eyes out. Once I realized what had happened, I stopped and felt like I was in suspended animation. I didn't know what to do. I was going to pick the boy up, but I thought, "don't touch that kid, you never know what the parents would say", so I just stood there saying, "awe, awe, awe". I keep thinking where are the parents. Soon the father came running, I told him that the little boy ran in front of me and I didn't see him. The father understood, then the mother came running and asked what had happened, I said the same thing. The little boy was fine. He was just scared. Well, why wouldn't he be scared, a 200 lb. man just ran him over. I kept walking and then thinking how funny it was. I was so concerned about the older boy that I didn't even noticed the little boy right in front of me. That's the way accidents happen. I was just glad the parents understood the situation. On the return trip, I was going to bypass the scene of the accident, but I didn't. I held my head high and kept walking as if everything was fine. When I came to the actual place where I took out the kid, I looked around to see if the family was there, but they were no where to be scene. Up the road I did see the older brother riding his beach bike. You can be sure that after that incident I am extremely cognizant of the activity in front of me, behind me, to my left and to my right. 

One reason I walk on the Broadwalk is for the amusement. As Art Linkletter says, "people are funny" and "kids say the darnest things".

From RealAge portion control is becoming one of the most effective strategies for losing excess pounds and keeping them off. I have always maintained that eating a balanced diet, eating low fat and low calorie as much as possible and eating in moderation is the key to weight reduction. RealAge says to regulate weight use small plates, eat slowly, and eat fiber-rich, balanced meals to help you feel satisfied while curbing any tendencies to eat too many calories. Makes good sense to me.

I read an article in the newspaper just the other day saying that the recent report stating the obesity has overcome smoking as the number one illness in the United States is wrong. They say that due to a computer error, obesity has not increased as dramatically as once reported. Computer error - I think that is a term used much too frequently these days. Why don't they just say that they made a mistake. It is human error. A computer is only as effective and accurate as the human programming the computer. What an overstated excuse, but good news nonetheless. Also, I read that cancer has overtaken heart disease, that is until they check the computer...

I think the big killer in our contemporary world, life in the 21st century if you will, is STRESS. Stress can kill. I believe there is a school of thought in the medical community that stress is the number one predictor of major illness. Yes, genetics, diet, life style all contribute to disease, but I believe that stress is the common link to disease.

How does one deal with stress? Well, first ask yourself what is causing your stress? Say it aloud, recognize the cause and then identify ways to handle it. It won't go away by itself. And above all - don't ignore or dismiss it, face the stress. 

When you are in a stressful situation, take a time out. Remove yourself from the situation. You may be able to think more clearly and gain perspective. 

When feeling stressed, help your body and mind to cope with that feeling. Take deep breathes, walk away from the situation, do something different, take your mind off of it. 

Admit to yourself, life is full of stress. Some stress is healthy, it helps us to get motivated and get things done. The stress is unhealthy when it interferes with our life, when it becomes a "stumbling block" and cause adverse effects on our total health. We must accept the fact that stress exists, but we can manage it, too.

Children become stressed, too. Years ago, back in the 20th century, adults and youngsters reacted differently to the world around them. More succinctly, adults and children had different stressors. However, in today's world many of the stressors experienced by adults are also experienced by children. A child's life is anything but stress free. Many of life's problems affect children as well as adults. Don't minimize the feelings of children. Stress in children is just as real and in many cases just as debilitating as that of adults. Children need to deal with their stress in the same ways as adults. Remember, we not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

February 2005 Newsletter  
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