Issue 3 by matt

ISSUE 3

HEALTH & FITNESS MAKING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN MIND AND BODY

It’s not about changing your lifestyle, it’s about changing the style of your life.

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SCIENTIFIC FINDS

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BOOST IMMUNITY

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FIND YOUR STRENGTHS

PRESCRIBED PERSPECTIVE

Fall/Winter Edition

2010

By Stephen J. Downes, Owner, Fitness Clinician

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NEW & NOW

Just ask one of the many doctor clients of ours: they send their loved ones and refer patients and co-workers because of our level of care.

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n our last issue, I told you about how Prescribed Exercise Clinic is setting a higher standard in the fitness industry. Now that we’ve moved into our new state-of-the-art facility, we can make that claim more confidently than ever. We designed our 4,000-square-foot clinic with one thing in mind: We wanted to create the most effective exercise environment we possibly could. From the layout of the structure to the purposeful way we’ve arranged the equipment, every aspect of our new clinic is designed to give you a safe, efficient exercise experience. One of the first things you’ll notice about our new facility is that it’s not a gym. There’s no music, no mirrors and no bright lights. It’s a clinic, and we designed it to appear clinical and professional. Another thing you’ll notice at our clinic is the cool air. Keeping the temperature at a brisk 16 degrees Celsius allows us to generate better quality air, which will help you push your limits and achieve better results. By creating a facility that matches our philosophy, we’re elevating fitness from a trendy pursuit to a serious healthcare practice. The difference is clear. Just ask our clients or visit us and find out for yourself.

FITNESS CLINICIAN DEFINED: One who prescribes, administers, monitors, and problem-solves fitness training and nutrition relative to individual needs for the general exercise enthusiast, special populations or injury rehabilitation. A Fitness Clinician is not a personal trainer, who works primarily as a motivational exercise coach and may not have the skills to take on the responsibilities of a Fitness Clinician.

The Health-Fitness Connection Our healthcare system is in trouble. It won’t be able to sustain the demand we’ll put on it over the next 15-20 years. The Heart and Stroke Foundation’s 2010 Annual Report warned of a “perfect storm” of risk factors and demographic changes converging to create an unprecedented burden on our cardiovascular care system, and no Canadian, young or old, will be left unaffected. Between 1994 and 2005, rates of high blood pressure among Canadians skyrocketed by 77%, diabetes by 45% and obesity by 18%. And those figures show no signs of abating. The only way to stay healthy is to stay proactive and incorporate routine, quality exercise and conscientious dieting into your lifestyle. At PEC, we make our clients accountable to that lifestyle through monitored exercise sessions and meal planning. If you’re ready to invest in your health, contact us.

SCIENTIFIC ADVANCEMENTS Not to Replace Exercise and Diet

We all know that science and technology save lives, but what has science been able to do about fitness? Unfortunately, if you’re waiting for science to come up with a shortcut to a lean, muscular physique, you’re in for a long wait. The problem isn’t a lack of information. After all, scientists just finished mapping the human genome. No, the real problem is that we’re just starting to sort through all the information we have. Take Type 2 Diabetes, for example. Scientists recently studied more than 10,000 people and sorted through landmarks in their DNA called SNPs. Of the 2.2 million SNPs they looked at, they found 18 associated with Type 2 Diabetes. It’s an amazing accomplishment, but it only explains about 6 per cent of the disease’s hereditary causes and almost none of the non-hereditary causes.

Here are a few more tips to help you reach your goals: •

Don’t overdo it at the beginning. Starting with too much, too often can lead to injury and make you want to quit. Channel your enthusiasm into concentrating on high quality exercise.

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Consider your weakest traits first and work on them twice as hard as you work on your strengths. Avoid the tendency to gravitate toward what you’re good at.

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Start with a general observation and then hone in on your needs. Think about your body type. If you’re built like a long-distance runner, don’t train like a football player.

The bottom line is it’s going to take decades and maybe even centuries to sort through all that information and find a shortcut to fitness. In the meantime, we’ll just have to be content with good-old-fashioned hard work and the regular care of a hands-on fitness professional.

Machine of the Month Sure, the Med-X Pull-down machine looks like other pull-down machines, but you’ll notice the difference as soon as you try it. First, the handle shape is designed for safer shoulder alignment, which lets you target your back muscles with greater precision. And the angle the arms track at gives you a full range of motion and an effective pre-stretch. Meanwhile, the low-movement-ration weight stack minimizes the impact in the stretch position and lets you lift more than you could with a standard cable-based machine.

THE FUNDAMENTALS

IMMUNITY ENHANCERS Wouldn’t it be great if we could be immune to all the colds and viruses making the rounds these days?

f course you can’t be immune to colds anymore than you can be immune to aging, but there is a way to protect yourself. And as you might have guessed, it’s exercise. Sure, exercise makes your muscles more mobile and your connective tissue more flexible, but that’s just the start.

While it’s better to be active than inactive, too many people spend too many hours working out repetitively with nothing to show for it. It shouldn’t take hours and hours a week to exercise.

Proper exercise also does a couple of other things: First, it stresses your immune system, then lets it regroup, adapt and grow stronger. Second, it builds endurance to help you cope with stress. This strength and endurance add up to a resilience that makes life a lot easier for your immune system.

Too much low-quality exercise is just as bad as not enough. You don’t need to beat up your body to improve the way you look.

When your immune system doesn’t have to deal with life’s little problems, it can spend more time taking care of the bigger, life-threatening problems. And that means a consistently healthier you. People who exercise don’t get sick nearly as often as people who don’t exercise. And when they do get sick, they recover far faster than their sedentary counterparts. But the key with exercise isn’t to work for it, it’s to make it work for you.

When you use proper exercise to feel healthy and strong, you’ll carry yourself with a confidence that makes you truly attractive. And more importantly, you’ll be able to spend more time enjoying life and less time out sick.

TO ENHANCE YOUR IMMUNITY THROUGH EXERCISE, TRY THESE TIPS:

Words of Wisdom

From Your Fitness Clinician

Exercise harder, not longer. Quality matters more than quantity. Keep exercises controlled and purposeful. Don’t work out like you are playing a sport. It’s not play time, it’s healthcare time. After exercise, replenish your lost nutrients. Don’t avoid food for the sake of trying to lose an extra ounce or two of fat. Eat a well-balanced, nutrient-dense meal within a few hours of your workout.

by Michael Lamch Nineteen years. That’s how long I have been in the fitness industry. Well that’s not entirely true. I worked in a few different commercial gyms over that time, taking time off in between to try new ventures whenever I became frustrated with the fitness industry. But I’ve always kept one foot in the door by training consistently and trying out new fads. I’ve been studying under PEC for two years. Their approach is the most scientific approach to exercise and nutrition that exist, and I’ve studied many. The exercise methodology that PEC advocates and the clinical atmosphere they’ve created provide a superior service compared to other studios and commercial facilities. Now I find myself fortunate to be working at PEC, showing my clients a safer, more effective way to get results. I’m no longer concerned about promoting and selling what’s new. Instead my focus is on prescribing what works.

NEXT STEPS

A Healthy Choice

Falling for Turkey The Holidays come and go, but that’s no reason to stop gobbling up the turkey.

While many people choose chicken as their low-calorie lean meat source, ounce for ounce, turkey is a richer source of nutrients. A large bird roasted whole with mixed vegetables can provide you with over a week’s worth of great tasting, well-balanced, protein-rich low-calorie meals.

Fully Functional:

One Size Doesn’t Fit All I

f you’re interested in fitness, you’ve probably heard a few of our industry’s buzzwords.

Pithy catchphrases like functionality, stability, balance, core strength and postural enhancement have become like commercial jingles: they get stuck in our heads and seduce us into believing that we need them.

What the people who use these buzzwords to sell their products won’t tell you is that almost any activity will enhance those traits, provided it’s safe. The real question is: how well will their product address your shortcomings? You don’t improve your fitness levels by focusing on your strengths, you do it by address-

ing your weaknesses. Make your strengths stronger, and they‘ll still be out of balance with your weaknesses. What makes it even more complicated is that we all have different weaknesses. Compare a man in his 50s with neck and shoulder problems with a woman in her 30s with weight and lower back problems. Do you think they need the same exercises?

Your exercise choices need to target your problems. Balancing on a ball may take exertion, but what’s it really doing for you? Improving stability through core strength will help your posture, but that only matters if your posture is the weakness you’re targeting.

To see lasting changes in your fitness levels, you’ll have to identify

your needs. So what’s the best approach? You know your body better than anyone else, so ask yourself a few questions: What’s your fitness level? What are your weaknesses? What do you want to achieve? Answer those questions, devise a workout that addresses your answers and you’re on your way to fitness functionality.

THE 90-DAY CHALLENGE

FAT IS YOUR FRIEND the byproduct of too many calories, especially calories from insulin-spiking junk carbs like breads, sugars and corn products.

Have you ever wondered where sex hormones come from? You might be surprised to learn that they come from fat. Yes, the same fat we’ve been taught to avoid is responsible for producing estrogen and testosterone, which help us stay healthy and young by giving us greater strength, endurance, balance and coordination.

You don’t avoid obesity by cutting off our body’s fat supply. You do it by limiting the amount of food you eat. And when you combine a healthy diet with the strength and endurance you get from building lean muscle tissue, you’ve found the secret to healthy living.

But don’t mistake it for the fat that causes obesity. That fat is

PRESCRIBED RESULTS “I have been attending PEC for almost three years now. I exercise for 20-35 minutes, three days a week. I love it! It’s

intense, and you see results. I am stronger and I no longer have pain in my shoulder and knee. The new clinic is beautiful, and

the staff are very professional and attentive to detail. I tell everyone about PEC because I know it would benefit them. - Adam Munia

“The new clinic is beautiful, and the staff are very professional and attentive to detail.” At 57, I thought I worked hard at being fit and healthy. In reality I was getting weaker and fatter, with lots of joint pain. Then I joined PEC. Now with

30 pounds less fat and more muscle than ever, I have more energy, less joint pain and am in the best aerobic condition of my life. - Dr. Stephen Yates

“PEC’s finely tuned program helped me to achieve my goal and then some.” Stephen J. Downes, MFC Clinical Director/Owner prescribedexerciseclinic.com 702 Arlington Park Place Kingston, ON K7M 7N7 613.453.6284

Do you know someone that you would like to receive this quarterly delivery, contact us at Sdownes@prescribedexerciseclinic.com, to place them on our mailing list.