Health TO YOUR
Midvalley M idv Newspapers
December 2011
A guide to wellness and healthy living in the Mid-Willamette Valley
STAT Quick reads about health topics in the news
Marriage linked to heart health Marriage may be good for your health. Many studies have looked at the correlation between marriage and health, and a recent study found that marriage may affect survival after coronary artery bypass surgery. The study was published in the Journal of Health Psychology in August, and found that people who were married when they had heart surgery were 2.5 times more likely to be alive 15 years later than unmarried people. Surprisingly, it appeared that marital status was a better predictor of longterm survival after bypass surgery than other wellknown risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, and prior heart attacks.
— McClatchy Newspapers
Thinking about sex, food and sleep Kendal Cederstam, a personal trainer at WOW! Fitness in Corvallis, leads a personal training session with Megan Castellano Friday morning. Cederstam designed the session to work Castellano’s core and upper body. Andy Cripe | TO YOUR HEALTH
Shaping up — and keeping it up Tips for sticking with those fitness resolutions in the coming year By JENNIFER ROUSE
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t’s almost time for the new year to roll around, which means it’s time to set some goals. If you’re like most Americans, one of those goals is likely to revolve around getting in shape. But how do you decide what’s an appropriate goal for you? Sure, running a marathon or swearing off desserts for an entire year might sound like a good idea on Jan. 1, but will it sound so great on the Fourth of July? How do you set fitness goals that you can stick to and really succeed at? Here are some tips from professional trainers to put you on the path for success in 2012.
progress in inches lost, not pounds lost. What’s more, maybe your goal doesn’t have to be appearance-related at all. Markham said that her goal last year was improving the numbers on her annual health screening. “I added more cardio, and my numbers improved,” she said. “I saw the bad cholesterol go down and the glucose go down.”
Give yourself a deadline
That said, you do want to make sure you’re not just working out aimlessly. Markham recommends giving yourself a deadline for achieving your goal. A timeline, laying out when you want to accomplish particular items on your list, will help keep you on track for success. “If it’s just out there, it can become ‘Well, if I lose it, I lose it,’” Markham said. Make it do-able, not drastic “You’re not holding yourself accountable if It may be true that you need to seriously there’s no time limit.” revamp your lifestyle. If you’ve been sitting on the couch for most of the past year, then Little goals, then big goals no one’s going to tell you that you shouldIt can be discouraging to just chip away at n’t get moving. But trainers say that too many people come in wanting big results a big goal that’s a year down the road, and get discouraged when they don’t see though. So try giving yourself little victories to celebrate on your way to achieving your them fast enough. “I have people come in saying they want big one. If your big goal is losing weight, make to lose 30 pounds in two months,” said Kendal Cederstam, a personal trainer at your little goal getting to the gym two to WOW Fitness in Corvallis. “But that’s really three times a week, every week, for the first few months. When you’ve not ideal.” at that, give yourInstead, the American ‘So many people do succeeded self something new to aim College of Sports Medicine lose 10-15 pounds for. recommends losing at a rate Mixing up your workouts of half a pound to two initially, because all can be the best way to pounds per week. of a sudden they’re achieve success anyway, said And while portion control and healthier eating is watching what they Cederstam of WOW Fitness. “So many people do lose great, skipping meals and eat and exercising 10-15 pounds initially, becutting out entire food more. Then they hit cause all of a sudden they’re groups, such as fats or carwhat they eat and bohydrates, is a bad idea. this plateau, and they watching exercising more,” she said. “Your body needs all the different food groups,” just stop. They think, “Then they hit this plateau, Cederstam said. “You “Oh, I guess this is and they just stop. They think, ‘Oh, I guess this is should never cut out a full where I’m supposed where I’m supposed to be.’” food group.” Instead, Cederstam said, Instead of focusing on to be.”’ don’t give up so soon. The getting to a certain weight, KENDAL CEDERSTAM, trick is to challenge yourself a better strategy is to not PERSONAL TRAINER again. focus on the scale at all. “You need to keep your body guessing,” she said. Don’t make it a number Consider signing up for a race, trying out “The scale can be evil sometimes,” said a sport, or taking a new class. Mostly, just Joann Markham, a personal trainer at Al- keep on making those healthy choices. bany Athletic Club. She said she’s had “The weight will come with it,” Markham clients who start working out and find they said. initially gain weight as they build muscle for the first time. Instead, she tells them to ■ Looking for the perfect gift to jumpstart focus on how their clothes fit, or to take cira new fitness program? Turn to A6. cumference measurements and gauge their
Readers share their fitness goals We asked readers from across the mid-valley to share their fitness goals for 2012. Here’s a selection of what they said: My fitness goals are to eat better and cut back on wine. I already run, hike, ski, ride horses ... etc. I just turned 60 so I want to continue to be healthy and active for many years to come.
— Sally Haffner ❑ My fitness goal is to continue Amy Krahn’s bootcamp class. This is a four-week, fourtimes-a-week class that tones, and builds muscle and core strength. Amy is an amazing person and instructor and really gets you excited about working out. Check out her website — www.zumbawithamy.com.
— Libby McCormick ❑ (I want to) qualify for the Kona Ironman Triathlon. (So, I will) run six times a week to a total of 40-70 weekly miles. Starting at 40, progressing to 70. Race two-three races a month to push my endurance and speed. Swim six times a week; hard every other day, drills on other. Progress to swimming 2.4 miles once a week. Bike four to five days a week using spinnervals tapes, biking one to two hours a session. One long ride per week climbing to 100 miles once a week. Do some OBRA (Oregon Bike Racing Association) races to push my speed and endurance. Body toning and or muscle tech classes twice a week. Two to three days a week in weight room.
— Jason Hawthorne ❑ To train for and compete in at least 10 triathlons. To beat at least half the people who are half my age in those events, and to run once a week with my wife just for the fun of it.
— Roger Nyquist ❑ My son is an active, healthy high school athlete (aikido and cross country) and my fitness goal is to do a better job keeping up with him. For a specific goal, I’m going to attend a fitness class at the Benton Center (Strength and Toning, M/W/F at 5:00 taught by Terria McNamar), and on the weekends, get in either a long run or a long bike ride, usually on Vineyard Mountain or Chip Ross Park. I’ve found I’m most likely to be successful when I do this kind of thing with others — we keep each other motivated.
— Jeff Davis SEE GOALS | A6
Men think about sex, but not nearly as often as most people may believe, a study finds. They also think a lot about food and sleep, too. The study, published in the January 2012 issue of the Journal of Sex Research, could debunk the stereotype that men are constantly thinking about sex. An often repeated statistic is that men think about sex once every seven seconds. Researchers from Ohio State University took a novel approach to logging how many times their study subjects, 283 male and female college students age 18 to 25, thought about sex — they gave them golf tally counters and asked them to click it whenever a thought related to sex entered their head. On average men thought about sex 18.6 times a day, and for women the average was 9.9 times a day. Men thought about food an average of almost 18 times a day, and women almost 15 times a day. When it came to sleep, men thought about that almost 11 times a day, and women thought about it about eight and a half times a day. — Los Angeles Times
Learning to cope with Alzheimer’s People are afraid of Alzheimer’s disease and with good reason, says TV host Leeza Gibbons. “The fear — of losing the ability to think — well, it’s more fearful to most people than cancer,” she says. “It’s overwhelming and leaves people hopeless.” The good news is that Gibbons expects scientists in the 21st century to look at neurological diseases with greater interest and success in discovering treatments. In the meantime, Gibbons is partnering with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. to launch the “Words of Wisdom” contest, which calls on caregivers to submit advice about finding strength and support for the care-giving journey. The 10 most insightful will receive $100 gift cards and their advice will be published on www.alzheimersdisease.com. Check out that website for details. — Orange County Register