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The Fitness and Health Report
Information for a Healthy Life
November 2, 2000, Issue 15
IN THIS ISSUE:
- The Ultimate Energizer
- Shopping For A Treadmill On The Internet
The Ultimate Energizer
By Garrett J. Braunreiter, CSCS, The Energy Coach
A person's energy level depends on many factors, including genetics,
nutrition, sleep habits, and emotional stress. But there is one VERY important
factor that many people seem to forget: PHYSICAL FITNESS. Put simply,
the more in shape you are, the more energetic you'll be.
Need a source of vast power and energy?
Look no further than your gym.
The link between physical fitness and energy is so strong, that doctors
have lately been prescribing exercise as treatment for chronic fatigue,
depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and insomnia, for instance.
If sufferers of the most stubborn kind of fatigue can be energized with
exercise, imagine what can do for those of us who experience ordinary,
every-day fatigue.
* Feel Great At Mid-Afternoon *
Your brain thrives on oxygen. Blood transports oxygen to the brain, so
the greater blood flow to the brain, the greater the oxygen supply the
brain has. As you increase your heartbeat with a vigorous workout, more
blood surges through the brain, more oxygen gets absorbed by your brain
cells, and you feel more mentally alert and energetic.
Try this: when it's 3 pm and your mind is foggy and you feel like nodding
off at your desk, stand up and jump around for a few minutes. Instant
mental and physical energizer.
Experts point out another long-term cause-and-effect relationship between
exercise and blood flow to the brain: as you continue exercising, the
number of capillaries (small blood vessels between your arteries and veins)
throughout your body will grow. More blood flow through your "pipes"
means more oxygen will be supplied where you need it.
Regular exercise also keeps the pipes clear and circulation healthy by
preventing atherosclerosis (buildup of plaque). Regular exercise can actually
REVERSE atherosclerosis when combined with a healthy nutrition plan. When
you have atherosclerosis in check, your brain is virtually guaranteed
for the rest of your life.
Blood also carries glucose, the simple sugar that's the primary fuel
source for your entire nervous system of which the brain is the command
center. Glucose's production starts the metabolism of carbohydrates. Various
enzymes, plus your body's ability to use glucose to produce ATP, the more
important energy chemical in the body, control this production. When you
exercise, you increase the level of those enzymes and their activity.
In other words, when you exercise regularly, you boost your enzymes,
resulting in more glucose, and your body is more efficient in using the
glucose. You get a larger supply of ATP, which helps fight off the mid-afternoon
energy drop-off.
* Increase Metabolism *
It's no secret that strength trainers are firmer and stronger than sedentary
folks. How could it be otherwise?
Resistance exercise builds muscle, pure and simple. The more muscle you
have, the higher your metabolism, and the more calories you burn even
at rest.
So why does "strong and toned" equate to more energy?
For starters, heavy people have to lug around more weight all day long.
When the overweight climbs a flight of stairs, do yard work, or even just
carrying the garbage can to the curb, they're also carrying that excess
weight, making almost everything they do more exhausting.
Better-conditioned muscles make every task that much easier, regardless
of body weight. When you exercise, your ability to use muscle fibers is
increased. So you require less effort to perform any physical task.
Trained muscle also stores more energy. The fit person simply has more
energy at his/her disposal, making just about everything from waxing your
car to playing with your kids less fatiguing than for those out of shape.
A strong body also has a stronger immune system. Being sick drains us
of energy, and exercise, by boosting immunity, staves off illness. Recent
research has shed light on why the strong may get sick less often and
recuperate faster when they do get sick: exercise increases the activity
of natural killer cells in the bloodstream.
* Less Stress *
A great deal of research supports that weight lifting is one of the most
effective means of battling depression and stress. One of the main fatiguing
factors of depression and stress is lack of sleep. In a recent Stanford
University study, formerly sedentary insomniacs who began to exercise
fell asleep 15 minutes faster and were able to sleep an hour longer than
they had before becoming active.
* Boost Brain Fitness *
To this point, we've been talking about the benefit of exercise on mental
energy. But is it possible that being in shape might translate to even
greater mental benefits, such as increased intelligence, creativity, memory,
or reasoning ability? It's very possible.
Studies show that both factors of mental stimulation and exercise were
contributing to the increase of the brain's learning centers in different
ways. Mental stimulation results in more synapses (the little gaps between
brain nerve cells that enable them to communicate with one another), while
exercise increases the number of capillaries in the cerebellum and cerebral
cortex (two areas of the brain crucial to intelligence.)
Take more effective and focused actions immediately... Stop putting up
with what's dragging your down... Create momentum so that it's easier
to get results... Build a leaner, energized body... With a FREE subscription
to The Peak Performance Life newsletter. Get it NOW at http://www.worldpeakperformance.com/newsletter.htm
Shopping For A Treadmill On The Internet
By Clark Stevenson
We hear from people all the time regarding hesitancy when buying a treadmill
from a merchant over the Internet. If you will do your homework, buying
a treadmill on the Internet can be a great, money saving experience.
One of the major concerns is the warranty. The fact is that if you buy
a treadmill, the warranty you are buying is from the manufacturer, not
the merchant. Of course, you need to make sure that the merchant is legitimate
but your long-term ownership of your treadmill will be greatly affected
by the support provided by the manufacturer.
Many Internet merchants provide local support but, according to the warranty,
the manufacturer is the only company that is legally bound to provide
service unless you get warranty support by the merchant in writing. Your
state may have different laws than ours, so seek legal counsel for any
questions you may have regarding product warranty liability.
You also will need to make sure that the manufacturer does not specifically
cancel the warranty if you buy a treadmill from a store or merchant other
than your local dealer. In the recent past, there were several companies
that would not honor the warranty on a treadmill sold by a dealer into
another dealer's area or by an unauthorized dealer and their warranties
were written to this effect and clearly explained these limitations.
The easiest way to find out if the treadmill you are considering has
a warranty if purchased over the Internet is to contact the manufacturing
company directly. This may take a few minutes to do but it will help you
make sure that the treadmill has the intended warranty. If the company
says it is perfectly fine to buy it over the Internet, make sure you save
a copy of their correspondence for your records.
Another issue of importance is to make sure you buy from an Internet
company that has been shipping for some time. Whenever you ship via a
truck line, there is always a potential for damage but the companies who
have been shipping for some time have learned certain methods of packaging
to minimize the possibility of damage.
We have spoken with a few of the Internet companies and the ones that
have been doing this the longest have reported that they have very few
serious shipping problems. When the merchant understands how to package
the treadmill and they do have a serious problem, the complaint can be
handled quickly because the freight company is clearly at fault. If you
buy from a company that hasn't shipped much, problems handling freight
damage claims can be much more serious. More importantly, when a company
has a few years of shipping experience, the treadmill does not arrive
battered, as they can with inexperienced shipping companies.
These are just the major issues we would consider before buying a treadmill
over the Internet. We have received reports from several people on the
site that they have saved hundreds of dollars from buying over the Internet.
This is proving to be a great way to save! Just make sure you use the
appropriate amount of preparation before you take the leap.
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