Now this is an inspiring surfing story...
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Dealing With Desk Posture
I spend a lot of time sitting. And I've been spending the majority of time sitting for many years. I came across this "simple" exercise to combat the effects of prolonged sitting, from the guys at bodyweightcoach.com. It looks easy, but I couldn't even get close to the starting position. I'll work on it and report on my progress. Check it out in this video below.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Is Fat Putting Your Health at Risk?
By Chaze Funjon
Carrying excess weight has become so common in recent years, especially in the United States, that people have become somewhat complacent about it. No wonder, because according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fully two thirds of the U.S. population is overweight or obese. That's clearly a majority. But if you need to lose weight, your health could be at risk, according to a major new study by the American Cancer Society published a few days ago in The Archives of Internal Medicine.
I'm always looking for ways to help motivate others and myself to be fit and stay fit. Some ways are "positive" motivators, like being inspired by things you would do if you were fitter (for me surfing is one example), while others are "negative" motivators, like the thought that you might lose years off your life if you don't get fit soon. The American Cancer Study is a powerful negative motivator.
The crux of the study is that size of your belly or waist has been linked to a meaningful increase in the risk of dying from cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease. What's really important as a revelation in this study is that this risk holds true regardless of whether or not the person's body mass index falls into the normal weight, overweight or obese category. In other words, even for people who are not at all overweight, if their waist size is large (and the belly is usually the first thing to gain weight), they are at the same risk of dying from these conditions as people who are overweight or obese (and happen to have the same waist size).
The study found that men who's waist sizes were 47 inches or larger, and women who's waists were 42 inches or larger, were at about two times the risk of dying compared with people with small waists (35 inches for men, 30 inches for women). The issue, as stated by the study's author, Eric Jacobs, is that waist size is "strongly correlated to fat tissue in the abdomen, which is the most dangerous kind of fat issue."
If the thought of increasing your risk of dying of cancer, heart disease, or respiratory disease by up to two times isn't a motivator to lose your gut, belly fat, or whatever you want to call your excess abdominal fat and gain that six-pack you've always wanted, then maybe you are more motivated by positive motivators. If you're motivated by scary, negative motivators, read this article again! The implications are scary indeed.
For more tips, ideas, solutions and methods for and about losing weight, see http://yourbestweightlosssecrets.com For more articles on health and healthcare, see http://chazefunjon.blogspot.com/
Article Source: Is Fat Putting Your Health at Risk?
Carrying excess weight has become so common in recent years, especially in the United States, that people have become somewhat complacent about it. No wonder, because according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fully two thirds of the U.S. population is overweight or obese. That's clearly a majority. But if you need to lose weight, your health could be at risk, according to a major new study by the American Cancer Society published a few days ago in The Archives of Internal Medicine.
I'm always looking for ways to help motivate others and myself to be fit and stay fit. Some ways are "positive" motivators, like being inspired by things you would do if you were fitter (for me surfing is one example), while others are "negative" motivators, like the thought that you might lose years off your life if you don't get fit soon. The American Cancer Study is a powerful negative motivator.
The crux of the study is that size of your belly or waist has been linked to a meaningful increase in the risk of dying from cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease. What's really important as a revelation in this study is that this risk holds true regardless of whether or not the person's body mass index falls into the normal weight, overweight or obese category. In other words, even for people who are not at all overweight, if their waist size is large (and the belly is usually the first thing to gain weight), they are at the same risk of dying from these conditions as people who are overweight or obese (and happen to have the same waist size).
The study found that men who's waist sizes were 47 inches or larger, and women who's waists were 42 inches or larger, were at about two times the risk of dying compared with people with small waists (35 inches for men, 30 inches for women). The issue, as stated by the study's author, Eric Jacobs, is that waist size is "strongly correlated to fat tissue in the abdomen, which is the most dangerous kind of fat issue."
If the thought of increasing your risk of dying of cancer, heart disease, or respiratory disease by up to two times isn't a motivator to lose your gut, belly fat, or whatever you want to call your excess abdominal fat and gain that six-pack you've always wanted, then maybe you are more motivated by positive motivators. If you're motivated by scary, negative motivators, read this article again! The implications are scary indeed.
For more tips, ideas, solutions and methods for and about losing weight, see http://yourbestweightlosssecrets.com For more articles on health and healthcare, see http://chazefunjon.blogspot.com/
Article Source: Is Fat Putting Your Health at Risk?
Just in Case You Needed It - Two More Good Reasons to Lose Weight
By Chaze Funjon
Men and women each have a new good reason to lose weight. According to two recent studies, obesity is linked to lower sperm count in men, and for women, obesity may increase the likelihood of birth by cesarean section. For many people, creating the sustained motivation to lose weight is a stumbling block. It is fairly easy to get motivated for a brief period of time, but much harder to stay motivated for the long term. So I am constantly on the lookout for reasons that people can use to stay motivated to lose weight and to stick with it. These two studies appear to fit the bill, so let's take a look at why these findings are important.
Giving birth by cesarean section is a godsend if it is in fact the only way that a baby is going to be born. It can save both the baby and the mother's life if it necessary, and it is great that we have the medical capability to safely perform the procedure when it is necessary. But according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the rate of cesarean births in the U.S. today is about 50% higher than it was during the mid-1990's. And if any surgical procedure can be avoided, overall risk is reduced.
According to the new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the risk of a cesarean birth rose by 4% for every one unit increase in body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight versus height. The study examined data on approximately 125,000 births between 2002 and 2008, from the National Institute of Health.
Real motivation for men to lose weight should come from a new study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility. This study showed that men between the ages of 20 and 30 who were obese typically had a lower sperm count than men in the same age group who were not obese. The study looked at data from just over 2,150 men who had visited a fertility clinic between 1995 and 2005.
There has been a lot of recent discussion about the drop in testosterone that occurs in men as they age. It is not clear how this study might play into that, but it stands to reason that being overweight is definitely not good for the testosterone level.
So here are two good motivational reasons, one for men, one for women, to lose weight. Keep at it, and I will continue finding reasons for us all to keep at it.
For more tips, ideas, solutions and methods for and about losing weight, see http://yourbestweightlosssecrets.com. For more articles on health and healthcare, see http://chazefunjon.blogspot.com/
Article Source: Just in Case You Needed It - Two More Good Reasons to Lose Weight
Men and women each have a new good reason to lose weight. According to two recent studies, obesity is linked to lower sperm count in men, and for women, obesity may increase the likelihood of birth by cesarean section. For many people, creating the sustained motivation to lose weight is a stumbling block. It is fairly easy to get motivated for a brief period of time, but much harder to stay motivated for the long term. So I am constantly on the lookout for reasons that people can use to stay motivated to lose weight and to stick with it. These two studies appear to fit the bill, so let's take a look at why these findings are important.
Giving birth by cesarean section is a godsend if it is in fact the only way that a baby is going to be born. It can save both the baby and the mother's life if it necessary, and it is great that we have the medical capability to safely perform the procedure when it is necessary. But according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the rate of cesarean births in the U.S. today is about 50% higher than it was during the mid-1990's. And if any surgical procedure can be avoided, overall risk is reduced.
According to the new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the risk of a cesarean birth rose by 4% for every one unit increase in body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight versus height. The study examined data on approximately 125,000 births between 2002 and 2008, from the National Institute of Health.
Real motivation for men to lose weight should come from a new study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility. This study showed that men between the ages of 20 and 30 who were obese typically had a lower sperm count than men in the same age group who were not obese. The study looked at data from just over 2,150 men who had visited a fertility clinic between 1995 and 2005.
There has been a lot of recent discussion about the drop in testosterone that occurs in men as they age. It is not clear how this study might play into that, but it stands to reason that being overweight is definitely not good for the testosterone level.
So here are two good motivational reasons, one for men, one for women, to lose weight. Keep at it, and I will continue finding reasons for us all to keep at it.
For more tips, ideas, solutions and methods for and about losing weight, see http://yourbestweightlosssecrets.com. For more articles on health and healthcare, see http://chazefunjon.blogspot.com/
Article Source: Just in Case You Needed It - Two More Good Reasons to Lose Weight
Friday, August 13, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Here's One Way to Do It
This isn't me, of course, but was so cool a thing to be able to do I have to post it so I'll always see it until I'm able to do it! This one takes place on the traveling rings in California, but you could do the same thing on the rings in Riverside Park NYC...
Monday, August 9, 2010
Rings at Riverside Park
These are the rings at Riverside Park in New York city.
You're supposed to grab a ring with one hand, and swing and catch the next ring with your other hand. Then repeat until you get to the end. There are smaller versions of these for kids in a lot of places, but there's only a couple like this one for adults. Believe me, its a lot harder for adults. I'll post a video when I've mastered it.
Why do I find these rings important? Two reasons. One is that, like surfing, it inspires me. I think it will be really cool when I can do this. The second is that as humans, we should all be able to do this. But most adults can't. We've lost something as a species, a physical capability that is our birthright, and is important.
Being able to perform the rings requires a basic level of functional strength, something many people no longer possess, even if they work out. As for myself, I've got shoulder issues from sitting hunched over at a desk for too many years with poor posture. So I need to address the shoulder issues. There are a few good methods for doing so, and the one I'm going to start with is by doing the exercises in Pete Egoscue's book Pain Free.
Think about this... If no one could graduate high school without being able to go back and forth one time on a set of rings like this, how would that change our society for the better?
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