The Benefits Of Swimming

    *

      Swimming just once a week will add variety to your routine, you’ll find it makes all the difference you look forward to your other workouts as you won’t be doing them so often.
    *

      You’ll be working different muscles than you normally do, adding another dimension to your fitness programme.
    *

      Swimming can be a really hard workout, during half an hour of vigorous swimming a 10 stone individual burns 360 calories, the equivalent of running at 12 kph for the same time.
    *

      The cooling effect of the water means that you’re not consciously sweating as much as you would in the gym, allowing you to exercise longer and harder.
    *

      The water supports you as you swim, so although you’ve just had a workout your muscles will feel more relaxed than if you’d just left a class.

Points to remember:

   1.

      You need to be swimming energetically to get the most out of your time in the water, you’re not on holiday now so wear a pair of goggles and be prepared to get your hair wet!
   2.

      Different strokes work different muscles, don’t just stick to one and don’t be afraid to try something new.
   3.

      Swimming etiquette does exist and faster swimmers can get quite funny if you don’t let them pass at the end, there’s no need to be intimidated just make sure you pick the right lane.
   4.

      It may not seem like you’re losing fluids but you are, if you’re planning on being in the water longer than thirty minutes take a water bottle of stop for drink breaks to avoid dehydration.
   5.

      A swimming workout is just like any other so make sure you perform a warm-up, cool-down, and stretches (for the shoulders especially).

Why not try:

    *

      Using a float or pull buoy to concentrate solely on your arms and legs
    *

      Adding sprints into your session, swim one length as fast as you can using one stroke and swim back at a comfortable speed using another.
    *

      Having a swimming lesson. If you were not taught how to swim by a professional, just one lesson can make all the difference to your technique. An efficient technique really enables you to get more enjoyment out of each.

Copyright 2007 Kristoph Thompson BA MA CSCS. Kristoph runs a successful personal training business in the UK, working with a variety of groups and individuals from professional footballers to those with disabilities, and most recently, Britain’s Strongest Man.

How Lavender Oil Might Not Send You To Sleep!

I read a magazine article some time ago that told me what to do if I could not sleep. Their advice was to ‘sprinkle a few drops of lavender on your pillow before you go to bed’. Having been an aromatherapist for some 20 years now, rather than be glad that aromatherapy was becoming so popular that magazines wrote about it, the article made me angry. In my world, aromatherapy is a science, so the questions that came into my mind immediately where, how much is a few drops, and which lavender are they talking about?

There are over 500 different types of lavender plants. Some are cloned, some are seeded, some are grown high up in the French mountains and others are grown in Norfolk, England. While all lavender plants contain essential oil, the oil in each plant is different chemically. They all might resemble the lavender aroma, but will not have the same pharmacological effects on the body. For example, if you sprinkle a few drops of spike lavender on the pillow, rather than drop off to sleep, you could be dancing all night! Some lavender oils are better for arthritis, some for asthma, some for burns and skin complaints and some for stress and insomnia. The lavender oil needed to help promote sleep is True Lavender – Latin name Lavandula angustifolia. This lavender is not usually found in the shops in its original, unadulterated form and so even if you do buy a bottle of lavender with the right name on it, chances are, it will have been adulterated or it could even be a synthetic creation. True Lavender, to be effective, should be steam distilled and put straight into a bottle. Aromatherapists supply this type of essential oil – it is important that the therapist uses good quality essential oils to promote health and harmony in the client. The oil is not being used to freshen the air or polish furniture, but to bring about health and a sense of well-being.

Next we come to the ‘few drops’. Is this 2 drops or 20 drops? With the potency of essential oils, this is an important question indeed. Especially since 2 drops of true lavender will certainly promote sleep, but 20 drops will have the opposite effect! Just as the specification for the lavender oil is important, so is the dosage, especially with children and the elderly or frail.

Essential oils are energy in a bottle. Just the right amount of energy needs to be given to the individual to encourage the needed response. So instead of reading magazines, we should be visiting our local therapists for professional advice. Aromatherapy is more serious and more potent than the modern world would have us believe. While we can buy ‘aromatherapy’ shower gels, shampoos etc, we should realise that these simply refer to the product having a nice smell rather than affecting health.

One of the problems of lavender being so frequently used and widely available in less than organic, therapeutic form, is that members of the public are now developing sensitivities to it, particularly linalool, a component part of synthetic and natural lavender. Because of this it is usually best to do a skin test first or inhale the oil – but making sure the ‘few drops’ is controlled and used appropriately.

Training is absolutely essential if you want to be any sort of Complementary Therapist. There are no short cuts and no easy ways through – although training is usually enjoyable. To be a successful therapist, the greatest quality we look for as a school is a genuine desire to help people and an ability to listen to their problems. Aromatherapy, reflexology and massage in all its different forms are the most popular forms of complementary therapy and all of these areas are open to all kinds of people as long as the heart is in the right place! 

Making New Friends

Friends are important. They can help us to cope with the difficulties of life and help us celebrate our success. They can be a shoulder to cry on, a sympathetic ear to listen to our moans about the unfairness of life, and someone who gives us a hug and a big smile when we succeed.

They can do more than this – friends can help us lead long and happy lives. The Harvard Study of Adult Development has been following 800 men and women since the 1930’s and has established that one of the most important factors in achieving a long and happy life is maintaining strong social relationships. This means spending quality time with loved ones, making time for friends, and contributing to the community around you. Surprisingly the quality of your social network seems to be a more accurate predictor of how long you will live than the longevity of your parents, the quality of your childhood or the number of stressful events in your life.

So how can we build our social network and have more ‘real’ friends? Many people have lots of acquaintances, but few people they would consider true friends – people they can confide in and show their weaknesses – ‘real friends’ are people we show our ‘real selves’ to. And that is a clue to what we need to do. Part of building friendship is exposing our weaknesses and uncertainties to others. Many people feel they have to appear confident and successful in order to attract and retain friends – they feel that if they showed the ‘real me’ no one would like them. But think about the people you like – they’ve almost certainly all got weaknesses. When you get to know people’s weaknesses, you feel you are getting to know the real person behind the social mask. This level of intimacy (which has nothing to do with sex) feels good. There may be people you admire and want to be like; people who appear totally confident and on top of things, but chances are you will feel a bit inferior, a bit inhibited with them, as you too try to appear totally confident and in charge of your life. You may find it difficult to become friends with people like this, because you don’t feel able to be yourself.

Showing the real you can seem a risky business, and, yes, you may get hurt, mocked and let down. Even so, being like this means you are more likely to find real friends. Staying shut in is risky too. If people feel you are reserved and uncommunicative, they are less likely to want to be friends with you. Not only is it good for you to be yourself, but also in being yourself you give other people permission to be themselves; this can lead to true and lasting friendships that survive the ups and downs of life.

Making new friends is important. This is particularly true as you get older. Sadly good friends die, and it is easy to feel more and more lonely as the years go by. Your social circle can narrow as you lose people to illness and old age. It may seem daunting to try making new friends as you get older, but it’s worth making the effort. New friends can bring interest and excitement back into our lives. They can introduce us to new hobbies, new people and new places. Other people are also in the same position. Having lost loved ones and friends they need new friends too.

It’s not just older people who need to make new friends. Younger people may have been busy working or raising a family or been in another town or country so lack a local social support network of good friends.

So how do you make new friends? Most people feel nervous and embarrassed at the idea, but the trick is to think about other people, not yourself. There are other people out there who are short of friends. Think about how nervous and embarrassed they are, and think about how happy they would be to have a friend like you. Make the effort; you won’t ‘click’ with everyone, but persist and find the friends you and they deserve. You would make a good friend, wouldn’t you?

Stop Food Cravings

Many people suffer from food cravings. They spend a lot of time thinking about food, fantasising about food and trying (and not always succeeding) in restraining themselves in order to lose weight or eat healthily. If you’re one of these people, what can you do about it? Do you often feel ‘hungry’ even when you should be full. You know you’ve eaten enough, but somehow you still feel vaguely hungry and dissatisfied. You tell yourself you’ll leave the rest of the packet for another day, but somehow 15 minutes later the packet is just back in your hand.
It Could Be Food Allergies

If you often get the urge to eat something and feel almost immediately better after you eat it, you could be allergic to what gives you this good feeling. If you find yourself saying,” I’d be happy if I could live on X”, whatever X is may well be an allergen for you. If you sympathise with the woman who broke a plate glass window to get at some chocolate, you know how an allergy to a food can drive you insane! Food allergies tend to be addictive – you crave the allergen. No one knows for sure why this is so, but it seems to be linked to endorphin production; endorphins are the body’s natural painkillers.

People with allergy cravings often wake with a ‘hangover’ even when they haven’t been drinking. They wake feeling tired, headachy and possibly thirsty. Some people with severe allergy addictions feel compelled to get up in the middle of the night and eat or drink the thing they crave. It’s always the same food that weaves its magic spell. Do you wake up, eat or drink it, and then you snuggle down and easily fall asleep again? It may be the middle of the night, but food (or a cup of tea or coffee) is calling you. If so, that food or drink is likely to be an allergen.

What can you do about it? You can switch off allergy reactions quickly using a simple allergy tapping technique. This will not stop you reacting to the substance in the future, but will almost certainly give you immediate relief from your cravings and any other symptoms. The great thing about this procedure is that you don’t need to know what is causing the problem; you can just switch off the problem using this acupuncture tapping technique. If you want to turn off your allergies permanently, I suggest you find a health kinesiology practitioner, who knows techniques to do just that.
It Could Be Nutritional Imbalances

Craving particular foods can be a sign of a need for a nutrient that is in the food that is craved, e.g. a deficiency of potassium may result in a craving for avocados and bananas, and a shortage of zinc may stimulate a desire for sunflower seeds and oysters.

When there was lead in petrol, I found that a lot of clients who had a problem with lead loved apples. These are an excellent source of pectin, which helps to remove lead from the body. You may know little about nutrition, but instinctively your body is trying to do the right thing.

So, if you crave a food, check out its nutritional content, and consider whether it is possible you could be deficient in that vitamin and minerals. Consider taking a good quality multi-vitamin supplement to cover all your bases.
It Could Be Blood Sugar Problems

It is important for health that blood sugar levels stay within reasonable limits. This is taken care of by two hormones – glucagon and insulin produced by the pancreas. Glucagon stimulates the conversion of glycogen into glucose and so raises blood sugar levels. Insulin lowers blood sugar levels by stimulating the conversion of glucose into glycogen, which can then be stored until needed, and also by allowing glucose to enter cells through special glucose channels.

Most of the time this works fine, but sometimes blood sugar levels can drop. Low blood sugar has a very detrimental effect on the functioning of the brain. As this can threaten your survival, low blood sugar is treated by the body as an emergency situation. When blood sugar drops suddenly a really primitive reflex tells you to eat immediately. It is difficult to ignore this command, and in general you eat whatever happens to be handy and is sufficiently rich in carbohydrate. This is not necessarily nutritious food. Other signs of badly fluctuating blood sugar levels include headaches, trembling, panic attacks, sudden sweating and anxiety.

From this you can see that maintaining stable blood sugar levels can be vitally important in reducing cravings, but how do you do that? There are two important things you can do – avoiding high glycaemic index food and making sure you have an adequate supply of nutrients that affect blood sugar levels.

High glycaemic foods cause the blood sugar level to increase suddenly and then drop steeply. Avoiding high glycaemic index food can help to stabilise blood sugar.

Chromium, a trace mineral, can help the body use insulin more effectively, and can help stabilise blood sugar. Good food sources of chromium include brewers yeast, whole grains, legumes, nuts and molasses, but if your blood sugar is very erratic you would probably do better to take a chromium supplement at least for a while.
It Could Be Emotional

Sometimes people crave foods that they associate with comfort. Usually this is fairly easy to spot because it’s often one food, and you know the origin. May be it was what your mother cooked for you when you were sick.

There are other less obvious emotional connections. Some people eat to reward themselves or to suppress emotions or to counteract boredom. Are you one of these? Do you keep stuffing food down to stop yourself opening your mouth and expressing your emotions? If this is the true, try taking some flower remedies or seeing a therapist. Do you find the evening is the worse time for cravings? Is that because you are bored? If so, get a good book to read, take up a new hobby or go out and meet new people.

Food cravings don’t have to rule your life, but you do need to take action to change what’s happening in your body.

23 Health tips for bloggers

Twenty-Three Health Tips For Bloggers

1. Before you drink coffee in the morning, drink a glass of water (keep a steady supply of water at your desk). This will help minimize the negative fidgety-buzz that coffee can give you.

2. Start your day off with a 20 minute walk

3. Walk away from the computer at least once every two hours and take a step outside

4. Keep at least one 10-25 pound dumbell by your desk, and use it at least once a day when you notice that your in the middle of a productivity funk.

5. Eat one small meal every 2-3 hours

6. Start your day off with twenty minutes of Yoga or Pilates. I’m personally a fan of the GAIAM series.

7. If you can’t sleep, take a sleeping pill. Sleep is critical to your overall well being. Just make sure not to take sleeping pills more than 3 days in a row.

8. If you feel sluggish, get down on the floor and do some push-ups

9. If your mind feels twitchy, it’s probably because you’ve had too much coffee. Drink some water and get some fresh air.

10. If you feel depressed or sad, immediately find a friend on AIM or in a private forum to talk with. It does wonders.

11. Buy an odometer/speedometer for your bike. Then go for a bike ride around 2pm each day. It’ll give you a "second-wind" for the day. Challenge yourself to go a little bit further and a little bit faster each day.

12. If you’re in a healthy relationship, have sex at least once every 3 days. I’m dead serious about this. It can be critical to both mental and physical stability.

13. If you’re addicted to IMing, porn, RSS reading, movie watching, shoe shopping, music searching or whatever else dominates your time…. TAKE BACK CONTROL OF YOURSELF and YOUR TIME … addictions of any kind are not healthy - a healthy person has full control over him or herself.

14. Once a quarter, try something new. A hobby, an online project, a daily habit. Trying something new and succeeding at it is both physically stimulating and mentally liberating.

15. Buy a dog. While a puppy may result in mental torture and sleep deprivation for a few months, the benefits are pricless. Dogs lift your spirit and can give you the incentive you need to take a walk. But please don’t buy a dog unless you are serious about giving it a walk at least twice a day.

16. Try detoxing your body for a week. When I’m feeling really bad physically, I use two principles: A) Drink nothing but water and B) Eat nothing but fruits, vegetables and nuts

17. Get some sun. Seriously. Half an hour of good skin exposure to the sun can revive the body.

18. Find an excercise partner to help stay motivated. If you can’t find an exercise partner, motivate yourself through the habit forming stage with a massively enticing reward (50 inch Samsung LCD with a PS3 anyone)?

19. Minimize your intake of processed breads and carbs. Keep a healthy stash of nuts and fruits (grapes and walnuts are a great snack) to satisfy your snack cravings.

20. Guys, challenge yourself to work on the beer gut everyday for 10 minutes and stick with it. Take that challenge as seriously as you take your latest internet project or fantasy football team. Girls, challenge yourself to work on the cellulite areas. Take that challenge as seriously as you take your latest internet project or the your desire to get your 101st handbag.

21. Don’t drink alcohol after 7pm. Not only can it prevent you from sleeping deeply, but it can also result in more carb-based weight gain. Or…you might wake up the next day with a bad headache;-)

22. Challenge yourself to save alcohol and desserts only on the weekends. Your body will feel much more stable during the week if you keep it toxic free.

23. Your mental health demands that you are working on projects that you enjoy and that elicit creativity. If you find yourself bogged down in meaningless, tedious work, start taking the steps to transition into healthy, rewarding work by carving out time each day to pursue your own interests (rather than those of your boss - even if your boss in an alter-ego of yourself;-)