By Allan Bolton B.H.M.S. (Hons) MAAESS AEP SP

It’s often called ‘the fire within’, but what exactly is our metabolism?

Put simply, the human body is a big bio-chemical fire - a mass of chemical reactions - with a ‘personality’. These chemical reactions result in the tissue and compounds that make up our bodies. They are also responsible for breaking our food down into energy, and then releasing that energy for physical activity. Our metabolism is the name given to all the biochemical processes necessary to sustain life. The body’s ‘metabolic rate’ (MR) refers to the amount of energy our bodies need to stay alive.

The ‘basal metabolic rate’ (BMR) refers to the energy used up by the body at rest, without any extra activity during the day. The BMR accounts for around 70% of daily energy use. Other factors taken into account include the ‘thermic effect of food’ (the energy used digesting and absorbing food and nutrients, and converting it into energy) and exercise (any physical activity above resting) which make up the other 30%. The energy expenditure related to muscle metabolism is considered to be the only component of RMR that varies considerably.

5 ways keep your metabolism wired-in and charged up?

1. Turn it up to burn it up – move your body as much as you can. Physical activity is the best way to stoke up the intensity of the ‘fire within’.
2. Muscle up – the energy cost for keeping 10kg of muscle alive is around 420 kilojoules per day, over a year this equates to 4.7kgs of body fat.
3. Fuel the fire – Don’t starve yourself, any fire burns out without fuel. Be sure to metabolically match energy you eat with energy you expend.
4. Stay cool and green – Bodies have to work to keep warm so let your body do some of the work in winter, not the power point. Use light layers of blankets that can be peeled off just keeping you comfortably warm instead of sweltering under thick quilts and frying on top of electric blankets.
5. Hug a cold friend and share your warmth

Allan Bolton is an accredited exercise physiologist. He has worked in health, fitness and human performance over the past 28 years. Over this time Allan has featured in media including all major Australian newspapers, National commercial TV news, ABC radio and most commercial stations. He is a Scientific Advisor and Health and Fitness expert for Weight Watchers Australasia. Allan was the first person in the world with insulin dependent diabetes to complete an Ironman Triathlon. This mix of qualification and personal achievement make him a popular corporate keynote speaker and workshop presenter. For more go to Allan’s website at www.qualityhealth.com.au

by Dr. Adam Fraser

No one can argue that the world has gotten faster. We used to date, now we speed date, we used to read now we speed read and we used walk now we speed walk. The world has gotten fast and the fall out is that we are all busy, time poor and exhausted.

The energy we bring to our day, our work and our lives, is the difference between elite performance and mediocrity. Energy is infectious to the people around you and you have to ask yourself what are you infecting your environment with.

There are 3 levels to energy management physical, emotional and mental.

Here are 20 tips to get more of each:

Physical Energy

1. Cut out caffeine after 3pm, it stimulates the brain and makes it difficult to get into deep relaxing sleep.

2. Dim the lights 1 hour before bed, this stimulates the release of melatonin a hormone that helps us get to sleep and stay asleep.

3. Decrease stimulation 1 hour before bed such as TV, work, computers, etc. wind down and relax before bed.

4. Have the same bed time and wake up time each day, helps your body anticipate when it needs to be asleep and awake.

5. Get 10 – 15 minutes of sun exposure each day, this regulates your circadian rhythm and helps you get more rejuvenating deep sleep.

6. Stay away from sugary foods, they pick you up briefly but then drop you. Soft drinks, biscuits, muffins and sugary snacks briefly energize you but then leave you feeling flat. If you need a snack aim for some protein, good grains and fruit.

7. Stay hydrated – drink at least 2 litres of water a day, when we are dehydrated our brain function slows and we feel tired.

8. Get 30 minutes of physical activity a day. Exercise increases our energy levels and also increases the efficiency of the body and the brain.

9. Eat every 3 to 4 hours. People often feel tired and drowsy at 3pm. At 3pm we have a natural drop in our glucose levels, when this happens we see a massive decrease in our energy levels. Regular meals help prevent this.

10. When eating out limit alcohol to 2-3 glasses, avoid fried food, creamy sauces and large serves of carbohydrates. These all reduce energy.

11. Picture it up. An energising meal is one where the plate is made up of half vegetables, a quarter protein, and a quarter carbohydrates.

12. At work take a short break (about 5 minutes) every 2 hours, where you get up from your desk move around, relax your brain and focus on something other than work. After about 90 minutes to 2 hours of work our brain fatigues and needs a rest.

Emotional Energy

Negative emotions such as anger, fear and frustration drain the energy out of us due to the stress response they produce.
13. Breathe out and slow your breathing. When we take a slow deep breath we reduce the release of stress hormones such as adrenaline that burn off our energy.

14. Talk to yourself more. Listen to the conversation you are having in your head and check that it is Accurate, Realistic and Optimistic. So often our thinking is irrational during the day leading to negative emotions and stress.

15. Choose your battles. Check to see if this is something you want to spend your emotional energy on. Too often we spend our emotional energy on things that aren’t important. Ask yourself am I being a drama queen.

16. Choose your mood. When you feel these negative emotions replace them with more positive ones. This sounds impossible, however we have more control over our mood than we think. If we are feeling sad and apathetic can we reflect on something joyous or something we are grateful for. A coaching client of mine has been going through some difficult times and is feeling a high percentage of negative emotions. When he feels like that he thinks of his 6 year old daughter doing ballet and he soon snaps out of it.

17. Do something each day that tops up your emotional energy, like a hobby or something you are passionate about.

Mental Energy

18. Touch it once. Often we procrastinate and fail to complete tasks; uncompleted tasks take up valuable mental energy. Don’t just touch a task, finish it!

19. Cut down on Multitasking – when we multi task we overload our brain with too many data points, causing mental fatigue.

20. Take time each day to focus and calm your mind on a single activity, such as meditation, art, playing a musical instrument, reading, cross word or sodoku. This will improve your ability to focus and reduce your stress levels.

Dr Adam Fraser appears on ABC radio 702 and is a regular presenter on TV, most recently appearing on Channel 7’s Sunrise. In addition, Adam’s exercise training business “the energy factory” has trained celebrity clients such as “Guy Sebastian” and “Tammin Sursok”.

Get moving again

by Rosemary Marchese

Are you struggling to find the time to exercise? You are not alone! But a routine that involves regular exercise is part of the solution to reenergising your body so it is vital to find some time in your day to make it happen. The National Physical Activity Guidelines for Australians recommend that you ‘put together at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days’. Although more vigorous exercise is needed for physical fitness improvements, it is now known that following these guidelines can improve blood pressure, blood cholesterol and body weight! The other good news is that this does not have to be 30 continuous minutes to produce significant health benefits. Nor does it have to be all at the same intensity. Recent research is showing that interval training (interspersing lower intensity exercise with short bouts of higher intensity exercise) can also have some great benefits!

For many of you it may be that fitting in exercise means just another thing to add to your day. You need to change your mindset and think of physical activity as an opportunity rather than a chore. So, here are some physical activity tips to help those of you who are super busy.

1. Find bursts of 10-15 minute intervals to exercise. Be creative – run up and down your stairs at home (even the fittest of you will struggle as you get closer to the 10th flight!).

2. Don’t use your car as much! We are all complaining about the rising cost of fuel so limit your car use as much as possible. For mums with bubs that may mean making more use of the pram, for example do more frequent and smaller grocery shops by walking to the store and using the pram basket to carry a small load of groceries. For those of you at work get out at lunch time. “What lunch?” I hear you say. If you are not getting out at least once in your work day then chances are you are not being productive anyway. Work smarter, not longer hours. Catching public transport? Get off at an earlier stop – a ten minute walk suddenly becomes 100 extra minutes of extra physical activity per week if you do this on your way to and from work every day!

3. If you can find the time to fit in a 30 minute exercise session, make it productive. After a five minute warm-up walk pick up the pace a little for four and a half minutes, and then run for 30 seconds. Repeat this four times and then cool down with a slower walk for five minutes at the end.

4. Intersperse your cardiovascular exercise (such as walking, swimming, running, and cycling) with some resistance exercises to help increase your lean body mass. More lean body mass means that you will have a higher resting metabolic rate – burning up more energy when you sleep compared to when you have a lower resting metabolic rate. Find a local park to stop at during your lunch time walk or run and include exercises such as push ups and lunges. Of course if you are new at all this you will need to seek the advice of a fitness instructor first for some tips on correct technique.
5. Find active leisure activities – meet a friend for a walk rather than a coffee, join a tennis club, and take your kids to the zoo rather than a playhouse where you sit and watch the kids exercise!

6. Get up more at work and home! Get out of the car to open the garage, use the stairs not the lifts at work (or even the shops), get up to change the TV channel and use the clothes line, not the dryer.

Overall it is crucial that you find the time to exercise if you want to live longer. Exercise can add years to your life, whereas a sedentary lifestyle can reduce your life expectancy! These are all simple ways to help reenergise your exercise routine and your life!

Rosemary is a registered physiotherapist who has combined her expertise in health with fitness. She has over 15 years of experience teaching and consulting in the fitness industry. She is the co-author of the best-selling text book ‘The Essential Guide to Fitness: For the Fitness Instructor’, which was specifically written for those people wanting to start a career in the fitness industry. She is also Editor for Ultra Fit Magazine, which presents the fitness industry (experts and participants) up-to-the minute fitness industry research and workouts. For more information on Ultra Fit Magazine or Rosemary’s book, visit www.ultrafit.com.au.

by Tony Wilson

Sleep’s Performance Impact:

In your most hectic times, do you know how much your lack of quality sleep and sustained chaos affects your performance?  Maintaining your hectic schedule to get more done, could actually prove to be a false economy, substantially affecting decision making, energy, concentration, cognitive speed and memory.  How do you maximise your productivity during your busiest work and travel schedules?

Athletes in particular know the importance of rest as a tool to make sure that their training and competition performances are of the best quality; this can also be applied to corporate performance.

Many studies have been done regarding sleep deprivation and the results are fairly compelling: Stay awake longer than 18 consecutive hours and reaction speed, memory, problem solving, cognitive speed and spatial orientation all start to suffer.  People that have been working for 24 hours straight are 61% more likely to make mistakes on routine tasks and 460% more likely to have a near-miss accident while driving home.

But this doesn’t apply to you, right?  Except for maybe the odd all-nighter getting that report in, or the Friday/Saturday night bender, you are never really in sleep deficit – or are you?

Are you Getting Enough (Sleep, that is):

Research from Harvard Medical School shows that when you sleep less than eight hours a night for several days, sleep deficit starts to kick in; if you average four hours of sleep a night for four to five days, you develop the same level of deficit as if you have been awake for a period of 24 hours.  The level of cognitive impairment that arises from being awake for 24 hours is the same as having a blood alcohol level of .05!

The crazy thing is that we probably get the least sleep when we travel and yet this is often when we need to function at our best; deliver that great presentation, impress the clients, make vital decisions that impact strategy etc etc.

How can you Combat Sleep Deficit?

The key is obviously getting a longer night’s sleep, or at least being able to break the cycle of continuously working around the clock.  There are also implications for travel and scheduling:

1.    Have a work-free night at home 2-3 nights a week minimum (Monday to Friday that is).  You might be amazed at how this makes you prioritise your working hours and fires up your productivity.  I am sure you will also be amazed at the impact this will have on your home-life.  Get to bed earlier on these nights

2.    Remove all electronic devices from your bedroom, so that you are not interrupted.

3.    Avoid caffeine from six hours before you aim to go to bed

4.    Avoid taking red-eye flights where possible, especially if you are expected to perform at the destination immediately

5.    When traveling internationally, try to take a day to adapt to the interrupted sleep from the flight as well as the new time zone before scheduling important business

I know that these strategies might sound like they are eating into your schedule, but I firmly believe that the increases in productivity will be well worth it.

What about when you simply HAVE to Perform on little or No Sleep?

There are a number of short-term solutions that you can implement to get you going when you simply have to perform, but have had little sleep.

Caffeine is the most widely used strategy to perk up performance, and while this is a good short-term fix, you need to avoid the ‘down-cycle’ that this creates also (incidentally, caffeine is the second most widely sold commodity in the world next to oil)

Exposure to sunlight is one of the major drivers of our natural sleep/wake patterns, so this is a great source of ‘fooling’ our body clock into thinking we are supposed to be awake.

Exercise is also a good way of ‘waking up’, especially if you are used to doing this first thing in the morning.  Even a good walk outside can help your energy levels greatly.

Take a nap.  This can also be effective in sustaining performance for a short time.  However, keep these to less than half an hour so that the ‘grogginess’ effect is minimised.

Summary:

You can only perform your best when you are properly rested - the impact of fatigue on performance can be drastic, and this extends to your attitude and moods.  The notion that many high performers get limited sleep is getting less applicable in today’s society, and is definitely the exception rather than the rule.

Tony Wilson is the founder of Teamcorp Australia, and has spent over a decade working with elite performers in business and in sport.  His ability to help athletes reach their potential and maintain motivation has been a large factor in their success, and many corporate leaders throughout Australia now also apply Tony’s philosophies with outstanding results.  Tony’s practical background, coupled with an MBA, give him a unique perspective on personal and team performance.

by Allan Bolton B.H.M.S. (Hons) MAAESS AEP SP

Many rate a workout with a non-anesthetised tooth extraction. If this is you don’t too feel down about it, you are only doing what evolution has taught you. Our genes are constantly telling us to keep still and conserve life sustaining energy. Today, these features which not so long ago were important for survival, are now a bug in the system that can lead to energy drain.

Our genetic energy conservation coding combined with winter temperatures and time pressure can make leaving your exercise bug in hibernation an easy choice.

Expend a little, recharge a lot

Working out is a great way to re-energise both mind and body. Exercising for just 30 minutes can make you feel good all day. To switch from simply thinking about exercise to doing it we need to figure ways to outsmart our genes and stimulate the brain’s do-it-again chemistry that makes us want to keep coming back for more.

Defrost you recharge button

Winter is here, who wants to freeze? A fitness centre is a great place to stay warm, workout and re-energise. Here are some suggestions to keep you on the move.

Find a body-friendly fitness centre

If you feel a little intimidated by the super-fit mirror munchers at the local fitness centre, here are some tips on how to find centre with a positive image:

•    Staff are dressed in loose rather than skin-tight, neck-high clothing

•    Staff take the time during your first few visits to discuss your needs, rather than push the benefits of the latest butt-burning machine.

•    Gym members are represented in a diverse range of sizes and shapes, not just lean and mean.

•    The walls feature posters of flowing streams or inspirational quotes rather than bikini-clad beach babes or hormone riddled muscle hulks.

•    You can choose from a wide variety of machines and equipment, not just 800kg dumbbells and 40kph treadmills.

•    There are quiet, calm areas to relax and stretch, instead of wall-to-wall mirrors and ear bashing dance beats.

•    There’s not a set of scales or a pair of skin callipers in sight!

Go for a freebie

Fitness centres will be keen for business in winter, so ask for a free trial workout or week of workouts to get you started.

Partner up

Make a commitment with a buddy to meet at the gym for “partner power” workouts. You might stand yourself up for a gym appointment, but will be less likely to sms a motivated friend with a no-show message.

Try what’s on offer

Take the opportunity to trial different fitness classes. You might like to try yoga, pilates, Body Combat or group personal training.

Get a trainer

Hire a personal trainer once a week to keep you on track and in good form. You’ll probably get nutritional advice and motivation as an extra bonus.

Take a challenge

Challenge yourself to visit the gym at least once a week, and give yourself a nice reward for making good on your efforts.

Catch up on your reading

Take a book to read on the stationary cycle and aim to finish it by Spring.

Go home dry

Take a change of warm clothes, so you don’t catch a chill by going outside wearing wet, sweaty workout gear.

If you don’t hibernate this winter, you won’t have to play catch-up with your fitness come spring. Take it easy, and enjoy your winter workouts.

Allan Bolton is an accredited exercise physiologist. He has worked in health, fitness and human performance over the past 28 years. Over this time Allan has featured in media including all major Australian newspapers, National commercial TV news, ABC radio and most commercial stations. He is a Scientific Advisor and Health and Fitness expert for Weight Watchers Australasia. Allan was the first person in the world with insulin dependent diabetes to complete an Ironman Triathlon. This mix of qualification and personal achievement make him a popular corporate keynote speaker and workshop presenter. For more go to Allan’s website at www.qualityhealth.com.au

by Fiona Cosgrove

Many of us would like to change something in our wellness. Whether it be improvements in fitness, eating habits, weight control, stress management or other health behaviours, we know WHAT to do. But we don’t do it. We struggle with the HOW.

In today’s society we are inundated with facts on what is good for us. What we should do, what we shouldn’t do (says who?). Learning how to change our own behaviour is not easy. “Just do it” might be a good slogan for a large sportswear manufacturer but may not work for complex behaviour change. We know we want to lose weight; we know we need to eat less or make better choices, so what do we do? Go on a crash diet, deprive ourselves with an eating plan that leads to low energy, demoralization, rapid weight loss and equally rapid weight regain. And we fail again, which reinforces our lack of belief in our ability to take control of our weight.

Rewind back a bit. In fact a long way. Before we begin any drastic action, it is a great idea to create a vision of where we would like to be if we were at “our best”. If it is focused on losing weight, ask yourself what you would like to look like and feel like if you were lighter? And when you are lighter, what will it be like living your life in your new body? How will it affect people around you, what will you think about yourself, about others? What else could change if your weight were to change? Take some time to write the answer to these questions.

Next ask yourself what could get in the way of you losing weight? What are the challenges that come up and have defeated you in the past? What could you do to overcome these obstacles.? What strategies can you come up with to fall back on? Again, make this a detailed analysis.

The next part of creating your vision is to think about your strengths. We are incredibly bad at acknowledging what we are good at in life. Yet we all have hidden resources that we rely on in times of challenge. Think back to what else you have achieved in your life? What did it take to reach that goal? How could you use that quality, ability or talent to help you in this new endeavour?

This is the first step to building the strong foundation of your change process. You have identified the WHY - the deepest motivators that make you wish for change in this area of your wellness. Keep these motivators in mind constantly as they will sustain you along the way. A little preparation will go a long way so rather than rushing in with a higher possibility of failure, take time out and reflect on what you need to make the change that will last.

STEPS TO CHANGE:

1. Decide what you want to change
2. Ask yourself why you want this change?
3. What else could change if this did?
4. What will your life be like?
5. What could get in the way?
6. What are your strengths?
7. What have you succeeded in before?
8. What quality/talent did that take?
9. How can you use that to help you now?

Fiona Cosgrove has over 20 years experience in the wellness & fitness industry - owning and managing clubs in Australia and Asia, including No 1 Martin Place, NSW Fitness Centre of the Year, 2006. Fiona is the author of Coach Yourself to Wellness and she regularly runs corporate seminars and workshops in the areas of healthy lifestyle, motivation and wellness.

8 Reasons to Listen to Music While you Exercise

By Rosemary Marchese

Are your workouts getting you down just as much as the lack of time you have to workout properly? Did you know that music can help you to train harder? Can you think of a better way to reinvigorate your workouts? Here are 8 of the latest reasons why you should get your Ipod up to speed and get the music pumping while you work out!

1. It makes the time appear to go faster!
2. Workouts will feel more enjoyable.
3. Heart rate doesn’t climb as high.
4. Blood pressure doesn’t get as high.
5. Lactate levels do not get so high.
6. The rate of perceived exertion is less – so you actually feel like you are exercising at a lower intensity when you are not!
7. There is a modest reduction in the circulation of the stress hormone called noradrenaline. Noradrenaline is responsible for increasing heart rate, blood pressure, contractility of the heart and fuel use. This has to be good news for all of us!
8. It is thought to have a relaxing effect – reducing muscle tension so that blood flow and lactate clearance is increased.

Can you imagine a ‘Group Exercise to Music’ class at the gym without the music? Well besides the fact that helps with choreography it is also a stimulating and positive environment to be in while exercising. If exercising alone with headphones is not for you then perhaps get to your local gym and try a Group Exercise to Music class. And for those of you not so familiar with gyms, these days you don’t have to be super coordinated and wearing lycra pants to fit in. There are a whole range of classes to music to suit all types, including (but of course not limited to):

1. Les Mills BODYPUMP™ classes – a weights class to music whereby all the major muscles are worked out using a barbell and weights. Each class is made up of ten songs with each song having a purpose. The first and last song are for the warm and cool-down respectively while the eight songs in between are each specifically targeted at: legs, chest, back and butt, triceps, biceps, legs again, shoulders and abs. I promise you a great workout in these classes!
2. Step classes where you use a step to get a great workout for the lower body in particular as well as getting the heart pumping. Although there are some basic step classes for beginners the more advanced classes will require some coordination.
3. Circuit classes – great for those a little less coordinated. These can be aimed at improving cardiovascular fitness as well as muscle endurance. They often use resistance exercises interspersed with cardiovascular exercises for short intervals between 40 to 60 seconds.
4. Dance classes – a whole range available in gyms now…check out your local clubs.
5. Freestyle aerobics – although these are the more traditional group classes and for some, it is not so fashionable now, there still are classes for those of you keen to test out your coordination but have loads of fun at the same time!

Of course this is just a small sample but it does show you that you have lots of options when it comes to using music as a tool. Whether exercising on your own or in a group environment, music may be the key to reinvigorating your workouts!

Rosemary is a registered physiotherapist who has combined her expertise in health with fitness. She has over 15 years of experience teaching and consulting in the fitness industry. She is the co-author of the best-selling text book ‘The Essential Guide to Fitness: For the Fitness Instructor’, which was specifically written for those people wanting to start a career in the fitness industry. She is also Editor for Ultra Fit Magazine, which presents the fitness industry (experts and participants) up-to-the minute fitness industry research and workouts. For more information on Ultra Fit Magazine or Rosemary’s book, visit www.ultrafit.com.au.