Monday, July 31, 2017
Sunday, July 30, 2017
BLOG 122 HEART RATE
BLOG 122 HEART RATE
Our heart is working and pumping 24 hours per day. We know
that one day it’s expiration date will come, so we want to live life in a
manner that allows this point in time to be pushed back just a little bit
further and further. Our heart health is vital to life in and of itself. Your
target heart rate, which is applicable on our fitness journeys, can help
determine the effectiveness of our exercise. We need to know if we are
over-exercising or not getting enough activity at all.
Before we can know our target heart rate, we need to know our resting heart
rate. This is the number of times your heart beats per minute when at rest. The
ideal time to take this measure is in the morning before you get out of bed and have just woken up. No activity has
taken place and the heart is at its resting state. According to the National Institute of Health, the average resting heart rate (http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/PhysicalActivity/FitnessBasics/Target-Heart-Rates_UCM_434341_Article.jsp#.WVlHiemQzIU) :
- for children 10 years and older, and adults (including seniors) is 60 - 100 beats per minute
- for well-trained athletes is 40 - 60 beats per minute.
Your maximum heart rate is 220 –
age. So take the value 220 and subtract your current age. From here, the
American Heart Association provides the following directions to find your
target heart rate (http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/PhysicalActivity/FitnessBasics/Target-Heart-Rates_UCM_434341_Article.jsp#.WVlHiemQzIU)
:
- Take your pulse on the inside of your wrist, on the thumb side.
- Use the tips of your first two fingers (not your thumb) to press lightly over the blood vessels on your wrist.
- Count your pulse for 10 seconds and multiply by 6 to find your beats per minute. You want to stay between 50 percent to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. This range is your target heart rate.
You would do this intermittently
while you are working out.
Now use the following chart to
determine how hard your heart is working. Again, this is according to the
American Heart Association, who I felt was the most credible source for this
blog (http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/PhysicalActivity/FitnessBasics/Target-Heart-Rates_UCM_434341_Article.jsp#.WVlHiemQzIU).
In the age category closest to
yours, read across to find your target heart rate. Heart rate during moderately
intense activities is about 50-69% of your maximum heart rate, whereas heart
rate during hard physical activity is about 70% to less than 90% of the maximum
heart rate.
The figures are averages, so use them as general guidelines.
The figures are averages, so use them as general guidelines.
|
Age
|
Target
HR Zone 50-85%
|
Average
Maximum Heart Rate, 100%
|
|
20 years
|
100-170 beats per minute
|
200 beats per minute
|
|
30 years
|
95-162 beats per minute
|
190 beats per minute
|
|
35 years
|
93-157 beats per minute
|
185 beats per minute
|
|
40 years
|
90-153 beats per minute
|
180 beats per minute
|
|
45 years
|
88-149 beats per minute
|
175 beats per minute
|
|
50 years
|
85-145 beats per minute
|
170 beats per minute
|
|
55 years
|
83-140 beats per minute
|
165 beats per minute
|
|
60 years
|
80-136 beats per minute
|
160 beats per minute
|
|
65 years
|
78-132 beats per minute
|
155 beats per minute
|
|
70 years
|
75-128 beats per minute
|
150 beats per minute
|
In college my basketball coach put
heart rate monitors on us to see how much effort we were really giving. A chart
vs actual human activity taking into account no other factors, is up to
discretion. But we know what our BODY can do and if your goal is to push your
rate and be motivated by staying in a specific training zone, then monitoring
your target heart rate can be an effective strategy on your fitness journey.
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Friday, July 28, 2017
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Monday, July 24, 2017
Sunday, July 23, 2017
BLOG 121 FOOD MEANING
BLOG 121 FOOD MEANING
We live in a food centered society that’s for sure. Every
street is lined with food locations; commercials bombard our televisions;
cooking is a hobby; and at least 3 times per day we think about eating. Let’s
face it, we like to eat and it makes us feel good. Food has many symbolic
meanings as well. This blog is even difficult to write as my stomach growls
waiting for my next meal.
We know that food fuels our bodies, but it means so much
more than that. Socially, food is shared and meals are eaten together. Check
out this synopsis: “Food is almost always shared; people eat together;
mealtimes are events when the whole family or settlement or village comes
together. Food is also an occasion for sharing, for distributing and giving,
for the expression of altruism, whether from parents to children, children to
in-laws, or anyone to visitors and strangers. Food is the most important thing
a mother gives a child; it is the substance of her own body, and in most parts
of the world mother’s milk is still the only safe food for infants. Thus, food
becomes not just a symbol of, but the reality of, love and security” (http://www.sirc.org/publik/food_and_eating_1.html).
We associate food with celebration and have acquired certain
meals to symbolize these holidays and events. The most obvious would be the
courses Thanksgiving is composed of, but think about birthday cake, hot dogs at
baseball games, pizza for any occasion (haha), potlucks at work, Cinco De Mayo
or St. Patrick’s Day, the list goes on and on. When I got straight A’s in
school, Baskin Robbins ice cream was the reward to celebrate. A lot of these
ties relate back to religious customs that most of us aren’t even aware of.
Food means prosperity. Having an extravagant feast is how
kings and queens showed their affluence. The same holds true today in that we
are able to impress others with the spread of choices or which location to meet
and dine at. Being the host with the most holds value. So yes, even class can
come into play with food. We even tend to associate eating organic as fancy
compared to pre-packaged cheaper choices.
Eating truly can be an experience. When I returned from
Italy, countless times I was asked about the food. And yes, the Italian food
culture is different. To us, spaghetti in heaping portions is dinner, but to
the Italians this is just one course and it was a smaller serving for sure. We
meet our friends for lunch or drinks and the traditional date involves dinner
and a movie. You get my drift. So no wonder food is a constant battle on our
fitness journeys. Mind over matter. One better choice at a time. Think about
food as fuel not the traditional associations. We can talk ourselves into
anything is we really try.
Saturday, July 22, 2017
Friday, July 21, 2017
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Monday, July 17, 2017
Sunday, July 16, 2017
BLOG 120 COCONUT OIL
BLOG 120 COCONUT OIL
Coconut oil has certainly made its debut lately on our
grocery shelves, in recipes, and it’s all over the health trends we see.
Recently, the media has depicted this product as actually not being “so
healthy” for us, which meant I had to do some investigation. From the onset, I
came into this blog with the understanding that any item in excess isn’t “good”
for us and that moderation is the key (especially in a non-so-moderate
lifestyle our society has created).
If following the standards, we are to consume no more than 13 grams of saturated fat per day. That’s the amount of 1 tablespoon of coconut oil.
Like most elements of life, there are pros and cons to the consumption of this oil. For example, “Fans of coconut oil point to studies that suggest the MCT-saturated fat in coconut could boost your HDL or ‘good’ cholesterol. This, they claim, makes it less bad for your heart health than the saturated fat in animal-based foods like cheese and steak or products containing trans fats.
A quick cholesterol
lesson:
- LDL -- helps form plaque that blocks your arteries
- HDL -- helps remove LDL”
So all in all, we want to get our fat from sources like
nuts and avocado, not necessarily oils. Personally, I use PAM cooking spray
which does have zero everything on the nutritional panel. However, I realize that means there is artificial
galore in the ingredients. Here again brings up the point of pros and cons to
the elements of life.
Coconut oil is also great for topical skin purposes. It can
help alleviate dry skin and add moisture. Some argue they don’t like the greasy
texture.
Nutrition is a key component of our fitness journeys and
the more informed we are, the better choices we can make. When I hear a trend,
I research to help every BODY. Fuel your BODY how you want it to operate and
let the journey be a learning experience along the way.
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