Total Gym

Tara’s Friday Bite: Heart Healthy Meals for Lovers

February kicks off American Heart Month and right smack in the middle of the month is Valentine’s Day! In honor of both events, I wanted to share 3 of my favorite Heart Healthy Recipes that not only show your sweetheart that you love them, but that you also want to help keep them around for years to come!

Chicken Tikka Masala

Heart Healthy Ingredient: Tumeric

Tumeric is found in most Indian curries and is what gives American mustard that yellow hue. It has also been shown to be a powerful anti-inflammatory and a great addition to your heart healthy lifestyle. Moreover, tumeric’s absorption is greatly increased when paired with black pepper. Try the recipe below that contains both!

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/quick_chicken_tikka_masala.html

Grilled Salmon with Soy & Brown Sugar Glaze

Heart Healthy Ingredient: Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 Fatty Acids, found in salmon, have been show to lower blood triglycerides, reduce inflammation and decrease cardiac arrest. They can also help repair heart damage and strengthen heart muscles. Check out the recipe below where you can get all the benefits of salmon AND the sweet taste of brown sugar!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-salmon-i/

Zesty Wheat Berry Black Bean Chili

Heart Healthy Ingredient: Fiber

The reason that high cholesterol is such a big deal is because it decreases the size of your arteries and puts more burden on your heart to push blood through your body. Increasing your fiber intake is the single best way to reduce cholesterol and make it so your heart doesn’t have to work as hard. Now, if you feel that the old adage “Beans, beans they’re good for your heart…” is a little less than romantic, feel free to try this recipe out on Super Bowl Sunday instead!

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/zesty_wheat_berry_black_bean_chili.html

Tara Coleman www.taracoleman.com

Tara Coleman is a Clinical Nutritionist and Salada Tea Spokesperson living in San Diego, CA. She blogs twice a month with “Tara’s Friday Bite.” Leave your comments with ideas for future topics or email Tara directly at tara@taracoleman.com.

Ask Dr. Salada – Exercise Relief for a Pain in the Neck

Q:  I have been spending a lot of time on the computer lately. I have noticed that my neck is really starting to bother me, and I am starting to get headaches as well. What exercises can I do to avoid these aches and pains?

A:  This is a very common problem and one that is usually due to poor body positioning and/or weakness of the shoulder and neck muscles. Strong shoulders and upper back muscles actually help to take pressure off of the neck and help maintain the head and neck in an anatomically ideal position.

The first step in avoiding chronic neck pain involves assessing the position that you are in while at your desk or computer. The elbows should be at a 90 degree angle with the work station so your hands can work with minimal involvement of the arm muscles.

Next, is the position of the shoulders. Anything that causes you to round your shoulders forward will put excessive strain on the neck. If you find that your shoulders are rounding forward while you sit at work, here are 2 simple exercises that will help to counteract this posture:

1)  The first exercise involves developing the latissimus dorsi muscles, which are located along the lower side ribs and mid back area. One way to strengthen these muscles is by performing an exercise that pulls weight against resistance from above your head, such as a Total Gym Lat Pull Down (see the exercise here). The idea is to train your shoulder muscles to be pulled down, away from your ears while at rest.

2)  The second exercise involves recruiting your back muscles, including the rhomboids, teres major and minor, to help keep your shoulders back and down away from your ears.  You can recruit these muscles by squeezing your shoulder blades together and holding that position for 30 seconds, or perform Pull-ups on Total Gym. Try this exercise by visiting http://www.totalgym.com/c-18-upright-prone.aspx and click on the “Pull-up” video.

If you do 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions of these exercises 3-4 days a week, that is all you need to develop healthy posture and avoid neck pain.

Find more Total Gym Back and Shoulder Exercises by visiting the NEW Exercises section of Total Gym.com at www.totalgym.com/exercises. You can search for exercises by Body Position here: http://www.totalgym.com/c-7-back.aspx.

Remember:  Avoid any exercise that requires you to push weight up and over your head, which could develop your trapezius muscles that sit high up on your shoulders and can aggravate your neck pain.

In addition, any type of stretching, range of motion or yoga exercises can help to relax your neck as well to increase your flexibility. Of course, if you are not sure of the cause of your neck pain or headaches, or if you have weakness or numbness of your hands or arms, consult your doctor as there may be more to the issue than just neck strain.

In the meantime, continue to use your Total Gym, consulting with a personal trainer or physician along the way, to ensure you are doing the exercises properly.

Keep working hard at staying well and healthy!

Until next time,

Elizabeth Salada, MD

Dr. Salada is board certified in Internal Medicine and has been in practice in San Diego since 1996. She attended medical school at Wake Forest University where she received high honors in Family Practice and Internal Medicine. Her final training was obtained from Pennsylvania State University where she completed her residency in Internal Medicine. Visit Dr. Salada’s website for more information: http://elizabethsaladamd.com/. 

Total Gym Weekly Workout – Shoulder & Squat Cardio Blast

Healthy posts from “Fytness Fanatik” Amanda Lynn Hare!

Total Gym Inside blog contributor Amanda Lynn Hare has been a Total Gym user since 1998. Amanda Lynn is here to share her enthusiasm for healthy, fit and fun living.

Today, Amanda Lynn demos her favorite Total Gym Shoulder & Squat Combinations for a fast, effective strength & cardio blast!

Perform 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps of the following exercises:

* Squats with Shoulder Shrugs

* Squats with Shadow Boxing

* Calf Squats with Parallel Arm Flex

* Calf Squats with Shadow Boxing

* Singe Leg Calf Squats with Parallel Arm Flex

Total Gym on TV! Higher Grades & Exercise

Total Gym was on San Diego 6 News yesterday with Total Gym Inside blog contributor Dr. Michael Mantell to talk about how exercise can lead to better grades.

Did you know that the ratio of children defined as “seriously overweight” has gone up to 1 in 3, tripling since the 1970s? That’s a frightening statistic!

Watch how kids are using Total Gym to shape up AND improve their school performance. A double whammy for parents!

Total Gym … Kid Tested, Lives Improved!

Fitness Psych – Total Gym Can Improve School Performance

Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.

The January issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine reported an interesting and illuminating piece of research that has caught the attention of many of us concerned about the lack of exercise among America’s school age children.

Get this …

The ratio of children defined as “seriously overweight” has gone up to 1 in 3, tripling since the 1970s.

Children between the ages of 10-13, who are already obese, are likely to have a 70% chance of obesity persisting into their adult years.

It’s time to pay attention!

We can either ignore these hard facts OR curb childhood obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, emotional disturbance, immunity issues, poor self-esteem and, according to the newest research, poor grades in school—but we can’t do both. 

Exercise could benefit children’s academic performance through increased blood and oxygen flow to the brain. It can also lower their stress levels, improve their mood and increase growth factors that support synaptic plasticity—just like exercise does for adults. In fact, like adults, children benefit from an hour each day of vigorous activity to derive maximal health and school-related benefits.

Allowing children to sit for long periods of time and overuse digital toys, in addition to parents focusing too much on competitive team sports and “winning,” coupled with negative comments about children’s activities, according to the American Council on Exercise, will be harmful to the physical well-being of our nation’s youth. And, according to the latest research, promotes poor academic performance.

“…we [have] found strong evidence of a significant positive relationship between physical activity and academic performance. The findings of one high-quality intervention study and one high-quality observational study suggest that being more physically active is positively related to improved academic performance in children, ages 6-18.” – this according to the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine report.

Here’s where the Total Gym becomes a true family exercise center.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends age-appropriate exercises that your child enjoys, including cardiovascular, strength training and bone strengthening activities. These can all be safely and easily accomplished on the very same equipment moms and dads enjoy at home or at the gym—the Total Gym!

Specific Total Gym full body exercises are available for youngsters here.

Like adults, children can safely work to their comfort level on squats, calf raises, front pullovers, lying triceps extensions, chest presses, bicep curls, push ups, pull ups and many more exercises.

Committing to provide your children with aerobic activity, muscle and bone strengthening activity, while helping to promote academic performance, is a true “win.” Of course, parental supervision is always required when children are enjoying the Total Gym.

Explain to your children the value of exercise to their health and yours. Be sure your children see you enjoying the Total Gym and create a “buddy system” approach to exercise. You can also encourage your children to bring a friend, with that child’s parental permission, to create a group activity. Make it fun … perhaps even establish a family “fitness night” each week complete with healthy nutrition and rewards.

The best exercises for children are the ones they will do. Making it playful on the Total Gym makes it very inviting for children and motivates youngsters to continue to meet their fitness needs.

Follow Dr. Mantell on Twitter @FitnessPsych

Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D., earned his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania after completing his M.S. degree in clinical psychology at Hahnemnann Medical College where he wrote his thesis on the psychological aspects of obesity. He coaches world-class athletes and fitness enthusaists for performance enhancement. He is Senior Consultant for Behavioral Sciences for ACE, on the faculty of the Equinox Fitness Training Institute, a national Community Ambassador for Experience Life Magazine’s health initiative and for FitFluentials, appears weekly on San Diego’s CW channel 6, is a consultant to Les Mills International, writes for IHRSA, is a member of the Sports Medicine Team at the Sporting Club of San Diego and the La Jolla Sports Club specializing in fitness psychology, writes the “San Diego Fitness Psychology” column and “San Diego Life Coach Examiner.” He is also a writer and consultant to the Total Gym company. Dr. Mantell has written two best-selling books and appears regularly on radio and TV.

Total Gym Weekly Workout – New Year Smart Start

Happy New Year Total Gym’ers! We hope you are off to a FANTASTIC 2012!

What good habits are you planning to adopt this year? Inspire us by leaving a Comment below.

Here’s your New Year Smart Start workout to get the year started right!

This is an efficient exercise sequence maximizing the inverted prone position on Total Gym. Need a Press Bar for your Total Gym Sport, GTS or PowerTower? Click here. Total Gym XLS owners, click here to purchase the Press Up Bars.

Pushup; Overhead Press; Prone Jackknife

Cheers to a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Total Gym Weekly Workout – The Plank

Did you over do it during the holiday weekend? Never fear – the Plank is here!

While you begin to de-Christmas your diet, check out ALL the ways you can work your core with Total Gym Plank exercises. GRAVITY Master Trainer Michael Steel demos how to add an extra upper body challenge while you’re at it!

Plank