Get Wet and Get Fit at Any Age and Size

By Michele Tartaglione

Yes, it’s true, I hated to exercise; I once popped in a Jane Fonda exercise tape and lay across my bed to watch it. A few years ago, my doctor advised me to lose weight. By then I weighed 295 lbs. I knew the only way to lose weight and get fit was proper diet and exercise.

What if your doctor tells you must lose weight, but you are too heavy and too out of shape to exercise. If you are anything like me you’ll want to run screaming from his office. Or, you can take part in one of the coolest ways to get fit and lose weight – water aerobics.

Not only is this a fun way to work out, it is a great way to burn fat and build strength. And this is the perfect time of year to start planning a program to suit your needs. As with any exercise program, the first thing to do is see your doctor for his/her approval. Once you do that, you’re on your way to a total body workout without agony or even breaking a sweat.

Most of us think of water aerobics as swimming laps in a pool, but it is so much more. Whether you are a champion swimmer or can only tread water, water aerobics is the perfect regimen even for the novice. It is not necessary to be a swimmer to partake in water aerobic exercise. While some exercises like jogging are done in deeper water, many water exercises are done in chest level or waist level water including walking and calisthenics. A temperature-controlled swimming pool, whether in-ground or aboveground, is the ideal location for a water exercise routine.

Water’s buoyancy causes less strain on your joints and muscles and may be adjusted to suit any fitness level or individual needs. The resistance that water exercise offers every part of your body is beneficial to anyone with fitness concerns including those with arthritis, an injury or a woman who is pregnant. Not only will you develop
stronger leg and hip muscles, your cardio-respiratory fitness level will definitely improve.

As with other exercise routines, 45 minutes is ideal and should include stretching to warm up and walking slowly to cool-down. The in-between may include walking, jogging in place, leg lifts, squats, scissor kicks or even dancing. While I eventually graduated to running and performing other feats of magic, walking is still my favorite
way to ease into my routine. Once I have warmed up, I start by walking clockwise for 10 minutes, then reverse and walk counter clockwise for 10 minutes. The whirlpool effect this creates is not only beneficial it’s fun! The rest of the routine involves alternating days of calisthenics and jogging in place. And, remember to breath in and out
rhythmically through the nose.

IMPORTANT TIPS
Keep yourself well hydrated, use a water resistant sunscreen and moisturize after your workout. Remember chlorine is drying and the sun can be damaging. Invest in a good pair of water shoes. Also, a set of weights made especially for water aerobics (waist band/dumbbells) can be bought inexpensively at many stores adding an
interesting dynamic to working out in water. Add some music and you’re on your way to getting fit and having fun.

Pools, pool supplies and other items for backyard living may be found at State Fair Superstore – the family fun superstore.

State Fair Superstore, 800-999-8865; www.stfair.com

Report: Eighty Percent of Your Health Potential is in Your Hands

Based on 2005 Stanford University School of Medicine research, 80 percent of your health potential is in your hands. For 120 years, the Summit Area YMCA has been a leader in making healthy living a reality. Recently, the Y has joined an innovative national public health initiative of the YMCA of the USA, “Activate America” to address America’s growing obesity, chronic disease and health care crisis.

As part of the nation’s oldest and largest community-based organization with a mission dedicated to health and wellness, the Summit Area YMCA is uniquely qualified and positioned to impact the present obesity crisis by raising public awareness and continuing to offer health and wellness programs to those in the community who
seek a healthy lifestyle for themselves and their families. Not only does Y offer a place for members to participate in fitness, aquatics, sports, recreation and asset-building programs at every stage of life, it offers the free weekly nutrition lectures, open to the community, at the Berkeley Heights, Springfield and Summit YMCAs. May and June lectures include: “Eating Healthy on a Budget”; “Take a Pause for Menopause”; “The Prevention is Always Better than the Treatment”; “Fueling for Those Summer Runs”; “Losing Weight Without the Stress”; and “Facts About the Fad Diet.” Visit the www.summitareaymca.org for schedule of days and times.

Take the first step in reaching your health potential. Beginning in May, short-term memberships will be offered at the Berkeley Heights, Springfield, and Summit YMCAs. As a summer member, enjoy all the Y has to offer. Join before June 30 and be eligible to receive 50 percent off the joining fee when you become a full member at the end of three months.

Being part of the Y is fun for the whole family. Be sure to sign up for the “Mother’s Day Walk and 5K Run” in Berkeley Heights on May 14. Not only is it good to do, but it helps the raise funds for the Y’s Strong Kids Campaign, so that families living in our community, in need of financial assistance, can participate in programs too.

Summit Area YMCA, 908-273-3330

Stress and Women's Health

By Amy Jabanoski, DC

Many women are leading increasingly busy lifestyles. Whether rushing with the kids in the morning or making dinner after work, stress is everywhere. It is no wonder why the American Psychological Association reports that 51 percent of women are concerned with the amount of stress that they currently experience. Stress is actually a natural response that our body uses when exposed to internal and external stimuli. Good stress can motivate and drive us to accomplish goals. Bad stress can overwhelm us and be destructive to our physical and emotional health.

Stress results from changes in life events such as occupational status, personal relationships or the loss of a loved one. It may also originate from worrying about family matters, concern with financial obligations or anxiety.

A few common manifestations of stress are headaches, muscle tension, nervousness and depression. Sounds familiar, right? What you may not be aware of is that uncontrolled stress can be related to hypertension, breathing difficulties, reproductive problems, immune system suppression, irritability, and many others. In fact, according to the Journal of the American Heart Association, stress in women doubles the chance of stroke and increases the chance for a heart attack by 1.5 percent.
This is significant considering that heart disease and stroke are two of the top three causes of death in the United States.

How is stress able to do so much damage? Easy. Stress is one of the three main causes of subluxations. A subluxation is a misaligned spinal vertebra which puts pressure onto an adjacent nerve. When this happens, the message that is supposed to pass through that nerve from the brain to a part of the body gets disrupted. Since the brain is responsible for controlling all the parts of the body, almost any organ, muscle or cell can be affected.

The human body is a self-regulating system. It has the ability to heal and balance itself. Only when your spine is misaligned by subluxations, is it unable to adapt to stress. Chiropractors are trained in correcting subluxations of the spine. When your spine is free of subluxations it is returned to its balanced, self-healing state.

While it is true that many stresses on our bodies are unavoidable, and sometimes a good thing for us to experience, the traumatic effects of bad stress on our bodies is within our control. It is up to us to protect our bodies and play an active part in maintaining our own health.

Trainor Family Chiropractic, 1915-A Westfield Ave. Scotch Plains, NJ; 908-490-1667; www.TrainorFamilyChiropractic.com

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