Best Fitness Blog

By... Karli Taylor

In recent years, many studies have been published showing the benefits of weight training for women. Still, the number of women who take this recommendation to heart is still quite low. Most women who exercise are spending most of their gym time on cardiovascular exercise because they are afraid weight training will make the look bulky or they feel that walking on the treadmill is sufficient. Whatever your reasons for avoiding the weights, if you are a woman, here are some less obvious reasons reasons why you need to take strength training seriously.

In addition to getting stronger and leaner, adding weight training to your routine will help to decrease your risk of osteoporosis. Weight training can increase spinal bone density by up to 13 percent in just six months. This, coupled with an adequate amount of dietary calcium, can be a women's best defense against osteoporosis.

Did you know that heart disease is one of the leading causes of death among women in the U.S?: Weight training can improve cardiovascular health in several ways, including lowering LDL ("bad") cholesterol, increasing HDL ("good") cholesterol and lowering blood pressure. When cardiovascular exercise is added, these benefits are maximized, and your risk of heart disease is lowered!

If those reasons still aren’t enough to convince you to pump some iron, weight training will reduce your risk of diabetes. Weight training has been shown to improve the way the body processes sugar, which may reduce the risk of diabetes. Adult-onset diabetes is a growing problem for both women and men. Research indicates that weight training can increase glucose utilization in the body by 23 percent in four months.

Don’t you think that the benefits are worth the work?

Visit one of our Best Fitness Clubs to learn even more about this topic. We have locations in Albany,NY, Tonawanda, NY, Schenectady, NY, Erie, PA, Nashua, NH, Chelmsford, MA, and Drum Hill, MA.

... By Karli Taylor

Have you seen the commercials downplaying the effects of high-fructose corn syrup? Are you wondering why it has gotten such a bad reputation over the years if it really is no worse for us than simple sugar? The advertisements made me start to wonder, so I decided to look into it a little bit further. There are a ton of studies out there about high fructose corn syrup, but I have noticed that nothing compared it directly to sugar.

For example, a recent study at a well known university found that consuming high-fructose corn syrup ultimately leads to abnormal increases in body fat--especially in the abdominal region. So corn syrup must be bad right? Not so fast… the study compared rats eating a diet rich in high fructose corn syrup to another group of rats eating no added sugar at all. The study actually proved only that excess sugar increases abdominal fat- it said nothing about the source of the sugar.

Similar studies have compared diets rich in simple sugars to diets very low in sugar and have come up with similar findings. Though more research is needed to find out which type of sugar is the bigger offender, all of these studies are leading me to the same conclusion: there is definitely valid reason to limit your intake of all sugars.

Excess sugar results in excess calories. Excess calories results in excess weight. In other words, excess = excess. We knew that already, didn’t we?

So how do we cut back on sugar? Here are some little changes that can make a big difference:

• Limit your intake of sweetened beverages. You may be shocked at how many calories you are drinking every day…
• Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables
• Limit your intake of packaged foods
• When you do eat packaged foods, read the labels and stay away from food that are high is “ose” words. Sucralose, fructose, lactose etc- they are all types of sugar!

... By Karli Taylor

Even though heart disease kills more women than breast, lung, and ovarian cancers combined, only 1 in 10 women see themselves at risk. Most women think that heart disease is something that they don’t have to worry about until they are retired, but studies show that heart troubles can start as early as childhood.

There is good news, however. More than 80 percent of all heart disease in women is avoidable, and the steps that you need to take to protect yourself are simple to do. In fact, taking protective measures as early as your 20s can help lower your odds of suffering from a heart problem by as much as 60 percent.

No matter how young you are, experts recommend making healthy lifestyle choices now to avoid trouble later. Things like not smoking, drinking in moderation, exercising daily, and eating a reasonably healthy diet are all simple yet imperative to your heart health. The earlier you start your healthy habits, the easier it will be to maintain a healthy heart throughout your life.

If you are not already in the habit of going for a yearly physical, start now. Make an appointment with your regular doctor for a complete physical and become aware of your personal risks.

If you have any risk factors, talk to your doctor about ways to lower them through diet, exercise, and medication if needed. Have your doctor discuss your numbers and how they compare to ideal statistics.

If you have recently had a physical and don’t know what to make of that lab print out that you filed away, look at the following. A healthy female should have a blood pressure below 120/80, cholesterol less than 200mg/dL, Triglycerides less than 150 mg/dL and a fasting blood sugar below 100 mg/dL. If your numbers are way off, call your doctor to find out why he or she hasn’t addressed it with you. Do not assume that everything is fine if your doctor failed to bring something up. Something minor should still be addressed. Take charge of your health!