Skills For Behavior Change - Fitness

Starting an Exercise Routine

Beginners often start their exercise programs too rigorously. The most successful exercise program is one that is realistic and appropriate for your skill level and needs. Be realistic about the amount of time you will need to get into good physical condition. Perhaps the most significant factor early on in an exercise program is personal comfort. You'll need to experiment to find an activity that you truly enjoy. Be open to exploring new activities and new exercise equipment.

Start slow as a beginning exerciser. For the sedentary, first-time exerciser, any type and amount of physical activity will be a step in the right direction. If you are extremely overweight or out of condition, you might only be able to walk for five minutes at a time. Don't be discouraged; you're on your way!

Make only one life change at a time. Success at one major behavioral change will encourage you to make other positive changes.

Have reasonable expectations for yourself and your fitness program. Many people become exercise dropouts because their expectations were too high to begin with. Allow sufficient time to reach your fitness goals.

Choose a specific time to exercise and stick with it. Learning to establish priorities and keeping to a schedule are vital steps toward improved fitness. Experiment by exercising at different times of the day to learn what schedule works best for you.

Exercise with a friend. Reneging on an exercise commitment is much more difficult if you exercise with someone else. Partners can motivate and encourage one another, provided they remember that the rate of progress will not be the same for them both.

Make exercise a positive habit. Usually, if you are able to practice a desired activity for three weeks, you will be able to incorporate it into your lifestyle. Keep a record of your progress. Include various facts about your physical activities(duration, intensity) and chronicle your emotions and personal achievements as you progress.

Take lapses in stride. Physical de conditioning-a decline in fitness level-occurs at about the same rate as physical conditioning. First, renew your commitment to fitness, and then restart your exercise program.

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Types of Wellness and Fitness Programs

As the broader conceptions of health and wellness have evolved, so too have the typologies of interventions offered by organizations. An early typology offered by several researchers proposed three levels of health programs:

Level I: Awareness programs, including newsletters, health fairs, screening sessions, education classes, and other activities that raise individual awareness of the consequences of unhealthy behaviors

Level II: Specific programs for lifestyle modification, including fitness programs, back exercises, and the like, characterized by active employee involvement in adopting health-promoting behaviors

Level III: Programs that create environments in which individuals can sustain healthy lifestyles over the long term, including the provision of fitness centers at the workplace, making healthy food available, and removing unhealthy food from the workplace.

From these three levels, fourth-generation programs evolved, variously referred to as total health programs, comprehensive health promotion programs, or health and productivity management programs. Johnson & Johnson's Live for Life program represents one of the earliest comprehensive wellness programs. Three key components of the J&J program are health risk assessment, creative educational units, and physical fitness training. Health risk assessments may include analyzes of stress management, fitness, nutrition, safety, and ergonomics, and the assessments are used to identify the individual's strengths and weaknesses. In the educational units, a wide variety of media is used to deliver education on such topics as weight management, smoking cessation, women's health issues, and blood pressure management, among other health-related subjects. In J&J's physical fitness training, programs are tailored specifically to individual needs. Evaluations of the Live for Life program have indicated positive effects on exercise, health behaviors, and employee work attitudes.

Kimberly-Clark Corporation's Health Management program is also a benchmark comprehensive program, initiated in 1977. The program reflects the company's culture and its belief that well-informed, healthy employees are happier, safer, more productive, and have better attendance records, and that these factors produce lower health care costs for the organization. Integrated, multidisciplinary teams provide health screening, primary care, exercise programs, nursing care, and employee assistance programs at Kimberly-Clark's various locations. Fitness facilities include indoor running tracks, Olympic-size pools, nature trails, weights, and aerobic equipment. Preventive and educational services are provided, which include family wellness, nutrition education, CPR training, and sport-specific workshops, among other programs.

Health and productivity management programs (HPM) have three basic goals: (1) to provide integrative services that promote employee health or assist with injury, illness, or work-life balance, (2) to increase productivity and morale, and (3) to manage medical benefits, risk management, employee assistance programs, and other services such that they promote health and productivity. Keys to the success of HPM programs include health promotion and wellness staff who serve as models of healthy lifestyles, employee empowerment, and self-responsibility. The distinguishing factor of HPM programs is the tie to the mission of the business and articulation of the links between individual health and business operations.

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Fitness Trampolines - A Fun Filled Way To Exercise

Towards the end of the twentieth century, fitness lovers were increasingly exposed to an array of new fitness equipment. Although some of them were nothing more than marketing gimmicks, others are still around and are benefiting their users. There has been fair bit of scientific investigation into these tools to determine their advantages as well as their risks, and the fitness trampoline was not exception. In the end, it has resulted in growing acceptance of the health benefits of trampolines.

Using a fitness trampoline is as simple as jumping on it, literally. A trampoline is generally made by securing a strong fabric such as nylon to the top of a hollow platform. For securing the trampoline cloth, coiled compression springs are generally used. To ensure stability of the platform during your fall, trampoline platforms are usually made of stainless steel.

Jumping on fitness trampolines strengthens the muscles and increases blood circulation throughout the body. Increased blood circulation constitutes a cardiovascular workout. Calf and thigh muscles get the much needed workout from the jump, and this exercise also helps you avoid the accumulation of hip fat. It helps you expunge toxic waste through sweat pores and invigorates your mood.

Occasionally newspaper articles highlight concerns about trampoline safety. Undoubtedly some unfortunate incidents have been reported, but preliminary investigation revealed that in many cases either the material used to build the trampoline was tampered with or the safety guidelines were not adhered to. The risks from trampoline use are greatly reduced when the trampoline is properly set up and safety rules are followed.

Generally, every trampoline manufacturer attaches a label that informs about the maximum weight that it can bear without any damage. You must use fitness trampolines individually, one person at a time. Many reported accidents occurred when several people jumped on trampolines simultaneously.

Mention the word gym and most kids will frown. On the other hand, trampolines are especially popular with kids. Jumping on fitness trampolines can help to prevent obesity in children. Kids get the much needed exercise without even thinking about exercise. It's too bad that we don't have similar fun filled solutions to get children to drink milk or study. If you're looking for a fitness alternative for your children or even for yourself, consider the benefits of a trampoline. There are several options to choose from so that you can get the most from your fitness experience.

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The Truth About Fitness (Growing Up Smart Fitness Fact #1)

Developing your body's flexibility, endurance, and strength through regular exercise is an essential part of being physically fit. If you want to stand out in a sport, or you just want to look and feel your best, exercise will make it happen. It's important to develop your body to its full potential.

Many young men, for example, are mainly interested in building up their muscles. But building only muscular strength and ignoring flexibility and endurance is not the path to physical fitness. Just playing basketball, for example, won't make you physically fit. To play basketball well, you need to develop your flexibility, endurance, and strength. That's why coaches insist on stretching, aerobic, and resistance exercises.

1. Stretching exercises help you perform your best and avoid injury and muscle cramps. They improve muscle and joint flexibility.


2. Aerobic exercises help you run and run and run without getting out of breath. They build up endurance by increasing heart and lung capacity.


3. Resistance exercises tone your body and strengthen your muscles. They increase muscular strength and conditioning.

Here are some tips on how to start exercising and how to keep your exercise program going:

• Decide on your exercise goals. What do you want to achieve? For example, if you want to improve your endurance, emphasize aerobic exercises. If you want to tone your body, emphasize resistance exercises. Make your goals reasonable and realistic.


• Develop an exercise plan based on your goals. Be sure your plan includes warm-up and stretching (flexibility), aerobic (endurance), and resistance (strength) exercises. To excel in any one requires work in all three.


• Set up a regular exercise schedule and stick to it. You are more likely to continue exercising when you have a schedule to follow.


• Begin slowly and progress little by little. If you're just starting a program, start with easy exercises. Gradually work up to more advanced exercises.


• Keep track of your progress by writing it down.


• Get a friend to exercise with you. Consider working with a coach or trainer to motivate you and provide instruction.


• Try to exercise three to four days a week for about 30 to 45 minutes each time. It's important to allow your body time to recover between workouts. Don't overdo it.

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Before and After Photos in Fitness Magazines

Some supplement companies will go to any lengths to
prove their products' effectiveness. But sometimes the
evidence isn't quite what it's cracked up to be. Before and
after photos are the most compelling means by which to
convince a person of steroid-like gains.

Often the before photos show the bodybuilder in off-season
condition; fat, bloated, with pale skin. Hardly inspirational,
but true to life. And photos are sometimes reversed. In one
instance a supplement company presented a photo of a
fitness model in top condition, declaring it the 'after' photo.
Beside it, the apparent 'before' photo showed the model in
her last trimester of pregnancy. Anyone who is familiar with
the model's history is aware that the before photo was, in
fact, the after photo.

The same trick was used by an ex-professional bodybuilder
from the 1960s. Interestingly, his jowls sagged more and
his face looked older in the before photo. Apparently his
supplement line not only increases muscle, it may be the
proverbial fountain of youth!

Before and after photos from every day individuals sell a
product best. They represent people like you and me...
average weight trainees hoping to make dramatic changes
in short order. But these photos are also highly dubious. In
order to look as bad and as good as possible, the models
employ several tricks.

The before photos nearly always have the subject
slouching, frowning, pale skin, dull lighting, gut extended,
and with no muscle pump. The after photos use harsh
lighting with good shadow contrast, tanned skin, upright
posture with lats and shoulders spread wide, muscles
tensed, smiling with well-groomed facial and head hair, and
a muscle pump. It also is known that duct tape has been
used to pull back obliques/love handles in order to make
waists appear even smaller and shoulders even wider. The
same trick works under their arm pits, to make the pec line
more pronounced and sharp.

And so, are you truly seeing what the person has
accomplished and while on supplement 'x'? Hardly; what
you are witnessing is an illusion of posing and photography
skills of the model.

One winning competitor in the EAS Physique
Transformation contest in 1999 did look good if contrasting
his before and after photos, losing twelve pounds of fat. He
also, however, lost six pounds of lean tissue! Ignoring the
fact that he won, it could be said that his program was a
failure and that he did the opposite of what exercise was
originally intended to do, e.g., increase lean tissue/function.

But it is to these unhealthy extremes that one sometimes
experiences in order to make a dramatic difference in a
contest that allows only 12 weeks. After all, 12 weeks is not
a long time, particularly for advanced trainees more so than
novices. For the advanced, there is not much muscle to
gain and to produce good before and after photos requires
extreme loss of fat - besides slouching, frowning, and no
pump or tan in the before photos.

Unfortunately, many people (particularly novices) who are
unaware of the benefits and application of long-term
planning will burn out on such an endeavor, perhaps
quitting exercise all together. After a 12-week stint of near
overtraining (if they haven't done so by the contest's end and
if not understanding how to train), they conclude they cannot
tolerate another 12-weeks of further self-inflicted torture, let
alone another three years.

Not everyone entering these contests understand that it is a
short-term solution... to see how far the body can be pushed
as quickly as possible. After that point, training must take
on a more cyclic structure. This means maintaining most of
what was accomplished during the physique transformation
followed by 'easier' off-season training and peaking
infrequently thereafter. Fat loss may continue after the
contest, or prior to another peak, but 100% mental effort and
extreme demands may only account for 8-12 weeks total
throughout the year once reaching an advanced stage.
Training throughout the remainder of the year can still be
tough, yet tolerable and never as demanding.

I don't believe most beginner trainees realize the
importance of cycling or what needs to be done after a
physique transformation challenge. Most magazines don't
talk about it, nor do bodybuilding books. They present
general ideas and expect you to lift happily ever after. It is for
this reason that physique transformation contests and
magazines as a whole produce greater failure than success
in. The thoughts of maintaining or bettering one's physique
after 12-weeks of grueling effort is enough to shatter
anyone's motivation. Believing that you must continue
training in a similar manner (something to which we have
all fallen victim) is the best guarantee to exercise
termination.

Interestingly, can you imagine the loss in profits that
supplement manufacturers (magazine owners) are
encountering due to frustration of their readers and the
thousands dropping out of exercise - or perhaps no longer
purchasing that magazine and the supplements it
endorses. If sound training information were provided,
particularly long-term application, there would be more
successes and supplement purchases from advanced
trainees. Rather, supplement companies are hoping and
expecting a new generation of customers to make up for
those recently lost - short-term solutions for a quick buck.

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Brian D. Johnston is the Director of Education and President of the I.A.R.T. fitness certification and education institute. He has written over 12 books and is a contributor author to the Merck Medical Manual. An international lecturer, Mr. Johnston wears many hats in the fitness and health industries, and can be reached at info@ExerciseCertification.com. Visit his site at http://www.ExerciseCertification.com for more free articles.

How to Become a Fitness Model Fast

Becoming a fitness model is no east feat. You need to be especially toned and proportional to be able to compete against all those gorgeous models. However, it can be done, and it mostly depends on you. As long as you have a basically well shaped bone structure, you can, through proper nutrition and the right workout program, achieve highly impressive results.

The first thing you need to know is that the life of a fitness model is a structured one. It does require determination and effort on your part because you will need to control what you eat and to exercise according to strict guidelines. However, that doesn't mean you will have to become a gym slave or eat like a bird. Far from it. To become a fitness model you will have to feed your body to promote the development of lean muscle tissue. You can't do that by starving. However, you will need to know the right things to eat, as some foods help to burn fat and gain lean muscle tissue, and others don't.

The important thing to realize is that to become a fitness model you need to avoid guesswork and operate according to proven methods. There is no room for imperfection here. The best course of action is to follow in the footsteps of another fitness model and to copy her lifestyle. What worked for her should prove to be as effective for you. This isn't the time to experiment with this weight loss plan or that workout routine. It's time to get a proven system that can help you reach the perfect kind of body that fitness models have and to.

I recommend the Fitness Model Program by Jennifer Nicole Lee. I believe it's an excellent guide on how a fitness model should train and eat in order to cut down body fat and increase muscle tone. It can provide you with impressive results.

I've included 2 resources here which will help you on your way. Make sure to visit both pages. To read about this program, visit this webpage:

Fitness Model Program Review.

John Davenport lost over 30 pounds in his twenties after being overweight most of his life. He now runs a weight loss forum and publishes a diet and fitness newsletter. To read more tips on improving your fitness and looks, click here: Becoming a Fitness Model Tips [http://www.squidoo.com/How-To-Become-a-Fitness-Model].