Don't Drop Out of the Race! 5 Ways to Decrease Your Risk of Dying Early

Pittsburgh Cure Sarcoma 5K

Did you know that you can decrease your risk of dying? You can take action to improve your health and decrease your risk of preventable death. 

In the United States alone, up to 40% of annual deaths from each of the five leading causes of death could have been prevented. You can actively make changes to decrease your risk of dying from:
1. Heart Disease 
2. Cancer
3. Chronic Respiratory Disease
4. Stroke
5. Unintentional Injury

In Healthcare we focus on the Three Levels of Prevention:
1. Primary Prevention: healthy people make changes to their lifestyle to decrease the risk of developing a disease or sustaining an injury. 
2. Secondary Prevention: treating an existing illness or risk factor to prevent further complications or progression of the disease/injury. 
3. Tertiary Prevention: teaching people to manage long term health problems to prevent further decline and maximize quality of life. 

As a Fitness Blogger and an Occupational Therapist, I am actively trying to promote the Primary Prevention Level of Healthcare. If I can help improve even one person's health, happiness and quality of life than I have done something with my life that I can be proud of. I share workouts and nutrition tips, but there are other changes you can make to improve your health and extend your life. 

What are you willing to do for a healthier life? You're on my blog, so that means you are probably already exercising, or interested in starting a fitness program. That means you are moving in the right direction!

5 Steps You Can Take to Decrease Your Risk of Dying from a Preventable Disease:

1. Exercise Consistently: Exercise decreases your risk of everything from Alzheimer's to Diabetes, Stroke and Cancer. Those who exercise consistently are more likely to be at a healthy body fat percentage, which further decreases your risk of dying from a preventable cause. Exercise helps control Blood Pressure, and regulates Blood Sugar and Release of Hormones. 

Maintain strength, cardiovascular health and flexibility to keep your body in optimal health. While you are at it consider signing up for a 5K to support an important cause: Pittsburgh Cure Sarcoma 5K. 

2. Provide Your Body Proper Nutrition: A poor diet limits the amount of nutrients you are consuming. Choosing a variety of nutrient dense foods provides your body with the proper sustenance to maximize it's ability to function at it's optimal level. Eating a balanced diet also promotes a healthy body weight and muscle/fat ratio. 

3. Decrease Your Risk of Accidental Death: Wear your seat belts and helmets! Do not misuse drugs (prescription or otherwise). Educate yourself on any risk factors involved with your job or hobbies and take action to improve your safety. 

4. Complete Regular Screenings to Monitor Your Risk of Developing an Illness: Biometric screenings, Regular Checks of Blood Pressure, Complete recommended Cancer Screenings. 

5. Limit Exposure to Hazardous Materials: Avoid tobacco use, second hand smoke, and exposure to chemicals. 

Taking care of your body doesn't only decrease your risk of dying, it also improves your quality of life. You're worth the effort! What healthy habits have you incorporated into your life? If you've made a change or want to share you story comment below, or tag me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (@BenderFitness). 


Sources: Up to 40 percent of annual deaths from each of five leading US causes are preventable

Potentially Preventable Deaths from the Five Leading Causes of Death — United States, 2008–2010

Week 1 Bikini Prep Workouts: Rose's Update

Hi Everyone!

Last week I announced that my friend Rose is going to be the first Bender Fitness ambassador. She is now completing my 12 week Bikini Competition Prep Workouts and blogging about her experience on her site: My Change for a Ten. 

She has also been posting great updates, including her daily workout link, her food journal, meal photos and grocery shopping trip ideas on her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MyChangeForATen. 

You can follow the workout schedule with Rose here: Bikini Competition Prep Workouts: Month 1. 

BenderFitness Bikini Prep Program Month 1 Results: Melissa

Rose's Updates:

Rose reports that she is feeling great. She feels that her eating has been on point, and keeping a food journal has been helping. Her stomach feels flatter already, and her energy is better. 

Links to Rose's daily updates on her blog:
Day 1: CrossRoads for 2015
Day 2: Flying High
Day 3: On the Right Track
Day 4: Looking Back & Forging Forward
Day 5: Soaring in the Heavens
Day 6: Mind Body Spirit

Prior to starting my workout program Rose has been blogging about her weight loss progress. She has lost 45 lbs so far, and makes charitable donations to celebrate every 10 pounds she loses. 

In the past she has organized a Yoga Fundraiser called Down Dog for Cats to support an animal shelter, spent time feeding the homeless with the Monday Night Mission on Skid Row (as well as getting sandwiches and food items donated), and collected Books for Children among others. 

At the conclusion of the 12 Week Program I will be filming a workout with Rose, and taking a Flying Trapeze class with her. The flying trapeze class has been one of Rose's dreams since she lived in NYC several years ago. She hasn't taken it yet because she doesn't feel strong enough. By the time she finishes my 12 Week Program I think she will have the strength and confidence to achieve her goal. 

I will keep posting weekly updates on Rose's progress, so be sure to check back, and follow her Facebook and Blog pages. 

Have fun! 
Melissa


PS You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Jesse has also been posting Sneak Peek workout videos on his Instagram account (@BenderCrosby1) and I am hosting a 30 Day Instagram Workout Challenge: @BenderFitness 

Rose (middle) with Richard Simmons after taking one of his workout classes

Bored of Your Exercise Routine? 15 Fun Ideas for Active Rest Day

How many times have you heard people say exercise is boring? Sometimes you need to switch up your routine, get out of that rut and try something new. 

It can become easy to put in the same exercise DVD every day, or go to the gym and do the same workout on the same machines. If you've been following my blog for a while you know I switch my workouts up every day. I like the challenge of new experiences. I especially like Active Rest Days. 

Active Rest Days are days when you aren't doing your "normal" workout routine, but you're staying busy, getting your body moving, and having fun!

Here are some ideas to make your active rest day more fun! If you have some ideas I haven't mentioned please post them in the comments below or on my Facebook page!

Hike or Trail Run

1. Go Hiking or try a Trail Run. Going outside can energize you! You can go alone or with a group of friends. Do a quick search to see if you have any outdoor organizations in your area. We have a company nearby that hosts a variety of hikes and outdoor activities from Yoga Hikes, to MicroBrewery Hikes and everything in between. It can also be a good way to make new friends!

Go To a Park and Play

2. Go to a Park and Play! (While you're there you can try my Quick Playground Workout). 
If you have kids, nieces or nephews, they will be thrilled if you join in on the fun and play with them! 
When my niece and nephew come over we enjoy "Playing Yoga," going to the park, and "Warrior Training." When we play yoga we take turns demonstrating a pose and having the others try it. Kids make up some fun (and challenging!) moves if you give them the chance! Warrior Training is basically fun exercises we do together to build up strength like their favorite superheroes. 

Go Swimming

3. Go Swimming! Swimming is a fantastic workout for your entire body. It's low impact, great for your cardiovascular system and it's fun!

Go to the Zoo

4. Go to the Zoo. You get to meet animals and spend the day walking. 

Ice Skate or Roller Skate

5. Go Ice Skating or Roller Skating. It's fun, and you can go with a group of friends! You can burn as many calories as you do jogging and it's a full body workout. 

Dance!

6. Go Dancing. It doesn't matter what type of dancing you do! Put on some music, get moving and have fun! Swing Dancing is one of my all time favorite things to do. 

7. Go Rock Climbing. You can do this inside a gym or outdoors. It's a challenging (but fun!) full body workout. Search for rock climbing gyms near you. 

Zip Line

8. Go Zip Lining. It's fun, it's an adventure and it can be physically challenging! Check out the video below for our zip line experience, and you can glimpse just a few of the obstacles we got to conquer along the way. We took my mom for her birthday and she loved it!

9. Go On an Adventure Tour. You might be able to find local tours for caving, spelunking, white water rafting, rappelling, or a variety of other fun activities! See if you can get a group of friends together for an adventure! 

Ride a Bike

10. Go on a Bike Ride. I love bike riding, it's fun, relaxing, you get to be outside and explore. Sometimes when Jesse is doing a hard run I bike next to him to help him keep pace. It's a fun way to get moving and enjoy yourself. If you don't have a bike look into bike rentals. Our city has downtown bike rentals, and most of our local parks rent bikes as well. 

11. Rent a Kayak, Canoe, or Row Boat. We live near plenty of rivers and lakes so this is one of our favorite warm weather activities. We also love to kayak and stay active when we go on vacation. It's a lot of fun, it's challenging, and it's a great core and arm workout. 

12. Go Boating and/or Parasailing. Be open to new experiences. They can energize you, make you feel alive, and challenge you in ways you don't expect!

13. Play Mini-Golf or go to the Driving Range. This is another of our favorite warm weather activities, and a good one to do with friends. 

14. Play Frisbee Golf. It's a real game, with rules and everything! One of our state parks has a Frisbee Golf Course set up. You hike through the woods as part of the course. You can always modify and play in an open field with friends. 

15. Bring your Yoga Practice Outside. Remember, your workouts don't have to be confined to your house or gym! Be creative, just getting into a new environment can stimulate your mind and body in new ways. 

In conclusion: Be Silly! Don't be afraid to have fun and get a little bit goofy! Try something new and different. What's on your to-do list? 

Day 21: Active Rest Day

Hi Everyone!

I ended up having a super busy day for Day 21, plus I was feeling exhausted so I knew it was time for an active rest day. 

What is an active rest day? 

An active rest day is a day when you don't do a full out workout, but you stay active. You might go for a light walk or hike, jog, ride your bike at a leisurely pace, or do a gentle yoga flow. Your heart rate might become slightly elevated during these activities, but you shouldn't be overly challenging your cardiovascular system. 

Research has shown that engaging in low intensity exercise reduces lactic acid build up in muscles more quickly than complete rest (this means less muscle soreness and faster recovery). This study also showed increased power in workouts after active recovery. 

I recently took up archery, so that has been my active rest day activity of choice. The focus is on form, and it is a full body activity. It's a fun way to stay active, while also allowing my body some recovery time.  Archery and yoga are two of my favorite active rest activities because they combine physical and mental benefits. I feel that they improve my concentration and body awareness.

What do you enjoy doing on your active rest days? 

Melissa

Source: 
Effects of active recovery on plasma lactate and anaerobic power following repeated intensive exercise. Ahmaidi S, Granier P, Taoutaou Z, Mercier J, Dubouchaud H, Prefaut C. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 1996 Apr;28(4):450-6. PMID: 8778550

Getting Better!

What Is Fit and Healthy?

Written by: Suzanne McCurdy

So you are ready to make a change, or perhaps you are already deep into that change and not quite sure how to balance your new healthy life with your old lifestyle?  

At some point in modern society we have all slipped up and gone taken the fast route through the drive thru, popped that frozen dinner in the microwave, or just grabbed a bag of chips and called it dinner.   It's too easy not to have done this at some point, but now you don't want that life.  

You want to live a healthy life like generations before us, or you just want to keep your healthy lifestyle going without sacrificing some of your favorite past times with family and friends.  Let's face it, when we gather food is usually involved.    

Food is welcoming. Feeding someone is a sign of caring so don't stop! Just make some new wonderful stuff they wouldn't even imagine.  I love going to a friend's party and finding fresh hummus and veggies, a rotisserie chicken and fruit for the spread!  (Check out: Healthy Holiday Entertaining). 

When there are healthy options available I can have that one drink, eat well, and not feel like I'm going to regret it in the morning. I don't feel miserably full from junk and can laugh and dance with my friends. You would be surprised how happy people are when you put out something outside of the norm.  

At some point we are all faced with questions, "I'm healthy and I'm being healthy, but why won't this tummy go away?" or "shouldn't my arms be tighter?"  We are all faced with the healthy vs. vanity conundrum.  Some come to an acceptance that those 8lbs of vanity weight really don't matter and you stop worrying. Others of us really wish we could get a restraining order to force those 8 lbs. to stay as far away from us as possible.  

The point is you have to choose.  How important is it for you to look like the fitness model in the magazine?  PS...they probably did a special diet and a possible water deplete before that shoot.  It's okay if you don't want a six pack, that is not the definition of being fit.  Decide what your definition of a fit life and body should look like and be happy with it.  

Learn to appreciate the choices of those around you. It's not a reflection on you that they choose to workout 2 hours a day to your 30 minutes, you are both being fit and healthy.  

Still not sweatin' the small stuff?  How often do you let yourself get out of your comfort zone?  Change is natural with as unnatural as it can feel.  Think about the planet earth (corny but go with me here), we change each year, all the time: seasons (some parts of the world more than others), weather, even day to night. Change is truly natural.  

Change is happening all the time even when we cannot see it.  Long before those leaves change colors and fall off the tree change is happening within and we don't see it, but that is where faith, persistence, and discipline come in.  Changes are happening in your body long before it shows on the outside.   We just have to go with it, accept it and let it happen. Learn to feel alive when you are outside of your comfort zone.

This leads me to stress.  It should not be stressful to live healthfully.  However we all do it, we stress over the number on the scale, over the size of jeans we are buying and the pinch of fat on our sides.  However, what most people don't realize is that stress is wreaking havoc in your body.  While the world around us has changed from century to century and even decade to decade (hello let's remember the 80s!) our bodies have relatively remained the same.  

When we stress our internal systems have no idea that we have an abundance of food surrounding us or that we are really stressed over an email from our boss shortening an already short deadline.  Our bodies go straight into survival mode!  Our bodies only know one type of stress:  "There is no food and a Sabre tooth tiger wants to eat us!"  What does that mean?  Store fat, stop all systems and conserve energy ASAP!  This means your goals are now on the back burner, not by your choice, but by your bodies.

So while you have goals and you are a driven person and want to reach these goals, be proud of what you have accomplished so far.  Even if that accomplishment is simply that you got up this morning and did the cardio you told yourself you would start today.  You deserve to be proud of that.



Hi, Suzanne here! A little about me! I'm 33 currently serving in the Air Force and also serving as an Army wife to my amazing husband and soldier. I love to run and eat healthy! I have a B.S. in Dietetics from Texas Woman's University and am a certified personal trainer.  I have run races, competed in fitness competitions, and most recently added nutritional counseling to my resume.  Motivating others is my passion.  I love this so much I have to remind myself from time to time that it is a job or just pinch myself.  I do not believe in a one size fits all and that each body is different.  Therefore I work hard to help each and every person find their fit and what fit means to them.

You can find Suzanne at:
https://www.facebook.com/NutritionSnobclothing
http://www.etsy.com/shop/nutritionsnob

Climbing Wall: Fun Activities for a Fit Lifestyle

Hi Everyone!

On Sunday (the day after my first half marathon!) I got in a great, and different workout. I headed to a local rock climbing gym with my friend Giles Lajevic Augustine. 

Giles is one of the most interesting people that I know. Jesse calls him an "International Man of Mystery." He has found something that he loves, and he lives his life around it. He is a world traveling skier, rock climber, film maker, writer, and all around adventurer. 
You can follow him on Instagram here: www.instagram.com/500snowdays
and Tumblr here: 
http://500snowdays.tumblr.com/

Giles gave me some great tips, and made all of the climbs look much easier than they actually were. :) 

Remember, fitness comes in many forms. It's good to go outside of the box and try something new (rock climbing, biking, skiing, hiking, kyacking, etc). Rock climbing is incredibly challenging, requiring full body strength, endurance, and forethought. When you try it don't be surprised if you find yourself breathing heavily and dripping sweat. 

We have two rock climbing gyms locally. Both have bouldering areas (which do not require ropes or harnesses), and top roping courses. If you have a climbing gym near you I highly recommend checking it out. 

If you are just starting out don't be afraid to ask for advice. Most gyms have climbs marked for all different levels (beginner to advanced).

Over the past few years I haven't climbed as much as I like, but I plan on changing that. :) 

See you tomorrow with a new home workout,

Melissa

PS You may remember Giles from his article about the Paleo diet: Walk Like a Paleolithic Ancestor.