Acupuncture - permanent cure for health problems

It seems like every day we have more to do and more to see and more places to go. Yet, we don't add any hours to our day, each day is just 24 hours in length and most of us need to spend at least 7 to 8 of those hours sleeping. That leaves 16 hours to get stuff done in. You spend 8 hours at work and that's 8 hours gone. An hour to get there and an hour to get back, yep, there are 2 more hours that are out of there. Meals take an average of 1 to 2 hours in total each day, so that's another 2 hours. That leaves just 4 hours for errands, housework, kids and any hobbies you might want to do and of course exercise. This is also only true if you don't work overtime and don't spend more time in transit.

So What Do You Do?

I like to exercise and to work out, but my schedule, like everyone else's has been growing. Most of us throw our workouts out the window first. It's nothing to be ashamed of, it's just what happens. We don't have time, we have too much work, we're running late - there are a million excuses and they are all very valid. But when we throw our exercise out, we may have more trouble sleeping, we may have more trouble with stress, we may struggle to get things done in a timely manner. In other words - we may have trouble.

So losing those 30 minutes may seem like a good plan in theory, but if it makes the other 23.5 hours less productive, less satisfying, less anything - then that 30 minutes is something we all need.

Recently, I've been so busy that I've been skipping my morning workout every other morning. I didn't plan to do it, it just started happening. The days I got my morning workout in were far more productive. I was less restless when sitting down to write, I didn't constantly feel like I had fifty other things I needed to do. I was more focused, I was more on my game and to be honest, I was a lot more productive than I was on the days when I skipped the work out.

So tell me, do you think it's worth those 30 minutes? I do. Take back your 30 minutes and develop a whole new appreciation for the phrase of "Just Do It."

One way to build muscle and make your work out more efficient is to use compound movements. What's a compound movement? A compound movement is an exercise that utilizes two or more joints in performing the movement. Squats are a compound movement because they utilize your ankles, your knees and your hips. Bench presses utilize your wrists, your elbows and your shoulders. Chin ups are the same way, wrists, elbows and shoulders.

Muscles & Joints

Compound movements are efficient in your exercise routine because when they involved more than one joint, they often involve more than one set of muscles. When you are performing exercises involving multiple muscle groups you will burn more calories, burn more fat and build your muscle mass more efficiently.

You can lift more weight with compound muscle movements than you can when you isolate the muscles. Leg presses, for example, I can push 250 to 300 pounds with a leg press no problem. But to try and push that amount or pick up that amount with one isolated set of leg muscles is darn near impossible.

Build a More Efficient Workout

Add a bench press to your workout, you'll work your deltoids (shoulders), pectorals (chest) and triceps (arms). You will get more bangs for your buck and eliminate the need for isolated muscle workouts. In other words, you can spend five minutes on bench presses rather than 15 minutes on separate exercises isolating each of those muscle groups.

So as you build your workout, be sure to include:

• Bench presses
• Leg presses
• Squats
• Bicycle sit-ups

These types of exercises can help you to improve your overall exercise success and challenge. It can also make performing your work out a 30 minute activity that maximizes your work out, your time and your results. What other ways do you think a compound movement can benefit your routines?

According to Thomas Jefferson, for a student to be successful in their academic studies, they need to devote time to exercise. They need to "give about two of them (hours), every day, to exercise; for health must not be sacrificed to learning. A strong body makes a strong mind."

Back to School

It's been about six weeks since college students headed back to their computer desks, lectures and libraries. Students get more sedentary as their workload increases. They are cramming for tests, spending a lot of hours researching papers, writing, rewriting and more. They don't' call them the freshman 15 for nothing. But there's a real benefit that you can get from working out even while in college that will continue to benefit you for years to come.

Tufts University conducted a multi-year research project that found students who exercised at least 3 days a week were going to be in better physical health than students who didn't. Those who exercise regularly are also more likely to be in better academic shape and that their major benefits are reaped following college as they maintained a healthier lifestyle going into their careers.

2 Hours a Day?

Modern experts don't recommend 2 hours a day of exercise, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services does think you should get about 60 minutes of vigorous exercise as often as you can. So if you work out three days a week, 45 minute sessions might be a good idea. You can break those up into 3 vigorous 15 minute sessions or do it all together. If you work out 4 or more days a week, then 30 minutes of exercise per day is enough to help you meet your goals and to feel more physically fit.

Now, you may not be thinking about your 50s or 60s while you're in college, chances are you're not even thinking about your 30s. But long term studies have shown a remarkable advantage to regular exercise in the aging process, not only for maintaining your figure, but also your vigor.

Do you work out regularly?

Tomorrow is National Walk to School Day. We talked about this last year and I'm a little flummoxed that it's here again so quickly. It feels like just yesterday that my daughter and I were strolling along with a few hundred others in the walk to school effort in our own neighborhood. She still has the sticker they gave her last year.

She came home with the flyer from school yesterday and was bouncing up and down. She wanted to meet several of her friends and walk with them on the walk to school effort. I could go too, but she would rather I walk a few steps behind. Lesigh, she's only six and already Mommy isn't cool anymore. But that's neither here nor there.

Why Should You Participate?

National Walk to School Month focuses on children and kid fitness. But it's also about fitness for the whole family. If you have the opportunity to walk to school together, it gives you time to talk, encourages exercise and it saves on gas. For us, this is totally doable because we're only a half mile from the school. But if you live further out. Consider driving to a half mile from the school, parking and walking with your child the rest of the way.

Participating in community events is a fantastic opportunity for our children to commit to something outside themselves. They are motivated by their friends and in turn, provide motivation for others. It's also a good time of year for the walk to school effort, being neither too hot nor too cold.

We're going to be walking to school tomorrow, whether I have the 'time' or not, because I want to make the time to encourage my daughter to maintain a high level of physical activity. She enjoys walking to school anyway and it's a chance for her to share with her friends, improve herself and at the same time, it encourages me to do the same.

Is your school hosting a walk to school event? Are you going to participate? How could you incorporate more walking into your every day life?

Recently, during a stint subbing, one of the children asked me what imagination was. Imagination is a huge word and we talk to our kids about their imagination all the time, yet as adults - we don't really talk about our imagination. At least, we don't talk about it much. Imagination is a wonderful facility that humans have. We utilize our imagination in many different ways whether we are suspending our disbelief when watching a movie, reading a book or creating our own stories. But we can use imagination in many other ways too.

Music and Imagination

Now I am going to share a bit of a personal story with you because I think it had a great deal of impact on my exercise program when I was younger and it still has an impact on what I do. I like music, I love that music can tell a story, that it can rev me up, cool me down and basically inspire me. When I had my first membership at a health club many, many moons ago, I used to get on the stair climber every day and try to climb the Empire State Building.

That's a lot of steps.

How did I do this? I would put on my headset with my Walkman cranked up, usually on the tape side instead of the radio. (Yes, a Walkman. They didn't have iPods, Zune or any of the other really cool MP3 players then) and I'd click the music on. I usually compiled my own songs. The first would be something inspirational and the next few would be upbeat, fast paced music designed to get my legs pumping.

Then I'd start the stair climber and let my imagination go. I wasn't just in the gym, sweating away with a hundred other people. Instead, I was on the stairs of the Empire State Building, jogging up them like a super hero on a mission. Maybe I had a mission, maybe I needed to get to the top to save someone. Or maybe I needed to get to the top to meet the romantic lead, but someone was chasing me and there was a chance we'd miss each other.

Imagination Kept Me Going

The story varied, the music varied, but the imagination was there. With my imagination, I could push past the boredom and sometimes push past the desire to stop. With imagination, I could reach further, do more. I'll even confess that there are a few times I've played Bionic Woman in my head when I was on the treadmill. It really didn't matter what I was imagining as long as it kept me going, pushed me further and harder - that's what I needed and wanted to do.

Imagination counts in exercise and it can make you reach further, do more and achieve more - you just have to use it.

Do you use your imagination when you exercise?

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