COMMIT TO BE FIT!
I want to assist you to achieve your Fitness & Health goals, as easily and quickly as possible...believe
‘MENOPAUSE’ from the greek term ‘men’ (to mean “month”) and ‘pausis’ (“cessation”). The actual meaning though is an exact date i.e one full year after the last day of a woman’s last period, so it is fixed retrospectively. At this time a woman is considered a year into ‘postmenopause’, & no longer fertile.
However the more common perception of the menopause is actually the years surrounding menopause or the transition years (change of life), this may also be called ‘perimenopause’
It is when the ovaries begin to reduce, then stop the production of estrogen & progesterone.
The only thing that is for certain is that every woman will go through the menopause, it is a natural part of life, what is not pre-determined is either the age it will start or the exact symptoms or their intensity, that a woman will experience. Generally the period will start from mid forties to early fifties, it may last only a few years, or possibly up to 10 or more – everyone is different. The symptoms are many but you may suffer from
hot flushes
night sweats/sleeping problems
headaches
fatigue/sore or stiff joints
depression/anxiety/mood swings
vaginal dryness/decrease in libido
weakening of bone strength/weight gain
…I left the best (or worst, for last) – however, Fitness can play a very important part in alleviating many of these symptoms. In terms of weight gain, muscle mass decreases as you age, hence changing your body composition – with less muscle mass you will burn less calories so if your diet remains the same you will put weight on. This alone is why you should definitely step up your activity level, if not, you will almost certainly put the pounds on!
Other factors are at play here, including what you may be genetically predisposed to, ethnic background,or even life changing and stressful situations such as divorce, death of a loved one, or simply ‘letting go’ of your fitness.
So, the situation we have is that keeping up your fitness levels is important AT ALL TIMES, however, if you have not done this prior to menopause, you are likely to suffer from either more symptoms or a higher intensity of symptoms. Especially weight gain. This combined with the other factors can be quite a strain mentally as well as physically.
If you have not been active before, you need to start now. Even if you just start with walking more. Your cardio-vascular training should be the foundation for a menopausal exercise program – be aware of moving (or incidental exercise) as much as you can. Organise outings with friends, take up a sport, join a gym – for the classes at least. Exercise will not stop symptoms, but we know that it will increase your endorphin level (feel good
hormone), to reduce anxiety & stress, help you sleep better, therefore reducing the chance of the hormone cortisol stalling your weight loss (or maintenance). Also, an increase in weight after menopause will increase the risk of developing breast cancer (up to 20%), highlighting the importance of keeping your weight under control. See my YOGA blog to see the many benefits of practicing … Yoga for peace of mind, strengthening of your core, breathing and flexibility.
Osteoporosis – is also known to increase, especially after menopause and can effect 2 out of 3 women (but also men as well). However it is also known that doing doing resistance exercise (weight lifting) can actually reverse this. By doing weight bearing exercise you can increase your bone density and your lean muscle mass – this in turn assists you to burn more fat naturally and again keep your weight in check.
This is why I believe lifting weights is the most important part of exercise during the menopause transition years.
Diet is of course the other major factor here. Be aware of your calorie intake, because if it remains the same, you are likely to put weight on. IsoWhey can be really helpful here, even just using it to replace one meal a day, or have it as a snack. If you feel yourself really putting on some weight, use it twice a day and follow the recipes on the website for your other meals.
Finally, it should be noted that it is believed that HRT (hormone replacement therapy) does not prevent weight gain. Women are now moving toward a more natural approach to reduce symptoms of menopause. The good news is that there are many natural vitamins, minerals and nutrients such as phytoestrogen that can assist in managing symptoms of menopause, healthy ageing, bone strength and connective tissue (e.g. D3 and calcium, glucosamine/chondroitin for sore joints, plus fish oil for lubrication). I definitely advise you to consult their healthcare practitioner to find out what may work for you. This combined with the right exercise program can certainly help you though this sometime difficult period.
So we know that Paleo Fitness is trying to take us back to basics – either literally, in the ‘wild’ so to speak and doing it exactly as our ancestors did, or modifying it into a more practical workout, and not only this, but being aware all the time of your actual movement, in the home, the garden, at work and everything in between!
Exercise isn’t restricted just to the gym or a simple run around the park, think of new activities, hobbies that involve movement…
There are 3 main Principles in following Paleo Fitness:–
1) Move around at a slow pace - basically walk as much as you can, (like the hunting and gathering of our ancestors) it has many benefits and basically no pitfalls. Keeping a slow (or brisk) pace means working out below approx 80% of your maximum. You should be be able to hold a conversation and be working in the aerobic (fat burning) zone. Take it up a notch by going hiking or bushwalking – this can involve the whole family & be fun. The harder terrain makes you work more… incorporate here some climbing (trees/rocks), swim in the summer, use rope swings to jump in the creek. Even if you live in the city, there are usually green places where you can incorporate these types of activities. Essentially stay on your feet …or even your bum! – other adventures you may think about trying cold be,
- rowing
- kayaking
- canoeing
- mountain climbing
- bike riding
- skiing (snow and / or water)utilise hills for interval training – get outside… enjoy it!
2) Sprint once in a while:- this was important for the Caveman – having to outrun predators or chase down game. Today, this can be done in many ways, mainly running - just go flat out for at least 50 meters (up to 400 if you’re fitter), take a breath or two(!) and repeat. Always warm up first and build up to higher levels, don’t aim for the top on your first go! Same in the pool, do a couple of laps flat out, rest a while and go again, or on your bike – same principle. Try and do some form of sprinting at least once a week, for those of you who are fitter 3 to 4 times, whatever your schedule permits.
3) Lift heavy objects:- IF you find yourself either on the beach, in the bush, or even in your garden, you may well be able to actually lift rocks around (though always make sure you protect yourself & bend at the knees, not the waist!). You can replicate this at the gym though it’s not quite the same, carrying the weights around the gym from A to B is still exercise & working various muscle groups at the same time, just take say a 5-10kg weight from one station to another, lifting it overhead at times to work more. I have even seen people pushing weights around on makeshift ‘sledges’ around the gym floor!
Do your push-ups and dips / lunges at home, walking around the house, on the balcony, in the garage, or the garden this helps promote functional strength. Also if you’re at home there are plenty of great fitness DVD’s that showcase this type of activity, one of my fav’s is P90X – it can be hardcore (if you wanna push yourself) but also a lot of fun – pop it on the TV and away you go!
There are a set of skills which PALEO exercise aims to build….and if you take these into account when planning your own exercise routine you will really see an improvement in your overall fitness level..and health.
Consider….
FLEXIBILITY - to improve your range of motion around the joints in your body, especially your spine, hips and shoulders.
CARDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE – the ability of your heart to deliver nutrients and Oxygen efficiently around your body.
STAMINA – your body being able to push through and keep going through correct use of the energy process.
STRENGTH – the muscle groups within your body being able to apply an amount of force against an object.
SPEED – aiming to reduce the time it takes to perform a repeated movement.
BALANCE – being in control of the bodies ability in correctly placing its center of gravity.
CO-ORDINATION - your ability in being able to control different body movements or patterns at one time
ACCURACY – to gain control over movement in a particular direction at the right intensity.
AGILITY – being able to make the best use of time between varying movement patterns.
Don’t let these stress you out, just being aware of them will be an advantage and you can build these principles into a regular workout. If you have a bootcamp group in your area, they will incorporate these principles into their routines, mixing up intensity, using props such as tyres, hoops, balls plus utilising different muscle groups simultaneously, this means you don’t have to think about it – easy!
Another more organised group training type of exercise is called ‘Cross Fit’ which I have mentioned before, this may be compared in a way to indoor bootcamp and you will have observed training meaning you will have less chance of injury!
I believe Paleo Fitness is about an awareness of movement which may be incorporated into a variety of activities, either at the gym, at home or outside. This awareness is especially important if you are sedentary in your job – we were NOT designed to spend 8 hours or more sitting in one position hunched over a computer screen – if you don’t do something about it you WILL feel the consequences later in life.
So….run, jump, lift, climb, push, swim…get fit, be fit…stay fit (and happy! 
How to Lose 100kg’s – on IsoWhey!…
Of course if you only currently weigh 80 or 90kg’s I wouldn’t actually recommend losing 100… you’d literally disappear - but I have to say a huge congratulations to Margot Brunswick, from Perth Australia on her amazing achievement of losing 104kgs – that’s more than half her body weight! The incredible thing is that she didn’t go on strenuous bootcamps, working out up to six hours a day or restrict her calorie intake so that she would lose weight rapidly (and most probably put it straight back on) – Margot simply replaced a snack and a meal with IsoWhey Complete. Read more…
No doubt you have heard of the Paleolithic Age – this dates back around 2.5 million years, the term was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865. It is derived from the Greek terms ‘palaios’ (meaning Old) and ‘lithos’ (stone), so literally meaning ‘old age of stone’ or ‘Old Stone Age’.
So, as Janine mentioned in her latest blog, despite referring to prehistoric times, it has only come into prominence during the last few years, particularly after the book ”The Paleo Diet” was written in 2002. However, it is not just a diet, or way of eating – there is a whole concept of fitness involved which is also gaining favour and becoming rather a buzz word around town. Read more…
Fitness Gets Funky! Sydney Expo 2012…
This weekend I headed down to the annual Australian Fitness & Health Expo – held at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney. It’s basically like a trade fair on steroids (sometimes literally!). Producers and manufacturer’s of all things fitness come together to show their wares, from the latest gym equipment, to clothing to supplements to aerobic displays and competitions on the various stages.
It was quite a challenge making your way through the muscles – on both the guys AND girls – but was well worth a visit. press here to con’t..
Paleo – best thing since sliced bread?!…
“Welcome back to our very own IsoWhey Chef, Janine Royce, guest blogger – who today is talking about the oldest diet known to mankind, the PALEO diet but which is only recently gaining popularity! Over to you Janine!…
Well if your ancestors didn’t eat it then you shouldn’t either and since bread only came in the last 10,000 years it certainly is not a feature on the Paleo diet menu……
The Paleo diet is not new (well it cant be if it was round 2.5 million years ago!!) having been popularised in the 70’s by a book called the club here to read on…
Celebrity Culture – friend or foe?…
Welcome to my 100th Blog!
My aim is to motivate and /or inspire people to achieve their fitness & health goals, and I certainly hope I achieve that…today I am asking the question
“Do we unfairly judge ourselves?”
– and to celebrate this milestone I am going to give away a FREE double Hoyts movie pass – Australia only 
to the best comment answering
“What inspires you to achieve your goals”….
just go to the comment section at the end of the blog… and Good Luck!
Everyone knows that we have a huge Obesity ‘epidemic’ around the world – press here to knopw more..
Wanna get Fit, & stay Fit?…here’s how!
I always think that just after a holiday period like Easter is a good time to re-evaluate “stuff” and go about possibly resetting what you need and want out of life.
Your health, I believe should always be your number one priority – you are no good to anyone – especially family members or work colleagues if you are sick. I have talked many times about the co-morbidities of being overweight or obese and no-one wants to have to cont press here…
“You gotta live, right”?…. yes, you certainly do is what I say! and it’s that time of year again where it’s easy to do a bit too much living!
Along with Christmas, Easter is probably the time when, if you’ve been trying to lose weight, & watch your diet, it’s probably the hardest time to stick to your regime. But here’s the thing – want more, click here…
The ‘Fat Gene’ debate – conclusion…
It seems there is little doubt that our DNA make up or ‘gene’s’ do play a part in our predisposition to our weight management, as well as many other things – research is ongoing and in the near future we will be seeing much greater advancements in the technology that tells us just how much a role these ‘gene’s’ play. get to the end! press here….
