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There are lots of other choices to get more active that don’t include jogging, weight training or other “traditional” methods to work out. Here certainly are a few ideas to have you moving

1) Chase your Kids round the Yard
You’d be surprised at just how much of a workout you’ll receive playing catch along with your kids. Time will fly when you are having a good time and your children will love the additional time with you. Just get out there and play.

2) Turn up the Music and Dance round the Living Room
While you’re dusting, setting up dishes, straightening up the kid’s rooms, or after you’ve been sitting around for too long, just play some of your chosen upbeat music and dance around in the house. Not only can you receive your heartrate up, but you will also have more pleasurable doing some of those chores.

3) Plant some Flowers
When the elements is nice, just get out there and plant some flowers. Or you could take up a little vegetable garden, trim some hedges, slice the grass, or plant a tree. You get the idea. Just get out there, enjoy the sunshine and oxygen, and play in the dirt. Yes, this actually counts as exercise within our book.

4) Choose a Walk with a Friend
Take a walk and invite a friend to come along. I’ve had some of the greatest conversations while on a walk. Dealing with chat with a friend makes enough time fly by and before you realize it you’ve been walking for 30 minutes.

5) Listen for some Music or an Audiobook while You Walk
Again, keeping your mind on another thing will make enough time fly by and you’ll receive some extra fun out of your walk. You might even want to consider getting an MP3 Player. It is possible to add what you would like to hear and choose your walk.

6) Sign up for a Yoga or Pilates Class
Consider consulting with an Eagle Ridge Fitness Personal Trainer for yoga/workout sessions. These two workouts are pretty low impact and won’t make you sweaty and sore (mostly). It’s also possible to enjoy meeting some new people in the class.

In our last newsletter, we discussed heartburn and its harmful effect on the body.  Armed with that knowledge, we can now put into practice 10 tips for heartburn relief!

My husband has terrible heartburn.  In fact, he’s the one who pops antacids like they’re candy.  Over the past couple of weeks I have encouraged him to try these tips…and you know what? They’ve worked!   I hope these tips help you or someone you love find heartburn relief and kick this health problem we call heartburn.

1. Simple Techniques:
   Heartburn can cause major problems if not treated. People with heartburn have a 43% higher risk of developing esophageal cancer, compared to those who do not have heartburn or indigestion.
   For heartburn relief, let’s start with a few simple techniques. Cut your food into smaller pieces, chew your food longer, stop smoking, don’t drink a lot with your meal, lose a few pounds, loosen your belt a couple of notches and raise your head a few more inches when you sleep.

2. Get your digestive system back on track:
   It’s a good idea to take digestive plant enzymes with every meal.  This will help gas and bloating, as well as to help bowel movements become more frequent.
   Another technique is to take hydrochloric acid supplements with meals.  These will help to alleviate digestive problems.  And again, don’t dilute your stomach acid or enzymes by drinking liquids during your meal!

3. Enhance your immunity:
   Colostrum, mistake mushroom and sterols are effective at enhancing under active immune function.  You can take one alone or in a combination for heartburn relief.

4. You have to reduce your stress:
   The connection between stresses, the immune system and inflammation are perfectly clear.  Intestinal flare-ups, colitis, Crohn’s disease and excess acid production are often associated with increased stress.  If you can, eliminate stressful factors within your life. Try exercising, reading, breathing exercises, hiking, sports, meditation, or anything else that can helps to naturally relax you. This will do wonders to help you experience heartburn relief! One of the best ways of doing so, is by joining  Eagle Ridge Fitness Personal Training program.

5. Stop using non-sterol anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS):
   When seeking heartburn relief, most of us run for these!  These drugs only increase your risk of upper gastrointestinal ulcers, bleeding and digestive difficulties.   Willow bark, boswellia, turmeric, pycnogenol and other natural products are safe alternatives to NSAIDS.

6. Your diet is extremely important:
   Eat 7-10 half-cup servings of organic fruits and vegetable daily.  Steam your vegetables or eat them raw.  Raw vegetables are much healthier for you, but some of us just don’t like raw veggies.  Steaming will at least keep the majority of the nutrients in place.
   It’s wise to eat a cup of acidophilus rich yogurt every day unless you are lactose intolerant.  If you suffer from lactose intolerance, you are at greater risk for stomach problems.  If this is you, try cutting out all dairy products from your diet for 6 weeks and see how your stomach feels.  You should experience some heartburn relief.

You know you should be getting some sort of exercise, you know of all the health benefits that come with a more active lifestyle. You’ve tried the whole Gym thing, but it just wasn’t for you. The temptation to just sit in front of the TV, to curl up with a good book, or to spend a little extra time at your computer is just too big.

Who wants to head to the gym right now anyway?

1) Take some Dance Lessons along with your Partner
Ok, here is the tough part: Convince your partner to take some dance lessons. Dancing will provide you with quite the workout and it’s just plain fun and needless to say romantic. Think of all your choices here. You can make from anything from Ballroom Dancing, to Line Dancing, to Latin etc. Pick a thing that sounds fun to you and choose it. You’ll enjoy the additional one on one time along with your partner as well.

2) Choose a Swim at Your Local YMCA or Aquatic Center
Swimming makes for some good exercise. It is low impact and easy in your joints. Start by swimming several laps, or play in the pool along with your kids.

3) Choose a Bike Ride
Take the entire family on a bicycle ride. You are able to ride throughout your neighborhood in the evenings or plan an extended trip for the weekend. Pack a picnic for extra fun and start pedaling.

4) Choose a Hike
Search for some hiking trails locally and go for a hike. This might be a fun activity for you personally and a friend, or take the entire family along. Begin with some easy trails and work yourself around some longer or steeper trails.

Go ahead, pick a couple of of the activities and get moving. I’m sure you’ll come up with lots of versions of your own. The most important thing is to get something you enjoy, so you’ll stay with it. Move out there and get moving today. Consult an Eagle Ridge Fitness Personal Trainer to have a custom fitness plan strategy laid out for you, if you are serious about exercise, fitness and a good life.

You’ve decided you want (or need) to get work out more and get fit. You’re thinking about joining a health club, but you’ve heard too many stories about people who sign up, go one or two times, and never go back. You’re not really sure which type of club to join: a low-cost chain, a more expensive, exclusive fitness center, or a club that caters to only women or men.

Buying and maintaining a health club membership can be pretty complicated, but if you follow these 10 tips, you’ll save money and be on the way to greater fitness.

1. Make a set of your specific fitness needs and wants. Will you be comfortable working out in a large club with both men and women? Will you need access to multiple club? Are you looking for one-on-one personal training services? How often do you think you’ll work out each month? Do you think you’ll manage to keep up your fitness regimen? How much can you afford to pay for a membership each month?
2. Once you’ve identified your requirements, visit health clubs that meet your needs. Get a free pass for each club (at least a one-week’s pass) and workout at each club as often as possible during the free periods.
3. Don’t sign up for a membership at the health clubs while you’re using free passes. You’ll be under a lot of pressure from salespeople and managers, and they will tell you that you need to sign up today to be able to get discount pricing. Don’t. Health clubs offer discount pricing all the time.
4. When you’ve decided a health club, go back and speak with a salesperson about membership choices. Don’t feel pressured to sign a long-term contract at any health club. Remember that long-term contracts are really installment loans with high interest payments. If you don’t think that you’re going to maintain your workouts, don’t even think about signing one of these contracts. Gather all the written information about each type of membership, then go home and review it at your leisure. Don’t feel pressured to sign up for any membership at the club.
5. When you’re speaking with the salesperson, ask all the questions you want. Don’t feel rushed or pressured. Never forget that any contract you sign supersedes any promises a salesperson gives you. Even if the salesperson writes it into the contract, it probably isn’t legally enforceable. The contract is king. Read it carefully before signing.
6. Compare the costs of each membership type, and remember that you ought to make the ultimate decision based all on your own needs, not on short-term discounts that may sound like you’re saving money, but will end up costing you more money in the end.
7. Make sure you fully understand the cancellation requirements of each membership type. Many long-term health club contracts are almost impossible to cancel. A month-to-month contract may be a better solution.
8. Don’t sign up for automatic payments via credit card. If you no longer want a membership, and you’re able to cancel, you could find it difficult to get payments stopped.
9. Record all your payments in case there are any disputes with your health club.
10. If you do cancel you membership, ensure you get the cancellation in writing from your health club.

By following these 10 tips, you will certainly set yourself up for fitness success. For serious fitness freaks, there are many Eagle Ridge Fitness Personal Training programs crafted.

Are you experiencing high cholesterol and need to reduce it? That is not surprising considering exactly how many people have high cholesterol these days. To greatly help reduce your cholesterol, here are 10 tips you may get started with today.

Just like anything health related, diet and exercise are both crucial components. That which you eat is important to lowering your cholesterol levels, so that’s what’s included here.

A very important factor you should know is the difference between LDL and HDL cholesterol. Simply consider HDL as “healthy” and LDL as “lousy.” HDL can in fact help carry cholesterol from the blood vessels while LDL allows it to deposit as part of your artery walls.

What’s promising is as you are able to change your cholesterol for the better. This is how to accomplish that:

1. Have a great sandwich on whole wheat bread or perhaps a pita with some lean turkey and plenty of fresh veggies. Skip the hot dogs, bologna, and salami, and support the Mayo. All of those are highly processed and filled up with fat and cholesterol.
2. Fish, like salmon, is good. Try to find wild red salmon varieties, which are very good in Omega-3 fatty acids (good fat.) Also, flax seed is a great source of Omega-3s.
3. Avoid Trans fats! Not merely do they raise the lousy LDL cholesterol, they could also reduce your HDL levels! Stay away from foods like margarine, shortening, and processed foods containing partially hydrogenated soybean oil.
4. Go ahead, go nuts! Try to find walnuts mainly but additionally try almonds, macadamia nuts, cashews, and pecans. Nuts are saturated in fat, but it’s the good kind. (Also, use natural peanut butter as opposed to the normal kind which contains unhealthy Trans fats.)
5. Limit desserts and try to consume only the healthier ones like angel food cake, graham crackers, Jell-O, and fat-free frozen yogurt.
6. Eat foods that are saturated in fiber. Examples include whole wheat bread, oatmeal, fruits, vegetables, beans, and some cereals. (Look for the boxes that say “could help lower cholesterol.”)
7. Use the grill. If you’re going to own steak or burgers, grill them at home and use lean meat. This practice avoids the grease, is fun, and the meat tastes great.
8. Locate a new salad dressing. Most of them are filled with Trans fats and cholesterol. Coconut oil is good, and maybe add vinegar or lemon juice. Also, skip the bacon bits, croutons, and egg yolks.
9. Exaggerate on fruits and vegetables. They contain no cholesterol and they’ve plenty of nutrients like antioxidants.

Below are a few examples: green peas, broccoli, cauliflower, apples, oranges, mangoes, papaya, pineapple, tomato, garlic, onions, spinach, water chestnuts, bananas, apricots, blueberries, and kiwi.

10. Avoid fast food like french fries and anything else from the deep fryer. Those foods will raise your cholesterol constantly, so avoid the burger joints in the event that you can.
11. Bonus tip: Use spices like pepper and oregano to incorporate flavor to your dishes. They are a healthy alternative to other toppings like Mayo.

That was easy, wasn’t it? Just make some of those changes and get a consultation done with a Eagle Ridge Fitness Personal Trainer to have a custom  fitness plan laid out for you. You could have lower cholesterol very quickly!