Exercising with Type 2 Diabetes

First things first - Type 1 is not Type 2.  Type 1 requires insulin.  Type 2 can often be controlled through lifestyle changes.  There are medications that help, but lifestyle changes applied consistently over time can make a huge difference.

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Exercising with Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes continues to be on the rise. Experts still attribute the rise of Type 2 Diabetes with the rise in obesity. Type 2 diabetes is responsible for 90 to 95% of all diabetes cases and is most common in adults. Though we are seeing the rates of childhood obesity increase and right along with it are more young children being diagnosed with the disease. Those stats don’t need to be a death sentence or a sentence to a life of illness. With a few lifestyle changes one can prevent and in some cases counter the course of this disease. One of the most important lifestyle changes is to begin exercising. Yes, you can and should be Exercising with Type 2 Diabetes.

Exercising with Type 2 Diabetes

Before getting more into Exercising with Type 2 Diabetes, let’s make sure we have an understanding of what Type 2 Diabetes actually is and does to the body. What normally happens during the digestion process is a hormone called insulin is released into the blood from the pancreas. The insulin’s primary role is its ability to allow carbohydrates (glucose) and proteins to enter muscle cells, where they are stored or used for energy. With type 2 diabetes, some insulin is produced, but the body does not effectively use it. This condition is known as “insulin resistance” and prohibits glucose from entering the cells. In turn, blood glucose in the blood rises to abnormal levels. If unnoticed or unchecked for extended periods, this elevated glucose level may lead to heart disease, kidney failure, blindness and nerve dysfunction.

Type 2 diabetes is strongly linked to poor lifestyle factors and choices. People who have the highest risk of developing type 2 diabetes typically live a sedentary lifestyle and have poor nutritional habits. These factors also lead to cardiovascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity which in turn all enable the risk factors of Type 2 Diabetes. So it may become a vicious cycle.

However, healthy nutrition and regular exercise not only prevent Type 2 Diabetes but they also can be used to control and possibly reverse its progression.

Exercising with Type 2 Diabetes

Exercise does help! The most recent research has put exercise at the forefront of Type 2 Diabetes prevention, control and treatment because it decreases insulin resistance. The research has shown that following a 45-60 minute session of regular exercise, cells can better respond to insulin and effectively take glucose out of the blood and properly have it transfer into the cell. Exercise also helps to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease by decreasing blood pressure, cholesterol levels and body fat.

Those with Type 2 Diabetes, you should adhere to the following exercise recommendations:

• Always consult with your physician before starting any exercise program to determine the potential risks associated with exercise.
• Cardiovascular Exercise—Strive to accumulate a minimum of 1,000 calories expended through physical activity each week. This can be done by doing 4-6 workout sessions per week. Depending on current conditioning levels a moderate intensity workout may only start at 20 minutes, but you should be focused on working up to 45 to 60 minutes of daily exercise.
• Resistance training—Resistance-training activities should be done at least two days per week. These workouts should target all the major muscle groups. Complete a minimum of one set for 12 to 15 repetitions of each exercise at a moderate intensity.
• Flexibility—Stretching and flexibility training is very important to everyone, but especially important to those with diabetes. Stretching should be a finisher to every workout. Stretch all major muscle groups to the point of tension (not pain) and hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds. Complete two good stretch holds per body part.

A few other tips when Exercising with Type 2 Diabetes to keep in mind are:

• These are goals that you should work up to gradually over time if you have had a sedentary lifestyle up to this point.
• Be sure to monitor your blood glucose levels before and after exercise to understand how you are responding to certain types of activities.
• Exercise with a partner when first starting out. This ensures more safety as your body adapts to all the changes.
• Don’t forget to check with your physician prior to beginning a physical-activity program and return regularly to assess your diabetes.

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Want great arms?  How do you get 'em?  Let me count the ways...

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Create Great Biceps

Let’s be honest, when it comes physique, women often look for men with a little muscle. Muscles represent resilience, toughness, and continuing to be honest; sexiness! Of course biceps aren’t just for the boys. Women know that having toned arms and good biceps keeps them from aging with the waving arm. So what does it take to Create Great Biceps?

Create Great Biceps

To Create Great Biceps, it really starts by slimming down the arms. Yes, men and women both have to slim down the arms and then increase the muscle if you want more size. Of course slimming down starts with a healthy balanced nutrition plan, and a total body functional exercise program. 21 Day Fix or 21 Day Fix Extreme, 22 Minute Hard Corps, and P90X3 are great examples of programs that offer amazing balanced nutrition plans and that functional exercise to slim down.

Of course lifting weights must be a part of the mix. Which is why the program previously mentioned are really great. They provide the weight training that will start adding that lean muscle while slimming down.

Create Great Biceps

However, biceps aren’t just about beauty and appearance. Biceps are important for many common functional movements from loading the dishwasher to hauling heavy boxes.

Since the bicep is used in multi-functional movements, the best way to work them is with multi-functional exercises. Yet, most people work their biceps with isolated exercises. This only works one muscle at a time. Isolated exercises can help improve the looks of the muscle as well as their overall strength, but it’s more important to train for function and functional movements produce results at a faster pace. Functional exercises are movements that train the body in a way that improves the physique, strength, as well as the ability for it to function at a higher level in everyday life. Functional Exercises are multi-joint movements that work several muscles or muscle groups at a time.

So besides using a well laid out program like the ones mentioned above, you can do these biceps exercises to improve those biceps and arms.

Isolated Eccentric Standing Curl
Start with feet together or in a staggered stance if you need more stability. With your arms fully extended at your sides holding dumbbells, keep your elbows tucked in close to your rib cage, hold one dumbbell at 90 degrees and with the other arm, curl the dumbbell up in a quick motion, and release down on a 3 count. Do 15 rep, then switch. When complete take a 30-45 second rest and repeat again.

Alternating Dumbbell Curl with a Push
Start with feet together or in a staggered stance if you need more stability. Begin the exercise with both arms extended at your sides, palms facing forward. Slowly curl one arm up and across to the opposite shoulder height and while keeping the 90-degree position push the arm out and up so the dumbbell stops at ear height. Slowly lower the dumbbell down and alternate arms. Make sure to keep your elbows close to your body. Total of 30 reps so you hit 15 on each side. When complete take a 30-45 second rest and repeat again.

Twisted Hammer Curls
Start with feet together or in a staggered stance if you need more stability. Begin the exercise with both arms extended at your sides, palms facing behind. While keeping your palms behind, slowly twist the wrists as you begin to curl to make it a hammer curl and continue to twist the wrist so at the top of the curl the palms are facing our, and the dumbbell heads are toward your face, squeezing your biceps at the top. Slowly lower the dumbbells back down. Make sure to keep your elbows close to your body. 15 Reps, rest for 30-45 seconds and repeat for a second set.

Chin-Ups
This is one of the best compound exercises, as it works your biceps, latissimus dorsi (back), and abdominal muscles (abs), among other muscles. Grab the bar with the palms facing you, and shoulder-width apart. Most people focus on pulling their body up, but your actual focus should be on pulling the bar to you. This helps the brain better engage lats (back muscles). Once you are in position pull your body up so that your chin goes over the bar. Lower yourself back down in a controlled manner so that your arms are completely extended and repeat. During the exercise it is important to make sure to keep your focus and your muscles engaged so that you don’t stress your skeletal structure and your connective tissues. If you cannot do a chin-up on your own, do not fret! Try using a Pull-Up Assist. The pull-up assist will allow you to adjust the amount of support you need so you can properly work your way up to unassisted Chin-Ups.

Supinated Twisted Bent-Over Rows
The supinated twisted bent-over row works the biceps, the latissimus dorsi, the hamstrings, and some of the muscles in the lower back. Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and dumbbells in each hand, palms facing in toward your body. Bend over at your hips keeping your back flat and core engaged. You will know that you are in the correct position if feel your hamstrings engage. Keeping your back flat, chest expanded, and core engaged begin pull the dumbbells up into your body while twisting your writs so the palms face forward away from you. Draw your arms all the way up until the dumbbells at your hip bones. Lower the weights back down and repeat. Do 15 reps, rest for 30-45 seconds and repeat for a second set.

With a combination of these exercises, and a top performance program and nutrition plan you will be one your way to having everything you need to Create Great Biceps!

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Kale Salad with Lemon Parsley Dressing

Kale really is a super-food.  Here's a great recipe combing it with other tasty ingredients to amp up your nutritional intake for the day.

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Kale Salad with Lemon Parsley Dressing
Many people often put Kale to the side because they find it to tough, or they don’t like the taste of it. Kale salads can actually be quite tasty and are not tough if they are done right, which is why this Kale Salad with Lemon Parsley Dressing may change your mind.

Kale Salad with Lemon Parsley Dressing

Kale Salads have more benefits than just having great nutrients. Kale also helps in detoxifying the body. Especially when you make a salad with other vegetables and a dressing that also have detoxifying properties. This Kale Salad with Lemon Parsley Dressing does just that, and tastes great.

Kale Salad with Lemon Parsley Dressing (serves 2)

INGREDIENTS:
Kale Salad:
– 1 head lacinato (dino) kale, leaves thinly sliced
– 1 head Russian red kale, leaves finely chopped
– 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
– 6 small radishes, thinly sliced
– 1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
– 1/2 small cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
– 1 large ripe avocado, peeled and diced
– 9 oz. roasted beets, diced
– 1/2 raw walnut halves, chopped

Lemon-Parsley Dressing:
– 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon avocado oil (can also use grapeseed or olive oil
– 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (1 large lemon)
– 1 clove garlic, minced
– 1/4 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
– 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
– 2 teaspoons stone ground mustard
– pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS:
-Preheat oven to 400 F.
– Prepare and cook the Beets by cutting off beet greens, cleaning the beets and wrap loosely in foil. Place beets in oven for 50-60 mins. Remove when done, allow to cool, and remove the skin (which should come off easily). Dice beets.
– Wash the kale leaves under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Remove the stalks and discard. Finely chop the leaves and place in a large serving bowl.
– Add the remaining ingredients to the serving bowl and add desired amount of dressing. Toss everything together to combine.
– To prepare the Lemon-Parsley Dressing add all of the ingredients for the dressing to a small blender or food processor, and blend until smooth and creamy. If you don’t have a small blender, whisking the ingredients together in a bowl works well, too.
– Drizzle the dressing into the bowl of Kale and Vegetables. Toss or hand massage the dressing into the kale and vegetables making sure to be gentle and not bruise them.

Split the kale and vegetables onto two plates or bowls and enjoy your Kale Salad with Lemon Parsley Dressing!

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What Fitness Tracker is the Best

What fitness tracker is the best?  

What part of fitness do you want to track?  

How will your fitness change over time?  

You can improve the things you track.

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The new big craze is Fitness Trackers. More and more people are buying them and gifting them. Since the craze continues to grow, it can be daunting trying to figure out What Fitness Tracker is the Best, or what features to look for that will best meet your needs.

To figure out What Fitness Tracker is the Best is really is about having a full understanding of your health and fitness goals are, and then what preferences you have based those goals and needs.

What Fitness Tracker is Best

When you begin to shop for a Fitness Tracker you will realize that the majority of the fitness trackers offer similar features, making a selection often more about aesthetics and comfort. Though you will want to look for features that specifically fit your goals for both now and long term as you become more fit. If you go to basic you will be purchasing another tracker in no time.

The main two categories of fitness trackers are the basic tracker and the smartwatch tracker. The basic tracker will do things like steps taken, total calories burned in different categories of exercise, and a few other small features. The smartwatch tracker will be GPS, capable of tracking activity, heart rate monitoring, more sport and activity specific options, displaying messages, pushing notifications and more.

When thinking about What Fitness Tracker is Best, be sure to consider which data is most likely to motivate you and really help with holding you accountable.

What Fitness Tracker is Best

Having an understanding of common features for most trackers can really help you determine which one is right for you. The main metrics of the majority of wearable activity trackers include steps; calories and heart rate (continuous and active); and performance parameters such as duration, distance and pace. Understanding what each of these metric really calculates will help to determine if you can go pretty basic or if you need to go more advanced based on your goals.

Steps:
This feature will definitely give you the insight into how much you are truly moving around each day. A lot to times people think they are moving around a lot, but when they start tracking it they may find out different. Once you know how many steps you are truly getting each day, this step can be one of the easiest way to create goals and examine where you can increase activity levels.

One thing to keep in mind is that trackers tend to provide information about quantity but not necessarily quality of steps. So remember that you will still need to look at the steps you accumulate. Were they while strolling through the mall and puttering around the house, or steps taken during a brisk walk to work plus an afternoon jog. Though the steps are tracked you need to size up the steps you take by personally looking at the variables such as pace, calories etc. If you see after a day with a jog and brisk walk you burn a certain amount of calories but those marks are not being hit by strolling, then you have to make adjustments. Some devices have added a floors climbed metric. This helps dissolve the need for additional monitoring because the more intense steps get you more floors climbed which in turn translates to being more intense.

Calories:
This metric is great for people who want to lose weight. Seeing calories burned and monitoring daily calories burned can have a great effect on weight loss goals. You can use this metric to evaluate how daily calorie-burn does or does not change from one day or week to the next. Devices that track workout performance will also display how many calories you burn during a dedicated workout, such as a cycling class, an outdoor run or a training session.

The downside is that activity trackers only tracks the calories out, so if you are interested in losing weight you will want to use a nutrition log or nutrition-logging app. Many of the trackers have companion apps or they can sync with other nutrition logging apps.

Heart Rate:
This is a must if you want to ensure proper exercise intensity. This is also great for athletic users who want to objectively gauge one workout against another for improving performance.

Understanding the common features can help you choose What Fitness Tracker is Best for you. Though I would be sure to know what your goals are, and what you truly want to accomplish. Having more features that fit your workouts, nutrition, goals, and more will help you obtain your results. No matter what areas of life we are looking at, when we track we succeed.

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