How to Exercise with Limited Mobility

By Emily Buchanan
If injury, disability or age have affected your mobility, exercise is more important than ever. Whilst it’s easy to overlook the everyday activities that full mobility allows, be that a brisk walk to the corner shop or a good spring clean, these tasks can be hugely beneficial to an individual’s health and general wellbeing. After all, think of all the endorphins that are released during exercise. These hormones are the body’s opioids, lifting the mood, boosting self-esteem and triggering a sense of euphoria.

Depression is common in people who suffer from mobility issues. The daily battle between a flawed body and an unflawed mind can be maddening so it’s very important to address a low mood quickly, before it escalates. And what better way to stay in shape and improve your disposition than to exercise?

But, if you have a disability, a severe weight problem, a chronic breathing condition or any other ongoing health problem that might limit your movements, what’s the best way to keep active?
First things first, don’t push yourself to achieve the impossible. You need to accept what your body is capable of and exercise accordingly. Any attempts to do otherwise could result in serious injury, worsening the situation and perhaps reducing your mobility even further. Therefore, be sensible and consult your doctor before you try any of the following, particularly if you’ve been recently diagnosed or are unsure of your condition.

Simple Chair Exercises

If you’re suffering from a lower body injury or a disability that requires full-time wheelchair use, chair exercises are ideal. However, they are by no means exclusive to wheelchair-users. If you’re overweight, diabetic or trying to improve your confidence after a nasty fall, these tips might also be useful. These chair exercises can help reduce back pain, improve posture and alleviate sores. What’s more, you can do it whilst watching the television!

TIP: If you don’t already own one, choose a wheelchair that keeps your knees at a right angle when seated. If buying a new or second-hand wheelchair, it’s a good idea to insure it against damage, just in case something should happen whilst operating it. To make sure that it doesn’t, always, always apply the brakes when exercising.

Exercise Video for People with Intellectual or Physical Disabilities

For a more intensive workout, check out this 11 minute Cardio Chair Session.

Aquatic Workouts

The amazing thing about exercising in water is that it’s low-impact, low-cost and highly effective. If you suffer from joint pain, arthritis or swelling in the legs and ankles, a dip in the pool will cushion fragile bones. Plus, swimming is particularly forgiving to those who are overweight – the average person only bears 10% of their overall weight when submerged up to the neck in water. There are so many exercises that can be done, including water aerobics, resistance running, treading water and of course the traditional swimming of laps.

TIP: Be sure to invest in a good pair of goggles and a swimming costume that you’re comfortable in. For a lot of people, one of the main drawbacks of regular swimming is the distinct lack of clothes that it requires. However, these days there’s a huge variety of figure appropriate items for sale, so don’t feel like you have to wear something you don’t want to.

3 Aquatic Cardio Exercises

Adaptive Yoga

Anyone familiar with yoga will be aware of the flexibility and balance this type of exercise requires. If you have limited mobility or use a wheelchair fulltime, yoga might seem like an impossible task. However, the proliferation of adaptive yoga classes (also known was Whoga – wheelchair yoga) has meant that specialist groups are popping up all over the place, particularly in and around cities. Provided you have the means to get there, these classes can improve agility, strength, poise, and stamina. In addition, many people who practice yoga say that it reduces anxiety and stress, improves mental clarity, and even helps them sleep better.

Yoga can be beneficial for individuals with disabilities or chronic health conditions through both the physical postures and breathing. What’s more, each pose can be modified or adapted to meet the needs of the individual and a trained teacher will show you how to make the most of your condition.
Alternatively, if there isn’t an adaptive yoga class near you, why not try these simple stretches at home?
TIP: For a more comprehensive understanding of breathing techniques, check out this video before attempting any yoga moves. Proper breathing practices are as -if not more- important than the exercise itself, so it’s good to get this down before you start attempting the downward facing dog.

About the Author: Emily Buchanan is a writer living in Norwich, UK. She’s passionate about the environment, education and disability rights, which are the subjects you’ll find her mostly writing/ranting about. Follow Emily on Twitter for the latest.

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Techniques Used To Improve Your memory

As with the regular human tools of our mind, the more we practice with these tools, the more they will be effective in using them. Without practice and effort, one cannot have a good memory. Even though one does not have the time required to develop the quality of memory, most of our techniques are very useful in everyday living.

1. Mnemonics

One popular tool to improve the memory is mnemonics which are techniques to remember information that are very hard to recall. The general idea in using mnemonics is to instill hard-to-recall-information in a way that they can easily be remembered.

Our brains are very complex that they can encode and interpret sophisticated data such as colors, images, sound, tastes, positions, and language. These stimuli are used to create a visual image of our world and our memories are used to store these images.

1. Pictures - you can use microphone to recall your friend mike or wind for Wendy. Always use positive images because the brain tends to block unpleasant images

2. Words. You can use words that start with the first letter of each word that can represent the initial of what you want to recall. Musicians usually recall the lines of a staff E, G, B, D, and F by memorizing the words "Every good boy does fine."

3. Acronyms. These are initials that can create words. Musicians recall the spaces in a treble staff by memorizing the word FACE.

4. Rhymes. Most of us have learned that 30 days hath September, April, June and November.

5. Humor. By giving exaggerated symbols to associate facts and figures can be pleasing to brain coding because it is funny and it will be easier to remember.

2. Roman Room System

Roman Room System - this technique is usually employed in learning a new foreign language. You can easily learn words while visiting a town with common things that you can see. You can learn new nouns if you can visit the town square and try to be familiarized with the counterpart of common names.

3. The Peg Word System

The peg word system is used to help a person to remember a list in a specific sequence. However, before you can do this, you need to memorize a roster list of peg words. Generally, there are two major ways to do this. Take a closer study of these methods first, and then choose which one you want to use. Alternatively you can use a little bit of imagination and use both methods. The first method is very easy that anyone can use it. Just use numbers 0 to 10 and relate rhyming words with each of these digits.

The best method is to recall words for all numbers pegged from 0 to 99 using another system, the number alphabet. This will greatly help you to form a relation without having to recall a laborious array relation with number rhymes. Alternatively, if you can use peg words, you are ensured to get the right number by using consonant and transforming them to numbers. A longer list is more effective because you will avoid excessive recycling, thus your brain will be less likely to be confused.

But, it will take a longer time for you to memorize. However, once you recalled the peg words, you will be benefited by the list permanently, and you don't need to recall them ever again.

Built For Life: Motto for a New You

Built for Life.” Kind of an interesting title, if you think about it, because it has two meanings. The first is staying in attention-grabbing muscular shape for as long as you’re alive and able to exercise—you will remain “built” your entire life, never embarrassed to peel off your shirt at the beach, lake or pool. And as my colleague 60-plus-year-old bodybuilder Tony DiCosta so aptly put it, “You’ll usually be the best built guy in the room.” (Talk about a conversation piece!)

The second meaning is that you’re mentally and physically tough, prepared for whatever life throws at you. You’re “built” to withstand the stress, pressures and problems that come your way throughout your time on this planet—almost like you’ve created a bulletproof mental and physical fortress, able to deflect any negatives, that attitude-altering artillery shot at all of us every day.

Proper weight training can give you both of those—and contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t take joint-busting, spine-crushing poundage to make it happen.

In fact, training with max weights can be a negative, especially as you get older. Sure, if you’re a young ego-driven dude looking for a monster bench press, training heavy is where it’s at. Low reps and lots of sets will build your strength to the extreme—but not necessarily lots of muscle, as I’ll explain in future blogs—just be careful. There’s a cumulative cost. I’m still dealing with injuries I sustained during my powerlifting years.

I’m not saying powerlifting or power bodybuilding are bad training models—just that throwing around mega weights is NOT necessary for you to build an impressive bodybuilder-type physique, a body so muscular that people comment on the size of your arms or the width of your back or the vascularity streaking down your forearms. You can have a muscular look for a lifetime, and it doesn’t take soft-tissue damage or as much work as you think—if you train smart.

Whether you’re 18 (that’s Jonathan Lawson, my former training partner, in his 20s in the photo above with us) and just starting the muscle-building journey or a 50-something trainee who’s been lifting for decades (like me), lifting smart means training in the most efficient, safest and fastest ways to build muscle and burn fat.

I promise you that Old School New Body is a no-B.S. program—that’s because my sole goal is for you to have all the ammunition you need to own a physique that turns heads and raises eyebrows  and one that supports your health and well being. I want you to be able to keep that attention-grabbing, muscular look—and feel healthy doing it—for the rest of your days.

Stay tuned, train smart and be Built For Life.

Steve Holman

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Steer Clear of Refined Sugar and White Flour (Ditch the Sugar Cookies)

January 20, 2012

By Dr. Carolyn Anderson

One More Reason to Avoid Sugar and White Flour

Photo by Jennifer

I absolutely love sugar cookies and shortbread at Christmas. In fact, I love the cookies and I love the uncooked cookie dough. I think you could even call me a cookie monster.

That is until I started researching dietary influences on our health. I knew that sugar and white flour (two of the main ingredients in sugar cookies) were things we should avoid for weight loss but I didn’t realize they are basically poisons for our body. Scary really, and disappointing because I happen to love them.

There is evidence that we can help strengthen the body’s defenses against cancer by diet and exercise changes (1). The problem is that the things we should omit from our diets are often things that we enjoy, things that taste good and things that we have on a regular basis. If we accept that toxins in our environment stimulate cancer growth, then to fight cancer we must detoxify our diet as much as possible. Following a clean eating diet is not a diet but a way of life where you choose whole, unprocessed foods and avoid things like white flour and sugar.
All my research points to the need to ditch the sugar cookies and instead try a batch with whole wheat flour and stevia or other natural sweeteners. I found a  great recipe for stevia-sweetened, flour-free “sugar” cookies and they’ll be on my baking list for next Christmas.

Cancer Feeds on Sugar

The consumption of white sugar in the Western diet has increased significantly in the last 100 years (From 11 lbs a year in 1830 to 150 lbs a year at the end of the twentieth century) (2). It seems that the increased sugar consumption could be a contributing factor to the cancer epidemic.
It is documented that people with diabetes have a higher incidence of cancer (3).  It was discovered by Otto Warburg in Germany that the metabolism of malignant tumors is largely dependent on glucose consumption. When we eat white sugar or white flour (high glycemic index foods) the body releases insulin accompanied by the release of IGF (Insulin-like growth factor) to allow the glucose to enter the cells to stimulate cell growth. Insulin and IGF promote cell growth as well as trigger inflammation in the system. This acts as a fertilizer for tumors.

We now know that peaks in insulin and the release of IGF stimulate the growth of cancer cells and stimulate their capacity to invade surrounding tissues (4). Another interesting study showed that after injecting breast cancer cells into mice, that the cells were less susceptible to chemotherapy once the mouse’s insulin system had been activated by the presence of sugar (5). It seems that a new class of drugs to reduce peaks in insulin would be effective in fighting cancer

Instead of waiting for these drugs, reducing the amount of sugar and white flour we eat daily could effectively do the same thing.

The scientific evidence indicates that to protect ourselves against cancer we should cut back on processed sugar and bleached white flour. We can do this is a couple of relatively simple ways

Easy Ways to Reduce Sugar and White Flour

• Drink your coffee or tea  (green tea is particularly healthy) without sugar
• If you drink soy milk, drink the unsweetened variety
• Have dessert every other night instead of every night. Try fresh fruit (not sweetened with sugar or syrup) as they are much healthier and do not seem to cause the same intense insulin spike.
• Use one of the natural substitutes for sugar such as agave nectar, stevia, honey, xylitol or dark chocolate
• Eat multigrain bread or bread made with traditional leaven such as sourdough bread or Ezekial bread
• Oh, and ditch the sugar cookies

Resources

Glycemic Index
Tosca Reno is the author of several books that explain the concept of clean eating, which endorses whole foods and replacements for sugar
Whole Food Cookbooks
Whole Food Cooking blogs
The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen
100 Days of Real Food: 1 Family, 2 kids, 0 processed foods
The Gracious Pantry
About the Author: Dr. Carolyn Anderson is an eye surgeon who founded Impowerage to raise money for macular degeneration research. She practices cataract surgery in Langley, BC and is a professional speaker who speaks on managing your energy. She recently co-wrote a book, “Pushing to the Front: Front Line Strategies from the World’s Leading Experts, with Brian Tracy.

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Pregnancy: Should You Take Parenting Classes

Have you recently learned that you are going to be a new mom? If you have, congratulations! Motherhood is something that most women live their lives for.

As nice as motherhood is, many issues arise that many first time parents do not know about. For that reason, many first time mothers make the decision to take parenting classes, but the question is should you?


When it comes to determining if you should take parenting classes, to prepare for the raising of your new baby, many parents are unsure. If you are one of those soon-to-be parents, you may want to examine the advantages and disadvantages of parenting classes.
These advantages and disadvantages, a few of which are outlined below, may help make making a decision a little bit easier for you.

As for the advantages of taking a parenting class, you will find that there are an unlimited number of them. Although you may have babysat children in the past, parenting is much different. When you are a parent, you are responsible the safety and the wellbeing of your child. While this task may seem like an overwhelming one, you do not have the option of backing out on this one. For that reason, you should take any steps necessary, including parenting classes, to prepare for this venture.

Another one of the many benefits to taking a parenting class, before the birth of your first child, is the information that you will walk away with. Many parenting classes focus on a wide range of issues. In a parenting class, you may learn how to properly change a diaper, lay your baby down for a nap, as well as feed them in a healthy way. In addition to educating you in a classroom setting, you will also find that many parenting classes give you hands on learning. This is often done with the use of baby dolls.

Networking is another one of the many benefits to taking parenting classes before the birth of your child. You may actually be surprised just how popular parenting classes are. Whether you live in a large city or a small town, there is a good chance that your parenting classes will be filled to capacity with first time mothers. While you may not necessarily think about this at the time, this is a great opportunity to meet new people and develop new friendships. If you do not have any friends or relatives who are parents, this may be a concern of yours.

The affordability of parenting classes is another one of the many advantages of or benefits to taking a parenting class. As previously stated, parenting classes come in a number of different formats, as well as costs. It is possible to find parenting classes where you are required to pay a small fee, often less than a hundred dollars. With that in mind, it is also possible to find parenting classes that are free of charge. These free parenting classes are often made available through non-profit organizations.

While there are a number of benefits to taking a parenting class, to prepare for the birth and upbringing of your first child, there are also a number of disadvantages or downsides to doing so as well. One of those downsides is the meetings. Parenting classes vary, but many have multiple classes in a short period of time, like a month or two. You will want to attend each and every one of those classes to absorb as much information as possible. Preparing for the birth of a new child, especially your first child, can be a busy and hectic time in your life. For that reason, you may not necessarily have the time to devote to parenting classes.

The above mentioned advantages and disadvantages are just a few of the many that exist, concerning parenting classes. The upbringing of a child is an issue that you, as a soon-to-be mother have to deal with. For assistance, you may want to turn to a locally offered parenting class.

For more information on pregnancy issues see our Pregnancy Fitness section

Fat Burning: A Different Approach

No more cardio? Well, not quite—but if you train with weights correctly, you won’t need to visit that boring treadmill quite as often to keep your abs sharp.

And I’m not talking about interval cardio, although the weight-training method I’ve been preaching has an HIIT feel to it. That’s the F4X method, (featured in Old School New Body) which is moderate-weight, high-fatigue training with short rests between sets. It burns more fat and pumps up your muscles like crazy too. Here’s the drill:

You take a weight with which you can get 15 reps, but you only do 10; rest 30 seconds, then do it again—and so on for four sets. On the fourth set, you go to failure, and if you get 10 reps, you increase the weight on the exercise at your next workout. Notice how those sets are like intervals with short breaks between—you can even pace between sets to burn extra calories, but there’s more.

Fat-burning pathway 1: While that training style does great things for muscle growth, via myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic expansion, you also get loads of muscle burn. That lactic acid pooling has a spiking effect on your growth hormone output—and GH is a potent fat burner. Fire up muscle burning to get your GH churning. (GH also amplifies other anabolic hormones, so it effects both muscle and rippedness.)

Fat-burning pathway 2: If you do the reps correctly on every set, you’ll also get myofibrillar trauma. The myofibrils are the force-generating strands in muscle fibers. By “damaging” them with slower, controlled negative strokes, you force the need for extra energy during recovery. In other words, your body runs hotter while you’re out of the gym as it revs to repair the microtears.

To attain that extra fat-burning trauma, use one-second positives and three-second negatives on all 10 reps of all four sets. On a bench press that’s one second up and three seconds down. It’s the slow lowering that will produce the metabolic momentum after your workout. (That rep speed will also give you 40 seconds of tension time on every set, an ideal hypertrophic TUT.)

Fat-burning pathway 3: Now if you really want to get some blubber-busting microtrauma, try your last set of a F4X sequence in X-centric style. That’s one-second positives and six-second negatives. You may have to reduce the weight, but it will be worth it. Try for eight of those, 56 seconds of tension time, and you should feel the results the next day. Your muscles will be aching, but it’s a good indication that fat is baking.

F4X for a GH surge, slower negatives for fat-burning micro trauma and X-centric for even more time under tension and fat extinction. It all adds up to faster leanness with less meanness—because you’ll need less cardio. Prepare for acid-etched abs!  Yes!!  Even as you age this system works, in fact it is the closest thing we have to the fountain of youth.

Stay tuned, train smart and be Built for Life.

Steve Holman

Editor in Chief Iron Man Magazine and co-creator of  Old School New Body

Christmas May Be Cancelled

News flash

It has been reported that Christmas may be cancelled due to a tragic
accident over  the north pole. It has been reported that Santa Claus
had a serious accident over the North Pole while on an annual
training flight in preparation for his annual Christmas flight.


The cause of the accident may have been found in a conversation
with Mrs Claus in which she divulged, that  recently Santa has
been having some somewhat serious problems with his vision.

No report was given about current condition of Santa.