Staying Fit While Traveling


Staying fit and eating healthy not only help you live longer, but they also make you feel great today and give you better performance in all areas of life. Those who value their fitness know how important regular exercise is to feeling their best. On vacation, exercise can present special challenges. Fortunately, it's becoming easier at many hotels and airports. Below is a deeper look at staying fit while you travel.


Staying Fit at Home Compared to on the Road

At home, an exercise routine is often simple to sustain as long as health and schedules allow. During trips, however, exercising can require planning and creativity to stay on track. Not all hotels have gyms or the right equipment, and not all areas surrounding hotels are ideal for running or walking. The surrounding city may contain a gym, but it might not be close enough to visit if time is short. Although these issues require fitness enthusiasts to work for their exercise, places are increasingly accommodating travelers who want to exercise while they're away from home.


Numerous Advances Being Developed

Hotels and airports are making big changes in their support of fitness-minded guests. Many hotels have had basic gyms for decades, but some are going further today with fitness classes and special room designs that cater to people who favor yoga or cardio exercise. San Francisco International Airport gives travelers the option of doing yoga in a special zen room, and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has created several walking paths for travelers who want to hoof it before catching a flight.


Ensuring Exercise Options During Future Trips

It's best to research hotels and travel areas before departing to be able to count on staying fit during a trip. Doing some research before booking a hotel is not only important for price, but also for your overall experience. On a trip to Las Vegas I did plenty of research on the Internet before book the hotel I stayed at. I searched review sites, social travel apps, and listings for the best hotels in Las Vegas for my particular interests and personality. The reviews and social icons helped me choose because I saw what hotels other people that are similar to me liked. Hotels also usually have information about running trails in the area. Online inspection of street-level views can also give insight into whether areas are friendly to walking or jogging. In cases of ongoing travel to numerous cities, the best deal may be to get a regular membership at a nationwide gym chain.


Eating Healthy on Trips

Although many hotels offer a good variety of healthy vittles, it's often best to research areas beforehand to locate delivery services and eat-in restaurants with preferred options. If an extended-stay hotel is a choice, groceries can be purchased in town and cooked in the hotel room as desired. Otherwise, there are plenty of simple meals that can be prepared with or without a microwave, which is included in most hotel rooms. Local groceries and health food stores also have plenty of portable, nutritious options.


Fitness can be more difficult to maintain during travel, but it can also be an exciting challenge that revitalizes a fitness regimen. Ultimately, there are plenty of ways to simplify exercise while taking a trip. If you plan ahead and stay open to new possibilities you encounter on the way, you can take your exercise program on the road without a problem.

-- 
Mike Manning
mikemanningmusings.blogspot.com

Changing Attitudes Regarding Exercise For Patients Undergoing Cancer Treatment



by David Hass

Doctors have often recommended that patients undergoing treatment for cancer minimize their physical activity and get plenty of bed rest, but recent evidence has shown that moderate amounts of physical activity can offer significant benefits for cancer patients. In the past, it was thought that allowing the body to spend large amounts of time resting and recuperating would aid in the recovery process; however, it has now been shown that cancer patients can improve their chances of survival, their quality of life and their energy levels by engaging in moderate physical activity if they are capable.

Exercise for cancer patients should be moderate in intensity, and mirrors the guidelines normally set for healthy adults. Simply walking for thirty minutes a day for five days out of the week is enough to gain practically all of the benefits afforded by exercise. In addition, resistance training may also be useful for cancer patients. Cancer patients often experience weight fluctuations while undergoing treatment; cancers that are hormone based such as breast cancer often cause significant weight gain in the form of additional fat deposits while cancers that affect the integrity of the digestive system can cause weight loss due to the patient not having an appetite or not being able to absorb nutrients as efficiently as they are used to. In the former case, exercise can help prevent the fat gain by increasing the number burned by the patient's body; in the latter case, exercise will help preserve lean muscle mass by actively engaging the patient's muscle tissue during exercise. Regardless of the type of cancer, exercise can help to stabilize the patient's weight and prevent unwanted fat gain or muscle loss.



There have been a number of clinical studies performed examining the relationship between physical activity and survival rates for cancer. The data from these studies suggests that patients undergoing treatment for mesothelioma as well as many other types of cancers may show improvement in their energy levels as well as the quality of their lives by performing moderately intense exercise. Physical activity may help to offset the negative side effects experienced by patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy such as fatigue, nausea and chronic aches and pains.

Cancer patients, like anyone else, should take care to listen to their body while performing exercise. A medical professional can help guide patients on what type of exercise is suitable for them; for example, patients being treated for breast cancer who have had biopsies or lumpectomies performed may sustain injury from doing any exercises that work the upper body, as muscle tissue is often damaged by those surgeries. Experiencing aches and fatigue from performing exercise is usually not an issue, but any sort of sharp or stabbing pains indicate a more serious problem and patients should not perform exercise that is uncomfortable.



The data collected in clinical studies points to patients undergoing cancer treatment receiving a positive benefit from physical activity. It is likely that this will result in a shift in the treatment paradigm in oncology, with oncologists stressing the need for their patients to perform reasonable exercise at a frequency similar to healthy adults rather than suggesting that their patients remain sedentary and inactive.


David Haas is a cancer support group and awareness program advocate at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. In addition to researching the many valuable programs available to our site’s visitors, David often blogs about programs and campaigns underway at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance, as well as creative fitness ideas for those dealing with cancer, while creating relationships with similar organizations.

Read more: http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/david/bio.htm#ixzz1vFuGhJtl

Training Seasons

Just like you go through different seasons in life you go through different seasons in training as well. Goals will typically dictate how you are currently training but sometimes circumstances outside of your control will shape your training too.

Take age for an example; young man would and should train differently than an old man. Other factors outside of your control could be time constraints, work and family commitments, injury, or any number of other situations life could throw at your way. Let us be real, there are worse things than adjusting your training or missing a workout. The key is not to abandon your training altogether but to make the appropriate adjustments accordingly.

In my current situation, which is, new studio, new baby on the way, buying a new house, moving my wife and two kids, things are little bit hectic (to say the least). It's not that I don't have the time to train (a favorite excuse used by people who don't like to exercise) but it's not always at the top of my priority list these days. Don't get me wrong, training is a top priority of mine but making enough money to support my family and being there for them trumps a workout. Sometimes I find it hard to dedicate the solid hour that I'd like to on training. So here's what I've been doing...

As I sit here on the computer (work) I have already once gotten up to stretch and move around a bit (exercise). I plan to take another 5 minutes or so after I finish this paragraph. I think this time I'll do a few squats. What I've found is that although I might not have an unbroken 60 minutes to spend on some hard training, I can easily take 5-10 minutes a half dozen times a day to do *something*. "I don't have enough time" is never a valid excuse for someone who wants it bad enough. You see I know that exercise makes me a more productive person, a happier person, so I will not, I can not, ever, abandon it fully. It's something that I cannot do without.

[I actually did not make it through that paragraph without getting up and stretching again.]

Anyway, that's just the season I am in right now; an exercise or two sprinkled in throughout my work day. I get a full workout in when I have the time for it, and I miss the regular training schedule I once had, but I'm not going anywhere and neither is my desire to workout.

Another thing I've been dealing with which I have been hesitant to accept is injury. I've been going to physical therapy twice a week at www.evolutionsportspt.com. What started with some minor shoulder pain was exacerbated when I got rear-ended by a teenager on his cell phone. Now my entire right arm hurts! This has put a huge damper on my training and I am not happy about it. Very discouraging. There are many exercises I cannot do without pain. So, I do what I can. And most of the time when I do finally get an hour block to workout, I do my physical therapy exercises. It's not very exciting but I feel better when I do them and worse when I don't do them, yet I feel even worse when I try to work through the pain and do pull ups or bend steel when I am not supposed to. Oh well, just another season I am in.

I imagine once the baby is born and we're settled into our new house and I am out of pain, hard training will resume. I'll probably have some different goals by then and unless there are any other unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances, I am sure those goals will once again dictate my training. For now, I will continue to do what I can, when I can do it.

Training Seasons

Just like you go through different seasons in life you go through different seasons in training as well. Goals will typically dictate how you are currently training but sometimes circumstances outside of your control will shape your training too.

Take age for an example; young man would and should train differently than an old man. Other factors outside of your control could be time constraints, work and family commitments, injury, or any number of other situations life could throw at your way. Let us be real, there are worse things than adjusting your training or missing a workout. The key is not to abandon your training altogether but to make the appropriate adjustments accordingly.

In my current situation, which is, new studio, new baby on the way, buying a new house, moving my wife and two kids, things are little bit hectic (to say the least). It's not that I don't have the time to train (a favorite excuse used by people who don't like to exercise) but it's not always at the top of my priority list these days. Don't get me wrong, training is a top priority of mine but making enough money to support my family and being there for them trumps a workout. Sometimes I find it hard to dedicate the solid hour that I'd like to on training. So here's what I've been doing...

As I sit here on the computer (work) I have already once gotten up to stretch and move around a bit (exercise). I plan to take another 5 minutes or so after I finish this paragraph. I think this time I'll do a few squats. What I've found is that although I might not have an unbroken 60 minutes to spend on some hard training, I can easily take 5-10 minutes a half dozen times a day to do *something*. "I don't have enough time" is never a valid excuse for someone who wants it bad enough. You see I know that exercise makes me a more productive person, a happier person, so I will not, I can not, ever, abandon it fully. It's something that I cannot do without.

[I actually did not make it through that paragraph without getting up and stretching again.]

Anyway, that's just the season I am in right now; an exercise or two sprinkled in throughout my work day. I get a full workout in when I have the time for it, and I miss the regular training schedule I once had, but I'm not going anywhere and neither is my desire to workout.

Another thing I've been dealing with which I have been hesitant to accept is injury. I've been going to physical therapy twice a week at www.evolutionsportspt.com. What started with some minor shoulder pain was exacerbated when I got rear-ended by a teenager on his cell phone. Now my entire right arm hurts! This has put a huge damper on my training and I am not happy about it. Very discouraging. There are many exercises I cannot do without pain. So, I do what I can. And most of the time when I do finally get an hour block to workout, I do my physical therapy exercises. It's not very exciting but I feel better when I do them and worse when I don't do them, yet I feel even worse when I try to work through the pain and do pull ups or bend steel when I am not supposed to. Oh well, just another season I am in.

I imagine once the baby is born and we're settled into our new house and I am out of pain, hard training will resume. I'll probably have some different goals by then and unless there are any other unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances, I am sure those goals will once again dictate my training. For now, I will continue to do what I can, when I can do it.

Strength Training for Cancer Patients

Strength Training for Cancer Patients
by Liz Davies

Cancer patients suffer from many side effects from their treatment. Physical side effects include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, anemia, muscle and bone density loss. Anxiety, fear and depression are emotional side effects that patients often encounter. This is true whether patients are dealing with a cancer with a typically low survival rate like mesothelioma or a cancer with a typically high survival rate like testicular cancer.

A way to significantly counteract these symptoms is to maintain a healthy lifestyle that includes exercise. Many times in cancer rehabilitation programs there is a focus on aerobic training and strength training is often ignored. In the past doctors advised cancer patients to work out at a lower intensity than their normal level of activity so therefore any type of strength training were excluded in the recommended programs.

It is still advised that patients proceed with a supervised program but high-intensity weight lifting has show to be extremely beneficial. Cancer patients suffer from muscle loss and this type of training improves muscle power and cardiopulmonary function. These benefits are especially important for cancer patients.

It is important to find a way to keep all muscles and joints in use throughout the entire treatment process and strength training is an important tool to keep at hand. Weight lifting, resistance training and isometric training are all types of strength training that are helpful. The intensity of strength training depends on the individual. It may be appropriate for one patient’s exercise routine to include carrying the groceries inside while another person would benefit from kettlebell exercises.

Patients who regularly use strength training as a means of exercise will be able to retain tissue that are usually lost during cancer treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation and their health will profit in the long term.

Liz Davies is a graduate from University of Central Florida and health and wellness writer. She wants to make a difference in people’s lives because she sees how cancer has devastated so many people in this world. Liz enjoys running, playing lacrosse, reading and playing with her dog, April.

Why Lift Kettlebells?

Seriously, that's a good enough reason for me, but for those people who are looking for practical reasons to lift kettlebells, here's a few off of the top of my head:

Kettlebells develop all around fitness. Whether you are looking to build muscle or burn fat, get stronger or better conditioned, the answer is YES. I could go into all of the nitty-gritty details but its easier to say kettlebell training is both strength and cardiovascular work.

Kettlebells are fun. If you've lifted kettlebells before you know this, but then if you have lifted them you wouldn't be reading an article on "why lift kettlebells"? You already know that kettlebells provide an array of exercises for the full body in a dynamic, fast paced, fashion.

Kettlebells are convenient. A single piece of equipment that takes up virtually no space and you can do endless exercises with them. You should have a kettlebell sitting by every television in your house so you can do swings during commercial breaks.

Kettlebells are efficient. This goes back to the all around fitness thing, but you don't need daily hour long sessions to get a good workout in. 20 minutes is more than enough if you're training properly.

Kettlebells are portable. No more missed workouts because you're traveling. Need a change of scenery, no problem! Feel like training outside today, pick your place (I like the beach).

I could go on but I just remembered I already wrote this article like 5 years ago. I thought all this sounded familiar... Why Lift Kettlebells?

Art & Strength Grand Opening

Announcing the Grand Opening of Art & Strength - Where Strength is an Art Form

Where: 4115 Wholesale Club dr, Baltimore, MD, 21236.
When: Saturday, October 15 from 12-4pm
What: Amazing performances, food, drink, raffle & free stuff