Posts Tagged ‘exercise’

After Coach Bernd Schuster missed a voluntary training exercise this past weekend and only 5 players showed up as well, many believe this and many other issues are a reflection of crisis in “The Whites” club.After being defeated by a third division club (Real Irún) which caused them the elimination out of the Kings Cup and falling 1-0 against Real Valladolid on November 15th, Coach Schuster gave his team a forced 2 day break to relax and plan for the clubs next steps.The word “crisis” echoes all over the Bernabeu Clubs front lines; there is no secret among the fans and sports media regarding the situation with player’s performance, but why? Has the club lost interest in the Spanish League? Is the physical preparation to average for the squad? Perhaps these and many other issues have taken the elite club down the hill for a moment.What are the main problems that have affected the club this year? And have them paying the bills almost finishing this 2008? Well, to start with the club is famous for signing the best players in the planet, no matter the costs or political issues involve. The fact that Cristiano Ronaldo decided to remain in the Manchester United instead of signing the multi-million dollar contract with The Whites; left many wondering that perhaps the economical aspect was not the cause for the transaction to failed, but more of social phenomena. The Real Madrid waited for to long for Cristiano Ronaldo to change his mind and by the time he rejected the offer, possible contracts with David Villa or Santi Cazorla were already lost.Now, the issues with Robinho escalated way more than the club expected, and at the end he left. Since the club was not prepared when Robinho, the only player they could signed during that moment was Rafael Van der Vaart, who is a great striker, but Robinhos position in the field was hard to replace.The clubs main objective this 2008 season was based on high performance and less injuries; now in days the club is cursed with casualties, but the one who has and will affect the club the rest of the season is the possible 9 month period without striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who seriously injured his knee recently. Coach Bernd Schuster has also been distant and reserved with the media, especially after some comments on his replacement by the end of the season and others regarding his lack of faith with players of Real’s “First Team” , whom Schuster has not paid much attention, if none at all since he began coaching the A team.The team is only two points away to take the lead on the board and they are performing well on the Champions league, so claiming that there is no crisis at all seems out of the question, since an elite club like Real Madrid speaks with performance and not controversy.

The wife is no stranger to exercise. Somewhat controversially, she now concentrates solely on working her liver; I can see the logic though, it’s occasionally her second largest internal organ.

If the Government told the wife that she could only purchase her beloved Buckfast during January, she would quite rightly revolt; which admittedly, is not a major deviation from the norm.

I find it incredible that Premiership managers are handicapped in such a fashion. It’s almost impossible to do any business in such a small window, although I did manage it once in Amsterdam.

Paradoxically, Martin O’Neill’s transactions have been exceptional. He somehow managed to entice the classy John Carew, and all it cost him was a dud Czech. The Villa are bouncing, they’ll see off the Hammers at 10/11.

A little known FIFA clause allows Frank Lampard to leave Chelsea for a relatively paltry £8m. Frank may have his knockers, but that seems a fair price to me. The champions have too much up top for a struggling Charlton; get on at a well developed 2/5.

Sheffield United win the award for the most surprising transfer. You could have knocked me over with a feather when news broke that they had signed Fathi; who knew that they had a spare £8m. The Blades haven’t won in Blackburn for 20 years; the Rovers are the weekend nap at an ample 8/11.

I believe the children are the future, unless we crack down hard on them now. The appointment of Stuart Pearce to the England Under-21 setup has been met with consternation by the Manchester City board; Reading can take full advantage at 12/5.

Mohammed Al Fayed can’t believe that Reading are above Fulham in the table; he thinks it’s a Royal conspiracy. The Cottagers will triumph over Newcastle at a clandestine 13/10.

Paul Jewell must be sick of the sight of Harry Redknapp; and not just because of the annoying twitch. Wigan have already lost twice to Portsmouth this season, a Pompey treble is in the bag at a knee-jerk 13/8.

I am extremely disappointed with Lua Lua. It wasn’t the fact that he was arrested for an alleged domestic disturbance; I feel let down because he didn’t do a double back flip after striking. I’m doing somersaults about the 7/1 for a 1-0 win to Portsmouth.

Jesus is more than handy with a loaf of bread and a piece of cod, but even He would struggle to keep Watford in the Premiership. Prayers do occasionally get answered though, thank you Al Bangura. Get on Bolton to beat Watford at a sacrilicious 5/4.

Liverpool host neighbours Everton in a tantalising Merseyside derby. The Toffeemen haven’t won at Anfield this millennium; it’ll be the Liverpool fans bragging in the benefit office on Monday morning. The Reds are a steal at 8/13.

Cesc Fabregas is a little magician. As long as he avoids Debbie McGee he’s got a decent future in the game. The 4/5 for an Arsenal win over Middlesbrough is spellbinding.

Tottenham are like Paul McCartney on his wedding night, they have to get over an extremely disappointing second leg. Man U will overwhelm the deflated Spurs at 5/6.

Wayne Rooney has been labeled a tubby Eric Cantona, and there’s more than an element of truth in such a comparison. The next big thing can net the opener at 6/1.

Ever since the departure of Cantona (and to a lesser degree Sheringham), United have struggled for a quality player in the hole. I believe Rooney will prove to be the missing link. I’m going ape about United scoring three or more goals at 11/4.

This week’s accer is so alluring, it reminds me of the wife’s sister; but i’ll get into that later. Liverpool, Aston Villa, Blackburn and Reading are the selections, the payout is a feisty 16/1.

Chronic weight gain, particulary when it the excess weight is distributed all over the body, is a common symptom of poor thyroid function, and this is no surprise because of the thyroid’s effects on metabolism. Even though the thyroid gland itself can be the source of slow metabolism, other aspects of the thyroid system are more often to blame. Many of these problems can actually be corrected naturally with diet, exercise, and other lifestyle changes. Let’s begin by looking at the thyroid hormone system as a whole as it pertains to metabolism and body weight issues.

The stimulation of metabolism actually begins in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus – the master hormone controller. The hypothalmus senses the need for more or less thyroid hormone production and when more is needed, it signals the pituitary gland to produce a hormone called TSH (you may have seen this hormone listed on a blood test for thyroid function). Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) does what it’s name suggests – it stimulates the thyroid gland to produce the inactive T4 hormone. When the inactive T4 hormone levels increase, it is taken up by the liver and converted to the active form of thyroid hormone, known as T3. The T3 hormone then acts on receptor sites on the cells of the body and causes the cells to produce more mitochondria, which can be thought of a microscopic power plants inside the cells. The mitochondria create energy for the cells (which when combined from millions of cells creates energy for the body as a whole) by burning stored sugar and fat.

When something goes wrong in the thyroid system, the body does not burn fat and sugar as much, so there is a tendency for weight gain. As the cells of the body are not procuding as much energy, a common symptom that develops is chronic fatigue. And because there is not sufficient energy for certain cellular functions, healing and tissue regeneration may be depressed – this is most commonly noticed as hair loss and brittle nails.

There are several possible reasons why the thyroid system might not work as well as it should. First, there may not be sufficient stimulation of the body to cause the hypothalamus to start the process. The primary stimulator of the thyroid system is exercise – primarily short bursts of intense exercise. In other words, for healthy thyroid function, it is more effective to do interval training in which you do repetetive bursts of intense activity with rest in between, than it is to do long periods of low-intensity exercise, but any form of exercise is helpful.

An additional potential problem is damage to the thyroid gland itself, which is most commonly due to infection or sometimes by radiation exposure. Radiation exposure could come from accidental or long-term occupational contact, or in some individuals, may have been intentional as a part of cancer treatment. In the case of actual thyroid damage, some type of thyroid medication will usually be necessary to compensate.

Yet another possible problem in the thyroid system is poor conversion of the inactive T4 hormone to the active T3 hormone by the liver. This typically occurs with poor lifestyle – excessive alcohol and/or drug use, and/or bad diet (especially a diet high in fats and animal proteins). The functioning of the liver can usually be greatly enhanced through dietary approaches, and improved liver function will translate to more efficient activation of thyroid hormone.

The active T3 hormone can actually be blocked at the receptor sites on the body’s cells and cannot send the signal for the cells to build additional mitochondria, and metabolism becomes sluggish. This is a common side-effect of estrogen and estrogen-like chemicals. The most common sources of estrogen interference with thyroid hormone are birth control medications and estrogen replacement therapy. If you have experienced weight gain and other thyroid-related symptoms since starting on birth control or hormone replacement, you may wish to consult with your physician about other options.

Finally, the formation of mitochondria can be interfered with by the presence of certain chemicals. Sodium benzoate, a preservative found in many processed foods and beverages (especially soft-drinks) can damage the genetic material within the cells needed for mitochondrial formation. Here again, cleaning up the diet can be very beneficial to overall thyroid hormone function and the ultimate goal of weight control.

To sum things up, there are steps you can take to maximize the metabolism-stimulating effects of the thyroid. First, regular exercise is important, and interval-training is the most effective for thyroid stimulation. Next, avoid excessive alcohol consumption, avoid drugs and medications except for those that are absolutely necessary, and keep fat and protein intake to a moderate level so as not to overwork the liver. In addition, you may wish to consult with your doctor if you are using any kind of birth control or hormone replacement medication containing estrogen. Finally, avoid the preservative sodium benzoate in order to avoid interfering with the production of your cellular “power plants”, the mitochondria. The majority of the time, these measures will slowly help to correct thyroid hormone activity weight loss will follow naturally as your metabolism speeds up. In a few cases, medical treatment for thyroid damage may be needed, but simple lifestyle changes are often the most effective means of improving metabolism.

While it is tempting to believe that a magic pill or potion is all that you need to achieve natural weight loss, the hard truth is that losing weight is just not that simple in most cases. For the vast majority of people, a combination of exercise, changes in eating habits, and perhaps the use of appropriate natural weight loss aids will be needed in order to lose weight long-term.

There are many natural weight loss products available and additional ones come out all the time. Each promises to be nearly miraculous in it’s effects and people buy the latest and greatest weight loss aid with eager anticipation, hoping that it will finally be the answer to their weight problems. They want to believe that a pill, or a patch, or a tea, etc.. will be all they need to lose weight and that diet and exercise won’t be necessary (because dieting and exercising are difficult). Even though deep down they probably know that the latest weight loss miracle being hyped is no better than all the things they’ve tried before, they want to believe it will work, and so they buy it, only to be disappointed again.

Now this is not to say that natural weight loss aids are all completely worthless. The truth is, a lot of weight loss aids actually have the effects that their prooters claim. For example, hoodia gordonii (at least the real stuff) does seem to be a very effective appetite suppressant. So, if the main reason that you have trouble losing weight is because you have out of control hunger that makes you eat excssively, hoodia may be a big help. The problem is that most people are not overeating out of actual hunger. They may eat out of boredom, out of habit, out of a need to satisfy a craving, or out of a need to soothe some emotional issue they are dealing with, but they don’t eat out of hunger. Hoodia is not going to help you if you aren’t eating out of hunger.

Other natural weight loss aids may work by increasing the metabolic effects of diet and exercise. It kind of stands to reason that if you fail to incorporate diet and exercise the effects of these products will be pretty minor.

Some natural weight loss aids block the absorption of fat by the digestive tract and thereby lower the calories you absorb from each meal. While this does tend to help with weight loss, unless you stop eating everything except fat (which is not a good idea), you still are taking in other calories that, in excess, will be converted to fat AFTER they are absorbed from the digestive tract. For optimum results, again we see that a good eating plan and exercise are necessary.

At this point, you may have guessed that one of the primary points I am trying to make is that lsting natural weight loss, absolutely requires a healthy eating plan and regular exercise. No weight loss aid, natural or otherwise will by itself make you lose weight and keep it off. In fact, the ads for weight loss aids will usually state this very thing, even though it is in microscopic print at the bottom of the ad.

What it comes down to is that natural weight loss is built on a foundation of sensible diet and exercise. With a good diet and exercise program in place, you may get additional benefits from using one or more of the natural weight loss products on the market. But do your research to find a product that serves your particular needs. In other words, if you’re not overeating out of hunger, don’t buy an appetite suppressant. If you’re already minimizing your fat intake, don’t waste your money on a fat blocker.

Now, once you have your weight loss plan in place with your diet, exercise program, and whatever natural weight loss aids you choose to use, there’s one little thing that needs to happen for you to successfully lose weight. You have to stick to the program! If there’s one thing that renders the vast majority of natural weight loss efforts ineffective, it’s a lack of follow-through.

It has been my experience that very few people stick to a natural weight loss program consistently for more than two weeks at a time. Of course, some people may intermittently follow a weight loss program for months or years, but they get sidetracked over and over again and really are not consistent for more than one or two weeks in a row, so they never get any momentum and achieve their goals.

A new study that tested the relative effectiveness of several popular diet plans revealed a fascinating finding. The overall success rates of most of the currently popular diet programs were about the same. The success or failure of any given diet had little to do with what the approach was. In other words, low carb, low fat, calorie restriction, eating for blood type, etc., really didn’t matter. The thing that actually mattered was if the person consistently followed the program! To sum it up, it doesn’t matter so much what you do to lose weight (within reason), as much as it matters that you do it consistenty long-term!

To be able to stick to your natural weight loss program, it is critical that you take charge of your thoughts and emotions. A lot of different ways exist to get control over your own mind, and different ways have varying degrees of effectiveness from one person to the next. You can get a lot of help in this area with products from Anthony Robbins, Dr. Phil, and others, as well as through technologies like hypnosis, the Sedona Method and Emotional Freedom Technique. You may need to try several methods to find what works well for you.

Regardless of the approach you use, the true key to effective natural weight loss really has very little relationship to the hottest weight loss aid on the market, or the most recent diet book being promoted. The real secret is to choose a reasonable approach that includes diet, exercise (choose an exercise you are physically capable of doing – starting with advanced kickboxing if you’ve been a couch potato your whole life is not going to work!), and possibly one or more weight loss aids and then make that program a part of your daily life forever. And the way to make that happen is to take control of your mind and get your brain working with you rather than against you. Good luck!

Numerous effective, safe, natural weight loss systems are around that give sound diet and exercise advice and perhaps also give recommendations on natural weight loss aids. All of the good programs (and for that matter, even some of the bad ones) have their share of supporters and successful weight loss stories. But if there are good weight loss systems out there, what causes so many people to fail in their attempts to lose weight? How is it that some people get dramatic success in losing weight, yet the majority of others using the plan just can’t seem to make it work?

The main difference is whether or not the person follows-through on the program. It doesn’t matter how effective a weight loss program may be if you don’t follow-through on it for the long-term. Many who begin a natural weight loss plan will begin with high levels of motivation, but most lose focus quickly and cannot stay motivated for more than a couple of weeks and can’t seem to stick to the plan.

So what happens? Why does someone who has finally convinced him or herself that now is the time and they are going to do whatever it takes to lose weight and nothing is going to get in the way of accomplishing their weight loss goals, lose their motivation so quickly?

Actually, a lot of things can happen. Temptations arise. Other people can interfere. They run out of time and/or energy to eat right and exercise. Or, maybe they simply lose sight of the reasons they decided to try to lose weight in the first place.

One key to staying focused is to frequently think about your weight loss goals and what losing weight will mean to you. Most people don’t just decide they want to lose weight. There’s almost always some underlying motivation to try lose weight. Maybe it’s because they’re worried about their health. Maybe it’s because they can’t find clothes they like that fit them. Maybe it’s because they want to find a romantic partner and think that it will be easier if they look better. Perhaps they have grown tired of the fat jokes and people talking about their weight problems. There are probably as many reasons for wanting to lose weight as there are people who want to lose weight. The more clear you can get as to your real motivating factors to lose weight, the greater your chances are to stay motivated, floow-through, and be successful.

By focusing on the reason you want to lose weight on a consistent basis, you will tend to stay more motivated. I recommend writing down your underlying reason(s) for wanting to lose weight, but writing it in a way that it will boost your motivation. The most effective way for most people is to write yourself a negative to avoid and the associated positive to go after. For example, if you would like to wear nice clothes, but you have a lot of difficulty finding clothes you want to wear in your size, you could write something along the lines of, “I am highly motivated to do the things necessary to lose my excess weight so that I will not be restricted to wearing large-size clothing.”. I am thrilled to be getting my weight to where I can wear stylish, sexy clothes!”

Once you have your written motivation statement(s), place it someplace you’ll see it several times per day. Make sure to stop an read it each time you see it and really take the time to think about what you are reading – don’t just read the words, FEEL them!

As was discussed earlier, there are a lot of things that can get you off-track from your weight loss program, and there are many techniques for dealing with each of these influences. By figuring out what really motivates you to lose weight, and then making sure to remind yourself of your motivating factor(s) frequently, you’ll be better equipped to handle ALL of the interfering factors that might tend to prevent you from following-through. Natural weight loss is within your reach if you can get your mind working with you to achieve your goals!

While is is well-known that exercise is a necessity for effective weight loss, there is quite a bit of conflicting information as to what kind of exercise and how much of it will produce optimal fat burning. Experts often disagree as to what the “correct” exercise is for maximum weight loss. This disagreement is often due to a misinterpretation of research that only gives a part of the whole story. In addition, different individuals will actually benefit from different exercise programs, so universal exercise recommendations really cannot be made.

Let’s begin with what the current research on exercise physiology tells us. It is well-established that it takes approximately 30 minutes of any kind of exercise for the body to burn off its glycogen (stored sugar) reserves and begin burning fat. So, most experts recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise, and generally 60 minutes or more may be recommended to get a good amount of fat burning. Now, if you are going to be exercising for 30 to 60 minutes, or maybe more, what type of exercise would you be able to do for that length of time? It probably would have to be low to medium intensity. In other words, you’re probably not going to be able to run full speed or do any other type of high-intensity exercise for 30 to 60 minutes without a rest, unless you happen to be an elite athlete, and even then you’d be struggling. So, by default, the common recommendation for exercise to lose weight has been 30 to 60 minutes of low to medium intensity aerobic exercise. Aerobic translates to “in the presence of oxygen”, which in common language means that aerobic exercise is any type of activity that you can do without gasping for breath.

In recent years, some experts have changed their recommendations to using a more intense anaerobic (”without oxygen”) exercise program for weight loss. This would include things like intense weight lifting, and something called “interval training”. Interval training involves brief bursts of high intensity activity with periods of rest or low intensity activity in between. For instance, your could sprint at full speed for 30 to 60 seconds and once you were winded, you could walk at an easy pace for a couple of minutes until you could catch your breath, then repeat the cycle several more times.. Since this type of exercise is much more physically demanding, it is done over a much shorter overall workout period – perhaps 20 to 40 minutes (with half or more of that time being rest or low intensity activity), as compared to the 30 to 60 minutes of continuous activity as recommended for aerobic exercise. The question is, how do the two types of exercise compare in terms of their ability to promote fat burning?

The aerobic exercise promoters point to the research that was mentioned earlier that has shown that any exercise, no matter how intense requires at least 30 minutes to use up the body’s stored glycogen (the body will normally burn glycogen before it will burn fat) before fat burning can begin. So, they say, short periods of even highly intense exercise won’t burn much fat and is therefore not a good choice for promoting weight loss. But they are only seeing part of the story.

It is true that you must exercise for at least 30 minutes to begin to achieve fat burning – but that’s at the time you are exercising. Brief bursts of intense anaerobic exercise does something that even quite a lot of low to medium intensity aerobic exercise does not. Intense anaerobic exercise stimulates the production of growth hormone, which is a strong stimulator of fat burning. The thing is, the release of growth hormone triggered by intense anaerobic exercise comes 24 to 48 hours AFTER the exercise, and then it produces considerably more fat burning than is possible with all but extremely long periods of low to medium intensity aerobic exercise.

Because of this effect, most people will lose weight much more easily by doing shorter periods of more intense exercise. 20 to 40 minutes of heavy weightlifting, interval training (which could be done on foot, on a bicycle, swimming, kickboxing, etc.Any kind of activity in which there are periodic bursts of intense exertion interspersed with rest periods, or periods of low intensity activity is typically preferable in the long run for weight control than even long hours of lower intensity aerobic exercise.

Now, you’ll notice that I said “most people”. There is an exception to the rule. People under considerable stress, either emotional or physical, or both, in their daily lives are prone to overworked adrenal glands. The adrenal glands do a lot of things in the body, but with regards to weight loss, they produce two hormones. One hormone is cortisol, which promotes fat deposition in the lower abdomen. This is typically a saggy, pendulous fat held below the waistline. The other hormone the adrenals produce is adrenaline (also called epinephrine), which actually promotes fat burning. Since the adrenals produce cortisol which causes fat deposition and adrenaline which promotes fat burning, you might assume that these two hormones cancel each other out. Unfortunately, cortisol production can be carried out by a much longer time by the adrenal glands than can the production of adrenaline, so long-term, the effects of high cortisol production (deposition of fat in the lower belly), will overcome whatever fat burning might occur from the short-term adrenaline production.

The adrenals are influenced by physical stress as well as mental stress, so for someone who is under a lot of stress in general in his or her life, high-intensity exercise will only add to the total stress and will tend to make the adrenals produce a lot of cortisol, and therefore will tend to promote lower abdomen weight gain. Yes, you read that right – excessive exercise for someone under a lot of stress can actually cause that person to deposit MORE fat around the lower belly! This can result in the frustrating situation in which one exercises more and more and harder and harder to try to get rid of that lower abdomen stomach “pooch”, but never can seem to get rid of it. Because the intense exercise is stimulating more cortisol production, that person is fighting a losing battle. Because of this effect, it is recommended that people under a lot of stress and/or who have most of their weight held in the lower abdomen stick to relatively low intensity aerobic exercise. This kind of activity is usually helpful for controlling stress and reducing the level of cortisol, thereby making it easier to get rid of the deposition of fat around the lower abdomen.

I hope that this article has given you a better concept of how to maximize your exercise routine for the best possible weight loss results.

If you tend to hold excess weight in your lower belly – as what some people call a stomach “pooch”, you may be perpetuating the problem with your exercise program! Although exercise is an important part of any weight loss program, too much and/or the wrong kind of exercise for certain people can actually prevent them from losing their belly fat.

The adrenals are small glands that sit on top of the kidneys (”adrenal” translates to “on top of the kidney”). Alhough they are small, the adrenal glands are powerful organs and produce hormones involved in many functions. The most familiar of the adrenal horomones is probably adrenaline (also called epinephrine). As you are probably aware, adrenaline is produced in response to stress or fear and mobilizes the body for “flight or fight” responses by raising blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing, and by diverting blood flow to the muscles for fast action. Adrenaline also promotes the burning of fat for energy, so adrenal function can promote weight loss during short periods of physical or even emotional stress.

The adrenal glands produce another hormone that can promote weight gain though. This hormone is called cortisol, and it tends to cause the storage of fat in the lower abdomen. Unlike adrenaline which is produced for only short periods of time, the adrenal glands can produce cortisol long-term. This means that any fat-burning effects from adrenaline will be overcome in the long-run by the fat-storing effects of cortisol. From a survival standpoint, cortisol serves the purpose of providing emergency storage of fat for energy when the body is under stress for a long period of time. For human cultures in which the primary source of stress is physical stress, this fat storage can help keep people alive during extended periods of living under harsh conditions. The problem is, mental/emotional stress will elevate cortisol levels too, and for individuals who lead particularly stressful lives, the continued high cortisol levels will likely stimulate lower belly fat deposition.

So what does this have to do with exercise? Well, for someone who is under chronic emotional stress and whose adrenal glands are constantly overworked, their cortisol production is already high and their ability to produce adrenaline has been largely exhausted. If you add a lot of strenuous exercise into the mix, the result is more cortisol production. As the cortisol levels increase, there is a greater and greater tendency to store fat in the lower abdomen.

Many people in this situation who are determined to lose weight will see their inability to lose weight as an indication that they need to exercise harder and more often. These people may be able to continue to lose weight in general, because if you are burning more calories than you take in, you will lose weight, but they never are able to eliminate that lower belly fat. So they work out even harder, but the belly fat remains – and they become more and more fatigued and actually begin to lose strength in the muscles of the arms and legs.

Why would somone lose strength in the muscles in the arms and legs? Isn’t exercise supposed to build muscle? Well, cortisol not only stores fat in the lower abdomen, it also stimulates the breakdown of muscle and other tissue to use for immediate energy needs. So the more determined a person is to exercise away the belly fat, the more cortisol is produced, and as we said a moment ago, if you burn more calories than you take in, you will lose weight, only in this case the weight being lost is muscle and not fat!

The result is a downward spiral of fatigue, loss of muscle mass and strength, and sometimes the development of joint problems as the body eats it’s own tissues for energy – but there’s no reduction in that lower abdomen fat deposit that the body holds in reserve.

So what should a person with this problem do to lose that lower stomach “pooch”? Well, first of all it is important to figure out if you actually fall into this category, because with the exception of someone who has high cortisol production and overworked adrenals, vigorous exercise is still one of the most effective weight loss measures one can take.

Someone with a high cortisol problem will have a certain collection of signs and symptoms. First, as we’ve mentioned several times already, the excess weight is deposited almost exclusively in the lower abdomen. The weight would create a sagging area just below the waistline. As we’ve already stated, there may be loss of muscle in the arms and legs, and this might be visibly noticable, or it may manifest simply as an inability to build strength in these muscles. In addition, people with adrenal fatigue and high cortisol may have a collection of symptoms that could include chronic fatigue, cravings for salty foods, a need for caffeine or other stimulants just to stay awake during the day, swelling in the lower legs, dizziness when arising quickly from a seated position, numerous arthritic problems, cramps in the calves at night, and waking up frequently in the middle of the night.

If you do fall into this category of adrenal fatigue / high cortisol, exercise is still important, but you want the kind of exercise that helps you to handle stress, not exercise that creates additional stress. For someone with overworked adrenals, the best type of exercise is relatively low-intensity aerobic exercise for 30 to 60 minutes about 3 times per week. Aerobic exercise is activity you are able to do without becoming out of breath and without being totally exhausted afterwards. Among the options for this type of exercise are walking, bicycling, swimming, yoga, tai chi, and low-intensity aerobics. Exercising outdoors seems to be particularly beneficial for stress reduction, and subsequently cortisol reduction, at least when there are no extremes of temperature to deal with. Besides changing to a lighter form of exercise, nutritionally it is helpful to be careful to eat plenty of protein in order to spare muscle tissue. This is easily accomplished by most people, but if you’ve been drastically cutting calories to lose weight, you are probably actually working against yourself. To reduce muscle breakdown, 3 to 4 ounces of animal proteins from eggs, dairy, fish, meat, or poultry per meal (3 meals per day) is usually a good amount. If you are a vegan, just make sure to eat plenty of beans, nuts, seeds, and other high-protein foods. If you’ve been working out like crazy to try to get rid of that belly fat, but all you’ve managed to accomplish was feeling tired, weak, and sore, by reducing the intensity of your workouts and controlling stress better, you’ll likely find that the belly fat gradually shrinks away and you’ll look and feel great!

Sciatica exercises are an important part of both short and long-term treatment, but it is critical to choose the right exercises. Even commonly-recommended exercises for sciatica may not be indicated during times of severe acute symptoms, and some exercises may only make things worse.

For example, while commonly recommended to people with sciatica, exercises such as hamstring stretches and the yoga position, “downward facing dog” can be beneficial as part of managing one’s condition once the pain is reduced, these exercises can place tension on the sciatic nerve and aggravate an already inflamed and sensitive condition. In general, any exercise that causes pain to increase in the leg and/or extend further down the leg should be completely avoided during the acute phase of sciatica.

During the acute phase of sciatica pain, McKenzie exercises provide one of the best and safest treatment approaches available – more effective than medication and epidural steroid injections in many people. Though often associated with spinal extension and mistakenly called the “McKenzie Extension Exercises”, McKenzie method may involve any number of spinal positions/movements. The whole point of the McKenzie method is to evaluate different positions/exercises to find what best produces “centralization” of symptoms.

McKenzie practitioners use the word “centralization” when the pain and other symptoms are relieved in the areas the greates distance away from the spine. To give an example, in a person with sciatica all the way down the leg to the foot, centralization might occur in which the pain left the foot and lower leg and then only extended down to the knee. Or, if sciatica symptoms started out going as far as the knee, centralization would be if the symptoms left the thigh and only went as far as the hip area.

A position or exercise that results in symptom centralization is one that will be beneficial, even in situations where symptoms increase for a time in areas closer to the spine. For example, if you had sciatica and low back pain and tried one of of the McKenzie exercises and the sciatica completely went away but the back pain got worse, the exercise would still be considered beneficial and it would be recommended to continue using it. In the long run, a sciatica exercise that produces centralization will usually eventually result in improvement in all symptoms, even if more central (closer to the spine) symptoms get worse at first.

The simplest of the McKenzie exercises for alleviating sciatica is done by simply lying on one’s stomach on the floor or a firm surface and propping one’s chest up on the elbows. This places the lower spine in a gentle extension, which can help relieve sciatica by pushing bulging spinal discs forward, and away from the nerve roots that form the sciatic nerve, reducing pressure and irritation. Although you can maintain this position for relatively long periods of time, I recommend doing it for short periods of one or two minutes with a rest break of at least a few minutes in between. The frequent breaks prevent the low back muscles from tightening up as much, and yet still allows for good overall results. For more complex sciatica exercises, getting detailed instructions either through an illustrated guide or an experienced health care practitioner is advised.

The Curtain Raiser After an unforgettable encounter in Anfield two weeks ago, the stage was set for another classic in the second leg match between arch-rivals Chelsea and Liverpool. Last week, the Stamford Bridge side beat Liverpool away from home through the heroics of Branislav Ivanovic. The stand-in defender scored a double last time out which helped Chelsea defeat the 5-time European Champions away from home 3-1. This meant that Liverpool had quite a task in their hands and in order to win the tie, would have to do something similar to their Istanbul comeback two years ago. Liverpool were already branded as comeback kings after making a habit of scoring goals during the last quarter of games which meant that not even Chelsea fans were counting them out just yet. Both captains were unable to take part in the game as Chelsea skipper John Terry was suspended, while Liverpool main man Steven Gerrard failed a late fitness test. The First Half Not even half an hour had gone and Liverpool was already on the verge of yet another sensational comeback. Chelsea’s defence had not been as formidable as it was a few years ago, and questions had been asked whether goalkeeper Petr Chech was still the best in the world. The absence of Terry did not help their cause as their weakness in set pieces was yet again exposed. Fabio Aurelio scored from more than 30 yards out through a cheeky free kick that fooled Chech in the 19th minute. Branislav Ivanovic, the hero from the first leg, gave away a penalty in the 28th minute, which Xabi Alonso converted emphatically. Suddenly it was Liverpool who had the momentum with the aggregate score being 3-3. Chelsea was ahead only on away goals and another goal from Liverpool in the second half would complete the upset. The Second Half It looked like Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink gave his boys the hairdryer treatment during the break as the Blues came out with an invigorated spirit in the second half. The team showed their character by scoring six minutes into the half through Didier Drogba, who was showing glimpses of why he used to be, and probably still is one of the most feared strikers in the world. Stand-in captain Frank Lampard scored again in the 76th minute which calmed Chelsea nerves as they looked to be home and dry. However, Liverpool were not going out without the fight as they scored another two goals in two minutes courtesy of Lucas and Dirk Kuyt. The aggregate score was now 6-5 and it was going to be a nervous last 10 minutes for Chelsea as they knew that another Liverpool goal would send them crashing out. It was Drogba again who was key as he linked up with strike partner Nicolas Anelka to set up Frank Lampard with his second, and the goal that would finally end all hopes for Liverpool in the 89th minute. Final aggregate score: Chelsea 7, Liverpool 5. Chelsea will now be facing Spanish champions Barcelona in a fortnight’s time. The Catalan side defeated Bayern Munich 5-1 on aggregate to setup another memorable date with the Blues.