Archive for March, 2008

Cycling & Burning Fat

Published
by
Dr. Gould
on March 12, 2008
in Cincinnati Chiropractors, Fitness and Wellness 101
. 0 Comments

armstrong-_7.bmpOne of the wonderful things about living in the Cincinnati area, are all the available bike trails. Two of my favorites, the Loveland Bike Trail and the Lunken Bike Trail.  Cycling is an ideal exercise because it’s easy on the knees and lower back. Of course, I’m excluding mountain biking in this conversation. 

Cycling allows you to use the large muscles in your legs which create a significant demand on the heart and lungs.  Over time, if you understand proper training techniques, you can greatly expand your aerobic capacity, plus it is a wonderful way of Burning Fat!

Simply put, your body has two fuel choices, sugars and fats. 

I’d like to teach you the secret of burning fat.  To burn fat you have to get your heart rate into a range that is specific for YOU! Ones size does not fit all.  Everybody is different! 

So how do you figure this out?  There are several ways, this I have found to be the easiest.  220 - (your age) X 70%= Your Target Heart Rate.  Let’s say you are 30 years old.  Here is how the calculation would go 220 - 30 X 70%= 133.  So if you were 30 years old, your target rate would be 133 beats per minute.  This is basically 70% of your maximum heart rate for your age.  When your heart is beating in this zone your body’s chooses fat as a fuel.  When your heart rate exceeds this your body chooses sugar as a fuel. We do not want this!

Ideally, you would slowly bring (over a period of 5 to 10 minutes) your heart rate up to your target rate.  Once you achieve your target rate, the longer you stay there the better.  Start out slow maybe 12 minutes.  Over time work up to 15 minutes.  Soon you will be doing 45 minutes to an hour. 

I always advise my Wellness Clients to buy a Heart Rate Monitor. In my opinion Polar Heart Monitors are the best.  The heart monitor becomes an invaluable tool. I call it my coach.  It will let you know when you are above or below your target rate.  It also helps you to create a target zone.  Bottom line, it makes doing this EASY!

If you are looking to burn fat I’ve just given you the recipe.  If you have questions or would like more information please leave a comment below or e-mail me.

Helping you to be all that you can be!

Dr. Gould

Posture and Pain

Published
by
Dr. Gould
on March 2, 2008
in Cincinnati Chiropractors and Mid Back Pain
. 0 Comments

anterior-weight-bearing.jpgThe only true-business-card we have is our posture. Think about that statement. Typically, what is the first thing you notice about someone? Their posture! It’s true, our posture is the one element that makes the Strongest First Impression. Not only does it impact what others think about us but more importantly, it impacts our own Physiology and our Psychology. It effects how we breath, how we feel and our mood. Think of a depressed person’s posture. Their head is down and their shoulders are slumped.

Our daily posture, to a large degree will determine how the structural components (skeletal system and joints) of our body ages. Let me explain why. Maintaining a good posture allows the weight of our head and upper body to be placed on the bony part of our spine. This weight gets transferred into our pelvic area then into the seat pan of a chair if we are sitting or down our legs into the floor if we are standing. Because of this fact, good posture requires very little muscular effort.

Conversely, poor daily posture creates a variety of problems. These problems occur due to the body adapting to the postures we maintain at work, home or leisure. Any posture that we regularly maintain for a prolonged period of time our body will adapt to. Specifically, it is our ligaments that adapt. Some shorten and others lengthen. When this happens the weight of our body gets transferred improperly. Over time our posture begins to change. The most common change is called anterior weight bearing. There is a forward shift of the head (See picture). If this is not corrected over time the mid back will become prominent. Because of this, these people develop chronic upper back pain.

So go look in the mirror. Better yet, look at some recent photos of yourself. Now that you have a better understanding about posture, are you pleased at what you see? There are many factors that contribute to poor posture. The majority are correctable over time. As a chiropractor, I have an acute awareness that a person’s posture is actually a window to their spine. If you feel your posture could use some work, give me a call and let’s begin.

Yours in Health!

Dr. Gould