My Pyramid

The recommended dietary intake has evolved over the years from the Four Basic Food Groups, to the Food Guide Pyramid, to the latest My Pyramid guidelines.

My Pyramid follows the same basic concepts as the Food Guide Pyramid. However, it is customized to each individual based on gender, age, height, weight, and physical activity level. Get your own personalized food plan by visiting mypyramid.gov.

http://www.mypyramid.gov

DOMS

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) can set in 2-48 hours after exercise. DOMS often occurs after very vigorous exercise or when trying something new. As your body adapts to specific exercises that are done consistently, you will notice that the after-exercise soreness will lessen.

How to reduce DOMS?

• Stretch well immediately after exercising, while your muscles are still warm
• Stretch your muscles 2-3 times a day after exercising
• Massage
• Ibuprofen or other pain reliever/anti-inflammatories

Extreme cases of DOMS may require additional rest. However, generally, moderate exercise, even when sore, is okay and can actually increase the blood flow to your muscles to decrease stiffness and promote healing.

Goal Setting

It is important to have fitness goals to give you something to work towards. Here are some tips for effective goal setting:

1. Make sure your goals are realistic. If you’ve never run a mile, it is probably unrealistic to set a goal to run a marathon next month. However, a 5K may be perfect. Take into account your current fitness level, where you would like to be, and what it will take to get there.
2. Make a plan & be specific. Rather than just stating that “I am going to get in better shape,” create a plan for how you are going to do it. Setting, dates, times and activities on your calendar can help make your plans more solid.
3. Involve your family & friends. Asking your family and friends to encourage you can be great motivation when you “just don’t feel like it.” And, if you can involve your family or friends in your exercise plans—even better!
4. Celebrate your accomplishments! When creating your fitness plan, don’t forget to set milestones and rewards. Keep in mind that rewards do not necessarily need to involve food or money. For example, a reward could simply be taking time for yourself to do something you enjoy—reading a book, watching a movie, going out with a friend, or whatever!

Caloric Balance

Whether you gain, lose, or maintain your weight most often comes down to your caloric balance, or how many calories are consumed compared to the calories burned each day.

• If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight.
• If you burn more calories than you consume, you should lose weight.

Keep in mind that in addition to calories burned through exercise, your body requires a certain amount of calories every day just to function. This is known as your basal metabolism.

For more information about finding the right balance for you, go to http://www.mypyramid.gov/STEPS/stepstoahealthierweight.html

Components of Fitness

There are Five Components of Fitness:

1. Cardio: ability of your heart to sustain physical activity over time
2. Muscular Strength: how much you can lift or move at one time
3. Muscular Endurance: how long your muscles can sustain a contraction or activity
4. Flexibility: how flexible your joints and muscles are
5. Body Composition: % of body fat to lean body mass (bones, muscle, tissue)

To be wholly fit it is important to take into account all five areas of fitness when setting goals or choosing workouts. For example, if Jack regularly runs long distances but does not stretch, strength train, or eat well, he may have a higher level of cardiovascular fitness, but his overall fitness level may be poor.

Try to include all components of fitness for a well-rounded exercise and nutrition plan.

Interval Training

Interval Training involves alternating bursts of high intensity exercises (1-4 minutes) with lower intensity activities (active recovery). For runners, speed training, is a form of interval training.

The benefits of interval training include:

• Increased calorie burn. The high-intensity intervals increase the heart rate and amount of calories burned. Even during active recovery, when you are performing lower intensity exercises, your heart rate remains higher overall and you burn more calories overall.
• Increased muscle fatigue and faster results. The high-intensity intervals fatigue your muscles more rapidly, meaning you have to work harder, even during lower intensity movements. This leads to more rapid results.
• Decreased time. Adding bursts of intensity decreases the amount of time you must work to equal the same results as a longer, moderate-intensity workout.

Weight Loss Tips

If weight loss is your goal, here are some tips to losing weight safely:

• 1-2 pounds per week is considered a safe weight loss goal
• Programs that promise rapid weight loss are often dehydrating and generally unhealthy
• A regular exercise program AND a healthy, moderate diet are both necessary for healthy weight loss
• Cardiovascular exercise is important for calorie burn and weight loss (it is also great for your heart!)
• Strength training increases your lean muscle mass, which increases your metabolism—causing you to burn more calories even while at rest!