If you are like most it’s never fun to hear the alarm clock first thing in the morning to get up and go to work. And quite possibly, if you’re like most, you certainly don’t have time to prepare a proper lunch to take to work. This means you are either: skipping lunch (maybe breakfast also), consuming processed food in a restaurant or some convenience item you thought to grab, or eating an unbalanced snack of quick ready to eat whole foods. In any of these situations you are creating metabolic turmoil. Skipping meals is an easy way to destroy muscle mass in a hurry and ruin your metabolism. The only thing worse is consuming heavily processed food that creates free radical havoc and leads to hyperinsulinemia (ongoing elevated blood glucose levels) the lovely precursor leading to type II diabetes.

The second way you will ruin your metabolism today is by remaining dehydrated. (You have no doubt already been dehydrated for days or weeks.) Chances are you will make it even worse by consuming caffeinated beverages and engaging in stressful situations from work conflict to rush hour traffic. All combined has a pronounced effect on elevating cortisol (our primary stress hormone) and reducing our ability to produce the recovery hormones like estrogen/testosterone and growth hormone. This in itself has direct links to conditions such as depression. However it is also easily avoidable by avoiding caffeine, artificial sweeteners and consuming 12+ glasses of filtered water each day.

Adam helps Sue with another great workout!

To top it all off you will get home and simply feel you need to unwind from it all, you will be too tired to exercise (which fatigue is a symptom of increased physiological stress and chronic dehydration.) Now as the evening winds down most of us dread the coming of the next day so we procrastinate going to bed and turn to late night television or other forms of entertainment as a distraction from stress effectively inhibiting our ability to have a restful sleep. I don’t recall the exact numbers but the average person working full time accumulates hundreds of hours of sleep debt each year. Missing sleep damages our circadian health, which combined with physiological stress has a further disastrous effect on hormone production. Our body must progress through all the stages of sleep three times each night for optimal repair hormone release. If you sleep less than 7 hours and wake up at all during that time it’s safe to say you will experience the next day unrecovered. Unfortunately this effect is cumulative, so you can begin paying the debt now, or wait until you break down.

Thankfully you can’t unravel your health in just one 24 hour period, and thankfully your body is so resilient that even with everything you have already put your body through with lifestyle changes much of the damage already done can be undone. So even though unknowingly you woke up this morning determined to ruin your metabolism you now have the simple tools to alter your course in history and begin to experience increased health and vitality.

Scroll to the bottom to see how massage therapy has changed at One-to-1 Fitness!

Massage therapy is a very important aspect of your personal health and fitness program. Experts estimate that as much as 90% of disease is related to the effects of stress. (Physiological, physical and emotional) When combined with exercise and balanced consistent nutrition massage therapy can have a very dramatic effect on the reduction of stress of all kinds. Additionally, it has been well documented that specific physiological and chemical changes occur within the body following a massage treatment.

Some of the most common and immediate results of massage therapy include:

• Alleviation of chronic pain and an increased range of motion.
• Dramatic short term improvement to posture when combined with individualized exercise.
• A strengthened immune system through the stimulation of lymph flow.
• Significant increased physical performance in any activity.
• Increased health of the body’s largest organ, your skin.
• Increased joint health, stability and flexibility.
• Relief from symptoms of depression and anxiety.
• Promoting regeneration and healing, injuries heal with less scar tissue or stretch marks.
• Improving circulation by enhancing blood flow.
• Significant increase to weight loss and metabolic rate by encouraging hormonal cascade.
• Reduction of post surgery swelling.
• Relieve headaches and many forms of pain by encouraging endorphin release.

Research continues to show enormous benefit to the regular use of massage therapy and the medical community is beginning to actively embrace and promote its use. Below are more examples of situations where massage therapy has had a profound impact.

• No surprise, arthritis sufferers report a reduction in aches, pains and stiffness when regular massage therapy has been implemented.
• Asthmatics show better pulmonary function and increased peak air flow.
• Burn patients report that pain, itching and anxiety subside faster with regular massage therapy.
• High blood pressure patients have shown decreases in diastolic blood pressure and stress hormones.
• Women experiencing PMS have shown less water retention and cramping with regular massage.

Compliment your health and wellness even further with the synergism of Far Infrared Therapy.

One of the fastest growing health therapies in North America, Far Infrared Therapy (FIR) has strong synergism with the effects of exercise and massage therapy.

Far Infrared therapy expands capillaries which stimulates increased blood flow, regeneration, circulation and oxygenation. A powerful compliment to the similar effects from exercise and massage therapy.

An excellent method of detoxification. Scientists in Japan report that in the FIR treatment of clogged capillary vessels initiates the start of a process to dissolve hidden toxins. Far Infrared thereby promotes elimination of fats, chemicals and toxins from the blood: Poisons, carcinogenic heavy metals – toxic substances from food processing – lactic acid, free fatty acids, and subcutaneous fat associated with aging and fatigue – excess sodium associated with hypertension – and uric acid which causes pain. Furthermore, if sebaceous glands are activated, accumulated cosmetics in pores can be eliminated through the skin (sweat and oil glands) rather than by the kidneys. FIR also promotes the killing of many pathogenic (disease causing) bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites.

Far Infrared stimulates enzyme activity and metabolism. One hour in the FIR cabin burns more than 900 calories by raising the metabolism and body temperature. In addition to burning fat calories FIR light waves have also been shown to break down cellulite.

A strong synergism also exists between exercise, massage and FIR therapy in the rebuilding of injured tissue. This is accomplished by having a positive effect on the fibroblasts (connective tissue cells necessary for the repair of injury). Furthermore, it increases growth of cells, DNA syntheses, and protein synthesis all necessary during tissue repair and regeneration. Excellent for healing burns, scar tissue and skin problems.

By stimulating increased production of white blood cells (leukocytes), Far Infrared strengthens the Immune system with its direct effect on the bone marrow and killer T-cells of the thymus.

Far Infrared therapy will further enhance cardiovascular fitness without additional cardio exercise. This occurs as an increase in heart rate and cardiac output and a decrease of diastolic blood pressure. Extensive research by NASA in the early 1980′s led to the conclusion that far infrared stimulation of cardiovascular function would be the ideal way to maintain cardiovascular conditioning in American astronauts during long space flight.

One-to-1 Fitness now offers early morning and evening massage appointments. Get in for a treatment before or after work with ease with booking starting at 6AM!

If you read the information above you no doubt see the value in regular massage and FIR therapy. Not only does One-to-1 Fitness now have the best massage availability we also have the best rates.

• 30 minute treatments for less than $32.00 and full hour treatments for less than $50.00!

• Infrared Therapy for as little as $14.00/month!

Online booking coming soon!

Generally when it comes to fitness and weight  loss there are plenty of reasons to improve our lifestyle but for most, if not all of us, our desire for improved appearance seems to dwarf the others. Our skewed ideals make us forget that by crash dieting, making drastic changes in activity, or restricting ourselves to the point of semi-starvation we may achieve short term success at the cost of long term health. It doesn’t have to be this way, when your body is working with great efficiency it will generally dictate to you what it needs more and less of. Overeating is very difficult to do if you are consuming quality food with an efficient metabolism. Metabolic efficiency is not that difficult to improve you just have to be aware of the key factors that tend to make us less efficient.

1)      Toxicity – Our world is toxic. Our industrialized society creates constant toxic physiological overload beginning with the home we live in. Our paint, our floors, the insulation in the walls, you name it our physical environment alone is enough for most of us to be in a state of toxic physiological overload. If you consume any alcohol at all or feel the least bit stressed this effect is further increased. Time and time again this is one of the largest factors preventing people from seeing immediate weight loss results when they begin to add exercise and improved nutritional habits. To begin to detoxify one of the best practices is to drink more water and get additional rest. These are two prominent natural recovery mechanisms your body uses to detoxify. Beyond these the next step is to consider additional detoxification treatment such as Far Infrared Sauna or many of the popular detox supplement programs available.

2)      Dehydration – I’ve talked about it a number of times, but it’s more than just common it is an epidemic. Statistically an overwhelming percentage of our population is dehydrated. Chances are if you are in a room full of people right now; everyone, including you, is in some stage of mild to severe dehydration. Dehydration even in its mildest form saps vital resources severely compromising our immune system. Consume at least 3L of filtered water per day and avoid caffeinated and carbonated beverages. Mood and energy both become more stable once we reach and maintain an adequate level of hydration.

3)      Improper Food Balance – This is one we could argue about all week, but your body is so smart it has all the answers, you just need to listen. I’ve discussed many different ratios and the logic behind over the years, I’ve also discussed listening to your body based on the science of metabolic typing. In many ways a holistic approach would dictate we must listen to our bodies. After all our whole objective is to “feel” good. Adjust your food based on how you feel about 60-90 min after a meal. If you feel any negative energy cues (ie. Fatigue, jitters, anxiety, cravings, etc) these are indicators of needing more or less carbs, protein or fat(for initial adjustments protein and fat should be considered as one and the same). Simply begin by adjusting one component of your next meal until you find you are having an improved post-meal feeling. I know it’s not the immediate answer you were hoping for but it will give you the awareness to change for a life time.

4)      Exercise – Use resistance exercise for at least 20 minutes, 2-3 days per week and perform any form of cardio activity for at least 20-30 minutes an additional 2-3 days per week. These two things with moderate effort will be the catalyst that brings it all together.

These four elements, seemingly over simplified, truly are the key to avoiding a compromised immune system. Maintaining great lifestyle habits like the above will undoubtedly help you avoid cold, flu, H1N1 and many other forms of illness you will no doubt be in contact with every day. Well the above and good hygiene, I’m going to wash my hands, you should to.