Personal Trainer Secrets Issue Mar 26 2007

Fitness Article of the Week
The Benefits of Encouraging Your Employees to Exercise

The secret to a successful company or business, of course, is happy and efficient employees. The main benefit of encouraging your employees to stay fit are the health benefits afforded by regular exercise. People who get regular exercise have greatly reduced risks of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and other ailments; with this reduction in health problems for your staff, you will see markedly less absenteeism in the office.

Not only is exercise beneficial to the employees, but healthy employees are exceptionally beneficial to the company, as well. With the encouragement of physical activity in your employees, you will observe lowered health insurance costs and better performance on the part of the employee and thus, the business establishment. Lowered health insurance costs mean the business has fewer expenditures and increased productivity, and thus more income.

Seeing this direct cost benefit, many companies now have internal fitness centers and exercise programs so their employees can routinely get a good dose of exercise and physical activity. Businesses with insufficient funding or space to offer their own fitness centers tend to offer their employees discounted memberships for health clubs so that the employees can still maintain a daily exercise routine.

Employees who perform a regular exercise routine tend to be more energetic than sedentary employees. With this extra energy, it is possible for the employee to not only solve more problems, but also to solve problems much more efficiently. They can come to solutions much more quickly, as their brains are always refreshed and working on new solutions.

An employee on an exercise routine is also better able to meet deadlines, and minimize the effects of stress in their life. This allows them to think faster, and remember more things much more efficiently. In fact, these employees generally view life’s daily activities as less of a chore, and more like a source of entertainment.

Employees who get regular exercise are generally more relaxed, which also means more sound and restful sleep. They have no difficulty falling asleep most nights, and this in turn helps reduce muscular tension in the body. Only those with a regular exercise routine can experience the restorative effects of relaxation after a workout. In fact, research is proving that one of the best things a depressed person can do is exercise. With exercise, the depression an employee may be experiencing is reduced or removed and you can see an almost immediate elevation of their mood.

Some employees may be hesitant to begin an exercise program, as they are generally not very athletic or coordinated. However, once they begin a daily exercise routine, they discover that they can indeed work out successfully. One reason is that with a regular exercise routine, they gain muscle tone and strength, as well as improve their stamina and emotional feelings. With this increased self confidence, employees find exercise a sustaining force that helps them continue following the program.

In addition to all these benefits, employees who exercise meet new people while working out and develop new acquaintances and friendships. In fact, over a period of time, employees tend to look forward to their exercise time so they can meet up with their exercise buddies.

Regular exercise also improves the employee’s family relationships. Being physically fit, the employee can now take a walk with the family or a bike ride with their children and spend more quality time with the family.

Overall, employees who get regular exercise experience improved health and a stronger work ethic. They also have greater confidence and stronger family relationships. All this directly and indirectly contributes to better work on the part of the employee and increased productivity for the business.

For more information on this or other health-related subjects contact Scott White at swhite@personalpowertraining.net for other supplement and multivitamin resources.

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Featured Exercise
Shoulder Exercises

Every weight trainer has his or her favorite exercises for each body part, which is as it should be. As you continue to study and learn about the effects of exercise on your body, you will come to understand what works best for you. It is useful, however, to note your progress every once in a while and analyze where you are and what changes in your routine are needed for you to move onward and upward.

Part of this analysis should include an assessment of the core exercises that make up your bodybuilding training program. The shoulders are among the most difficult parts of the body to train, for several reasons. For one thing, the shoulder, or deltoid, is comprised of three heads: the anterior (front), the medial (middle), and the posterior (rear). Because of this, there is no single exercise that optimally works the entire shoulder.

Shoulder workouts must incorporate a variety of exercises, combined with correct body position, which is where many people err when it comes to shoulder exercises. As with all weight training, using good form is very important to avoid shoulder injuries.

The following exercises are examples of moves that target the shoulders, the front, middle, and rear deltoids, as well as the rotator cuff muscles. All exercises should be performed to failure with one set of six to eight reps. Use enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired number of sets. Make sure you warm up with light cardio before lifting, and stretch between sets.

Reverse flys: While sitting, bend over and hold the dumbbells straight down; raise them up to your sides without bending your elbows; then lower.
Dumbbell press: Similar to a bench press, you lie on the bench and press up, using dumbbells.
Dumbbell shrug: Stand holding dumbbells to your sides; elevate your shoulders as high as possible; lower and repeat.
Front raise: Hold the dumbbells in front of your thighs with your palms in a neutral position, raise your arms in front of your body with out bending your elbows; then lower the weights.
Lateral raise: Holding the dumbbells in front of your thighs with the top of each dumbbell pointed away from you, lift your arms up by your sides with out bending them; then lower your arms.
Overhead press: While holding a barbell on your shoulders in front of your neck, press it upward; then slowly lower it again.
Seated dumbbell press: While sitting on a bench, keep each arm bent 90 degrees at the side, holding a dumbbell in each hand, pronated. Push your arms straight up until fully extended. Never allow your arm angle to be less than 90 degrees at any stage of movement.
Shoulder rotation: Keep your arm straight down while holding a dumbbell, and rotate your shoulder in a circular motion.
Upright row: While holding a barbell in front of your thighs, raise it, keeping it in front of your chest and bending your elbows; then lower.

Ask Scott White | Personal Trainer

Question
Every time I go to the gym, I seem to be the only one without a pair of headphones. I find most Music at the gym annoying, and definitely don’t want to have anything plugged right into my ears. Why is everyone always listening to music? Is there some sort of benefit to listening to music while you exercise?

Scott Responds

While what works for some will never work for everyone, Music can be a great motivator during exercise. The reason is that it lets you shut out the outside world of conversations and noises, enabling you to better focus on your workout, as recent research indicates. In a way, it is a creative distraction because music’s blocking of all the external noises facilitates better mental relaxation so the person working out may not feel the strain of the exercise as much as they might in a tuneless atmosphere.

In fact, this may be the greatest magic effect of music in enhancing a workout. On the other hand, if a person working out is distracted by the discomforts of exercise, it is very likely that he/she may hold back from exerting more energy or trying new things in their workout process. In most of the cases, it is the physical strain that disinterests people from continuing the exercise regimes directed by their trainers or gym instructors.

Some Music therapy research points out that stimulating music actually increases muscle tension, explaining, for example, why people often are able to perform chest presses more easily while listening to fast music than anything sedative or slow. A few studies also claim that music has close links with stimulating motor functions.

Another hypothesis to support music during workouts says that any music – fast, slow, or simply soothing – if it catches the person’s attention, will automatically bring him/her into a happy and positive mood, which is critical in ensuring that he/she works out as productively as possible. According to the latter theory, it is not necessarily the fast, hip-hop type of music that always gets results, but the one that is the most comfortable and soothing for an individual. Buy a Music Player Now!

One more aspect about music during workouts is that music should match the rhythm and pace of the workout, so as the workout shifts, it’s a good idea to change the music tracks accordingly. The basic thought process behind this is quite simple: if fast music helps make running on a treadmill pleasurable, the same track may not come handy while you are doing chest presses, as the basic rhythm or frequency of these two types of exercise are entirely different. However, this aspect may vary from individual to individual, and is largely a matter of personal choice.

Finally, do not play music so loudly, or listen to it so dedicatedly, that you forget to take note of the stress the workout is putting on your body. Like anything, it is always harmful to overdo it, so if the music playing into your headphones becomes a hindrance to your senses, you may need to think again about your music choice and volume.

Obviously, incorporating music into their workouts is not for everyone, but the benefits are quite noteworthy. Nevertheless, the benefits of listening to music while you exercise exist only when you use it effectively and intelligently. It should not be seen a blinder, shielding your senses from reality. Buy a Music Player Now!

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