The average man pays less attention to his health than the average woman. Compared to women, men are more likely to

• drink alcohol and use tobacco
• make risky choices
• not see a doctor for regular checkups

Men are assailed by the diseases that can affect anyone—heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, depression… But they also have unique issues such as prostate cancer and benign prostate enlargement.

Many of the major health risks that men face can be prevented with a healthy lifestyle: 

• regular exercise
• a healthy diet
• not smoking
• stress reduction
• and alcohol consumption in the moderate range (no more than two drinks a day) if at all.

So why is exercise important for men’s health?

Men have a lower life expectancy than women. In Australia, men have an average life expectancy of 79 years, compared to 84 years for women. Men also suffer more illness than their female counterparts.

Exercise plays a vital role in keeping Aussie blokes healthier, happier and alive for longer.

WHY IS EXERCISE IMPORTANT?

Regular physical activity helps to maintain a healthy body weight and reduce the risk of many chronic conditions and injuries. 

Despite the benefits, less than half of men aged 18–64 are sufficiently active. This number drops to 1 in 4 for men aged over 65. In addition, 7 in 10 Australian males are overweight or obese, increasing their risk of chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and cancers.

But it isn’t just your physical health that benefits from regular exercise.Regular checkups and screening tests can spot disease early, when it is easiest to treat.

So don’t be an average man — get on board with protecting your health today.

I’m bringing this up this month as it’s been really interesting to note that those who keep up their exercise when they experience, say a bad knee or a shoulder pain, fair better than those who don’t. So why is that?

Exercise is not just for one body part – you know that! And it is not just about gaining muscle or losing a couple of kilo’s, you know that too! We have a saying that everyone who walks in, should walk out happier – well at least with a buoyed mood space, that being one example that exercise boosts your mood. But it is not only that, if you stop exercising completely then you start losing the gains you made. And on top of that you start to lose muscle mass. 

Injuries are inevitable, we are human. We often become reluctant as we don’t won’t to hurt ourselves further or reactivate an injury. However the longer you stay away, the more reluctant you become and inertia sets in. However frequent and low intensity exercise is important be it walking, cycling, swimming or coming to the studio for some light mobility, stretching or strength work.

Key is always seeking professional support and we have a wonderful network of allied health professionals and likely you already have someone you like. And discussing variations or alternatives so as not to affect the injured area. Strength training with weights is one of them – What?? But it does keep up strength and our endurance.

A good example is an injured knee or ankle. So as long as you can make it through the door, we’d be having a seated session with you. Possibly doing rows, lifting weights, utilising bands or balls. And key to all this is to not rush the process, do your homework given to your allied health if that is the case, keep motivated and stay focussed on recovery.

What are the key points to consider?

Keep communication lines open with your trainer. The first step to take is to redesign your current program until able to resume. Research has shown that those who stay positive throughout their rehabilitation will increase the rate of recovery. Therefore, instead of using it as an excuse or as an obstacle, use this time to focus on any weaknesses you may have.

If you have an injury now, or one in the future, don’t give up, keep going. We see the benefits of those who keep going vs those who don’t and the road to recovery is longer. Keep on exercising!

You may not always appreciate nature each and every day but Mother Nature is our connection to all things on earth and research has shown that being in nature has huge benefits, one big one being our mental and physical health.

I recently finished reading Lost Connections by Johann Hari (it will be in my Top 10 this year). And there is a direct correlation that those who experience more greenery/nature, where they live, are happier people. And then exercise lifts our mood let alone all the benefits of a strong, healthy body.

No surprise there right, being outdoors and exercising it almost a perfect match! And it is where we get the most joy. What about you?

How good does it feel to be outside with trees, flowers, birds, animals, insects, blue or grey sky, clouds, rain, wind, snow, the sun on your skin or fresh cold air to breath in. And then adding in exercising at the same time it couldn’t be better.

So here are our Top 5 things to do that conquer all 3 of our wishes for you – Fitness, Health & Happiness. Happy Easter…

1. Taking a walk or hike – along a river, on the beach, in a park with lots of trees, up a mountain, over rocks, wild grasses
2. Ride a bike – along a river, on a bike path like Merri Creek, up a mountain – alone or with friends
3. Go for a swim – in a river, at the beach or at an outdoor pool
4. Go for a run – along a river, around an oval, around the streets or a park. The tan around Melbourne’s Botanical Gardens is a beautiful place to run.
5. A picnic lunch with a ball or frisbee – unpack the blanket on the grass and a group of friends – so much fun.

Softdrinks – there is nothing nutritionally good for you in them.
 

Soft drinks – this is what I shared with those who have been doing the 10 (20) Day Healthy Food Challenge. There is no nutritional value in a soft drink whether full brew or diet / no sugar. This goes for almost all of the bottled drinks out there including iced teas, sports drinks and even most juices.

Here’s what happens when you drink soft drinks and if you are having them hopefully this will put you off or at least keep them to once a week.

WHEN YOU DRINK A SOFT DRINK

Within the first 10 minutes of drinking a soft drink 10 teaspoons of sugar and not necessarily normal sugar but high fructose corn syrup is the norm, hit your system. This is 100 per cent of your recommended daily intake, and the only
reason you don’t vomit from the overwhelming sweetness is because phosphoric acid cuts the flavour. Wait till you hear what phosphoric acid does to you.

Within 20 minutes of drinking a soft drink
Your blood sugar spikes and your liver responds to the resulting insulin burst by turning massive amounts of sugar into fat. The continuing insulin burst, over time, eventually creates insulin resistance and finally diabetes and/or fatty liver can be the result.

Within 40 minutes of drinking a soft drink
Caffeine absorption is complete; your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, your blood vessels dilate and your liver dumps more sugar into your bloodstream.

Around 45 minutes after you have drunk the soft drink
Your body increases serotonin production, which stimulates the pleasure centres of your brain – a chemically identical response to that of heroin, but not as strong. So you might think this is a good thing but, in reality, too much of a good thing, too many times a day, can cause anxiety and depression, feed the wrong microbes in your gut and thus decrease immunity.

After 60 minutes of drinking a soft drink
You’ll start to have a sugar crash. A sugar crash typically shows signs of lethargy and weakness; hunger may also become noticeable, as well as sadness, which of course brings on the need for another sugar fix.

What else can you drink: my go too is simply water, then next mineral water with a slice of lemon and some mint – refreshing and natural.

Source: The Nutrition Academy: Introduction to Nutrition Course (that I’m currently undertaking)

Well this is a topic that causes a bit of conjecture but let’s say if you are counting calories then perhaps stop and think about what you are eating is it healthy or not. The word calorie dates back to the early 1800’s as a measurement of energy and whilst from what I can determine that is relevant, what isn’t is that just because a food measures as a number in calories doesn’t  necessarily mean that it will serve you well.

Before I go on quick note:  In Australia, we use kilojoules (kcal) as a measure of energy.  Energy used to be measured in calories and sometimes still is.  One calorie is equal to 4.2 kilojoules.

There is no doubt that the tables are turning and that a calorie or kcal measurement of one food (say an apple) or, a combination of ingredients (say a donut) can not be considered equal in terms of how much of it we can consume. It’s complicated to explain all this in one little article however research from Harvard (2021) says that, when it comes to keeping your weight down, researchers suggest that the quality of your food matters more than its calorie count. And every book or article I read is pointing to this more and more and more!

So when and how long will this take to filter down to our food manufacturers. The other day my daughter bought some popcorn and it blazingly said on the front ‘Only 99 Calories’ and whilst it is not quite a chocolate bar its ingredients where not on my accepted list, particularly sunflower oil which is know to cause inflammation.

Going back to the calorie again. Imagine eating your daily recommended intake of calories made up of donuts (which will cause glucose/insulin spikes and take a run up Mt Everest to burn off the ‘energy’ it produces!). Or consuming your daily intake by eating lots of vegetables, fruit, good protein and good fats. I know what you are all thinking, well that is just common sense to eat the healthy way. But as a nation we are in the majority not and unhealthy weight gain is still very much on the rise.

To put it as simple as I can, if you want to put on weight eat junk food, eat the food that the Australian Dietary Guidelines call discretionary foods ie chips, biscuits, sweets, soft drinks which states you should only have in small quantities and only sometimes (whatever that means – is sometimes once a day or once a week? – Thinking the latter).

If you want to lose weight then eat healthy, as little unprocessed foods as possible – eat as close to the natural source. And if you want to know more about this come join us on the 10 Day Healthy Food Challenge where you will learn so much more on how to eat healthy – and more than likely lose weight!

Also here is a little more from an article from Changing Habits in regards to calorie counting if you want to know more.

And a last note is that there is some value and science in knowing what we should roughly consume a day in kcal’s if you are trying to lose a large amount of weight, or have an illness or disease, or perhaps another reason, and this is where you should consult with your allied health professional first and foremost.

Let’s start here for 2023 – What are the top 3 things you are most grateful for in 2022? What was your greatest achievement and your greatest frustration.

I love a bit of time to reflect and having been on a ‘home’ holiday this year I’ve done quite a lot of this. Actually I started this in December and I started to ask clients. For some the answers flowed easily, for others it took a bit of thought – perhaps I was too early I was thinking to myself? I am a firm believer that we should take some time out to sit still and reflect. Ask yourself the questions above and we hope that it brings you positive affirmations. And when it comes to your greatest frustration, maybe you can work on this during 2023 to turn it around to something you achieved.

Let’s Start on Reflections of 2022.

As always when it comes to ALTA Fitness it is you, our clients and supporters that drive us to be our best. To be ready early mornings or early afternoons depending on our shifts, to be focussed, to be educated, to be empathetic, to be firm, be strong, to have you leave happier than you came in and, keep you on track so you get the gains from exercise. 

And there are so many, be it mental health or time out, strength, mobility, flexibility, physical health, lose a few kilo’s, maintain a good weight, and let’s not forget that regular exercise helps with your immunity against disease. And this is where our reflections are full of these achievements. Nothing makes us happier to see clients lifting heavier weights as they get stronger and then seeing their muscle definition changing. Or to see someone having the endurance to run on the treadmill where first they could hardly make it turnover. To hearing of less pain, greater movement capability, picking up heavy stuff or moving furniture around that they could not do before. Now this makes us very happy and hope you recognise yourself in any of these above actions.

Our team – well we couldn’t do this without them and we are so proud of Andrew, Chris, Estelle, Scott & Will for being the amazing, passionate people they are. Whenever we take on a new team member or another year ticks by, we know and trust our team to be themselves.  And this is important, they are not us, we are all different but they have strong values when it comes to fitness and health. And it shows in their passion and the relationships they build with their clients and our community as a whole – so thank you team, you are awesome!

As I’m speaking for JC and I it is a year that was very full including…

• The move to Mont Albert – you’ve heard me say it and in words – what a great move and welcome to our wonderful new clients since we moved.
• Updated training – I’ve continue to learn more about women’s health in much more depth and making connections to learn more and launched my women’s series. JC completed a 6 month course on the Science of Strength & Conditioning. Scott is still in the depths of his Masters of Exercise Physiology and Chris has been accepted in the same course so congratulations – there is no doubt we all benefit from our team with their strong interest and curiosity to continue to learn.
• Commencing the launch of Linda Legras Wellness coaching was one of my most favourite things – it lifts me up to help women to be empowered in their 40’s, 50’s and beyond to be their best selves. And I’ll be expanding into this more into this in 2023. Watch this space this truly excites me!
• We’re witnessing our children Jack & Jess now in their mid teens having strong opinions about their world and their living in it as modern day teens. Teaching us, I feel almost as much as we are still teaching (or I like to think guiding) them.
• And importantly the loss of Jean-Jacque Legras JC’s father has impacted as greatly and we will enjoy celebrating both his and JCs mother Elizabeth in April 2023 where we will head to Lake Tahoe.

Welcome 2023!

JC and I are already thinking and actioning what we want to be, do and have for ALTA and ourselves. Because as much as we live and breathe what we do, we need to be careful to also nurture ourselves. Therefore we can be our best for you.

First up

• ALTA Fitness – is to ensure we keep up to date with our education – not just us but our whole team.
  • This year I will complete a Health & Wellness Coaching Course and Introduction to Nutrition Course with Changing Habits. My aim with both these courses is to learn more to help you in developing a holistic relationship with food, your health, exercise, sleep and more.
  • JC is looking at the ‘Earthquake Bar’ – hint it is made out of bamboo and used in the squat rack/weight lifting area
  • More green, air cleansing plants
  • More happy clients!
  • More sharing information, more articles on Health & Wellbeing

• Personally  – As moving into VCE Year 11 for Jess & IB for Jackson we wish to give extra support to them even if it is as simple as feeding the good food to driving them places (or actually them driving us as they have their Learners Permits!!).
  • To continued self nurturing through meditation, yoga
  • More time away together without disruptions from technology.
  • To be generous in our time with our clients
  • To be generous to the community beyond
  • To be generous to our natural environment
• Our Team –
  • Estelle goes from leaps to bounds and has plans for course & dance.
  • Andrew being a new dad is raising a beautiful boy with Christy and dad time is precious.
  • Scott & Chris continue their studies and sports.
  • We’re looking forward to hearing so much more about their plans.

AND, we want to hear about yours, what are your plans, what will you look forward to, any habits you’d like to change, new joys, gains and wins and possibly a few sorrows. Whatever they be we hope we can support you where you need us. Our wish as always is for you to be fitter, healthier and happier.

Bring JOY to each and every day during the holiday season – I choose to bring a little joy and fun into my life over the coming days and weeks and hope some of it spills over to you all as well!

So you may be thinking what brings me joy? First things for me is to think about the things that I like doing, that lift me up and some are very small like lighting a candle whilst some are larger like a bike ride with JC. Second is thinking about things that I liked doing when I was younger, like making a random cake for mum. Third, is the joy of giving joy to someone else from a simple smile or hug, to meeting for a coffee or drink, to a big surprise present before Christmas!

I’d like you to write your own list – even if just a few to bring joy to your day. And if you need some ideas or inspiration here’s a few from JC and I.

• Lighting a aromatic candle or incense

• Riding our bikes together

• Coffee with friends

• Lying on the grass when the suns out

• Doing exercise!

• Being in nature

• Being in the mountains anytime

• Skiing (either northern or southern hemisphere)

• Trail running in nature

• Making a delicious, healthy meal together after picking the harvest from our garden

• Late evening swims at the beach (maybe with some fish & chips!!)

• A lovely glass of red together after a long day out on the deck

• Lying in the hammock looking at the trees

• Being in the garden, weeding, pruning, planting

• Making a herb, salad sandwich straight out of the veggie patch (no bread – JC’s)

• Seeing our children on stage acting, playing music – ahh what joy!

• Music

• Dancing

• Date night

Share with us your joys we’d love to hear them.

Scott Wood another of our team members is studying a Masters in Exercise Physiology and this is his article.

Did you know there are 3 types of lower back pain:

1. Specific spinal pathology (occurs in less than 1% of LBP cases) which is damage to the spine itself – such as spinal fracture and spinal infection
2. Radicular syndrome (occurs in 5-10% of LBP cases) – which is compressed or irritated nerve roots resulting in pain inside the spine, this includes conditions such as Spinal stenosis (narrowing of spinal canal) and Radiculopathy (commonly referred to as a ‘pinched nerve’ which is the damage to nerve roots in the area they leave the spine)
3. Non-specific LBP (occurs in 90-95% of LBP cases) – this is when the LBP doesn’t fall into the other categories as seen above (which are more sinister) and is normally diagnosed through tests in determine the pain the is not coming from the specific spinal pathology and radicular syndromes. There are also no specific tissues which have to be in pain to fall into this category

What people tend to think when they get back pain

• Rest
• Being careful with or avoiding dangerous activities 
• Strengthen muscle 
• Control posture 
• It’s a life sentence with no cure 

Interesting facts of lower back pain 

• Everyone has spinal degeneration with age, so when scanned it is highly likely to get diagnosed with a spinal condition
• Severe symptoms occur without pathology/diagnosis  
• Symptom severity doesn’t correlate with pathology/diagnosis  
• Positive outcomes despite pathology issue 
• 30% have persistent pain after surgery to fix the problem 
• Scanning for LBP results in worse outcomes    
• People think LBP caused by injury and damage 

What influences Lower back pain

• Psychological factors (stress, anxiety, depression)
• Poor sleep 
• Pain history (Have you had chronic pain in the past?)
• Beliefs/ values (do you have a positive outlook? Are you in panic?)
• Existing spinal pathology 
• Activity avoidance  
• Readiness to change  

How to treat it

• Body relaxation and awareness (e.g., don’t brace your core, RELAX it!)
• Build confidence (your back is a strong and flexible part of your body, which is made to be twisted and bent)
• Recent research has found that Pilates, aerobic (cardio) and resistance (weights) training are the most effective treatments for Non-specific back pain 
• Individualised training leads to the best success 
• Exercise training may also be more effective than hand-on therapist treatments 

My Top 5 Strength Exercises to treat LBP

• Front Plank
• Deadlift/Hip Hinge  
• 3-point row 
• Palof Press 
• Suitcase Carry 

Other good mentions

• Glute Bridge 
• Side plank

Key points

• Back pain does not equal damage 
• Back pain should not be disabling and stop you from doing the activities you enjoy 
• Exercise and movement are one of the best methods for treating LBP 

Core stability for lower back pain

• The belief that the spine is a delicate structure is not useful and strengthening the core is not a good approach to the issue 
• Bracing or tensing the spine is a current belief which is being disproved, this action is useful when lifting things heavy and certain tasks but doesn’t need to be done to combat LBP as it should be automatic 
• It isn’t about the tiny muscles; it is about the main trunk/back muscles which will engage in conjunction with the smaller deep muscles of the trunk.

Spinal flexion vs Extension 

• In most cases we spend our lives bending forward (spinal flexion) such as when doing housework, bending over to pick up things and sitting forward
• Spinal flexion can often be the movement which caused the LBP
• But ask your self how often do I bend backwards (spinal extension)? 
  • The body likes to be balanced like most things in life, so for every time you bend forward you should bend backwards to create a balance 
  • If you think you are someone who spends their life in spinal flexion introducing some spinal extension into your life can act as both a preventative and treating method of LBP 
  • Movements such as Bird-dog, Cobra pose and standing spinal extension can be good movements to relive symptoms to pain