4 surefire ways NOT to lose weight at your health club.

Written by Dr. Jeff Banas


Please feel free to publish this article in your Newsletter or on your Website (with Resource Box Included).

Everyone has their own individual reason for joining a health club, lose a few pounds, tone up, lower your blood pressure, strengthen a bad back or shoulder, perform better in sports, or just keep in shape by playing some basketball or racquetball. By joiningrepparttar gym you have shown a time, and a financial commitment to achieving your goals, congratulations!

However, joiningrepparttar 115192 gym is onlyrepparttar 115193 first step.

Did you know that only about 2% of health club members actually userepparttar 115194 gym?

Some gym member leave because they injure themselves and cannot work out, many others leave because of lack of results. The reasons are endless.

However, I have been a doctor for over eight years now, and I have seen new gym members come in with good intentions only to makerepparttar 115195 same common mistakes others made that set them up for failure, or an injury.

I am sure you must be wondering why I care about your goals for joiningrepparttar 115196 gym.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that as many as 250,000 lives are lost annually due to lack of physical activity or a sedentary lifestyles. That is 200,000 more thanrepparttar 115197 number of lives lost as a result of car accidents, which are 50,000.

Most ofrepparttar 115198 problems myself and other doctors are treating such as high blood, arthritis, chronic pain or stiffness, overweight, low energy, stress and tension are oftenrepparttar 115199 result of years of neglect. Most of these chronic problems could have been prevented with proper guidance. The good think is that many of these chronic problems can still be helped, again with proper guidance.

Hopefully, by sharing what I have seen overrepparttar 115200 years will help your achieve your health and fitness goals. So, here arerepparttar 115201 most common mistakes I have seen overrepparttar 115202 years which results in injury, or failing to reach their goals whether it is weight loss, muscle toning, rehabilitating an injury, getting of all those pain medications or whateverrepparttar 115203 reason was for initially joining a health club was.

Mistake #1:Not seeing a QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL before beginning an exercise program

This sounds like common sense right? Every piece of exercise equipment has a similar statement on it right? There is a reason for that, exercise can be harmful or even deadly, and I do not care if you think you are good shape. How many times have you known of someone suddenly passing away from a heart attack and you say to yourself, he looked so healthy.

So schedule an appointment with your primary doctor and have your blood pressure check, get your resting pulse rate, get your body fat tested, have your heart and lungs listened to, have your muscles, joints, and any injuries evaluated before you begin your exercise program. If you do not want to schedule an appointment with your doctor, you can have these test done here for free, no additional charge, this exam is included with your membership.

Why, we want you to enjoyrepparttar 115204 gym and achieve your goals, but first we want you to be safe. It also does not look that good when you see gym members rolled out torepparttar 115205 ambulance parked in front ofrepparttar 115206 gym entrance. It happens. Call your doctor up or if you are inrepparttar 115207 Phoenix area stop by and see us.

Mistake #2:Not getting any Initial Baseline Numbers

Again, this goes back to mistake number 1. How can you monitor your progress if you do not know where your were when you stated.

If you are a little over weight or trying to lower you blood pressure, don’t you think you should know what your blood pressure is before you begin your program. How are you going to monitor your weight loss if you do not know what percent of your body is fat, before you begin your program.

A brief note here, you know I mentioned percent of body fat and not weight. How much you weigh does not matter much, but your percent of fat does.

Lets say we have two overweight new gym members both weighing 200lbs. One joinsrepparttar 115208 gym and is going to try userepparttar 115209 scale to monitor his progress;repparttar 115210 other stopped by our office and received their evaluation, which was included with their membership. At this evaluation we found thatrepparttar 115211 second new member weighed 200lbs. And had a body fat percentage of 40%. This means that 40% of his body is made of fat 80lbs. The other 120lbs is what his muscle, bones, organs, etc. weigh, (everything but fat).

The member who received our evaluation used to work out, and was at one time in good shape, but overrepparttar 115212 years put on a few extra pounds and has not work out is some time. This member tried various was to loserepparttar 115213 weight but was unsuccessful, this isrepparttar 115214 reason for finally joinrepparttar 115215 gym. Since this member was really serious about losing weight they asked us if we could help. So, we set them us on a program.

Cool Down with Hot Summer First-Aid: 5 Tips for Cold Therapy

Written by Louise Roach


Whenrepparttar temperature tops 90 andrepparttar 115191 soles of your shoes sizzle onrepparttar 115192 sidewalk, cold therapy is a necessity for summer first-aid. Whether it is ice from your freezer, a bag of frozen vegetables or a convenient commercial cold pack, ice therapy has many more uses than treating bumps and bruises. Here are five summer first-aid tips for cold therapy: Chill heat-related illnesses. Duringrepparttar 115193 hot summer months, heat exhaustion and heat stroke can be a problem. Symptoms of exhaustion can include dizziness, weakness, a feeling of nausea, excessive sweating and a shallow, quick pulse. With more serious heat stroke,repparttar 115194 skin is hot and dry, and mental confusion can occur along with a loss of consciousness. Cold packs can be used to keeprepparttar 115195 body cool in excessive temperatures, helping to prevent heat exhaustion. Many athletes cool down after a summer event with an icy cold pack onrepparttar 115196 back of their necks. If symptoms are present, ice packs along with hydration can be used to lowerrepparttar 115197 body temperature to a safe level. Always seek medical attention inrepparttar 115198 case of heat stroke as this condition can be sudden and deadly. Ice bug bites. Let’s face it, insect bites are a nuisance, causing swelling, itching and sometimes pain. Icing a bite immediately will keeprepparttar 115199 bug poison from spreading to other parts ofrepparttar 115200 body, reduce swelling and inflammation, and numbrepparttar 115201 area, lesseningrepparttar 115202 need to itch. Use ice therapy on mosquito, bee, spider, fire ant and centipede bites. If an allergic reaction happens or it is a serious bite, such as fromrepparttar 115203 poisonous Brown Recluse Spider, immediately seek medical help. Keep pets cool. Even pets can suffer inrepparttar 115204 summer heat. Keeping them cool can be tricky. An ice pack wrapped in a towel or beneath a thin blanket might dorepparttar 115205 trick if they decide to snooze on top of it. Ice cubes are a cool treat that some animals enjoy. There are also commercial products made specifically for horses to ice their legs down after a ride. Special caution should be taken to never use a product containing toxins or one that might easily break, endangering a pet if they decide it would be more fun to play withrepparttar 115206 ice pack than lay on it.

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