Stairway to health

The stairway to health is a program designed by the Canadian public health agency to provide support and resources to encourage Canadians to get active and increase their daily physical activity. Something as simple as taking the stairs throughout your workday can do a lot in helping you reach minimum physical activity requirements (30-60 min a day, everyday). Here is on of the “stairway to health” fact sheets:

There are a variety of benefits to programs that encourage the use of stairways, as part of physical activity in workplaces, or other settings. These benefits may include improved morale, a sense of well-being, higher energy levels and improved team building. Below are the measurable benefits that are indicated in research on stair use.

  • Canada’s Physical Activity Guide recommends that Canadians accumulate 30-60 minutes of moderate physical activity each day.
  • Stair climbing is possible in many workplaces and requires no special equipment in order to participate.
  • There is evidence to suggest that moderate intensity lifestyle activities like taking the stairs may be more successfully promoted than structured vigorous intensity exercise programs (Kerr, 2001).
  • Stair climbing can be accumulated across the course of the day, making a significant contribution to 30 minutes of daily physical activity (Kerr, 2001).
  • Stair climbing interventions typically result in a 6-15% increase in use of stairs.
  • A significantly lower risk of mortality is indicated in studies where participants climbed more than 55 flights per week. (Paffenbarger et al. 1993).
  • Stair climbing requires about 8-11kcal of energy per minute, which is high compared to other physical activities (Edwards, 1983).
  • Active Stair climbers are more fit and have a higher aerobic capacity (Ilmarinen et al, 1978).
  • Even two flights of stairs climbed per day can lead to 2.7 kg weight loss over one year (Brownell, Stunkard, and ALbaum, 1980).
  • There is a strong association between stair climbing and bone density, in post-menopausal women (Coupland et al. 1999).
  • Stair climbing programs can improve the amount of ‘good cholesterol’ in the blood – HDL concentrations (Wallace and Neill, 2000).
  • Stair climbing increases leg power and may be an important priority in reducing the risk of injury from falls in the elderly (Allied Dunbar Survey, 1992).
  • Because stair climbing rates are currently very low, increasing population levels of stair climbing could lead to substantial public health dividends (Kerr, 2001
  • Because stair climbing is an activity with which we are all familiar, participants have a high level of confidence in their ability to participate in the activity (Kerr, 2001).
For more information and resources click here.

 

Resolutions, goal setting, and transformation

As you all know I have been trying to get this blog off the ground for several months now, and have been unsuccessful. I do not see this as a failure, but a learning opportunity; what did I do or did not do which led to this end result. After giving it much thought I have come to the conclusion that the problem was that I tried versus just doing it. So I am going to give it all I have and just do it. My career goal this year: I will regularly update my blog a minimum of three times a week.

At this time of year many people are talking about resolutions; whether they do or do not work, how to achieve them, and how to make them stick. To be effective in creating your best life and maintaining new behaviors goal setting is an important tool. Well written S.M.A.R.T. goals solidify your commitment to working towards accomplishing them.

This year I am taking a new approach, one I learned form one of my clients (because I learn as much from you as you do from me); I have written my short and long term goals for the year on some paper and have sealed them in an envelope. In three months I will revisit what I have written and see what I accomplished and what fell to the way side. This will allow me to evaluated my successes and reevaluate my ares for opportunity.

I challenge you to do the same. Remember goals do not have to be life changing it would be something as simple as drinking more water in a day.

As many of you know I worked for lululemon for many years. Their format for goal setting is quite effective to get started. As a wise man said; why reinvent the wheel. For information on S.M.A.R.T. goal setting courtesy of lululemon click here.

 

How to Measure Exercise Intensity

Exercise intensity can be gauged based on this simple equation:

220- (minus) your age gives you a fairly accurate estimate of your maximum heart rate.

Heart rate is used as a benchmark in determining exercise intensity because as the exercise gets more difficult, the heart has to provide the working muscles with more blood, which means the heart has to pump faster. Working at a maximum intensity is very uncomfortable to exercise at and is most suitable for athletes. For the general population, a healthy exercises range is 60-80% of you maximum heart rate. To find this rate, take your max heart rate and multiply it by .6 and .8 respectively to get your exercise range.

You exercise range can be further broken down into moderate and vigorous zones. If you are looking to improve your cardiovascular fitness over time, then incorporating small bouts of vigorous physical activity into your daily routine can help. Start small; 2 minutes and work up. As you become more fit, it will take more intense exercise to get you in the vigorous zone. Eventually you will be able to enjoy more vigorous physical activity pursuits.

There are several ways to know what intensity you are working at: the heart rate equation, and/or how you feel. Moderate exercise is characterized by an increased heart rate, increased rate of breathing, mild sweating and the ability to carry on a conversation while exercising. If you find you cannot carry on a conversation, then you are working too hard. You can also use a scale from 1 to 10. If the exercise you are doing feels like a 6-7 then you are in the moderate zone.

 

Welcome to my new blog!

Hello and welcome. I am stating this blog to share my thoughts, experience and expertise on health and wellness. Check in weekly for updates. If you have specific topics you would like me to cover feel free to e-mail me questions and comments.

There is 30 day exercises challenge starting April 1st. It is organized by reach physio. I will leading a chat room discussion Tuesday nights for those taking part. To sign up go here.

Enjoy the sunshine.