![You are NOT a Polar Bear: Exercising Tips
All I want for Christmas…is to run until I’m covered in sweat. That seems like a fairly low-maintenance, attainable desire. Right? Not exactly.
Along with the most of the country, I’m working through the holiday season this year. The result is that I’m unable to dedicate the kind of time I’d like to exercise. Because I’m too 21st-century to jog on anything besides a treadmill, I’m out of luck unless I decide to go out and sign up for a gym membership. And according to past experience, even a membership won’t necessarily give me the jolt I need to start exercising as regularly as I should. I’ve decided to wait until the first of the year to join a fitness center. But could the limbo period, which will surely be full of baked goods and trips to Maggiano’s, have more than just an effect on my waistline?
It seems that way. According to a recent University of Dublin study [via the New York Times], exercise has concrete benefits to neural health on top of its benefits to overall physical health. The Irish scientists published their findings upon conducting a series of experiments with sedentary college students partake in a memory test after intense exercise. As part of the test, participants watched a slideshow that included pictures with the names and headshots of strangers. After a break, the participants tried to identify the photo subjects by name as the pictures flashed onscreen. Later on, half the students spun away on stationary bikes until they were spent from the exercise. The non-exercised people remained sedentary for a half hour before both groups of people took the memory test again. The exercised folks performed significantly better on the test than they had on their first attempt while those who had not exercised showed no sign of improvement.
Using blood samples taken throughout the experiment, scientists found that the exercised participants had much higher levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which promotes healthy nerve cells in the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, and basal forebrain— areas that activate in the storage of short- and long-term memories. In human speak? Exercise could be boosting your ability to code and retrieve memories. Working out can help you store more knowledge.
Exercise can be exhausting, time consuming, and even discouarging— especially when you step off the treadmill after what seemed like an incredible 45-minute run and still suffer from ‘muffin top’— but its overall effects are invaluable. Exercise burns cortisol, a hormone that the body produces when stressed, angry, anxious or fearful. We also acquire endorphins from exercise and feel great as a result.
Why you should remain active during the holiday season
With holiday cheer and responsibilities in the air, becoming a gym junkie probably isn’t your first priority. Shopping for gifts, balancing your budget, catching up on Modern Family, and sorting out your end-of-the-year work shifts are probably higher upon your list than staying in shape. But with the cognitive, physical, and mental pluses of working out, it’s important that you dedicate this downtime toyour health. Release the stress of holiday planning and madness by engaging in your favorite physical activity as December winds down.
Work out on your days off and during slow business days
What seems more fun to you: Lifting weights with throbbing muscles, or giggling to the last scene of “Home Alone” with nephews or little cousins? The latter is much more entertaining, but you can be both fit and jubilant during the holiday season on your days off.
Use a small portion of each day to exercise, even if you’re just working out for less than thirty minutes. The busiest time of year for fitness center recruitment is after Christmas, so sprint towards the weight room and running area before the flood of attendees occupies all the treadmills. Scoring more vacation time will be difficult after Christmas and New Years conclude, so have a good work out when you have the time to increase your chances of returning to the office energized, willing and able to work, and tuned in to the needs of your superiors.
Indulge a little!
The holidays can put a dent in your wallet (and rip in the back of your skinny hipster jeans), but it’s perfectly fine to pig out and enjoy multiple servings of baked goods and treats this season, says Vera Trifunovich, personal trainer and group fitness instructor in New York City for Rogue Female Fitness.
“Staying fit during the holiday season is tricky for everyone, even a dedicated fitness trainer like myself,” Trifunovich told Levo. “I actually believe in allowing yourself to indulge a bit. After all, the holidays are meant for celebration! So to look and feel your best at all those holiday parties (even after munching on three different types of Christmas cookies and washing them down with Champagne) simply amp up your workout.”
Intensify your exercise regimen
After you’ve eaten past the point of contentment, step up your workout to feel a little better about all those pieces of fudge you gulped down beneath the Christmas tree. The guilt of scarfing down tons of treats will start to fade once you work it all off on the treadmill or during a spin session.
“If you belong to gym, try adding an extra 2 or 3 fun cardio classes to your weekly routine,” Trifunovich said. “I love Zumba and cardio kickboxing. If you don’t belong to a gym, now can be a great time to join since many clubs offer special rates during the holiday season. For those of you who don’t enjoy a club environment or fitness classes, consider hiring a personal trainer for a couple of weeks to help you develop a fitness regimen uniquely suited to your needs.”
If you find gym offerings uninspiring or dull, Trifunovich said, pick up a winter sport or throw a dance party with your closest buds.
“You can also challenge yourself and learn a new winter sport. Or, invite your best girlfriends over, blast your favorite tunes, and have a fun, sweaty, calorie blasting dance party! Bottom line: enjoy yourself and stay physically active,” Trifunovich said.
Take walks after large meals (and bowls of ice cream)
Some people, like Levo (League) co-founder Amanda Pouchot, are talented at and interested in every sport. For those of you who are not physically inclined or enthusiastic about partaking in a roughhouse football match, opt for tamer athletic activity so you can still get the blood flowing and keep your body fairly under control during the holidays. After big meals at home and dessert servings, initiate long walks with family members to simultaneously connect with relatives and work on your cardio. If you have a pet, bring him/her along for the adventure. Your family will appreciate the interaction, especially if you’re not around much, and the pup will be thrilled to roam the outdoors with you.
If it’s too cold to leave the house, use exercise videos
I have somewhat of an embarrassing confession to make: In junior high, I was so entranced by Darrin’s Dance Grooves commercials that I ordered one of the how-to DVDs on Netflix and tried to emulate the “Bye Bye Bye” routine in my living room. Though I wouldn’t recommend Darrin’s Dance Grooves, as it was far from informative or helpful to my disillusioned 12-year-old self, I suggest investing in workout videos during the winter. They’re useful when the gym is closed, air is too chilly to brave a run, or roads are too congested for you to drive to the fitness center. You can rent them off Netflix or even stumble upon free exercise instructions or lessons online. This will also allow you to work out with friends or family members who may not have gym memberships, so take this as an opportunity for you guys to do something productive and healthy together during the holiday season.
Laura Donovan is a staff writer and editor for Levo.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly2006JPbf1rnojvoo1_500.jpg)
You are NOT a Polar Bear: Exercising Tips
All I want for Christmas…is to run until I’m covered in sweat. That seems like a fairly low-maintenance, attainable desire. Right? Not exactly.
Along with the most of the country, I’m working through the holiday season this year. The result is that I’m unable to dedicate the kind of time I’d like to exercise. Because I’m too 21st-century to jog on anything besides a treadmill, I’m out of luck unless I decide to go out and sign up for a gym membership. And according to past experience, even a membership won’t necessarily give me the jolt I need to start exercising as regularly as I should. I’ve decided to wait until the first of the year to join a fitness center. But could the limbo period, which will surely be full of baked goods and trips to Maggiano’s, have more than just an effect on my waistline?
It seems that way. According to a recent University of Dublin study [via the New York Times], exercise has concrete benefits to neural health on top of its benefits to overall physical health. The Irish scientists published their findings upon conducting a series of experiments with sedentary college students partake in a memory test after intense exercise. As part of the test, participants watched a slideshow that included pictures with the names and headshots of strangers. After a break, the participants tried to identify the photo subjects by name as the pictures flashed onscreen. Later on, half the students spun away on stationary bikes until they were spent from the exercise. The non-exercised people remained sedentary for a half hour before both groups of people took the memory test again. The exercised folks performed significantly better on the test than they had on their first attempt while those who had not exercised showed no sign of improvement.
Using blood samples taken throughout the experiment, scientists found that the exercised participants had much higher levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which promotes healthy nerve cells in the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, and basal forebrain— areas that activate in the storage of short- and long-term memories. In human speak? Exercise could be boosting your ability to code and retrieve memories. Working out can help you store more knowledge.
Exercise can be exhausting, time consuming, and even discouarging— especially when you step off the treadmill after what seemed like an incredible 45-minute run and still suffer from ‘muffin top’— but its overall effects are invaluable. Exercise burns cortisol, a hormone that the body produces when stressed, angry, anxious or fearful. We also acquire endorphins from exercise and feel great as a result.
Why you should remain active during the holiday season
With holiday cheer and responsibilities in the air, becoming a gym junkie probably isn’t your first priority. Shopping for gifts, balancing your budget, catching up on Modern Family, and sorting out your end-of-the-year work shifts are probably higher upon your list than staying in shape. But with the cognitive, physical, and mental pluses of working out, it’s important that you dedicate this downtime toyour health. Release the stress of holiday planning and madness by engaging in your favorite physical activity as December winds down.
Work out on your days off and during slow business days
What seems more fun to you: Lifting weights with throbbing muscles, or giggling to the last scene of “Home Alone” with nephews or little cousins? The latter is much more entertaining, but you can be both fit and jubilant during the holiday season on your days off.
Use a small portion of each day to exercise, even if you’re just working out for less than thirty minutes. The busiest time of year for fitness center recruitment is after Christmas, so sprint towards the weight room and running area before the flood of attendees occupies all the treadmills. Scoring more vacation time will be difficult after Christmas and New Years conclude, so have a good work out when you have the time to increase your chances of returning to the office energized, willing and able to work, and tuned in to the needs of your superiors.
Indulge a little!
The holidays can put a dent in your wallet (and rip in the back of your skinny hipster jeans), but it’s perfectly fine to pig out and enjoy multiple servings of baked goods and treats this season, says Vera Trifunovich, personal trainer and group fitness instructor in New York City for Rogue Female Fitness.
“Staying fit during the holiday season is tricky for everyone, even a dedicated fitness trainer like myself,” Trifunovich told Levo. “I actually believe in allowing yourself to indulge a bit. After all, the holidays are meant for celebration! So to look and feel your best at all those holiday parties (even after munching on three different types of Christmas cookies and washing them down with Champagne) simply amp up your workout.”
Intensify your exercise regimen
After you’ve eaten past the point of contentment, step up your workout to feel a little better about all those pieces of fudge you gulped down beneath the Christmas tree. The guilt of scarfing down tons of treats will start to fade once you work it all off on the treadmill or during a spin session.
“If you belong to gym, try adding an extra 2 or 3 fun cardio classes to your weekly routine,” Trifunovich said. “I love Zumba and cardio kickboxing. If you don’t belong to a gym, now can be a great time to join since many clubs offer special rates during the holiday season. For those of you who don’t enjoy a club environment or fitness classes, consider hiring a personal trainer for a couple of weeks to help you develop a fitness regimen uniquely suited to your needs.”
If you find gym offerings uninspiring or dull, Trifunovich said, pick up a winter sport or throw a dance party with your closest buds.
“You can also challenge yourself and learn a new winter sport. Or, invite your best girlfriends over, blast your favorite tunes, and have a fun, sweaty, calorie blasting dance party! Bottom line: enjoy yourself and stay physically active,” Trifunovich said.
Take walks after large meals (and bowls of ice cream)
Some people, like Levo (League) co-founder Amanda Pouchot, are talented at and interested in every sport. For those of you who are not physically inclined or enthusiastic about partaking in a roughhouse football match, opt for tamer athletic activity so you can still get the blood flowing and keep your body fairly under control during the holidays. After big meals at home and dessert servings, initiate long walks with family members to simultaneously connect with relatives and work on your cardio. If you have a pet, bring him/her along for the adventure. Your family will appreciate the interaction, especially if you’re not around much, and the pup will be thrilled to roam the outdoors with you.
If it’s too cold to leave the house, use exercise videos
I have somewhat of an embarrassing confession to make: In junior high, I was so entranced by Darrin’s Dance Grooves commercials that I ordered one of the how-to DVDs on Netflix and tried to emulate the “Bye Bye Bye” routine in my living room. Though I wouldn’t recommend Darrin’s Dance Grooves, as it was far from informative or helpful to my disillusioned 12-year-old self, I suggest investing in workout videos during the winter. They’re useful when the gym is closed, air is too chilly to brave a run, or roads are too congested for you to drive to the fitness center. You can rent them off Netflix or even stumble upon free exercise instructions or lessons online. This will also allow you to work out with friends or family members who may not have gym memberships, so take this as an opportunity for you guys to do something productive and healthy together during the holiday season.
Laura Donovan is a staff writer and editor for Levo.
