Exercising Through Your Pregnancy examines the risks and rewards associated with exercise programming related to both pre- and post-natal conditions. Although some women opt to side with caution, and avoid exercising when pregnant, recent research shows that women can safely and effectively exercise throughout their pregnancy term with numerous benefits for both mother and child. Exercising Through Your Pregnancy will cover a variety of exercise programming topics dealing specifically with the pregnant population.

Most people do not associate cardiovascular disease with individuals who are physically active, but this is a reality for millions of Americans. It has been estimated that 1 out of every 4 adults between 30 and 60 years of age have some degree of hypertension. Physical activity may play a positive role in reducing the risk of developing the disease, but it may not be enough to prevent it.

In order to practice safely and effectively, Personal Trainers need to understand the various systems of the body. This article will focus on the hormonal changes which occur in women as they progress through menopause. It will explore how the changing levels of hormone concentration affect the body both at rest and during exercise.

Fibromyalgia is defined as a chronic pain disorder of unknown etiology, characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain and tender points, alterations in sleep patterns, and changes in neuroendocrine transmitters. Understanding Fibromyalgia will examine the underlying causes and effects this syndrome can have as well as the possible treatment and management of the syndrome.

Dynamic changes in the health of the country are leading more people to the services and knowledge of a certified personal trainer. Personal trainers are finding greater responsibilities related to providing the appropriate exercise prescription for each of a wide variety of special populations. Most personal trainers are very comfortable training a client who is apparently healthy, between 18-40 years of age without any major medical conditions.

A common theme that links many diseases and chronic illness is uncontrolled cellular inflammation. It is a factor in diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis and many autoimmune-related conditions. Obesity has recently been added to this group of diseases as it is now known to present a low grade inflammatory response within many of the body’s tissues, which cause deleterious effects, often leading to the development of cardiovascular and metabolic disease. It is well known that being overweight is detrimental to one’s health, but until recently the known mechanisms were limited. Scientists over the last decade have started to unravel the mystery of why obesity

The link between obesity and insulin resistance and atherosclerosis has been well established in modern literature. Researchers have recognized the relationship between obesity driven low-grade inflammation and cytokine (cellular secretions) dysfunction and alteration. These pathophysiological changes explain why metabolic and heart disease manifest rapidly in obese persons, particularly when the level of visceral fat dominates or heavily contributes to adiposity.

An often overlooked physiological relationship that dictates adaptations to exercise is the connective link between the nervous system, immune system, and the endocrine system -- collectively called neuroendocrine-immunology. In response to exercise the tissues must undergo metabolic and cellular processes to support the demands of the work being performed. The harder the work, the more the tissue is “disrupted” from its homeostatic state. Contractile forces upset and damage the muscle fiber, metabolism alters tissue and blood chemistry, and the demand for oxygen challenges the cardiopulmonary system. These acute alterations serve to support and satisfy the effort. One of the contributing su

Caffeine consumption is prevalent across the population. The stimulation of alertness and focus via the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) make it a routine chemical in many American diets. It is commonly ingested as part of morning rituals to wake up from a basal metabolic state in dosages of about 125 mg per cup of American coffee or to prevent the midday doldrums in the form of diet sodas, “energy” drinks, or designer coffees at 40-200 mg depending on the product and serving consumed. Caffeine is also regularly found in weight loss products serving as the most popular appetite suppressant in over-the-counter supplements and also acts as a diuretic. The widespread use and social acceptance of the stimulant leads one to assume the product is benign to the body and routine consumption would not present any negative impact to health. For many Americans consuming caffeine in moderation, this is true. But some people fail to realize that caffeine does have an impact on the body, particularly on the cardiovascular system. This fact becomes more relevant when caffeine consumption is increased in efforts to thwart the effects of mild sleep deprivation, as a support mechanism to passive (psychological) stress, or to enhance motivation for training in the gym when mental fatigue is a barrier. The addition of caffeine to these stress-present conditions increases its cardiovascular effects.

A common inquiry among exercise enthusiasts is the specific physiological cause of muscular fatigue. Scientists at Columbia declare that they have not only come up with a response, but have also devised an experimental drug that has been tested in mice that can actually prolong exercise time to exhaustion. The physiological cause of muscular fatigue has been largely ignored and misunderstood for decades. Muscular fatigue due to lactic acid release was a popular theory early on , but exercise physiologists realized it is simply a plausible component based on intensity and physical condition and has since been discredited as the main cause of muscular fatigue according to Dr. George Brooks, from the University of California, Berkeley. In a recent report published in an early online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Andrew Marks, the principal investigator of the new study, claims that calcium flow inside the muscle cells is the most likely cause of fatigue.

With the increased emphasis of the changing healthcare system on prevention, there is no question that the personal trainer’s role in an effective therapeutic lifestyle intervention to combat major diseases is more important now than ever in the United States. Therefore trainers need to better understand clinical aspects of common co-morbidities with cardiac and metabolic diseases, such as high blood pressure – or what is commonly referred to as Hypertension. To underscore this relevance, estimates are that approximately 70 million American adults have high blood pressure.

Risk factors for disease associated with health risk appraisal have strongly sided with concerns for cardiovascular disease and metabolic conditions. Exercise and behavior modifications have focused on prevention of the number one killer of Americans, coronary heart disease along with its precursor’s hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia. Interestingly though, the most feared disease in the United States gets little attention related to preventative behaviors. Cancer is not a single disease but rather a collective group of diseases that all lead to premature death if untreated. Changes at the DNA level account for the difficulty in reversing the process compared to diseases like type II diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension which are very responsive to weight loss, dietary adjustments and exercise. Although some cancers can be managed with dietary strategies and some research supports the positive effects of exercise on outcomes, prevention is still the best strategy.

Fibromyalgia is characterized by musculoskeletal pain throughout the entire body usually accompanied by a number of other chronic issues. It has traditionally been categorized as a rheumatic-like disorder that creates widespread pain and accompanying psychological issues, but current research points toward fibromyalgia being caused by neurochemical imbalances in the central nervous system (CNS) that increase the perception of pain. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), fibromyalgia affects 5 million Americans 18 or older with between 80-90 percent of those diagnosed being women. However, men and children also can also develop the disorder, with the majority of diagnosis occurring during middle age.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month as evident by pink garnishes sprinkled throughout landmarks of the pop-culture. It may seem like a limited awareness campaign, with many forms of cancer in existence, but for women there is significant relevance. According to the CDC statistics (which did not include skin cancer) cancers of the breast in the United States represents the most common cancer in women, regardless of race or ethnicity. Additionally, it is the most common cause of death from cancer among Hispanic women and the second most common cause of death from cancer among white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women. The most recent statistics available are from 2009; during that year 211,731 women and 2,001 men in the United States were diagnosed with breast cancer and 40,676 women and 400 men died (from breast cancer) that year.

When an individual is diagnosed with metabolic syndrome (MSyn), he or she is suffering from multiple cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors for disease. These physiological agitators function synergistically to increase the risk for numerous health complications and early mortality. Some of the major health consequences include type II diabetes, coronary artery disease (CAD), myocardial infarction and stroke. Genetics certainly play a role in the development of the MSyn but lifestyle/environmental issues such as a low physical activity, poor diet and progressive weight gain significantly contribute to risk.

Participation in organized youth sports and training for performance is occurring at increasingly younger ages in recent years. There are various sport preparation clinics as well as high-intensity group exercise programs currently available that specifically target young aspiring athletes and fitness enthusiasts. This has raised concern among parents, clinicians, coaches and other fitness professionals as to the competency of these groups as well as the potential negative implications of participating in such programs. The key question arises – how young is too young to safely engage in specialized physical training involving high-intensity weightlifting activities? There are a number of factors that must be considered to properly address this question such as chronological age, sex (gender), psychological maturity, current training age physical experience and the specific activities/programmatic stresses being prescribed. The term youth refers to children (approximately up to age 11 among girls and 13 among boys) and adolescents (approximately ages 12-18 among girls and 14-18 among boys). The term preadolescent refers to boys and girls who have not yet developed secondary sex characteristics.

Clinical eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder as well as subclinical issues including anorexia athletica involve severely unhealthy emotions, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding body weight and caloric intake. Eating disorders are serious psycho-emotional-physical problems that can have life-threatening consequences for both sexes, but the prevalence of these issues is much higher among females. These disorders can create many health problems due to reduced energy availability and micronutrient deficiencies. For highly active female clients in particular, inadequate intake of calcium, iron, and select B vitamins can become serious concerns. Eating disorders have explicit negative effects on a client’s psychological mood state, overall growth and maturation, reproductive functions and bone health. There is also a correlation between eating disorders and an increased risk for mortality (anorexia nervosa range is reported at 1-8% due to cardiac arrest or suicide).

Experts from the Too Fit to Fracture Initiative recently presented new study results to establish exercise recommendations for individuals with osteoporosis, including those who have suffered a spinal fracture. The results were presented at the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases in Seville, Spain. An international multidisciplinary panel identified important clinical questions regarding the efficacy of exercise on pre-specified outcomes in individuals with osteoporosis, such as risk of falls, fractures, adverse events and bone mineral density (BMD), as well as pain, quality of life, and physical function after a spinal fracture.

Many television commercials are indicating weight gain is due to insulin resistance, but they have it backwards. Insulin resistance is caused by unhealthy increases in fat and lack of physical activity. In normal bodies, insulin is naturally made by the pancreas with a role of promoting blood glucose to enter the muscle and liver cells for stored energy to support physical activity and the central nervous system (the brain runs on sugar). Healthy diet and lifestyle choices keep this hormone effective in its role and prevent its potential to increase fat stores due to unmanaged sugar.