Fitness

Physical Activity Health and Fitness Benefits El Paso, TX.

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Exercise is defined as a physical activity that is structured, planned and done at a certain intensity level, frequency, and duration carried out to maintain or improve health and fitness. Physical activity is defined as any movement of the body produced by skeletal muscles and resulting in the expenditure of energy.  Physical activity can be doing something fun that involves moving. Exercise is thought of as something people don’t like because it’s good for you. Therefore if you hate exercise, think of physical activity instead.

 

Exercise, Health, and Fitness

Question: Dr. Jimenez, I’ve heard that we should get 30 minutes of exercise a day, but can it be broken up, and does this have the same effect?

Answer: Absolutely. A recent study found that nine weekly 10-minute exercise sessions offer the same health benefits as three weekly 30-minute sessions. This is great for beginners, who may find it easier to stick to short workouts.

Q: What about for burning fat? 30 minutes of exercise at a quick pace or longer sessions at a slower pace?

A: The higher the intensity the individual can sustain without exhausting themselves burns more fat. The faster you walk, swim, cycle, etc., the more calories you burn per minute.

However, with a sedentary lifestyle, you won’t last long at a higher intensity and might hurt yourself, so you need to start slow and gradually work up to a higher pace.

Q: What about doing only one set of a certain exercise, is it as good as doing two or three?

A: Several studies have shown improvements in strength and muscle size for groups of untrained people performing one set per exercise as compared to doing three sets. For people just starting out, or who want to maintain the strength they’ve achieved, one set of each exercise is enough. For athletes and anyone trying to achieve greater strength, 2-3 sets are better.

Q: Do crunches help lose the fat around the stomach?

A: You can’t reduce fat just in certain spots, except through liposuction. Crunches tone the abdominal muscles, but the same layer of fat on top of these muscles will remain unless a healthy diet reducing calories is incorporated and by burning more calories than are consumed. Don’t look for quick fixes. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

 

 

Weight Gain

Q: I started exercising like walking, stationary bike, etc., to improve my health and lose weight, but I have gained weight instead. What’s going on?

A: It depends on the weight we are talking about. Scales are poor indicators of changes in body composition because muscle is more dense than fat. This means that a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat. Instead of the changes on the scale, look for changes in how clothing fits. Gaining weight is not bad as long as it’s muscle/s that are being built up. Plus it gets the metabolism going. For every pound of muscle added to the body, at least 35 more calories get burned up per day. Three pounds of muscle will burn plenty of calories in a month to lose a pound a fat.

If there was some weight gain, look for anything that changed that could contribute to the extra pounds like quitting smoking, going on hormone replacement therapy, or stress. Remember aerobic exercise is only one of several factors in weight management. Strength training, a healthy diet along with healthy lifestyle habits also contribute to a healthy weight.

I would suggest investing in a few sessions with a health coach and fitness coach who are knowledgeable in diet and exercise.


 

Chiropractic and Sports Rehabilitation


 

NCBI Resources

 

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Professional Scope of Practice *

The information herein on "Physical Activity Health and Fitness Benefits El Paso, TX." is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional or licensed physician and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make healthcare decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified healthcare professional.

Blog Information & Scope Discussions

Our information scope is limited to Chiropractic, musculoskeletal, acupuncture, physical medicines, wellness, contributing etiological viscerosomatic disturbances within clinical presentations, associated somatovisceral reflex clinical dynamics, subluxation complexes, sensitive health issues, and/or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions.

We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from various disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system.

Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and directly or indirectly support our clinical scope of practice.*

Our office has reasonably attempted to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request.

We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez, DC, or contact us at 915-850-0900.

We are here to help you and your family.

Blessings

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, RN*, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*

email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com

Licensed as a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) in Texas & New Mexico*
Texas DC License # TX5807, New Mexico DC License # NM-DC2182

Licensed as a Registered Nurse (RN*) in Florida
Florida License RN License # RN9617241 (Control No. 3558029)
Compact Status: Multi-State License: Authorized to Practice in 40 States*

Presently Matriculated: ICHS: MSN* FNP (Family Nurse Practitioner Program)

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, RN* CIFM*, IFMCP*, ATN*, CCST
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