Fit and Healthy Lifestyle

A recent survey of UK Nurses established that stress sneaks away sex. The appraisal, conducted by the lead nurses magazine, “Nursing Times” bore witness that 44% of the 2000 nurses surveyed for the canvas felt a deterioration in their sex lives and a definate decline libido.

Stress is a significant agent in our lives and we must all recognise the damaging effect that unreasonable stress can have on ones social, emotional and intimate life. The nurse poll also evidenced that nursing is a eminent stress job that can result in physical and emotinal unhealthinesses. Indeed with well-nigh all nurses functioning above average hours and accepting extra work with nursing agencies in order to make ends meet on their hapless pay the trouble can only get worsen.

Nursing Times continues that the pressure level of economic shortages and the menace of job cuts in the NHS responsible for the nurses’ worries.

“Nurses are under pressure, devaluated and under paid. Stress is a severe subject for nurses who run the day by day gamut of violence and maltreatment from patients and relatives, as well as coping with the day-to-day pressures of having to do ever more with fewer resources because of deficit-led cost cutting,” the BBC cited Dr Peter Carter, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, as saying.

Furthermore, it was only last year that a RCN poll ascertained that to a higher degree, a quarter of nurses surveyed had been physically attacked at work, while nearly half had been intimidated or harassed by a manager.

“We need to tackle these issues if we are to keep nurses in the profession, while at the same time appealing to new recruits so they can go along and deliver superior patient care,” Dr. Carter said.

He said that work-related stress was to blame for 30 percent of sickness absence in the NHS - and cost the service 300-400million pounds a year.

However, Barnett added that NHS Employers had launched a drive to battle stress, which seemed to be having an effect.

Peter Wellington writes for: Our single objective to reduce stress in you life and to give you freedom from worry. Stress anhialatin resources for modern lifestyles Stress Free

Measuring the total cholesterol (cholestrol) in the blood is the main way to
measure blood cholesterol. The number given to a patient is reflected
by this in mg (milligrams) per dL (deciliter).

It is classified according to different levels. These findings are
translated, taking into account such risks as gender, race, high blood
pressure, age, lack of exercise, family medical history, diabetes and
obesity.

According to the American Heart Association, everyone over 20 years
should have their lipoprotein profiling done about every 5 years. The
test results show the overall cholesterol, amounts of low-density
lipoproteins (bad cholesterol), triglycerides or blood fats, and
high-density lipoproteins (HDL) or good cholesterol. Click the link for complete info about Cholesterol Levels

“I always get really nervous before a tournament. I’m concerned about fencing people I’ve never fenced before. What do I do?”

Think back to your last tournament. You were probably standing in the venue, looking around at all of the new faces. Remember when the pool was called, and you and the rest of the fencers in the pool are at the strip waiting for the referee to arrive? I can recall how I felt at that moment. My heart would be racing and my chest would feel tight.

Why did my body react this way? Emotional reactions can create physiological responses. A physical response to immediate stress is called flight-or-fight syndrome. The body anticipates an impending struggle and as a defense mechanism, it increases blood flow to vital organs to prepare for survival. The heart beats faster and adrenaline shoots through your arteries. You may get sweaty palms, butterflies in the stomach, rapid heartbeat, or the urgency to use the bathroom.

These responses that you get from facing a brand new opponent are a normal part of fencing. In practice, it’s usually not upsetting if you lose to someone you’ve never fenced before. In competition, however, fencing a new opponent is extremely common and losing to them has much more of an impact than in practice. Fencing anyone requires plenty of adjustment, patience, and focus, while maintaining your sense of timing and distance.

New styles, funky forms, and changing tempos can create a range of emotional and physical reactions both before and during the bout. You may experience self-doubt and lack confidence in your abilities to adjust to a new fencer. Luckily, it is completely normal for anyone to feel this way, no matter how long you have been fencing. It is a way that your body is telling you that it is ready for battle. Being nervous isn’t a sign of being a bad fencer; it’s a way of saying that you care about the result of the bout.

Turn fencing someone new from an obstacle to a valuable challenge. Follow the C.P.T steps through your training, and you can face new competitors with greater ease.

Control what you can. Going to practice as often as you can, working as hard as you can, and staying physically fit are all things you can control. Focus on your game by fortifying your weaknesses and using your strengths. You can’t control the rating of your opponent. You can challenge them by giving it your all.

Plan for the tournament by being prepared in every way that you can be. Work hard in practice by training with your coach and teammates. Fence various types of people, ranging from beginners to elite competitors. Know the terminology, rules, and equipment. Watch other fencers as they warm-up, or even fence them as your own warm-up, to get a feel for their style and experience level. Get enough sleep the night before and eat breakfast that morning. Stay hydrated. These are all things that will enable you to be ready for competition.

Trust yourself!! You have rigorously trained to compete. There is no more training you can do up to the start of the tournament. Competition is no place for perfecting new moves. This is the time to apply what you know. Trusting that you can perform the skills necessary to succeed no matter who you face is a big part of developing confidence and gaining success. Know that you are able to bounce back from mistakes, fight for every touch, and don’t stop fencing until the referee says, “Halt!”

If you are nervous about fencing someone new at a tournament, remember that this is a natural part of fencing. It will happen again and again, so learning to deal with it in a constructive manner will be advantageous to your game. Keep in mind the steps of C.P.T. and you will be ready to face anyone.

For more information on competing in the sport of fencing or for fencing equipment, visit Fencing.Net.

(c) 2007 Fencing.Net all rights reserved

Cardio Fitness
By Tyler D King

Cardio is important for both weight loss and good cardiovascular health. Some body builders forget the importance of cardio, because they don’t want to lose muscle mass as a result. Unless you are an ectomorph, part of your exercise regime should focus on aerobics. Contrary to what some people believe, cardio will not reduce you’re muscle mass, and it will help you build up endurance and gain more definition.

Below is a list of reasons why you should keep up to date with your cardio workouts.

Prevention of disease, such as obesity and heart attack

Good mental health (studies show that people who exercise more are less likely to be depressed)

Shed off that layer of unwanted fat to show off the body you worked so hard for

Lowers blood pressure and resting heart rate

Increases blood flow to your muscles, which results in more nutrients being delivered to them

Increases endurance, which might help you lift heavier for longer time periods

When you are doing cardio, there are a few things that you should remember, they are duration, intensity and frequency.

Duration

Duration is how long you do a continuous aerobic activity in one session. Ideally, you should be training between 20 and 60 minutes per session. However, if you are a beginner, you may start by doing shorter workouts, of about 10 minutes at a time. Once you become stronger and more comfortable, you should start to increase how long you are exercising for. You should NEVER strain yourself, especially if you are a beginner. If you feel weak or dizzy, slow down or stop, and of course, consult a physician if you have any health problems before you begin. Note that although cardio will not promote muscle loss, if you’re goal is to add mass you should be doing only about 20-30 minutes a time or else you will burn too many calories.

Sample workout for a beginner

2 minutes warm up (ex. light walking)

6 minutes higher intensity activity (ex. brisk walking, light jog etc)

2 minutes cool down (ex. light walking or stretching)

Sample workout for intermediate

5 minutes warm up

20-35 minutes high intensity cardio

5 minutes cool down

Sample workout for advanced

10 mins warm up

40 mins high intensity cardio

10 mins cool down

Cardio Fitness Continued

Intensity means how hard you are working during your activities. This is a key component for optimal health and fat loss. Beginners should aim for a target heart rate of lower that 55% of their maximum heart rates, while intermediate and advanced people should aim for about 65-90%. Your maximum heart rate level is approximately 220 minus your age, but of course this may vary depending on your fitness level. Gym equipment usually has hand censors that will tell you what your heart rate is at, so that you can maintain a good level of intensity throughout your workout. If you find these censors annoying to hold or you are outside, and easy way to see how hard you are working is to see how well you can talk.

If you can sing without difficulty, you aren’t working hard enough

If you can talk without much difficulty, you aren’t working very hard

If you can talk with a little difficulty, you are working at an average

If you can’t talk at all, you might be working too hard

Take a look at these guidelines, and judge for yourself what a good pace is for you.

Frequency

Unless you are an ectomorph, you should be generally performing cardio 3-5 times per week, unless you have a lot of fat to loose you can go for 5-7 times per week. You should never space you’re cardio fitness sessions out for more than 48 hours because your body start to loose the positive effects of the previous workout.

Interval Training

Interval training is a cardio workout that will take less time than a regular cardio workout and burn more calories. This type of workout is very effective and you will only need to do it for 15 - 20 minutes at a time. An example of interval training is to run for 3 minutes and walk briskly for 2 minutes. You continue this cycle until your workout is complete (don’t forget to warm up!). This type of workout is great for preventing the boredom that can come with steady state cardio and boosts fat lose. Interval training is also good for improving you’re cardiovascular abilities and preventing the muscle loss that can come with regular cardio. Remember that you should always be changing the duration of how long you are running and walking to keep your body guessing. This type of cardio can be done on virtually any cardio machine, and also outdoors.

Interval training vs. steady state cardio

Interval training - Pro’s

burns a lot of fat

takes less time

burns less muscle tissue

Steady state cardio - Pro’s

Improves endurance

Little impact on joints

It is not as easy to “burn out” - so you will end up burning more calories

An ideal workout routine will consist of both of these types of cardio, as they both have their own benefits. I would recommend doing interval training one day and steady state the next.

Sample week of cardio workouts

Monday

Steady state cardio 40 minutes stationary bike

Tuesday

Interval training 20 minutes treadmill

Wednesday

Rest

Thursday

Steady state cardio 30 minutes swimming

Friday

Interval training 20 minutes ecliptical trainer

Saturday

Rest

Sunday

Steady state cardio 60 minutes rollerblading

This is just an example to show you how you can vary your workouts. Remember to keep them fun and change them up weekly so that your body never gets used to a certain workout, and you don’t get bored!

Tyler King writes about various health topics and helps run www.online-health-source.info

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