Health Terrell

Personal Training with Trevor Cole (Interactive Activity)

Over this past weekend I scheduled a time to come in for an hour and have the Fitness Expert at the Trussville YMCA, Trevor Cole, teach me about lifting weights and training. I also let him know that I had been researching a lot about the nutrition side of health, and would like to go straight into the fitness part. I bought a membership in February of 2010 so I wasn't that nervous about going in at first because I normally workout at the YMCA 3-4 times a week already and have seen him in the weight room.


When I got there I went into his office and talked a couple minutes about the next hour. We decided we were going to hit all of the major lifts (bench press, squat, dead lift). We tried to focus on form because that was the one thing I was lacking. Overall it was a great experience, and the proper form allowed me to lift stronger and isolate the muscle groups that I meant to workout. I plan to use the correct form that I was taught every time I workout, and hopefully will be in better shape, which in turn, provides with great health. I also learned that after a workout, the best recovery is a short 10 minute cardio session. It helps pump blood and oxygen throughout the body which is a great formula for recovery. He also talked to me about what supplements I should be taking: protein, creatine, and gludamine. Overall this was a great experience that will help me every time I visit the YMCA!

Live Young Forever

Live Young Forever, by Jack Lalanne is a very interesting book on health and nutrition. I wanted to read this book because if a man at 70 years old (90 years old now), can tow 70 boats for 1.5 miles, all against high winds and currents while handcuffed - he must be doing something right! He loves health, it's what he dedicated his life to do. Near the end of the book he writes "My greatest satisfaction has been in passing this healthful philosophy to generations of people like you who have read my books, listened to my seminars or watched me on T.V." (274). Lalanne wasn't always this way, while he was young he was addicted to sugar and other bad habits that resulted in him always being sick. At age 14 he went to a health seminar and decided to change his life. Lalanne breaks the book down into twelve "steps" to achieve optimum health, fitness, and longevity. The portion of the book is about clean eating and regular exercise, it's very motivating to read. He talks about how fruits and vegetables have helped his health progress. He is even the owner of a juicer making company. A key factor in the book is motivation. He believes that you can accomplish anything as long as you're motivated. There are diagrams in the book to help you with exercises, and also nutritional facts on many fruits and vegetables.

Let's start with the positives. This is a very motivating and informing book on health. Jack Lalanne is known as "the godfather of fitness", so he knows what he's talking about. My favorite part of the book was hearing about where he was (sugarholic, bad health, always sick) when he was younger, and how he has changed his life for the better. Everything that he wrote about has lined up to what I've learned, which is a great thing. It also has helped me in my own health journey; I joined Trussville's YMCA in early February, and I didn't know much about health. Doing this research project, along with reading this book inspires me to keep going to the gym regularly, and continuing to eat healthy. It was a great read, and his since of humor made me not want to put it down.

The only problem I had with Live Young Forever is that it has a lot of pictures, normally more then one on every page. Normally I love pictures, but it seemed like there wasn't enough information. Overall it was a great read, and I enjoyed it.

Lalanne, Jack. Live Young Forever. Mississauga, ON: Robert Kennedy Publishing, 2009.

Alcohol-related Neurologic Disease

In the Encyclopedia of Medicine there is an article on "Alcohol-related neurologic disease". Alcohol has a direct toxic affect on nerve and muscle cells; it also damages the brain, peripheral nerves, and muscles. Alcohol can lead to memory loss, seizures, weakness, and incoordination. There are many different alcohol-related neurologic diseases which include: Wernicke-Korsakeoff disease, alcoholic cebellar degeneration, and alcoholic myopathy. These all have the same causes, which is drinking a fatal dose of alcohol. Symptoms include: insomnia, fever, respiratory failure, seizures, vomiting,double vision, and these all lead to death or chronic longterm irreversible damage to any level of the nervous system. The best prevention requires abstinence from alcohol, but persons who consume small or moderate amounts of alcohol decrease risks for neurologic complications of alcohol use. People find it hard to quit drinking, because it's very addictive. The definition of addiction by the article is "a dependence, on a behavior or substance, that a person is powerless to stop." (40). People who are addicted need to find help by talking to a family member, friend, or a doctor.

I chose this topic to research because all of the other sources talk about how awful alcohol is for your body when abused. I decided to learn more, and look in the Encyclopedia of Medicine. I learned a lot about how the long term effects of alcohol eventually lead to disease. I also agree about how abstinence and moderation are the best way to handle alcohol. This was a great article that I enjoyed reading.

Olendorf, Donna. The Gale Encyclopedia of Medine. "Alcohol-related Neurologic Disease." 6 vols. Famington Hills: Gale Research, 1999.

Sleep and Rest

In The Seven Pillars of Health, by Don Colbert, an arrangement of topics that lead to better health is listed. Among the list I read an informational chapter on sleep and rest. I learned that sleep builds procedural memory, which means what you practice during the day; you continue to learn while sleeping. I learned that most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night, and when you’re sleep deprived, you have an increased chance of forming type two diabetes. Certain snacks before bedtime can increase quality of sleep, but some snacks can hurt sleep. Snacks that are good include low sugar and zero caffeine foods. Don Colbert believes, “Maintaining a bedtime ritual is essential to a good night’s sleep for children and adults. Exercise is one way to improve the quality of your sleep.” (Colbert).

Overall this was the most informative post I’ve done so far. The chapter had so much information and tips that hopefully will help me. Being a typical high school teenager, it’s hard to get the amount of sleep I need, but there are so many health benefits of proper rest. Hopefully I’ll be able to retain everything I learned and practice the methods I was taught.

Colbert, Don. The Seven Pillars of Health. “Pillar 2: Sleep and Rest”.Lake Mary, FL: Siloam, 2007.

The Effects of Bad Habits

Jack Lalanne had a very popular series of tv shoes that helped people stay in shape and live a healthier, longer life. In this specific tv show Jack talks about the bad habits of eating non-natural foods. He talks about how processed foods are bad, and that overcooked foods cook out all of the nutrients. During the show he says, "Most people think that the body is made out of hat is this body really made out of cigarettes, coffee, cakes, pies, donuts, and french fries; this is not the truth" (Lalanne). All people can eat healthy, because the same store that sells processed, sugary foods also sell natural and whole grain foods. Currently Jack Lalanne just turned 95 and expects to have another 50 years before he dies.

Everything that Jack Lalanne is talking about is very true. Nutrition is key in determining the health of your body. I also think it's very sad how often people eat fast-food. Fast-food is nothing but poison entering our body. I also think it's crazy how old Lalanne is and how he still is in great shape. I don't know any other 95 year olds who can still do handstand pushups.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_bGktVjk-M

Bigger, Stronger, Faster

Bigger, Stronger, Faster is a documentary made in 2008 about American's health and the way it affects our society. It's a story about a man named Chris Bell and his two brothers who grew up idolizing muscular giants like Hulk Hogan, Sylvester Stallone, and Arnold Schwarzenegger - who went on to use steroids thorughout their life. Chris says in the documentary, "When you discover that your heroes have all broken the rules, do you follow the rules, or do you follow your heroes? (Bell).


I really enjoyed this documentary and would recomend it for anyone. After anaylzing the documentary, at the beggining of the movie Chris was very anti-steroids and everything seemed to be biast against it. As the documentary progressed it started turning into a pro-steroid movie, through facts and evidence supporting them. After watching it all the way through it really does make you question American society and how we want to be bigger, stronger, and faster.





http://www.megavideo.com/?v=JPVTUU6S