Fitness – The ugly truth

Facebook announced yesterday that they will be integrating a new face recognition software to their system to make tagging photos of friends easier.  Wow!  I’m a technology geek, but this kind of freaks me out a bit.  Once your friends identify you in a few photos, Facebook’s software will be able to pick you out of photos.  You can opt yourself out of being auto-tagged in photos, but it appears the default will be that everyone will be opted-in.  Hmmm.  Here’s the original post from Justin Mitchell

http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=467145887130

Piles of candy.  Tons of great food at your fingertips.  No doubt about it, the holidays can really suck for anyone trying to actually keep their weight under control.  Elizabeth Perez’s article gives you some quick tips on the best ways to keep your head about you throughout the holiday season.

http://www.fatmanunleashed.com/fighting-the-holiday-feasts/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FatManUnleashedFeed+%28Fat+Man+Unleashed+-+Health+and+Fitness+Blog%29

Working out in the “big boy” part of the gym can be a bit intimidating.  All the flexing and grunting, wow!  The advantages of working out with free-weights are dramatic, but the downsides can be just as big.  This article explains the more dangerous exercises and some safer alternatives.  http://www.musclemagfitness.com/fitness-and-exercises/general-fitness-articles/worst-weight-lifting-exercises.html

Numb feet while working out is a common complaint among users of elliptical trainers.  The complaints break down into two basic areas – blood flow vs. nerve pinch.  After reading through many pages on the topic it seems to boil down to the following causes:

Shoes laces to tight – several people mentioned that they were able to resolve their numbness by experimenting with how loosely or tightly their shoes were tied.  Pay particular attention to the laces across your toes.  In most cases it appears that people have the toe area laced to tightly and the ankle not tight enough.  I suggest you experiment with adjustments here first.

Lack of Arch support – I found a few comments related to the user solving the problem by increasing the arch support in their shoes.  Trying an over the counter arch support is probably your next cheapest thing to try.

Rock your feet on the pedals – since your feet are more or less stationary this could be part of the issue.  Make sure your toes are getting jammed up against the front of the pedal.   After that, try focusing on where your weight is balanced.  If you’re continually on the balls of your feet, try rocking from heel to toe to simulate a bit more of a walking motion.  This could help remove the constant pressure being placed on any nerves getting aggravated.

Width of shoes – to narrow of shoe equals pinched toes.  If you need to go this far to solve the problem (aka buying new shoes) then you may want to consider going to a specialty running store to be fitted for shoes.  At a top end store, you can expect to have the sale person check out your current shoes for wear patterns, watch you walk while laying on the floor staring at your feet.  A bit odd feeling to have someone eyeball you from ground level, but apparently there is method to the madness.

Do you have a solution for keeping your feet from going numb?  Let us know – post your comment below.

I read and follow so many different specialty interests that I’m always bumping into cool information about health, fitness, exercise and various gadgets.  I’ll do my best to keep this blog focused on health and fitness but don’t be surprised to find posts about something I found on some other science or technology topic.  Look for the follow button next to this post and click it.

I also take questions from viewers.  If you’re not able to find information on something related to these topics, let me know by posting in the comments section of this site and I’ll see if I can’t help you out with some information sources.

No safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke.  It’s suprising to me how long our society has taken to get to the point we’re at on cigarette smoking.  Freedom of choice is important to me so I’m first inclined to step away from the issue and say that people make their own choices.  Unfortunately the consequences of their actions impact society as a whole through increased medical expenses stemming from diseases that were preventable.  I realize the addiction aspect of the habit but denial of the potential outcomes won’t get you out of the cancer treatment that your future may hold for you if you don’t quit.  Here’s a great write-up on it from CNN:  http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/12/09/tobacco.risk/index.html

Being busy is fine and dandy but everything has its limits.  Personally I can’t manage to do more than 1 thing at a time.  Sometimes even that becomes a challenge when distracted with “shiny objects”, but here’s a great little article for those of you that are “able” to keep more balls in the air.  Here’s some of the key points

• Notice happiness when you have it.
• Unplug yourself – phones, email, facebook. 
• Ask for help – People are more willing to lend a hand but most won’t think of it unless asked.

Here’s a link to the article – http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/11/12/the-multitaskers-guide-to-happiness/

Is there anything aspirin won’t fix?  A study released earlier this week confirms the findings of earlier studies that low dose aspirin reduced the number of colorectal cancer by 25%.  Wow.  The study appears in the medical journal Lancet, found here. 

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)62110-1/fulltext

A new drug has received initial approval from the FDA for the treatment of obesity – Contrave.  The drug, as with most drugs, has side effects that need to be closely monitored.  In this case blood pressure increases were noted as patients lose weight.  Let’s hope this isn’t another Phen-Phen scenario 10 years from now.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20101207/fda-panel-supports-new-obesity-drug?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Here’s a product that has a unique twist on defying the gravity of heavy objects, in other words lifting weights.  Neopreme disk-shaped containers for holding sand or even steel bearings.  Higher fluidity of the medium being lifted engages more muscles for a harder workout.

“Hyper Wear’s SandBell is a cross between a sandbag, a dumbbell, a barbell, a grip bag, a medicine ball, a slam ball, a stability pod, a gliding disk”

http://www.hyperwear.com/