Here’s some straight talk about obesity. It is easy to use that word, and we usually think of someone grossly overweight as being obese. But there is a technical, medical definition of obesity which might surprise you. Medically, obesity is the condition of having excess body fat to the extent that health is compromised. Pre-obese, or merely being overweight is a less serious health condition, and is defined as having a BMI (Body Mass Index) between 25 kg/m² and 30 kg/m². More than 30 kg/m² is considered obese.
BMI compares height to weight and thereby figures out if you are the right weight for your height. The formula for the calculation is kilograms (how much you weigh in kilograms) divided by how tall you are in centimeters, squared (times itself.) Here is an example. If I am 5’ 10” tall, that is equal to 178 cm which equals 1.78 meters. If I weigh 155 pounds, that is equal to 70 kg. So put the numbers into the formula and you get 70kg/1.78 * 1.78 = 70/3.17 = about 22. That is considered quite normal. Last summer I could not have gotten to a BMI figure like 22, but because of my consistency with my Bender Ball and other kinds of exercising, I reached my ideal weight quickly.
Now that you are up and about exercising, running, swimming, biking, and of course working out your abdominal muscles with your always reliable Bender Ball, you probably want to get a good handle on how you are doing with your body fat. Unfortunately protable body fat analyzers are notoriously unreliable. But there are some methods of calculating body fat that your doctor might want to do with you.
DXA stands for Dual energy X-ray absorption. Using X-ray technology this method can give detailed information about the comparative amounts of fat, muscle and bone you are harboring in different parts of your body.
Ever wonder what a “Bod Pod” was for? This egg-shaped device performs ‘air displacement plethysmography’ on your unsuspecting body. It sounds complicated, but really all it is is the bod measuring weight (duh) and your volume, (how much space you take up- air displacement) whose two numbers give the density of your bod. Once the device knows your density, it can figure out how much of you is fat.
Another way to figure your density is by weighing you underwater. While seated on a special chair it is possible to calculate your underwater weight, which is your density. Just like in the above mentioned method, once your density is known it is an easy thing to calculate the percentage of the body which is fat.
You have probably been wondering whether or not your body fat analyzer is particularly accurate. Especially now, since you have been getting into a nice exercise routine using your Bender Ball as the focal point of everything else you are doing, it would be nice to know if, besides getting stronger and better looking abdominal muscles, that you are also doing your part to reduce body fat.
Unfortunately most commonly used body fat analyzers, also called impedance meters, are not particularly accurate or reliable. There are many variables that can influence the reading, including the quality of the device which you are using, as well as how much water you have imbibed recently. For a good estimate of the percentage of body fat you are carrying around its best to ask your doctor. And don’t forget to tell him about your Bender Ball and the great results you are getting with it, working out your abs in a crunchless, painless way.
It’s always important to wear good shoes when you exercise. Some people take this for granted, but it makes a big difference in the health of your feet and in your workout routine. I have been pushing off buying new shoes for my exercise routine because they are definitely expensive. But, I finally gave in. Now, when I do my walking routine, my crunchless abs with my Bender Ball and the rest of my routine, I feel great about it.
My new shoes are incredibly comfortable and they fit great. And, I know that I’m doing something important for myself while also taking care of my body. And that’s worth the cost of the shoes to me!
If you want to try a new get fit method, check out the Bender Method of Core Training. This was created by Leslee Bender, a “master fitness trainer with over 25 years of experience.” Bender has been presenting various fitness training methods around the world; training fitness instructors to improve their work and certified more than 1,500 trainers too. Today she has her own fitness studio training people to “transform their bodies and improve their health and fitness,” through what has become known as the Bender Ball Method. She also believes that no matter what one’s fitness level, everyone can benefit from the Bender Method of Training, from beginners to advanced.
I’ve found one of the best secrets for my own diet – I’ve cut out the beer. Did you know that each beer that you drink has about 150 calories? That’s 150 completely wasted calories that could be used on a large salad, two slices of diet bread and some diet cheese, or something else that will be filling and nutritious. Now, I’ve never been an enormous drinker, but I could certainly finish a six pack over a weekend while kicking back and watching some t.v. That’s 900 extra calories in one weekend that I used to drink!
This is how I’m trying to approach my dieting these days. I don’t have to go crazy and throw out every food that I’ve ever eaten. I’ve stepped up my exercise a bit, trying to add a minute a day of crunchess abs with the Bender Ball to my routine while walking for a few extra minutes at a time. And, I’m trying to eliminate those foods that I know are truly a waste of calories and that are unnecessarily.
So far it’s been working!
Summertime often means an upset the regular routine. Whether you’re packing up the whole family for a long vacation or you’re just on a slightly different schedule since the kids are in camp and not school, there is certainly going to be some disruption to the routine. How can you make sure to continue doing your exercise in a timely and consistent manner under these circumstances? Here are a few suggestions to keep you on the ball through the summer.
1. Create a routine: Even if you feel you are completely without a routine – you really can create one for yourself. On your vacation, for instance, say that the first ten minutes when you awake and the last ten minutes before you go to sleep will be dedicated to crunchless abs with your Bender Ball. If you can fit in other exercise, great. If not, at least you’ve done something.
2. Keep your eye on the goal. Whether that means that you carry around a fat picture of yourself when you weren’t looking your best, or you have that skinny pair of jeans in your closet that you keep hoping to fit into, have something that will remind you of your goal.
3. Remember that it’s not forever. Just because you are out of sorts for a few weeks and are having a difficult time focusing doesn’t mean that this will be forever. You will get back into your routine. Just don’t take it as an excuse to bing and enjoy your relaxation too much! Remember you still want to melt it off and don’t want to have to dust off your Bender Ball when the summer ends!
The age old advice on seeing better results from your workout routine, is to basically mix it up. It’s no good sticking at the same routine forever; you need a bit of change. So no matter what you are doing, whether it is walking, jogging, using machines at the gym, swimming, etc., it might be worth you thinking about supplementing your routine (or even replacing something) with a Bender Ball. The bender ball with its method of core training “gives you a workout that’s up to 408% more effective than ordinary crunches.”
In addition, if you do mix up your routine a little, you will reap other benefits as well. Check out the latest on this with this article: http://www.fitsugar.com/How-Do-You-Strength-Train-8634440?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fitsugar+%28FitSugar+-+Healthy%2C+happy+you.%29
We went away for the weekend to friends of ours, and I was nervous before leaving that it would be a stressful weekend. Our friends are quite overweight, and the center of their time seems to focus on food. What is a guy who’s trying to be healthy and to eat well to do when faced with a weekend of food?
Bender Ball to the Rescue
The answer? Bender Ball and walking! I got my wife to commit, before we went, to walking with me each morning and to using her Bender Ball while I was using mine. I found that, when I started out the day walking, and could keep a clear head before even sitting down to eat, it made a huge difference. I wasn’t as tempted by the foods that were placed before me, and I was able to use portion control.
Crunchless Abs and Bender Ball Helpers
And, I actually went for an additional walk each day, and did some extra crunchless abs in the afternoon with the Bender Ball just so that I would continue feeling good. Way to go Bender Ball for seeing me through!
If you are anything like me and you find yourself constantly running around, engaging in stressful activities, then you might want to try getting a bit of time for yourself. We’re not talking hours a day, but by using the Bender Ball for around 5 minutes per day, you will automatically be able to have some total quiet time in which you can even meditate. As well, with just 5 easy minutes a day of Bender Ball exercise, you will see yourself getting thinner as you melt it off. Yes that’s right. Five minutes per day, rocking gently on the Bender Ball doing crunchless abs, will have you looking trimmer in no time. It’s not a tough exercise and if you are anything like me and really need to slow down once in a while, you will actually begin to look forward to your Bender Ball exercise time.
Relax with the Bender Ball
I for one, certainly look forward to my time with the Bender Ball each night. Initially I thought it was just another difficult way to get in shape; believe you me I have tried enough of them. But the Bender Ball is really different. First, it doesn’t require much time. And second, when you are melting it off on the Bender Ball, because it only requires crunchless abs, there is no pain involved either. And third – probably the best thing for me – using the Bender Ball on a regular basis has really started to give me the much needed me-time I’ve been seeking. That makes me a winner with the Bender Ball on all counts!
