Health in the workplace

Health in the workplace
The workplace has, in recent years for some become one of
the unhealthiest environments in which to operate.
Employees find themselves in pressure situations where they
may be unclear of their job definition other than to appear
busy and create a positive impression.

Motivation levels are very low and workers do what is
necessary by agreeing, smiling and nodding heads in order
to climb the corporate ladder. Employees in the United
Kingdom work on average the longest hours per week in their
main job (compared with the rest of the EU) and this holds
for both men and women. Men's hours range from 39 per week
in Belgium and the Netherlands to 42 in Greece and 45 in
the United Kingdom. Women's hours all fall in the range 36
hours (Italy) to 41 hours (United Kingdom).

This issue needs to be addressed in order to improve the
state of "corporate health". According to statistics, over
2 million people are suffering from an illness or injury
which they believe is caused or made worse by their current
or past work (Health and Occupation Reporting Network).

An overwhelming 97% of senior HR professionals believe that
stress at work is the biggest threat to the future health
of the UK workforce.

Stress and musculoskeletal injuries are the most common
cause of absence in business, and according to the
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, staff on
average cost an employer £567 EACH per year in lost
earnings through absence, although this figure could
actually be tripled when the indirect costs of sickness in
loss of sales, reduced customer service and lower
productivity are taken into account.

Some 32.9 million working days are lost annually from
people taking time off due to their illnesses.

The Cost of Back Pain: Over 1.1 million people in the UK
experience musculoskeletal disorders caused by work, with
an estimated 12.3 million days lost annually because of
this.

The Cost of Work Related Stress: Stress is a natural
reaction people have to excessive pressures placed upon
them. While not an illness itself, if it is prolonged or
intense it can lead to mental and physical ill health. This
can include depression, back pain or heart disease.

In the United Kingdom as many as one in five people are
suffering form high levels of work related stress (that's
around 5 million workers). Around half a million
individuals report experiencing stress at a level they
believe made them ill. This results in approximately 13.4
million working days lost per year.

What Can Be Done? Studies have shown that not only does
exercise keep you looking and feeling your best, it helps
boost energy and concentration, therefore making you much
more productive at work. According to an MSNBC report, 60%
of workers that participated in a recent British study
indicated that taking an "exercise break" during the day
boosted their time management, mental performance, and
ability to meet deadlines. Researchers found that exercise
provided a performance boost of up to 15%. It also improved
worker's overall mood at the end of the day. The type of
exercise, the duration, and the intensity didn't seem to
matter. The effect was observed over a wide range of
activities including yoga, strength training, and aerobics.
We recommend taking a couple of small 15-30 minute breaks
during the day is a great way to renew your focus,
concentration, and energy. This is especially true for
creative knowledge workers who have to concentrate
intensely for long periods of time over the course of a
typical workday. Exercise is a great activity for break
time because it not only gives you an immediate energy
boost, but it also helps you release stress and deal with
job pressures. Some activities to consider during your
breaks include light stretching or talking a stroll
outside. If you'd rather not sweat too much while at work,
you can save more intense physical activity for lunchtime
(when you can shower) or after work.

"Corporate wellness" programmes are a growing sector within
many businesses to promote the physical health of employees
for the purposes of increasing productivity and reducing
absenteeism.

The format of most programmes usually involves health
checks, seminars and cut priced gym memberships. This
service is a huge step in the right direction and should be
promoted to all businesses. Although this alone may make an
employee feel upbeat about their job for a little longer it
doesn't really address the real issues.

Research has suggested that nearly half of all Brits blame
the demands of the workplace for preventing them from
getting to the gym, so what use is a cut price membership
if you can't find the time to exercise??

----------------------------------------------------
David Osgathorp Owner, All About You Performance &
Wellbeing. Unit 3 Broadbent Close, Highgate, London, N6
5JW. Tel: 020 8348 9706, Mob: 07779 729122. If you would
like more information then pleas contact us via the
website: http://aayou.co.uk/default.aspx

GPP - Stands for Get Phat off Phast - Part 1

GPP - Stands for Get Phat off Phast - Part 1
This is the time of year when everyone has made his/her New
Year's resolution that "this year is going to be
different." If you are one of those people, that is
awesome. Even if I did not have a calendar, I would always
be able to tell that it is this time of year due to the
exponential growth of joggers/runners I see on my short
drive to and from work. I kind of feel sorry for them as
they relentlessly pound the pavement, likely for several
miles at a time, traumatizing their joints and burning off
precious amounts of muscle. The phenomenon of running to
lose weight never ceases to amaze me because
jogging/running long distances at a slow pace is far from
optimal in terms of achieving desired body composition
results. The good news for those of you who may have
already started or are contemplating jogging/running is
there are better ways to make "this year different." I am
going to introduce you to a more desirable training method
that not only addresses fat loss more effectively but also
addresses the issue of time efficiency. This training
method is referred to as GPP. It stands for General
Physical Preparation. In basic terms, this type of
training is intended to increase your capacity to do
generalized work (i.e., to be "in shape").

In my estimation, 90% of the American population is
deficient in this type of physical preparation, athletes
included. Therefore, everyone can benefit by adding a bit
of this training to his/her regimen. Not only will it help
you drop some body fat, it also will help you function as a
human being. I don't care who you are. You are going to
be required to do some sort of physical labor in your life,
whether it is carrying boxes of files up four flights of
stairs, lifting and carrying several bags of cat litter or
food to and from your car, or just chasing your young one
around in the backyard. Not only will performing some GPP
help to prepare you for these events, it will also help
prevent injuries (fatigue and injury go hand in hand), and
it will help you keep from being totally wiped out after
such work.

I would like to relate a quick story about my experience
with GPP. I have been an athlete for the better part of my
life and lifting weights for physical preparation has been
an accepted norm during that entire time. However, during
my high school years I rarely touched a weight. It was not
because of a lack of desire, but more because I lived 45
miles from my high school weight room and there was always
plenty of work to be done on the farm. Well, during the
summertime when everyone else was going to the gym, I would
be in the mountains with my family hauling 50-200 lb. logs
all around the forest for the better part of an eight hour
day. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was doing some
serious GPP. It crossed over to my athletic endeavors and
allowed me to perform at optimal levels on the playing
field in the fall. Needless to say, I am a big fan of GPP
both for athletes and non-athletes alike. We are all human
beings and we all have to do physical work at some point in
our lives, so why not be prepared.

----------------------------------------------------
Troy M. Anderson is the owner of Anderson Training Systems,
LLC, a fitness coaching business based in Tempe, Arizona.
Troy is often referred to as "the MacGyver of coaching" for
his unique ability to build effective fitness programs
using only the most basic equipment.

Fitness Ain't Pretty-RESULTS ARE!

Ho'oponopono For Stress Relief

Ho'oponopono For Stress Relief
At some point or other, everyone experiences stress. Stress
is essentially an emotional and physical reaction to some
stimulus. Though people tend to categorize stress as an
entirely emotional or mental reaction, the response caused
by stress ultimately causes a physical reaction in the
body. The physical reactions caused by stress, if such
reactions occur regularly over time, can lead to a number
of physical ailments. Fatigue, back pain, muscle soreness,
and even heart dysfunction have all been linked to chronic
stress reaction. It's understandable then why many people
seek ways to reduce the stress in their lives.

While stress can result in physical outcomes, the notion of
a stressor is a mental response. That is to say, what a
person does or does not consider a stressor results from
individual perception. What may seem to be a stressful
circumstance to one person isn't considered stressful to
someone else. Treating stress conditions then almost always
involves attempting to alter how a person views stress, and
then how they respond to it. A number of treatments
subscribe to this sort of mind over matter approach, and
for some people it's proven successful.

There are increasingly alternative approaches to treating
stress and other forms of emotional distress. One method
that some people advocate is the practice of ho'oponopono.
Ho'oponopono is an ancient technique that originated in
Hawaii and was used as a conflict solving measure. It's
worth noting that ho'oponopono is still used in Hawaii
today as a means of solving conflict. Another form of
ho'oponopono emerged however as an individual approach to
problem solving. Self Identity Through Ho'oponopono is a
form developed by a revered Hawaiian woman named Morrnah
Simeona. This updated version of ho'oponopono allows a
single individual to solve problems and improve life
outlook.

Though ho'oponopono is not universally accepted as some
form of healing method, it has a growing number of
practitioners who swear by its results. One benefit to
ho'oponopono according to some is stress reduction and an
overall sense of serenity. The ultimate goal of
ho'oponopono in many ways is to surrender and be guided by
a positive force. This of course is quite different from
many proactive treatment approaches, and as such is seen
skeptically by some. There are those who have even equated
ho'oponopono to a form of fantastical magic. This is
refuted however by regular practitioners of ho'oponopono
who say the ho'oponopono method is not magical but
spiritual, and has been documented to work besides. Agree
or disagree about whether ho'oponopono works, there's no
denying a growing interest in the method.

----------------------------------------------------
Zinn Jeremiah is a freelance writer. Find more ho'oponopono
resources by visiting http://www.hooponoponohelp.com or
http://www.hooponoponohelp.com/god-help-me.htm .

How Can I Lose Fat?

How Can I Lose Fat?
Many companies and individuals want you to believe that
natural weight loss is difficult to achieve but it's just a
case of not eating as much, and having enough regular
exercise; this guidance is lost on many! This advice should
be easy to comprehend - at least you would think it was;
with the number of overweight American citizens increasing,
this advice obviously doesn't work. Despite this, most of
these overweight people want to be trim again although it
is probably more for cosmetic reasons than those related to
their health.

The strange thing is though that it is so much easier to
stay trim than it is to lose weight because as soon as you
start putting on weight, many things become more difficult.
If there is one thing we all know, it is that weight gain
is likely to happen if we do not take forward-looking steps
to stop it.

For some reason even when dieters who have become used to,
and enjoy, a low calorie diet, they eventually drift back
to old habits and start piling the pounds back on again.
You can maintain your weight through natural weight loss
methods and even if being at the centre of unwanted
attention doesn't convince you, surely your health should.

The truth is there is a huge price to pay with your health
when you are overweight and in particular, clinically
obese. The annoying part is that natural weight maintenance
is not difficult to understand but overweight people choose
to ignore this.

Some people worry about what foods they will eat on a
natural weight loss program but it is just a case of having
a combination of, protein, carbohydrate and fiber. If you
were looking at a meal then this would be a baked potato
(carbohydrate), the vegetables would be the fiber and a
little meat, is the protein.

Dietary fat is a problem because it is full of calories
which will be converted into body fat unlike calories that
are consumed in food from other sources. Food manufacturers
have been quick to react and have provided a huge range of
low or no fat foods but despite this the American people
are getting larger, the simple reason for this may surprise
you!

Whilst completely false, the perception is that you can
basically eat exactly what you want provided it is fat-free
but there are still calories in the food which can easily
be converted to body fat. Where this goes wrong is with
overweight people who think that if it's fat free they can
eat more of it instead of eating a healthy snack.

Schools of thought differ on this subject but many
nutritionists agree that eating smaller meals with a snack
every 3 to four hours or between meals could be beneficial
providing main meals are not missed. Natural weight loss
and body maintenance is a way of living, something we all
did rather successfully not that long ago; it is not a
craze that can be forgotten about when the next one comes
along.

----------------------------------------------------
Article by Rachel Harding. Are you struggling to lose
weight I was to till now. Go to http://offto.net/io0whp/ to
find out what I did.

Tune Your Body with Your Voice

Tune Your Body with Your Voice
What is it about the human voice that gives it healing
qualities or abilities? It boils down to two things. One is
frequency and the other is intention. Your entire body is a
symphony of many different frequencies.

The smallest building blocks of matter are atoms and their
parts. At this level, everything is in vibration.
Vibrations occur at different frequencies, measured in
Hertz. Frequency measures how quickly a vibration is
moving. For example, your brainwaves are divided into
different categories by frequency. All of them are present
at any given moment. One of the categories will most likely
be predominant depending on what you are doing. If you are
busy at work, your brainwaves will register mostly in the
beta range from 14 to 20 Hertz. If you close your eyes and
relax for a few moments your brainwaves will slow down to
predominately alpha waves from 8 to 13 Hertz.. Even
individual cells resonate with the combined frequencies of
their parts.

When something in your body goes out of tune imbalance,
dis-ease or illness can settle in. To assist in returning
your body to balance there is one thing that carries all
the frequencies of your body. That is your voice.

So, how do you find the frequency, for example, of a tight
muscle in your shoulder? When you were a child, did you
ever play with making siren sounds with your voice? The
lowest sound you can make, the highest sound you can make
and all the sounds in between as you slide your sound up
and down carry every frequency of your body. To find the
frequency the tight muscle in the shoulder, first, create
the intention that you want to find the sound that will
help to bring that muscle back into tune. Next, make the
siren sound up and down. Listen carefully to the sound.

Is there a tone or sound in the siren that seems louder or
softer than the others? As you slide your voice up and
down, is there a sound that you seem to be drawn to or that
you keep returning to? Allow your intuition and body wisdom
to find the sound. Once you have found the frequency or
sound, sing or hum it to the tight muscle. You can use a
vowel like ahhh or ohhh or any sound that feels
appropriate. Imagine the sound massaging the muscle fibers
and relaxing the tension. Combining visualization with
sound is extremely effective. Always remember to hold a
clear intention for the sound you give to your body.

----------------------------------------------------
The combination of Sharon Carne's expertise in music and
sound, spiritual transformation and her inner guidance has
led Sharon to her soul work. In her workshops people learn
how to dissolve stress and experience how sound heals. Her
CDs offer support for those who are removing negativity and
old patterns of thought and behavior from their lives.
http://www.mountainrosemusic.com

Strength Training versus Aerobics - what is the difference?

Strength Training versus Aerobics - what is the difference?
If you are looking for a total body workout, you want to
combine strength training and aerobics. These are two very
different types of exercise but the work together to turn
your body into a finely tuned machine. Weight training will
tone your muscles, making you stronger while aerobics will
make your heart and lungs stronger, giving you more stamina
while burning the fat. These two disciplines of exercise
work best when you combine them with a sensible, sound
nutritional plan. When you combine good nutrition, strength
training and aerobics you can get the body you have always
wanted.

Strength Training

Strength training is typically weight bearing exercise or
resistance training. It does just what the title suggests,
it builds strength. Weight lifting and exercise machines
are examples of strength training devices. However, pilates
and yoga can also be methods of strength training. You
don't necessarily have to hold free weights to use a
machine to strength train. You can use the weight of your
own body to provide resistance and increase your strength.

It is a good practice to strength train one set of muscles
(such as the upper body) one day and another set (such as
the lower body) the next. Most muscle groups need time to
rest and recover after exercise. So while you can work out
every day, you should work out different muscle groups each
day to give worked muscles time to rest and repair. This
will give you optimal results.

Aerobics

Aerobics is a cardio exercise that gets your heart rate up
and keeps it up. This can be anything from walking to
riding a bike. You can run on a treadmill or take an
aerobics class. If it gets your heart rate up, it is an
aerobic activity. You generally move a lot during aerobic
exercise.

You can do aerobic exercises every day because they do not
focus on specific muscle groups. Where strength training
makes you strong, aerobics makes you lean. It also
strengthens your heart and respiratory system, giving you
increased stamina. With regular aerobic exercise, you will
find that you can run faster and longer as well as perform
better.

Interval Training

Interval training is a combination of weight training and
aerobics and is attributed to effective weight loss and
conditioning. During interval training, you do your
regular weight training, but intersperse with brief spurts
of aerobic exercise. For instance, you do a set of curls,
then walk on the treadmill for five minutes. Next, you do
a bench press and then ride a bike for seven minutes. In
short, you do an aerobic activity such as jumping rope,
walking on the treadmill, running or riding a bike for
short bursts in between each set of weights or nautilis
machines.

Interval training is very popular among athletes because it
builds stamina and strength. With people who want to lose
weight, it can bring about fantastic results. Interval
training utilizes the best results of strength training and
aerobics.

What is a Total Body Workout?

A total body workout involves both strength training and
aerobic exercise so that your entire body is worked. You
get the benefits of being stronger as well as having
enhanced endurance. A typical total body workout consists
of working one muscle group (such as the upper body) for
thirty minutes or so a day three times a week - Monday,
Wednesday and Friday, then the other muscle group (such as
the lower body) for thirty minutes or so three times a week
- Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Aerobic activity is
practices every day for about thirty minutes. Some workouts
differ in times, some go longer and some are shorter, but
that is the basic total body workout.

Nutrition

If you are working your body with strength training and
aerobics, you need to have the proper nutrition to fuel
your body so that is can perform at an optimum level. You
should eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole
grains and lean meats. You need a lot of protein to fuel
your muscles, muscle growth and loss of fat. The various
fruits and vegetables give you the vitamins and minerals
that you need. Whole grains like brown rice and quinoa also
offer protein, fiber and minerals. If you are training
intensively you may find that you need nutritional
supplements. This is very common for people who train
vigorously.

There are specific differences between strength training
and aerobics. Actually, these two types of exercise work
together to form a total body workout. When you combine the
two you will find that you body is stronger, leaner and
have better stamina. If you want to tune your body to an
optimal level, strength training and aerobic activity are
the way to accomplish it.

----------------------------------------------------
Ron Godlewski has written many articles on health,
wellness, and maintaining vitality as we manage our weight
through lifestyle diets. You can read more about the
importance of nutrition while strength training or doing
aerobics in his articles library at
http://www.pillfreesupplements.com and even receive your
own complementary quart of a leading nutritional supplement.

Top Secret: How The Easter Bunny Stays Fit

Top Secret: How The Easter Bunny Stays Fit
With all the Easter eggs this bunny has to deliver, it's
hard for him to find the time to stay fit.

And for the Easter bunny he's got to stay fit to be super
efficient on his big day (Easter).

But today I'll share with you an important type of training
Mr. Bunny does to prepare for Easter.

It's called High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT.

HIIT consists of a warm-up, several short,
maximum-intensity efforts separated by moderate recovery
intervals, and then a cool down.

The sessions should lasts about 15 minutes. But that's the
minimum that you can do. Now that might seem like a really
short period of time to do exercises and still see results,
but there's been numerous studies that prove short high
intensity bouts of exercise, burn fat, maintaining and
building lean muscle, increase your resting metabolic rate,
and also improves you're your max Vo2 (the maximal amount
of oxygen you can intake).

Not bad for just 15 minutes huh?

Now although this type of training is a lot shorter than
traditional training sessions, it does take a great amount
of effort and discipline to perform the short burst of
effort.

I'd recommend you start off doing your high intensity
intervals by incorporating it first into your cardio.

For example: if you're going for a jog you can jog for 1
minute and then sprint your heart out for 15 seconds.

Think of the jogging part as your rest and the sprinting
part as your high intensity portion.

Once you feel comfortable you can use this same approach
with different exercises in your routine.

Here's a quick program to get you started.

Before you try them out, here are a couple guidelines you
must follow.

Before you start an exercise program consult your family
physician.

Start slow and build up to a higher level of intensity.

If you feel uncomfortable, stop what our doing and recover.

Do an exercise for 20 seconds and then take 10 second
before starting a new set.

Based on 4 minute rounds, broken down into 8 sets for 30
seconds.

Do a quick warm up, 5-7 minutes.

Your Quick Workout

Squats: 30 seconds

Rest: 10 seconds

Push Ups: 30 Seconds

Rest: 10 seconds

Lunges: 30 seconds

Rest: 10 Seconds

Dips: 30 seconds

Do all these exercises twice so you've completed 8 sets of
exercises in total. Try to go for 3 rounds.

----------------------------------------------------
Marci Lall is a Womens Weight Loss & Body Sculpting
Specialist. visit his website to get his FREE report "16
tips on how to get maximum weight loss and fitness results
in minimum time" --> http://www.lallpt.com