May is Exercise is Medicine month!

May is Exercise is Medicine month. Exercise is Medicine is an initiative managed by ACSM to promote physical activity in order to improve overall health. To celebrate the month of this awesome initiative, take one of the steps below:

1. If you are a patient, ask your doctor a few questions about your health, such as am I at a healthy weight or what exercises would be good for me?

2. If you are a parent, become a role model for your child by helping them to develop a habit of lifelong physical activity. Engage in a fun activity with your family and enjoy!

3. If you are a health care professional, talk to your patients or clients about exercise and wellness.

Let's Move, Denver! at North High School

Come visit North High School on May 2nd, which is this Thursday, at 5 p.m. and get involved in Let's Move, Denver! All DPS students, parents, and families are invited to participate in free demonstrations and activities for all ages. There will be food samples and giveaways too. Come get excited about staying active and health~

Run/Walk Training Groups with Mercuria Running Company Kick-off Event tomorrow at North!

Former DPS teacher and Mercuria co-founder Jenni Nettik and her team are leading weekly Run/Walk training groups, starting with a kick-off event at North SBSM fitness center tomorrow April 25th! Kick-off event, which is FREE, will include education, training schedules, and prize giveaways. It starts at 4:30 p.m., so come on over and meet the team!

YouthLab program for the DPS teens!

YouthLab programs are provided by trained health/fitness specialists from SportLab. The programs can be tailored to meet the needs of teens in training, whether to improve sports performance or to improve wellness. There are six components to YouthLab programs: BodyLab, NutriLab, CardioLab, YogaLab, PTLab, and Performance Psychology.
1. BodyLab component includes comprehensive workouts with strong emphasis on functional, muscular endurance, and cardiovascular training.
2. NutriLab component includes nutritional training and daily coaching that gear toward youths, making performance nutrition sustainable and practical.
3. CardioLab component provides interval based and dynamic cardio programs that maximize cardiovascular training and individual heart rate zone.
4. YogaLab component provides training that seeks to improve mobility, flexibility, core strength, and functionality of movement in teens.
5. PTLab component includes testing for functional movement and corrective exercises if there is any asymmetrical dysfunction found in teens.
5. Performance Psychology component provides mental games that seek to improve focus, attention, motivation, stress reduction, and goal setting, thus maximizing the physical output of the training teens. 
For more information, please visit BodyLabFitness.com!

Exercise may prevent Alzheimer's disease

It seems that many research studies are showing that exercise may prevent Alzheimer's disease in people. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is predicted to negatively affect many older individuals in the future and increase the health cost of many. Severe Alzheimer's disease can make a person unable to carry on their daily life, making them unable to live independently. One of the most known ways that precedes the progression of Alzheimer's disease is build up of amyloid plaque in the brain that leads to increased oxidative stress and further damage in the brain. Researches studying both animal and human subjects seem to show that exercising reduces the level of biomarkers that correlates with Alzheimer's disease, which in turn may prove to be preventative.

Below are some of the research studies that I read:

Liang, K. Y., Mintun, M. A., Fagan, A. M., Goate, A. M., Bugg, J. M., Holtzman, D. M., Morris, J. C., & Head, D. (2010). Exercise and Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in cognitively normal older adults. Annals of Neurology, 68(3), 311-318.

Radak, Z., Hart, N., Sarga, L., Koltai, E., Atalay, M., Ohno, H., & Boldogh, I. (2010). Exercise plays a preventive role against Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Alzheimer's disease, 20(3), 777-783.

Race Series workout - beginner (part 2)

Here are the next four exercises to try!

Machine Overhead Press

Week Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4  Week 1 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps Actual Week 2 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps Actual Week 3 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps Actual Week 4 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps Actual *Each week increase the weight used on all lifts *Rest only 30 seconds between sets

Dumbbell Step-ups

Week Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4  Week 1 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps Actual Week 2 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps Actual Week 3 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps Actual Week 4 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps Actual *Each week increase the weight used on all lifts *Rest only 30 seconds between sets Physioball Abdominal Roll-outs  Week Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4  Week 1 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps Actual Week 2 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps Actual Week 3 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps Actual Week 4 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps Actual *Each week increase the weight used on all lifts *Rest only 30 seconds between sets

Machine Cable Row

Week Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4  Week 1 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps Actual Week 2 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps Actual Week 3 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps Actual Week 4 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps 15-20 reps Actual *Each week increase the weight used on all lifts *Rest only 30 seconds between sets