10 Questions

By Dan Taylor

• Am I really still hungry? If you’re like most people, you’ve eaten when you aren’t hungry. It could be that you just want to taste the food, that it’s just the normal time you planned to eat anyway, or that you just haven’t given your blood sugar a chance to catch up to the volume you’ve already eaten. If you’re not sure, wait a few minutes, have a glass of water or a cup of tea, and then see how you feel.
• Will I feel better after I work out? Sometimes it’s hard to get to the gym (or the exercise bike at home) when you feel unmotivated or lazy. But if you can’t drag yourself through the workout for the longer-term benefits, try to remember how you felt at the end of, and immediately after your last workout. Energized? Pleasantly spent? Vital? That’s what awaits you once you get through the first few rocky minutes.
• Should I slow down? One of the most common ways to break form when strength training is to move too quickly through the range of motion. That results in picking up excessive momentum and driving more stress to the joints. The incentive? You can do more reps and handle heavier loads. But that’s always at the expense of the connective tissue and robs the muscle of the exhaustion that increases its capacity.
• Have I had enough water today? Few people actually monitor their fluid intake throughout the day with any real accuracy, but adequate hydration is one of the most critical elements of overall health practices. But it’s not really necessary to count your glasses of water. Keep an eye on the color of your urine with each trip to the restroom. It should be pale to clear. If not? Drink up.
• Can I easily reach directly over my shoulders? If you can’t fully extend each of your arms with no bend in your elbow, and with your middle knuckle of each hand dead center over each respective shoulder without straining, you have a very common “functional chain” imbalance. This can develop into shoulder and back injuries and requires stretching to correct. After  you’ve completed your upper body strength exercises and at the end of each workout are the best times for that.
• Can I bend over to a 90 degree angle (spine in horizontal position) without bending my knees? Hamstring inflexibility combined with a weak core is one of the most common precursors to lower back problems – and completely preventable – with a stretching routine like the one described above.
• When I do cardiovascular, or aerobic exercise, do I get winded before my muscles fatigue? Some exercises intended to burn calories or raise endurance can tap out muscles or create unnecessary stress to the joints before getting your endurance capacity reasonably spent. Try swimming, the elliptical trainer, rowing machines or adding arm movements while on the stationary bike to shift the exhaustion back to your heart and lungs, and away from muscle fatigue and joint stress.
• Have I had at least as many vegetables as other food groups today? Answering this one question “yes” may have the single most beneficial impact on your current diet.
• Do I wake up fresh most days? Try a little experiment. Cut out television in the evening for a month. Go to bed at least an hour earlier than you normally do and read or meditate instead. At the end of the month, ask yourself the same question again.
• Am I willing to make the changes I think I should? The answer is simple. If you are, you’ll start making them today.

Dan Taylor is a 20-year resident of Pleasanton and a nationally certified fitness trainer and educator. Dan can be reached at TriValleyWellness.com.