The flu season will quickly be upon us. Here are some helpful tips on how to keep the chances of you contracting the seasonal flu low:
- Wash your hands often.
- Workout! This will boost your immune system.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
- Try to avoid close contact with sick people. Also, keep a healthy household. Wipe down and sanitize commonly touched surfaces.
- Get enough sleep!
- Cover your nose and mouth preferably with a tissue or your sleeve when you a cough or sneeze.
- Reduce stress. Stress can suppress your immune system, so keeping your stress levels low will help lower your chances of getting sick
For more information please contact Fitness Director, Jacob Luckey, at jluckey@sacdt.com.
Health News, November News & Events
eyes, flu, immune system, Sleep, snaitize, stress, Washing
1) Enjoy the food and festivities.
This seems a given but we often berate ourselves while we could be celebrating! The more we enjoy life and create the experiences we want, the more energy we’ll have to focus on nourishing ourselves. In terms of food, pick those indulgences you really love and fore go the things that bring the calories without much enjoyment. If you have to drink or eat your way out of an event you really don’t want to go to – re-assess if it’s really worth it.
2) Hydrate well and watch the booze.
The more we drink the more our inhibitions go down. And if we lose our mindfulness and inhibitions we’ll likely not remember all the good tips you’re about to read. Give yourself a 1-2 drink maximum and hydrate in between to prevent dehydration.
3) Workout a bit more.
Exercise is the number one way to maintain your weight. As you mindfully enjoy special occasion foods push yourself the next workout to go an extra 15-30 minutes. Look for opportunities to walk more and take the stairs when you can. It all adds up to burning off those extra calories.
4) Keep up on fruits and veggies.
With plenty of fiber – you’ll have less room for other things. It’s always better to focus on what you want more of than simply avoiding things you “shouldn’t” eat. Shoot to fill half your plate(s) with fruit and vegetables.
5) Sleep at least 7 hours the night before.
If we get enough sleep we won’t be as tempted to indulge in the simple carbohydrates –sweets and bready things that are so abundant. If you’re too tired you’ll crave these things. Make your sleep a priority and you’ll be more equipped to healthful food choices.
For more information, please contact our Nutritionist, Kathryn Reed, MS, at kreed@sacdt.com.
Diet & Nutrition
Festivities, food, hydrate, Sleep, workout
By Personal Fitness Trainer Adriana Brown, Seattle Athletic Club Downtown
Well, it’s coming; fall is right around the corner. Soon, gone are the mornings of birds chirping, sun shining, and flip flops. Now comes the hard part, the continual early wake up in the dark, wrapped in your ski jacket, de-fogging your car. Not such a pretty picture I know. This is the killer for many workout routines. In the summer time it’s easy to have motivation to get up early and get your workout in before work but once the cold hits your warm bed talks louder and louder to you. How do we avoid the bad weather slacking? A few easy steps and hopefully we’ll stay the course!
- GOALS! Set them now, set at least one goal for the next 3-6 months. Make them small and achievable but make them something that means something to you. Remember that Mexico vacation in December? Now is the time to stay strong and continue to work towards that fit healthy body. Maybe you just want to do the Tough Mudder in September, continue your training and you’ll make it through with flying colors and a smile on your face! No matter what your goals are big or small, make yourself accountable and continue on your well earned path to success rain or shine!
- GET A WORKOUT PARTNER OR TRAINER! The number one way to make sure you get out of bed is to have someone waiting for you at the gym. Whether it is your friend from work, your cousin, or someone you are paying, having a breathing person waiting you at the gym will push you to make the same sacrifice as someone else. It’s so much more fun to workout with someone else, you can push one another, you can do more partner exercises, you can both bring strength and weaknesses to the table, but best of all you can keep each other accountable. If you are still ditching your best friend 2 days out of 3 maybe it’s time to pay someone to keep you on track. By hiring a trainer not only do you get fitness expertise, great effective workouts, but you also get someone forcing you out of bed!
- MAKE A DEAL! Waking up early not working for you? Make yourself a deal. Two days a week you go early to the gym and two days a week you do it after work. If after a month you’ve found yourself only making two workouts a week take a step back and see just what is and isn’t working for your workout times. If you just aren’t a morning person maybe 6AM isn’t going to work for you. Then find yourself a better time. Whatever fits and whatever gets you in and accomplishing your fitness goals!
- GOOD SLEEP! Good sleep makes everything better and easier. You are more alert, your digestive system works better, your immune system is stronger, you think better, and best of all you feel refreshed and ready to tackle the day. Make a bed time, stick to it. Routine at home is just as important as routine in the weight room. Resist the urge to stay up late for your favorite show, an extra 30-60 minutes of sleep could be your missing link between feeling half sick all the time and feeling like you can run a marathon!
- WATER! Drink it, drink lots of it. Replace one of your 4 cups of coffee with water. The more water you have in your system the better your insides function, the better you feel. It’s so easy to do so DO IT!
These are a few simple ways to keep you going when the going gets wet. Bring on the dark and the dreary; you’ll be feeling like a ball of sunshine when you finish a tough workout and you are proud of what you’ve done. You didn’t work that hard all summer to let it go now! Hang in there and work hard!
Cardio Training, Fitness Advice, Lifestyle, Sports Conditioning, Strength Training, Uncategorized, Weight Loss, Women's Health
Deal, End of Summer, fall, goals, Personal Trainer, Sleep, water
