Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

Have you fallen off track from your New Year’s resolutions and need a kick start back in the right direction? Since it's National Nutrition Month® it is the perfect time to regain focus on healthy eating behaviors! Getting back into a healthy routine does not mean seeking out the next fad diet, but learning to enjoy healthy and nutritious food. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ team of top nutrition and food professionals develop a once a year campaign to promote healthy eating behaviors with many different resources, games, and reading lists.  This year the Academy is focusing on ways to help you create healthy, enjoyable meals following the Dietary Guidelines!

First, start by replacing empty snacks with nutrient dense foods such as these, under 200-calorie, snacks:

• Small baked potato topped with salsa and 1 ounce low-fat cheese.
• Toaster waffle topped with ½ cup blueberries and 2 tablespoons low-fat yogurt.
• Six whole-wheat crackers and one slice low-fat Colby cheese.
• Fruit smoothie: Blend 1 cup fat-free milk, ½ cup frozen strawberries and ½ banana.
• One 6-inch flour tortilla with ¼ cup black beans and 2 tablespoons fresh salsa.
• Quick-to-fix salad: 2 cups mixed greens with ½ cup mandarin oranges, 1 tablespoon sliced almonds and 2 tablespoons reduced-fat dressing.

Next, make a few small lifestyle changes to your day from the following tips below:

• Never skip breakfast - A cup of coffee should not be the only thing you consume for breakfast! Instead, your breakfast should include some lean protein such as turkey or chicken as well as whole grains and fruit.  These small changes will help increase your morning energy level!
• Control your portion sizes - Measure out a cup of your favorite food to see how much you are eating compared to the recommended serving size. This will help you understand how much you are eating in one sitting!
• Be more active throughout the day - This does not mean you need to go to the gym, or set an hour of your time aside to work out in order to increase your physical activity. It is as simple as parking in the back of the parking lot, always taking the stairs, or taking a walk with your family after dinner. Increasing your steps per day can result in an increase in positive health benefits-aim for 10,000 steps a day!

Finally, consider making other small modifications to your eating behavior. In order to begin creating healthy meals following the Dietary Guidelines!  Click here for healthy recipes provided by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Interested in speaking with a NIFS Registered Dietitian, contact Angie Scheetz at NIFS.

Are you looking for a new, quick, high-intensity workout routine? Then Tabata may be the training style for you! Be prepared to go all-out for short durations of time to increase your strength, while improving your cardio at the same time!  Tabata facilitates a workout which is so intense that 8 rounds will be completed in only 4 minutes! If 4 minutes are enough, then you have completed a full Tabata set, if not, choose a different exercise and repeat the Tabata!

The general set up of Tabata:

• Go all-out for 20 seconds
• Rest for 10 seconds
• Repeat 8 times (8 rounds)

The key points of Tabata:

• Do as many repetitions as possible in the 20 seconds of work.
• Pick weights which are hard enough to make you breathless after 20 seconds, but light enough to be able to complete all 8 rounds.
• Pick an exercise which works most of your body.
  • I.e. Kettle bell swings, squat jumps, jump lunges, step ups

Tabata Exercise Example 1 – alternate between the following two exercises

• Round 1,3,5,7 – Squat presses with a medicine ball
• Round 2,4,6,8 – Burpee with push up

Tabata Exercise Example 2

• Tabata 1: Round 1-8 Squat jumps
• Tabata 2: Round 1-8 Plank one-arm dumb bell rows
• Add on more rounds with different exercises to increase length of workout

Remember

• Tabata training should be intense, always listen to your body and use modified options if necessary
• Have the proper equipment to complete the exercises, if needed
• Not all Tabata exercises need equipment, body weight exercises can be done at home with no equipment

Have fun, work hard, be creative, and make the workout yours!  What is your favorite Tabata style workout?