Health Benefits of a Regular Fitness Plan

How many times are we advised that regular exercise is key to a healthy lifestyle?

More importantly....have you actually listened to the advice?

I would like to reiterate the importance of including a regular fitness program into your daily life.  The benefits are endless.  For example, a regular fitness plan can help with weight loss, increase energy, increase metabolism rates, and build muscle definition.

Regular exercise can decrease stress.  The human body generates hormones that can be stress causing, but regular exercise can decrease hormones like norepinephrine and cortisol.  These hormones are found in the endocrine system. Cortisol affects the metabolic system, and norepinephrine is believed a relation to hypertension. A fitness plan that includes 30 minutes of aerobic exercise at least three times a week can reduce the risk of heart disease, hypertension, obesity, depression, diabetes, and other health issues.

A proper program would include a warm up, aerobic (cardio), anaerobic (low intensity) and/or weight training, a cool down, and stretching.  It is important to remember proper stretching methods to reduce the chances of injury.  See our blog: Stretching-101



Some great exercise ideas include: jogging, walking, yoga, swimming, Qi Gong, kick boxing, boot camp, and Pilates.  There are also fitness institutions that offer group exercise programs like Zumba and Spin classes.  These make workouts fun, and can create an environment that is safe and enjoyable.  Check out our locals gyms that offer Co-Ed, Women's Only, group exercise, Personal Training, fun classes and more!

• Good Life - Co-Ed and Women's Only
• She's Fit Abbotsford-All Women
• Cross Fit Abbotsford
• Abbotsford Recreation Centre
• Apollo Athletic Club

There are so many options! Find the gym that's meant for your lifestyle and fitness goals.

If you would prefer a more one on one approach, check out personal trainers. Personal Trainers can develop a fitness plan tailored specifically for you and your body.  Focusing on your personal health and wellness goals.

• Champ Fitness-Tracy Champ 
• Personal Training at Good Life

Look for high recommendations and proper certifications when searching for a personal trainer.

Above all else, remember to incorporate regular visits to your wellness clinic.  With training and working out, the anatomy of your body will be changing.  Booking appointments in between your visits to the gym can greatly increase your ability to reach your goals quicker.  Regular chiropractic adjustments before a workout can help you have a better and stronger workout.  Focusing on proper positioning with a fresh alignment can really boost your workouts.  Regular massage visits post work outs is always nice.  After a long race, or any intense cardio activity, your RMT can provide a full body massage to help eliminate sore, achy muscles, also known as DOMS (delayed onset muscles soreness). 

If you have any questions or concerns about your fitness plans, speak to your family doctor or chiropractor to learn how regular exercise and therapy can help.

Call the clinic today if you would like to schedule appointments around your work out schedule! Maybe we'll even see you at the gym!

Stay active!

Proud Sponsors: RUN FOR WATER ABBOTSFORD

It only takes $35 for a person to have clean water for life!

Join us Saturday May 26th, 2013 as we support the Run for Water. 

We encourage you to sign up and join the movement.  

Let's help our community raise money for clean water!

It is important for us to stay active and healthy.  What better way to help those in need by exercising?!

We want you to register! Visit RUN for WATER online to register for a race!

As sponsors, we will be providing chiropractic care and registered massage therapy. Please look for our booth after the race.  Thank you for participating in such an important role in our community!

Posture Perfector

Improve your posture today! It's as simple as 1-2-3!

Incorrect posture causes more than just back pain

Correcting your posture can: 

• Increase blood flow to and from the heart
• Improve breathing and diaphragm function
• Increase range of motion
• Reduce stress on the lower and upper back
• Improve nerve signals from the spine

The Posture Perfector is recommended for anyone over the age of 12, that sits or stands for long periods of their day. It can be used practically anywhere and by people with every level of physical ability.

You can use the Posture Perfector can be used in the car, office, home, virtually anywhere!

You will notice immediate results.  There are four sizes, and two strength levels.

Dr. Nagra realizes the importance of a good posture. Having poor posture can greatly affect ones daily living activities.  The Posture Perfector is a great product to use because of it's versatile uses, and it can be worn anywhere!  

If you are concerned about your posture, and you need that extra help, we definitely recommend booking an appointment with Dr. Nagra to discuss your concerns.  During your appointment, Dr. Nagra will perform a routine check up on your posture and spinal alignment also while addressing your concerns.  After assessment Dr. Nagra can decide if the Posture Perfector is right for you.

Call us today to book your appointment or to purchase one at our clinic! 604-850-2511

See how the Posture Perfector is comfortably worn!

 You can view more details and videos about the Posture Perfector online at www.PosturePerfector.com

Opportunity to reach out to the community

From now until May 10, 2013 we will be collecting donations for the Ahuja family.  Please see reception for any additional details of how you can help raise money for Maya and her family. Below you can read Maya's story and learn about her conditions.  Please feel free to share her story and help pay it forward. 

We thank you for your support.

Two-year-old Maya loves Dora the Explorer and playing with her older brother, Danveer. Her life, however, has not always been so cheerful.

Months before she was born, Maya’s parents Gary and Karm found out through an ultrasound that their daughter had a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot as well as a cleft palate. As soon as Maya was born, she was taken to the Intensive Care Unit at BC Children’s Hospital.

“Every mother looks forward to the end of the journey of labour and that moment they get to hold their baby in their arms,” says Karm. “I had 30 seconds and then she was whisked away from me. I didn’t hold her again for 10 hours. Even then, it wasn’t the same feeling as we were in the ICU, with little to no privacy.”

Maya underwent open-heart surgery in October 2010 to treat her heart defect – she was only four months old. Shortly after the operation, with her parents at her bedside, Maya suddenly flat-lined and showed no sign of a pulse on the heart monitor. The intensive care doctors and nurses took action immediately. “Watching doctors save a life may be exciting on TV or in the movies, but as a parent, it is unbearable,” says Gary.

Maya’s heart had stopped beating for 22 minutes. Thanks to the expertise of the caregiving team at BC Children’s, Maya’s life was saved. To aid in her recovery, Maya was hooked up to ECMO, a heart and lung machine. After six weeks at BC Children’s, Maya was finally able to return home.

Today Maya still faces developmental challenges. She uses a feeding tube to drink milk and struggles to gain adequate weight. Since her hospital stay she has also been diagnosed with a genetic condition called Cornelia de Lange syndrome, a developmental disorder that affects many parts of her body. As she grows she will still require another heart operation to fix the blood flow between her left and right atria.

Despite these challenges Gary and Karm say words can’t describe the gratitude they have for the hospital’s doctors and nurses. The couple is also thankful for the support of family and friends for giving them a shoulder to cry on, and a much-needed distraction from the hard reality that their daughter was so terribly sick. The Ahuja family is comforted in knowing that whatever medical challenges lay ahead for Maya, they will not have to face them alone. With the support of family, friends and the outstanding caregivers at BC Children’s, Maya will be given the best chance of a bright future.

Maya is this year's A World of Smiles telethon Champion Child. Find out more about A World of Smiles.

Story posted from : http://www.bcchf.ca/stories/miracle-stories/maya-ahuja/

4 Minute Office yoga!

Have you been sitting at your desk for an entire shift at the office? 

What's so bad about sitting?

Studies suggest that sitting for hours on end is harmful, regardless of a person's overall calorie intake or physical activity. This may be because immobile muscles gradually lose the ability to metabolize fats and sugar as efficiently as they should, which could promote high cholesterol and up diabetes risk.

As far back as the late 1950s, a study found that people with sedentary jobs (bus drivers) were twice as likely as those with active jobs (mailmen) to develop cardiovascular disease. More recently, extended daily TV watching and time on the computer--which, like desk jobs, involve long periods of time sitting still--have been linked to a greater risk of metabolic syndrome, a constellation of health problems that can lead to diabetes and heart disease.

In addition, poor workplace habits can bring on aches, pains, and other troubles that in some cases can be disabling. Sitting all day can flatten out the curve of the lower back, for instance, and can put a strain on the upper body, shoulders, and arms. 

Please Take 4 Minutes and give your back, neck & shoulders a break!

Check out this is fantastic 4 minute desk yoga routine. 

Thank you to : http://www.cnn.com/ For their information & studies.