Steve Edwards Online

Osteoporosis causes a thinning of the bones that can result in fractures within the spine and kyphosis (a hunched-over look). Weight-bearing exercise and resistance training have been shown to strengthen bones and help prevent osteoporosis. However, if you have osteoporosis, you must use caution when starting an exercise program. Check with your doctor first and don't start too hard. This may be just the remedy your body needs.

Exercise Your Brain
By Steve Edwards

Exercise, especially aerobic exercise, helps maintain or enhance cognitive power. Your brain cells thrive on oxygen and are fueled by carbohydrates, just like your muscles. So if you're feeling particularly bogged down and uncreative, get out and do something active. It's better than coffee!

Sunscreen on the Slopes
By Steve Edwards

When skiing, it's ultra-important to protect your skin from the sun with a block that screens both UVB and UVA (ultraviolet B and ultraviolet A) light. Popular ingredients avobenzone or Parsol 1789 have been discovered to deteriorate in sunlight, so make sure your sunscreen contains both titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. There is no perfect sunscreen, but wearing any lotion with an SPF of 15 or higher is still effective. Using a day skin cream each morning that contains sun block is a great habit to get into.

Mixing Medications
By Steve Edwards

Beware of mixing over-the-counter medications without realizing the possible consequences. Always ask your doctor when receiving a prescription about any possible combinations that you may foresee in the future. You can also send for a free brochure published jointly by the Council on Family Health, the National Consumers League, and the Food and Drug Administration. Visit the following sites for details: http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/ or http://www.cfhinfo.org.

Heading to Altitude?
By Steve Edwards

If you are going to ski, climb, or otherwise exercise at altitudes over 5,000 feet, get to the higher altitude as early as you can and give yourself time to acclimatize. Two days should be minimum if you are going to compete. If this isn't practical, try sleeping at low elevation and just heading up to the hills for your event.

Suburbanites Rebel!
By Steve Edwards

Get out and do something . . . anything!
A newly released Rand Corporation study has shown that living in the suburbs can make you sick, which is bad news for a majority of Americans. While a number of reasons were cited for this, the main cause was that people tend to spend less time walking and more time sitting in their cars. You would think that country folks would be healthier, but even in cities that have both more congestion and pollution, city-dwellers are healthier because they live in an environment that encourages them to walk.

The cure is bucking the system and rebelling. Go outside and walk anyway, even if it's not the way your neighborhood was designed. Suburban planners don't take into account that people might want to walk anywhere, so most tracts are not set up to encourage walking. But according to the study, the only way we're going to change this is by walking anyway. Developers follow trends, not the other way around. If we get outside and do stuff, then we'll force those in charge to react and develop ways to accommodate us. Plus, we'll get sick a lot less.

Brush Your Teeth
By Steve Edwards

Brushing your teeth immediately after you eat will not only ward off calories, it will make you far less likely to snack. This tip is especially important after dinner, as that's the time you're most likely to experience reduced willpower. Knowing that it will force you to brush your teeth again just might be enough to keep your hand out of the cookie jar.

Weight Train to Offset Aging
By Steve Edwards

After the age of 30, our bodies start to lose lean muscle mass at a rate of approximately one percent per year as our hormonal levels begin to drop. The best way to offset this process is to do some form of resistance training, like lifting weights. All is not lost after 30 either, as numerous studies as well as millions of real-world examples prove that with proper training your fitness level can improve throughout your life. Think of weight training as your fountain of youth.

Are you getting enough shut-eye?
By Steve Edwards

Sleep duration and patterns can affect all aspects of your health, especially when you work out hard. Most people need 7 or 8 hours of sleep. Your body functions at its best when you have regular sleep patterns, generally sleeping at about the same time every night. So if your workouts aren't going well, or you don't feel like you're recovering as well as normal, consider adding some sleep to your schedule.

When Not to Work Through Pain
By Steve Edwards

You're working hard, making progress, and then it hits. PANG! You pull something, you twist something, you strain something. Whatever you've done, it's not crippling, so push through it. Right?

Wrong.

If something doesn't feel right, your body's telling you to take care of it. If you don't fix yourself up, it could lead to a more serious injury—or to a chronic pain that might one day become arthritic.

Instead, take time off. Ice the sore area to reduce swelling and resume the activity when there is no more pain. Then take it easy and keep icing post-workout. If the pain doesn't get better within a week, it's time to see a doctor.