Katdance Fitness by Phone

Another way to keep your back healthy is to exercise your core muscles (the muscles of your abdomen and low back that support your spine and affect posture).

I call this exercise “Supermans.” Lie face down with legs and arms resting on the ground. Slowly lift your right arm and left leg just a few inches off the floor. Hold for a couple of seconds then return to your starting position. Repeat using the opposite arm and leg.

This particular exercise uses your core muscles to stabilize your position on the ball while you alternately straighten your legs.

This exercise works your back with an extension movement. If at first this feels too difficult, rest your hands at your side to lessen the “weight” being lifted during the extension.

Message From The President

Happy Heart Health Month! Have you thought about what gift you could give to your heart? Here are a few ideas:

Get checked: knowing your numbers is the first step. If you have not had a checkup in the last 12 months, schedule one to check your blood pressure and cholesterol (ask to be educated on the different cholesterol components).
Increase your fiber intake. The daily recommendation is 25-30 grams, with even some experts recommending 40. If you feel you are far from those numbers, aim to increase your intake by just 10% (switching to a higher fiber bread may be all it takes). Then the next 10% increase will be much easier.
Purposefully add more activity into your day – mini walks, take the stairs, park far away. My clients find it motivating to use the Caltrac (a pager-like device worn on the waistband) to see how many more calories they burn with just a little effort. (Contact our office for details.)

Individually these seem like small steps, and that’s the idea. One step leads to the next, and so on…

To your health,

Katie Katz
Katdance Fitness by Phone®, President

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Exercise And Cancer:
What's The Latest?

Good news first: the 2005 Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer stated that death rates from cancer were down 1.1 percent from 1993 to 2002. This was determined to be due to prevention, earlier detection, and better treatments. But still, according to the American Cancer Society, more than 1.3 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2005.

Even more frustrating than this statistic is that advice about treatment and prevention seems to change on a daily basis. It’s difficult to keep up with the latest information. One day you can read about something that helps prevent cancer, and the next day you might hear that the same thing causes cancer!

A solid piece of advice – that will not change on a whim – is to exercise. Research shows exercise benefits in the treatment of cancer patients. Remember when doctors used to recommend rest for heart-attack patients? Now they get them out of bed right away and exercising. Some physicians are starting to realize rest may not be the best advice for patients in cancer treatment; they now encourage exercise during treatment, even at the beginning of treatment.

Cancer patients can benefit from exercise in many ways, including:

Reduction of anxiety and depression
Reduced fatigue, nausea, and pain
Improved mood and self-esteem
Improved body image

What about prevention? According to the World Health Organization, lack of physical activity and being overweight may be responsible for one-quarter to one-third of breast, colon, endometrial, kidney, and esophageal cancers.

Body fat and hormones have a lot to do with these types of cancer. Regular exercise reduces body fat and helps to regulate hormones. In fact, researchers found a 20% reduction in the risk of breast cancer in those women who were not overweight and participated in moderate, regular activity. One of the easiest things you can do right now for prevention is to exercise.

While various theories on the causes of cancer abound, my advice is to worry less about electromagnetic fields and red dye #5, and get out there and exercise! As a bonus, quit smoking, wear sunscreen, and add a little more fiber to your diet, too!

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Fitness by Phone Works! Client Testimonial

I have always been great at starting an exercise program. Unfortunately, I was not great at staying with it. One problem I encountered with the programs I tried before was that I didn’t feel as though the people cared about me as a person. It seemed that once I paid my money, no one cared about me or whether or not I stayed with the program. After meeting my Fitness by Phone® Coach, I could tell I was not viewed as just another paying client. That was a big factor in my decision to start the Fitness by Phone ® program.

I don’t respond well to a rigid, no-excuses approach. It is important to me to have a flexible exercise program and someone who understands that life doesn’t always go according to plan. My Coach never expects me to be perfect and knows how to support me during my ups and downs.

I like the Fitness by Phone® tools, the Caltrac and heart rate monitor. It is great tracking the calories that I have used; it is a tremendous motivator when I’m not sure if I should go on my evening walk!

I really enjoy my exercise program now. The variety of different exercises has been a key to staying motivated – it’s not the same workout day-in and day-out. My Coach always gives me routines that keep it interesting, looking for new ideas to try to keep exercise challenging and not boring. My program is tailored uniquely to me.

Working with my Coach, I always feel as though I’m the most important client. I appreciate having someone to talk to anytime I need to hear a compassionate “friend” with motivating words who believes in me, even if I don’t. My Coach has shown me, in many ways, that I am worth it and that I need to like myself to change myself.

When people say to me that their current fitness program isn’t working for them, I tell them it’s time for a change and I recommend Fitness by Phone® . What better way to get in shape than with a person that cares, and who will push you to get fit? One of the best things my Coach did for me was to help me realize that I am worth both the time and money. It’s the only body I’m going to get!

Debbie Kennedy, Retail Account Manager
Albuquerque, NM

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For more info about Katdance Fitness by Phone, email: kblumkatz@verizon.net,Or call 410-757-8830