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Rocksolid Stuff: Pumping Iron Helps Smokers Quit Without Weight Gai...: "WEDNESDAY, Aug. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Would-be ex-smokers may want to try weight lifting to help them kick the habit for good, a new stu..."

Music Therapy May Ease Anxiety of Cancer Patients

Study Shows Benefits of Listening to Music and Working With a Music Therapist

Aug. 10, 2011 -- Listening to recorded music or working with a music therapist may reduce anxiety levels of cancer patients and have other positive effects as well, a new study shows.

Listening to recorded music, singing, playing an instrument, or otherwise participating in music making apparently also have positive effects on general mood, pain, and quality of life, according to the study.

The study is published in the August issue of Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

"The evidence suggests that music interventions may be useful as a complementary treatment to people with cancer," says Joke Bradt, PhD, an associate professor in creative arts therapies at Drexel University, in a news release. "Music interventions provided by trained music therapists as well as listening to pre-recorded music both have shown positive outcomes in this review, but at this time there is not enough evidence to determine if one intervention is more effective than the other."

Together with colleagues, Bradt, who has a master's degree in music pedagogy from the Lemmensinstituut in Belgium, analyzed evidence from 1,891 patients taking part in 30 studies.

Thirteen studies used trained music therapists, who got patients to sing or otherwise participate themselves in music creation or selection. In the other 17 studies, patients listened to pre-recorded music.

Music Reduces Anxiety

Compared to standard treatments, though, the results showed that music reduced anxiety considerably, based on clinical anxiety scores.

The results also suggest that music therapy may increase the quality of life of patients. Music also seemed to help with the mood and pain levels of patients, though not depression. And smaller beneficial effects were seen on heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure, the researchers say.

The researchers say more study is needed to increase the certainty that music helps anxiety and also to improve understanding of the impact of music on distress and body image.

Music and Mood

Music therapists may provide the opportunity for patients to sing, play an instrument, select a particular piece or type of music, or even participate in a discussion about music, according to the American Music Therapy Association.

The American Cancer Society says that music therapy "may be used to encourage emotional expression, promote social interaction, relieve symptoms, and for other purposes" and that music therapists "may use active or passive methods with patients, depending on the individual patient's needs and abilities."

http://www.medicinenet.com

What’s your nemesis?

Just over two years ago I began training a new client.  We were perhaps 5 or 6 sessions into training.  I had proposed box jumps (on the 10 inch box) as one of the movements for our conditioning one day–and my client looked at me–then looked at the box, and said “No Way!”.  She couldn’t even contemplate getting her body off of the ground, much less jumping 10 inches high and landing on a box!  “I’ll never get up on that thing!” she says.
We all have a nemesis…perhaps it is climbing to the top of  the rope, or running a full 800, or standing on our hands.   Letting fear hold us back can be frustrating!  Watching everyone around you do something you seemingly just CAN NOT do.  However, learning to push through our fear can be exhilarating.  Addicting even!  Once you’ve had a taste of success–all you want is to have some more!


http://www.norcalsc.com

How To Motivate Yourself To Workout After Age 35

How To Motivate Yourself To Workout After Age 35

Getting yourself back into shape is never easy, especially when you're over 35-years old. Fitness is a case of "use it or lose it" and by middle age a lot of us have lost it. Here's some tips on how to motivate yourself to workout after the age of 35.You will need:
1 Sneakers
1 Workout Outfit

Step 1: Have Fun

Choose an activity that you enjoy doing. If you sign up for dance classes but have two left feet you may give up prematurely. The important thing is to start exercising so you can get your body and heart rate moving to get back into shape.
Step 2: Find A Buddy

Exercising with a friend promotes positive peer pressure. You and your friend can set fitness goals and help push each other to achieve them.
Step 3: Get Appropriate Clothing And Accessories

Make sure to have clothes that are comfortable and you like to wear. If you don't like the way your workout clothes it may kill your motivation to workout. The accessories required are determined by what type of exercise you choose to do.
Step 4: Pay Upfront

Pay upfront for your workout activity. Knowing that you'll loose money if you don't show up will help motivate you.
Step 5: Change It Up

If you have a workout that you enjoy, be sure to incorporate other forms of exercise into your routine. This will keep you interested and produce better overall physical results by working various muscle groups.
Step 6: Take Small Steps

Be realistic with yourself and your goals, knowing that change takes time. Stick to your exercise routine and you will be happily surprised at the speed, flexibility and strength that working out provides.

Winning The Mental Game of Health for Your Life!

1. Your Unique & Powerful Reasons


No matter how simple the formula, until your mind is firmly pointed in the right direction, it’s impossible to win the mental game of health for life. Over the coming weeks, I’d like to share some of my best strategies for success in this area, ones that that I’ve used myself and with hundreds of clients.

I can always tell within just a few minutes of talking with someone whether they are truly ready to make a success of the alkaline diet. The first thing I look for is powerful reasons. Until your reasons for wanting to make a change in this area of life become stronger and more profound than the current circumstances and challenges, then nothing will really change – no matter how “easy” the recipe. In other words, the habits and patterns that got you here, simply won’t get you there.

Your powerful reasons will be of 2 types – towards pleasure or away from pain. Away from pain is often a great way to get started. When we hit what Tony Robbins calls “threshold” then we’re no longer willing to settle for this level of pain or challenge in our lives any longer. This occurred for me in June 2007 when I got into a lift in London at the end of a long, hard day of corporate training. The lift had mirrors on all 4 sides and I was suddenly confronted by the image of a stressed-out, overweight, tired, middle-aged man in the lift. I was definitely the only person in there and literally didn’t recognise myself ! Many people will relate to this sense of shock at something which has happened almost imperceptibly suddenly becoming very apparent (perhaps when trying on that new swimming costume for the first time this summer ?) So crank up the pain – feel the pain and you’ll be much more motivated to do something about it.

Your second set of powerful reasons will be “towards” motivated – in other words, you can imagine the pleasure when the goal is received. (I’m using “received” deliberately because “achieving” goals just seems like hard work at times). Write down why you’ll feel great when the goal is received and feel the pleasure – luxuriate in it!

Please write down your own away from and towards motivators – put the list somewhere you can see it every day and focus on the feelings that your unique and powerful reasons create for you. For even greater impact, share the reasons with a loved one or close friend.

I look forward to connecting and sharing with you again very soon, Andrew

Article by Andrew Bridgewater

Energise Alkaline Diet & Natural Health Blog

Do You Have Heart?

  During the workout “Amanda”, Heather dislocated her right shoulder. According to Crossfit rules, no athletes are allowed to be touched/assisted by anyone during the prescribed workouts. For 3 minutes,everybody watched as she screamed her way through the push press, used her good arm to throw her injured arm onto the pull-up bar for the Knee-To-Elbows. As the clock finally ran down she attempted one last touch to the bar before collapsing to the ground. After watching something like that, my stomach dropped and I wanted to cry for her. But I found myself more proud and humbled that she had the Heart to finish the workout. I don’t condone training or competing through injuries. In fact,trainers likes to safely push their athletes towards their goals. But Heather’s will and perseverance to keep trying brought me back to what it means to be an athlete. Competing in the games or for a spot in the games is probably one of the hardest things most of us at the gym can think of.  

Get Off Your Couch!!!

It,s ironic that we all trying to eat as our ancestors did but we still lead the modern sedentary lifestyle.Our bodies are like machines that we have to take care of more than with just proper diet and hitting the gym a  few times a week.We have to move...we were made to move!!!

I challenge you all to find ways to move more throughout the day.

- Go for a walk during your lunch break rather than sitting at your desk or at a restaurant.

- Park as far away from building entrances as you can so you have to walk more steps to and from your car.

- Take the stairs…everywhere!

- Ride your bike or walk to work if possible.

- At night take your dog, your kids, yourself for a walk to enjoy the summer air.

If you have other tips on how to move more throughout the day please leave them in the comments.