10 Reasons Japanese People Live Longer for Personal Training Vancouver

10 Reasons Why The Japanese Live Longer Than Any Other People On Earth

It’s no secret that the people of the land of the rising sun tend to outlive pretty much everyone else. For years, people in the West have been looking at the Japanese and scratching their heads, witnessing as Japan rose from having one of the lowest life expectancies post-WWII, to topping the charts globally.

What gives? Although there are no definite answers, years of scientific research and anecdotal evidence have revealed some answers — and tips for the rest of us.

#1. They eat a lot of vegetables.

Traditionally, the Japanese eat lots of rice, veg and fish — generally in that order — and Japan’s infatuation with fermented soy and seaweed means they have no lack of vitamins, minerals, and beneficial phytochemicals.

Unfortunately, from the 19th century onward, there has been an increase in unhealthy Western habits — breaded and battered meats and more recently, white bread, refined sugars, and copious amounts of sweets.

#2. They cook their food differently.

Tempura, tonkatsu and croquettes notwithstanding, Japanese food involves a lot of steaming, pan-grilling, broiling, stir-frying, slow-cooking, and fermenting. They also have a habit of making at least one bowl of soup and usually they prepare small dishes. It helps when they couple their veg and fish intake with lots of fiber from beans, rice, and often beans and rice.

#3. They drink a lot of tea.

While coffee isn’t necessarily bad, there’s a huge tea drinking culture in Japan — and good quality Japanese tea contains far more antioxidants than coffee. This is especially true for Japan’s tea-time specialty: matcha, which is a fine (and often expensive) powdered tea made of young leaves grown specifically to increase their chlorophyll and antioxidant content by depriving them of sunlight.

#4. Their food is fresh.

It’s seriously, seriously fresh. And seasonal. Being a relatively small archipelago with a large amount of arable land, there isn’t much need for food to travel very far before it enters people’s mouths, and that can be said for Japan’s veg as much as it can be said for its fish and grain. In Japanese markets, food isn’t dated by the day — it’s dated by the half-hour according to Naomi Moriyama, who wrote a book entitled: Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat.

#5. They’ve got smaller plates.

Portion control is a traditional part of Japanese cuisine. Etiquette is a huge part of Japanese living, and part of that is the careful use of chopsticks, the practice of eating from a small plate or rice bowl, only garnishing food lightly, serving each item on its own little dish, never completely filling a plate or serving large portions.

In Okinawa, the locals attribute part of their longevity to the saying: hara hachi bu, meaning “eat until you are 80% full”.

#6. They walk, stand, and squat more.

Part of daily Japanese life is the great commute — getting up, heading to the station, waiting for the train, standing in the train, walking from the next station to work, and getting on with life. Public transport is the norm in Japan. People jump on bikes and hop on trains — a car is considered a luxury. Many employees, such as those at Canon, work standing up.

Even going to the bathroom is different in Japan. While there are a lot of Western-style toilets available, old-school Japanese lavatories involve squatting, which is healthier for the bowels.

#7. They’ve got morning exercise — on the radio.

Called rajio taiso, Japan literally has on-the-air exercise routines that are completed in massive groups every morning. The majority of Japanese partake, and there are several degrees of difficulty for different people. Originally a (now defunct) MetLife, Inc. product straight out of Massachusetts, visiting Japanese employees of the Ministry of Communications and Transportation brought radio calisthenics to Japan in the 1920s.

The benefits are obvious — an increased level of athleticism, alertness and energy, alongside better flexibility and focus at the workplace and in school.

#8. They’ve got universal healthcare.

Since the 1960s, Japan has had a mandatory healthcare system that gobbles up only 8% of the GDP (less than half of what America pays for its current system) while keeping people very much healthy. The average Japanese person visits their doctor over a dozen times a year for check-ups, four times as much as in the States.

#9. They spend more time outside.

In addition to walking practically everywhere, it’s a Japanese custom to eat out with friends rather than invite them in. Japanese living spaces are modest, while restaurant prices are relatively cheap — so socializing outside is a regular occurrence. While the effect of hanging out with people hasn’t been tested on Japanese longevity, social coherence and friendships are important for emotional health.

#10. They focus on cleanliness.

The Japanese are obsessed with cleanliness, and it’s for the better. Their cultural methods are largely based on the centuries-old traditions of Shintoism, a large part of which is the concept of purification. In Japan, it’s not uncommon to bathe twice a day in the summer. Communal baths are a regular thing, and the guidelines and rules within them are strict.

Great article and good principles for Personal Training Vancouver

Our Personal Training Vancouver website: Posener’s Ultimate Personal Training Vancouver

Quiz: Myths and Facts about Protein and our Program Description for Personal Training Vancouver

Personal Training Vancouver

Quiz: Myths and Facts about Protein. click on the link to take the quiz.

Here is a description of philosophy and our diet suggestions:

Our Philosophy of Health, Fitness Vancouver and Performance

Mission Statement : To bring out the best in our students/clients and ourselves mentally, physically and spiritually in the long term through health, fitness Vancouver, mixed martial arts and personal development.

Our goal is to provide holistic approach to fitness Vancouver, health and performance improvement. By working with an individual, we can design a balanced, comprehensive and specific program to develop the mind, body and spirit to the highest level.

Since lack of mental discipline, skills and knowledge are often the key factors in people not getting the results they desire, we will develop these essential skills with a variety of tools depending on the individual.

The name of the game is results. We will demonstrate results objectively with measurements, pictures, weight and body fat logs, objective performance measures ( ie. max weight lifted, max # of reps in a determined period of time of a particular exercise for a particular area and quality), and various endurance and strength tests.

We view the body as a temple and we want to promote clean habits and abstain or limit things that detract from our goals and potential.

Personally, as a Christian, and having a respect and understanding for a variety of perspectives, I want to evolve our connection with our body/temple where God/holy spirit can reside within us and promote personal development. Regardless of whether you are a believer or not, a strong mind/body connection is typically a positive and a worthy goal and endeavour.

Diet

Utilizing a clean diet, (implying foods with less processing and chemical additives), which is well planned, prepared, regular with snacks to keep blood sugarstabilized, well hydrated and portion controlled, we will help you, by choice, enjoy your food and fuel your body for peak performance, health and energy.

Diet is a huge factor in health and there are a variety of challenges that people encounter in achieving their goals. Our experience, sensitivity and awareness can help you eat for health, success and improved energy and performance. You will see and feel the benefits of success.

We will help you recognize your cues and eat less emotionally and eat more conscientiously. We will help you in developing awareness of your habits, develop replacement positive habits, via our consultations and training, and give you the skills to apply your knowledge for your evolving success.

Our website: www.UltimatePersonalTrainingVancouver.com

Here are some benefits of having personalized training at Posener’s Ultimate Personal Training Vancouver

Benefits of Investing in Personal Training

Personal Training Vancouver

Faster Results

Planning, consistency and committing to workouts with your trainer will ensure quicker results.

Better Results

With someone there to encourage one more rep, you will push yourself harder than on your own.

Accountability

With an appointment to keep, you’re less likely to skip a workout.

Safety

A personal trainer will show you how to exercise safely and instruct you on the proper and safe use of exercise equipment.

Individual Instruction

What works for one person, may not work for another when it comes to choosing an exercise program. A personal trainer will develop the most effective program for you based on your fitness evaluation results and personal goals. Beginners, in particular, benefit from instruction on how to perform specific exercise program planning.

Injury Rehabilitation

Injuries and accidents can prevent you from participating in your favorite activities. Our experienced trainers,  can help you to adjust or modify your workout routine rather than omit your workout.

Special-Needs Training

Studies show that individuals with health challenges such as asthma, diabetes, osteoporosis, or heart disease benefit greatly from regular physical activity. These conditions, however, can make exercising safely a challenge. Our personal trainers are experienced in designing programs that address the special needs of these and other conditions.

Ego-Boost

It’s a fact – feeling good makes you look good, and vice versa. Not only can your trainer help you achieve your health and fitness goals, they provide you with positive feedback on your performance and bolster your confidence to take on new challenges and keep motivated.

Here is some information on our Program:

Our Philosophy of Health, Fitness Vancouver and Performance

Mission Statement : To bring out the best in our students/clients and ourselves mentally, physically and spiritually in the long term through health, fitness , mixed martial arts and personal development.

Our goal is to provide holistic approach to fitness , health and performance improvement. By working with an individual, we can design a balanced, comprehensive and specific program to develop the mind, body and spirit to the highest level.

Since lack of mental discipline, skills and knowledge are often the key factors in people not getting the results they desire, we will develop these essential skills with a variety of tools depending on the individual.

The name of the game is results. We will demonstrate results objectively with measurements, pictures, weight and body fat logs, objective performance measures ( ie. max weight lifted, max # of reps in a determined period of time of a particular exercise for a particular area and quality), and various endurance and strength tests.

We view the body as a temple and we want to promote clean habits and abstain or limit things that detract from our goals and potential.

Personally, as a Christian, and having a respect and understanding for a variety of perspectives, I want to evolve our connection with our body/temple where God/holy spirit can reside within us and promote personal development. Regardless of whether you are a believer or not, a strong mind/body connection is typically a positive and a worthy goal and endeavor.

Here is our website: Posener’s Ultimate Personal Training Vancouver

10 Health Benefits of Hydration and Slideshow for Personal Training Vancouver

Personal Training Vancouver

Here is a slideshow about the 7  benefits in case you don’t want to read about the 10 benefits. 🙂

Slide show of 7 benefits of drinking water

10 Essential Benefits of Drinking Water, Staying Hydrated
by Christina Sarich.

A fish without water can’t breathe, and we can’t live without water either! Staying hydrated is one of the most important ways to stay healthy and maintain a proper body weight, but most of us are dehydrated without realizing it.

Without sufficient water in your body, your cells get congested, your skin can’t detox, and your bladder and kidneys won’t work properly. You’ll feel tired and eat more, too. Staying hydrated is one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy.

The Importance of Drinking Water, Staying Hydrated

When you feel thirsty, your body is likely already insufficiently hydrated. While you can make a habit of drinking water first thing in the moring to help stay hydrated, as many ancient medicinal arts suggest, sipping water throughout the day is also important. Remember to opt for pure, clean, filtered water whenever possible.

You should also never consider sweet juices, soda, tea, or coffee as substitutes for pure water. They simply won’t hydrate you as well. Both sugar and salt as well as caffeine dehydrate the body. If you can’t kick the morning coffee habit, be sure to drink a tall glass of water along side of it to make sure you aren’t dehydrating yourself further as the sun is just coming up.

Drinking more water is one of the safest, healthiest ways to detox the body. What’s more, when you drink more often, you will feel satiated, leading to weight loss from over-eating less often. Often when you feel hungry, this signal from the body is actually telling you that you need to drink more, so try a glass of water first, and then eat something if you are still feeling hunger pangs.

10 Benefits of Proper Hydration

The following specific functions in the body require hydration. Drink more water to:

• 1. Combat Fatigue – You can’t run on all four cylinders if you are dehydrated. Water is one of the most important sources of energy for your body. It helps cells complete important enzymatic activities which contribute to good sleep, restoration of bodily systems, and the production of ample energy to get you through your day.

• 2. Reduce High Blood Pressure – When the body is fully hydrated, the blood is approximately 92% water. This helps to keep the blood moving freely through the veins and arteries, helping to prevent high blood pressure along with other cardiovascular ailments.

• 3. Halt Allergies and Asthma – When the body is dehydrated, it creates more histamines – organic nitrous compounds which help to regulate our immune response. If we have too many histamines circulating, we will feel congested and have difficulty breathing, along with other allergic reactions caused by the body’s response to foreign bodies.

• 4. Reduce Acne, Dermatitis, Psoriasis, and Premature Aging of the Skin – With proper hydration, the skin practically glows. Without it, our skin cannot properly rid itself of toxins and so it becomes irritated, inflamed, and congested, causing a host of unsavory results ranging from itching, blackheads, redness, acne, and general blotchiness.

• 5. Stop High Cholesterol – When the body hasn’t had enough water, it will start to produce more cholesterol so that cells can still function properly.

• 6. Eliminate Digestive Disorders – Water can help eliminate and reduce the incidence of ulcers, bloating, gas, gastritis, acid reflux, and IBS. You also will experience less frequent constipation since water helps matter move more quickly through the intestinal tract. A well-hydrated body simply purges toxins and metabolic wastes better.

• 7. Flush Out Unwanted Bacteria from the Bladder and Kidneys – People who are well hydrated experience less frequent bladder or kidney infections since water helps to flush out any unwanted microbes that try to accumulate in these eliminative organs. These organs are especially sensitive to disease without proper hydration since they are responsible for eliminating stored toxins and bodily waste.

• 8. Speed Up Joint and Cartilage Repair – Most of the padding in our cartilage is made up of water, so if we don’t drink enough of it, our bones will feel stiff and our joints will take a beating. Joint repair after workouts or injuries is also expedited by proper hydration.

• 9. Stop Gaining Unwanted Weight – When our cells are depleted of water, they cannot create energy we need to function, and so they send a signal to the brain to ‘get more goods.’ This means you will eat more, and likely carry some extra unwanted pounds. To avoid this, simply stay hydrated and your cells will stay happy and not send ‘fat signals’ to the brain. Further, and more obviously, replacing other drinks with water will help naturally keep the wight off. Some water with lemon each morning can be especially beneficial.

• 10. Slow the Aging Process – Finally, all of our organs require copious amounts of water to function properly. If we stay dehydrated for long stretches, every cell, organ, and system in the body has to work harder, which means we will age faster. Drinking enough water literally keeps you young feeling, looking, and acting – for longer.

Try drinking water with a little lemon and sea salt after a workout instead of sports drinks that are full of refined sugar. Instead of drinking soda, replace this beverage with water. Try adding some lemon, orange or cucumber wedges or even letting a pitcher of water infused with herbs like mint, holy basil, or sage steep in the refrigerator overnight. The result is delicious and healthy.

Another tip: Bottle water is deceiving. It is less regulated than tap water and costs 2,000x more. If you’re on the go, grab a bottle, but otherwise, opt for purified, filtered water.

In colder weather, follow the Dalai Lama’s habit of drinking warm or hot water in a mug. The body has to work less hard to warm up water that is already heated to use it for the numerous tasks that require this essential liquid.

Personal Training Vancouver

Our Website: Posener’s Ultimate Personal Training Vancouver

Article and Video on Portion Size Control for Personal Training Vancouver

This is an informative article and video to help people be more conscientious about their food consumption in relation to their activity level, metabolism and other factors.

Food Portion Sizes are Smaller than You Think!

If you want to lose weight or improve your health, you must first learn portion size control.

Restaurants in America have increased serving portions by 2-3 fold in the past 15 years, putting a lot more on our plate than we should be eating at a single meal. Often, a seemingly healthy salad will contain more calories and fat than we need in an entire day! Its no wonder that we carry these bad habits into our homes when we fix lunches and suppers for ourselves.

It is not difficult to learn the appropriate serving sizes for each of the major food groups, drinks, and even prepackaged foods. In order to achieve proper portion size control, all you’ll need are:

(1) a measuring cup;

(2) kitchen scale;

(3) your hands;

(4) a few minutes to learn how to read the Nutrition Facts information printed on the packaging of foods that have been processed in any way and sold in grocery stores.

United States Department of Agriculture Food Pyramid

How to Measure a Serving Size of Fresh Fruit

You can use your hands to determine a serving size of fresh fruit. Cup your hand, and the amount of fruit that you can fit inside is a single serving of fruit. A medium-sized apple would fit. A small bunch of grapes, would also qualify as a serving. A banana, actually, constitutes two fruit servings.

You may be thinking, but fresh fruit is healthy! Why should I worry about portion size control with fruit? In fact, diabetics must calculate the number of carbohydrates they ingest in relation to insulin or other medication they take each day. Eat too much fruit, and blood sugar will rise too high. Other medical conditions also may require a person to keep a food diary or restrict food intake.

Even if you are otherwise in good health, it will be of benefit to be mindful of how much you are eating and to learn healthy portion size control. Overeating, even healthy foods, is a habit that should be broken. If you wish to lose weight, every calorie counts.

A serving size of fruit is approximately 80-100 calories. Double or triple that, and those healthy calories may sabotage your weight loss goals.

How to Measure a Serving Size of Fresh Vegetables

Determining a serving size of vegetables is slightly more difficult than for fresh fruit. This is because some root vegetables, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, and other sweet vegetables like corn and sweet peas are starchy and contain more carbohydrates than vegetables such as leafy greens, radishes, onions, and peppers. For these reasons, it is particularly important to learn appropriate portion size control.

A cup of lettuce or leafy greens is a serving size. This will not usually result in many calories, and no fat, unless you add salad dressing!

The serving size for other vegetables, such as carrots, onions, peppers, radishes, etc., is 1/2 cup chopped. Again, these types of vegetables will not usually have much impact on blood sugar and are not calorie-dense or high on the glycemic index. Turning to potatoes and corn-on-the-cob, a serving size of these vegetables is the size of a baseball. This is similar to the fruit example above, what will fit in a cupped hand.

Anything you add to your vegetables (butter, bacon, sour cream) will obviously add calories and fat.

How to Determine a Serving Size of Food With Your Hands

How to Measure a Serving Size of Protein

In general, a serving size of meat-based protein is 3 ounces (compare this to the gigantic 15 ounce portions they serve at restaurants!) If you have a kitchen scale, you can achieve healthy portion size control fairly easily. Otherwise, you can make an eyeball guess, by thinking of a deck of cards. A serving of steak, chicken, tuna, or pork should not be any larger.

One serving of peanut butter is two tablespoons, or the size of a ping-pong ball. Its pretty easy to go overboard, and peanut butter is loaded with fat and sometimes sugar, too. Be careful!

A single egg is one serving of protein. That’s pretty easy to determine. Mother Nature has done the measuring for us!

For vegetarians, a 1/2 cup of cooked legumes/beans is a single serving size. Most beans are low-fat, unlike other protein choices, but they can have more of an impact on blood sugar levels as their carbohydrate count is higher.

How to Judge Proper Serving Sizes of Food

Nutrition Facts information includes Serving Size, Calories, Fat, Carbohydrate, Sugars and Protein

How to Measure a Serving Size of Dairy Products

Dairy is delicious, but can be loaded with fat. For a healthful diet, it is important to carefully watch your portion sizes of dairy products. It is very easy to exceed healthy portion size control. Here’s how to measure a serving size of dairy products.

Serving sizes of yogurt and milk are one cup, each. Remember, if Venti lattes are your habit, you could be gulping down over 3 cups of milk in each one! It may be worth cutting down a size or two.

Cheese is so wonderful, its easy to exceed serving sizes! No more than 2 ounces of cheese is a serving size. Think of dominoes. You can have 3 dominoes of cheese. Maybe you want to trade some of your other dairy servings for more cheese.

Ice cream is also a dieter’s downfall. If you are going to indulge, a serving size is approximately the size of a baseball. Not two or three baseballs! I suggest getting a really small bowl so that the scoop looks extra big.

Only one scoop is a serving size!

How to Measure a Serving Size of Grains and Cereal

Serving sizes of bread and grains are often not measured correctly – underestimated. This can lead to both weight gain and complications for people that are on a low-carb diet. You have to be very careful not to exceed healthy portion size control.

A serving size of bread is a single slice, about the size of a deck of cards. Most commercial loaves of bread are larger than this, allowing a single slice of bread to constitute 1.5 – 2 servings. A sandwich would provide you with 4 servings of bread, more than a third of the total amount of grains you should have all day. Give some thought to the type of bread you choose and plan the rest of your day accordingly if you are on a special diet.

Cereal is one type of food where it is very easy to go overboard. A serving size of cereal varies greatly from brand to brand. This information is found directly underneath the bold Nutrition Facts label on your box of ceral. Generally, a serving of cold breakfast cereal is 1/2 – 3/4 cup. Measure it out and you’ll probably see that your bowl of breakfast may double or triple the amount of a true serving size.

Servings of pasta and rice are also much smaller than you might guess. A single serving of either of these is approximately the size of a baseball. Think about this next time you heap your plate full of spaghetti. How many balls are there? 5? 8? More?

No wonder many people have difficulty with portion size control and measuring proper servings of pasta.

Measuring a serving size of pasta

How to Measure Serving Sizes of Prepackaged Foods

Next time you reach for a bag of potato chips or pretzels, take a moment to analyze the Nutrition Facts information. This will often give you the precise number of snacks that will comprise a single serving, i.e. ” 11 pretzels.” If the bag contains 12 servings, and 1/2 of the bag is depleted after your snack, then you may have just polished off 6 servings!

If you don’t have the patience to count out chips or measure popcorn from a bag before snacking, you may want to buy smaller snack-sized bags in single-servings. This will prevent you from going overboard. Some companies have even come up with 100-calorie snacks for the weight conscious. This is quite handy for portion size control!

Meal Measurement

Don’t overpour alcoholic beverages if you are trying to be vigilant about portion size control

How to Measure Serving Size of Drinks

Drinks can impact health goals, as well. Soft drinks have calories and are loaded with sugar. A single-serving is 12 ounces, and generally has approximately 150 calories. A serving of fruit juice is the amount that would fit in a styrofoam cup. Fruit juice has between 80-120 calories per serving.

Don’t forget alcoholic beverages. Wine and hard liquor generally have no carbohydrates, but they do have calories. This can sabotage a dieter’s efforts. Mixers add calories and sugar. Beer contains both calories and carbs. Even 1 or 2 drinks will add up and have an impact on your health, despite the marginal good effects drinking red wine may have. Its easy to overdo it on the serving sizes here, too.

Get a good grasp on what you are drinking for true portion size control.

A serving size of beer is 12 ounces. Not 20 ounces (not a pint!)

A serving size of wine is 6 ounces. Measure it out and pour it in a glass. It may be less than what you are enjoying most weekends.

A serving size of liquor is 1.5 ounces. Again, measure it and add it to a martini glass. Does it look like it needs more?

Healthy Eating Takes Some Thought

Its really not that difficult to make healthy choices regarding our diets. Getting in the habit of being conscious of what and how we eat much just takes a little bit of practice. Once you realize true serving sizes of the foods and drinks you enjoy each day, you’ll be on the road to a healthier lifestyle.

Personal Training Vancouver

Our Website: Posener’s Ultimate Personal Training Vancouver