The Road to Fitness Can Start at Any Age
March 11, 2008 by Chelsea von Tobel
A crowd of nearly 80 participants from the 40-Day Extreme Makeover Challenge put together by the Hazeldean Family Chiropractic Clinic in conjunction with Free Form Fitness gathered at Free Form's Kanata facility the evening of March 4th, 2008 to learn how to start on their road to personal fitness.
The makeover challenge is a free 40 day program that is conducted annually by the Hazeldean Family Chiropractic Clinic. Personal fitness is an integral element of the program.
The key offering of the program is to learn how to make even small changes in one's lifestyle and to become healthier overall. Topics of fitness, nutrition, spirituality, stress and overall health are discussed in the five 45 minute seminars given throughout the program.
At the Free Form session, founder Jean Luc Boissoneault, described how one can start an effective fitness regime with a commitment of just one hour per week.
Jean Luc gave the following example: 20 minutes of cardiovascular activity three times a week based on two exercises: squats (deep knee bends returning to a standing position) or if that's too difficult, he said, start from a sitting position on a chair and stand up. Second, do traditional push ups and if you're not up to that start with kneeling push ups or leaning push ups where you simply lean against the wall and push yourself up to a balanced standing position. Performing two sets of twelve repetitions of both exercises three times a week combined with cardiovascular exercise and some stretching will get you nicely on your way to becoming fit.
Jean Luc also took the opportunity and dispelled several myths. One cannot spot reduce, he cautioned. Doing numerous repetitions of a single exercise, for example, won't reduce the fat around your abdomen. Cardiovascular exercise, he pointed out, will not do anything for bone mass because that is the role of resistance exercise. Finally, he told the audience that exercise is not about burning calories but more about increasing natural hormones.
Free Form Fitness enjoyed having everyone come out to their facility. Jean Luc and his partner and cofounder Chelsea von Tobel look forward to holding future seminars.
