Muscle cramps in general are a common acute condition and are usually described as a muscle that tenses up, will not relax, and is painful. A muscle cramp can be caused from any number of reasons including: muscle fatigue, poor muscle flexibility, performing an unfamiliar movement, exercising in extreme temperatures, dehydration, and electrolyte imbalance. These are not all potential causes of muscle cramps and spasms, just a few of the more common.

When you experience a muscle cramp or spasm stop performing the movement or exercise that caused the problem. Do not try to force a muscle to stretch. Gently massage and stretch the cramping muscle. Try to the hold stretch of the cramping muscle until it relaxes.

To help prevent muscle cramps it is important to make sure you improve your overall fitness level. Work your way up to exercises and motions that you are unfamiliar with. If you have not been running or swimming in a while, gradually work your way back into the routine. Remember to warm-up before exercising and to cool-down and fully stretch after exercising. Pay close attention to making sure the legs are fully stretched after each workout; cramps in the legs are the most common. Also make sure you are well hydrated (before, during and after exercising) and avoid exercising in extreme conditions if possible.

While you shouldn’t be alarmed with the occasional muscle cramp, you should seek advice from your health care provider if they occur frequently and especially if they continually interfere with sleep. Your doctor will be better able to diagnose your specific cramping issue (electrolyte imbalance, possible medication causes, etc.) and provide a plan for managing them.

(Please consider this post as general information and not medical advice; always follow the advice of your health care provider.)

Unbelievable, we are almost a month through 2009! Many of us made resolutions at the beginning of the year and chances are many of us have already broken some of those resolutions. If you want to be successful at keeping your resolution, no matter what it is from stopping smoking to curtailing your Faberge Egg purchases, you need to have a plan in place. Here are some tips to help you keep those resolutions and make permanent changes in your life.

Have a Specific, Realistic Goal – Make sure you are clear on what your resolution is. Don’t be vague and say “I need to spend less this year.” Instead, look at your spending habits from 2008 and select an area or two where you can reduce your spending and make a difference. For example, you can say “This year I will only eat dinner out once a week instead of three times a week.” Also, you need to be realistic. You will set yourself up for failure if you say “I will not eat dinner out at all this year.”

Track Your Progress – It is important that you have a system to monitor how well you are keeping your resolution. If you don’t already keep a budget, start one for just your eating out expenses. Try to compare it to last year by pulling 2008’s credit card or bank statements. Mark your calendar for when you plan to eat out and when you do eat out. Also, make it count. If you enjoy going out to eat socially, don’t “waste” your week’s meal out by stopping at the neighborhood diner by yourself; wait for Friday night with friends.

Set Yourself Up For Success – You need to plan ahead a little (sometimes a lot) to make sure you can keep that resolution. For example, if you ate out a lot in 2008 because you don’t like to cook or don’t keep food in the house, learn some simple, healthy recipes and schedule one day during the week to go to the store to get everything you need for that week. Hate grocery shopping? Look online for a grocery delivery company. It will probably be more expensive than going yourself but most likely less than eating out everyday.

Find Support – Encouragement from others is important. Seek support from your family and friends to help you stay on track. If you have a partner, make sure he or she is willing to go along with your resolution of eating out less. Make the decision together. If you don’t know how to cook there are plenty of cooking classes to attend, many of them free. Also, consider joining a group that can help you with your goal.

Reward Yourself – It is important to recognize your success and reward yourself for a job well done. If you have only eaten out once a week for three months in a row, make your next meal out special if you can. If you don’t usually order dessert, order it. Eat out at the slightly higher priced steakhouse but don’t over-do it. You wouldn’t want to negate your success with a few poor choices.

Good luck with your resolution! If you haven’t thought of one yet, now’s the time. Use these tips to help you succeed.

Congratulations to Nita Aleman and Michael O’Malley for completing the 3M Half Marathon this past Sunday. Way to Work It!

Nita at Finish Line

Have you made a resolution to tidy up your diet this year? Have you included switching to more “diet” drinks instead of full calories drinks? Here is an article that may make you think twice. Water is always the best option! (Source: SCW Fitness Newsletter 5/1/08 www.scwfitness.com)

“Instructors all over the country are being surprised with this question lately. A study from the University of Texas Health Center seems to show that drinking diet beverages is linked to being obese. Researchers acknowledge that other factors may be affecting results, but they are standing by their facts. The risk of being overweight increased by 41% even for the group who only averaged 1 can of the beverages a day.

It seems that the real surprise was not the link to being overweight, but that the risk of being over weight was HIGHER for diet soda drinkers than regular soda drinkers. Psychological factors may play a role here. Dieters, having a deprivation mentality, may choose a diet beverage and feel entitled to fries or dessert. That’s an interesting possibility.

Doctors and nutritionists advise that we not “drink” our calories. Pediatricians in particular warn against over “juicing” children and recommend reducing milk intake after the age of 2. Even these beverages, with their health benefits, are high in calories, carbohydrates, and sugar. Fructose and Lactose are still “sugar” and carry with them quite a few calories. But diet drinks are supposed to be calorie free?

This study and others like it find that the body’s expectation of calories due to the sweet taste of the beverages probably stimulates a hunger response. Suppressing that particular response would be preferred by dieters. Some even argue that the insulin reaction may actually begin when food or drink is placed on the tongue. This could mean that drinking a diet cola would cause insulin to be sent into the bloodstream only to have nothing upon which to act. When this occurs, the body attempts to store fat. Again, every dieter’s nightmare!

In an effort to adjust this “drinking” problem, one should consider other ways to fix a sweet tooth. Nuts, berries, and yogurt with fruit are all good options. Nutritional snacks with more flavor can induce satiety and provide vitamins and minerals. They are also easily paired with bottled or filtered water. H2O, after all, is the only beverage consumed universally in the animal kingdom. Other mammals discontinue the drinking of milk after infancy. No responsible pet owner gives Fido juice in his bowl. It’s time to resign ourselves to water only…at least most of the time.

Sports drinks and flavored water beverages are all the rage as well. While not specifically addressed in recent studies, it is reasonable to assume that the results would be similar. Beverages geared toward athletes were developed to reduce electrolyte loss and therefore cramping during intense bouts of exercise in extreme conditions over long periods of time. Most casual exercisers are not in need of electrolyte supplementation.

Ultimately, what exercisers drink is personal. Water is, of course, best. Other beverages should be consumed in moderation with careful consideration to calorie and salt content. This, too, becomes a choice between what we need and what we want. The choice is yours, now you know!”

Work It client Michael O’Malley completed the Austin RunTex 20 Miler in three hours and 18 minutes this past Sunday as part of the Austin Distance Challenge.  The Austin Distance Challenge ends with the Austin Marathon on February 15, 2009.  Michael is going the distance.

Way to run Michael!

See the website here.

Check out Work It Personal Training featured on KXAN’s news clip covering Mayor Will Wynn’s 2009 Resolution Run on January 2!

Today clients, friends and I joined Mayor Will Wynn and about 100 other runners for the annual Resolution Run. This run kickstarts the Mayor’s initiative to make Texas the fittest state by the year 2020. We started at Austin City Hall and Lady Bird Lake Trail across the street. It was a fun-run, so everyone ran their own pace and distance. Thank you to the Work It supporters who came out!

Start 2009 in a fit way by joining team Work It in the 2009 Resolution Run with Austin’s mayor, Will Wynn. The run is a fun run, so feel free to run, jog or walk at your own pace and distance. There is no cost to join in this fun run.

When: Friday, January 2 at 10 am
Where: Starting at the Austin City Hall Plaza, 301 West Second St.

So, if you’d don’t have to go into the office, come out and join us!