Welcome to FunctionalTrainer.co.za

 It has been the drive behind this site to educate you, our readers as to lifestyle changes and modifications that will benefit you in living a healthy sustainable life. Often this has required a paradigm shift from what you have been taught as a youth with regards to what is actually healthy for you. This means that you have to look a little deeper, search a little harder, to find your way through the smoke and mirrors of Marketing to discover who actually has your best interests at heart.

 

This has got me thinking. One of the biggest traps is supplementation, specifically Anti Aging medication that companies use to promote Immortality. I have decided to include a new category on this site dedicated to giving you the best information about anti aging strategies. As is typical of this site I do not endorse ANY brand of supplements. What I plan to do is to educate you to decide for yourself whether or not you use the products.

 

For the first article I will go through the paradigm shift and thinking processes that are behind ‘Anti Aging’. I found it fascinating doing the research. I don’t expect the same passion from you, just read and understand. I will make it simpler than graphs and charts and statistics!

 

Here goes….

 

When you consider that most people nowadays have a life expectancy of around 80 years, it begins to dawn on you that the last period of your life could have two possible scenarios.  The first is one where you go to the grave quietly, with dignity and self respect. The other is not so rosy. Today more than 75% of all the money the world spends on healthcare is spent during the last two years of people’s lives. This is frightening to think that lifestyle related disease can be so expensive, especially because it can be prevented.

 

So how does Anti Aging fit in?

 

Firstly, remember that the term ‘Anti-Aging’ actually refers to longevity, and how you can improve the quality of your lifespan, not only the duration. There are three main pathways to helping you to improve your quality of life. These being Nutrition, Exercise and Hormone control (It is hormones that control most of the processes in your body. It is their slow decrease with age the causes your body to lose its optimal functioning.)

 

Anti-Aging medicine deals with early detection, prevention and treatment of Aging related disease and conditions. This has truly been a revolution in medical science, which previously only focuses on treating disease after the fact, not on prevention of disease.

 

It is interesting to note that Age and Aging are subjective. A persons chronological age and their physiological age can be very different. I know personally of a  60+ year old client of mine who has more energy, more vitality than most of the other people train.

 

 

Curiously enough this guy doesn’t smoke, exercises regularly, eats healthily and keeps his mind active by constantly challenging his boundaries.  Everything he does screams positivity!

 

 Conversely I have seen other people 40 + who smoke 2 packs a day, eat mostly processed foods, abuse alcohol and have bitter dispositions. Not to mention not being able to run for more than 5 minutes without having a coughing fit. Quality of life is the point here!

 

The goal for all of us is to reach that 80 years feeling 55! Having vitality and energy to give to those around us, not to be a burden on those we love.

 

More specifically we want:

1. A properly functioning  IMMUNE SYSTEM
2. Improved MEMORY and COGNITIVE function
3. A physical change in musculature and reduced Body FAT.
4. Enhanced SEXUAL functioning
5. Increased rate of WOUND HEALING
6. Increase AEROBIC ABILITY

 

Now that we have the goals, what can you do to improve your chances of reaching them. Follow some of these simple suggestions to improve your quality of life NOW!

 

• Avoid depression and stress
• Do at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. It is the number 1 defense against growing old.
• Keep clear of processed foods and saturated fats. These cause heart disease and cancer
• Get at least 8 hours sleep. Sleep is where you repair your body. No sleep, no repair!
• Limit your intake of alcohol. Alcohol is poison to your body. Just because we dilute it to consume it doesn’t mean it is not poisonous anymore.
• Do not smoke. Cigarettes kill!
• Maintain a reasonable body weight. Even having too much muscle places strain on your heart system!
• Consume sufficient anti-oxidants to help prevent aging.
• Water, Water, Water! At least 8 glasses a day.  Being hydrated allows you to flush toxins from your body and helps transport nutrients to where they are needed.
• Make sure you are tested for disease, especially if you are over 45. Early detection is the biggest cure for diseases like cancer and heart disease.
• Think young and keep busy. Also surround yourself with people who are young minded. This will buffer the effects of depression and stress.

 

Now I realize that we have been conditioned into a certain mindset of work and money equals happiness… I am here to tell you that you have been lied to! Look around you. How many people do you know you have worked themselves to the bone, have the health they always wanted, the family life they always dreamed of… you know where I am going with this.   You have a choice to make about the quality of life you want to have. 

 

The next article I write will relate to some of the theories of how we age… don’t worry I have done the heavy reading already, I will simplify the information. Also I will include the direct effect aging has on your system. This will help you to understand why certain supplements work and which systems they affect.

 

I welcome any questions or comments you have…

 

Kind regards

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