The thoracic stretch or ‘towel stretch’ is a fantastic stretch for all of us that suffer with ‘pc posture’. Typically people that spend long periods of time at a computer will develop ‘pc posture’. This is recognised by rounded shoulders hanging forward, tight pectorals and a forward bend in the mid to upper part of your spine.

If you hang your hands by your sides and relax, looking forward, take note of where your hands hang. If they are hanging in front of your body, there is a good chance that you have ‘pc posture’. Also look at your side profile in the mirror:

• Is your head protruding forwards?
• Do you have a small bump at the top of your spine where your neck starts?
• Is your upper back rounding forwards?

If you answer yes to any of these questions then the following stretch is ideal for you. If neglected, aside from the aesthetic issue, ‘pc posture’ can results in:

• back pain,
• shoulder pain,
• neck pain and headaches.

In fact for some people this can be so severe they are unable to continue to work and need long periods of corrective work.So Stretch!!

1) Roll up a towel into a tight roll

2) Lay over the towel so it runs across your body, bridging your shoulder blades

3) Bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the floor

4) Relax your head down to the floor

5) Stretch your arms over your head to the floor, breath and relax - see picture from our newsletter (sign up now if you haven’t already, box on left of screen)

You can move the towel up by a few centimeters and down by a few, to get a good thorough stretch. Stay there for a minute or so and make sure you relax. It is possible that you might get some tingling in the fingers, if so, just relax them by your side and then resume the position.

If the stretch causes you abnormal discomfort, cease doing it immediately.

The stretch works by easing your body into extension whilst you relax. Perform the stretch twice daily four times per week to see great imporvements in your posture in no time.

Go slow and enjoy!

Litmus Test - December Answered

1) You can lose weight from specifically your abdomen through doing more crunches - True or False?

False you can’t specifically target one area for weight loss through exercise and secondly crunches would not be the best method of inducing fat loss

2) Hormones do not affect weight loss or gain - True or False?

False. Hormones are an accelerator and absolutely will have an affect on weight loss or gain.

3) The Lab provides injury rehabilitation for injured workers - True or False?

True. The Lab is a registered workers rehabilitation provider.

4) Obesity has been closely linked to an increase in cancer risk - True of False?

True. Recent studies have shown a strong link between the two conditions.

5) Capital of California is Los Angeles - True or False

False. The capital of sunny California is actually Sacramento!

The New Years Resolution has a long and interesting history, dating back to 153 B.C. When the mythical Roman god named Janus was placed at the head of the calendar. Being the god of new beginnings; Janus became an ancient symbol for resolution. Always depicted with two faces, one looking forward to the year ahead and the other looking back to the year that was. On New Years Eve the Romans would seek forgiveness from their enemies and exchange gifts; the idea being to cleanse themselves of past sins and bad habits and start fresh.

Nowadays our resolutions are directed more towards ourselves, but are no less important. The current Top 5 New Years Resolutions are:

1. Spend more time with family and friends.
2. Quit smoking.
3. Quit drinking.
4. Get out of debt.

and last but not least…

Get fitter and battle the bulge!

Our resolve tends to be at its highest towards the end of the holiday season; after a fortnight or so of over indulgence. It is easy for us to plan these changes when we are not at the mercy of our recently satisfied cravings. So we sit down on January 1st and decide that we are going to spend the next year attending the gym; walking to work; cutting down on our drinking, and eating 5 servings of vegetables every day. Now, in reality when February 1st rolls around these promises are nothing but faint memories to most of us. Only about 20% of New Years Resolutions are actually kept.

So what causes these promises to drop by the wayside; and what can we do to keep the resolutions that will improve our health and well being?

One reason that we abandon our resolutions comes in the form of discouragement. Discouragement when the results don’t come as easy or as quickly as we would like. Behavioral change takes long lasting commitment and often comes with a certain level of discomfort. It isn’t always easy to force yourself up from in front of the T.V. and go for a run; conversely, sitting in your comfy chair and telling yourself; I’ll do it tomorrow is much more inviting. Below are a few tips that can help you make those new Years Resolutions stick.

1. Set Realistic Goals - Break it down.

Have your long term goals but break them down into smaller steps. That way you will se results and your motivation will remain at its highest.

2. Focus on behavioral change more than on the goal itself.

By changing your actions and habits in everyday life you are more likely to succeed in sticking to your resolution in the long run.

3. Allow for imperfections

Everybody makes mistakes, and just because a few days don’t go as planned doesn’t mean you should throw everything out the window. Stop for a second and refocus.

4. Reward yourself 

Each time you reach one of your short term goals reward yourself. Treat yourself to lunch, go see a movie or do something else you enjoy.

5. Don’t try and do too much 

It would be great if we could loose weight, stop smoking and drink less all at once, but this is too big a mountain to climb, and you increase your chances of failing on all accounts. Take it one at a time.

6. Don’t go it alone, get professional help

A good health and fitness professional will no the strategies best suited to you and your situation; and there is nothing like being held accountable to someone to increase motivation.

So now we have an understanding of why we make New Years Resolutions; why we fail at them, and some strategies to help us succeed. Unfortunately now there is no excuse not to get off our couches, get moving and join the 20% of people who keep their resolutions.

Name: Sybille Goss

1.  Your profession?

Consulting Manager - Recruitment and HR

2. Where do you work?

Carroll Consulting Group

3. Years in business?

Almost 4 years with CCG and 11 years in total in recruitment

4.  What typically do you deal with in business?

We provide recruitment and HR consulting services at a senior and executive level and I am responsible for the whole end-to-end recruitment process.

5. Do you have long standing clients?

Yes, with most of our clients we have long-term relationships and quite a few of them we have been working with for over a decade.

6.What do people say about you?

They describe me as somebody who is passionate about the job I do and that I am genuinely interested in doing a good job. They would also say that I am a caring and committed person and that my approach is honest, open and ethical.

7.  What does no one know about you?

This information is classified and won’t be released until 75 years after my death.

8. If you weren’t doing what you do now what would you be doing?

Well, either ski instructor or florist or photographer or jewellery designer or magazine editor or running a B&B in Sunshine Coast Hinterland.

9. If you had one key skill, what would it be?

Intuition

10. How long have you been training?

About 2 years with the lab

11.What do you like about training with us?

Alex is very competent and knowledgeable and has a natural and engaging manner. I always feel in good care with him. I also find the session very motivating and I definitely feel a lot healthier and energetic since I have started training with the lab.

12.What made you start with us?

Improve my fitness and be healthier

13.  What has been your biggest training achievement to date?

Simply getting fitter - one specific achievement I am particularly proud of was to run the Bridge to Brisbane Run

14.  What would you say to others to get them moving and start training with the lab?

Just make that first step, get into the routine and that’s it, you will see the results very quickly. Trust me, once you get into it, it’s really good fun to train
15.Do you have any health and fitness objectives?

I simply want to continue regular exercise

16. Any words of wisdom to share with the rest of our clients?

I believe that looking after your physical wellbeing is very important and there is no question that you will live a longer, healthier and happier life if you look after your body and mind.

1) Stress can kill - True or False? Ongoing stress can lead to all sorts of health issues including hypertension, musculoskeletal problems and cancer

2) Exercise Physiology is a new name for Personal Training -True or False? They are quite different. Exercise Physiologists are degree qualified and are part of the allied health system. Please see our article titled Personal Training Vs Exercise Physiology

3) The Lab runs exercise classes - True or False? Climbfit and T-In the park

4) The capital of Holland is Amsterdam - True or False? The Hague!

5) Exercise doesn’t work for weight loss - True or False? Exercise works, if done correctly and in conjunction with behavior modification and a calorie controlled diet.

Life and work doesn’t stop and with the invention of a million time saving gadgets and a multitude of ways to accelerate your output it’s easy to see why so many busy people feel like they are in fast forward.

The problem with fast-forward is there is no end in sight; you are in a continuous loop. Let’s face it, the more you do the more you have to do. Fast-forward will soon start to burn your motor and slow your wheels, information will be lost and problems will inevitably arise.

This is however no sign of weakness, the body was designed to function in a certain way. The body is unquestionably remarkable in that it can react to various stimuli in order to cope. There is nothing wrong with switching into fast forward, to escape a predator, to score in sports, or to get something extraordinary done. The problem comes when all of life requires fast forward, because you simply can’t maintain it.

The secret is to know when to hit the pause button. Hitting pause in life, taking a break, is underrated and is non-negotiable. If you don’t rest, you will be forced to, one way or another at some point in time. Some people start to under perform; some people become irritable, stressed or depressed. Others develop physical symptoms, such as tension, high blood pressure or more serious, sometimes life threatening conditions.

Hitting pause is as simple as scheduling some time with the family, or a short break with a loved one or simply some time out alone. This January sit down with your partner or close ones and work out a schedule for the year. Your schedule for the year is your work rest cycle.

Athletes heavily rely on these training cycles, they carefully plan when they need to be at their best (competition) what training they will be doing when, and importantly, when they will be recovering and resting before going again. This process is a vital component of performance and one that we can all learn from. Scheduling these cycles allows the body to perform at optimum, will help your loved ones understand when you are working and when you will be free, and will help your motivation to have blocks of rest time allocated throughout your year.

Some rules to setting your work rest cycle are as follows

1. Start from January when you plan to return to work after Christmas break
2. Go no more then three months before taking a 4 day weekend
3. After no more than 6 months take at least 7 days off
4. At the end of the year, take an extended break of 14 days +
5. A must when on your breaks, is to have more then 80% of your time with no work phone, no email, no pda, no laptop or pc. (Over 3 days of a 4 day weekend or 5.5 days of a week) Work in the modern era, knows no boundaries so if you don’t set them, you won’t be resting at all
6. Schedule some time with friends and play some sports or plan some social exercise. Active rest will leave you feeling revitalised.
7. Plan ahead, so that on the day you return to work you have time to catch up on, emails, phone calls etc and have a look at the 3 month landscape ahead of you before your next break then GO!

P.S If ever you feel you need a break, take a long weekend immediately, or as soon as possible. Pushing through will only lead to more problems and have you in a state of deficit which will be far harder to get out of and potentially more serious.

By Alex Cox-Taylor

By Barry Rudd BAppSc (HMST) MAAESS AEP

Many of us will wake up on the first of January 2008 with a resolution to lose some weight over the coming year. We all know that diet and exercise are two of the factors related to our weight loss; but what many of us don’t know is that a good nights sleep is integral to a successful weight loss plan. However with work, family, social and sports commitments who has time for a good night sleep. Besides, that extra cup of coffee in the afternoon will keep us going, right? Wrong. The average adult needs 7 - 9 hours sleep per night.

Everyone will tend to put all their energy into changing their diet and exercise regime while neglecting sleep. We tend to lack sleep to attempt to increase our work and social free time without knowing that we are actually sabotaging our weight loss and daily energy levels. It has been shown that people who regularly get less than seven hours of sleep per night have higher body fat percentages than those who get adequate sleep.

Recent studies have shown a shocking link between not getting enough sleep and the levels of different regulatory hormones. Have you ever experienced a night of little or no sleep, followed by a day where no matter what you ate, you never felt full or satisfied? If this is the case, you have experienced the affects of two of the appetite hormones: Ghrelin and Leptin. Ghrelin is found in the digestive tract and its job is to stimulate the appetite. Leptin is produced in fat cells and signals the body when you are full.

Lack of sleep causes Ghrelin levels to rise and Leptin levels to fall; the result of this is and increased craving for food, and not feeling full after eating. This increased hunger has also been seen to include an increased appetite for carbohydrate rich and calorie dense food. Looking at this it is easy to see that this cycle repeated over a long period of time, can easily result in weight gain.

Lack of sleep has also been shown to affect the hormones that regulate carbohydrate metabolism and fat storage. This can result in higher blood glucose levels, excess fat storage and eventual insulin resistance (a significant contributing factor to Type II diabetes).

All these facts are well and good, but they are of no use to us if we can’t fall asleep when the lights go out. Here are some important tips to help improve your quality of sleep.
1. Don’t eat right before you go to bed, but make sure you have a filling dinner so you don’t go to bed hungry.
2. Don’t use your bed for work or watching the TV. Once you get into bed use it for sleeping.
3. From mid-afternoon onwards avoid substances that aren’t conducive to sleep; these include caffeine, chocolate, cigarettes and alcoholic beverages.
4. Develop a pre-sleep routine and stick to it every night. This may include preparing lunch for tomorrow, having a shower, bushing your teeth and reading a book for 10-15 minutes. This will allow your body time to wind down and relax.

So although trying to fit in an extra hour or two of sleep a night may seem like a daunting task, remember: when you wake up you’ll have more energy and feel better, allowing you to accomplish more in your day. In the long run your ability to lose weight and your health are more important than that last check of you emails, or hour of T.V. So brush your teeth, get under the doona and give your weight loss plan the jump start it needs.

1) Involve a friend. Making exercise a social event with a friend or partner will make it more enjoyable and increase your motivation.

2) Add some intervals. Interval training is a great way to get some extra intensity in a manageable way

3) Try something new. From wake boarding to circus training, there are millions of ways of staying active. Try something new and your body will thank you for it!

4) Try different times of the day. Your energy levels will fluctuate throughout the day. From a physiological perspective it is likely you will get the best from your body in the early evening. People are different. Experiment.

5) Give yourself a break. Rest is the most underrated component of performance. Schedule your rest and then work hard in preparation. If you do it this way round you will do what you need to and then enjoy total rest. Schedule!

1) What is a posture assessment?

a) Setting up of your desk space

b) Measuring of body size using a tape measure to help decide what clothes fit best

c) Analysis of joint angle and positioning for promotion of optimal movement and reduction of injury risk

d) Classification of body type into endomorph, mesomorph and ectomorph

2) How does stress effect weight loss goals?

a) Helps it, means you burn more calories because you are worried?

b) Plays no part its totally unrelated

c) Hinders it, the production of stress hormones encourage the body to store body fat due to the increase in blood sugar

d) None of the above

3) Can work count towards over-training?

a) Yes it can, work and training if not carefully scheduled put continual strain on the body and lead to overtraining, injury and sickness

b) No it can’t, the performance of high intensity exercise even when tired gives you energy and renews your vitality

c) Only if you work in a physical job role

d) Only if you are a lawyer

4) Walking is just as good as running for weight loss?

True or False ?

From a physics point of view this is true. It requires the same amount of energy to move a mass from point A to point B. In reality running holds far more benefits for most then walking. Running will increase your cardiovascular fitness which in turn will increase your energy levels and your exercise capacity. So add a little into your walk - not only that but you will get from point A to point B quicker!

1. Your profession?

Building a successful business- based on business services.

2. Where do you work?

Dedicated Bookkeeping, based in Toowong

3. Years in business?

4 years in Dedicated Bookkeeping and numerous working for large corporates

4. What is a typical client?

A small to medium business that wants quality service and agreed deadlines met.
They also like our “Happiness Centred Business” principles.

We don’t have a,b or c class customers we work on having “Happy” customers only

5. Do you have long standing clients?

Yes we have a number of clients who have been with us from commencement

6. What do people say about you?

Focused on meeting deadlines, abundant thinking, positive, proactive.
Happy and enthusiastic

7. What does no one know about you?

We can leave it that way…

8. If you weren’t doing what you do now what would you be doing?

Exactly what I am doing now, only further down the journey

9. If you had one key skill, what would it be?

Commitment to meeting agreed dealines

10. How long have you been training?

Approx one year

11. What do you like about training with us?

The variety and changes and the results that The Lab have achieved

12. What made you start with us?

Alex is a fellow BNI member and as we had established a business
relationship it seemed natural to use The lab

13. What has been your biggest training achievement to date?

Fitness level improvement and resultant weight loss

14. What would you say to others to get them moving and start training with the lab?

If you would like to be fitter than you are now why wait & arrange a Lab gift voucher for them

15. Do you have any health and fitness objectives?

Loose a few more kilos and keep improving my fitness and vitality level

16. Any words of wisdom to share with the rest of our clients?

Just keeping turning up and let The Lab worry about the rest