Keeping your stomach safe

With the festive season and warmer weather here, you really need to be taking care when preparing and storing food.

Director of Environmental Health Jim Dodds says people should follow proper food handling procedures to ensure that barbecues, social functions and the traditional Christmas lunch don't become a source of illness.

"The rate of food-borne illnesses such as gastroenteritis often increases over summer because bacteria grow more quickly in foods if they are left out of the fridge," he says.

People can avoid food-borne illness by following some basic food handling principles such as:

• storing foods such as meat, dairy products and other perishable goods in the fridge until needed and not leaving leftovers out for longer than two hours
• covering food to prevent contamination by dust or insects
• throwing away higher risk foods such as those containing meats and dairy products which have been left out of the fridge for longer than four hours
• cooking all meats thoroughly, taking special care with chicken and minced meat products
• always having an esky with ice or ice bricks to keep meats and other foods cold at barbecues and picnics
• checking date marking on food before purchasing or using
• washing hands thoroughly with soap and water before handling food
• avoiding cross contamination – prepare and store raw meat separately from cooked and ready to eat foods such as salad and cooked chicken. Items such as tongs, chopping boards and knifes used on raw meats should be washed before being used to handle ready to eat foods
• placing left over food to cool in the fridge soon after cooking
• keeping leftovers for a maximum of three days and if reheating, reheat until steaming hot
• washing fruit and vegetables in clean running water before consumption

Jim says people should also be aware that most food poisoning bacteria do not produce an "off" smell or taste, so it may be hard to tell if something should not be eaten.

"In many cases food poisoning symptoms can take a few days to appear, so people should not assume it was the last meal they ate that made them sick," he says.

"If you think you have become ill from eating contaminated food and are unwell enough to seek medical care, you should consult your doctor as soon as possible and make a list of food eaten in the previous 48 hours.

"If the food was eaten at a restaurant or takeaway, you should also notify the local government's environmental health branch and any leftovers should be frozen or refrigerated for examination."

Don't Become a Statistic

In 2007, more than 80% of all premature deaths were due to chronic disease, according to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

The report, Premature mortality from chronic disease, shows that of these premature deaths— deaths among people aged less than 75 years—more than three in five were potentially avoidable.

Karen Bishop of the Institute’s Population Health Unit says: "Among men, coronary heart disease was the most common cause of premature mortality, accounting for 16% of years of life lost from chronic disease."

According to the Australian Heart Foundation, staying fit and eating healthy can substantially reduce your risk of heart attack.

Here are the Heart Foundation’s top five tips for sticking with healthy living resolutions:

• Small changes to your eating habits can make a big difference. Try switching to reduced fat milk instead of full fat milk, ditching the cakes or biscuits for morning tea and choosing a piece of fruit or opting for wholegrain bread instead of white. 
• Look for ways to build physical activity into your day. Walk or ride a bike instead of driving. If you must drive, park further away and walk the extra distance rather than driving around for the perfect park, or take a break during the day and go for a 15 minute walk. 
• Review the changes you’ve made and note how you are feeling. Changes should be long term so it’s important to be enjoying your life and feeling good about yourself. 
• Reward yourself – when a change becomes a habit, buy yourself some new clothes, or visit a place you enjoy. 
• Keep going with your changes – it’s normal to have days when it all becomes too hard, but don’t worry about it. Just keep going with your changes the next day.

Atlas Tip: Time to Rotate

Rotation is a very important movement that is often neglected. Some trainers and coaches follow a straight line approach to their training (still good) however the body is designed for movement on all plains.

Sport in general though is not played in a straight line and requires direction change. If you ran straight up and down in rugby or AFL, you wouldn't get very far. So why not train how you play?

Pushups: Beat the Special Forces!

How many pushups can you do? Apparently 60 pushups in two minutes is a pre-requisite for the Australian Special Forces. This is pretty tame. A strong individual should be able to do this easily and not just thrash them out with a rushed technique. 

Quality pushups are better then the quantity. Period. How many good, quality pushups do you think you could knock out in two minutes? Hit comment below and let us know!

Workout of the Week: Full Body Training

While a lot of people believe targeting ‘problem areas’ is the way to go, the reality is full body training is one of the most effective ways to train.

Why? Full body training allows you to use more energy as you are engaging more of your body’s major muscle groups with each workout. An isolated exercise, like biceps curls, is only targeting a much smaller muscle group and therefore using less energy.

By engaging more of the major muscle groups you are increasing your chances of burning more body fat, it is also a great way to get the maximum result from your allocated exercise time.

No idea how to go about a full body workout? Why not have a go at our workout of the week below!

Workout of the week 

SET 1: (alternate between these two exercises until you have completed three sets of each)
Dumbbell Squat (heels elevated) - 10-12 reps
Seated Cable Pull Down – 10-12

SET 2: (alternate between these two exercises until you have completed three sets of each)
Lying Leg Curl (toes pointing inwards) - 6-8 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press (hands neutral) - 10-12 reps 

If you are having any trouble with this workout, don’t hesitate to email us for more info or videos. Good luck and enjoy!

Atlas Top Tip: Eat Breakfast!

The Atlas Top Tip for today is a really simple one - eat breakfast! Honestly, the research that is out there cannot be ignored.

For more energy, better hormonal function, increase in metabolic function and decrease chance of acquiring insulin resistance issues… eat breakfast! Keep checking out our blog in the coming weeks and we'll share what some of the Atlas Performance crew eat for a high-powered start to their day. 

WA Adults - fat but active?

If you saw The West Australian earlier this week you would have seen a new study has shown that WA adults have increased their physical activity, but a lot more of us are still gaining weight. What does that say? Clearly even if we are being more active, many WA adults still don't have the skills for correct exercise and nutrition. 

The results came from the 2009 Physical Activity Taskforce Adult Survey and showed 60% of WA adults are active enough for good health, which is a four per cent increase in 10 years. During that time, there has been an increase in the prevalence of adult overweight and obesity levels from 44 per cent to 55 per cent.

Sport and Recreation Minister and chair of the Physical Activity Taskforce, Terry Waldron, says he was pleased by the increase in activity but concerned overweight and obesity was on the increase.

“We are very pleased that West Australians are listening to the physical activity message and are getting more active,” Terry says. “Physical activity has huge benefits for health and improves physical and mental wellbeing, quality of life, social interaction and life expectancy."

The rising rate of obesity though is a concern. “The increase in adult overweight and obesity levels is alarming, and is a reminder that increasing physical activity will only curb part of this problem," Terry admits.

Terry says healthy active lifestyles and healthy eating were equally important to stabilise the increasing numbers of adults above a healthy weight. I think any of our smart customers could have told him that!

Keep checking in to our blog in the coming weeks as we share a heap of great tips and ideas of how you can stay healthy through effective exercise and good nutrition. Let's bring that obesity number down!!

Atlas Top Tip: Squats

Squats are a fantastic exercise whatever your fitness goals, but are you getting the most out of them?

Full squats are more beneficial for the normal gym user because of its application in the real world. Doing a ‘half squat’ will only allow you to obtain half the results.

Practice and train for full flexibility to be able to squat all the way to the floor. Your body will thank you for it!

Hit comment below and share your top tips on how you perfected your squat or any advice you'd like to share with other Atlas Performance clients and fitness fans.

The Importance of Sleep

Getting to bed at a reasonable hour is the key to complementing your training during the day by allowing your body to properly recover and it has also been linked to reducing the chances of abdominal body fat build up.

Yes, there are other factors that contribute to abdominal fat build up, but getting a good night's sleep is the first and best step you can take.

Sleep can also affect your health as a whole. In its 2004 report Wake Up Australia, respected analysts Access Economics estimated the total annual financial costs of sleep disorders in Australia to be $6.2 billion.

“We estimate that over 1.2 million Australians (6 percent of the population) experience sleep disorders,” Access Economics said.

Some illnesses such as heartburn, asthma, depression and heart disease can impact sleep quality and can be worse during sleep periods. Certain medications and alcohol can affect sleep, sleep patterns and quality of sleep.

Email us for more info on tackling sleep related issues!

Tis the season for blueberries

Did you know the blueberry industry in Australia is one of the most premium blueberry industries in the world? Today 90% of blueberries sold in the Australian market are Australian grown.

What you really need to know though is how good blueberries are for you. Blueberries contain minimal calories and virtually no fat and they are rich in vitamin A, C, and E. They are also a good source of dietary fibre, are rich in potassium, manganese and magnesium and are believed to provide the most health-protecting antioxidants of any fruit or vegetable.

In fact it is the anthocyanins (an antioxidant) in blueberries that give them their blue colour.

Not sure what all the fuss is about? According to ABGA: “Antioxidants are very well known for their health benefits, especially their ability to reduce damage to our cells.

“Antioxidants help counter the damaging effects of free radicals, which form during normal metabolic processes and are associated with the development of several diseases including cancer and heart disease.

“Scientists have discovered that an antioxidant rich diet can assist in the prevention of disease and illness. Recent studies have found antioxidant rich blueberries are especially good for several health issues.”

ABGA says blueberries have anti-ageing effects, can improve eyesight, protect your heart, may improve your cholesterol and can treat urinary tract infections.

To maximise these amazing health benefits, keep frozen blueberries in your freezer during the off season and stock up on the fresh varieties now when you can get them from fresh vegetable markets and some supermarkets. Chuck a handful into your fruit salad, add them on top of oats, mix them into muesli or add them to your protein smoothie for a great antioxidant boost.

Click here for a great smoothie recipe we tried earlier.

Why aren't West Aussie walking?

Are you a regular walker? If so, you may be in the minority according to a new study.

Sport and Recreation Minister Terry Waldron says he was very concerned about the results of latest research conducted by the Physical Activity Taskforce, which revealed a decline in the number of West Australian adults walking for recreation and transport.

“I am very concerned about the results which show a nine percent decline since 1999 of people walking for recreation and 10 per cent less since 2006 walking for transport,” he says.

The findings from the 2009 WA Physical Activity Survey show only half of physically active adults walked more than 10 minutes for recreation and one in five walked more than 10 minutes for transport in the previous week.

The survey also showed a corresponding decline in the use of local footpaths and streets for physical activity.

The Minister says he is very concerned about the results as walking was a key indicator of how active communities were, because it was the easiest, cheapest, most accessible and popular form of physical activity.

“Walking for recreation or as a form of transport other than the car, has many benefits for the health and wellbeing for the walker and also creates less congestion on the roads and less pollution for the community,” he says.

“We are very concerned about these latest findings, and believe a concerted effort to increase walking is required across all levels of government and community.

“With Western Australia’s growing population and increasing pressures on existing infrastructure, we need to encourage people to walk more, to build walk-friendly environments and make it habit forming to walk rather than use the car.”

Heart Foundation senior manager of physical activity Clover Maitland says it is vital to find at least 30 minutes a day to exercise.

“Finding 30 minutes of physical activity a day, such as walking, is one of the best things you can do for your physical, social and mental health; and it’s as easy as walking out of your door and into your local neighbourhood,” he says.

Professional athletes need work/life balance

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jared Tallent is a firm believer in the value of a healthy sport–life balance, the subject of important new research on Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) elite athletes.

A recent study conducted by the National Athlete Career and Education (NACE) and AIS ACE programs at the Australian Sports Commission has found sporting performance may be boosted by a well-balanced lifestyle combining work, study and training.

The NACE and AIS survey of 143 AIS athletes looked at their attitudes and approaches to sport, study and other activities. NACE consultant Dr Nathan Price said the findings of the study indicate that sport–life balance has a positive effect on an athlete’s performance and longevity in their sport.

"More than 90 per cent of athletes surveyed indicated they believed that actively engaging in non-sporting pursuits helped to lengthen their sporting career,” Dr Price said. “Of those athletes that were studying or working, 72 per cent believed that their sporting performance benefited from them undertaking education or employment.

Jared Tallent, who recently won the 20km walk gold medal at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, and a silver in the 50km and bronze in the 20km at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, said maintaining a well-balanced lifestyle has helped his international success.

“There’s definitely a positive relationship between my life balance and athletic performance,” Tallent said. “I have been able to maintain long periods of being injury free mainly because I haven’t over trained and have spent time on other commitments.”

Tallent currently combines his training with studying a Bachelor of Business Studies in Financial Planning at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University.

“It’s easy to let sport take over when you are competing at an elite level,” Tallent said. “But it’s good to have other passions in life so that you have something to move onto once you finish your sporting career.”

The NACE program supports more than 3000 elite athletes across Australia each year in managing their education, work and sports performance, as well as preparing them for life after sport.

WA kids are overweight

According to a new study from The Department of Health, although parents think their children are healthy in fact one in five WA children are overweight or even obese.

Principal Epidemiologist Peter Somerford says: "In the 2009 report, parents have presented a positive view of their children's health, with almost nine out of ten children reported as having excellent or very good health.

"However, the report shows that more than one in five (22.6 per cent) of WA children aged five to 15 years are overweight or obese. The rate has not changed significantly since 2004.

"About half (45 per cent) of this age group get their recommended one hour of physical activity each day, but girls are less likely to do this than boys (38 per cent compared with 52 per cent)."

The survey showed one in two (47 per cent) children aged five to 15 years were eating the recommended amounts of vegetables each day, up from 39 per cent in 2004.

Although more than 95 per cent of children aged four to 11 years are eating the recommended daily intake of fruit, this dropped to just less than 24 per cent in the 12 to 15 year age group.

"These results reinforce the need to continue our efforts to promote healthy weight and active lifestyles in WA children," Peter says.

The report is available online at: http://www.health.wa.gov.au/publications

New Website Is Up And Running!

Hey Team,

It has taken a little while but our new website is up and running.

We will be adding a whole bunch of new and useful information that is going to be relevant for both clientele and personal trainers alike. We are in this industry to help those who want to be successful.

Enjoy.

Coach Sean

Filex 2010

Filex - Sydney 2010

Another year has passed by for the yearly Filex convention in Sydney. This was the first time that I had travelled to Sydney for the convention and found it to be alright. I met some amazing people and created some great relationships. I am looking forward to building some amazing projects with all of you.

The presenters were actually really good and felt at ease because they were people who knew their stuff. Paul Brown and Paul Taylor to name a few were not only funny but also informative. Bless!

Thanks to Nigel and Lisa Champion, Fraser Quelch, Al and Sara Roth for our experiences on Scotland Island. It was truly and amazing time shared with amazing people. We must do that again sometime!