Life Skills
Toenail Troubles
Dealing with some of the most common issues that affect your toenails.
One of the smallest visible parts of your body, your toenails can cause some major pain and embarrassment. While they may not seem to serve any immediate purpose, treating them as unimportant is a mistake that could cause lasting issues.
What do you need to protect your toenails from?
Bacterial Infections
Usually caused by damage to the nail or the skin surrounding the nail, bacterial infections result in swelling, redness, and pain around the nails. Occasionally, the infection is accompanied by a green discoloration of the nail. Treatment often includes antibiotic medication and medical draining of the swollen area surrounding the nail. Not treating the infection will allow it to grow and potentially spread to other toenails.
Fungus
More common than bacterial infections, fungal infections are frequently inherited and cause abnormal nail growth and discoloration. The best treatment for fungal infection is oral medication. However, nail fungus occasionally responds to topical lotions, gels, or creams. Untreated fungal infection can also result in damage to other toenails over time.
Ingrown Toenails
An ingrown toenail is easy to diagnose. When the edge of a toenail angles down into the surrounding skin, it’s an ingrown toenail. Sometimes painful, sometimes inducing infection, ingrown toenails can be avoided by cutting your toenails properly (straight across instead of at an angle), wearing properly fitting shoes, and standing on your feet correctly. Quick medical treatment can prevent long-term complications.
Many nail injuries heal on their own while you go about your daily life. Medical attention is necessary if you notice a white or black line in your toenail, the color or shape of your nail changes, you see dents or ridges in the nail, or the skin surrounding a toenail becomes swollen or painful.
Splinters
They look like red or reddish-brown splinters under the nail, and they appear when damage occurs to the blood vessels housed in the nail bed. Known as splinter hemorrhages, these toenail problems are usually caused by nail trauma, though certain diseases and medications can bring them on. If you’re unsure what the cause of your splinter hemorrhage is, contact your physician to get to the root of your problem.
Warts
Found in any and all areas of the nail, toenail warts can result in the toenail plate becoming disfigured. In the event the wart begins to grow so much that it prevents natural nail growth, the toenail can be completely destroyed.
Treatment of toenail warts typically requires freezing the wart, using chemicals to destroy the wart, or surgical intervention to remove the wart.
White Spots
Jam your toe on a door or drop a heavy box on your foot and you may wind up with small white spots on your toenails. For the most part, these white spots resolve themselves in a matter of days. But if white spots begin showing up on your feet and you don’t recall injuring your toenails, the spots may be an indication of a medical condition, such as an infection. Proper screening by your physician can ensure your condition doesn’t worsen.
Not Just the Feet
Think your toenails only affect your foot health? Think again. Poor toenail health can be an indication of some other serious conditions affecting many parts of the body. Here are some of the most serious.
- Pale nail beds can indicate anemia.
- Red nail beds can indicate a heart condition.
- Half-pink, half-white nail beds can indicate kidney disease.
- White nails can indicate liver disease.
- Yellow, thick nails can indicate lung disease.
- A blush at the base of yellow nails can indicate diabetes.
If you have any of these discolorations, ask your physician whether you’re at risk for other conditions that reach well beyond your feet.
Welcome New Athletes To Fitness Boot Camp!
We Welcome These Fine Folks!
Tahani Matthews
Matthew Parker
Did You Get The Text?
A Free Gift For Ya!
Gym Members – Did you get a text from me tonight? If not, either your number is wrong on our list or we don’t have it!!! Tonight’s message was for something FREE! Worth over $500. Hmm…
Building a Healthy Smoothie
Smoothies are supposed to be healthy. Here’s how to make sure they stay that way.
Yummo, Coach like!
Ever since you first heard of smoothies, your mouth has been watering. When you’re sipping on a smoothie, your mouth is in taste heaven. When there’s no smoothie in your hand, all you can think of are strawberries, bananas, and blueberries. But if you’re not careful, your smoothies can turn into nothing more than an average dessert.
To make sure your smoothie is as healthy as it is cold and delicious, you’ve got to have more than a good blender. You’ve got to have the right building blocks as well.
Building Block: Fruit
In a healthy smoothie, the most basic building block is fruit. Ideally, you want to go with fresh fruits that aren’t sitting in sugar water or have been made unhealthy in some other way. Rather, you want fruit straight off the vine or tree. Raw fruit that hasn’t been tampered with will ensure you the most powerful smoothie punch.
Some of the most common fruits found in smoothies include bananas, strawberries, and blueberries. But don’t let this keep you from getting creative. No matter what your favorite fruit is, you can toss it in the blender for a delightful, flavorful smoothie. From cantaloupe and mango to pineapple, raspberry, and melon, you can include any fruit you can find in your smoothie concoction.
Want the thickest, most delicious smoothie possible? Toss the fruits you plan to use for a smoothie in the freezer before you go to bed. In the morning, toss them in the blender. It’s a simple, yet effective way to get the thick smoothie you want.
Building Block: Juice
Once you’ve got your fruits picked out, you’ll need to find a complementary juice. As with the fruit choices, there is one juice that is picked much more often than the others: orange juice. However, you can toss in whatever type of juice you want to spice up your smoothie.
For variations on your favorite smoothie, give apple juice, grape juice, or cranberry juice a shot. Each different juice will affect the consistency, thickness, and flavor of your smoothie, so keep trying out juices until you find the perfect flavor for your pallet.
Building Block: Yogurt
When you have lots of different fruits and flavors, you’ll probably want something to pull them all together into one cohesive whole. Enter stage left: yogurt. Low-fat or fat-free is the best choice, and since most yogurt falls into one of these categories, it is also an easy choice to find.
With the right amount of yogurt in the mix, your smoothie will go from a yummy treat to a must-have each and every day. While you’ll probably rely on vanilla yogurt for most of your smoothies, using strawberry, strawberry banana, blueberry, or other flavors will enhance your smoothie instantly!
Wake Up and Smell the Smoothie
Need a better way to get your day started? Get your morning off right with this easy-to-make Wake-Up Smoothie recipe.
Yields: 3 servings, 1 cup each
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups orange juice (go for calcium-fortified for added benefit)
- 1 banana
- 1 1/4 cups frozen berries of your choice (good options include raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and/or strawberries)
- 1/2 cup low-fat silken tofu or low-fat plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon sugar or Splenda Granular (optional way to add flavor that causes the smoothie to be a tiny bit less healthy)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients and put in a blender. Cover and blend until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Serve immediately. Smile.
Nutritional Information Per Serving: 139 calories; 2 grams fat, 0 grams saturated fat, 0 grams monosaturated fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 28 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams protein, 4 grams fiber, 19 milligrams sodium, 421 milligrams potassium.
Foundations of Your Fatigue
Tired of feeling tired? You’ve got to get to the root of your problem.
Must have sleep...
When you work and play hard, you’re going to get tired. It’s only natural. However, if you feel out of energy and unmotivated on a daily basis, it may be more than a little bit of tiredness. You may be suffering from fatigue. Instead of ignoring the problem and learning to live with it, figure out what’s causing this tiring condition so you can regain the energy you need to live life to the fullest!
Here are a few of the most common causes of fatigue.
Depression
Everything is hard to do when you’re depressed – including getting up and going to work. Whether you’re clinically depressed (depression that lasts two weeks or longer) or are just going through a brief rough spot, overcoming your depression is vital to recovering energy. As difficult as it may be, a great way to beat both depression and fatigue is to force yourself to get some fresh air and exercise.
Sleeplessness
In case you’ve not figured it out yet, your entire life depends on getting enough sleep. When sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea or insomnia set in, it is virtually impossible to get the quantity and quality of sleep you need for good health. The result is an initial tiredness that turns into lack of productivity or motivation, a.k.a. fatigue. Beat it by undergoing a sleep study to figure out what you can do to improve your sleep habits.
Anemia
If you feel yourself running low on energy, look under your eyelids. If they’re almost white, your energy problem is likely due to anemia. Fortunately, overcoming mild iron-related anemia is relatively easy, as all you need is to get some iron in your body as soon as possible. Any leafy vegetable that is dark green will do. You can also grab some iron with almost any meat you can get your iron-hungry hands on.
Thyroid
Along with a variety of other problematic and dangerous complications, fatigue is yet another common side effect of thyroid problems. Whether you’ve got hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, your body’s response is to grow weary. As thyroid conditions will stick with you for life, you’ll need to work hand in hand with your physician to keep the condition under control and keep your fatigue at a minimum.
Pain
As if the constant throbbing in your back weren’t troublesome enough, it may also be at the root of your fatigue. In fact, any long-term pain can result in fatigue. To beat pain-induced fatigue, you need to receive appropriate treatment, which may include oral or intravenous medications, physical therapy, surgery, acupuncture, or lifestyle modifications.
Use
They may make you feel better at the time, but alcohol and illegal drugs can both contribute to fatigue, especially if you do either with excess. Though both of these causes of fatigue are voluntary, they can be difficult to kick on your own. In the event you don’t feel able to say goodbye to drinking or drugs on your own, seek professional help. It will help you overcome fatigue and protect your overall good health for years to come.
Stranger Causes
Though fatigue is usually the result of a common problem such as anemia or depression, it can also be the result of a variety of other serious conditions, including the following:
- arthritis
- diabetes
- infections
- kidney or liver disease
- lupus
If you can’t figure out what’s causing your fatigue and fear it may be one of these conditions, talk with your physician as soon as possible.
Treating these conditions properly is essential not only for overcoming fatigue, but for having the quality of life you desire.
Welcome A New Athlete To The Morning Boot Camp!
Hey Morning Boot Campers!!! Welcome Tankaline Roberson to the family!
Lies You Believe about Exercise
The truth will set you free…to exercise better!
Breathe!
Everyone falls prey to lies and myths on occasion. But if you buy into one of these and your exercise routine is affected by it, you could be in a world of danger. What lies may be affecting your ability to work out safely and with maximum results? Read on to find out.
Lie 1: Big Size = Big Strength
Okay, so the big guys are often rather strong (you won’t see a lot of skinny folks lifting cars), but you don’t have to be super beefy to be strong. Actually, too much muscle mass can make it difficult to perform certain activities. Instead of focusing on getting bigger, bigger, bigger, go for exercises that help you get in good shape, have good muscle definition, and retain your ability to move quickly. Remember we train for the unknown and unknowable.
Lie 2: Muscle Becomes Fat
Ever wished you could transform all of the fat around your midsection into rock-hard muscle? Of course you have. Unfortunately, you know you have to burn off the fat in order to make room for muscle. Likewise, the muscle you build up won’t turn into fat when you stop working out. You just think it did, because any time you stop working out, you see unwanted pounds show up with such speed. You need to make your eating habits match your workout habits. Make sure you are at our next nutritional seminar to learn about the Paleo lifestyle.
Lie 3: You’ll Get His or Her Results
At every gym there are people with great bodies. Everything is where it should be and every muscle is well defined and shapely. To get the same results, you ask one of these model-looking individuals for the secrets to their picture-perfect bodies. You take careful notes and then attempt to mimic their every move in the gym. Unfortunately, what works for one person may not work for you. Every body is different and responds differently to various exercises. Since there is no one-size-fits-all approach to exercise, try plenty of different workouts to find out what works best for you.
Lie 4: Tons of Gym Time, Awesome Results
If spending an hour or two in the gym five days a week is good for you, then spending five hours every day pushing your body to the max is even better – right? Wrong. Overtraining your muscles and not giving them any chance to rest can actually cause your muscles to begin breaking down and going away. On top of this, you also put your muscles at risk for some serious injuries if you spend too much time exercising – especially if you’re doing the same movements over and over again. With our boot camp workout programming, you will get a great workout inside of 45 minutes.
Good Intentions
Exercise myths aren’t always created out of malice. In fact, many of them are built on what would seem to be common sense. However, deciphering between truth and fiction is the only way to ensure your workouts are safe and beneficial.
Lie 5: Slow Is Safe
Commercials that feature outdoor groups of people enjoying a relaxing class of yoga can be misleading. While yoga and pilates can be relaxing and slow-moving ways to get exercise, they can put your body at risk for some of the same injuries other exercises pose. So before hopping into an advanced yoga class without understanding what you’re getting into, start at the beginner’s level and gradually work your way up to the more advanced, demanding classes.
Lie 6: Form Doesn’t Matter
Back when you were first starting to lift weights, you worried about keeping perfect form for each rep. But over time, you began to realize that form wasn’t as important as just getting out there and lifting. Unfortunately, your epiphany isn’t based in truth, because if you lift weights or perform other exercises without using the right form, the negative results are two-fold. First, you aren’t actually targeting the muscle you think you are unless you maintain good form. Second, improper form puts you at great risk for a variety of severe injuries. We are super strict on form here at the gym. Proper posture while lifting can save you pain and suffering and supercharge your workout!
Lie 7: Genetics Are Everything
If your parents and grandparents are overweight and out of shape, it can be easy for you to expect the same fate for yourself. But don’t let your genetics get in the way of exercise. Instead, understand that you may have to make some modifications (including what you eat) to get the results you want in the gym. You may even have to change your goals to better meet your body’s abilities.
So, there are a few of the biggest lies in exercise. Ready to commit and get fit? Call 254-247-4999 or come by the gym and start today!
Welcome ANOTHER Fitness Boot Camp Athlete!!!
Hey! We would like to welcome Regina Hill to our Fitness Family!
Welcome (MORE!) New Fitness Boot Camp Athletes!
We welcome new folks to our morning boot camp family!
Bettina Cochran
Kaitlyn Knotson
Brenda, Jack and Josh Whitaker
Welcome New Killeen Fitness Boot Camp Athletes!
We welcome these fine folks to our little family!
Lirio Navarro
David and Whitney Braun
Some Quick Photos
I haven’t uploaded pics in a while, so here are a few to keep you going…
Protect Your Back
A few easy steps to ensure your back’s good health when you’re in the gym.
OW! My aching back!
You’re having an amazing workout, when suddenly everything stops. A stinging sensation moves from your leg all the way up your back, sending paralyzing pain through your body. Could the pain have been prevented? Probably. Here are two tips to help you do just that.
Stretch It Out
Before beginning an exercise routine, stretching your body out slowly is still one of the best ways to prevent injury. To stretch out your back, try the following:
- Lie on your back with your feet flat on the ground, knees bent, and both hands resting on your chest. Then allow both legs to fall gently to one side of your body, while keeping your body in its original position. Raise your legs back to the starting position and allow them to fall to the other side. Hold each stretch for 5 to 10 seconds.
- Lie on your back, feet flat on the ground, knees bent. Pull one knee to your chest at a time, holding for 15 seconds. Repeat for the other leg, and then pull both knees to your chest for one or two repetitions.
- Resting on your hands and knees, relax your back and let it sag toward the ground while keeping your arms and legs in their original position. Once your back is as far down as it is going to be, bring your back to its original position and slowly arch your back like a cat toward the ceiling. Repeat two or three times.
Strengthen Your Core
In addition to stretching out your back, you should also actively work to strengthen your back. To do this, you’ll need to strengthen the muscles that protect your back – the core muscles. However, if you’re suffering from back pain, you should avoid some of the most common exercises that focus on the abdominal muscles, such as sit-ups (both regular and partial sit-ups) and lifting both of your legs in the air while lying on your back. You should also avoid other exercises that result in back pain or demand a lot from your back, such as standing toe touches.
If you aren’t experiencing back pain, any exercise that helps your core grow stronger is going to help you avoid back pain in the future. At the same time, you can go a long way toward protecting your back by performing other exercises properly and not involving your back in exercises that aren’t meant to work the back.
When Prevention Isn’t Enough
Despite your greatest attempts, you won’t be able to avoid back pain every time. When you begin to hurt in your back, you can often help your back pain feel better at home. A good first step is to ice your back. After a couple of days, you can alternate ice with heat.
While you may think staying in bed will help your back recover, taking bed rest will actually prolong the time it takes for your back to feel better. Instead, stay moderately active, being careful not to further injure your back. In the event your back pain doesn’t go away after a couple of weeks, seek medical attention, as it may require more intensive care than you can provide on your own.
When the Pain Is Too Much
If you’re suffering from unbearable back pain but want to stay fit, there’s good news. Getting some exercise is one of the best things for your back pain. You just have to choose carefully.
For most people with back pain, walking is a great way to stay active. But for those who can’t handle walking because of never-ending back pain, swimming in a pool is a great alternative that is usually tolerable no matter how much pain you’re in on land. So when the pain becomes too much for you to bear exercise, hit the pool!
