Article by Gareth Edwards

This week Gareth Edwards, one of the UK’s best qualified nutritionists and alkaline diet experts, writes about the vast health benefits of rebounding.

He explains why it is one of the easiest and most effective forms of exercise. Rebounding is perfect when you are following the alkaline diet, as it is very gentle on your joints, but highly effective.

The Amazing Health Benefits of Rebounding by Gareth Edwards

It really is amazing what you can do with technology nowadays. The number of things you can do with the wiggle of your arm and the slight extension of your forefinger is nothing short of …. miraculous. While this is empowering and what we tend to refer to as progress, there are some potential health challenges that this new found power can create.

Where previously we might have walked to the shops and made some physical effort to return with groceries and other weighty items, cars or a mouse click at on-line shopping sites remove the need. They can buy us time for more enjoyable or lucrative activities too.

In reality it can be increasingly difficult to economically justify the time and effort required to get your body moving. Add to that the challenges of running in polluted cities, organising other people’s schedules for team games or the cost or travel time of getting to a gym and before you know it exercise is right at the back of the queue for allocation of your precious time.

We all know that it’s good to move. As someone who is aware of the importance of maintaining pH balance of your body fluids and tissue supporting your diet and hydration choices with regular and enjoyable, heart rate raising exercise is a crucial part of health.

As a reader of these articles you are probably aware that the metabolic processes associated with being alive and awake create acidity in our bodies. A lot of the by-products from the chemical reactions that keep our bodies functioning, end up in the filter system of the blood, which is called the lymph. This drainage or cleaning system for the blood plays a crucial role in our immunity and, at an equally fundamental level, keeping us energised.

Regardless of whether we think about it or not our hearts will keep on pumping and our blood circulating. The same is not however true of our lymphatic system. It was thought that muscular contraction and relaxation was responsible for moving lymphatic fluid through the body. In exciting and pioneering work a US lymph specialist called Jack Shield discovered that it is however an increase in the depth of respiration that is one of the most effective “pumps” that allows the lymph to move through our bodies against the forces of gravity.

Health Solutions:

In order to detoxify and “alkalise” our bodies it’s important that lymphatic fluid flows through our bodies, allowing it to pass through crucial immunological power houses called lymph nodes.

Rebounding is a quick, convenient, (hopefully) enjoyable way of getting your heart and therefore respiration rate up, while in your own home or work place. It has the additional advantage of being low impact. This should reduce the risk of injury, although starting slowly in a controlled way is essential. The fact that you can sing “born this way” with Lady Gaga (or listen to Elton John …!) while you are doing it is another bonus. If you get in the flow, it shouldn’t be too long before you also start to perspire. That’s another great way to eliminate acids too. Re-mineralising and re-hydrating afterwards will be important.

It is equally possible to raise your heart rate by doing a yoga workout at home. I often do and would highly recommend that too. One additional benefit of rebounding however is the weightlessness that you experience on the way down from your jump. This acts as a further stimulant to free lymphatic flow. This is because most lymphatic flow actually has to run against gravity (unless you’re doing a handstand or hanging up-side down).

Location, Location:

As a quick, convenient, fun way to get your self energised rebounding ticks a lot of boxes. One thing I would say though is …. Do make sure to get some of your exercise out doors. Sunlight exposure on your skin is a crucial part of the health mix. It allows your body to absorb and metabolise calcium, which is essential for neutralising or buffering acids. If you’re lucky enough to have a garden, you could take a rebounder outside for fresh air and sunlight too.

Have a look here at the Energise range of high quality rebounders!

Note: This blog is only my opinion. It is not medical advice or diagnosis. Only opinions based upon our own personal experiences or information detailed in medical/academic journals or other publications is cited. WE DO NOT OFFER MEDICAL ADVICE or prescribe any treatments. Please consult with a medical professional before making any diet or nutrition changes.

About Ross Bridgeford

Ross is known as THE Alkaline Diet Expert...especially when it comes to implementation and making the alkaline diet REAL in your life. He has been living, learning, teaching, coaching and loving the alkaline lifestyle since 2004 and has written over 600 articles, alkaline recipes, videos and guides on how to live alkaline and stay alkaline for life. Ross loves life in Brisbane, Australia (although is a proud Englishman) and is healthily-obsessed with nutrition, fitness and Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Mail | Web | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | YouTube

From Energise Alkaline Diet & Natural Health Blog - health news, alkaline diet resources & tips to make you happy! do something nice today...

This weeks interview is with Ravi Raman of sethigherstandards.com!

Ravi is an inspirational guy. He works full time, flat out for one of the worlds largest companies, while at the same time becoming a highly trained yogi, vegan and is currently mid way through a 30-day raw food challenge!

Earlier this week I caught up with him to quiz him on the virtues of his lifestyle, and also find a little more about his other passion – consistent personal development!

–

You’re a huge fan of Veganism and, more recently, raw foodism. When and how did you learn about this and what made you decide to go down this path?

I’m currently 29 years old and went vegetarian when I was 9 years old (hard to believe that was 20 years ago!). My family ate vegetarian food at home (including some eggs and diary – but never any fish or other animal products) so this was easy for me to do.

While I am not a 100% raw foodist by any means today, I do try to incorporate as much raw food in my diet as possible.

A question I often get asked is how, with a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle do you possibly get enough protein to sustain a gym/physical routine? People think without eating meat it would be impossible to build muscle and a strong body. What is your take on the protein debate? What has your experience been of a gym-going vegan?

There is absolutely no problem getting enough high quality protein in sufficient quantities. In fact, just one look at some of the profiles on www.veganbodybuilding.com will demonstrate that you can not only survive, but thrive on a plant-based diet!

In my personal experience, my own fitness and endurance went through the roof when I went vegan. I dropped unwanted water and fatty weight, this made my strength-to-weight ratio skyrocket. I also noticed that I recover faster when I eat a plant-based diet with mostly unprocessed foods.

I remember you following a programme close to the Colorado experiment – similar to Tim Ferriss (click here for Tim’s AMAZING results)- can you tell me a bit more about this, and how did you go?!

The experiment involved doing very short and infrequent resistance training workouts – that were incredibly intense. The program involved doing only one set each of a few compound (multi-joint) exercises. The trick is, each set would include about 10 reps done incredibly slowly – 5 seconds up and 5 seconds down! The idea is that the last few reps would be to muscular failure or beyond (using a spotter).

I did this experiment for a while, and it did work in terms of getting me some major strength gains, but I did not gain anywhere near the weight as Tim Ferriss mentioned in his blog article. At the end of the day, I think if you have a personal trainer or workout partner and can stay incredibly focused in workouts, it could be worthwhile to try. However, I found it very difficult to approach my workouts with that kind of intensity. The upside is that the workouts are ridiculously short. If people are curious, I think they should give it a try and see how their body decides.

Back to the raw – in your opinion, what are the benefits of eating raw food? What have you seen happen in your life because of it?

Let’s start with diary products. I’ll say that the benefits of giving up dairy products are absolutely incredible. If there is just one dietary change that I could recommend to anyone, it would be to eliminate dairy products completely from their diet. The transformation I witnessed going from vegetarian to vegan were absolutely incredible. I felt lighter, lost bloat weight, had increased clarity of thinking and that is just the start!

Since I’ve started eating more raw food (I’d say my diet is about 50% raw on average), my skin is far clearer, I sleep better, think better, meditate easier and my yoga practice is through the roof! Through my 30-day raw food challenge, I’ve seen even more profound effects from going 100% raw.

And your top 5 tips for someone wanting to go raw?

Great question! Here are a few things that I’ve learned the hard way:

1. Educate yourself! Read a ton and soak up all the insights you can. Read books, online forums and websites like www.energiseforlife.com to educate yourself. Remember that at the end of the day you are your own best teacher. Read a ton, test ALL of your assumptions and then do what feels right.
2. Count calories! Most people who make a dietary change end up restricting their calories too much. Especially if you have an active lifestyle, you need to eat a lot! Keep a food log for at least a few weeks so you can be sure you are feeding yourself well.
3. Fruits are your friends! I have a great friend who follows an 80-10-10 raw vegan lifestyle and the 80-10-10 book by Dr. Doug Graham has a wealth of information that every raw foodist should read. Don’t be afraid to make a meal out of fruits! I’ll have smoothies with 4-6 bananas for breakfast. I’ll go through 10 bananas in a day sometimes!

Check out raw food restaurants. Most large cities have them, and they will open your eyes to the wide variety of tastes you can experience. Just don’t overdo the heavy nut-laden raw gourmet meals. Everything in moderation!

4. Exercise, exercise, exercise! Exercise makes any dietary change have more impact. Remember, we eat to live we do not live to eat! Walking, running, cycling, yoga, weights – just pick something you like and do it every day!

And you’re mid-way through a 30-day raw food challenge! What prompted you to do this and how is it going? How long have you got left?

It is rockin!!!!! I’m on Day 12 of my 30-day raw food challenge and I feel absolutely fantastic! I’ve lost some weight, but now my weight seems to have stabilized – which is great since I am already quite lean. I really feel amazing and my senses are much more in tune to the world. I’m enjoying my smoothies, creamy soups and fruits so much. I’m also lucky that I have two raw food restaurants in the Seattle area. So on the weekends, I’ll indulge in a raw gourmet meal or two.

You’re a massive fan of the smoothie too – what is your favorite recipe?

I think my Vita-Mix has to be my single most used piece of technology I own (yes, more than my computer!). I consume 1-2 smoothies a day, sometimes three on the weekends. Since I am so active, they are delicious and nutritious ways to get in high quality nutrients in a short period of time.

In the afternoons or evenings after a yoga practice, I’ll enjoy a green smoothie. I’ll usually throw in 4-6 large kale leaves with either 1 banana or 1 apple or some pineapple. You can see a couple of my smoothie recipes and photos here.

Your other big health passion is Yoga. I’ve only really recently started and I’ve fallen in love with it – it is addictive! I put it off for years because I thought I’d need to be flexible to start with! What would your advice be to someone who is a bit scared of getting started or who is putting it off? And what benefits have you experienced from practicing yoga?

I wish I discovered yoga earlier in my life. I’ve been practicing regularly since I was 20 years old, and the benefits to my corporate career and other athletic endeavors have been profound. Yoga teaches you to maintain poise in difficult situations. It teaches you to cultivate a deep and penetrating awareness of the present moment. It teaches you to breath fully and deeply.

There is no time like the present to begin a yoga practice. If you are thinking about it, I recommend dropping into a local studio and giving it 5-10 classes. Remember that like learning anything new, the first few classes may be a challenge as you begin to learn how your body moves. It is like learning to ride a bike all over again! Keep at it and you will have a lifetime to enjoy the practice.

We both started blogging at almost exactly the same time, back in 2006, and we pretty quickly connected through it (I can’t even remember how!) – how has blogging effected your life? Would you recommend it?

I think that everyone should blog. We are lucky to have the technology and means to be able to connect to other like-minded individuals and learn from other people’s successes (or struggles). Blogging is a great outlet for clarifying my own thoughts, and I have also met several people that I stay in regular contact with as a result of my blog.

We’ve both also been through Date with Destiny – I think you went the year before me, how did this impact your life? Do you think that you’re still benefiting from it now?

Tony Robbins trainings and programs have completely changed my life. I draw upon the tools and technologies learned through his programs almost every day of my life. His seminars also offer a chance to connect to hundreds (in some cases thousands!) of other motivated individuals. I’ve made many life long friends as a result. In fact, a few years ago I started a Powergroup community in Seattle that meets regularly to discuss and apply Tony’s and other personal empowerment tools.

Your blog, sethigherstandards.com is based around human improvement – not only in health, but also in terms of goal setting, personal achievement and creating an outstanding life. You’re clearly a man who knows how to set and achieve a goal! What are your top three goal setting tips – how would you advise my readers to set their health goals?

1. Write your goals down. It is amazing what happens when you actually take the time to write down your goals. I am also a big fan of vision boards, they are a rich and visual way of reminding yourself every day about what you are looking to achieve and bring into your life.
2. The “why” matters more than the “what.” I’ve written about this at length before on my blog. We are all motivated by compelling reasons. So instead of just saying “I want to lose 5 kg this month,” think about how losing that extra weight will allow you to be more active, enjoy more of the sports you love, have the energy to play with your family and friends, etc. For each of your goals, write a solid paragraph (minimum) about “why” the goal is important.
3. Consistency is key. For example, many people ask me how often they should practice yoga. I say that 15 minutes daily is better than 2 hours once a week! Whatever your goal is, think about what you can do consistently to make progress against that goal. Remember that small changes made consistently will completely transform the quality of your life over the long term!

What is the biggest goal you’ve set and achieved? Have you got anything big in the pipeline at the moment?

I completed my first (of two) Ironman Triathlons in 2002. This was a really a lifelong dream for me, and something I had wanted to do ever since I was a little overweight kid! No joke, I had to work for it, but it was worth every step (and blister!).

I have a few big goals I am working on right now. I’m most motivated right now to grow into my yoga teaching, and to assist other master teachers over the next year in a few big workshops. I’m also working on a book project!

And finally, if you had to recommend three other blogs to my readers, what would they be?

Absolutely! Here are three blogs that I read regularly.

Thank you Ravi!

I cannot recommend Ravi’s blog highly enough – he posts some truly inspirational stuff and is just such a lovely fella. Go see it now: http://www.sethigherstandards.com

About Ross Bridgeford

Ross is known as THE Alkaline Diet Expert...especially when it comes to implementation and making the alkaline diet REAL in your life. He has been living, learning, teaching, coaching and loving the alkaline lifestyle since 2004 and has written over 600 articles, alkaline recipes, videos and guides on how to live alkaline and stay alkaline for life. Ross loves life in Brisbane, Australia (although is a proud Englishman) and is healthily-obsessed with nutrition, fitness and Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Mail | Web | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | YouTube

From Energise Alkaline Diet & Natural Health Blog - health news, alkaline diet resources & tips to make you happy! do something nice today...