TeleWellnessMD®
We love our First Responders!
All Active Military, Military Veterans, First Responders & Law Enforcement get 10% off all orders.
Just our way of saying thank you!
Select your time!
My Account
US-Licensed Medical Providers & Pharmacies
Performance & Physique
Physique & It's Role In Our Health
To look and feel your best, you must do some form of exercise. Whether you are a professional athlete, marathon runner, or just trying to live healthy, you should take advantage of wellness solutions that improve your performance and tone your physique. You can find science-supported therapies to maximize your sleep, diet, and exercise, putting you in the best position to get the most from your body.
Your body’s metabolism converts macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) into energy through complex chemical reactions driven by enzymes that require certain vitamins and minerals. During physical exercise and recovery, our bodies use these macronutrients, but it will also burn other micronutrients (B vitamins and amino acids).
Often, replenishing these nutrients requires nutritional supplementation. When you do not manage this correctly, it can lead to dehydration, soreness, fatigue, injury, muscle loss, and fat gain.
Therefore, supplementing your diet with important vitamins, minerals, and amino acids improves muscle recovery and helps increase endurance and stamina.
Sleep
As we sleep, the brain and body detoxes and recovers. Without adequate sleep, you have a higher risk of fatigue, lower mental acuity, obesity, and both mental and physical disease. This is secondary to hormone imbalance, tissue inflammation, decreased immune function, and metabolic dysfunction. Sleep is a hormone-driven cycle influenced by exercise and diet, specifically micronutrients.
[Click here] to read more about sleep therapies.
Diet
Managing calories is potentially the most important component of managing body fat, but the foods chosen have a huge impact on health. Consuming a poor diet affects hormones and causes deficiencies in important micronutrients that drive the body’s systemic functions. Consume nutrient-dense foods that have fewer calories but contain plenty of vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, lean protein, and healthy fats that will control hunger and increase energy. These food types reduce cellular inflammation and neutralize free radicals for optimal health and performance.
[Click here] to read more about diet and weight management.
Other dietary tips:
- Drink plenty of water as hydration positively impacts metabolism. Recommend 80-128 ounces per day
- Consume plenty of lean protein. Target 0.75 -1 g of protein per kg of bodyweight unless underlying health condition dictates otherwise
- Consume approximately 25 g fiber per day
- Consider Intermittent Fasting for 14-16 hours daily
Exercise
It is important to understand that exercise is different than being active, but both are needed. You cannot expect to feel your best when you exercise 30 min a day then remain sedentary. Similarly, you cannot be active all day and not get regular exercise. By definition, exercise is a specific form of physical activity that is planned, purposeful, and performed with the intention of gaining specific adaptations in the body, such as stronger muscles, increased flexibility, or improved cardiovascular function. On the other hand, being active makes sure you find ways to move your body during the day when at work or home beyond planned exercise.
One difference between exercise and being active is intensity. Exercise should be more intense with an increase in your heart rate and breathing. When you exercise, you increase your muscles’ oxygen requirements, which is accomplished by making your heart and lungs work faster. These increases are the physiological differences between exercising and being active. There are safe, targeted heart rates meant to get the most out of your exercise.
You can calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from the number 220. For example, if you're 50 years old, subtract 50 from 220 to get a maximum heart rate of 170. This is the average maximum number of times your heart should beat per minute during exercise. Depending on your health status, your target exercise heart rate will be 50-85% of the maximum heart rate.
Exercise Considerations:
Low Impact- 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (i.e., brisk walking) weekly and muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that works all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).
- Low impact HIIT (high intensity interval training) two to three days a week for 15-30 minutes per session.
Medium Impact
- 225 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (i.e., brisk walking) weekly and muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that works all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).
- Medium impact HIIT (high intensity interval training) three to four days a week for 15-30 minutes per session.
High Impact
- High Impact: 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (i.e., brisk walking, biking or rowing) weekly and muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that works all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).
- High impact HIIT (high intensity interval training) three to four days a week for 15-30 minutes per session.
Obesity has passed smoking as the number one most preventable health risk. Small changes in your diet as well as committing to just 2-3 days of moderate exercise is all that is needed to reduce the risk of developing diabetes. Your body is the only thing that you have complete control over – take responsibility.