Health Articles

Day 4 in the weeklong Viverae Expert series: 5 Ways to Improve Your Running. Click here to read Day 1 , Day 2 or Day 3

Day 4: Switch Up Your Workouts

We have discussed the need for proper shoes, how to correct your running form, and nutrition/hydration—now its time to start running! It doesn’t matter whether you are training for a marathon or running to lose weight—putting a workout plan in place will help you reach your goals. I suggest laying out a day-by-day plan at the beginning of the week so each individual run and workout goal is set ahead of time. Remember to keep a variety of workouts in the mix! Doing the same thing day after day gets boring and makes you less willing to want to complete the workout. Be creative and add variety to your schedule—your mind and body will thank you!

I know what you’re thinking, “I am too busy to be creative; I just need to get up and go.” Adding variety to workouts is not as complicated as some people think. It can be as simple as switching up the distances and speeds that you run each day. Try to plan your week with a mix between long, slow runs and shorter, faster paced runs. You can also do tempo training, alternating between fast and slow paces during a single run. A great example of this is running for 3 minutes and walking for 1 minute over the course of your entire run. A third option for variety is to add in a hill workout (find a couple of hilly streets in your neighborhood) or trails at a park or lake.

Cross training is a great way to improve your fitness level and gives your legs a break from the beating they can receive from running every day. Some examples of cross training are swimming, biking, and playing sports that involve some form of running or plyometrics. Working out should not be all work and no play, and cross training is a great way to have fun and get a workout at the same time.

Finally, don’t forget to add resistance training. Resistance training helps strengthen muscles and is a key component of your overall health and fitness. The obvious way to add resistance is weight lifting; however there are numerous ways to add resistance training without going to the gym. Dumbbells, resistance bands and medicine balls are all fairly inexpensive and can be used at home, work or at your local park. Be creative with your workouts and it will keep you from getting bored. Your running workouts will thank you!

Final Post Tomorrow: Day 5: Wear the Right Gear

Bradley is a health and fitness specialist at Viverae and specializes in exercise and fitness education. He was 4-Time Collegiate Track and Field All- American and has experience in Personal Training and Injury Rehabilitation. His education background includes a B.S. in Exercise Science as well as being a National Strength and Conditioning Association- Certified Personal Trainer.

Day 2 in the weeklong Viverae Expert series: 5 Ways to Improve Your Running. Click here to read Day 1 .

Day 2: Correct Your Running Form

Day 1 was all about finding the right shoe. Now that you have replaced your old shoes with a brand new pair of properly fitted running shoes lets hit the pavement—right?? Nope. Before you start training, we need to make sure you have the correct running form.

Running with the correct form can improve the length and time of your runs, prevent injuries and make you a more efficient runner. Efficiency means that you use less energy during each step. And when running a 5K or something as lengthy as a half marathon, it is the little things that make the difference in the long run (no pun intended!). When running, your torso should lean slightly forward with a flat back. The heels of your foot should never land in front of your body; they should land directly beneath you. Keep your hands and shoulders relaxed at all times with your elbows maintaining a 90 degree angle.

I know this seems like instruction overload—so try to think about each instruction as a progression:
1. Am I leaning forward?
2. Is my back flat?
3. Where are my heels landing?
4. Are my shoulders relaxed?
5. Am I holding my elbows at 90 degree angles?

A general rule when determining if your hands are in their correct positions is to remember “ear to pocket”. Your hand should start at the pockets of your pants and go no higher than your ears. Experiment with this new form to find out what is most comfortable for you. If you are serious about changing your form you can practice upper body motions while looking at a mirror, or have a friend video you while you jog to see what areas need improvement.

For Wednesday: Day 3: Eat Healthy, Stay hydrated and Rest

Bradley is a health and fitness specialist at Viverae and specializes in exercise and fitness education. He was 4-Time Collegiate Track and Field All- American and has experience in Personal Training and Injury Rehabilitation. His education background includes a B.S. in Exercise Science as well as being a National Strength and Conditioning Association- Certified Personal Trainer.

Mark Head CSO at Viverae, provides a weekly post on his top Health, Health Care, Wellness, Insurance and Benefits articles

Are employers ready for the 9/23 health reform changes?

Although this article is targeted to brokers, it’s a nice, succinct list of key changes that are effective for plan years beginning on or after 9/23/2010. Included are recaps on the provisions regarding (1) grandfathering, (2) appeals process, (3) annual plan limits, (4) dependent coverage extension, (5) lifetime limits, (6) pre-existing conditions, (7) preventive care, and (8) coverage rescissions.

Deloitte: Mobile PHRs 'game-changing' for self-care

Paul Keckley, Executive Director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, says "The personal health record embedded in mobile communication devices - mPHR - is the _”killer app' that may change the game for providers, consumers and payers." _ We concur. Clearly, people have become highly dependent on mobile devices: they are small, convenient, and intimate. Our ability to opt-in to receive relevant information directly to our fingertips, and our ability to publish out where we are, what we’re doing, and add information to various personal records “on-the-fly,” is already reshaping social, business, and health experiences worldwide.

Physicians use photos from patients' cell phones to deliver 'mobile health'

Emergency room physicians at George Washington Hospital in D.C. have been 90% accurate in diagnosing patient wounds using photographs sent over cell phones by patients. Such “telemedicine-type” uses of mobile devices (see article above), will continue to transform the practice of medicine, as well as the logistics of care delivery. These kind of innovative uses are already beginning to take costs out of the system.

Prescription drug use on the rise in U.S.

This trend is not at all surprising, but it’s not encouraging. While it’s desirable for people with chronic conditions to be sure to take the meds they need, for nearly half of all Americans to have taken a prescription drug in the previous month is, from several vantage points, disturbing. As Dickens might have said, “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done, to become healthy enough not to need any prescription drugs of any kind.” In particular, note the percentage of our children taking prescription drugs, and that antidepressants were among the most common type of drug for people age 20 – 59.

Healthcare wastefulness is detailed in studies (Free registration)

In the wake of health reform’s expansion of coverage to 40+ million more people, there are many people concerned about the burden on, and shortage of, primary care physicians (PCP’s). The Times article recaps a study published on Tuesday 9/7 in Health Affairs, which found that half of 354 million physician visits for acute care needs (fevers, stomachaches, coughs, etc.) were not with the patient’s PCP, and a quarter were in the ER._ Another study in the same Health Affairs issue revisited the issue of “defensive medicine,” which often results in unnecessary or redundant care due to fear of lawsuits.

_Be sure to check back next week for another round of Must Read Articles! If you have an interesting article we should read, or want to discuss then leave a comment or send the link to our twitter handle:_@viveraehealth

Mark Head, CSO at Viverae provides a weekly update on articles that affect the Health Care, Health Management, Corporate Wellness and Benefits industry. Mark also provides a quick write up on each article.

Hewitt survey: most employers expect to lose "grandfathered" status by 2014

Ninety percent of 466 companies said they expect to lose their grandfathered status by 2014, with the majority expecting to do so in the next two years. Large employers don’t expect this to have a huge cost impact, but we’re not so sure. And small- to medium-size companies are more likely to feel the crunch as health reform’s “minimum requirements” expand coverage limits and reduce employers’ and health plans’ ability to place any new restrictions on coverage.

New University of Michigan study finds long-term wellness programs savings

The perennial question regarding wellness programs has been “what’s the ROI?” Despite large numbers of individual employer studies and “meta-studies,” (studies of studies), the question persists, I think largely because there have been large variances in the program components, reward levels, and group demographics. Besides, if you’re an employer about to embark on your own wellness journey, you’re more interested in knowing what your ROI possibility is. Of course, no one can predict the future ROI – nor should they really try. It can be illustrated, even illustrated over a longer-term period. This article goes to one of the most credible long-term observers and analysts of wellness programs, the University of Michigan. Over nine (9) years – even though workers were aging, this Midwest utility company saved $12.1 million against $7.3 million spent.

Health insurance brokers - are they teed up properly for the post-reform world?

Beverly Beattie worked in the physician recruiting business and the health system business before becoming a broker. She sees both key opportunities and significant threats to brokers based on whether they are able to evolve into ever-more-strategic advisors to their employer clients. In all instances; she sees wellness and health management programs as an integral plank in long-term benefit management success.

Benefit claims costs jump following layoffs

OCI, a data integration and software provider in Denver, found over a 32-month study, that claims costs for workers comp, LTD & STD, and health plans all went up. They found that increased stress can increase injury rates, that the fear of being let go can accelerate the utilization of benefits, and that complex and high-risk claims are also more likely actually to be incurred, indicating additional value from early case management interventions.

Why all the fuss about social media?

It’s become common knowledge that social media is revolutionizing our social interactions and, increasingly, our business interactions. The convergence of social media, mobile devices, and healthcare continues to explode, and the implications for healthcare are literally staggering. In this post, Paul Roemer of HealthcareIT Strategy offers some simple but compelling insights into why and how hospitals can get on board.

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