Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.
Health Apps > Food *App*etizers
What is going on ladies and gentleman! It is Matthew Ma back at it again with another blog post. I hope you have been waking up every morning ready to rise and grind. If you are new to this blog, I would love for you new readers to catch up and be directed to my first, second, third, and fourth blog post. As a brief overview of my previous blog post; we talked about the benefits of engaging in physical activity, how to determine whether or not you are looking at a good or bad source of information, the many dangers of the internet and how to protect yourself, as well as common myth in the realm of physical fitness and helping you guys debunk them. In this week’s blog post I want to introduce you readers to three super helpful applications that can assist you guys in reaching your physical fitness goals. The three applications that I will be talking about today are; MyFitnessPal, Activity(iOS)/GoogleFit (Android), as well as ShopWell which are all application that can be found on the application store on the iPhone and the Google Play store on the Android.
Health Application #1: MyFitnessPal
The first application that I have decided to evaluate and introduce to you guys is called MyFitnessPal. MyFitnessPal is a smartphone application and website that helps users track their personal diet and exercises. This application is able to use different methods like manually searching up foods in their database or simply taking a photo of the barcode of the food. In doing so, users are able to log the foods that they have eaten that day. As a personal user of this application, I have found that this application has provided me; with lots of food insights, helping me learn to make healthier choices about the food I eat. It gives me a personalized experience in that you are able to create your own foods, recipes, and meals within the application. Lastly, it is a super easy way to count your calories in that once you take a photo of the barcode, the application looks up the food in their data base and automatically calculates all the macronutrients for you! Below, I have provided an image of the icon of the application in the iPhone application store. As you can see the icon itself provides a very good depiction of what it represents and what it does. This application is made by Under Armour Inc and is completely free to all users. There is a premium version of the application that allows for more features like specific macro and micronutrients. For the average users, the free application does a great job! When navigating through the application, I found that this applications user interface is super simple, sleek, and easy to use for anyone. As you can see the application has 4.7/5 stars, has over 935,000 ratings, and is available on both Android and iOS. If I were you, I would download this application immediately!
Health Application #2: Activity (iOS)/ GoogleFit (Android)
The second applications that I want to introduce to you readers is the activity application on the iPhone. Yes, unfortunately, this application is only on the iPhone but there is something very similar called GoogleFit for you android users. These applications are a great way for user’s with a smart watch to be able to keep track of their movements throughout the day. The way in which this application relates to promoting physical activity, is that it encourages the users to continue to meet their fitness goals. These applications are able to track how often you stand up, how much you move, and how much exercise you have done. These applications have three colored rings that summarize your progress. The goal as the user, is to be able to sit less, move more, and get more exercise by filling up those three rings everyday. For me personally, I really enjoy using this application because it allows you to share your activity with all of your friends so that you can compete by being able to see who has more; active calories, exercise minutes, standings hours, walking distance, or flights climbed. Below I have attached a photo of the application icon from the iPhone application store. When looking for the ratings for this application I couldn’t find any in that I realized this is also a default application in the iPhone, so there would be no ratings. But take my word for it, this application is a GAME CHANGER.
As previously mentioned, you can see that the icon for the application shows the three things that must be filled daily to reach personal physical activity goals! The red ring represents the amount that the user has moved, the green ring represents the amount of exercise done, and finally the blue ring represents the amount of standing time an individual has. As a personal user of this application, I find that the user interface is super easy to navigate and has a very beautiful look to it. The developer of this application is Apple, and it is free in the application store. While this specific application is only available on iOS for Apple Watch users, there is an identical application called GoogleFit on the Google Play store for Android users. This application can be used for anyone at any point of their physical fitness journey. Download it now and challenge all your friends to a competition!
Health Application #3: ShopWell
The third and final application that I want to encourage you readers to download is called the ShopWell application. ShopWell is a free iOS and Android application that helps users maintain a healthy diet by helping users of all education levels in physical fitness and health. ShopWell makes users better understand nutrition labels and help them discover new foods that better fit their healthy lifestyle. Once downloading ShopWell, users are provided with personalized nutrition scores where they are able to create a food profile with their health goals, health issues, and dislikes. The next time the user goes to a grocery store, they can scan the item’s barcode and it will pull up simplified nutritional information and try to match them with healthier alternatives to match the goals that they had previously inputted. Below I have attached a picture of the icon in the application so that it is easier for you readers to find it.
As you can see this application’s icon gives a good idea of what it does, and is very appealing to potential users. As stated before, this application is completely FREE. After spending some time with this application, I found that the user interface was really easy to use and everything in the application was laid out very well. The functionality of the application was fantastic. This application was developed by YottaMark Inc and has a rating of 4.7/5 stars with over 1.1k reviews. I find that this application is not for people who just want to get into physical fitness, rather, this application is for anyone who is trying to promote a healthier lifestyle for themselves. Don’t waste anymore time with getting unhealthy foods, take the time to download this application and GET HEALTHY!
With technology becoming so prevalent in our contemporary society, it is important that we begin to take advantage of the applications that it provides us. While not ALL of them are good for us, in today’s blog post I gave you guys three physical activity/health applications that I believe are incredibly useful for both helping and guiding users to begin engaging in physical fitness, as well as adapting a healthier lifestyle. All in all, I hope I have convinced you readers to use these applications and start your health grind now!
Physical Fitness Myth busters
Whats going on ladies and gentleman! Hope you have been continuing to wake up everyday ready to strive and thrive. If you are new to this blog, I would love for new readers to catch up and be directed to my first, second, and third blog post. As a brief review, in my previous blog post we have talked about the benefits of engaging in physical activity, determining what are good and bad sources of information in regards to physical fitness, as well as the dark scary world of the internet and how to protect yourself. In this week’s blog post I am going to be identifying common accurate and inaccurate advice/misinformation about physical fitness. This blog post will just give you a brief overview of whether or not these common myths are true or false. If you want to learn more information about these myths please visit the World Health Organization!
Myth or Truth #1: Being physically active is expensive
ANSWER: MYTH
Becoming physically active can be done almost anywhere and does not always require the “expensive equipment.” Walking and jogging is the most practiced and most highly recommended form of physical activity…all while being FREE of cost! Secondly, just doing everyday things such as carry groceries, books, kids, and stairs (instead of elevator) are all good exercises you can can do in conjunction with walking. Commonly, we often have parks nearby our houses that are all suitable for engaging in these activities. The gym is not always needed if you want to start becoming physically active.
Myth or Truth #2: I am too busy, being physically active takes too much time
ANSWER: MYTH
According to the ACSM guidelines, it only talks 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical fitness five days per week to improve your physical health. Secondly, on some days you may have more time than others. The 30 minutes does not need to be split up per day, rather, it can be 10 minutes on one day, and 50 minutes on another. You can also do 20 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night after work. This time can be spent taking the stairs at work, parking your car further away at work so that you can engage in a walk/jog. If you are a student, walk or ride a bike to school. There is a multitude of things that you can do.
Myth or Truth #3: Children already have so much energy, and are always moving. They do not need to be taught more about physical activity.
ANSWER: MYTH
The ACSM guidelines still recommend that children from the ages 5-17 engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity. The statement about children always moving is actually false. According to research in recent years,”Physical activity levels are decreasing among young people in countries around the world, especially in poor urban areas.” Due to the rise of technology we now find children devoting most of their time to TV, video games, and computer games. Prior to these technologies children were engaging outdoors and playing sports outside. As a result, we must shift this change and limit screen time with our children.
Myth or Truth #4: Physical Activity is meant for individuals in their prime years (20-30’s). I am too old for that
ANSWER: MYTH
Over years of research, it has been shown that engaging in regular physical activity has shown to improve motor function and quality of life in all ages. It is said for the older population, individuals older than 65, should engage in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic PA or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise throughout the week. Being that the older population have the highest rate of contraction of noncommunicable disease (CVD, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and hypertension). Physical activity has been shown to help prevent all of the above listed. Secondly, it has also assisted in improving mental health and cognitive function.
Myth or Truth #5: In developing countries physical activity is not needed, they have bigger issues.
ANSWER: MYTH
In recent years lack of physical activity has been cited as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. 80% of deaths from NCD’S occur in low and middle income countries. It does not only apply to developing countries, rather, this is a global issue.
Myth of Truth #6: As a women, lifting weights will make women look too muscular
Answer: MYTH
Physiologically women do not have as much testosterone as men, so it is not easy for them to build muscles when lifting weights. As an alternative to “tone” for women, they should engage in physical activities that use less weight with higher repetitions. This will create a more aerobic workout for them, less actin-myosin cross bridges formed (growth in muscle fibers). Rather than bulking they will create more lean muscle.
Myth or Truth #7: Someone who is is skinny is always more fit than one who is bigger
ANSWER: MYTH
In order to be considered “fit” it means that you have a strong and healthy heart, lungs, muscles, bones, and joints. Just because an individual is skinnier does not mean that they can run a longer distance or do more pushups than someone who is bigger. Engaging in regular physical activity in conjunction with a nutritional diet helps people stay a health weight and prevent disease.
Myth or Truth #8: Lifting weights makes you slower and less flexibile
ANSWER: MYTH
This is false in that if you are engaging in proper technique while strength training, it will not decrease flexibility. This only occurs when you do not stretch after strength training. Secondly strength training increases the amount of muscles fibers within a muscle to utilized to give you a high power output. It does not decrease flexibility when performed correctly.
While I threw quite a lot at you readers today, it is evident that there is a lot of myths and misconceptions out there in the physical fitness world. As a result, like mentioned in blog post 2, continue to fact check your sources to ensure your getting the correct information. Some good sources of information for today’s topic can be found at Health Link British Columbia where you can also contact them about any questions at healthlinkbc@gov.bc.ca. Secondly, another source of information that was used to today was the World Health Organization. If you want to follow them on twitter to find constant updates about health, I highly recommend you follow their twitter feed @WHO. All in all, read about these myth’s today and don’t let them deter you from also engaging in physical activity!
BEWARE OF THE INTERNET (Physical Activity Edition)
What is going on ladies and gentlemen! This is Matthew Ma back at it again with another physical fitness blog. If you are new to this blog, I would like to introduce my blog by saying I am a blogger that enjoys to spread the knowledge on the world of physical activity. If you wanted to do some catching up, I have my first blog post called The only bad workout is no workout which gives an insight about the benefits of physical activity, and why it is important to incorporate it into one’s life. Secondly, I have another blog post called Faulty sources is like faulty technique which provides you readers with knowledge on what sources of information one can or cannot trust, when it comes to looking up information on the physical fitness realm.
For this blog post specifically, we will be talking about the dark scary world of the internet, and all of the data collection of information that is occurring without the user’s even noticing. As a result of this, today’s blog will give you some tips regarding internet safety and how you can best protect yourself against the potential dangers of the internet. Have you ever felt like your iphone, Amazon Echo, or Google Home seemed to be listening to you? Have you ever been having a conversation with a friend on Facebook Messenger or IMessage about buying a new supplements at GNC. Suddenly you have advertisements pop up on your Instagram, Facebook, and Amazon account all about the supplements you were JUST talking about. According to Jennifer Golbeck in her TED talk Your Social Media “likes” expose more than you think she talks about how social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Google, often collect the information that users are looking up or liking online and selling that information to other companies in order to create advertisements that are tailored toward specific individuals. As a result, this puts into perspective the potential dangers that can occur because of this data collection from these so called companies that we are supposed to trust. Everything that you are searching or liking on social media is leaving an online trail that is basically creating an online profile of yourself that you aren’t even aware of! Although it may not be these companies that is releasing our information…if there is ever an event where a hacker is able to get ahold of this stored information they can potentially begin doing dangerous things that would not be so pleasant. This can include things like advertisements toward false information and sources for their benefit. What can we do to protect ourselves from these dangers?
Scenario: You are searching up a new supplement and want to know if it is a good product to use. You notice that you are starting to get targeted ads for this product…can you trust the ads that are being given to you?
Protection Tip : When you are being fed targeted ads it is important that you always do a little bit of extra research in order to determine how legit the product is. This can include fact checking the product with more reliable sources like the ones provided in my Blog 2!
Another common issue that occurs in the internet world of blogging, is the issue of copyrighted information and claiming credit for other’s peoples work. In my blog posts I tend to give my readers a bunch of content that I did not write or create. As a result, I will create hyperlinks that link you guys to the original source in which I found this information. I use my blog as a secondary source in which my reader can obtain knowledge about physical activity in a more simple and approachable way, without having to filter through the bad information.
Another topic that I wanted to address in this weeks blog is about how the rise of technology and the internet is slowly beginning to dampen the creativity of our incoming generations. According to Lawrence Lessig in the Ted talk Laws that choke creativity John Philip Sousa states ” These talking machines are going to ruin artistic development of music in this country…today you hear these infernal machines going night and day…we will not have a vocal chords left”. This quote refers to how the automation of many of the new technologies is taking away from the experience of struggling to figure things which is taking away the potential for us to create new ideas. In terms of how this relates to physical activity, is that when struggling with a new work out routine or technique that you are trying to perfect, sometimes going straight to the internet is not always the best thing. Discuss with your peers, refer to an instructor and PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. This allows you to compare with your peers or instructor by talking through your issues, rather than just going straight to the internet. In the end you will feel more accomplished.
In today’s blog post we have talked about a lot of different things. We have talked about the dark scary internet and some tips in which you can protect yourself, how copywriting is a major issue over the internet, and finally we talked about how technology is holding us back from creativity. For those of you who best learn visually, I will be linking my Vimeo, Instagram, and Facebook which are my other social media platforms that address physical activity. These will just give you more sources to further your knowledge on physical activity!
Faulty sources are like faulty technique
Have you ever begun a diet and religiously followed it only to find out it isn’t working because your source of information about the diet was wrong? You sit there thinking “Wow, I just wasted a months worth of dedication to this diet for nothing.” In my previous blog post, I talked about the many benefits to physical activity and why everyone should engage in it. In order to make that post, I had to sift through overwhelming amounts of information in order to further simplify and present it to you viewers. As someone who is providing you guys pertinent information regarding your health, I would want to make sure that I am providing you guys with accurate and reliable information. As a result, today I will be identifying examples of good and bad sources of information in regards to physical activity in order to help you quickly and dependably obtain factual information to help you achieve your physical activity goals!
GOOD SOURCE OF INFORMATION #1: Medline Plus
Medline Plus would be an example of a good website with accurate information in regards to physical activity in that it is provided by the U.S. National Library of Medicine database. If the information on a website is provided by a database, this a huge plus in terms of accuracy because databases are edited and approved by publishers before being posted. The types of information that this website provides is a summary of physical activity, hyperlinks to statistics and research done on physical activity, and even resources to help individuals find an expert to help them begin their fitness journey. Secondly, this website provides related links to other reliable sources like the Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to help further assist your knowledge on physical activity. This website is good for both individuals who are currently engaged in physical activity as well as individuals who are wanting to make the change of beginning physical activity.
GOOD SOURCE OF INFORMATION #2: Heart.org
Heart.org works in conjunction with the American Heart Association which is an organization that for the past 100 years has been fighting heart disease and stroke, striving to save and improve quality of life. When going through this site, the types of information it provides is regarding the ways in which individuals can combat cardiovascular disease as well as stroke. It provides a search bar that allows users to search up topics like “physical activity,” in which it links them to trusty articles on fitness basics, how to get active, and how to stay motivated. This website would be useful for individual at any fitness or skill level to help them learn more about physical activity or remind them the importance of physical activity and why to engage in it.
GOOD SOURCE OF INFORMATION #3: Health.gov
Health.gov is another example of a website that can be heavily trusted and relied upon. Health.gov works with both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion to provide individuals the current guidelines of physical activity, how to spread the importance of physical activity, as well as ways to get the youth involved with physical activity. Because this website works with the listed organizations we are able to trust that the information is reliable in that it is peer reviewed and fact checked before being posted. I personally feel like this website is more for individuals are a new to physical activity and want to learn the basics in order to help weigh out the pros and cons of physical activity before engaging in it.
UNRELIABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION #1: Youtube
Youtube is a platform for content creators to upload videos on this website to talk about whatever topic they would like. As a result, there is no fact checking of the information that people are posting. In regards to physical activity, if you were to search up physical activity on youtube, there would be a multitude of videos on it but no way to know if the person creating the content has accurate information. On youtube, you can expect to find tons of information on literally any topic you want, but how trustworthy it is is all subjective. Overall, Youtube is a good way for any individual at any fitness or skill level to obtain quick summarized information, but viewers would have to keep in mind it can be inaccurate, so it would be wise to refer to a trustworthy secondary source.
UNRELIABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION #2: Instagram
Similar to Youtube, Instagram is another platform where anyone who has an account is able to post whatever they like on it with very little restrictions. The sort of things that you can expect on Instagram are the post that your friends and family are making, as well as the post of individuals that you may personally follow. However, because lots of famous Instagram influencers heavily rely on the amount of followers and likes they get in order to obtain sponsorships for products…this brings up potential misleading information in that these influencers can be promoting products, types of exercises, or diets that are actually very bad for you. As a result, in order to keep their revenue and sponsorship they continue to promote things that are not accurate or true. Instagram is good for individuals to get ideas on physical activity, but viewers must take all the information they learn with a grain of salt because most of the influencers are being paid to say what they are saying.
UNRELIABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION #3: Facebook
The last source of unreliable information that I have identified for this blog post is Facebook. This is a social media website that providers users a way for them to keep in touch with their family and friends over an online platform. Much like the two previous social media platforms of Youtube and Instagram, this website allows for users to share whatever information they want without any fact checking or restrictions. The information you can expect to find on these websites are updates about your friends and family, as well as link to random articles that may be tied into physical activity. However, since the person who posted the article may not be posting from a reliable source, it is very hard to trust any of the information from this website. I find that Facebook is good for keeping connection with friends and potentially finding quick bits about physical activity, but is not suited for individuals who truly want to get accurate consistent information about physical activity.
WRAP UP
The purpose of this blog post is to provide you readers with the knowledge that there are good and bad sources of information out there in this world. You need to be able to identify which you can trust and which you should be avoiding. If you are reading an article that makes you question if its valid, it more than likely is not. Fortunately for us, we have google and we can always fact check the information with reliable sources like the ones listed above! All in all, don’t be the one who commits to an unorthodox diet because your favorite influencer told you to…remember…THEY ARE BEING PAID TO SAY THAT!!
THE ONLY BAD WORKOUT IS NO WORKOUT
You have already heard time and time again that exercise is good for you, yet according to the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health “less than 5% of adults participate in 30 minutes of physical activity each day…more than 80% of adults and adolescents do not meet the ACSM guidelines for aerobic and muscle- strengthening activities.” Why is that? One of the most cited reasons for individuals not engaging in physical activity is because they they do not see the benefit to change on their decisional balance scale. In today’s blog post, I want to address the many advantages of engaging in physical activity. This can range from physical activity controlling your weight, combating health conditions and diseases, as well as creating a social support with others to foster a healthy lifestyle for everyone.
BENEFIT NUMBER ONE: EXERCISE CAN HELP CONTROL WEIGHT
With obesity being such a huge epidemic in the US, knowing that exercise can help prevent excess weight is crucial to promote a healthy lifestyle. When engaging in physical activity individuals are burning calories. The more intense the activity the more calories you can burn. The ACSM guidelines state that adults should engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. This can be split up into 30-60 minutes moderate-intensity exercise five days per week or 20-60 minutes of high intensity three days per week. As long as one is burning calories, they are controlling their weight!
BENEFIT NUMBER TWO: COMBAT HEALTH CONDITIONS AND DISEASE
Are you predisposed genetically to heart disease? High blood pressure? No matter your current status of weight, being physically activity promotes the HDL cholesterol (the good one as well as decreases the unhealthy triglycerides. Together, these both help our body keep our blood flowing, decreasing the risk of any cardiovascular disease and many other health problems. This includes: stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, depression, anxiety.
BENEFIT NUMBER THREE: SOCIAL SUPPORT
Are there individuals in your life that are also in the same position as you? They also want to get healthy? Once you find the right exercise for you, engaging in physical activity with a friend, family member, or even someone you meet at the gym can become super fun and enjoyable. It gives you a chance to leave your house, unwind from the stress of work/school/life and just focus on yourself for a little bit. Secondly, it allows you to go meet like minded individuals who may be on the same journey. In doing so, you will find that you have created a social group that is there to support each other.
BOTTOM LINE:
Physical activity has too many benefits to continue to ignore it, as stated above, it can help you control your weight, prevent cardiovascular disease and other health problems… all while making news friends and social support groups. Get out there and start exercising, your time is NOW!
Introduce Yourself (Example Post)
This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
- Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
- Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
- Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
- What topics do you think you’ll write about?
- Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
- If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
Matthew's Fitness Guide and Blog 