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Wellness Wednesday to offer fresh ideas Looking for some simple yet creative ideas for your  exercise program? Are you looking to lose some of that body fat? Drop by the Health 1st Wellness Wednesday table from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 19 in the MUSC Children’s Hospital lobby.   Annie Cruzan, personal trainer from the MUSC Harper Student Center will be demonstrating strength exercises including use of the stability ball, exercise tubing and the body bars.   The American Council on Exercise (ACE) lists the following benefits that a well-designed strength program can provide:  increase in muscle mass , increase in basal metabolic rate, assist in healthy weight management, enhance quality of life, and improve posture and body appearance.   ACE recommends the following guidelines for developing a safe and effective strength program in or out of the gym: Select at least one exercise for each of the major muscle groups of the body. Examples include squats or lunges (targets the gluteals, quadriceps, hamstrings and low back muscles); side lying hip abduction and adduction (muscles of the hips); standing heel raises (gastrocenmius and soleus or the muscles of the calf (lower leg); push ups against a wall, an  incline or decline, a ball (pectorals, deltoids and triceps); lat pull and rows with exercise tubing (lattisimus dorsi, rhomboids, deltoids and trapezius muscles); curl and press with dumbbells, tubing or body bar (works the muscles of the arms and shoulders); back extension on the stability ball (muscles of the lower back); and sitting crunch on the stability ball (muscles of the abdomen). q  ACE advises working the larger muscle groups first before proceeding to the smaller muscles of the body. Lifting movements should be slow and controlled to increase lifting benefit and decrease risk of injury. A typical strength program should consist of  one to three sets of eight to 12 repetitions for  three to five exercises of the lower body, and six to eight  exercises of the upper body. Strength exercises should accommodate a full yet pain free range of motion to help enhance muscle strengthening (of the prime muscle movers) and lengthening or stretching (of the antagonist or opposing muscles). Progression of resistance is a key to strength gains. As a muscle adapts to a given resistance there must be an additional increase for further strengthening. Resistance or strength training requires a muscle recovery period of approximately 48 hours. Typical strength workouts are scheduled every other day. Starting a new exercise program is like setting off on a journey. You may be mentally ready to start but lack the knowledge of what to do. If this describes you then stop by the Wellness Wednesday  table in the Children’s Hospital Lobby to get the proper knowledge and motivation to start strengthening those muscles. If you already have a strengthening routine stop by for new, creative ways to tone muscles. Weekly tips from the Healthy S.C. Challenge Healthy S.C. Challenge is a results-oriented initiative created by Gov. Mark Sanford and first lady Jenny Sanford to motivate people to start making choices that can improve health and well-being. Visit http://www.healthysc.gov. Nutrition With the exception of the “eat more, weigh less” fruits and veggies, keep food out of sight. Simply seeing food boosts appetite. Buffets and cafeterias are especially high risk. The greater the variety or selection of choices, the more people tend to eat.  Editor's note: The preceding column was brought to you on behalf of Health 1st. Striving to bring various topics and representing numerous employee wellness organizations and committees on campus, this weekly column seeks to provide MUSC, MUHA and UMA employees with current and helpful information concerning all aspects of health.     Friday, Sept. 14, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.