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How to … take smart exercise breaks

January 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

How to … take smart exercise breaks
“Rest is a very important part of all exercise and athletic programs,” says Tim Lawrence, a physical therapist in Hampton, Va., who has worked with professional athletes. Some tips: Build in recovery times. Aerobic activities such as running, …
Read more on Sacramento Bee

Moderate Exercise for 15 Minutes Daily Improves Survival
August 19, 2011 — The minimal amount of physical activity to reduce mortality risk is 15 minutes a day of moderate-intensity exercise, according to the results of a prospective cohort study reported online August 16 in The Lancet. …
Read more on Medscape

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Are We Having Fun Yet? Stress and Exercise

January 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
stress-at-work

Like taxes, stress is a part of everyone’s life.  The “experts” tell us that some stress is good because without it there would be no motivation to do anything!  However, if you are like me, serious stress and anxiety makes me feel bad physically – I am unable to eat. This can’t be good!

For most of us, stress is low-level most of the time.  Our daily tasks and relationships give us a bit of stress but not major anxiety.  The body’s response to low-level stressors is designed to motivate us to action with a slightly raised heart rate and increased mental clarity –similar to the response to caffeine.

In times where stress levels go higher, the responses are what many people call the “fight or flight” response.  The body sends blood to the extremities to get ready for action!   These responses are normal and good for you – except when the stress levels remain high for a long time.  When the body perpetually stays in a stressed state, the systems begin to break down.  Think of it like a car engine where the throttle is stuck and the engine is constantly “revved up”.  Not only will it consume A LOT of gasoline, but the mechanical parts will wear out faster.

So what to do to protect ourselves from this?  RELAX of course….and EXERCISE.  Exercise helps us relax both physiologically and, if it’s enjoyable, provides a mental escape from the stressor.  The physiological effects of exercise include release of morphine-like chemicals (which include beta-endorphins) that give us a sense of well being.  Have you ever heard the term Runner’s High?  This is caused by the release of “endorphins” into the blood.  Since these chemicals stay in the blood for several hours after stopping the activity, the “feel good” feeling remains for a while.

OK, so we know why exercise can help with anxiety and stress.  But what are some of the ways regular exercise keeps us healthy in normal, low-level stress, times?

Here’s some from the top of my head:

Using a daily dose of natural “feel good” chemicals is better than drugs or alcohol!!
Looking fit, healthy and strong  (It’s ok to admit that looking good makes you feel good!)
Feeling good from accomplishment and improvement.
Escaping from the daily grind for an hour – change of scene.
Keeping the body systems prepared to handle high-level stress.

The key to lowering stress with exercise is that you ENJOY the exercise that you choose to do.  If you hate going to the gym, it’s not going to lower your stress – in fact it probably will add some!  Also, studies are showing over and over that even low intensity exercise helps anxiety, so any activity you enjoy is good.  For me, when I am under stress, nothing works better than a good sweaty dance session.  The music, movement and high heart rate just melt away my troubles.  Some of my clients even tell me that the sense of achievement from competitive sports makes them feel less stressed!

The bottom line?  To decrease the effects stress on your body, pick a fitness or sports activity you enjoy, do it regularly and HAVE FUN.

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Eating And Exercise

January 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
exercise and eating

Anytime you exercise, you do so in order to try and maintain good health. You also know that you have to eat as well, so your body will have the energy it needs to exercise and maintain for the everyday tasks of life.  For making the best of your exercise, what you eat before and after you workout is very important.

No matter if you are going to be doing a cardio  workout or a resistance workout, you should always make it a point to eat a balanced mix of protein and carbohydrates.  What makes that determining percentage of carbs and protein you consume is whether or not you are doing cardio or resistance exercise and the intensity level that you plan to work at.

The ideal time for you to eat your pre workout meal is an hour before you start.  If you plan to work at a low intensity level, you should keep your pre workout meal down to 200 calories or so.  If you plan to exercise at a high level of intensity, you will probably need your meal to be between 4,000  and 5,000 calories.

Those of you who are doing a cardio session will need to consume a mix of 2/3 carbs and 1/3 protein. Doing so will give you longer sustained energy from the extra carbs with enough protein to keep your muscle from breaking down while you exercise.

For resistance exercise, you’ll need to eat a mix of 1/3 carbs and 2/3 protein, as this will help you get plenty of energy from the carbs to perform each set you do and the extra protein will help keep muscle breakdown to a minimum while you  exercise.

Eating after you exercise is just as important as your pre workout meal.  Anytime you exercise, whether its cardio or resistance, you deplete energy in the form of glycogen.  The brain and central nervous system rely on glycogen as their main  source of fuel, so if you don’t replace it after you exercise, your body will begin to break down muscle tissue into amino acids, and then convert them into usable fuel for the brain and the  central nervous system.

Keep in mind that mostly during resistance exercise, you’ll break down muscle tissue by  creating micro tears.  What this means, is that after a workout, your muscles will instantly go into repair mode.  Protein is the key here for muscle repair, as you don’t want muscle breaking down even further to create fuel instead of lost glycogen.

Once you have finished a cardio session, you’ll need to consume mainly carbohydrates, preferably those with high fiber.  Rice, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, and northern fruits are excellent sources. Also, try to consume 30 – 50 grams of there types of carbs after you exercise.  After your cardio workout, it is fine to eat within 5 – 10 minutes.

Once you’ve finished a resistance workout, you will need to consume a combination of carbs and protein.  Unlike cardio workouts, resistance workouts will break down muscle tissue by creating micro tears.

You’ll need protein as this happens to build up and repair these tears so that the muscle can increase in size and strength.  The carbs will not only replace the lost muscle glycogen, but  will also help the protein get into muscle cells so it can synthesize into structural protein, or the muscle itself.

After your resistance exercise, you should wait up to 30 minutes before you eat, so that you won’t take blood away from your muscles too fast.  The blood in your muscles will help the repair process by removing the metabolic waste products.

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