Day 16 - Change Things Up

Also known as "periodization", this is the idea that you should not be doing the same things all the time. Even you runners out there that want to train for a race should not just run, but do other full body exercises.

When you do something, your body wants to do that particular thing as efficiently and effectively as possible so it strengthens you in those areas, also known as adaptation. Once you adapt to a program, your body stops changing and you hit a plateau.

This is very common for people who want to get fit so they decide to take up running. Well, they get out there and run 5km, 3 days a week and see great results the first few weeks, losing weight, etc. Then, all of a sudden as if someone hit a switch, they stop losing weight. This is because their body is used to running and is no longer changing. This is why full-body circuit routines are great, you can constantly swap out different moves and literally have an infinite number of exercise combinations to keep your body constantly guessing...and constantly changing!

On the other hand, if you are an athlete who wishes to improve a certain skill or attribute - leg explosiveness for example - repetition is the way to go. Sure, you still want to formulate a program around variation to improve over time, but you also need repetition to give your body or specific body part time to adapt and master a certain skill set. 

Quote of the day:

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together."
~Vincent Van Gogh

Day 15 - Don't Forget About Your Sleep

The quality and amount of sleep you get is just as important as the food you eat and how much you exercise. Sleep plays an extremely important role in the well-being of the human body. We know that sleep helps rejuvenate, heal, and repair the body after the rigors of everyday life, but it turns out that it also plays an important role in maintaining a healthy weight.

We have known for some time now that sleep deprived individuals consume more calories in a day on average:

"Findings, reported Wednesday at an American Heart Association meeting in Atlanta:

-Participants consumed an average of 296 calories more when they were sleep-deprived compared with when they were well-rested.

-When women were sleep-deprived they ate an average 329 more calories a day vs. when they were well-rested; men ate 263 more calories.

-Overall, most of the extra calories came from high-fat foods such as ice cream and fast foods.

-When women were sleep-deprived, they ate an average of about 31 more fat grams a day. Men's fat intake didn't climb that much.

"Ice cream stood out as the preferred food during the sleep-deprived state," says lead author Marie-Pierre St-Onge, an assistant professor of clinical nutrition medicine at Columbia. "Sleep deprivation makes you more susceptible to overeating, so that can be something to consider when you're trying to lose weight.""

But a new study from the University of Washington has found that a lack of sleep can actually play havoc with your genes:

Watson and colleagues’ study of 1,811 twin pairs is not the first to link obesity with short sleep but it reveals sleep’s influence at the genetic level.

“When the twins slept greater than nine hours a night, only about 30 percent of their body weight was due to genetic factors,” he said. “Conversely, when the twins slept less than seven hours a night, 70 percent of their body weight was due to genetic factors.” This suggests that short sleep creates a permissive environment for the expression of obesity-related genes.”

Sleep does not change a person's DNA, per se, but short sleep may influence factors that control gene expression and result in metabolic and hormonal changes that cause weight gain, Watson explained. The journal SLEEP accepted the study for publication this year. 

This is yet another important study proving that a healthy lifestyle is a multi-pronged approach. By using exercise, healthy foods, and a sufficient sleep schedule, you can maintain a happy, healthy mind and body.

Quote of the day:

"Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal, My strength lies solely in my tenacity."

~L.Pasteur

Day 14 - Recovery from Blood Donation

The past few years, I have tried my best to go and donate blood as often as I can. I personally feel as though it is an honorable thing to do as a citizen, and as the Canadian Blood Services tagline reminds you, "It's in you to give."

Anyways, in past instances when I have given blood, I have completed my workout the day of, and even the day after I donate. My workout the day of my blood donation appointment is usually first thing in the morning and then I give blood in the evening. My workout the day after, I usually try and schedule to a lighter routine, as my body is still recovering from giving a pint.

Even though, as you leaving, you are told no heavy lifting or heavy exertion, there is not necessarily any information given as to when you can return to regular, heavy exercise. This may be due to a number of reasons, one of which may be the fact that the average person donating blood won't be getting up the next morning to workout hard like I do (as well as my faithful readers).

As much as I try to 'listen to my body' and get back to intense exercise when I feel up to it (usually after a day or two), I have always wondered how much giving 1 pint of blood effects my aerobic performance.

I was therefore rather interested when I came across a study out of the University of Saskatchewan that looked at the "Time Course for Recovery of Peak Aerobic Power After Blood Donation."

Abstract
Peak aerobic power (VO2peak) is decreased after blood donation, but the time course for full recovery is unknown. We measured VO2peak and exercise time to fatigue before and weekly for 4 weeks after 450-ml blood donation at a blood donor clinic, to determine the time course of recovery. Twelve moderately active individuals (2 women, 10 men; 24.3 ± 5.2 years) of average aerobic fitness (based on their VO2peak relative to normative values) completed VO2peak exercise tests before donation, the day after donation, and at weekly intervals for 4 weeks after donation. VO2peak was determined by an incremental exercise test on a cycle ergometer. At baseline, mean absolute and relative VO2peak values were 4.06 ± 0.92 L·min(-1) and 46.6 ± 7.0 ml·kg(-1)·min(-1), respectively. VO2peak was significantly decreased on day 1 (3.85 ± 0.89 L·min(-1); 44.0 ± 6.5 ml·kg(-1)·min(-1)) and during week 2 (3.91 ± 0.97 L·min(-1); 44.5 ± 7.2 ml·kg(-1)·min(-1)) after blood donation (p < 0.05), and recovered at week 3 after donation. Time to fatigue and peak heart rate were not significantly affected by blood donation. We conclude that blood donation causes a significant decrease in VO2peak for between 2 and 3 weeks. The practical application of this study is that aerobic power in people of average fitness will be decreased, up to 3 weeks after donating blood. Despite this, there is no effect of blood donation on performance as measured by time to fatigue during an incremental test on a cycle ergometer.

The test observes individuals with 'average' levels of fitness, comparing their Maximal Aerobic Power (VO2 Max) prior to, and following a standard 1-pint (450ml) blood donation.

Maximal Aerobic Power, also known as VO2 Max, carries a strong correlation between an endurance athlete and their VO2 Max level. In basic terms, an individual who has high VO2 Max level can continue to meet the majority of their energy demands through aerobic metabolism. In other words, as the energy demands increase with time throughout an aerobic endurance event, a high VO2 can relate to increased performance for longer periods of time. Athletes with a high VO2 Max generally have high endurance performance, although there are other factors that can be just as, if not more important such as a high lactate threshold, good exercise economy, and a high ability to use fat as a fuel source.

The study found that VO2 Max will not return to pre-donation levels until 2-3 weeks following.

I am still a firm believer in 'listening to your body', and that individuals who donate blood, should be able to return to training fairly soon following donation, this should give a bit of insight into those that wish to compete in competition. If you wish to be at peak physical condition for a competition, it is probably best to schedule giving blood for at least 3 weeks before.

Quote of the day:

"Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his Goals."
~Aristotle

Day 13 - It's Never Too Late...

I came across this video this morning. Meet Arthur. Arthur was dealt a pretty terrible hand, but do you think that made him give up? Arthur finally decided to make a change for himself, and was determined to change his life for the better!

This can be a testament to those of you who dislike yoga, but more importantly, in my opinion, it should show you all that no matter how much you feel like giving up, you should keep on going, keep on moving. Why? Because you can...

Quote of the day:
"Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well."
~Jim Rohn

Day 12 - Exercise Myth

 I exercise all the time, I can eat whatever I want! MYTH.

Some individuals feel as though they can "splurge" and let their diets slip because they were "good" and went to the gym that morning.

The problem most people seem to run into, is that they drastically overestimate how many calories they burn during a workout. Just to give you a very basic example, a 170 pound man that walks for 30mins burns an additional 140 calories (approximately), that's like half a juice-box!

I always try and tell people that if they wish to lose weight, they need to have a well-balanced diet and exercise, but cutting 500 calories out of your diet daily is much easier than burning 500 calories at the gym.

The ideal situation for any individual is to have a solid combination of daily exercise, along with a healthy diet to maintain a healthy weight. Both of these components provide their own benefits.

Quote of the day:
"The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity."
~Ayn Rand

Day 11 - Dynamic Stretching for Performance

The professional strength and conditioning community is constantly evolving. What is thought to be common-practice one day, may be found to be less effective than other methods the next. An example of this would be the once-thought belief that static stretching prior to competition benefits athletes.

More and more studies have been reported lately, so this one should not be of any surprise to you readers who are already 'in the know', but some folks are still doing things 'the old way'. To this day, I still see athletes performing static stretches before practice or competition because they feel that it will either prevent injury, or improve their performance. Truth is, dynamic stretching has been shown time and time again to be a far more effective form of performance preparedness.

A study that was published a few months ago in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research has found that athletes performing dynamic stretching prior to a 505 agility test statistically perform better when than either those using static stretching, or the control group.

Abstract:
Van Gelder, LH and Bartz, SD. The effect of acute stretching on agility performance. J Strength Cond Res 25(11): 3014–3021, 2011—Static stretching (SS) has shown decreases in many areas including strength, anaerobic power, and sprinting time. Dynamic stretching (DS) has shown increases in anaerobic power and decreases in sprinting time. Research on the effects of stretching on agility performance is limited. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of SS and DS on performance time of a sport agility test. Sixty male subjects consisting of collegiate (n = 18) and recreational (n = 42) basketball athletes volunteered for the study. Subjects were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 intervention groups: SS, DS, or no stretching (NS). All groups completed a 10-minute warm-up jog followed by a 3-minute rest. The SS and DS groups then completed an 8.5-minute stretching intervention. Next, all subjects completed 3 trials of the 505 agility test with 2–5 minutes of rest between trials. A 2-way repeated-measure analysis of variance (Stretch group, athlete category, group × athlete interaction) was used to determine statistical significance (p < 0.05). A Tukey post hoc test was performed to determine differences between groups. For all athletes, the DS group produced significantly faster times on the agility test (2.22 ± 0.12 seconds, mean ± SD) in comparison to both the SS group (2.33 ± 0.15 seconds, p = 0.013) and NS group (2.32 ± 0.12 seconds, p = 0.026). Differences between the SS and NS groups revealed no significance (p = 0.962). There was a significant difference in mean times for the type of athlete (p = 0.002); however, interaction between the type of athlete and stretching group was not significant (p = 0.520). These results indicate that in comparison to SS or NS, DS significantly improves performance on closed agility skills involving a 180° change of direction.

There is no doubt that static stretching has many benefits. It can increase circulation, improve range of motion, improve flexibility, and therefore can improve performance over time, however, static stretching should be used following competition or practice.

Dynamic stretching, on the other hand, is welcomed to those who wish to increase performance. It allows an individual to warmup and prepare the body by following similar actions to those that will be used during practice or competition. This allows the joints and limbs to travel through wide ranges of motion, as well as 'activate' the natural elasticity properties of the muscles and connective tissues in the body.

Quote of the day:
"Difficulties mastered are opportunities won."
~Winston Churchill

Day 10 - Make it Part of Your Daily Routine

 

"I don't have enough time!" 

Trust me, I understand. Today's society moves at a faster pace than ever before. Some people have kids, others work 3 jobs. Some people have 14-hour work days. 

The problem I have with these scenarios is when I hear people say, "I just don't have time to work out/eat healthy/cook for myself/etc." followed by, "Hey, did you catch American Idol last night?"

Let me make one thing clear. Just as going to work or school to pay the bills or get an education, exercise should be part of your daily routine. If you have time to sit down and watch tv, you definitely have time to exercise!

If you are one of those people that really do have busy lives, don't watch any tv because of your long days. Fine, but you can still do your best to squeeze in 20 mins of exercise a day which is the daily recommended exercise that can improve your mind and body immensely.

Try this. I am definitely an advocate for morning exercise, so try getting up even a half an hour earlier than what you are used to, do 20 minutes of exercise, and then you have the rest of your day ahead of you. As you become more accustomed to getting up earlier, you can start getting up earlier and earlier and lengthening the time of your workouts.

Quote of the day:

"The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work."
-Mark Twain