Fitness

[Elizabeth Carpenter]

A place to talk about our fitness goals and encourage each other.

[Krysta]

i'm gonna do me some kayaking! or bike riding...we'll see how i feel that day :)
and did you seriously just put a CrossFit workout on the "leisurely" "conservative" activity that won't "impair recovery from your previous scheduled workouts" list??!?
hahahahha....that's funny :)

[Elizabeth Carpenter]

Understanding The R.I.C.E Method

•Rest – This acts as protection to prevent the muscle from being re-injured. It also saves energy that will be used in the healing of the injured muscle.

•Ice – Use ice packs, ice bags or even frozen vegetables to ice the injured area. It will provide pain release and will reduce swelling by inhibiting blood flow to the region. Only ice the area 2-3 times a day for 15-20 minutes.

•Compression – Another form of pain relief, it restricts the amount of swelling that can occur. The less swelling the quicker the healing time. Again be careful not to abuse the muscle(s) by wrapping it too tightly if it does feel too tight re-wrap.

•Elevation – Elevate the injury above the level of the heart, for leg injuries it is often best to be lying down with a couple of pillows underneath the injured leg.


Try complimenting the R.I.C.E method with regular massages. Massaging helps as it speeds up the formation of scar tissue and helps reduce the chances of a re-injury while reducing the duration of the injury.

Using the R.I.C.E method over a 48 hour period should help the pain and the healing process, if you have seen no progress then depending on the severity of the injury you should either go to see a doctor. After seeing the doctor you are likely to be prescribed with N.S.A.I.D (non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs). If you have not yet been to see the doctor then take anti-inflammatory and pain killer drugs preferable combined (i.e. Ibuprofen).

Also recommended is low-stress exercises and/or therapeutic exercise. It may be worth trying acupuncture which many claim to have helped them a lot though there is no scientific evidence to support these claims.

[Elizabeth Carpenter]

All About Cortisol

Is cortisol is bad for you?

Cortisol is not “bad for you,” it is a hormone that is essential for life as part of our natural stress response. There are many hormones in our bodies, which in the proper amounts, maintain good health, but in excess or in deficiency, have negative effects or even contribute to health problems or diseases. Cortisol is no different. For example, Cushing’s syndrome is a disease of high cortisol levels, while Addison’s is a disease of low cortisol levels. You want to maintain a healthy, normal level of cortisol, not suppress your cortisol to nothing or allow it to remain elevated. Chronically elevated cortisol levels may have a variety of negative effects. Cortisol is catabolic and elevated cortisol levels can cause the loss of muscle tissue by facilitating the process of converting lean tissue into glucose. An excess of cortisol can also lead to a decrease in insulin sensitivity, increased insulin resistance, reduced kidney function, hypertension, suppressed immune function, reduced growth hormone levels, and reduced connective tissue strength. Chronically elevated levels of cortisol can also decrease strength and performance in athletes.

Can suppressing cortisol improve your muscle growth and strength?

High cortisol levels can increase muscle protein breakdown and inhibit protein synthesis (building up muscle proteins), so a chronically elevated cortisol level is clearly counterproductive to building muscle. Bringing elevated cortisol levels back to normal may improve recovery, strength, hypertrophy and performance. However, there is no scientific evidence that reducing your cortisol levels below normal will have any effect on increasing strength or muscle growth.

Should you take a cortisol-suppressing supplement to help you lose weight?

In my opinion, no, absolutely not. Cortisol suppressing supplements are not a valid solution for losing weight. The FTC has filed lawsuits against the makers of Cortislim and Cortistress, charging them with making false and unsubstantiated claims that their products can cause weight loss. Lydia Parnes, acting director of the FTC’s bureau of consumer protection says, “The defendant’s claims fly in the face of reality. No pill can replace a healthy program of diet and exercise.” Reducing excessively high cortisol levels through supplement use may prove beneficial in some ways for hard training athletes. However, pills do not make you lose fat. Body fat is lost by creating a caloric deficit through exercise and nutrition.

Should you take a cortisol-suppressing supplement to help control your stress levels?

There are quite a few supplements, mostly herbs, which are reputed to have “calming,” “relaxing,” “tranquilizing,” “stress-relieving” or “anti-anxiety” effects. These include Magnolia bark, kava kava, valerian, L-theanine and too many others to mention. However, very few studies exist which have directly tested the effects of these herbs on cortisol levels. Although some people may find value in these types of products, the ideal solution is to reduce the stress or change your perception of the stress to lessen its physical effects. Treating symptoms does not remove causes. It can be dangerous to “band-aid” the effects of stress while the stress remains in place.

What should you do if you have a lot of stress in your life?

It makes sense to take steps to reduce stress in your life and lessen the impact of stressors that cannot be avoided. Trying to avoid stress completely is not possible, nor is it desirable. Stress is an important part of life because you can’t achieve positive adaptations and growth without stress to trigger them. It’s continuousstress that you want to avoid. It’s okay to expose yourself to stress, provided there is a sufficient period of rest afterwards so you can fully recover. One of the best ways to keep cortisol in the normal range is to reduce stress and allow time for recovery and renewal. There are effective and natural means of reducing stress that don’t cost a penny, including getting out in nature, deep breathing, enhancing sleep quality, relaxation exercises, meditation and visualization-guided imagery. It's important to develop a calm mind and sense of tranquility.

How can you lower your cortisol levels naturally?

You can lower cortisol naturally. In fact, if you are overtrained, unnatural cortisol suppression may be nothing more than a “band aid,” and continued overtraining can lead to adrenal exhaustion, which could take months to remedy. Sometimes the best thing you can do is take a rest or decrease your training volume and intensity rather than artificially attempt to suppress cortisol. Symptoms of overtraining include elevated resting pulse, sleep disturbances, fatigue, decreased strength and decreased performance.

*Avoid very low calorie diets, especially for prolonged periods of time. Low calorie dieting is a major stress to the body. Low calorie diets increase cortisol while decreasing testosterone.

*Avoid continuous stress. Stress is an important part of growth. It’s when you remain under constant stress without periods of recovery that you begin breaking down.

*Avoid overtraining by keeping workouts intense, but brief (cortisol rises sharply after 45-60 min of strength training).

*Avoid overtraining by matching your intensity, volume and duration to your recovery ability. Decrease your training frequency, and or take a layoff if necessary.

Suppress cortisol and maximize recovery after workouts with proper nutrition:

*Consume a carb-protein meal or drink immediately after your workout.
*Get plenty of quality sleep (sleep deprivation, as a stressor, can raise cortisol).
*Avoid or minimize use of stimulants; caffeine, ephedrine, synephrine, etc.
*Limit alcohol (large doses of alcohol elevate cortisol).
*Stay well hydrated (at least one study has suggested that dehydration may raise cortisol).

[Elizabeth Carpenter]

The Positive Affects of Regular Exercise

Exercise is an important component to losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight, especially when paired with healthy eating habits. There are numerous studies that prove exercise, not only helps in weight lose and maintaining weight, but aids in overall health and wellbeing.

1. Exercise decrease abdominal fat: Regular moderate to high intensity aerobic exercise has the greatest impact on reducing abdominal fat-the dangerous fat that increases your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

2. Exercise controls calories: You need to burn more calories than you consume in order to lose weight. Regular exercise uses up excess calories that would otherwise be stored as fat.

3. Exercise keeps lost pounds at bay: Ninety percent of people who have successfully lost weight and kept it off for a year do about an hour of physical activity a day.

4. Exercise boosts metabolism: You'll lose fat when you diet without exercising, but you'll also lose muscle, which means you'll burn fewer calories. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism and the more calories you'll burn.

5. Exercise does more than the scale shows: If you gain 3 pounds of lean muscle and lose 4 pounds of fat, you've actually experienced a 7-pound improvement in your body condition, despite the scale only showing 1 pound of weight loss.

6. Exercise diminishes emotional eating: Working out has been proven time and time again to help regulate mood, which has a direct effect on people who eat when they're stressed or upset.

7. Exercise creates a healthy chain reaction: Healthy habits tend to cluster together. When people make positive changes, like getting more exercise, they tend to work on other health improvements as well, such as eating better.

8. Exercise is fun: Rock-climbing is more exciting than eating a celery stick. That's why it's sometimes easier to be active to stay slim than to maintain a strict diet.

9. Exercise curbs hunger: People who exercise and diet are actually less hungry than those who only diet, according to at least one study.

10. Exercise increases energy: Regular physical activity increases stamina by boosting your body's production of energy-promoting neurotransmitters. That gives you even more motivation to get moving and shed pounds.

Have you taken time to exercise today?