Category Archives: Exercise

Exercise, Rehabilitation, Sports

FIT BODY SECRETS: ANKLE MOBILITY

Master trainer Josh Stolz shows you how focusing on forgotten areas unlocks a fitter physique.

Monday, January 19, 2015 | Sheila Monaghan

“Let’s start with ankle mobility—your foot and ankle contain a relatively large percentage of bones in a relatively small area,” says Stolz, “so if there’s something that’s not moving correctly, it’s going to affect the rest of your body. More specifically, your foot creates internal rotation up into your hip, which lengthens the glute and allows you to propel forward. So if you’re lacking mobility in your arch and foot, you’re going to limit the movement up the chain, and that’s when your body gets out of balance and overworks certain areas.”

Stolz’s approach to mobility training breaks down to three phases: Melt, mold, and move. For each phase, he employs specific tools, too. How he explains it:

Melt: “I’m going to melt the connective tissue – basically roll it, massage it, and reduce the adhesions. This smooths out and helps hydrate the tissue.”
The Tools: ROLL Recovery R8, VYPER vibrating roller, Supernova
How They Help: The R8 may resemble a recycled Rollerblade, but it’s much more hardcore. “This tool allows you to move the tissue in multiple directions—I can rotate, I can add friction—and I can increase or decrease the pressure.” The VYPER vibrating roller is another gadget garnering serious buzz. “Vibration is being researched, but it is purported to increase range of motion and bone density. You can use different settings, too: 1 would be for recovery, post-workout, and 2 and 3 would be a faster movement better suited for pre-workout.” The Supernova is like a lacrosse ball for masochists, but Stolz likes it because of the notches, which allow you to create changes by manipulating your skin.

Mold: This phase furthers the hydration; Stolz favors the analogy of a sponge: “If I drop a sponge in water, it soaks up a certain amount of water. But if I squeeze the sponge, it pulls in more fluid, which, in terms of your body, hydrates tissue and also pulls in nutrients and oxygen.”
The Tool: Voodoo Bands
How It Helps: These bands, Stolz explains, offer an extremely easy way to increase range in motion—you can grip and pull, press, compress, and elongate tissue. They also help recycle and pull in fluid, oxygenate the tissue, and reduce pain by increasing the amount of nutrients coming into a specific area.

Move: “This is to stabilize the mobility you just obtained. In the Melt and Mold phases, you’ve increased range of motion and added more freedom of movement. Now, with Move, you want to be able to stabilize that extra range of motion to reduce injury risk.”
The Tool: Monster Bands
How It Helps: You’re likely familiar with this standard, but it’s incredibly useful for creating joint capsule flexilibilty, says Stolz. “Sometimes the joint capsule gets stuck, and that’s the root of the movement problem. But since you can’t stretch or foam roll in there, you need a way to manipulate.”

Stolz begins this three-part series with an ankle mobility workout, which he demonstrates in this slideshow. “These moves can be done as a set,” he says. “And it doesn’t hurt to do them every day.” For this workout’s Melt phase, Stolz recommends choosing one or two of the moves to start. And make sure you don’t rush. “When you’re rolling, think of covering one inch at a time for a minute or so,” says Stolz. “A regeneration day should be slow.”

Photographed by Mike Rosenthal; Gromming by Marina Gravini; Art Direction + Styled by Ashley Martin

R8 Ankle Mobility

Kneel, resting your left knee on a foam mat or yoga block, keeping your right knee bent 90 degrees. Using the R8 roller, slowly roll the length of your calf. This is best done in one-inch intervals, alternating directions (roll up and down, rotate and roll diagonally, and so on). Switch legs and repeat.

 

Sit with legs extended in front of you, palms flat on the floor. Place the VYPER above your right Achilles, then lift yourself slightly off the ground, resting your left ankle on your right. Slowly roll the VYPER from your Achilles to your calf; again, rolling in one-inch increments is best. Switch legs and repeat.

 

Retinaculum Ankle Mobility

On all fours, hands under shoulders and knees under hips, place the Supernova directly beneath the spot where your shin connects to your foot. Resting your leg there, slowly flex your toes up and down for one minute. Move the Supernova slightly up your leg and repeat. Add some circles of the foot in both directions. Switch legs and repeat.

 

Band-Assisted Ankle Mobility

Sit with legs extended in front of you, your left knee bent and left foot flat, palms flat on the floor. Secure the end of band around something solid, like the base of a machine, and loop around ankle and top of your right foot. Lift and rest your right calf on the handle of a kettlebell. Slowly flex your foot for one minute. Switch legs and repeat.

 

3D Flossing

Place a heavy weight plate on the ground in front of your feet (or use a slant board). Tightly wrap a Voodoo Floss band around your right calf and rest your right forefoot on the weight plate. Hinging from the waist, use both hands to wring or twist your calf as you lunge slightly forward until your knee is above your toes. Continue for one minute, moving up and down your calf. Quickly unwrap the band and repeat on opposite leg. Your leg should be wrapped for no longer than 90 seconds.

 

3D Band-Assisted Ankle Mobility

Place a heavy weight plate on the ground. Secure one end of a band to something sturdy, like a cable column or a machine, and wrap the other end around your right ankle. Step your left foot fully onto the weight plate, and rest your right forefoot on the weight’s edge. Hinge from the waist, holding onto something for support like an weight bench or 24-inch plyo box, and lunge slightly forward until your left knee is above your left toes. This movement should be in all planes of motion, so be sure to move forward and back, but also from side to side and in rotation in both directions. Continue for one minute and then switch legs.

 

Isotonic Weight Transfer

Prior to doing this move, perform an isometric contraction or hold in this position. Focus on driving the ball of the back foot into the ground with as much force as possible without moving the foot; these contractions should be held for about 5 seconds and repeated 2-3 times on each foot. Then, stand in a split stance, left leg forward, right leg back, keeping a slight bend in your knees. With a slight bounce in your step, lunge slightly forward to come up onto your right toes without lifting them off the ground, and back. This should be a very controlled movement. Repeat for one minute. Switch legs and repeat.

 

Dynamic Force Absorption

Stand in a split stance, left leg forward, right leg back, keeping a slight bend in your knees. With a slight bounce in your step, and without leaving this position, lunge slightly forward onto your left toes and then back, transferring your body weight between legs. Repeat for one minute and then switch legs.

 

For original post please see:  http://q.equinox.com/articles/2015/01/ankle-mobility

 

 

 

 

Exercise, Nutrition

WHY HEALTH DOESN’T HAVE TO BE HEREDITARY

Health, Genetics, Hereditary, PNAS study, Add years to your life, stop stress, lifestyle, longevity, metabolism,

WHY HEALTH DOESN’T HAVE TO BE HEREDITARY

Think it’s all in the genes? Science says you have more control than you think.

In the not-so-distant past, certain factors related to overall health were thought to be uncontrollable. Immune response, longevity, a quick metabolism, and your reaction to stress were hard-wired: out of your hands no matter how much you exercised or how well you ate. Until now.

New research is demonstrating that controlling the “uncontrollables”—adding years to your life, and modulating how your autonomic nervous system reacts to stressful scenarios—is doable. Just as moving all day, staying hydrated, and explosive exercises can help keep your metabolism in check, the other “uncontrollables” in your life can also be impacted. Here’s how to:

Ward Off Illness
In a recent PNAS study, researchers trained some people in breathing and meditation practices, leaving others with no training. Later, researchers injected everyone with bacteria known to cause flu-like symptoms. What they found was amazing: The people who were trained experienced less flu-like symptoms, and actually produced more epinephrine—suppressing their immune response.

“Our goal was to investigate whether it is possible to voluntarily influence the autonomic nervous system and immune response using this set of techniques,” explains Matthijs Kox, MSc, and the study’s author. “We have proven that this is indeed possible.”

How to take control: Kox says that he cannot yet make claims about replicating these results for yourself—or what doing so could mean: “The next question is if there could be a health benefit in any way using these techniques,” he says. What we do know: Both meditation and breathing techniques (Kox says that it was likely the breathing that had the most profound effects on the trained men) have been shown to calm stress levels, boost your mood, and fend off disease. In fact, recent research in the Annals of Family Medicine found that people who followed a meditation practice for 8 months got sick far less than those on an 8-month cardio routine.

Add Years to Your Life
A long, healthy life may run in grandpa’s genes, but research increasingly points to the idea that certain physical performance tests can help to predict longevity, explains Michael Joyner, M.D., and an exercise physiology expert at the Mayo Clinic. Start simple. Joyner cites a recent Brazilian study of about 2,000 people: The easier it is for you to pick yourself up off of the ground (going from sitting to standing without using your hands), the longer you’ll likely live.

How to take control: The equation for exercise doesn’t need to be complicated. And starting with your own bodyweight is still smart. Push(-up) and pull(-up): A BMJstudy found that high muscular strength (which researchers addressed through handgrip tests) was linked to a 20 to 35 percent lower risk of early death from cardiovascular disease—regardless of BMI or blood pressure.

Stop Stress
In a recent (and remarkable) Princeton University study by Elizabeth Gould, mice were split into two groups: one with unlimited access to a running wheel and one that remained sedentary. Then six weeks later, all the mice were put in cold water to induce stress. The differences in brain activity were profound: The mice that hadn’t worked out showed an immediate stress response—an increase in genes that turn on quickly when a neuron “fires.” The fit mice, on the other hand, showed an uptick in “inhibitory neurons”—ones that keep these “excitable” neurons in check. Why this matters: The area of the brain where all of this activity was noticed is where anxiety lives.

How to take control: Make sweating a habit. In Gould’s study, the running mice didn’t run the entire day before the cold bath. What that means: The effect of exercise on the brain wasn’t short-lived—it was built upon. And while extrapolating results from mice to the brains of humans can be a stretch, other data has suggested that an active lifestyle is linked to bigger brains in humans—and even dampened stress responses. Help build the habit by spending time doing something you enjoy; associating stress relievers with fun makes you more likely to go back to them, research shows.

 

http://q.equinox.com/articles/2014/07/control-the-uncontrollables?emlcid=EML-newsletters_2014_07_16&emacid=EMA-0716QWeekly7162014
Exercise

5 SIMPLE WAYS TO LIFT MORE WEIGHT

 

5 (SIMPLE) WAYS TO LIFT MORE WEIGHT

There is such a thing as free strength. Push through your plateau with these easy techniques.

Can you lift more without getting stronger? Matt Berenc, certified strength and conditioning specialist and director of the Equinox Fitness Training Institute in Beverly Hills, thinks so. “Lifting heavier is not only about building muscle,” he says. “It’s also about mastering the skills of strength.” Berenc teaches his clients simple techniques that prime the nervous system to participate more fully in each lift, allowing the muscles to work harder. His top five:

 

1 – Crush The Bar

Before you start a lift, grip the bar or dumbbells extremely hard. “Imagine trying to leave your fingerprints on the metal,” Berenc says. This will stimulate nerve endings in the hand, sending a message up the arm to the shoulders and the brain that effectively says, “Get ready for a big effort.” The technical term for this strength-boosting effect is “irradiation.”

2 – Clap Your Hands

A second way to exploit irradiation for free strength is by smacking your palms together (hard enough that it stings a bit) before you grip the bar. This technique also works by stimulating nerve endings in the hands and is useful for any of the major strength lifts.

3 – Tense Everything

When you’re doing multi-joint movements such as deadlifts and pull-ups, think about creating maximum tension throughout your entire body—even seemingly irrelevant parts like your calf muscles. Known as “total body tension,” this technique boosts lifting performance by bringing every available muscle fiber into the movement and puts your nervous system on high alert. It also creates a solid foundation or point of stability for the working muscles to pull from.

4 – Breathe Right

Believe it or not, even your breathing can be a source of free strength. “Your breath is the first point of stability for any lift,” Berenc says. “Proper breathing provides a more stable platform by creating intra-abdominal pressure.” Correct breathing is diaphragmatic breathing. Inhale from the belly (imagine “pooching” your tummy) right before starting the lift. Exhale forcefully as you start to move the weight.

5 – Get Alignment

The alignment of your body segments affects performance in many lifts, especially those where you are under the weight, such as a barbell squat. Poor alignment sends a danger message to the brain, limiting motor output to the working muscles. Good alignment sends a message to go for it. According to Berenc, you don’t have to work with a personal trainer to improve alignment. You can make progress on your own by experimenting with slightly different foot placements and selecting the combination of foot separation and external rotation that makes you feel that you “own” the lift. Start with an unweighted bar and then add weight as you gain confidence.

Chiropractic can undoubtedly assist with your biomechanical work in the gym or with any type of fitness activity you may be doing.  

A Chiropractor is a doctor who specializes in the detection of spinal misalignments. These misalignments are found in the bones of the spine (vertebrae) and are called subluxations. When vertebrae become subluxated, interference is created in the body’s tissues (ie. muscles, heart, lungs, stomach, immune system, bones, etc…). These spinal mis-alignments can cause a distortion in the body’s nervous system, and may be expressed as many different symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, sore throats, low back pain, colic, indigestion, asthma, etc…

In order to treat these complaints, a Chiropractor uses a specific and specialized hands on treatment called a Chiropractic Adjustment. The purpose of the adjustment is to remove any nervous interference caused by the mis-alignment, restoring the body’s nervous system to its optimal level and enabling the body to restore its health. The wellness aspect of Chiropractic focuses on the maintenance and restoration of bodily functions (like regular tune ups for you car) thereby minimizing symptoms and optimizing health.

 

 

Exercise

Which Rest is Best?

Workout, Fitness, Health, Body, Active Rest, Static Rest, intensity, heart rate, clock, workout routine

Is it better to choose active or static breaks throughout your workout?

If you’ve wondered what circumstances call for “active rest” (taking it easy while still moving) versus “static rest” (stopping completely) between sets, let us clear something up right now; static rest is never the ideal choice.

For that 60- to 90-minute period while you’re working out, the only reason you should come to a full and complete stop would be an emergency situation (as in, you’re about to pass out).

That said, there’s so much more to your rests than simply resting. Just how much should you decrease the intensity? How should you be moving your body? Does it depend on the nature of your workout? We asked Hicham Haouzi, certified personal trainer and Tier 4 Coach at Equinox Columbus Circle to weigh in.“Resting periods during workouts serve two purposes,” Haouzi says. “To get your heart rate down, and to reduce the buildup of blood lactate”—the natural byproduct of exertion that makes your limbs feel like spaghetti and can cause muscle cramps, soreness and joint pain.Here, four ways to ensure your rests fulfill their duties:

1          Monitor your heart rate
Rests during workouts train your heart to slow down quickly—an important signifier of your fitness level. Regardless of the nature of the exercise you’re doing, recovery periods should get your rate to approximately 65 percent of your heart’s max.

2          Mind the clock
Recovery periods should last anywhere from 20 seconds to two minutes, depending on the power of your workout. If you’re doing intense cardio intervals that make your ticker pound at 90 percent of its potential, then you might need all 120 seconds to get back to that 65 percent range. Rocking some squats? Then maybe you only need a minute. (Holding dumbbells, too? Bump it up to 90 seconds.) The point: Rests shouldn’t be indefinite. Over time you develop a sense for matching active periods with the appropriate recovery.
3          Weave it in
You know how your group fitness instructor has you take your weights to the rack after all those lunges, or put your mat back when you’re done with abs? She’s not a neat freak. She’s sneaking in some active rest. Build that movement into your rest routine by cycling through a circuit of, say, five to eight different exercises. The 15 to 20 seconds it takes you to get from one station to another is your active rest. “If you do 30 minutes total for your workout, then you get five minutes of active rest without even realizing it,” Haouzi says.
4          Do what feels good

Active rest doesn’t have to mean walking (or running in place at the traffic light). Haouzi often has clients stretch any muscles that feel tight, work compressed tissues on a foam roller or do yoga poses that offer relief from whatever resistance work they’re focusing on that day. “I’ll even put clients’ water bottles across the room so they have to walk to get to it,” Haouzi says. “It’s about staying both physically and mentally engaged while you rest.”

 

By Lee Walker Helland - Equinox
Exercise, Sports

10 REASONS MARTIAL ARTS BENEFITS KIDS

  • In a culture that seems to glorify violence in everything from music to video games and television shows, the idea of enrolling your child in martial arts training classes doesn’t always seem like a good one. While martial arts-centered action films seem to be filled to the brim with violent behavior and gory injuries, you may be surprised to learn that martial arts’ training is actually very beneficial to kids. Like so many other things that Hollywood doesn’t always get right, martial arts isn’t quite the brutal, vicious pastime that it seems. In fact, these are 10 of the reasons why you may want to consider martial arts training for your kids.

    martialarts
    1. Fostering Self-Discipline – One of the central tenets of all forms of the martial arts is an absolute focus on self-discipline. Today’s kids are so accustomed to receiving instant gratification that lessons in self-restraint and discipline aren’t always easy to come by. Kids with a martial arts background, however, are continually reminded of how essential self-discipline is.
    2. Boosting Socialization Skills – Kids who don’t always thrive in highly social environments may find it easier to get to know people and make new friends when they’re in a room filled with peers who share a common interest. The kids on the playground may not always have much common ground, but devotees to the martial arts are able to get to know one another through shared pursuits. Partner-driven forms like jiu jitsu can also foster camaraderie, as they force kids to pair off and build their skills together.
    3. Encouraging Physical Activity – Limiting screen time is a great idea when it comes to getting kids off the couch and encouraging them to be more active, but it only goes so far viagra generika kaufen schweiz. Enrolling an inactive child in such a physically demanding pastime not only discourages the sedentary lifestyle she’s used to, but also gives her an enjoyable activity that inspires her to keep moving.
    4. Learning to Set and Achieve Goals – Most forms of martial arts are based around an accomplishment system of colored belts that signify the wearer’s degree of skill. When your child strives toward each new belt, he’s learning valuable lessons about setting and reaching his goals.
    5. Increased Self-Esteem – Confidence comes with achievement, so your child’s self-esteem level will get a boost with every new move he masters and every belt he earns. Kids who struggle with a low sense of self-worth usually become more confident as time progresses while they’re enrolled in a martial arts class.
    6. Instilling a Sense of Respect – Learning any martial arts style will require your child to show her instructor unflinching respect. Today’s kid culture doesn’t always include respect for authority, adults or those in advanced positions. When she goes to her karate or tae kwon do class, though, your child will be learning lessons in respect along with new moves.
    7. Encouraging Non-Violent Conflict Resolution – Thinking that martial arts instruction promotes violent behavior is justified if your only experience with the activity comes from television or movies. In fact, many defensive styles teach kids peaceful, non-violent conflict resolution skills and emphasize the importance of avoiding a physical altercation.
    8. Improving Listening Skills – In order to master the skills she’s being taught and advance through the belt ranks, your child will have to exercise superior listening skills. Kids who aren’t always adept when it comes to paying attention to what they’re told can benefit from the verbal instruction and one-on-one work in her dojo.
    9. Developing Teamwork Skills – Whether he’s breaking boards to get a new belt or sparring in a practice setting to master a new maneuver, there are few things that your child does in his martial arts classes that will be done on his own. Working together to learn new things and accomplish goals is an important life lesson for kids to learn, and instruction in the martial arts can help your child learn that lesson.
    10. Improvement in Other Areas of Life – The benefits of martial arts training don’t end in the dojo. The boost in confidence, increased fitness level and new cooperation skills will also help your child navigate the academic and social aspects of school, affect his behavior at home and have an all-around good influence on him as he develops into an adult.

    If you’re still concerned about encouraging violent tendencies or teaching your child to fight, it may be helpful to visit a few dojos/gyms in your area. Speak with the instructors, administrators and other parents to get an idea of how things operate, and hold off on forming a negative opinion of the martial arts until you’ve done a bit of exploratory research. You may even find that training is the perfect activity for your entire family to do together!

    Author: Kenney Myers - www.kenneymyers.com
Exercise, Nutrition

Exercise when you’re sick? Should you sweat it out? Or rest and recover?

Exercise when you’re sick?

Should you sweat it out? Or rest and recover?

Everybody gets sick. But it’s tough to know what to do about it. Should you “sweat it out” in the gym? Or get some rest instead? In this article we clear up the confusion. So that next time you come down with the flu or a cold, you’ll know what to do.

Your friendly neighborhood gym. You’re warmed up and ready for a great workout.  Then, all the sudden, Mr. Sneezy walks by. Coughing, sniffling, and heavy mouth-breathing. He’s spraying all over the benches and mats.

“Dude, shouldn’t you just stay home and rest?” you’re thinking.  (And, while you’re at it, stop sharing those nasty germs?)

But maybe Mr. Sneezy’s onto something. Maybe he’ll be able to sweat the sickness out of his system, boosting his immune system along the way.

What’s the right approach? Let’s explore.

The immune system: A quick and dirty intro

Every single day, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites come at us. Folks, it’s a germ jungle out there!

The most common invaders are upper respiratory tract invaders, or URTI’s. Yep, I’m talking about

  • colds,
  • coughs,
  • influenza,
  • sinusitis,
  • tonsillitis,
  • throat infections, and
  • middle ear infections.

Luckily, our immune system has got a plan. When faced with foreign attack, it works hard to defend us. Without the immune system, we’d never have a healthy day in our lives.

Our immune cells originate in our bone marrow and thymus. They interact with invaders through the lymph nodes, the spleen, and mucus membranes.

This means they first make contact in your mouth, gut, lungs, and urinary tract.

immune system 1024x571 Exercise when youre sick? Should you sweat it out? Or rest and recover?

The innate and adaptive immune response

Our innate (natural) immune system is our non-specific first line of defense.

It includes:

  • physical/structural barriers (like the mucous lining in nasal passages),
  • chemical barriers (like our stomach acids), and
  • protective cells (like our natural killer ‘NK’ cells, white blood cells that can destroy harmful invaders).

This immune system develops when we’re young.

Interestingly, women tend to have a stronger overall innate immune response. (Maybe this is why they often do better than men when it comes to colds. But they suffer more often from autoimmune diseases.)

Then there’s the adaptive (acquired) immune system.

This is a more sophisticated system composed of highly specialized cells and processes. It kicks in when the innate immune system is overcome.

The adaptive immune system helps us fight infections by preventing pathogens from colonizing and by destroying microorganisms like viruses and bacteria.

Cue the T and B cells. These specialized white blood cells mature in the thymus and bone marrow, respectively. And believe it or not, they actually have a kind of memory.

It’s this memory that makes them so effective. Once they “recognize” a specific pathogen, they mobilize more effectively to fight it.

This is what we mean when we talk about “building immunity.”

Ever wondered why kids get sick with viruses more often than adults? It’s because they haven’t had as much exposure so their adaptive immune systems are less mature.

What’s more, the acquired immune response is the basis for vaccination. Subject your body to a tiny dose of a pathogen, and it will know what to do when confronted with a bigger dose.

Genius!

Should you exercise while sick?

Let’s get one thing clear from the start: there’s a difference between “working out” and “physically moving the body.”

A structured workout routine — one where you’re breathing heavily, sweating, working hard, and feeling some discomfort — awakens a stress response in the body.

When we’re healthy, our bodies can easily adapt to that stress. Over time, this progressive adaptation is precisely what makes us fitter and stronger.

But when we’re sick, the stress of a tough workout can be more than our immune systems can handle.

Still, there’s no reason to dive for the couch the minute you feel the sniffles coming on. Unless you’re severely out of shape, non-strenuous movement shouldn’t hurt you — and it might even help.

What do I mean by “non-strenuous movement”?  Well, it might include:  walking (preferably outdoors), low intensity bike riding (again, outdoors), gardening, practicing T’ai Chi.

In fact, all of these activities have been shown to boost immunity. 

They aren’t intense enough to create serious immune-compromising stress on the body. Instead, they often help you feel better and recover faster while feeling under the weather.

That’s why Dr. Berardi often recommends low intensity non-panting “cardio” when suffering from colds. Done with minimal heart rate elevation, preferably outside, these activities seem to offer benefits.

What about “working out”?

Non-strenuous movement and purposefully working out are different.

Plus, as you probably know, not all workouts are created equal. There are low intensity workouts and high intensity workouts — and all sorts of workouts in between.

But what’s low to one person might be high to another. So how can you decide what level of intensity counts as strenuous?

Let your own perceived level of exertion be your guide.

In general, a low to moderate intensity workout will leave you feeling energized. A high intensity workout, on the other hand, delivers an ass-kicking.

If you’re sick, it makes sense to avoid the ass-kicking.

Let’s take a look at why.

How exercise affects the immune system

Exercise may play a role in both our innate and our adaptive immune response.

Here’s how:

  • After one prolonged vigorous exercise session we’re more susceptible to infection. For example, running a marathon may temporarily depress the adaptive immune system for up to 72 hours. This is why so many endurance athletes get sick right after races.
  • However, one brief vigorous exercise session doesn’t cause the same immune-suppressing effect. Further, just one moderate intensity exercise session can actually boost immunity in healthy folks.
  • Interestingly, chronic resistance training seems to stimulate innate (but not adaptive) immunity. While chronic moderate exercise seems to strengthen the adaptive immune system.

In the end, here’s the pattern:

  • Consistent, moderate exercise and resistance training can strengthen the immune system over time. So, by all means, train hard while you’re healthy.
  • But single high intensity or long duration exercise sessions can interfere with immune function. So take it easy when you’re feeling sick.

Exercise, stress, and immune function

A group of scientists gathering data on exercise habits and influenza found:

  • People who never exercised got sick pretty often.
  • People who exercised between once a month and three times a week did the best.
  • People who exercised more than four times a week got sick most often.

Enter the J-shaped curve theory.

In simple terms, being sedentary or exercising too much can lower immunity, while something in the middle can improve immunity.

J curve diagram 01 1024x733 Exercise when youre sick? Should you sweat it out? Or rest and recover?

The role of stress

Exercise isn’t the only factor that affects the immune system. Stress plays a big role too.

Let’s take a look at the different stressors a  person might face on any given day.

  • Physical stress: exercise, sports, physical labor, infection, etc.
  • Psychological stress: relationships, career, financial, etc.
  • Environmental stress: hot, cold, dark, light, pollution, altitude, etc.
  • Lifestyle stress: drugs, diet, hygiene, etc.

Stress triggers an entire cascade of hormonal shifts that can result in chronic immune changes.

  • Acute stress (minutes to hours) can be beneficial to immune health.
  • Chronic stress (days to years) can be a big problem.

So, if you’re angry, worried, or scared each day for weeks, months, or even years at a time, your immunity is being compromised. And you’re more likely to get sick.

Sickness and stress

It’s pretty obvious that if you’re actually sick and fighting an infection, your immune system will already be stressed.

And if you add the stress of prolonged vigorous exercise, you might, quite simply, overload yourself. That will make you sicker.

Plus, your history of infections can influence how the immune system responds during exercise. This can include everything from the common herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster, and cytomegalovirus, to hepatitis and HIV.

A healthy body might adapt to all that. But a body that’s fighting an infection is not a healthy body.

Overtraining and infection

What’s more, sudden increases in exercise volume and/or intensity may also create new stress, potentially allowing a new virus or bacteria to take hold, again kicking off a sickness.

Consider the 1987 Los Angeles Marathon, where one out of seven marathon runners who ran became sick within a week following the race. And those training more than 60 miles per week before the race doubled their odds for sickness compared to those training less than 20 miles per week.

This seems to work the opposite way as well. Chronic infections may actually be a sign of overtraining.

Learning from cancer & HIV

Exercise therapy is often recommended for patients with cancer in part because of how it modulates the immune system. Exercise seems to increase NK cell activity and lymphocyte proliferation. In other words, it looks like exercise can be helpful.

Exercise interventions in those with HIV seem to help prevent muscle wasting, enhance cardiovascular health, and improve mood. We’re not sure how this works, though it may help to increase CD4+ cells.

Other factors affecting immunity

Besides stress, there are a host of other factors that can affect our immunity, and these can interact with exercise, either offering greater protection or making us more likely to get sick.

We’ve already touched on some of these. Here are a few more.

Age

Our innate immune response can break down as we get older. But here’s the good news: staying physically active and eating a nutritious diet can offset many of these changes.

Gender

Menstrual phase and oral contraceptive use may influence how the immune system responds to exercise. Estrogens generally enhance immunity while androgens can suppress it. (Again, this may explain why women tend to do better with colds than men.)

Sleep

Poor quality sleep and/or prolonged sleep deprivation jeopardizes immune function.

Climate

Exercising in a hot or cold environment doesn’t appear to be that much more stressful than exercising in a climate controlled environment.

For example, exercising in a slightly cool environment might boost the immune system. But full-fledged hypothermia may suppress immune function. While using a sauna or hot bath may stimulate better immunity in those with compromised immune function.

Altitude

Exposure to higher altitudes has a limited influence on immunity.

Obesity

It’s unclear exactly how obese folks respond to exercise in terms of immunity. Changes in insulin sensitivity and inflammation at rest may blunt or exaggerate their immune response to exercise.

Mood

There’s evidence that immune alterations affect mood and inflammation. Clinical depression is two to threefold higher among patients with diseases that have elevated inflammatory activity.

(Note: moderate exercise appears to act as an anti-inflammatory in those with inflammatory conditions).

IL-6

There is a theory that IL-6 (a compound released after prolonged intensive exercise) may be produced in abnormal ways in some people, leading to fatigue, flu-like symptoms, and depressed mood.

Training age

The more “trained” you are, the better your body tends to handle exercise. In other words, it’s not as much of a stressor.

Just in case you glossed over the previous sentence I’ll reiterate it: a higher level of fitness is protective as it may limit the stress response to exercise.

Textbook guidelines for exercising while sick

  • Day 1 of illness:
    Only low intensity exercise with symptoms like sore throat, coughing, runny nose, congested nose.
    No exercise at all when experiencing muscle/joint pain, headache, fever, malaise, diarrhea, vomiting.
  • Day 2 of illness:
    If body temp >37.5-38 C, or increased coughing, diarrhea, vomiting, do not exercise.
    If no fever or malaise and no worsening of “above the neck” symptoms: light exercise (pulse <120 bpm) for 30-45 minutes, by yourself, indoors if winter.
  • Day 3 of illness:
    If fever and symptoms still present: consult doctor.
    If no fever/malaise, and no worsening of initial symptoms: moderate exercise (pulse <150 bpm) for 45-60 min, by yourself, indoors.
  • Day 4 of illness:
    If no symptom relief, no exercise. Go to doctor.
    If fever and other symptoms improved, wait 24 hours, then return to exercise.
    If new symptoms appear, go to doctor.

Note: Some illnesses can indicate serious infections. So if you aren’t feeling better and recovering, see your doctor.

Also note: Ease back into exercise in proportion to the length of your sickness. If you were sick for 3 days. Take 3 days to ease back in.

walking when sick Exercise when youre sick? Should you sweat it out? Or rest and recover?

To exercise or not? What the pros recommend

Now you know something about the immune system and how exercise interacts with it. But you still might be wondering whether you should exercise when you’re sick. I asked some of the best in the business for their insights.

The consensus: Let your symptoms be your guide and use common sense.  And remember the distinction between exercise and working out.

 

INSIGHT
1		 Nick TumminelloI follow the general guideline that if it’s above the neck, it’s okay to train, and do so at an intense level. Just wash your hands before you touch all of the equipment to minimize giving your head cold to others at the facility. Anything below the neck, don’t come into the gym, and take it easy until you’re on the back end of it. 
INSIGHT
2		 Alwyn CosgroveBasically we don’t like people to train when they are ill. I can’t see any upside to doing so. 
INSIGHT
3		 Dr. Bryan WalshLet your symptoms be your guide. If you’re up for a walk or some light cardio, go for it. If you want to do some lighter weight, higher rep stuff just to keep things moving, that’s probably okay, too. But if you want to sit around watching re-runs of Married With Children, laughter is great medicine as well. 
INSIGHT
4		 Dean SomersetTypically I ask clients to stay out of the gym if they have a cold. For one, their own workouts may not be very productive especially if they have respiratory congestion or irritation, and second because I don’t want to catch it! The gym typically isn’t the cleanest place in the world, so a cold bug could be easily spread around through the population by handling equipment or through respiratory droplets in the air. 
INSIGHT
5		 Dr. Spencer NadolskyWith a viral URTI, I have no problem with my patients doing some light exercise. Anecdotally, sometimes it makes them feel better. There’s data to show those who exercise actually get less URTIs. If it’s a little more severe such as influenza (or something similar), I generally keep them focused on hydration and tell them to skip the workout. If they have any history of asthma, I am careful to make sure they have their rescue inhaler if they do feel up to exercising. 
INSIGHT
6		 Dr. Christopher MohrIn terms of exercise, I let them “decide” what’s best for them depending on how they feel. If you can’t stop coughing or your head feels like it’s about to explode, I’d suggest taking some down time and getting plenty of sleep, including naps if possible. For me, I’ve found a short walk is still significantly better than nothing — and trying to get outside to do that vs. being stuck on a treadmill walking in circles. Trying to move iron in the gym is a bit much. 
INSIGHT
7		 Eric CresseyI generally ask them just how bad it is on a scale of  0 to 10. Zero would be feeling absolutely fine, whereas a 10 would be the worst they’ve ever felt (e.g., violently ill and on their death bed). If it’s anything under a 3 (say, seasonal allergies), I’m fine with them training — albeit at a lower volume and intensity. We might even just do some mobility work or something to that effect.I think the important separating factor is that we’re looking for the difference between just not feeling 100% (allergies, stress, headache) and actually being sick and contagious, which we absolutely don’t want in the gym — for the sake of that individual and those who are training around him/her.

Of course, this is pretty subjective — but what I think it does help us to do is avoid skipping days that would have been productive training days. Everyone has had those sessions when they showed up feeling terrible, but after the warm-up, they felt awesome and went on to have great training sessions. We don’t want to sit home and miss out on those opportunities, but we also don’t want to get sicker or make anyone else sicker — so it’s a definite balancing act.

 
INSIGHT
8		 Dr. John BerardiUnless you’re feeling like a train wreck I always recommend low intensity, low heart rate “cardio” during the first few days of sickness. Generally I prefer 20-30 minute walks done either outside (in the sunshine) or on a home treadmill (if you can’t get outside).If you keep the intensity low and the heart rate down you’ll end up feeling better during the activity. And you’ll likely stimulate your immune system and speed up your recovery too. But even if you don’t speed up your recovery, you’ll feel better for having moved.

 

 

Exercise activity cheat sheet

Activities to consider when you’re sick.

  • Walking
  • Jogging
  • Swimming
  • Biking
  • Qi gong
  • T’ai Chi
  • Yoga

All of these would be done at a low intensity, keeping your heart rate low. They’d also preferably be done outdoors in mild temperatures. Inside is fine, though, if you can’t get outside.

Activities to avoid when you’re sick.

  • Heavy strength training
  • Endurance training
  • High intensity interval training
  • Sprinting or power activities
  • Team sports
  • Exercise in extreme temperatures

And, for the sake of the rest of us, stay out of the gym. At the gym, you’re much more likely to spread your germs to others. Viruses spread by contact and breathing the air near sick people.

So, if you feel up to physical activity, again: do it outside or at your home gym.

We all thank you.

What you should do

If you feel healthy and simply want to prevent getting sick:

  • Stay moderately active most days of the week.
  • If you participate in high-intensity workouts, make sure you’re getting enough rest and recovery time.
  • Manage extreme variations in stress levels, get plenty of sleep, and wash your hands.

If you are already feeling sick, let symptoms be your guide.

  • Consider all the stress you’re managing in your life (e.g., psychological, environmental, and so forth).
  • With a cold/sore throat (no fever or body aches/pains), easy exercise is likely fine as tolerated. You probably don’t want to do anything vigorous, no matter how long in duration.
  • If you have a systemic illness with fever, elevated heart rate, fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle and joint pain/weakness, and enlarged lymph nodes, get some rest! If you have a serious virus and you exercise, it can cause problems.
By Ryan Andrews

 

Exercise, Nutrition

What to eat before, during, and after exercise

I would like to direct you to a web site which I find most informative when it comes to nutrition questions and recommendations – www.precisionnutrition.com.

Click on the link below to get a quick “reference guide” and illustration on workout nutrition for different body types.  We all know what you eat is important, but as Dr. Berardi illustrates, when you eat is extremely important as well, especially if you are active.

Workout nutrition illustrated. What to eat before, during, and after exercise.

Exercise, Personal Injury, Rehabilitation, Sports

ACL INJURIES – AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS PRICELESS!

Nearly a quarter of a million anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries occur each year in North America in athletes who participate in high demand sports such as soccer, football, and basketball.

A major injury prevention position statement released by the Canadian Academy of Sport & Exercise Medicine (CASEM) and published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine (CJSM) concludes that youth soccer players and their coaches can significantly decrease the incidence of ACL injuries by incorporating neuromuscular training (NMT) into their warm-up routines. NMT involves doing specific agility and strength training activities.  NMT should be incorporate into routine practices and warm ups and should begin, at the very latest, in the early teenage years.    “These warm up exercises, carried out correctly, will keep the athletes on the field instead of in our offices”, states Dr. Cathy Campbell, co-author of the new position statement and team doctor for the Canadian women’s soccer team.

CASEM recommends a Canada-wide approach and advocates that all Canadian youth soccer players should have NMT incorporated into their programs. The Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), the governing body for soccer in Canada, endorses CASEM’s position statement and supports this injury prevention program aimed at protecting athlete’s health and allowing them to perform at the highest level.  Dr Robert McCormack, one of four orthopaedic surgeons authoring this position statement, is also the medical representative on the CSA Medical Committee and Chief Medical Officer of the Canadian Olympic Committee and he agrees that “there is an important need to address the epidemic of these serious injuries”.

FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, has adopted the FIFA 11+ program which mandates a complete warm-up programme to reduce injuries among male and female football players aged 14 years and older.  The use of this type of program has resulted in a 52-72% reduction in ACL injury in girls and an 85% reduction in boys.

Dr. James Carson, who is also a co-author of this position statement and a physician for the Seneca College Varsity Athletes program, sums it up by saying, “This is a bad injury which usually requires major surgery.  So it’s important for soccer coaches across Canada to help save kids’ knees.”

The CASEM is an organization of physicians committed to the excellence in the practice of medicine as it applies to all aspects of physical activity.

ACL TRAINING MANUAL – THE COMPLETE WARM-UP PROGRAM TO PREVENT INJURIES

ACL – Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine – Position Statement: Neuromuscular Training Programs Can Decrease Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries in Youth Soccer Players

Exercise, Personal Injury, Rehabilitation, Sports

The Foam Rolling You Should Be Doing (But Probably Aren’t)

It’s not just for your legs: These rolling patterns address trouble spots from head to toe.

By now, most educated exercisers have joined the foam rolling revolution. But while your IT bands may be intimately familiar with the tool’s hurts-so-good loosening powers, limiting your experience to the lower body minimizes the total-body benefits. To that end, Master Trainer Josh Stolz has designed this head-to-toe rolling regimen. “Each of these rolling patterns address the most problematic areas where personal trainers and coaches find movement dysfunction and pain,” he explains.

In the following images, Stolz demonstrates the better, smarter way to roll. “You should spend 30 seconds to a minute or more on each individual movement,” he explains. “If it’s a regeneration or recovery day, take even more time, between 2 and 3 minutes for each move.”

And there’s more to the technique than you might think—read on for Stolz’s five most critical rules of foam rolling.

(1) Hydrate Ahead of Time. Even though foam rolling helps hydrate your tissue, you should down between 10 and 20 ounces of water beforehand, which helps prep the muscles for the work you’re about to do. “In general, hydrated tissue is resilient and pliable while dehydrated tissue is glued-down and sticky, which creates adhesions and movement dysfunction,” says Stolz.

(2) Roll Before And After a Workout. Most of us wait until we wrap a session to hit the roller. Instead, Stolz suggests scrapping static stretching and using the tool for your pre-workout warm-up. “As much as it’s a recovery tool, the foam roller is also a preparatory tool,” says Stolz. “Think of foam rolling as a way to ‘smooth’ or ‘iron out’ the connective tissue and muscle. Foam rolling actually increases circulation so the connective tissue and muscle are getting more oxygen and water than if you just stretched.”

(3) Slow Your Roll. Foam rolling can hurt, and you’re only human. But speeding through each movement is a wasted opportunity. “The biggest misuse I see is club members rolling extremely fast, most likely to avoid the discomfort of the roller,” says Stolz. Instead, you want slow, purposeful motions. “If we go back to the ironing example, a quick-moving iron will not apply enough heat and/or steam and the article of clothing will still remain wrinkled. The key is to focus on these painful areas because they need the most attention and desperately need oxygen, water, and nutrients.” (Note: Stolz may appear to be rolling quickly in the gifs, but that is an effect of the animation; his real-life movements are slow and concentrated.)

(4) Move In Multiple Directions. It’s not just up-and-down, up-and-down. “If you look at the angle of how the muscle and fascia attach, it’s not straight up and down—some fascial attachments run from front to back or in spirals,” says Stolz. “The key is to not only slow down the foam rolling, but also add side-to-side movements, cross-friction (rubbing the spot being rolled side to side on the roller) and flexing and extending the joint being rolled.”

(5) Make It A Daily Ritual. Even on days that you’re not in the gym, foam rolling should be part of your repertoire. “I try to use the foam roller daily as maintenance for my fascia,” says Stolz. “It’s kind of like flossing—you need to do it every day to make a difference even if it’s only for 5 minutes.” But deep cleaning is necessary, too. “I think an important fact to remember is that foam rolling doesn’t take the place of a great massage or body working session.”

Note the following movements for your pre/post workout foam rolling routine:

Target:  LATS

Position yourself on your right side, with your right leg flat, knee bent 90 degrees, your left foot flat on the floor. Place the center of a foam roller beneath your right arm pit, perpendicular to your body, and extend your right arm straight, resting your left hand on the foam roller. (Reach that right arm as far as possible to create more of a stretch.) From this position, roll from your armpit about four inches down towards your waist, and back again, for 30 seconds to a minute. Switch sides; repeat. 

 

Target:  SHOULDERS AND PECS

Lie face down, resting your left forearm on the floor, legs slightly wider than shoulder width. Place one end of a foam roller under your right shoulder, extending arm straight out at shoulder height, forming a T with the roller. (Again, reach that straight arm as far as possible to create more tension.) In short movements, roll from your shoulder to right pec and back again, for 30 seconds to a minute. Switch sides and repeat.

 

Target:  THORACIC SPINE (mid-upper back)

Lie faceup with feet shoulder-width apart and flat on the floor. Center a foam roller beneath your mid-back or shoulder blades so that it is perpendicular to your body. (Note: You can move the foam roller up and down to target different areas of the thoracic spine while still doing the extension motion.) Extend arms out from shoulders at a 45-degree angle. Reach arms back behind you towards floor and back again for 30 seconds to a minute. Make sure that the lower back doesn’t extend—think about pushing the lumbar spine into the ground as you are reaching back.

 

Target:  CALVES

Sit with legs extended in front of you, and rest your lower right calf on the center of a foam roller that’s perpendicular to your body. With hands on the floor, press your triceps to lift your butt off the floor, and then place your left foot on top of your right calf. Roll up from your lower right calf to the meat of your calf and back for 30 seconds to a minute. Switch legs; repeat. (Note: Also target the inside and the outside of the calf simply by turning the foot in or turning the foot out.)

 

Target:  GLUTES AND PIRIFORMIS

With your feet flat on the floor, slightly wider than shoulder-width, center a foam roller beneath your glutes. Lift your right leg and rest your right ankle on your left knee. Roll back and forth from the center of your right glute to the bottom of your spine for 30 seconds to a minute; switch legs and repeat.

 

Target:  HAMSTRINGS

Lower yourself onto the floor, extending your right leg out in front of you, and bend your left knee so that your lower leg is behind you. Place the end of a foam roller beneath your upper right hamstring, just below the glute, and place your hands on the foam roller on either side of your leg. Roll your upper hamstring just enough so that your foot flexes down, and roll it back again, for 30 seconds to a minute; switch sides and repeat.

 

Target:  QUADS

Get on the floor, resting on your forearms, and center a foam roller beneath your right quad, your right leg extended directly behind you. Roll from the bottom of your quad to the top, rotating from the outside of your quad to the inside, in one fluid circular motion. Roll for 30 seconds to a minute; switch legs and repeat.

 

Thanks to Equinox.com and Shelia Monaghan, November 4, 2013