Did I Overdo It? – Signs You Pushed Your Workout Too Hard

by Sandra Koury | Oct 9, 2019 | All, Fitness, Home | 1 comment

To get stronger, you need to push your body to certain limits, but how can you know what those limits are? There’s no easy way to define it because everyone is different, and what you are capable of today may not be what you are capable of tomorrow.

There are some tell-tale signs that your workout is no longer benefiting your body. The farther you push past your limits, the longer your recovery will be, and the longer you’ll need to wait before you can train again.

Contrary to popular belief, muscle soreness is not required for muscle gain, and you don’t need to feel like a zombie to benefit from your gym session. So, let’s talk about the signs so you can better understand your limits and get the most out of your workouts.

Pain or Discomfort While Working Out

Because they occur in the moment, these pain signals are easy to identify and are the more obvious warnings of over-exertion. Just a few examples include:

Pain in your side during cardio; also known as a side-stitch
Any sharp, shooting, or stabbing pains
Pain while stretching, especially if your muscles are not warm
Difficulty breathing
Muscle tingling or numbness
Dizziness or feeling faint
Chest Pain or Pressure
Nausea or vomiting

The more dangerous potential for injury is when we do not feel anything, so we continue to exercise. So, if you experience any of the above symptoms, or any other concerning pain or discomfort, that’s a good sign you should take a break or stop.

Pain or Discomfort After Working Out

If you didn’t feel anything while working out, and then felt like a train-wreck in the days to follow, this is your body communicating its limits, just differently.

Take, for example, a person experiencing a sudden adrenaline rush. In fight-or-flight mode, the body is capable of incredible things. Only once the body has settled from the rush does a person finally begin to notice various aches, pains, and even more extreme damage like bone breaks or severed limbs.

It’s possible that while you’re in the zone, pumping iron to the right song, you may not notice that you’re pushing your body just a little too far.

What You Can Do

Sometimes, you need to be your own critic. Try to carefully monitor the following things as you work out:

Your Form. Look in the mirror and double check what you know about the correct form for the exercise you’re doing. If you don’t know the correct form, ask a professional or do your research to prevent injury.
Are your muscles starting to tremble? This is a sign they’re getting close to reaching their maximum level of exertion. While a little bit of that can be okay, try not to push much further past this point.
Is your body unwilling to cooperate? If you just did a few great sets of weighted squats, and now your body refuses to squat without any added weight, that’s it. It’s time to call it. If your muscles feel ready to give out, you’ve probably already gone too far.

Closing Thoughts

Overdoing your workout doesn’t just mean going full beast-mode and overworking your body. If you’re fighting sickness, or your body is sleep-deprived and exhausted, you may be better off staying home and resting. It’s possible that while your body is trying to manage other ailments, you won’t get much out of your workout anyway. It’s the safer choice to take a break and come back when you’re feeling better.

Always pay attention to the signs and learn your body’s limitations so you can hit the gym with confidence and energy instead of with dread.

For some workout nutrition tips, read out article on Pre- and Post-Workout Foods, or our article on What BCAA’s Can Do for Your Workout. To access our monthly blog post highlights, subscribe to our newsletter today!

Living an Active Lifestyle – For Adults with Cerebral Palsy

by Sandra Koury | Oct 4, 2019 | All, Exercises, Fitness, Home, Workouts

Living an Active Lifestyle With CP

October 6th is World Cerebral Palsy Day

There is no better time than now to talk about this disorder that affects approximately 764,000 children and adults in the U.S.¹

Not only will we fill you in on what it is, we’ll also share some great workout information (like how to calculate your target heart rate for cardio) that individuals who are and who are not affected by CP can apply to their routine.

What is Cerebral Palsy?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines Cerebral Palsy as “a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture.”² There are varying degrees of severity and some variants of the disorder itself. The CDC classifies them in 4 ways:

A person with Spastic Cerebral Palsy has muscle stiffness which may affect the legs, the legs and arms, one side of the body, or, in severe cases, the whole body. Movement appears rigid and can be labor intensive.

A person with Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy has muscle tone that can fluctuate from being too tight and stiff, to too loose. Muscle movement is difficult to control which can make movements slower or faster than what is typical.

A person with Ataxic Cerebral Palsy has problems with coordination and balance. Quick or precise movements can be difficult to execute.

Mixed Cerebral Palsy occurs when a person experiences symptoms that come from more than one type of Cerebral Palsy.

Is it Possible to Both Be Active and Have Cerebral Palsy?

Physical activity is great for the body, the heart, and the mind. This is something most of us have learned and had ingrained in our memory since childhood. With so many obstacles to free movement, you might wonder how someone with CP can exercise.

The American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) reminds us that the recommended amount of weekly cardio for adults is 150 minutes.³ They go on to say that “there is no evidence to suggest that these requirements should be any different for people with cerebral palsy.”³

How to Be Active When Living with Cerebral Palsy

The following tips are straight from the Fact Sheet provided by the AACPDM. You can view the full document here.

Remember that some exercises may not be safe or possible if you are experiencing certain limitations, so be sure to consult your doctor so you understand the right options for you.

Tip #1: Do Exercises That Build Strength and Endurance

To build muscle, you’ll need to increase the resistance, or the weight your muscles have to move. To build endurance, you’ll need to increase the repetitions, or the number of times you complete a movement. ³The AACPDM recommends that you should:

Aim for a maximum of 10 repetitions.
Start with 1 set. With time, as it becomes easier, start to increase your sets.
Take at least 1 day of rest between strength training a single muscle group. ³

Tip #2: Exercise Your Heart

To exercise your heart, you’ll need to know what your maximum heart rate is and set a goal to exercise at 40 – 85% of that maximum. Your heart rate is the number of times your heart beats per minute.

To calculate your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. ³ For example, if you are 20 years old, (220 – 20 = 200), your maximum heart rate is 200.

Now that you have your maximum, you can calculate the heart rate you should aim for when you do cardio. All you have to do is multiply your maximum heart rate by 40% (0.40) and then do a new calculation and multiply by 85% (0.85) instead. Don’t forget to convert the percentage into a decimal by dividing it by 100.

For example, if your maximum heart rate is 200, you would do the following calculation:

200 x 0.40 = 80 beats per minute

200 x 0.85 = 170 beats per minute

Now you know that, to effectively exercise your heart, you need to get your heart rate between 80 and 170 beats per minute.

The AACPDM recommends that you start at a rate of 40% and increase your target rate gradually. ³

Tip #3: Work on Improving Your Range of Motion

Improving your range of motion simply means that you are improving your flexibility. The more flexible you are, the easier it is to do common daily activities like sitting, reaching, and bending.

The AACPDM reminds us that yoga and stretching are not the only ways to improve flexibility. Using your full range of motion while doing your strength training exercises is also a way to improve the flexibility of your muscles. ³

They also talk about how dynamic stretches help improve the muscle’s functionality and strength.³ Dynamic stretches get your body moving and warmed-up, so they are often done before you start working out.⁴

The Takeaways

Living an active lifestyle is not necessarily exclusive to people of a certain level of ability. Even though Cerebral Palsy affects motor function, exercise is still possible if you respect the limitations in your movement and adhere to the guidance of your doctor.

However, depending on the exact nature of your condition, physical activity simply may not be for you. If this is the case, don’t lose hope! Talk to your doctor to find out what you can do to still care for your health without doing harm to your body.

For more ideas on how to move more and sit less, read our post, 6 Ways to Decrease the Time You Spend Sitting. If you’re not looking to lose weight and instead, you’re looking to put on some healthy pounds, listen to our podcast on How to Gain Healthy Weight.

To access our monthly blog post highlights, subscribe to our newsletter today!

SOURCES

“Cerebral Palsy Information.” Cerebral Palsy Guidance, 2019, www.cerebralpalsyguidance.com/cerebral-palsy/research/facts-and-statistics/.
“What Is Cerebral Palsy? | CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019, www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/cp/facts.html.
“Cerebral Palsy Information.” Cerebral Palsy Guidance, The American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, www.cerebralpalsyguidance.com/cerebral-palsy/research/facts-and-statistics/.
“The Benefits of Dynamic Stretching and How to Get Started.” Healthline, www.healthline.com/health/exercise-fitness/dynamic-stretching.

Stamping Out Stigma – Mental Health

by Sandra Koury | Oct 2, 2019 | All, Health, Home, Wellness

October 6th – 12th is Mental Illness Awareness Week. Today, we’re breaking down the finer details of mental health. Our hope is that we can encourage a deeper understanding of what mental health is and start chipping away at the stigma.

What is Stigma?

Stigma is when you mentally attach shame to a person or group and this perception causes you to devalue or treat them differently. People with a mental health condition are often stigmatized because they are often perceived as different or not within whatever definition of “normal” we each carry.

It’s not uncommon to feel like we need to distance ourselves from what is unfamiliar. Maybe we just aren’t sure how to approach or talk to someone with a mental illness. The hope is that by learning a little more, this unfamiliar territory will become less intimidating and we can start to understand that people with mental health concerns are simply, people.

Changing the Perception

If, like many others, you find uncertainty in your interactions with those who suffer from a mental illness, consider that mental health does not fit a single definition or appearance.

In fact, there are a lot of mental disorders whose symptoms you can’t see! Even if you can see the symptoms, they can still be expressed differently among people with the same diagnosis.

Let’s consider, for a moment, the loss of a loved one. For some, the grief is relived as though the loss occurred mere days ago. For others, it can be a more peaceful remembrance.

Grief is not typically our first thought when we consider mental health. Often, we’ll think of disorders or illnesses whose names we hear often: ADHD, OCD, Depression, Schizophrenia, Parkinson’s, Autism, and others.¹However, the way we mentally process grief, and the way grief manifests itself in the body, (like physical exhaustion, digestive problems, stomach ulcers, etc.)² is a great reminder that the experience is very impactful and very real. You do not need to have a diagnosable condition in order to experience the effects of atypical mental health.

Mental health encompasses everything from everyday stress, sadness, and anxiety to diagnosable conditions like Major Depressive Disorder and PTSD. When you consider that everyone has a brain, and that brain has the potential to overreact or underreact, it’s a lot easier to think of fluctuations in mental wellness as a very normal thing.

What About People Who Attend Therapy?

Therapy isn’t only for people with a mental illness, or a specified “problem.” It can be beneficial to almost anyone.

Let’s redefine therapy so it’s not exclusive to the treatment of a disorder and think about it in the sense that it is a way to care for your mental health. We always talk about protecting and healing the body, but our mind is equally in need of care.

For example, therapy can help people address thoughts as simple as these:

I got a bad grade on a paper this semester. I am a horrible student and should probably quit school.
My significant other didn’t put an emoji in this text message. He/she/they is angry with me!
I am bad at basketball; therefore, I am bad at all sports.

These are all examples of cognitive distortions, or irrational thought processes. These thoughts are not so out of the ordinary. We’ve all had a moment of panic at some point and determined we were bound to encounter the worst-case scenario. Moments like these are helpful to remind us that changes in mental health affect everyone.

Ways to Care for Mental Health

Therapy is great when some guidance is preferred. However, caring for your mental health can take many forms. It can be that you do more or less of things like:

Sleeping
Exercising
Getting some sunshine
Playing video games
Spending time with people whose company you enjoy
Taking some time alone

Closing Thoughts

Addressing the stigma starts with taking a moment to examine our own feelings about mental illness. Once you know where you stand, you’ll also know what questions you have and which blank spaces you need filled. Allow yourself some time this week to talk about it with others, to do some research, or to simply do some self-reflection.

To hear from Rachel Robins, Manager of PR and External Relations at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), read her post on How Fitness Improved My Mental Health. Or, learn more by listening to our NAMI Podcast or our podcast dedicated to Mental Health Month. To access our monthly blog post highlights, subscribe to our newsletter today!

Sources:

Grohol, John M. “Mental Disorders & Conditions – DSM5.” Psych Central, 18 July 2019, psychcentral.com/disorders/.
Byrne, Jennifer. “Biological & Psychological Effects After the Death of a Spouse.” Healthfully, 10 Jan. 2019, healthfully.com/233023-biological-psychological-effects-after-a-death-of-a-spouse.html.

Our Podcast Favorites in Honor of International Podcast Day!

by Sandra Koury | Sep 30, 2019 | All, Home

It’s International Podcast Day! So, for today’s article, we’d like to highlight some of our favorite episodes from 2019!

Ep. 18 – The Heart: Love, Fitness and Heartbreak

On this episode of our podcast, our hosts Andrew Gabell and Candice Currie speak with Subbarao Myla, Medical Director at the HOAG Cardiovascular Institute, to talk about the physical, spiritual, and nutritional aspects of heart health.

An interesting, and less commonly discussed, topic in heart health is love and heartbreak. You’ll hear about how the heart reacts to oxytocin, which Myla termed “the hormone of love” and you’ll learn how and why a person can actually die of heartbreak.

Don’t worry, we also discuss the positive side of things like how to help “fix” a broken heart. Myla even gives us some great insight into heart healthy nutrition tips and shares how dark chocolate can help lower your risk for a stroke!

Ep. 21 – How to Read a Nutrition Label

In this episode, you will learn not only how to read the different sections of a nutrition label, you will also learn about macro-nutrients and what they are, which fats you should look out for, and even why popcorn has 2 sets of nutrition facts. Haven’t you ever been curious why anyone would need to know the nutrition facts for both popped AND un-popped popcorn? We’ve been curious, so we found out.

You’ll also hear from Matt to get the History Lesson on Food Labels You Never Knew You Needed, and from our Registered Dietician, Debbie James, to get the full nutrition label breakdown.

Ep. 23 – Mental Health Month

Dr. Neel Doshi, certified psychiatrist and our guest for Episode 23, talks about what it means to be mentally healthy. He explains that “mental health is just a state-of-being which takes into account our cognitive, psychological, and emotional health.” Many factors, including our biology, psychology, social lives, and our environment impact our mental well-being.

Listening to this podcast, you will learn just how normative our interactions with each other should be, regardless of whether we are aware or not aware of someone’s mental wellness or illness. You will also learn about how social media, technology, and exercise play a role in your own mental health.

One of the most important things we can do is to start de-stigmatizing mental illness. We hope this episode offers information you never knew and helps you find ways to improve your personal well-being.

Ep. 26 – Fitness vs. Nutrition Trivia Showdown

Debbie James, RDN and LA Fitness Master Trainer, Geoff Fox compete in a trivia battle on fitness and nutrition.

You’ll get answers to questions like “What type of exercise is proven to improve mood and feel-good chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins?” and “Which non-meat-based product contains more protein than a chicken breast?”

Burning questions paired with some light-hearted rivalry make this episode so much fun to listen to. Give it a listen and see for yourself!

Ep. 29 – Why Metabolism Declines with Age (And How to Reverse It)

On Episode 29, you’ll hear from our registered dietician, Debbie James, on why metabolism declines with age, when it starts to do so for men and women, and what you can do to help rewind the clock on that decline.

One of our favorite lines from Debbie in this episode is about how we are becoming spectators as we get older instead of participating. If you consider that, as children we would constantly be running and playing, and as adults we’d take our own children or our pets to the park and lounge in the shade as they play, that thought really comes into focus.

We love the idea that we should go back to being participants in life instead of spectators, and it’s this physical activity that is key to reviving our metabolism.

Ep. 30 – What You’ve Been Wanting to Know About Fad Diets

Now last, but by no means least of our favorite episodes, we have our discussion on fad diets. We’re talking about Paleo, Whole 30, Keto, Anti-Inflammatory, and Intermittent Fasting.

We’ve probably all dabbled in some of these diet plans and maybe even found a favorite and stuck to it like glue. If you stop to think about it though, do you really know the effect these diets have on your body? In this episode, you can get informed about the pros and cons of each diet and get a more complete picture of what your nutrition plan might look like if you chose to try one of these popular diets.

We hoped you enjoyed our featured episodes! Feel free to browse our full menu of podcasts to find other interesting and exciting topics. To access our monthly blog post highlights, subscribe to our newsletter today!

5 Minute Guided Relaxation for Stress Relief

by Sandra Koury | Sep 27, 2019 | All, Home, Wellness

Every day holds its own set of stressors. We find it on the road, at work, at school, in our families, our friendships, and our romantic relationships.

Many people don’t take much time out of their day to practice self-care. Our busy lives seem to come first, and our own needs fall second.

In this article, you will be guided through a simple relaxation technique. It is easy enough to do on your own, and versatile enough that you can do it almost anywhere. You can take as much time as you like, but you can easily do it in just 5 minutes.

Getting Comfortable

Before we get started, find a comfortable seated position with your feet flat on the ground, or find a comfortable place to lie down. Make sure you are in a quiet space where you will not be disturbed or startled by noise as you settle into your relaxation. This is also a good time to silence your phone.

If you like, you can play soothing instrumental music or nature sounds to help you silence your mind from the to-do lists, worries, and turbulent emotions that may keep you from relaxing.

While it’s healthy to address our concerns and process our emotions, doing so is an entirely different exercise. This guided relaxation is meant to help you create a safe space that will give you the opportunity to relax any stress-tightened muscles and to enjoy a state of stillness and calm.

Preparing Your Mindset

Take in a deep breath. Fill your lungs with air and exhale it slowly.

Much of the tension we carry often sits in our shoulders and jaw muscles.

With another deep breath, exhale the tension out of your body.

Notice the way your body is resting. Notice the contact points between your body and your chosen furniture. Let your muscles relax into the space.

Scanning the Body

We will now scan the body from head to toe and focus on relaxing every muscle along the way.

Bring your attention to your forehead. Take another breath and as you exhale allow the muscles in your forehead to release and relax. Feel your eyebrows settle and your eyelids soften.

With another breath, bring your attention to your jaw. Notice any tightness in the muscles there. With your exhale, unclench your jaw and release the tension with your breath.

Now bring your attention to your neck. There is likely a lot of tension there as well. Take a deep, calming breath, and allow your neck muscles to loosen and relax with your exhale. You may notice your shoulders drop to a more relaxed position as well.

The shoulders are often tense and tight. As you inhale, notice the way your shoulders are resting. With your exhale, allow your shoulder muscles to loosen and drop away from your ears.

Now bring your attention to your arms and hands. As you take a breath in, notice any tightness you’re carrying here. As you exhale out, allow your arms and hands to go limp and rest softly in your lap or at your sides.

Turn your focus to your back and your chest. Take a deep breath and exhale out any stiffness or tightness residing in the muscles here. Feel your spine, your chest, and your ribcage lighten with the release of your breath.

Lower your focus to your thighs, your legs, and your feet. As you breathe in, notice any tightness. Your lower body contains your largest muscle groups, so scan this area slowly from your thighs all the way down to your feet. Let any tension here dissolve with your exhale.

Preparing to End the Session

Give your body one more brief scan from head to toe and unlock any muscles that may have returned to a tense position.

Take one more deep breath in and exhale it out. When you are ready, bring your awareness back to the room, to the sounds you can hear, to the temperature of the air, and to any smells that are present. Hopefully, you feel more relaxed now than you did several minutes ago.

How Do You Feel?

Body scans are a powerful piece of guided relaxation because they allow us to focus on and tend to the muscles that work the hardest and carry our stress. Of course, you can’t relax your way out of any injuries or physical pain, but the hope is that exercises like this will allow you to rest your mind and your body during an otherwise busy day.

For information on What it Means to be Mentally Healthy, (hint: it isn’t just the absence of a mental disorder), read our blog on that topic. To learn how you can Combat Stress with Food, read the post by our Registered Dietician, Debbie James. To access our monthly blog post highlights, subscribe to our newsletter today!