Recovery after exercise

Recovery after exercise

Health, Uncategorized

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Recovery after exercise

Recovery after exercise is so important to prevent over training. After a training session we usually feel tired, fatigued and sometimes a little bit sore. Although these are a normal response to exercise, by optimizing our recovery we can lessen these effects. Sometimes, when we pull up a bit stiff after a session, we don’t feel like working out. Reducing stiffness promotes consistency with our training, helping us work towards our fitness goals. In addition to this, the better we can recover the more we can get out of next session (remember quality over quantity). Exercise is the stimulus we place on the body and the recovery is where we adapt. The greater the adaptation, the bigger effect it will have on performance.

Here are five strategies to optimize your recovery.

1. Sleep

Is where we rest, recover and our tissues regenerate. It is also a time for our body to adapt to the challenge of the exercise session we completed. It is recommended that we achieve 7-9 hours of sleep per night. There are multiple things that can impact on our sleep however; this is not the focus of this piece. In short, keep a regular sleep routine, keep the bedroom dark and quiet, relax before bed and turn off the TV at least 30mins prior to sleep.

2. Warm up

The purpose of a warm up is to increase your body temperature, activate our muscles and improve mobility. Doing some sort of warm up that mimics the exercises you are about to undertake prepares the body for the session. This will allow the body to perform the exercises more efficiently in session and reduce the chance of soreness the next day. The type of warm up drills you choose will depend on the exercise you are about to complete. An example warm up could include; self-myofascial release, muscle activation, dynamic stretching and specific movement prep.

3. Nutrition

The foods we eat not only provide us with fuel before we exercise but also helps us to refuel after exercise. So, what should we eat and when to aid in our recovery?

Try to eat a carbohydrate rich snack within 15-30mins of end of session and then another carbohydrate snack within 2 hours post exercise session. Aim for 1-2g/kg/hr of carbohydrate in first 2 hrs after exercise. Use moderate to high glycaemic index carbohydrates.

Here are a few eating ideas that might help; Breakfast muesli or bars, bagel, bread roll, pancakes, low fat crackers, sports drink, fruit bars, dried fresh fruit, liquid supplement or smoothie.

Protein is also important for muscle recovery and regeneration. Protein synthesis is enhanced with protein consumed soon after exercise (within 30mins). Adding protein to your carbohydrate meal can also increase glycogen storage. Aim to consume 25g of protein within 30mins after exercise to optimize protein synthesis.

4. Cool down

This prepares your body for recovery, lowers your heart rate, breathing rate and starts to allow the muscles to relax. The cool down is very light exercise like a slow walk or gentle stretching. Spend about 5mins after the session doing some light cardiovascular work (e.g. peddling with no resistance or slow walk). Diaphragmatic breathing is a great way of lowering your heart rate and bringing you back to that rest and recovery state.

5. Stretching

Static stretching is recommended after the session in the cool down or any other time outside of the exercise session. Stretching is a great way to increase our flexibility and joint range of motion by reducing muscular tension. Aim for 3 sets holding the stretch for 20-30 seconds.

So, if you’ve been struggling to recover after exercise make sure you give some of these a try. As always, if you are a bit unsure please speak to your Accredited Exercise Physiologist.

Taking on CrossFit this year?

Taking on CrossFit this year?

Health, Research

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Taking on CrossFit this year?

Crossfit and other extreme high intensity training programs are becoming far more common and the craze has facilitated the explosion of boxes popping up in many neighbourhoods. I support the use of high intensity interval training and see the value for both healthy populations and emerging evidence in some chronic diseases. However I’ve always been concerned with the attitude and training methodology used in Crossfit that result in poor technique, potentially exposing the participant to injury. Two studies have been published to date to evaluate the injury rates within the Crossfit community. The first, a 2013 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research reports that injury rate occur in 74% of Crossfitt participants. The second study published in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine in 2014 suggest that the incidence is closer to 20%, although this study failed to use exposure as a key variable in their analysis. If we are to consider the first study that includes exposure in the analysis, there will be 3 injuries per 1,000 hours of training. This constitutes a much higher injury risk than other heavy contact sports and traditional strength and conditioning approaches.

Should you do Crossfit? I would say that you could certainly contemplate taking part in Crossfit training providing you consider a few suggestions. I would advise that you develop a sound strength training base, progress to power training and work closely with an exercise Physiologist, Exercise Scientist, Strength and conditioning coach, or experienced personal trainer to develop the SKILL of lifting. When deciding to start Crossfit training, choose a trainer that continually provides feedback on technique and not just training volume targets. If you are not receiving feedback on technique (it is unlikely that it is perfect for every single exercise), then you should consider a new trainer. If you are required to perform an exercise that feels unsafe or unnatural, ignore the peer pressure, ask for some feedback on technique, and if you are still not happy, omit the exercise.

Enjoy your sessions this year. If you are unfortunate to suffer an injury or simply would like some training advice, speak to your Accredited Exercise Physiologist or Physiotherapist.

Cardio before strength training? Are you crazy?

Cardio before strength training? Are you crazy?

Cardio, Health, Research

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Cardio on a strength day. Are you Crazy?

If you don’t train heavy, you won’t lift heavy. Consequently people tend to give cardio a miss prior to a weights session. With good reason too. Research shows that a lower body bout of cardio at the beginning of a weights session will typically result in less favourable strength, power and anaerobic performance  outcomes. But there is evidence to suggest this isn’t always the case. Recently, Tan, et al., (2014) showed that performing cardio using the elliptical (or cross trainer) with the legs only, for 30 minutes prior to upper body strength training doesn’t cause fatigue or reduce peak muscle activation. This means you will still lift heavy, and you’ll still be able to perform the same number of sets and reps using the same weight as if you didn’t do any cardio beforehand.  But beware, if you’re intent is do a legs day, then give the cardio a miss. You will notice a decrease in performance during your strength training if you do lower body cardio before your weights.

So now is the time to train ALL of the chest on chest day. Get the heart involved by doing just 30 minutes of cardio using your legs (cross trainer or elliptical) before getting stuck into the weights. Have a chat to your Accredited Exercise Physiologist to find out how best to integrate some cardio into your life today.

 

Running reduces chance of osteoarthritis

Running reduces chance of osteoarthritis

Health, Research

Osteoarthritis (OA) in the lower limbs can reduce quality of life due to pain and dysfunctional gait (walking), and consequently muscle weakness and imbalance. A common perception is that running will increase the risk of developing OA of the hip and also hip replacement in later life. However, load bearing exercise can help to promote thickening and improve the quality of the cartilage within in the joints, protecting us from OA (Jones, et al., 2003; Roos, et al., 2005). In this recent study, Williams (2013) report there is a reduction in risk for both developing OA, and having hip replacement when even a small amount of running was performed. BUT, this benefit reduced as the body mass index increased. Meaning that the heavier runner had a risk reduction for OA and hip replacement but not to the extent of more lean runners. The goal? Reducing your risk of OA (by 16%) and future hip replacement (by 50%) relies on getting your body mass index down below 25, and aiming to gradually build your running to an average of 3.6 to 5.4 MET hours per day. What is 3.6 to 5.4 MET hours per day equivalent to? It is the same as going for a run (not a walk) to burn the number of calories equivalent to: 3.6 (METs) x (your body weight in kg). So, for an 80kg runner he/she would need to run at an intensity and duration that will burn 288 calories (3.6 x 80kg) up to 432 calories (5.4 x 80kg) on average each day. It is roughly the same as running at around 10km/hr for 20 to 30 minutes per day. Speak to your Accredited Exercise Physiologist for more help on devising a progressive running program that can help to reduce the risk of developing OA of the hip and improving general health and physical function. (C Miller, AEP)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23377837

Aerobic fitness reduces workplace injury risk

Aerobic fitness reduces workplace injury risk

Health, Musculoskeletal rehabilitation, Research

Individuals with a higher aerobic fitness have elevated fatigue resistance and may subsequently be at lower risk of musculoskeletal injury.  The results from a recent study (Poplin etal., 2013) on the association between aerobic fitness and musculoskeletal injuries in fire fighters believe that increasing your VO2max (aerobic fitness) by one metabolic equivalent (equal to around 3.5 ml.kg.min) can reduce injury risk by 14%. Interestingly the study shows that if your fitness level is below 43 ml.kg.min you are more than twice as likely to suffer a sprain or strain as someone with an aerobic fitness level above 48 ml.kg.min. The occupational physical demands for firefighters is extreme, and for most of us we don’t require quite this level of fitness to carry out our roles at work. But the results of this research are similar to an earlier study that showed that lower aerobic fitness levels and being overweight place a higher risk of injury in jobs that involve manual materials handling tasks (Craig et al., 1998). A more recent study (Anderson, 2010) reported that low aerobic fitness is strongly related to increased injury risk. This study of delivery drivers concluded that increasing your aerobic fitness by one metabolic equivalent (3.5 ml.kg.min) you can decrease your risk of injury by 13%.

What does this mean for me?

A higher fitness level helps to decrease injury risk at work. Try walking, cycling, dancing, running or rowing to increase your aerobic fitness. Intensity, duration, and frequency are important factors to consider. Try talking to your accredited exercise physiologist so that you can commence an exercise program suitable to your fitness level and training history. [C. Miller]

 

http://goo.gl/Z7WSPp

Women sit more than men but we’re all at risk

Women sit more than men but we’re all at risk

Health

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Women sit more than men but we’re all at risk

Unfortunately a recent study shows that sitting for long periods when we’re older could be a major factor for the development of the metabolic syndrome (Gardiner et al. 2011).The study reports that sitting time was associated with high cholesterol, poor control of blood sugars, and greater waist circumference in women. Sitting time in men was also associated with low levels of good cholesterol and higher triglycerides. Despite women sitting more than men, they were both at a similar risk of developing the metabolic syndrome as sitting time increased.

6 hours per day of sitting increases our risk of developing metabolic syndrome and that’s irrespective of how much exercise we do, alcohol we drink and whether we smoke. Research has shown that being regularly active in moderate intensity exercise helps to reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome. In fact, burning 1,000 kcal per day and improving your diet will substantially reduce your risk (Carels, et al. 2004). But we clearly need to do more. It isn’t simply meeting the daily exercise guidelines of 30 minutes or more of moderate intensity exercise that will prevent the development of disease. It is making sure that we include more physical activity into our day. Physical activity is anything from shopping, gardening, household chores, washing the car, parking further away from the shops and walking more. It doesn’t need to be at a moderate intensity like exercise often requires. We simply need to make sure our muscles contract and we increase blood flow. Speak to your Exercise Physiologist to determine how you can begin increasing your physical activity and exercise safely. [A. Bigaran]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21568949