Why Do You Workout?
What is your reason for working out?
Let's hear it...
Your answer today could be very different tomorrow and that's ok!
Priorities change and we want our training to match those priorities.
I started working out to be a better basketball player.
Then it was to get through military training.
Then it was to get bigger.
Then it was to be a better rower.
Then it was to get better at CrossFit.
Now it's to make sure my body feels good and that I can do whatever I want outside of the gym pain free (primarily golfing).
What's your why?
@activelifeprofessional
When Advil is Dumb
That time Advil said something really stupid.
“Pain says you can’t. Advil says you can”
This quote is from an Advil commercial that popped up on my feed today.
One of their other messages is “pain will get you soon enough”.
It’s clever marketing. Saying that pain is going to get you eventually, might as well buy some Advil.
It’s also a band-aid. A temporary solution. Nothing that will address the underlying issues that would lead people to have problems doing the things represented in their commercials.
Activities like lifting a tire, walking to work, picking up your mail, playing with your kids at the park, building furniture or opening your oven.
There are issues there that Advil will not permanently solve. Sure maybe it helps short-term. But it’s not a solution.
What could be the solution?
Maybe the person is doing too much too soon and needs to address the workload.
Maybe they are stressed and have too much on their plate or are unable to effectively respond to stress.
Maybe the person has some range of motion limitations that are affecting their daily activities.
Solutions require a process, not a short-term pill.
Solutions require assessing where someone is currently at, to find the most appropriate path towards results.
Are You Out of Shape?
Are you out of shape? What is “in shape”?
“I’m so out of shape”
This is a phrase I have heard so many times in the gym.
Whether it’s a person's first exposure to a training program or if they’ve been training their entire life.
So here’s the question: What is in shape?
In shape for what task?
In shape based on what standards.
Let’s use the Olympics as an example. There are multiple events and sports. Take Olympic Weightlifting, marathon running, and gymnastics as examples.
Athletes who participate in those sports all have different body shapes.
So are any of them out of shape? Absolutely not. They are in the ideal shape to perform their sport.
What if your body shape is someone else’s goal? And they hear you say that you are out of shape. How would that affect their mindset toward that goal? Unlikely that it’s helpful.
Want to change the shape that you are in? Go for it! Find the best version of yourself.
But you are and will always be in shape.
When Does Recovery Start?
When does your recovery start?
What do you do immediately after an intense workout? What is your post workout routine?
Do you stretch? Do you roll around on the ground? Do you hunch over and lean on your knees? Do you chug a bottle of water? Do you contemplate your existence?
Any of those things could make sense assuming there is intention to it.
When that workout finishes, when that last rep is done, when the clock beeps, what I often notice is what could be described as chaos.
That chaos often lacks intention.
When your workout stops, don’t stop.
Don’t stop functioning. Start recovering.
This means breathe, this means move, this means lower your heart rate.
Your cooldown starts as soon as your workout finishes.
It’s fine to lay down on the ground on your back or hands and knees after a workout. That’s assuming there is intention to it. Those positions are actually the easiest positions to work on your breathing mechanics. Get back to nasal breathing as soon as you can.
It’s fine to stretch after a workout. Maybe you have any area of your body that you know needs some additional attention. Maybe it helps you relax and calm down. That’s intention.
Workout ends, recovery starts.
For most of us, we are TRAINING to be healthy and fit. If we are in a position where we are consistently incapable of focusing on our recovery after a workout ends, we are likely regularly overtaxing our system.
Now if you are COMPETING for an Olympic medal (or insert athletic competition), do whatever you want, you’ve earned it.
Dehydrated After Sleep?
Learn why you may be dehydrated after waking up
Your first thought is likely that you should be drinking more water.
But what if you are already meeting (or exceeding) recommended water intake levels?
Maybe there is something you are doing while you are sleeping that is resulting in excessive water loss.
Now I doubt you are running marathons while sleepwalking. If so, that’s impressive.
So how are you breathing?
Mouth breathing can result in a net water loss increase of up to 42% when compared to nasal breathing during sleep.
This can lead to increased fatigue, vulnerability to inflammation, shallow chest breathing, and more instances of apnoea, arousals and awakenings.
We don’t want that.
To change this we need to reprogram the way we sleep. This takes time, effort and focus.
There are a few strategies people can use.
The simplest but likely the most challenging is to tape your mouth shut. Medical paper tape can do the trick. Duct tape is overkill.
Other strategies include ensuring nasal airways can be as open as possible. Simple solutions you could try if this is difficult for you include nasal irrigation, breathing aids, and steam from a hot shower.
📘: Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art - James Nestor
Stress Is Best
Is stress bad for you?
Is stress bad?
Stress is commonly associated with being a negative thing. But is it?
It’s fair for people to be confused with stress or to give it a negative association, as the definitions out there tend to be a bit confusing.
Definition 1 (Meriam Webster): a state resulting from a stress.
Well, that’s not helpful. Basically says “X is a result of X”.
Definition 2 (Meriam Webster): a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation.
Well, that sounds awful. Disease causation sucks.
Definition 3 (Hans Selye): Stress is the nonspecific response of the body to any demand.
Now, this is more helpful.
Demand>Response>Stress
Stress is positive when we have a positive response.
Stress is the reason people get stronger, fitter, more resilient, and reduce the likelihood of injury or disease. That improvement came out of adapting to that stress.
Stress is also the reason people can become burnt out, injured or sick.
It’s a double-edged sword.
So how do we improve this?
Recover. Stress our bodies to levels that we are capable of recovering from. If we are not recovering we are not adapting to the stress. Results require adaptation.
Improve stress responses. When you are feeling elevated levels of stress, how do you respond? Does your heart rate increase? Does your breathing change? Do you get sad, angry, quiet, loud? Does your response match the situation? Sometimes we respond in ways that may not be favourable.
Adjust what you can. Sometimes we ask or are demanded too much. This may require asking for help.