Timing of the Pre-Exercise Meal

A common question I receive is whether one should eat prior to exercise. First of all, it goes without saying that eating a balanced diet consisting of multiple meals (about 4 – 6) throughout the day is essential to keeping your body fueled and ready for action. Although everyone is different, the digestion of a regular meal can take up to 4 hours, so you should allow plenty of time to digest a meal before engaging in physical activity. However, you may consider having a small snack about 30 to 90 minutes prior to exercise for the following reasons:

• provides additional fuel for prolonged stamina
• helps decrease exercise induced breakdown of muscle protein, thus, preserving lean muscle tissues
• may prevent the distracting symptoms of hunger
• helps avert symptoms from low blood sugar which can include dizziness, nausea, and headaches

Preferably, a pre-exercise snack should consist of 200-400 calories including mostly carbohydrates (about 60%) with some amount of fat and protein. Choose carbohydrates that are easily digested such as pasta, fruits, breads, energy bars and drinks.

You can find examples of some pre-exercise meals at the following link: http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sportsnutrition/a/EatForExercise.htm

How Much Exercise Should You Get?

The answer wholly depends on your time constraints and specific goals. In fitness there exists a principle of Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands (SAID). In other words, this principle asserts that the human body will adapt to the physical stress, whether biomechanical or neurological, that is placed upon it. Fortunately, a qualified Personal Trainer can assist you in determining what exercises to employ and how much is required to meet your fitness goals whether they be to improve muscular balance and coordination, increase cardiovascular function, enhance strength, or other needs. However, from a general conditioning standpoint the American College of Sports Medicine in conjunction with the American Heart Association provide the following exercise recommendations for healthy adults under the age of 65:

moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week
Or
vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week
And
eight to 10 strength-training exercises, eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise twice a week.

For those that want to just “feel good” and work toward a healthy body weight, these recommendations will work well. Visit the ACSM site for Physical Activity and Public Health Guidelines for more info.

Keeping a Diet Journal, not as Hard as You Think

One of the key success factors that weight loss experts tout is keeping a diet journal. This fact is backed up by decades of research including a significant finding in the August 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine showing that dieters that track what they eat lose twice as much weight as those who don’t. Why is it effective? Because it helps one get a handle on what a normal serving size is, facilitates with understanding whether too much or not enough calories are being consumed, provides accountability, ensures fundamental nutrition, and identifies emotional or environmental barriers involved in making better food choices. You are probably thinking… “How can anyone with a life find time to do this?” Fortunately, systems such as Weight Watchers, the Exchange System, and the Food Guide Pyramid have been developed for meal planning so that one can quickly estimate their calorie consumption while providing a framework for meeting nutritional needs. For more information on meal planning visit my website at www.personaltrainingwithrich.com/resources.html.

How to Curb Alcohol Calories

Okay, I don’t want to be the diet Scrooge during the Holidays as I certainly hope you enjoy these times with family and friends to the fullest. However, some of you that drink may be able to lessen the holiday blow to your diet by making wiser choices that really aren’t much of a sacrifice. Take a gander at the following link containing calorie counts for some the more popular alcoholic beverages: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/custom/2005/12/19/CU2005121900285.html. As you can see, there is a wide disparity among the calorie counts. The reason for the disparity is attributed to many factors such as the number of alcohol servings in the drink (1 gram of alcohol has 7 calories compared with only 4 calories for a gram of carbohydrate), the proof of the alcohol, the size of the drink, and most importantly, the type of mixer used. Therefore as a general rule of thumb, try to stick with wine, light beer, simple cocktails made with low-calorie mixers, or have your favorite spirit on the rocks. Doing so may help some of you curb the holiday impact and start the New Year with a fresh recognition that making better diet choices isn’t much of a sacrifice after all. The following is a great article from WebMD with more detail on this subject: http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/low-calorie-cocktails. Happy Holidays!

Prevent Injuries with Proper Running Technique

Running is obviously a popular form of exercise where some 40 million people run in the USA each year. This statistic is easy to recognize as running is a convenient, socially oriented way of burning extra calories while improving the health of your cardiovascular system. Although running may seem like an intuitive process, improper form can, over time, cause painful injuries. Some of these common injuries include iliotibial band syndrome, plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis, stress fractures, and more. During the course of a mile a typical runner will land on each leg 500 – 1000 times. If improper form is used, wrong forces will be applied to your joints thousands of times over leading to injury. A runner may reduce the discomfort by altering his or her stride (compensate) which will compound the problem even further.

To evaluate your running technique, start by reading the article “The Perfect Form” located at the Runner’s World website. However, preventing injuries doesn’t stop with technique. Wearing the right shoes, stretching, strength training, and managing your intensity are some of the major factors allowing for a pain free and more enjoyable running experience.

Another Reminder of Risks Associated with Heart Disease

Last Sunday a study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association showing that men over 40 have a 1 in 8 chance of having a sudden cardiac death over the remainder of their lifetime. This study is just another stark reminder of the risks associated with heart disease and underscores the importance of using exercise as an approach to combat it. Through a litany of research and press, we have all been conditioned to see the link between exercise and a healthy heart, however, to help solidify this notion the following are some key points in regard to how aerobic exercise specifically impacts our cardiovascular system in a positive way:

Benefits of Aerobic Exercise to the Cardiovascular System

• Adaptations to the heart and peripheral blood vessels allow the body to intake and use oxygen more efficiently. This adaptation can lead to a lower resting heart rate.


• Decreases in blood pressure occur.


• Increased capillary density in skeletal muscle allows for better oxygen delivery to the associated areas.


• HDL or “good cholesterol increases; levels of fats in the blood decrease.


• The ability to process sugars and carbohydrates is improved leading to reduced insulin needs and improved glucose tolerance. (Diabetes is a risk factor in developing heart disease)


• Blood clotting is reduced.


For more info on heart health visit the U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Corrective Exercise Helps with Optimal Muscular Balance and Joint Function

Many of us suffer from chronic pain associated with various ailments such as low back pain, joint dysfunction, muscle or tendon strains, bursitis, tendonitis and more. These injuries are often directly caused by muscular imbalances. Muscular imbalances are the basis of movement dysfunctions associated with abnormal length or strength of muscles surrounding a joint which, in turn, alters the biomechanical motion of the joint. This movement dysfunction increases stress on the tissues of the joint and eventually leads to injury. Throughout our lives we have accumulated various imbalances due to impact trauma, disease, sedentary lifestyle, and/or repetitive stress from overusing a muscle group. Assessing and correcting movement dysfunction is often an overlooked and misunderstand component to one’s overall fitness. In order to assist my clients (myself included) in this area, I have recently obtained an advanced accreditation of Corrective Exercise Specialist thru the National Academy of Sports Medicine which is a leading sports medicine and exercise science organization. This knowledge has provided a framework for which to apply specific corrective exercise to the needs of each individual to achieve better muscular balance and thus, optimal joint function. Feel free to contact me to see how I may help you improve in this area of fitness.