Sports Spine Specialist Chiropractic Team: Athletes strive to achieve their body’s maximum performance by participating in numerous training regimens consisting of strenuous exercises and physical activity and ensuring they meet all of their body’s nutritional requirements. Through proper fitness and nutrition, many individuals can condition themselves to excel in their specific sport. Our training programs are designed for athletes that look to gain a competitive edge in their sport.
We provide sport-specific services to help increase an athlete’s performance through mobility, strength, and endurance. Occasionally, however, the excess workouts can lead many to suffer injuries or develop underlying conditions. Dr. Alex Jimenez’s chronicle of articles for athletes displays in detail the many forms of complications affecting these professionals while focusing on the possible solutions and treatments to follow to achieve overall well-being.
Corticosteroid injections are widely used to aid injury rehabilitation but we still understand very little about their mechanism. Chiropractor, Dr. Alexander Jimenez examines the current thinking and discusses how this potentially impacts treatment options…
Corticosteroids are used for their anti- inflammatory and pain reducing effects. They can also reduce muscle spasms and influence local tissue metabolism for faster healing. Injection therapy is now widely available from specially trained general practitioners, physiotherapists and consultants, and can be offered for a wide range of clinical conditions. Because of this wide availability and the growing desire for injury �quick fixes�, it is important that they are used correctly and the full consequences are understood prior to injection.
The main indications for corticosteroid injection use are(1):
Acute and chronic bursitis
Acute capsulitis (tight joint capsule)
Chronic tendinopathy
Inflammatory arthritis
Chronic ligament sprains
Steroid injections of hydrocortisone are a synthetic form of a naturally produced hormone within the body called cortisol. Cortisol is important for regulating carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism. It is also involved in metabolic responses in times of stress such as emotional problems, trauma, and infection, where levels of inflammation are elevated. Steroid injections work on the immune system by blocking the production of chemicals that activate the inflammatory reactions, therefore reducing inflammation and pain within injury locations.
Steroid injections can be directed into a joint, muscle, tendon, bursa, or a space around these structures. Figure one shows an injection aiming for the bursa within the shoulder joint. This is often a source of irritation and causes impingement when the shoulder moves. The location will depend on what tissue is causing the symptoms. When injected locally to the specific structure, the effects are primarily only produced there and widespread detrimental effects are minimal(2).
When To Use
Identifying the correct time to issue a steroid injection following injury requires careful consideration. The mechanical status of the tissue is important because this will vary depending on the stage of healing and therefore the effectiveness of the injection will also vary.
Figure 2 shows the different stages that a tendon can progress through following trauma. This is equally applicable to muscles, fascia, and other tissues too. A reactive tendinopathy (tendon degeneration/damage) will present shortly after injury/trauma/stress/ excessive loading, and will display acute swelling and inflammation. The initial care should be 2-3 weeks of rest, analgesia, ice application and gentle physiotherapy. If symptoms have not significantly improved after this period, then the introduction of a corticosteroid injection is appropriate for providing symptomatic relief by reducing inflammation and eliminating the occurrence of further damage because mechanical normality will be quickly restored(3).
If the tendon continues to be placed under excessive load, swelling and inflammation will remain or escalate, and continuous loading will eventually cause micro trauma and further tendon degeneration. If this is prolonged for long enough then the tendon will fail structurally(4).
The use of corticosteroids here is questionable because there is unlikely to be inflammation present to combat, and the injection alone will not repair this physical damage. Injection treatment at this stage may only be indicated if the athlete is in too much pain to participate in any significant rehabilitation. The symptomatic relief the injection may bring at this point could allow exercises to be performed, which can help accelerate the repair of physical damage. Ultimately, physical exercise is a key component in recovery following corticosteroid injections.
Impact On Treatment & Performance
For the best outcome, post-injection care � particularly with respect to timing � is important. Relative rest is recommended for the first two weeks post-injection. During this first two weeks the tissues are weakened and their failing strengths are reduced by up to 35%; this means the strength at which they would fail (tear) is much lower and more susceptible to rupturing(8).
By six weeks the bio-mechanical integrity is reestablished and the tissues are deemed �normal� again, with increased strength and function(8). Benefits are optimal within this 6-week period and often short-lived; therefore the athlete must comply strictly to a rehabilitation program to gradually load the tissues and ensure the correct load is applied during this period(9). Research has also shown that at twelve weeks post-injection�there is little significance in the difference between those who received a steroid injection and those who focused on exercise therapy alone, suggesting this early symptom relief should be used to enhance rehabilitation(10). If loading is accelerated in the early stages the athlete risks re-aggravation of the injury, delayed healing, further weakening and thus rupture.
If this rehabilitation protocol is followed, the athlete will likely maximise their outcome. They can return to training, and with the severity of their symptoms reduced, this can allow progression to the next stage of training. If the injury is severe enough that surgery may be considered within three months, a steroid injection should not be performed as this can affect the success of the surgery.
Evidence For Sports Injuries
Here we will consider some of the more common sports injuries and summarize what the current evidence regarding steroid injection suggests.
Shoulders
Injection therapy is indicated in subacromial impingement or bursitis (as in Figure 3 below) to allow the inflammation reduction and restoration of normal movement. It is also indicated in rotator cuff pathology where the tendons are again inflamed, but also damaged and unable to undergo exercise therapy. Shoulder injections are shown to produce early improvements in pain and function with a high level of patient satisfaction(10). Symptoms are similar to those without injection at 12 weeks however, suggesting physical therapy is also important(10). Injection is not appropriate for shoulder instability as it can make the joint more unstable. Exercise therapy alone is recommended for this condition.
Hip Pain
Two soft tissue conditions that benefit the most from injection are piriformis syndrome (muscle tightness running deep to the buttock muscles), and greater trochanter pain syndrome (affecting the bursa surrounding the hip joint, or the gluteal tendons that are all in close proximity to the lateral hip)(11). Injection success is reported to be approximately 60-100% if the diagnosis is accurate and the correct protocols are adhered to(12). Other regions such as the adductor and hamstring tendons can also be treated for tendinitis or groin pains. However, injections into these�regions are deep and painful, and require extensive rest afterwards.
Knee Pain
Knee joint injections for arthritic conditions are most commonly used, with injection to the soft tissues much less common due to the complex diagnosis, and risk of detrimental side effects. The various bursa around the knee, the iliotibial band, and quadriceps and patellar tendons have all been shown to significantly benefit in the short-term; however accurate location is essential to ensure the tendon itself is not penetrated � only the surrounding regions(13).
Plantar Fasciitis
This is a painful injection to receive, and pain can last for well over one week post- injection (see figure 4). There is an approximate 2-4% risk that the fascia can rupture. In addition, there�s a risk of local nerve damage and wasting of the fat pad within the heel. Studies have demonstrated that at 4 weeks post-injection pain and thickness of the injured plantar fascia are reduced and these benefits remain three months later, suggesting a good outcome if the risks are avoided(14).
If you’re concerned about your body image, engage in a bout of exercise. Researchers at the University of British Columbia found that just one 30-minute exercise session makes women feel stronger and thinner.
“Women, in general, have a tendency to feel negatively about their bodies,” says study senior author Kathleen Martin Ginis, professor in UBC Okanagan’s School of Health and Exercise Sciences.
“This is a concern because poor body image can have harmful implications for a woman’s psychological and physical health including increased risk for low self-esteem, depression and for eating disorders,” she said. “This study indicates exercise can have an immediate positive effect.”
Researchers compared the body image and physical perceptions of women who completed 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise with those who sat and read. Women in the exercise group had significant improvements in their body image compared to those who didn’t exercise.
The positive effect lasted at least 20 minutes post-exercise. In addition, the research team found that the effect was not due to a change in the women’s mood, but was linked to perceiving themselves as stronger and thinner.
“We all have those days when we don’t feel great about our bodies,” says Martin Ginis. “This study and our previous research shows one way to feel better, is to get going and exercise. The effects can be immediate.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, nearly one half of North American women experience some degree of body image dissatisfaction, and the problem has grown over the last three decades.
Many previous studies have found that exercise has a positive effect on other aspects of mental health including lifting depression and easing anxiety. A study published in Psychosomatic Medicine found that exercise was comparable to antidepressants in treating patients with major depressive disorder.
The exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous to be helpful. A recent study from the University of Connecticut shows that if you’re sedentary, just getting up and moving around can reduce depression and make you feel better about yourself.
Regularly drinking coffee or herbal tea may help prevent chronic liver disease, new research suggests.
Scientists in the Netherlands found these popular beverages might help thwart liver fibrosis, or stiffness and scarring due to chronic inflammation.
“Over the past decades, we gradually deviated towards more unhealthy habits, including a sedentary lifestyle, decreased physical activity, and consumption of a ‘happy diet,’ ” said study lead author Dr. Louise Alferink.
This “happy diet” — commonly known as the Western diet — is rich in sugary, processed foods that lack nutrients. This unhealthy way of eating has contributed to the obesity epidemic and a surge in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which occurs when excessive amounts of fat accumulate in the liver, said Alferink, a researcher at Erasmus MC University Medical Centre in Rotterdam.
To investigate the possible protective effects of coffee and tea, researchers examined data on more than 2,400 Dutch individuals age 45 or older who did not have liver disease. The investigators examined medical records, including results of abdominal and liver scans. They also analyzed responses to food and beverage questionnaires that asked about tea and coffee consumption.
The study participants were divided into three groups based on their coffee and tea consumption. The researchers also noted what type of tea the people drank, including herbal, green or black.
They found that frequent coffee drinkers had significantly lower risk for liver stiffness and less scarring regardless of their lifestyle and environment. Overall, frequent herbal tea and coffee drinking appeared to have a protective effect on the liver and prevent scarring among those who had not yet developed any obvious signs of liver disease, researchers said.
The study results were published June 6 in the Journal of Hepatology.
“Examining accessible and inexpensive lifestyle strategies that have potential health benefits, such as coffee and tea consumption, is a viable approach to finding ways to halt the rapid increase of liver disease in developed countries,” Alferink said in a journal news release.
Already, there is some experimental data suggesting that coffee has health benefits on liver enzyme elevations, viral hepatitis, fatty liver disease, cirrhosis and liver cancer, said the study’s principal investigator, Dr. Sarwa Darwish Murad.
“The exact mechanism is unknown but it is thought that coffee exerts antioxidant effects,” said Murad, a hepatologist at the medical center. “We were curious to find out whether coffee consumption would have a similar effect on liver stiffness measurements in individuals without chronic liver disease.”
However, the study can’t prove that coffee and teas actually improve liver health. And the researchers concluded that more research is needed before making general recommendations.
Also, the study had limitations, according to the authors of a journal editorial. For one, most people in the study were older and white. In addition, the beverage components were too varied to reliably estimate any benefits, they said.
Older adults who don’t have a history of cardiovascular problems don’t benefit from taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, says a new study of seniors with high blood pressure and moderately high cholesterol.
Researchers from New York University School of Medicine studied the data from 2,867 older adults and found that they had the same risk of dying as seniors who didn’t take statins, and also suffered the same amount of heart attacks and strokes. In fact, statins may have caused more harm than good since more deaths occurred in the group taking statins.
“This study doesn’t surprise me at all,” says Dr. David Brownstein, a board-certified physician and editor of the newsletter Dr. David Brownstein’s Natural Way to Health. “In fact, it should be expected.
“When you know the mechanisms of how statins work in the body, how anyone could predict that they will prolong a person’s life is beyond me, particularly in older people,” Brownstein tells Newsmax Health.
“Seniors depend on adequate cholesterol for a host of reactions in the body, including proper brain function and proper hormonal production,” he says.
“Some studies have shown that statins increase the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, even if you take CoQ 10 to help cope with some of statins’ side effects, because statins lower cholesterol.
“The highest concentration of cholesterol in the body is in the brain,” Brownstein says. “The brain actually produces its own cholesterol, and it needs cholesterol to function properly.
“Since statins have been shown to fail in 97 to 99 percent of the people who take them, I can’t imagine — with those odds — why anyone would consider taking this drug when they know the side effects are severe and many.”
Still, statins continue to be prescribed and are one of the most commonly prescribed medicines in the world. “Big pharma has convinced doctors that statins are much more effective than they are by using questionable statistical methods,” Brownstein says. “Unfortunately, most doctors don’t understand how to read statistics and don’t know how to read the studies.
“This isn’t the first study to show that statins harm patients,” Brownstein says and points to a 2015 study, published in Critical Care Medicine, which found that the lower a patient’s cholesterol levels, the higher the risk of dying during the 30-day period following a heart attack.
“The increased risk the researchers found isn’t nominal,” he said. “Patients with low LDL (bad) cholesterol levels coupled with low triglyceride levels had an astounding 990 percent increased risk of dying!”
A 2016 study published in the British Medical Journal found that not only do high cholesterol levels not shorten the lifespan of senior citizens, they may live as long — or longer — than their peers with low levels.
The results, which came after analyzing more than 68,000 patients over the age of 60, questioned conventional medicine’s belief that seniors with high cholesterol, especially high levels of low-density lipoprotein or LDL, are more at risk of dying from heart attack and stroke, and need statin drugs to lower their cholesterol levels.
The study suggested that high cholesterol may, in fact, be protective against diseases which are common in the elderly, including neurological disorders like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
“If your cholesterol is elevated, the first thing you need to do is to look at your diet,” says Brownstein. “You should follow a healthy diet by eliminating refined foods and eating whole, organic foods. Your cholesterol levels will naturally drop to their optimal levels.
“But to chemically lower them with a drug that fails 97 to 99 percent of the time — I don’t understand it.”
If you’d like a food or supplement to help you lower your cholesterol naturally, consider the following:
Red yeast rice. According to the University of Maryland, red yeast rice has the same chemical composition as the prescription drug lovastatin. A five-year, double-blind study of patients who had suffered a heart attack found that an extract of Chinese red yeast rice, Xuezhikang (XZK), reduced the risk of repeat heart attacks by 45 percent. The extract also decreased heart bypass surgery, cardiovascular mortality, and total mortality by a third.
Bergamot. Several studies have found that bergamot, an extract made from the bergamot fruit and used to give Earl Grey tea its distinctive flavor, lowers cholesterol safely and naturally. Several studies have shown it reduces LDL (low density or “bad”) cholesterol and triglycerides, while raising levels of HDL (good) cholesterol.
Green tea. Green tea lowers bad cholesterol and raises good cholesterol. Several studies have found that green tea blocks the absorption of up to 89 percent of cholesterol from foods. Black tea has also been found to be protective.
Research carried out by the universities of Glasgow and Mauritius found that drinking three cups of tea daily reduced LDL cholesterol by more than 16 percent when compared with a control group who drank the same amount of hot water. Scientists believe the health benefits are due to antioxidants in the tea called polyphenols, which were boosted by 400 percent in the tea-drinking group.
Oatmeal. Numerous studies conducted over the past 50 years have shown that oatmeal reduces bad cholesterol. The Mayo Clinic recommends eating one-and-a-half cups of cooked oatmeal each day. Oatmeal contains soluble fiber, a cholesterol-lowering component of foods which is also found in beans, apples, and many other whole foods. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that oats lowered cholesterol levels almost as well as prescription cholesterol-lowering drugs.
In the United States, 13 percent of children and young adults are obese, the most of any other country, CNN reported.
Worldwide, 2.2 billion people were obese or overweight in 2015.
“People who shrug off weight gain do so at their own risk — risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and other life-threatening conditions,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, who worked on the study, according to CNN.
“Those half-serious New Year’s resolutions to lose weight should become year-round commitments to lose weight and prevent future weight gain,” he added.
In 2015, about 4 million people died of health problems linked to excess weight, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported, noting that death rates related to being overweight rose 28 percent since 1990.
Poor diets and sedentary lifestyles brought on by urbanization and economic development have spread the obesity epidemic worldwide.
“People are consuming more and more processed foods that are high in sugar and fat and exercising less,” said Boitshepo Bibi Giyose, senior nutrition officer at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, according to CBC.
The study was completed by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington and funded by the Gates Foundation, The New York Times noted.
Nearly 604 million adults and 108 million children worldwide are obese, meaning they have a body mass index of 30 or higher.
“This study shows what we know: No country in the globe has reduced overweight or obesity levels,” said Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina, according to the Times. “This is astounding given the huge health and economic costs linked with overweight and obesity.”
Adam Drewnowsk, director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition at the University of Washington, said solutions aren’t easy.
“It is all very nice to talk about the need to eat less unhealthy foods and more healthy foods,” he said, according to the Times. But “unhealthy foods cost less; healthier foods often cost more. People eat what they can afford.”
Exercise Physiologist and PUSH-as-Rx � fitness facility owner Daniel Alvarado takes a look at common mistakes that people make in their workout routines.
Time is precious. That’s why making the most of every sweat session and avoiding common workout mistakes is key. I’m a huge fan of sneaking in mini-workouts whenever I could. That’??s one of the benefits of high-intensity interval training: You only need several minutes.
But there are so many other ways you can shift your own exercise routine to more efficient workouts. Tiny tweaks may make a huge different when it comes to losing body fat increasing lean muscle mass and reducing stress.
12 Common Workout Mistakes
Here are some of the most common workout mistakes you need to avoid:
1. You Only Use Machines.
There??s no doubt about it. Resistance training is medicine.
In fact, a 2012 study found just 10 weeks of resistance training can increase lean muscle mass by nearly 4 pounds and reduce 4 pounds of fat while increasing your metabolic rate by 7 percent. Translation, you’ll burn more fat when you’re out of the gym, too. But that does not so much more than strength training . It’s a key factor in the natural management of type 2 diabetes, thanks to its ability to help create normal blood sugar levels. Resistance training increases bone mineral density by 1 to 3 percent, helps shed that dangerous belly fat and also lowers your resting blood pressure.
Its pain-relieving properties can help ease fibromyalgia symptoms in women. Clearly, we all need to be make sure strength training is in our lives.
But you’re short-changing yourself if you’??re only using machines. (In fact, this is one of the classic workout mistakes.) Strength training machines lock your movement into a pre-determined plane of motion, meaning you’re working those large, primer mover muscles without a lot of assistance from stabilizing muscles. Keeping these muscles out of the mix fails to strengthen them and also largely eliminates the use of balance in each lift.
Certainly, if your only goal is increase muscle mass in one area, or if you’re focusing on one muscle group for rehab purposes, machines have their place. But a lot of us want training that is more functional so we could move around with more ease, and in much less pain, every day. Free weights strengthens total-body movements and increases coordination between muscle groups that are different. Free weights may improve performance better than a machine-only approach, too. For instance, squats are more effective at increasing vertical jumping compared to machine leg presses.
Be sure to make free weights part of your lifting routine. And don’t forget to incorporate bodyweight exercises, too. Remember, even the ancient Greeks understood the insane fitness value of calisthenics.
2. You Wait To Work Out.
Studies show you’ll be able to optimize your workouts by targeting a specific time of day, depending on your goals, although working out at night is not working out at all. (Of course, pushing your workout to nights also means more excuses can pop up through the day, derailing your PM workout efforts, too.)
But the best time to sneak in a sweat session largely depends on your own main fitness goal. This great Medical Daily article sheds some light on optimal workout times:
Walking to lose weight? Getting your steps in can transform your diet in a way that better leads to weight loss, based on an 2011 study published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. Walking later in the day prompted exercisers to eat during breakfast, an important factor to reduce late-night cravings, lower the risk of obesity and improve weight-loss success. you are able to also optimize fat-burn should you workout in a fasted state before breakfast. Doing this helps improve insulin sensitivity even in case you eat a high-fat diet, researchers say. The good news for walkers? You’ve got options.
If you’re looking to construct muscle fast and increase strength, evening workouts are optimal.
To beat work-day brain fog and increase focus and performance, aim for afternoon sweat sessions between noon and 6 p.m.
Exercise is one of the most potent stress relievers on the planet. To help prime your blood pressure for optimal levels for sleep, opt for morning exercise. A 2010 study by Appalachian State University researchers found morning resistance training helped drop blood pressure levels on average by 20 percent. That’s as good or even better than common hypertension-fighting drugs. �A 2011 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research discovered moderate 7 a.m. morning walking resulted in a 10 percent blood pressure drop throughout the day; at night, it sank 25 percent. It helped exercises reach deeper sleep compared to working out at other times of the day. The AM exercises spent up to 75 percent more time in deep sleep compared to afternoon and evening exercisers.
3. You Forget The “?Little Muscles.”
Sure, biceps and pecs and quads usually get all of the glory, but there’s more to movement than those big prime mover showoff muscles. There’s a whole other cast of characters you need to nurture. Stabilizers are muscles that support the body while the prime movers do their thing. Synergists help assist those prime movers to create movement patterns that are functional. Should you ignore these little guys, you might be setting yourself up for posture problems that may manifest into pain and injuries down the line. Workout mistakes such as these will only snowball and lead to inflammation, pain, altered movements and eventually injury.
Using resistance band exercises and exercises that involve multiple planes of motion that mimic more real-life movements (not just the up-and-down of a bicep curl) can help target those important, albeit less famous, muscles.
Targeting the dynamic stabilizers of the rotator cuff, erector spinae (deep core muscles that keep your body upright), gluteus medius and minimum, tibialis anterior and obliques.
Men’s Health shares some ideas on how best to strengthen a few of these important muscles:
Back extensions
Bicycle crunches
Side steps using an exercise band around both feet
4. Your Recovery Is All Wrong.
In case your post-workout recovery consists of 2 minutes of stretching and a shower, it’s time to get real. Workout mistakes such as these may not seem just like a huge deal now, but as you age you’ll start feeling it. Chances are it’ll catch up with your joints and muscles as you age, making injury and pain inevitable. Here, I want to cover foam rolling exercises.
But let’s back up a sec. The organs, muscles, nerves, bones and arteries and veins of your body are all enveloped in a densely woven webbing called fascia. Much like the yard of a sweater, your fascia connects you entire inner body, highlighting the fact that trouble in one spot could impact a totally different part of the body.
When you work your muscles hard, microspasms occur, triggering the formation of knots?� or adhesions in the soft tissue. This, subsequently, starts leading to abnormal movement that can, over time, result in chronic pain and injury. Luckily, self-myofascial release, including foam rolling, can help �??break up those knots to help get your muscle length and functioning back to normal.
And here’s the big takeaway: foam rolling short, tight muscles riddled with knots in combination with proper stretching can help return your body to some more normal selection of motion. This could improve not only performance, but just the manner in which you feel in general, too. A Texas Woman’s University study found this combo can serve as one of the remedies for fast back pain relief.
And this is something I’m really excited about. Foam rolling effects your brain and stress hormones, too, not just your muscles. Emerging science suggests foam rolling impacts the nervous system and can lower cortisol levels, reducing not just physical stress, but emotional stress, too. After exercise, foam rolling can improve cortisol levels in fact better than rest. Exciting stuff!
To get a full-spectrum foam rolling and corrective exercise program, your best bet is to have other posture and movement assessments and an overhead squat by way of a qualified personal trainer with high-level certifications and also a college degree to do so. The National Academy of Sports Medicine focuses heavily on these assessments and corrective exercise programs.
Several key points:
Common muscles include the calves, peroneals, IT- band, TFL, piriformis, adductors, hamstrings, quadriceps, latissimus dorsi and thoracic spine.
It’s possible for you to foam roll holding tender spots for 30 to 90 seconds, 1 set daily.
DON’T make the classic foam rolling of quickly rolling over a muscle back and forth mistakes. So the neural, skeletal and muscular systems can work together to more effectively break up the adhesion, you need to hold tender spots.
To improve flexibility, follow foam rolling with static stretches of the same muscles, holding the static stretches for at least 30 seconds. Do this before and following a workout.
Keep proper posture as you’re rolling.
If you want more pressure, you are able to use your own body to create it. For instance, if you’re rolling your calves and need more pressure, it is possible to cross your one leg within the other that’s being rolled.
If�you have a health condition or are pregnant, talk with your doctor before foam rolling. Foam rolling is not suitable for people with cancer, congestive heart failure or alternative organ failure, skin lesions, goiters, uncontrolled high blood pressure, blood clots, bleeding disorders and certain other health issues.
5. You Force Yourself To Run.
If you’ve gone over the best running tips for beginners and still dread lacing up your sneaks for a jog, it might be time to find another form of cardio. The key is to do something so you stick with it, you like, not torture yourself.
If you do stick with running, remember, it’s not about speed. In fact tend to live longer. Fast marathon runners gain no increase in lifespan compared to people who avoid exercise.
Cycling, mountain biking, spinning (I love the Peloton bike) are just a few of the other ways to work cardio into your life. I recently did an article to try. Just make it fun and find a workout buddy. We know working out using a buddy increases your odds of sticking to an exercise routine. But did you know a virtual buddy works? That may be one huge factor in Pelot’??s success, where people from throughout the world indoor cycle as they’re connected virtually to other riders.
6. You’re Jarring Your Joints (And Maybe Your Lungs).
Love basketball? Opt for indoor instead of a game on asphalt to save your valuable knees. Runner? Get your job on along the side of the road for more give. And consider trail running to get a more natural, less jarring surface. Runner’s World’s annual sneaker guide features an annual featuring many options with better shock absorption, too, but shoes can only go so far.
And beware of other workouts that were popular linked to joint injuries. They dynamic, twisting movements of Zumba make it a fun class. In one study, nearly 30 percent of Zumba participants experienced an injury; 42 percent of those involved the knee. The people most likely to suffer injury took class nearly 4 times a week, so if your joints are feeling it, maybe dial back a bit and fill in a class or two with something more forgiving, like gentle yoga. (Maybe sure you’ve a qualified instructor.)
Flooring matters. For indoor gyms, I prefer flooring made from natural cork or real linoleum (NOT vinyl knockoffs). And this brings up an important side point: Natural floorings like solid or certified formaldehyde-free manufactured cork don’t off-gas toxic fumes common to popular gym flooring and mats. In 2014, the University of Lisbon in Portugal and the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands released first-of-its-kind data showing the horrific state of indoor air in gyms. We know vinyl-based products off-gas carcinogenic formaldehyde, as well as plasticizing phthalate chemicals.
Popular gym flooring made from recycled tires labeled as rubber?� are often laden with compounds on the verge of being classified as hazardous waste. Tire crumb used in several gym floors contains distillate aromatic extract, oils that can make up to 30 percent of a tires mass. Unfortunately, these are among the world’??s most harmful chemicals, rich in polyaromatic hydrocarbons and other carcinogens, in accordance with the Healthy Building Network.
Urge your gym to use more healthy flooring materials and invest in a air exchange system. If you’re setting up a part of your home for working out, looking into cork or real linoleum flooring with good shock absorption qualities. Green Building Supply is a good place to look for safer building materials.
Athletic Tips
7. Your Workout Rest Periods Are Wrong.
The amount of time you rest between exercise sets matters, depending on your own fitness goals.
Here’s a nice breakdown in the National Academy of Sports Medicine:
Muscle endurance & stabilization: This is great if you’re just getting started or back on the wagon with exercise. It’ll help strength key muscles for joint stability in order to build a strong foundation and progress in a safer way as you become more fit. In this stage, you’ll focus on lifting lighter and taking a rest period anywhere from zero to 90 seconds long between sets. The short rest period keeps the heart rate elevated, optimizing weight loss and fat burn.
When hypertrophy is the goal, we’re focusing on increased muscle size. Short rest periods increases testosterone levels and human growth hormone in men. It’??s is best achieved with relatively short rests periods often ranging from 0 to 60 seconds. Longer rest periods may be appropriate depending on condition of the lifter and the amount of weight lifted.
Maximal strength & power: When you’re focusing on lifting your max weight and when you’re training for maximum power, you’re going to focus on taking much longer rest periods. Three to five minutes are necessary.
8. You Forget To Rest.
Overtraining is a problem. Not giving your body and hormones the time to adjust to exercise or not resting adequately between workouts �?? can cause injuries, mood problems, negative changes in your metabolism and burnout within a couple of months time. While too much exercise mightn’t be the sole reason for negative symptoms in some people, overtraining combined with stress from other factors like imbalanced hormones, a diet that is poor, and a lack of sleep or rest can accumulate to serious bodily damage.
And get this: Overtraining can actually cause weight gain. Excessive exercise can lead to high cortisol levels, which could switch your body into fat-storage mode.
Signs of overtraining include:
Changes in your heart rate
Trouble sleeping
Increased soreness
Joint pain
Moodiness, depression or anxiety
Chronic fatigue or exhaustion
Changes in your appetite
Feeling more thirsty
Digestion issues
Irregular periods or changes to your menstrual cycle, such as with all the severe overtraining phenomenon called female athlete triad
Running is definitely an exercise that helps you live longer, but you’ll want to mix it up to include the benefits of yoga and HIIT training, too.
9. You Arrive Undernourished.
Working out on an empty stomach does burn fat. But showing up having an empty tank doesn’t work for everybody. And in some, having the right pre-workout snack enhances fat burn in fact. In The Event you end up burning out halfway during your workout, you could possibly want to try many of these pre-workout snacks before you hit the gym.
A study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found no difference in weight loss between women who ate a meal-replacement shake before exercising without eating and those who got straight into their workouts. So the moral of the story? Do what’s right for you personally, but probably get some sort of natural, pre-workout drink or snack in your routine.
10. You’re Stretching Dangerously.
This is really a biggie when it comes to workout mistakes. If you played sports growing up, chances are you did one of these dangerous stretches that place torque and unnecessary strain on your joints.
Common Exercise Mistake: You Endanger Your Knee with This Hurdler’s Stretch
The above stretch hurdler’s stretch is intended to stretch the hamstring, but it’s one of the major workout mistakes. But the problem lies for the reason that left knee. See how it’s rotated and stressing the knee? This could stretch the joint capsule, damaging cartilage and ligaments, according to a lot of studies. The U.S. Navy IDs this as a stretch to avoid.
To get a hamstring stretch with no unneeded stress, put the foot of the leg opposite the one being stretched to the inner thigh of the leg that is stretched.
Common Exercise Mistake: You Do This Quadriceps Stretch with Both Knees Flexed
Here’s another one that stresses your knees. You can get an effective quad stretch minus the damaging effects of the one above. The Navy trainers recommend then reaching around with one arm, lying on your own stomach and grasping the same-side foot. Before you feel a stretch in the very front of the leg, pull the foot toward the buttocks. To protect your neck, turn your head toward the same side that you’re reaching.
Exercise Mistake: You Do This Overhead Bicycle, Yoga Plow Stretch
This may be the most dangerous stretch on the list. And there’s no safe alternative. It places your neck into extreme positions that are forward, putting pressure on the cervical discs.
11. You’re Too Predictable.
We do anything with no variation, we can get bored and our fitness goals can plateau. The nervous system and muscle can adapt to your own routine, sometimes as early as 6 to 8 weeks. Now it’s time to shake things up!
Here are a few tricks for climbing your way from a plateau so you don�??t get stuck in this workout mistake:
If you’re a runner, try the Swedish training trick called fartlek.
Trade in a few longer, moderate cardio workouts for BurstFit ideas you can do at home.
Eliminate, or drastically cut back on, alcohol. I’ve seen so many people fall off of the fitness wagon, sometimes with as little as one or two drinks. If you’re drinking and hitting a plateau, it’s time for mocktails instead.
Eat more fat. That’s right, your body may be craving more healthy fats. Experiment by means of your calorie intake and find out if adding more avocados and other healthy fats into your diet stokes your fat burn.
12. You Forget Corrective Exercise.
We touched on foam rolling earlier, but that’s just one important component of corrective exercise. To workout without this component that is critical is making one of the workouts mistakes that are most common. To get a personalized read on what you need to work on, it’s best to consult using a certified personal trainer (I recommend ones through National Academy of Sports Medicine, the American College of Sports Medicine or the National Sports and Conditioning Association.) Physical therapists and chiropractors can help.
The idea is getting a postural and movement assessment will help show:
Muscles that need stretching and rolling
Muscles that need strengthening
Running issues like supination or pronation
Broken body mechanics, including postural distortions like forward- head posture, upper – and lower-crossed syndrome
Final Thoughts On Common Workout Mistakes
The best time of day depends on your specific fitness and health goals.
To avoid injury and pain, it’s imperative to work corrective exercise into your routine.
Foam rolling can improve both your physical and mental stress levels, but be sure to hold tender spots for at least 30 and you have to roll the proper muscles to be effective.
If you’re starting to notice joint pain, pay attention to the classes you take, your shoes and the surfaces you exercise on. Workout mistakes are the culprit, and adjustments may be necessary.
The rest period you take in between exercise sets varies depending on your fitness level and goals.
Women who drink diet drinks while pregnant almost double the risk that their child will be overweight or obese at 7 years of age, says a study lead by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. Childhood obesity is known to increase the risk for health problems later in life, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.
Researchers found that as the volume of amniotic fluid increases, pregnant women tend to increase their consumption of fluids. To avoid extra calories, many women replace sugar-sweetened soft drinks and juices with beverages containing artificial sweeteners.
Previous studies of adults have found that artificially sweetened beverages encouraged weight gain, and the study authors sought to discover if drinking diet beverages during pregnancy had an effect on the weight of children.
“Our findings suggest that artificially sweetened beverages during pregnancy are not likely to be any better at reducing the risk for later childhood obesity than sugar-sweetened beverages,” said the study’s senior author, Cuilin Zhang, Ph.D.
“Not surprisingly, we also observed that children born to women who drank water instead of sweetened beverages were less likely to be obese by age 7.”
The researchers limited their analysis to data from more than 900 pregnancies that were complicated by gestational diabetes, a type of diabetes that occurs only during pregnancy.
Approximately 9 percent of these women reported consuming at least one artificially sweetened beverage each day. Their children were 60 percent more likely to have a high birth weight, compared to children born to women who never drank sweetened beverages.
At age 7, children born to mothers who drank an artificially sweetened beverage daily were nearly twice as likely to be overweight or obese.
Drinking a daily artificially sweetened beverage appeared to offer no advantages over consuming one sweetened by sugar. At age 7, children born to both groups were equally likely to be overweight or obese.
Women who substituted water for sweetened beverages, however, reduced their children’s obesity risk at age 7 by 17 percent.
Scientists aren’t sure why drinking artificially sweetened beverages compared to drinking water may increase obesity risk. The authors cited an animal study that associated weight gain with changes in the types of bacteria and other microbes in the digestive tract.
Another animal study suggested that artificial sweeteners may increase the ability of the intestines to absorb the blood sugar glucose. Other researchers found evidence in rodents that, by stimulating taste receptors, artificial sweeteners desensitized the animals’ digestive tracts, so that they felt less full after they ate and were more likely to overeat.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of obese children has more than tripled since the 1970s. Today, 1 in 5 children between the ages of 6 and 19 are obese.
In addition to increased health risks as adults, obese children also have an increased risk of chronic health problems, such as asthma and Type 2 diabetes. They are also more likely to be bullied, and to suffer from depression and lower self-esteem.
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