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An Exercise Freak???? You could be OVERTRAINING!!

Sindhu Ramchandran — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:37:12 +0000

Do you sleep, dream, eat, drink, walk, talk about exercising?? Do your discussions start and end with how much and what exercise you did today, yesterday, the day before, the day before that, and so on??????
Welcome to this new breed of people, who seem to be obsessed with a certain type of body figure, which may/may not seem attainable, many a times idolizing TV or film personalities. Needless to say, that teenagers and adults between the age of 20-35yrs form a major chunk of this breed.
The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science and Medicine defines it as “a combination of signs and symptoms of over training which typically causes the sufferer to feel mentally fatigued in absence of physical fatigue and causes deterioration of performance”.
No doubt exercising must be an integral part of your daily routine, but becoming obsessed with it, can have its own dangerous consequences. Just like you need breaks at work, your body needs rest, in order to maintain good health.
Exercising places a positive stress on your body, and the body trains itself to adapt to it by making the body stronger, thus improving health.
However, for this adaptation to take place, the body needs rest. When the body is over-stressed, repeated stresses are placed before any adaptation can take place, which confuses the body.
For example, consider the case of men lifting heavy weights for the same body part everyday, with an aim to look like Hrithik or Salman quickly, and find that they have hardly gained any muscle over the previous months.
Please remember, that our body muscles need anything from 24-48 hrs of rest.
Moreover, the growth hormones are secreted while we are sleeping, which is why there is need of a good sleep (6-8hrs) daily.
The classic symptoms of overtraining are
Depression, mood swings, difficulty in concentration
Chronic, Persistent Fatigue
Increase in the Resting Heart Rate
Dehydration
No gains in Health Status
Increased/Decreased appetite
Lowered bodily immunity i.e. increased susceptibility to infections
Increased risk of overuse joint injuries
Muscle pains & Joint pains

Factors like depression and fatigue also lead to over-eating, in many cases which may actually lead to increase in weight, thus causing further depression in people trying to lose weight by exercising heavily, everyday.
The only way to get out of this is to decrease the frequency of exercising or take a complete break and rest for a few weeks or change the activity to a less intense one.
This might mean hitting the gym every alternate day instead of everyday, altering the workout schedule, trying out other modes, just as an example.
Apart from the general population, sportspersons and athletes who over-train are more prone to overuse injuries like
Tennis elbow (Lateral epicondylitis),
Swimmer’s shoulder (Rotator cuff tendinitis and impingement),
Runner’s knee, jumper’s knee (Patellar tendinitis),
Shin splints.
In fact, the main problem for a coach is to know just how much to ask of an athlete without pushing him or her into a state of failing adaptation or overtraining.
Don’t just decide your workout schedule for yourself. Get a professional opinion, or better still, get it designed from an expert.
Moral of the Story is that : Too much of anything is bad..
Use common sense while applying the “No PAIN No GAIN” formula. A slight discomfort is the word!!
Listen to your body. Enjoy Training!!!!!!

CERTIFIED FITNESS TRAINER? What’s the fuss about?

Sindhu Ramchandran — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:35:10 +0000

The Fitness industry is the 7th largest growing industry in the world at present, and to say that its only going to go upwards would be no exaggeration!
This is a competitive industry, and delivery of excellent service is a pre-requisite for its survival and success .A satisfied customer is more likely to continue buying the services, engage in positive word-of-mouth publicity, and increase the volume of purchases.
Which raises questions, which you as customers need to verify……..

Does your trainer avoid your exercise related queries?
 Or does he suffer “Verbal Diarrhea”, and start a completely insensible argument?
Have you ever felt that your trainer is not updated with the latest trends in the Health &
Fitness industry? Or that he is dishing out clearly wrong information?
Have you been asked about your aim for starting your exercise routine, your medical
background, your daily diet & activity routine?

In a world where we give such a great importance on using certified products and services (be it the ISO, CE, FDA etc. certifications), why do we compromise when it comes to the trainers at our gyms, who are infact dealing with the most delicate product ever created – the Human Body?
Most of the gyms (big or small) have their own certification course, which ofcourse is valid only within their gym or its branches, stretching about 3 months, max.
Now, even doctors take about 6-18 months just to learn the basic human anatomy and physiology. So, can you imagine how much a person would learn in 3-5 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shocking, isn’t it?
This is where the importance of a fitness trainer being certified by a well established, accountable, and widely recognized organization/university, comes into picture. The certifications need to be widely accepted, and provide means for continuous upgradation.
For example, there are over 400 certifications in the industry, with NCCA (National Commission for Certifying Agencies) in the US, as one of the premier bodies, which provides quality accreditation.
A certified trainer is well versed with the human anatomy and physiology specifics, thus enabling him to devise & modify exercises, workouts, to suit individual needs and limitations as well as provide the necessary guidance to achieve your personal best.
Let us not forget that we exercise to become fit and not to end up with injuries!

Also, he/she is well-informed in the areas of CPR, Nutrition, Health-screening, Testing protocols, Exercise-prescription, & General training knowledge regarding special populations (like diabetics, post-stroke patients, arthritis patients, etc.)

In addition, he/she is also well versed with concepts of Energy cycles, Fat-burning zones, Aerobic conditioning zones, Angle of attack, Range of motion, Grand-Daddy principles of weight training, Variable resistance training, Flexibility training, etc. plus well aware of the latest trends like Pilate’s, Core Board conditioning, Therabands, Stability balls, Medicine balls, Tae-Bo, Kickboxing, Power Yoga, and numerous others.
This versatile knowledge is highly useful, especially when it comes to personal training, and group fitness training, as it helps to add creativity, variety, enjoyment, and to the otherwise mundane workout schedule.
Hence to get the most of the precious 45 minutes that you can spare for your health, don’t you think a certified trainer would be the best?

So trainers and enthusiasts, go ahead— — GET YOURSELF CERTIFIED OR ATLEAST DEMAND A CERTIFIED TRAINER!!

TOO OLD FOR EXERCISE? Its all in the mind!!!

Sindhu Ramchandran — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:33:50 +0000

The old adage “ Its never too late to start” was probably written, to answer this very question.
We are forever in the quest to improve/maintain a good health status, since it is fundamental to everything else in life. So, why should it be an exception in the later years of life, where infact it is most needed.
And it has been established beyond doubt that EXERCISE is the best & safest bet, when it comes to good health. Infact the right kind of Exercise, in the right amount, is the best anti-dote to whatever problems aging brings along with it.

Exercise, because
Improves strength, stamina, Flexibility, Co-ordination, Posture
Helps deal with stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness and unhealthy addictions
Rev up your metabolism, particularly by strength training
Sarcopenia– which is age related loss of muscle-mass (atrophy), leading to loss of strength can be countered with Resistance training (weight / strength training).
Helps prevent Osteoporosis, Cardiac complications, Diabetes, Obesity, etc.
Excellent anti-aging potion for the skin Improves Sexual performance
Focuses on all aspects of “ Wellness”- Physical, Mental, Emotional, Social, spiritual !

Complications generally arise due to faulty lifestyle habits cumulated over the years—like obesity, diabetes, Cardiac problems, etc. Though problems like arthritis, especially Osteo-Arthritis, (which is an age-related wear & tear problem of the joints), Asthma, may have other causes.
But no matter what the case, Exercise science has so rapidly advanced, that there exists some exercise, which can help improve any condition positively. Just as an example, a person with knee-problems, but still interested in losing weight, may find walking difficult, but can alternately use cycling, Aqua-exercises, Chair-exercises .

The right kind of exercise will take into consideration
Individual’s goals
Health History, Present health status & level of conditioning
Medical history — Medications & Complications.
Contra-indicated & Risk factors

Cardio Training
Regular walking(outdoor/treadmill), cycling, dance-aerobics, step-climbing, aqua-aerobics, Tai-chi
Recreational sports, like tennis, etc.
Strength Training
A set of exercises focusing on all major body parts
Light-weights & more repetitions is the norm
Flexibility
Active / Passive stretching, Yoga asana are the way to go!

Try out different exercises, combinations, or the latest trends like Salsa dancing, Power Yoga, etc.
Any time of the day is fine, as long regularity is maintained.

A few precautions– and you are ready to go!
Obtain a “Physician’s Release” document
Obtain information about exercise precautions & restrictions, Training-Intensity Limit (esp. in case of post-stroke individuals on heart rate lowering medications )
Do-not over-exert. Watch for signs of fatigue.
Maintain “pain free Range of Motion” of the movement / exercise.
Maintain healthy Nutrition & Hydration
Guard against climate changes by proper clothing, hydration levels.

Its rightly said that “ Exercise not only adds more life to your years, and more years to your life”. So gear up, get your shoes on, and get out to enjoy the best years of your life in the best way possible. The bus is waiting!!!