If you are a regular
reader of this Blog then I am preaching to the converted.
However, I would like
you to give this short but important video to your friends and family who you
know are not getting enough physical activity in their lives.
For investment of just
22-30 minutes per day (which adds up to just over 150 hours per week) you can
keep away from the World's number one preventable killer, lack of
Cardio-Respiratory Fitness.
Which is statistically the strongest predictor of
premature death.
In addition, if you are more physically active, then your likelihood of having of of the other top 5 diseases also decreases, so it is win/win.
Now this physical
activity does not even have to be done in one go!
Three lots of 10 mins,
morning, lunch and evening.
We call this "snacking on exercise."
Even if you get your 30 mins of activity, it is still unwise to be in the same position for too long.
Sitting disease
includes watching a screen for 5 or more hours daily.
Who doesn't use a computer for work these days?
Why not try a standing desk and alternate positions every 30 mins?
Your challenge is:
Can you limit your
sleeping and sitting to just 23.5 hours day?
To be perfectly honest
we could all stand to be a bit more healthy, particularly when it comes to
getting exercise. There is, however, a point when a good, healthy habit turns
into a harmful addiction that is actually doing damage to the person with the addiction
instead of improving their life.
What Is Exercise
Addiction?
At it's most basic,
exercise addiction is a behavioral addiction, but it really stems from body
image issues that can drive the afflicted to push their exercise regime past
the point where it's healthy and beneficial to where it can have lasting
long-term destructive effects on the body of the person.
While the point at
which exercise moves from healthy habit to harmful addiction will vary from
person to person, the standard for the shift is when exercising starts having a
detrimental effect on the addicts life, including having an impact on their
body, mind, work, and social interactions. Whereas a person with a healthy
exercise routine will skip a session if work or their personal life impedes
their ability to exercise, an addict will eschew work or social interactions
just to work out, and will actually have withdrawal symptoms if something
prevents them from exercising.
Effects of Exercise
Addiction
Unlike addictions to
things like drugs or even alcohol and gambling, the ramifications for exercise
addiction are different because the addiction can easily progress to dangerous
levels before being noticed. In addition to avoiding social and professional
obligations in an effort to exercise more, those afflicted with exercise
addiction also face real health problems associated with the disease.
While a healthy work
out schedule factors in time to let the body recover from the activity, those
with an addiction will not only push their bodies past the point of exhaustion
within their work out, but will not allow their bodies to recover from the work
out before doing another one, which can cause damage to muscle and joint
tissue. In addition to damage to joints and muscles, lack of sleep and eating
disorders are also closely related to exercise addiction as the addict will not
take in the nutrients they need or get a healthy nights sleep.
Treatment
Treating exercise
addiction is much like treating an addiction to gambling, as both are focused
on the release of endorphins within the brain. While there are no medications
approved for the treatment of exercise addiction, exposure and response
prevention treatments are the most popular way to help those with the
addiction. Those with both an exercise and eating disorder will often receive
treatment concurrently since the conditions are often linked and treating them
both allows the mental health professional to get to the root of the problem.
If you or somebody you
know has an exercise addiction, the best thing you can do for yourself or your
friend is to have them reach out to a professional that specializes in
behavioral addictions before they do irreparable damage to their bodies.
Aiden Owens has battled
his own addictions, including a gambling addiction [http://www.nongambler.com]
that pushed him to visit Williamsville Wellness, a leading Virginia substance
abuse treatment center. To learn more about Williamsville Wellness and how they
can help you with your addictions, visit them online at: WilliamsvilleWellness.com.
This week, Bulletproofbodies with be looking at Exercise & Addiction.
We assume that exercise can be a positive addiction, as you replace one habit with another. However, Exercise-addiction will be covered later this week.
Habitual tobacco use,
irregular and insufficient exercise, regular intake of alcoholic beverages
above a minimal amount, being overweight for one's height, and sleeping less
than 7 hours per day are linked to poor health.
This observation was
promulgated by public health researchers in the early 1980's who studied
thousands of individuals living in the Western United States over several
years. These particular habits were singled out because of data that had
already linked regular cigarette smoking, sedentary life style habits,
non-engagement in regular exercise, habitual intake of alcohol more than 2
drinks per day, and obese body habitus with premature aging, illness, and
premature death. Inadequate sleep was added because of its association with
body stresses and persistence of internal elevations in cortisol and adrenalin
production.
Consequently, being
intentional and deliberate with wise choices regarding these Five Health Habits
was recommended. Let's take a look.
Tobacco Use.
Cigarette
smoking, cigar smoking, and pipe smoking are pleasurable and often socially
engaging for individuals. Tobacco leaves are cultivated, harvested, and then
carefully processed in commercial factories with pleasure as the goal. Yet, all
tobacco releases toxic chemicals when burned. Inhalation of these toxic
chemicals directly irritates respiratory tissues and perpetrates inflammatory
tissue responses and consequent damage. A direct result is progressive
bronchial and lung scarring as well as various cancers throughout our bodies.
These include kidney cancer, bladder cancer, and gastrointestinal cancers as
well as mouth, tongue, throat and respiratory cancers. With no uncertainty,
habitual tobacco use perpetrates disease and perpetuates multiple chronic
illnesses that directly lead to death.
Alcohol Ingestion.
Ethyl alcohol is the result of bacterial fermentation of fruit sugars. Wine has
ancient origins and the deliberate fermentation of grapes was an organized
process in ancient cultures, serving a positive purpose of begetting a liquid
beverage which did not support microbe life. In ancient times, wine was a
healthy alternative to river and lake water, well water, and even rain water.
Excess ingestion however, did produce intoxication with delirium and did
perpetrate chronic illnesses though specifics were not realized in those
centuries. We now know that ethyl alcohol oxidizes various organ cells,
producing inflammation and eventual cell death. The liver and nervous system
are particularly negatively affected. In the present era, alcoholic beverage
production is commercially productive and its purchase and ingestion is
fettered only by age requirements. Alcholic beverages are produced from various
fruits and grains now with many different flavors and appeals. Ethyl alcohol
internal organ injuries though are epidemic and include direct injury to the
liver (alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis), to esophageal and stomach cells
(inflammation, ulcers, and cancer), and to the central and peripheral nervous
system (delirium, hallucinations, cell death, memory loss, dependence, chronic
anxiety, major depression, numbness, impaired balance sensations, pain).
Alcohol can induce progressive heart disease known as an alcoholic
cardiomyopathy, which results in heart failure. Regular alcohol ingestion is
clearly harmful, hazardous, and lethal.
Being Obese.
Obesity
has a clear definition. Overweight status is defined as Body Mass Index of
25-30 kg of body weight per square meter of body height. Obesity is defined as
BMI greater than 30 kg body weight/square meter of height. Optimal body weight
is now stated to reside at Body Mass Index of 19-24 kg/square meter of height.
BMI calculators exist in doctors' offices, dietitians' offices, clinics,
hospitals, schools, pharmacies, and on various web sites. Obesity elevates
blood pressure, makes tissues resistant to insulin and thus causes diabetes
mellitus, contributes to progressive atherosclerosis, and overloads one's heart
and lungs. Obesity aggravates other serious health conditions, too, such as
emphysema, coronary heart disease, arthritic conditions, co-existing diabetes
and hypertension. Deliberate weight reduction of more than 10 percent can
result in measurable health benefits. With no uncertainty, obesity induces new
illness and compounds existing illnesses.
Inadequate Exercise.
A
habit of regular exercise will counter a propensity to obesity. Regular
exercise burns calories, stimulates healthy circulation, strengthens one's
heart, stimulates deep breathing, and generally offsets stress. Exercise
cleanses tissues of metabolic waste accumulations by promoting blushing
circulation through the organs, particularly to muscles, skin, and nervous
system. Exercise that is graded, balanced, regular, and without injury is
nothing but health promoting and wellness supporting. Walking 20 minutes per
day 5 days a week can be adequate.
Inadequate Sleep.
All
creatures have circadian rhythms: awake periods and sleep periods. Sleep rests
organs and tissues and reduces stress. Sleep must be sufficient in time so that
organ rest and restoration can occur. Essential aspects of regular sleep-wake
cycles include lower cortisol secretion, lower adrenalin production, lower
blood pressures, reduced insulin production, and general cell rest. Antioxidant
cleansing of organ cells and our blood vessel walls occurs during sleep
periods. Sleep rejuvenates tissues and restores healthy chemical balances.
Short sleep results in adrenalin and cortisol surges that stimulate blood
pressure elevations. Oxidation stresses surge also and tissue fatigue results.
Regular short sleep periods yields accelerated aging, elevates blood pressure,
and strains nervous functions. These consequences compound existing diseases
and impair mental alertness and social behaviors. Circadian rhythms key off of
light-dark cycles and are innate to our inner biological functions. Overriding
one's natural innate circadian rhythm has been proven to promote health
deterioration. With certainty, inadequate sleep can aggravate existing
illnesses and weaken resistances to infectious diseases and cancers.
Thus, it is logical and
rational that these Five Health Variables be groups as Essential Health
Intentions and Health Habits. The intent is to drive wise choices.
Indeed, the national
Centers for Disease Control has strongly recommended intentional cultivation
and right-maintenance of these Five Health Habits:
Adequate Exercise 5
days a week;
Abstaining from Direct
Tobacco Use and Avoiding Secondary Tobacco Smoke;
Abstaining from
Alcoholic Beverages or drinking only small amounts infrequently;
Maintaining one's Body
Mass Index between 19-24 kg/square meter, and
Sleeping 7 or more
hours per day.
These are personal
choices. Awareness is essential. Willful planning and commitment with personal
diligence is essential. I encourage all to make these Personal Habits.
Rex Mahnensmith, MD is
a physician who serves as a General Internist in the practice of Primary Care
for all individuals who elect health care. He is especially interested in
preventative medicine, health maintenance, wellness, and healthy choices for
living. He serves individuals with chronic illnesses as well as those with no
illness. He aims to help individuals to know and to make healthy choices in all
circumstances.
We've all been in that
place where we feel like we're not making progress. Maybe you're just starting
out and making changes to your diet and fitness routine is harder than
expected. Maybe you're a veteran, with your routine locked in, but just aren't
seeing the progress you want. In either case, many people get discouraged, and
either give up, or end up injuring themselves. Neither is a great option. I'm
of the opinion that moving, and being active will always be better than not.
Here's a list of suggestions that I work through with my clients who become
discouraged.
Define progress. Don't
underestimate the importance of deciding what it is you want. The old adage of
"if you don't know where you're going, you'll never get there" is
perfect here. What kind of progress are you looking for, and how are you
measuring it? Are you tracking your workouts in a notebook? Lots of CrossFit
boxes are using Wodify, or another program like it to allow members to track
their progress. Do you forget to enter your times and attendance? If you don't
track what you've done, you'll never know how far you've come, and that leaves
the door wide open for discouragement when you're feeling tired, or frustrated.
Once you've decided what you want, come up with steps on how to get there. Come
up with a plan, with short-term and long-term goals along the way.
Consider your stress
bucket. I love the analogy of a stress bucket, which was first introduced to me
by weightlifting coach Sean Waxman, owner of Waxman's Gym, and I think the
analogy has so much relevance not only to coaching, but to life. We all have
stress in our lives. Our diet, sleep, work/school and relationships are what I
think of as the common fundamental stressors in our lives. If we're eating
badly, not enough or too much, our stress bucket is a little more full. Same
thing with sleep. Those two things are the basic blocks for physical
well-being. Do you have extra going on at school/work, or are things tense at
home? After all of that, we can consider what's going on at the gym, which also
adds stress. "But, I go to the gym to relieve stress," you remind me.
Many of us do, and it does help to relieve stress. That endorphin rush is a
very real thing. However, as you work, you're tearing down muscles, and
generally fatiguing your body which adds stress to your bucket. Add on top of
that the emotional importance many of us apply to how our workout goes, and we're
piling on more. Now, if your fundamental stressors are already taking up an
inordinate amount of your bucket, it doesn't leave a whole lot of room for gym
stress, and we start to overflow. Overflow means things stop going well, you
stop making progress, or you injure yourself. I know from experience that
sooner or later, you cannot continue to make progress in the gym if your stress
bucket is over-full. It will catch up with you. And it means you need to
address the other stressors before you can expect to make more progress.
Sometimes, its as simple as dialing in your nutrition, or getting an hour more
of sleep at night. Sometimes, it's being a little gentler with yourself until
things, which may be completely beyond your control, settle down at home. I can't
tell you how many times I've reminded women at all stages (particularly during
pregnancy, post-pregnancy) that there are times and seasons, and sometimes the
gym and optimal fitness simply cannot be a priority. Trust me, I've learned
this the hard way!
Proceed carefully
through pain. It is all too common, especially in CrossFit for clients to want
to just "push through the pain." Now, I'm not talking about the
"burn" or the natural fatigue we all feel when we're pushing
ourselves to our limits. I'm talking about the pain that leads to or is the
result of injury. I've had my share of injuries, and I've spent months going
through recovery, and I can very honestly tell you that no workout is really
worth an injury. Sometimes, you never see it coming. I had a friend who pulled
his hamstring, just bending down to pick something up off the floor. It
happens. I'm talking about shoulder pain, for example, that isn't going away,
and isn't getting better, and may, in fact, be getting worse. Figure that out
before you go all out on any movement. Let your body be your guide, and utilize
your coaches. Many times they might know a thing or two, or they know someone
who can help. Keep in mind that sometimes, you will need to invest in outside
help, like a massage therapist, a chiropractor, or a physical therapist. Now,
that doesn't mean that you need to turn into a vegetable until you've made a
full recovery. Every exercise can be modified, whether you CrossFit, or do yoga
or Zumba. Keep moving. Just be smart about it. Only you can gauge how much pain
is too much, so it's up to you to listen. Remember, when it comes to injury,
patience will be well-rewarded, and actually, your optimal health and fitness
really require you to be patient, as difficult as that is to swallow.
Sometimes, if you've
run smack into that wall, it's entirely appropriate to back off. Find another
activity that you're more motivated to try, or that's more enjoyable right now.
If you really feel the need to stick with what you've been doing, know that modifications
may be necessary, and that's okay, Today, be kind to yourself. Love yourself a
little more, and know that you are capable of really amazing things!
Elizabeth is a CrossFit
Coach and athlete, a single mother of three, cook, and musician. Most of all,
she loves to connect with people. You can find more of her thoughts on fitness,
mothering, and finding balance between the two at Ginger Says,
http://www.elizaspencer.com.
