Category Archives: Training

Personal Training

MOTIVATION IS WHAT GETS YOU STARTED

Motivation is one of those words so broadly defined as to be almost useless. It is useless, that is, unless you find a definition that works for you.

Let’s consider a few of the synonyms of motivation found in the reliable world of the Thesaurus: catalyst, desire, encouragement, impetus, incentive, reason, wish.

Okay, motivation is what gets you started. We get that. It is the catalyst, the impetus, the incentive that begins feebly with a wish and more positively with desire and reason. Furthermore it is supported by encouragement.

Delving more deeply, we find that motivation is about action, drive and hunger. Now we’re talking. Motivation leads to passion and passion is what fuels our spirits as well as our actions. Of course, this is the piece of the motivation pie in which it is possible to overindulge.

Motivation is also referred to as get-up-and-go or the right-stuff.

Goodness knows we do not want to venture into the dark side of the word, the antonyms. Hatred, discouragement, depression and above all dullness are not where we want to live our days.

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

Jim Ryun won a silver medal in the 1968 summer Olympics in track and field. Did you know that? Possibly not. However, you may well have read the above, one of his often quoted and pithy sayings. It’s quite true. Try it.

Find motivation and then seek ways to stay motivated until what you have begun, putting one foot in front of another, like it or not, becomes habit; and habit becomes what you like, and putting one foot in front of another becomes what you really want and choose to do.

Consider the word encouragement. It works both ways. You and I can encourage each other to be or do something, but we must be equally open to receive encouragement if it is to be useful. Encouragement offers support, helps to build confidence and bolsters an attitude of hope. Encouragement is far more than rah-rah cheering. On one hand, it is kind, while on the other promotes boldness and audacity. When we offer encouragement to another, we do so because we believe in him or her, we have faith that another individual is capable, strong, resilient and worthy. Again this works both ways in giving and receiving, offering and accepting.

DAILY

By now we have settled into a new year. 2016 is official. The sprint to the finish of the old year is a thing of the past. We’ve had time to reboot and are now running smoothly into the winter months. Seasonal events, snow sports, winter carnivals, taxes and an onslaught of ads for spring and summer clothing and gear blur visions of the immediate future.

Whatever momentum was built or destroyed in the previous month must be reset as well. It is time to consider personal progress towards health and fitness. It is here that the concept of DAILY is significant.

Fitness is not something acquired by going to a class, maneuvering through a weight circuit, or hitting the treadmill once a week. Fitness is cumulative. It is something that needs to be addressed daily. By doing so, bit-by-bit you will enjoy progress and reap the rewards.

If you are a competitive athlete or already engaged in strenuous physical training, you know that you need to balance your hard days with easy days. You know that intensity must vary and you know that there are multiple elements to fitness.

For those seeking health, increased strength and well being as part of their everyday lives, exercise is a key component, but does not need to be overwhelming.

What is needed, however, is to exercise DAILY. Some days your workout, or training session, will be short and some days long. Some sessions will be intense and others easy. Sometimes you will emphasize flexibility or balance or endurance while at other times you will simply walk the dog or stroll with friends. What is important is to make the HABIT of exercise a DAILY habit. Soon you will look forward to your time even if you cannot imagine doing so right now.

Let me share some examples with you.

I am new to the practice of yoga. I have learned that to practice yoga at home, preferably at the start of the day, is a good habit to acquire. Since my days are full of professional training, I dismissed this concept, until recently. I have learned that as little as 20 minutes spent with my notes and yoga mat transform my day.

Four days a week I work with a group at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont. Our 45-minute, lunchtime sessions are a testament of what small group personal training can do in the corporate setting. Some dedicated employees are able to attend all four sessions per week and others do so as work permits. Over the years the energy, enthusiasm, education and training has reached a high level. What’s more, in addition to increased strength, fitness, flexibility and balance, these athletes (and, yes, each and everyone has become an athlete) have gained the confidence to try new things and have much fun while doing so.

While many find it best to address their exercise needs in the morning before the day begins, others find the evening the time most do-able. There is no right or wrong. There is no one form of exercise, one piece of equipment or one sport that is better than another. The bottom line is always that the training that you will do is the training that is best.

Above, I alluded to education. For most individuals, exercise science is interesting, enjoyable, and provides a sense of purpose to one’s efforts. While it is not necessary to be able to recite the names of all the muscles, bones, joints, tendons, ligaments and nerves in the human body, it is very helpful to understand the muscular-skeletal system and how it works.

It is easier to strength train, for example, in a balanced manner when you know that the biceps are the opposing muscle group to the triceps; that when you work the quadriceps, you should also train the hamstrings, when you stretch the shins you should also stretch the calf muscles, and so on.

Learning more about your cardiovascular system and aerobic exercise helps you to understand the value of active exercise and to assess intensity to appropriately enhance the strength of the most important muscle in your body, your heart.

Now I refer you back to the word DAILY. I hope you will consider taking the challenge and making exercise a deliberate and purposeful part of each day of your life. Of course you must do so in a way that accommodates family and work, a way that provides for sickness, injury, weather conditions and all the other obstacles to a smoothly executed daily plan.

I invite you to record your efforts in whatever way you choose. Perhaps what will support your plans is to join a class, buddy up with a friend or work with a fitness professional. Perhaps you have the time to explore the internet or browse through one of the many exercise books on the market. Hopefully you will take advantage of the many steps you can add to your day by choosing options to the elevator, remote, auto and chair.

Admittedly it takes a bit of gumption to get outdoors when the temperature is chilly and the air damp, but go ahead. Bundle up. Give a companion a nudge. Open the door and walk out. See what happens.

Energy creates energy. Rather than fatiguing, moving muscles stimulates more action. Activity promotes positive effects to body and mind. It’s a wonderful give and take, an excellent continuum.

Does it all go back to the hypothesis of motivation? Recently I read that one of the top ten resolutions for cyclists (also applying to athletes of any sport) is to be sure that each ride, each training session, has a purpose, structure. Don’t just exercise to get it over with. Think about why you are training and prepare to reach the eventuality you desire. No more junk miles.

On the cover of a magazine that arrived in my mailbox yesterday is the title of an article, “Harness the Power of Intention” steps to make lasting change. These steps have universal application and appeal. It all begins with finding out what you want. Learn more about what you need to do to achieve your goal; become an informed participant. Commit to your goals, your dreams and persevere. Be diligent and disciplined enough to give yourself the opportunity to achieve. Finally look ahead and envision yourself as you wish to be. (Yoga Journal, February 2016, Make this your year, by Elizabeth Marglin.)

BEGIN EACH DAY WITH INTENTION.

Yes, intention, motivation, a new year. They are gifts to be used. May we all do so and do so daily.

Maintain Fitness and Weight during the Off Season

Holidays 2015

STAY ON WHEN YOU’RE OFF – Unfortunately most active people, at some time, are derailed by illness or injury. More painful than the condition is the fact that these folks, who love to be up and about and pursuing their sport or exercise, are forced to take a break. Sentencing an athlete to sedentary rest is not what anyone wants.

It happens; though with the enormous strides made in medicine, physical therapy and training, alternative exercise is more often available. But these are alternatives. Facing 4-6 weeks away from exercise routines or sports specific training is daunting. The challenge is to remain optimistic and logical when feeling overwhelmed. The trick is to maintain what is safe, fuel appropriately, snag some extra sleep and be positive.

What is referred to as the “off season” for sports or conditioning, is that period of time just following the final race or event of the season stretching all the way to the start of the equivalent of pre-season, usually 4-8 weeks. An injured athlete faces down time much the same as a competitive athlete in his or her off-season or a recreational athlete whose favorite sport is seasonal and done for the year. The smart individual will look at this mandated time off as a significant part of training. In fact, some suggest that it is the most important piece of the whole.

Off-season is not the time to reduce all conceivable levels of fitness to zero. Though an initial week of zoning out and doing not much of anything might be called for depending on the previous season’s stresses, the remainder of the time should be devoted to activity that first heals and then prepares the body for what is to come.

Off-season is an excellent time to assess one’s overall strength and flexibility. Are there any problem spots, any weaknesses, any imbalances? Correct these now and help prevent overuse injury later. As you resume exercise, pay particular attention to working opposing muscles groups and a balanced mix of moderate cardiovascular exercise.

Off-season means you DO have time to play. You want to maintain about 50-60% of your conditioning and active play will help you do so as you relax your mind and loosen your tight hold on discipline.

Off-season is a great time to take some classes, work with a personal trainer who understands your sports and conditioning needs, make friends with a Concept2 rowing machine, explore new areas on foot, snowshoes or skis, and buddy up with friends or family for active hours that will remind you why fitness is your personal choice.

A word about the holidays – Apply the same skills that you apply to your training. Pace yourself. Finish strong.

Holidays 2015

While you’re at it, remember to reach out to others. A helping hand offered to those running the race, so to speak, along with you means a boost to your own energy, capability and, yes, joy.

EATING THROUGH INJURY AND HIBERNATION

by Kimberly Evans, MS, RD

Many active people are challenged to figure out how to eat when training stops. And let’s face it at some point in time training does stop. There are many obstacles to training even under the best of circumstance. For one thing, seasons change. That is how things work in Vermont, and unless you are an athlete with a year round training program, sometimes this means a pause in training.

And then, even the best athletes get injured. So you see, for one reason or another despite best intentions sometimes training stops.

When a change in weather or an injury stops an athlete’s training program they often struggle to figure out how to eat in response. As a dietitian who works with a variety of athletes, I have seen things go one of two ways. Training stops but eating remains unchanged, or training stops and so does eating. The writing on the wall is pretty clear here; neither of these scenarios leads to good outcomes.

When training stops and eating remains unchanged this typically leaves behind a deconditioned athlete with unwanted pounds. This makes it difficult, emotionally and physically, to bounce back. And, on the flip side, when a change in training results in an overly drastic decrease in eating, this too leaves an athlete deconditioned, with little energy, and in less than prime shape to jump back into the game.

So, while it is true a decrease in activity means you need fewer calories, it may not be quite as few as you think. Many formulas used to calculate calorie expenditure during exercise, for example the standard 600 calories per hour, grossly overestimate calorie burn. As a result, this leaves many injured athletes needlessly cutting excess calories during down time.

This is one of the most common mistakes injured athletes make, not eating enough for fear of unwanted weight gain. An overly restricted diet can result in prolonging an injury by not giving your body what it needs to heal.

This means that when the ice melts or that injury heals you are more deconditioned than you expected to be because of muscle loss that comes with an excessive calorie deprivation.

Here is the word of caution to sidelined athletes, please be diligent in continuing to take in adequate calories, especially from nutrient dense foods. Some foods you will want to make sure to continue to include on your plate are sweet potatoes, kiwi, salmon, walnuts, eggs, and berries. Bottom line, athletes need to eat well when training, and when recovering.

Injury aside, when workouts become less demanding eating needs to be adjusted. Continuing to eat like you are training intensely, while your are actually at rest during the off season will only result in one thing, unwanted weight gain. But not so fast. Weight gain does not need to be an unwanted side effect of changes in a training plan if you plan correctly.

First of all assess the duration of your off time. If your training will be sidelined for a week or less, it is likely that no real changes need to be made to your eating. When it looks like things will be off track for a week or more a modest reduction of about 300 calories will likely keep things in check.

Secondly, now may be the time to reduce your carbohydrate intake slightly. It is true that most athletes can get away with, and need, more carbohydrates. During off season pull back a bit and create more space on your plate for protein rich foods such as tofu, chicken, eggs, salmon, Greek yogurt and high protein grains like quinoa. This will keep both your tummy and your body happy at the same time.

Another great strategy can be paying attention to the timing of your eating while in your down time. Keeping eating limited to nine to twelve hours of the day at three- to four-hour intervals, as opposed to the graze-all-day plan, has proven to have positive impacts on weight according to some recent research.

In addition to following this nutrition advice, regardless of why you are less active, this might be a great time to try something new. Weight training, yoga, and meditation all show great benefits for the active person.

Yes, injury, weather related hibernation, family commitments and holidays could be a little bit of a game changer for the active person. However, a sensible approach that is not too extreme will keep you on the right road to successfully getting back on track to being your awesome active self.

Kimberly Evans, MS, RD, co-owner Peak Physical Therapy Sports and Performance Center and Whole Health Nutrition, Williston. To contact Evans, go to RD@wholehealthnutritionvt.com

To view the newly published e-book, Breast Cancer Superfoods, coauthored by Evans, go to www.breastcancersuperfoods.com.

HOLIDAY SEASON = ATHLETIC EVENT

Let the holidays begin, 2015

You’re in it now. The holiday season. No matter how you treat it, Thanksgiving is the beginning of a holiday marathon that ends for some on January 2 and for others on February 14.

It’s Sunday morning and you’re reading the paper. What led you to this point? Perhaps on Wednesday you finished early at work and headed home or here to Vermont to visit and wrap up the final preparations for, most likely, one of the most glorious and gluttonous meals of the year.

Thanksgiving is the one holiday nearly everyone can agree on and celebrate. There’s no quarrel over the naming of it and no squabbling over the commercialism. (Of course there’s the struggle between Native Americans and Pilgrims and the Christmas – strike that – holiday – decorations, songs and sales that began just after Halloween, but …)

Thanksgiving is the warm up to the main events, the 5k that spikes your speed for the marathon. Hanukkah falls early in December this year, Christmas on the 25^th, and for all others, school breaks, office parties and holiday events mark a period of merry-making as an occasion to prepare for, endure and ultimately recover from.

Sunrise Thanksgiving morning 2015, Harpswell, Maine. D.Bonito

Thanksgiving. Hmmm. Let’s see. After Wednesday you may have jumped out of bed early Thursday morning to go run a Turkey Trot or Gobble Wobble, or you may have dashed to the kitchen to begin the final round of cooking for the feast to follow. After the travel, sports, football games and feast, you finally sink into bed exhausted from the sprint to the finish.

But can you recover? No. It’s up early (and I do mean early) to attack Black Friday with a vengeance. After an all out race on Thursday, you’re really not up for the endurance event on Friday. However, it happens, and you must draw on your tediously conditioned reserves, your base.

Saturday is the family’s opportunity to ski (several resorts are optimistically open and there are always the early season trails on which one can make his or her way down, albeit cautiously), explore and visit, in addition to the endless feeding of the multitudes that inevitably follows Thursday, though everyone declared they would never eat again. Saturday is a day of intervals, either dragging along or speeding forward, on a straight path or multiple detours.

Alas, post Thanksgiving Sunday dawns. The fourth day of this particular event signals one of two things. There might be a frantic effort to stuff in a few more non-working activities (or leftovers), or one last-ditch attempt to come home with a buck. Or, the day may demand recovery. Perhaps the only exercise for many will be handling the remote. Monday, a workday, looms as threat or relief, a return to schedule.

But will you return to what has become the usual? Most likely, the answer is no. First of all, your body has become accustomed to an abundance of holiday foods. Rather than being satiated, your appetite now demands more. And more often. You decide you want to bake cookies, or that your friends would just love a home-cooked something as a gift for the next gift-giving holiday. Very nice. But are you sure? Or is it just your need to hang out in the kitchen, pick up a spoon and stir something? And please, no fruitcakes.

If you celebrate Hanukkah, you’re on the fast track for your next extended event with barely a recovery period. You must be organized, honor your need for rest and recovery even as you push forward to the start line. For others, preparations for the Christmas holiday season begin on Thanksgiving evening. Perhaps you watch one of the versions of “Miracle on 34^th Street” to put you in the mood. Maybe you drag out your boxes of decorations, write your gift list or organize cards, stamps and addresses.(Note: there continues to be some sort of practice of mailing greetings. The ready use of the internet has altered forever the face of correspondence and giving with electronically delivered holiday wishes and the ever useful last minute gift card.)

Somewhere in the intervening weeks professional obligations must be met while scrambling to put the finishing touches on the end-of-the-year fiscal records and social calendar. January 1^st will arrive all too soon and you will begin another new year in whatever condition you may have brought upon yourself.

An athlete periodizes his or her annual training plan, as well as shorter blocks such as the holiday season. For many athletes, this last month waiting for snow conditions to cooperate or this first month of on snow activity marks the start of their peak season. For others, December is the off season, the month of play and early base building before January training picks up in earnest.

The off season is never entirely sedentary. To give it all up in favor of a six-pack and the sofa is to invite an uncomfortable and discouraging return to training. A happy mix of activity is the key to maintaining enough fitness to move forward, but enough rest and relaxation to allow fatigued or damaged bodies to become whole.

Waning dedication to one’s sport, even to the extent of burn out, is always a risk and can be circumvented by deliberate time off. Better to choose alternative activities than be sidelined by overuse injury, don’t you think?

Traditional recommendations for athletes during their off season is to step away from their primary sport and focus attention and energy on other types of training. For example, a cyclist or runner should take advantage of the off season to further his or her core conditioning, strength training and even more intense yoga practice. Later, during peak season, whether competing, touring or adding miles, the pendulum will swing in the other direction and core, strength and other practices should moderate to balance the increased intensity of sport training.

Mentally a break is superb. Though reading and studying one’s sport or passion is motivating and educational, a good chunk of fiction might better relax the personality that self-disciplines.

The final piece of the off season pie is sweet. Take time to roll on the floor with your kids, meander through the woods (after rifle season and/or garbed in orange), slide recklessly down a hill, try some pond skating (when thoroughly frozen, please), roll a ball down an alley or try an old fashioned game of hide and seek.

Sunrise Barre Town Vermont late November 2015

Stop to notice spectacular sunrises and by all means plan to celebrate Winter Solstice. Do you remember last winter when I challenged you to find new and different outdoor ways to commemorate each full moon? Have you done so? Some of you have and keep in touch to let me know that you have had snow shoe adventures, hiked, paddled, enjoyed moonlight picnics, and more. I have heard of some good ones.The next full moon falls on December 25^th. How will you celebrate?

Until then, it is Sunday, the fourth day of the initial holiday athletic event, Thanksgiving. You have done it. Now you are ready to look forward to the month of December and all that it means to you and yours.

May the habit of giving thanks be one you practice regularly. Whatever our situation in life may be, there is always something for which to be grateful. You know the old saying, “any day I wake up in the morning is a good day.”

The American author William Arthur Ward wrote: “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”

There’s this, too: “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” John F. Kennedy.

Pause for a glorious sunset as well.
Barre Town, Vermont 2015

CROSS TRAIN FOR MAXIMUM FITNESS

PLAY THE FIELD

Cross Training is the name of the Game.

Variety is more than the spice of life; it’s good for you. It happens to just about everyone. Exercise finally becomes a habit and you regularly go to the gym, walk or run your loop, take the same exercise class three times a week or make it through some sort of exercise plan at home before you drop into bed at night. You get the job done. You feel better afterwards (usually) and you can check off another day on your calendar. It’s routine.

Or you are hooked. You love your sport. You can’t get enough of it. You put thousands of miles on your bike outdoors and then come indoors to ride more intensely all winter. You run more and more outside and when the Vermont winter comes along, you run some more (if you must, on a treadmill). You’ve dropped your other exercise to focus on “your” sport, be it golf, tennis, swimming, basketball or whatever activity has appealed to you.

Outdoor sports have their indoor equivalent so that, heaven forbid, you should miss any training. You may have already marked races or events on your 2016 calendar and are stressing over how to continue your current level of fitness. Or you may be closing in on your winter snow season and eager to do nothing but ski or board or climb or whatever.

If you recognize yourself in any of these scenarios, congratulations. You have already reached a level of health and fitness that is admirable. You have made exercise or your sport an important piece of your life.

But let’s take this a step farther. In an age of specialization, it is important to keep breadth and depth in exercise and training. It is important to cross-train.

Simply put, cross-training is participating in more than one sport or training activity. Cross-training helps to prevent overuse injury, burnout and accommodation that diminishes performance. Playing a variety of sports or training in a variety of ways keeps the program fresh, bolsters lagging motivation and enhances skills, strength and performance while building confidence. Cross-training often means trying something new and moving beyond one’s comfort zone. Cross-training is better than good for you.

So much is about balance. Physical balance is both about centering and making certain that opposing muscle groups are strengthened similarly. Playing only one sport can cause imbalance in muscular strength or joint stability that often leads to injury.

A recent report on youth sports speaks to all ages.

“With the increased emphasis on competitive success, specialization in one sport and greater propensity for specialty sports camps, weight training programs or speed schools, risks are on the rise related to overuse injuries. Researchers for the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) found an excessive focus on early intensive training and competition rather than skill development can lead to overuse injuries and burnout in young athletes.” (Posted on September 8, 2015 by Train for the Game LI in Sports Performance No Comments)

Baseball, softball, tennis, volleyball and swimming are sports that can lead to overuse injury to the shoulders or elbows. (Similarly, excessive computer use can lead to carpel tunnel syndrome).

Using pitchers as an example, the report suggests that a player “Rotate playing other positions besides pitcher, avoid pitching on multiple teams with overlapping seasons, not pitch with any elbow or shoulder pain and never use a radar gun, as it encourages over-throwing.” Furthermore the report states “Prior injury is a strong predictor of future overuse injury.”

New runners often complain of shin splints. Increasing training too quickly, running on a hard surface or inadequate flexibility are cited causes.

On the other side of the leg, Achilles injuries are again attributed to the strain of too much, too quickly.

“Hip injuries may be common among gymnasts and runners, due to the repetitive motions and large amounts of training in a single sport, which leads to strength and flexibility imbalances.”

You get the idea. Just as a budget, schedule or diet needs to be balanced to function at the highest level, so must your exercise or training. Besides, it’s much more fun.

Have you noticed that you can become adept with one set of skills and fitness level and then move to a different sport and need to begin again? If you have been running long distances or cycling steep hills, or maybe playing baseball or soccer in adult leagues several times a week all summer, did you perhaps choose to hike one of Vermont’s excellent trails and find yourself more challenged than you had anticipated?

Do you remember the beginning of last ski season when your quads and hips burned on your first run and caught you off-guard? Did your first swim in open water last spring, or your first paddle, leave you with unexpected soreness?

There is no argument that training specifically for one sport can be efficient, but if that efficiency is not balanced, it can lead to over-training, a reduction in performance and lagging motivation, not to mention pleasure. While excellence is desirable, it should not be bought at a cost to mental, physical or emotional well being.

While it is important to balance the workload on muscles, it is equally important to move in a variety of directions, speeds and intensity. If your sport emphasizes quadriceps strength, (large muscles in the front of the upper leg), you must be sure to balance hamstring and gluteal strength (muscles in the back). If your sport always moves you in the sagittal plane, (moving front to back as in running, walking, classic skiing or cycling), it is important to find a sport that will move you side to side like skating or skate skiing. If your sport is earthbound, include plyometrics or jumping exercises in your practice.

Then there’s the matter of speed and intensity. Within your week of exercise you should have hard days and easy days, long days and short days. Include hills and sprints to shake it up and remind your muscles that they need to perform in a variety of situations.

One thought is to let the season dictate your cross training. Some like to focus on hiking in the fall, snow sports in the winter, an early jump on the outdoors in the spring with walking, running and cycling, and perhaps paddling, swimming or team sports in the summer.

Sometimes simply changing the venue provides cross-training benefits. If you typically ride or run on paved surfaces, get out on the trails to find new challenges. If you are normally in the lake or pool, be sure to cross-train with weight bearing exercises on terra firma. If you pound the ground with one sport, glide on snow or ice with another. If you spend hours in a boat in the summer, spend more hours going vertical. If your exercise is rhythmic and measured, choose cross training that requires quickness and agility such as team sports like soccer, basketball or ice hockey.

Another thought is to cross train within a given week by combining or alternating sports, gym workouts, classes and family time.

Balancing strength and cardiovascular or aerobic training is always the way to go. Never get into a rut.

In the gym lift weights, step or jump on a Bosu, use your own body weight on a TRX suspension system, or practice core exercises on a stability ball, wobble board or Aerex pad. Work equally the upper and lower body, but spend extra time on the core.

To add interest to your core and flexibility workouts, join a yoga or Pilates class. Guidance and good form are always essential.

And, of course, if your sport, training or exercise is solo, try joining a team. It is difficult to focus on an endurance sport for hours on end. Share the responsibilities with teammates and friends.

In recent years triathlons have become increasingly popular. Once the sport of only the “iron” men and women of the athletic community, triathlons now come in several distances offering training and competitive opportunities to a range of individuals. Because the three sports of the triathlon integrate so well, (swim, bike and run), triathlons may be the perfect example of cross training with the additional benefits of balanced conditioning and the happy stimulus of competition.

So, mix it up. Play the field. Compete. Relax. Keep it sharp. Challenge. Have fun.

From the Rutland Herald & Times Argus Sunday Magazine, Active Vermont, by Linda Freeman, October 18, 2015.

MASSAGE NO LONGER A TOUCHY SUBJECT

MASSAGE – NO LONGER A TOUCHY SUBJECT

Sarah Bothfeld, 2015 (photo Larry Gilbert)

There was a time when the word massage conjured images of steamy locker rooms or steamier massage parlors. With the rising popularity of spas and costly pampering that only those with deep pockets and free time could afford, massage assumed a privileged space in which touch performed the task of pleasant soothing.

Today massage therapy is recognized as an effective tool to be used for those suffering from a multitude of physical and emotional problems and by those who seek overall wellness.

Taking this a step further, massage therapy is integral to fitness and athletic performance, preparation, recovery, and injury rehabilitation.

To learn more, I spoke with Sarah Bothfeld, a massage therapist who grew up in Northfield, currently resides in East Montpelier and practices in Montpelier.

Bothfeld offers this definition of massage therapy: “Massage is a gift to the self. It works on the physical, emotional and mental aspects of our being. It can relax, rejuvenate and rehabilitate soft tissue. For the athlete, the person living with chronic pain, the stressed and the recovering, touch with the intent to balance, heal, and support can be a great addition to one’s life.”

Bothfeld lives an active lifestyle and understands the importance of her work. As a child she dared to keep up with her two older brothers as they swam, biked, explored the woods and skied. The outdoors has been important to her family, especially her dad who led the way and continues to bring the family together to sugar each spring.

Bothfeld’s diverse background underpins her ability to relate to her clients. She taught school in Camden, Maine where she acquired a love of sailing, and a boat. When she “needed to get out of town and wanted to do something drastic,” she joined the Peace Corps and spent more than 2 years in Costa Rica where she was able to snorkel, swim, commute by bike and run, “until it was too hot.”

It was in Santa Fe, NM, where Bothfeld transitioned to her profession. Having completed a 1,000 hour program at the New Mexico Academy of Advanced Healing Arts, and with over 500 hours of continuing education during her 25 years experience, she continues today to practice her craft.

On weekdays Bothfeld can be found exercising daily in a gym before her first client arrives. On weekends she is outdoors hiking, paddling and gardening in the summer; skiing Nordic, back country, Alpine or telemark when the snow covers the ground.

Among other things, a massage therapist must be fit for the profession. There seems to be an average of 7 years in the work before a therapist moves on due to the stresses involved.

Is there a licensing procedure for therapists in Vermont? “I think it’s inevitable,” Bothfeld said. “We are one of only a few states where licensing is not required. It will come about as concern for the profession grows.”

Bothfeld is a member of the Amerian Massage Therapy Association, AMTA and a board certified massage therapist. “The AMTA is a professional organization that you join as an active member after graduation from an approved school or with approved credits,” she said. “They provide liability insurance, lobbying and funding toward research and information to the public.” Renewal every four years requires proof of continuing education credits.

A board certified massage therapist has met the standards of the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, NCBTMB, by passing a test and reapplying every two years with appropriate CEUs, indicators of continuing professional excellence.

Exercise and performance involve much more than simply going through the motions, pounding the roads to run, turning the pedals or the paddles, lifting weights, and increasing muscular and cardiovascular strength by whatever means works for you or for your sport.

In Active Vermont you have read of the importance of nutrition, balance, flexibility, recreation and recovery. Today, we add another component, especially useful for those coming off an active summer season and moving into an autumn offseason.

If you do not already include massage as a part of your regular training schedule or wellness program, you might want to consider doing so. Don’t wait until you need it, though massage therapy is an excellent addition to recovery from injury, illness or surgery.

Stress relief through massage is valid, though not the entire picture.

Massage therapy comes in a variety of packages: deep tissue, Swedish (basic techniques that most learn for therapeutic or relaxation), shiatsu, Rolfing®, neuromuscular therapy, medical massage to address needs of oncology, lymph system, scar tissue, orthopedic problems, hypertension, chronic pain and more. As with medicine, the changing landscape of massage mandates specificity for individual needs.

Sarah Bothfeld, 2015 (photo by Larry Gilbert)

Athletes gravitate towards a form of sports massage that is functionally a composite of techniques.

A therapist massages muscles to reduce pain and fatigue, increase flexibility and circulation, blood flow, and broaden joint range of motion.

An athlete, for example, may complain of knee pain. Frequently the condition is diagnosed, somewhat surprisingly, as not difficulty with the bones in the knee joint, but as a tight illotibial band or IT band syndrome. IT band and even shin splints, are often caused by connective tissue that needs enhanced blood flow that massage stimulates.

Injury, tears, trauma and over use make a muscle group so tight that it can actually pull bones out of alignment and cause further complications, possibly preventable through massage.

While massage therapy used for recovery is a no-brainer, systematic inclusion in a training program helps preventatively by keeping the body nourished with blood which in turn enhances performance, releases toxins, reduces mental and physical stress and brings to the individual an increased self-awareness and knowledge.

How do you choose a massage therapist? Word of mouth or a referral from another trusted professional is one way to find a massage therapist, and perhaps the best way. Remember, however, that what works for one person may not work as well for another and you may want to try several different techniques and therapists.

Interview the therapist before scheduling your first appointment. If you are referred by a medical professional because of an auto accident or workman’s compensation, be sure to check with your insurance company as some treatment is covered.

Frequency of massage depends on individual budget, schedules and needs. Regular massage does, however, encourage consistent and continuing results and benefits.

Sarah Bothfeld, 2015 (photo by Larry Gilbert)

Massage is a therapy of touch. Touch is physical and has been a practice of healing arts for much of history. In a negative world, touch can be invasive and inappropriate. Used within the context of massage therapy, touch, gentle or powerful, is the means to an end. The technique of touch provides a way to enhance strength and energy, release tension and open the door to quality of life.

10 Tips to Get the Most From Your Massage

American Massage Therapy Association (www.amtamassage.org)

Be receptive.
Don’t eat just before your massage.
Be on time. Take a few minutes to settle, de-stress, before you enter the massage therapy room.
How much clothing do you need to remove? Speak frankly with your therapist, who will in turn offer you privacy to undress and dress. Most are comfortable removing all clothing. The technique of draping is a part of the practice of massage. Your body will be covered except for the area being massaged. Modesty is always respected.
This is a big one. You will meet with your therapist before the massage begins to discuss your treatment. You must speak freely of your condition, what you bring to your massage on that particular day. You should let you massage therapist know if you have a problem with the lotion used, the music, or even if you’d prefer to talk or not to talk during your massage. Let your therapist know if you have concerns or anxieties or if something is uncomfortable or insufficient during the massage. He or she wants to make certain that you receive effective work and is dedicated to that purpose.

TRAIL RUNNING IS NOT A PASSING FAD

GET OFF THE TREADMILL AND HIT THE DIRT: Gotta run. That’s us. Always in a hurry. In fact, that sense of urgency surfaces in one definition of the verb run, to “move about in a hectic or hurried way.”

Then there’s “moving at a speed faster than a walk, never having both feet on the ground at the same time;” or even running for political office. (google search)

There are wonderful quotes about running as a metaphor for life and how life is a marathon and not a sprint. Running clubs proliferate, as does running- specific gear, books and even movies. Running is touted as the best possible form of exercise. Running is dissed as the worst possible exercise.

To run is cheap (except for running shoes), requires no special equipment (except for running shoes and a water bottle), and, as Christopher McDougall and Bruce Springsteen say so eloquently, we are all “Born to Run.”

That being said, running and any or all repetitive sports and activities place a strain on the body. Good form and intelligent management help to reduce the potential for overuse injuries.

One way to enhance the running experience is to get off the treadmill, leave the pavement, and head for dirt. Running on country roads or trails is good for the joints and good for the spirit. What’s more, unless you get distracted and fall over a root or stub your toe on a rock, you add to the experience a substantial element of safety.

TRAIL RUNNING: Trail running begs definition. At www.trailrun.com, there is this: “And so, you step off a road, into the wilderness, single track, double track…whatever, you are a trail runner. If there is some form of raw earth underneath, you are a trail runner. The rest is personal. It can be competitive. It can be spiritual. It can be for body or for mind. Whatever it is, trail running is yours.”

From newest newbie to gnarly veteran, trail runners approach each run as something new and different, an experience that supersedes the workout. There is no wrong way to go.

In 2014, Jeff Galloway, Olympic runner, coach and prolific writer, added his book, Trail Running, to the mix. While there may be no “wrong” way, there are better ways to enjoy and grow in the sport.

As is popular to do these days, Gallway begins a chapter with the words, “We are hard-wired to be trail animals.” More important than the action is the journey itself, the social component, the variety, the joy of getting away and into the natural world.

As always, Gallway espouses his walk-run training recommendation, a technique that works particularly well on the trail.

Often one finds runners obsessed with heart rate, pace, training plans and negative splits. On the trail, a runner is just as likely to find sprints fired by terrain or pause for a beautiful view, something a seriously training road runner might not do. Furthermore, trail running is not always about speed. Conversely, the racer who cross-trains on the trail will find that doing so shaves time off the paved events.

While Gallway discusses finding venues from Rail Trails to parks and hikes, he also shares advice on gear (do you really need to buy trail running shoes?), skills, training plans and injuries.

Safety precautions are the same as any other outdoor sports. Layer for changing weather conditions, pack fuel and water and wear sunscreen. Do carry a cell phone, but also tell someone where you are going and your estimated time of return. Better yet, run with a partner. Know about where you are going. Stay alert and keenly aware of your step and your surroundings. Do not allow yourself to become overtired or underfed or dehydrated. Plan a run that matches your fitness level or is designed to help you improve safely.

Whatever your trail running expertise or experience may be, you might want to check out a great little book published this year: TRAILHEAD, The Dirt on all Things Trail Running, by Lisa Jhung. Small enough to fit in your pack, it is large on information, helpful tips and humor.

While you may know that running typically results in a higher level of fitness, did you know that trail running , because of varied terrain, is both more forgiving and more challenging to a wider variety of muscles, ligaments and tendons than running on a flat surface? Even your core is more fully engaged when navigating the twists and turns, ups and downs, of the trail, as well as balance and coordination tested.

Running, partly due to the consistent rhythmic nature of repetition, smooths and soothes stress. Trail running adds the mental, emotional and spiritual elements of nature.

Since trail running is often termed “natural,” it follows that when you’re out there on the trail, communing with nature, you need also respect her.

Learn to adapt to and deal with rain, snow, wind, heat, cold, bugs, poisonous plants, wildlife and sun. Adjust your pace, stay focused and on course.

Run with your friends, run with your dog, respect trail etiquette. Finish your run better for having spent another day on the trail.

ULTRAS: In recent years, unable to want more, runners have transitioned from marathons on pavement to distance events on trails and ultimately to multi-mile, multi-day ultra-distance events. Ultra runners are a breed apart. They embrace pain, ooze grit and define determination and survival. It’s not pretty, but it works for them. The rest of us read about their struggles, applaud their success (which is ultimately all about finishing), and revere their accomplishments.

Remember back in July when Vermont was about as wet as it gets? During the soggiest of days Scott Jurek, ultra icon, was slogging his way through our state on the Appalachian Trail, on his way to significantly breaking the previous record for fastest thru-hike. Jurek and his support team began his run from Springer Mountain, Georgia. Averaging 50 miles a day, the 41 year old Jurek traveled 2,189 miles in 46 day and a touch over 8 hours. He crossed 14 states with elevation changes of 515,000’ and finally kissed his wife at the top of Mt. Katahdin in the early afternoon of Sunday, July 12^th.

In 2012, Jurek’s book Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness was released. Maybe he’ll write another one, give himself a break.

Moving beyond the press-grabbing Jurek and Karnasez and their ilk, close to home, we find the Vermont 100 Endurance Race. This event is one of the original 100-mile runs in the USA and a part of the Grand Slam Series of Ultrarunning. It’s hilly, of course, and though the route includes back roads and trails, running under a 30-hour cut-off leaves little time to sightsee. http://vermont100endurancerun.blogspot.com

Do ultras signal the running elite or simply those who have the tenacious resolve to always reach beyond where they are? If you can run a 5k road race, must your goal be a marathon? If you can enjoy an hour or so running a trail with your dog or your friends, are you failing if you decide against an ultra?

One thing is clear, however: running on dirt is here to stay. Each year more runners, walkers and hikers become part of the larger community of trail runners, those who choose to exercise, tour, visit, or race off road.

Furthermore, a second thing is clear. Vermont offers a smorgasbord of unpaved roads, trails, single track, technical, climbing, hiking, privately owned, community and state supported, drop-dead beautiful trails on which to run. More likely than not, you, too, can become one, a trail runner.

RANDOM NOTES FROM TRAILHEAD:

Because trail running is fun, you will be more inclined to repeat the experience.

Trail running shoes may, in fact, be worth the purchase as they often offer more stability, better traction, more sidewall protection and toe bumpers (you will, after all, stub your toe).

Wear what works for you. There’s no stylin’ on the trail.

Rocky, rutted, overgrown, snow, ice, mud – know the conditions and plan for them. (preferably stay off muddy trails, but if you find yourself on one, run through the middle and not the sides)

Always pack food, water, layers, light and that sometimes invaluable cell phone. If you’re in bear country, carry bear spray (and know how to use it). Remember that bears are climbers so don’t waste your energy climbing a tree.

Interesting fact: your dog, running off leash in bear country, might attract a bear and lead it back you.

Speaking of wildlife, a common denominator seems to be to remain calm and never turn your back and run away.

Here is Vermont you might come across a moose or multiple moose (the plural of moose, that is).

Jhung writes:“They are not particularly interested in humans, but if a moose feels threatened or is trying to protect its calf, it may charge. (It’s the hooves you need to worry about, not the antlers.) They don’t want to eat you as they’re herbivores, and besides, many moose attacks are bluffs. “Do not,” however, “stand your ground. Just get the heck out of there.”

Ticks present an increasing risk of Lyme disease. Check carefully for ticks after each run and, if found, remove the tick properly. (You might want to keep the tick in a Ziploc for future reference if you become ill.) Be sure your dog is well protected.See your veterinarian.

Trail etiquette is mostly about courtesy and thinking of the other guy. There are a few basic quasi-rules:

Bikers yield to just about everyone including pedestrians and horses.

Mountain bikers and trail runners yield to walkers, equestrians, rock climbers, families, birders and the like.

Sometimes it’s just a matter of being nice: “Older couples holding hands on trails,” Jhung writes, “should always have the right of way.” (Yeah, right, if an older couple is still holding hands, they deserve the right of way.)

Momentum is a factor either needing to remain in constant motion to make it up the hill, or traveling downward when stopping is difficult. Defer.

Passing requires mutual cooperation. If you know someone would like to pass, make it easier for him or her if you can. If you are the one wanting to pass, don’t surprise the party ahead but generate some sound or a few words. Though we are taught to shout out “on your left,” this could be abrasive so use with care.

Finally, preserve the trail that you are using by not “rearranging nature” or taking it with you. Don’t feed wildlife, stray off the designated path or leave even your energy bar wrapper behind.

Of course your trail running experience will be more enjoyable if you have trained properly. And if you train well, you may decide to enter some of the many trail-racing events held annually throughout the state.

Jhung concludes: “If you raced, any distance, any type of course, congratulations. Be proud.

“And if you didn’t race but enjoy your non-racing miles on trails, congratulations. Be proud.

“You’re a trail runner.”

This story appeared on the Active Vermont page of the Rutland Herald & Times Argus, Sunday, August 16, 2015, by Linda Freeman.

Training for Endurance Means Fueling Well

Endurance sports appeal to athletes of all levels. Training is, of course, specific and necessary in order to achieve satisfying results. Nutrition, or fueling, is often overlooked as an integral part of training. The following appeared in the Rutland Herald & Times Argus, Sunday, ACTIVE VERMONT 8-2-2015

The tortoise and the hare of training and sports, by Linda Freeman

Endurance. The negative connotation of endurance is of tolerance, resignation, stoicism; certainly long-suffering. On the other hand, endurance is often linked with patience and perseverance that demonstrates moral and physical strength. Endurance of any kind is based on experience, practice and tenacity. Physically, endurance is built on a foundation of consistent, appropriate and adequate training.

Sports often fall quite neatly into one of two categories: aerobic and anaerobic, marathon and sprint, fight or flight, tortoise and hare.

A sprint, for example, requires a sudden, swift burst of energy that pushes to the point of pain or even collapse, the very end of one’s competitive rope. A marathon takes hours to complete. Though runners now race at surprisingly fast paces for such continuous exertion, it is still a slower pace than the 400-meter dash.

Athletes train for their sport with a mixture of base-building, LSD (long slow distance) combined with intervals, high-intensity work with built-in breaks.

Team sports are often more fun to watch than individual endurance events, but even the infielder, goalie or forward who must be ready to move, and move fast, must also have the endurance to play through one game or even an entire tournament.

Consider these: adventure sports, running (half-marathons are increasing in popularity, marathons, and the new darlings of the running world, ultra-distance trail events), triathlons (swim, bike, run), cycling (even casual riders score a century of 100 miles along with mountain bike marathons and grand fondos of “great distance or great endurance”).

Golf (18 to 36 holes), fishing derbies, single- or multi-day hikes and daily or weeklong sports camps are yet more examples of the need for endurance as a significant tool in one’s fitness and performance toolbox.

For the average person, endurance sports are possibly more accessible than speed events. Remove factors of genetic predisposition, skill, and even budget from the equation, activities based on acquiring endurance are, in some form, universally achievable.

Furthermore, endurance sports are often cited as a metaphor for life, a field on which to play out the challenges one faces daily, personally and professionally. Endurance requires practice, discipline, focus and the equanimity to continue through ups and downs. In competition or in real life, the power to finish, especially to finish strong, is evidence of the depth of preparation and training, of mental, physical and emotional endurance.

Other than spending long, carefully planned and executed hours of physical training, fueling well before, during and after an endurance event is as critical as the strength and skills you have worked so hard to acquire. No longer does one stuff a plateful of pasta the night before an event and assume that it will satisfy nutritional needs. Today, the concept is to eat and drink well all the time, not just during taper week or the day before. What, when and how to fuel needs to be as strategically planned and executed as each step or mile along the way.

Nutrition is a complex and often confusing topic. Below, Kimberly Evans, MS, RD, organizes and simplifies strategies for you to sample as you prepare for your next endurance event. If you train well and fuel sufficiently, you will give yourself the opportunity to perform your best and have much more fun as you do so.

GMSR photo by Jeb Wallace Brodeur

Don’t forget the nutritional needs of staying active By KIMBERLY EVANS

We are fully into cycling season here in Vermont, and one thing that is on everyone’s mind, as it well should be, is cycling safety. Cyclists are heading out in pairs or groups, wearing brightly colored clothing, securely fastening their helmets and riding far enough to the left to be in the line of vision of motorists, but not so far as to be in the middle of the road.

However, one aspect of cycling safety that might not be high on the minds of riders is nutrition. Many experienced cyclists know that good nutrition is key to race day performance, but outside training and racing many cyclists don’t really consider nutrition as part of their riding experience.

Now you might be asking, what does nutrition have to do with cycling safety? When you are not fueling properly on the bike you are much more likely to be less alert and responsive and, if out on a long ride and not fueling properly, you are vulnerable to making poor decisions. In other words, your head just might not be fully in the game … or in the ride, as the case may be. Poorly fueled riders are more likely to make poor decisions and more likely to be involved in crashes. So here are some key points to consider when heading out for a long ride:

The last supper

Heading out for a long ride tomorrow? Make sure to really fuel up the day before and take special care to focus on a carbohydrate-rich diet. A great pre-ride dinner might be 1 cup of brown rice, a 4-ounce piece of salmon and an oatmeal cookie. High fiber and heavy foods should be avoided the night before a long or hard ride.

Fuel up

A good pre-ride breakfast will also be rich in carbohydrates. Don’t skimp but don’t overeat. A few of my favorites include oatmeal with berries, buckwheat waffles with bananas, or whole grain pancakes with a Greek yogurt. Aim for about 500-700 calories in the 2 hours before your ride.

If you cannot get all of your fuel in with solid food add a sports drink such as Skratch Labs or a homemade electrolyte, anti-oxidant lemonade:

1 large lemon, juiced.
2 tablespoons of honey.
1 pinch of Himalayan pink sea salt. 8-10 ounces of water. Raspberries.

Plan ahead

Before every ride consider what you might need to bring to fuel your ride; how many water bottles, how much sports drink and how much solid food.

Some targets are one 16-ounce bottle of water for every hour on the bike, 300 calories of fuel for every hour on the bike, and a source of electrolytes for hot riding days. Think about packaging 300 calorie snack bags for every hour you will be on the bike.

Some of my favorite 300-calorie fuel packs include: a Kind bar plus a half-bottle of Skratch Labs, half of a peanut butter and banana sandwich, a half-cup of trail mix or dried fruit such as dates.

How will you carry all of this fuel? Most cycling shirts have great back pockets that make it easy to store fuel. I have also fallen in love with the biking Bento box. The Bento box is a nylon pouch that sits just behind your stem, making it easy and safe to eat from the saddle.

If you are less inclined to bring fuel with you on the bike, plan ahead to stop along the ride. Where are the gas stations, convenience stores or favorite latte shops along your route?

No matter how you fuel, a nutrition plan is the safest and best way to make sure that you not only don’t bonk on your ride, but also really maximize your performance as an athlete.

If you are really going the distance, and training for a ride of some distance — such as a half-century, a century or a brevet — I would highly recommend consulting with a dietitian with a specialization in sports nutrition for a fueling and hydration plan that considers your daily needs in the months and weeks leading up to the event in addition to your specific needs to fuel your ride.

If you are not hitting the road this summer on your bike, these smart fueling practices likely still apply to you. From team sports to endurance athletes of all ages and competitive abilities, proper nutrition enhances performance and athletic enjoyment.

Kimberly Evans co-owns Peak Physical Therapy Sports and Performance Center and Whole Health Nutrition in Williston. Contact RD@wholehealthnutritionvt.com or 999-9207.

Rest and Recovery – Key Tools for Fitness

The quickest way to fitness is to have a plan, follow the plan, and have faith in your fitness. Rest and recovery will make you stronger. Yet recovery seems to be the most difficult aspect of training for so many of us. Often elusive, rest is something we shy away from and recovery is a balance with which we struggle. Read below what Joey Adams of Intelligent Fitness, Shelburne, Vermont, has to say when he coaches his athletes to honor rest and recovery.

Relaxing Paddle. Photo by Jeb Wallace Brodeur.

Rest, relax, restore. Do we allow that in our culture? Do we honor siestas, holidays and just general recovery and restoration? If you are into your fitness and well-being, rest is an essential tool in every individual’s training arsenal. It is time to take time to restore you.

This isn’t about being selfish, it is about being self-full! Anyone can go, go, go – it takes true courage to carve out time to rest, relax, and restore.

Rest and recovery are key ingredients to any athlete’s training. And I would argue that anyone with a goal, a consistent workout schedule, a heart, and lungs is an athlete. For some of us, it might be time to shape up and balance things out.

The people that I work with on their training, and who get the best results in pursuit of their goals, get the best sleep and have planned recovery as part of their training.

Let’s start with sleep hygiene. Sleep is your body’s natural steroid. It is where your body rebuilds, restores and unpacks the day’s cognitive clutter. In sleep the body releases Human Growth Hormone (HgH) and this essential hormone (amongst others) helps build the new and stronger you. A host of other beneficial hormones are released and the stress hormones such as cortisol decrease, giving your adrenal glands a needed rest.

When is the last time you had 8, 9 or 10 hours of sleep? How consistent are your sleep and sleep patterns? Are you averaging 7-8 hours or more a night of uninterrupted sleep?

There are simple things you can do to ensure you get a good night’s sleep. Start by turning off electronics an hour or more before bed and Feng Shui the bedroom. Take the electronics out of the bedroom and create a sleep sanctuary, a place to turn off the monkey mind, a place that is cool, comfortable and dark.

Sleep, like any form of training, takes practice. The more you practice the better you get.

The next step in rest and recovery is to plan your recovery day. Yes, you read it right. You need at least one day off from training, and depending on your goals and intensity, you might need two or more. Your day off should be just that, a day off (yes, I know guilt is the gift that keeps on giving).

According to the Mayo Clinic, if you’re an average person who exercises, you workout 75-150 minutes a week. A person in training for an event might workout 5-20+ hours per week. In an organized schedule, that still leaves plenty of time for rest, even accounting for a job and daily life.

Rest comes in many forms. It can be meditation on your day off or an extra hour of sleep during the time you normally workout. It can be as simple as reading a book with your legs propped up or as active as a massage. The key is REST, and not cramming something else in during that allotted workout time.

Generally, the more intense your workouts are, the more rest you need. And be sure that your workouts are balanced – that they aren’t all out all the time. For cardiovascular athletes I recommend no more than 20-30% of their training volume be above their anaerobic threshold.

Without planned rest you are constantly depleting your body’s energy stores. If you think of your body as a bank account and exercise as a loan, rest is the way to pay back the loan with interest. Otherwise, if you continue to exercise without planned and strategic rest you will start to incur a general debt.

You are taxing your body by depleting stored fuel – glycogen. This will potentially lead to one or many symptoms such as feelings of heavy legs, changes in heart function, blood pressure, sleep, night sweats – just to name a few, sometimes characterized as a “stale” feeling.

With proper rest, balanced with just the right dose of exercise and fueling, you will top off the energy tanks each time you eat and rest instead of slowly depleting your reserves.

It is important to consider nutrition as part of the recovery process. Nutrition not only sets up success during exercise, it sets up success after exercise. Thus, it is recommended that one eats 2-4 hours before exercise and that one eats within 30 minutes post-exercise.

Depending on specificity and intensity of a person’s exercise they may need to get even more dialed in on the pre and post-workout meals. For the average person, it is simply best to eat a sensible meal before working out and a sensible meal or snack after their workout. Food is arguably the second tool in recovery, after rest and sleep.

The next tool is hydration. You don’t need any fancy dyed-blue liquid in a bottle, with a gimmicky name. Water is still pretty good for most of us. Just like reading the ingredients on a banana or a handful of almonds…water’s ingredients are uncomplicated. And when assimilating tools for recovery needs, generally the body best absorbs simple things.

Water, like well timed food, helps the body regain homeostasis, the natural balance point. Only when your body has its basic needs met can it consider building a new and better body.

Once you’ve mastered the rest day you are ready to plan rest weeks. Depending on your age, fitness and intensity level a recovery week might be every 3-6 weeks. A recovery week might mean more days off from training, coupled with different activities, or just lower general intensity.

The key, even in a rest week, is to keep the body guessing. When your mind and body learn something new, it is forced to compensate and adapt.

The quickest way to fitness is to have a plan, to follow the plan, and have faith in your fitness – that rest will make you stronger.

A plan should be a cycle of training that includes building a base, adding in just the right intensity at the right time, building up to a peak and then adding in rest and recovery along the way.

A fitness professional can help you with the right plan based upon your starting point and your goals. It should be a road map to success and like any roadmap there should be several destination points to check in and evaluate how you’re doing. No good journey is complete without a destination, and of course, rest stops along the way. May your fitness pursuits bring you miles of smiles!

Joey Adams, M.S. Exercise Science, Intelligent Fitness, Metabolic Specialist, VO2 assessments and performance analysis. www.intelligentfitnessvermont.com

Lessons from an Equine Athlete and His Jockey

American Pharoah

Take-home lessons from watching the running of the Preakness 5-16-2015.

Did you watch the Preakness on Saturday? The Preakness is the 2^nd race in the Triple Crown series. Once again we have a contender. American Pharoah (I know, they spelled his name wrong, I didn’t, and spellcheck keeps correcting me.), the winning bay colt, is not a particularly big boy, measuring in at an average 16.1 hands, but he seems unflappable and I’m not sure we’ve seen him go to the limit yet. Both the horse and his jockey, Victor Espinoza, seem pleasantly confident – not cocky, but just kind of nice about their possibilities.

Who knows? Maybe this horse will be the one to finally do it – win the Belmont Stakes in 3 weeks and thus become the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to win all three legs of the Triple Crown. Only 11 horses have done so.

Belmont may present the biggest challenge of all for 3 reasons:

American Pharoah must race on only 3 weeks’ rest while many of his opponents will have either skipped the Preakness or even face him for the first time – all on fresher legs than his.
At 1.5 miles, it is the longest of the three races.
He could just plain be getting tired of this stuff. You know how it is with athletes, at some point we just get enough of a competitive season and need to recoup.

BTW, personally I think the rules should be changed – not as some suggest and allow more recovery time between races, but to level the playing field at the Belmont. I think any horse allowed to start should have also competed in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. Oh well, but what do I know…?

But here’s what I really want to share with you. It’s a little lesson that I learned while watching. First of all, just as the horses took to the track the sky opened and all concerned were pelted (a word trainer Bob Baffert later used to describe the conditions) with buckets of rain. The camera lenses were so wet it was difficult to see. Jockeys tried to tuck their chins into non-existent collars on their silks and horses blinked their eyes in futility trying to keep the rain out while their hooves splashed through the mini flash flood on the track.

While the infield was cleared of spectators just in case of lightening, in the absence of a nearby strike, the race went forward as if nothing unusual was happening.

Winning the Preakness 2015

Now here’s where it gets interesting. Jockey Espinoza quickly changed his race plan. Starting at the disadvantageous gate #1, on the rail, Espinoza boldly scrapped his original strategy and as soon as they broke, hustled his horse along the rail to the front. He had to really push him. This was a daring move and rarely pays off. But, the jockey didn’t want his horse to follow anyone on a track where hooves would kick gobs of mud into the face of American Pharoah. And no one did.

So, not only did (a) the show go on no matter how much it rained and (b) the jockey quickly adapted but then (c) when he was where he wanted to be, he let up and let Pharoah find his sweet spot and settle in to regroup and run on – cool, calm and collected. (Oh that we all could do the same!) Then when push came to shove, he pushed and won by a convincing margin.

What an athlete – this horse was mentally and physically prepared to get the job done. Several times the announcers mentioned that he had not lost weight since the Kentucky Derby (aha, someone is seeing to it that his fuel is perfect). In fact, his trainer and the whole stable team that cares for this guy have balanced work, rest, and all that it takes to keep him fit and happy and, well, pardon the pun, stable.

Can we learn from him? Why the heck not?!

‘GO WILD’, Take Your Training to the Next Level – OUTDOORS

Take your training to the next level – outside.

The human body is a wonderful thing. Tracing evolutionary development, we see that the body changes, grows, reaches and adapts with amazing competence. The human body is efficient. When a task is regularly repeated, the body learns to perform that task with minimum stress to muscles, bones and mind. Apply this simple truth to our fitness routines, and we will soon see why we plateau, why exercise that at first was demanding becomes moderate and why results diminish. For example, the new exerciser might struggle to run-walk a mile, lose weight with the effort and then suddenly, at the same pace, cease to lose and become bored and discouraged.

As we incorporate exercise into our daily schedules, it is important to vary that exercise and to continue to challenge in different ways, to embrace complexity. To eat the same foods every day, to run the same route, to work out at the same level of intensity, is counterproductive. More and more of the same, results in less and less. Think about it. Boot camp and Cross-Fit classes address adaptation by providing constantly changing training. Road runners have taken to trails, marathoners have moved to ultras, cyclists have turned onto dirt roads, rail trails and into the woods and swimmers have left the pool for open water.

Making the move takes courage. We must push outside our comfort zones; be bold. But we do not need to be pioneers. Others have gone before us and are eager to encourage and share. There’s more. Moving outdoors is relative to play. Though solitary activity has its own benefits, going outside is often done in community. And, community, as well as exercise, nutrition, recovery, balance and sleep is part of the equation of health and well-being.

FROM THE FITNESS BOOKSHELF

“GO WILD” by John J. Ratey, M.D., and Richard Manning (Little, Brown and Company 2014), is my new favorite read. “GO WILD, Free Your Body and Mind From the Afflictions of Civilization”

Go wild. When was the last time you were told to do that? Well, you’re being told to do so now, and in no uncertain or irresponsible way.This book visits many places, sight-sees voraciously, organizes findings and presents convincing proof of what we discovered while we were there. No, this is not a travel book, but it charges through universal themes and connects the dots from early hunter-gatherers to you and me today via evolution and civilization. So if this stuff interests you, grab a copy and settle in for a thought-provoking, perhaps life-altering venture.

Or you might want to begin with “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” by John J. Ratey and Eric Hagerman, first published in 2007. Documented evidence suggests that regular exercise does far more than strengthen the body and help to create a healthy body composition. Dedicated exercise positively affects cognitive development, stress, depression, dementia, ADD, ADHD and a multitude of other disorders related to the brain. Exercise is commonly accepted to be a major contributor to a host of diseases that plague contemporary society.

But back to “GO WILD.” Having laid the foundation of the science behind his experiments and research, Ratey moved on to his more recent book, this time collaborating with Richard Manning, a journalist who was not content to take notes, but needed to put into practice what he was learning.

Trust me, this is not a rah-rah book to encourage you to get to the gym and log your hours, nor is it feel-good pop-psychology. I invite you to do a background check on the authors. You’ll find that Ratey is associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, author and speaker (www.johnratey.com and www.sparkinglife.org). He brings to this project the clinical, academic and yet practical data focusing on movement, nutrition and their effects on the brain and body, while Manning provides balance with personal interests in the wild, agriculture, the environment and eco-system restoration. Each has a story to tell.

Many other names appear on these pages. Some are recognizable for their voice in current fitness and athletic circles: Foreword by David Perlmutter, M.D., author of “Grain Brain” (2013); Dr. Loren Cordain, founder of the Paleo movement; Christopher McDougall, author of the wildly popular “Born to Run” (2009) and just released “Natural Born Heroes: How a Daring Band of Misfits Mastered the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance.” There are more, but these few names could whet your appetite. Then there’s talk about the value of CrossFit, Tabattas and TRX. Shall I continue?

Civilization and evolution have brought mixed blessings: an advanced society that diminishes physical exertion, promotes processed foods, extends years, but fails to sustain body and mind. The authors assault heavy issues with audacious assertions yet back their claims with anecdote and science. Though they highlight nutrition and movement as primary movers, they firmly support the value of community, connection and relationship.

Then there’s the whole piece about diseases. “We are designed to be wild, and by living tamely we make ourselves sick and unhappy,” they write. A sedentary lifestyle is relative to many illnesses as well as a culprit in malfunctioning cognitive development and skills. According to the authors, the lack of exercise makes us dumber. While movement may not prevent disease, it may help to lessen the risk and hasten the cure.

Like all good teachers, the authors tell stories; like good researchers, they generously cite resources; and like good scientists, they test their claims. In fact, they use themselves as test subjects as well. “This book is not an academic exercise for either of us, but rather a product of living our real and textured lives,” they write.They stress diversity, applying that concept to the complexity of human wants, needs and experiences. Nutritional advice is founded on two principles: reduce/eliminate the consumption of carbohydrates and, more importantly, make variety paramount in food choices.

Throughout the years, there have been countless theories surrounding sugars, fats (good, bad and trans), cholesterol, bacteria, meat and grains. The authors do not suggest a restrictive diet, but “Nuts, root vegetables, leafy greens, fruits, fish, wild game, clean, cool water. Range far and wide. Eat well.”

Equally important is the mandate to get off the couch and get moving. Go wild. The gym is good, but outdoors is better. “Exercise in nature is exercise squared.” Hit the trails, hike the hills, snowshoe through the woods, backcountry ski. Exercise daily, in many places and in many ways. Find your tribe, friends and family who will join you; a class, running partners, leaders who will challenge and followers who will encourage. Play. Pursue new projects and ideas. And when you have done so, rest. Sleep — eight hours a night if possible.

“Whether you’re stressed or relaxed, well-being is not about always being safe or fed or comfortable. Rather, it is learning to walk the line between the two, to balance, to move back and forth between them with ease and grace. Well-being comes from learning to talk to the lions.”

As you prepare to re-wild (a Ratey word), heed the closing advice: “Take a step. Assess. Then take another. This whole business becomes not an assignment or duty — rather, an exploration, a process of discovery. It’s guided by rewards.”

(Text was part of piece that appeared on the ACTIVE VERMONT page, Rutland Herald & Times Argus, by Linda Freeman, May 3, 2015.)

Linda Freeman Fitness

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