The Workout Diary of A Middle-aged Woman: Week 1

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I’ve watched early morning, after early morning how the men play in the sand, running exercise drills and sweating their ass off. I watched and admired how they kept coming back every morning and most importantly I watched how their bodies changed; their progress was easy to track since most of the guys lose their shirts early into the workouts and really that’s a beautiful thing ; )

Secretly, I’ve wanted to join in and for whatever reason I just hadn’t. Now, I know the reason, it’s because it looked reeeally tough! But then my friend said she was doing the workout, so now what was my excuse? Being the only girls we paired off together but never were we made to feel any less than the rest of the men nor were we excluded in any way on the contrary. “There are modifications for everything, go at your own pace but we all do it together” said Christopher Vlaun trainer extraordinaire. I thought I would be reeeeally embarrassingly bad at it and die, kidding. I thought I would feel powerless, instead I felt empowered. You see I have been strengthening my body through yoga but that hadn’t been enough to get into the shape I dreamt of having for once in my life, if not now then when? It had already been suggested that I switch up my workouts but for months I didn’t do much more than the usual yoga and except for maybe walking more. So, I stepped it up and joined the BeFit Method workouts on the beach.

The morning of my first workout I was so excited to be participating, finally being a part of the workout that everyone is talking and writing about (http://www.v-artofwellness.com/2013/08/24/the-future-of-fitness-v-art-of-wellness-in-departures-magazine/). The warm-up exercises came easy thanks to yoga. Next came the fun part, running deceivingly simple drills with not a lot of equipment but with a whole lot of results and that’s what I AM after. So my favorite place in the world the beach- so sunny, so calming, so relaxing, had become a place where I started to drop a lot of “F” bombs and where I would be forced to process a few things: So this is what age feels like, so this is what I had allowed my body to become and oh man this is what it feels like to be heavy! Heavy not just some much in weight but more in the sense of how much effort it takes to do everything like jump or run in the sand it’s as if you legs are made of lead. Heavy energetically maybe? But with lots of encouraging and sincere high fives how could I beat myself up? Two things were said that morning that stuck with me. The first surprised me as I overheard one of the men say, “This is tough” and another replied, “If everything was easy, we wouldn’t need to be here” and I thought “wow even these in these guys, who are in shape and regulars at this find it tough.” Woah score a point for little old moi!

For the second workout I was a little less hard on myself. I had committed to doing the workouts, I hadn’t been so sore from the first day, and in reality it had been fun so there I was back out on the beach only this day I was a little less self-conscience, certainly more compassionate with myself. I was reminded of the way my ex “the coach” used to describe his best basketball players as the one’s who always play with “heart” aka guts, it takes guts just to step out on this beach with these men and attempt this extraordinary workout. Score another point for little old moi!

It was during my third day of the workout when I realized that if I just gave my best at that moment, with whichever exercise drill we were doing that’s all that really counted. When I took one exercise at a time I wasn’t so overwhelmed by the thought of the whole workout. I found that I had to give a lot of effort and energy to finish each exercise but I also had to rest in order to get ready for the next one. At one point I found myself bent over, hands on my knees, sweat dripping from my face, breathing so heavy, sucking wind, struggling just to try to catch my breath and just then I looked up and saw that everyone else was in that same stance. Ha! I’m not alone!

Each workout ends with a series of conscience movements and it was at this moment, on the third workout in a week, on the beach that I love, while grounding through my breath that something in me clicked. I remembered the second statement from the first day, the one that went straight to my soul…

“Once you get past your mind, there’s a whole treasure for you to discover of what you are capable of doing”

And that’s when I got it, covered in sand, sweat and heart, of course, I was flowing i.e. as in feeling, sensation, the true benefit of these hard workouts is the vibration I was feeling throughout my body similar to that ”yoga high” but a lot more intense. So when Chris asked, “How do you feel?” “Awe-some!” was my reply and I reeeeally meant it. BAM! My own personal three-pointer at the buzzer for the win… Go moi! Bring on week two!

THEMONICLES
The Chronicles of Monica Uribe | Dynamic Creative Entrepreneur.
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Who Said That Soy Is Good For Us?

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Have you heard of phytic acid? If you had, you probably wouldn’t have the same perception that soy is supposedly good for our diets. Soy has high levels of this kind of acid, which is not neutralized by our traditional Western methods of cooking. This acid inhibits absorption of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc and has been known to cause growth problems in children. Soy actually increases the body’s requirement for vitamin D and vitamin B12, far from being beneficial in the supply of these essentials. Monosodium glutamate or MSG, which most of us have heard of and associate with toxicity, can be formed during the processing of soy foods. Would you believe that there are high levels of aluminum inside as well and you can just imagine what that does to our nervous system!

Phyto estrogens, common in soy, are a disaster waiting to happen when absorbed into the human body. Estrogen is linked with breast cancer, infertility and endometriosis. Soy is also known to be goitrogenic, which essentially means that it will suppress your thyroid regulating ability, which can lead to fatigue, stress and weight gain. Soy will also affect your ability to digest protein, as it is rife with trypsin inhibitors. Get ready for stomach cramps and diarrhea, potential pancreatic problems, as well.

Soy must be fermented in order for us to consume it with any degree of safety. The Asians include soy in the diet, but in relatively small amounts. Unfermented soy is simply not considered by them and they usually only use it as a condiment and not as an essential food. Generations of healthy eating habits have also taught the Chinese and Japanese to eat foods that are high in nutrients and minerals, which counter balance and can counteract the effects of the fermented soy on organs like the thyroid.

Isolated soy protein, is a byproduct generated when a soy bean is turned into oil. It is then included in popular food products such as burgers, milkshakes, ice cream and milk substitutes. Sometimes they are touted as healthier alternatives, for example in the case of a burger, because you avoid all that “red meat” and fats. However, the soy products must taste acceptable to us, or we wouldn’t buy them, so they are loaded with additives, such as MSG and flavorings, in order to make them palatable to our taste buds.

Don’t be tempted to opt for tofu, often linked to soy products, as this is also a nontraditional product that only originated within the Asian markets as populations expanded and demand for the widespread availability of cheap foods exploded.

From allergies to infertility, depression to weight gain, to alcoholism to development problems in children, the dangers of soy are evident, yet are suppressed within our food education system. It’s high time that the curtain was raised on this poor quality food alternative. Let us really understand why the Asian people only use soy in very sparing quantities and disband the myth once and for all that this is a healthy option for us.

©2013 | Shantih Coro
Shantih’s Bio

Treating Chronic Pain: Top 5 Foam Rolling and Self-Massage Basics

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According to a recent study, doctors are over treating chronic back pain. Most people over 30 have it. And it can really put a damper on life. Enter: the foam roller. It will change your life. I use it on myself and all of my clients. Some have a love-hate relationship with the foam roller. And others, well, let’s just say, it’s their new boyfriend (as you will see in later posts, we get reallyclose to our rollers). It’s great not only for back pain, but neck, shoulder, knee and foot pain.

Foam rolling (along with various types of body rolling tools) are key for keeping chronic pain at bay. Pictured above are various tools I use. At top the 6″x36″ foam roller, a 9″ Yamuna body rolling ball and MELT Method hand and foot treatment balls. So for the sake of simplicity, I’ll use the term foam roller, but it could be applied to the other tools as well. Tennis/lacrosse balls are another great tool.

Here’s what the foam roller does:
It rehydrates and brings back flexibility to the fascia and myofascia. Myo-what?

The layer of connective tissue under the skin is the fascia. It has 10 times more pain receptors than muscle. So when you think you have tight muscles and pulled “something”, it’s probably the fascia. Typically it’s those “knots” you feel in your neck, back, calves or wherever you hold stress. Or you know when you can’t turn your head to back up the car and you just don’t know what you did to pull a muscle, yeah, it’s the fascia. The fascia encases everything in your body, including muscles, organs, tendons, etc. And this is typically where chronic pain is lingering. The foam roller can also target deeper layers of our tissue and get into the myofascia, which is our muscle. Once we warm up the fascia, we can dig a little deeper into the muscle.

Do you know what happens when we overuse (logging miles and miles on the treadmill) or not use our bodies enough (the couch potato watching marathons of Breaking Bad)? The connective tissue and muscles start to stick together. Foam rolling helps break that up to keep everything moving along while keeping the tissues hydrated. Sitting, hunching, running, cycling…all these things are repetitive and start to accumulate over a lifetime and using the foam roller helps reverse over- or under-use of our bodies.

Top 5 foam rolling basics:
1. Softer is better. Start with a soft foam roller to target the fascia and warm-up the body. Roll up your foam roller in a yoga or pilates mat or towel, unless you have a MELT roller.
2. Less is more. Start with 10 minutes a day. Too much too soon can cause adverse reactions.
3. Roll in multiple directions, front to back, side to side, circles, indirectly.
4. Do not roll joints or “spaces” of the body such as under the neck, lower back, back of knees or ankles. Leave that to a professional masseuse.
5. No pain, no gain does not apply. Again, less is more when it comes to pain. Back off if it’s too painful. Rolling shouldn’t hurt. It should feel good.

If you have had recent surgery or a medical procedure, consult with your doctor before rolling.

Amy Mastrogiuseppe
Certified Personal Trainer, Yoga, Kettlebell & Krankcycle Instructor

The Missing Connection

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Below Is an Excerpt on Exercise and Treatment for Anxiety.
Excerpt From: John J. Ratey & Eric Hagerman. “Spark.”

The mind-set that any sound treatment for anxiety must involve medicine isn’t restricted to the courtrooms of divorce proceedings. In 2004 the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published a review of treatments for generalized anxiety disorder that failed to even mention exercise. It was primarily a rundown of our most common antianxiety drugs, with a nod to therapy and relaxation. Of the thirteen pharmaceuticals charted in the review, all bear a formidable list of possible side effects. None have been endorsed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as explicitly safe during pregnancy — not an incidental point given that women are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety and depression as men.

The article was positioned as advice for doctors, but how is it that a summary of treatments for general anxiety disorder in the bible of medical research simply left out exercise? It’s a case of what I would call clinical blindness. The mounting research on the neurological and psychological benefits of exercise seems to be hidden in plain sight.

“Interestingly, it was the cardiologists who spoke up. The NEJM published a letter from doctors Carl Lavie and Richard Milani of the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans. It read, in part, that the author “discusses generalized anxiety disorder and its treatment with pharmacologic agents and psychotherapy. We are surprised, however, that there is no mention of exercise as an additional means of treating anxiety.” The letter noted that cardiologists are interested in anxiety as a risk factor for heart problems, and then pointed out, “Exercise training has been shown to lead to reductions of more than 50 percent in the prevalence of the symptoms of anxiety. This supports exercise training as an additional method to reduce chronic anxiety.”

The letter was a polite way of saying that the original article missed the boat. Lavie has written more than seventy papers on exercise and the heart, eleven of which focus on anxiety. Every single one of his studies has shown a marked improvement in anxiety and depression.

The importance of this exchange is that it’s a case of cardiologists (“real” doctors) taking psychiatrists to task about how to treat the whole patient. If we go all the way back to Hippocrates, the wisdom of the day was that emotions come from the heart and that that’s where treatment should start for maladies of mood. Modern medicine has separated mind and body, but it turns out that, in a very concrete way, Hippocrates had it right from the start. Just in the past ten years scientists have begun to understand how a molecule that originates in the heart plays on our emotions.”

Excerpt From: John J. Ratey & Eric Hagerman. “Spark.” Little, Brown and Company, 2008-01-10. iBooks.
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