"Roll With It..."

Anyone who works out on a regular basis probably has experience with muscle soreness. And, no matter how young or old we are, or how careful we are about form and movement, there will be times when we pull, strain, sprain or just plain overuse certain muscles.

Ice, hot tubs, and aspirin usually work to soothe, or at least, ease, minor aches and pains. But when you’re in that, “It’s not a major injury, but it’s more than aspirin will solve” stage, muscle massage seems to work best.  And even though people seem to really enjoy getting a massage after a hard workout, I worry that the therapist will push too hard and hurt me even more while trying to unknot a muscle. 

Of course, a professional massage every week might be ideal for some, but  few of us have the money or time for that. But, there is a convenient and inexpensive way to self massage. For quite a while now, most gyms have had foam rollers available; pieces of equipment that resemble the pool noodles that kids use to float. These foam rollers come in a variety of colors and densities and the trainers use them to “massage” the client’s tight areas after a workout. This technique, called SMR, or self myofasial release, is a flexibility technique that relaxes muscles and allows them to work more efficiently. 

Basically, tissue that is repeatedly exposed to excessive strain (lifting, pushing, pulling, running) can become dense, knotted or otherwise stuck together. This cumulative injury cycle follows a path of inflammation, muscle spasms, and development of soft tissue adhesions that reduce the elasticity of the soft tissues and change the soft tissue structure (resulting in “knots” or “trigger points” of pain). These adhesions can cause your muscles to lose independent movement, dragging their “neighbors” along with them for every movement.


SMR focuses on alleviating the adhesions to restore optimal muscle motion and function. 
-In SMR , the pressure of the body against a foam roller or other tool is sustained on top of the “trigger point” (muscle receptors, also called the pain site or “knot”) . 
-As you “roll” against the trigger, the sensory receptors (called GTOs or Gogli tendon organs) “turn off” the contraction or tightness, allowing the muscle to stretch. 

Using the foam roller with your body weight can bring about improvements:
-in flexibility, muscle recovery, and movement efficiency 
-along with pain reduction and additional benefits like:

-Breaking down muscle adhesions
-Relaxing muscles
-Improving joint range of motion
-Improving neuromuscular activity
-Improving tissue recovery and repair (reduced soreness)
-Suppressing trigger point sensitivity and pain
-Correcting muscle imbalances

-Relieving muscle soreness and joint stress



Although these techniques originated in the rehabilitative setting, SMR has gained a lot of popularity with fitness professionals over the last decade. In most gyms and clubs, foam rollers and massage balls are as common as treadmills and free weights.

They're inexpensive, easy to use, and readily accessible (Even Target and Wal-mart sell them). The typical roller is about a six-inch-round, foam-celled cylinder. To use it, simply put the roller on the ground and allow the weight of your body to press into the surface of the roller.

You should roll at a slow pace, building up a deliberate wave of pressure over tender areas until they become less sensitive. The pressure from the roller will produce a deep local stretch, pushing apart the gnarled tissue and relaxing over-stimulated fibers. 
It’s best to begin rolling muscles at their proximal (closest to the body) attachments, then work distally (away from the center) to accommodate changes in muscular tension
Even slightly changing positions or angles can target different areas.

SLOWLY roll the area until you find the most tender spot and hold it while relaxing the targeted area until discomfort is reduced (between 30 and 90 seconds).

After foam rolling, you should feel better -- not worse. The truth is, the more discomfort you feel when massaging your muscles with the foam roller, the more those muscles actually need to be massaged -- the discomfort is telling you where you need to focus your efforts. 

You can try some of these basic ways to utilize the foam roller:


Back-Cross arms to the opposite shoulder. Keep your abdominals drawn-in, and raise your hips until unsupported. Also stabilize the head in "neutral." Roll the mid-back area on the foam.



Quadriceps-Position your body prone with the quadriceps on foam roller. Maintain proper core control (with your abdominals drawn-In and glutes tight) to prevent low back pain. Roll from the pelvic bone to the knee, emphasizing the thigh.


Hamstring-Place hamstrings on the roll with hips unsupported. Cross your feet to increase leverage. Roll from your knee toward the back of your hip while keeping quadriceps tightened.


Foot-place the arch of the foot on the curve of the foam roller and roll back and forth across the bottom of the foot. You can put more pressure on the roller with your body weight, but be sure to have something to hold onto for balance as you roll your foot over the foa

When you choose a foam roller, product density is very important:

-If the foam is too soft, less than adequate tissue massage is applied. 
-On the other hand, if the foam is too hard, bruising and more advanced soft-tissue trauma    may occur. 
-Usually rollers in blue/white/red are softer and those in black are firmer.
-Foam rollers with grids and rumble rollers have knobs that work into the muscle more  deeply. 
I've even used tennis balls and less pliable balls to roll on my foot for the same benefits as the rollers. Over time, the foam can break down, so buying a higher quality roller is worth the investment. 

Foam rolling has been a lifesaver as I get older. It's shortened my recovery time from a grueling workout, and increased my flexibility.

I’ve found that I’ll feel the pain after rolling for a day or so, but the affected area heals much more quickly when I release the knotted muscle with SMR. So, if you just can’t seem to shake that tense area in your back or hamstrings or if you're just trying to relax a “charley horse” in your calf, give SMR a try. You’ll feel better. I promise!

"Life In The 'Fast' Lane..."

I have never been that person who forgets to eat or skips a meal because I’m too busy. My bag is always stocked with protein bars, dried fruit and nuts, “just in case” ! 

Even at work, my managers know to schedule an eating break for me at least three hours in to avoid a blood sugar crash. 

So I never even remotely considered trying intermittent fasting when I first read about it.

Even the word “fasting” conjured up all kinds of negative thoughts, from having to prep for a medical test, to fasting religious holiday headaches and grumpiness from lack of food. 

But the more I read about the process of intermittent fasting, the more intrigued I became. I love to eat and I hate to diet. I’m one of those people who will never go on a no carb, no fat, keto, Whole 30, or any other eating plan that eliminates an entire food group. 

Intermittent fasting is not a food plan, it is a pattern of eating. You don’t change what you eat, but the time in which you are eating it. You can make the most of your meals without counting calories or going crazy on a diet. Intermittent fasting allows you to eat bigger meals actually, but within a shorter time frame.

In intermittent fasting, what essentially takes place in the body is that one source of energy — which can facilitate the accumulation of body fat — is switched for another

You can keep muscle mass on your body and get lean because intermittent fasting allows your body to shake off the bad belly weight. Since it requires no change to your diet, intermittent fasting is considered a simple technique, but meaningful enough to make a difference.

Your body goes through stages to get to this point starting with 

1) THE FED STATE- When you are digesting and absorbing food, your body is in the FED state. This starts when you eat a meal and lasts for three to five hours throughout digestion. During the fed state, your insulin levels are high, which makes it difficult for your body to burn fat. 

2) THE POST-ABSORPATIVE STATE- This lasts for 10 to 12 hours after your last meal. During this time frame, your body is not processing any food. After the post-absorptive state, you enter the fasted state. It’s all related to intermittent fasting and how to schedule when you eat.

3) THE FASTED STATE- This is when your insulin levels are low again, about 12 hours since the last time you ate. Fasting puts your body into a fat-burning condition. 

There are a number of different ways to fast intermittently. I found that starting with the 12 hour fast and 12 hour eating works best at the beginning.

-The 12:12 method— a way of eating where the body uses fat as an energy source instead of glucose. Instead of eating whenever you want throughout the day, you're limited to consuming your daily caloric intake within a 12-hour window, and then fast for the other 12 hours. This means that if you eat dinner at 8 p.m., you won't have breakfast until 8 a.m. the next day.

-The 16:8 method: Also called the Leangains protocol, it involves skipping breakfast and restricting your daily eatingperiod to 8-10 hours, such as 11–8 p.m. Then you fastfor 14-16 hours in between. You can drink water, coffee or other no-calorie drinks during the fast period.

-The 5:2 diet: using this method, you consume only 500–600 calories on two non-consecutive days of the week, but eat normally the other 5 days. 

-Eat-Stop-Eat: This involves fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week; Like not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day.

Intermittent fasting can be used to either maintain your current weight or reduce your calorie intake to lose weight.  (But that doesn’t give you license to over-indulge during the eating periods)

Fasting can also help you burn additional calories during your workout. Because I work out early in the morning, I was really worried that the fast period would limit my strength and endurance after 10-12 hours without food.  But this pattern — known as a fasted workout or fasted cardio — has never hindered my workout, and may actually be beneficial.

When insulin levels are low, your body has no choice but to burn fat. Naturally this happens faster when you haven't eaten, Your body uses fat stores for energy rather than the glucose in your system, which is what happens if you eat prior to the workout session.

In order to be in a truly fasted state, you'll have to go without food for at least 10 hours, which is why morning workouts are so effective.

Research has shown many benefits to intermittent fasting:

·       Boosts weight loss

·       Increases energy

·       Promotes cellular repair and autophagy (when your body consumes defective tissue in order to produce new parts)

·       Reduces insulin resistance and protects against type 2 diabetes

·       Lowers bad cholesterol

·       Promotes longevity

·       Protects against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

·       Improves memory and boosts brain function

·       Makes cells more resilient

 I started with the 12:12 method and have worked my way up to the 16:8 fast (Ok sometimes 14:10) I find that drinking lemon water, coffee or tea during the fast period is helpful. Many people find the 12:12 method to be the simplest, most sustainable and easiest to stick to for weight maintenance, but get better results for weight loss with the 16:8 method. 

I’ve been consistent for over four months now and have seen some weight loss. But, more importantly, I have seen a visible increase in my muscle mass, and a significant decrease in the bloat and belly fat I was putting on. I find that the scale drops a few pounds when I’m more vigilant about a longer fast.

It's been an easy way to kind of rev up my metabolism without too much sacrifice and I'd definitely recommend trying it. It would be a great way to finish out the holiday season and avoid packing on weight !!  

  

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