Pumagility for wellness

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I can’t say I have always been a fan of Puma.  They’ve always been more about making a fashion statement than performance in my opinion.  I have been known to sport some of their shoes while throwing around some weights but as far as doing anything athletic, they all fell a bit flat.

That said, I have fallen in love with their latest shoe.  Not so much for its utility, but more for the message surrounding it.  The tagline is “Get a Move On”.  Sound familiar?  This is the type of mentality/lifestyle I began writing about in my very first post (titled, “Get Moving!”) on this humble blog.  When I first saw the television commercial, I immediately thought that if MFW were to run a spot, that it would look very similar to this:

 

Why does my personal trainer tell me to exercise less?

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Pacific Ocean (Nov. 10, 2004) - Machinist Mate...

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The exercise and health equation is pretty simple. “A” increases with “B” right? Wrong.

Exercise is medicine. I don’t say this in a cutesy way either. Exercise, just like any pill you can pop, initiates a number of chemical reactions within your body. It must be carefully applied so as to elicit the desired effect while minimizing any negative side effects.

Believe it or not, there is a time when exercise can be toxic for you. As my great human physiology professor often reminded us, “The dose makes the poison.”  His most shocking example of this truth is when he would relate how endurance runners sometimes perish by drinking too much water after a race. (see hyponatremia)

Before I go any further, please let it be known that this will not be another cardio-bashing blog post.  There are enough of those out there in the blogosphere.  My purpose is only to attempt to pre-emptively justify why, after just receiving your payment for personal training, your personal trainer may now be telling you to stay out of the gym.

When I first attempt to explain this concept to my clients, they often ask me why I bothered studying exercise for so long if I’m telling them it is bad for them.  In order to answer this, allow me to give some quick background on what a degree in Kinesiology entails.

My formal education has been full of studying athletes, seniors, stroke victims and cadavers in applied settings as well as exercise physiology labs.  All of this after basically completing a pre-med track of courses.  I’ve studied how the body responds to exercise in all conceivable environmental variations.  Aside from all the anatomy, biochemistry and physiology, I have ultimately learned that exercise is nothing more than self-induced stress.  Your hypothalamus and limbic system can not tell the difference between running in the park and getting yelled at by your boss.

 

Stress is stress is stress is stress….

The end result of too much stress is as varied as the possible sources.  Every living being utilizes the awesome force of adaptation.  Central to that force is the concept of hormesis: (as described at gettingstronger.org)

Hormesis is a biological phenomenon whereby a beneficial effect (improved health, stress tolerance, growth or longevity) results from exposure to low doses of an agent that is otherwise toxic or lethal when given at higher doses.

We realize that stressors can serve a purpose however when we fail to account for all possible stressors, we find ourselves writing checks our body can’t cash.  Be it physical stress, chemical stress, emotional stress or financial stress, your body knows not the difference.  The “stress pathway” within you is very complex and deserves its own post (soon to be linked here).

Exercise is only a stress-reducer when the one exercising is perfectly healthy and free from chronic stress in the first place.

The point is that it is most likely the case that you hired a personal trainer because you don’t feel and/or look as healthy as you would like to.  This current state of dissatisfaction was not brought on by a sudden case of the “lazies”.  It is probably closer to the truth that you have packed on some pounds due to an overload of stress in one form or another.

My Golden Rule of Wellness

I  hesitate to declare a rule of Wellness “Golden” this early in my life but I feel that even through my continuing exploration of all things in wellness and human performance, I will not have to revise the following statement.  The single characteristic all humans operating at an optimal level of health and performance share is that they are honest with their bodies.  The first truth they allow themselves to believe is that they are infinitely unique in mind, soul AND BODY.  We all know we each possess a unique personality and spirituality yet we relinquish our authority when it comes to our biology.  We let others tell us what healthy is rather than experiencing it for ourselves.  Every major traditional system of medicine has respected the biochemical individuality of the patient despite having the technology necessary to articulate this principle in full.  Our ability to break down everything to it’s biochemical pathway has left us with an inability to see the forrest for the trees.

To thrive is to realize that our physical bodies are but an intermediary to a causal universe.  The world around us is always striving for homeostasis or balance.  Our bodies do the same; we just have to listen to them.  In order to acheive true wellness, we must learn to take every sub-clinical symptom (those idiopathic nagging headaches, bouts of brain fog, fatigue, gas, joint pain, etc) and use it as a means to discovering our own personal triggers. 

Fat is Energy; Energy is not Fat

For far too long, we have thought of weight gain in terms of sloth and gluttony.  Ask your MD why you are overweight and they’ll tell you that your intake of calories must be greater than your level of physical activity.  It’s simple Newtonian Physics as far as most obesity authorities are concerned.  Thankfully, there are some prominent researchers who actually get it.

Fat is a symptom, not a cause of chronic disease.  Gaining weight is the body’s way of preparing for drastic conditions.  This change is brought on by real stressors perceived by our glands and organs.  If we are honest with our bodies, we will notice this change and truly ask ourselves what factors may be contributing to the problem.  Going straight to, “I need to eat less and exercise more” is an irresponsible knee-jerk reaction that will only pile more stress upon all the stress that got you fat in the first place.  Be honest with your body.  Pay it the respect it deserves by fully and truthfully investigating any and all causes of stress and imbalance in your life.  Do not be afraid to start slow.  Becoming a Mover takes time.

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Move for your Bones

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Compact bone & spongy bone

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As more of us live beyond our 80′s, our bones become an increasingly important element of healthy ageing.  The statistics (found here) are just as dire as the obesity epidemic.  The good news is that although we all stop accumulating bone mass at age 30, there are scientifically proven methods of maintaining a strong and functional skeleton for as long as you have breath in your lungs. 

The average adult human skeleton is made up of 206 bones.  The talus is the only bone in the body with no muscular attachments.  This means that the other 204 bones you possess are under varying amounts of muscular force at any given time.  Muscular force is the pulling, twisting or bending force that an attached muscle inflicts on the bone when it contracts.  The other type of force is Ground Reaction Force (GRF).  GRF is the force originating from the ground that is transferred upwards throughout our skeletal structure.  There are more forces under these two classifications, i.e. torsional, shearing, axial compressing, etc.  For the purpose of this concept, just know that the ground creates a force on our bones from the outside and our muscles create a force on our bones from the inside.

This is important to note because the demand (force) we impose on our bones in our daily lives is the only way we can encourage the remodeling of spongy bone to compact bone.  Yes, remodeling is the true scientific term…look it up.  Your bones are constantly being broken down by some cells (osteoclasts) and built up by other cells (osteoblasts).  This is the body’s way of ensuring you only have as many precious minerals devoted to structural support as you need based on the current demands of your daily life.  There is a finite amount of Calcium in your body.  If it all was deposited in to your bones, there would be no way of contracting a muscle to act on said bone.  This is why physicians tell their patients to walk and resistance train for their bone health.  Through exercise, you communicate to those osteoclasts to leave a little bone tissue to keep you upright through all 18 holes this weekend.

Bone is a living, breathing organ.  We tend to think of it more like a bunch of white rocks stacked up in a particular fashion.  Even when we discuss supplementation (Calcium and/or Vitamin D), we still picture little particles of Calcium floating around in our blood and being deposited on various parts of our skeleton.  The truth is, we have far greater ability to create a bone building environment within ourselves than we think.

ashes, ashes, we all fall down…

Provided that you don’t overindulge on processed foods that lack minerals and/or blindly supplement your diet with random vitamins you find in the bargain bin of your local mega mart, your bones will stay dense enough to support your body in an upright position until you die.  We do not need to rely on walkers, rascal scooters or robo legs to carry us across the finish line of this race called life.  We seem to assume that osteoporosis and osteopenia are inevitabilities that we all must succumb to as soon as we reach a certain age.  This is plain false.  We didn’t go through millions of years of evolution to rise to the top of the food chain only to be limited to 70-90 years by a perpetually crumbling skeleton.

Several fractures such as this have been associated to use of bisphosphonates

Since all but one bone two bones (you’ve got one talus in each foot) are attached to muscles, this means that even if you are in outer space, you can maintain your bone density by regularly using your muscles and properly nourishing your body.  You don’t have to spend all your money on medication that may or may not work.  You may have heard of drugs like Fosamax after your doctor read your paltry numbers from your DEXA scan.  Sure these drugs, called bisphosphonates, improve mineral density but what exactly does that mean?  The only thing these drugs do is improve your DEXA score.  They promote the retention of minerals in your bones but they do not work together with the innate wisdom of your body.  They merely stop the resorption of bone by the osteoclasts.  As you recall, osteoblasts work with osteoblasts to maintain healthy levels of bone density in proportion to the imposed structural demand.  If you shut off the osteoclasts, you also shut down the osteoblasts.  This can lead to more brittle bones and eventually to fractures.

Walk your way to bone health?

Some health professionals promote walking for bone health.  The idea is that the repeated impact with each step will signal to your bones that they need to “beef up”.  The truth is that the evidence is just not there to support this low-intensity mode of exercise as an effective bone preservation strategy.  I suppose that for somebody considered sedentary, (Click here to see if that’s you) walking would provide some positive bone remodeling effect in the first few weeks.  My only fear is that in promoting walking for bone health, we may lull those at risk of fracture in to a false sense of security; just as improving your DEXA results with bisphosphonates does.

She's got healthy bones. Click to see how you can too.

It is crucial to incorporate a safe amount of running and resistance training in to your daily life.  This is most effectively done with the coaching of an experienced fitness professional.  If your bones are porous to begin with, your program must be fine tuned to weigh your needs with your abilities.  If you are simply moving to prevent osteopenia, you needn’t be so structured.  The beauty about moving for your bones is that you don’t need to worry about number or sets, duration or intensity like you do when training your cardiovascular system.  Cardio training involves at least 3-5 systems at one time.  The mode rate and volume of exercise must be carefully designed in order to evoke a desired adaptation response by the body.  Bone density training however only involves one system; the musculoskeletal system.  All you have to do is move your bones at any given point in the day.  Of course you get out of it what you put in but any little bit adds up to a total daily demand that your body comes to expect.  Demand more of your bones on a daily basis and your body will reward you with a couple hips that are less likely to fracture.  

Wiggle your toes at your desk.  Reach for the sky and pull on that shoulder girdle and ribcage.  Every little bit helps and you get quite a stretch on your muscles at the same time. 

 

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Playground of DEATH!!!

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Well hello, you look familiar.  It’s been quite some time since my last post but I have a great excuse.  I have started a Masters program in Sport and Exercise Psychology.  I figured that I know (and will still continue to learn) much about movement and physiology but can’t do much good with the knowledge if I can’t convince people to get out and move around.  I studied Ayurveda under a man of great wisdom, Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar.  He used to tell us that the one symptom he fears is a idiopathic, autoimmune deformity that looks like this:

Now to the story of the day….

I found this article in the July 19th, 2011 print edition of the New York Times.  It was very revealing because like the proverbial boiling frog in the pot, I hadn’t noticed there was a political agenda at work on the playgrounds I grew up on.  I had noticed that during my short childhood, we had gone from all metal to mostly plastic equipment.  I had noticed the tall slides and “igloo made of metal bars” (I don’t know what the heck that thing is called) had vanished.

I figured this movement was to update and keep in line with ADA standards.  I had no reason to complain at the time and found little fault with the new equipment……but I was 9 years old at the time.

Reflecting on this societal shift, I wold like to think I would have been one of those making a huge stink over the progressive policies that dug up our jungle gyms and tire swings and replaced them with those stupid tic-tac-toe squares and 5 foot slides.

Turns out that kids need to be exposed to the risk, fun and excitement that kids have enjoyed for millions of years.  Sure we have replaced our clubs and spears for smart phones and lattes but we still need to learn how to approach challenging situations and face our fears.  It’s a shame that we don’t listen to common sense until there is a study done to prove it.  One common thread in all the medical research, nutrition recommendations and whatever else the CDC, FDA, HHS and WHO has to offer is that despite the most noble of intentions, there are always unintended consequences.  It seems that we accept these words as a get-out-of-jail-free card for anyone who utters them.

Moving For Wellness is all about challenging yourself.  Realizing that the threat does not come from the external, but rather resides within you.  You must battle your nature whether it is to do good deeds when you don’t feel like it or get up and walk your dog after a long day at work.  We allow ourselves to get too comfortable in a society that demands less and less responsibility of us individually.  We as a species have evolved to the top because of our brilliant ability to adapt to adversity.  Confronting a challenge is the only way in which you will grow in character, health, wealth or happiness.

That’s it for me tonight.  I’ve got to challenge my natural inclination to sit here and go bust out a super-set of pushups.

Move and be Well,

BF

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