recovery

Erik's Weekly Fitness Tip | 2 Ways To Combat Aging

 

All The Rage

There are 2 wildly popular topics that dominate in our culture right now - weight loss and anti-aging.  The general public is so concerned about these things that many industries have created the latest fad to combat them. These “cure-alls” generate billions of dollars every single year in product sales, procedures and crazy claims. The worst part is that most of the products and information out there are total crap. 

Aging

For today’s newsletter we’ll stick to aging.  I think it is fair to say that no one wants to get old, but there isn’t really a choice in the matter.  So lets focus on being part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

2 of the best ways to combat the aging process:

1.     Strength Training:  

Yeah, yeah I know, here you go again on the importance of being strong.  Let me tell you this, I have yet to come across a client who tells me they’re strong enough. 

Simple reminder, after the age of 30, we are losing a small amount of muscle mass every single year.  While you might not notice much initially, you can bet at some point, simple daily tasks will get harder. 

Weight training helps maintain the all important muscle mass.  And for those who are concerned about aesthetics, muscle burns calories so get lifting!

2.     Recovery: 

Our bodies do not recover as fast as they once did.  Hormone levels drop, bad sleep, not eating enough, and the thousands of responsibilities that we have to deal with all affect our ability to recover from workouts. 

Intense training bouts are perfectly okay to be doing.  The difference now is you have to build recovery days into your weekly plan.  Instead of a 24-hour recovery period when you were younger, you will now need to stretch it out to 48-72 hours. 

On your days off, sleep, quality food consumption, and plenty of water are an absolute must. 

Image Credit: Robin Arm via Unsplash

Call me if you'd like to start a strength training program 310.251.7420

 

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Erik's Weekly Fitness Tip | 3 Things You Need To Know Now

 

Stress {not the kind you’d typically think of}, recovery, and adaptation are some important body processes to be aware of for your fitness. I think it’s imperative to learn what these are and why you need to understand them for your body.  

Simply put, these processes are something we go through when we train.  After we go through these steps, some psychological changes occur at this point too. We start to build confidence from the gains we have made and from the changes that take place physically: a trimmer waist, a more defined arm, noticing our clothes are fitting differently.

Stress

We apply stress to the body through exercise: i.e. squats, planks, or a long run.  Stress disrupts our homeostasis {our normal physiological state}. 

Recovery

Now our body must recover from the stress that we applied. Our bodies return to their pre-stress state and become a little stronger.

Adaptation

And last but certainly not least our bodies adapt. We discover that we are able to lift a little more weight, hold a plank for a few more seconds, or run a little bit longer.  The best example of adaptation is someone training for a marathon.  Beginning with week 1 they might only run 1-2 miles on a run, but by week 16 or 18 they could be running 18-22 miles on their long run. 

The take away

Our body is truly an amazing piece of machinery, but when you know how to manipulate it through training and understanding stress, recovery and adaptation you have the keys to reach your genetic potential.  So now when you decide you want to start exercising or you want to see how far you can go, keep these principles in mind while on your journey. Rather than just doing arbitrary exercising like walking, lifting weights, or riding a bike, attack with a focused and purposeful plan to reach your goals and apply these processes.  Lift, walk, bike, or run a little bit more every 2nd or third time and you will be pleasantly suprised how far you have come and the potential your body has to go further!  

Image credit: Erik Taylor

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Erik's Weekly Fitness Tip: Supplements Supplement Recovery

supplements
 

Whether you are a young athlete or an olympic medalist, recovery is a crucial part of everybody’s training program. We all know that getting enough sleep and eating well can help aid recovery but have you considered how important supplements are at supplementing recovery? 

Supplements are another key that can help in recovery and performance. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) consist of three essential amino acids: Leucine, Isolecine, and Valine.

What do BCAA do?

  1. Help with recovery

  2. Build lean body mass

  3. Increase your performance

Smart training and programing is your performance future--if you would like help with navigating the world of supplements email me at eriktaylorsfitness@yahoo.com. 

*photo by Lauren Silverman

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