Being immersed in the fitness industry provides me with a ton of different opportunities to experience different techniques, methodologies, and products. I recently had the privilege of a...
Improve Your Healing with DIY Sports Massage
Easy Exercises to Keep You Active
Of course, you know you should eat right and exercise. Most everyone understands the importance of fitness for health. Why is it so hard to stay motivated then? Consider the things that inspire you toward fitness. You may enjoy a particular healthy recipe or be a fan of a certain professional athlete. You might have a goal of running a race or participating in a certain sporting event.
The primary benefit of sports massage is to improve blood to the muscles. Sports massage is a highly effective healing technique also moves oxygen and nutrients to muscles. After you exercise, lactic acid builds up in the muscles. Sports massage can eliminate lactic acid buildup. You can decrease your recovery time by simply eliminating lactic acid buildup and improving the flow of lymphatic fluids. This process promotes the healing process (http://www.howtobefit.com/massage-for-runners.htm).
Consider these tips and methods of sports massage from the Pro academy of New York golf course, Shenandoah:
Frozen Water Bottle – Most athletes are familiar with the concept of rest, ice, compression and elevation (RICE). A frozen water bottle is an affordable way to ice the muscles and massage them at the same time. The ice will reduce the swelling and soothe your extremities as you roll your muscle with the water bottle. Consider this low-cost at-home massage remedy after your workout.
Tennis Ball – If you don’t need the ice, try a tennis ball to massage your muscles. Tennis balls can also be used on the back and legs also. This method is effective for working out the knots in the foot. You can roll the feet over the tennis ball from toe to heel for the most effective results.
Soup Cans – Soup cans are also used to massage the feet and legs. Consider rolling your feet over cans or rolling the cans over your legs to relieve tension and pain. As the pain dissipates from the area of the body
where the soup cans are applied, recovery will begin. This will prepare you for your next workout session.
PVC Pipe – this is an inexpensive alternative to foam rollers. 10″ pipe is best and it is easy obtained from your local Home Depot or Loews. If a little cushion is needed the pipe can be wrapped in several layers of contact paper and secured with duct tape. You can then use it to massage your calves, hamstrings and even you lower and upper back just by rolling on it. It will easily break up the toxins that are located within the muscle and allow them to pass through the membrane and out through the endocrine system.
Training is Better With Sports Massage
There is nothing better than a nice sports massage to start the healing process. Most athletes have made the massage a part of marathon training. Certainly, the benefits of these massages have been proven. Consider sports massage for less painful and more effective training. A healthy life is easy with simple changes. Take baby steps. Remember that moderation is key in all things. Indulge from time to time, but treat the body as the precious temple that it is. When setting your health goal start small. Choose a goal
that is attainable and reasonable.
(This was written by Michelle Pino with some added content by the IronGoof specifically for IronGoof.Com)
How Sleep and Recovery will Help You Cross the Finish Line
My coaches all have always tried to instill in me the importance of a good night sleep. Especially as the intensity and duration of my workouts have been increasing. The issue for me is that I have a phobia of growing older. What does one have to do with the other? I always feel like I am wasting my life away by sleeping. Think about it. As athletes we all want to experience life to the fullest which is why we train and race. Sleeping is eight-ten hours of time we could still be experiencing life and what the heck are we doing but laying there. What a waste! Or is it?
With an anticipated two Ironman Triathlons on the horizon for me, I decided to dig a little deeper and find out what happens during sleep and what benefits it gives us. I am not talking about the regular answers that we hear all the time; “it recharges the body”, “muscles grow during sleep not during workouts”, yada yada yada. I am not going to bore anyone with the “What is Sleep?” lecture. We all received that in high school biology and health class. I am just going to hit the nitty gritty about why we as athletes may need more sleep, because that is what I wanted to know.
Hormones & Muscle
During our waking hours, the body burns oxygen and food to provide energy. This is known as a catabolic state, in which more energy is spent than conserved, using up the body’s resources. When we sleep we move into an anabolic state – in which energy conservation, repair and growth take over. Levels of adrenaline and corticosteroids drop and the body starts to produce human growth hormone (HGH).
A protein hormone, HGH promotes the growth, maintenance and repair of muscles and bones by facilitating the use of amino acids (the essential building blocks of protein). Every tissue in the body is renewed faster during sleep than at any time when awake.
Immune system
I have always heard that sleeping more when fighting infectious illness aids recovery. Getting enough sleep can also help resist infection, as some studies of healthy young adults have shown that moderate amounts of sleep deprivation reduce the levels of white blood cells which form part of the body’s defense system.
A killer of cancer called TNF – tumour necrosis factor – also pumps through our veins when we are asleep. Research has shown that people who stayed up until 3am had one-third fewer cells containing TNF the next day, and that the effectiveness of those remaining was greatly reduced. So that little factoid hit me over the head like a ton of bricks.
JUST as the world is governed by light and dark, human beings also have an inbuilt body clock called the circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm regulates all the processes of the body, from digestion to cell renewal.
Body temperature
Body temperature falls throughout the night. By about the sixth hour of sleep it has dropped to about three degrees below the temperature it was in the evening. At the same time, our metabolic rate drops too which if you’re trying to lose weight may not be a good thing, but it serves a purpose.
The skin The top layer of the skin is made of closely packed dead cells which are constantly shed during day. During deep sleep, the skin’s metabolic rate speeds up and many of the body’s cells show increased production and reduced breakdown of proteins.
Since proteins are the building blocks needed for cell growth and for the repair of damage from factors like ultraviolet rays, deep sleep may indeed be beauty sleep.
Digestive system
The body requires a regular supply of energy and its key source is glucose(sugar). This is constantly burned up to release energy for muscle contraction, nerve impulses and regulating body temperature. When we sleep, our need for these energy reserves is marginal so the digestive system slows down to a sluggish pace. The immobility of our bodies promotes this. Hence, the reason for not eating too late. The acid and enzyme levels have dropped to a point where food is not digested as quickly.
Maybe all those coaches were right. We produce HGH to repair muscles, our immune systems fight cancer and diseases, our skin repairs itself and our digestive system cuts out, so we do not need to burn any sugar. It sounds like I have been looking at this all wrong. I should be sleeping in order to extend my life. Can you say epiphany? (Hopefully you can say it better than I can spell it. It didn’t come up in spell check)
After all the reading on sleep I have completed, I am really tired. Maybe I ought to get some sleep.
Carpe Viam!
(or Carpe Sleepum?)
Tribute Tuesday #1 – Amy Bennett Eck
I mentioned yesterday I am planning on having a regular column called Tribute Tuesday where I will select someone in my life who has had a positive influence on me in some way or another. Most of the time these people will have coached to increase my athletic prowess (which is actually pretty easy), challenge me intellectually (which isn’t really all that hard either), and/or inspire me to be a better human being. My first Tribute Tuesday subject has done all three. With no further ado I would like to introduce my coach, and friend; Amy Eck.