A Deeper Look - The Importance of Strength Training

Over the years as an athlete trainer and a coach, a lesson that I have learnt and continued to learn is the importance of strength. I cannot emphasise this enough. Smart planned consistent strength training is vital to good health. These days I have been finding my niche in exercise for rehab and special populations (senior citizens, pre and post pregnancies, basic orthopaedics) and athletic strength and conditioning. I keep seeing the same thing over and over again. A simple weakness in a few muscles can cause terrible discomfort for people. Though I have been able to assist many people into recovering faster and easing their pains and discomforts, I thought I'd share a few of the things I learnt about the importance of strength training.

Strong muscles are necessary to hold your body up properly! 

1) Strength training strengthens the whole body and all its systems - Strength training generally trains the entire body- bones, muscles, nerve activity, tendons, ligaments, internal organs, cardiovascular systems etc.


2) Strong muscles protect the body - Strong muscles doesnt necessarily mean deadlifting 300lbs. It also isnt the priority to make you look good though its a byproduct. However, strong muscles help your balance preventing falls, In the event of a fall, a stronger muscle can contract harder and prevent more serious damage from happening. It can protect your joints and internal organs.  Whiplash most times is a caused by weak musculature. A strong muscle will help your balance, protect joints and internal organs, and stop serious whiplash.

Courtesy: pixabay.com

3) Strong muscles help in posture - Posture is underestimated. Incorrect posture is the cause of most back pains, neck pains, mobility issues, etc. A large cause of incorrect posture are weak muscles or muscle imbalances ( a group of muscles too tight and another group too weak).
Posture is largely connected to muscles and if muscles are weak you literally get bent out of shape!

Courtesy: www.ergonomics-info.com

  

4) Muscles - Bone relation - Strong muscles helps bones stay in place. We already saw how muscle and bone is necessary for posture. However another aspect of strong muscles are its ability to overcome the strength of the bones. Take for example the unfortunate even of a limb- bone breaking.
Assuming its not a complicated or extremely serious fracture what holds that bone in place rather than slinging off is the fact that the muscle is holding it in place. I heard a story of a person who walked about a mile with a broken leg! He was on a deserted road and limped his way to help. Another instance I heard about was of an amateur bodybuilder in South Africa. He put on so much muscle mass and strength that he broke his bones. He didn't take necessary supplements for bone health.

Im sure you see the further importance of strength training. Of course you do need proper guidance for specific aspects of strength. If you have any questions you can get in touch with me.

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Meditation

Meditation - tons of information about it these days. The biggest benefit everyone claims for meditation is stress relief and thats correct but there is so much more. So I'm going to post what I have found to be effective for me and my clients.

Meditation means to 'contemplate' or 'muse'. That means to think about, and talk about again and again, especially to yourself which also involves muttering or self dialogue. Meditation doesn't need to be complicated. So how is it done?

1. Find a topic: A truthful one. I usually meditate on something from the Bible or what my mentor has said. The topic is important because if we are meditating on the wrong and negative thing its worry which defeats the purpose of stress and is also fatal.

2. Position: Lotus positions with closed eyes and folded palms. The classic represented pose for meditation. The only problem is it gets uncomfortable a little too soon. If you close your eyes it just helps with focus and shutting out distractions. I've done meditations with my eyes open. Also meditation can be done sitting or lying down. If you are taking an afternoon nap or setting in for your sleep in the night, this is beneficial. You go to sleep more easily and drift off for your nap or sleep.

3) Place: Find a comfortable and quiet place. You want to avoid noise, distractions, etc.

4) Time: If I am in the course of the day and have work, I usually take 7-10 minutes out. I dont usually go for 30 minutes or 1 hour.

5) Discipline: Stay consistent. 7-10 minutes everyday is better than a fancy INR 5,000 1 hour course twice a week (especially when you can do it for free). Build a discipline, slowly but steadily

Benefits:

Here are some of the benefits of meditation.

• Reduces Stress
• Calmness
• Mental strength
• Focus and Concentration
• Critical Thinking
• Healthy lifestyle
• Boosts Immunity
• Boosts Strength

Go ahead and start to implement this. It doesn't cost anything. 

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The Overlooked Bases - II: Sleep

In the previous post we looked at hormones and how they majorly impact fitness goals. In this post we are going to look at another important factor -sleep- and how it can affect our goals, and what we can do to enhance our sleep patterns.

Sleep. One of the most blissful blessings that mankind has been given to enjoy. Most of us know what it is to enjoy a good sleep especially at nights. We wake up fresh, rested, mentally alert and our productivity for the day is high. We are more calmer, solve problems better and above all stay at peak health.

However, in spite of all its benefits, in the last few years sleep seems to have lost its purpose and priority. The right quantity and quality of sleep is being compromised. I am not talking about necessary situations that arise due to natural circumstances of life or the missing of sleep for a few days because of some heavy work load which occasionally comes up. I'm talking about sleep not being prioritised in the light of accepting heavy workloads in which people are ready to compromise sleep months at a time, staying up late nights watching TV, partying or hanging out with friends.
I don't have a problem with those activities but there is a lack of sleep epedimic which is coming about by not prioritising sleep. Some things lack of sleep leads to are:

1) Poor Health
2) Decreased and compromised immunity
3) Massive hormonal imbalance
4) Digestive system disorders
5) Lack of productivity
6) Decrease in mental alertness
7) Unable to lose weight or gain weight.

I remember having a conversation with a client who was struggling to lose weight.

Me: 'You are improving, but your progress is too slow. Since your training and nutrition is going fine you will have to work on your sleep.......'

Client: 'Oh forget about it till mid next year. I just have too much work'.

I felt really bad for him. I felt bad because this was in his hands to control yet he couldn't prioritise his health correctly. Not only was did he have a problem with belly fat, he also couldnt see the effect of what he was doing. He could fall seriously ill with massive problems and then not be able to work and also jeopardise his family. This is not a problem I had as a one off. This is a constant recurring problem I come across with a lot of people.

From my own personal experience I can give examples of proper sleep. If I get less sleep three to four days in a row my immunity drops and my fitness goals and productivity come to a halt. I also remember about 6 months ago, I needed to lose some weight and my wife needed to gain some weight. We were wrestling with these problems for well over a year and a half. We were exercising regularly and appropriately and also eating well but we just were not making progress. Finally, I
was led to check our sleeping habits. I corrected our nightly sleep patterns and introduced afternoon naps. Within 2 weeks our results came - I dropped weight rapidly and my wife started to gain weight. Also our immunity was at superb level.

Here are some essential things you can do to improve your sleep.

1) Work with your natural cycle and stick to timings as much as possible: The body slows down and starts preparing to relax around sunset and then go of to sleep. In the morning by the time the first sun rays start to enter the room you should be waking up well rested.

Here are some articles that can be helpful to further understand your biological clock

http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/getting/bio-clock

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/03/your-bodys-internal-clock-and-how-it-affects-your-overall-health/254518/

2) Quantity and Hours of sleep: Its best to get 6-8 hours of sleep. Its best to go to sleep by 10:00 or 10:30 pm and get up by 6 am. As a general guideline, every hour before 12 pm does a lot more to enhance sleep and its benefits.

3) Lighting: As sleep times get closer turn down the lights. Finally, when you go to sleep turn off all lights. The room should be absolutely dark.

4) Temperature: The room should be cool. Not too warm and not too cold. Both the extremes will affect your sleep.

5) Activities before bedtime: Its better to start turning off electronic equipment before bedtime. Turn off the TV, computers and phones at least half hour before going to bed. You can take time to reflect on the day, write, read, plan a bit for the next day, spend time with family, etc..

6) No electronics in the bedroom: Do not keep phones, laptops, TVs in the bedroom. If these are on they have EMG waves emitting from them which interfere with the body pattern. Also the blue light stimulates the pituary gland which makes sleep difficult. Here is an old post of mine dealing with this.

Set this base of your sleep right and take back your health and achieve your goals and lifestyle.

Please feel free to leave comments and share this if you know anyone who needs this.

The Overlooked Bases- I: Hormones

There are overlooked bases when starting out on a fitness or strength building program. Not paying attention to these are what causes delays in goals or stagnating early into your training. In this part we are going to look at hormones.

Today, almost everything in our environment seems to be attacking our health. Most of the food we eat, organic or not, the air we breathe, most supplements and current social and work lifestyles seem to be draining our health. In this chemical and biochemical battle and misplaced lifestyle timing, our hormones take a beating. The onslaught of this outside attack sometimes shows up immediately but a majority of it shows up after a period of time which could be as short as two days or after a period of years.

What are hormones and what do they do?

Hormones are chemical messengers in our body that are secreted by glands in the endocrine system. They are made up of amino acids and are responsible for influencing growth, fertility, moods, emotions etc...

So as you can see these glands and hormones are vital to our well being. Unfortunately with excess pollutants and artificial and unnatural goods, cosmetics and foods, most of our glands and hormones dont work as efficiently as they should. Its a bio- chemical warfare in our bodies.

This is a reason why most times, you cant lose weight, you wont put on size if you need too, you have severe mood swings and sometimes you are just plain tired and depressed all the time. Instead of hormones being in a balance and the right hormones being in a higher count the hormones are imbalanced causing some hormones to shut out completely or the wrong ones to be in excess.

So what can we do?


Here are a few things you can do to boost your hormonal health right away.

1) Start getting a proper quantity and quality of sleep.

2) Cut out refined sugars whereever possible. I would even go so far as to say put an end to it.

3) Eat natural, whole, unprocessed foods.

4) Increase your water intake.

5) Get more sunlight.

6) Supplement correctly, wisely and responsibly.

7) Exercise regularly and choose a correct training plan for you (not the latest fad).

Fortunately the fix is quite simple - Get as close as possible to nature and natural things and consume natural unprocessed stuff. Live in line with the natural laws of life. Remember, simple might not always be easy. Its difficult to suddenly start getting a continuous schedule of sleeping by 10:30pm consistently if you are packed with work. Follow these steps and begin to cover your hormonal bases.

If you know anyone who will benefit from this post please don't hesitate to share it. Feel free to drop me a message if you have any questions to the topic.

Upgrade Your Walking

Walking when done correctly can be very therapeutic and corrective.

Here is a plan I have learned and use it to good effect for results on myself and with my clients.

The plan is based on a count of every 8 steps.

1) Set your posture.

2) As you start to walk, inhale deeply on the first four steps.

3) Hold your breath on the next two steps.

4) Exhale on the last two steps.

Team Building with Laser tag - 1

Laser tag is a great team builder. After playing more than 30 sessions I am drawing from my experience in the game. Laser tag can mimic team work of a family, a military unit, a corporate department, sports team, etc. After all, teams are found in nearly every field and department today.

As I write this blog I would like my readers to know that I am a son in a family, a family man, worked for 6+ years in the corporate in analyst to managerial capacities and played club level basketball and done some coaching for basketball teams as well.

1) Different Gameplays

Laser Tag has a variety of gameplays. In each gameplay, since the goal is different the team has to work together to achieve the goal. It brings realistic scenes as at some point in the game you run out of 'ammunition' at crunch situations or the team might be faced with that same scenario, 

2) Different Venues

Each venue brings its own challenges for the teams. We have played out in the woods, in the parks, in apartment blocks, enclaves, inside houses, confined spaces with minimal lights and heavy sounds. The teams have got to decide on communication methods, best course of 'attack' or 'defense' etc.

3) Different Times per session

Ever had those days at work when the team suddenly has to finish something in a short period of time? Or the work assigned has a longer time period and you are pacing yourself without having to drop productivity of yourself or the teams? Well laser tag games can be of different time lengths depending on game play or availability of time to just 'sneak' in a game!!

4) Realising who are the best people within my group for me to work with

In my case even within the team, I usually work even better with just one or two other people. This is not to say I ignore the rest of my team. Its just that when these team members and I come together we can keep our entire team strong and achieve the gameplay goal more efficiently.

5) Realising my strengths and weaknesses.

One thing I learnt really quickly in laser tag, is I am not all I thought I was. In my first few games I thought I would be taking my team to victory and when the results came out I was hit the maximum number of times without landing a single shot!! Delusions of myself broke quickly. However, I also started realising where my strengths were. I was better off listening to a leader and following instructions than giving them. Learning my strengths and weaknesses helped me push my strengths up to help the team and go back and work on my weaknesses. While I had some of my ego busted during some of the games I was also grateful to lend my strengths to benefit the team.

6) Realising others strengths and weaknesses.

Taking up from the last point, I realised strengths and weaknesses of others. So where I was weak I would have to depend on the others who were strong and where I was strong I went forward and covered the others. I did realise there is no place for ego or pride if the team is to win together. 

7) Teaches us where to take risks.

There are some times when the team needs to take risks. It isn't nice but sometimes its the only way to go forward and possibly win.

These are just a few points that I realised are important for team building. In part two I will be talking about a few more points that I had realised progressively as I kept playing the game.

If you find these points useful for team building I strongly suggest that you go ahead and call for a laser tag game whether at home or the office. Contact www.skirmish.in ASAP.

5 Things to Stay Healthy in the Season

During this season one thing is certain There is a lot less work and more food everywhere. Its those tasty, delicious, mouth-watering, meals and even more delicacies and goodies. There are few things you can do to keep things in check:

1) Get your mindset right, keep your conscience light.

In this season you will no doubt enjoy food and lots of it. You could have late nights, sleep in, not have time in the early morning to exercise and all that is OK!. It happens, it's life. Please don't go on a guilt trip and also remember this period is not going to last.

2) Enjoy your food Responsibly.

I did mention go ahead and eat, but wherever possible try to watch your eating habits. Eat only as much as you need too - don't eat on feeling or out of gluttony.

3) Do some form of exercise or activity at least for 7-10 minutes everyday. 

Since there is less work, chances are you have a little more time and energy to exercise.

4) Do not ignore your rest. 

This season can come with a lot of events and visits which might actually make you tired. Remember to catch up on your rest and sleep well. There is a reason as to why they call this the Holiday Season and wish each other 'Happy Holidays.' Read this blog post I did a few years back to get more ideas.

5) Stay Focused. Stay consistent

Discipline never takes a day off. Yes there are occasional slip ups but you have to stay focused and consistent. Its your health and life that you are working towards. Stay focused and stay consistent.

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