Major Muscles

IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT THE BICEPS...

After the heart for keeping us alive, the Soas is arguably the most important muscle in the body. It's functions are for maintaining good upright posture, allowing full range of mobility between the upper and lower body and keeping us functioning correctly as a healthy physical individual. Also referred to as the hip flexor, it is important in a number of ways but it's key function is to keep us walking upright and when called for - helps flex the thigh and raise the knee forward for running.

Arguably, the evolution of Homo Sapiens owes much to the correct functioning of this muscle and it's very survival, dependent on the necessary quick reaction times required for action in averting danger. In evolutionary terms, it's not that long since we've come down from the trees to roam the plains and there are still very real dangers in our cities. So, this valuable life saving, primal region of our body is still hard-wired to our central nervous system as a first-stage mechanism for fight or flight. Due to it's necessity for being ready to move at all times, it's finely attuned to the environment and warning signals that are picked up from our senses, central nervous system, processed by the brain and sent out to this muscle even before our conscious minds are aware there is a potential threat upon us.

It's been shown through research, where our instinctive reaction times are alert and primed up to a staggering 10 seconds ahead of our conscious minds. Our senses react, the body systems and muscles prepare themselves while our mostly oblivious conscious minds pick up the messages through other signals - like the prickly feeling when our hairs stand on end, the gut feeling of unease or agitation as our blood supply switches away from the gut and cortisol is released from our adrenal gland into the blood stream or from the very fact that we've started running and unsure why that is we are doing it.

Stress Indicators
It appears the diagnosis and treatment for back pain has clearly been somewhere off the mark in many cases over the years. But through breakthrough research into chronic back pain by Dr Sarnos, there has been a lot of success with his treatment into undoing a lot of the problems associated with perpetual stress related symptoms. Key findings have indicted where a lot of stress related pain can be located around the lower back area. This has been shown through studies to be connected with the central nervous system and connected with repressed feelings of anger, anxiety and linked to sustained levels of stress, which in turn are linked and held in the Soas muscles and other related regions of the body - in particular, around the neck. The treatments for improving back problems are focused around directly treating the muscles with massage, pain and muscle relaxing drugs but also through evaluating environment and emotional health.

I believe yoga and meditation have a greater part to play in this rehabilitation therapy, but earlier acknowledgement of the potential stressors, understanding personality types and assessment of suitable environments for positive wellbeing should be considered as a preventative measure against all forms of stress related illness. If we consider that our environment, our moods, the people we surround ourselves with and work situations we put ourselves in are all the modern day equivalents of the Serengeti Plains - with dangers at every turn, either imagined or realised - then we can take preventative measures to stop the fight or flight response from being 'stuck on'.

Good muscle function should be a key factor in our continued quest for retaining peak levels of health. With more focus on the correct movement, agility, posture and balance of our muscles and less emphasis given to the size of say, a bicep, we could all have a better chance of staying pain-free.

Return To The Ritual

GETTING BACK ON TRACK 

After a summer of party excess, returning to a fitness routine like the strict one we were running back in the spring, was never going to be easy - just as any return from a break in the routine feels a bit tough. Fitness levels will start to drop pretty quickly if they are left without having any regular top-up maintenance. And after just two weeks, all the hard work that's been put in before will need to be invested once again.

Getting up at 5.30am is tough, regardless of whether you are used to it or not. But when there's been a lot of missed sleep plus other factors like high alcohol levels and the diet have been running out of control - stepping into a gym for an intensive hour of cardio and boxing training at 7am after a 6 week break will always be hell, no matter how fit you are/were. 

The first 15 minutes will be a shock. Any fitness indicators you benchmarked before, will be showing up well below previous levels. The good news is - that first workout, arduous as it may feel at the time, provided you push yourself hard...the following workouts will feel so much easier in comparison, as your fitness levels quickly return to their former peaks. So after today's session - it's all going to seem that much easier going forward for me and I'm already looking forward to my next one on Friday as well as my return to the fitness ritual.

Testing The Metal

ALTERNATIVE STRENGTH TRAINING

Training for an endurance event and want to harden the resolve? Try a festival. Cutting down on food intake and jumping around in a hilly field with no sleep for 3 days straight will test the strength of body. This, combined with a bit of time invested at the gym, will help with your half/full marathons, sprint triathlons and any Tough Guy equivalent assault courses. 

But, after all this weekend revelry, if you can then push through the day after to perform a tough 6am start doing intense boxing training - when the mind is saying no, stay in bed - that will really prove you have the strength of character to take on an iron man race, euro event or ultra marathon. I truly believe that after this morning's boxing session. 

Musical Motivation

DON'T STOP BELIEVING

Music is the perfect mood enhancer. Having some uplifting tunes ready at hand is the easiest way to lift a spirit! It's amazing how we can turn a grumpy, negative person into one that's carefree and fun to be with.

Create some playlists of your own, or try some new ones on YouTube, Rdio, Spotify or iTunes. We now have a couple of tunes playing that we do our 3 minute planks to help us get through the challenge in the mornings. Every time I hear the intro for Survivor's Eye of the Tiger, it makes me feel happy and ready to tackle these once-dreaded planks and can lift my spirits for any given challenge. Journey's Don't Stop Believing caries us through to the end of the session and gets us ready for the rest of the day and whatever it may bring!

Combined Efforts

TWO CAN PERFORM BETTER THAN ONE

When we're working towards something hard like improving our levels of fitness, body strength and endurance, it takes a certain type of mental attitude to get the best out of our abilities.

On certain days, we may not be feeling quite as energetic or enthusiastic about training and either we skip a session, cut corners, use lower weights, put in shorter times or exert the minimum required effort. That's where a fitness professional comes in handy. Taking part in a group session or one-on-one personal coaching means the choice to under perform - which is usually the head and not the body talking, is taken away form us. Having a PT is a luxury most of us don't have - so the next best option is to train with a friend.

Mutual Benefits
Two training together means a few things. Firstly, the commitment. If both are mutually after the same goals of getting fit, then each will encourage the other to turn up. Turning up as they say, is arguably the hardest part! Secondly, having someone to bounce ideas off or suggest varied training techniques to work with means training sessions stay fresh and will help us to consistently follow a successful training routine. Thirdly, an extra level of support and even a healthy bit of competition means results will be easier to measure and performance levels increased. Just knowing someone else is watching us perform can help motivate us to achieve more. In strength training for example - if we can't quite make those last few reps, someone is there to encourage us to put the effort in or safely spot and assist in those moments where we're just not quite there yet. Increasing the intensity on our own is difficult to do and something we rarely do single-handedly and therefore, to make these improvements two will definitely be better than one. Ultimately though, having others present means a team mindset - each doesn't want to let the other down.

As we've seen from reading about how we deceive ourselves, it's easier to kid ourselves that we're doing the best we can, so having a second opinion to verify if that is in fact the case, will mutually help both parties achieve their goals.

High Intensity Interval Training

SHOCK YOUR BODY

In the gym today, I witnessed some pretty sorry excuses for a work-out. What's the point of going? If you want to maintain a slim, toned physique and earn the right to consume a few alcoholic beverages on a Friday night without fear of bursting out of your jeans, then reading a paper whilst gently turning the legs on a gym bike, just ain't gonna cut it. The truth is - if you want to make a visit to the gym worth the time and money, you have to go through a bit of discomfort. It's meant to be tough. Otherwise, take a long walk, because it'll give you the same results, be more cost effective and the fresh air will be better for you.

H.I.I.T. or High Intensity Interval Training in long form, is becoming all the rage these days. It's essentially a form of exercise that shocks your body into the equivalent of a fight or flight state. Your heart rate is up for a few seconds while the limited energy reserves - the same ones used for getting you out of a tight spot and away from danger - are fired into action. This takes the body from 0-100% very quickly, followed by a recovery period where the reserves replenish while your heart and lungs catch up. It's certainly not something I'd say was enjoyable - you're not reading the sports section of your newspaper at this point! But it is only for very short bursts. Not only is this type of training good for pushing your aerobic levels up for fitness, it also improves recovery time and burns fat faster.

Granted - poodling along at a jog, slow cadence ride on a bike or at a comfortable level on the rower will still burn calories - albeit at a slower rate. The H.I.I.T. process is so effective that the body can effectively burn the same amount of calories a lot quicker and throughout the day - effectively giving desired results whilst allowing time for more pleasurable pursuits outside the gym.

Understanding Body Energy Systems

FACTORS AFFECTING ENERGY USAGE

Energy. We need the best quality sources to perform well - just like we need good fuel in a sports car. Unlike a conventional car however, our body has more than just one energy type that it draws from. Depending on the activity, our body's energy regulation systems will switch over to the best energy source required for the task at hand.

A brief summary...

We take in fuel through food/drink in the form of carbohydrates, fat and protein. The sugars from these food sources are broken down into glucose, which in turn is stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen. Any extra intake of fuel is processed and deposited around the body as fat. Our bodies will then access the stored fuel for correct usage to regulate blood sugar levels - ensuring energy is deployed to brain, organs and limbs - prioritising fast-access energy sources for the vital functions of the body.

The fast access energy comes mostly from our glycogen stores of which we have a limited amount of. During exercise, our muscles adapt to using different energy sources and will break down fatty acids known as triglyceerides into energy for muscles as our bodies regulate the different energy processes depending on what we're doing and at what level. Certain energy breakdown and transformation processes are faster to access and deploy than others and it's how we train our bodies to use these energy sources that determines how well we perform and ultimately how good we will look in our beach attire.

Read on to better understand how we use energy in a workout or skip to the end for a few quick tips...

Sources
Our energy is metabolised into a form we can use after eating/drinking & digestion, sourced from three natural food components. Complex carbs like bread, pasta and rice being the easiest to draw energy from and those with high GI (High Glycemic Index) are the fastest to be absorbed into our bloodstream. They are prioritised for being metabolised by the body in this order:

- Carbohydrates

- Fats

- Proteins

During exercise
Three factors will determine how our body uses carbohydrates in relationship to fat: 

- Intensity levels

- Duration of exercise

- Fitness levels

Our body extracts the energy (calories) from digested food (macronutrients):

• Carbs (4kcal per gram). These should form 60% of our daily calories and are our staple for energy production. 

• Fats (9kcal per gram). 30% of daily calories. Also a major source of energy as well as providing insulation & protection. 

• Protein (4kcal per gram). Forming 10-15% of daily calories. Main role is for growth and repair. 

For us to actually use the three energy food sources, we use an energy transfer process called ATP (Adenosine Tri-phosphate) which calls on three energy systems:

- Creatine Phosphate (anaerobic)

- Anaerobic Glycolysis (anaerobic)

- Aerobic

Anaerobic & Aerobic

In essence - the first two, which are the fastest energy systems, do not require oxygen (anaerobic) - but there is only a finite amount of energy stored and will need constant replenishing after just a very short period when exercising at a peak level (from around 60-100% max output). 

The preferred energy source for operating at aerobic levels (up to around 60% max output) is taken from fat stores around the body and deployed through oxygenated blood. Our blood sugar levels will be regulated and fats converted into fuel, mobilised for use as we perform exercise and to replenish energy reserves in our muscles/liver, continuing to work long after we've finished activities.

By increasing our fitness levels - ie. raising our threshold for max output levels above 60% - our bodies will become more efficient at replenishing depleted muscles while we're undergoing intense periods of exercise. In turn, energy is taken from fat stores to be better used by the heart, lungs and limbs, leaving reserves of fast energy glucose back for brain function and intense bursts of activity. As we increase fitness levels, the body also starts to form more capillaries in order to better oxygenate the blood, thus aiding transfer of energy to the muscles and allowing quicker repair and recovery times as well. 

Using the right system

When starting to exercise, energy is produced without oxygen for at least the first few seconds before heart and lungs can catch up with the demands. For the following 5-15 minutes, muscles will use glycogen stores while the body mobilises fats to be broken down to fatty acids for use as energy in the muscles. It's key to have balanced levels of blood sugars at this point so the body is ready for drawing on fat stores as an energy source. If weight loss is the goal - this is why having a warm up before exercise if beneficial for optimising fat burning.

Tips on energy management for sports activities or weight control 
For optimising fat burning and greater performance in body and mind, consider the following:
- Only take on complex and processed carbohydrates with a high glycemic value (white bread, white rice, pasta, jacket/mashed potatoes) in smaller quantities and subsidise with unprocessed varieties, ie. whole grains or organic oats plus fresh fruit & vegetables where possible. Carbohydrates are a great source of energy but taking on extra carbs should be for when we really need them - ie. for playing sports and doing endurance activities. The body is good at breaking down the sugars from carbohydrates into an energy source for storage and as the liver only has room for a certain amount, once the muscles have been replenished - everything else will be stored as fat around the body. So it's good to be aware of this fact if weight-loss is your goal.
- Eat protein rich meals, fresh veg and fruit before resistance training - especially if it's the first meal of the day as the metabolism will be working hard to process proteins and will switch to fat stores on the body for it's energy sources. Alternatively, if the morning meal is made up of easy to absorb carbohydrates (ie. bread/toast, sugary cereals and fruit juices) it will be great for quick energy access but the fat stores will take second place as the body uses the newly taken on fast energy carbohydrates sources.
- Make sure to include a 5-10 minute warm-up before having intense workouts to activate the aerobic (ie. fat burning) energy system which helps burn fat while you work out.

Fighting Fit

THE PLEDGE

6 weeks to get back on track with fitness and physique. Floyd, our boxing trainer from Flobox Boxing, is going to be taking us through our places over the next 6 weeks - starting after Easter holidays. I knocked up some posters and going to use the diet, PT training course and my other learnings over the last few months, to get the results I'm after and send out some weekly newsletters to help inspire other in the group too. I'll be setting up a PLEDGE page very soon...

Good Practice

REPITITION

Practice makes perfect so the saying goes. So it figures, that in order to get good at something, we need to repeat the process over and over until we know it off by heart. Intuitively. Practice needs focus to make perfection and this is where the repetition over time will get us desired results. 

In Pursuit Of Perfection

Japanese sushi master Jiro Ono - knew about the quest for perfection in making the best sushi. This film shows how even washing rice can take many years to get right. Another of James clear 's blogs also teaches us about self mastery and how focussed attention is what is required.

Boredom

The difference between a good athlete and a gold medal winning one is down to focussed practice plus an iron resolve to continue those hours of repetition - pushing through when most of us have become bored with the task in hand. I thought about this with my last swim - 60 lengths at pace is not easy to do day after day and unlike, say, running through the park, the repetition of ploughing up and down the same lane of the pool, with just the tiles at the bottom to look at, can be boring. However, it's in this time that I became really switched on. True focus can be found in the pool. Free from distractions, each stroke, each kick and each breath becomes a focus for repeated practice. Checking the reach, pull and exit of every stroke - assessing the body position in the water and timing the kicks became so laser-focussed that I barely noticed counting the laps. The swim, at only 30 minutes long, was completed without being bored at all - in fact, I look forward to the next session already.