Articles:
| The Sense of Loss Associated with Serious Injury | |
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This article will look at the way athletes and exercisers react to serious injury. I myself
have personal experience of such an injury after injuring my knee in September 2007 and I
will share this process with you in relation to this article.
Some people who sustain a serious injury can experience an emotion similar to those who encounter the breakdown of a relationship or the death of a loved one. This theory is based on a predictable sequence of psychological reactions with emotional and behavioural consequences. The main stages or phases of a person’s behaviour after sustaining such an injury are detailed below, but the time a person spends at each stage can vary greatly between individuals. |
| 1. | Denial
“I can’t believe this happened to me”. Denial can make it difficult to progress with a rehabilitation programme through lack of focus and concentration. If a sense of reality is achieved by including the client in decision making about the recovery process then this can help them through with a sense of control over the situation. I myself tried to keep a positive frame of mind and hoped it wasn’t as bad as it was. I even signed up for the Bath Half Marathon due to take place in March of 2008. I was of course in denial and in the end I had to give my place up! |
| 2. | Anger
Anger can hamper progress too, especially if the patient is venting their anger towards the health professional trying to help them. It is important to establish what is causing the anger. Goal setting with clear aims and objectives that are achievable will help the patient move on to the next emotional stage. I didn’t feel angry towards anybody in particular. I was disappointed that on the day of the injury the staff at Frenchay Hospital told me I was ok to drive home and that I should just ‘ice’ my knee and if there’s a problem to come back another time. I think this was my chance to take three months off the waiting process as the injury could have been picked up sooner by a professional. |
| 3. | Depression
The realisation of limited mobility and pain may heighten a sense of sadness. This depressed state may result in a lack of adherence to a structured rehab programme. It is important to realise that it is only a temporary state to be in and it will get better. I think my lowest point was New Year’s Eve 2007 when I found out that I was being recommended for surgery and that meant another 18 months until full time competitive sport. The fact that the scheduled surgery would be in April 2008 meant that I had four months of waiting until the ‘getting better’ bit started. |
| 4. | Bargaining
This is the stage where patients start to negotiate with themselves and their health practitioner about a realistic recovery time. In practical terms it may mean sticking to an exercise routine and doing more progressive exercises to work towards a full recovery. Short term goals are very useful here and can help to keep the patient focussed on the next step. This is the stage where I am now with my knee. It has been three months since the surgery and my knee brace is now off and I am being allowed to step up my routine and include more intensive and varied movements. I had to bargain quite a lot with the Physiotherapists at the Hospital to find out exactly what they were happy for me to do and where we thought my limits were for now. |
| 5. | Acceptance
This is the end point of the process. The client should be physiologically and psychologically rehabilitated and feel confident about their injury in terms of returning to the levels of fitness they had before the injury. It is important that the health professional is vigilant and notice any behaviour that may impede progress. I’m not quite here myself, but I have my short term goals laid out to help me get back to full fitness. I’ve decided to sign up for the Bath Half Marathon again for 2009 to make up for the one that got away last year! |
| The Pre-Holiday Workout Plan | |
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There’s not long to go, you’ve booked your holiday and you’re dreading what
you might look like on the beach. That Xmas baggage is still there; is it
time to put a plan into action to make you feel great again?
Commit yourself to an 8-week plan structured to help you achieve results, all it takes is a little motivation and desire from you to improve yourself. Here is how it can be done: |
| 1. |
Make your fitness training structured and progressive with some
specific, realistic targets. Avoid using your weight as a target as you
may build muscle and lose fat as a result of your training but remain
the same total weight. Maybe it’s muscle toning or a slimmer waist
size that you could pick. Now you have a start and end point to your
plan, you’re on your way!
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| 2. |
Next it’s time to address your dietary intake. Don’t punish yourself
with restrictive fad diets, as these will fast-track you to misery and
ultimately failure. Try eating smaller lighter meals spread throughout
the day. Avoid high sugar and fatty foods. Snacks are good so long as they
are healthy. Use the Glycaemic Index to help you pick foods to control
your calorific intake over the 8-week plan. An immediate step to take
could be to lower your carbohydrate intake and increase your protein intake.
The optimal amount for you will vary from person to person and for a
clearer idea on what’s right for you can
'Contact Me' to request a full nutritional analysis.
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| 3. |
A good mixture of intense cardiovascular work coupled with high reps -
low weight muscle toning exercises will be the best way to give you muscular
shape and burn fat at the same time. Use your time at the gym to use things
you can’t use outside, and try to get your CV from outdoor runs, cycles
or circuits to keep it interesting.
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| 4. | Lastly, you should pay attention to your fibre intake for many reasons. It will make you feel full without containing many calories (compared to sugary and fatty foods). It will help you stay ‘regular’ which has been proven to aid in prevention of bowel and digestive cancers. This should all be coupled with around 2 litres a day of fluid intake. Now this doesn’t mean 2 litres of water on top of your food and other drinks. Some of that 2 litres will be made up from the fruit and veg that you eat and some from teas and coffees etc. |
| World Report on Cancer Prevention | |
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On the November 1st 2007 a conference was held outlining the findings of an expert
report into the extent to which excess body fat can contribute to cancer risk entitled
'Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective'.
By directly linking the relationship between how the body grows and develops over time to cancer risk, the report emphasises the importance of looking at cancer as the product of many long-term influences, not as something that ‘just happens’ and describes this as a ‘life course approach’. Below is a summary of their general recommendations: |
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Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight. |
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Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day. |
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Limit consumption of energy-dense foods (foods high in fats and/or added sugars and/or low in fibre) and avoid sugary drinks. |
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Eat more of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes such as beans. |
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Limit consumption of red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) and avoid processed meats. |
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If consumed at all, limit alcoholic drinks to 2 for men and 1 for women a day. |
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Limit consumption of salty foods and foods processed with salt (sodium). |
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Don't use supplements to protect against cancer. |
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It is best for mothers to breastfeed exclusively for up to 6 months and then add other liquids as foods. |
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After treatment, cancer survivors should follow the recommendations for cancer prevention. |
| World Cancer Research Fund / American Institute for Cancer Research. Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective. Washington DC: AICR, 2007 |
| How Important is Water? |
You all know what happens when you don’t water your plants, after a day or two of
looking ok, they start to wilt and die! This may sound a little over the top, but
that's what happens to YOU when you don’t hydrate yourself. Water is a remarkable
nutrient and is essential for all of the body’s functions to occur.
Most of us know we should maintain our hydration levels, but how many of us actually do anything about it? Just the slightest level of dehydration can have massive consequences on our ability to function properly and our level of exercise. Fluid loss during exercise varies greatly between individuals, but could be as high as 1-2 litres/hour. Drinking enough water can help with your body-fat weight loss goals. Fat metabolism is something your liver does when it converts stored fat to energy. Unfortunately, another of the liver's duties is to pick up the slack for the kidneys, which need plenty of water to work properly. If the kidneys are water-deprived, the liver has to do their work along with its own, lowering its total productivity. It then can't metabolise fat as quickly or efficiently as it could when the kidneys were pulling their own weight. If you allow this to happen you're setting yourself up to store fat. Over the next 7 days why don’t you make a real attempt to increase your fluid intake? Work out your bodyweight in pounds (14 pounds to a stone), then consume 1 litre of water per 50lbs of weight. Add a touch of SEA SALT to your water, this will allow your body to absorb and use the fluids you give it rather than peeing it all out. (It MUST be sea salt NOT table salt and if you can taste it, you've put too much). Give it a go, and Email me your results! Click on the link below for further reading about the importance of water. BBC Health - Water |
| 10 (Poor) Reasons People Commonly Give for Not Exercising | |
| 1. | Don’t have the time to exercise.
Research documents the fact that exercising does not have to be time-consuming to be beneficial. For example, engaging in physical activity for as little as 15 minutes a day (either on a continuous, non-stop basis or cumulatively in several increments) can help you be heart healthy. |
| 2. | Don’t know how to exercise.
Truth be known, exercising is not a particularly complex undertaking. The basic key is to just get moving. Walk, run, swim, join a group-exercise class. . .whatever rings your motivational bell. If you want sound advice and guidance on your exercise efforts from an expert, you should consult a health/fitness professional who has been certified by a credible professional organization (e.g. REPs). |
| 3. | Exercise is too inconvenient.
In contrast to the expectations of those individuals who feel that life’s rewards should be handed to them in a neatly packaged, effortless way, most things worth having are worth making some sacrifice (e.g. time, money, energy) to obtain. The health benefits associated with exercising on a regular basis are no exception. |
| 4. | Not fit enough to exercise.
Simply stated, you don’t have to be fit to get fit. Regardless of how physically fit you are at any given point in your life, you are never so out of shape that you can’t or shouldn’t exercise. You may not be a viable candidate for running a marathon, but you can engage in physical activity at a safe exercise intensity level that is appropriate for your level of fitness. |
| 5. | Exercise can be painful or even dangerous.
Exercise will not harm you. While you may experience some degree of discomfort (as opposed to pain), such a feeling is your body’s simple way of letting you know that there is a price to pay for certain actions, for example, doing too much exercise too quickly. In fact, the risk of injuring yourself while engaging in sound exercise is very low. |
| 6. | Get enough exercise at work.
Unfortunately, too many people equate being fatigued after work with having a similar effect on their body as exercising. Not true. Your work may be physically taxing, but it is not exercise. |
| 7. | Exercise is too expensive.
You don’t need to spend much money to exercise. Other than buying a good pair of shoes, your wallet does not have to withstand an assault to pay for your exercise regimen. Furthermore, relatively speaking, exercising is a lot less costly than the array of potential downsides to a sedentary lifestyle (e.g. higher healthcare costs, lower levels of productivity, etc.). |
| 8. | Exercise is too physically demanding.
Certainly, exercising entails a greater physical challenge than the vast array of sitting-on-your ass tasks associated with a non-physical activity lifestyle. On the other hand, exercise need not be unduly tough or hard. The key is to engage in an exercise regimen that is appropriate for your level of fitness. All too often, the real challenge you face is to conjure up enough energy to get up off the couch and get moving. |
| 9. | Too old to start exercising.
The innumerable benefits of exercising on a regular basis are within the reach of individuals of virtually all ages. In reality, you’re never too old to begin exercising. Depending upon your age (men over 45; women over 55), you may need to see your physician prior to engaging in a vigorous exercise program. |
| 10. | Don’t believe in exercise.
A healthy dose of scepticism about the existence of some things (e.g. the Loch Ness monster, the Easter Bunny, an honest politician, etc.) is appropriate. The value of exercise however, should not be one of them. The benefits of exercise are extensive and well documented. If for any reason you question the merits of exercise, you need to invigorate your life with a 3-G’s strategy - get real, get up, and get moving. |
| Peterson, J. (Feb 2006) |
Email Russell@rkpersonaltrainer.com or Mobile 07793 672782.