S.A.I.D. Principle

This is a principle that I learned in school.

 It means that when the body is placed under some form of stress, it starts to make adaptations that will allow the body to get better at withstanding that specific form of stress in the future.

The SAID principle is generally applied to athletes that need to train for a specific sport.  Do they need to focus on speed, on power, on endurance?  Athletes train on the field and in the weight room for not only their sport, but their specific position.

I have begun to consider how many other areas of life that the SAID principle can be applied.

• If I sit on the couch and eat junk all day, my body adapts and becomes really good at coping with that specific habit.
• As I meditate more often, my body is becoming more adept at relaxing quickly.  I am not carrying stress in my shoulders nearly as much.
• Though paddleboarding involves a great core workout, my abs were really sore after returning to the gym’s sit-up chair.
• I have heard that many writers write something everyday.  Even if it is not directly related to a current project, it can improve writing.
• If faking a smile can make you happy, can whining make you more miserable?

What are you adapting to?

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Highlights on Living

Today’s six month highlight list includes posts for life management and general tips.

1. Advanced Directives
2. Don’t Take Things so Seriously
3. Taking Care of Your Teeth
4. GIGO
5. Personal Mission Statements
6. Scheduling Priorities 
7. Dating
8. Crucial Conversations
9. The Melting Pot of Ideas and People
10. Tennis Ball Uses

Diet Highlights

As the six month anniversary review continues, today the diet and food post highlights will be featured.

1. Food Sensitivity
2. Diet Wars
3. For the Love of Coffee
4. Eating Socially
5. Probiotics
6. Things to Add to Juice
7. Sugar Highs
8. The Start of the Fast

Exercise Highlights

This week I am highlighting some of my favorite and most popular posts from the last 6 months.  Today’s focus will be on the exercise posts.

1. Exercise Variety
2. Working Out in My Mom’s Garden
3. How to Pick the Right Shoes
4. Pelvic Floor Exercises
5. Finding Adventure in Workouts
6. Balance Exercises

New Work Out Video

Are you tired of fighting of fighting for machines at the gym?

Is it too hot to go outside?

Do you think a hurricane is an excuse to not workout?

Well think again!

This amazing new workout will keep you groov’n and move’n. For a limited time we are offering this workout for free. That’s right, free to to the first round of motivated clients that are ready to change their lives forever.

Keep Your Balance

From the CDC:  Falling is the leading cause of injury death for those 65 and older.  One out of three adults over 65 fall every year.  Less than half talk to their doctor about it.  (Some studies use 45 and older)

Head injuries, fractures, lacerations and fear, all resulting from falls, can lead to a loss of independence and mobility restriction.  Some people become so afraid about falling that they severely restrict their activities.  They become more dependent on others and lose some quality of life.

What keeps us vertical?

There are three systems that provide the input that keeps us balanced.  Vision is more than being able to read a chart in your doctor’s office.  Depth perception and tracking objects are also important skills.  It is important to have vision tested for all of these, especially if there have been balance changes.  Vestibular (inner ear) problems can become more frequent as we age.  There are tests and treatments for inner ear issues.  Proprioception involves the information your brain gets from the muscles and joints about what position they are in.  This area is the easiest to work on independently before and after seeking advice from your primary care doctor, ENT and/or physical therapist.  Processing the information in the brain and sending signals back out to the body is the last step.

So what can we do?

The Fast Crash

So, full results disclosure of my recent experiments…

Fatigue is not a new experience, but this is driving me loco.  After the adventurous workouts, it took a few days of riding the couch to get my energy back.  Since I broke the fast, I have been so very tired.  My energy was fine during the workouts and juicing.  A health hangover?  Today I made it to after lunch before I crashed.  A definite improvement over the weekend, when doing laundry was a reason to lay down.  I did have a juice this morning and will have one tonight, if I can find the energy to make it.

Just tired of being tired.  I am sure I will get over it soon enough.   My body is slowly finding homeostasis.  A happy flower, after the rain….

Accidental Fast

Have you ever gotten up in the morning and thought, “today would be a great day to start a juice fast?”  Me either, until Wednesday.  I have been feeling bloated and just blah.  With vacation eating and lunch meetings, I had strayed from my low gluten and lactose diet for the past few weeks.

My Feet’s Favorite Shoes

I am lucky enough to able to wear any kind of shoes I like to work, well, maybe not flip-flops or

open-toed shoes.  For years, I wore nothing but New Balance cross-trainers.  Over the last couple of years, either my feet have changed or New Balance has changed the last in their shoes.  I have tried various styles and brands with no luck.  I even went to a specialty running shoe store and they videotaped me walking and worked with me for about 2 hours trying to find the perfect pair.  I have also tried several inserts.  Nothing had been working.  Princess and the Pea, shoe style.

I did, eventually find a pair I loved: Asics T154N running shoes. A stability shoe.

Almost every shoe company has 3 basic categories of running shoes:

New Book on Fitness and Health

I caught part of an interview broadcast on NPR on the way home tonight.  The interview was with Gretchen Reynolds, about her book The first 20 Minutes.  It covered topics ranging from the dangers of sitting at a desk all day to chocolate milk having the right protein to carbohydrate balance for a recovery drink after a workout of an hour or more.  It also touched on how exercise is good for the brain.  If you have the time, it might be worth a look.

http://www.npr.org/2012/05/09/152336802/stand-up-walk-around-even-just-for-20-minutes