Ouch, that smarts!
When starting a regular exercise routine (whether it’s the first time in your life or exercising again after a long break), people can often experience slight aches and pains. While this is a normal occurrence, it should only last for a week or two. If you are experiencing pain beyond this brief period, below are some strategies to exercise pain-free:
1.Exercise under your thresholds: In many cases, the soreness is due to lactic acid build-up caused by the metabolism of sugar during your workouts. By keeping your heart rate under your aerobic threshold and minimizing strength training sets to less than 30 seconds per set will allow your body to metabolize fat better. This will yield less lactic acid and reduce overall soreness.
2. Drink more water: Water helps dilute and wash out the toxins in our blood, which serves as a primary means for detoxifying our cells. The goal should be to drink enough water to keep your urine clear, plentiful and odorless. For most people, this is equal to about half your body weight in ounces of water per day. For example, a 200-pound individual would require 100 ounces of water every day. But be aware that this does not apply to all liquids and despite the labels’ claims, will not necessarily provide the same benefits of water.
4. The miracle of magnesium. In the past, we use to absorb magnesium through our regular water supplies. However, today’s water is so heavily filtered that its mineral content is significantly lacking. To make up for this deficiency, it’s possible to supplement magnesium 20 minutes before going to bed. 400 to 600 mg of an acidic base magnesium supplement (the suffix “ate” indicates an acidic base). At Sparta Chiropractic we recommend and use magnesium chelate. However, mineral water is equally as effective (and can meet your hydration needs as well).
4. Be more flexible: After a workout, stretching will help detoxify your muscles by increasing the blood flow to the muscle without exertion. While many will stretch before their workouts, it should be reserved for after exercising. By stretching before exercising, you can actually increase the likelihood of tearing a muscle.
5. Eat low inflammatory foods: Diet affects your body’s ability to burn more fat and lose the right weight. However, it will also decrease inflammation, a major cause of pain and soreness. In fact, an appropriate diet is the most effective way to reduce inflammation in your body (even more than medications). By focusing on 3 areas, you can greatly decrease inflammation:
•Oils. Work diligently to remove ALL polyunsaturated fatty acids (bad oils) and replace them with good oils. These good oils include olive oil (cold, do not cook with it), avocado oil and coconut oil.
•Sugars. Eliminate sugar and all its forms from your diet. Sugar ingestion sets off a cascade of hormonal changes that, in turn, cause inflammation.
•Grains. Grain, including rice and oatmeal, not only increases inflammation but also causes autoimmune disease and absorption problems.
6. Take out the “carbage”: Similarly, carbohydrate intake should be limited to less than 100 grams per day. By eating only whole food sources of carbs that are mainly vegetables, seasonal berries, apples and stone fruit, you will be providing your body with higher nutrient content and a lower carbohydrate load.
7. Don’t overcompensate: When you are injured, your body learns how to work around that injury as part of the healing process. Unfortunately, the body’s compensation pattern often results in different (and sometimes greater) future problems somewhere else in the body. As an example, a minor foot issue can impact the shin and thigh, leading to a functionally shorten leg on that side of the body. In turn, the shorter leg will create the pelvis to be un-level and result in a litany of spinal problems. An assessment of the initial issue or injury can detect the cause and with correct stretches, exercises and adjustments, future problems can be prevented.
Within 21 days of making these dietary changes, you will recognize a decrease in inflammation.
We’ve accepted the idea that as we age, our quality of life is supposed to decline. While that’s commonplace in our culture, it’s not true for all cultures of the world. By using these tips you will be able to exercise pain-free and enjoy and feel as you did when actively playing as a child. Those that are able to align their lifestyles with the design of the human body are rewarded by being able to perform the same activities they could do in their 20s well into their 90s.
17 Woodport Rd, 1D
Sparta, NJ 07871
Phone:(973)726-9041
Macaroni Kid Sussex is a free weekly newsletter and website focused on fun family events and things to do with kids in the Sussex County NJ area. We gather together all kinds of local family events and activities each week and add useful information about classes, family-focused businesses, book and product reviews, recipes, crafts, school and camp guides and more. Sign up for our newsletter and never miss another awesome event again! Subscribe here for FREE athttps://sussexnj.macaronikid.com/subscribe
