billnad's blog

Cycling your exercise with the seasons

Athletes in this country and abroad have believed that there is no better way to get into top condition for a sport than by playing that sport. In recent years, however, close study of training methods, increased intensity of national and international competition, and a developing interest of medical scientists in sports conditioning have brought coaches and trainers to a recognition that conditioning exercise of various kinds supplementing playing in a sport is highly desirable.

Evidence of this is seen in the widespread participation in weight training, the development of interval training as described elsewhere in this volume, and the principles of circuit training widely used in England. All of this has encouraged those in Yale swimming to believe that they have been on the right track in their training methods.

In Bob Kiphuth's forty-two years as the head coach of swimming at Yale, he required eight weeks of body-buildng exercise by squad members prior to the beginning of their training in the pool. This training, still carried on, consists of one hour of exercise a day five days a week for the eight-week period. Included in this hour are twenty minutes of calisthenic exercise, twenty minutes of pulley weight exercise, and twenty minutes of work with the sixteen-pound medicine ball. By the end of the eight-week period these swimmers are capable of doing sixty minutes of continuous intensive exercise without signs of undue fatigue. At this point they are obviously ready to enter the water with sound basic muscular strength and endurance and, above all, with a cardiac and respiratory efficiency that makes them ready for any kind of demand that can be put on them in competitive athletics.

As I have said, most of the leading athletes in international competition today follow some form of supplementary conditioning work whether it be of the type I have described in Yale swimming or some form of weight training or circuit training.

All of this has meaning for the age group to which Dr. Guild's excellent book is directed. The exhilaration, recreational value, enjoyment, and physical benefits to be derived from active participation in sports are of utmost importance to the adult. The lesson learned by the young athlete, however, is also relevant to the adult. There should be included in any exercise routine some supplementary conditioning work. As Dr. Guild suggests, this may be in calisthenic exercise, which he describes so clearly and extensively.

For many years at Yale every freshman has been required to take a basic fitness test which examines his capacity in upper arm, abdominal, and hip flexor strength, together with agility,  coordination and muscular explosiveness.  A study of the results reveals that an increasing number of entering freshmen are incapable of passing the test. Over a ten-year period, for instance, the percentage of freshmen capable of passing the test dropped from 51 to 34 percent.

 It is encouraging, however, to find that an intensive thirteen-week course of developmental exercise, including three forty-minute periods of activity a week, makes it possible for 80 percent of the class to pass the test. The lesson is clear that well-thought-out exercise regularly undertaken quickly increases physical capacity.

Even more interesting perhaps is the fact that when this group laid off regular exercise for some time, retesting showed that they had reverted to the position where again only slightly over 30 percent could pass the test.

It might be assumed that even though this is true for the general undergraduate body it surely would not be true for the athletically inclined student. We have clear evidence, however, that our best athletes fall off in their physical capacity out of season in just as marked, dramatic, and rapid a way as the general undergraduate body if they do not participate in regular exercise.

Within a matter of weeks after his season the athlete has lost much of his muscular tone, his endurance and stamina. It is true, of course, that he can usually get himself back into shape quickly but again it is clear that regular exercise in the form of games, supplemented by brief periods of intensive conditioning regularly taken, is an essential for good health and physical capacity.

3 Tips for starting a detox program

Tips to Get Started With Detoxification

Just as there are many ways in which a person is able to physically cleanse themselves, so too are there many ways in which a person is able to cleanse themselves on the inside. This process of cleansing our bodies on the inside is called detoxification. Detoxification already helps a great deal of people in the United States and throughout the world and there are many reasons that are used that detail the benefits of a detoxification process. Just knowing that a detoxification process will help cleanse the inside of our bodies should be enough so that it will attract many more people to the process. However, many people choose not to engage in detoxification for one reason or another. One common excuse that people give, though, is that they are too difficult to maintain. However, there are some important tips to think about when starting a detoxification process for the first time.

Keep the Benefits in Mind

While on the detoxification diet one thing to remember while doing everything throughout the day or detoxification weekend is the benefits. Many people are easily able to get side-tracked and overcome by the difficulties of the detox process, such as drinking horrible-tasting liquids. This is exactly the reason why all of the benefits of a detoxification system must be kept in mind!

Start Out Small

If you have never performed a detoxification diet before then the best thing to do would be to start out small in the midst of your dieting. For example, one general rule of thumb to stick by is to make your detoxification diet last for 2-3 days during the whole process. For example, on the first day you should allow yourself to have regular food along with some of the other elements of the diet. On the second day of the detoxification, only water and less of the regular food should be allowed. On the third and final day of the diet one should allow themselves to undergo a full body cleansing, which includes strictly water, along with natural and plain fruit and vegetable juices, along with herbs and vegetable soups.

By starting out small in a detoxification diet those who are worried will be encouraged by the positive effects that they are seeing. It is important to remember, though, to never give up and that your body will be benefited in the end!

Relax

A first-timer to the detoxification process could have many fears about the products and liquids that he or she may be drinking for the first time. It is important that this detoxification process and weekend be a time of relaxation with no worries about the family or work at the office. Individuals should not only engage in relaxing physical exercises during the day, but meditation should also be practiced.

By doing all of these things one is certain to experience the full benefits of a body detoxification. By allowing oneself to start out small, realize the benefits of a master detox diet, and relax then they are quickly able to get through the process easier than before!

Are you embarrassed about starting to workout?

Taking a plunge into fitness can bring more discomfort than a dive into frigid water.

Most people who have neglected fitness over the years, yet sincerely want to begin again, suffer second thoughts of acute embarrassment and uneasiness. They not only think they will look silly rigged up in sports clothes, but are understandably reluctant to expose their droopy shapes in public.

My sympathy goes out to all my patients as they mentally gird themselves for this foray. Make no mistake about it, this takes guts. A small portion of their self-downgrading thoughts are on a reality basis. They do look dumpy. But most of their fears are as unrealistic as the self-conscious teen-ager aware of a ''gigantic" pimple scarcely visible to the casual observer.

Several hints for avoiding embarrassment should be mentioned.

First, wear clothes that are somewhat floppy. Not only do such clothes act as billows in getting rid o£ heat, they obscure bulges which soon will disappear. Only show-offs and Muscle Beach boys wear leotards.

Second, work out in private. There is no need to conduct your workouts atop the bandstand in the town common. Begin your program in seclusion. Tell no one about your plans. The more people you confide in, the more people will hoot at your absurd notions. Later they will enjoy a second round of laughter when you fail to follow through. As with obesity, fitness is your own business—no one else's. Make your beginning as easy as possible—and long-term success will be enhanced.

Exercise in the cellar or in the attic. Use the secret area at the YMCA for sagging middle-aged businessmen who prefer to work out by themselves, unobserved by youthful athletes. Swim in the public pool where there is always someone who looks worse. Go cycling in the next community and with someone who also needs external redecorating. If you have a few extra dollars, remold your unpleasant curves on a two-weeks' sojourn to a distant resort. Another few dollars gain you access to an urban health club, where all customers have a long way to go. After a couple of sessions the embarrassment will evaporate. At that point you will wonder why you ever were uneasy. But to get to that point is a giant hurdle. People do not want to be caught doing something different, even if it is healthful.

As a final note on training for fitness, your workouts may occasionally be the subject of community comment. As you cycle leisurely through the countryside, eight teen-agers in a six-passenger convertible may offer helpful suggestions, such as "Get a horse, Pop." Or, as you strike out briskly for a hike around town, your next-door neighbor, sandwiched between a chaise longue and a heavy layer of Sunday newspaper, may encourage you not to get lost. And as the ultimate insult, as has happened to me, a prowl car may sidle up to you with muffled queries emitted from the inside as to whether you are trying to escape from some nefarious act. Do not feel obliged to rebut or reply. Your comments will be poorly received.

You see, these witty and vocal people suffer from flaccid eardrums as well as flaccid muscles. Time wounds all heels. Although recognition is not your goal, you will constantly be looked upon with awe even by cynics who have laughed the loudest. Others who secretly envy your success will buttonhole you in the coatroom or nudge you into a corner at a cocktail party with the universal question:

 "A friend of mine wants to get in shape. What should I tell him?" Sneaky question—the "friend" is invariably the interrogator, who does not want to admit this. The temptation is to give a forthright detailed answer. Don't! Offer a couple of tantalizing hints—then suggest that his "friend" join you on the morrow for a "fun" workout. If he sleeps off his glow and still has the courage to appear for the appointment, be sure it is indeed a simple "fun" workout—but rigorous enough to ensure him a good sweat and immense satisfaction. You have won a convert—good for his muscles and your soul.

Fun, release, freedom, change, and exertion are a workout. But do not destroy a workout by ignoring the above safeguards. Unencumbered by mucus, blisters, sprains, and cramps, you can gradually increase your tolerance to "bloody devil limits," and only the sportsman knows what this feels like.