Two Steps Forward, One Step Backward

Yesterday, it snowed...again.  Not so bad; just a smattering of the white stuff on the ground, but just enough to cause major trouble.  Feeling good after a morning swim, I set out on my crutches to do a few needed errands before going to my office.  Unfortunately, the fire dept. blocked off Wall Street and I was forced to walk down Exchange Place.  The street is a downward slope and, unlike Wall St, it was not shoveled or salted.  I slid out from under the crutches and only for a quick-minded/quick-acting gentleman, did I not fall.  The poor fellow told me he had broken both legs during a ski accident 4 years ago and 'what was I doing out here in the snow?' 'Going to work like everyone else' was the answer.  I had my escort down the street, but the slide caused me to hyperextend the injured leg - hence, swelling, pain and a setback after feeling good for a few hours.  That's when I decided to take the advice of my colleagues and make plans to get myself out of town for a few days, get off my feet and recuperate properly.  Doctor, heal thyself....
Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you have an injury and you're going through rehab, pay attention to what you eat, how much you sleep, and if you can - take some time off to heal.  Two steps forward only to take one step doubles the time it will take to completely recover....lesson learned by the pot sending the message out to all the kettles out there!

I Like To Swim, I Like To Swim, I Like To Swim

When you learn how to swim, you are invariably taught the mantra to chant with every stroke into the water, 'I like to swim'.  As a novice swimmer who had less than 3 months to learn how to swim a mile for a  triathlon some years back, swallowing cold chlorine water, nearly drowning and struggling 3 days a week in the pool had me making my own mantra of 'I hate to swim, I hate to swim'.... Several triathlons and many miles later, I'm proud to say that yes, I CAN swim a mile.  I just don't like pools that are cold and filled with other people; it's like being in a community bathtub...ugh!

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Although I really hate to swim, I get into the pool and do laps.  I practice drills with and without a pullbuoy, use a kickboard and practice all the exercises I was taught when training for triathlons.  Swimming is good for you; it's non-impact on the joints; the cool water can aid in reducing inflammation of joints and you really will get a  good workout in a half hour.  Just remember your mantra....I LOVE to swim, I HATE to swim, I LOVE to swim.....it's just one of those relationships.....

For the Extreme Athletes Today

I have every type of athlete coming in and out of the doors to my clinic, but the extreme athletes usually require a bit more maintenance before and after their events.  Whether you are doing the Rim To Rim, Ultra Marathon, Ironman, or climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro (you know who you are out there!), you know how many times I've told you to practice altitude acclimation as part of your overall training.  Your aerobic capacity decreases 3% at 5,000ft and an additional 3% for every 1,000 ft altitude increase as you climb.  after you've reached 6,000 to 9,000 ft above sea level, if you haven't been doing your altitude training, you're bound to feel like you've caught the flu.  (These statistics were published recently by the Scandanavian Journal of Medicine Science Sports, Nov, 2011) 

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you have a big event planned for 2012 (it could be a 5K race, a sprint triathlon, Rim To Rim, Ironman), you're bound to have some hills involved in the process.  Sign up for my Wellness Program today.  I'll help you get into the proper condition needed to achieve your goals and be a winner!  http://www.kmondesire.com/wellnessprogram.html

Fall is on its Way, Let's Get Creative

Summer is coming to a close...sad but true.  But Fall doesn't have to be all doom and gloom.  Let's get creative!  There are so many outdoor activities to be enjoyed during the next few months.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Things are beginning to dry out here in the NorthEast.  Plan a day's hiking or fishing adventure.  Plant some beautiful fall perennials and add beauty to your space, put on a pair of sweats and go for a run, jump some rope or enjoy a fall foliage bicycle ride.  Spend some time by a stream, visit your local farmer's market for apple cider, root vegetables, pumpkins and squashes.  Have an evening party with friends; build an outdoor fire, play some music, drink some brandy and roast some chestnuts.  It's the weekend - have fun and make merry!  Stay tuned next week for more healthy tips.

The Overtraining Drain

Are you extremely fatigued for up to 72 hours after your workout?  Just can't seem to put some 'juice' into your sporting activity?  Do you become dizzy or confused after exercise?  You might be experiencing 'workout burnout'.  Overtraining results in diminished results over the longterm.  The rest and recovery phase in the exercise cycle is crucial to your overall wellbeing.  Without proper recovery and rest, the 'Mighty Mitochondra' or your cellular batteries cannot recharge; giving you muscular energy.  Without the 'recharging' of the mitochondria of muscle cells, you will be constantly operating on a 'low battery charge'.   Signs of overtraining include:  constant fatigue, confusion, dizziness, chronic muscle fatigue and weakness, and inability to concentrate or perform your usual workout at a normal intensity.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you are experiencing workout burnout, take a rest between sets, maintain more than adequate nutrition and hydration, stop when you experience any type of pain, and make a workout schedule that is sensible, not insane.  Above all, come in for a few treatments to boost back your battery, ease muscle soreness, eliminate fatigue and rebuild striated muscle tissue!

Variety is the Spice of Life

Doing the same routine day after day is boring and mediocre.  Your brain goes to mush, your muscles are so used to the same exercise routine, your physique will never improve....you become one-dimensional and dull.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Stop being boring, dull and uninteresting.  Break up the boredom and shake up your life's routine.  Try two new activities this weekend.  Instead of the gym, go outside and jump rope, ride a bicycle or go for a hike.   Swich up that boring burger on the bbq and try a whole fish wrapped in herbs and fresh lemon for you and your friends.  Variety is the spice of life; it keeps us young, fresh and stimulates both mind and body.  Variety will keep you sharp, witty and interesting!

Keep Your Eye on the Prize

I have a patient who had injured himself some months ago and thought he would never be able to run again, nor compete in endurance events.  I asked him to trust me and do as I told him; he would run again and compete in an endurance event.  I told him to keep his eye on the prize.  Fast forward to this week:  he is running 20 miles per week and has enrolled himself in an endurance event for this September.  Together, we will work as a team to make this happen with outstanding results; and without injury.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you have been injured and believe you will no longer be able to compete or participate in your favorite sporting activity, call or email me.  Enroll yourself in my Wellness Program.  You, too, can accomplish your goals.  Keep your eye on the prize, do what I tell you to do, have your acupuncture treatments, and Wellness consultations....you'll be surprised at the results!

Recovery Drinks Really Do Help When You're Training Hard

This is week 2 of my P90X training program.  I've had many patients and readers write in to ask me how I'm doing with the program, do I like it, how it compares to other workout programs I've done and am I taking any supplements/recovery drinks....
Today, I'll talk about recovery drinks and why, when I am training hard, I have a recovery drink after every workout.  When you train hard, you naturally lose electrolytes, vitamins, and nutrients via physical exertion.  Lactic acid is released into muscle tissue and if you do not replenish your glucose, electrolytes, vitamins and nutrients, you can become quite sore and stiff after a hard training session.  Recovery drinks are important when you're giving it your all because they contain 'simple and complex carbohydrates for optimum glycogen replenishment, a high Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER) blend to provide the critical building blocks for rapid muscle resynthesis, and vitamins, including antioxidants, to help reduce muscle soreness and assist in repair and growth' (courtesy:  P90X).  The bottom line is that these drinks will help you recover faster from your workouts without the loss of energy, muscle mass and without getting muscle soreness.  I've taken many a recovery formula in the past, and it just so happened that the P90X recovery drink was in the box with all the dvds.  So, I figured I'd give it a try.  The ingredients contain the following per serving:  220 calories, 1g of fat (no saturated fats), 43g of carbs, 38g of sugar, 10g of protein, and several other vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, etc. Glucose, Fructose, Whey Protein Concentrate, Maltodextrin, Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Lecithin, L-Arginine, D-alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Creatine Monohydrate, L-Glutamine, Ascorbic Acid, Magnesium Oxide, Potassium Phosphate, Sodium Chloride, Carrageenan, Niacinamide, Beta Carotene, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, and Cyanocobalamin.
Sounds like a lot, but if you look at most recovery drinks, they are all more or less the same.  This one is easy to prepare....2 scoops in a water bottle, shake it up, tastes pretty good and by the time you're out of your sweaty clothes and on the way to the shower, you're done with it.  So...how do I feel?  I haven't worked out at this intensity since my last fight (sad to say) and my muscles feel like they are waking up from a 4 year coma.  That being said....I have NO muscle tightness, soreness or stiffness.  My performance this week compared to last week has improved, I'm sleeping like a baby and my food choices have naturally changed because I'm feeling stronger, lighter and faster.
 
Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you are engaging in a tough workout program, training for a triathlon, marathon or martial art, do a little research and see what recovery drink works for you.  You'll find out soon enough why elite athletes and amateurs who know what they are doing drink this stuff!

What To Eat Immediately After a Heavy Workout and WHY!!

Sometimes after a really long and busy day, I go to the gym and workout just to get my ole bag o' bones moving.  I'm not really there to give 'my all', but I'm there to get some cardio, stretch and afterward I always feel better.  This is not a heavy workout, so I keep my next meals of the day light.  But, when I do workout and give it 'my all', I try to be very good to myself and eat a small piece of fruit after all that exercise.  Why fruit?  Well, have you ever noticed that in many gyms, there are green or red apples for members as they exit the facility?  Here's why...
When you workout, your body uses carbohydrates that are stored in your liver and muscle for fuel.  These are called 'glycogen stores'.  This is why marathon runners and triathletes eat a pasta dinner 2 nights prior or one night prior to an event...to store rocket fuel for their endurance sport.  Strenuous activity uses up these glycogen stores and to ensure proper insulin and electrolyte balance, it is prudent to replenish these stores just after a workout.  Now, if it is 12 noon when you finish your strenuous exercise, pasta could be a good idea because you'll naturally work it off during the remainder of your busy day.  But if you're trying to knock off a few pounds or your workout is in the evening, heavy carb loading will actually cause you to GAIN weight, not lose it!  A simple piece of fruit (apples are absorbed quicker than any other fruit and it's a natural carb/sugar source) or Gatorade will be sufficient to keep your sugar and insulin levels balanced.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  throw a small apple into the gym bag if your sports facility doesn't have a bowl to offer its members.  If you don't like apples, then a small orange or clementine or pear is nice.  Bananas are always a great post workout fruit and provide an added source of potassium.  Drink water after your intense workout, have your fruit and guess what?  Most likely, you'll be less hungry after you shower and are ready for your next meal.  It's a win-win situation and an easy and inexpensive solution to energy drinks!

Acupuncture Improves Muscle Strength

Well, here's something all my patients know and I'll share it with the rest of you today!  Yes, it's true...just a single acupuncture treatment can improve your muscle strength significantly!  German researchers have concluded that just one acupuncture treatment can increase isometric quadriceps strength (that's your quads).  These results are important not only for athletic performance, but for rehabilitation of muscles and neuromuscular function.
Courtesy:  Journal of Chinese Medicine, No. 94, Oct 2010 (Immediate effects of acupuncture on strength performance:  a randomized, controlled crossover trial.  Eur J Appl Physiol. 2010 May 25)

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you are training for that triathlon, marathon, 5k or just want to improve your weight training, make an appointment today for acupuncture.  You'd be amazed at the difference it will make for your overall performance!

Fitness...Don't Slack Off

This morning, while walking my trusty dog, I witnessed approximately 100 marines stretching and doing their morning exercises at the World Financial Center here in the Downtown Manhattan area.  It surely was something to see.  100 very fit men in the same place at the same time...a very uplifting sight for anyone's eyes.  Physical fitness at its best would be an understatement.  Later on, I witnessed the same group jogging at a nice slow and steady pace up Broad Street and past the New York Stock Exchange, singing a tune as they ran; smiling and waving back to all of us waving and cheering them on.  Boys, boys, boys and even some girls in the ranks - all jogging easy breezy.  It's only about a mile run they were doing and all told a 2 mile loop...peanuts for anyone who regularly exercises.  But, at the end of the group, there was another 20 or so individuals running in Naval t-shirts, huffing and puffing...struggling to keep up a 10 minute mile pace.  Every one of them was overweight and grossly out of shape.   Following these folks was yet another small gang, barely able to keep up with the naval crowd...ditto for their physical condition.  I had to chuckle because bringing up the rear with the police escort was an ambulance...clearly for the last two groups.  I later found out that the two groups running in the rear were reserves.  Good grief!  Maybe the reservists should visit boot camp a bit more often.  They should be in fit condition should they be called into active duty and being able to run can make the difference between living and dying.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Hopefully, none of us will ever have to run for our lives, but it sure is nice to know that you can if need be.  When you fall out of fitness, you fall out of step.  Your blood pressure and cholesterol rises, you can't seem to do the same sports you used to ('I'm too old' is the poor excuse I hear all the time from people) and you grow old faster.  There are men and women in their 70's doing full Ironman events, playing water polo, and running marathons.  They stay with their fitness program and so they're able to continue their activities.  No one wants to look as bad as the last two groups did today...quite frankly, it was an embarassment to the military.  But you don't have to train like a marine either.  Everything in moderation for good health and fitness.  So get with the program and get out there today.  Exercise for a good healthy life!
I'll see you all out there! 

Stepping Up The Endurance

Friday, I jumped rope for about 40 or 50 minutes - consecutive.  The last 5 minutes, I double-jumped 14, then 22 consecutive jumps.  Just a bit over 3 months since my knee surgery...not bad for an old bag.  Saturday, it was back to Muay Thai.  My legs are getting stronger, but my cardio really lacks and slacks.

So, today, I've enrolled myself into my "Stage 2" of my 'Wellnes For Life' program.  Now that I can run, jump and basically perform all the activities necessary to burn off all this fat (so I can better fit on the back of that Harley!), I'm going to step up the cardio and concentrate on endurance.  I've done quite a few triathlons in the past (never liked them...boring after the thrill of Muay Thai), but I learned quite a bit about endurance training from tri training.  Endurance training is fabulous for the heart muscles, the lungs and the whole body in general.  Unlike Muay Thai, nobody's getting beat up here (less chance of injury).

Last week, I had increased speed on the treadmill, but kept the distance the same.  I'm running with 3lb weights in my hands to add a little 'umph' into the mix.  Today, I will slow down the speed and increase the distance; staying within the fat-burning zone.  My reward for the boredom of being on the treadmill for an hour will be to go kick a heavy bag and have some fun after the experience.  The physical therapist gave me the green light to start some cardio exercises that were always integral to Muay Thai training, so I'll start working on them as well.

Here's Your Tip of the Day:  The big picture can sometimes be quite overwhelming.  Set some short term goals for yourself and limit the frustration factor of underachievement.  Short term goals give us a sense of being a winner and achiever.  This transcends into our everyday lives.  Better self atttitude leads to better attitude with others at work, home and social settings.  What's my short term goal right now?  Mine is to get back into some sort of decent training condition and walk into a Muay Thai class and represent again.  I don't need to go back into the ring, but I can get myself into good training condition.  When that happens, I'll think of something else....like, a new sexy summer dress!  Wish me luck, write me some encouragement.  It's easier to receuperate from surgery than it is to lose 20 lbs.

Men's Health Tip of the Day

O.K....today's tip is especially for you men out there.  Prostate health is very important.  If you are of the age of 40 or older and haven't had your PSA checked - shame on you!!!!
Early detection can lead to the treatment and prevention of a very serious pathology called prostate cancer.  If you haven't read anything about it, then check out this webpage for some very pertinent and important facts:  http://www.kmondesire.com/menshealth.html

And while we are on the topic of Men's Health, let me remind you guys who are triathletes or avid cyclists to make certain you have a good 'fit' to your seat on your road bike or spin bike seat.  Improper fitting to your saddle can lead to impotence, erectile dysfunction and e-coli infection of the bladder and prostate.

If you are suffering from any of the abovementioned physical ailments, schedule an appointment today and together, we will plan a treatment strategy that will get you healthy and functional.  Remember...infertility works both ways...it takes some good motility and morphology of sperm to make babies!!