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Sue & Geoff's Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle: 3 Tips to Help Maximize Your Workout!

We have enjoyed learning from our work in the sports science space for a while now and are honored to work with professional sports physiologists, nutritionists and everyone from occasional recreational exercisers to weekend warriors to NCAA teams and world class expedition athletes and with Olympians. Wow! 

Whether we are looking to get a little stronger and be generally fit, or for the many, (especially here in Maine) who are really wanting to up their game, or compete on a larger arena - even internationally, we have learned and observed that the consistent deficit in workouts is what comes when the workout is done, a.k.a., recovery. 

We see over and over that when people start their fitness journey that part of their workout is wasted by not allowing for proper recovery! In fact, our workout is only as effective as our recovery..ie., workout @ 100% and recover only 60% = 60% effective workout…!  Let’s look at this a bit more closely. 

When we do a resistance workout with weights or even with just our own body weight, we are literally tearing down muscle cells. This promotes muscles to recover and grow back stronger. This is why the next day we may experience DOMS (Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness). The degree of soreness depends on how promptly and properly we have allowed for recovery, plus how accustomed our body is to that level of exertion. The same factors affect the body with aerobic workouts such as hiking, cycling, running, shoveling, landscaping, etc.  

Interestingly, muscle strength and energy storage gains (and replacing fat with muscle) don't happen during the workout, they happen as a result of the workout and the recovery after the workout!! 

We might be wondering, "How do we allow our muscles to recover properly?" 

Stretching  

Stretching helps muscles relax, which in turn accelerates the healing process due to the increased blood flow and reduction of lactic acid. Our bodies bounce back faster after an intense workout or long day at work when we take time to stretch for just a few minutes. 

Adequate nutrition  

As our muscles rebuild, they need protein and other nutrients to build those stronger muscle cells. Remember - when working our muscles, we're tearing them and breaking them down. Our goal is to build back strong, dense and healthy muscle cells to replace less strong ones AND to replace fat cells!! 

How do we accomplish this most effectively? The best way sports and exercise science tell us is through a targeted combination of carbohydrate and protein (peer reviewed research suggests ~ 2.7:1) within a window of time after exercise. A good protein supplement, ideally in balance with high quality carbohydrates within half an hour after working out can make a HUGE difference in how effectively our muscles repair and get stronger! (22 hours instead of 3 - 8 days!!). 

Complementing this, we want to be sure we continue to hydrate well after completing our walk, gardening, run, triathlon or skiing!  A good hydration drink, taken before, during and after our exercise can provide heat safety, endurance and recovery. Water is quite effective and a great choice for low output activities, however it just isn’t enough when we’re pushing our limits, or are out for an extended time, either in warm or cold weather.  

Again, sports science has spent a lot of time and research on hydration and its importance, whether for those of us grounded on earth or astronauts on the ISS and shuttles. A good hydration drink has a carefully balanced combination of electrolytes and high absorption nutrients to ensure that our bodies are taken care of during and after activity! 

Tyler George, US Gold Metal Olympic Curler, 2018

Rest! 

Now that we have provided our body’s cells the nutrients that they need to rebuild, it is time to give our muscles a rest. For a muscle to heal and rebuild most effectively is by resting. It's the same when we get sick. We need to rest. Too sore to walk?  It's probably best to take a rest day or do active rest with gentle yoga or light stretching. Our muscles will thank us, and we will get better results! 

Below we have put in a link to just a small portion of the research on weight and exercise science.  PLUS, to learn about our favorite sports nutrition line, and that used by many of the recreational and professional athletes we know and with whom we have worked, check out this short video!.  

SPORTS and NUTRITION SCIENCE RESEARCH LINKS (start with the Shaklee Science Tab at the top and then the Athletic Performance Tab). Further references available upon request. 

If you would you like to dive into all of this a bit more, have questions or work with us on a personalized sports program, please text one of us and we’ll get right back to you.

Sue & Geoff Lamdin

LamdinGroup.com

207-522-5633 (S)

207-522-7900 (G)

lamdin@lamdingroup.com