Reform Body Clinic

Healthy Travelling

by Katy Chancey, BscKin, RMT

Sooner or later, it happens to all of us – travel, for work or pleasure, disrupts our regular routine. It’s easy to let travel become an excuse to let all the effort that goes into great health at home take a vacation whenever we do. Even for those of us who are traveling to a race or training camp, being away from home can make it tough to make healthy choices. Here are some strategies to avoid letting travel derail your healthy lifestyle.

Plan ahead. You generally know where you’re going and how you’re going to get there. Scout out healthy meal options before you leave. This will prevent the ill-advised bag of chips, chocolate bar, and bottle of soda emergency snack. If you are flying and lucky enough to have meal service, consider requesting a vegetarian option (you may have to order this in advance.) The veggie options often have better nutritional profiles than mystery meat and gravy. No matter how you travel, pack healthy snacks. You can bring many of the same things you’d snack on at home; nuts, seeds, trail mix, fruit and veggies. Never be without your water bottle. You can bring an empty bottle through airport security with no trouble, and fill it at the water fountain before you take off.

Avoid restaurants when you can. Hit the grocery store as soon as you arrive at your destination to load up on produce and healthy choices. If your accommodations have refrigeration capabilities, even better! You can add yogurt or milk of some sort and cereal for breakfast, and sandwich fixings for lunch. A Swiss Army knife in your luggage (put this in your checked bag if you are flying!) can be used to cut up snacks.

If you must dine out, hit the salad bar, avoid deep-fried options, go easy on the alcohol, drink lots of water, and don’t feel obligated to clean your plate.

Sneak in some exercise. Walk as much as you can. Avoid elevators, escalators, moving sidewalks, and taxis whenever possible. At a conference, take a walk during your break instead of eating donuts. Your colleagues might be happy to join you.

There may be a health club in your hotel. There may not. A little research before you leave can help you find a gym close by that offers day passes, or a local run or swim club who are happy to welcome a traveling visitor. If you are staying in a safe neighbourhood, ask the hotel staff where they walk or run. You may find a new favourite route! If nothing else, a skipping rope and exercise band take up virtually no space in your luggage and can provide a full, intense workout. Bonus points if you bring a tennis ball to work out those tights spots once you arrive at your destination!

Sleep well. Bring ear plugs and an eye mask to block out noise and light, both on the trip and at your destination. If you need a special pillow or blanket from home to sleep, bring it.

A well-rested, active, nourished and hydrated body is better prepared to make the most of any trip!

The Importance of Recovery

by Katy Chancey, BscKin, RMT

There are all sorts of athletes; beginner, intermediate, advanced, recreational, competitive, or professional.  The list goes on and on.  Athletes share many things, including a desire to reach a performance goal through training.  Depending on the athlete and their activity of choice, the training plan could be quite simple, or complex with lofty athletic aspirations.

Obviously, most of us are not professional athletes.  We do not have teams of full-time coaches and therapists at our disposal, and we have jobs, families, and real life to schedule our workouts around.  With all of this on our plates, it’s easy to justify skipping the ice bath, missing a foam roller session, or not scheduling a massage.  We can barely manage all of our workouts, right?  Aren’t they the most important thing?

Not necessarily.  All of that training has to be for a purpose.  Our bodies will adapt to most stresses we put them through (within reason!) as long as we increase those stresses gradually and allow the body time to recover adequately.  Train, and then recover, train a little harder, and recover, then train even harder, and recover.  Then race really fast.

The key is not only in the training, but in your body’s reaction to it.  “The name of the game is to apply training stress and in doing so stimulate a need for recovery, and then rest enough to allow that recovery to occur.  It is through the physiological recovery process, after all, that fitness increases.  When training stress and rest are balanced appropriately, the body does not merely return to its previous equilibrium between workouts, it bounces back stronger, achieving what exercise scientists call ‘super compensation’.” (Fitzgerald, 2011)

It’s important for non-professional athletes to remember that we have a finite pool of resources to draw from when it comes to recovery.  At a very basic level, the brain treats all stress the same way.  That’s why people with exceedingly stressful jobs are at a high risk of illness – their bodies are not being allowed to adequately recover from stressful stimulus.  If you combine stressful job with inadequate sleep and the demands of family and friends and try to throw training on top of all of that, something is going to suffer.

It is precisely because you are so busy that you need to have a top-notch, bomb-proof recovery routine; unlike the professionals, you don’t have the luxury of a adding an extra hour to your daily two-hour nap if you’re feeling a little run down.  No matter how much you want or need to lie in the grass after your track session, someone still needs to make supper for the kids.

Here are some things to make sure you’re doing:

Proper Nutrition:  Make sure you are eating high quality, nutrient dense foods.  Get a carbohydrate and protein snack and plenty of water within 20-30 minutes of each key workout.

Sleep:  At least 8 hours each night.  Never underestimate the healing powers of an extra hour or a mid-day nap.

Cross Training and Manual Therapy:  A well-designed cross training program will prevent muscle imbalances and help safeguard you against injury.  Proper use of manual therapies (massage therapy, chiropractic, stretching, self-massage, physiotherapy, et cetera) will help keep little nagging sore spots from becoming full-blown injuries.

Well-designed Training Plan:  A plan that is realistic and specific to your goals and lifestyle.  In general, you should have at least one rest day per week and one easy week per month.  Total training volume should not increase by more than 10 per cent per week.

Happy training and even happier recovering!!

References

Fitzgerald, M.  (2011, July/August).  Extreme Recovery.  Inside Triathlon, 89-93

Tension Headaches: How to Deal

There is little concrete knowledge about tension headaches in medical science.  Tension headaches could be – but are not necessarily – caused by neck and shoulder muscle tension due to poor posture, eye muscle strain, stress, low blood sugar, dehydration, fatigue, or barometric pressure.

The best cure for tension headaches is prevention.  Start by keeping a headache journal.  Write down the details of each headache; date, time, activity you were doing when the headache started, and any possible triggers that you can think of.  Keep this journal for several months, and look for any patterns that form.  Once you have identified your triggers, you can take action to avoid them in your day-to-day life.

In the unlikely event that you can’t find any triggers, your best bet is to structure your days so that you minimize all the possible headache triggers.  Get enough sleep and exercise, and eat a healthy, well-balanced diet.  Drink plenty of water and take it easy on the caffeine.  Take a good look at your work environment; is your desk set up to enable excellent posture?  Do you take frequent micro-breaks where you look away from your computer monitor and allow your eyes to focus on something else?

What if all your best prevention strategies fail?  Have a healthy snack and a glass of water.  Get away from your computer monitor, preferably to some fresh air.  Move your head from side to side and back and forth.  Make space between your shoulders and your ears.  Move your shoulders back and use your shoulder blades to massage your spine.  Breathe deeply.  Use your index and middle fingers to massage gentle circles across your temples and forehead.

Good luck!

Katy Chancey is a Kinesiologist and Registered Massage Therapist at RE:FORM Body Clinic in Ottawa, Ontario.

Desk Therapy

We spend a great deal of time telling adults that it’s unlikely their sport of choice the root cause of their problems.  Realistically, what you do for 7-14 hours per week of sport or exercise has a huge effect on our bodies, however, it can’t compare to the 35-50 hours per week you spend slouched and hunched at our desks, in our cars, and on our sofas.  In most cases, there is an interaction between these two things which complicates the real cause-and-effect.  Since you shouldn’t give up your sport of choice, let’s look at how to improve your desk posture.

Picture ninety degree angles.  You should be sitting comfortably in a chair where your hips and knees are each bent at 90 degrees, and your feet are flat on the floor.  You should be sitting upright, with your shoulders back and your ear holes directly over your shoulders.  Your computer monitor should be slightly below eye level, and you should be able to easily reach your keyboard and mouse with your arms at your sides and elbows bent at 90 degrees.  (If you have the resources at your workplace to have a professional ergonomic consultation done, by all means, take advantage!  These tips are no substitute for an expert assessment.)

After you’ve set up your desk in a way that fits your height, you need to address your work habits.  You need to move around every half hour or so.  You don’t need to go outside and walk around the block – although that would be great.  Move your head from side to side, do some shoulder circles, wiggle your toes.  Stand up and walk around if your job permits it.  Frequent breaks are vital to a pain-free work day.

Katy Chancey is a Kinesiologist and Registered Massage Therapist at RE:FORM Body Clinic in Ottawa, Ontario.

It Means Squat: Proper Technique

The squat may be one of the most popular lower-body strength training exercises there is.  Unfortunately, there are nearly as many ways to perform a squat incorrectly as there are variations on the exercise.  Here are a few pointers to help guide you in whichever squat you choose.

• Breathe steadily and evenly.  Inhale as you squat, and exhale as you stand up.
• Maintain a neutral spine: not a flat back, and not overly arched.
• Use your abdominal and back muscles to support your hips and back.  If you need to use a weight belt, you’re lifting too much weight – back off the squat weight and work on your core strength.
• Knees should line up directly above your toes, and shouldn’t extend past your toes at the deepest part of the squat.
• Keep your shoulders back, head up, and eyes looking forward.  Don’t look down at your feet and use a mirror to monitor your form.
• If you are using a squat bar, it goes across the back of each shoulder, not on the back of your neck.

If you are looking for help learning proper squat form, use a chair.  Stand about one foot in front of a chair with your toes pointing straight ahead and your feet under your hips.  Lower your pelvis as if you were going to sit in the chair.  As soon as your glutes contact the chair seat, stand back up.  Visualize straightening your legs and extending your hips, not just straightening your knees!  Check your form with a professional to avoid injury.

Get Ready for Winter Running!

It’s that time of year again – with winter approaching, you’ll need to think about what to wear for a winter run.  Keeping warm and dry is key for having a great workout!

Let’s start with your feet. You need merino wool socks.  Wool is the only fiber that retains warmth even when it’s wet. Your regular running shoes are fine.  If it’s icy where you are, you may want to add some ice-grippers to the outside of your running shoes.  You can find these at your local running store.

Next to your skin you need a thin, quick drying layer of either a polyester-based synthetic or merino wool.  For men, windproof underwear is very important.  Your outer layer should be a breathable, wind- and water-resistant pants and jacket, preferably in a bright colour with lots of reflective accents.  Depending on the temperature, this may be all you need.  If it’s really cold, you may want an additional insulating layer.  Again, brushed polyester or wool are good choices. Don’t bundle up too much; you want to be comfortable once running, not too hot.  This means you should feel a little cold for the first five to ten minutes of your run.

For your head any hat will do, but don’t choose one that will get so hot you’ll want to take it off.  For gloves or mittens, a thin liner glove made of polyester or wool under a windproof mitten is a near foolproof combination.

Run a little more slowly than usual.  Your muscles will take longer to warm up, and you never know where there could be ice underfoot.  Slow down, stay warm, and enjoy your time outdoors!