Endorphins, What are they ?

One of the many reasons to work out.
There are many reasons to want a good training regimen, some train just to look good, some people train to stay in shape or even maintain the body they have been fortunate enough to be born with, others train to keep fit and live a healthy lifestyle and then there are athletes that train specificaly for the sport/career that they have chosen. One common word that comes to mind, regardless of your reason for pumping iron is, Endorphins. A word often used very freely as the "feel good hormone".
Correct!. The reason for me writing this is to go a little further into what Endorphins are and why, without even realising it, they are a part of our lives.
According to the Sixth Edition of the Columbia Encyclopedia(2008)
"Endorphins found in the brain have pain-relieving properties similar to morphine. There are three major types of Endorphins: Beta Endorphins, found primarily in the pituitary gland; and enkephalins and dynorphin, both distributed throughout the nervous system.
Endorphins interact with opiate receptor neurons to reduce the intensity of pain. Many painkilling drugs, such as Morphine and Codeine, act like Endorphins and actually activate opiate receptors. Besides behaving as a pain regulater, Endorphins are also thought to be connected to physiological processes including euphoric feelings, appetite modulation and the release of sex hormones.
Prolonged, continuous exercise contributes to an increased production and release of Endorphins, resulting in a sense of euphoria that has been popularly labelled as "runners high".

To get your natural high you need to exercise for at least 20-30 minutes at 60-80 % of maximum intensity. However, Endorphins may also be released when there is a rise in fatty acids caused when exercise acidifies the blood.
So maybe we also achieve that endorphin euphoria from exercise-induced acidosis. Exercise-induced acidosis of the blood appears when prolonged exercise has decreased. This acidosis is then thought to stimulate the pituitary gland to release the Endorphins.

Whichever way we achieve that endorphin release doesn`t really matter. It`s another plus and one more great reason for training for the rest of your life !
Yours in training

What You Can`t See Can Hurt You !

One major issue in training today is the tendency to train the "mirror muscles". This is a term used when describing the way most people train in the gym. What it refers to is the way many people only care about the muscles they can see when looking in the mirror. For example, people tend to focus on the shoulders, chest, abs, and even the quadriceps while giving very little attention to the upper and lower back, glutes, and hamstrings. The muscles we can`t see in the mirror play a vital role in what is called the posterior chain. Neglecting these muscle groups not only leads to muscle imbalances -both in strength and appearence- but it also can lead to strength deficit issues that can result in injury.

As a Personal Fitness Trainer at ONE80, www.one80.co.za and coming from a background of weight training in both isolation and functional techniques, I can honestly tell you that to look good is one thing, but to look good and have a body that is able to function as an ELITE unit makes my time spent in the gym all the more worth it, for myself and most importantly my clients!.

Yours In Training

Recovery

An often overlooked yet absolutely vital element of any training programme is recovery time. Your body adapts and strengthens after a training session while it is in recovery. If you don`t provide adequate rest you will, at best, stagnate and, at worst, suffer from overtraining and deteriorate.

Continous training is not necessarily better training, and many recreational gym-goers train intensely far too often and do not take enough advantage of the greatest training aid of all - sleep!

For more on this topic refer to my article: "Rest! the most overlooked training aid of them all."

Yours In Training

Muscles 101

Muscle is muscle and fat is fat! Ever hear someone say " your muscle will turn to fat if you stop working out"? Well, thats not true !
Muscle cells will always be muscle cells and fat cells will always be fat cells.
Our bodies have a fixed number cells and cannot create any more. But you CAN create bigger muscles(hypertrophy)through resistance training. In other words, the quantity of cells will remain the same, but they will increase in size. Similarly if you discontinue exercising, you may experience some muscular atrophy ( shrinking ) , which iis the opposite of hypertrophy .

Want another great reason to watch what you eat ?
Fat cells are a place where your body stores energy. Your body can and will continue to create fat cells to store more energy if it needs to ( If you consume more calories than your body needs ).If you burn (use up) that stored energy , you are decreasing the size of the fat cells - but once your body has created them , they are there to stay .
Food for thought , No pun intended.