"Vagabond Tabata"(12.4.2011)

"Vagabond Tabata"(12.4.2011)

*Sunday, December 4th, 2011 Class Schedule: 10:00 am Class Time*

I. Maintaining Your Muscles… by Dr. Jaime:
It is true that the more muscle you have the more calories you burn, and in turn the faster your metabolism… but improving your muscle mass has many other benefits as well. The benefits of building and maintaining muscle mass go beyond appearance. Muscle helps protect bones and joints from injury and destruction, may be linked to a decrease in incidence or severity of depression, improves metabolism and digestion and has anti-aging effects.
Health tips to optimizing muscle mass and maintenance:
If you don’t use it you lose it:
Truth; if you stop strength training your muscle development will also stop, and previously developed strength and muscle mass can decrease. This doesn’t however mean the recognition of the muscle is lost. Our bodies have an innate memory, and if you have previously strength trained but have since stopped, or perhaps injury put you on reserve, rest assured that the body will remember its previously attained strength. Alternating your exercise routines can also be a critical part of muscle maintenance, as new and different exercises challenge the muscles in different ways
Power up with Protein:
Muscles need protein, and diets deficient in protein will effect both your ability to maintain muscle as well as develop new muscle. Without adequate amounts of protein your muscle is not able to properly recover and can increase your risk for injury. Protein comes in many sources and these may need to be individually selected based on diet and digestion.
Feed your body Frequently:
People often ask me if it is better to eat three meals per day or 5-6 smalls per day, and the answer is both. Depending on your schedule, your metabolism, access to food and other factors choosing how often to eat should be a personal decision. That being said, wether you choose 3 or 6 there are a few guidelines that you should think of. If you choose to have 3 meals make sure you are choosing balanced meals with adequate portion sizes. For those that choose to have 6 small meals, the most important thing to now is what is “small”. Too often I see clients who chose the six small meals and are consuming the caloric intake of 6 regular meals. Portion sizes will depend on metabolic and caloric needs
Stress is Sabotage:
It would be nice if we could all snap our fingers and rid our stress, however realistically this isn’t so. Learning how to manage stress however is a key component to keeping healthy. Being overly stressed out can lead to a hormonal imbalance which can hinder the body’s ability to build muscle mass. Furthermore stress can negatively impact digestive function which can decrease the absorption and availability of nutrients form your foods. Practicing stress reduction techniques such as meditation, massage, journaling, talking and exercise are good ways to manage stress and reduce the overall stress effect to your body.
Avoid a Rut in your Routine:
Whether its diet, exercise, work, when we don’t change up our routines from time to time we are more likely to hit a “rut” and become disengaged from our plan. To remain motivated and centered in diet, exercise and work make sure to think of ways to slightly alter or provide variety or find mini challenges within your day that you can work to achieve!

Nick one of the many who is going through the Vagabond On Ramp Program to ensure proper techinque, form, and safety! Contact Vagabond CrossFit for more information about our On Ramp Program!