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Morning or Evening Exercise!
Which is Best?
I usually avoid this question! If I recommend one over the other and it doesn't fit someone's lifestyle, I often hear, "Okay, I won't do anything!"
For the record, I find myself working out in both the morning and the evening, pending my day.
However, setting lifestyle logistics aside, here's why I believe 'morning' exercise is better in most cases:
🌅 Fewer Excuses: Often, I find that I'm still half asleep before I realise I'm actually exercising. I like to plan my workout the evening before, including selecting fitting music.
🌅 Boosts Fat-Burning Metabolism: Working out in the morning revs up my metabolism for the day. Even if I eat poorly later, my metabolic furnace is already running, which reduces the chances of storing excess calories as fat.
🌅 Enhanced Cognitive Function: Most people do their best work between 8 AM and 1 PM. I prefer to kickstart my cognitive hormones (dope, sero, endorphins) during my morning workout to enhance my performance during this time.
🌅 Healthier Food Choices: After a good workout, it's nearly impossible for my brain to crave greasy, unhealthy options or chocolate. A tired, lethargic brain, on the other hand, tends to reach for quick fixes like sugar, fat, salt, and extra caffeine.
🌅 Serotonin boost: A morning spike in sunlight (void of sunglasses) shuts down sleeping melatonin and amplifies brain happy serotonin.
🌅 Better Sleep: A tired body leads to a tired brain, making bedtime more appealing and ensuring a higher quality of sleep.
🌅 Improved Thermoregulation: After exercising in the morning, my body is better regulated for the day. If it's cold, my natural heating system is active, and if it's hot, my natural cooling system kicks in.
Of course, if lunchtime or evening workouts are more practical for you, I can also share the benefits of those options!
Oh, and as for the early morning wake-up (get-up) strategy – set your alarm as your favourite riff! 'Enter Sandman' has me up - and has my wife hating Metallica.
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Rucking Good
-why you should consider trail rucking-
One of the great benefits of working in the stunning Australian Snowy Mountains is the opportunity to ruck!
Rucking is the practice of walking with weight on your back, which involves carrying a weighted rucksack (or backpack). It's considered a low-impact exercise rooted in military training workouts. In the mountains, rucking resembles hiking/trekking, while in urban settings, it's simply called rucking. Essentially, it’s like doing leg and core exercises in the wilderness—bring it on!
For context, I trekked the same course two weekends apart.
🥾 In Week 1, I completed the trek without any additional weight in 1 hour and 48 minutes, with an average heart rate of 127 bpm.
🥾 In Week 2, I added 15 kg to my backpack and finished the same trek in 1 hour and 49 minutes, with an average heart rate of 139 bpm. I deliberately aimed to maintain the same pace, and yes, my legs definitely felt the difference the following day.
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Rucking is a physically demanding activity, so it's crucial to progress gradually. Start with shorter distances of 3-5 km and gradually increase the distance as your strength and endurance improve. You can also enhance the intensity of your rucks by incrementally increasing the load and incorporating hills or inclines into your route.
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My recent experience with PRP
- ‘platelet-rich plasma’ therapy -
After crashing my mountain bike 2.5 years ago, I did everything I could to help heal my injured elbow. I underwent physiotherapy, massage, electro (shock) therapy, and practised hours of the appropriate exercises. Experts expressed their disapproval of cortisone treatments, believing they could weaken my elbow.
One of the country's leading practitioners recommended that I try PRP, or Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment.
PRP is a medical procedure in which a patient's own blood is drawn and then spun in a centrifuge to concentrate the platelets, which are cells involved in clotting. The concentrated platelets are then injected back into the body at the site of the injury to stimulate healing and tissue regeneration. This technique essentially harnesses the body's natural healing mechanisms to accelerate the repair of damaged tissues, including tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints. In my case, based on an MRI scan, the diagnosis was tendinopathy.
The main potential benefits include:
💉 Healing tendonitis, osteoarthritis, muscle tears, and ligament sprains.
💉 Stimulating cell growth and tissue repair, which may even help with hair loss.
(Hmmm, it would be a bonus for me if only the platelets could travel from my elbow to my head!)
My experience:
The injection directly into the tendon was bearable. The physician suggested allowing the natural inflammatory response to settle by resting my arm for just one day. The next day, I experienced some discomfort, and my elbow appeared slightly inflamed. The doctor reassured me that this was normal.
After three days, I started lifting weights lightly, and by day four, I went mountain biking. I did feel some discomfort from the injection. Now, one month post-treatment, I can confidently say that I have significantly less discomfort and reduced episodes of 'catching' in my injured elbow. Although I can still feel the injury, the doctor mentioned that it might take up to four months for it to fully settle.
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Why I run at 176 strides per minute (SPM)!
When running, if my leading and loading leg extends ahead of my hips, my aging body parts can expect the following;
🤕 Additional stress from reverberation in my ankle, shin, knee, hip, and lower back.
🤕 My calves & achilles can expect to (push-off) and work 30% harder (at the same speed).
🤕 My quads (thighs) and knees will fatigue earlier into a 'longer' workout.
🤕 I will be relying more on shoe support.
🤕 I will run slower and will, eventually, likely break down.
🏃 Below, I am running at 5, 10, 15, & 20kph, respectively – holding – (exactly) 176 spm ( I am using a click track @ 88 - hitting on my left foot).
🏃 176 spm ensures I'll land and load directly under my hips (like a wheel) at all speeds - and not ahead of my hips causing a braking of my forward momentum.
🏃 As the speed increases, my angle of fall (forward) increases as does my stride 'length', but the cadence (SPM) remains the same @ 176.
🏃 The 5th gif shows a slo-mo of 5 & 20kph, where at both speeds my land foot falls under my hip (my centre of mass).
🏃 Further, note my vertical oscillation (via the black line on the wall behind) - it's the same regardless of speed (~ 30mm).
🏃 If I slow my cadence to, say 165, I overstride, and, 1) incur a greater impact cost, and 2) will vertically oscilate higher (landing harder).
🏃 My leg length, muscle mass, and best feel, determine my optimal '176' spm.
💭 I don't focus at all on which part of my foot strikes the ground first. By running at a cadence of 176 steps per minute, I naturally land underneath my hips, which causes the ball of my foot to hit the surface first. This action engages and lengthens the plantar fascia (the arch of the foot) and the Achilles tendon. This lengthening creates a spring-like pop off the ground.
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Reboot#19 debrief
🥑 317 practised this year's reboot - CLICK HERE
🥑 The 14-day reboot model is straightforward and aligns with natural principles. It provides direction and, consequently, motivation.
🥑 Optimising gut health, reducing inflammatory markers, and balancing blood glucose levels typically boost a healthy fat-burning metabolism, leading to overall better health.
Thanks, Mary, for your report.
I don't think I eat poorly, and the reboot has been in line with my usual nourishing lifestyle. I enjoyed not having to think about food! The meal plan allowed me to throw out the thoughts of "what are we going to eat?" While I was often preparing food on the go, we managed to stick to the plan pretty much every night and day.
My biggest takeaway, and a reason for some weight loss, was the scheduling of fasting and the intermittent carbs. I felt that just as I was beginning to lose my motivation, the added carbs boosted my motivation and energy the next day.
Undoubtedly, Brad's consistent reminders to hydrate were not only necessary but also a game changer. There's no doubt I feel better, even though I am waking up naturally earlier; despite this, I don't feel tired. I have managed to shed some frustrating weight, and I have a feeling I can keep it off. I plan to continue practising many of the meals moving forward, free from stress.
🍷 I will return to enjoying an evening glass of wine.
Mary