Oct 26

Staying Active to Reduce Stress

“I’ve been busy” Is a common term in response to the question “How’s life been?”  Our everyday lives include a plethora of activities that keep us occupied.  Whether it be the busy life of a parent, forty-plus hours a week of dedication to our jobs, or a sleep-deprived student staring at a pile of assignments due in three days, humans find ways to have something to do.  “It’s better to have too much to do than nothing to do at all” is a common response when expressing our to-do list to others demonstrating how engaged we are with deadlines and obligations.  Humans are achievement-oriented creatures that strive for something to do.  Why else would our brains evolve to such an advanced degree to be the most advanced organisms on the planet?  We all work to prolong our existence.  However, there comes a time when having too much on our plate can cause deleterious effects on our health and well-being.

Understanding and managing the stress we endure is key optimizing to our overall quality of life.  Getting enough sleep and getting to work on time, making sure the kids get their homework done after gymnastics class, or ensuring to pay the bills before late charges ensue can put a person under immense pressure.  If the supporting variables of maintaining a busy lifestyle aren’t regularly tended to, suboptimal repercussions can occur and hinder a person’s ability to live a healthy and productive life.  Understanding and appreciating the effects of overworking oneself and focusing on factors that reinforce our ability to sustain the constant demand to remain productive is commonly overlooked.

The result of putting oneself in a pressure cooker of deadlines, hustling without rest, and taking on cumbersome tasks equates to symptoms of mental, emotional, and psychological stress in the form of anxiety, irritability, or depression.  Furthermore, the physical and physiological effects of becoming overstressed include increased stress hormone response such as cortisol and adrenaline throughout the day, increased heart rate, headaches, storage of additional fat mass, and decreased lean muscle mass.  If action isn’t taken to correct such symptoms, the result is suboptimal for thriving in the beautiful world we’re fortunate to live in.

Thankfully, these symptoms are curable.  We can prevent the likelihood of symptoms of overstress from the demanding confines of our obligations by focusing on exercise and physical activity to reduce stress.  One of the human body’s most remarkable capabilities is its ability to adapt to stresses and demands imposed upon it.  Akin to how Wolverine from the acclaimed X-men comics, cartoons, and blockbuster movies played by Hugh Jackman, heals after an epic, action-packed battle against an evil villain, our bodies adapt to stressful responses in a similar fashion.  Of course, our bones won’t heal at the rate of Wolverine after Magneto smashes him through a wall.  However, following the stresses imposed on our body after a strategically designed exercise session, our body progresses through a remarkable transformation at both the psychological and physiological levels.

Exercise sessions such as resistance training, Yoga, or uphill hiking induce increased heart rate responses.  Additionally, after the first few minutes of exercise, our bodies produce stress hormones to increase our heart rate, increase the rate of blood flow to our working muscles, and ultimately put us in a “fight or flight” period.  Similar to how muscles break down at the microscopic level during exercise and the body repairs exercise-induced intramuscular damage a day or two after an exercise session, the body learns to manage exercise-induced stress hormone responses as well.  After a few weeks of running fifteen to thirty minutes and tracking your heart rate response on your Apple Watch, you might notice that your working heart rate decreases after a few weeks.  This is because your muscles are learning to gather more energy from oxygen, meaning the heart doesn’t need to work as hard.  If there isn’t any demand for the heart rate to increase, then there is less need for exercise-induced stress hormones to be produced.

This adaptation to producing less excitatory hormones throughout exercise carries over to the function of our everyday lives.  The ability to be less fatigued after a long day of work when the body is conditioned allows us to be more productive in getting the kids to soccer practice, making it home from work at a reasonable hour to make dinner, and spending quality time with our loved ones.  The increased heart rate produced by external stress caused by financial concerns, interpersonal relationships, or a concerning current event from the news won’t spark as much of an increase in heart rate response or the influx of stress hormones because your body is attuned to this type of stress you’ve put it through during exercise sessions.  In other words, regular exercise conditions the body to be resilient when the stresses of life present themselves.

Reserve time out to appreciate the gift of setting aside your obligations and participating in physical activity.  Your family, friends, colleagues, and the person you look at in the mirror every day will be happy you did.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Oct 20

Fun and Safe Exercises to Keep you Going

Light gray clouds brush across the sky during the brisk, damp winter mornings of Napa as we enter the year’s closing months.  “This year just flew by,” can be heard from our peers when Halloween concludes.  Following the celebration of dressing up in creative costumes and as the trick-or-candy hits the clearance rack at grocery stores during Halloween festivities of October, Thanksgiving is next.

Gathering with friends, family members, and peers throughout Thanksgiving week offers time to sit back and unwind.  Thanksgiving week usually includes taking a few days off work and preparing delicious food to gift the people we care about.  Along with the infamous pumpkin spice latte, It’s not uncommon to see Thanksgiving-themed treats at our offices or decadent treats on our counters.

Immediately after Turkey Day, we see December emerge in all of its glory.  December 24th and 25th bring about a holiday that is celebrated throughout the nation.  Similar to the November festivities of having a few days off of work and being surrounded by holiday-themed treats, December brings about a period of bundling up, galivanting through a series of holiday gatherings, partaking in copious amounts of comfort food and drinks, and kicking your feet up with the family to relax indoors.   This is a popular time of the year because we know that we have a powerful representation of society, symbolizing putting forth a game plan to achieve phenomenal accomplishments as December approaches.  New Year’s Day is on January 1st.  After New Year’s Day hits, the next year will be the best year of our lives.  This is where New Year’s resolutions are created.

A resolution can be defined as a firm decision to do or not do something.  After twelve months of living our lives to the fullest and accomplishing milestones through our professional careers, interpersonal relationships, and self-care, the first month of the year marks the starting point to the beginning of a new journey toward accomplishing monumental goals.  One of the most common goals regarding refining oneself for New Year’s resolutions is making decisions to take better care of our bodies.  Common examples of improvements in self-care include losing weight, optimizing our dietary decisions, or engaging in more physical activities.  While these goals are motivating and powerful symbolisms, it’s all too often that these New Year’s resolutions are overlooked, discarded, or forgotten by March or as soon as the first week of the New Year.

Falling off from our goals set forth in our New Year’s resolution can occur due to setting lofty expectations in a short amount of time.  For example, setting the goal of abstaining from sugar is an effective tactic to refine one’s dietary habits to aid in decreasing fat mass and the risk factors of metabolic diseases.  However, to completely omit something commonly consumed in our everyday lives for the previous few years isn’t as simple as it sounds.

Another example that requires strict discipline is making decisions to commit to regular exercise routines.  It should go without saying exercising three times a week for over two hours of rigorous physical activity aids the body in developing lean muscle mass, decreasing fat mass, fending off illness, and improving psychological and emotional well-being.  Who doesn’t want to be leaner, stronger, and feel less stressed?  However, with ads featuring New Year’s specials of signing up for new gym memberships rampantly present in our social media feeds and inbox promotions, this decision seems like a no-brainer.  If it was only this easy.

So, why can’t we simply get a membership to one of our local gyms utilizing a New Year’s discount graciously offered by our local fitness facilities and ingrain a routine of health and wellness that immediately becomes a staple in our lives?  More often than not, humans will either choose to continue or abandon an activity based on whether that activity is enjoyable or not.  In other words, people fall off from their New Year’s resolution of developing a fitness routine because it isn’t fun or it becomes boring.

Who said exercise can’t be fun?  Does exercise need to be defined as driving up to a crowded gym parking lot at 5:30 PM immediately after getting off work?  Or, do we need to enter a small group fitness class led by instructors directing us to perform movements that feel uncomfortable and even painful?  The answer is no.

Similar to revisiting your favorite restaurant three or more times a year, humans enjoy returning to experiences that leave them feeling happy, comfortable, and energized.  For instance, my favorite pizza in Napa Valley is the takeaway pizza from R+D Kitchen in Yountville.  Their Hawaiian-style pizza has a texture that feels toothy and doughy, pineapples and mind-blowing house-made sauce with just the right amount of acidity, thinly sliced red onions that aren’t too chunky, and jalapenos applied in just the right quantity so as to not blow my face off with spiciness.  This same heartfelt and memorable feeling I experienced with food can be said for my experience in my weight-lifting routine and when I play three hours of pickleball with my friends.  I can describe in excruciating detail why these activities bring about such fun and splendor in the soul.  Could I say the same for running for thirty minutes on a treadmill?  Absolutely not.  I would lose my mind.

However, the same can’t be said for others who experience a feeling of mind-opening catharsis when running for hours.  In that instance, running is an entry into a realm void of distractions and stress.  Additionally, perhaps long hikes into the open under redwood trees and mossy-covered trails pave a road of freedom for someone who enjoys hiking.  Or, maybe setting thirty minutes aside to play “Just Dance” or “Dance Dance Revolution” on the Nintendo brings joy to the soul through interacting with a video game while achieving physical activity.  The point is that if there is something we truly enjoy, look forward to, and remember, the likelihood of returning to that activity is increased.  The urge to return to physical activities that are fun creates strong building blocks for developing a routine of fitness.

After these slower, darker, and colder last few months of the year, the motive to refine our physical well-being is going to be a popular mindset as a New Year resolution.  Before we decide to sign up for the next New Year’s special offered by a fitness advertisement, take a step back and identify some physical activities you enjoy.  By choosing a physical activity that warms our soul, we can adhere to a routine that is not only good for our body but also ignites a sense of exuberance in our overall existence.  If we want to make a resolution that can stick with us for the long run, we never want to stop having fun, and we should always want to keep playing.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Oct 12

Building Exercise Routines: Never Stop Playing

The never-ending, perpetual downward scrolling of Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok douse our minds with stimulating content like the velocity of water coming out of a ruptured fire hydrant valve.  As we scroll through our social media feeds, peering down at the three-by-six screen of our cellular devices, we have the privilege to view whatever content we desire.  The content could be who the latest celebrities are dating, or our favorite foods.  Other noteworthy topics available on social media are posts about health and fitness.

The delivery of health and fitness awareness brought in by social media is a helpful tool for encouraging our society to eat better foods, exercise, and live happier lives.  Living in less pain, having more energy, and encouraging the ability to live longer are values the world can’t have enough of.  However, a problem still remains present in our society regarding reaping positive outcomes in our fitness efforts.  Sometimes, exercising isn’t fun.  In fact, I’ve heard a few people say that showing up at the gym is like making a trip to the dentist.  Nothing against our fellow dentists out there.  Tooth health is of extreme importance.  However, the idea of sitting in a chair with your mouth propped open for an hour, a pair of latex gloves moving around your tongue, and sharp metal objects prodding the gum line can be slightly unnerving.  In some cases, the gym might offer the same experience to people who have similar feelings of discomfort.

Small group fitness biking classes, hot yoga classes, or Cross Fit sessions are valuable resources to encourage class participants to receive positive outcomes in a group setting.  The gathering of exercise participants in biking classes follows along to the beat of enthusiastic spin instructors while motivating music blasts to promote endorphins throughout an hour-long cycling class.  The relaxing breathing techniques in a local hot Yoga class allow participants to breathe and stretch for an hour.  Let’s not forget our buddies at Cross Fit gyms.  Lifting heavy weights, throwing things, and jumping around like chimpanzees with a few other like-minded individuals fit exercise participants’ interests who enjoy pushing their limits.  Small group fitness classes from different activity categories offer life-enhancing results to their participants.  That is, if the humans in the class enjoy these physical activities.

Being forced to do something brings out resentment.  In some instances, individuals interested in improving their fitness don’t know where to start.  So, local gyms, small group fitness classes, or personal training facilities offer entry-level discounts to try out their programs.  While the goal of investing time into a fitness activity is to improve health and wellness, an activity that isn’t energizing and entertaining to an individual can be similar to getting a tooth pulled.  While bright lights, fun music, and cheering during a biking class might be fun to some people, the overstimulation of strobe lights and loud noise can terrify others.  A relaxing and laid-back Yoga class with soft meditation music and the instructor’s soothing voice could be enough to send a person with an upbeat “get it done” personality screaming out of the room.  The clanging of barbells on the ground and heavy metal music in a Cross Fit facility might make a person make an immediate one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn by just taking a glance at the class setting.

Do these two paragraphs sound contradictory?  They should.

The reality is that many forms of fitness applications are present in our society.  We are incredibly fortunate to have an abundance of resources available from certified exercise professionals specializing in specific skills that cater to the vast array of people looking to enhance their health and wellness via an exercise routine.  However, let’s not forget one of the most critical factors that present a successful outcome in a fitness program: consistency.

In order for efforts toward improving health via exercise to be effective, adherence to a routine must be applied.  There’s no way around reaping the benefits of a fitness program if the tactics are inconsistent.  Exercise one day per week and then avoiding exercise for two straight weeks does very little for an individual.  Therefore, find exercise routines that are enjoyable, memorable, and that you look forward to.  If the result of your exercise routine is that you had a fun time, you’ll probably go back to it.  If the routine makes you feel good, you might be motivated to return to that activity.  If the exercise setting gave you an unforgettable experience, the likelihood of wanting that feeling again is increased.  Therefore, if we want to get the most out of exercise to refine our health and wellness, put the feeling of having fun during physical activity as a priority.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Oct 04

Fun Exercise Equals Consistancy

Engaging with the numerous methods of electronic entertainment is a prominent part of our culture.  Our phones, tablets, computers, and televisions have become integrated into a uniformed presentation of digital media so that we look at a variety of screens present in our lives at any location and circumstance.  Whether it be watching a series on Hulu, playing an online game, or looking at our email, it appears that we are constantly being prompted to interact with our digital lifestyle devices.  Along with those prompts, we can’t help but notice the need to view the advertisements present during our digital experience.

Fitness advertisements and influencers have developed into popular channels on social media platforms, web searches, and even the advertisements linked to the streaming services of our TVs.  It’s not rare to find a twenty-something-year-old gentleman with abdominal muscles chiseled enough to grate parmesan cheese on performing “the best exercise for burning fat.”  Additionally, in any internet browser’s random ad space squares, you might find other health-related advertisements, such as local fitness businesses promoting the next monthly special deal.  Expect to see a massive influx of fitness center membership specials as the new year approaches as well.

While the influence of emphasizing health and fitness has increased over the generations and become a pivotal part of our society, the decision to embark on a fresh new fitness journey can be challenging.  Orange Theory, Planet Fitness, and other local gyms are in the community to help people.  However, entering a fitness facility to speak with a representative who has the body of a Greek god might be a little intimidating.  Additionally, other veteran participants at fitness facilities might have a one-up on newbies since they have had time to refine their fitness levels.  Furthermore, entering a facility housing mechanical running devices, large iron heavy objects, and upbeat, high-energy music is overstimulating to individuals not used to this environment.  Lastly, the advertisements we see while scrolling down our social media feeds or internet browsers initially meant to help us get into the gym and feel healthier can ultimately feel like we are being ordered to sign up immediately.  Messages like, “Join now!” “Don’t miss out!”  “Ends Soon!” could be perceived as an order from a drill sergeant or pushy salesman to get in right away. Why would you want to sign up for something that sounds like your boss telling you to get in and pay for a membership before a specific deadline?

Taking a step back from the pressures and intimating factors of exercise can be a helpful first step for emphasizing physical activity and health to improve our quality of life.  The concept of having fun can get lost in the shuffle of doing something “we want to do and doing something “we have” to do. If activities are fun, the likelihood of remembering the engaging and enjoyable factors of that specific experience might make us want to return to it.  In other words, if we’re looking for an activity to improve our overall quality of life using fitness as a catalyst, perhaps we should focus on physical activities that are fun, memorable, and something we look forward to.

Walking with your spouse or friend to get a cup of coffee a half mile away is a common activity because conversations, sights, and sounds are fascinating.  The additional steps and calories burnt tracked on wearable technology are fantastic.  However, the enjoyable and memorable experience of experiencing the world might be what drives people to take these walks.  Meeting with three friends to play a game of ping pong or pickle ball produces conversations, laughter, and the chance to bask in the sunlight.  Sure, the increased demand for the aerobic energy system and utilizing calories as a fuel source to burn more fat is an appealing feature of playing an hour’s worth of pickleball.  Once again, the fitness-improving variables produced by a social game of pickleball aren’t always the driving factor in participating in the activity.  People keep coming out to the courts because it’s fun, and they look forward to another game with their friends a few days later or next week.

We rarely hear an individual say, “I’m so bummed I didn’t burn the number of calories my Apple watch told me to do.”  However, we might feel slightly disappointed if we miss a walk with our favorite companion or if a pickleball game gets rained out.  The cancellation of these activities produces more disappointment because we look forward to the things that cause elation, joy, and fun.  Perhaps we can take a step back from the consistent prompting and pressures from advertisements and social media influence as the driving force to get us fit.  Stop taking orders and find physical activities that are fun, memorable, and that you look forward to.  If we focus on enjoyment in our physical activity, we have found a gift of happiness, health, and strength by our side for the rest of our lives.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Sep 23

Managing Chronic Pain and Overcoming Fear of Exercise

Chronic pain presents itself in a wide range of symptoms throughout the general population.  Degenerative bone disease, recovering from significant orthopedic surgeries, or joint misalignments are some conditions contributing to prolonged periods of pain.  Chronic pain can be defined as a symptom of unresolved physical pain that has negatively affected the productive functionality of a person for up to three months.  Examples of the negative impact of chronic pain include disrupting one’s ability to walk, get a full night’s sleep, or perform enjoyable recreational physical activities.

The effects of chronic pain arise at unique times throughout a human’s life.  Sometimes, the occurrence of a random injury causing damage to the spine due to car crashes, picking something up the wrong way, or tripping and falling can result in dealing with some form of pain and discomfort daily.  The repercussions of such injuries can cause prolonged periods of muscle guarding, nerve-related pain, and psychological and emotional stress.  Additionally, degenerative bone diseases such as arthritis, spinal stenosis, or osteopenia can affect significant joints of the body, such as the neck, shoulders, spine, hips, and knees.  Such conditions elicit profound signals of pain in areas of the body.  Pain can present itself as searing, shooting, dull, or sharp sensations throughout particular regions of the body.  Additionally, pain can be temperamental.  It can present itself first thing in the morning, later in the day, or be triggered by activities that are hard to identify what caused the pain mechanism.

Exercise causes similar sensations to the pain signals arthritis and recovering from injuries give to the body.  However, exercise-induced discomfort is a diminished pain response compared to chronic pain symptoms. After performing a set of pushups, a person can expect to feel a slight burning sensation in the chest, arms, core, lower back, and legs.  Some people refer to this byproduct of exercise occurring within the muscle as a minor form of pain.  Another example of activity-related pain can be from the effects of jogging, biking, or a bout of exercise on a rowing machine.  The sensation of fatigue throughout the body and stress applied to the lungs produce bodily discomfort.

An abundance of research supports that routine exercise can potentially mitigate the effects of chronic pain.  It should come as no surprise that adherence to a safe, effective, and efficient exercise routine offers positive physical adaptations toward the connective tissue infrastructure responsible for decreasing bodily pain.  Stronger muscles, tendons, and ligaments act as brackets around joints to reduce bone-on-bone contact.  Additionally, an efficient aerobic energy fends off heart disease and metabolic disease while also offering increased energy to support everyday life activities.  However, the desire for an individual with chronic pain to enter an exercise routine that causes exercise-induced discomfort isn’t appealing mentally or emotionally.  Therefore, a person dealing with chronic pain may not want to exercise because they don’t want to be in more pain.

A few potential solutions can help people overcome the daunting decision to enter an exercise program to decrease chronic pain:

  1. Advice from a professional:  Seeking out the guidance of a qualified professional who understands your situation on both a physiological and emotional level serves as a supportive starting point toward decreasing chronic pain.  Reflecting on the mechanism of pain to a professional willing to help opens up the opportunity to have someone else by your side to help solve the puzzle of reducing chronic pain.  Physical therapists, bodywork professionals, and experienced personal trainers have made their lives work to aid people in living pain-free, happy, and strong.  Having that support system is critically important to starting on a good step.
  2. Set a clear and attainable goal: Pain can cause psychological and emotional distress, creating a scenario in which people might be unable to think straight.  It’s easy to get depressed when the same cycle of pain presents itself daily.  However, taking some time out to set goals of what everyday life would be like with a decreased amount of pain aids in what tactics must be completed to feel better.
  3. Laying of plans: The support of a professional by your side and a clear and attainable goal serve as sturdy starting points to decrease chronic pain.  After the foundation of support is complete, creating a weekly schedule to exercise, receiving therapeutic bodywork from a physical therapist or massage therapist, and passive recovery is another integral step in the journey of reducing pain.  Reserving specific appointments for yourself and decreasing distractions in a weekly planned-out structure sets the stage for tactics toward pain reduction efforts.

Reducing pain is a constant dynamic that needs to be addressed consistently.  The ability to completely eliminate pain symptoms of chronic pain is a challenge.  Taking time out to consistently decrease contributing factors of pain through skilled exercise selection and adherence to rehabilitation techniques play a pivotal role in living a life with less pain.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Sep 16

Visits to your Local Gyms, Don’t Forget to Warm Up

Most towns have local membership-driven gyms.  Exercise participants can simply approach the front desk associates upon entry, zap their gym cards, and waltz into a vast ocean of gym equipment strewn before them.  Our society is fortunate to have this resource available.  Local gyms offer an exercise environment where participants can enter at their own volition to promote a healthy community.

Treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes encourage participants to train their aerobic energy system.  Resistance training equipment such as the leg press, chest press, and lat pull-down machines are designed to perform repetitions of strenuous movements for sets of ten to fifteen repetitions in an effort to encourage participants to increase lean muscle mass and strength.  Larger local gyms in Napa, such as Healthquest, Active Wellness, and INSHAPE, offer small group fitness classes led by certified fitness instructors scheduled throughout the day.  These classes build a sense of community while also adding the feature of following movements demonstrated by a certified fitness professional.  Needless to say, our local gym scene offers a substantial amount of benefits to the health and well-being of our community.

The gym scene can be fun, invigorating, and an invaluable resource to fend off metabolic disease, arthritis, and sedentary lifestyles.  Seeing progress by noticing the amount of weight lifted on the leg press machine is encouraging.  Your first week of training might include three sets of fifty pounds followed by three sets of seventy pounds after your second week of training.  The ability to walk a mile slightly faster than previous weeks on a treadmill is another feeling of elation, producing a positive gym experience.  Attending two days a week of your favorite core fusion group fitness class leaves you with a smile on your face after hanging out with your class buddies and working up a sweat while listening to exhilarating music.  However, after a few weeks of doing the same thing, what happens if you feel some pain in your shoulder, a crick in the lower back, or nagging and dull pain in the knee?

Unfortunately, performing too much exercise too soon can offer painful side effects.  Our personal training clients approach us with comments about joint pain.  After gathering a brief history of what their supplemental exercise routine consists of outside of their private training sessions, they usually describe a story in which they visit a local gym a few times a week.  An exciting and elaborate story ensues, describing a few trips around the gym floor utilizing the intricate resistance training machines, hopping on the elliptical for ten minutes or so, and taking the group fitness class is a common response.  As part of our initial evaluation, we like to ask, “What does your warm-up consist of?”  A look of sheer bewilderment and shock seems to numb the expression on their face, followed by a moment of deafening silence in the air.  One of two things commonly occurs at this moment:  A hand is held up in where the index finger is touching the thumb, forming the shape of a small circle signifying the number zero, or the words “Nothing” are the answer.

Warming up the muscles surrounding the significant joints in the body before beginning a bout of exertive physical activity is critical for injury prevention and optimizing the body for proficient exercise performance.  A warm-up routine stimulating the neuromuscular system, increasing heart rate, and sending oxygenated blood to the working muscles promotes more than the avoidance of strains or unfortunate injuries.  Setting aside three to five minutes before your exercise routine to prepare your body to move sets the tone of your exercise experience by priming your psychological and mental status for a successful performance.  Once your body and mind detect you are ready for exercise, the likelihood of apprehension and overuse injuries is decreased.

Set aside some time to warm up the muscles of the neck, upper extremities, lower back, hips, knees, and ankles before venturing onto the gym floor.  By giving your body the gift of a warm-up, you are setting yourself up for a successful exercise experience.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Sep 09

Physical Activity and Motivation: Set a goal and get it done

Weeds.  Once described to me by a dear friend and mentor as “something in which its intrinsic value has not yet to be discovered.”  Seeing as both my back and front yards quickly became overwhelmed with wild weeds that sprouted and proliferated, I fully-heartedly agreed with this statement.  If I happened to be a deer that enjoyed munching on wild foliage throughout a forest in my natural habitat, then perhaps I could find some value in a fifty-square-foot area of weeds.  However, I am not a deer.  I’m a human.  And, I’m not so sure weeds taste that great or would benefit my digestive system.  So, I have no need for weeds.  This led to project “weed abatement”.

Instead of mowing my weeds down once a week or spraying them with a vile weed-killing substance, I researched alternative methods to mitigate the psychological and emotional effects the mundane task of weed management had on me.  Waking up on a weekend morning to rifle through my shed to pull out my lawn mower, getting powder debris of plant matter on my skin and in my eyes, and sweating profusely wasn’t on the top of the list after a long work week.  I’d much rather sit inside for a few hours and look at the inside of my house that I had only seen early in the morning and the last remaining hours at dinner time before I ventured into dreamland.  As a solution, I discovered that covering my weeds with wood chips would naturally suppress their urge to propagate.  Instead of waging chemical warfare on mechanically slicing their leaves to see the weeds regrow to their normal length next week, I could remove the very source that encourages them to grow: the sun.  This meant I had to remove their origin of photosynthesis by putting down used cardboard and covering the area with a copious amount of wood chips.  The best part is that the supplies were the right price, free.

After an inquiry to freechipdrop.com, I had a dump truck’s worth of wood chips in my parking lot in a few days.  A daunting and powerful spectacle, that pile of wood chips resembled a substantial amount of work on my end.  I grabbed my metal rake, wheelbarrow, and flathead shovel.  It was time to start scooping, wheeling, and spreading the chips to cover the colony of weeds that had hindered my relaxing Sundays.  After hours of filling my wheelbarrow up and traveling to the next destination of the weed patch to disperse chips, I noticed I had made a tiny dent in my pile.  I saw what an hours work could do to this pile.  I observed the pile decrease in surface area by reducing the height and radius of how much ground it covered.  This project would take a few days of hour-long labor intervals to complete.

Fortunately, I had a friend who offered their help in this project.  Thank goodness for friends.  I told him that if we simply met for one hour twice weekly, we could knock out this pile.  That meant I had two hours of labor to invest into this pile twice weekly.  Over two weeks my buddy and I produced eight hours of shoveling, wheelbarrow usage, and raking.  Before we knew it, the pile was gone, and I had a driveway to park my car in.  Most importantly, I succeeded in snuffing out those worthless weeds.

A noteworthy observation was how setting appointments with realistic and manageable time frames to get things done accelerated the completion of my project.  A small mountain’s worth of wood chips can be intimidating and challenging to motivate oneself to grab a shovel and start moving the pile.  One scoop full doesn’t seem like a lot.  However, an hour’s worth of shoveling equates to quite a lot of progress.

This experience led me to think about the progress our personal training clients can make in their fitness goals when initially making the decision to motivate and dedicate themselves to a fitness program.  Whether it be a package of ten small group fitness classes or making a more significant investment to sign up for three to six months’ worth of fitness classes with a private personal training facility, Yoga, or Pilates studio, it’s challenging to see the needle move toward making progress.  Losing weight, gaining strength, or decreasing pain doesn’t happen overnight.  Like my enormous pile of wood chips, it takes planning and time to progress and achieve fitness goals.  Fitness adaptations can only be seen if we consistently practice adhering to weekly exercise sessions.

It’s amazing how much can get done if we invest small increments of time into projects and goals.  Sometimes, things don’t happen immediately.  However, if we plan our strategy and make weekly appointments to accomplish tasks, we can see incremental progress until the job is complete.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Aug 31

Calorie Counting and Portion Size

Food serves its purpose in many ways to benefit our overall functioning and productivity in our society.  The various foods we consume aid us in strengthening our bodies’ muscular and internal organ systems, fending off illness, and fueling our bodies with sufficient energy.  However, while food is significant to the functioning of our bodies, the decisions we make with food can counteract  its positive attributes.

A common topic we hear from our personal training clients is discovering the best tactic for weight loss.  As professionals in the fitness industry, it’s our job and passion to help people thrive in a happy, healthy, and strong manner throughout their everyday lives.  Consistent adherence to weekly exercise is an essential portion of developing and maintaining a body with low fat mass and an efficient amount of lean muscle mass.  Our exercise participants meet with us for training appointments anywhere from one to three times per week for a seventy-five-minute customized training sessions.  Like other individuals in our community who regularly attend small group fitness classes at gym fitness studios like Orange Theory, Yoga or Pilates classes, or membership driven gyms, routine exercise is one of the most essential foundations of maintaining a healthy weight.

Our dietrary decisions play a critical role in balancing foods effects on our bodies.Historically, counting calories has been a popular and effective tactic in delivering successful outcomes in weight loss efforts.  A classic approach to losing extra fat mass is utilizing more calories as energy than we consume.  Additionally, if we decrease our average daily calories, we’ll likely lose weight too.  Therefore, counting calories is a potently effective method to maintain an optimal lean muscle mass to fat mass ratio.  However, what if counting calories isn’t the most desirable tactic to adhere to?

Outside of calorie counting, our society keeps track of things every day.  From digital representations of our bank accounts presented on our computers to counting minutes of activity on our mobile devices, we keep track of many variables on a daily basis.  It’s easy to saturate ourselves with continually counting and tracking things.

Two simple yet effective low-hanging fruit eating decisions are to be mindful of portion size and when food is consumed.  A commonly overlooked recommendation to aid in choosing optimal quantities of food to consume is using our hands as a measuring device.  Using the amount of the volume of food that fits into the hand is an adequate portion size that can limit overeating yet also satiate hunger.  A helpful example could be fitting a handful of carbohydrates in one hand and protein in the other.  For example, a handful amount of oatmeal and a handful of eggs could serve as a healthy breakfast.

Additionally, integrating larger quantities of food at the beginning portion of the day and making efforts to consume smaller amounts later in the day aid in utilizing calories for energy and avoiding converting excess calories to fat.  We are more likely to use more calories as a fuel source earlier than later in the day.  Therefore, larger portions could be helpful before the afternoon, and smaller portions could aid in fat storage mitigation later in the day when energy levels are lower.

Food should be an enjoyable experience throughout our lives.  Savoring the flavors, textures, and social interactions food offers us is a valuable feature we enjoy in our culture.  Making healthy eating decisions can reinforce our relationship with our fitness journey and living healthy and fulfilling lives.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Aug 24

Arthritis and Bone Mineral Density

Our bones are significant organs within our body responsible for the infrastructure and framework that keeps us upright and allows us to move in multiple planes of motion.  Similar to how rebar, cement, and two-by-fours hold buildings together, our bones supply an internal stabilizing factor to support our body.  Our skeleton offers us a magnificent design featuring bones possessing unique movement abilities based on the bones shape and location within the body.  Various types of joints, such as ball and socket, hinge, saddle, and facet joints, offer a wide array of movements in our extremities.  Needless to say, the bones residing underneath, around, and on top of muscles, nerves, blood vessels, and internal organs are extremely important.

A potential threat to our bone health is degenerative bone disease.  A common diagnosis society is afflicted with is arthritis.  This bone condition can be stemmed from various originations.  Sometimes, arthritis can be a genetic condition in which degenerative bone and joint disease are present in other family members.  However, a typical presentation of degenerative bone disease comes in the form of underuse or a sedentary lifestyle, which produces a deconditioned state for humans who perform suboptimal physical activity and lack routine exercise.  This lack of exercise and physical activity sends a message to the body that if the body stops moving, then there wouldn’t be any reason to have strong bones to support a physically inactive individual.

Bone mineral density can be defined as the strength present within the internal structure of our bones.  Osteocytes, blood vessels, and collagen cells comprise the fabric holding our bones together.  The status of the cells and compounds in our bones contribute to our bones strength.

To counteract the harmful effects of arthritis and degenerative bone disease, the body needs a stimulus to promote the strengthening and resynthesis of bone mineral density.  One of the most efficient and effective ways to encourage the reinforcement of strong bones and joints is to perform safe and effective resistance training exercises.  An increased lean muscle mass around bones mitigates force from exertive movements to apply too much stress to the bones.  Additionally, the body will react to a skillfully designed resistance training program by detecting the stress imposed on the area of the body being moved through slightly exertive movements.  The result of physical stress via skillful exercise not only increases lean muscle mass but also sends signals to the bone cells to respond to exercise-induced stress.  Adaptations of increased blood supply to the cellular structure within deep layers of the bone trigger repair and resynthesis of bone cell and collagen, making the bone tissue more durable, dense, and stable. Therefore, adhering to safe and effective resistance training routines can potentially mitigate the suboptimal effects of arthritis and degenerative bone and joint disease.

Focusing on low impact isometric or eccentric movements is a great place to start when the goal is to promote bone and muscle strengthening.  Before picking up the dumbbells, kettlebells, and barbells at the gym, perhaps a more suitable approach would be to seek counsel from a private Pilates instructor, a Yoga teacher, a physical therapist, or a skilled personal trainer.  Exercise is a crucial medication for combatting arthritis.  However, conducting exercise routines should be performed skillfully and safely to allow time to learn the purpose and techniques of each movement.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Aug 21

Sciatica Struggles

“You don’t know what you got ‘till it’s gone.”  It couldn’t have been said any better than when I listened to the 80’s hair band playing this song out of the Alpine speakers in my stepdads car on the way to school many moons ago.  When I have a headache, upset stomach, or a bad case of seasonal allergies causing havoc on my sinuses, I wish I was in a normal unafflicted state.  These symptoms take days or even weeks to dissipate,  I rarely find myself thinking about my present state when I don’t have headaches, a sour stomach, or my allergies are going haywire.  I suppose when my body is in a neutral point of homeostasis, I don’t have to notice anything suboptimal occurring.  It’s easy to notice when we’re in pain.  Yet, it’s challenging to acknowledge when things are going well around us.

This same feeling of noticing how things are going wrong could be said about physical pain.  A typical example we see among newer personal training clients is sciatica.  Better known as a burning, zinging, throbbing, and “nervy” pain pulsating down the buttocks, the back of the leg, along the calf, and the heel, managing sciatica is just as undesirable as dealing with the repercussions of food poisoning.  This unique symptom contributing to a lack of mobility, disruption of sleep, and a negatively affected psychological and emotional state gets its name from interference to the proper functioning of the sciatic nerve.  A person dealing with sciatica might as well say they’re sick.

The nervous system is responsible for transferring electric signals from the brain and spinal cord to organs so they can perform their duties of allowing the body to operate correctly.  The sciatic nerve is unique due to its large physical structure and length.  It originates at the base of the spine and covers the landscape of the entire back half of the leg.  Signals to innervate lower extremity muscles to contract are sent from this main message center to the lower extremities.  The sciatic nerve is a significant structure toward the optimal function of one of the most critical actions we perform in our everyday lives, walking and standing.

Waking up from sleep and having a “pins and needles” feeling in your arm after laying on it for a few hours is a classic case of what happens when a nerve gets compressed.  The good news is, after a few moments of discomfort, this “dead arm” feeling dissipates.  Similar symptoms occur with the presentation of sciatica.  The large nerve that covers the back of our lower extremities gets compressed, causing neuropathy.  However, these symptoms aren’t as simple as accidentally sleeping on an area of the body and causing temporary tingling in the area.  Sciatica is far more complicated.

The compression of the sciatic nerve can occur due to vertebrae or spinal disc pressing on a portion of the nerve or a tight muscle pushing down it.  Spinal disruptions are complicated and require dedication and adherence to a structured rehabilitation program professionally designed by a physical therapist or spinal specialist.  However, before going down the route of thinking something devastating has happened to the spine, aiming for the low-hanging fruit to alleviate sciatica can resolve this issue via muscle conditioning.  Ruling out muscular disturbance causing sciatica is an attainable method with the potential to relieve sciatica and contribute to ruling out spinal problems.

One such symptom contributing to sciatica is compression of the nerve caused by tight gluteal and hip muscles.  The piriformis muscle is the star of the deep hip muscles that gets plenty of attention when sciatica is creating havoc on the body.  Getting its name from the Latin definition of “pear-shaped form,” the piriformis makes its home directly over the top of the sciatic nerve.  Usually a friendly neighborly duo, the piriformis and sciatic nerve typically hang out and function harmoniously.  However, when the piriformis has a bad day, it tightens and presses down on the sciatic nerve.

Muscular imbalances are usually caused by an insufficient fitness level.  Sure, we can blame a tight muscle’s presence on how much we sit all day as a desk jockey or commuter.  Sitting more will equates to the hips boney structure compressing the sciatic nerve.  However, adhering to a consistent and effective fitness routine is a commonly forgotten contributor to mitigating sciatica.  Possessing adequate muscular strength, mobility, and blood flow to the musculature of the hips significantly decreases the risk of hip muscles like the piriformis from tightening up and compressing the sciatic nerve.

Living life pain-free is far more enjoyable than living in pain.  Similar to how eating the right food and getting enough sleep contributes to fending off headaches and upset stomachs, consistently adhering to a lower body fitness routine ensures sciatica and other lower back problems stay out of the picture.  Fight against the urge to notice what’s going wrong in the body and switch the line of thought to what’s going right.  Focusing on tactics that reinforce what makes the body feel good is a magnificent mindset to be in.

 

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

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