Sports « Weekly Gravy

You’ve signed up for your first fitness event and you’ve mapped out your training schedule for success. Now add mental preparation to the plan. It’s essential because the very physical training that gets your body into shape for competition can dull your mental motivation and even bore your muscles, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. So, build in some variety. Instead of your usual stretching, take a yoga class once a week. If you weight train with free weights, try resistance bands. If cycling is your typical cardio, try a rowing or cross country ski machine. Next, add mental exercises, starting with visualization. Take a few minutes each day to run through the event in your mind, from picturing yourself full of energy at the starting line to working with focus during the event to sailing through to the finish. Try to see the image in as much detail as possible — your clothes, the air temperature, the balloons at the starting line. Draw on all your senses to experience the moment. This not only motivates you, but also tamps down any nervousness you might have. Be your own booster squad. Use positive words to encourage yourself, and remind yourself of past accomplishments as you resist focusing on any doubts. Think about the fun element of the activity, why you love the sport,… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Fitting regular exercise into your daily schedule can improve your health and fitness, and reduce your risk for disease, says MedlinePlus. From yoga to weightlifting, there are many types of exercise to choose from. To make the most of workouts, MedlinePlus suggests: Choose activities that work many different parts of the body. Choose activities that you enjoy. Exercise safely with proper equipment. Listen to your body. Don’t overdo it. Give yourself challenging, but realistic goals.

Walking speed may indicate whether young stroke survivors are ready to return to work, a new study suggests. And 3 feet per second may be the threshold that predicts whether they can meet a workday’s challenges, the researchers found. One of every four people who has a stroke is younger than 65 years old. As many as 44% may be unable to return to work, largely because of difficulty walking, the study authors said. “Stroke affects motor control and motor function. To return to work, you must be able to walk to your car, bus, office and meeting rooms. If you can’t walk or you get tired easily, your ability to do your job is going to be seriously impacted,” said Hannah Jarvis, the study’s lead author. She’s a research associate at Manchester Metropolitan University in England. For the study, Jarvis and her colleagues compared mobility in 46 stroke survivors from Wales, aged 18 to 65, with 15 people who had not had a stroke. The investigators tested how far and how fast participants could walk in three minutes. The study found that stroke survivors who couldn’t walk more than 3-feet per second were unlikely to be able to return to work. The report was published Sept. 26 in the journal Stroke. Among the 23% of study participants who went back to work, nine out… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Fitness trackers can be great tools for improving heart health, says the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Depending on what’s most comfortable for you, potential fitness trackers include pedometers, smartphone tracking apps or wearable devices. To use a fitness tracker properly, the school suggests: Use the tracker daily. Set healthy and realistic goals. Find activities that fit into your daily life. Recruit friends and family to use trackers, as well. Be accountable.

Here’s a good reason to encourage your teenager to play more than one sport: New research finds kids who concentrate on only one sport may be at risk for stress fractures, tendinitis and knee injuries. “It’s wonderful for a child to love a sport and to want to engage in it, but we must keep in mind the number of hours spent playing,” said study author Alison Field, a professor of epidemiology and pediatrics at Brown University. “They add up pretty quickly.” The findings are a result of following more than 10,000 older children throughout the United States. The bottom line is that kids who do the most hours of intense activity per week, and that happens to be those focusing on a single sport, are the most likely to be injured. Field hopes that coaches, parents and doctors urge children to engage in less intense, less specialized training. The best advice is that kids should spend only a moderate amount of time in vigorous physical activity. If they have to specialize, they should replace some training with different types of exercise, such as yoga and conditioning, she suggested. The risk for injury differed for girls and boys. For girls, no sport stood out as being extra risky. Specializing, however, increased girls’ risk of injury by about 30%. Specialization did not significantly increase boys’ risk… read on >

Research published in the Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics highlights two important steps for improving diet and exercise habits. The first is getting practical and personalized tips for making changes that you’ll permanently adopt. The second is developing the inner motivation needed to help make the first step stick. The study recruited adults from a rural area in the South with limited access to a gym and other health-oriented facilities. To help them make positive changes, each had four sessions with a wellness counselor who gave recommendations tailored to their lifestyle. These included making realistic changes to the typical southern diet they normally ate, with an emphasis on how to make better fat and carb choices. They were also given a fitness goal of 30 minutes a day, such as walking at least 7,500 steps at least five days a week, plus information on where to find farmers markets for healthier food as well as local parks and schools where they could walk. Although researchers thought that rural participants would have a harder time making healthy changes than city dwellers, those who lived in the country lost more weight and became more active than those in healthier, more supportive environments. In fact, some became so motivated that the farther they lived from a gym, the greater the number of steps they took. Everyone trying to… read on >

Tired of taking the same old cardio class? It’s time to explore some of the combination classes being offered at both large gyms and small, more personalized fitness centers. One of the most popular options is the multi-discipline class — two or more activities woven into the same workout session, designed to keep fitness fun as well as challenge participants and avoid workout ruts. And there are many variations. A very rigorous combination takes the high-calorie burning technique of high-intensity interval training and applies it to strength training moves using only your body weight. By focusing on exercises like lunges and squats and not worrying about grabbing equipment, you can work through the moves quickly. Some creative combo classes mix various forms of dance, so you get a cardio workout as you learn different styles — that’s a great twist if you love Zumba, for instance, but want to shake it up even further. Adding an ab workout to a cardio class is another common offering. As different as they are, most of these mash-ups are designed to burn maximum calories, build lean muscle and increase stamina while keeping you engaged. Clever fitness teachers in your area might offer their own combinations, but some global pioneers have drawn from dynamic activities to make innovative combinations, like mixing Pilates with boxing and dance, and weight-training with… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Pulled muscles occur frequently in athletes. Most strains respond well to nonsurgical treatments, however, some strains can result in partial or complete tears, says the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. The academy mentions these risk factors for muscle strain: Muscle tightness. Athletes should always stretch. Muscle imbalance, which can occur during high-speed activities. Poor conditioning. Weak muscles are less able to cope with stress. Muscle fatigue, which makes muscles more susceptible to injury. Old age or adolescence. Athletes who participate in football, soccer, basketball, running, sprinting and dancing are especially at risk and should take extra precautions, the academy says.

While you can take Social Security benefits at age 62 and get 75% of your maximum, waiting until you reach full retirement age (between age 66 and 67 depending on the year you were born) gets you much closer to the full amount. But the age at which Americans can collect the most dollars has inched up to 70. The problem is that, in general, people today aren’t as healthy during their pre-retirement years as past generations were. Having one or more chronic health conditions, from diabetes to arthritis, can make it harder to keep working through your 60s and, for those who want or need to, beyond. Though you might see retirement as being in the distant future, taking care of yourself today creates the foundation for a healthier and more productive old age. The American Academy of Family Physicians has seven key lifestyle habits to follow that can get you there. Build the Foundation for Lifelong Fitness Eat healthy: fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts, whole grains and lean proteins. Get regular exercise — on nearly every day of the week. Lose weight if you’re overweight. Protect your skin every time you leave your home to help prevent skin cancer. Don’t smoke. Limit alcohol to a max of one drink a day for women, two for men. Less is better. Practice safe sex. Map out… read on >

Don’t let foot problems hobble your autumn activities, a foot surgeon says. “Foot health contributes to your overall health. From beginners to advanced athletes, proper foot care is important to keep your body healthy,” said Dr. John Giurini, chief of podiatric surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in Boston. One of the most common foot problems among active people is plantar fasciitis, inflammation of the thick band of tissue in the arch of the foot. “Under normal circumstances, your plantar fascia helps absorb the shock of pounding on pavement,” Giurini said in a medical center news release. “But repetitive stretching can lead to inflammation and irritation, and even small tears.” Along with overuse, other risk factors for plantar fasciitis include being flat-footed or having a high arch, being overweight, or doing activities in worn-out or inappropriate footwear. “When caught early, mild cases can be treated conservatively with rest, ice and stretching to give the inflammation time to heal,” Giurini said. “In some cases, physical therapy and orthotic devices can be helpful. In more severe or resistant cases, steroid injections and surgical procedures may be necessary to alleviate this pain.” Blisters are another common foot problem and develop due to constant friction and moisture. Blisters can be painful and, if they break open, can become infected. “This is where proper shoe fit is important —… read on >