Sunday story…Movement is Mental Health

 Last Friday, Andrea Reich and I filmed a short video on the mental health aspects of working out for Instagram. You can find it on our Instagram page, @CrossFitOdyssey. What we're discussing today is the mind-body connection that occurs during exercise. Regular exercise, as we know, is celebrated for its physical benefits. However, a lesser-known benefit is the impact on shaping your mental and emotional well-being. 

Participating in physical activity creates a complex cascade of biochemical events in your brain that promotes feelings of happiness, reduces anxiety, and can alleviate some symptoms of depression. Your muscles move, your heart rate increases, your respiration increases, and your brain begins to release endorphins. Endorphins are those natural chemicals that act as mood elevators and painkillers. These endorphins, along with neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, can help foster feelings of optimism, resilience, and even provide a sense of calm. 

Regular exercise serves as an effective outlet for stress management. Physical activity can break the cycle of negative thoughts. Activities like running and yoga, swimming, and even a quick walk can be meditative, focusing your intention on the present moment.  The mindfulness effect of exercise will help with your self-awareness and emotional regulation.

When we participate in group sports or fitness classes, we experience feelings of connection and have opportunities for social interaction and support. Setting and achieving exercise goals, no matter how small, helps us build self-esteem and eventually develop a sense of mastery. These are critical components for maintaining long-term mental health.

Making movement a regular part of your life is a simple and effective strategy for promoting good mental health and well-being. Movement is medicine for both the mind and body.

If you're interested in learning how to build muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com, or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

 

Sunday Story... Summer Nutrition Tips

It's that time of year when things are hot and humid, and honestly, it's hard to eat because it's hot and humid. We need to work on our nutrition at this time of year, and it is easier than you think.

There are tons of fresh fruits and vegetables. You can get them at the farmers' market or the grocery store. The fruit is abundant, fresh, juicy, and it's good for you. The same goes for all the vegetables - from eggplant to squash, fresh cucumbers, or greens, there are so many that can spice up your diet.

Protein remains the same year-round. However, it can be challenging to consume heavier proteins, such as beef roasts or soups. Consider using more fish and lighter proteins, such as chicken. It's always great to grill your protein, and it's great to grill those vegetables right along with your protein.

Another critical aspect of your nutrition this time of year is hydration. Whether you're living in a hot, humid climate like Texas or a drier climate like Arizona or Nevada, hydration is critical. Your goal should be to drink 100 ounces of water a day.

I realize everybody's different, but this time of year, we're sweating a lot, whether we know it or not. In a dry climate, it's especially easy to sweat without realizing it, making it even more critical to stay hydrated. Studies have shown that a 2-3% dehydration could result in a 20-30% reduction in performance. This is a no-brainer, folks. All you must do is drink water, and that will keep your hydration and performance up.

If you're interested in learning how to build muscle and strength or talk about nutrition, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com, or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

Sunday Story...Squat

People across the world at all ages can be seen squatting low and deep. Small children, 2-4 years old, old people and everyone in between. The key is to keep squatting. Once we stop squatting and we only sit in a chair and we only move in one plane of movement, we start losing the ability to squat properly.

Squatting is a fundamental exercise; you do it every day. We sit in a chair, we get in and out of our car, go to the restroom, sit down on the toilet. We squat all the time. By squatting properly, I mean my rear end goes below my knees at the bottom, my chest is vertical, my torso is vertical. As I stand up, I stand all the way up with my knees and my hips completely open. This is a squat.

An air squat is simply a squat done without weight. We can put weight on our back. We can put weight on our front. We can hold it overhead. There are several different ways to affect a squat to make it harder and more intense, but all of them have the same elements. My butt goes below my knees, my chest is vertical, and I stand all the way up when I'm finished.

There could be a more nuanced conversation around squatting, but the basics have been covered. Being strong in your squat is important to your health span. It is how we get up and down!

If you're interested in learning how to build muscle and strength (including squatting!), sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com, or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

 

 

Sunday Story…Rest, Relax, Reset

 

One of the most neglected facets of your fitness journey is stress management and reduction. Some stress is more easily managed than others. Stress caused by external sources may be more easily avoided or eased than internal stress. Internal stress is what we put upon ourselves. Managing your career, your family, and your life can all be sources of internal stress. We want to do them all well. And you may do them all well to the detriment of your own health and well-being. This type of stress is the hardest to manage.

One of the easiest ways to alleviate some of that internal stress is with a vacation. Not the kind where you still must do everything and manage people and events. No, the type of vacation where it is all done for you. Where your choices are limited to which lounge chair you want to lie in all afternoon or which throwaway book you can pretend to read. It might only be one day (hopefully more), but that respite will help your central nervous system slow down and reset. When you return to your busy life, your outlook will be improved.

If a vacation is not in the cards for you, consider implementing a mini-vacation instead. An afternoon of doing nothing, treating yourself to a spa day, or just taking a long, aimless walk in nature. It has been proven that spending time in the natural world can have a profoundly positive impact on your mental and emotional well-being. If that seems too challenging, take 15 minutes to sit in the sun, breathe deeply, and express gratitude for all the gifts in your world.

If you're interested in learning how to build muscle and strength (and help manage your stress!), sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com, or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

 

Sunday Story…the Whys and Wherefores…the Deadlift

 

 Last week, we talked about jumping rope. Today, we're going to tackle one of the major lifts—the deadlift. Which is lifting something from the ground to a full standing position, and the weight ends at our hips. Every time you pick up a suitcase or a bag of groceries, it comes from where it starts and ends up at your hip.

There are many ways to make a deadlift happen. But certain things should take place before you ever lift anything, whether it's a bag of groceries or your Chihuahua.

1. Keep your back straight, with no rounding. I should be able to put a ruler on your back, and it should be straight from your shoulders to your rear end.
2. The primary movers on the deadlift are your glutes and your hamstrings. Not your back. If your back is doing the work, you are doing the lift somewhat incorrectly, if not completely incorrectly.

Some of the variations for the deadlift:

One of the easiest variations is a kettlebell sumo stance deadlift; my feet are wider than my shoulders, my toes are toed out, and the kettlebell is directly underneath my center. I bend my knees, keep my back straight, grab the handle of the kettlebell (two hands on the handle), and stand up. When I stand up, my hips are open, my knees straight, and my glutes tight. Then, as I begin to lower the kettlebell, I hinge at my hips, and my knees bend, allowing the weight to return to the floor.

·         Another variation of this would be to use two kettlebells, one on either side. Keeping your feet under your hips, reach down with each hand, back straight, stand up, glutes tight, hips open. That completes the lift; bring it back to the ground.

·         The next variation would be using a trap or a hex bar. This position puts your hands outside of your legs. So, instead of your hands being inside your legs, as you would have them on the sumo stance, my hands are on the outside, and I am standing inside the bar (the bar surrounds my legs). Then I stand up, and the same process takes place.

·         The most common deadlift is with a single barbell in front of us. We keep the bar close to our legs, the bar path is straight up and down, the shoulder blades back and down, and the back straight. Grab the bar outside of your legs; the legs are underneath your hips. As I stand up, my knees begin to open as the bar crosses pass my knees on its way up, my hips open as I hinge at my hip. When I lower the bar, I keep it on my thighs like I'm shaving my legs with the bar until it gets just past my knees. At that point, and only that point, do I bend my knees. If we bend our knees too soon, the bar will come away from our legs, and that puts the pressure on the lower part of our back.

      The deadlift is a fundamental exercise for building strength. Not only is it functional exercise, but it is something we will do throughout our lives.

If you're interested in learning how to build muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com, or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

Sunday Story... the Whys and Wherefores

You may be asking yourself at this point, "Why should I do some of these things? How will it benefit my longevity? How will it benefit my overall health? What do I get out of doing this?" Because let's be honest, it's not easy.

One of the biggest fears most of us have as we age is falling, getting hurt, and not being able to do the things we genuinely want to do with our lives. When children fall, they catch themselves. That's a fast-twitch muscle response. As we age, our fast-twitch muscles become less responsive. So, we need to force them to work. One way is by jumping rope. As I jump, my muscles in my feet must respond. That is a fast-twitch muscle response. Then when an inadvertent fall happens, the muscles in my feet and legs can catch me and arrest that fall.

One of the most crucial aspects of aging is maintaining strong bones. Believe it or not, jumping can help our bones stay strong and even get stronger. It's that jumping up and down that will help my bones remain strong.

Perhaps you're saying to yourself, "My knees can't take jumping. My doctor told me that the impact was the problem," but you can walk.  If you can walk, you can jump. Let's start by hopping over a line, taking a rope, and jumping over the rope. You only need to jump an inch to get over the rope. That little bit of impact is going to help your bones remain strong.

Another thing that happens to us as we age is that our fast-twitch muscles atrophy. They aren't as strong as they used to be. They don't react the way they used to. Having stronger muscles in our feet and calves can help slow down that process.

If you're interested in learning how to build muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com, or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary.

 

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

Sunday Story…More Priorities (last one!)

At this point, you may be a little dazed and confused. Let me see if I can distill this down for you.

On the food front:

Eat 1 gram of quality protein per pound of body weight. Get as close as you can to this number. It’s aspirational!

Eat 4-6 cups of fruit and vegetables. Again, it’s aspirational!

If you do those two things, your nutrition will be way ahead of your peers.

On the exercise front:

3 days of strength training (emphasize the major lifts) and mix it up to hit your entire body.

1 day of sprint or VO2 style work (there is a difference)

2 days long, slow distance. Wear a heart rate monitor.

On the mobility front:

5-15 minutes 5 days a week. This is crucial because as you get older, it is harder to move easily.

On the social-emotional side:

Get outside every day.

Interact with other humans in a friendly way.

Own your own experience.

How you put this together is up to you, but here’s one recipe:

Use the mobility work as a warm-up, move into some strength work, keeping it varied yet challenging. Then, after your strength work, choose a long, slow distance, or a sprint or VO2 max workout, and one day go for an hour of long, slow distance running, getting outside with other people.

Do these things regularly, if you want the magic pill, it is this: consistency is king. Show up and do work, be single-minded as you work, and smile. You have been gifted with a miraculous human existence. Get out and enjoy it!

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412