Fitzy Bitzy: Fitness Blog - Weight Loss Blog - Trainer Blog

Question of the week: Why do I get a headache when I exercise?

Picture this ... you're jogging outside when all of a sudden you start to sense this slight twinge around your temple.  You decide to ignore it, and you press on.  Slowly, that little twinge turns into a dull pain.  You start to become a little irritated by this occurrence, but you're tough; you can take it.  A few minutes later, this dull pain has turned into a sharp pain, and now it's to the point that with every step you take, a pain shoots through your head and starts to make you feel sick. ... definitely a problem when you're trying to keep a consistent pace with your run. 

So what happened?

Well, obviously, your body is being plagued by the grips of a headache.  Do we really know why this headache happened?  It could actually be several things.  In fact, I wrote an entire section on one of these reasons ... out of whack muscles.

Alright, besides crazy muscles, how else can we make sure this problem doesn't turn into a common occurrence?  Another reason, and probably the biggest reason, is dehydration.  Our bodies are made up of about 70% water.  When we become dehydrated, this balance becomes off kilter.  As a result of dehydration, our bodies send out a signal saying, "Hey, wake up man!  I'm dying here!"  One of those signals, other than a dry mouth, is a headache.  How much water do you need?  Half of your body weight in fluid ounces.  If you weigh 100 lbs., you should drink 50 fl. oz.

Another reason could be hunger.  Ever gone a long time without food?  In the times I have, I normally get a headache.  Again, your body is sending out a signal that something needs to change ... it needs food. 

Here's another reason, sleep.  The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7-9 hours of sleep every night.  If we don't get that, our hormones become all out of whack.  Here's the big problem, though.  One of the signals for lack of sleep is a headache, and because of this, it can be hard to distinguish if you're dehydrated, haven't eaten enough, you have imbalanced muscles, our your body is craving sleep.  See where I'm going with this? 

Headaches can result for many different reasons.  Above are some of those reasons, but in order to make sure we maintain a healthy body, we need to make sure we're keeping every area in check.  We need to eat right, we need to stay hydrated, we need to get enough sleep, we need to keep our posture inline, and so on and so on.  Remember, a headache is an alarm going off in our bodies.  Sometimes it might be hard to interpret the cause, but if we're making sure we don't slack in one area of a healthy body, we stand a better chance of alleviating headaches for good.

Does the President exercise?

I'm sure you've wondered this before.  With bodies such as The President's Challenge and The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, one has to wonder if the President sets a good example.  After all, the President only has the small task of running the United States, not that that should take too much time away from a fitness program.  You'll be happy to learn that surprisingly, a lot of our presidents have incorporated staying fit into their daily schedules.  Here are some neat pictures of our presidents in action ... you might get some different workout ideas, although I'm not sure if golfing really counts as exercise ... unless you hoof it.

Presidents breaking a sweat 

Question of the week: What exercises can I do to help my fibromyalgia?

This past weekend, I spoke to a church in Akron, Ohio on what it means to keep our bodies as a healthy temple of God.  Ironically, I was planning on writing on this topic this week, but I also had someone approach me with questions about what to do for their fibromyalgia.  Because of this, I've turned this into the question of the week.

What I've found with training clients who have fibromyalgia is that starting slow and progressing is the best approach to take.  Many times, when first starting an exercise program, clients with fibromyalgia tend to be very sore after working out.  Typically, I start fibromyalgia clients out on a workout that consists of nothing but stretching.  This alone can leave them sore afterward.  After a few sessions of stretching, we slowly start to move into resistance training of 2-3 times per week.  There are three very important components that I include in any exercise program for someone with fibromyalgia.  The first is exercise tubes.

Many times, traditional weights are too much for a fibromyalgia client to start out with.  The reason I like exercise tubes is because not only are they extremely versatile, but they're also great for controlling the amount of tension/resistance on the joints and muscles.  I've had some clients who could only manage bodyweight and very light tubing exercises.  I've had other clients who had very light cases of fibromyalgia, and therefore were able to work out a lot harder from the start.  Having said that, though, the majority of clients with fibromyalgia have done best at minimizing post-workout soreness by starting with light resistance tubes and bodyweight exercises.  As their bodies start to become accustomed to working out, then it's fine to move to more intense workouts, as well as free weights and weight machines ... only if they're able to.  Hopefully, by now you know I'm a big fan of exercise tubes, and this is one reason why.  Someone with fibromyalgia and someone who's trying to put on muscle can both use exercise tubes and accomplish the same goal.  Exercise tubes really are a fitness secret because the quality of the workouts you get with them are just as good, if not better, than traditional weights.  Body weight and exercise tubes, both can be utilized for ANY individual, no matter what the goal is.

The second component I incorporate for fibromyalgia clients is stretching.  Once a client moves into resistance training and aerobic training, stretching is crucial.  Light stretching before workouts for a warmup, and more intensive stretching afterward for a cooldown.  Light stretching before means holding stretches for no more than four seconds and doing just a few minutes total of different stretches for key muscle groups ... legs, chest, and back.  After workouts, spending a good 10 minutes to do more of the traditional-type stretching with longer holds of 30 seconds is what I have fibro clients do.  Stretching helps reduce a chemical called lactic acid that builds up in the muscles.  Lactic acid causes muscle soreness, so by reducing the buildup/pooling of lactic acid in the muscles, soreness is reduced as well.  Also, stretching helps prevent the muscles from tightening up after a workout; this reduces the tightness that accompanies soreness after workouts.

Another component is water intake.  Water keeps the muscles hydrated; it helps flush out the buildup of toxins in the muscles and throughout the body.  Drinking water is just another way to reduce post-workout soreness.

Besides these three components, low-impact aerobic exercise, such as cycling, walking, and elliptical machines, is a great addition to a program.  A main reason why, these exercises help combat the fatigue and low-endurance issues that plague fibromyalgia clients.

Want another great idea?  Interestingly enough, a study of the effects of yoga on women with fibromyalgia showed that women who perform yoga have been found to have a reduction in the pain, fatigue, and anxiety that so often plagues them.¹

The main point to stress when it comes to fibromyalgia is that exercise is a good thing, not a bad thing.  You may be suffering from the many effects of fibromyalgia, and even though your mind may be telling you to avoid exercise, in reality, an exercise program is absolutely essential.  Without one, the effects of fibromyalgia will only get worse.  Reduced pain, reduced fatigue, increased flexibility, increased endurance, reduced bouts of depression, all of these, as well as many more, are the benefits exercise can have when dealing with fibromyalgia.  If you haven't already, I suggest working together with your physician and a qualified personal trainer to help you make a change in your life that will only make the quality better.

References:

¹ Holmer, M.L. 2004. The effects of yoga on symptoms and psychosocial adjustment in fibromyalgia syndrome patients. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: Sciences and Engineering, 65 (5-B), 2630.

Are you on the fat diet? You might be surprised ...

"Diet", it's a word that has so many different meanings to it.  For some, it means months of borderline OCD behavior, eating flavorless foods, eating no food, or buying expensive "weight loss" bars and shakes.  For others, it means that they're setting themselves up for even more fat gain in the future.  Are you one of these "victims"?  First reaction would say, "Heck no!"  You might be surprised to learn, though, that what you thought was doing your body good is actually sending it down to crash and burn.  Let's go over a few different scenarios that you might have fallen into and see if we can't climb out before it's too late.

Number one, the "don't eat during the day and save up for a big dinner" diet.  Studies have shown that not eating breakfast leads to overeating throughout the day, so the idea that you will get everything you need with a big dinner never works.  The second part to this is that your body can only process and burn off so many calories at one time.  Eating 2000 calories in one meal will lead to an overflow of calories into your body, which ultimately leads to an enormous amount of insulin released to suppress your spike in blood sugar.  The result of this much insulin means fat storage.  Spacing meals throughout the day helps to control blood sugar spikes and the resulting storage of excess body fat.

Another bad "diet", the grazing diet.  Too many times, when I ask people how their eating habits are, they say, "Oh, I'm a very healthy eater.  I don't eat huge portions, but graze instead."  Again, bad idea.  Research shows that without structured times of when to eat, people who graze tend to overindulge.  Just because you eat a few potato chips here and a few there doesn't mean it's healthy.  Those little handfuls add up, and you would be surprised at how much they add up indeed. 

Bad "diet" number three, barely eating anything before a big event.  Here's the scenario, it's been 10 years since you last saw your college friends, and you want to look your best for them.  You go out and buy a killer outfit, and the only thing left to do is fit into that outfit.  You decide to bring your eating habits to a halt and take on the portion sizes of a bird.  The problem, you metabolism crashes and your ability to lose weight crashes with it.  Your body goes into starvation mode.  It stores fat and burns muscle.  Without muscle, your fat-burning potential dissolves, and not only does your "fat loss" come to a stand still, but your "fat loss" after the big event will be at a stand still as well.  "Diet" number three is the number three no-no.

Bad "diet" number four, "I can eat whatever I want because I'm eating healthy, organic food" diet. 

Big mistake. 

Here's a little secret.  Healthy food still has calories.  An interesting study that polled college students showed that when presented with a healthy food choices, they consistently underestimated the calorie counts.  Just because a food has a good amount of nutrients doesn't mean it doesn't have the calories.  Perfect example, nuts.  Healthy source of protein, but a handful can still add up to 200 calories or more.

Bad "diet" number four, the "low-fat" or "sugar-free" diet.  First off, the idea that low-fat means no fat stored on your body is ludicrous.  Fat equals tasty, so without the fat, how do you make foods tasty ... sugar, of course.  When you think about low-fat, do you think less calories?  If you do, go to the grocery store and compare a regular product to its low-fat buddy.  You'll be surprised to see there isn't much of a difference in calorie count.  What about sugar-free?  The jury is still out on whether artificial is better, some studies say yes, some say no.  Just because something is sugar-free doesn't necessarily mean it's calorie-free.  Always be conscious of the labels.

Last, but not least, the short-term diet.  Too many times, people become motivated to lose the weight, they start exercising and eating right, but as soon as they lose the weight, they start to slip back into old habits.  Weight control is a lifestyle change.  Start will small changes, work you way up to the lifestyle change, but once you get there, never look back. 

100 fitness iPhone Apps

One of my readers, and a past guest blogger on Fitzy Bitzy, emailed me with this post that was recently done by her organization.  It lists all kinds of different fitness apps you can use on your iPhone.  I thought it was so unique, I had to share it with you.  Technology is such a wonderful thing; does anybody really have an excuse not to exercise anymore ... other than laziness?

100 fitness apps for your iPhone

It's time for a survey!

This last month has been a great month for me.  I’ve been able to meet a lot of really great people, and after explaining what Your Live Trainers does, I got all kinds of interesting responses.  Some people loved the idea, some weren’t sure about online fitness training, and some were confused all together.

Being the “Curious George” that I am, I decided to tackle this problem head on.  So what did I do?  I created a survey.  Yea for surveys!  My goal is to get feedback from you so that we (Your Live Trainers) can figure out how to serve you best.  Everybody knows they need to be healthy, but so many people have different issues that prevent them from achieving that level of health they want.  We want to provide the best approach for you to get there, so that’s why we created this survey.  I would extremely appreciate it if you would take 5 minutes of your day and complete it.  With your help, we really feel we’ll be able to help you even better.  

Here’s the link to the survey: http://www.fitzybitzy.com/fitness-survey.html.  Thanks in advance!!!