Avoid Overuse/Repetition As We Age

The subject that I am writing about below will reflect on me personally and hopefully help some of you out there with similar problems.

As I write this, (March 18, 2011, my 22 year wedding anniversary that I cannot celebrate.) I am literally laying on the right side of my body, moving from one position to the next, feeling very uncomfortable with a herniated disc. After being bedridden for four days, every few minutes I have to change positions because of the pain. I cannot sit, nor can I stand on both feet without pain, so the only option is to lie down or walk around the house holding on to a chair with wheels or use a walking stick for support.

Now one may ask, Did you do this while exercising. The answer is no, I don’t think so. For a few months I have been feeling a “numbing, tingling sensation” in my low back, but not any pain. It would come and go and I did bring it up with Nino, but as soon as I brought it up, the sensation would subside. Right now, I believe that sensation that I have been feeling for a few months now were my warning signs.

After a pre-production meeting Donna and I had, I came home to do some clinic work before class. I walked over to my office chair and sat down like I normally would. As soon as I sat down, I had the most severe pain, rippling across my low back. It felt like a sharp knife was slowly cutting me in half. Thank God my husband, Nino was home (half day at the clinic). I started yelling for his help. I could not move and I was paralyzed with intense pain. I was crying so hard that it felt worse than labor pain! Nino is a Chiropractic Physician and he was able to help me right away (THANK GOD I am married to a Chiropractor!). To cut a long story short, this happened to me almost four days ago and it still feels like it happened a few minutes ago. Nino said the only positive thing by me being immobile; it will also help my knee heal (Lateral Meniscus Tear. Yes, another injury from bending down while I was picking up the dog bowl!)

It is very easy to get injured if we don't acknowledge the physical changes that come along with getting older. Personally, I admit, it is very hard to acknowledge any type of changes that is happening to my body. In my mind, I am able to do more physically than what I did in my 20s and 30s and literally can do more physically than most in their 20s and 30s. Although both of my injuries did not happen while I was teaching my classes, it could have resulted from overuse. I have been teaching so many classes throughout 31 years of my life and maybe my body is telling me to slow down. As I research information for this article, it will help me and hopefully help others reading this too.

Whether you exercise regularly or not, and as we grow older, our muscle fibers shrink in number and in size and become less sensitive to nerve impulses. Most of us experience some decrease in our cardio endurance, strength, balance, flexibility, and coordination around age 40 or so. There are other factors, than our age alone... Some of these factors include genetics, medication, health, diet, lifestyle and our physical activity levels. Sometimes our bodies even remind us of the injuries from younger years.

For those of us that exercise regularly, we keep pushing ourselves to stay in shape and if you’ve noticed, staying physically fit gets tougher every year! Work out as much as you want to for the rest of your life, Sonia, my good friend and a member of our FM Team said that to me years ago and I repeat that to myself often when I know I am overdoing it.

The weight seems to creep up on us even when our fitness level remains the same in intensity and duration throughout the years. Haven’t you notice as we age, we feel we have to train harder and longer just to maintain our weight or add more to our already full fitness schedule? Well, most likely, that often backfires on us and if we are not careful, the result is more visits to doctor’s offices and emergency rooms for injuries. So what do we do?

Because of our aging bodies and depending on what type of workout we do, we will probably have to modify our fitness routines. (e.g., If you are a runner or if you play tennis regularly, you probably are seeing a decline in your performance when comparing your performance to when you were in your 20s or 30s.)

Make sure to avoid overuse and repetition. Not only doing the same exercise day after day will become boring and after awhile, you will also reach a plateau faster and eventually end up with an overuse injury too.

When we repeatedly put stress on the same muscle groups and perform the same movement patterns, it will put strain on muscles, tendons and ligaments. By doing this, it will cause irritation, inflammation and even stress fractures. Even if you do your best to avoid an overuse injury, you may still end up with muscle imbalance, weakness/tightness, and alignment problems.

To avoid these problems, do a variety of different types of exercise. If you are currently in a class and love it or have a fitness routine that you want to continue with, or because you are a creature of habit, just add another activity to your weekly regimen. Just make sure it is different from what you are doing now. Circuit or Interval-type workouts like Z-Box Fitness® will enhance your program and keep it balanced. Remember: Repetition will eventually produce overuse, so make sure to change things up every few months.

Some of us mistakenly think more exercise is better or we start a new exercise routine at a fast pace (too much, too soon). We fail to get enough rest and recovery, which can lead to a chronic, overuse injuries. Make sure to include an easy warm up of 5-10 minutes, before moving up to your training heart rate (THR or known as Target Heart Rate). A 5-10 minute cool down after your training may result in faster recovery and less muscle fatigue. If you stretch, this is the best time (at cool down), because your muscles are warm and flexible and the risk of injury is low.

Make sure to know your THR. I feel that I did my job when my students reach a goal of 75% of their Training Heart Rate. I like to have my students fall between the fat burning zone and cardio zone. Anything above 80% is considered the cardio zone. More on THR will be discussed in a later eNewsletter. Of course, when you want add a few full cardio days (or any type of fitness program), talk with your Physician.

Stay Motivated If you are starting your fitness program later in life or for the first time in your life, you may find that it doesn't come easily. Keep in mind that you are doing this for fun and for your life-long health. You don't need to be competitive to get positive health benefits, so take it easy and have fun!

Listen to Your Body and Adjust Your Expectations! We are more prone to joint injuries as we get older, so if you notice any pain in the joints during a run, stop and walk, or if it is during a class, go into a slow march until you are able to continue. You might need to take your workouts at a slower pace on some days and if you have energy the following day, take it up a notch. Be a bit more forgiving on your body as you age. Remember, we are given only one body, so make sure you listen to the warning signs. Which would be better... to workout at 75% of your target heart rate or not workout at all because of overuse?

Rest and Recovery Rest and recovery is important for everyone, but as we age, rest is even more critical to injury prevention and performance gains. You may find that instead of one recovery day after a hard-training, you may need two days to completely recover. Know your body!

Add Strength Training Maintaining muscle strength can help as we age. All it takes is one to two 30 minute weight-training sessions per week, to keep muscles strong. Include both upper- and- lower-body exercises, and lift weights that are 60 percent of your one rep maximum.

As we age, muscle strength declines. Between the ages of 25 and 80 years, some of our decline in muscle mass is due to inactivity. We can lose up to one-half of our strength and muscle mass! Participating in strength training has many positive benefits for our health. Strength training increases bone density. It have been shown to reduce the risk for numerous chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and arthritis. On top of that, strength training has been shown to have many positive effects on psychological health such as reduced depression, improved sleep and greater sense of well-being. Furthermore, strength training is helpful in maintaining a healthy weight.

Stay Hydrated As we age, your thirst mechanism becomes less acute and you may not feel as thirsty. One easy way to tell if you are getting enough fluid is to make sure your urine is a light color and not dark or concentrated.

Improve Your Balance and Flexibility You guessed it. Both decreases as we age. In general, as we grow older, we experience a decrease in strength, balance and coordination. Balance exercises help prevent falls, not an uncommon problem in older adults. Falling is a major cause of broken hips and other injuries that often lead to disability and loss of independence. Some balance exercises build up your leg muscles, while other exercises focus on your stability.

Examples of balance exercises include several strength exercises for the lower body such as side leg raises and toe stands, as well as stability exercises such as heel-to-toe walking and the stork pose (standing on one foot with arms held out to the side). The best balance exercise that I can recommend is Tai Chi. Please continue to read below...

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of every three Americans over the age of 65 falls each year, and among individuals 65-84, falls account for 87% of all fractures and are the second leading cause of spinal cord and brain injury. The good news is that physical activity can improve balance and reduce the risk of falling. In one study of 256 older adults (70 to 92 years of age, average age 77) who did Tai Chi for six months, there were 52% fewer falls in the individuals who did Tai Chi compared to those who didn't, and there were fewer falls overall among the individuals who did Tai Chi compared to those who didn't (28% versus 46%).

The bottom-line, keep exercising. Cardio and Strength Training should be a regular part of your fitness program. Add a class like yoga, ZEN™, or Tai Chi to your program too. Listen to your body. Make sure to exercise your brain and eat well too!