Do you want a MIRACULOUS morning?

I heard the term ‘morning miracle’ first used by an author named Hal Elrod. This young man had a nasty accident in his early 20’s and through a lot of perseverance and positivity and support was able to go from not being able to move and given a fairly dismal future diagnosis, to moving and fully functioning fairly quickly. My details won’t be exact, as it is several years since I have heard about this man, but what he achieved against the odds and in short time is astounding. He was inspired to create a concept he dubbed the ‘6 minute morning miracle’, it was his way of making sure that every morning he started the day with meaningful actions designed to get him stepping toward goals.

This concept in itself is nothing new. I’m sure you have heard of doing regular small things that end up being a big thing such as a new skill or productive habit, new business, better relationships etc. What I appreciated about Hal is that he appealed to my lazy yet structured brain with this one minute concept.

The idea is to allot 1 or 2 mins to 3- 6 things. For example, as soon as you wake up you could:

From life hack.org

• Meditate

• Write in a gratitude journal

• Squats

• Pushups

• Write a to do list

• Stretch

1 minute each and in 6 minutes you are done. It’s not a lot of time but I’m sure you can see by the end of it you would feel like you have started your day off brilliantly. Mentally inspired, physically ready to go and emotionally settled.

It’s the concept of this that I appreciate. It’s a great way to start new habits but not feel overwhelmed when you really have little to no motivation at times.

We all could do exercise for one minute even when feeling like its the last thing on earth you would like to be doing.

Just Do it.

Try it right now, lets just do something for 3 tiny little minutes.

Put your timer on. Make it easy and start with 3 big impact things.

First 60 seconds,

Exercise. Squats, star jumps, pushups...a combination of the above, or simply stretch, 30 secs per side in a lunge or waist or hamstring stretch.

Next 60,

Paper and pencil and write. Write things and people you are grateful for. Go!

And the final 60 seconds,

Close your eyes. Breathe and listen for a while and sounds around you. Then bring the focus to the breath passing in and out of your nose. then follow that breath to feeling inside your head, all around and gradually make your way down your spine to your.... oops! Times up.

Now, how do you feel?

Imagine starting everyday like this

.... imagine finding every day like this .... theres no limit or restriction. We are all individual. Where could this idea most benefit you?

Individualise this

Again, theres no real rules and restrictions ..... this is just a cool flexible way of adding good quality routines and beneficial habits into your life. So think what you really need to address ..... is it more activity? Is it calmness? Is it learning a skill? Is it just to be happier?

If you are not sure, or need a bit of help, a good coach is the perfect person to go to. Someone like myself who is positive, open and individualised will help you set the goals and methods that best fit your life. They can either hold your hand for a few weeks/ months/ years.... or leave you to it... what ever you need.

Lets do it

Write a free list of things you would like to add into your life to enrich your world. Don’t analyse, just write.

When you are done pick the top 6. Then pick the top 3.

Start with 3 things at one minute each. It sounds tiny, but just do it at least once....then you can either add a few others or make it 2 mins each. No over achieving here.... just for a few days. After say 5 days in a row have a think about increasing it or leaving it exactly as it is for now.

But what if I’m in the flow and don’t want to stop?

Say you are exercising first, then before meditating you have your gratitude list minute to do and you are really getting into it. Just stop....its good discipline and if you kept going the odds are that you won’t do the meditation section no matter that you may tell yourself you will. Do the meditation. when that’s finished go straight back to your gratitude exercise.

It sounds easy and it should be, but what can derail you is if you want to add ‘exercise’ but then come unstuck about the best one to choose as you only have one or 2 minutes for it....thats where a friend or coach can help.

Say you want to learn a language and think how on earth in that short time can I make it count? Or you don’t like meditating but know its ‘good for you’ so you want to add it to your life.

Let me give you some more examples:

First is exercising :

You may have a fatburning goal and want to make your bottom a nice shape. Aobviously you will not be able to accomplish fatburning in your time, BUT you can increase your blood flow and energy to be ready to put in later. So 30 seconds of either vigorous squat jumping or squatting and 30 seconds of bottom squeezes would be a great start. thats for a one minute interval.

life hack.org

Second, a language:

Pick out one or two new words at the most and write them out over and over and then look at them and say them out loud. Voila!

Third, for the reluctant meditators:

Do a forward fold and hang or lie on your back with your legs up on the wall and allow them to sink to the sides. Now breathe and hold. As you breathe, think about the muscles you feel stretching, note your desire to get out of that stretch and breathe through that.... one minute is up before you know it and your body is echoing a big THANK YOU!

Meditating outside the box

There are endless options.

Think about the last year you have had...

did you grow or change? Are you sitting here feeling you are in the same or similar spot?

Imagine if you did some little habit everyday for the next year ..... the difference it would make to you as a person.

Pretty significant huh!?!

It’s easy, but most of the time we don’t do this. Any steps you make will benefit and change you. Start today, don’t make excuses. If you need help, let me know. If you start doing it yourself, let me know too! I want to hear :-)

Make 2019 YOUR year.

Love, Vash x

References

• https://halelrod.com/

• 30-morning-routines-that-can-make-you-motivated-and-productive-for-whole-day

Sample morning routines from super achievers:

• https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/08/tools-of-titans-author-tim-ferriss-on-his-morning-routine.html

• JayZ

• https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/what-you-can-learn-from-benjamin-franklins-daily-schedule.html

• https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/article/lifestyle-articles/ben-greenfields-morning-routine/

• https://www.success.com/10-morning-routines-of-wildly-successful-entrepreneurs/

• https://paulmilano.com/top-peformance/how-to-boost-your-productivity-like-richard-branson-will-smith-and-tony-robbins

Hacks to enhance my life, brain, body, performance

A few weeks ago I was quite taken aback … in a good way ….

The owner of one of the gyms I work at asked me to sit with him and film a short video of what my day consists of. In short what do I do now, at the age of 47, to keep me fit and healthy. He knows I love bio hacking (which is just finding simple ways to live, think and move better through life), and we have spent a lot of time in the past exchanging ideas and any interesting things we come across that may help a person to perform better and more happily through life.

We chatted briefly, made a few notes and went straight to video. It’s amateur but a good first go I thought. You can see it and other videos here.

Although our chat on the video went well, due to it being impromptu, I later I realised I had missed several other interesting things that someone might find useful.

So I have decided to write a little about my daily routine with a few why’s of what I currently do and share it below.

The steps below are ones I take nearly everyday. They are things I have found through my research and experience. I try many things, some stick and some don’t . I try what appeals and keep it if it works easily into my life….. at heart I’m sure I am really very lazy. This is what I’d like you to do, pick out something interesting and doable. I think you’ll find several really easy things to action straight away, and you never know…they just might make the difference you are needing at this point in time.

I do the following roughly 80% of the week (a silly statistic meaning it may be 7 days, it may be 5 days a week).

I found being this way has allowed me to keep my figure at this current weight of **cough cough…60kg….(that was confronting to say, although I know thats very healthy, I have left over disordered thinking from being 50kg a few years back which likes me to panic if I am ‘heavy’)

…. so 60kg and approximately 19% body fat (BF)….fairly easily. Personally I would love to hit 55kg again, which with my muscle mass is around 15-16%BF, but to do that means I don’t eat out a few times a week and probably zero alcohol and a little more training…. It would make me tired and less able to cope with stress (I have a little chronic PTSD I deal with…not from the weight mentioned above …. so stress is a regular thing for me to cope with)… which reminds me…resilience training is the next thing I’ll be putting in my schedule soon!

This was a long winded way of saying I put in work, most but not all, of the time so I can still eat out and relax with friends and family and not be overly strict with my diet, and exercise constantly (I have done that in the past…and although I thought my body was great...its not the way to live a life thats happy for me and also to be good to be around).

Lets start!

First thing in the morning

I get up early.

5am weekdays, I like an early start. I try to make weekends 6am as it is best for your body’s health and circadian rhythm, to get up at the same time every morning. I haven’t mastered that, but I do the best I can, and I admit to sleeping in at least once a week most weeks.

I have half to one litre of water between now and my shower with apple cider vinegar to help the bile acids activate for the day. This aids in digestion and the natural detox system.

My sons *love :-)

I walk the dogs for 30 mins. Its easy and fairly slow which used to frustrate me but they so LOVE to fossick around and check everything out…. then I decided to use this time to stretch my body and I feel so much better ( as do my joints), that I have never looked back.

I do stretching and rotations of my :

• Shoulders

• Neck

• Chest

• Hamstring

• Hips

• Hip flexors

• Calves

…and I do some pushups and yogic down dogs on benches at certain spots.

Nothing to strenuous. I breathe deep. The shoulder and neck stretches make me look upward to the lovely trees and I always hold and relax for a breath or two. This particular one I have given the highest importance as its the key to a straight posture - so no turtle neck!

Cortisol is high in the morning and because of this I don’t overdo morning exercise as that would create too much cortisol. Instead the dog walking and stretching increases my mobility and posture while nurturing my parasympathetic system( rest and digest).

During walk I make sure to take in the sky so my eyes can soak in the morning uv light, stop melatonin production .... terribly important for a healthy circadian rhythm, enhanced immunity, weight control, stress control, and brain health amongst other things.

It's interesting actually what looking at the sky in general does.

We have all these sensors in our eyes that absorb the uv lights and others and that initiate processes and systems in the body. If we cover up our eyes with glasses or windows then we don’t get the full benefits for our body. So it doesn’t mean don’t cover up, but just try to get some pure light to your eyes in the morning and evening at least. Shield your eyes when glare is around.

When I want to burn more fat I will go for a 20 to 30 min gentle running shuffle after the dog walk, my running is a shuffle and on my toes (to use my body’s natural suspension system) ….. my version of a jog that I hope to continue most of my life. If I don’t run I will do yoga instead.

After the run, more water and then shower time.

I am gradually acclimatising myself to cold showers. I do this by playing with the temperature. A few seconds cold and then hot. I gradually lengthen the cold time and its surprisingly bearable to do it this way and my body has taeken to it well. Its no longer quick the shock when the cold hits me and I am able to keep it cold longer than the time before generally. Trust me, I’m not brave, I LOVE my hot showers and am the last to jump into pools as everyone who knows me is well aware. I’m a complete coward. So why on earth would I add this seeming torture to my morning schedule

Health benefits of cold

Hot cold contrast showers to activate brown fat, helps body’s natural thermal regulation stimulates the vagus nerve (largest cranial nerve), slows and even prevents inflammation.

The vagus nerve has been shown to cure rheumatoid arthritis when electrically stimulated. It can also be stimulated stimulated by cold and deep breathing. Low vagus activity is associated with poor memory , inflammation, brain fog and fatigue. The higher the vagus tone the more oxytocin (the cuddle hormone) you produce. ….so a cold shower and a cuddle could be the ultimate happiness recipe maybe…hmmmm

With higher vagal tone we are less anxious, gut health is promoted and with the oxytocin produced we feel closer to people and more altruistic.

Brown fat is the metabolic beast of the body. Some of us have more, some have less. The more you have, the more white (think ugly) fat we will burn doing everyday things. So we want more. It also works a charm at allowing us to adapt to extremes in temperature more easily.

My extra hack: I will be taking bitter melon before I shower as this works synergistically with the cold to increase the brown fat activity.

Intermittent Fasting

I intermittent fast most days and everyday if possible I try not to eat for a 12 hour window. It’s a lot easier than you may think. It gives the body a chance to rid itself of old, damaged cells, and also to rest from the digestive process. Our body prioritises digestion before running other healing processes completely so allowing those to take precedence for some extra time everyday is a good thing to do for general health. It also balances blood sugar and insulin levels, which of course leads to fat loss.

Fasting is interesting, and for the health benefits I mentioned above. It can be done SO many ways. This is just one. I like the regular everyday one, or you could fast for one day a week, or a few days a month, etc…. there are plenty of ways to do it so try the one you feel will be easiest to fit into your lifestyle.

I will still have black coffee and water and then I will eat/consume any calories (like a coffee with milk) when I feel I need it between 10am to 3 pm. Because the body is so receptive at that point, I will make sure the very first thing is either vegetables or a quality protein and fat. If I put anything carby like toast, my body would go into a little spasm and over produce insulin and I’d have the blood sugar levels sky rocketing and then plunging….a recipe for ill health and fat gain.

As I have double checked all the knowledge I have on how my body works with a DNA test I know that I have a tendency to obesity, diabetes, cardiac issues. I can go into that more another time, but the upshot is I am a little more vigilant with my blood sugar response to food and drink and I supplement and choose my foods accordingly. Supplements I sweat by, especially if I eat breads, pastas, fruits, anything sugary.

• Apple cider vinegar

• Berberine

• Bitter melon

  These 3 power house supplements help my body to slowly release glucose and also for my insulin level to respond normally and immediately when these foods are eaten. The calories still count of course but my body’s response to them is sensitive now and not dulled by chronically high levels which anyone over weight, is.

Later

As the day draws on, cortisol naturally dips and even if you made sure to keep your carbs low to avoid that sleepy afternoon feeling, you may still feel flat and mentally drained. To work with this dip, I lift weights. Sometimes its quite hard to get in to the gym, but most of the time I will go their and not allow myself to start thinking about it…else I will sit my bottom back down in a chair and probably eat. Weights….or any exercise, in the afternoon will provide a lift to your energy and mood and settle the cortisol. This is even true if you are suffering unnaturally high cortisol levels which is generally due to chronic stress. In this later case the higher cortisol will be utilised more productively to enhance muscle gain and thus will lower afterwards naturally and help to reset your cortisol cycle.

Exercise is often easy to avoid later in the day. Don’t talk yourself out of a session just because its not the best time of day or you are tired. Listen to your body, do a lighter workout, do yoga, do anything, just be consistent. A little everyday ….. there’s magic in that.

The best workout is the one you do

At the end of the day

I take bitter melon with my evening meal to again deal with higher sugar levels from dinner which is often concluded by fruit (I do LOVE my sweets so fruit is a wonderful substitute to ice cream)

Sleep

Sleep is a high priority and I guard it tightly. I like to go to bed at 9pm for my 5 am start. My room is as dark as possible and I use a salt lamp as the light is not the blue of normal lights. You may remember above that you look at the sky in the morning to soak up the blue light which switches off melatonin production amongst other things, well the red light of the lamp allows the body to start producing it.

Be careful of electronics. Looking at a screen of any sort (they emit a blue light) and the body reacts by suppressing melatonin, so ideally you would wear either blue blocking glasses or turn all electronics off an hour or so before bed.

Melatonin is a wonder hormone (although aren’t all hormones wonders). It is released every evening to inform the body to shut down and wind down. It activates the healing processes and all systems needed to rejuvenate the body. It seems that as we age, we produce less and less melatonin, which could be why many older adults sleep less and less. If you go to sleep at different times then the body doesn’t know what time to release melatonin and your sleep will no doubt be quite unsatisfying. By going to sleep at a consistent time the body is able to reliably produce melatonin at the best moment for a therapeutic sleep. However one or two late nights and it takes a while to settle back down again. You can see this is why health professionals advocate sleeping at the same time everyday of the week and not just Monday to Friday. You can also imagine why jet lag takes quite a toll on the body as it has to work our gradually when on earth is the best time to release melatonin.

As a result, for many years I have cycled through supplementing melatonin.

I use either 5 HTP (5 hydroxy tryptophan, this is a precursor to serotonin and melatonin, take 150-300mg) and / or melatonin ( 1+ gm, not the homeopathic stuff) to ensure that my body and circadian rhythm is consistent. I especially use this the night after a late night before. It resets my body by ensuring the release of melatonin happens when it should, it should be taken an hour before bedtime. It really is a miracle worker for jet lag.

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Now, if this has caused more questions than answers please send me a message or comment below. If you agree or disagree, also please send a message. I love to get others opinions and thoughts….and if you have tried any of the above, put that down too! The above is basically what I do, and I have another list of things I PLAN to add in the future.

Do try something, any time spent improving your health will repay you back many times over, so start small.

Download the PDF here

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Click the button to download your free PDF. Start with something that seems easy to do and notice how much better you feel over the coming days and weeks.

All the very best x

Supplementation for a kick ass brain

I’m a happy supplementer … some would say a little too enthusiastic at times (or is that obsessive?) … So I don’t need much motivation other than it may be good for you, to try a supplement, however, many others feel a balanced diet should take care of any extra need.

In an ideal world a balanced diet would be easy to follow and would completely take care of everything our body and brain needs. Unfortunately most diets are extremely poor in the balance and span of nutrients. Environmentally we live in a more chronically stressed world which leads to a faster depletion of stored nutrients and our farming has changed, many of these vegetables and fruits don’t contain nearly as much of the good stuff as they used to early in the last century. Just bite an organic piece of fruit and compare with a store bought one…no comparison!

As always if you do decide to try any of the following supplements, please check with a doctor first, you never know how they will interact with your diet and current medications.

A fascinating study was done on 30 retired NFL players. NFL players are a great group to test cognition on as they have all been afflicted with head injuries in their playing life. Cognition later in life is very affected by any head trauma of the past, often even minor ones.

The ex players were encouraged to lose weight and take the following supplements for 6 months.

• Vinpocetine 15 mg

• Fish Oil - 1720 mg EPA and 1160 mg DHA

• Ginkgo Extract 120mg

• Alpha Lipoic acid 300mg

• Acetyl -L Carnitine 1000mg

• Huperzine A 150 mcg

• N-actetyl-cysteine 600mg

• High potency Multi Vitamin

After 6 months they were retested and significant increases were noted in attention, memory, reasoning, information process and accuracy. Scans showed increased cerebral blood flow throughout most of the brain!

Lets look further at each supplement and see what it is that made such an incredible difference

Fish Oil

“The human brain is nearly 60 percent fat. We’ve learned in recent years that fatty acids are among the most crucial molecules that determine your brain’s integrity and ability to perform. Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are required for maintenance of optimal health but they can not synthesized by the body and must be obtained from dietary sources.”

— www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20329590

Fish oil is anti inflammatory, and we just don’t get nearly enough in our diet, unless you eat fresh salmon a few times a week. Not all fish oil is created equal its worth looking for a good quality one. You can easily check the one you have bought by either piercing one capsule, if the oil smells bad, then its rancid as it should be relatively odourless, OR store the fish oil in the fridge….if it looks cloudy, its likely to be poor quality. For a real anti-inflammatory synergistic effect, pair your fish oil with turmeric and a bit of black pepper (pipeline).

Vinpocetine

Vinopocetine is a man made chemical created from the periwinkle plant. It is thought to increase cerebral blood flow and is used to enhance memory and prevent alzheimers. Its sometimes used to prevent a stroke or at least prevent disability from one as it prevents blood clotting and that can help reduce the likely hood of clots stopping blood flow to the brain, therefore keeping oxygen and nutrients flowing through and reducing neuronal death.

Ginkgo Extract

Ginkgo biloba increases blood flow in the brain like vinpocetine.

Alpha lipoic acid

Alpha lipoid acid increases antioxidant activity which reduces the harmful effects of oxidation in the hippocampus. It is also helpful in reducing blood brain permeability, a leaky brain.

Acetyl L-carnitine

Acetyl-L-Carnitine might enhance NSC proliferation and adult hippocampal neurogenesis by regulating proneural genes and cell survival related signals

N-acetyl cysteine

N acetyl cysteine increases antioxidant activity, reducing oxidative effects by increasing glutathione levels (These levels are found to be much lower in a stressed brain environment)

Huperzine A

Huperzine A increases nutrients for neurotransmitters through acetyl choline and may support proliferation of hippocampal neural stem cells.

This is a big stack, and it worked.

These were sportsmen with acknowledged cognitive difficulties due to past head trauma and they all benefited. That makes this stack a very interesting one to consider.

For the Everyday person

Perhaps you have no or little concern for your cognitive health but would like something easy and simple to supplement with to protect and strengthen your brain and keep yourself from developing any issues later.

These other supplements are also recommended by experts in the field of brain health.

First, they all seemed to agree that a high potency multi/vitamin mineral and quality fish oil supplement is a staple. The following ones are also recommended.

Vitamin D3

Most of us are Vitamin D3 deficient. This is due to our diet and more particularly our lifestyle. Get your levels checked and make sure to have your supplement with a fatty meal or with the fishtail as this will help the body absorb it. Vitamin D may support the synthesis of neurotrophic factors and neurotrophin receptors, and thereby support NSC proliferation and differentiation, neuronal maturation and growth, neuronal survival, and synaptogenesis.

Magnesium

Consensus seems that we are all magnesium deficient. Magnesium is part of over 300 enzymatic reactions in our bodies, so is extremely important to keep topped up. The kind of magnesium is also important, most forms bought in stores are not very bio available to the body. Magnesium Threonate is hard to find, but has some interesting studies stating it can cross the blood brain barrier very well, so grab that one if possible. If not choose either a glycinate or citrate version. Dr Mark Hyman, an American GP and a loud voice in natural health and preventing brain decline, recommends 300-400mg of magnesium taken before bed to relax the brain, nervous system and muscles.

He also recommends Vit D 3, Omega 3, High quality, potent, bio available and broad spectrum Multivitamin / mineral and to make sure the magnesium is a citrate or glycinate form.

Creatine

Creatine is a wonderful supplement to increase your strength and power but did you know its also really helpful as a nootropic (substances that increase cognition). It can have a neural protective effect by slowing down neuronal cell death. It also can increase levels of glutamate (a neural transmitter), aid learning, memory, and even help with depression! This study found it worked to improve memory and cognition in older and stressed people.

Try 2 or more milligrams a day.

Probiotics

The brain and the gut are inextricably linked. If our gut isn’t happy, neither will the brain be. A whole food diet will do a lot to restore the integrity not the gut lining and bacteria. These beneficial bacteria can improve your digestion, reduce food allergies, and reduce gut inflammation. Gut health plays a powerful role in brain health. When you don’t have the right gut diversity, inflammation and things like leaky brain can occur, setting the stage for diverse problems ranging from brain fog to dementia.

Add a quality, broad spectrum pro and pre biotic to your diet to facilitate gut health. Pre biotics include fibre such as psyllium husk and glucomannan. These two make excellent thickners in soups and sauces. Fermented foods include apple cider, kefir, sauerkraut, kombucha etc.

Always try to get the best quality possible as there can be quite a difference in efficacy of these foods and probiotics. Its hard to find a high quality and brand spectrum probiotic…often these supplements contain very little live bacteria….an expensive exercise, so best to stick with fermented foods where possible.

Is that it?

NO!

There is a whole field of nootropics out there from the Racetams to Modafinil. Some freely available, some prescription only. This is another huge bag of interesting things but I won’t be covering that today, however, please send me a question if you are all curious. Its an interesting field.

Is supplementation worth it?

Obviously this is up to you. Unfortunately the food is not like it was 100 years ago. The fruits, meats grains and vegetables are less nutritious and even now inflammatory (in the cases of grain fed meat and modern grains). Our lifestyle is more prone to chronic low level stress, less activity, poorer posture, more estrogenic (poorly metabolised versions such as is found in cling wraps, plastic containers) and all this leads to our bodies and minds needing additional nutrition to make up the lack and further nutrition to counter those environmental antagonists we are all subject to as mentioned above.

Of course always check what supplements you want to take with a doctor or nutritionist before hand. Also do yourself a favour and get regular blood tests to check all levels and create a baseline for you to compare changes. This will provide a really useful history you can reflect back on in the years to come.

With all supplementation, cycling your intake is often recommended, and of course this keeps the costs down. Supplementation can be quite costly. Join the mailing lists of your favourite sites and shops and look out for their specials and buy up.

The following are some useful sites I have used in the past (I have no affiliation with any of them)

• iherb.com.au

Good Australian sites:

• Bulknutrition.com.au

• Createyourownsupplement.com
  

If you have any good sites or supplements you would recommend, please write them in the comments section below as well as what country you are from.

Thanks again, and happy supplementing!

Spotlight: Interview with Remarkable Ruth, 60

Ruth has just celebrated her 60th birthday. When I met her a few years a go I was amazed with her energy and positivity (and beauty!). She works more than full-time, as a high-level manager with an international company and has become the happiest of grandparents with her daughter's gorgeous 14 month old son. When Ruth came to the gym those years ago, she came with motivation to feel good and perform stronger at work as well as regaining some of her youthful body back. Since then she hasn’t seemed to look back and has been consistent with her workouts despite ebbs and flows in life. Now that she has added a low sugar diet to her routine, her body and radiance has bloomed further. The best part is that she has been maintaining this for many months with seeming ease!

Describe your current exercise pattern

I exercise 5 days a week, early in the morning. Normally at the gym by 6am for an hour to an hour and a half.

I have a personal training session once a week to keep pushing me to the next level.

How long have you been doing it like that for?

I used to visit the gym daily in my thirties, and then stopped going. I have been dedicated to this programme for at least the last three years religiously.

What are the main reasons you have this exercise pattern?

I have a very busy job and a hectic schedule, fast pace and under constant stress. If I didn’t get up early and make the time to exercise in the morning, I wouldn’t do it.

Whenever I have left my visit until post work, I get home and then think … can’t be bothered. Going early, before work also sets me up for the day, clears my mind and makes me feel full focused and full of energy.

I can hammer myself and get rid of any stress and agro that has built up and take it all out on the gym equipment.

I also want to be able to enjoy my grandchild and future grandchildren, be mobile, active and agile.

What impact has this had on your life and lifestyle?

I feel far more energetic, I am much fitter and stronger than pre gym. I have lost weight, gained muscle mass and look and feel so much better.

I actually look at photos of myself 3 years ago and think who is that stranger in the photos.

Do you have any other goals exercise/ fitness wise?

Yes, to bench press my years in weight and continue to build muscle mass. I never get on the scales, I judge my weight loss and shape change by my clothes.

Note: Ruth has reached an amazing 55 kg press so far!

I want to continue to change my shape and look fit and strong going into my 6o+ years and make it a habit for life.

If you had to stop exercising for a month, how would you feel?

I couldn’t do it. Just a few days away from the gym makes me feel sluggish and slow. I am addicted to the high I get from exercising and feeling powerful.

How do you motivate yourself for exercise and healthily eating? Any tips?

“I love music and have a great playlist that has specific songs linked to my programme that I look forward to listening to. I am motivated by the changes I am now seeing in my body.”

It’s my time, I can put in my earphones, and disappear for an hour into another world.

I am competitive by nature and also enjoy reaching goals that I have set for myself.

The changes I have seen since participating in the 6 week challenge and from ongoing exercise has been both motivating and rewarding and the comments received from people when they now see me also spurs me on to continue with my disciplines .

Whats your diet like? Have you always eaten this way?

My diet is much better since participating in the 6 week challenge (with FitnessLife Studios).

I was a carb-a-holic pre the challenge. I have dropped the sugar, decreased the glasses of wine and really curbed the carbs. I lost 6 kilos in 6 weeks, and after keeping on the programme, another 3 kilos.

What is your ‘go to’ healthy meal? A favourite that gets you by

My favourite and must have meal is breakfast. Its a simple omelette made with two eggs. Inside I put mushroom, spinach and little sliced chilli ( seeds out). If I have it for tea I add tuna to it.

If you could tell your 40 year old self anything, what would it be?

I would tell my 40 year old self to be more disciplined in my eating habits, to keep up a good fitness programme, that you can continue to look great at any age and that

“... if she (40 year old self) saw me working out so physically at 60 she wouldn’t believe it xx”

Thank you so much for sharing Ruth.

My takeaways from Ruth is:

• To consistently exercise.

• Get it out the way first thing in the morning.

• Eat a predominantly low sugar diet, and aim high in fitness goals and life quality.

• Face the world positively and be empowered take charge of your own health, that you really can make fantastic changes.

Don't Let Eating Out Derail Your health

In the culture we live in now, it is becoming more and more common to dine out, lunches at cafes, dinner at a restaurant. In Adelaide we are completely spoilt for choice, value for money and food styles and I know this is becoming more and more the norm world-wide. When you travel you also tend to eat out, well, all the time really, don’t you? Unless you make a large effort to go to a supermarket and bring food back to your room.

So how do we do this and still maintain a level of health?

There is no doubt that eating out will put on the pounds and not in a good way. Most restaurants will use vegetable oils, cheap butter and even if they advertise olive oil…most are low grade. None of these fats are good for your body. They contribute higher levels of triglycerides leading to clogged arteries, diabetes and heart disease amongst other things….yet, damn it…we want to eat out!

Like all healthy lifestyle factors, it comes down to choice.

Your choice.

You have the power to eat out, enjoy the company and not gain the pounds. You just need a little bit of knowledge, a little bit of guidance and all the pressure is off.

In a perfect world …..

……… we would all be able to go to a restaurant, order one glass of quality red wine. Ignore the bread. Order a large serve of vegetables or salad and get a serving of protein to join that. All with only quality extra virgin olive oil as a sauce. OR as apparently the French do, go out and order, but eat only a tiny portion of the meal.

BUT… it’s not ALWAYS that easy …

If you can do the above…wonderful, you are fantastic and you don’t need to read further. However, if like me, you are a little less self controlled…well, come this way …. lets real world this …..

Being able to comfortably and easily order healthily when out can’t be forced and rushed…else you are plunged in denial and a binge will come sooner or later….thats a for sure win bet.

Lets make it all painless. Its just like adjusting to a new diet, which really shouldn’t be a diet but a way of eating for life. A new way of eating is best done in stages else you really will rebound straight back and probably past your previous weight.

First - we take this is stages.

This is how I would coach you to do the dinning out (contact me if you would like help with this. Being accountable to someone is really useful)

Play imagine if …

At first, just read the menu and pick out exactly what you would order, if you were picking a meal that looked like the suggested one above. Don’t order it, order what you want, just make sure you have picked what you would if you were right into this. You’ll be surprised that this is actually fine and doesn’t make you feel guilty or anything.

Do this each dining out visit till you are ready to move forward. NO RUSH.

Pretend …

… do exactly as before but this time imagine the plate in front of you and imagine you eating it and jump your mind ahead to how you will feel when you get home tonight. How you feel mentally and physically from having a vegetable based meal that doesn’t require some supersonic digestion. Remember too, that because you did what you set out to do you will get a serotonin dump of happiness because you achieved what you set out to do. (Make sure it only takes a minute of your time at the most)

Then order as you normally would like to. Do this for at least 5-10 dining out visits. Make a list and tick off the times you do this.

Get Veged up!

Now this time you will order as normal BUT with an extra large bowl of vegetables. Eat as many or little as you can. All are ticks on your list….. again 5 -10 visits

Next Habit …

Order as last time but try to just eat the meat and vegetables and skip the white starches. Bread, rice white potatoes and pasta.

Now try to do the above without the sugary or calorific sauces. If you feel brave, order yours without any sauce or oil and bring your own organic olive oil. Organic, unheated olive oil has so many health benefits.

TIPS

Definitely go through each stage at least 5 times each or more if you don’t feel its really easy to do. Take your time to go through each stage (days, weeks, months)…it doesn’t matter, it only matters that you do it most of the time (ie, 95% of the time you eat out, else you are not forming a permanent habit). Move on ONLY when you are positive you actually WANT to and not that you feel you MUST or SHOULD move forward. This is about your HEALTH, not aesthetics (always remember you look your best, your glowing best, when you are healthy)

IMPORTANT:

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to this is the embarrassment or peer pressure of ordering a little differently around friends/ family, even to the waiter/ess. So just say you’ve been having some stomach issues/ pain/ allergies when you eat certain foods, and you are avoiding it for now. Everyone understands that. Friends and family want whats best for you but they generally don’t realise that ‘just this once’ isn’t the most supportive phrase to a healthy body. If they think it will cause you pain or discomfort, no one will press you further.

Finally -

Make the commitment now

Choose a better meal. There are so many temptations…sooo many…and they taste wonderful….however, is that really worth the aches, pains, inflammation, chronic disease? I sound alarmist, but thats exactly what is being invited in. Its easy to ignore because the change is so gradual and we can all get away with it for a while till suddenly we can’t.

So commit to yourself out of respect for your body. Choose healthier, start small. Your healthy body will thank you for it as you will FEEL fantastic ….

…… and enjoy many fun times out with friends for years to come.

Please comment below if you try this and let me know how you went. I’d love to hear some stories :-)

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Further ideas on eating out choices:

• Nutrition Australia

• SA Health

• WebMD

How exercise can improve brain health

Researchers say one new case of dementia is detected every four seconds globally. They estimate that by the year 2050, more than 115 million people will have dementia worldwide.

Thats a little scary….

Dementia, alzheimers, losing brain cognition……its all around us. We ALL know someone directly or indirectly who is stricken some form of it. There are signs, posters,tv and radio shows ad nauseam regarding this epidemic.

A few weeks ago I was having a conversation with my 80 yr old aunt after our workout session. She was talking about looking into things to stimulate and help keep and even improve her brain health. Ah ha! I thought…..I’ll write some stuff down for her…..and before I knew it I was neck deep in study upon study that shows us that we can indeed have a positive effect on the health of our brain. Whether you feel terrifically cognitive, are struggling with brain fog, have onset cognitive decline or are in the middle of serious case of it, it is worth devoting bit of time to the health of your brain. I can’t think of a lot worse than going down the slippery slop of mental decline. Only fairly recently, studies have emerged showing, that as adults, we can do plenty to change the state of our brain. Previously it was thought that only children experienced could grow new brain cells. Now we know that adults are able to direct increases in neuroplasticity (changes in the brain) and neurogenesis (birth of new brain cells)

We are the only species to direct our own plasticity as adults -

Dr Andrew Huberman

Thats a huge thing! We all have the power to increase our brain capacity and repair it too …… and so do the loved ones around you …. best of all, it is FREE!

The brain is a wonderful, mysterious organ. It communicates with the entire body. It regulates our hormones and therefore our energy, movements, emotions/ mental state. It is composed of fat predominantly. Its current state is mainly due to all our PAST dietary intake, movements (physical and mental), and emotional states. Its wellbeing and future is directed by what you choose to do now in each of those things, and also its affected by our age (thats a little harder to control, but people are working on it!)

Pic from FactDr

Lets address each of those areas that we have control over.

First -

Exercise.

Exercise helps the brain directly and indirectly. During exercise, blood flow, oxygen, the growth of new blood cells and neurogenesis increases, insulin sensitivity increases, the release of growth factors is stimulated and chemicals affecting the abundance and survival of new brain cells is increased

Indirectly, exercise improves mood and sleep, and reduces stress and anxiety and improves your ability to deal with stresses.

So what kind of exercise?

Aerobic

Aerobic style training like walking, and running, is shown to have a positive affect on the regions of memory and retention.

In fact walking, 30-45 minutes three times a week, is enough to delay the onset of dementia as shown by a 6 month 2006 study with sedentary people aged 60-79 years. The walking increased to increase brain volume even more than stretches and toning.

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Dancing also has been found to improve cognition and neural-plasticity. If the thought of your two left feet make you shudder a little, the linked study showed that the benefits were regardless of how naturally talented or not these people were, in fact, those less gifted showed the most gain, I’m surmising that is due to increased demand on the brain to learn the moves. So no excuse, turn some music on and get movin n groovin!

Stretching

Stress, depression, traumatic brain brain injuries all shrink the hippocampus, the centre for memory and emotional regulation. Exercise has been shown to be, slightly more effective than other modalities such as medication and counselling at relieving depression. A wonderful body stretching session of yoga will increase overall brain wave activity, brain volume and activation in both the amygdala and frontal cortex.

Studies measuring mental health outcomes have shown decreases in anxiety, and increases in cognitive performance after yoga interventions

When you feel sad or stressed, try a walk or some stretches combined with deep breathing

Lifting heavy things

A 12 month study was done to see if strength training could also have significant effects to neural-plasticity. They found that training twice a week had a significant effect on this whereas training just once a week did not…..interesting

For your best brain health, it needs stimulation from a variety of movements as each part of the body is connects and communicates with various areas of the brain. As the Chinese use meridian points to influence related parts of the body, so this applies to our brain. Small movements like finger wriggling will influence certain brain neurons, and these neurons won’t be influenced without those movements. In a real world example, people confined suddenly to bed and no longer moving their lower bodies very much tend to suddenly show steep cognitive declines. This recent study found that limited physical activity decreased the number of neural stem cells by 70 % and cells that are supportive and protective to nerve cells were no longer able to fully mature. In particular it found that weight bearing leg exercises were shown to have the most benefit. Leg weighted exercise sends signals to the brain that are vital for the production of healthy neural cells, essential for the brain and nervous system.

But, is getting hot and sweaty necessary? …. kinda ….

Beta Amyloid is a protein that comprises the plaque that is found to be built up in the brains of Alzheimers sufferers This build up is caused by proteins becoming disfigured and clumping together. Something that is able to break down and prevent this build up are heat shock proteins. These heat shock proteins are activated by the heat stress that you feel during saunas and during a decent exercise session. When activated, they can be used as structural scaffolding to other proteins and prevent the beta amyloid form clumping together.

It is clear,

purposeful exercise is a vital way to keep your brain healthy. It increases neural plasticity, blood flow, increases dopamine and endorphins, increases brain volume, memory, focus. It can help the brain self regulate and calm down from stressful events. PLUS you’re burning calories at the same time! Exercise, a gift that keeps giving

Bring this into your world

Try to incorporate a variety of purposeful movement in everyday for 30-60 minutes. Get in a bit of each of the following:

Aerobic:

Long walks, riding, rowing, jogging etc

Strength:

1. Lift some heavy things at the gym

2. Do body weight moves like lunging, squatting, twisting, pushups, pulling.

Stretch.

Yoga is terrific and is also very adaptive it can be made as strong or gentle as you need it to be. There's also Tai Chi, dance, pilates and many other options available. Get inspiration from animals and see how they stretch constantly throughout the day.

A typical day might be …..

• Wakeup and go for a walk for 30 mins. Then stretch, maybe some sun salutations (link) which stretch the whole body.

• Later in the day either before lunch or before dinner (as this has a great effect on insulin levels) do 10 each of the following, squats, pushups, lateral lunge with shoulder press, deadlifts, calf raises, rows (link). Repeat this for 2 to 4 times through and increase weights when it feels a little easy.

• Before bed do some foam rolling……

…….. Voila!

Next, coming up as soon as possible ...

….. Nutrition!

More Brain Exercise Links:

• https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/exercise/how-exercise-affects-your-brain?

• https://www.brainmdhealth.com/blog/best-ways-to-take-care-of-your-brain

• https://www.brainmdhealth.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015-02-13_MW_Infographic.jpeg

• https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/putting-exercise-test-people-risk-alzheimers

• https://scienceblog.com/486023/study-mental-physical-exercises-produce-distinct-brain-benefits/

• https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/f-lei051718.php#

Spotlight: Interview with John, 71 yrs

“One of the things with old age setting in is how all the natural body movements one has taken for granted all ones life are now either missing or just plan hard work to get functioning.”

— John

How long have you been doing exercise classes?

About three years now

What made you start?

i was finding i was very limited in what I could do without being too weak, to sore, or out of breath. If I wanted to do any normal activities such as walking or gardening I would unwittingly injure myself and cause more pain and discomfort. It seemed that I was forever in some sort of pain.

Tell me about your youth, were you active? Did you ever get injured?

The fact is I have always been a physically active person. Played a lot of tennis, surfing, swimming and regular running.

Have you gone through any health issues in the last 20 or so years that impact you now?

Generally I have been healthy. A lot of early age jumping and tennis resulted in torn cartilage to both knees with one having most of the cartilage removed.

That and then going for runs at least 3 times a week caused a lot of knee pain. A ski accident resulted in a knee reconstruction with torn cruciate ligaments. This all lead up to me only being able to walk a hundred meters without severe pain in one knee. Having that knee joint replaced 2 years ago has enabled me to stand straight and walk again. Prior to that if I sat at a table for a coffee then stood up to go I would have to stand for a minute or two to ease the pain in the leg and actually be able to move away without limping.

Sounds extreme but it was. Also my grand daughter jumped up in an excited greeting one cold morning and as I had a bag in one arm I caught her with my other arm and that caused the bicep tendon in that arm to snap! A funny feeling and no real pain but forever now I can't bend my arm and ‘make a muscle’.  Thinking about it I also had a lower back injury, I received in my lower spine in my late 20’s, that ensured I would forever have pain issues in my back. I have found darling ‘rolling’ and soft stretching exercises you have given me have made those problems fade away.

What difference to the quality of your life are you feeling since including purposeful, regular exercises in it?

The daily exercises you have given me for stretching including hip raises, side stretching, down dog etc and shoulder stretching rotator cuff exercises are keeping me pain free, I have better posture and don’t stoop and wobble like an old man when i walk. Also I can now sit and stand on my surf paddle board.

“My overall stability muscles are getting stronger and I feel better and confident with body movement”

— John

One of the things with old age setting in is how all the natural body movements one has taken for granted all ones life are now either missing or just plan hard work to get functioning.

Doing the simple group of mobility exercises you have given us to do daily - which only take say ten minutes - is still something we have to motivate  ourselves into doing. It is so much easier to sit and have another nice cup of coffee and read.

Can you give me more specifics how you are able to incorporate healthy eating into your life?

I really like Museli  mixed with fruit, yogurt and whey powder for Breakfast. The fruits are nearly always Blueberries and Banana.

We grow our own strawberries so if they are available i will include a couple in the mix. That and a cup of coffee before and after starts my day.

Mind you i drink water when I wake up and only have coffee and breakfast after 9.00am. I like to have at least 12 hours plus from when I last had food the previous day. That 12 hour fasting break has helped me control my eating habits. Especially in the evening after dinner. When i am very tempted to snack; particularly on any available sweet thing! So between 8.00 and 8.30 is ‘end of eating’ time for me each day.

That said i look forward to eggs and bacon or something similar for breakfast once a week. Often Sunday breakfast is the time when i want to chill out, sit on the porch and look at the ocean. Life doesn’t get much better than that.

Lunch is usually a raid of the refrigerator and a reheat of yesterdays Leftovers. Not a big meal. Sort of Sandwich size.

Afternoon tea and biscuits  gets me through to dinner.

Now Dinner. Totally in the hands of my wife. She is the Menu-maker. The chef and 'Keeper of the gate’ that ensures i receive a nutritious and tasty meal once a day. How lucky am I! Left to my own devices, dinner is usually solved by takeaway. Not a pretty solution or one I like and fortunately it is fairly rare. I am not that interested in food. Especially for dinner. I just want to stop feeling hungry so whatever is available goes down. Without getting to serious about the meal, my wife always wants a delicious tasting dinner and scours her cook book library for something ’different’ each night. So I am spoilt for taste healthy meals!!

 By the way I do like to Barbecue and take much care and pride in cooking meats and roasting veggies etc during the summer months. 

The secret - my Weber! Gas fired. No Heatbeads or Charcoal. Use those fuels regularly and you have a never ending filthy mess to clean up after each cook, which for me destroys the effort and pleasure of preparing the meal.

Do you have any tricks to hep you include exercise in your life?

I like physical activity. In my younger years that translated to playing various sports and building activities.

The body is too sore and achey now for anything more strenuous than paddling or golf. So to get the day off I go for a walk then bounce on a mini tramp to shake things up and lubricate the joints. This then brings on the idea that some stretching and light weights will help too.

I do not want to feel that I am going to spend much time on all of this because the sheer thought sends me back to bed to rest.

If I think it is all just a couple of these and a few of those then i can go off and have a cup of coffee and a read - I am good to ‘exercise’.

Usually all this movement just spurs things along and I think of more parts to stretch or ’train’.  Before I know it I have done most if not all the exercises on my list and am good to head off and enjoy the day.

Finally, any advice you would give your 40 year old self

The message I would give to my 40 year old self is to:-

• Do all mobility stretches everyday no matter how easy they feel because that is what you want to keep going.
• Combined with it -  Rolling as required.
• The other thing is not to do daily running. Take up rowing or cycling instead. (non impact) I believe my knees would have lasted the distance if I did.
• Wear sunglasses when out and apply suncream.
• Watch your diet to maintain a healthy weight.

Thanks so much for sharing with us John :-)

Exercise and Diet around your Monthly Cycle

The monthly madness...... Ahh the things we women have to deal with.

....... Do you just go about your life and when that time of the month comes, you experience irritability/ pain and then the blood flow, which is just a damn inconvenience. Then you brush it aside and go back about your life forgetting about it until a months time when your feeling irritable again.

 ……. did you either groan, or sigh “oh yeah”, or, “yep, in the middle of it now, tell me something I don't know” …..

Did you?

…. maybe like me, you could be facing its disappearance, or is it long gone …….. in which case may feel a little little nostalgic? and perhaps, “oh, SO glad I don’t have to deal with that anymore”

…… The monthly flow is a big connection we ladies have with each other, …… and probably the only one the men aren’t trying to also have ….. ha ha 

But really…. 

Although the whole of humankind is affected by hormones it is predominantly women, who are reminded on a monthly basis, that we really are at the mercy of hormones. We have this crazed tyrant living inside of us, sometimes loving, other times….run and hide!

Sometimes you crave carbs, sometimes you don’t, sometimes you have energy and flow, and other times everything is having a hissy fit. If you are aware of your cycle, you have probably noticed that certain emotions and cravings occur around particular times of the cycle. You may or may not already be making lifestyle adjustments around it. For example, when I start suddenly feeling very down just before my period, I remind myself why I’m feeling this way, that it isn't me, and I allow myself to have a gentler workout or a rest day without feeling guilty (...most of the time..).This is making your cycle work for you, or at least a step toward it.

Today I’m going to show you how to make it work even better for you. If you are menopausal or postmenopausal, this could still be quite relevant. Studies show our hormones apparently still continue cycling after menopause, its less messy, but you still have a hormonal high and low. If you are and want to try this, I recommend using the lunar cycle as a guide and see how that works for you. To do this, use the full moon as your 'ovulation day' and the new moon as day 1 of a new cycle.

The Menstrual cycle

A very quick recap of the cycle. Visit here a more detailed version.

Day 1 is generally considered the first day of bleeding as the uterus sheds its lining. Soon a rise in Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)  and Lutenizing Hormone (LH), stimulate ovarian follicles in readiness to secrete an egg. Oestrogen's and estradiol are secreted which create an endometrium lining in the uterus to hold the egg. This phase is nearly always about 14 days long. An egg is created on or around day 14 (ovulation) and released. The rest of the follicle that produced the ova will breakdown to form the corpus luteum which will produce progesterone. Theres a little boost of oestrogen production due to this, FSH and LH production is suppressed  and their levels fall quickly. This causes the corpus luteum to atrophy, oestrogen and progesterone fall and this triggers the lining to shed and menstruation and a new cycle commence. This phase can be 14 days or shorter, it tends to be more variable in each person.

The Benefits of Exercise

Theres no doubt, women who are more physically active enjoy better health than those who are sedentary. The benefits are extensive, Dr Christiane Northrup is a GP specialising in Womens health, she lists:

• Better immune system functioning and increased levels of immunoglobulins
• Lower overall cancer rate
• Decreased risk of heart disease
• Decreased risk of breast cancer
• Longer life expectancy
• Less depression and anxiety, better mental efficiency and speed
• More relaxation, more assertiveness, more spontaneity and enthusiasm
• Stronger bones
• More restful sleep
• Higher self-esteem
• Decreased insulin sensitivity
• More energy
• Decreased PMS symptoms
• Weight control

“Studies also show that repetitive movement increases the alpha waves in the brain — and the alpha state is associated with enhanced intuition. The mind pervades the body, and I find that when I move my body repetitively and rhythmically, more of my mind’s power becomes available to me, and insights often arise during my work-outs.”

— Dr Christiane Northrup

How the cycle influences you

I’ve broken this down into phases.

Follicular Phase Days 1- 14

• Estrogen is increases
• Insulin sensitivity increased
• Metabolism is slower 
• Anaerobic / intense work is great to increase the metabolism
• Great time to go for personal bests and have some healthy carbs in your diet
• The American Journal of Nutrition stated that basal metabolic rate decreases at the beginning of menstruation and reaches the lowest point a week before ovulation.
• Another study found soccer athletes had more endurance and greater lean body mass gain  during this time

Ovulation Phase around Day 14

• Estrogen starts to fall
• Progesterone increases
• Cravings increase
• Serotonin decreases a little
• Insulin sensitivity increases
• Metabolism starts climbing
• Best day to go for a PB but due to also being more prone to injuries make sure technique is absolutely perfect
• Joints and limbs can be a bit lax
• American Journal of Sports Medicine found that due to joint laxity and estrogen-induced changes in collagen structure, ACL tears are four to eight times more likely to happen during this phase.

Luteal Phase Days 15 - 28

• Energy is not really there for power workouts
• Aerobic workouts at a conversational pace. A study showed aerobic exercise and taking a fennel supplement reduced premenstrual pain and anxiety
  • Your insulin sensitivity is decreased
• Body has a preference to use fat for energy rather than glycogen
• Motivation is a bit lower
• May hold fluid and feel heavier at this time
• Metabolism kicks up so you may feel hungrier, try to stick to healthier whole foods and not over eat
• Same 2017 study as above found it wasn’t a good time for maximal endurance efforts at this time but sprints and jumps were unaffected
• You are more prone to higher cortisol response to stress , and more likely to feel stressed , so try a lower carb style of diet
• Things start to track back to ‘normal’ during the last few days of the cycle

Putting it into Real World Practice

Follicular Phase

Exercise

You may want a day or 2 off at the start of your cycle (or the entire time you are menstruating), if you feel uncomfortable, and not up to it. Respect your intuition and use this time to stretch more, meditate. Try yoga (recommended to avoid inversion poses during this time) or pilates, whatever you are leaning to, but keep moving.

If you feel well, there is no reason not to exercise, but respect that you may have looser joints and are therefore prone to injury.

Try this intense cardio session: 20 rounds of 1 min max intensity with 30 seconds recovery. Ouch!

In the gym

4 (6 sets)-8 (4 sets) reps. Heavy weights that you could only push one other rep out. A back move, a chest move, a Leg move, a hamstring specific move and a calf move

For example: Latpulldown; Incline Chest Press, Back Squat, Romanian Deadlift and Calf Raises

Nutrition

Always stick to whole foods and remove sugar where possible. This is the case for all diets really. Extra sugar sources during menstruation may contribute to bloating and pain, so leave the bread, cookies etc if you can.

After that for the remainder of the 14 days eat a balance of protein, vegetables and fruit, and fat, with a little extra if you need it. During the days you exercise add in a wholegrain source of carbohydrates if you want some more oomph, such as quinoa, millet, oatmeal, amaranth, and beans

Ovulation

If you are one of those people who know when they ovulate 

Exercise

Make this a tough intense day, go do that crossfit wod you have been wondering about.

In the gym, do some 5 x 5 reps and sets and finish with a solid tabata or HIIT session

Nutrition

IF you have done some decent exercise, reseed your body with a big plate of meat, vegetables or salad, some olive oil and rice, or any grains mentioned above. Enjoy!

Luteal phase

Exercise

Get some steady state endurance work in 2-3 times a week for 30-60 minutes pending on your level. Use that time to put an audio book on, ponder the world, or focus on your breathing in a meditative fashion.

“you can perform 8 sets of 5 minutes at 60-70% of your VO2 max of running, biking, swimming, rowing, hiking, brisk walking or elliptical, with 3 minutes of easy movement between each”

— Ben Greenfield

In the gym

Try some higher volume. Lower the sets and increase the reps. For example

• 2-3 Sets of 15-25 reps
• 2 Day Split with a day between

Wkout 1: KB Pullover, seated row, reverse fly, biceps curls and back squat, pistol squat and Step tap ups, Side Plank pulses

Wkout 2: Flat Chest Press, Shoulder Press, Lateral Raise, Tricep Dips, Fitball Hamstring Curls, Fitball ab curls, Hip Thrust, Fitball rollouts

Finish each session with some steady cardio and a good stretch ensuring that you consciously breathe and relax during this time and bring your attention back to the body and cast your mind around the muscles you worked and how they are feeling, and which need more attention.

Nutrition

A great time to try intermittent fasting or low carb diets (get some good advice if you are unsure how to do this)

Keep as far away from sugar as possible and try very hard to have a good 7.5 plus hours sleep every night.

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Regardless of whatever phase you are in make sure you move everyday. Incorporating movement, 10,000 steps, or a more formal workout, will release endorphins and that will make you feel good, increase insulin sensitivity, increase metabolism and reduce period pain (although, if you are like me, mine hurts a lot, admittedly its more painful if I have had increased sugar in my diet). Daily movement will also reduce cravings and help you sleep better. Even if you don’t feel up to it you can move with yoga like stretches. Just keep extending the body (I have simple, VERY easy stretch ideas here on youTube).

The best workout in the world is the one you actually do every day. We can analyse things too much and go off on tangents (I do it to myself ALL the time), so if in doubt, just move. Change it if you like when you like, just do it…..hey...... that would be a great slogan … hmmm

….oh, and eat whole foods where possible. Studies show that women are very affected by food choices, the difference between a stressed out day and one where you feel you can cope with the ups and downs. You don’t have to be religious about it, just consistent, like the exercise. Try to make 80% of your intake healthy. Does it have more than 3 ingredients on the label? Put it back and make your own. If you need help, just ask. This should be a pleasant part of your life not a burden.

Extra References used for this article

• https://www.t-nation.com/training/hormone-cycle-and-female-lifters
• https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/article/fitness-articles/planning-your-exercise-around-your-menstruation-cycle/
• https://www.precisionnutrition.com/fitness-menstrual-health