PT 360 August 2018

PT 360 August 2018

Getting you back to the life you want to live.

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A ugust 2018

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B reathing I nto L ife

your edge. It is there that I have seen my slow-twitch advantage. When I see others shaking or taking a break, I just breathe deeper. With every breath, I can feel that oxygen feeding the demand, and I can maintain. In that longer hold, my monkey mind takes me other places. I think about the various ways to breathe oxygen into my life. Exercise is one way for me. Putting myself ‘on the list’ and putting the brakes on what is always a crazy day, at least for an hour, helps me slow my roll, be intentional, and choose my path rather than be thrust through my day or week like a pinball. In this way, we all have the capacity to find places to breathe deeper to get much- needed oxygen. Ask yourself this question: Do you want to be able to sprint for a short period of time, or do you want to be able to keep moving for hours and hours without wearing down? Some days, the former is required, but mostly, we all opt for option 2. The better question is what would fuel you? I wish for you to tap into your fuel source. Whether that be a gorge hike, friend playdates, volunteering, or fermented habanero pickles (okay, that’s just me), breathe it in. There you’ll find your center and a whole lot of stamina to fuel the rest of you. –-Shelly Coffman Shelly Coffman

Oxygen is one of earth’s primary elements. We needed it to evolve, but also need it to survive. I’m not sure if you’ve ever experienced low oxygen levels, but as an asthma sufferer, I have. To put it mildly, it’s not awesome. It’s hard work just to be upright and talking, let alone add anything to the basic metabolic needs of day-to-day living. Because I have an advanced case of nerd monkey mind, I think about this stuff a lot. I’ve kept going with my awesome exercise class, now a full habit. Knowing as much as I do about physiology, I nerd out a bit in all aspects of my daily life. In my exercise class, I am constantly reminded just how my own muscle physiology is primarily slow-twitch fibers. All skeletal muscle fibers are primarily either fast twitch or slow twitch. Fast-twitch fibers generate a lot of tension, require glycogen (primarily sugar building blocks) for fuel, and fatigue quite quickly. All sprinters have a primarily fast-twitch-fiber composition for skeletal muscle. Slow-twitch fibers take longer to contract and rely on oxygen in the blood as a fuel source. Slow-twitch fibers can sustain force for a very long time. Marathon runners are full of slow-twitch muscle fibers. Myself, I’m mostly slow twitch. I’ve always been heavily geared for endurance over speed. In my current exercise, there’s a lot of posture holding and working at

August may be void of any major U.S. holidays, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t events worth celebrating during the eighth month of the year. Perhaps owing to its location on the calendar, right at the peak of summer, August plays host to some of America’s most unique festivals and events. No matter where you are on the map, there’s something remarkable going on this month in or near your neck of the woods. Here are a few of the August’s bucket-list events. A M idsummer N ight ' s F estival A ugust B ucket -L ist E vents For much of American history, lobsters were considered the “cockroaches of the sea” and awarded no culinary prestige. Around the turn of the 20th century, however, their reputation as a delicacy began to grow. Diners in Boston and New York helped raise the prestige of Maine lobsters, which are now as prized as truffles from Piedmont and bluefin tuna from Japan. It’s no surprise, then, that Maine lobsters have an entire festival devoted to them. During the first weekend in August, upward of 30,000 seafood fanatics from all over the country head to Rockland, Maine, to dine on the country’s most famous crustaceans. In addition to lobster in every form imaginable — grilled, boiled, served in bisques, and heaped on buns — the Maine Lobster Festival features local art, music, and games for kids. It also crowns a “sea goddess” during its yearly pageant. Oh, and if you want to burn off some calories, there’s a 5K and 10K race during the festival. M aine L obster F estival August 1–5 Rockland, Maine

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... continued from cover 127 Y ard S ale August 2–5 Addison, Michigan, to Gadsden, Alabama Summer is yard-sale season, and they don’t come any bigger than the 127 Yard Sale. Billing itself as “the world’s longest yard sale,” it features more than 2,200 vendors from the Midwest to the Deep South, all clustered along 690 miles of Highway 127. It passes through six states and features an uncountable number of treasures just waiting to be discovered. of America’s most storied pastimes: road trips and bargain hunting. There are plenty of scenic destinations to stop and admire between looking for antiques, collectibles, and everything else you could imagine. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t miss an episode of “Antiques Roadshow,” you might mistake the 127 Yard Sale for paradise. Because of its vast nature, the 127 Yard Sale offers travelers the chance to combine two

T he 78 th A nnual S turgis M otorcycle R ally August 3–12 Sturgis, South Dakota Even if you only have the most passing interest in motorcycles, odds are you’ve heard of Sturgis. The country’s most famous motorcycle rally attracts more than a half- million visitors every year, all eager to show off their bikes, rev their engines, and have some fun. Since its inception in 1938, the 10-day rally has become a mecca for motorcycle enthusiasts of all stripes. The centerpiece events of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally are the rides themselves, which include trips around Devils Tower, Bear Butte, and Deadwood. There are also rally races and hill climbs. Hop off your bike to take in the concerts, enjoy some street food, and participate in the tattoo and beard contests. Bike lovers from all over the world make the pilgrimage to Sturgis, so you can bet you’ll see some jaw-droppingly cool rides, from pristine vintage bikes to one-of-a-kind custom creations.

M innesota R enaissance F estival Weekends, August 18–September 30 Shakopee, Minnesota

With an annual attendance of 300,000, the Minnesota Renaissance Festival has grown to be the country’s largest Renaissance fair. Technology may not be advanced enough to actually transport you back to the 16th century, but you’d never know it from the sights, sounds, and smells of the fairgrounds. Get dressed up in your fanciest lord or lady outfit, enjoy some jousting, and shop for artisanal products made by local craftspeople. Each weekend during the festival, you can also enjoy themed events. This year, for example, August 18 and 19 will host the “Buccaneer Beer Bash,” while September 8 and 9 will feature “Shamrocks and Shenanigans.” Whether you love Shakespeare, mead, or “Game of Thrones,” you’ll find something to interest you at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.

The next time somebody tells you, “There’s nothing happening in August,” direct them to one of these or many other festivals and events. You don’t need a federal holiday to have a reason to mark your calendars.

M etabolic F itness T raining A B ig W orkout W ith a S mall T ime C ommitment

H ow to S et U p an MRT C ircuit The key to metabolic resistance training is to keep your rest periods short, so choose exercises you can perform in one spot (or close together), and set up your equipment ahead of time; you don’t want your heart rate to go down while you walk between stations or mess around loading the bar. Do compound movements like dumbbell chest presses, burpees, and goblet squats to work multiple muscle groups at once. Metabolic resistance training is a hard workout and not for the faint of heart. But by pushing yourself outside your comfort zone, you’ll see greater results and have more time to spend on the other things you enjoy!

into each workout. While this technique is the perfect way to build strength, lean out, and increase cardiovascular health all at once, it may not be ideal for anyone trying to add massive amounts of muscle, because it burns so many calories and uses a high-rep/low- weight protocol. T he S cience B ehind MRT High-rep/high-volume workouts stimulate muscle protein synthesis (the process by which muscle is built) more effectively than splits that work single body parts. But perhaps the best part of metabolic resistance training occurs after you leave the gym. Because it takes longer for your body to return to its resting metabolic state after such an intense workout, you continue to burn extra calories in the hours and days after MRT, an effect commonly referred to as the “afterburn.”

Not everyone can spend hours at the gym each week. If you struggle to fit workouts into your busy schedule, metabolic resistance training (MRT) might be the perfect solution. This high-intensity circuit technique keeps your heart rate elevated while you bust out more reps in a shorter period of time. You may find that you need to reduce the weight a bit in order to perform so many reps with no rest, but that’s fine; the goal of MRT is to move constantly, not set PRs. You’ll burn calories, increase strength, and improve your cardiovascular fitness in one fell swoop — all without having to step on a treadmill! T he B enefits of M etabolic R esistance T raining MRT offers the biggest bang for your fitness buck by squeezing as much work as possible

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Tom Hardy, Christian Bale, Chris Hemsworth, Liv Tyler, and Beyonce — all of these celebrities have used intermittent fasting (IF) to meet their fitness goals. Fasting dates back thousands of years — in fact, one of the most popular fasts is called the “Daniel Fast” because it mirrors Daniel’s abstinence from food as portrayed in the Old Testament. This ancient trend is gaining popularity in the nutrition community. Here are three ways IF might benefit you. W eight L oss 3 B enefits of I ntermittent F asting W hy C elebs and CEO s S wear by I t

B oosted I mmune S ystem According to researchers at the University of Southern

One of the most common misconceptions about fasting is that you can’t eat any food. The truth is that we all fast for a period of time each day while we’re asleep; intermittent fasting simply extends that fasting period. After eating, your body transitions to a fed state where your food is used for fuel. However, after 8–10 hours without food, your body enters a fasted state in which your body burns stored fat for energy, which leads to weight loss and more muscle definition. With intermittent fasting, you fast for a specified period — typically 16 hours — and eat all of your meals within an 8-hour period. M ental A cuity Fasting has become popular among the Silicon Valley crowd in recent years due to the endorphin rush and mental acuity associated with IF. When food is scarce and you haven’t eaten, your brain sends endorphins into your bloodstream to make you more alert. Your brain then digests information more efficiently. This is thought to be a holdover from our hunter-gatherer days, when we had to be alert enough to find food or we’d starve to death. CEOs in the nation’s tech capital have begun using this strategy in recent years to increase their productivity.

California, fasting essentially flips a regenerative switch in the body.

“It gives the ‘okay’ for stem cells to go ahead and begin proliferating and rebuild the entire system,” says Valter Longo, Ph.D., director of the USC Longevity Institute. “Fasting cycles can generate, literally, a new immune system.”

S esame S alad GREEN BEAN AND If you need an easy, healthy side dish with plenty of flavor, this green bean salad will be the perfect addition to your summer menu.

Ingredients

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3 cups green beans, ends trimmed

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1 small red onion, finely chopped

T ake A B reak !

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1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

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Small bunch of fresh mint

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Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley

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1 tablespoon olive oil

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2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

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Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to boil; cook green beans for 4–5 minutes; drain well. 2. In a blender, mix finely chopped mint and parsley with olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Blend until combined. 3. Add dressing, onion, and sesame seeds to beans. Toss together. Cool dish, then refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Breathing Into Life August Festivals Throughout the US Page 1 The Benefits of Metabolic Fitness Training Page 2 3 Must-Read Benefits of Fasting Green Bean and Sesame Salad Page 3 Why You Should Get to Know Your Psoas Page 4 I nside T his I ssue

W hat ' s at the C ore of Y our B ack or K nee P ain ? T he M uscle T hat ' s K ey to Y our M obility

S upport your seat . Sitting for long periods of time can compress and shorten the psoas. To decrease this effect, take regular

If you’re not on close terms with your psoas, it’s time to get familiar. This muscle, pronounced “so-as,” is a key player in your core and comprises the group of muscles called hip flexors. As the only muscle group that connects your spine to your legs, the psoas has a big effect on mobility and posture. Psoas imbalances can contribute to back and hip pain because the muscles in these areas get overused to compensate. Imbalances are usually caused by short and tight or weak and overstretched psoas muscles. Activities that compress your hips, such as sitting, excessive running or walking, and excessive sit ups, can shorten your psoas and even lead to weakness. If your psoas muscles are short and tight, you may benefit from stretching and lengthening exercises. If the muscles are weak and overstretched, they may require strengthening movements. Here are a few ways to begin addressing imbalances. T ry the constructive rest position . This neutral position can help release tension in your psoas. Lay on your back with your knees bent and heels on the floor, and set your feet hip-width apart at a comfortable distance from your buttocks. Don’t force your back to the floor, but simply rest your hands on your belly and let gravity do the work. Try this rest position for 10 minutes a day.

breaks to get up and move, and practice good posture. If you’re going on a road trip, consider sitting with a rolled-up towel under your sitting bones, which can release pressure on the psoas. G et a massage . Here’s permission to treat yourself. Because of where the psoas is located, it can be difficult to stimulate, and a certified massage therapist will know how to access it. Regular massages can help with circulation and may improve function. C onsult a physical therapist . If you’re experiencing pain in the lower back, hips, or knees, an imbalanced psoas may be to blame. A licensed physical therapist can recommend appropriate stretching or strengthening exercises depending on what’s right for your body.

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