Fitness & Wellness

Can You Work Out "Too" Much?

Can You Work Out “Too” Much?

Published by on June 25, 2022 | Leave a response

If you’re spending hours at the gym every day pushing it hard at peak intensity, but you aren’t getting the results you want, maybe you work out too much. Yes, you can get too much of a good thing, especially if your workout is intense. Getting fit is finding the right blend of intense exercise and rest. Consider how hard people worked in early industrialized America, yet they died early. Part of the reason was diet and lack of medical care, but part of it was not giving the body a chance to recover and heal.

While your great-great grandparents or great-great-great grandparents may not have had a choice, you do.

People who want results often decide that more is better and sometimes it is, but that’s not always true when it comes to exercise. When you’re building muscles, the exercise causes micro tears in the muscle, which requires time to heal. As it heals, it causes scar tissue and becomes bigger and stronger. If you don’t give it time to heal and build, at least 48 to 72 hours between tough workouts, you continually tear the muscle tissue and that can slow your progress. It taxes the body, rather than helps you get fitter.

It’s all about the design of your program.

Can you do strength training every day? Yes, but your program needs to be designed well to ensure you give all muscles a rest. You can work on different areas of the body, allowing every muscle group to have the 48 to 72 hours of rest to heal. Alternating your workout by focusing on various types of exercise, such as cardio, strength, balance and flexibility, during the week is another way to help prevent muscle stress.

Listen to your body.

If your performance is suffering, you find you have mood swings, depression, confusion and irritability or are subject to frequent illnesses, you may be working your body too hard. If you’re pushing hard seven days a week or going to the gym twice a day for an extended session, you may be tearing down your body, not building it up. Get sleep, rest your body and if you want to keep active, do active recovery, like walking, between sessions.

  • Our trainers will create a tough program for you, but also one that lets your body recover and builds your strength and endurance. They watch your progress carefully to make sure you stay on track.
  • The longer you overwork your body, the longer recovery takes and the longer you’ll feel exhausted instead of revitalized. Watch for signs and focus on less intense workouts to help get you back on track.
  • One sign of overworking the body is a high resting heart rate. If your resting heart rate is normally in the 40 to 50 bpm range and suddenly jumps to 70-80 or higher consistently, talk to your trainer.
  • Over-exercising can actually cause weight gain, rather than weight loss. It can cause the body to produce less thyroid hormones and increase cortisol, which can increase insulin levels, cause belly fat and other hormonal imbalances.

For more information, contact us today at VIP Fitness Center

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Are Natural Sweeteners Actually Healthy?

Are Natural Sweeteners Actually Healthy?

Published by on June 10, 2022 | Leave a response

Whether you use the training facility at Fort Lee, New Jersey or at one of the surrounding areas, you probably know by now that having a great body is as much about eating healthy as it is about exercise. What you eat, especially snacks and carbs, play an intricate role in your overall health. In fact, it also includes how you sweeten your food. Even though artificial sweeteners may contain few or even no calories, many can be detrimental to your health. Natural sweeteners also can play a role in whether you’re healthy, too. While not all natural sweeteners are healthy, not all of them are unhealthy either.

What are the dangers of a diet of simple carbohydrates, like natural sugars?

In order to understand the effects of sweeteners and diet, the easiest way is to go back millions of years before man. The microsyops latidens, which is a squirrel sized primate that lived in the US 54 million years ago, had dental carries. This primate lived on natural sugars and a diet high in carbohydrates. That proves that no matter how natural the sugar in your diet is, your teeth still pay a price. Today, sugar is in all types of food and can have a negative effect on more than just your teeth. It’s been linked to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and other serious conditions.

Stevia may be one of the better natural sweeteners and may even have health benefits.

Stevia rebaudiana has leaves that taste sweet and was used for its sweet nature in South America, but also as a medicine. It’s hundreds of times sweeter than table sugar yet has no calories. While some people hate the taste of stevia, others love it. Stevia may be beneficial for people with diabetes, as it can help level out blood sugar. It also can aid people with high blood pressure if it’s considerably elevated. It has drawbacks. It interferes with the microbiome in the gut, by inhibiting the growth of bacteria including the beneficial bacteria.

Sugar alcohols like xylitol have some benefits.

One of the best known benefits of xylitol is for dental health. It’s been proven to help reduce cavities and remineralize teeth. Some people use it by adding a small amount of water and slushing it around the mouth, then spitting it in the sink. Why spit it out? It can cause abdominal distress and explosive diarrhea, like other sugar alcohols when consumed in larger amounts. When used in moderation, xylitol may help improve bone density.

  • Monk fruit extract comes from a fruit from Southeast Asia. It has no calories or carbs. It also has anti-inflammatory properties and can help control blood sugar. Be aware that some monk fruit extracts are mixed with other types of sugar.
  • Yacon syrup may be beneficial for the good bacteria in your intestines, since it’s high in fructooligosaccharides. It may help with weight loss and prevent constipation.
  • Using actual fruit can add a sweet treat. Using the whole fruit, such as unsweetened applesauce, figs, dates or bananas can add sweetness, but also provide the benefits of fiber and nutrients.
  • Getting the healthiest sugar alternative can be simplified by avoiding added sugar, whether it’s artificial or natural. Alternatives, like maple syrup or honey may be natural, but they still can cause many of the problems of table sugar or high fructose corn syrup.

For more information, contact us today at VIP Fitness Center

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