Sleep for Gains

Is your workout helping your sleep? Are you sleeping enough to help your workouts? According to Stats Canada, one in three Canadians are sleep deprived (7-9 hours is the recommended amount). Canada is actually the third most sleep deprived country in the world (behind the UK and Ireland). Since you’re getting this blog, it’s safe to assume that you are among the 20% of Canadians who exercise ‘regularly’, which means, sleep is super important for you.      As I’m sure you know, sleep is the best way to conserve energy, and of course repair tissue in the body. This is key for anyone who works out, and getting the right amount of sleep is even more important when you train regularly. Essentially, the more you workout, the more sleep your body needs. Seems obvious right? The not so obvious part is that a good workout can actually help you sleep better. Studies have shown that intense exercise can lead to deeper sleep, and consistent exercise has been shown to reduce insomnia by reducing your stress levels, anxiety, and depressive symptoms.      To get the full benefits of your sleep and exercise combo, here are a few other things you can do to help improve your ‘Workout to Lights-out’ routine: AM Cardio, PM Weights      Not a deal breaker, but hitting your cardio circuit in the morning and your weights at night is another way to improve your sleep. Most people who run in the mornings spend more time in the deep sleep cycle, and the same is for those who do their lifting at night. Lifting weights in the morning is fine too, but evening workouts that make you sweat, may make it harder for you to get to sleep. Our bodies temperature usually drops at bedtime, which is what signals our system to fall asleep. A cardio workout will keep your body temperature higher for longer, which is why your evening workout should be lifting. I would recommend doing them both in the morning and get it over with, but don’t be afraid to lift that heavy weight at night. Evening Protein Shake      Are you a late night eater? Put the dessert away and treat yourself to a late night protein shake. Why? When you consume protein, it breaks down into amino acids in your body which help build your muscles. Typically, we only consume protein with meals and don’t eat close to bedtime, so there aren't a lot of amino acids available to your body for overnight muscle growth. Drink a shake close to bedtime and make gains while you sleep. Sleep Earlier      This seems like an obvious one, but people who sleep just 30 minutes earlier are said to have better workouts. Sleep, or lack of sleep, actually affects your perception of how difficult a workout is. When you’re tired, your brain will automatically do its best to convince you to save your stored energy, which could mean making a workout seem more difficult than it is (which then makes your trainer mad, then they make you do burpees to ‘snap out of it’ and on and on...vicious cycle). Getting to bed 30 minutes earlier is enough to tackle the workout the next day.      So turn off that Netflix, make a shake, tuck the kids in bed 30 minutes earlier, and get that sleep to make those gains! Written By Kevin Yeboah Strength and Conditioning Specialist @theyeboah

Unilateral Training: Why It's Beneficial for Your Training

What Is Unilateral Training? Unilateral means one limb or one side of the body. Why it’s important? Help Correct Imbalances It’s extremely rare to have a perfect symmetry. When we exercise in a traditional sense, bilaterally (both legs, both arms), we tend to overcompensate to one side, which in time can lead to injuries and stagnant strength gains. Improves midline stabilization Your midline (core) has to work harder to keep upright and balanced. Improves balance Not only does your core get over worked, but so does your overall stability of the working limb, depending on upper or lower body movement. With improved ability to stabilize limb by limb comes stronger muscles, tendons and joints. Decreasing the risk of injury, and longer term stability.

Try These Unilateral Movements: Alternating Dumbbell Chest Press Grab a pair of dumbbells. Lie on your back on a bench, and hold the dumbbells a few inches above your chest. Press one dumbbell upward until your arm is fully extended. Pause and slowly retract extended arm to start position. Then complete the same motion on the opposite side. Continue in an alternating manner.

Bird Dog Row Rest your left hand and knee on a bench, with your right leg on the floor for support. Lift and extend your left leg straight out and use your right hand to pick up a dumbbell. Row the dumbbell straight up until your upper arm is parallel with the bench. Slowly return to the starting position. Repeat on the opposite side.

Bulgarian Split Squats  Stand lunge-length in front of a bench. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and rest the top of your left foot on the bench behind you. Lower your body until your rear knee nearly touches the floor and your front thigh is parallel to the floor.

Try a full body workout! Alternating Dumbbell Chest Press x 10 reps per arm Rest 30 sec  Bird dog Row x 10 reps per arm Rest 30 sec  Bulgarian Split Squats x 10 per leg Rest 2 minutes  Complete 3-4 rounds (using a medium to light weight)  Written by Alex Manson Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Grip Strength: Why It Matters For Your Shoulder The shoulder is a complex joint that involves many different structures and motions. It is the connection between the upper limb and torso and is highly involved in many sports/activities. This also means that it is an area that is often injured within athletic populations, including those participating in regular resistance training. It has been estimated that up to 36% of resistance training related injuries involve the shoulder complex (1). These injuries have a broad range with regards to the specific structures being affected, the type of injury, and the specific mechanisms causing the injury. These cannot only impact your performance in activities/gym, but also in your daily life.   So why does grip strength matter?  Grip strength has been shown to correlate with overall function of the shoulder. A study by Antony et al found an increase in shoulder muscle activity (increased shoulder stabilizer activation, decreased activation of compensatory muscles – anterior/middle deltoid) occurred when the amount of force used to grip increased (2). This basically means that if you squeeze your hand harder, there will be increased muscle activity in muscles that help stabilize the shoulder. Another study by Horsley et al, looked at the connection between grip strength and rotator cuff strength in healthy individuals. They found there was increased strength the rotator cuff in individuals that had higher grip strength (3). Try this!   Place your right arm at your side and your left hand on your right shoulder. You can hold onto an object, or just make a fist with your right hand.  Start to squeeze the right hand, slowly ramping up the strength till a max contraction.  You will notice that as you start to increase the strength of the contraction, the muscle activation starts to increase in the shoulder (you should feel the muscles in the arm/shoulder fire).  There have been several proposed reasons for this relationship. One involves the concept of irradiation, which entails the transmission of neural impulses from a contracting muscle to the surrounding muscles. This will not only increase the activation of the surrounding muscles, but also increase their strength output (if they are involved in the action). Another theory is that the tension/forces are transmitted via myofascial/myotendinous expansions running up the arm, providing a network for this transmission (4).   What makes up grip strength?  Most people believe that overall grip strength is purely produced by the flexors of the forearm (muscles responsible for closing the hand). But it is actually also involves the extensors of the wrist/hand (muscles that open the hand). These will act as an opposing force to the flexors to help create functional stability of the joint (4). How can this help me? Try incorporating exercises that involve the use of grip strength (carry variations, Kettle Bell “bottoms-up” presses, 1-arm hangs, etc.) into your routine. It can be beneficial to not only build muscle, but also increase grip strength.   Suitcase Carry Kettle Bell "Bottoms Up" Press Grip strength alone is not the cure for all shoulder injuries! There are many different factors to consider for each individual case and injury; this is just a small piece of a much bigger puzzle. This post is meant to shed light on an often overlooked area when it comes to shoulder health and function. If you are experiencing any shoulder pain or would like to work on preventing future shoulder issues, feel free to contact me and we can go over some options for you.    Written by Dr. Jon Perry Chiropractor 1. Kolber, M. J., Beekhuizen, K. S., Cheng, M. S. S., & Hellman, M. A. (2010). Shoulder injuries attributed to resistance training: a brief review. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 24(6), 1696-1704. 2. Antony, N. T., & Keir, P. J. (2010). Effects of posture, movement and hand load on shoulder muscle activity. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 20(2), 191-198. 3. Horsley, I., Herrington, L., Hoyle, R., Prescott, E., & Bellamy, N. (2016). Do changes in hand grip strength correlate with shoulder rotator cuff function?. Shoulder & elbow, 8(2), 124-129. 4. Robb, A., Weinberg, B. Athletic Movement Assessment Manual (Taken June 24-25, 2017).

Pain Science

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ALERT:
Pain is not (always) a good predictor of injury or tissue damage.

Pain is our most important survival mechanism. It is obviously unpleasant but also lets us know if we are in danger. Without pain, we would probably live substantially shorter (though arguably more care-free) lives. However, when pain starts to last longer than we’d like and without a seemingly reasonable explanation, it can dramatically interfere with our lives; for some, it can mean permanent disability.

First, we need to clarify another important point about pain. Pain isn’t simple, it is a complex experience, it is a learned behavior, and does not always mean something is wrong at a tissue level. A lot of people would feel the term, ‘it’s all in your head’ to be a taboo and apathetic phrase, however it couldn’t be more true. The brain controls everything about your pain experience. It takes into account past experiences with pain, and your subconscious perception on how this current perceived threat may impact your life, along with many other variables to determine if you are in danger. If your brain believes you are in danger, it will relentlessly create the experience of pain.

One clue to help us understand that pain does not necessarily rely on tissue damage or injury, stems from amputees who experience phantom limb pain. These people feel pain in a place that no longer exists on their body. How else can we explain this except by understanding the brain’s role in interpreting and creating the experience of pain.

In those suffering from chronic pain, we see changes in the regions of the brain that represent the area of the body experiencing pain. The area of the brain actually becomes ‘smudged’, explaining how over time, it gets harder and harder to localize where the pain is coming from.

The pain cycle perpetuates as we continually believe we are in danger. As we start to worry about the pain, avoid movements that create the pain and start to avoid activities that bring on the pain, we essentially reactivate the alarm system that tells us we're in danger.

So what’s the take-home from all this? Pain is not simply a matter of, ‘I hurt myself, now I'm in pain.’ Pain is a complex experience that the brain orchestrates based on many factors and can be present with or without any actual harm. And just as a pain experience can be learned, it can be unlearned over time. Start to question your pain. Ask yourself, ‘am I in danger?’ One of the best ways to help answer that is to talk with a relevant health professional whom you trust.

To understand this further, 'Explain Pain' by Butler & Mosley is probably one of the most up-to-date and easy to understand explanations on this topic.

Written By: Dr. Ryan Albert, Chiropractor & Medical Acupuncture Practitioner
Instagram: @dr.ryanalbert

Available for appointments at our Richmond location