What You Need to Know About Reaching Your Fitness Goals – Part 3
Nova Health Club • June 14, 2018
Stressors that Adapt and Inhibit the Body.
In our day and age we expose ourselves to a lot of stress. Every type of stress has a positive or negative outcome on the human body. Unfortunately, the amount of stress we experience in many cases is greater than what our biological bodies can tolerate. This excess and prolonged exposure to stressors has a negative impact on our health, performance and longevity.
Homeostasis is the natural or balanced state our bodies go back to after being exposed to a stress. The human body has evolved to heal and recover itself very well and every cell strives to get back to this balanced state if permitted to. Anything that disrupts homeostasis is called a stressor. It is important to realize that there are two types of stressors; good stress, that has an adaptive process such as exercise or sun exposure is called ‘Eustress’ while stress that causes a negative impact is called ‘Distress’ such as getting fired from your job or losing sleep. It is also important to note that some distress can be positive and some eustress can be disruptive depending on an individual’s specific response to that stressor.
When beginning a new exercise program we increase our heart rate and cause micro tears in our muscle fibres that end up being positive stressors that, if we recover from properly (with rest and nutrition) will make us stronger, fitter, healthier and on track towards our goals. This adaptive process after being exposed to stress is call ‘Allostasis’ which ultimately creates a new level of homeostasis in our bodies - one stronger and fitter than before
However, in our busy lives, trying to accomplish more each day, we expose ourselves to excessive amounts of stress that can damage our nerve cells and change our neurotransmitter and hormone responses. The process of nerve cell damage is called ‘Excitotoxicity’. For example, excessive or prolonged exposure to even good stressors (eustress) like exercise can increase our sympathetic nervous system response leading to; increased levels of stress specific neurotransmitters and hormones such as cortisol. Cortisol is a ‘stress’ hormone, part of our natural lives but in excess can lead to fatigue, weakness, loss of emotional control and weight gain. Much of the increased body fat in line with our belly button is caused by higher than normal levels of the hormone cortisol.
To reach your health and fitness goals it is important to understand when stress is good and when stress is bad. For many of us, we accept high stress as part of our lifestyle and the changes our bodies make in response (weight gain, fatigue, decreased mental health or other health disorders). However just because we have stressful lives does not mean we have to tolerate the negative changes that go with it. Chris Crowley co-author of the book ‘Younger Next Year’ wrote, ‘Aging is inevitable but decay is optional.’ Stress, while sometimes inevitable also does not have to elicit the associated decay and illness that comes with it. It begins first with an appreciation of stress and then making the lifestyle changes so that stress will not affect us in negative ways.
For example, when choosing an exercise program to reach fitness goals or to combat stress it is essential to pick the right exercise program at the right intensity. Take note of your stress levels prior to getting started. If you are unsure of what type of exercise program is best suited to you and your stress levels, hire a holistic lifestyle training coach who will make sure the program and intensity is right for you.
The Autonomic Nervous System is responsible for many essential functions of the body such as digestion, heart rate, blood pressure and respiration. Great training coaches understand the two nervous systems pathways in our bodies that make up the Autonomic Nervous System. One, called the ‘Sympathetic Nervous System’ is turned on through stress such as exercise, work deadlines or if we were to be chased. This system is referred to as the ‘fight or flight’ response. The second pathway is called the ‘Parasympathetic Nervous System’ responsible for rest, recovery and digestion. Due to the way many of us choose to live, we have more stimulation through the sympathetic system, causing damage to our cells (excitotoxicity), keeping us out of homeostasis because not enough focus is spent on rest, recovery and digestion through the parasympathetic system. It is no wonder that excessive lifestyle stress stimuli through the sympathetic nervous system causes us to suffer from the above mentioned illnesses and diseases.
For those of us under lots of stress, the best exercise program should incorporate full body movement with focus on breathing and without prolonged high heart rates or pushing every exercise and workout to the point of exhaustion and beyond. Many of the latest fitness crazes and group classes however do the opposite by promoting high calorie expenditure through high intensity training as being the only way to reach your fitness goals. This type of training in theory is ok but the reality is that many people’s lifestyles (and thus bodies) are not conducive to this type of exercise stress because these same people are under too much lifestyle stress and not practicing proper recovery outside of their workouts.
Contrary to popular belief, the best workouts are not the ones that elicit the most amount of sweat or burn the most amount of calories. Following this type of program and over engaging the sympathetic nervous system can be detrimental to our health. After all, our nervous system controls all functions of our bodies. To be fit we must first be healthy and being healthy comes from being mindful of our stress levels and recovery practices. Countless times we have said that the best workout is the right workout based on your needs, wants and abilities. Knowing this will determine what type of workouts that will either hinder us further or help us towards our goals of having fit, lean high performing bodies that last a lifetime.
In Part 4 of this series we will explore another essential area that many people neglect when choosing a fitness program - Functional Movement - moving the way our bodies were designed to.
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