How to Boost Your Energy Naturally. (No side effects)

A Green solution.

Think you can't live without your morning coffee? Trade it for this nutrient-packed drink once and you'll change your mind.

"I usually have [this] for breakfast and then don't need to have coffee," says Joanna Chodorowska, a nutrition and triathlon coach in North Whales, Pennsylvania.

Here's how to make it: In a juicer, combine 2-4 leaves of kale, 2-4 leaves of romaine lettuce, 1 inch ginger root, half a lemon (with the seeds removed), one apple (cored), and a clove of garlic (optional for cleansing and boosting immune system).

Chodorowska says you can use this as a base and add other dark greens, carrots, celery, beets, or even an orange or pear instead of the apple to make your own signature energy drink.

Don't have a juicer? This creamy blend is just as effective at boosting energy (and tastes like an indulgent dessert!) and only requires a blender.

Drink Some Water

"The most common cause of fatigue is dehydration," Kotsopoulos says. Why? "If there is not enough fluid in your body, blood volume can drop; as a result, your body (and heart) must work harder in order to supply your cells with oxygen and nutrients."

Dehydration can cause everything from mental fogginess, impaired short-term memory, dizziness, and fatigue, she says. Be sure to hydrate all day long but especially when you start to feel fatigue coming on to help combat low energy.

Take a Power Nap

Research has shown that both information overload and pushing our brains too hard can zap energy. But studies by the National Institutes of Mental Health found that a 60-minute "power nap" can not only reverse the mind-numbing effects of information overload, it may also help us to better retain what we have learned.

Sleep Well

A truly energized, productive day is possible only after a relaxed, restorative night. “Your alertness during the day is dependent on the quality of your sleep and on getting undisturbed sleep,” says Thomas Roth, Ph.D., a psychologist and the director of the Sleep Disorder Center at Henry Ford Hospital, in Detroit. Research has shown that seven to eight hours really is the ideal. Start preparing yourself about an hour before bed, advises Michael Perlis, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology and the director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at the University of Pennsylvania. “You need to allow yourself to decompress and unwind,” he says. Physically and psychologically, you’ll be better prepared for quality sleep.

Drink more coffee. “Coffee has an unfairly deserved evil reputation,” says Karen Ansel, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “It’s very effective at boosting energy and concentration.” Just drink up before lunchtime, limiting the full-strength caffeine to two eight-ounce cups, max. Drinking later will yield diminishing energy returns: Coffee stays in your system for six hours, so that afternoon cup will make it harder for you to get to sleep later on.

Eat a colorful breakfast. If it takes all your mental firepower just to get the coffee going, then you’re probably in no shape to recall the optimal nutritional breakdown for your morning meal. Kim Walls, a clinical nutritionist in Los Angeles, suggests this easy-to-remember “color code”: Pile your plate with 80 percent colorful, unprocessed foods. The rest of the dish should contain a combination of lean protein and complex, fiber-rich carbohydrates, which are slowly digested and keep the blood sugar steady. There’s a colorful (and energizing) dish for every breakfast personality.

Green Tea

Feeling a little tired? Need an afternoon pick-me-up? All you have to do is head down to the corner convenience store and slam down a Red Bull…or a Gatorade…or a cup of coffee. Or so the ads say. But that may not be a great answer. While the short-term effect of these caffeinated beverages might make you feel like you have more energy (because you’ll be so wired and jittery), you’ll crash after an hour or two.

Did you know that a cup of coffee can contain up to 550 mg of caffeine? That’s the equivalent of more than six Red Bulls! And sports drinks aren’t any better. While they are not loaded with caffeine, they are just glorified soft drinks loaded with sugar or artificial sweeteners. Unless you plan to go directly to the gym or intend do some serious exercise for at least 45 minutes, you don’t need the liquid sugar.

Here’s my recommendation: green tea made with filtered water. It will naturally raise your resting metabolism, it has a very moderate amount of caffeine, and it has lots of beneficial antioxidants and phytochemicals.

If you choose decaffeinated green tea, make sure it is naturally decaffeinated. Chemical decaffeination processes can remove the beneficial nutrients. If you feel you constantly need a pick me up and feel flat most of the time consider this high energy natural booster that will refortify your system and fill you with energy 24/7. Green tea is one of natures best boosters filled with vitamins, omega-3s and a terrific source of nutrition.

Take your vitamins. They’re not magic energy pills, but “a lack of vitamins can cause fatigue—especially B vitamins, which convert energy from food into energy your body can use,” says Sara Ryba Matty, a registered dietitian in Scarsdale, New York. If you’re not getting enough nutrient power in your diet, a multivitamin pill could help. Be sure to take it with a meal, says Matty: “Food in the stomach triggers digestive juices that will help break down the vitamins."

Walk Around the Block

While it may seem as if moving about when you feel exhausted is the quickest route to feeling more exhausted, the opposite is true. Experts say that increasing physical activity -- particularly walking -- increases energy.

"I like walking because it's accessible, easy to do, doesn't need training or equipment and you can do it anywhere," says Rita Redberg, MD, science advisor to the American Heart Association's "Choose To Move" program.

In experiments conducted by Robert Thayer, PhD, at California State University, a brisk 10-minute walk not only increased energy, but the effects lasted up to two hours. And when the daily 10-minute walks continued for three weeks, overall energy levels and mood were lifted.

Magnesium

“Research shows that when the body doesn't have enough magnesium, a mineral that is found in our bones, tissues, and organs, it has an increased need for oxygen during exercise—in other words, you wear out more easily,” explains Rachel Meltzer Warren, MS, RD, a New York-based nutritionist. “Magnesium is found in foods like spinach, almonds, cashews, and soybeans.” Keep a plethora of nuts on hand for quick energy boosts. Experts have also found that increased magnesium levels help assist chronic sleep problems—another fast track to more energy! For maximum absorption be sure to eat your magnesium-rich foods with a serving of calcium, or take a 500 mg supplement of it.

Don't Skip Breakfast -- or Any Other Meal

"Studies show that folks who eat breakfast report being in a better mood, and have more energy throughout the day," says Heller.

Her personal theory, she says, is that breaking the fast soon after rising supplies your body with a jolt of fuel that sets the tone for the whole day.

Moreover, studies published in the journal Nutritional Health found that missing any meal during the day led to an overall greater feeling of fatigue by day's end.

Check Your Thyroid Function and Complete Blood Cell Count

It certainly won't provide an instant boost. But if you're constantly low on energy -- especially if you feel sluggish even after a good night's rest -- Heller says you should talk to your doctor about a blood test for thyroid dysfunction as well as anemia.

"Thyroid can be a particular problem for women -- it often develops after childbirth and frequently during the perimenopause -- but a simple blood test can verify if this is your problem," says Heller. If you're diagnosed with low thyroid function, medication can bring your body back up to speed.

In anemia, says Heller, a reduction in red blood cells can mean your body isn't getting the level of oxygen necessary to sustain energy. So, you tire easily.

"This can sometimes occur during a woman's reproductive years, particularly if she has a very heavy menstrual cycle," says Heller.

The best way to strengthen your core abs.

What is the “core”?

  The core muscles are actually a group of more than a couple dozen muscles in the lower back, stomach and hips. These muscles work together to keep the spine stabilized and to keep the body upright. These muscles are always working. They are critical for:  bending forward and backward, any rotational movements, and twisting from side to side. Basically, your core muscles work in every movement you do.

Benefits of working out the core

If your core works in every movement you do, then a stronger core means you’ll be able to move better. Day to day tasks will be easier and you’ll be less prone to injury.  Think of you core as your foundation. If a house is built on a solid foundation, it will be strong and more durable, where as a weak foundation house can be problematic.  A stronger core will also help you get stronger in other areas. The core muscles support the spine and if your spine is supported solidly, then you’ll be able to lift more weights and maintain proper form. A strong core can also lead to good posture, which means less back pain.

As you can see from the charts above, there are many muscles that make up the core. Here is a brief description of some of the major core muscles, and what they do.

Rectus Abdominus

The rectus abdominus the outer stomach muscle – it is also known as the “six pack” muscle.

Tranverse Abdominus (TVA)

This is the deepest muscle of all the abdominal muscles. It pulls your stomach in when you suck in. Engaging this muscle is very important in many exercises including pushups.

Hip Flexors

This group of muscles can be found in the lower part of you core.  They play a major role in allowing the hips to flex. Having strong hip flexors will help when doing moves such as leg lowers.

Erector Spinae

The erector spinae sits in the lower back. It works with other muscles in the lower back to stabilize the spine and to allow the body to twist and bend backward.

Gluteus Maximus

This muscle is attached to the hip and is often at work in core movements
Strengthening these muscles will in turn strengthen all the muscles in your core.

External Abdominal Oblique

The obliques are abdominal muscles on each side of the body. These muscles help twist and rotate.

A lot of people think doing good old fashion sit-ups will get them their desired look, but unfortunately the chances are quite slim. If you focus on your entire core, you will start to develop abs.

Everyone wants to look good – that’s part of the reason why people work out. But it’s important to think about the muscles that you can’t see. Working the core muscles and building a strong foundation will help improve your strength, durability, posture and help make everyday tasks like putting a box on a shelf easier.

We’ve been incorporating more core exercises into our workouts lately, and not only do we feel stronger, but we’ve noticed more definition in our abdominal area.

Hopefully this post helped you learn about the importance of working out your core and not just your abs! Next week we will post some great exercises to help strengthen your core and add definition to you abs. In the meantime, when you are lifting weights or doing other movements, take a second to focus on your core, really flex it (as if someone was about to punch you in the stomach), and keep in engaged.

One of the best exercises for the core abs is the planks.

BENEFITS

Plank helps you to build strength in your core, upper and lower body so its a good full body work out. You do not need any equipment to perform this exercise all you need is a bit of space, and it really helps improve flexibility by stretching muscles and will improve posture if performed regularly.

MUSCLE GROUPS WORKED

The plank works almost every main muscle and here are a few: deltoids, biceps, triceps, obliques, rectus abdominis, latissimus dorsi, pectorals major, gluteus maximus, quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius

HOW TO DO A PLANK

1. Start by getting into a press up position.
2. Bend your elbows and rest your weight ono your forearms and not on your hands.
3. Your body should form a straight line from shoulders to ankles.
4. Engage your core by sucking your belly button into your spine.
5. Hold this position for the prescribed time. 

       6. There is a variation side planks.

Common mistakes when you want to become slim.

There are many of common mistakes that you can do when you want to lose weight I will mention a few here the most important thing it's try to do your best reviewing over and over what you are doing wrong if you aren't achieving your goals let me show you a few common mistakes.

 

OVER-EXERCISING WHILE CUTTING CALORIES

Too much exercise, especially when your diet is poor or your calories are too low, is a sure way to send your body running for safety by slowing your metabolism.

When you have a chronic energy deficit (fewer calories coming in than going out), over time your body starts thinking that food is scarce. This results in your body holding on to fat as a way to protect itself. To make an analogy, think of your body like a house. If you’re not making enough money to pay your house bills, what do you do? Well, you may turn down the heat in your house, turn off lights when you are not in the room, and perhaps even fire your cleaning lady to compensate. Your body operates in a similar way. When you do not have enough calories coming in, your body saves energy by reducing your body temperature (slowing your metabolism), turning down your digestive juices (making your digestion weaker), reducing your pulse, and slowing your thyroid function (resulting in less energy). These are all built-in survival responses by your body, to help you go longer on less food.

This is the EXACT opposite of what you want to do when you are trying to get healthy to lose weight! If you need to hear more about this, don’t miss this interview on Why Your Metabolism Was Fast, But Now It’s Slow.

You assume all carbs are bad for you.

Carbohydrates are your body’s main source of energy. In recent years, “low-carb” diets have grown in popularity, but the results are usually short-lived. A 2003 article in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that low-carbohydrate diets have no advantage over traditional well balanced diets and that long-term restriction of carbohydrates can have dangerous side effects, including heart problems, osteoporosis, an increased risk of cancer, impairment of physical activity, lipid abnormalities, and even sudden death, if continued over a prolonged period of time. Eating complex carbohydrates, such as high fiber cereal and brown rice can actually help you lose weight by making you feel fuller while consuming fewer calories..

A LOW PROTEIN DIET

A diet low in protein will s-l-o-w weight loss. WHY? The liver and detoxification processes are PROTEIN DEPENDENT. Not to mention, a healthy liver is a prerequisite to proper blood sugar management and conversion of thyroid hormones.

Reconsider a low protein or vegan diet if you’re looking for long-term health and weight loss.

You think “low-fat” or “fat-free” means fewer calories.

Often these options mean just that: less fat. They do not mean fewer calories. To compromise for the missing fat, manufactures will add sugar in order to make the product taste just as good. This chart will show you popular foods where the “low-fat” option has almost as many calories as the regular version. Don’t be fooled by good marketing. Healthy cookies usually taste like “healthy cookies” for a reason.

Fat-Free or Reduced-Fat	Calories	Regular	Calories
Reduced-fat peanut butter, 2 Tbsp	187	Regular peanut butter, 2 Tbsp	191
Reduced-fat chocolate chip cookies, 3 cookies (30 g)	118	Regular chocolate chip cookies, 3 cookies (30 g)	142
Fat-free fig cookies, 2 cookies (30 g)	102	Regular fig cookies, 2 cookies (30 g)	111
Fat-free vanilla frozen yogurt (<1% fat), ½ C	100	Regular whole milk vanilla frozen yogurt (3–4% fat), ½ C	104
Light vanilla ice cream (7% fat), ½ C	111	Regular vanilla ice cream, (11% fat), ½ C	133
Fat-free caramel topping, 2 Tbsp	103	Caramel topping, homemade with butter, 2 Tbsp	103
Low-fat granola cereal, approx. ½ C (55 g)	213	Regular granola cereal, approx. ½ C (55 g)	257
Low-fat blueberry muffin, 1 small (2½ inch)	131	Regular blueberry muffin, 1 small (2½ inch)	138
Baked tortilla chips, 1 oz	113	Regular tortilla chips, 1 oz	143
Low-fat cereal bar, 1 bar (1.3 oz)	130	Regular cereal bar, 1 bar (1.3 oz)	140

DEPRIVING YOUR BODY

In my practice, excessive weight signifies a severe nutritional deficit. How do you resolve a deficit? Hint: it’s not by limiting or depriving your body of nutrients (limiting calories= restricting nutrients). If you think of your body like a bank account deep in debt, doesn’t it make sense to make as many nutritional deposits in to your bank account every day instead? Now we’re on to something!

Besides, if you are trying to eat a diet that is generally dissatisfying; you do not feel satiated or nourished, and you’re not working toward healthy weight loss. A good diet should reduce cravingsover time, NOT deepen them. You can lose weight while listening and responding to your body’s needs!

You skip meals.

You may think that one less meal equates to fewer calories consumed, but skipping meals may just make you eat larger portions later in the day. Research has shown that people who eat breakfast weigh less than those who skip the first meal of the day.

Racing to the Finish

There's no reward for finishing your meal in record time -- unless you're a contestant in a hot dog eating contest! Our hectic schedules have led many of us to adopt the unhealthy habit of rapid eating.

"We need to adopt more of the leisurely, European-style eating so that we can savor our food, taste every bite, and get the signal of fullness before overeating," says Tara Gidus, MS, RD, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

Too Many Liquid Calories

Liquid calories from alcohol, smoothies, coffee with cream and sugar, sweetened juices, teas, and sodas can really contribute to weight gain. One recent study found that Americans get approximately 21% of their calories from beverages.

"When you drink beverages, you don’t tend to compensate by eating less because most beverages satisfy thirst and don’t impact hunger," says Gidus.

Switch from calorie-laden beverages to water, club soda, skim milk, vegetable juices, and small portions of 100% fruit juice. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation, and choose lighter drink options.

Here are some calorie counts for common beverages:

• 12-ounce light beer: 110 calories
• 12-ounce regular beer: 160 calories
• 8-ounce coffee with cream and sugar: 30 calories
• 5 ounces of wine: 120-130 calories
• 6-ounce wine spritzer: 80 calories
• 16-ounce sweetened tea: 160 calories
• 12-ounce diet soda: 0 calories
• 12-ounce soda: 150 calories
• 20-ounce smoothie: 410 calories

Choosing Unhealthy Add-Ons

Not only have portions crept up in size, we also have a tendency to top off our "diet" salads and other favorite foods with high-fat toppings, like bacon, cheese, croutons, and creamy dressings.

And, at fast-food restaurants, "grilled chicken and salads are not always better than a burger," notes Lichten. "It all depends on the size and the toppings."

For example, the Burger King Tendergrill sandwich with honey mustard dressing has 470 calories while their Whopper Jr., with mustard instead of mayo, has only 290 calories. At McDonald’s, the Caesar salad with crispy chicken and creamy dressing totals 520 calories, while a Quarter Pounder weighs in at 410 calories.

Your healthy breakfast isn't so healthy.

You gave up sugary cereals. Instead, you start the day with oatmeal and a piece of fruit. It sounds healthy, but you're ravenous an hour later. If your breakfast is loaded with carbohydrates, you'll experience spikes—and then rapid drops—in your blood sugar, and that will make you ravenous. "A big problem in our clinic is people having simple sugars for breakfast but they don't know it," says Aronne. "They juice with an apple and a banana. They eat some oats. Really, they're having carbs and sugar and they're very hungry." Instead, Dr. Aronne recommends a breakfast with protein, like Greek yogurt with berries, or an omelet with lots of veggies. A low-carb, high protein diet burned 150 more calories per day, according to a 2012 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

This a good example of a breakfast.

Omelet in a Mug: 30 g protein
Spray a large mug with cooking spray. Add 2 to 3 whisked eggs; 2 oz sliced deli ham, chopped; 2 Tbsp diced bell pepper; and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir and break up any large chunks with a fork, then cook again on high until eggs are set, about a minute. Top with a sprinkle of cheese. 

You Don't Drink Water

Besides keeping you hydrated, drinking water on the regular, according to recent studies, can aid with weight loss. Filling up on water before a meal helps encourage portion control, and eating foods that contain a lot of water (like fruits and veggies) will fill you up faster, causing you to eat less. A small study even found that drinking cool water can speed up metabolismand discourage cravings for sugary drinks like soda and juice. Now that's a reason to stay hydrated!

You Think Walking Your Dog Is Enough

A 15-minute stroll is better than nothing, but don't expect to see dramatic weight-loss results. You've got to kick it up a notch — big time — and do at least 30 minutes a day of heart-pumping exercise. Big calorie and fat burners include running, spin class, interval training, hiking, and circuit training.

You Only Do Cardio

If you live on the treadmill but never lift a pound, then you're missing out on one of the most important pieces of the fitness puzzle. Not only does weight training prevent injury by strengthening the joints, but it also builds muscle mass and increases metabolic rate. Bonus: thanks to a revved-up metabolism, you'll keep burning calories long after you've slipped off your sneakers.

You Exercise With an Empty Stomach

If you regularly exercise without eating first, you should reconsider: when you work out on an empty stomach, research shows that the calories burned come from muscle, not fat. Since muscle burns more calories than fat, the more muscle mass you have, the better it is for weight loss. Not only will fueling your body help you avoid losing muscle, but also, you'll have more energy to push yourself through your workout.

There are many of commons mistakes that you can do when you want to lose weight I will mention a few here the most important thing it's try to do your best reviewing over and over what you are doing wrong if you aren't achieving your goals let me show you a few common mistakes.

How To Avoid a Soreness After we do a workout.

muscle soreness (DOMS), also called muscle fever, is the pain and stiffness felt in muscles several hours to days after unaccustomed or strenuous exercise. The soreness is felt most strongly 24 to 72 hours after the exercise.

Some pain is unavoidable in your quest to get a fit and healthy body, but hopefully not too much!

How can you prevent soreness?

How can you treat soreness that you already have?

Is there anything you can do to make it less likely that you will get as sore? Things you can do during your workout (like stretching or starting slow with your new program), or after (like taking protein, HMB, or glutamine)?

Should you use cardio or stretching the next day to get the blood flowing or will that just make it worse?

Soreness is a condition commonly brought on by weight training. It is seen most prevalently in individuals who have just begun to perform resistance exercise, are resuming their training after a prolonged layoff, or have made a drastic change in their program.

Although the precise details of the mechanisms that cause soreness are unknown, "what is certain is that lactic acid (a transient by-product of muscle contraction) has nothing to do with it" effectively knocking out any myth-driven possibility of associating the two with each other.

WHAT IS LACTIC ACID?

Lactic Acid is mostly made by muscle tissue and red blood cells. When the oxygen level in the body is normal, carbohydrate breaks down into water and carbon dioxide. When the oxygen level is low, carbohydrate breaks down for energy and make lactic acid.

Lactic acid levels get higher when strenuous exercise or other conditions-such as heart failure, a severe infection (sepsis), or shock-lower the flow of blood and oxygen throughout the body. Lactic acid levels can also get higher when the liver is severely damaged or diseased, because the liver normally breaks down lactic acid.

Interestingly, it is an occurrence that has triggered the rise of countless questions concerning it. Although the issue regarding soreness seems legitimate, it is one undeserving of such excessive worry and attention.

Ironically enough, some questions about soreness point to some peculiar intrinsic desire to achieve soreness after every workout, the reason being that these individuals have a fixation on using soreness as the sole marker for results and hypertrophy development. The basic question, then, is, "If I am no longer feeling soreness after my workouts, does it mean that the quality of my workouts has dropped?" Certainly not.

Aside from misinformed hearsay, a probable explanation for the soreness myth can be traced back to a beginner's initial workouts, the aftereffects of which would likely be the onset of soreness as well as a marked increase in target muscle size.

Oftentimes, with the propensity for beginners to favor training of their arms or chest, the "growth" is especially noticeable. The reality, however, is that much of this "growth" is the result of the temporary diversion of carbohydrates, in the form of glycogen, and water towards muscle stores.

And although neuromuscular adaptation mechanisms and myofibrillar hypertrophy are taking place within the body, short-lived but exaggerated initial sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is masking those gains, and so the individual tends to instinctively draw a positive association only between muscle soreness and muscle size. Neural drive and strength development are tossed out the window.

WHAT DOES HEREIN MEAN?

Myofibrillar hypertrophy is a type of hypertrophy (growth and increase of the size of muscle cells) in which the myofibrils in a muscle cell increase in number and add to muscular strength as well as a small increase in the size of the muscle.

Due to the limited extent to which water and glycogen can be stored within our muscles, this phenomenal increase in visible growth tapers off quite rapidly. At the same time, soreness begins to dissipate as the individual becomes more and more conditioned to his training protocol.

Is it no wonder that one would argue that there is a correlation between the two? They are both observed to heighten and abate with respect to each other, and so one cannot blame the camp that sees fit to train exclusively for soreness. Aside from those individuals, there is that other group of people that wishes to reduce or prevent soreness entirely.

HOW CAN YOU PREVENT 

SORENESS? 

It is not a matter of preventing soreness, but rather minimizing both the frequency and severity with which it occurs.

Solutions to this problem are anecdotal at best. Two widespread beliefs regarding how to prevent muscle soreness are glutamine supplementation and, of course, stretching. In all honesty, there exists too much controversy to settle on a definitive answer. The available studies always contradict each other. Stretching is an especially questionable practice.

STRETCHING

In a 1995 study published in the German magazine Sportmedizin, neither static stretching nor pre-workout stretching of any sort reduced post-workout muscle soreness, but rather aggravated it (Sportzmedizin 9:411-421).

This discovery was consolidated by a 2002 study performed at the School of Physiotherapy at the University of Sydney that concluded that stretching in amateur athletes did not alleviate soreness (British Medical Journal 325:468-470). A 2003 study in Manual Therapy landed on the same conclusions.

GLUTAMINE

As for glutamine, there "is no scientific evidence for a beneficial effect of oral glutamine supplementation on muscle repair after exercise-induced damage and no evidence of reduced muscle soreness when consuming glutamine compared with placebo" (Gleeson).

Mind you, there are just as many studies supporting stretching and glutamine supplementation as there are refuting it. The point here is that their efficacy is questionable, and the results are not consistent enough to warrant recommendation of either of these as preventative measures in warding off soreness.

HOW CAN YOU TREAT SORENESS THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE?

Aside from protein ingestion post-workout, there are other less feasible (but still worth the try) measures one may take to reduce soreness, which may or may not work depending on the person. Take these with a grain of salt.

Direct Icing

Direct icing of the muscle has been shown to reduce inflammation and soreness.

Alternating hot-and-cold showers.

Which appear to be similar in function to cardiovascular exercise, may improve blood circulation and alleviate soreness. However, although the hot shower dilates the blood vessels, it has been said to simultaneously increase inflammation as well.

For this reason, it is recommended that the shower be alternated with and end with cold water. On that same token, a session in the sauna may need to end with a dip under a showerhead spewing cold water. As an aside, Icy Hot may operate under a similar mechanism.

Eccentric Reps

As implied by more recent studies, limiting exaggeration of the eccentric (lowering) portion of reps may reduce the degree to which soreness is experienced, which, then again, is rather self-defeating as the eccentric induces more microtrauma to the muscle, which is what most of us want. Microtears in the muscle, by the way, are the more probable cause for muscle soreness, as suggested by contemporary studies.

Training Through  Soreness.

A curious thing to note is that it is perfectly fine to train through soreness, as it actually decreases soreness and increases fitness. According to Bryan Haycock, the founder of Hypertrophy-Specific Training (HST), research has shown that muscles are designed to recuperate from microtrauma even while undergoing concurrent bouts of trauma (exercise), a premise made apparent in some training styles where such exercises as squats are performed every workout (i.e., three times a week, as on Mark Rippetoe's program and the 5x5).

Soreness will dissipate rather quickly once the body adapts. Of course, to be smart about it, one would have to lower either training load or volume to compensate for the increased frequency, but the premise is to continue to train and to do so relatively frequently against a backdrop of soreness. In addition, training frequency is negatively correlated with soreness.

"Waiting before soreness subsides before doing the next workout is a good way to guarantee that soreness will be produced every time, since the athlete never gets adapted to sufficient workload frequency to stop getting sore" (Rippetoe 213).

The implication: if one's training frequency is relatively high, soreness will dissipate much more quickly than with infrequent training, which will only prolong it.

"Soreness, unless it is extreme, is no impediment to training. In fact, many records have been set by sore athletes" (Rippetoe 213). And so, soreness is not a terrible monster that needs to be avoided at all costs. It is a normal occurrence that accompanies training and can be ignored, unless it is noticeably excessive. "But, in general, if the warm-up returns the movement to its normal range of motion, the workout can be done" (Rippetoe 213).

Should you use cardio or stretching the next day to get the blood flowing or will that just make it worse?

Cardio is actually quite effective in ridding the muscles of any cellular debris and waste that might have accumulated during intense weight training. Consequently, transport of nutrients and oxygen to the muscle is optimized, and there is some marginal benefit to dissipation of soreness.

Stretching in a cold state should be avoided, seeing how it actually increases the risk of injury due to the low viscosity of the synovial fluid. Stretching after cardio, on the other hand, is more reasonable. Even then, one should take care to avoid certain stretches that actually contribute to injury.

Of particular notoriety (and worthy of being mentioned at the cost of digression) is the straight-legged standing toe touch (even worse for people who aim past the toes and touch the floor), which was meant to stretch the hamstrings. And while hamstring flexibility is temporarily increased, the damage this can deal to the back far outweighs any justifications for continuing to do it.

From the very beginning, the signature rounded back should be a red flag to anyone observing someone performing this stretch. Overflexion of the spine - the culprit for the majority of back pain - is what occurs here.

We have always been taught not to round our backs and to bend at the knees when picking up something from the floor. Yet we ignore this simple tidbit of advice and round our backs just about 365 days out of the year. Every time we hunch over to scope the fridge shelves, when we pick up our laundry baskets, or when we bend over to tie our shoes, we are putting our backs in a precarious position.

Many stretches only aggravate the condition and facilitate the onset of debilitating back pain; toe stretches, butterfly stretches, down-the-middle splits, you name it.

Poor form in everyday activity is horrible by itself; making it a stretch is adding insult to injury. Why not top it all off with heavy deadlifts with a rounded back? One must pick and choose among the myriad of stretches and make an informed decision on which stretches benefit us, and which ones don't.

In the case of back health, one must choose to perform stretches that involve normal kyphotic and lordotic curvature of the spine (in the thoracic and lumbar regions of the spine, respectively). Discouraged from stretching yet? If its next-to-nonexistent benefits on soreness don't deter you, then its potential for increasing injury will. Please pardon the digression.

There are certainly some measures that one can take in preventing soreness, although they are few and far between. And even if more surefire methods to combating soreness were discovered, moderate soreness was never such a serious condition to begin with.