In memory of Wayne:
Today I wanted to touch on the exercise – movement part of your health.
Wayne grew up playing tennis, footy but really got into his hockey – he certainly put his weight and strength behind the hockey stick and always smashed it!
He could line up a golf ball and whack it out of the park (Happy Gilmore style into Mum and Dad’s back paddock).
Then Wayne started playing indoor cricket one of his favourite things to do – this was a great social outlet for Wayne and his mates. The only thing was these games were always played so late at night. Playing a sport until 10.30-11pm is hard on the body. – I’ll explain later.
Wayne wasn’t a gym goer by any means, the few times he got out in my gym, he didn’t race back in there that’s for sure. It’s not that I wanted him to be in the gym every week, I just wished he looked after his overall health better, by refueling right with food (future post to come on that subject) and also just consistently walked and moved more often than he did. x
Playing a sport or training for events that you ENJOY is so good for the body and soul.
It’s just great to MOVE, we as human were made to move a lot, and unfortunately the way our world has evolved has made us become very lazy, and very sedate each day by being able to drive to work either by own or public transport; many people sit at a desk each day; remote controls have allowed us to do anything at a touch of a button without having to move; and our work ethics have made us put work before play and exercise.
Too many people these days are sacrificing their health by working late nights and weekends, when this was a time for our sport and movement 30 years ago, and before that we moved even more due to less transport options.
A couple of other factors though to those that are trying to keep active and include exercise into their weekly regime – please make sure that the sports you play are not at ridiculous times of a night.
Playing a sport late at night is not great for your circadian rhythm, and your cortisol levels. When you keep your heart rate up high at such a late time of the day, it takes longer for your body to relax and get to sleep. This throws your sleep cycle out and makes for a very tired day the next day.
Fluorescent lights emit substantially more blue light and less infrared light than incandescent bulbs or sunlight, which is why no one on earth loves to be in a fluorescent-lit environment. The newer white LED light bulbs that have invaded our cities and homes appear white, but they emit at least five times more blue light than you would find in nature, and they do it completely free of the infrared and red spectrums always found in natural sunlight.
Playing sport under these lights or even sitting under those bright LED and fluorescent lights at work will make you look old.
Being exposed to artificial light at night also has a negative impact on your circadian rhythm. When you’re exposed to daylight, your body produces serotonin the “feel good” neurotransmitter. Your body breaks serotonin down into melatonin, a hormone that helps you sleep. If you’re not exposed to enough natural sunlight during the day, you won’t have enough melatonin to sleep well at night. You may have trouble falling asleep, but more likely you won’t cycle through the most restful, deepest stages of sleep. Note: Low melatonin is well know to be associated with cancer risk.
It affects your Mitochondria, and damaging your mitochondria (by breaking down cells) leads to poor communication between the cells in your brain can lead to all sorts of cognitive problems as well as depression and other mood disorders, even the minor ones that make you yell at your kids when you really didn’t mean to.
Tired minds and bodies lead to bad decisions with nutrition and food choices, making recovery to the muscles ineffective.
If you don’t nourish/refuel the body after exercise the right way – it makes the next training session harder.
This goes for those that get up early to train/exercise, if you are tired and find it hard to get up, maybe this isn’t the time you should be training. Sleep is more important to the health of your body than the exercise itself. You need to listen to your body and if it has had a huge day prior, (it could have been stress from work, not enough fuel/food, inflammation in joints from the previous training session or grief you’ve been dealing with in life)- if you don’t feel right, that means the body is still needing recover. This allows for a more optimal session the next time and your body will give more because you have allowed the rest.
Plus we all have different times of the day that we train better, find what works for you.
I am all for people getting out there to try new sports or training styles, but you must remember to choose one that suits you, that you like, that resonates with you – not your partner, bestie or neighbour – if you are participating in a challenge, a team or a gym program for the benefit of someone else – it won’t be something that will be everlasting to you.
To keep moving and to keep your fitness up, do things you enjoy.
I have had many clients come and go from my gym and my sessions, as not everyone resonated with what I deliver and that is always ok with me, so long as they kept up training with someone else or another style of movement.
Chose events that you enjoy the lead up to, don’t take them on for the end result only. Life is too short to spend time on things you don’t enjoy – you need to enjoy the journey.
Chose a sport you have fun with and enjoy your teammates company.
When you keep active with whatever it is you like, your mental health is better for it, your anxiety will subside if you suffer from that. It has been proven that exercise helps depression and people that have been medicated for this studies have shown they reduce or in some case cease the medication (antidepressants).
Your take home from this is to always enjoy what you do, spend time in a community that gives you good laughs, be it a team or a gym session.
Keep moving, it could be a simple walk each day with friends or your dog, it doesn’t have to be fully strenuous.
By moving as much as you can each day it’s important for your cardiovascular health, reduce your risk of developing diabetes, obesity, depression, cancer, and heart disease, helps to bones, joints, muscles, it can help prevent Alzheimer’s; it also helps you to age gracefully.
One thing was Wayne didn’t get to age gracefully, he was still to young to leave us here on Earth.
But Wayne loved his social sports and took them seriously at times – let me tell you!
Wayne was always fair, he loved grass root sports, he always encouraged his boys to get out and play sport.
So if you’ve been meaning to start something, like walking every second night, or starting a basketball team, or maybe signing up to yoga or a gym, this might be the perfect reason and time to start.
(Wayne in his prime hockey days)
#lovehim #misshim #brother #family #movement #health #recover#enjoywhatyoudo #sports #teammates
