Mental Game - "Focus on the Now"

As I was pacing a group last weekend at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon, I had a goal to keep things fun by telling a joke at each mile. The jokes went over very well, but I noticed that at the end of each joke, our pace had slowed about 30 seconds per mile.  A momentary lapse of concentration (not focusing on the present), could have easily cost our group to miss our goal time.  Thankfully, our group was racing for fun and we managed to pick up the pace in between side-splitting comic relief, but to other racers – losing concentration, and thus dropping off pace, can devastate a race goal.

Concentration is one of “The four C’s of Optimal Performance,” along with confidence, composure and commitment.

Since I am the fitness and nutrition guru (and not the sport psychology expert), I included the following excerpt from the USA Triathlon Coaching Manual, written by Peter Haberl, Ed. D., who is a licensed psychologist in Colorado and works as the Senior Sport Psychologist for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

Concentration

“Competing successfully in a [triathlon, cycling, or running race of any distance] requires a considerable amount of concentration. Concentration is the ability to focus on the respective task at hand (swimming, components of the swimming motion, swim stroke, running, cadence and stride length), maintain that focus over the duration of the event with the appropriate intensity, and quickly refocus concentration when it is disrupted. These multiple elements can make concentration difficult. In an ideal race, concentration is always on target, in the here and now, with the right intensity and duration. In real life, however, there are usually no ideal races. Concentration invariably might be on the wrong cue, get disrupted by a host of internal and external distractions, have the incorrect intensity, or not be maintained. The triathlete needs to focus on internal cues (How am I doing? How much discomfort am I in? Am I running above threshold too soon?) and external cues (What is going on around me? There is a breakaway. I need to close the gap.) and frequently switch between the two during training and competition.”

“Whenever concentration is disrupted, it presents a loss of focus that is often due to distraction. Distractions are often very personal. What is distracting for one person might not be distracting for another, so it is important for athletes to know and be aware of when they might lose focus and to what this loss of focus is attributed. Distractions can be internal or external. External distractions (getting hit during the swim segment, crashing on the bike, dealing with poor road conditions, weather) are often outside of the athlete’s direct control. Internal distractions are often the thoughts or interpretations of external distractions (I cannot believe this bike group is not working hard. This is so frustrating.), the past (I crashed here last year. What if I crash again this year?), the future (If I do not come out of the water in first place, I do not have a chance), or simply a focus on the wrong cues (the fatigue or discomfort experienced vs. proper technique). Many of these internal distractions arise quickly and without awareness on the part of the athlete.

Athletes often think that they have control over the content of their mind, but this is a bit of an illusion of control. What athletes potentially control is how they respond to the distraction rather than the distraction itself. Once the athletes become aware of the interpretation in their mind, they can choose where they put their attention next.”

“[Summary] of concentration problems that might surface during a race or training:

• External

• Internal

• Focus on the Wrong Cues

• Focus on Too Many Cues

• Focus on the Past

• Focus on the Future"

"There are a number of strategies available to help increase the concentration of athletes.

• Awareness - What are my distractions? What are my triggers?

• Cues - Self-talk Triggers

• Goals - Process Goals

• Formal and Informal Mindfulness Exercises

• Imagery Practice

• Relaxation Practice

• Pre-performance Routines”

The punchline in this case is to focus on the present only.  Prepare for and visualize your race prior to the start, but while on the course, focus on the task at hand and only the issues you can control.

Good luck and wocka-wocka!

Justin Robinson, MA,RD,CSSD,CSCS,FAFS

RU Fit? Challenge - Week 4 - Clean Eating

Concept: Clean Eating

Challenge: Eliminate foods with any artificial colors or dyes

The "No Dye-it" - Justin Robinson, MA,RD,CSSD,CSCS,FAFS

Previously, we posed the challenge of incorporating at least three different colors on your plate for each meal and snack.  This week, we pose the opposite challenge - eliminating foods with any artificial colors or dyes.  You will have to read food labels - anything that lists a color followed by a number (e.g. Red 40, Yellow 5) should stay on the shelf at the grocery store.

Research links food dyes to hyperactivity in children, however, artificial colors interaction with each other and with other food additives, such as sodium benzoate (a food preservative) may pose health risks for adults as well. A recent NY Times articles states, "The F.D.A. scientists suggested that problems associated with artificial coloring might be akin to a peanut allergy, or 'a unique intolerance to these substances and not to any inherent neurotoxic properties' of the dyes themselves."

In short - most of the dyes used in foods today were approved in the 1930's, their safety is questionable at best and they provide zero nutritional benefits . . .and unlike salt and sugar, they do not even make foods taste better!

Below are links to two quick reads regarding artificial color use and safety:

"The Dyes Have it" - Nutrition Action Newsletter

"F.D.A. Panel to Consider Warnings for Artificial Food Colorings" - NY Times

Good luck!

RU Fit? Challenge - Week 3 - Energy Balance

Concept: Energy Balance

Challenge: Accumulate 60 "Cardio Points"

• 1 min of low-intensity activity (5 or less on an effort scale) = 1 point
• 1 min of moderate activity (6-7 on effort scale) = 2 points
• 1 min of high-intensity activity (8-10) = 3 points

Energy Balance - Justin Robinson, MA,RD,CSSD,CSCS,FAFS

As a nutrition instructor, I begin the semester with a discussion about energy – its ultimate source (the sun), how it is harvested (via plants), and how we consume energy (from plants or from animals that consume plants).

I further discuss energy balance in humans, which consists of: intake, storage, and output

• Intake: we eat and drink energy (synonymous with Calories) in the form of carbohydrate, fat, protein, and alcohol
• Storage: we store carbohydrate, fat, and protein in the body
• Output: we burn energy through our metabolism and all forms of activity (structured and unstructured)

Once we comprehend the basics of energy balance, we can better interpret why we gain weight and how to lose it.

The first few weeks of the RU Fit? Challenge have emphasized the first component of energy balance – “intake” (making conscious decisions about what we put into our bodies).  This week, the goal is to focus on the latter component – output (aka caloric expenditure).

Any form of energy expenditure provides endless benefits (both acute and long-term) – a vast body of scientific, as well as equivocal, evidence supports this.  Whereas all movement is beneficial, though, not all movement is created equal; walking may be appropriate for a currently sedentary person, but that person should know that in the near future, walking will not be enough.  The American College of Sports Medicine(ACSM) currently recommends 30 minutes of moderate activity at least 5 days per week (minimum of 150 minutes per week) or 20 minutes of vigorous activity at least 3 days per week (ACSM Position Stand).  Walking does not fit into either the moderate or vigorous category.

My goal is not to be harsh, but truthful – I feel some health professionals under-stress the importance of this moderate-to-vigorous activity by recommending their patients or clients to simply walk.  Doing anything is always better than doing nothing, but America is experiencing a health epidemic and lack of exercise intensity and duration contributes greatly to this crisis.

Let us take a moment to discuss the efficiency (or inefficiency, rather) of walking.  We know that one pound of fat equals 3,500 Calories.  Based on this, and the metabolic equations from the ACSM – for a 150-pound person to burn one pound of fat, he/she must:

• Walk (4 mph) for 8 hours and 45 minutes or 35 miles (which fits the 100 Calories per mile estimate)
• Run (8 mph) for 3 hours and 42 minutes or 29.5 miles

So as you begin or continue your weight management quest, please, please do not expect "Biggest-Loser" type of results. Let us do some more math:

• If contestants lose an average of 10 pounds per week, that equals 1.42 pounds per day
• 1.42 x 3,500 = 5,000 Calories (daily deficit)
• Since they are still eating (assume 2,000 Calorie intake), that means they are burning roughly 7,000 Calories each day!
• Remember 100 Calories per mile?  That means they are exercising the equivalent of 70 miles of walking per day.  This is only possible if you live on the Biggest Loser ranch OR if you quit your job and hire a full-time personal trainer.

From a purely mathematical standpoint – burning energy from exercise is a challenge, to say the least.  Reducing energy intake, however, is far more efficient (at least on paper).  Fear not though, the upcoming challenges and educational blogs will surely discuss methods to decrease energy intake.

Now step away from the computer and go earn those cardio points! 

RU Fit? Challenge - Week 2 - Nutrient Density

Concept: Nutrient Density

Challenge: Have at least different 3 colors on your food plate at every meal and snack for one week.

Nutrient Density - Justin Robinson
Last week, we presented the challenge of recognizing WHY we make food choices – this week, we will begin the discussion of WHAT we choose to put into our bodies.I don’t regularly watch “The Biggest Loser” but it’s often on the television when I happen to be in the room. In an episode a while back, Bob – one of the trainers – brought up a point that most of what American’s eat is beige. Then I saw the commercial for the KFC Famous mashed potato bowl, which contains mashed potatoes (white), breaded chicken (brown), gravy (brown), corn (yellow), and cheese (yellow, white) – Bob was right, we often eat big bowls of beige.

Beyond providing our bodies with energy, some foods can actually decrease inflammation and help rid our bodies of free radicals – thereby decreasing risk of disease, improving recovery time, and simply making us feel better. Such foods are typically high in antioxidants and phytochemicals (collectively called "nutraceuticals" – compounds in foods that have particular health benefits). Without getting into too much chemistry, certain nutraceuticals are associated with particular colors of foods - red, blue, and purple fruits and vegetables, for example, are high in flavonoids which have strong antioxidant properties.

Meals with multiple colors are also likely to be very “nutrient dense” – a term that defines the quality of a food or meal. Nutrient-dense foods are those which contain a lot of vitamins, minerals, and nutraceuticals for their size (volume). Calorie-dense foods, on the other hand, have a lot of calories for their volume (usually from fat). Someone trying to lose weight should focus on nutrient-dense foods . . . someone trying to gain healthy weight should focus on foods that are BOTH nutrient-dense and calorie-dense.

A few examples:

• Nutrient Dense: all fruits and vegetables, fat-free dairy, lean proteins
• Calorie Dense: Fats, oils, high-fat meats, cheese, ice cream, candy bars
• Both: Whole grain breads & cereals, nuts, nut butters, seeds, dried fruit, energy bars, smoothies
• Neither: Iceberg lettuce, diet soda, calorie-free drinks

Since nutraceuticals work synergistically, i.e. in-tact foods provide better nutrient absorption than supplements, I pose the "3-Color Challenge": Have at least different 3 colors on your food plate at every meal and snack for one week (various shades of beige do not count).

Example - instead of eating chicken and rice (which is really the same color) - try chicken with wild rice and replace half the rice with any green vegetable.

Your body, in addition to your palate, will thank you.

Justin Robinson, MA,RD,CSSD,CSCS,FAFS
Director of Strength & Conditioning
RU Sports Performance Center

RU Fit Challenge - Week 1 - Mindful Eating

Week 1 Concept: Mindful Eating

Week 1 Challenge: Eat at least one meal per day sitting down at a table – with no music, TV, or computer.  Company and conversation, however, is encouraged.  Listen to your body in terms of hunger, thirst, and fullness.

Mindful Eating – Rebecca Bass-Ching

We live in a multi-tasking culture.  In fact, we take pride on how much we can accomplish in a little time.  And this is often out of necessity as many juggle work, school, parenthood, life.  

Yet, multi-tasking = not paying attention. When we are not paying attention, it is impossible to care for ourselves by listening to our bodies.

When you are overextended and overwhelmed:

• You lose touch with when you are hungry for food or full from food.
• You get confused about the difference between true hunger and emotional hunger.
• You feel guilty, anxious, flooded, depressed, numb when we slow down.  So you keep going fast or you freeze and feel paralyzed.

No bueno!  And SO not good for our mind, body and soul.

One of the most meaningful philosophical changes I made in my life was adopting the Intuitive Eating approach to how I care for and nourish my body.  I believe in this approach so much it has become a cornerstone of the food philosophy at Potentia.

The following are the 10 principles of Intuitive Eating developed by Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch.  As you read them, take note of your reactions to this list.

1. Reject the Diet Mentality: Throw out the diet books and magazine articles that offer you false hope of losing weight quickly, easily, and permanently. Get angry at the lies that have led you to feel as if you were a failure every time a new diet stopped working and you gained back all of the weight. If you allow even one small hope to linger that a new and better diet might be lurking around the corner, it will prevent you from being free to rediscover Intuitive Eating.
2. Honor Your Hunger: Keep your body biologically fed with adequate energy and carbohydrates. Otherwise you can trigger a primal drive to overeat. Once you reach the moment of excessive hunger, all intentions of moderate, conscious eating are fleeting and irrelevant. Learning to honor this first biological signal sets the stage for re-building trust with yourself and food.
3. Make Peace with Food: Call a truce, stop the food fight! Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. If you tell yourself that you can't or shouldn't have a particular food, it can lead to intense feelings of deprivation that build into uncontrollable cravings and, often, bingeing When you finally “give-in” to your forbidden food, eating will be experienced with such intensity, it usually results in Last Supper overeating, and overwhelming guilt.
4. Challenge the Food Police: Scream a loud "NO" to thoughts in your head that declare you're "good" for eating under 1000 calories or "bad" because you ate a piece of chocolate cake. The Food Police monitor the unreasonable rules that dieting has created. The police station is housed deep in your psyche, and its loud speaker shouts negative barbs, hopeless phrases, and guilt-provoking indictments. Chasing the Food Police away is a critical step in returning to Intuitive Eating.
5. Respect Your Fullness: Listen for the body signals that tell you that you are no longer hungry. Observe the signs that show that you're comfortably full. Pause in the middle of a meal or food and ask yourself how the food tastes, and what is your current fullness level?
6. Discover the Satisfaction Factor: The Japanese have the wisdom to promote pleasure as one of their goals of healthy living.  In our fury to be thin and healthy, we often overlook one of the most basic gifts of existence – the pleasure and satisfaction that can be found in the eating experience. When you eat what you really want, in an environment that is inviting and conducive, the pleasure you derive will be a powerful force in helping you feel satisfied and content. By providing this experience for yourself, you will find that it takes much less food to decide you've had "enough".
7. Honor Your Feelings Without Using Food: Find ways to comfort, nurture, distract, and resolve your issues without using food.  Anxiety, loneliness, boredom, anger are emotions we all experience throughout life.  Each has its own trigger, and each has its own appeasement; food won't fix any of these feelings. It may comfort for the short term, distract from the pain, or even numb you into a food hangover. But food won't solve the problem. If anything, eating for an emotional hunger will only make you feel worse in the long run. You'll ultimately have to deal with the source of the emotion, as well as the discomfort of overeating.
8. Respect Your Body: Accept your genetic blueprint. Just as a person with a shoe size of eight would not expect to realistically squeeze into a size six, it is equally as futile (and uncomfortable) to have the same expectation with body size. But mostly, respect your body, so you can feel better about who you are. It's hard to reject the diet mentality if you are unrealistic and overly critical about your body shape.
9. Exercise – Feel the Difference: Forget militant exercise. Just get active and feel the difference. Shift your focus to how it feels to move your body, rather than the calorie burning effect of exercise. If you focus on how you feel from working out, such as energized, it can make the difference between rolling out of bed for a brisk morning walk or hitting the snooze alarm. If when you wake up, your only goal is to lose weight, it's usually not a motivating factor in that moment of time.
10. Honor Your Health – Gentle Nutrition: Make food choices that honor your health and tastebuds while making you feel well. Remember that you don't have to eat a perfect diet to be healthy. You will not suddenly get a nutrient deficiency or gain weight from one snack, one meal, or one day of eating. It's what you eat consistently over time that matters; progress not perfection is what counts.

Many people I meet personally and professionally do not trust food and do not trust their bodies.  When there is no trust in a relationship, the relationship is pretty bleak.  Healing your relationship with food and your body can take time depending on where you are at physically and emotionally.  And given our diet and weight obsessed culture, the concepts of intuitive eating can seem scary and/or unrealistic.  If that is how you feel after reading the 10 principals of intuitive eating, you are not alone.

That is why getting the support of a Registered Dietitian and Therapist who specialize in treating food and body issues is an absolute must.  Not everyone is ready for this approach for a variety of reasons and a specialized treatment team can be a necessary support in this process.  Plus, it can take a while to “detox” from the diet/body hatred mentality.  Beginning the journey to heal your relationship with food and your body starts with looking at food not as "good", "bad", "points", "calories", "carbs", etc. but also doing some deep soul work and cultivating your identity not from the number on the scale but on your true worth and value.

What do you think about the 10 principles of intuitive eating? Which of the 10 principles were you most drawn to?

Rebecca Bass-Ching, LMFT MFC# 44584

Disordered Eating & Trauma Expert

www.potentiatherapy.com

iaedp-SD Immediate Past President

Adjunct Professor: Azusa Pacific University

introducing the RU Fit? Challenge!

12 Weeks . . . 12 Challenges – each designed to help you make small improvements in your mind, body, and spirit to improve lifelong health. With roughly 12 weeks until 2012, you can start your New Year’s fitness resolutions early!

The purpose of each challenge will not be “pass‐fail” – but simply to increase your awareness of your food choices and exercise habits. Every decision, every movement in our lives is driven by something (both conscious and subconscious triggers) – how often do you think about the "WHY" behind your decisions of when and what to eat?

We will accompany each challenge with a brief education piece from health, fitness, and wellness experts – The RU Fit? Challenge is a joint effort of Rehab United Physical Therapy and Sports Performance Center, Potentia Family Therapy, FITzee Foods, and mix‐1 all‐natural protein shakes.

Take the Challenge . . . Read the blogs . . . Encourage others to participate!

More Details to Come Next Week!

www.RehabUnited.com
www.potentiatherapy.com
www.FITzeeFoods.com
www.mix1life.com

Follow the RU Fit Challenge? on Facebook

Relax This Off-Season?

Whether you are blowing off a few workouts here and there, hitting up some cycle-cross races, or tweaking your fantasy football lineup . . . the OFF-SEASON has arrived. This time of year most endurance athletes have completed their goal races and are left wondering . . . what’s next? For some San Diegans, a true “off-season” is a distant thought since our beautiful weather allows for an offering of multiple events each month.  Abandoning your off-season for intense workouts (or conversely complete relaxation), though, can lead to an abundance of overtraining injuries for us “mere mortals” who workout for pure enjoyment, to keep weight off, or to escape the stresses of work. 

Rehab United (RU) believes athletes are made in the off-season – to enter next race season, or your next training program, healthy and strong - begin with the “The Four R’s”:  Restoration, Recovery, Reflection, and Readiness.

Restoration. “REST” can be one of the hardest things for an athlete to do, but this is the time of the year you must force the issue. It is difficult to let another biker or runner on the trail pass you, when you are thinking “I could take ‘em” – however, it is essential to keep your heart rate relatively low, take it easy, and enjoy exercise for a change. Implement functional strength training into your off-season routine to rebuild the muscle mass you may have lost throughout the year and restore joint and tissue strength to allow for pre-season training intensity. RU offers complete off-season training programs for these specific purposes.

Recovery. Every athlete experiences some discomforts or physical issues, but just because you can make it through a season does not mean you should ignore the issues that may keep you from taking your racing to the next level. I recommend scheduling a full-body injury screen with one of RU’s physical therapists (after all, it’s FREE). This allows you to address your ailments and allow time to treat the cause of your injuries rather than just symptoms. This is the foundation of health you need for your 2011.

Reflection. This is a solid time to review your 2011. Did you meet your goals? Stay healthy? Stay happy? What would you like to change? We review these critical questions with every one of our athletes to determine a benchmark for the future. We learn from each and every experience that we encounter, so you must look over your training log to find out what worked and what did not. This may also be a convenient time to find a coach – Catalyst Endurance Coaching (CEC) has multiple coaches who are ready to help you achieve your fitness goals for the 2012 season.

Readiness. Preparation precedes success. Now is the opportune time to look ahead to determine what is next and establish a plan to encourage that reality. Rehab United Sports Performance Center offers camps and training programs for athletes of all ability levels; these “semi-relaxed” early-season events help athletes prepare for their upcoming multiple-sport season.

Best of luck!

Bryan Hill, PT, FAFS
Cycling/Running/Triathlon Coach