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Cross Training Keeps Competition Fresh

Brian Sipotz • Apr 27, 2012

Recently at Advantage Strength and Conditioning, we adapted our Cross Training model to create more opportunities for athletes to come together to compete in a low stress, highly active environment.  This change came after a parent recently mentioned to me how rare it is to see the kids in his neighborhood getting together after school to play a game of pick-up, and staying out until the street lights come on.  This may be a nostalgic idea these days, since we are seeing a general shift away from impromptu, unstructured play towards mandatory practices, off season tournaments, and single sport athletes.  To battle this trend, we are offering opportunities for our athletes to come together and compete with themselves and each other in activities held at our facility and around town.  Essentially, we are using the community as our neighborhood, and offering a variety of activities for our clients to come and enjoy.  We are the kids in the neighborhood who constantly come to your door, asking “You wanna come out and play?”

The reason athletes are involved in sport in the first place is because it satisfies their need to move, play, and compete with others.  These are deep rooted, primal urges that are being suppressed by today’s hectic schedules.  At Advantage, we want to expose everyone to the benefits of play by offering weekly Cross Training Events.  There are a number of benefits associated with Cross Training.  Most importantly, it is a chance to reap the benefits of getting out and being active without the stress of having to fit into a certain set of standards.  Take a day off of your usual training routine to enjoy our sand volleyball tournament or yoga classes, for example.  Come out, compete, be with your friends, have fun, grab a bite to eat, and enjoy the benefits of your workout.  No stress, just enjoy the fact that you came out and competed with yourself and friends, and go home feeling satisfied.  It is a great way to get something out of a day where you didn’t feel like doing your usual workout, and it also gives your mind a few hours to relax and prepare for your next training day.

Anothe r beneficial aspect of Cross Training is that you can use these events to train your body in a different way.  Let’s use a distance runner as an example.  This runner may not be too excited to join us on our Trail Run Event.  It is not really all that different from their daily run workout, and would not offer benefits they would get on a daily basis.  It would be of more interest to that runner to join us for a hill sprint or stair sprint day, so they train a different energy system than they normally would.  Glycolytic training (intense 30sec-2min repetitions) has been shown to increase VO2 max and late race kick in distance runners, and would be a great asset for this runner.  In a similar way, a predominantly anaerobic athlete can benefit from a trail run or some other aerobic training because it can improve recovery times between sets or intervals.  So it becomes clear that Cross Training can have physical benefits for any athlete.

In addition to the physical and mental benefits of Cross Training, it brings a community of like-minded individuals together to do what they love to do: stay active.  Whether you are novice or elite, a Cross Training day can keep your routine fresh and offer a bit of variety in your activities.  These days can go a long way towards balancing your mind and body, making you a more well rounded athlete in the end.  So come out and play.

 

29 Mar, 2022
So far I’ve introduced a little about the “non-diet” approach , as well as the Diet Cycle , which many people find themselves stuck in when using a restrictive “diet” approach to food and health. For some of those people, the idea of eating what they love and “giving up” on diet or weight loss doesn’t seem like an option, understandably. We face a LOT of pressure, day after day, to eat “clean” and lose weight. That pressure may come from well-intentioned family, friends, and healthcare professionals who are concerned about our health (more on that later); or from fear-inducing headlines that compare sugar to poison; or from photo-shopped & face-tuned ads on Instagram of celebrities selling their flat tummy tea or shapewear. We are surrounded by Diet Culture, and are forced to engage with it- no matter if it’s coming from our loved ones, acquaintances, coworkers, or even strangers. What exactly is Diet Culture? You might have an idea just from the sound of it... Messaging that promotes diet & weight loss. Right? It’s actually more than that. Here’s a definition from Aubrey Gordon, author of “What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat”: Diet Culture: “A system of cultural beliefs and practices that equates thinness not just with health, but with moral virtue, and which advocates for weight loss at any cost. Diet culture isn’t just a matter of being on a diet, but of the social forces that make dieting (or lifestyle changes or wellness) culturally mandatory for so many of us.” The key phrases are “moral virtue” and “weight loss at any cost”. Diet culture doesn’t only convince us that weight loss is necessary (to be beautiful, to demonstrate our worth, or to be healthy); but it creates this pressure that we are MORALLY obligated to do so. In order to be perceived as good, responsible people, Diet Culture urges us to pursue weight loss at any cost- which could mean sacrificing our social life, a significant amount of money on supplements or meal replacements or programs, our emotional wellbeing, and even our physical wellbeing. Maybe diet and weight loss aren’t so healthy after all… And while this may not be everyone’s experience, we have research that demonstrates the following emotional impacts of restrictive dieting: Dieting is associated with higher anxiety levels (Kwasnicka, 2020) Dieting is associated with poorer emotional and mental quality of life (Burns etal, 2001) Dieting is linked with reduced life satisfaction (Esch and Zullig, 2013) Further, restrictive dieting has actually been found to cause weight GAIN. To be clear, weight gain is nothing to be ashamed about (bodies change!); but if the multibillion dollar diet industry is selling a diet plan for weight loss, they’re not exactly being honest about the likely outcomes. 1⁄3 to 2⁄3 regained weight within 1 year, with almost all weight regained within 5 years (1992 NIH Consensus) Most weight is gained back within 2 years and most gained back all the weight by 5 years (2013 Australian Research Council) A team of UCLA researchers reviewed 31 long term studies on the effectiveness of dieting and concluded that dieting is a consistent predictor of weight gain —up to two-thirds of the people regained more weight than they lost (Mann 2007) This quote from Weight Watchers former Finance Director sums it up pretty well:
07 Mar, 2022
Good morning! Thank you to everyone who came out to Break the Diet Cycle presentation. I hope you’re starting today feeling curious about Intuitive Eating and eager to rediscover your favorite foods in a fresh, positive way. I attached the PDFs of the presentation for you to reference, as well as the “HAES (Health at Every Size) Manifesto”, by Dr. Lindo Bacon, author of Health at Every Size. This provides a snapshot of the science behind the weight neutral approach, Health at Every Size, which Intuitive Eating is aligned with. For those of you who couldn’t attend, you may be wondering- what exactly is Intuitive Eating? As I mentioned in an earlier newsletter, Intuitive Eating is a non-diet approach to food and health. The framework consists of 10 principles to help you examine and reevaluate your beliefs & attitudes about your body, your food, physical activity, health, and more. While practicing Intuitive Eating, individuals relearn how to eat in accordance to their natural hunger and fullness cues; food cravings; energy needs, and so on. They begin to trust their body to tell them when to eat, what to eat, and how much to eat. The Ten Principles of Intuitive Eating are: 1. Reject the Diet Mentality 2. Honor Your Hunger 3. Make Peace with Food 4. Challenge the Food Police 5. Feel Your Fullness 6. Discover the Satisfaction actor 7. Cope with Your Feelings without Using Food 8. Respect Your Body 9. Exercise to Feel the Difference 10. Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition Intuitive Eating may seem like a straightforward concept, but in a culture that heavily promotes dieting and weight loss as a path to health, happiness, and even moral virtue, it can be hard to break out of the Diet Cycle (seen below). Also known as the “Restrict-Binge Cycle”, this eating pattern is typically kicked off by some diet thought, like “I need to lose weight” or “I need to start eating better”.
25 Jan, 2022
Snack Break with Mary Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist & Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor at Advantage Strength
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