Monday, October 31, 2011

Enjoying the Crisp Weather

Snow before Halloween; it must be global warming!  Squirrels have those cute little fur coats to keep them warm.  As humans we do not have the same ability to keep ourselves toasty.  In order to keep warm we must wear clothing and in cold weather we wear more clothing.  But, if you want to workout in the great outdoors, you must be smart about the way you dress.

Too many people over dress when getting ready to go for a run, walk or hike.  Most of the time we move from a heated building to a heated car to another heated building.  We don't spend a lot of time in the cold.  We are not outside long enough to generate our own heat.  When we exercise we generate heat.  That is why we sweat in the summer.  We also sweat in the winter, but we tend not to notice it as much, unless we over dress.  As we increase our heat output, by exercising, we sweat and our clothes get wet.  When the breeze picks up we get even colder.  When you are getting ready to exercise in the cold you should start out feeling a little chilly.  Once you warm up you will feel more comfortable and will not get overheated.  The problem is every ones definition of "a little chilly"is different.  I once read that if you are going to run and it is 32 degrees dress as if you were going to sit in the shade on a 70 degree day. 

If you find yourself working out and you are overheating remove your hat, open up your jacket and allow the heat to dissipate.  Remember to drink plenty of water also.  As I stated above you still sweat in the cold, but you don't have the same thirst.  Cotton clothes tend to collect water and hold on to it.  Damp clothes will make you colder.  There are running clothes designed to wick the moisture away from your body and allow it to evaporate.  Some of these clothes also are wind resistant.  The wind can increase your risk of suffering from the cold.  On a 55 degree day with a 20 mph wind it will feel like the temp is 32.  Up the wind to 40 mph and it feels like 25.

Hypothermia or decreased body temperature is just as dangerous as hyperthermia or increased body temperature.  If your body temperature drops to between 77 to 85 degrees death is imminent.  If you have the chills and you start shaking you must get out of the weather and warm up.  Drink a hot beverage, put on dry clothes and get wrapped up in your favorite blanket.

Unless the temperatures are extremely cold there is no reason to stay indoors.  Just like the gray squirrels we see around campus, we can enjoy the great outdoors all year.  We just have to think about it a little more than our mascot.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Balance

Did you know a squirrel uses its tail for balance?  I watched a squirrel scamper along a wire the other day.  It ran quickly along 100 feet of wire without a misstep.  The squirrels tail twitched back and forth keeping the squirrel in the center of the wire as it ran along 40 feet above the ground.  I know, I'm obsessing on squirrels.  Athletes need strength, endurance, flexibility and balance.  Balance is probably the skill we work on the least.

I often give a concussion test to the women at MBC.  The test is called the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS).  Every time I test an athlete she says, "My balance is terrible."  If an athlete knows this, why doesn't she do something about it.  Good balance can help you avoid injury.  How can one get the balance of the high wire squirrel?

You can do some very easy exercises to start.  Stand on your right foot for 15 seconds and then switch feet.  Do this for 3 or 4 minutes, switching feet every 15 seconds.  When you can accomplish this without losing your balance, extend the time to 30 seconds and then 1 minute on each leg.   When you can hold 1 minute on each leg for 10 minutes total you are ready to try some thing harder.  Go back to the 15 second exercise, only this time do the exercise with your eyes closed.  Taking away your visual cues will make you rely on your nervous system.  Input from you nerves to your brain and your brain to your muscles is the only balancing mechanism.  This is difficult, but you will get better with practice.

If you don't have much time, try this little exercise while brushing your teeth.  Stand on your left foot and brush your uppers.  Stand on your right foot to brush your lowers.  The simple movement of brushing will throw off your balance.  Please be sure you are standing close to the sink so that if you do lose your balance you can grab on to something.  I don't want you to end up on the floor with a toothbrush coming out the back of your skull.

If you have been to the PAC, you may have seen those blue dome looking things in the dance studio or in the weight room.  The blue dome looking things are BOSUs.  BOSU stands for BOth Sides Up.  You can perform the exercises above on the BOSU. (Please don't brush your teeth on the BOSU).  The BOSU adds a little more instability to the exercise.  If you are working out in the PAC, stand on the BOSU while you do shoulder exercises with dumbbells.  Again be safe.  Until you get the hang of the BOSU stand inside the squat rack so you can grab onto something if you lose your balance.

Squirrels also use their tails as a parachute.  They can survive a fall of up to 100 feet by using their bushy tail.  If you fall your tail may still save you, but it's going to hurt.  March on squirrels.