Fitness Gurus

Hi, All, We hope your spring term is wonderful so far! This week, we’ll be talking about some facts and myths about weight training, cardio and—something that us athletes hold very dear to our hearts—carbo loading.When you walk into the weight room, it’s not uncommon to see the back wall of stationary bikes, treadmills and ellipticals completely packed; many gym-goers reason that by getting their cardio out of the way, they’ll be thoroughly warmed up by the time they start lifting. However, if you’d like to maximize the effectiveness of your gym time, try switching it up. It has been found that your body can store around 80 calories of glucose in your bloodstream and around 300 calories of glucose in your liver, meaning that for the first portion of your workout, regardless of whether it’s cardio or strength, you will be burning pure glucose. Once your body runs out of glucose, you finally begin to burn fat. If you were to run or do cardio first, you would burn through the glucose stores in your body and activate the burning of fat, but it would be a far slower energy burn, meaning that when you began to lift, you would feel the effects of fatigue far more quickly. When you switch the order and weight train first, here’s what you’ll find. A standard 30-minute high intensity weight training session burns around 500 calories (and your glucose stores), meaning your cardio session will be a high-quality fat burning session. Another perk of weight lifting first? It gets your heart rate up (and keeps it there) far more quickly than cardio does.This next bit of information might come as a shock to those athletes who enjoy eating mountains of pasta before a game or race: studies have shown that high-carb diets are linked to mild cognitive impairment, or MCI. MCI is often a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease, and those who consistently indulge in more carbs than necessary have four times the risk of developing MCI. However, don’t completely cut out carbs—this can lead to a condition called ketosis, which can cause permanent kidney damage. It’s best to stick to the FDA’s guidelines for carb consumption and get 45 to 65 percent of your daily calories from carbohydrates.This week’s motivational quote comes from Alfred A. Montapert: “Expect problems and eat them for breakfast.” Till next time,Stajz and Emily