Basic Adaptation Errors………….
What are basic adaptation errors? In gym parlance, these are lifestyle errors, which in turn have a direct impact on how well or poorly you perform in the gym.
Salient adaptation errors include:
No warm-up or cool down
Sleep deprivation
Dehydration
Poor nutrition
Prolonged sitting
Chronic inflammation
Stress
Insulin insensitivity
Courtesy —Kelly Startlet from the book titled Supple Leopard.
Few of the above mentioned factors are self-explanatory. However, I will provide my rational, briefly.
No warm-up or cool down.
You all know how important the warm-up drills are. Outmost importance is shown at Ironcult to perform the warm up routines. Typically, a general warm-up such as cycling or few rounds of jump ropes should be followed by a specific warm up. However, for cool down static stretches would fit the bill. They would help in restoring the length of the muscle thereby protecting the joint.
Sleep deprivation
You should know that appropriate sleep assists you in proper recovery and recuperation. Please do not neglect sleep and take it for granted. I personally require 8 to 9 hours of sleep. However, I have come across individuals who sleep less than 7 hours and still perform better at the gym, but typically 7 to 8 hours of sleep is recommended. Moreover, the quality of sleep matters more.
Dehydration
You know by now that rehydration is of utmost importance. Summer is setting in, so please drink more water. 3 to 4 liters of water is what is recommended. However, that can wary according to the weather. Some of the symptoms of dehydration are: fatigue, cramping, and high pulse. On the contrary, a rehydrated body can boost metabolism, safeguard heart, prevent headaches, etc. So, don’t hesitate to drink your daily dose of water.
Poor nutrition
Ample carbohydrates, proteins and healthy fats are required to maintain a healthy lifestyle. However, I believe most of us fall short in eating protein. Protein is majorly responsible for stabilizing your blood sugar; thereby keeping diabetes at bay. It also potently suppresses your appetite. In other words, that can be supremely advantageous for fat loss.
Prolonged sitting.
Moreover, we should know that prolonged sitting severely destabilizes the lower back muscles and shortens the hamstring to a great extent. Shortening or tight hamstring can cause further trouble your lower back health. Imagine bending forward– You can’t do that effectively due to hamstring tightness and this causes undue stress on the lower back. No doubt the incidence of lower back pain has doubled in the recent times—herniated discs, disc bulge, etc. Click here to read more
Chronic inflammation
Let’s understand what’s inflammation before delving into chronic inflammation? So, what is inflammation? When something harmful or irritating affects a part of our body, there is a biological response to try to remove it, the signs and symptoms of inflammation, specifically acute inflammation, show that the body is trying to heal itself. For example, without inflammation wounds would aggravate and infections would become deadly.
How does this lead to chronic inflammation?
If the condition causing acute inflammation is not resolved, the inflammation may pass to longer chronic phase, which can last for several months and even years. It can result from a failure to eliminate whatever was causing an acute inflammation. This leads to an autoimmune response to a self-antigen—the immune system attacks healthy tissue, mistaking it for harmful pathogens causing: Asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, etc. It can further cascade into a plethora of diseases, as inflammation is taught to be the reason behind several diseases. Moreover, to answer more about chronic inflammation is beyond the reach of this blog entry, so this should suffice.
Stress
When you are under stress your body releases a stress hormone called cortisol. It’s a hormone which is catabolic. Catabolism causes muscle loss. There is also a school of thought that says that this hormone blocks the effects of testosterone. Why on earth would you want your testosterone levels effected? Moreover, generally, chronic stress can lead to depression, sleep problems, digestive problems, auto immune diseases, etc. However, on the flipside, it is well known that physical exercise is a great stress buster, and strength training is a natural precursor of testosterone.
Insulin insensitivity
When you say you are marred by insulin insensitivity—insulin resistance, and overtime this maybe the major cause for the onset of diabetes. The insulin resistance can happen for various reasons: stress, physical inactivity, excess weight, etc. However, strength training triumphs in improving insulin sensitivity. Click here to read more
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Thanks for the update Sir. With my busy schedule these days, I had forgotten few of the basics which you have mentioned on this blog in detail… Henceforth, I will make sure that I will adhere and follow the basics. Well Sir, your blogs are an eye opener. You keep upgrading our knowledge on how to have a healthy lifestyle by giving better tips and solutions. Cheerz.