A Year of Health, Fitness & Performance

Dec, 1, 2011

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Why wait until the New Year to start working on the new you?

If you have decided you are worth the trouble to change then there is no need to prolong the implementation of such a wonderous plan. So rather than embark on some intense fitness and nutrition challenge here is something that may be a little more sane:

 

Lets begin the road to Health, Fitness and Performance by achieving the first, easiest and most important attainable goal – DON’T GET WORSE

Thats right, from this moment on your primary objective is to not get any worse than you are right now – today – at this moment.

I know what your thinking: “how am I supposed to go from where I am now to walking 10,000 steps/day, getting my heart rate up for 150 minutes/week, completing 60-90 minutes of resistance training/week and getting at least 6-9 servings of vegetables each day all of a sudden????”

Well I will tell you – You’re not.

Those recommendations from the AHA, ADA, ACS, and NCI while accurate and impactful on the state of ones health are not the starting point. Let me repeat myself: those guidelines are not the starting point they are the goal. Thats right, that is the end point not the beginning.

It begins with not getting worse.

So then how does one stop getting worse?

That’s the easy part:

  • Find out where you are at (know your numbers)
    • Body weight
    • Body Composition (Body fat %)
    • BMI (body mass index)
    • Cholesterol (LDL and HDL)
    • Blood Pressure
    • Waist Circumference

 

  • Think SUMMER
    • Shut
    • Up
    • Move
    • More
    • Eat
    • Right

The expectation is not to go from the couch to a 10k overnight BUT with consistent gradual changes you would be surprised at what your body will accomplish.

Our first set of goals is to:

  • go to the doctor, get evaluated and learn your numbers
  • rather than think about all the weight we want to lose, lets not gain any weight for the next 30 days
  • instead of looking at 10,000 steps as a monster task – scoot up a flight of steps every day at work. No stairs – then take a 10 minute walk
  • forget about trashing your current eating plan for something you know you aren’t going to stick to and just add a fruit and a vegetable to each meal

That’s how you don’t get worse.

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Water Water Everywhere – it do what it do

Jun, 23, 2011

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Sometimes it is helpful to be reminded of things we already know (or may have forgotten). Keep in mind that during the Summer months particularly out here in the desert the heat emergency could turn out to be us. Stay hydrated my friends.

WHAT DOES IT DO

  • Water provides the bodies transport and reactive medium
  • Diffusion of gases takes place across surfaces moistened by water
  • Transport of nutrients and gases occurs in aqueous solution where as waste product leave the body through urine and feces
  • Water absorbs significant heat with only minimal changes in temperature
  • Watery fluids lubricate joints, keeping bony surfaces from grinding against each other

HOW DO WE GET IT

  • Liquids
  • Foods
  • Metabolic processes

HOW DO WE GET RID OF IT

  • As water vapor in expired air
  • Through the skin
  • In urine
  • In feces

DID YOU KNOW……….

  • The kidneys reabsorb about 99% of the 140 to 160L of filtrate formed each day!  Leaving about 1500ml of urine for excretion
  • Daily sweat rate of an average individual in a normal climate is between 500 and 700ml however the well acclimatized individual can produce up to 12l at a rate 1L/hr during prolonged exercise in a hot environment
  • Fluids must be consumed regularly during physical activity to avoid dehydration and life threatening consequences
  • Fluid replacement maintains plasma volume so that circulation and sweating progresses at optimal levels
  • Cold fluids (41F) empty from the stomach much faster than fluids at body temperature
  • Keeping fluid volume in the stomach at a relatively high level speeds gastric emptying
  • Gastric emptying slows when the ingested fluid contains concentrated electrolytes or simple sugars. As compared to plain water, so take your PowerAde & Gatorade with cold water!
  • Under normal conditions a max of 9.5L (2.5gal) can be consumed without undue strain on the kidneys or diluting the chemical concentration. Above that can produce water intoxication (hyponatremia)

BE CAUTIOUS WHEN REHYDRATING

HYPONATREMIA:

A condition related to significant dilution of the body’s normal sodium concentration.

Early symptoms include:

  • Headache
  • Blurred vision
  • Excessive sweating
  • Vomiting

Predisposing factors:

  • Prolonged high-intensity exercise in hot weather
  • Poorly conditioned individuals who experience excessive sweat loss with high sodium concentration
  • Physical activity (work) performed in a sodium depleted state due to “slat free” or “low sodium” diet
  • Use of diuretic medication for hypertension
  • Frequent intact of large quantities of sodium-free fluid during prolonged exercise

When there is extreme sodium loss (through prolonged sweating) combined with dilution of remaining extracellular sodium from consuming fluids with low or no sodium hyponatremia can occur. This state can also occur in the well trained athlete as well. Typically this will include the high-intensity endurance and ultra endurance competitor participating in continuous activity lasting 6 to 8 hours although it can occur in as little as 4 hours

 

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The Case For Wellness

Jun, 20, 2011

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Here’s a question: many on your respective department(s) have developed the never spoken of but hard not to notice ambulance butt? Or, how many of you can honestly state your partner is under 250 AND doesn’t have the mighty keg falling over the belt line!! (the silence is deafening).

So whats the solution?

1. mandatory fit testing after the initial farce done at occupational health on an annual basis

2. weight limits for staffing

3. exercise equipment in the stations

4. on duty exercise blocks like fire

Hmm lets see the practical application………..

1. too expensive and most privates don’t give a shit as long as you show up for your shift

2. lets be honest that would probably eliminate maybe ½ to 2/3 of the work force

3. too much liability for a private employer to take on we have all heard the arguments “what if……”

4. see above

Well it is obvious that we have to take matters into our own hands. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the Health and Wellness Initiatives implemented by the Fire Services has greatly reduced the frequency and severity of on-the-job injuries, as well as improved overall cardiac risk factors. There has been a standardization of health and fitness requirements, with many full-time professional departments adopting NFPA 1500, 1582 and 1583 guidelines for occupational health and physical fitness. Additionally, many of the same departments have also developed in-house fitness programs along the guidelines presented in the IAFF/IFAC Fitness Initiative. However, for the EMS professional not in the employ of the Fire Services, there are no guidelines, standards or even commonly accepted practices in place to

1. Establish basic guidelines as to what constitutes a healthy fit-for-duty employee

2. Improve employee fitness and health

3. To maintain what ever fitness levels the employee may posses pre-hire

4. Monitor employee health and fitness through the tenure of their employment

The greatest obstacle in correcting this oversight is not necessarily implementing a wellness program, but obtaining compliance and positive participation from the people it is designed to benefit. I want to guide you through the basic steps of setting up cardiovascular and resistance-training programs, which are designed for to assist us gain and maintain improved health. The other goal here is to inform, educate, guide and assist the career E/P be proactive towards their health in terms of nutrition, stress management and preventative diagnostic services. These areas offer benefits  just as great of importance as physical activity in that it focuses on the employees’ emotional and mental health, as well as encourages the employee to engage in preventative care. The underlying goal is to guide you guys into making better choices concerning your health and well being that will have long-lasting effects in your personal and professional lives.

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The Choice

Jun, 3, 2011

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I am paramedic.

I have had the great pleasure of working on the ground and in the air for municipal and private for profit operations. I have watched my coworkers and my friends – people I care about be treated like livestock and broken. Beaten down by an industry that at its best is adequate.

Adequate education.

Adequate training.

Adequate pay (for some of us – less than for most).

And least but certainly not last adequate benefits.

Here is the cool part though – I am not mad about it all. I have been blessed in this business! In positions, in pay, in benefits and health. I have never been injured on the job; aren’t on any prescription meds and still weigh about the same as I first got certed many, many moons ago.  Why? Because I chose to. How? Well that’s what we are going to be discussing.

What we do is vital, it’s important and essential. To be able to affect someone’s life the way that we do is a special thing. However, we often forget that it is equally important to take care of ourselves as well. As an example, how many people have you worked with that take better care of their vehicles than there own bodies. Seriously, oil changes and general maintainence like clockwork, always washing, waxing and detailing something that does nothing to enhance, or otherwise improve your, health, longevity or spirit. Doesn’t make any sense to me either. The operative then becomes why?

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Starting out – Balance

Jun, 2, 2011

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Most people when they get into or back into the gym after a layoff want to “get at it” as quickly as possible. But in their rush to get moving, many forget one of the fundamental tenets of training: is there anything that needs to fixed(rehabbed/repaired) that may be limiting our potential for growth ans success. So first thing we need to do is figure out what is out of whack before you even begin to move weight. The nature of the job dictates that we have to use our whole body to do our duties. Especially if you are female since you are at distinct height, strength and leverage disadvantages (most of the time). We are not bodybuilders, we are not athletes either (well most of us) but we have to develop the same ability as an athlete to produce force to stabilize ourselves, to move patients, equipment and whatever dumb-ass task is thrust upon us. In my years of being a gym rat I cannot tell you how many people I see just spinning their wheels. Same thing year in and year out with no real change in their body composition, strength or endurance. What is the purpose of constantly doing bi/tri work or benching forever or even spending hours on the tredmill/stepmill/elliptical if those activities do not contribute to our ability to integrate, stabilize and move in an effective, efficient and powerful way.

Balance

That is the beginning and the goal. For any strength training, work-hardening, physical therapy or any other modality to be most effective you must have balance. Right/left, agonist/antagonist muscle groups, upper body/lower body development etc. Where do you get it? Well by first discovering where it is your body is lacking balance, and developing your program from there. Because as your body comes into balance your abilities improve rapidly as your system begins to function as it was designed, by not having to compensate for deficient areas. Gray Cook, a physical therapist, wrote a book a couple years ago “Athletic Body in Balance” that in very easy to understand terms explains the importance of achieving balance. What’s important to you guys is that he developed a series of tests, self tests that anyone can do to see where the their problem areas are. Be honest with the assessment. Then you put together a program that addresses the imbalances first. Then once your system is balanced you move forward to improving your body’s ability to perform and in our case help protect ourselves from serious injury. As always if you need help or any further explanations post it here or send me an email: james@fitmedics.com

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Posted in EMS, Exercise, Wellness by JC | No Comments

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