NIFS Healthy Living Blog

It’s no secret that our emotions impact what we eat, when we eat, and how much we eat. In fact, sometimes it seems that the strongest cravings hit when our emotional and mental well-being is at its weakest. Emotional eating is a way to, in the short term, relieve or suppress negative feelings, such as sadness, stress, anger/frustration, or boredom. However, emotional eating can also lead people to make poor choices, such as skipping or forgetting meals, consuming fast food frequently, or consuming alcohol or caffeine in excess, all of which may have health consequences, including unintentional weight gain.

To help prevent emotional eating, focus on the following steps.

Identify the difference between emotional hunger and physiological hunger.

Emotional hunger typically comes on suddenly with an urge to resolve the “hunger” quickly, often involves a desire for a specific type of food or food group, and usually results in overeating. In contrast, physiological hunger tends to be more gradual, allows us to stop eating when we are full, and doesn’t typically cause guilt that is experienced with emotional hunger.

Establish a healthy eating routine.

Aim to eat two to three well-rounded meals each day. Meals don’t have to be complicated: the easier and quicker, the better. Try pairing a protein source (chicken, salmon, ground turkey or lean beef, and so on) with various grilled, roasted, or steamed vegetables and seasonings and sauces of your choice for a quick, inexpensive, and easy meal.

Ensure you’re consuming enough of the right foods. Consume plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and low-fat dairy products while limiting your intake of highly processed foods, added sugars, salt/sodium, and alcohol. Talk with a registered dietitian to develop a healthy eating routine that meets your individualized needs while helping manage causes and symptoms of emotional eating.

Manage your overall stress.

There is evidence to suggest that increased cortisol, the hormone released during stress, may result in an increased appetite, leading to overeating and potential weight gain. Rather than turning to food for comfort, be sure to control stress by journaling, exercise, practicing mindfulness/meditation, and/or social support.

This blog was written by Lindsey Recker, MS, Registered Dietitian. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

Conjugate training is a term coined and expanded upon by the late, great Louie Simmons, a well-known strength coach at Westside Barbell. Conjugate means to bring together, so conjugate training is literally joining together different training styles into one micro or meso training cycle. Conjugate training is bringing together training styles such as power, strength, agility, and hypertrophy into one training cycle.

Balancing Across Different Days

The key to conjugate training is to balance the volume across the different days. It’s common to have a setup as follows (but this is only an example):

• Day 1: Upper-body pull—hypertrophy
• Day 2: lower-body push—strength
• Day 3: Upper-body push—power
• Day 4: lower-body pull—speed

With these days an athlete or coach will need to make sure to balance out the loads and not have too much volume across the days. So if the hypertrophy day has a high level of volume, the power day needs to be lower to not apply too much load to the upper body, which can increase the risk of injury. The athlete or coach will also need to know the recommended rep ranges, set ranges, and percentages of max for each of the different training styles in order to find that necessary balance to push the body but not hurt it.

Pushing the Body to Adapt to Change

This approach is a great way to keep the body guessing what your next move is and pushing the body to adapt and change to reach your goals. So, if you find yourself plateauing and your maxes are not moving, maybe the conjugate method is for you.

This blog was written by Grant Lamkin, Health Fitness Specialist. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

So, if you’re like me and have been scrolling through the various social media outlets out there, you might have been seeing an uptick in a very niche fitness trend. Lately it’s all I see on TikTok, and I will admit it is intriguing watching these people on social media freeze their butts off in a cold tub of water. Often, the results are hilarious as people realize how unbearable sitting in a tub full of ice water really is. I mean look at this video and tell me whether you think this looks enjoyable. I think not, but watching these poor people suffer did have the gears turning in my mind about whether there is anything that can come out of subjecting your body to frigid temperatures, and maybe I should be partaking more regularly in these freezing experiences.

Cold Water Therapy Through the Ages

The experience of taking plunges into cold or even freezing water can be traced all the way back to nearly six millennia ago. Ice baths and cold-water immersion have been used for recovery purposes for centuries. Even as far back as 3500 B.C., the ancient Egyptian medical textbook Edwin Smith Papyrus (named for Edwin Smith, who purchased it in 1862), referring to using freezing water as a therapeutic modality. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates in the 4th century B.C. wrote about the benefits of immersion in his work On Airs, Waters, and Places.

Looking more recently, in the 19th century, researchers looked at immersion to alleviate various ailments. Scottish physician William Cullen began prescribing cold-water therapy for patients with a wide range of symptoms including fever, inflammation, depression, and even insomnia. In the 1960s, D.H. Clark investigated cold-water immersion for post-exercise benefits. Throughout millennia and centuries, there have been numerous accounts of the benefits of immersion, both medicinal and therapeutic. But as with any modality, there is a delicate balance between the risks and the benefits.

What Are the Benefits?

Over time, a lot of work and studying has been done to investigate the benefits of cold plunges and cold-water immersion and a possible therapy for many different symptoms. There are a couple of things to consider when doing ice baths. To start, benefits of cold plunges have been studied thoroughly throughout the past couple centuries, and it has been found to reduce inflammation of sore and aching muscles, help sleep, and limit inflammatory response in the body. Anecdotally, many recreational and professional athletes swear by ice baths to help their bodies and boost their energy levels.

Know the Risks

But there are some key risks to keep in mind before plunging into freezing cold water. The biggest risk is the shock associated with plunging into cold water and the sensation that it “might take your breath away,” but a good way to combat this is focusing on breathing. Also, there is a risk for those with cardiovascular diseases as the cold water will constrict the blood vessels and create a risk for reduced blood flow. All these risks can be serious and should be discussed with a physician prior to cold-water immersion.

Something to Consider

With the introduction of cold temperatures to rehabilitate athletes and non-athletes, the benefits have proven to be significant and is something even the recreational athlete should consider.

This blog was written by Ricky Rocha, Health Fitness Specialist. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

In the most basic definition, plyometrics refers to jump training. Known to be a key component of many sports, such as basketball, soccer, gymnastics, and football, plyometric training can enhance athleticism, strengthen the most powerful muscles in your body, and much more.

Here are some of the benefits of plyometric exercises, and how to safely add plyometrics to your workout routine.

The Benefits of Plyometrics

For you to propel your body off the ground and land safely, many things have to happen in your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. Studies show that plyometrics can help you build muscle as effectively as conventional weightlifting, and if you combine the two, it can help you reach your goals faster than focusing on either one alone. Also, the impact your body absorbs from landing has benefits for your bones: they become stronger.

If you are an athlete, plyometrics can improve your agility and explosiveness when it comes to fast-response moves, such as sprinting, quick direction changes on the field or court, and jumping (such as going for a header in soccer).

How to Get Started with Plyometrics

If plyometrics is new to your workout, as with anything you should start small. This is especially important for plyometric exercises. Correct form is crucial, as you need to both lift your body off the ground and control the landing. This dual action makes plyometric exercises more difficult and complex than most exercises. If you have a movement deficiency, it will be magnified when the speed and power of a jump are applied to it.

When learning a new plyometric move, you should first perform the move without the jump to perfect the form, strength, and stability that is required to do it correctly. Once you have all of that, you can then add the jumping movement. Another way to start small is to choose lower-impact plyometric exercises, such as jumping jacks, jumps in place, and line hops (side to side, forward, and back).

Do not ignore the upper body: plyometric pushups and medicine ball throws are great for building explosive power above the waist. Always be aware of your form. When you become tired, your form tends to suffer, and the risk of injury increases.

Is there anyone who shouldn’t do plyometric exercises? The short answer is no, as long as your doctor has not identified a reason why you should not (such as deteriorating joints or bad knees). If you are significantly overweight, gradually adding plyometrics is the key—and stay away from high-impact moves altogether. Remember that doing too much too soon—or doing advanced exercises before you are ready for them—can stress your joints, increasing your risk of injury.

This blog was written by David Behrmann, NIFS Health Fitness Instructor.To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here. 

Everyone needs strong hips. Athletes need them to perform a wide variety of movements within a given sport. Aging adults need them to help reduce the risk of falls. When we think about the hip, most people think about the glutes and abductors. You can look in any gym and see a handful of people with a band around their knees performing a plethora of movements working the glutes and abductors. However, the most neglected muscle is the one on the inside of the thigh: the adductor.

Anatomy and Function of the Adductor

The adductor muscle is situated in both the medial and posterior compartments of the upper leg. It attaches to the hip bone and to the linea aspera of the femur. The primary role of the adductor is to adduct and internally rotate the thigh at the hip joint. It also plays an important role in hip extension and stabilizing the pelvis along with the glutes and hamstrings.

Why You Should Be Training the Adductors

The adductors are a secondary muscle group that assists the larger muscle groups during compound exercises such as squats and deadlifts. However, there are important benefits to focusing accessory movements on the adductors. As I mentioned, the adductor plays a role in hip extension and stabilization of the pelvis. Hip extension is one of, if not the most powerful movements of the body. It is how we jump, stand, walk, run, and sprint. If we neglect the adductor muscles, we are missing out on added stabilization of the pelvis during all these movements.

Groin strains are the most common among athletes who are sprinting, cutting, and changing directions. Throughout these movements, the adductors take on a large load of eccentric forces. This means that just like the hamstrings during a heel strike, these muscles are force absorbers. A muscle is more likely to tear or strain if it is not strong enough to absorb an increasing amount of force. Strengthening the adductors can reduce the likelihood of a groin strain.

The adductors not only stabilize the pelvis, but they also control pelvic rotation. This is highly important for sports such as baseball, softball, golf, hockey, or tennis. All of these sports rely highly on the rotational power of your hips for swinging and throwing. Weak adductors will not help you hit farther or throw harder.

Movements for the Adductors

• Adductor Machine: Not all gyms or facilities have one of these machines. However, if you do have access to one, it’s the simplest way to directly train the adductors.
• Adductor Foam Roller Hold: Although you do not get the same overloading stimulus as the adductor machine, the foam roll hold could be a substitute for the machine. For this variation, all you need is a foam roller, or an object similar in width and it needs to be solid. In a seated or lying position, bend your knees to 90* and place the foam roller between your knees and squeeze. This is an isometric movement that you can make harder by holding for a longer duration. 
• Banded Adduction: For this you will need a super band and a place to anchor the band close to the ground. To perform this movement, you will be in a standing position with your side to the band. Wrap the band around the inner foot and step out until you feel tension on the band. From your starting point, let the band pull your foot away. Stand tall and bring your foot back to the center.
• Lateral Lunge: This is a great movement for any skill level because it can be progressed and regressed. To perform a body-weight lateral lunge, start with both legs together. Step one foot out and begin to bend that knee and start to sit your hips back. Push off that leg and bring both feet together. To progress this movement, simply add weight.
• Copenhagen Plank: For this movement you will need a bench or a box. You will start in a side plank position with your top foot on the bench and your bottom leg either straight or bent. From this position, you will pick your hip up and hold.
• Medicine Ball Scoop Pass: For the rotational action of the adductors, we will perform a rotational throw. With a medicine ball in both hands, shift your weight to the outside foot. From this position, push off the outside foot and rotate the hips, and then the shoulders, and throw the ball at the wall.

This blog was written by Evan James, NIFS Exercise Physiologist EP-C, Health Fitness Instructor, and Personal Trainer. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

The fourth and final movement pattern of this blog series is the hip hinge. If you have not read it already, head to the original blog post, Optimal Movement Patterns for Building Muscle, which gives an overview of the four-movement patterns that everyone should be training. In this post, I go over the hip hinge movement pattern.

The Hip Hinge Pattern

The hip hinge movement pattern is a compound movement that works the muscles of the low back, glutes, and hamstrings. These muscles are also known as the “go” muscles. The hinge pattern is an essential movement for your activities of daily living such as bending over, getting up from the floor, and walking. It is also essential to train this pattern to strengthen the muscles of the lower back around the spine. These muscles, as well as the glutes and hamstrings, can become very weak if you work a desk job or are sedentary for most of your day.

Training the hip hinge movement pattern to a full range of motion can also improve the flexibility in your hips and hamstrings. Learning how to hinge properly should be an essential aspect of your training from the beginning. Within your training plan, you can break this movement down into bilateral and unilateral patterns, just like the squat pattern. Bilateral means both legs working at the same time, and unilateral means one leg at a time. Utilizing both bilateral and unilateral will ensure you are not creating any imbalances between your legs. You can also isolate the muscles utilized in the hip hinge pattern, the hamstrings, and the glutes.

Hip Hinge Variations

Bilateral

• Barbell Deadlift
• Kettlebell Deadlift
• Hex Bar Deadlift
• Barbell Romanian Deadlift
• Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
• Barbell Goodmornings
• Seated Goodmornings
• Hip Thrusts
• Glute Bridges
• Kettlebell Swings

Unilateral

• Kickstand Deadlift
• Single-leg Romanian Deadlift

Hamstring Isolation Movements

• Prone Leg Curl
• Seated Leg Curl
• Banded Leg Curl

Glute Isolation Movements

• Glute Kick Backs
• Hip Abduction (band or machine)
• Glute Ham Raises
• Glute Focus Back Extensions

Get Help with Your Training Program

For more information on how to properly progress and structure a training program, visit our staff at the track desk to schedule a private session. We are more than happy to help at any time, and as part of your membership here at NIFS, you receive complimentary workout programs. Our Health Fitness professionals tailor all programs to your fitness goals.

This blog was written by Evan James, NIFS Exercise Physiologist EP-C, Health Fitness Instructor, and Personal Trainer. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

Chances are if you are like me, you have been told your whole life, “Make sure you’re stretching, it’s important!” But to many, the first thought that pops into their head when they think about stretching is, “Why?” And that is a very understandable response because stretching can involve a lot of discomfort (in the beginning) and to some, it might even cause a bit of pain. But there certainly is a method to the madness, and a reason why stretching is a vital component of your fitness program and, ultimately, your lifestyle.

What Is Stretching?

For starters, I’ll briefly describe what stretching is. Stretching can be somewhat of an umbrella term in that a lot of day-to-day activities do in fact involve some sort of stretching to some degree. In fact, every time your muscles contract there is a stretching and a shortening occurring inside the muscle to produce force. But the type of stretching I am talking about today is more deliberate and the kind of stretching most people think of when they hear the word “stretching”; think bending over and touching your toes, for example.

Stretching is important because it is all about increasing your range of motion and flexibility in the hope that doing this can lower your risk for muscle and joint injury or strains. The better our bodies are able to move, the lower the chance is for a muscle strain or getting injured when caught in an awkward position. Stretching both statically and dynamically is known to reduce injury risk.

Types of Stretching

The main types of stretching are active, passive, dynamic, and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching.

• Active stretching is the main one people think of when they are told to stretch, and this type of stretching can be really good for isolating certain muscle groups. A big part of active stretching is the fact that you yourself are the one stretching out your muscles; there is no outside intervention. 
• Passive stretching is similar to active stretching in that it can be isolated to certain muscle groups, but this type normally has a partner assisting in the stretch to perhaps reach a little bit more range of motion. For example, as you can see in this picture, the person on the ground is relaxed and her partner is the one actively applying stretching force to her leg, ideally achieving more range of motion.
• Dynamic stretching is the next variation. In this type you have more of a momentum-based approach. What I mean by that is that a big part of it is using body movement and motion of the limbs themselves to achieve a change in range of motion. For example a foundational dynamic movement is high knees. This explosive movement of having knees come up as high as they can go will create range of motion throughout the legs. The foundational piece of this type of stretching is an idea of the stretch shortening cycle, which is a concept that as muscles contract and lengthen, they then shorten, and as a result are ready for activity.
• Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, or PNF for short, is last but not least. PNF stretching is essentially the technique of contracting and relaxing the muscle in order to increase range of motion. The rationale behind it is that after contracting a specific muscle, the signals that lead to a muscle resisting stretching are used up, and by following up the contraction immediately with a stretch, the muscle is more likely to achieve a higher range of motion. 

Incorporate Stretching into Your Workout

After seeing these different types of stretching in more detail, the last thing to consider is, “Is this something I should incorporate into my exercise routine?” The answer is a resounding YES! Stretching has been researched and studied and has been shown to decrease the chance of injury and increase performance. So the next time you throw on your running shoes and get ready to hit the ground running (literally), take a second to do a light stretching warmup. Your body will thank you down the road (also literally)!

This blog was written by Ricky Rocha, Health Fitness Specialist. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

Thousands of sports nutrition supplements are touted to improve strength, endurance, and a variety of other athletic factors. But do they work and are they necessary? Below are some of the most common supplements advertised for athletes, as well as what they do, how well they work, and how much is safe to supplement. It’s important to note that you should always consult your physician or a registered dietitian specializing in sports medicine before starting any new supplement.

Beta-alanine

During intense exercise, your muscles produce lactic acid, which can reduce muscular force and cause fatigue. Beta-alanine, an amino acid, produces carnosine, a molecule that can help reduce the buildup of lactic acid, which has shown to produce small performance improvements in sports that require high-intensity, intermittent effort over short periods, such as swimming, hockey, and football in some studies; however, its efficacy for endurance activities such as cycling and running isn’t clear.

In healthy adults, beta-alanine supplementation is generally safe. The most common side effect reported is paresthesia, a tingling or burning sensation in the upper body, typically lasting 60–90 minutes after consumption. If you’re interested in supplementing with beta-alanine supplements, the International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends taking 4 to 6 grams each day (1 to 2 grams at meals) for at least 4 weeks.

BCAAs

Leucine, isoleucine, and valine make up the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), which are used to provide energy to the body during exercise and might also stimulate protein synthesis in exercised muscle. Short-term studies have shown that BCAA supplementation might enhance overall muscle mass and strength during training, but it is unclear if BCAAs are more effective than any other high-quality protein supplement. While supplementation of up to 20 grams/day in divided doses is generally safe according to the NIH, it is not always necessary because most individuals can take in adequate amounts by consuming plenty of complete proteins that provide all of the essential amino acids together, like meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products.

Carnitine

Carnitine is a compound thought to help preserve muscle glycogen and spare the use of amino acids during exercise so that they are available for new protein synthesis. The research available to support the effectiveness of supplementation is limited, however, and available evidence is mixed. Additionally, healthy individuals do not need to consume carnitine from food or supplements because it is synthesized sufficiently by the body itself.

Creatine

Creatine is a compound produced naturally in the body (about 1 gram/day), and obtained nutritionally by consuming animal-based foods or supplements, that is stored in the muscles and used for energy. Most sports experts agree that supplementing with creatine is generally safe and can improve certain types of performance, specifically those that involve repeated short bursts of intense intermittent activity (like sprinting or weightlifting), but tend to have little value for endurance exercises, such as cycling, swimming, or long-distance running. For optimal results, experts recommend taking in at least 20 grams of creatine per day (4 doses of 5 grams) for between 5–7 days, before decreasing to a maintenance level of around 3 to 5 grams total daily. Creatine monohydrate is the form most commonly used, recommended, and studied.

The Bottom Line

The supplements discussed above are generally safe when used in the recommended amounts. Many of them are unnecessary for healthy people who consume the correct nutrients. Again, always consult your physician or a dietitian specializing in sports medicine before starting any new supplement.

This blog was written by Lindsey Recker, MS, Registered Dietitian. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

More and more in today’s society, people have one resource that seems like it is only getting stretched out thinner and thinner: time. Too many of us seem to be cramming more and more things into our lives, whether that be work-related events, personal interests, or family events. With this ever-growing list of things we have taking time out of our day, many have to choose between stuff they need to get done and things they want to get done. One thing we all know we should do but sometimes choose to skip because of time constraints is exercising.

Now, we all know exercising is something everybody should do. The Centers for Disease Control recommends that every adult who is able to, exercise at least 150 minutes per week, and for many it can be more. But a good amount of people fall out of this group because they simply do not have enough time to exercise.

What is a way someone can get the most efficient exercise output in as little time as possible? The possible solution could be high-intensity interval training, or HIIT (aka HIT)! HIIT is a training technique that is all about intense bursts of exercise, followed by short recovery periods. The idea behind this type of training is that with these short bursts of exercise, the heart rate can remain elevated much higher in shorter time than traditional training.

Incorporating HIIT into Your Workouts

With the definitions out of the way, we can look at just some of the ways you can incorporate HIIT training into your daily fitness lifestyle. Many people opt for the route of either aerobic or resistance-style HIIT. Aerobic is more focused on cardio and increasing cardiac output, whereas resistance has a bit more to do with working the muscles of the body with varying degrees of weight.

Now which style is the best? That depends on what your goals are. But either will be a great route to choose to try and spike that heart rate and get in a great workout without too much time commitment.

The best thing about this type of training is that it can be anything you want it to be. For example, you can elect to do a sprinting-focused workout, or biking, rowing, swimming, etc. The idea is not behind what exercise you do, but rather how you’re doing the workout.

15-minute Bodyweight HIIT Workout

Here is a simple example of an introductory HIIT workout.

3 Rounds: 45 seconds each exercise with 15 seconds of rest

1. High Knees in Place
2. Squats
3. Push-ups
4. Dips
5. Crunches

Don’t Skip Your Workout!

So the next time you are a little low on time and debating whether or not to skip a workout, high-intensity interval training could very well be the answer you’ve been looking for in order to keep up that consistency!

The blog was written by Ricky Rocha, NIFS Health Fitness Specialist. To read more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

In this blog series, I have discussed the four movement patterns for building muscle and broken them down further with exercise examples you can add to your workouts. Then we discussed two upper-body movement pattens, the pull and the push. In this post I discuss the squat pattern, our first lower-body movement pattern.

The Squat Movement Pattern

The squat movement pattern is a compound movement that works the muscles of the upper legs including the quadriceps and glutes. The squat pattern is an essential movement for your activities of daily living. We use this pattern to sit, to stand, to pick things up off the floor, to walk up the stairs, and for many other activities. It is essential to train this pattern to maintain your lower-body strength as you age to maintain muscle mass and prevent falls. 

Training the squat movement pattern to a full range of motion can also improve your flexibility and bone mineral density. Learning how to squat properly, and to a full range of motion, is essential in a well-rounded training program. Within your training plan you can break this movement into bilateral and unilateral patterns. Bilateral means both legs working at the same time, and unilateral means one leg at a time. Utilizing both bilateral and unilateral patterns will ensure you are not creating any imbalances between your legs.

Squatting Variations

Bilateral

• Barbell Back Squat
• Barbell Front Squat
• Goblet Squat
• Leg Press
• Zercher Squat
• Hack Squat Machine

Unilateral

• Split Squat
• Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat
• Front Foot Elevated Split Squat
• Walking Lunge
• Step Back Lunge
• Step-Ups

Quadricep Isolation Movements

• Leg Extension
• Banded Terminal Knee Extension

Get Training Help at NIFS

For more information on how to properly progress and structure a training program, visit our staff at the track desk to schedule a private session. We are more than happy to help at any time, and as part of your membership here at NIFS, you receive complimentary workout programs. Our Health Fitness professionals tailor all programs to your fitness goals.

This blog was written by Evan James, NIFS Exercise Physiologist EP-C, Health Fitness Instructor, and Personal Trainer. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.