Spinning and Bone Density

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I have low bone density, so I am concerned about maintaining my bones.  Just like many other medical conditions, it seems like there is very little or confusing information about what I should do.  I got a booklet about the importance of weight-bearing exercise and calcium. When I tell the doctors, “I love spinning,” they quickly retort bike riding isn’t weight-bearing. That doesn’t make sense to me. Here’s why.

What is Weight-bearing?

According to definitions “Weight-bearing exercise is any activity that is performed in a standing position or that requires your bones to support your weight, which would exclude activities such as swimming and biking.(1) (2)

Is Spinning Weight-Bearing?

But Spinning is not biking. In my 45 minute class, we are in the standing position at least 25 minutes during the class.  To me, that seems to qualify as weight-bearing – I’m not sitting, I’m standing. 

Dr. Robert Recker, Director, Osteoporosis Research Center, Creighton University,  says “If you stay seated, cycling is non-weight-bearing: The bike is supporting your weight. But when you stand in the pedals (as I often do when huffing up a hill or through a sprint), the exercise becomes weight-bearing: Your feet, braced on the pedals, are supporting part of your weight, said Recker.” (3)

So it seems at least one doctor recognizes that there is a weight-bearing component to spinning.

What about the Competitive Cyclists study?

A frequently mentioned study of competitive cyclists showed they have low bone density. The researcher did add the caveats that these competitive bikers were lower weight than normal, trained intensely for several hours a and that perhaps sweating and drinking water played a significant role in the low bone density. The researcher felt that normal people would not have the low bone density problem (4).  Proponents of these studies have pointed out that the studies were not controlled for performance enhancing drugs which impacts bone density.

Bottom Line

If you love spinning as I do, keep it up. It includes some weight-bearing and it gives cardiovascular benefits. But reinforce it with other exercise.  The University of Arizona  Bone Builders site has good information and bone building exercise chart. (5)

References

1. Livestrong.com, Definition of Weight-bearing Exercise
2. Livestrong.com, Definition of a Weight-bearing Exercise
3. Washingtonpost.com, Bone Health: A Weight Bearing Argument , Tuesday, July 27, 2004; Page HE03
4. New York TImes.com, Is Bicycling Bad for your Bones? Gretchen Reynolds, New York Times, Health
5. Arizona University, Bone Building Exercise Chart

Exercise Helps Your Brain – Another Motivation to Keep Fit



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Last week I mentioned one benefit of exercise is that it produces hormones that positively affect learning and retention.  This week I’ll cover studies that say no matter what your age, exercise helps your brain.

Increasing Name Memory

Do you find yourself forgetting people’s names? Aerobic exercise can help. Two studies showed that the brain actually grew more nerve cells in people participated in a three month aerobic exercise regimen.  The new neurons in the area of the brain that helps match names to faces one of the first skills to erode as we age. One of the studies showed. vigorous exercise can cause older nerve cells to form dense, interconnected webs that make the brain run faster and more efficiently. (1)

Improving Brain functions in Children

Exercise doesn’t just improve brain activity in adults. Charles Hillman, University of Illinois neuroscience and kinesiology lab, proved kids with the fittest bodies had the fittest minds.  He has studied physical activity against math and reading scores on a statewide standardized test.  Hillman says, “People have been slow to grasp that exercise can really affect cognition, just as it affects muscles.” Dr. Hillman’s preliminary data has shown that after exercise, children’s brains pay more attention to tasks, cognitive processing speed is increased, and cognitive performance improves. He has also assessed brain structure.  These studies show that High-fit children have larger volume of certain areas of their brain which positively affects how well children perform on certain memory tests and cognitive control functions underlying action. (1) (2)

Helping Alzheimer's Disease and ADHD

There are also clues that physical activity can stave off the beginnings of Alzheimer's disease, ADHD and other cognitive disorders.  (3) (4) (5) (6)

Growing Neurons

Now with brain scanning tools and sophisticated understanding of biochemistry, researchers are realizing that the mental effects of exercise are far more profound and complex than one thought.  Harvard psychiatrist, John Ratey, "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain" notes that with regular exercise, the body builds up its levels of a protein he calls the Miracle Grow for the brain.  Brains with more of this protein, called brain derived neurotropic factor  (BDNF), have a higher capacity for learning.  A bout of exercise also elevates dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine which helps with focus, calming down and impulsivity, says Ratey.

According to UCLA neuroscientist Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a brain that's low in BDNF shuts itself off to new information. Until this new research, scientists used to think loss of neurons as people age was permanent. Now they know exercise can induce neuron growth in some parts of the brain.

Scott Small, Columbia University Medical Center neurologist says "Active adults have less inflammation of the brain." They also have fewer 'little bitty strokes that can impair cognition without the person even knowing," says University of California San Francisco, neuroscientist Kristine Yaffe.

To keep all the positive effects, you have to continue the exercise.   No matter what your age, it seems an activity ebony is crucial for building a strong, active mind.

So along with my previous motivation tips, remember, you aren't just exercising your body you're increasing your brain power.

References

1. Newsweek.com, Stronger, faster, smarter, Mary Carmichael, March 26, 2007
2. Charles Hillman Bio, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, The Department of Kinesiology and Community Health
3. Mayo Clinic, Preventing Alzheimer's: Exericse is Still Best, Alzheimer's blog, Angela Lunde, March 25, 2008, Angela Lunde
4. Journal of Neuroscience, Voluntary Exercise Decreases Amyloid Load in a Transgenic Model of Alzheimer's Disease, April 27, 2005, Paul A Adlard, et al , Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia, University of California, Irvine, Ca
5. WebMD.com, Exercise Amps Up Alzheimer’s Brain? , Study: Being Fit May Reduce Brain Shrinkage in Early Alzheimer’s Disease, Kelley Colihan, WebMD Health News, Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD, July 14, 2008
6. Health.com, Brain Games and Exercise: A Drug-Free Treatment for ADHD? ,  Get Physical to Get Results, Mara Betsch,  January 19, 2009

Busting Myths About Calories Burned - Walking versus Running

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“It doesn’t make any difference if you walk or run, you’ll burn the same amount of calories per mile.”   I’ve heard that before. So had my sister. So had Amby Burfoot, editor of Runner’s World.  Somehow I felt that wasn’t true, so I decided to research it by testing it myself and reviewing other research.

My Experiment

I used my Polar Heart Rate Monitor to walk and run a mile at the same pace to determine if there was a difference.  Hearing that calorie counts on devices can be inaccurate I also researched the validity of using my heart rate monitor.  I found that since I’ve entered my personal data and done a fitness test, the heart rate monitor is reasonably valid.  I ran this experiment for three days on the treadmill under controlled conditions (same time of day, same starting heart rate, same room temperature,  etc.).  I averaged 60 calories walking one mile at a 4 MPH pace and 88 calories running the mile at the same pace. I burned 47% more calories running.  Jogging the mile at a 4.6 MPH,  I burned an average of 92 calories, 50% more calories, in less time.

Professional  Research

In How Many Calories Are You Really Burning, Runner’s World,  David Swain, Ph.D.in exercise physiology, who has researched “Metabolic Calculations” says "When you perform a continuous exercise, you burn five calories for every liter of oxygen you consume, and running in general consumes a lot more oxygen than walking." (1) The article sites a University of Syracuse study that measured actual calorie burn in 12 men and 12 women while running and walking1600 meters (about a mile) on a treadmill. The men burned an average of 124 calories while running and 88 while walking and the women burned 105 and 74.

So my semi-scientific research plus professional research busts the common myth that walking and running burn the same amount of calories.  If you want insight into the possible origin of this myth, the Runner’s world article explains that this myth probably originated from a misinterpretation of Newton’s Law.

Not a runner?  The Nutristrategy website gives a nice summary of calories burned per hour for many activities based on your weight. (2)

Some Bad News

The good news is if you work harder, you burn more calories. The bad news, however, is that the Heart Rate Monitor calculates Total Calories Burned, not Net Calories Burned (see the Runner's World article). The Net Calories burned gives a more accurate assessment of how many extra calories you are actually burning.  To calculate the Net Calories Burned  you have to subtract your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), the rate your body burns calories while doing nothing (see Discovery Health Basal Metabolic Rate to calculate your BMR. That give you the calories you’ll burn all day, so divide it by 24 to get the calories burned per hour.)   In my case, I have to subtract 13 calories from my 88 calories burned, netting only 75 calories, or about 12 grapes.    

Don’t let the fact that you’re not burning as many calories as you think stop you from exercising. Calories aren’t the only benefit of cardio exercise. Cardio exercise increases your metabolic rate overall, increases heart health and helps prevent or manage diabetes. There’s also the psychological benefits: cardio increases the hormones that give you a sense of well-being and affects learning and attention. (3)

1. Runner's World, How Many Calories are you Really Burning, , September 2008, Amby Burfoot
2. Nutristrategy, Calories Burned During Activities, Sports and Exercises Chart
3. Lifestyle, 5 Health Benefits To Cardio Exercise, Brenda Jackson in Lifestyle on Feb 22, 2010

Great Summer Salads

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Summer’s here and the time is right for great salads.  If you aren’t a salad fanatic, I bet you can still find some salads in this list that will interest even the salad haters.  Many of these are dinner salads or can be made into dinner salads by adding chicken, turkey, shrimp or tofu. With packaged salad greens, most of these salads can be ready in 5-10 minutes. Most of these salads are low-fat and low calorie. 

Tips for keeping a salad low cal/low fat:

• Instead of pouring dressing over your salad, dip a fork or teaspoon into the dressing and drizzle it over the salad. You’d be surprised how just a small amount of dressing can still add flavor.
• If you want more dressing, dilute the dressing with a bit of water.
• Don’t add croutons, or limit them.
• When cheese is used, slice it thinly then break it into ½ pieces, big enough for flavor,  and sprinkle it on the top. For softer cheeses, put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes to make it easier to slice.
• When using store-bought dressing, buy the lower-fat version.

Tips for speedy chicken or turkey preparation

• Grill several chicken breasts or turkey on the weekend to have it ready for weeknight dinners
• Purchase frozen pre-grilled  chicken strips (they come in many flavors)
• Buy a roasted chicken at the grocery, remove the skin and slice the meat
• Slice a chicken breast in 1/2 lengthwise to speed cooking time

Here’s a roundup of my favorite salad recipes. I’ve listed the ingredients here, so you can pick the recipes that look intriguing to you based on the ingredients. Of course, you can eliminate or add ingredients and change the dressing, based on your own tastes. Click on the salad name for the recipe.

Sizzling Salad – A favorite where I used to work.  Stir fried ingredients: pick which you want (chicken/beef/shrimp/tofu, mushrooms, red onion), tossed with romaine lettuce, carrot slivers, broccoli bits. Caesar or Honey Mustard dressing.

California Spinach Salad – My aunt, a wonderful hostess, made this salad for us back in the 80s from a California Wine Cookbook. We loved it! The curry dressing adds great flavor and makes this salad a welcome change from the usual salad. Ingredients: Spinach, bacon or facon, mandarin oranges, white wine and vinegar dressing with curry powder.

Roasted Red Potato Salad – One of the five top potato salads from the Good Morning America 2008 Best Potato Salad Contest. Served warm or room temperature. This isn’t totally healthy but you can substitute facon for the bacon (or reduce the amount of bacon) and use low fat mayonnaise. Ingredients: red potatoes, green onions, bacon or facon, rosemary, regular or light mayonnaise.

Gianni’s Salad – One of my favorites, served at a great little trattoria in Chicago. Ingredients: greens, topped with thin apple and pear slices, caramelized pine nuts, mixed goat and gorgonzola cheese and balsamic vinaigrette.

McDonald’s Asian Chicken Salad – Ingredients: lettuce, mandarin oranges, edamame, snow peas, topped with sliced almonds, grilled chicken breast (optional).

Houlihan’s Honey Lime Blue - We make this at Thanksgiving and people would ask for seconds and thirds, bypassing some of the traditional Thanksgiving fare. Ingredients: romaine lettuce, red onion, mandarin oranges, glazed walnuts or pecans, golden raisins, crumbled blue cheese, honey lime dressing (or raspberry vinaigrette or honey mustard).

Chili’s  Chicken Caribbean – Ingredients: Chicken breast marinated in teriyaki, chopped lettuce, chopped red cabbage, chopped red bell pepper, pineapple chunks, tortilla chips, pico de gallo, honey lime or honey mustard dressing.

Bon Appetite! Let us know about your favorite salad.

Five Tricks to Reduce Eating and Still Feel Full

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1. Stimulate your ‘I’m full’ hormones

Trick your body into thinking you’re full more quickly by eating about 70 calories of healthy fats about 20 minutes before your meal.(1) That's 6 walnuts, 12 almonds, or 20 peanuts, bread dipped in olive oil, or 2 teaspoons of all natural peanut butter. Eating good fats stimulates the production of a hormone that tells your brain you've had enough to eat and then keeps you feeling full by slowing  emptying your stomach. So when you sit down for a meal, you'll eat for pleasure, not for hunger, and you'll be likely to eat less.

2. Rate your hunger and fullness

You don’t plan to overate. Sometimes you just eat as long as food is available.  To break that habit, rate your hunger using the scale below before you eat and plan to stop eating when you are comfortable; before you get a full feeling, when you feel energized by food and not bogged down.

Hunger Scale* (2,3,4)

10 – Stuffed: so full that you feel nauseous (Thanksgiving full)

9 – Very uncomfortably full:  you need to loosen your clothes

8 – Uncomfortably full: you feel bloated

7 – Full:  you feel a little bit uncomfortable

6 – Perfectly comfortable: you feel satisfied

5 – Comfortable: you're more/less satisfied, but could eat a little more

4 – Slightly uncomfortable: you're just beginning to feel signs of hunger

3 – Uncomfortable: stomach is rumbling

2 – Very Uncomfortable: you feel irritable & unable to concentrate                                         

1 – Weak and Light-headed: your stomach acid is churning

*   Begin eating when you're at a 3 or 4

Stop at 5, if you're trying to lose weight

Stop at 6, if you're wanting to maintain your weight

 

3. Use Smaller Plates

A 9” salad plate or an 8” butter plate is size plate most people should actually use to get the proper potion sizes. Smaller plates can trick the brain into thinking that you are eating larger portions. Many people have been able to lose weight by simply reducing the size of their plate through meals and snacks. (5) 

4. Eat Slowly

Real Age website suggests taking 30 minutes to eat, or at least slowing your eating.(6)  According to Real Age, blood tests showed that slow eating increased levels of two appetite-lowering chemicals by 25 to 30 percent, and these satisfaction hormones stayed high for the next 2 1/2 hours.

Some tips to help you enjoy dinner more slowly, rather than gulping it down, is to make the meal an event to savor.  Set the mood by having a nice table setting, flowers or a small decoration, and music to fit the mood. To add spice and variety to the meal, I’ve bought 4 each of different salad plate patterns (e.g., bright and festive, green and soothing, formal)  at low cost from ebay or at a garage sales.  Bethany Thayer, director of Wellness Programs for Detroit’s Henry Ford Health System says “Pay attention to the food you’re eating,” and gives tips on how to focus on the food while eating. (7)

5. Have a symbol to end your meal

The Frenchy Way to Eat for Pleasure and Good Health suggests you that you end your meal with a signal such as an aperitif, an espresso, a piece of wonderful chocolate. (8)

Having a symbol to end the meal tells your brain and stomach “basta” or enough! You are leaving the table full and satisfied.  Your brain registers that the meal is over, no more eating until the next meal.

Which of these tips will work for you?  The tip on eating the healthy fat before a meal really works for me. So does using smaller plates. I do need to learn to eat more slowly and focus on the meal. I invite you to try one or more of these tips for a week and let us know how it went for you.

References

1. Real Age.com, All About You: Eat This First
2. Fleming, Jill. Thin People Don't Clean Their Plates: Simple Lifestyle Choices for Permanent Weight Loss, La Crosse, WI: Inspiration Presentations, 2005.
3. Halliday, Judy, Arthur Halliday, and Heidi Bylsma. Thin Within: a Grace-oriented Approach to Lasting Weight Loss. [Nashville, Tenn.]: W. Pub. Group, 2002. 
4. Intuitive-eating.blogspot.com, Different Hunger Scales, February 26, 2007, 
5. Smartdietwiki.com, Ten Ways to Reduce Overeating
6. Realage.com, Curb overeating with this Mealtime Trick
7. Ellen Warren, ChicagoTribune.com, Focus on the Food When Eating, May 11, 2010.
8. Mary Brighton, MS, RD, Brightonyourhealth.com, Frency Ways To Eat for Pleasure and Good Health: Un Cafe or Chocolate? April 6,2011.

Are You Getting the Most from Your Medications?

Are you getting the most effectiveness out of the supplements and medications you take? Did you know the time of day you take your medications and drug interactions may impact how well your supplements and medications work?  Today’s blog overviews the impact of time and drug interactions on your medications.

Time of day

Some prescription medications say what time of day they should be taken, but most don’t. Does the time of day impact how well the medication works?  Unfortunately, drug research is almost always done during the day and does not involve testing of new drugs at multiple times of the day. Yet many bodily functions vary throughout the day so that the impact of a drug may depend on circadian rhythms. A new field, chronobiology, hopes to change the way drug testing is done to include timing in drug tests. (1) 

There are some knowns, however. Aspirin is easier on the stomach if not taken in the morning.  Since certain diseases are worse at certain times of the day, taking your medication so it is active when symptoms are worse will give you the best benefit. So if your osteoarthritis gets worse at night, taking your anti-inflammatory around noon or in the afternoon might provide the most relief when the pain is at its peak.

Some older statin medications work better if taken at night. Asthma attacks are more frequent at night and the stomach secrets more acid at night, indicating the medications for these conditions should be taken a few hours before bedtime. (2)

Blood pressure medications are trickier. Most people’s blood pressure dips at night, so these people should take their blood pressure medication in the morning when blood pressure peaks. However, there are people whose blood pressure does not dip at night might do better by taking some of their blood pressure medication at night. (2)  

Interactions

With each medication you take, your chances of having a drug interaction increases. The interaction may either increase or decrease the effectiveness of a medication. Many times a prescription drug label will tell you about interactions (e.g., do not take alcohol while taking this medication), but many times it does not.

What are some of the common interactions?

Calcium can decrease the effectiveness of medications like antibiotics and ACE Inhibitors. To minimize the effects, take calcium at least 1 hour after or 4 hours before taking these medications. (3)  

Another common drug interaction is that medications to treat stomach disorders  can reduce the effectiveness of medications that rely on stomach acid to absorb the medication.  For example, a Canadian study of more than 60,000 people 50 and over found that those who took proton pump inhibitors for more than 5 years were 1.5 times as likely to have hip fractures. (4, 5)

Checking Interactions

Drugs.com has a Drug Interaction Checker where you enter your medications, including over the counter medications, and the website will tell you about the interactions.  This is really nice because it's customized specifically for the medications you take.

Common Drug Interactions - a Chart developed by a pharmacy graduate student.

Drug Interactions - a very nice site with a definition of drug interactions, how they occur, information on absorption and metabolism, the consequences of drug interactions and how drug interactions can be avoided.

References

1. Slate, The Best of Times, the Worst of Times. Nov 1, 2007
2. msnbc.com, What Time You Take Your Blood Pressure Pill Matters, December 17, 2007
3. WebMD.com, Calcium (click the interactions tab)
4. CBSNews.com, Acid Reflux Pills Linked To Hip Fractures, August 11, 2008
5. Everydayhealth,com, Nexium and Bone Loss?, May 7, 2007

How Much Protein is Healthy? Unhealthy?

Per one of my previous blogs, Comparison of Food and Exercise Logging Sites, I log what I eat on Livestrong.com  A benefit of using a logging tool is seeing if I get the right amount of nutrients. Most food logging websites compare your food intake nutrient breakdown with a recommended daily intake. That can cause some concern if you find your intake is over or under the recommendations.  For example, I eat more protein than the recommended USDA guideline.   How much protein do I need?  Do I need that extra protein because of my exercise regime?  Is too much protein harmful?  Today’s blog looks into these questions.

How much protein do you need?

Recommendations on protein requirements vary widely. The USDA  food pyramid suggests that protein make up between 17% to 21% percent of total calories eaten. Twenty percent equates  to 60g of protein for a 1200 calorie diet and 100g of protein for a 2000 calorie diet.  WebMD  states an woman needs about 46 grams of protein a day (that’s about 15% for a 1200 calorie diet), adult men need about 56 grams a day¹ (that’s about 11% for a 2000 diet).  The Institute of Medicine recommends we get at least 10% and no more than 35% of calories from protein.  (see the footnotes for calculating conversions). ¹  So these three recommendations for protein range anywhere from 10% of your calories to 35% of your calories.

Does increasing protein help?

Increasing protein intake is hyped for weight loss, building muscle mass and as needed for athletic activities.  If so, how much more do you need?  Does the average person who just started an exercise program need to boost their protein intake? 

In a 2005 study, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that increasing protein from 15% to 30% of total calories, and reducing fat from 35% to 20% of calories, resulted in sustained weight loss.  Thirty percent equates  to 90g of protein for a 1200 calorie diet and 150g of protein for a 2000 calorie diet. ²

Dr. Peter W. Lemon, researcher in exercise training and proper nutrition, researched protein  needs and concluded that an increase in protein intake to 1.7g per kg of body weight is beneficial for muscle growth through weight training, but only to an extent³ (see Footnotes to calculate your protein needs).  Once a certain intake level is reached, any additional protein taken in will not help build muscle mass any more.  He also notes the American diet usually contains enough protein for the average athlete. Research at Vanderbilt University said that increased protein does help for endurance athletes who train for 2-5 hours a day, because they use protein for fuel.⁴

Is too much protein harmful?

There are three reported impacts of too much protein:  overworking the kidneys,  leaching bone calcium, and gout.

Overworking the kidneys : A common misconception about excess protein in the diet is that it can cause kidney damage. Research at Vanderbilt University concluded  that no studies have found an high rate of kidney problems in strength athletes as would be expected if too much protein caused kidney damage.

Leaching bone calcium:  Another apparent misconception  is  that increased protein intake results in calcium wasting.  Studies seem to confirm that increasing protein, when exchanged calorie-for-calorie for carbohydrates, may have a favorable impact on the skeleton in healthy older men and women. 

Whether adding protein improves bones may be partly a function of how much protein the person was eating to begin with.  But in several studies comparing the bones of people eating the standard “recommended daily requirement” of protein with those eating more protein found that those who ate more protein than the standard recommendation had less bone loss.

Gout:  Increased protein consumption from red meat or seafood is associated with an increased risk of gout. But a twelve-year study at Massachusetts General Hospital showed increased consumption of high-protein, purine-rich* vegetables (e.g., asparagus, cauliflower, kidney beans, lentils, lima beans, mushrooms, navy beans) was not associated with increased risk of gout.⁵  The study  also shows that dairy products, which are also high in protein, can help reduce gout.

Conclusion

First, it’s hard to tell just how much protein is the minimum required.   Second, to a certain extent , if you want to build muscle mass through weight lifting or sustain weight loss, if you don’t eat toward the higher end of the recommended  protein range, it might help to increase protein to about 30 percent of your calories. Finally, studies show that increasing protein does no harm, as long as the protein source is not red meat.

Footnotes

*  Purine, when metabolized, turns into uric acid and excess of which causes gout

Calculating grams of protein based on percentage of daily caloric intake:  

Grams of Protein = (Desired calories * Desired protein percentage) / 4

Example: 2000 (desired calories) * .2 (20% desired protein percentage)  / 4 (grams per calorie in protein) = 100 grams protein

Calculate your protein needs for muscle building at 1.7g per kg body weight:

weight in lbs * .7711 =  grams of protein a day

References

1. Protein: Are You Getting Enough?
2.  "A high-protein diet induces sustained reductions in appetite…”, Weigle et al, American  Journal Clinical Nutrition,  2005, pages 41–8.
3. Is increased dietary protein necessary or beneficial for individuals with a physically active lifestyle?, Dr. Peter W. Lemon, Kent State,  Nutrition Reviews, 27 April 2009.
4. How Much Protein Do Athletes Need? Lee Knight Caffery, Vanderbilt University
5. Purine-Rich Foods, Dairy and Protein Intake, and the Risk of Gout in Men, Hyon K. Choi, M.D., et al, New England Journal of Medicine 2004; 350:1093-1103, March 11, 2004
6. Do low-carb diets cause bone loss?, Laura Dolson, About.com Guide, Updated June 22, 2009, About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board

Plyometrics – a Fun Workout; Hop, Skip and Jump Like a Kid!

Last year the P90X (X for eXtreme) workout was the buzz and I bought the program.  I enjoyed it, even though I  admit my participation was more like P90L (L for Light).  One P90X workout I especially enjoyed was Plyometrics, something I’d never heard of before.  Plyometrics is a series of jumping, bounding and hopping exercises designed to build explosiveness in sports.  It increases power, which is the combination of speed and strength. For those who want specific details about the benefits of plyometrics and how the workouts build power, I’ve provided links below.

At my age, I’m not looking for power or explosiveness. I’m thankful just to put in my mileage or do spinning. I did notice a slight improvement in running and perhaps more spring and balance in my daily activities which is something us mature folks need.  Above all, plyometrics was fun! It was a break from the typical aerobics and weights.  The sideways skipping and running around a square made me feel like a grade schooler again.

I’ve read that plyometrics can lead to injury. I did the P90X program for a few months with no injury.  Just be sure to warm up and do it gently if you are older or prone to injury (the Plyometrics 101 link below gives an example of a less intense workout).

Check out the links below for plyometrics workouts. And happy hopping, skipping and jumping!

References

The first three links show more moderate versions of plyometrics.  The fourth link is a link to a more vigorous workout.

1. P90x Plyometrics, You Tube, Worldandmaerekoo - Watch this video and you’ll get double the fun by watching two average guys going through the routine. They don’t do complete reps, but you’ll get the idea.
2. P90X Week 3 Plyrometics, YouTube, EboniqueAmazon – Another video of an average person (Ebonique Amazon) going through the P90X routine.
3. Plyometrics 101, YouTube, FabsCyberFitness – Follow the woman if you want a gentler version of the routine.
4. Plyometrics Circuit, YouTube, ironbird 99 – For those who want a more vigorous Plyometric routine.
5. Cooper, Bob. "Plyometric Power." Runner's World: Running Shoes, Marathon Training, Racing. Rodale Press, Aug. 2004. Web. 08 May 2011 – Includes  12 drills for runners who want better balance, increased speed and more agility.
6. Davies, Phil. "Plyometric Training... Programs & Exercises for Power." Phil Davies' Sports Fitness Advisor - Get Fit for Sport & Life. Sporting Excellence, Ltd. Web. 08 May 2011 – Includes links to two articles on the effectiveness of plyometrics plus links to specific plyometric exercises.
7. Quinn, Elizabeth. "Plyometric Exercises – Using Plyometric Exercises to Build Speed and Power." Sports Medicine, Sports Performance, Sports Injury - Information About Sports Injuries and Workouts for Athletes. About.com, 8 Dec. 2008. Web. 08 May 2011 – A description of Plyometrics with references to safety research and safety tips.