COVID-19 has made working out from home a new reality, and with that, it’s also made hand weights a hot commodity as they have been sold out for months. If you’re lucky enough to have a set, you might be wondering what weight is best for your body. To ensure safe weightlifting, follow these easy … Continue reading “How Much Weight Should I Be Lifting?”
COVID-19 has made working out from home a new reality, and with that, it’s also made hand weights a hot commodity as they have been sold out for months. If you’re lucky enough to have a set, you might be wondering what weight is best for your body.
To ensure safe weightlifting, follow these easy tips that apply the RPE Scale (rate of perceived extension).
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The health benefits of strength training are numerous: strength training can reduce the risk of many conditions (i.e. cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, depression), promote fat loss, and, of course, improve strength and fitness levels. While there are clear benefits to beginning a strength training program, getting started can be a daunting task. To build strength, … Continue reading “A Beginner’s Guide to Resistance Training”
The health benefits of strength training are numerous: strength training can reduce the risk of many conditions (i.e. cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, depression), promote fat loss, and, of course, improve strength and fitness levels. While there are clear benefits to beginning a strength training program, getting started can be a daunting task.
To build strength, according to the American College of Sports Medicine, we should lift 60-80% of our 1 rep maximum (the most amount of weight that can be lifted once) for 8-12 repetitions per set. But what is our 1 rep max? Many individuals don’t know. An alternate way to appropriately lift the correct weight is to rely on rating of perceived exertion (RPE), which has been shown to correlate well to 1 rep max. An easy way to rate RPE is through a 0-10 scale, with an RPE of 0 equivalent to rest (no effort) and an RPE of 10 equivalent to maximal effort.
With an understanding of RPE, beginners should strive for a set of 8-12 repetitions with good technique and aim for an RPE of 5-7 out of 10. Repeat for 1-3 sets. Remember, it is better to underestimate how much weight can be lifted than to overestimate, which can lead to injuries. If you find that the set was not as difficult as you thought it would be, you can always adjust next time with additional resistance.
According to the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), a general guideline is to allow for 1-3 days of rest in between exercise of the same muscle groups. The NSCA recommends 2-3 weightlifting sessions per week for those at the novice or beginner level and 3 lifting sessions per week for those at the intermediate level. An intermediate level lifter can strength train up to 4 times per week if muscle groups are split into separate days (i.e. lower body on M/Th, upper body Tu/F).
Here are a few simple ways to make your routine a little harder: increase reps/sets, increase resistance, and/or decrease rest time. You can also start mixing some new exercises into your routine.
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MASKS & TMJ The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a recommendation that everyone wear a cloth face-covering mask in public to slow the spread of coronavirus. COVID-19 can be spread by tiny droplets that get into the air when we cough, sneeze or even laugh or talk. Wearing a mask also can help … Continue reading “Mask Myths & Facts”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a recommendation that everyone wear a cloth face-covering mask in public to slow the spread of coronavirus. COVID-19 can be spread by tiny droplets that get into the air when we cough, sneeze or even laugh or talk. Wearing a mask also can help contain the droplets you produce.
Many of us hold our faces with more tension or with our chin forward to hold our masks in place which can increase or even create symptoms of TMJ. Temporomandibular joint dysfunction is pain and compromised movement of the jaw joint and the surrounding muscles.
Here are some tips to avoid mask pains and aches:
Trust the elastic on your mask and let it do the work of holding your mask in place, not your jaw! Relax your face, let your tongue rest of the roof of your mouth, teeth slightly apart. If your mask slips while you are in this position, take it as a sign that you need to find one with a better fit.
An ill-fitting mask can also cause headaches by tugging on your ears. This can be caused by the auriculotemporal nerve which runs just in front and above the ear into the scalp. Try finding a mask with longer elastics or try extenders for glasses or goggles. Those will eliminate ear loops all together.
Having your nose covered may prompt you to breathe through your mouth rather than your nose. Breathing through your mouth causes you to hold it slightly open which leads to tension and pain. Breathing through your nose is not only preformed in a more relaxed position, but also helps your body get more oxygen with each breath which expands your blood vessels and soothes muscle tissue.
Truth: Masks actually protect both the wearer and others around them. The No. 1 goal of masks is to contain people’s germs and prevent them from reaching others.
Truth: Masks with exhalation valves are not nearly as safe and do not limit the spread of COVID-19. Exhalation valves allow germs/droplets to be expelled into the air around you, putting others at risk.
Truth: There is no science supporting this. Wearing a mask is a safe practice.
Health care workers have been wearing masks for prolonged periods of time – many, many hours for longer surgeries and things like that without incident. That’s because CO2 particles are extremely small, unlike viral loads, and can pass through masks. That’s even the case for a higher protection mask like an N95.
Truth: Social distancing AND mask wearing is the most effective combination in limiting the spread of COVID-19.
Wearing a mask limits droplet spread to about one foot. But that doesn’t eliminate it altogether. Additionally, all of the scientific data and recommendations assume masks are being worn properly by everyone, which is certainly not the case.
WHO YOU PROTECT BY WEARING A MASK
By wearing a mask, you are protecting yourself and further protecting those who are at a higher risk of developing severe illness, including people who are or have:
WHAT KIND OF MASK SHOULD YOU WEAR
The gold standard N-95 mask is 95% effective at keeping the wearer free of inhaling viral particles. These masks are still best reserved for front-line workers in high risk settings where aerosols of viral particles occur. Surgical masks are less effective and cloth face coverings even less so in protecting the wearer. However even a 50% reduction in viral transmission is statistically important.
For the general public, the reason for wearing a facial covering is to help protect others from you when you cough, sneeze or even talk and spray viral droplets into the air. Many people who become infected can unknowingly spread the COVID-19 virus because they have few or no symptoms. So wearing a mask is showing respect for others and is your way of helping lessen the spread of the disease. It is important that the mask not be so thick as to make breathing through them completely uncomfortable. Filter inserts are probably not necessary and may make the masks more uncomfortable.
HOW TO WEAR A MASK PROPERLY
Cloth face coverings should-
WHO SHOULDN’T WEAR A MASK
Cloth face coverings should NOT be placed on:
