Tag Archives: exercise

Science discovers how massage affects cells after exercise

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I love it when science deepens our understanding of something people know from experience to be true. The latest such finding to catch my eye is in my own field, massage therapy. People love massage and not all that much is actually known about how it affects the body’s systems or its long-term benefits.

Canadian scientists studied what actually happens at the cellular level when someone who has vigorously exercised gets a massage. Here’s an article explaining the study, and here’s the abstract for the research findings.

In short, massage applied to muscles after vigorous exercise reduces inflammation and promotes growth of energy-producing units (mitochondria) in muscle cells.

“The potential benefits of massage could be useful to a broad spectrum of individuals including the elderly, those suffering from musculoskeletal injuries and patients with chronic inflammatory disease,” said Tarnopolsky. “This study provides evidence that manipulative therapies, such as massage, may be justifiable in medical practice.”

The researchers also busted the myth that massage reduces lactic acid, which builds up in cells during exercise and has been thought to contribute to muscle pain. Massage had no effect on lactic acid build-up.

Here’s something to look forward to:

One future research direction will be to examine the long-term effect of massage after a workout.

 

The 4-Hour Body, continued: pre-hab and weight loss

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I blogged in January that I was starting to read Tim Ferriss’ new book, The 4-Hour Body. Well, I’m still reading it! It’s a big book chock full of interesting information, and I’m reading it from front to back, which Tim does not recommend.

Well, I’m up to page 332 out of 474 (excluding the 100 pages of appendices, bonus material, and index), reading about something Tim calls “pre-hab”. This chapter is about stabilizing the body to prevent injuries. The man who has worked with world-class athletes to improve their consistent high performance is Gray Cook, and Tim pumped him for information for do-it-yourselfers like me to do at home.

It’s all about gaining strength and stability using basic movement patterns.

Boy, I need this. A strong wind can almost blow me over. I’m 58 and understand how devastating a fall can be in a way I didn’t when I was a lot younger (“Why don’t you just get up?”). Even though I’m probably fitter than average for someone my age, I can always improve.

So apparently you can self-assess by doing some exercises and noticing left-right imbalances and wobbling/shifting. Then there are four corrective exercises to fix the most common imbalances/weaknesses.

These have names like chop and lift, Turkish get-up, two-arm single-leg deadlift, and cross-body one-arm single-leg deadlift.

You might as well be speaking a foreign language, Tim!

I’m going to pursue this, and I wish for someone who speaks this language to magically show up and guide me. Know anyone?

~~~

I do have something else to report from The 4-Hour Body. I followed the Slow Carb diet in February. Subtitle: How to Lose 20 Pounds in 30 Days Without Exercise.

Results: I lost only 4 pounds but lost several inches converting fat to muscle. I don’t have an accurate way of measuring BMI, just a scale, and it showed a loss.

Note: I have been on a gluten-free diet for several years, and I also (usually) avoid potatoes. That’s probably where most people who eat those things lose the 20 pounds.

This diet calls for no rice, no dairy, no fruit/sugar/sweeteners, just eating the same meals of animal protein/legumes/veggies every day. Yep, beans, eggs or fish, and veggies at every meal. Good thing I love refried beans.

The bonus is one day a week you can eat whatever you want. Yes, built-in cheating! I went all out twice and then binged moderately, with a kefir and pomegranate and stevia smoothie and occasionally ice cream.

I learned gratitude for the variety of legumes in this world. Refried beans, fava beans, limas, snap peas, black beans. The beans really help each meal “stick to your ribs” so you don’t get hungry and snack in between meals.

I lost inches around my upper arms, thighs, and waist, and I gained an inch around my hips. That inch is all in my booty, from doing kettlebell swings twice a week. I’m sure it’s building bone density too.

Have you read the book and tried any of his suggestions?