September 10, 2013
Exercise, Immunity and your diet
It's been a physically taxing week for this blogger. How was yours? For me, nothing really changed as far as my teaching schedule and personal work-outs ( still HIITING it hard 5-6 days a week) but this week my body really felt it. Well, I DID add a day of rock-climbing last week and wow, I felt muscles I that forgot I even had. Couple that with an already tired body and voila, you have all the symptoms of over training: runny nose, exhaustion, disturbed sleep patterns and thoughts of " will I EVER walk up a flight of stairs without my legs aching?"
All of this whining brings me to my point: consistently vigorous endurance exercise can lower your immunity significantly. Whether your a fitness professional, athlete or civilian consider it a reminder that exercise is not the only route to good health: diet is key.
So what can you do to avoid over-training syndrome and boost your immunity? Well, the common sense approach is the answer: rest more, train less. Taking a break between sessions is crucial to body breakthroughs. I often tell clients that this is "when the magic happens" and your muscles knit themselves back together into tighter weaves. In terms of diet, vitamin C has been proven to reduce some of the inflammation associated with endurance training and vigorous exercise in general. Not only can this power house vitamin ward of cold and viruses but it can reduce the soreness in your legs too! To get the benefit from it, be sure to regularly include these immunity boosting foods rich in Vitamin C to your diet too."
- Citrus fruit
- Papaya
- Kiwi
- Organic Strawberries
- Kale, garden cress
- Bell Peppers
- Broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts