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Role Models ECG presents : Moe Brown with ACE Fitness |
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Track Moe's star : moe@personalbest.net *Don't forget your local YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs !
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Special thanks to Moe for this article !
Being Your Personal Best
"Living an Active Life with Asthma" by Maurice Brown CPT ACE, IFPA
When deciding what to write for my first contribution to this web site, I thought about several excellent topics which could be covered. Certainly there are many areas of health and fitness which not only could be discussed, but should be discussed. I decided to make the subject of this article a condition which has affected my life both positively and negatively. Negatively in my childhood and positively as I grew older. This condition is Asthma. You may be wondering how a condition such as asthma could have affected me positively. I will explain this later in the article. First I would like to give some statistics. According to The National Center for Health Statistics, 65% of US adults are either overweight or obese (weighing 30 lbs or more over ideal weight), while 31% of children are either overweight or at risk of being overweight. According to the American Lung Association, as of 2003 it was estimated that 20 million Americans have asthma. They also rate it as the most common chronic disorder in childhood with an estimated 6.2 million children under the age of 18 being affected. I mention all these statistics because it is very clear that obesity is a problem in this country. A big reason behind this is inactivity. For a variety of reasons both adults and children are not as physically active as they have been in past decades. For example, the obesity numbers today are double what they were in the late 70’s. When dealing with a condition such as asthma it can make physical activity difficult. Which in turn can place an individual at greater risk for being overweight or even obese. In fact, the January/February 2000 edition of the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health and Fitness Journal stated that the incidence of obesity among people with asthma is almost three times higher than in people without asthma. It is clear to me that physical activity is the key to helping treat these conditions. Certainly asthma can be a limiting factor when it comes to exercise. However, whether your goal is to be involved in recreational activities, or competitive sports, you can still achieve a high level of performance, despite the asthma. Many successful world class athletes have suffered from asthma. In fact, in the 1984 Olympics there were a total of 597 U.S. athletes who suffered from asthma. These athletes won 41 medals. Being a lifelong asthma sufferer I can also speak from personal experience. As a child my asthma was severe enough that I had to be hospitalized on more than one occasion. However, by consulting with my doctor, taking my medication as directed, and incorporating exercise at the right increments I was able to compete on my high school cross country running and ski teams. I continued to compete throughout college and even competed in the National Cross Country Championships. Currently I compete primarily in endurance events and in April of this year competed in my third Boston Marathon finishing in the top 10% of the field. I mention this not to brag about my accomplishments, but to further emphasize the point that asthma can be successfully dealt with so that it doesn’t limit your athletic abilities. At the beginning of this article I mentioned that asthma had both a negative and positive impact on my life. Negative because as a child I would often have to discontinue games or take breaks while playing because of my asthma. However, as I grew older and better learned how to deal with my asthma I looked at it in more of a positive light. Yes, it is still an issue and I have to take measures to control it. However, life is filled with adversity. When you are dealt with a setback you can let it bring you down, or you can accept it, deal with it, make the necessary adjustments and move on. Dealing with my asthma helped give me the ability to work through other setbacks that life has thrown my way. It has also given me a passion for learning more about how the body works. As a result , not only am I healthier, but I have a very rewarding career that enables me to help others become healthier and achieve peak performance. The following are general guidelines on exercising with asthma by the American Council on Exercise. However, it is recommended that you consult with your doctor for specific guidelines prior to beginning an exercise program. 1)Take your medications and use inhalers according to your doctor’s directions. 2)Do a prolonged warm-up to help prevent or reduce symptoms of exercise-induced asthma. 3)Decrease the intensity and increase the duration of the aerobic phase to avoid asthma symptoms while maintaining the cardiovascular benefits of exercise. 4)Avoid exercising in environmental conditions that may increase the likelihood of an asthma attack such as extremely low temperatures, areas with a high pollen count or heavy pollution. Control your asthma. Don’t let your asthma control you. To learn more about asthma the American Lung Association is an excellent source, as well as Web MD and Medline Plus. Their web sites are www.lungusa.org, www.webmd.com, and www.medlineplus.org respectively. More with Moe ! :"what about Youth strength training ?" Maurice Brown CPT ACE, IFPA Despite the decrease in the amount of physical activity done by teenagers and children, it has been my experience that there is a significant interest in strength training by both groups. Whether the goal is to aid in sports performance or overall health and well being, when approached in the right manner regular strength training can generate positive results. If you are a teenager, or in your pre-teen years, and you are interested in beginning a strength training program, the following are some important guidelines to follow: Keep repetition count at 15 per set- This allows the muscles and joints to adapt to the training and allow strength gains to be made while keeping risk of injury low. Doing a light warmup set of 15 repetitions prior to your work set is also advisable as it increases performance and also reduces the likelihood of injury. Use gradual, progressive resistance increases- In order for strength gains to be made it is important to increase the weight when 15 repetitions can be completed with ease. However, the weight should be increased gradually and in small increments, generally no more than 10% per workout. For example, if you are doing a bicep curl with a 10 lb dumbbell, when ready you would increase it to 11 lbs. Use proper form- Far more strength gains can be made by lifting a light weight with good form than a heavy weight with poor form. Quality is better than quantity. Proper form involves lifting the weight slowly (about 6 secs. per rep.) and with full range of motion. Train 2-3 non consecutive days per week- In order for strength gains to be made it is necessary to expose the body to the appropriate workload followed by adequate rest. It is in the rest period that the muscles actually become stronger as a result of the workload it experienced during your workout. By lifting too frequently (more than 3 times per week or with less than 48 hours recovery) increases in strength will be minimal. When it comes to strength and conditioning there are no shortcuts. Attempting to lift weights that are so heavy you cannot do each set with good form will not allow strength gains to take place and will place you at greater risk of injury. In addition, using any type of supplements is risky business and can cause more harm than good. Train safe and train smart by following the above guidelines and you will reap far more rewards.
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