I always find it interesting the different pre-game/race rituals of the various athletes we work with. Some are very quiet and keep to themselves before competition. There is not a lot of talk or action. They may be bundled up in layers to stay warm with buds in their ears to block out distractions. And then there are those that can't wait to be let loose. They are bouncing around, loud and may even be a little bit obnoxious. American sprinter Maurice Green comes to mind when I think of this type of athlete. American sprinter Maurice Greene. We all can probably identify with one type or the other. For me, I always preferred to be quiet, calm and at rest before a race. I would go over the race in my head and visualize what a good race would look like, how it would feel and what I wanted to do to ensure success. So what is the goal? The graph below, the Yerkes-Dodson of Arousal and Performance, explains this well. On this graph the x-axis (horizontal) shows the level of emotional arousal from low on the left side and high on the right side. The y-axis (vertical) depicts performance with low at the bottom and high at the top. For maximum performance we should seek a medium level of emotional arousal. In the past, we've heard that we need to 'put on our game face' in order to perform. And for some that appear a little sleepy or lazy this may be the case. But for those are already 'amped' up we may not need more stimulation. You may have seen instances where athletes use smelling salts prior to competition. This would be when an athlete 'feels' they are the left side of the graph, and thus below optimal...

Recently we've been discussing metabolism, how the body burns calories and things that put the breaks on our metabolism. In this post I'm going to discuss a situation that is not too uncommon among female fitness enthusiasts and may be leaving them frustrated with their weight loss efforts.[caption id="attachment_4117" align="alignleft" width="300"] Cardio: One of the things that makes fat loss harder.Normally I don't like to generalize but this is a unique situation and applies to many. And hopefully for those that recognize themselves when reading the sections below they are able to make some changes in their weight loss efforts and realize better results.The type of person I'm referring to here is one where the following conditions apply:* they have a weight loss goal* they prefer cardiovascular exercise as the preferred means of exercise* they employ a severe caloric restriction in an attempt to lose weight* they have plateaued in their weight loss efforts* they are stressed or are becoming so due to the lack of results they are realizingDoes this sound familiar? I think every gym I have every been a member at over my entire life has at least one if not a few female members that fit this profile to a 't'.You know what I mean? They are the members that are at the gym everyday. And not just everyday but first thing in the morning when it opens. And then maybe again after work when for a second workout.But these workouts aren't intense lifting sessions. And they aren't metabolic circuits. Instead these are purely marathon cardio sessions. These individuals have their machines of choice and always perform the same workout, on the same machine, at the same intensity at the same time of day.Guess what happens as the body gets used to an activity? It gets more...

Hi there: Hope you're doing well. This has been a great week. You want to know why? I think it's because I've had great perspective lately. I've been really thankful for the good things in my life while not worrying so much about the distractions that can sometimes get us down. It might be the Thanksgiving weekend that has me in this kind of mood but it definitely ties in to your weight loss or performance goals.'Ok, hold on a sec', you're probably saying. 'Did he just say Thanksgiving and weight loss goals in the same sentence.' Absolutely I did. And here's what I mean by it.Our bodies go through both positive and negative stress. The positive stress is called eustress. Sound familiar? Unfortunately for most people this may be the first time they've ever heard of this word. And that says a lot if the positive aspect of stress is so foreign to us we don't even recognize the word for it.So it would make sense then that the balance tends to be skewed towards the negative end of the stress spectrum.But first we should identify a couple of hormones involved with the stress response. These are cortisol and adrenaline.Adrenaline is the hormone associated with 'fight or flight'  and results in increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure and boosts energy supplies. We are hard-wired for this response to always be at the ready and thus available to protect and keep us safe.Cortisol is another stress hormone and increases sugar (glucose) in the bloodstream, enhances your brain's use of glucose and increases the availability of substances that repair tissues.  It also alters immune system responses and suppresses the digestive system, the reproductive system and growth processes.Let's take a quick look at how stress affects digestion, recovery and training.1. When stress triggers the 'fight or fligt'...