Friday, November 25, 2011

Psycho-analysis of weight loss

Our eating habits are strongly influenced by the emotions we feel. Our thoughts and will power play a significant role in deciding the amount we eat as well as the success and failure of our dieting expeditions.

Here’s how emotions affect our hunger pangs –

* Anger, depression, anxiety, boredom, and loneliness are triggers for reaching out to the cookie jar.

* You may wish to dull the pain of a confrontation or wash away the memories of being put down by your boss with a jumbo milk shake.

* Emotional hunger also manifests itself when you take food to overcome the anxieties of a close relationship and to avoid thoughts of rejection.

* If self-doubts plague you and you eat to push them down then you are a victim of your moods that push you to eat in excess.

* You may be using food to fill the gaps caused by the unfulfillment of some basic needs such as trust and a sense of belonging in a relationship.

* Often deprivations and hardships experienced as a child are strong triggers to an uncontrolled eating episode.

* You can also view eating as a means of asserting yourself. Nobody tells YOU what to eat!

* You may also take recourse to eating in order to avoid a challenging situation; either at home or at work.

In order to get the most out of your body from a diet you need to first get the most out of your mind. This is how you do it.

Start with a positive attitude. It has a lot to do with the final outcome, more so than the popularity of the health club, the drive of your trainer, and any miracle foods that you may be banking on. Do not whinge or rationalize lapses in your commitment. It will only distance you from your objective. If you have it in your head to do what it takes to achieve success, you will outdo yourself and achieve superlative results regardless of any shortcomings in genes or resources.

Plan for the long term. Treat getting into shape as an event forever and not just a temporary activity to lose a few inches. Equate wellness with a healthy lifestyle. If it involves making some tough decisions then please take those tough decisions. These will most probably be about your self-control, eating habits, and exercise routines.

Be practical and push yourself to achieve those practical aims. Do not start something that you may not be able to finish. Follow through on your decisions. If you become a member of a health club then do go there every day. Complete the entire course of a diet or an exercise plan; do not give up mid way.

There is never a “best moment” to start exercising. The best time is NOW. Do not procrastinate. You have to will yourself to achieve what you wish. Things “hardly” attained are better retained and you owe this not only to yourself but also to your loved ones. Take control of the situation and do not make excuses or shift blame for never being able to get started. Get mentally prepared for some tiredness and inconvenience. The soreness factor is largely a function of your own perception.

Accentuate the positive and focus on what you are gaining. Giving up those cheese and chocolate cakes is actually adding years to your life.

Remember that a target, any target is achieved by focusing on the final deliverable at all times. It is impossible to stay highly motivated all the times and the process will appear tedious at times but do not yield to the temporary relaxations. You do not have forever to get started. Work on it from now and enjoy the fruits forever.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Fight Science: punching power and its effects on the body

Abstract


In recent years, there has been an explosion of interest and participation in fighting sports. Whether it would be active participation or as spectators, the media focused on the increased popularity of these events. These sports include mixed martial arts, karate, and the most recent, boxing. This research paper focuses on one of these three sports; boxing, but more specifically, the biomechanics of the punch and the development of the equipment to ensure the safety of its participants. Within this document, we will discuss how the forces are created during a punch, the injuries that are or can be created as a result, and apply that understanding to how safety equipment is developed or has to evolve to ensure the most optimum level of safety for the fighters using the equipment


Introduction/Background:

You sit on your couch and turn on the television to the title fight that you have been waiting to watch for a month. During the first round, the person you are rooting for takes a punch to the chin and falls down. The bell rings and the fight is over. You now ask yourself “what happened?” To answer this question, one must understand the underlying biomechanics behind the knock out punch.

What is biomechanics? According to McGinnis(2005), “biomechanics is the study of forces and their effects on living things.” In essence, the study of biomechanics in relation to boxing or any other activity or sports is simply the relationship of movement and the forces pre, intra, and post of the initial activity or movement. As it relates to the subject of boxing, physiological or anatomical recruitment of specific muscles generate the forces necessary to create sufficient acceleration and torque which generate the forces needed to knock out the opponent.

When describing or attempting to discuss the forces behind a boxer’s punch and its effects on the body, one must take into account Newton’s three laws of physics; 1.an object at rest stays at rest or an object in motion stays in motion, unless a another outside force acts upon it, 2. The relationship of mass and it’s acceleration resulting in a force produced, and finally the third law which states the concept of action reaction (McGinnis, 2005).

Along with the three laws of Newton, we also must take into consideration muscular recruitment that causes movement to translate and transfer these forces from the puncher to the punched. Muscular flexion and extension, creating a kinetic chain (Wilmore, Costill, & Kennedy, 2008) allows the forces to move and achieve a successful knock-out punch.


The Punch: Forces and Biomechanics

-Muscular/Skeletal Component

Let us start with the muscular recruitment required to achieve the punch. The punch is a successful kinetic chain that releases energy at rest to energy in motion or force. The punch starts from the lower limbs and ends at the fist.

The punch starts with the right foot back. The right foot creates a plantar flexion (which primarily uses the gastrocnemius, soleus, and plantaris muscles). After the plantar flexion occurs, it is follow by the rotation of the right hip in the longitudinal plane. The rotation is then followed by a rotation of the torso, as the result of the flexion of the right internal oblique and left external oblique. As the rotation of the lower and mid body occurs, the right scapula is raised, and the flexion of the glenohumeral joint occurs (mainly caused by the pectoralis muscles, anterior deltoids, and latissimus dorsi)(http://www.180mma.com). Finally, the elbow joint is extended, as a result from the flexion of the triceps (http://www.180mma.com). The end result; a punch.

-The Forces Involved

Now that there is an understanding of the muscular recruitment required to create and translate these forces, we must understand what forces are created. To understand what forces are created, one must apply the three laws of Newton, as described in the previous pages.

According to Newtons 1st Law of Motion, a body at rest stays at rest, while a body in motion stays in motion (McGinnis, 2005). Initially, it is a pretty basic principle, if the boxer’s fist is not moving, then it will stay motionless until a force is generated to move it.

Newton’s 2nd Law is more complicated. In this law, he states that there is a relationship between acceleration and mass (McGinnis, 2005). This relationship is represented by the formula, F=MA (F=force, M=mass, and A=acceleration). What does this mean for boxing? According to this formula, the product of mass and acceleration will equal the amount of force. Greater the mass or great acceleration will yield a greater force output. In the sport of boxing, this is where weight classes come into play. According Stradley (2009), weight classes are important due to the amount of forces that boxers with a greater mass can create. In defense of this article, take into consideration a 210lbs fighter vs. a 150lbs fighter. According to the equation F=MA, the 210lbs fighter will yield a higher force output than the 150lbs fighter; this creates an unfair and unsafe fight. Although punching force does favor the heavier fighter, the equation gives the fighter two ways to increase the force output of the punch. As we already understand, an increase in mass will increase the force, but the force of the punch can also be increased by increasing the acceleration. Ultimately, there are two ways to create a stronger knock-out punch: an increase in mass and/or increase in acceleration.

The Newtons 3rd Law states the action reaction principle. According to McGinnis (2005), the 3rd law concludes that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In relation to boxing, there are two primary components of the punch where this can be applied. First and foremost, as the boxer stands in his stance and pivots on the plantar flexion of the right back foot, gravity is acting downwards, while the reactant force from the ground pushes right back at the boxer. The other applicable case is when the hand makes contact with the strike zone or face, as the fist makes contact the force applied has an equal but opposite reaction on the punching hand.

Aftermath: Injuries

In the sport of boxing, there are three areas where the most injury occurs; the head, hands, and arms. As we discussed in the previous page, force is the result of the product of mass and acceleration. The greater the mass and/or acceleration, the higher the force created, which ultimately increases the risk of injury. According to the study performed by Potter, Snyder, and Smith (2011), there is an estimated 165,602 individuals who have sustained boxing related injury between the years of 1990-2008.

The forces created by the boxer as he/she delivers the punch has the potential to create tremendous damage to the opponent, especially if the contact point is the head. According to the study by Walilko, Viano, and Bir (2005), head punches increase the risk of head and jaw injury due to the straight punches delivered with such high impact velocity, and energy transfer. Ultimately, the level of severity increases as weight class increases. In relation to head injury and damage, ”punches to the head can cause detached retinas, brain hemorrhage, fractured bones, and permanent neurological disorders” (Walilko, Viano, and Bir 2008).

According to Newton’s 3rd law of action reaction, for every force applied, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This holds absolutely true for the damage to the boxers hand and arm. As the boxer punches, the force applied to the opponent is the same force applied to the boxers hand. Such tremendous force over long duration of time creates injury within the bones of the hand. According to a study by Keel (1995), metacarpal fractures are sustained from repetitive punching. The damage created by the reactive forces are also magnified when the hand is in a clenching position. The clenched fist creates exposure of the metacarpophalangeal joints. When tremendous forces are placed on these exposed areas, damage is most likely to occur (Hame & Melone, 2000). Moving up to the arm, forces transferring from hand to lower arm is also enough to create damage in the extensor carpi radialis brevis (Breeze, Ouellette, & Mays, 2009).


Safety Equipment: Forces and Rationale

How does understanding the forces created by the boxer effect the development of boxing equipment or protective equipment? By understanding the forces, an understanding of how to counteract the forces can be achieved. The impact or pressure of the impact is greatest at the sharpest point. By creating and engineering equipment such as a helmet, energy or force can be dispersed over a greater surface area. According to McGinnis (2005), as we increase the surface area and or time it takes to disperse force, the lesser its effect on the individual. Once these forces are absorbed or spread out, the risk of injury is greatly reduced. With the same thought process, the boxing gloves act the same way as the helmet. The gloves disperse the forces or energy over a greater surface area thus increasing the amount of time to disperse the energy. Instead of taking on the force at one point or a short period of time, gloves and helmets, increase the time it takes to disperse the forces due to the material and increased surface area.


Conclusion

There are two components to create a knock-out punch. The first component is muscular and skeletal recruitment and the second is the actual forces necessary to create the perfect punch. As we discussed, these forces are governed by the three laws of Newton; rest and motion, F=MA, and action reaction. Over years of continuous training, the boxer can increase his/her ability to punch harder either by increasing his/her ability to accelerate the fist, better muscular recruitment and strength, and finally increase in mass and size. Ultimately, by understanding the forces created to injure, the same knowledge can be used to create and develop equipment to decrease or eliminate boxing related hand or head injuries.

Monday, November 7, 2011

What is Crossfit, and is it good for triathletes?


The off-season is the time of year when triathlon experts agree that everyone should head to the weight room. Muscle is eaten away over a season of long, exhaustive aerobic exercise, and winter is the time to build back your muscle mass and increase power for faster biking, more efficient running, and injury prevention. Triathletes need to train differently from body builders, doing longer sets to increase muscular endurance rather than maximum power. In The Triathletes Bible, Joe Friel recommends beginning a winter weight-training cycle with 3-5 sets of 20-30 repetitions, and many other coaches recommend maintaining a similar weight training regime throughout the winter. However, doing bodyweight squats ad nauseum is enough to send most scrawny, cardio-loving triathletes screaming out of the weight room for a 6-mile run.
Crossfit is gaining popularity among endurance athletes and the general population as a fun way to build strength, power, and top-end aerobic fitness. CrossFit's followers are often compared to a cult, with its flock sounding like fanatics to the un-indoctrinated athlete. The fact that CrossFit has its own language of acronyms, proper names, and invented words only serves to further-confuse skeptics. But where there are devoted followers, there is often a core concept that resonates, and in this case thousands of rock-hard bodies to back up CrossFit's credibility.

What is CrossFit?

CrossFit is as much an online community as a fitness philosophy. At its core, CrossFit is just a blog where a workout of the day (WOD) is posted every day, and CrossFitters around the world can post their results for all to see. CrossFit calls the sharing aspect of their training "evidence based fitness" because workouts can always be quantified, usually by time. Sometimes the WOD contains a prescribed number of sets and repetitions, and the time each participant takes to finish the whole workout is posted. Other days, the time is fixed and participants post the number of repetitions they were able to complete in the allotted time.
The WOD's attempt to deliver "constantly varied, high-intensity, functional movement" through a combination of high-intensity aerobic exercise (such as track sprints or fast rowing), gymnastics moves, and Olympic-style weightlifting. According to CrossFit's own charter, CrossFit aims to train all kinds of athletes from triathletes, to fire fighters, to powerlifters by being "by design, broad, general, and inclusive." CrossFit avoids muscle isolation, favoring multi-joint movements through the full range of motion to best mimic the movements an athlete will use in his sport.

When is CrossFit right for triathletes?

CrossFit attempts to (re)define fitness based on ten "recognized fitness domains," including not only cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, stamina, and speed, but also strength, flexibility, power, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. While the focus on sprinting, strength, and power may be contraindicated for mid-season triathlon training, the strength and neurological adaptations may be appropriate for many triathletes trying to increase their strength, power, muscle mass, and neuroendocrine system in the offseason.

Cross fit Endurance (CE), is lighter on the weight training, but still re-invents traditional endurance training based on the philosophy that if you work on the neurological aspects of your sport, endurance will come. The more efficient an athlete is, the less energy it will take her to go fast, and the less she will fatigue over time. CrossFit develops neurological pathways through plyometric training, while CE focuses on specificity by developing strength and power through exercises like hill sprints and short, fast swim sets with little recovery. CE marathon plans don't actually involve long runs, and most workouts take significantly less than an hour to do. For those who become all-out CrossFitters, CE may become their only in-season training plans, while traditional-minded triathletes may use CE as the basis for their in-season quality sessions, or as part of a reverse periodization plan.

When is Crossfit wrong for triathletes?


Crossfit involves a number of complex movements under load, putting the weak areas at risk for injury, especially if an athlete's form is off. Triathletes who do not have an extensive weight-lifting background should not begin a Crossfit training program on their own without a personal trainer, physiotherapist, or certified Crossfit trainer to supervise their form.
Triathletes interested in beginning Crossfit training should also undergo a basic strength adaptation program comprised of controlled movements to get past the initial high-soreness, high-injury-risk phase of any strength training program before beginning a Crossfit program. Since integrating strength training into your program is likely to affect the quality of your aerobic workouts, athletes should avoid beginning a Crossfit program mid-season.