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The Houston Hot Sheet vol 7 2006

What’s New This Month

Spring has sprung! And, to get it started, we had our first Health Fair at Deer lake Athletic Club on Saturday! We have received great press from all the local newspapers to help us get the word out (Oakland Press, Clarkston News, Deer Lake Athletic Club, Clarkston Chamber of Commerce), we are very excited about how the event is rolling out…thanks again to everyone who helped us out by participating, attending, and also promoting the event for us! We will list EVERYBODY involved in the event on our website, but we could not have done it without Dr Lisa Guyot and Genesys Hospital, Nora at Providence, the Deer Lake PT staff, Oakland County, and more! Congratulations to our prize winners; we gave away $2000.00 in prizes!

Ask the Trainer

I am confused about what to do if I experience any pain in the joint or muscle following a strenuous workout, should I use ice or heat? As always, the situations require different solutions. Whenever you experience ANY pain following a workout (whether with a trainer or on your own), make sure you pay close attention to WHAT and WHERE you feel the pain. If the pain seems to be within the length of the muscle and eases up as the day progresses (meaning it feels tender upon waking), that should be ok; this is usually referred to as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS. Generally, this requires no special care or adjustments. This is an indication you forced the muscle to work outside of its comfort zone. This is a sign that the muscle was stressed appropriately to create an adaptive response. Sometimes this type of pain dissipates quickly; sometimes it lingers for 2 to 3 days. If the pain is intense or located in one concentrated area, it may be the result of an acute muscle strain; this can be much more painful and last longer than DOMS. This type of injury is very sensitive to touch or pressure, and there is usually swelling at the site. When you have swelling, this can benefit from ice or cold therapy. The swelling reduces blood flow thru the tissues and can slow recovery. When the swelling starts to subside, the next step is to PROMOTE more blood flow (blood is the “healing” process), and controlled applications of heat can stimulate blood flow without restoring the swelling. We have found that topical applications of capsaicin based pain relievers can do a great job to stimulate the site. Check the website for more information on applying ice and heat therapy.

Exercise Tip of the Month

Your workout is just the beginning! But, believe it or not, your workout is not where the hardest work takes place. The hard work starts once the workout ends! You do not actually get stronger during your exercise. You are creating a specific stimulus for growth and strength, but your actions after your workout ends will dictate how effectively your body will change something to adapt. The goal of the workout is to create a SPECIFIC stimulus (one that tells the brain the muscles have to become stronger, or more efficient, or have better endurance, etc.). At the conclusion of the workout, your body has an “anabolic” window, or “glycogen replacement window”. It is during this time period that you begin to restore and repair what you did with your workout. You can greatly aid your body’s ability to adapt and recover by providing a simple source of carbohydrates within this window. You have expended a large amount of the energy normally found in the bloodstream during your workout (especially if it is high intensity weight training). Your body is desperately looking for some energy to replace what was used. If you provide it, your body will maintain an elevated metabolic rate for hours to try to deal with the stress it received during the workout. If you do NOT supply a simple sugar, your body has the means to manufacture its own energy thru “gluconeogenesis” which is the act of making glucose. Sounds ok, right? WRONG! When your body starts to make its own glucose, it breaks down muscle tissue (which is very easy to turn into glucose), which delays your recovery, slows down your metabolism, AND worse, consumes the very thing that BURNS the calories later! Pay attention to what your body needs when you end your workout…recovery is the place where all of the benefits from the workout are created.

Recipe of the Month: Smarter Fettuccine Alfredo

From the Kraftfoods.com Food and Family magazine, we found a delicious healthy alternative to traditional cream based fettuccine alfredo. This dish has long been referred to as a “Heart attack on a plate” due to the high saturated fat content. This version reduces the calories to 300 per serving, and fat to 6 grams per serving. Prep time is 5 minutes; total cooking time is 20 minutes to the plate.

8 oz. fettuccine, uncooked (substitute whole wheat for higher protein/lower carbs)
1.25 cups fat free reduced sodium chicken broth
4 tsp. flour
1/3 cup Light Cream Cheese spread (Philadelphia brand)
3 tbsps. Kraft parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, pinch of oregano

Cook pasta as directed on package.
Meanwhile, combine broth and flour in medium saucepan. Stir in cream cheese spread, cook two minutes, stirring constantly until mixture boils and thickens.
Toss pasta with sauce, 2 tbsp of parmesan cheese and nutmeg. Sprinkle 1 tbsp parmesan cheese and parsley and oregano. Season to taste with fresh cracked pepper. Makes 4 servings, 1 cup each.
Cal 300, fat 6g (sat 3 g), carb 46g, fiber 2 g, protein 14g, sodium 380mg, chol. 15mg

Worth a Look

It looks like the Campbell’s Soup people have a homerun on their hands! They have found a low sodium way to maintain the taste they are famous for, and it should be on the shelves by the end of summer. They promise great classic taste, and less than 480 mg sodium per serving. In some cases, sodium will be reduced by up to 75%! Good job Campbell’s!

Book Excerpt: From the soon to be released “Breaking Down the Barriers”

“Wright: How would you describe your Chile Pepper exercise approach and your philosophy on health and lifestyle?
Houston: The exercise approach and philosophy is the same; it’s about balance—personal balance, physical balance, balance between expended effort and effort rewarded, balance between recovery and stimulus, getting the strength and health benefits based on how hard you can work safely and balance between how much food you eat and how much food you need. It’s also about balance between goals and lifestyle and family and free time—trying to make the exercise fit into that balance so that it becomes part of someone’s daily routine rather than a chore they have to convince themselves to do. When someone finds this balance, they find themselves healthier, happier, and more rested with less stress. Since we know that day-to-day stress is different for everyone, we do our best to help people identify their unique situation, and how to make effective lifestyle changes that can fit into their lifestyles.”

Chile Pepper Tip of the Month

Capsaicin, the active ingredient in chile peppers (the part that has the heat!) has been brought into the mainstream medical community again: this time as a potential aid in the fight against prostate cancer. Test mice showed, when fed the equivalent of eight habanero peppers, a complete remission in the cancer cells! Admittedly, eating eight habanero peppers may be a little much for the average person, but you can be assured; more tests will follow to see how effective turning up the heat can be! Bring on the salsa…no point in waiting to get started!

Upcoming Events

Our adult education classes are still showing some seats available. We had considered dropping the classes from our spring schedule (we have been happily working full schedules), but we will hold out to see if the spots fill up. Prices are only $41.00 for 3 classes; check the website for more details.

You can contact us at our studio located at 2624 S Milford Rd, Highland, MI 48357, or by phone at 248-676-2882, or via email at www.houstonfc.com. We look forward to your comments and ideas for our future newsletters.