Your injury is acute. It happened within the last 48 hours and you can remember the exact instant you were injured: there was a pull, snap, crackle or a pop.
Ice will help decrease swelling, pain and inflammation. It is critical for rapid recovery.
For how long?
10 minutes on, 10 minutes off x 2-3.
Don't keep ice on for longer than 10 minutes, it can actually have a hindering effect.
Put the ice on you don't put yourself on the ice. If you rest your leg ontop of ice that can cut off circulation and therefore impact healing. Make sure gravity holds the ice down, you're not pressing it down.
When to Heat
Your injury is chronic or sub-acute. It came over a period of time, maybe you were over-training, or improperly overusing a certain body part. There was no exact instant where you felt the pain come on.
Heat will decrease pain in the area and increase blood flow which will help heal your injury faster. You have a dull pain when at rest.
The best heating pads are ones with moisture heat. I bought my heating pad (below) in Toronto at a specialty massage store: Know Your Body Best. This store is so cool, great people work there and they have an endless selection of essential oils and everything you need for a massage and more!
Compared to plain milk, water, or most sports drinks, chocolate milk has double the carbohydrate and protein content, perfect for replenishing tired muscles after a tough Bod Squad!
I love chocolate milk! In university I took a class called exercise nutrition and we learned a lot of really useful info. One of the best things I learned in that course was how useful chocolate milk is as a recovery drink after a tough workout.
Here's Why:
The high water content in chocolate milk replaces fluids lost as sweat, preventing dehydration. Plus it packs a nutritional bonus of calcium, and includes just a little sodium and sugar – additives that are helpful aids in water retention and energy boosting! Drinking plain water after exercise replaces sweat losses – and that's it. Chocolate milk provides carbohydrate replenishment to your muscles – something they can metabolize.
HOLD ON: you don't need 2L of chocolate milk! 250ml is more than enough after an hour long intense workout to help you replenish and recharge for your next workout! I buy the little cartons because I have zero self control and if provided the opportunity I will finish an entire gallon!
A study from three universities, published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, found that those who drank fat-free chocolate milk after a hard run were able to run 23% longer on their next run than those who drank sports drinks.
1. Our house has officially SOLD! Hurray! And it sold for well over asking, hip hip hurray!! The new owners sound like really great people… so I'm sure they won't mind when I move into the shed.
2. Bod Squaders have been losing inches like crazy! I believe in tracking inches more than pounds. I find that it is a more accurate way to track initial fat loss. At the beginning of the sessions I take participant measurements and our month one combined total inches lost is over 50, a record!! WOO HOO Bod Squad! I love you.
3. Bod Squad Nights started last night! It was great to get some fresh meat! The location is also new, hilly and therefore very exciting! I've fallen in love with Chorley park hill. It looks nice and gentle here but in person it's a MONSTER! You haven't lived yet until you've run up Chorley… 3x.
Hill training is a great way to amp up the intensity in your cardio workouts!
Think of the hill as your built-in trainer, the hill will push you whether you like it or not!
A classic hill workout calls for you to run up hill as fast as possible and jog or walk downhill. This workout re-works that old habit. It's important to learn how to run fast downhill too. Running downhill builds up your eccentric leg strength. Without getting too sciencey on you here, there are three types of muscle contracts: concentric (muscle contracted at it's shortest), eccentric (muscle at it's longest point when contracted) and isometric (muscle at neutral contraction). It's important to train all three contraction types but eccentric contractions are known to produce big time post workout muscle soreness. After a downhill workout your legs will be more sore than if you were going up hill!
Running fast downhill also helps improve leg turnover, bottom line: it will help make you a faster runner! And faster running = way more fun.
The keys to running well downhill
Let your hips be free.
Don't lock your stance.
Let your leg turnover happen quickly which will help you more with speed on the flat surface.
Find a hill that takes you more than 45 seconds to run up to the top and then try this workout:
One thing I love about my family is we know how to come together as Team Preston and get stuff done.
Two weeks ago my parents decided it was time to officially take the leap and sell our Toronto home. They had been talking about selling for the last two years and figured with Lindsay just graduating now is the perfect time. I'm so proud of them and excited for this next chapter.
This house has been absolutely perfect for us. After moving out last September I really began to appreciate how awesome it is. It's been well taken care of and it's taken good care of us!
One thing you should know about my parents is they are perfectionists. Especially my Dad Ian! He has this funny line that makes my sister and me simulateously grown and die laughing: " girls, take it from an eight to a 10." Meaning the little extra makes all the difference. All week that phrase rang in my ear. "take it that flower bed from an eight to a 10!" While I was knee deep in the gardens, Dad was power-washing, Linds was scrubbing walls and Mom was at work orchestrating all the chaos. It was a full hands on deck operation!
Throughout this process we learned a ton about housing staging. The thing that shocked me the most was how much JUNK we have. And how much our instinct is to hang onto the junk! For example, I had to convince my Dad it was time to part with a dusty toucan stuffed animal bird that had been left untouched hanging in our furnace room for 21 years. Dad, put down the bird, donate and walk away from the bird. You won't miss it!
The other key thing we learned in setting up the house was how much better everything looks when there's less furniture. Less is really more!
I find myself looking around the apartment now telling Matt we should get rid of everything and go Zen. He thinks I'm nuts, but that's normal.
We emptied the place out and it looks so good my parents are semi joking that they might just stay after all. If they do, I'm busy the next time they stage the house!
So what do you guys think? I bet if we all chipped in a little bit we could buy it and share it!? But seriously want to?
If you're interested in looking at more photos and the specifics have a look here.
If you're seriously serious contact our real estate agent Lauretta: lauretta@torontoforsale.com. Just know that if you buy it, I'll be coming over for workouts in the backyard!
