MARCH NEWSLETTER
- alicegracept
- Mar 2, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 22
Autumn has arrived!
And just like that, we are in March already and hopefully you're all sticking with your new year resolutions and the year has started off great despite a few weather events going on around the country. 2023 appears to be the year of change with so many of you moving into new and exciting work roles. I wish you all the best in these and hope that you can continue to strive for that work/life balance. With that in mind, the focus for this month is RECOVERY. Working hard in the gym is great, but if your recovery outside of the gym isn't happening, you're not giving your body it's best chance to make the positive changes we all want and work hard to achieve. I know you're all too familiar with the muscle pains we sometimes get a few days after a hard strength session and this is what we call DOMS or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. The reason behind this pain being due to temporary muscle damage and inflammation. With good recovery, your muscles repair from this and become stronger. You all know that nutrition plays a large role in this recovery, but did you know that nutrition can actually help with your sore muscles too?
Here are three nutritional strategies that can help with DOMS:
1) PROTEIN: Protein supports the growth and repair of muscle tissue following exercise making it a key nutrient in minimising DOMS. Try incorporating a protein source into your meals, especially around workouts. 2) Omega 3 fatty acids: These help to regulate inflammation in our body and studies have shown
that they can help improve DOMS.
3) Caffeine: Most commonly known for decreasing fatigue & improving focus but caffeine can also help with DOMS by reducing our perception of pain. Do note however, that we all have difference tolerances to caffeine and it varies greatly among drinks such as coffee.
Remember: Having good overall nutrition is more important for optimal recovery that any individual nutrient or supplement.
We all know how important sleep is however, when our lives get busy, it's usually one of the first things to suffer. So let's use this month to focus in on our sleep and all reap the benefits together!
The goal is to aim for at least 7 hours of sleep each night. None of us are perfect and this might seem like an impossible task, but let's just try and improve on our sleep over the next 4 weeks.
- Start with setting yourself a consistent bedtime.
- Then, create yourself a bit of a wind down routine before bed, to tell your body it's time to switch off.
- Have a read of this great article about how sleep can help you!
I'd love to hear how you get on!
Recipe of the Month:
Roast Pumpkin Salad - brought to you by my lovely client Tania!
- Peel and dice 1 small pumpkin - (I prefer a dry one eg buttercup)
- Roast pumpkin on 180deg for approx 30min along with 1 large red onion roughly chopped, a few sprigs of rosemary, plenty of pepper and salt and a fine drizzle of olive oil. (Add a couple of whole cloves of garlic if wanted to add into dressing).
Let the above cool to warm and combine with a bag of baby spinach and handful of cashew nuts.
Dressing
In a lidded jar combine the following:
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Splash of olive oil
- Plenty of pepper & salt
- roasted garlic cloves (squeezed) if desired
Options - I often add left over shredded roast chicken and also roast capsicum with the pumpkin
Great for lunches - although best to keep the dressing seperate if possible.
Easy to make salad when cooking up a roast ….
HITT
Looking for a high intensity workout to ramp up that calorie burn?
Come join me for group fitness in the Cityfitness HIIT studio
Checkout the new format - The Mountain/La Maunga
Tuesday 6:20pm // Wednesday 12:15 // Thursday 1:10pm
Referral System
Have a friend, family member or colleague interested in Personal Training? Let them know about my trial offer for new clients wanting to try out personal training: 3 x 30 minute sessions for $100! Refer them to me and you'll receive a free session!
Yours in health and fitness,
Alice Ultee
REPs Registered Personal Trainer
BPhed Otago University
Kommentarer