Health Effects of Mary Jane

I stumbled on an interesting article about a British woman who took part in a month long study about the effects of smoking marijuana. article

She smoked 1 joint every day for 30 days. She suffered some severe mental anguish as a result and a level of paranoia higher than most schizophrenics.

As far as health effects more related to fitness here are a few relevant quotes from the article (remember she’s English):

“Even basic things like trying to send emails or talk to people on the phone became a real effort of will and brain power. There is no way I could carry on with the life I lead now, looking after my children, at the same time as smoking cannabis, even if it was just occasionally.”

If Nicky’s mind seemed to be getting smaller, her waistline was expanding. Over the course of her investigation, she gained half a stone, due to the drug’s tendency to bring on cravings for junk food.

“Cannabis triggers a chemical surge in the brain which stimulates the appetite, and in particular makes you crave sweet and salty snacks while you are stoned,” says Nicky.

“I could easily get through a couple of packets of biscuits and a huge bag of crisps, and the result was I quickly gained weight.

“I usually go running every day, but the effect of the drug on my lungs meant this was no longer possible either, because cannabis compromises lung function three times as much as ordinary cigarettes.”

Anyway, I found the article fascinating…I had no desire to smoke dope previously, but the paranoid schizophrenia in addition to the other mental and health effects kinda seals the deal. Don’t smoke dope…swing a kettlebell instead!

-Brian

Back in the swing of things.

As you have noticed, I’ve been letting Brian do most of the blogging these days! I haven’t shared that I started work on my master’s degree. I’m going to seminary and commute each weekend, spending the night on Fridays, and coming back late Saturday afternoons. This has added a pretty time-consuming thing to my life! I just finished up the first term and am sitting here on my first day of spring break looking out the rainy window.

If you know me at all, you know that working out is one of the first things to go when I become busy, I mean  * really* busy. BTW, the other thing that is easily let go is cleaning my house! But that is a subject for another blog.

I had sort of a revelation last weekend at school, though. It got me motivated. Maybe it will help you too.

I’ve been observing my fellow classmates in ’student mode,’ slugging up the stairs, lugging around backpacks and suitcases (literally) of books, and looking tired and stressed out. A couple of my classmates even get pretty stiff during class and stand up once in a while during the lecture. They’ll bend over their desk to take notes just to get the creaks out. Others have a really difficult time walking across campus to get to class, or to lunch, or to wherever. Ah, the life of a student.

Boy, this is no judgment on them. After all, I’m the one who has let an important thing slide over seven weeks now. *Seven!* Wow, that’s a long time! In observation of my sluggish classmates, I started reflecting on my own experience:

* I haven’t been paying attention to how little water I am drinking, and I’ve been relying on coffee quite a bit during the week at work. It’s hard to go to school all weekend and jump into work on Sunday and then the week following. Soda gives me stomach aches, so coffee it is. Well, I haven’t been feeling so good!

* In just a few days I’ll be the ripe old age of 32, and I gotta say, I’m feeling creaky! Is that a word? If you’re over 30, you know what I mean, but our 30’s don’t have to be that way. I gotta get the creaks and cricks out.

* I have been sleeping terribly. I fell asleep last night at 10:30 PM, keeping in mind that it was kind of only 9:30 PM due to the daylight savings thing, and I still fell asleep … hard … before Brian even had lights off and doors locked. I stayed up late during the term to get all of my reading and studying in - with work and our daughter there’s no other time to do it - but I bet if I had made time to exercise, sleep would have come easier.

These are just a few BIG changes I’ve noticed since I’ve stopped working out! I got back to it today too! So, if you’re like me and making some excuses today, do it for as long as you can … take just five minutes if you have to, but do *something.* You’ll be so happy that you did!

- Rachel
Kettlebells and Weight Loss

Core Training

This post was originally just going to be about an exercise called the “plank” but I can’t go there without discussing exactly what the “core” is and its function.

The core isn’t simply your abs…it consists of all the layers of muscles surrounding the midsection. The function of the internal “deep” layer of muscles is to contract isometrically (without movement) to stabilize the torso and spine like a corset.

These muscles consist of the transversus abdominis in front, the internal obliques on the side and the multifidus in the rear. The external layer of muscles are what makes torso movement possible. In the front is the rectus abdominis (”abs”) which flex the torso and spine, the external obliques on the sides for rotational motion and the erector spinae in the rear which aid in rotating and extending the spine.

So, why is the core important? It is the critical link between the upper and lower body. Additionally, a strong and stable core is what protects the spine from injury during any activity.

Most people focus on just the muscles responsible for movement. However, it is critical to strengthen the deep stabilizing muscles first so that you have a strong and stable foundation to build on. Strengthening the prime movers on weak stabilizers will lead to lower back pain and potential injury.

Stay tuned as I will post a couple of example core exercises with pictures in the next few days.

For more exercise articles check out our kettlebell website at www.fitkettlebell.com

The Thing about Iron Absorption

About six months ago, I signed up for blood donation, as the Red Cross was doing a drive right where I work. Needles are *not* my favorite thing, but after surviving all of the needles of pregnancy, well, I figured I was ready. I used to faint as a kid anytime there was a needle nearby! Pregnancy sure cures that fear!

Well, six months ago I didn’t pass the intial test where a drop of your blood is put in a solution and has to be heavy enough to drop to the bottom of the test tube within fifteen seconds. My blood sat at the top … and sat, and sat … and sat some more! There was no way I had enough iron to be able to spread it around.

The technician asked if I was tired, and I think my answer resembled “heck yeah.” I was extremely tired. Turned out I was anemic and probably had been for quite some time. A doctor before that had asked if I was taking a multi-vitamin and just made sure to insist I take one. Okay … easy enough, done.

Well, the Red Cross figured out the problem! And here’s where I thought you might be interested:

Women, we do tend to have lower iron levels (particularly if you have been pregnant in the recent past). Take that multi-vitamin, but do *not* take it in the morning if you are drinking coffee or tea. The reason? The tannins in those beverages actually interfere with iron absorption! It’s as if you took no vitamins at all.

Take your calcium - women - as well, but take it at a different time during the day.

Vitamin C will help with your absorption … take your multi-vitamin during a different meal if you can remember and have some orange juice while you are at it!

This small tip made all the difference for me.

I tried again to give blood this past week … and no, I didn’t make it. The good news is that my iron was back up! It was within normal levels for women. I had enough for myself, but this time - as the Tech put it - I didn’t have enough to go around.

If you are really tired and - particularly women - you’re trying to take good care of yourself, consider your iron. I hope this important tip will help you out, as it did me.

- Rachel
Weight Loss Tips, Kettlebells for Women