Is sport bad for the heart? Why don’t vitamins increase energy? Do I need to drink protein shakes to build muscle constantly? All of us constantly have many questions about sports, and we answer these and other questions and debunk myths.
Energy to care for the health and improve the quality of life can be directed in the wrong direction. We deal with popular misconceptions about what is good and useful.
According to the Lancet magazine, more than a quarter of the world’s population is not physically active enough.
There can be a lot of reasons for this: lack of motivation and time, fear of changing the usual way of life and lack of understanding of how to approach. We tell you what you need to know about yourself and your body before starting training and switching to a healthy diet.
1. Sports are Bad for the Heart
Here it is necessary to separate the concepts of “physical education” and “sport”. Suppose we are talking about high-intensity classes to achieve victories in competitions of a serious level, obtaining the titles of CCM and MS.
In that case, it is appropriate to talk about sports. If we are talking about moderate physical activity, which aims to maintain health, it is better to use “physical culture”.
Physical activity is good for the heart and the whole body, including mental health. The main thing is to observe the measure regularity (some 30 minutes a day may be enough) and not overload yourself.
It is important to remember the rule of the golden mean: extreme physical activity can be more beneficial than a sedentary lifestyle, or, on the contrary, it can be very harmful.
Intensive exercises and endurance competitions without considering the level of training of a particular person can put too much stress on the cardiovascular system and the musculoskeletal system. People with genetic risk factors are especially vulnerable here.
According to research, blood samples from athletes who regularly run marathons have shown biomarkers associated with heart damage.
Usually, these microtraumas heal on their own. But if you constantly expose yourself to heavy loads without a proper set of recovery measures, then the body simply physically will not have enough time to recover.
Moderate exercise—walking, jogging, swimming, or any exercise that allows you to carry on a conversation while active—is fine for most people.
To maintain a healthy physical form, you will need 150 minutes a week. Or about half an hour a day. But this is true for those already involved in the training process and have no health problems. At the initial stage, this time should be less. How much do you need?
If you feel worse, unpleasant symptoms appear – for example, pain, shortness of breath, sleep disturbance, appetite, or in the presence of previously identified diseases – it is recommended to consult a doctor before starting the training process or increasing the load.
2. Exercise is Better in the Morning
Physical education is useful at almost any time of the day. However, it is better to reduce physical activity a little before going to bed. Otherwise, it will be more difficult for you to fall asleep. Healthy rest is necessary before the next portion of the load.
Suppose you can work out in the afternoon, great. During these hours, approximately from 14.00 to 18.00, there is a peak of the natural increase in body temperature.
It is assumed that the warmed muscles will contract better, which will make the workout more effective.
Physical activity in the morning is also beneficial. According to a study published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, women who walked in the morning were less likely to pay attention to photos of sweets and other unhealthy foods during the rest of the day.
The scientists also noticed that those of their wards which went to the gym in the morning were more physically active in the afternoon.
3. The More We Sweat, the More Calories We Burn
The main purpose of the sweating process is to protect the body from overheating in the sun, during sports and other heat stress. Of course, it takes energy to physically transport the ions that allow water to enter the glands and be excreted as sweat. But for weight loss, this is not essential, and sweat is just a sign that your body loses water, not body fat.
Exercise causes an increase in core body temperature, and your body reacts. Releases sweat to cool off. At the same time, it is important to understand that we get the greatest effect when the calories burned are not used to generate heat but to provide energy to the muscles.
Physical activity burns calories most intensively, along with the increased nervous activity. In the latter case, the body consumes a lot of energy.
Work in coordination unfamiliar to a person is much more energy-consuming than the same work in understandable circumstances, such as skiing down a new track.
Another factor is the involvement of the maximum number of muscle groups: in this case, your body will burn more calories and produce more heat and, accordingly, sweat. Excessive sweating may indicate that the body is not working efficiently.
Should bear in mind that all people are different and sweat at different speeds. For example, if your body is accustomed to the heat, sweating occurs more quickly, as the body is used to self-cooling.
In addition, the process can be influenced by hormones, drugs, the state of the body as a whole. And this applies to both physical and mental health.
4. Vitamins Will Make you More Energetic
Taking mass-produced vitamins indiscriminately will not help you run faster or jump higher. The effect of such drugs is invisible, and it comes gradually and, most likely, will manifest itself not in a few days but a few months.
Vitamins and minerals act as catalysts for biochemical reactions in the human body. When they are not enough, the metabolism works worse, and you can feel lethargic.
It is better to focus on good nutrition and the intake of nutrients into the body with food.
However, it would help if you recognised that vegetables and fruits lose their vitamins during long-term storage, and then you have to resort to special additives. The pharmacological form of the vitamins taken is also important.
Exceeding the required dosages of vitamins and microelements does not lead to increased efficiency and, on the contrary, can harm.
The best solution used by many professional athletes will be a thorough biochemical analysis of the strategic parameters of blood plasma, followed by mathematical modelling and individual calculation of the nutritional support formula.
5. The More Protein We Eat, the More We Build Muscle
Professional athletes consume more protein than regular people, as it is the building block for their muscles. But it is impossible to increase muscle only due to a protein diet.
The daily diet should be well balanced and meet the demand for energy supply for sports functions and everyone else.
After all, the body spends energy not only on the work of muscles, and the nervous system that controls these muscles also needs to replenish the lost energy. And for that, she needs carbs.
In addition, excessive excess of the amount of incoming protein can lead to an overload of the liver and kidneys. With active physical exertion, nutrition should be balanced and adjusted for proteins, fats, carbohydrates, incoming vitamins and water.
It is better to focus on consuming 0.75-1.5 g of protein per 1 kg of human weight, depending on gender, age, and physical activity.
Eating a protein meal before or immediately after a workout helps to ensure an adequate supply of amino acids, the building materials necessary for the body to repair and build tissues.
