Bodybuilding & Personal Health
A view from Physical Frontiers
Our health is arguably the most important thing we possess. Health enables us to carry out the basic activities of day to day living in an optimum fashion and to maintain our lives with a sense of enjoyment and purpose.
As Bodybuilders, Power lifters or Strength Athletes we are expecting our bodies to perform at a level far in excess of what may be considered normal. Our training is often brutal and sustained, diets can be harsh and unusual, supplementation is inevitably aggressive and pre contest preparation requires an extreme level of condition to be obtained and maintained for days or even weeks.
Each of these factors together with regular day by day stresses on our physical and mental health start to build up formidable obstacles to us operating at peak efficiency day in, day out.
In addition to this the Governing bodies of all branches of the power sports wish to encourage a degree of respectability. Bodybuilders with distended Abdomens, bad skin and obvious signs of distress on stage or at the venue are not welcome to say nothing of the cases of pre mature morbidity or death which occur on a regular basis.
I would suggest that the question we now need to ask ourselves is what strategies should we be adopting to maintain and improve our health both for every day purposes and for our chosen sport.
The bottom line as athletes of any description is that you will not achieve your full genetic potential without making health your first priority. Even without considering potential serious medical conditions or cosmetic considerations optimum health will aid:
1. Consistent workouts at a level to stimulate muscle growth and increase strength
2. The ability to recover from those work outs
3. The ability to digest and assimilate foods and supplementation in a fashion that will help us recover,
repair and grow.
These areas are the 3 basic tenets of Bodybuilding, get these right consistently and you will achieve your potential.
At Physical Frontiers we use a strategy which we believe will give ourselves and every athlete we look after the best possible chance of success.
As part of the initial consultation with any new or prospective client we will use time to build up a picture of the individuals medical history covering both illness and injuries. This will give us a view on past events. To help ascertain current medical status we strongly recommend a full spectrum blood test, particularly if the individual competes or adopts an aggressive supplementation policy.
The blood test will provide us with data on:
● Liver Function
● Kidney Function
● White blood cell count and health
● Red blood cell count and health
● Cholesterol levels - Total Cholesterol, LDL, HDL, Triglycerides
● Blood Glucose levels
● Haemoglobin Levels
● Platelet levels
● Thyroid production and levels
● Stress levels
● Plasma testosterone levels
We would normally expect all results to be available within 24 - 48 hours and we will fully discuss the results with you.
Together with details of your current diet, life style and training regime this provides us with a snap shot of your current health status at that point in time.
At this stage we would address any anomalies that the discussions and tests may have thrown up. A perfect example of this would be HDL/LDL Cholesterol levels that may be outside the optimum range. By taking a short period to correct the balance (normally by dietary means) the problem may be corrected and full on training and supplementation can be resumed. However, if left undiagnosed and/or treated we can be storing up future problems that could lead to the onset of Coronary Artery Disease.
If further investigations of any kind are required we have access to a full range of tests and scans from urine analysis through to ECG, MRI and CT scans.
Starting to work with off season competitive Bodybuilders, non competitive athletes and Power lifters/Strength athletes where extreme diets are not required we would help advise on food and supplementation use that not only provides all of the Macro nutriments we all get so obsessed with (Protein, Fats, Carbohydrates and Water) but also the important Micro nutriments (Vitamins, Minerals etc) needed to maintain good health as well as performance.
This together with basic health care such as ’flu avoidance policies, information on the effects of alcohol and recreational drugs and physical fitness issues such as the use of Cardio Vascular exercise and flexibility strategies should produce athletes who are performing and living at the top end of their abilities.
The situation pre contest tends to be different and inevitably some health issues will have to be put on hold in order to achieve the super “in shape” condition needed to win shows.
HOWEVER, we do not adopt many of the old fashioned super severe pre contest practices of the past but still turn out athletes in the shape of their lives.
Post contest is another important period where we have experimented with a number of strategies to help maintain health and to avoid that post contest mental “crash” that many competitors suffer from. Manipulation of “active recovery” periods, diet recommendations and goal planning all have an important part to play here.
If you would wish to discuss any aspect of health and Bodybuilding please contact either Dr. Jass Lidder or Paul Ehren at Physical Frontiers:
DR Jass Lidder: 0208 5140686
Paul Ehren: 07768 563 688
Email: Jass or Paul: info@physicalfrontiers.co.uk
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