Checking Gauges and Displays

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Driving back to the airport yesterday, I know I would be cutting it close on gas.  However, I thought it would be so great to get to and from my destination without having to fill up at all.

I started with under half a tank for my return trip, but I was taking a shorter route this time so I thought I could make it.  Throughout the drive I would compare my remaining driving miles on my phone to how many miles the dashboard display told me I had left in my tank.

About 40 miles out it looked like I was going to be golden, until the remaining gas miles started to rapidly drop.  Clearly there had been some type of miscalculation earlier as the miles left in my tank looked like they'd hit zero in a matter of minutes.

So what did I do?  I pulled over and got gas, duh.

But here's the thing--having those gauges and displays to both help me calculate if making the trip without filling up was initially possible as well as to alert me that I needed to stop ASAP saved me from some serious hassle.  Without those, I certainly would have run out of gas and may have missed my flight home.

It was an easy decision to listen to what those displays were telling me.  I didn't think I knew better and just needed to suck it up and drive through it.  I saw there was a potential issue and I addressed it before anything came of it.

How often do we listen to the gauges and displays of our body?  How often do we check to see if what we are trying to do is presently too much for us?  How often are we proactive about ensuring our own well being instead of waiting until we are metaphorically stuck on the side of the road without any gas?

Muscle Activation Techniques™ is a process by which it can be determined if what you are trying to do is too much for you right now.  It can also be that proactive means to ensuring you can continue to do what you want.

If you find it necessary to at least glance at the dashboard display from time to time while you drive your car, why would you not find it necessary to at least glance from time to time at the display board of your body to help you do whatever it is you want to do?

Be proactive about ensuring your own well being.  Don't get caught stuck on the side of the road without any gas.

Interested in finding out more?  Check out the Muscle Activation Techniques™ page!

Interested in setting up an assessment or discussing this subject further?  Leave a comment below or e-mail Charlie at charlie@selfmadefitness.com!

Your body.  Your training.

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Today's Intent

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What is your intent for today?  What is the one thing you are going to accomplish no matter what?  How do you have your mind set?

Built to Last

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Self Made® Book Store
 
What makes a company a visionary company?

This is the fundamental question trying to be answered by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras and their team in their book Built to Last:  Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.

6.3

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As someone who has been diagnosed as having type-1 diabetes, having testing done on me has become commonplace over the past decade and a half plus.  This past Friday I went in to have my blood drawn to test (among other things) my A1C scores--an indicator of my average blood glucose levels over approximately the past three months.



A year ago my A1C came back at a level of 7.3.  This time it was down to 6.3--an entire percentage point lower than it was this time last year.

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Comparing my lifestyle choices between this year and last, it was initially difficult for me to see any major differences.  In fact, this time last year was when I was in my early stages of sleeping 3 hours a night--a phase that would last until mid March of this year--so I would not have been surprised if  things were the same or worse than before after running on such little sleep for that long.  However, the more I thought about it, the more some little choices I have made began to surface.

While I have been getting more sleep over the last four months, a few other things really stood out to me when I was thinking about lifestyle changes I've made.

The first two I have already written about in previous posts--intermittent fasting and the effects that has had on my blood glucose levels as well as the effects receiving regular MAT™ sessions have had on my blood glucose levels.  But the third thing that I've really changed over the past year is not yet something that I've written about exclusively.

One factor I have decreased over the past 12 months is the frequency, duration, and relative intensity of my exercise.  I used to exercise six to seven days a week, most of which was done at extremely high intensities.  These exercise bouts used to force me to elevate my blood glucose levels into the 200's beforehand and then by the end I was either down in the 120's or I continued to elevate into the 250's and beyond.

I'd be exercising for anywhere from one to three hours at a time, all of which from time to time would lead to massive drops in my blood glucose levels either later in the day or that night.

By decreasing the frequency, duration, and relative intensity of my exercise, I have experienced fewer swings in my blood glucose levels.  I can begin my exercise session at lower levels (closer to 140) and usually end up between 80 and 100 with there rarely ever being a delayed hypoglycemic reaction.

Just as exercising more appropriately for my body has relieved me of many of the joint aches and pains I used to experience on a daily basis, exercising appropriately with the understanding of the stress that exercise can potentially create and adjusting thing accordingly may have helped relieve me of the massive blood glucose swings I used to experience.

While a year ago I loved everything about what I did while I exercised, taking a step back and coming to the realization that it just wasn't working for my body in multiple ways has allowed me to see just how powerful of a tool exercise is.

Realizing this can't help but beg the question, "Is your exercise right for your body?".

Your body.  Your training.

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Exercise For Tomorrow

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Injuries are not fun.  There's just no way around that.  And rarely will you ever find someone who says they exercise with the goal of getting injured.  In fact, many people will say the exact opposite, that part of their goal in exercising is to become less prone to injuries.

There are a lot of injuries that are unavoidable such as those that are caused by a single traumatic event.  But there are also a lot of injuries that are avoidable--ones that unknowingly occur over many years until all of a sudden the discomfort doesn't go away anymore.  These injuries may be brought on by doing the same things over and over and over every day for years as well as by exercising inappropriately for your abilities.

The good news is that by understanding how to appropriately manage your exercise these chronic injuries may be less likely to occur or avoided altogether.

One form of exercise that may help in the prevention of these chronic injuries is Muscle Activation Techniques™.  Muscle Activation Techniques™ assesses how well your muscles can contract and then improves upon that ability.  By improving the ability of your muscles to contract efficiently, you will have more muscles that are working at a higher level.

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This means any activity you enjoy doing, you'll have more muscles working better to do that activity with.  Additionally, by bringing more muscles to work with you, you will have better control over your joints, which may lead to healthier joints down the road.

The goal of MAT™ is not to relieve your discomfort today, but by getting your muscles to contract better you may have a greater chance of not experiencing chronic discomfort down the road.

Are the choices you make today going to leave you better or worse off tomorrow?

Interested in finding out more?  Check out the Muscle Activation Techniques™ page!

Interested in setting up an assessment or discussing this subject further?  Leave a comment below or e-mail Charlie at charlie@selfmadefitness.com!

Your body.  Your training.

Like this post?  Drop a comment below and “Like” Self Made® on Facebook!

Want to use this article on your blog, in your newsletter, or on any other platform?  You may, but be sure to include all of the biographical info found in the yellow box below!