Issue 135

December 2015

Often when the chips are down and life’s taken an almighty dump on you, your first reaction is to run away from your problems, and new research suggests that could actually help.

Running is a great way of releasing endorphins in your central nervous system, which interact with receptors in the brain to block out pain and trigger a positive feeling in the body. But new research published in the journal Cell Metabolism also suggests we could be encouraging the release of motivation-transmitter dopamine when we hit the track or treadmill.

That’s because hormone signals regulating feeding and exercise are now believed to be closely linked. And endurance activity in humans is likely to have evolved to improve our chances of finding food. Basically, hormones are sending the brain a clear message: when food is scarce, it’s fun to run to chase some down.

Roll with it

Spending 20 minutes with a good foam roller is one of the quickest ways to recover during an intense fight camp. And according to research published in the Journal of International Training, the optimal time to reduce tenderness and inflammation is immediately after intense exercise, and rollers with flexible but firm bumps proved to be the most effective.

Sleep it off

With winter fast approaching, the common cold will take more than it’s far share of victims in the gym before the holidays even roll around. But you can fight off the sniffles simply by hitting the hay.

A study reported in the journal SLEEP tested the slumber patterns of 164 subjects while infecting them with the common cold virus. Researchers discovered that those who had less than five hours shuteye per night were 4½ times more likely to get sick than those who got seven hours or more.

Power up your veggies

Let’s be honest, few of us eat as many vegetables as we should, so ways to increase our consumption should never be ignored. Bodybuilding.com writer Shannon Clark designed a bunch of cool dips, and this simple spicy Mexican one was our favorite.

Ingredients: 

1 cup spicy salsa

2oz fat-free cream 

cheese

½ cup low fat Greek yogurt

Handful of cooked and diced shrimp

2 sliced green onions

Method:

1. Combine the salsa, yogurt and cheese. 

2. Once well mixed stir in the shrimp and onions.

3. Serve with sweet pepper sticks, carrots or low-fat chips.