Kathryn Alexander

I’ll confess to you all that I feel slammed by my to-do list right now. Buried under it. I have programs to write, people to call, emails to send, friends and family on my mind, cleaning, and oh my goodness, laundry always. 

I am by no means complaining. I am self-employed so I have the ability to structure my work hours, which is a huge blessing. There are no imposed quotas to meet, or gimmicky products to pitch. My clients are wonderful, my own training is paying off in spades, and I feel freer than I have in years. 

But there’s still a lot to be done. Number one contributor to my overwhelmed feeling?

Reading.

Yes, reading. 

There will never be enough hours in life to read everything I want to read. There are thousands of journals, millions of articles, textbooks, blogs, memoirs. 

I even like fiction, and I consider it a treat to get a new Clive Cussler book. I usually finish them in 2 sittings, which is why I had to limit my fun-reading in grad school. Apparently “all-nighter” is supposed to refer to studying for class, not staying up reading for fun. Pshh.

Where do I even begin? Maybe “begin” isn’t the right word. Continue? But for every new book, journal, or article I read, I have 100 new questions to research.

Every new person whose insights I appreciate has mentors he or she learned from, and favorite books. Those go on my to-read list too. I didn’t even have space to mention all the people I enjoyed learning from at the recent TSAC Annual Training. When they mentioned books they’ve read, I wrote them down. Authors they follow, I noted too. If you are interested in learning who made an impression on me, click here. 

Look at my book collection. Just look at it. This is about a tenth of it, and I’ve got more coming in the mail. And some on my iPad and saved on my computer. Every article I was assigned to read in grad school is still in my possession, because they all had a purpose. They were all important.

These reading habits are mine for multiple reasons. First, I owe it to my clients to be educated. It’s what I went to school for, and what they pay me for. The hours I spend learning and planning benefit them most so I never neglect it.

Secondly, I just love it! I love reading science. I love the methodical nature of studies, and the precise write ups. I love how nearly everything we need to know is out there. It’s basically getting a cheat sheet for how to learn more, how to do better, how to be healthier. Reading journal articles takes a certain amount of practice, but it’s available to you and me.

Sometimes I’m even tempted to skip my workouts just to have more time to read. 

Then I read about another benefit of exercise, and it never surprises me. The extent to which exercise benefits us, we cannot even understand.

So in the end I usually do not skip my workouts because science gives me my answer again. 

Unexpected Benefits of Exercise

Exercise benefits our productivity in many ways, two of which are physically and cognitively.

Physically, exercise can make your day to day tasks easier. This means you have more time to do your activities of daily living, and they are easier on you. They will take less energy, less fortitude, and allow you to do more with all the extra effort you save.

Likewise, exercise can reframe your mood, both in the short and long term. It can increase productivity, creativity, cognitive performance, and stave off decline.

Physical Benefits of Exercise on Productivity

If you google “physical activity and cognition”, 2,140,000 results show up. Incredible! This is pretty well known so let’s consider the other long term benefit, increases in work capacity.

Exercise can make your every day better by improving your physical capacity. If your body is trained to do more, then your activities of daily living with take less out of you. You’ll have more strength and energy left to do the things you want to do.

Consider how many steps you take per day. If you take 8,000 steps per day, then a long trip to the grocery store might take a large amount of those. In this case, some unplanned event might take a disproportional amount of energy.

This happens frequently in real life. Maybe a car breaks down and you have to walk half a mile, or a shopping trip with friends turns into more walking than you expected. Sometimes you meet up with friends downtown for dinner, and a change of restaurant plans necessitates an urban hike. 

Let’s say you take increase your steps from about 8,000 to 12,000 steps a day. Then, that walk around the mall, or finding the car after a football game, won’t be such a large percentage of your activity.

It is better to be active and ready for even the things you don’t plan for.

Put this in strength terms. Some people think they don’t need to be stronger or don’t see how increased strength will benefit their daily lives, but being stronger can benefit you. 

This is obvious for those with physically demanding jobs. For example, military, police, fire and medical personnel always have to be able to move people and things. If these people can only deadlift 200 pounds, they might not be adequately prepared for the job.

Two hundred pounds may sound like a lot. Consider, though, that many people in the general population weigh 200 pounds. If that tactical athlete must move a 160 pound teammate who is carrying 40 pounds of gear, or a 200 pound person in a fire, he is using 100% of his carrying capacity. That is too much – he or she will fatigue soon, if he can even pick up the person. That doesn’t even include any gear he or she is personally carrying.

Now, if that person can deadlift 350 pounds, which should be doable for most males who train strength, then 200 pounds is only 57% of his capacity. In this case, he should be able to move the 200 pound person much easier than if it were almost all his strength allowed.  

Many people have elaborated more on this idea, and I certainly don’t claim it as an original thought. It needs to be said many more times so people understand how important strength is.

What if you aren’t a first responder; does this apply to you? Absolutely! Don’t you carry groceries, luggage or children?

If your overall work capacity and maximal strength levels are higher, then these things will not feel like a chore. They will be submaximal work, and will feel much easier. You’ll go through all your activities of daily living and you’ll be less tired at the end of the day because your body’s inherent ability is greater. This is the gift exercise gives you.

Cognitive Benefits of Exercise on Productivity

As mentioned early, it is well documented that exercise benefits mood and can help alleviate depression and anxiety, to differing degrees. What is fascinating is that exercise has also been shown to increase creativity [1].

A 1997 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed that participants increased their post-exercise creativity independent of mood changes.

Participants in the study were part of a group exercise class, and on a separate day, watched an emotionally “neutral” video. They filled out surveys about their mood before and after both the exercise and video to track changes. The surveys were the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, Affect Balance Scale, and Cook-Medley Hostility Scale.

All participants watched the same video, but half did a more high intensity aerobic exercise intervention, and half did aerobic dance. Both exercise sessions and the video were 25 minutes long. 

After the exercise sessions, the participants completed a creativity test, Torrance’s Unusual Uses Test. This asks participants to list as many uses as they could think of for a cardboard box. Another test variation asked the same question, but for tin cans. The number of answers, variety of answers, and originality of answers were all considered in scoring the creativity of the responses.

Not surprisingly, positive mood increased and negative mood decreased after both of the exercise interventions. The opposite was true of the mood changes after watching the video. Positive mood decreased and negative mood increased. 

As compared to the post-video creativity, the post-exercise creative score improved. Participants named more uses for the tin can/cardboard box than after the video condition. 

The creativity changes were modest but statistically significant. What I find most fascinating is that this creativity increase happened independent of mood changes, suggesting that the exercise is what stimulated the change, not the mood changing the exercise, which changed the creativity level.

No, this study suggest that the physical movement itself is what boosted creativity. Perhaps there is something to pacing the floor, taking a walk, getting your blood flowing to commence the creative process.

Maybe interpretive dance and ballet are more than just live, present tense storytelling. Perhaps these movements are actually means to create the story.

This is heartening for writers, inventors, and all kinds of creators. This study gives us a potential method for overcoming writers block, which is simply to get up and move. It is free, practically risk free, and has tremendous potential benefits. 

If nothing else, it gives me a place to start. I will go to the gym, move, sweat, and lift. When I come back, I’ll approach my to-do list with improved mood and energy. Maybe I’ll even find creative solutions to sticking points. 

Off I go.

References

1. Steinberg, H., Sykes, Elizabeth A., Moss, T., Lowery, S., LeBoutillier, N., Dewey, A. (1997) Exercise Enhances Creativity Independent of Mood. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 31:240-245.

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.

Everybody who has a body should exercise. That much is clear. The benefits of exercise and physical activity have been proven over and over. Practically every area of life is improved with exercise. Even people who don’t participate in structured exercise often do leisure activities or manual labor.

Many people take such great care to find the best exercise program, their favorite gym, the right type of exercise. They count the number of sets and reps they do, how fast they run, how far, the number yoga classes they attend. But do you know that just as important, perhaps even more important, is your recovery?

Why is Recovery So Important? 

Exercise is an acute stressor. It is extremely beneficial in the long run, but stressful in the short term. It is during the recovery phase that you actually reap the benefits of exercise. You must manage the acute stress and care for your body properly to reap the long term benefits. If you don’t recognize that exercise is tough on your body and take care of it, you won’t create an environment healthy enough to adapt and improve, which is ultimately the process which makes you better.

What Happens to the Body During Exercise

Essentially, what you are doing when you exercise is sending a signal to your body that it needs to be stronger or faster or tougher, depending on which type of exercise you do. You present your body with a challenge which stimulates it to respond specifically. (ie, resistance training makes you stronger, and long runs increase your endurance). The act of exercise causes some muscular stress, tears, and inflammation, during which the body’s metabolic pathways create some measurable biomarkers. We can assess the body’s inflammatory response by measuring interleukin six (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) can be measured in the body to indicate levels of muscle damage. Of course, there are many other metabolic responses and pathways in play here, but these are just a few which give us an idea of how the body is handling stress.

Common Methods of Recovery

Many people think of recovery as cooling down, rehydrating, eating to replenish energy stores, and sleeping. These are all important things to do, but these are actually the most basic “must-do’s”.

If an individual exercises for 2 hours, which is on the shorter side for many, he or she must fully recovery in time for an optimal workout again 22 hours later. As you can see, the more intense and frequent workouts are, the more effective recovery must be to allow the athlete to continue. 

Athletes Must Recover Harder

Professional and amateur athletes are going to greater lengths than ever to enhance recovery in hopes that they can recover faster and more fully, and work hard again in their next workout session. In addition to carefully calculating ratios of pre-, peri- and post-workout supplements, they are also thoughtfully adding in the macronutrients in the proper amounts and at the right times. They foam roll before exercising, foam roll and stretch after, plan reload weeks and recovery days. Acupuncture, acupressure, sports massages and Airrosti are on their busy calendars.  

All of these therapeutic rehab or “prehab” modalities have some validity. Like exercise selection, recovery methods should be specifically chosen too, if for no other reason than that each individual only has so much time to spend each day.

Cold Water Immersion Therapy

One recovery method many people are turning to is cold water immersion therapy.  Cold water immersion therapy involves submerging yourself in very cold temperatures post exercise. This can be done via ice packs, cold showers or even swimming in cold water. If you live in Austin, Texas, like me you can do your cold water immersion therapy in the waters at Barton Springs Creek which are chilly 68° year-round. Many ice baths are much colder.

Proponents of cold water therapy claim that it improves circulation, decreases inflammation and muscle damage, perception of soreness, and improves recovery time. Many people claim cold water therapy also increases mental toughness which is a viable tool in sports and life.

Cold water immersion therapy is usually administered in one of two ways: cold water therapy alone, or contrasting cold water and warm water therapy alternative.  Contrast water therapy is measured in a certain number of minutes in cold water, then immediately warm water.  This processes is repeated as many times as the athlete chooses.

Review Showing Benefits of Contrast Therapy

A 2013 meta analysis published in PloS One combined data from13 studies that used a variety of contrast therapy interventions, and found that contrast therapy did, in fact, yield statistically significant differences in biomarkers post workout as compared to passive recovery [1]. It is important to note that these were contrast therapy interventions, not solely cold water interventions. The authors of this review indicate that while they have not seen other reviews on contrast water therapy, the studies involved in their review included other potentially confounding factors such as stretching, compression wear, and massage. Further research is warranted to fully understand the effects of cold and contrast water therapy.

Studies Fail to Demonstrate Benefits of Cold Water Therapy

Other studies have failed to demonstrate a benefit from cold water therapy. A September 2013 study of experienced rugby players showed no difference in the cold water therapy group verses the passive recovery group. [2] Both groups played 80 minutes of full contact rugby game simulation, and then were tested on muscle function and blood marker tests after their cold water therapy or passive intervention. The groups were not statistically significant either before or after the game and intervention.  

Similarly, a recent study published in January 2015 showed no benefit of cold water therapy following sprinting in 24 well trained athletes. [3]  This study’s intervention groups also tested differences in hydrostatic pressure of the cold water, but pressure changes did not improve outcomes either.

Of course, there are many many more trials on cold and contrast water therapy, and this isn’t even a comprehensive review.  But, even this little bit leaves us with questions.

Study Shows Placebo Effect Improves Results

I want to address one more study, which I find most interesting of all of them.  An Australian group discovered that no research had been done on cold water immersion therapy and the placebo effect [4].  To test this, they designed a study that had 3 test groups.  All subjects performed a high intensity (HIT) sprint protocol, during which biomarkers and subjective measures were recorded.  

The subjects had intramuscular thermistors injected for the test, blood analyses, and pain tolerances measured.  Their protocol, after a warm up, was four 30 second sprints on a bike against resistance.  Immediately after the HIT session, 24 hours later, and 48 hours later, they were tested for maximal leg strength and power.  In short, these guys were uncomfortable!

Their intervention groups were assigned as cold water therapy, thermoneutral water therapy, and thermoneutral placebo water therapy.  The placebo group was informed that their water bath included a new “recovery oil”, as they watched a member of the research team add it to the water.  The “recovery oil” was actually Cetaphil, a common skin cleanser which does not have performance effects.

All three groups showed a decrease in maximal voluntary contraction on the immediate and 24 hour post exercises tests.  It is commonly known that high intensity muscular work can decrease measurable strength for days after the work session, so that demonstrates that this HIT session elicited an appropriate muscular response.  Biomarkers from the blood tests were similar for all groups too.

The cold water group was given research demonstrating cold water therapy’s effectiveness on cycling exercise, so they entered the study with a belief that the therapy would benefit them.  Similarly, the placebo group was informed that their recovery oil was as effective as cold water therapy. 

Both the cold water and placebo groups rated themselves as more psychologically ready for exercise and less fatigued than the thermoneutral, non placebo group.  That is to be expected.  The mind is an extremely powerful thing, and it can drive you to reach a different mental state.  

But here’s the kicker: both the cold water and thermoneutral placebo group showed improvements in strength recovery over the thermoneutral group. This is actual, muscular exertion in which the placebo group performed as well as the cold water group.  

The actual mechanism for cold water therapy’s efficacy is not completely understood.  Is it the cold water? This study suggests not, as the blood markers did not significantly change even in the cold water group. Or is it simply the belief that the cold water is an effective therapy? Is it the combination of both, in which that belief is strong enough to drive the placebo effect for the thermoneutral group?

Should You Try Ice Baths?

What’s an athlete to do when research is split like it is on the case of cold water immersion therapy? Some evidence suggests it is beneficial, where other carefully designed trials cannot elicit a measurable response. Importantly, none of the outcomes have been negative or dangerous. One can then assume that it is worth trying. At the worst, an athlete who tries cold water therapy to no benefit has lost some ice, some time, and some minutes of warmth from his or her life.  However, there is the potential that he or she might see some personal gain from the experience.

Regardless of which it is, the important takeaway here is that our attitudes and beliefs are so powerful, they effect our body’s performance in physiologically measurable ways. Individual athletes should keep this in mind in effort to remain mentally strong. Coaches should be aware of this to help develop and foster a positive training environment, and mentally tough athletes.  

How do you recover?  The science geek in me loves my studies and data, but just as much, I love real life feedback.  Let me know what you do, what you have tried, and how it works for you. Now, go work as smart on your recovery as you work hard in your workouts!  

References

1.  Bieuzen, F., Bleakley, C. M., & Costello, J. T. (2013). Contrast Water Therapy and Exercise Induced Muscle Damage: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLoS ONE, 8(4), e62356. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0062356.

2.  Takeda, M., Sato, T., Hasegawa, T., Shintaku, H., Kato, H., Yamaguchi, Y., & Radak, Z. (2014). The Effects of Cold Water Immersion after Rugby Training on Muscle Power and Biochemical Markers. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 13(3), 616–623.

3.  Leederab, J.D.C, Van Somerenbc, K.A., Bellbc, P.G., Spenceb, J.R., Jewelld, A.P., Gazee, D., & Howatsonbf, G. (2015).  Effects of seated and standing cold water immersion on recovery from repeated sprinting.  Journal of Sports Sciences.  Jan 9,1-9. DOI:10.1080/02640414.2014.996914.

4.  Broatch, J.R., Peterson, A., & Bishop, D. J. (2014). Postexercise Cold Water Immersion Benefits Are Not Greater than the Placebo Effect. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 46(11), 2139 – 2147.  DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000000348.

About the author

Kathryn Alexander is a strength coach and personal trainer in Austin, Texas. She loves hiking, college football, and the feel of a perfectly knurled barbell. Read more about Kathryn here.