FIT BODY / EXPERT ANSWERS
Your Qs:
Caffeine
Calluses
Tabata
Shin Splints
Fitness Editor,
Jen Sinkler,
wrangles leading
fitness experts to
address your most
perplexing workout
quandaries
and conundrums.
Email ’em to
askjen@experience
lifemag.com.
IF YOU’VE BEEN READING MY BLOG, Survival
of the Fittest, you already know I’m taken
with the topic of fitness. But even as a former national-team rugby player, longtime
fitness journalist and hardcore workout
enthusiast, I can’t begin to scratch the
surface of everything out there.
That’s one reason I relish my job: It
gives me a forum for pestering leading
fitness pros with my nitpicky questions.
And now, with yours, too!
Here’s where we’ll address your
workout-related inquiries: from weight-loss obstacles to health-club etiquette,
from beginner tips to advanced training
techniques, from “Why can’t I do a pull-up?” to “What’s up with that dude doing
curls in the squat rack?” (Actually, don’t
ask that — no one knows.) Bottom line:
If you want to know, I want to know. And
I will hassle the nation’s best experts until
I dig up a decent answer. Just ask!
Q
My trainer claims drinking a
venti cup of coffee
before he hits the
gym helps him
work out longer
and harder, but my
nutritionist cautions
against heavy caffeine
use. Is this something
I should try?
A. Both pros have a point. Regular,
heavy caffeine use can — especially if
you hit the coffeemaker multiple times
a day — increase your body’s levels of
the stress hormone cortisol, tuckering
out your adrenal glands, messing with
your metabolism and increasing your
blood pressure.
Still, despite your trainer’s highly
questionable use of the word “venti” in
casual conversation, his assertion is not
entirely without merit. There’s plenty of
research that demonstrates caffeine can
improve performance in both strength
and endurance endeavors.
Assuming you’re interested in wielding caffeine as an athletic performance
booster, the trick is figuring out how
and when to wield your cup. The general
recommendation is about 6 mg per kilogram of body weight — 8 if you’re a regular caffeine user and thus less sensitive to
its effects — 30 minutes prior to exertion.
But everyone responds differently, so
dosage depends on the individual.
A. You’re not alone. Calluses —
and callus care — seem to be all my gym
buddies and I talk about. For those of
us into lifting weights, those thick, hard
deposits of dead skin are a fact of life.
Personally, I’ve always considered
them a small tradeoff for the many health
benefits of weightlifting — better energy,
more power, a better blood profile, sexy
muscles! And not so very long ago, I
would have encouraged you to wear your
calluses like a badge of honor — because,
girl, you earned them! But then, horrifyingly, I ripped one completely off while
learning to do kipping pull-ups. After
that, I went in search of some callus-care
advice myself.
First, and most obviously, if you want
to avoid calluses, you can try a pair
of gymSkins ( www.gymskins.com) or
weightlifting gloves. But be warned: If
your workout partners are anything like
mine, you might take some ribbing for
being “soft.”
To keep my hands — and my pride — ➺
Lonnie Lowery, PhD, exercise physiologist, sports nutritionist and founder
of www.IronRadio.org, broke it down for
me this way: “For a typical 175-pound
male, the guidelines would suggest a
whopping 480 milligrams of caffeine.
That’s about two-and-a-half caffeine tablets or at least three packets of instant
coffee.” This dose has led to increased
maximum strength and reduced perception of exertion during exercise, he
says, but he considers it far too high for
caffeine-sensitive people such as himself.
I’m (shaking) in Lowery’s corner on
this one. After reading some research
on the positive effects high dosages of
caffeine (particularly in pill form) can
have on performance, I followed the recommendations for a 145-pound female
and popped a couple NoDoz a half-hour
before a rugby game. By halftime, I could
think of nothing but the shooting pains
in my abdomen, and I spent several hours
after the final whistle curled in the fetal
position. So while I did put on quite a
performance, it wasn’t the type I was
looking for. (I stuck to coffee after that.)
My take: Caffeine supplementation isn’t
a good long-term strategy for building
fitness, but it might be worth experimenting with as an occasional performance
booster. But take heed: The first time to try
it is not on the day of a big event.
Q
I’m psyched about the changes
I see in my body from lifting
weights, but somewhat less
psyched about the calluses
I’m getting on the
palms of my
hands. Blech! I
don’t want man
hands! How do I
fix them?
