- The problem with suddenly taking up exercise
- Is this vitamin the secret to staying injury free?
- Top athlete makes a surprising recommendation to prevent bone loss, muscle stress and fractures
A few months ago I joked that as soon as lockdown started, a lot of people began to insist that they were exercise junkies!
“I MUST have my daily 2 hour walk!” – declares man who struggles to get from the sofa to the fridge for a beer.
“I demand my right to go on a run!” – declares woman whose gym membership has lapsed and needs to get her running shoes from a box in the loft.
“How will I play tennis now?” – bemoans teenager who smashed their racket in a bored fury a year ago.
That said…
It was a good thing, I think, that people suddenly realised the value of getting out and about.
As a society, we need to be more active.
Although one man took it to extremes…
In May the BBC published a story about Colin Johnstone, who was running marathons in the middle of the night.
His alarm would go off at 2am and the 46 year-old would leap out of bed and head onto the streets of Leeds.
I respect him for his commitment to social distancing but I honestly have no idea how someone can have the motivation to wake up in the middle of the night and run 26 miles!
I don’t even think anything earlier than 7am ever features on my alarm clock settings and hasn’t done since the kids were really small (back then, THEY were my early hours alarm clock, and boy did I moan about that).
Anyway, it’s still great that people are doing more exercise. Even a brisk 30 minute walk each day does so much good.
According to Sport England, over 60% of adults say that it is even more important to be active now than before the coronavirus crisis.
But for those people new to it or who haven’t done much since they were younger, there are some risks…
Strains, sprains, falls and other injuries can be especially debilitating if you are older.
This is because the amount and size of muscle fibres in your body decreases as you age, along with loss of bone density. This makes older people more prone to fractures.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t exercise – quite the opposite!
But to stay safe, here’s a recommendation from a top athlete.
Why vitamin D is not just for winter
International High Jump Athlete Beth Partridge, recently gave some advice for all the new sports fiends out there in lockdown Britain:
“Our bodies endure a high state of stress when exercising regularly or at a high-intensity compared to those that do not exercise or those that have a lower volume of training. This, coupled with a higher energy requirement, means that the body can be at an increased risk of injury.”
Her recommendation is that people doing more exercise now should take vitamin D.
“Vitamin D is vital for many processes within the body and may be crucial for recovery and staying injury free. It is important, not only for its role in bone function, but it can also help to reduce the risk of autoimmune and chronic diseases,” she explained.
While it is summer now and you think you get enough vitamin from sun exposure, this might not be the case.
Many experts now recommend that some people should take vitamin D supplements all year round, not only in winter.
“There are various factors that can impact the amount of vitamin D an individual naturally absorbs from sun exposure,” says Beth Partridge, “and this can be dependent on time spent outdoors and sunscreen use, as well as skin pigmentation and diet.”
This can also be the case, she says, if you’re doing a lot of physical exercise.
“For those that train regularly, a vitamin D deficiency may result in musculoskeletal discomfort, viral tract infections and stress fractures.”
So this is something to consider if you’re still out pounding the streets.
But even if you’re not, you should consider vitamin D even during the summer if you either can’t get outside a lot, you always wear clothes that cover most of your skin, you have dark skin, or you have problems with your immune system, particularly during the current troubling circumstances.
Here’s an easy way to top up your vitamin D
As I’ve mentioned before, vitamin D can help reduce inflammation, maintain healthy muscles and bones, as well as boosting your immune system.
However, what I’ve not mentioned is that we not only stock a brilliant vitamin D supplement, but also this oral spray.
It is formulated with vitamin D3, the active, absorbable form of vitamin D, and it is one of the easiest ways to ensure you have a consistent daily amount without potentially damaging your skin through excess UVB exposure from sunlight.
Have a look here: Vitamin D spray
