This is fascinating. I don’t know much about exercise. I have never been inside a gym (except in Boulder, Colorado where the massage therapist worked). I do know about nutrition, stress and health. This is a piece of the puzzle that makes alot of sense to me. I love it that he talks about the parasympathetic nervous system. I love it that he trains people who are ultra fit exercisers and gym nuts and he still mentions walking outside and playing for exercise. Also that he can tell you when exercise is not appropriate. This confirms my own experience outside of the gym. So I’m posting this for all of you who do go to the gym and want some advice from a sensible nutritionist and a trainer (and professional football player). He even tells you what to do for exercise if you do go to the gym and want to focus on whats most helpful in limited time.
This is from the website of Emma Sgouraki, Australian nutritionist. She interviews Rob Turner about nutrition and exercise. What I find so interesting is the discussion of stress, exercise and nutrition and how the usual way of “weight loss” (restricted calories, more exercise) is actually causing many health problems like insomnia and fatigue and having an overall detrimental effect on a person’s health, via complex endocrine, nervous, immune and other body systems. Rob Turner explains exercise induced stress in useful detail comparing exercising on an empty stomach in the am and in the afternoon when the body temperature is higher, pulse is higher and the body is fed.
She begins with a photo of her brother weight training, and this:
My ‘little’ brother weight training: For a long time he’s done weights, running, as well as Cross-Fit and Heavy Haulers in recent years. He has worked hard without supplements or protein powders to become well ‘built’ and toned, with the ideal “fit aesthetic” most men strive for (with low body fat % and low pulse). But recently after experiencing exhaustion, and insomnia, and learning more about nutrition through his nagging sister, he’s working to get his pulse and basal temperature up again, training less, ditched running, not training on an empty stomach, and including more of the foods to help compensate for exercise-induced stress. He’s made a conscious effort to ignore popular advice to go ‘low-carb’ and is instead downing “taboo” sugary OJ, fruits and dairy with great results; feeling better, looking healthier and more solid. Still a way to go to resurrect thyroid function (as it is for all of us) but I commend him for challenging the generally accepted beliefs about “fitness”.
– Emma Sgouraki DIP.HLTH.SC(NUT) B.A. ATMS NUTRITIONIST
Click here for the story:
rethink how you exercise: An interview with Rob Turner – Part 2 | The Nutrition Coach.
