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Lead Stories: Tuesday, October 7, 2008

The Importance of
Cross Training

Posted October 19th, 2007 at 9:38 AM by Shannon Clark

Section: Running & Training, Cross Training, Health & Fitness, Exercise

bone_health2 One of the most important things you should be doing with your workout routine is implementing cross training activity.

Cross training is important for several reasons, the primary one is avoiding injuries. If you constantly go to the gym and are pounding away on a regular basis, your body will feel the effects.

Those who are involved in distance or repetitive activities such as running or swimming may see this problem happening even more. Runners, in particular, tend to experience repetitive stress. Swimmers, on the other hand, will usually suffer problems in the shoulder joint from the same motion being executed session after session. Both sports also train for long sessions, so this only adds to the troubles.

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ASK LARA: Serotonin- Effects, sources, and suggestions for a healthy, active lifestyle

Posted September 8th, 2007 at 5:30 PM by Lara Johnson

Section: Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Columns, Ask Lara

Need advice? Injured? Confused? Overwhelmed? Bored? ASK LARA!
ASK LARA is a free advice column to help you with all of your running, fitness and nutrition inquiries. To ASK LARA — simply fill out the form at the conclusion of the column.

Q. I know that there are specific foods that help serotonin in the brain. What are they? Chocolate is one. Thanks.
~Michelle from Georgia

A. Interesting question. Since I am not a serotonin expert, I turned to some other sources for help in answering this one. Serotonin is defined as:

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, or 5-HT) is a monoamine neurotransmitter synthesized in serotonergic neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) and enterochromaffin cells in the gastrointestinal tract of animals including humans. Serotonin is also found in many mushrooms and plants, including fruits and vegetables.

Basically, serotonin is a chemical in the CNS that carries signals from one nerve cell to the next (hence, a neurotransmitter), thus allowing the brain to communicate. It is also one type of neurotransmitter that is highly sensitive to what we eat and influential in affecting mood. Other “moody” chemicals are dopamine and norepinephrine (source: the Mood-Food Connection).
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