Family Matters

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Mobility:

500 meter Row
Posterior Chain Flossing with Band
Assisted bottom of the squat
Overhead Band Distraction
T-spine Smash

Group Warmup:

with an empty barbell
5 Overhead Squat
5 High Hang Squat Snatches
5 Squat Snatches from above the knee
5 Squat Snatches from mid shin

Classic Programming:

Barbell Gymnastics:

Spend 20minutes working up to a heavy snatch

Notes: Squat snatch is preferred, but prioritize good receiving position first.  Power snatch to overhead squat is acceptable.

Advanced Programming:

Barbell Gymnastics:

Spend 20 minutes to find your 1RM Squat Snatch

Conditioning (Same for Advanced and Classic):

“Helen”

3 rounds for time of:
Run 400 meters
21 Kettlebell swings (53/35)
12 Pull ups

Cool Down:

German Stretch
Straddle, 2 min
Pigeon, 1 min
10 Wall extensions

<3 

I mentioned last week that another research project I worked on looked at family environmental factors and upper respiratory infection in children. Getting the research study up and going was a long process. After 2 years, I barely got through the pilot study. So none of the findings can be considered conclusive, as the group size was too small and there were a couple of hick-ups that would change before the actual research project would be launched. The pilot study looked primarily at whether the study would work and if the factors we were looking at were in fact indicative of what we were trying to measure.

20 families participated in the pilot study. It was an eight-week study. I interviewed the child and both parents independently. We took blood samples before and after the eight weeks. Four days a week, for four out of the eight weeks, each family member had to provide saliva samples five varying times across the day. Each family member had to answer an online diary every night.

We looked at physiological changes in relation to psychological and environmental stressors. Hormones in the saliva indicated the level of stress the individual was under, and the white blood cell count in the blood suggested the integrity of the immune system. The interviews and daily diaries indicated the stressors the family members were experiencing, as well as the level of understanding and communication between family members.

Correlations suggested that when the parents experience stress, even when the child is unaware of what the stress is about, the child too would demonstrate elevations in stress. Families with less communication are more sensitive to the impact of stressors. Children with chronically elevated cortisol show signs of a compromised immune system and reported a greater rate of upper respiratory syndrome.

A breakdown in communication can increase the impact of stress on your loved ones. Your stress will affect the immune system of not only yourself, but also your loved ones. Being open and interested in your loved ones matters, communicate and help diffuse the stress before you get sick.