How One Element will Physically Change Your Body
This is the first blog of a series where we explore the evidence based benefits of One Element training. We will look at look at the psychological benefits; the changes in our brains; the lactic threshold and; the benefits of training outdoors. We begin this series with the evidence based physical changes and benefits of One Element training…
What happens if I don’t do any exercise?
Our bodies are constantly trying to preserve energy. If we don’t train for a few weeks, our bodies physically change. Our muscle size reduces and there’s a breakdown of blood vessels in the muscles that are not being used. Our neural activity will also reduce, from our brains through our nervous system to your muscles. This means less muscle can be accessed and a reduced level of coordination and balance.
These physical changes can make it difficult to return to training. During the first session back, we can feel heavy, exhausted and lacking in balance. Don’t lose heart though! It’s a surprisingly quick physical change that happens when you start to train again and the positive physical changes continue to improve as we continue to train…
How will my body change at One Element?
Physical changes to our bodies take place from the very first One Element training session you go to. The physical changes, which are measurable and have been extensively studied, can be seen in as little as a week after your first session.
Let’s start with what One Element does. We use a combination of very specific cardiovascular and body weight training to achieve physical changes. We use the large muscle groups that humans have evolved to use, called sling systems, where a number of muscles are working together to propel us, build strength and increase mobility and flexibility. These physical changes are achieved through running, pushing, press ups, core and burpees to name but a few exercise combinations.
What happens when I do a One Element session?
A series of physical changes happen as soon as you start training. During the warm up we burn through the blood sugars and begin to pull glycogen out of the liver to be converted to energy in the muscles. Our joints will start releasing synovial (lubricating) fluid alongside the nervous system firing up to and get the muscles working.
During a high intensity session we can feel physical changes as we push up towards our lactic threshold. We use the energy in the muscles and feel a dull ache as they start to release lactic acid. We literally clean the blood by burning lipids (fats and cholesterol) and the movement in our muscles stimulates the lymphatic system, an ancient system that moves fluids around the body and dramatically improves our immune system. It is thought to be one of the reasons why your immune system is improved through short bouts of high intensity exercise.
Power work, like sprinting, boxing or jumping, sees physical changes through improving the neural access to the muscles. It produces tiny little tears in the muscle fibres, a good thing for building strength and power and will lead to DOM’s the next day.
What happens after a One Element session?
Many physical changes will happen over the next few days that are measurable:
The body will store more energy in the muscles to be ready to extend the period before high intensity activity generates lactic acid. The muscles will store more water, vitamins, minerals and ATP (energy) resulting in the building of leaner muscles.
The body will produce more red blood cells, again, to delay the point at which the muscles move in to the lactic phase of exercise. This carries more oxygen around the body and results in physical changes like the lungs increasing in size and a strengthening of the heart muscle leading to a stronger cardiovascular system.
The cartilage in the joints, while being used more, will get more supple and less prone to wear and tear. The ligaments (joining bone to bone) and tendons (joining muscles to bones) will become stronger with increased blood supply.
The muscles may feel stiff and achy over the next few days but this indicates a positive physical change as the muscles become stronger. The small tears we mentioned earlier are healing.
These physical changes are visible within a few days and over the coming weeks, if you continue to train, particularly with the variety of training like One Element offers, you will be able to see further physical changes and dramatic fitness gains.
If you’d like to learn more about One Element’s varied training and the continued physical changes it brings, why not check out our blog about periodisation based training.
See you out there soon!
Physically Change Your Body with One Element
Sign up for a free trial of our periodisation based training and experience a range of physical changes and fitness gains for your self.
Physically Change Your Body with One Element
Sign up for a free trial of our periodisation based training and experience a range of physical changes and fitness gains for your self.
