Feburary 8, 2011: Exercise & ADHD Notes

This month’s topic was Exercise and ADHD, starting with a quick Powerpoint presentation by Ruth Evenhouse providing and overview of how ADHD directly impacts a person’s brain chemistry in ways that directly, and positively, impact many of the symptoms of ADHD and related issues such as anxiety or depression. (Click here to see the presentation)

Much of the material was borrowed from two highly recommended books:

The ADHD Handbook (Available in most bookstores and at Amazon.com), specifically Chapter 3, which is dedicated to incorporating exercise into your lifestyle as an ADHD management tool, and
Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain (Also available at Amazon.com. But first, a quick motivational video from two of the world’s all-time leading experts on the merits of exercise:

Our group was also joined by our guest presenter, Claudina Brinks from Snap Fitness of Holland, MI, who discussed many of the issues that impact

how anyone (definitely including those of us with ADHD) fares with getting started on an exercise program, staying with the program, and getting the best results from their program.

So where to begin? Breathing. Just the simple act of efficiently breathing in fresh oxygen and breathing out carbon

dioxide has an immediate calming effect on your mind and body, improving focus, sensory perception and thinking.

We practiced the “five second rule, inhaling through our noses for a count of five, then exhaling through our mouths for a similar five-count. Most members noticed that doing this allowed them to inhale more deeply with practice, enhancing the effects of deep breathing.

Next we talked about developing an exercise program that will work best for each of us. This process starts with understanding ourselves at a deeper level: motivations, preferences, available resources (time, money, ability), goals, etc. Claudina shared a quick questionaire (click here to download a copy of it) she uses with most of her fitness customers to help with this process; we’ll post this in the next blog entry if you’d like to fill it out for your own use.

Finding Something You Love: We all tend to work harder and more consistently with an exercise program, and stick with it longer, if it’s an activity that we genuinely enjoy. How to Find Your Activity:	OVERHEARD “I love Swimming.” Tom (swimmer)
If you’re new to exercise, seek out other people; test drive new activities. Maybe volleyball turns out not to be your thing, but the next week when you try step aerobics, you find a winner! Newbie at a health club? Tag along with a friend to feel more comfortable.	“I love Not Swimming.” Ed (runner)

Can’t afford a health club? Improvise at home. Soup cans or milk jugs (partially) filled with water work fine for strength training. Walking, dancing to music with soup cans, jogging in place while watching your favorite TV show are all free, easy solutions to get you started.

Here are some great leads for popular athletic sports and activities to get you started in your exploration:

Walking/Jogging/Running/Biking Courses & Events

• Calendar of upcoming running races (from 1 mile walks and 5K Turkey Trots to full marathons): http://www.runmichigan.com/
• Calendar of upcoming mountain bike races: http://mmba.org/

Like walking or running but want something a little different?

• List of national Volksmarch (“People’s Walk”) events throughout the U.S.: http://ava.org/
• Find out about Geocaching (scavenger hunts using GPS systems) at http://www.geocaching.com/

• Or if you want something truly, deeply offbeat, check out the Grand Rapids Hash House Harriers, a local chapter of an international club that describes itself as “a drinking club with a slight running problem”: http://www.grh3.com/

Looking or something in the winter?

• Listing of Michigan Cross-Country Ski Trails and Events: http://www.michigan.org/Things-to-Do/Snow-Sports/Cross-Country-Skiing/Default.aspx

Overcoming Excuses & Sticking With It:

Get a partner or join a group. Peers help to keep you honest and motivated and can provide valuable tips on how to improve your performance. Be SMART:

Keep goals Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic & Timed.

• Specific:
  • Not “I’m trying to lose weight”, but
  • I’m trying to lose 10 pounds”
• Measurable:
  • You can’t manage what you can’t measure.
  • Are you interested in tracking your weight?
  • The duration of your workout?
  • The distance of your run/bike ride/etc.?
  • Your range of motion?
  • How much you can lift?
  • How far you can hit the ball?
  • How often you work out?
• Action-Oriented:
  • “I’ll do this by exercising at least 20 minutes per day, at least 3 days per week.”
• Realistic:
  • If you’re 100 pounds overweight and you have a bad back and messed up knees, getting the body of Chris Evans in The First Avenger: Captain America is not realistic, I’m sorry to say.

• Timed:
  • Set a time frame for achieving your goal.
  • Break big goals (running a marathon, for instance) down into smaller, more manageable sub-goals.

In the end it’s really not about ADHD, is it? Regardless of whether or not any of us has any sort of physical, mental, cognitive, sensory or emotional impairments, we all know that incorporating a reasonable level of physical activity and a healthy diet into our lives helps us to think, feel and perform better and have an improved quality of life. And if you have to go through life with ADHD, wouldn’t it be a more fun experience if you could do it fitting into your skinny jeans or being able to knock off 20 push-ups if the mood ever struck you?

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