Several years ago, in March, by Lake Superior, I was doing an indoor professional bull ride at one of the large hockey coliseums.  The place was filled to the brim.  The excitement was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.  With less than ten minutes to go before the start of the event, one of the producers came over to me and told me that they were short handed, due to the weather.    They wanted to know if I would latch the gates on the arena floor.  Previously, at professional bull rides.  I had not been out on the arena floor unless someone couldn't get up off the floor. All due to insurance reasons.  It was cold inside the arena, it was cold outside, it was still winter.  But as I stood there at the first gate, the perspiration running off my head, bouncing off my eye lashes, hearing my heart pounding in my ears, as I held on to the latch. I remember my last thoughts before the cowboy nodded, were “God please don't let me pass out”.  The “rush” was unbelievable and unforgettable and is  now becoming a common sight inside the arena latching the gates, the “rush” is never quite the same and never as good as the first one.

We must define what a "rush" is.  A "rush" is actually a severe form of stress or extreme anxiety.  It can become overwhelming, emotionally and physically.  Your body produces a surge of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol will set off a whole change of biological reactions.  Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, you start to breathe more rapidly.  This is your fight or flight  response kicking in, which prepares you to rise to the challenge of what you are facing.  Not everyone has experienced this feeling.   High achievers often thrive on it.  But one must be cautious because the challenge stress can cross over into a hindrance stress where it starts to confuse or over whelm you.   The trick is knowing how to harness it.  First rule of thumb is to never resist it.  You will only feel more anxious less in control.  Think of it as a natural reaction and it will help you move forward.

The most severe form of stress is the over whelming kind.  This actually presents a very dangerous form of stress.  It can affect your health and possibly your life.  These serious forms of stress occur when we lose a job, go through a divorce, or coping with a severe illness or the death of a loved one.  These types of stress can be extremely over whelming both emotionally and physically.   Prolonged stress can weaken the immune system, which can lead to sicknesses.  It can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, and strokes.  This leads me to the very few, those that require the rush.  The rush is a self induced, short termed, usually life threatening form of stress.  It's complications, chemically and biologically will make a physician just shudder in his boots.

How do you make the most of the “rush” and prevent everyday stress, which robs your body rush chemistry?  Many of these you have heard before but you need to hear them again.  I recommend a very good vitamin/mineral complex.  If you are not big into taking vitamins, vitamin C is something you need to focus on.  One hundred to two hundred milligrams of vitamin C a day is known to reduce the level of stress hormones in the body.  For example, an 8 oz. glass of pure orange juice has 124 milligrams of vitamin C.  Avoid stimulants and depressants, cigarettes, alcohol, coffee, and sweets.  They give you a quick high  and a quick crash.   Alcohol is very difficult for your body to deal with.  While it is being consumed and while it is being processed but the real problem is afterwards.  The chemical reaction once the alcohol has been cleared out of your body.  How many times or how many people do you know that after they have been partying, the next day they are very irritable and anxious.  The reason for this is that your body starts to pump out of a neuro transmitter called GABA.  This neuro transmitter is responsible for making your anxious and irritable.  It is a direct result of alcohol consumption.  Breathing is something that people should think about when they are stressed.  Most people take about 15 breaths per minute.  That amount doubles when you are stressed.  Letting out a long drawn out sigh or yawn activates the neurological that pathways can help you shift out of the stress response.  Excessive breathing also contributes to your body’s acidic level that generates the lactic acid that the magnesium combats.

Magnesium is essential to a diet for people are under a lot of stress or want to experience the ultimate rush.  Several reasons, one is if you are working out in a gym, or continual stress excessive amounts of lactic acid in the muscle have been linked to higher levels of anxiety.  To avoid this build up, you should try to get between 400 to 500 milligrams of magnesium a day.  Good sources are green leafy vegetables, beans, walnuts, raisins or take the multi vitamin with magnesium and increase water intake to 4-8 glasses a day.

Next, we should try to eat more often.  In a few hours, if you haven't eaten, your blood sugar dips causing an interaction with hormones that creates anxiety.  Eating six mini healthy meals a day, one about every two hours can help keep your blood sugar level steady and anxiety to a minimum.  The best one that I can recommend is exercise, an hour to 3 hours 3 times a week.  Be sure to vary the routine, the more you stimulate your body with non routine exercises the more pleasure producing endorphorins you release  the less stress you will have and less fatigue and worry you will have.

Last, stick to a good sleep schedule.  If you go to bed at a different time each night, your internal biological rhythm is not able to adjust.  Even if you rest for the same number hours, ideally for the human, bedtime should come between 10:00 and 10:30 p.m. and awake time should come between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m.

These are points That competitors and non competitors should practice all the time for good general health, but it is essential 4-6 days prior to competition.