Crawling & Rolling

I had the opportunity to learn about training/rehabilitation techniques that involve crawling and rolling patterns on the ground.  These types of exercises are appropriate for those who demonstrate poor stability and cannot perform basic movement patterns or exercises.  We teach the client to use muscles that have been turned off over the years by disallowing the use of the limbs when moving on the ground. 

Just something interesting to think about 

Anti-Inflammatory Diet

For the poster who asked more about the anti-inflammatory diet, here is a good article about the topic from about.com:

http://nutrition.about.com/od/dietsformedicaldisorders/a/antiinflamfood.htm

Corn

Think about this one:   Is corn a fruit or a vegetable?

 

Trick question.  It is neither fruit nor vegetable because it is actually a grain.  Many are starting to question whether consuming corn is a good idea because it has been found to be an inflammatory agent in the body.  We should also avoid at all costs the derivative of corn, high fructose corn syrup.

Buying into the System

I had a discussion with Jason Long, the Director of Performance at KP, on the following topic:

Many trainers are obviously migrating to a more functional approach to strength and conditioning, but the athletes are still two steps behind.  Bicep curls and bench presses are still the big ticket with many of them.  Educating the athlete on what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how it will help them is the key.  It should be done the second he or she walks into the facility.  The same idea applies for a team setting.  I’ve heard stories of trainers dealing with animosity from athletes because the focus wasn’t simply on muscle building (which there is nothing wrong with if a need is present).

Any method of exercise or any training philosophy should be well thought out and well articulated to the athletes… bottom line.

Make Music, Create Spaces

I’m a big fan of author Paulo Coelho and am currently reading The Witch of Portobello.  Coelho’s books are filled with inspiration and here is a quote that I found very meaningful:

“I dance whenever I can, but music only exists because the pauses exist, and sentences only exist because the blank spaces exist.  When I’m doing something, I feel complete, but no one can keep active twenty-four hours a day.  As soon as I stop, I feel there’s something lacking.  You’ve often said to me that I’m a naturally restless person, but I didn’t choose to be that way.  I’d like to sit here quietly, watching television, but I can’t.  My briain won’t stop.  Sometimes I think I’m going mad.  I need always to be dancing, writing, selling land, taking care of Viorel, or reading whatever I find to read.  Do you think that’s normal?”

There are a few individuals I’ve gotten to know quite well at KP Athletics who could benefit from this wisdom, myself included.  It happens so frequently today in our society.  Many of us always need to be doing something productive in order to feel secure, whether it be reading, exercising, sports training, or some other form of self improvement.  But we can only make music if we pause, and we can only write sentances if we create spaces.

Speed Camp

KP Athletics is running a speed camp until mid-August.  Today we tested the 40 yard dash, my least favorite test to perform on athletes.

Speed camps are popping up all over the country that promote great biomechanical running techniques.  We teach arm swing, knee drive, and triple extension to get the fastest times possible.  But what does it really mean?  To me, it doesn’t mean much unless a college/professional recruiter is putting too much stock into the time.  I first heard the idea from Vern Gambetta that sport is very similar to dance.  Sports, (with the exception of sports such as track & field, rowing and swimming), are a series of dance positions that require the athlete to use great core stabilization and strength to progress from one position to the next.

A common comparison that I commonly hear from Chris at work is to Walter Payton whose nickname was “Sweetness”.  He was called sweetness because everything he did was looked so smooth and fluid… like a great dancer.  Do you think it mattered it Walter Payton had good arm swing when he ran his 40 time?

I suppose the point that I’m trying to make is that your time in the 40 yard dash is of little importance to your performance on the athletic field.  Other predictors such as strength, skill, and mental aptitude are all of much more significance.

Details

Almost all people who exercise fail to pay attention to the details of their regimen. It’s no wonder that the need for physical therapy in this country is so high. For example, one detail in the push-up that most people forget is to squeeze the gluteals, or the butt muscles. This takes pressure off of the low back.

Look critically at every exercise you do and make sure you are doing it properly. If you go to your local gym to work out, asking the personal trainer may or may not be a good idea (many of these trainers have only taken a two day course to become certified). Find a resource that you trust to give you good information on how to do the exercise.

Exercise Spotlight: Crush Squat

Here is an exercise that I was exposed to today that I really liked:

Equipment needed:  Kettlebell or Dumbell… you can also use a medicine ball… or anything round and hard I suppose.

Body parts exercised:  Lower body (quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals), Latissimus dorsi, Core musculature.

Procedure:  Grab the kettlebell (or other object) in two hands.  Squeeze it between your hands hard, but do not aggravate your hands.  Now squat down (good squatting mechanics are a necessity before performing this exercise) while still squeezing the kettlebell.  Squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor.  If there is pain when squatting down, only go down as far as you can without the pain.  Push up through the floor with your feet and come back to standing.

Explanation:  The reason that you squeeze the kettlebell is the activate your latissimus dorsi (a large back muscle).  All the deep abdominal muscles are also activated via reflex.  Imagine that… an exercise that targets the lower body, back, and core all at once!

**** Here is the link to a picture of what the squat should look like:

http://www.davedraper.com/site%20images/goblet-squat.jpg

Looking for Trans Fat

 

Just because the food you bought is labeled “No Trans Fat”, doesn’t mean it is without the dreaded additive.  If a company’s product as 0.5g or less trans fat, it is not required to say it has any in the nutritional facts. 

So how do we combat this?  Look at the ingredients list and see if the words “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” pop up.   These words indicate the presence of trans fat.  If it does, I recommend you put the food down.

Questions Answered

I’ve received two good questions that I’d like to answer.  One of them concerns reducing the inflammation of soft tissue found in the scratch test.  Unfortunately, I’m not qualified to give an in-depth answer.  Many times this inflammation is from overuse injuries such as repetative flexion through the spine (which would lead to inflammation of the low back).  I will ask Chris Nentarz and get a better answer, hopefully by Saturday.

The second question comes from Chandler Cooper.  He’d like to know safer and more effective exercises that can be done instead of crunches and sit-ups:

We should first be aware that around 85% of our abdominal muscles run either obliquly (diagonal), horizontally or somewhere in between.  The only abdominal muslce that runs vertical (to the best of my knowledge) is the rectus abdominus, a.k.a. the six pack.  When performing crunches, the primary mover in the exercise is the rectus abdominus.  So, when you do a crunch, you are essentially only working around 15% of your abdominal muscles.  Think about it.  People go to the gym and do an abdominal workout… and miss out on exercising most of the muscles!  I can think of a multitude of other exercises that will get me better productivity in a shorter amount of time.

So what other exercises can we do?  Here are a few examples:  Bridging exercises, Bird-dog, stability ball exercises, medicine ball rotations

So I can’t work my six-pack?  No, not necessarily.  There are versions of an abdomial curl-up that have been proven safe for the lower back.  One is offered by spine expert Stuart McGill, author of “Low Back Disorders: Evidence-based Prevention and Rehabilitation”.  I recommend that you first have your hands under your low back to be sure low back movment is minimal:

• One leg is bent with the knee flexed to 90° while the other leg remains relaxed on the floor.

• No cervical (upper spine) motion should occur, either chin poking or chin tucking.

• For anyone experiencing neck discomfort, place the tongue on the roof of the mouth behind the front teeth, which helps to promote stabilizing neck muscle patterns.

• Brace the abdominals. This involves tightening the abdominal muscles as if you’re about to take a punch in the gut. When the brace is performed correctly, the abdominal wall is neither hollowed in nor pushed out.

• Curl up against the brace, and then breathe deeply in the “up” curl-up position while maintaining the brace. Remain in the up position long enough to take a few deep breaths.