Putting Your Core to Work

Continuing to build on the lessons of the previous videos, let's starting to get into some practical uses for "staying aware of your muscles and your core". As I've mentioned, a stable core and good posture are vital for keeping your back strong and your movements healthy and this 3 1/2 minute video explains how to find and activate the key core muscle, the Transverse Abdominal, and how to put it to work to help achieve your best posture.

This lesson is the foundation of moving smarter and living stronger....and will be the launching point for the next several lessons in the series.

As always, if you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to let me know down below or via email or FB.

Until next time...

The Value of a Runner's Rest

"It takes more than just miles of running to prepare for the big event...it also requires rest"

As fall racing season gets under way I wanted to take time to remind the runners out there about the importance of tapering and the value of NOT over training.  Even though tapering is part of virtually every well-designed training program it’s sometimes not fully understood and often skipped entirely for fear of not getting in enough miles.
 

Joe Friel, endurance coach and author of several books including The Triathletes Training Bible, makes it clear that “the most common error...is continuing to train at high workload in the mistaken belief that fitness is improved only by hard work”.  The fact is that we can only improve by recovering from the stresses of so much running.  And the recovery (aka rest) that can make the biggest difference is the taper that’s scheduled a week or two before an event...no matter what the distance.

Most of us are aware that when we exercise we break down certain systems in our bodies that then need to rebuild themselves. The rebuilding, or recovery, that takes place in the days after is what makes our muscles stronger and our hearts healthier.  Lift weights; rest for a few days; lift weights again; rest and we build strength.  Get our heart rates revved up; return to resting rate; repeat and our hearts get healthier (this is the principle of interval training).  In both examples it’s the rest that enables improvement and benefit.

The same is true for a summer of run training (or bike or tri training).  If you’ve been on a well-designed plan then rest periods were built into the summer.  You didn’t do two long runs in a row (I hope) or even two consecutive days of intervals.  Periods of hard effort are always followed by periods of easier effort.

The other, possibly more valuable, point to be made here is to not over train. If you’ve been sick or injured and missed some days of your training you might feel compelled to keep pushing until the day of the event.  Do not make this mistake.  It is far better to under train than to over train.  One reason is what I’ve explained above about the need for recovery periods.  But the other simple reason is that if you over train then you wear yourself out and leave nothing “in the tank”.  You, literally, have no physical reserves to pull from if you need them.  If you err on the side of under training, however, then you have a healthier body to work with and retain the ability to push yourself (provided you can get your mind out of the way and let your body do what it’s capable of) beyond your previous limits to have the best day possible.

So no matter what distance you’ve prepared for, or how many days of training you may have missed, don’t fall victim to the “most common error” of thinking only more hard work can get you across the finish line.  Keep active during your taper by maintaining the frequency but reducing overall volume.  Remember, success comes from knowing when to pull back and let your body and mind recover from the stresses of a wonderful summer of running.

Not even regular exercise can combat the full effect of too much daily sitting

Over the past several weeks I’ve being working on an article that goes much more in-depth than the single page I usually send out.  And, since that work is focused on movement health (using movement to get and stay healthy), I've gone through a lot of research on the value and benefits of keeping our bodies in motion.  It’s hard to explore this topic, however, without noticing the large amount of data on the negative effects sitting.

I’m not just talking about calorie burn, either.  Although it’s clear that lack of physical activity, or any movement for that matter, is taking its toll on society’s state of physical & mental health, a lack of energy expenditure is only partly to blame. A lack of movement, or more to the point, an abundance of sitting, is inflicting even greater damage on our minds & bodies.
 
Now, before you quit reading because you think the amount of exercise or activity you get magically cancels out the sitting time, hold on.  Reports of the negative impact of sitting have been coming out for a couple decades but have really started building up in the last few years.  Study after study and article after article demonstrates or discusses the significant hazards of prolonged sitting and a 2011 report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology makes it very clear that “recreational sitting, as reflected by television/screen viewing time, is related to raised mortality and CVD [cardiovascular disease] risk regardless of physical activity participation.”
 
Did you catch that last bit...“regardless of physical activity participation.” Researchers consistently find, not only, that race, age, sex, tobacco history, etc., don’t effect the findings but that even your level of moderate to intense physical activity won’t overcome too much time spent at a desk or on a couch (studies vary but greater than 6-7 hrs/day of sitting seems to be the start of the danger zone).  The science clearly shows that various hormonal & neural systems in the body slow and even shut down when we’re not up and moving; brain and mood enhancing chemicals drop significantly, risk of cardiovascular disease increases and insulin response decreases.  If sitting dominates your lifestyle, you’ll have a greater chance for disability needs and become more susceptible to various cancers, muscle degeneration, mental health illness, leg disorders and low back pain.  The effects are so drastic that sitting has been directly connected to “raised mortality”, i.e. increased chance of dying earlier than if you didn’t sit so much.
 
Now, if you feel actual pain from moving then see a doctor but if it’s just discomfort or stiffness move your body anyway, as long as there’s no contraindication.  I’ve seen, over and over, the limitations people put on themselves because of the “difficulty” of trying to stand or simply walk a few steps.  But remember this very important fact about the human body; it is designed to be in motion (except for sleep but that’s a different discussion) and the less you use it the more it will stiffen.  Do NOT mistake this stiffness for a reason to “rest”!  It is representative of all the above effects of too much sitting and will not disappear on its own...so MOVE!

 
Again, this article is not about the need for increased “exercise”.  In fact, just standing up releases your body’s systems from the confinement of a chair or couch and allows them to get working.  A small study published in August ’14 from Indiana University suggests that “light activity breaks” might reverse the cardiovascular risk.   A five-minute walk around the office is an easy option and sitting on a balance ball instead of a regular chair is a great move in the right direction.  Any non-sitting posture helps improves your chances of staying healthier longer.

So pace the space while talking on the phone, regularly adjust your position in the car and basically just lose the lap whenever possible. You’ll help your body and mind fight the “sitting disease” and allow them to reap the benefits of MOVING SMARTER and LIVING STRONGER.

Most Exercises are right...for someone

Many of us have heard or read that a particular exercise is not good for this or that reason.  The idea that certain exercises, or ways of doing them, can cause injury comes up in conversation consistently but, the truth is, almost all exercises are good for someone.

One of the most common debates I hear is the sit up vs. the crunch. Without a doubt, there are many people who should not do a full sit up and, instead, should stick with the crunch.  The difference is in the muscles used for either movement. 

Shown here by the America Council on Exercise, initiating the sit up works your abs and core (among other muscles that support the effort).  These muscles bring your chest towards your hips and, essentially, get “crunched” along the way.  Continuing all the way through the sit up engages the hip flexors, which are responsible for bringing your chest and thigh together. 

The hip flexors are often a problem because they weaken or shorten over time from too much sitting, running or cycling.  If not stretched and strengthened, these impaired muscles can lead you straight to a low back attack and are especially vulnerable during a sit-up.  For anyone with low back issues, sit-ups are extremely risky but if your back is strong and your core stable the sit up is an acceptable exercise.

Another debate that comes up regularly is whether running is bad for our bodies.  For anyone carrying an extra 100 pounds or dealing with "bone-on-bone” knee issues running is almost certainly off limits.  But for so many more of us, when done correctly, it’s a safe and effective exercise.  There are several muscular imbalances that can create knee, hip or back pain when running (or long after your run) but many of them can be managed effectively with targeted strength, flexibility and technique training.  Learning the best running mechanics, while keeping your body strong & stable, can keep you running for many years.

How about chest presses? When can you do them on a bench and when is it time for a seated or incline press?  Chest presses, like other “push” exercises, can be real trouble for someone with rotator cuff problems.  If your shoulders are in good shape, however, a chest or stability ball press is a great option.

With so many more examples out there you might see someone doing something you’ve heard was a bad idea. Perhaps it is...but maybe, just maybe, they’ve been shown how and why to do the exercise that’s right for them.