My Favorite Exercise of the Month: The Split Squat.

Starting now I’m going to be dedicating one blog post a month to a particular exercise that I value as part of my own training program. Keep in mind, this does not necessarily mean that I “like” the exercise. I think I can safely say that the majority of the exercises that I’ll be writing about I absolutely HATE… but I know the benefits that I’m getting from the practice of the movement so I suck it up and do it!

This month’s exercise is the Split Squat. Before I get into the specifics though, I want to define what a Split Squat is NOT. A Split Squat is NOT a lunge. While various types of lunges and the Split Squat have a similar appearance, lunging motions are somewhat more dynamic. Lunges always incorporate a stepping motion either forwards or backwards while the Split Squat does not. From a staggered stance, a person performing a Split Squat will descend and rise without moving the feet.

Beginning Position for the Split Squat.

Bottom Position for the Split Squat.

Some trainers actually refer to the Split Squat as a static lunge, but I tend to separate the Split Squat from the family of lunging motions as the mechanics are somewhat different. While a lunge places the majority of work on the front leg during execution, a Split Squat uses both legs equally, hitting the quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings in the lead leg while working the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings as well as the gastrocnemius and soleus of the rear leg.

Execution of the Split Squat is relatively simple. The stance should be about a shoulder width wide and the stance length should be long enough to make staying up on the ball of the rear foot comfortable… a little more than two shoulder widths in length is probably reasonable, but it will vary depending on the person. The back should be completely vertical and remain vertical during execution of the movement. Execution begins as both legs begin to bend, allowing the body to descend vertically towards the ground. The body should not go forward nor should it lean forward. I often tell my clients to think of pushing their rear knee towards the ground. At the bottom of the movement both knees should be bent at roughly 90 degrees. The knee of the front leg should be over the ankle or slightly in front but should not pass the line of the toe. The rear knee should be directly below or slightly behind the line of the hip. The weight should be focused in the heel of the lead leg and the ball of the rear foot. The body should still be vertical. To return to the starting position you must squeeze yourself up between the lead leg and the rear leg. Both legs should nearly straighten. Once you have returned to a full upright position, repeat.

There are several things to watch for during execution, both from the side and from the front. From the side as mentioned before, the body should remain vertical throughout execution. This ensures good glute recruitment. Leaning forward during execution indicates too much reliance on the quads of the front leg. When observing the Split Squat from the front you should be able to draw a straight line vertically from the hip to the toe with the knee falling directly on that line. This applies to both the front and the rear leg.  If the knee buckles in (Valgus Collapse) or buckles out (Varus Collapse) these are usually indications of poor motor control; in which case the individual should be taught proper mechanics, possibly including some corrective exercises to strengthen weak muscles.

At the beginning of the motion the back should be completely vertical.

At the bottom of the motion the back should still be vertical while both knees are bent at roughly 90 degrees.

When viewed from the front, both legs should be vertical with the knees falling on a direct line between the hips and the toe. The hips should be square and the shoulder blades engaged.

 
 

Loading the Split Squat can be done in a number of ways.  The various methods and benefits are listed below:

TRX Assisted: This is great for those people who have never done the split squat and have progressed to the point where they are ready. While holding on to the handles of the TRX you’ll want to descend slowly into the Split Squat until the rear knee is nearly touching the ground. From there, push your way back to the starting position, using the TRX as an assist to maintain good form should you need to. Do NOT hang or lean on the TRX as it is there only to allow you to remove enough bodyweight to execute the technique properly.

 

Body Weight: This is the next progression I usually have my clients move to once the TRX assist is unnecessary. I usually use 2 positions. Most people I start with the hands on the hips while maintaining good upper body posture. Once this becomes easy, I have them place their hands behind the back of the head, spreading the elbows and pinching the shoulder blades. This not only helps to develop better posture by training the scapular stabilizers, but also adds a bit of a stability issue. People find it a little harder to balance in this position.

 

Dumbbells held at sides: A relatively safe way to load the Spit Squat but greater attention must be paid during execution as a lapse in attention can cause the back to round and the body to hunch. When done properly, the rhomboids and mid traps should be firing to stabilize the shoulder blades, the chest should be out and head held high. Holding dumbbells in this manner is also a great way to help strengthen the rotator cuff, the muscles which help to stabilize the shoulder in a similar manner that a Farmer’s Carry would.

 

Barbell across the Back: This is a great way to load the Split Squat. Holding a barbell across the back, similar to a back squat, engages the muscles of the middle back such as the rhomboids, mid traps and spinal erectors; thereby helping to establish good postural habits. As with the hand behind the back of the head, this position can be more difficult to stabilize so be careful loading this one.

 

Off Center Kettlebell/Dumbbell Hold: By holding a kettlebell or dumbbell on the side of your rear leg, you’ll have to fight a little harder to maintain a square hip position. This is a great way to develop greater glute recruitment on the side of the front leg as well as getting those muscles that stabilize the hip to fire. Using a Valslide or a furniture mover on the rear foot also increases difficulty.

 

As an exercise the Split Squat offers a variety of benefits that standard squats do not. For one, Split Squats ensure that both legs are developing reasonably equal amounts of strength since they are both being exposed to the same loads. Standard squat, however, can allow a greater level of compensation since one leg can be used to drive through the motion harder. Another advantage is that Split Squats are balance and stability intensive. They require a person to be able to hold a balanced position while maintaining good hip, knee and ankle stability through the full range of motion.  And speaking of range of motion, this exercise is excellent for maintaining good hip mobility as well.

Last, but not least, while I do not consider the Split Squat to be in the same family of movements as lunges, it is perfect as a bridging technique while working in a progression from standard squats to more demanding lunging exercises as it forces persons who are practicing them to develop a lot of the qualities they will need for the more advanced exercises.

Results are Intensity and Motivation Driven!

It doesn’t make any sense. You hit the gym every day after work. You lift weights. You do cardio. Sometimes you’re there for two hours to make sure you’re able to get everything in. You’ve been doing this for months now. Why aren’t you seeing results!?

This is a question that plagues a lot of people. As a matter of fact, I’d say I hear it from at least 65-80 percent of the people who come to me for training. The answer is a lot simpler than you might think… and you’re probably going to kick yourself when you realize what the missing components are.

First of all, I can guess what goes on when you head to the gym. If you are like most people, the gym is probably simply part of your day-to-day routine. You go into the locker room and change, do a little stretching, lift weights and then do cardio. The problem is that you’re going through the motions rather than really trying to accomplish something like getting faster, stronger or leaner. You do the same stretches; you’re probably lifting the exact same weight you lifted last week… and the week before, you’re probably doing exactly the same number of reps you’ve been doing for a while and then you do your cardio while walking on a treadmill listening to your Ipod or reading the paper while sitting on the stationary bike. The worst thing is that you’ve probably been doing this longer than you can remember. Whatever changes the body originally made to adapt to the stresses of your current workout have come and gone a long time ago.

There are two things that you lack in your training: Motivation and Intensity. Two simple words. We all know what they mean and you’ve probably heard this before from someone. You probably even responded with an egotistically tinged, “I know.” The truth though is that you don’t.

If you want to get stronger, faster, more powerful or leaner; you have to be motivated enough to achieve those goals. Your psychological state in the gym is going to make or break you as much as poor nutrition will with your overall diet. That means you have to start working… and working hard. I like to tell my clients when they train; they should strive every day to set a new record. It doesn’t mean that you have to increase the weight on everything you do, but you should be working as hard as you can for the time that you are in the gym. In short, you have to be motivated enough to add that extra weight to your lift, even when the last set was hard. You have to be motivated enough to do that extra set when you don’t want to. You have to be motivated enough to work as hard as you can when you are performing your cardiovascular training, and you have to finish your workout with the same energy and focus that you started it with.

Keep in mind that I’m not saying to go to the gym and aimlessly work so hard that it kills you; but you should be working your butt off within the parameters of your training program. This means you should start lifting weights that challenge your ability to squeeze out a certain number of reps instead of lifting that same old weight that’s not even challenging, you should be performing high intensity intervals  instead of seeing what the stock market is doing while you sitting on a recumbent bike, and you should be motivated enough to pursue these things with zeal and passion every single time you go into the gym. Don’t be afraid of progress. Chase it down!

This brings us to the next important element: Intensity. If you are sitting on a bike reading the paper or you aren’t breathing heavy after a set of squats or bench press, your training isn’t intense enough. Think of intensity in this way. Say you are going to bench and your program calls for 3 sets of 10 reps. Most people will place one or two smaller plates to the bar and crank out 10 reps. The problem is that it’s likely you can do a lot more than 10 with the chosen weight. To crank up the intensity on your lift you need to let the weight dictate the number of reps. Think of it like this: If you are aiming for 10 reps you need to be using a weight that barely allows 10 reps.

It’s not always easy to choose a weight to give you that exact number of reps that you’re looking for though. One of my personal tricks is to use what I call a “Rep Window”. A Rep Window is a general range you want to aim for instead of an exact number when doing reps. For mass training I’ll generally use a range of between 8 and 12 reps for my window. The goal is to choose a weight that allows at least 8 reps but no more than 12… and when I say no more than 12, I mean 13 reps isn’t possible. You simply can’t do it. If you can perform more than 12 reps, the weight is too light. Likewise, if the weight is so heavy you can’t perform 8, you’ll need to drop the weight a bit.

Timing your rest periods is another important aspect of intensity. I’m personally surprised by the number of people I see in the gym who spend more time rappin’ with each other than working out. My personal goal is to get into the gym, train and get out so I can enjoy the rest of my day. Because of this, just about everything I do is timed. My rest periods between sets or supersets generally last no longer than 60-90 seconds before I’m working again. This increases intensity as well as efficiency.

Weight Training isn’t the only area where people need to pick up the intensity though. Cardiovascular training is probably the biggest problem area when it comes to lack of motivation and intensity. If I look over at the Cardio Theater in the gym I go to, most of the people I see are working at a light to moderate pace. The worst thing that I see is people reading books or the newspaper while on a recumbent bike. It amazes me that these people can’t figure out why they aren’t seeing the changes that they want to see in their bodies.

The biggest suggestion I can make here is to stop performing steady state cardio and start performing some type of interval training. That is, periods of high intensity work interspersed by periods of rest. This is much more intense than walking for an hour and elicits much greater changes over time. Even this, though isn’t enough.

The problem with interval training is that often the work sets are timed. You’ll work hard for a minute and rest for a minute. The fault in this method is that people will pace themselves during the work phase. One thing you can do to rectify this is to go for distance instead of time during the work period.  If you work hard for a quarter mile with the goal of completing it as quickly as possible, the intensity level goes way up. You can even reward yourself by giving yourself a little more rest after each interval if the rest times are still preset.

Intensity is a matter of experimentation and a choice to push oneself. Motivation, on the other hand, is not always an easy thing to come by. I think a lot of people would suggest that the best way to stay motivated in the gym is to do it for yourself. I disagree. Don’t do it for yourself unless that motivates you. Do it for your girlfriend/boyfriend or the hot guy/girl you’ve been eyeing at the gym. Do it for a sense of justification in the eyes of the people who told you that you’d fail. Do it for revenge on your ex, just to show them what they gave up. Whatever lights the fire, that’s your tool. Use it. Or you could go back to reading the paper on the recumbent bike. At least you’ll be awake.

Spring Has Arrived and the Race to Fitness Has Begun!

Every year it’s the same thing. Once Spring hits, it seems like everyone gets into a rush to achieve a lean, chiseled physique by the time the Fourth of July rolls around. The big box gyms start to see a slight elevation in membership sales, more and more people start to run along the beach and memberships to the various boot camp programs swell from hopeful people looking for that magic bullet to get them thin and sexy by Summer!

I should point out that I am not making fun of this time nor am I belittling the people who do it. With roughly 3 months until Independence Day, now is the time to start making changes. You can accomplish a great deal in 3 months if you set your mind to it. Here are a few suggestions to follow if you really want to get chiseled by the 4^th!

1: Nutrition is Key

Nutrition is where success both begins and fails. You can’t out train bad nutrition so you have to understand how this works to get the most out of it. To lose the fat you have to be on a calorie deficit. That means you have to be burning more calories that you take in. There are lots of different theories out there regarding how to do this. You’ll want to find out what your basal metabolic rate is. Basal metabolic rate, or BMR is the number of calories you body require to maintain normal function without moving. From there you’ll want to adjust it based on your activity level to determine your daily maintenance calories. This is the number of calories you’ll need during a 24 hour period to maintain your current weight at your normal activity level. Once you have determined your maintenance calories, you’ll want to decide how fast you want to lose weight. Generally speaking, most people cut their calorie intake by about 500 calories a day. Over the course of a week, that can add up to a 3500 calorie deficit a week. That’s equal to 1 lb of body fat.

The next goal is to make sure you are eating healthy foods. Choose lead proteins such as lean beef, chicken breast and turkey breast among others. Make sure to take in ample amounts of fruits and vegetables as well as complex carbohydrate sources such as brown rice, sweet potatoes and sources of whole wheat and whole grains. Limit foods such as processed carbohydrates such as cookies and crackers as well as soft drinks, candies and pastries.

Keep it tight. Try and keep your nutritional compliance to 85 to 90%. If you do make a mistake, don’t give up. No one is perfect and everyone enjoys a treat every once in a while. Just make sure that they are the exception, not the rule. Get back on track with your next meal.

2: Train with Weights

More and more research is coming out all the time that shows that high intensity resistance training is probably the most effective and safest method for burning body fat. Research recently conducted at the University of Southern Maine suggested that when a variety of weight training exercises were performed in a circuit, a person could expect to burn anywhere between 20-28 calories a minute, the equivalent of running at a 6 minute mile pace. Other advantages of weight training include its muscle sparing benefits. Unlike regular cardio training, strength training will either help to maintain your current muscle mass or possibly even increase it. This is significant as your level of muscle mass is directly related to your metabolic rate, or the rate at which you burn calories. Since each pound of muscle you have burns between 30-50 calories over a 24 hour period, any loss in muscle mass will have a negative effect on your metabolic rate. A loss of as little as 3 lbs of muscle can reduce your daily calorie expenditure by 90 to 150 calories.

Weight training also elevates metabolic rate, not just during activity but for hours and potentially days afterwards. Weight training is highly intense and damages the tissues of the body, causing micro tears which over time heal, producing stronger and sometimes larger fibers. To do this it requires a higher energy output to heal those tissues. The body has to increase energy output in order to take in more oxygen and speed more nutrients into the damaged tissues, among other things. This can cause an elevation in metabolic rate that lasts for 1-2 days.

There are also hormonal effects to consider. Strength training as well as other highly intense forms of exercise release certain hormones in the body which help to drive fat burning and are responsible for the release of fat from both subcutaneous and intramuscular fat stores. In layman’s terms, these hormones make fat available as an energy source.

Last but not least, strength training is easier on the body. When someone goes running, the impact with each step is 2-3 times your body weight. Your joints absorb this. Over the course of a 20 minute jog, that equates to thousands of steps. That’s thousands of pounds coming down on the joints of your body, in a jarring fashion, I might add. The fibrous tissues of the body such as tendons, ligaments and cartilage do not receive direct blood flow and heal much more slowly than muscle. A person who runs every day may, over time, begin to experience various types of injury from the constant pounding.  Strength training, while also loading the body greatly reduces the amount of stress due to less overall volume. Also, due to the fact that many exercises are performed in a full range of joint motion, the exercises will actually help to lubricate the joints with synovial fluid which help to not only reduce friction but also provide nutrients to the cartilage as well as help transport waste material out of the joint.

3: Interval Training

After weight training, various types of interval training are the next most beneficial tool for fat reduction. Interval training’s effect on the body is similar to that of weight training in that it burns a large number of calories and keeps the metabolism elevated for 1-2 days post workout. Like weight training it also causes an increase in hormonal levels throughout the body which help to release fat from storage to be used as energy.

Interval training can be performed in a number of ways; the most basic are usually done either on a running track or on some type of cardio machine. The basis of interval training is to perform periods of intense work followed by periods of rest and recovery which are repeated for a number of sets. One of the most common work-to-rest ratios is the 1:1 ratio. As an example, a person performing this type of interval might spend about 5 minutes warming up by lightly jogging. After the warm up they would run hard for 1 minute immediately followed by a full minute of recovery, say by jogging lightly, before repeating. This would be repeated anywhere between 5 and 10 times followed by a cool down.

Interval ratios and intensity levels vary depending on the overall goals. Programs using a work-t- rest ratio of 1:1 are the most common but other ratios include 1:2 where the rest period would be twice as long as the work period. There are even ratios in the 1:5 region where the work period while short is hyper intense. The best advice is to find both a ratio and a work time you can tolerate, but just barely. Interval training has to be intense or it won’t work.

4: Steady State Cardio

This is what you see pretty much everyone doing in the Cardio Theater when you go to the gym. Most people perform bouts of long drawn out cardiovascular training performed at a constant pace for a period of time ranging anywhere from 20-90 minutes. While this method is the most popular it is also the most ineffective at burning fat unless integrated properly into a well designed program.

Recently a lot of studies have come out showing how ineffectual steady state cardiovascular training is at reducing body fat levels when used alone. My personal experience has been that cardiovascular training when not complimented with resistance training may cause a loss in weight but close to half of the mass lost will come from muscle mass. I’ve not only seen this, but I’ve experienced it.

That’s not to say that performing steady state cardio is worthless. It is an excellent tool for burning additional calories after either strength training or interval training, especially since the metabolic rate will be elevated from the more intense workout.

Following a bout of high intensity weight training or interval training with about 20 minutes of moderately intense steady state cardio (light jogging or walking intensely on an inclined treadmill) will not only burn additional calories, but will probably burn more calories after the meat of the workout than before, due to the elevation in metabolic rate.

5: Hire a Trainer

Supervised exercise versus non-supervised exercise for reducing weight in obese adults.
Nicolaï SP et al
J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2009 Mar;49(1):85-90.

This to most of you probably sounds self serving; but to be completely honest, the statistics are out there to show that working with a trainer will greatly improve your chances of success. A study published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness (listed above) compared two groups of people: one group who worked with a trainer twice a week for 4 months and another group who received basic fitness advice and had access to a fitness center. Over the course of the 4 month period, the group which worked with trainers lost on average 362% more body fat than those who received no direct fitness coaching.

I think it’s safe to say that there were several factors involved in this group’s success. Obviously direct coaching plays a significant role and that people are more likely to work harder in an environment where they are being supervised. May of my clients have also told me that working with me has provided them with a constant source of motivation, and since they are often working with another person or persons, there are social elements at play as well. Working with a training partner or group can be highly motivational in and of itself.

So if you really want to achieve that hot body by the time the Fourth of July rolls around, eat well, perform high intensity weight training and cardio, save the light cardio for the end of the workout and, if you’re really motivated, work with a trainer You may be surprised at how far you can go when you use the right tools and work with the right people.

It’s OK to Pick Up the Weight—It Won’t Bite!

I’m going to be honest. This article is going to be a bit of a rant about something that pops up from time to time in my profession. Recently, something happened that made me decide it was time to address this issue in my blog. The point that I am speaking of is the misconception that weights are dangerous.

I explore a lot of different modalities in my own training, but one of my favorites is the kettlebell. For those of you not familiar with it, a kettlebell is a Russian training tool resembling a cannon ball with a looping handle on it. In the past 10 years, they have gone from being an obscure tool used by hard-core strength athletes and lifters to becoming almost mainstream. I value them because of the fact that the weight is off balanced, making the lifter have to stabilize the weight while lifting it, and because they can be used for alternative cardiovascular training, power development and corrective strategies. I usually keep one or two of them with me all the time for training purposes.

Recently I was over at one of the “big box” gyms that I generally go to. I had a kettlebell with me and was going through my routine. It’s not unusual for people to watch or ask an occasional question about them because they still are not that popular. One girl happened to be walking by with a friend and looked over while I was performing a Turkish Get Up, a technique where I go from a lying position on the ground to a full standing position with the kettlebell held straight over my head. As she walked by, I heard her say, “I hear those things are dangerous.”

This type of attitude is one of my pet peeves. Why? Kettlebells are not dangerous. Dumbbells and barbells are not dangerous. Machines are not dangerous. If I put a kettlebell on the ground in front of you, I can guarantee with 100 percent certainty that it would never attack you. As a matter of fact, every year there are hundreds if not thousands of incidents nationwide where people are injured in fitness centers while performing exercises. I can guarantee that not a single person was attacked by a single piece of equipment.

So who is at fault for these injuries? Well, there is always the possibility that a small percentage of them are caused by improper maintenance of the equipment. That does occur from time to time, but the majority of injuries are most likely self-inflicted due to lack of proper education in how to perform a given exercise correctly. Sadly enough, tools like the kettlebell are one of those which require proper instruction to use properly—but it isn’t limited to obscure tools like the kettlebell.

Several weeks ago, a client of mine mentioned a guy she knew who had injured his shoulder lifting weights. He ended up having an operation to repair a damaged rotator cuff. After he had gone through his physical therapy he swore off of weights and vowed to never touch them again. He also decided to make it his own personal crusade to encourage other people to not lift weights because of the great risk of injury. While I don’t know the exact nature of what happened, I think the odds would be in favor of assuming the injury was self-inflicted. He was not attacked by a weight. This man injured himself with a weight either due to improper technique, using too much weight for a given exercise or lack of proper recovery time between workouts. Weights are nothing more tools in much the same way that guns and knives are tools. There is nothing inherently dangerous about any piece of strength training equipment. But like any tool, all three of the above mentioned objects can be used properly or improperly; and when you use a tool improperly, that’s when bad things happen.

Many people get intimidated by weights. They view them as dangerous and risky and automatically assume that resistance training isn’t for them due to the risk of injury. I beg to differ. There are very few people on the face of the Earth who could not benefit from some type of resistance training. Sure, not everyone has the drive to become a bodybuilder, weight lifter or power lifter, but everyone can enjoy the benefits of increased strength, greater muscle mass and a higher metabolism, not to mention a better physique. The benefits are universal and can actually reduce the risk of injury as opposed to cause them as long as a little education and common sense is applied.

Hold on a minute, though. Before you go running over to the gym to load up the barbell with 45-pound plates for that deep squat or bench press, do yourself a favor. Get educated. Learn how to do the exercises properly. Start with light weights and gradually build up over a period of weeks and months. Use a spotter (someone to assist you with a lift) if you’re lifting more weight than usual. Don’t load up the rack on the machines like you see the body builders do in the magazine shots; and if you really want to be safe and see results, hire a trainer to help you. The alterative could be some type of injury. If that happens, keep this in mind: The weight did not attack you. It did not hurt you. The weight is a tool, and like any tool it can be used properly or improperly. If you use it improperly and sustain an injury, you only have yourself to blame.

Golf Training and the Importance of Joint Mobility

One thing about living in the Southern California South Bay is that a lot of people in this area play golf. Ever since Tiger Woods became a household name the game has exploded in popularity. Personally I’ve never been a really big fan of it. Sometimes when I go home to visit some of my friends its kinda fun to head out to the golf course and play nine holes or so, but it’s not something that holds my attention for long.

For a growing number of people though, golf is quickly becoming a passion. People from their early teens well into their 80s are taking up this game. I think it has become more popular in certain segments of the population because it is considered to be a safer when compared to other highly recognized sports. There are, however, some inherent dangers in the practice of golf as well as other sports that utilize a high degree of rotation that I feel are important to address.

Among golf practitioners, lower back injuries are the most common type of injury reported. A survey of golf related injuries published in 2007 noted that lower back injuries among amateur golfers ranged from 15% to 34% and 22% to 24% in professionals. The instance of lower back pain in male golfers is 25% to 36% and 22% to 27% in females. This is not too surprising. Particularly in an amateur population which is probably not working with trainers or strength coaches, there are most likely limitations in both hip and thoracic spine mobility which can force the lumbar spine to compensate. The lumbar spine is not meant to rotate and forcing it to do so can result in both pain and eventual injury.

Let’s look at rotational mobility for a moment. Certain joints in the body are meant to be mobile while others are meant to stabilize and have little range of motion. If our mobility joints are not working properly we’re more likely to put the rotational stresses on the stabilizing joints. Our stabilizing joints are not meant to move much but are designed to provide a stable base. When we force these joints to move, the potential for injury goes way up.

As an example, let’s look at the relationship between the hip joint, lumbar spine and thoracic spine. The Hip is a mobility joint and is meant to be able to move freely and openly from front to back, side to side and rotationally. The Lumbar Spine is a stability joint and is not meant to move much. Forcing the lumbar spine to flex, extend or rotate can result in damage to the spinal discs between the lumbar vertebrae which can lead to even more serious spinal injuries. The Thoracic Spine, on the other hand, is a mobility joint and is meant to move freely and openly in all planes of motion. When we talk about rotational mobility in golf, the Thoracic Spine and the hip is where it should be coming from.

Hip mobility itself is probably one of the most important aspects of any athletic activity. Most people don’t realize this, but the hips and the lumbar spine are linked. This is why hip mobility is so important. Any lack of mobility in the hips is transferred to the lumbar spine. If you cannot fully extend your hips, you will extend your lower back. If you cannot flex your hips effectively, you will flex the spine. As you can see, it is important to maintain range of motion in this area.

There are several things we need to be doing to improve our hip mobility; foam rolling or soft tissue work to relax the muscles, stretching to improve flexibility and strength training exercises to develop strength and stability.

Foam rolling is essentially massage work, by taking a foam roller and performing about 10-20 rolls up and down the length of the tight muscle, pausing on the tender areas, it will relax the tissue, relieve some discomfort associated with muscle tightness and make the tissue easier to stretch. Important areas to foam roll include the Glutes and Piriformis, the IT Band (outside of the thigh between the hip bone and the knee joint) The Tensor Fascia Latae and the short and Long Adductors on the inside of the thigh.

Stretching is the second element that needs to be addressed. Static stretching or stretching held for time helps to further relax the muscle fibers while improving flexibility. Stretching should be done in increments of 30-45 seconds and should be repeated 2-4 times per muscle group.

Strength training can be done with a variety of exercises and loads. If you are performing exercises such as lunges, split squats, side lunges as well as dead lifts, Romanian dead lifts and kettlebell swings, you are headed in the right direction. It is highly important to properly warm up beforehand though. Among other things I always take my clients through a series of bodyweight lunging exercises to warm up the body and open up range of motion. These include split squats, side lunges and rotational lunges. I normally have them do 2 sets of between 10-15 reps.

Hip Mobility is only one aspect that needs to be addressed though. The other is Thoracic mobililty. The thoracic spine consists of the 12 vertebrae that exist between the base of the neck and the top of the lumbar spine. Unlike the lumbar spine, however, the thoracic spine is meant to be mobile and is the area of the back that is meant to absorb rotation when the hips are not involved. The thoracic spine should be able to rotate 30 degrees in each direction and should be able to flex (crunch forward) up to about 60 degrees. Insuring good mobility through the thoracic spine will definitely help to reduce injury.

There are several exercises that I normally do with my clients who participate in rotational sports to keep thoracic mobility optimal. These are listed below:

Thoracic Windmill: Lying on your side, keep the bottom leg straight and in alignment with the rest of the body. The top leg bends so that the knee is even with the hip and the knee itself is bent at 90 degrees. You can place a foam roller underneath your top knee to provide support. Both hands should be together at arm’s length directly in front of your chest. While the bottom arm remains stationary, slowly begin to rotate your top arm up over your head, imitating the motion of a clock hand. As you do this attempt to rotate your top shoulder to the ground behind you, looking in that direction with your head. Keep the moving hand in contact with the ground as long as possible and once you have completed a rotation of 180 degrees, bring the hand back over the top of your body, placing both hands together and repeating.

Thoracic Crunch: Lie back on either a foam roller or a pair of tennis balls placed together to either side of your spine. The foam roller or tennis balls should be placed directly opposite of the base of your chest. Place your hands behind the back of your head and pinch your shoulder blades to pull the elbows back. Do not pull on the back of your head. From here, without involving the lower back, roll your shoulder  up as high as you can, performing a crunch and then return to starting position and repeat.

Sit, Rotate and Flex:  Assume a seated position on a chair that is low enough to allow your knees to be at hip height. You may also sit cross-legged on the floor. This is to prevent lumbar rotation. While maintaining a straight back, place your hands behind the back of the head and pinch your shoulder blades to bring your elbows back. From here, rotate from the base of your chest up to the side as far as you can comfortably. Once you have reached your comfortable limit, slowly bend your body to the side as far as you can comfortably then return to an upright position. Rotate a little further and repeat. Perform this 3-4 times to each side.

I normally recommend performing a circuit of the above exercises for thoracic mobility and with the exception of the sit, rotate and flex, performing 10 reps per side.

While mobility is without a doubt one of the most important aspects of rotational sports, it is important to keep in mind that proper conditioning for any sport is a valid and wise idea. This doesn’t mean a person has to embark on a hard core conditioning program if they decide they want to head out to the course with their buddies on a Sunday afternoon for a couple rounds. But a sound program involving mobility work, proper core training and some basic strength training are important things to consider… and relatively easy to justify when you consider the pain and long rehabilitation process of a spinal injury.

Thank You, Wells Fargo, For Your Complete Lack Of Customer Service!

Today’s blog is not about Fitness, but in my opinion it is something that needs to be addressed all the same. We live in a world were E-crime and identity theft are as rampant now as violent crime was in the days of Al Capone. We entrust our finances to banks and credit unions to keep our assets safe from those who would attempt to steal them. That said, I think it is very important that you choose carefully which institution you will trust because the wrong one might not back you when things go wrong.

At least that’s how I’ve been treated by Wells Fargo.

A little over two years ago when I was opening my business, I chose Wells Fargo as the bank I would use to host my business account. At the time it seemed like a good choice. Over the past two weeks I have changed my opinion. Let me explain.

I use my ATM card a lot. I rarely carry cash on me. ATM is simply easier and more convenient. Unfortunately, there are apparently ways to capture information off these cards when they are swiped. Two weeks ago someone, probably at one of the local convenience stores that I stop by was able to copy that information off  the magnetic strip of my card and make a duplicate. Whoever did it then began to make purchases at stores in LA and in Torrance.

Thank God I caught it within a day or two. I went into a panic and called Wells Fargo to tell them what had happened. I had the card cancelled and quickly reported all of the purchases that looked suspicious. In my haste I ended up reported a couple of purchases that I had made myself but didn’t remember. I think it totaled around 25 or 30 additional dollars. The full amount that had been taken from my account was nearly $350. I guess it could have been much worse.

Nevertheless, I was told by the Wells Fargo Customer Service Rep in their claims department that they would open an investigation and that I would receive credit to my account within the next 24-48 hours. I hung up feeling confident that the situation would be corrected. After all, this isn’t the first time that this has happened to me. A couple of years ago it happened to an account I have with Bank of America. They quickly re-credited the money and launched an investigation which I believe was in conjunction with the police and were able to determine who the culprit was immediately.

My situation with Wells Fargo did not go anywhere near as smoothly. By the 4th day I began to wonder my my account had not been re-credited. I called the claims department and they told me that my claim had been denied because a couple of the purchases had been done by ATM and the only way that could have happened was if I had told someone my PIN number. I never share that information. Wells Fargo determined that all the charges were bogus.

I have to admit, I did make a mistake. I did report a few transactions that were made using my ATM PIN. I was in a panic when I initially discovered the unauthorized transactions and ended up reporting a few of my own that I didn’t recognize. I called the claims office again and resubmitted another claim, this time having made sure that I hadn’t included any of my own. Interestingly enough, they were all check card purchases… meaning all the person with the fake card had to do was swipe it.

I waited another few days and then called this morning to find that my second claim had been rejected. Wells Fargo wouldn’t even look at the second claim because it was essentially the same claim. Too bad if there is new information As far as Wells Fargo is concerned I’m out of luck.

The thing that annoys me the most is that I trusted this institution with my money and they aren’t doing anything to help me get it back. They don’t appear to be working with the police in any way and apparently don’t watch their customer’s purchasing patterns very well. My situation with Bank of America was completely different. They would call and check if I made purchases that were outside of my normal patterns and would contact me immediately if any large purchases were made. I felt completely safe with Bank of America. They stand behind their clientele.

To make matters even more annoying, while I was waiting to hear back on the initial claim that I had originally made, I noticed that Wells Fargo had charged me an additional $154.41 in check card fees. How the hell do they justify that kind of money for a replacement card? It’s made out of plastic, Not gold!

I’m filing a police report today regarding these thefts from my account. I plan on getting my money back. Once I do that I plan on trusting another institution with my assets. Wells Fargo has lost my trust and they will never get it back. With the overwhelming amount of Cyber Crime the occurs in today’s day and age, I have to wonder how many people Wells Fargo will be screwing over today.

If you are reading this and are considering opening an account with Wells Fargo, I would highly recommend another bank such as B of A. I doubt your assets would be safe at Wells Fargo. Mine sure as hell weren’t!

…And to really top it all off, Despite having gotten nailed with over $150 dollars in check card fees, nearly two weeks later I still haven’t received a replacement card. You would think that for that kind of money the least they could do would be to send your card priority mail.

Exercise and Cancer Patients – Ways Exercise Can Help

Today I have a guest blogger by the name of David Haas. David is an Awareness Program Advocate for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. David often blogs about programs and campaigns underway at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance, as well as creative fitness ideas for those dealing with cancer, while creating relationships with similar organizations.

David guest post details how the effects of exercise can benefit those who are dealing with various forms of cancer.

You can learn more about David and the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Here.

-Grant Pierce

Medical professionals did not always recommend exercise for cancer patients. In years past, most cancer doctors prescribed rest and exercise avoidance. While this advice may still stand if movement causes pain or breathing difficulties, modern research contradicts tradition.

New research proves that exercise is safe, feasible and beneficial for cancer patients and survivors, both during and after treatment. Physical activity helps patients function better, promotes their general well-being and improves their quality of life.

Rest is good, too, especially for patients with mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other terminal conditions that tax the heart and lungs. Too much of a good thing is bad, however. Extended periods of rest may cause muscle weakness, bone loss, reduced range of motion and a host of other problems.

Ways Exercise Can Help

Numerous studies through the years have revealed that that exercise may prevent some types of cancer, reduce cancer mortality rates, and increase life expectancy for cancer survivors. Regular physical activity can help patients through their cancer treatments, as well.

Exercise improves physical strength and ability, body functions, balance and coordination. It enables patients to do more for themselves so they depend less on others. Cancer patients who exercise enjoy a higher quality of life.

Regular physical exercise improves heart and lung health, strengthens muscles and bones, controls weight, lowers diabetes risk and offers many other health advantages. A patient’s emotional health benefits, too. Exercise lessens anxiety, reduces depression, improves mood and boosts self-esteem.

Exercise Goals and Precautions

The best exercise programs cater to the needs of the individual. Cancer patients need safe, effective regimens that are enjoyable and easy to stick to. Many things affect a patient’s ability to exercise. Cancer type, stage, and treatment are key factors. Cancer fitness programs must also consider a patient’s fitness level, strength, and stamina.

Getting doctor approval is essential before starting an exercise program. Patients with mesothelioma, hematologic and other cancers are especially vulnerable to lung and heart problems caused by exercise. Other patients can engage in most physical activities. Exercise plans should include stretching, strength training, and aerobic activity.

Slow starts are best, and even small amounts of exercise are better than no physical activity. The American Cancer Society recommends 30 minutes of moderate exercise on five days a week. At times when rest is needed, dividing these activities into three ten-minute periods will still offer substantial benefits.

Reducing Fatigue

Cancer patients have a lot less energy than most people. Chemotherapy andradiation zap energy and promote tiredness. Interestingly, extreme fatigue does not improve with rest. While tiredness usually limits exercise, inactivity is best avoided.

Cancer patients can combat fatigue by following a daily routine, getting fresh air and exercising on a regular basis. Patients are more likely to stick to an exercise program if they engage in activities they enjoy.

Meditation and relaxation techniques are often helpful to reduce stress. Cancer patients should learn to balance exercise with rest in a way that does not disrupt their nighttime sleep.