Simple Ways to Feel Better: Aligning your Core

When I taught science, we always did a lab (disclaimer: it was middle school, so “lab” consisted of any fun, hands on activity the students did) where we constructed a “skeleton” out of toothpicks, and added “muscles” made of rubber bands.  Then of course I gave all of the students candy, so I could continue to be their favorite teacher, and moved on with my day.

Years later I still utilize that image when explaining anatomy to people.  Think about rubber bands, the more you stretch them out, the more tense and stable they are.  Stability is the key feature to focus on today.

In our body, our rubber band muscles provide balanced stability to our skeletal structure.  Ideally two opposing muscles balance each other.  However, if one muscle is compromised in any way (think weak or short), it means another muscle has to stretch out to provide stability.  This often results in one of the muscles being loose and weak, while the other is over stretched and tight.

Unfortunately, for years we have been told we need to “stretch” tight muscles. 

To go back to the analogy, what happens when you further stretch a rubber band that is already fully extended?   Often that is what you are doing to certain muscles in your body.

This is often seen in the hips and hamstrings.  People who sit much of the day (in a car, in a desk, on a couch watching tv), develop short hip flexor muscles on the front of their hips, and have over stretched hamstrings.

It takes a combination of things to fully improve movement in your hips.  Especially if you sit for hours a day.  One thing that helps improve muscle tissue quality is Foam Rolling.  Another you can do is to strengthen and stabilize your core.

By making those rubber band muscles stronger and more balanced, they can hold your skeleton in place without getting over stretched or taxed as easily.  Two great foundational exercises for hip mobility and core strength are Planks and Floor Bridges.  You can put these in at the beginning of your workout, or even do them at home on the floor while watching TV.

Bridges:

Lie on your back.  Pull your feet up close to your body.  Line up your hips, knees, and feet.  Make sure your knees stay in alignment with your hips and feet, and don't wobble in or out.  Press up through your glutes.  You should not feel it in your hamstrings or lower back.  Raise yourself to where your body forms a straight line.  Make sure not to over extend or arch your back.  At the top position, flex your glutes and hold for 4 seconds.  Lower yourself to the ground for 2 seconds.  Then repeat.  Aim for 12 reps.

Planks:

Lie flat on your stomach.  Pull your elbows in next to your body.  Make a fist.  Rock back into the plank position, leading with your core and glutes.  Most people push up from their shoulders, then pull their core up.  It is more effective to tighten your core, and rock back forcing your core to rise first.  Hold at the top for 4 seconds, flexing your core and glutes.  This will make sure you maintain a flat back.  Also, resist the urge to let your head hang or to look up.  Rather, keep your head and neck in alignment with your spine.  Rock back down smoothly to your starting position, then repeat.  Again, aim for 12 reps.

The Fastest 2 minutes in the Gym

I'm a lifelong Louisvillian. Even during my stints in St. Louis and Dallas, there has never been any question to my roots. As we all know, people from outside of here think everything can be wrapped up into two simple stereotypes: bourbon and horse racing. Who I am I to disappoint?  Here is my simple ode this year to the fastest 2 minute in sports.

It doesn't need to take long to work out. You can do amazing things if you push your body for brief amounts of time. This will also increase your capacity to do more. To avoid boring everyone on discussions of energy systems, and throwing a bunch of technical terms around, this is my advice for a quick workout: do what the horses do, and MOVE FAST!

You could run in a field, head up some stairs, use a treadmill or elliptical, or even lift weights faster. All of these things will get your heart rate up, and your blood pumping.

If you have the luxury of a heart rate monitor, you can go fast for 20 seconds, getting your heart rate up to about 90% of your maximum heart rate. Then rest until your heart rate settles to about 60% of your max heart rate, then repeat (if you don't have a heart rate monitor, check your pulse, or wait until you can talk without gasping for air).

For those who like algebra, you can use this formula to calculate your max heart rate: 205.8−[0.685 × Age] = Max Heart Rate.

These can be a great “finisher” for a workout. Or, when you feel confident, you can even repeat these a couple times in a row for a quick 10 to 15 minutes in the gym on those days where life is hectic.

Cardio Workout:

Suggested Exercises: Treadmill, Bike, Elliptical, or Running outside

Splits:

20 Seconds work

40 Seconds rest

20 Seconds work

40 Seconds rest

Resistance workout:

Suggested Exercises: Kettlebell Swings or Rope Swings

20 Swings

40 Seconds rest

20 Swings

40 Seconds rest

Do this a couple times to end a work out and you will feel the gains quickly. Don't push it too hard at first, though, until you know how your body will respond the next day. You don't want to get so sore that you can't come back and keep making progress.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/boboroshi/13134960/">boboroshi</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>

Movement

Think about how you move around in every day life.  How do you need your body to work? You bend over to pick stuff up, you squat down to pick stuff up, you push things (doors, grocery carts, bicycles), you pull things, you put stuff over your head, you carry things, and often times you do all of these things while walking or moving at the same time.

I will often talk about how a healthy lifestyle can be simple but difficult. This applies to body movements as well. Many people tend to think about individual muscles, or how much cardio they need to do in their approach to training.  Thinking about how to train the over 650+ muscles in the body can be a bit overwhelming.

However, I can make it simple.

Depending on what experts you read, there can be anywhere from 4 to 8 foundational human movements. I'm not one to pick nits about what is or is not one of these movements. The common factor is that there are fundamental and simple ways that people move. If you invest in yourself and learn these basic movements, you will be more capable of meeting whatever task comes before you.

We live in a dynamic world.

By thinking about how the body moves, you can structure a simple workout by repeating basic movements in different ways. This will help you become an expert in basic movements that will carry over into your everyday life.

I invested in a fitness center where people could learn how to move, how to feel better, and how to live a healthy lifestyle. Therefore I bought equipment that you can pick up, put over your head, push, pull, and carry. It doesn't consist of familiar machines, which train one muscle group, but trust me when I say that you are up for the challenge.

At Glassworks Fitness, there is a focus on simple, everyday movements, to help you get train for your life. Come, sign up, and use that first month of free Group Training classes to learn as much as you possibly can. You will have fun, learn something, and be prepared to meet the world head on.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/60881556@N05/555383417/">doctorwonder</a>via<ahref="http://photopin.com">photopin</a><ahref="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

Simple Ways to Feel Better: Foam Rolling

One of the first questions I always get as people walk through the gym is “What are those for?”.

My immediate response, “that is the best 5 bucks you will ever spend”.

Why do I have PVC pipe in the gym? Did I forget to throw it away from when we were building the showers?

What if I told you it was the most affordable masseuse you had ever met?

Actually, for those who have heard of it, we use them for “foam rolling”. Google it, it can become your new best friend. The technical name is “self-myofacial release”, but ultimately it is a simple way to massage out the soreness and knots in your muscles.

We've had a lot of people come through just starting up their workout routines again. One of the most difficult things about pushing yourself is that next day soreness. This can unhinge workout plans in a hurry. It's tough to muster up the motivation to go to the gym when sore muscles make getting out of bed difficult.

Stop on down and ask, I'd be glad to show you how to foam roll, speed up your recovery, and keep you moving along the way to your goals.

Making Fitness Simple (or why I opened Glassworks Fitness)

Living a healthy lifestyle is a tricky thing. So often the messages that float around the media and our lives promote how “easy” it is to go on a quick diet, or complete a quick exercise program. But, if this was so easy then everyone in the world would be losing 5, 10, or 100 pounds in a matter of days, or maybe weeks, and achieving all of their life goals in the process.

In reality, it can often be difficult to start on the road to your healthy lifestyle, or maybe starting is easy, and it becomes difficult to stick with it. We beat ourselves up.  We tell ourselves that we are just making “excuses”. Then, there is a “motivational poster” telling us that we need to be strong, resilient, and persevere at all costs. However, our “excuses” are actually legitimate reasons, more often than not. Family, work, kids, social obligations, education, and myriad other aspects of our life compete with our desires and ability to eat right, exercise, and live a healthy lifestyle.

Attaining and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is “simple”, but difficult at the same time. How is this dichotomy possible? Many of us know the basic components: eat right, exercise, sleep well (recover), and repeat. However, in order to be able to accomplish our goals, many of the barriers that make fitness difficult need to be overcome, lessened, or removed: inconvenience, time commitments, cost, false/misleading information, and lack of knowledge or confidence about how to be successful.

I opened Glassworks Fitness to remove many of these barriers. My goal is to apply my training in Biology, Education, and Public Health to create an environment that makes it possible, fun, and convenient for you to achieve whatever fitness goal you may have.

Glassworks Fitness is located in Downtown Louisville in order to create a convenient location, that can save you that 10, 15, or 30 minutes per day you spend driving to and from a fitness center. Glassworks Fitness is located where you (well many of you) work. This convenience can save you a couple hours per week just in travel, valuable time you can spend with your family, pursuing your career, or in leisure.

No knowledge about fitness is necessary (that is why we are giving away classes with top-notch instructors for the first month). The fact that you are reading this indicates you have all the motivation you need to begin the process towards success. Take a chance, stop by, and let me help show you how to meet your goals.  Bring your workout attire.  Your first workout is FREE!