Corrective Exercises - FINAL

FINAL

As a bonus, here are three exercises triathletes (or any athlete for that matter) should never do again:

1. Crunches - The movement of crunching puts the spine into flexion. The spine does not want this load. The function of the spine is meant to remain stable. Repetitive movement at the lower spine will cause pain or even worse a blown disc. Read any of Dr. Stuart Mcgill’s, a low back specialist, research and you will see why spinal flexion, extension and rotation are a recipe for a blown low back disc. Want a healthy and strong back? Build stability and stiffness and stay away from crunching.


2. Leg Curl Machine – This machine is a very non-functional “strength training” exercise. First of all it is a machine. Machines do not build function. Your movement is constricted on an exercise machine. Secondly, this exercise will work the hamstrings without engaging the hips and the glutes. When you do that it will lead to over dominant hamstrings, thus leading to imbalanced glutes and hips, which can lead to injury. These two muscle groups need to work together. Try the stability ball leg curl instead. This will allow your hips to work with your hamstrings and this will create balance and a strong posterior lower body.

3. Low Back Hyperextension – Have you ever done the “Superman” exercise? Just like crunching this is another recipe for low back pain. Again the low spine is meant to remain stable. When you put unwanted load on the spine it will cause serious back issues. It might not happen the 1st, 3rd or 50th time you perform this exercise but every time you perform spinal flexion, extension or rotation you are setting yourself up for disaster. Stay away from this exercise.

Resources:
Mike Boyle, “A Joint by Joint Approach”, http://www.strengthcoach.com/
Mark Verstegen, “Core Performance”, http://www.coreperformance.com/
Dewey Nielsen, Impact Performance Training, http://www.impact-pt.com/
Triathlete Magazine

Wildflower Weekend race report

It was another great adventure at the 2009 Wildflower Triathlon. We battled camping in the rain, running the tough hills in the hot sun and swimming in the infamous green moss in the lake. We had 2 members finish in the top three in their appropiate age group, we had 2 members finish their first Olympic triathlon and we had one of our members battle a fall in the mountain bike course. The weekend was full of laughs, stories and great comaraderie.

Here is a report of the weekend.

We showed up Thursday to a great burst of sunshine. The campground was at the beginning stages of full excitement. It wasn't too crazy as of yet. People were showing up throughout the rest of the night. We put up our camp and enjoyed the rest of the evening. Friday came quick. At around 3:00am it started to lightly rain. IT would rain off and on the whole entire day. Some of our tents got wet inside but we battled it out. By Friday afternoon the campgrounds were getting full of lean and fit triathletes. You have never seen this many athletes at the same time. They said 8500 athletes were competing over the next 2 days. We cooked dinner Friday night in the rain. Luckily for our club, we have nothing but positive people so we made the best of the night. Saturday morning arrived and Ira, Sandy, Jim, Kendal and Mike were getting ready to compete in the mountain bike course. And yes, the weather cleared up and it was going to be a great day. I was able to get some great pictures of the professionals competing in the long course event. These athletes are machines. Andy Potts won the long course in 3 hours and 59 minutues. Thats 1.2 miles swim, 56 mile bike and 13 mile run. His run was 1 hour 14 minutes which is 5:43 minutes per mile. GEEEEEE! What do these guys eat??? I want to know. It is inspiring watching these guys go.Back to the mountain bike course. Ira was our club's fastest member as he finished the course in 1 hour 5 minutes. This is Ira's only 2nd triathlon. Jim Barnes finished 3rd in his age group. With a mix up in the results, Jim finally got the correct award for this course. Kendal had an unfortunate fall on the course. She was going around a corner and locked up the back break and took a hard fall. She was resilient, got back up, fixed her bike and finished the course. Great job to Kendal for sticking it out and finishing the race. It shows her character and determination to get up and keep going. Congrats to Mike Means and Sandy Roberts for a great race as well. They all represented VTC!Sunday morning arrived and it was Carol Camstra, Scott Nelson, Mike Keller, Steve Hert and myself's day. The weather was nice in the morning but you could tell it could get a little hot as the morning went on. We all headed down to the transition area to set our gear out. There were so many athletes. In fact around 3500 athletes participated in the Olympic course! The transition area had a very positive buzz going around. Before you knew it we were all on the course competing. After we got through the swim, we had Lynch hill to deal with. Lynch hill is a 3/4 of a mile hill with a 10% grade. This is tough coming right out of transition. The bike course is full of rolling hills and some tough climbs. There were cyclists everywhere, behind your, infront of your, to the side. IT was pretty neat seeing everyone compete. The run course was tough. The first mile was rolling hills then miles 2-4 was a pretty steady incline that definitely took a toll on our legs. Once we hit mile 5 it was all downhill so it was nice to see that mark. The best part of the race is running down the finish shoot and hearing the spectators cheer. We had some great results in this event. Carol Camstra was 3rd in her age group. She had a great time of 3 hours and 7 minutes. Scott Nelson completed his first Olympic course (a tough one at that) in 2 hours 50 minutes. He had a great bike leg. Great job to Scott. Congrats to Steve Hert for finishing his first Olympic course. And Mike Keller battled the course and he did a great job as well. Overall this weekend was so much fun. It is not so much about the time racing and competing. It is about spending good quality time with positive and motivating people. We all battled through the ups and downs of the race but even better we all supported each other and were there to share our stories. Good job to everyone and hope we can get more to participate next year!

Off to The WIldflower Triathlon

All the training will pay off as we head off to Lake San Antonio for the 2009 Wildflower Triathlon. This weekend is full of fun and exciting events. From the top professionals competing to the inspiring age groupers, this is by far the biggest triathlon in the USA. The Visalia Triathlon Club will be represented by Scott Nelson, Ira Zermeno, Kendall Haskins, Sandy Roberts, Mike Keller, Steve Hert, Carol Camstra and myself. We are all very excited and ready to compete and show our skills.

Wish us all good luck!

Corrective Exercises - Part 5

The final Corrective Exercise....(The last part of the series will show three exercises athletes should never do again. Be on the look out for it.)

6. Thoracic Rotation – Again, another simple but effective exercise. Too many triathletes suffer from low back pain. These issues are most likely caused from tight hips or an immobile thoracic spine. Our thoracic spine is the 12 vertebrae located in the middle of the spine. You need active mobility in this region. If you lack mobility in this area you are likely to move at the low spine and cause back pain. Also, because of lack of mobility in the thoracic spine you could spark serious neck and shoulder issues. When sitting, your thoracic spine is in a locked position and its true function (extension, flexion and rotation) is turned off. This can lead to poor posture mechanics which can send a chained signal to the rest of the body to compensate. Compensation is what leads to injury. When one part of the body is turned off or non-functional then another area will try and pick up the load and this will lead to an injury. This exercise is done on all fours. Your body must remain straight and in good position. Put one hand on top of your head, rotate down and touch your opposite shoulder and then rotate up as far as you can. Try and look up to the ceiling when rotating up. You will feel the stretch between your shoulder blades. Start off by performing 8 a side and build to 15 a side.

CFA Motivation

MOTIVATION

Goals do not just get accomplished. You do not just wave a magic wand and “boom” your goals are achieved. You must eat the right foods, get your workouts in consistently, be organized, stay positive, stay motivated and eat the right foods (yes I said it twice, it is that important)! When people first start a fitness program, the first few weeks are great. The motivation is high, the work ethic is great and the attitude is very positive. But fitness is a life long journey that needs to be addressed one day at a time. If you have a specific weight loss, weight gain or performance goal, then set a date for you to accomplish that goal. When you have a specific day and it is written down you are more likely to accomplish that goal. But what will you do after you get to that date? What will you do when you accomplish that goal? You must continue to be healthy and fit for the rest of your life. I train professional athletes. When they are done playing their sport, I would want them to continue working out and eating healthy beyond their sporting career. There is no finish line when it comes to your health. Do not make excuses! If you are consistently eating healthy and consistently working out throughout the week you WILL achieve the goals set. When you accomplish your goals, set the bar higher and continue to work towards those new goals. When you get frustrated, use that frustration to push yourself in your workouts. There is no magic remedy to fitness. It is hard work and dedication and sweat. Go out and make it a great day! Your attitude can take you as high as you want to go!




WORKOUT TIPS

Are you working out on machines? If so, you need to stop. Machines do not build function. Your movement is constricted on a machine. If your program is loaded with machine exercises and non-functional training then change your program. Start implementing functional exercises like squats, chin-ups, push-ups, deadlifts, planks and free weights into your program. Check www.justintrain.com for ideas and examples of these exercises.

Stop with the crunches already! Did you know that doing repetitive crunching (flexion of the spine) puts unwanted stress on your lumbar spine (lower back)? Your low spine’s function is to remain stable. Repeated flexion, extension and rotation of the low spine will lead to pain in the low back. Look at it this way: take a metal hanger and start bending it back and forth. Eventually that hanger will snap. It might not happen the 1st, 4th or 50th repetition. But eventually that piece of metal will snap. This is how your low back functions. If you are constantly performing crunches then you could blow a low back disc. Start thinking stability and stiffness for “core” exercises. Planks, side planks, medicine ball throws, and chops and lifts are examples of great core stability movements.

Intervals are the most efficient conditioning protocol to get in shape. Stop with the long, slow distance “cardio” work. Intervals will increase your metabolism, are much more time efficient and there is a lot of variety. Try this interval workout: warm-up 5 minutes at a walking pace, then perform 3 x 30 seconds run, 30 seconds walk building your speed each set. Start off at a jog and build into a run. Then perform 15 x 20 on 40 off high paced intervals. The level depends on the individual. If you are conditioned then you can perform sprints on a treadmill. If you are deconditioned or can not run, then perform sprints on a bike. Cool down 5 minutes. This workout will take you 26 ½ minutes. It is very intense and efficient.


NUTRITION TIPS

Eat all day long. Do not just eat 2-3 meals throughout the day. Keep your metabolism fired up all day by eating smaller meals 4-8 times throughout the day. Breakfast is very important for getting your metabolism started. Eating a bowl of cereal is not a good breakfast. Get quality proteins and good, complex carbohydrates in the morning and throughout the rest of the day.

Eat clean and eat fresh. The fresh food is unprocessed. This will aide in your progress of getting results. Processed foods are high in sodium and sugars. Stick to fresh vegetables and fruit, quality proteins and good sources of fat. Read labels and know what you are putting in your body.

It is getting hot outside. Make sure to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. You should be drinking at least ½ of ounce to 1 ounce of water per pound of bodyweight. So if you weight 150 pounds you need 74-150 ounces of water. The more activity you have in your day the more you need. Keep a water bottle by your side all day long.



Do not be the person that makes excuses. You need to learn to make sacrifices in your daily life so you can be healthy, have more energy and be fit! Everyone can do this! Believe in yourself and stay positive.


Have a great day!

Corrective Exercises - Part 3

Corrective Exercises - Part 3




4. Mini-band Walks – Most triathletes have very strong quadriceps and hamstrings but very weak hip stabilizers. The glute medius is a very important muscle for stabilizing the hip joint and controlling the femur. If you have weak hip stabilizers you will not be able to control the movement of the femur, which can cause hip, knee and low back pain. Running and biking are unilateral movements. You are always using one leg or the other during these sports. If you can not stabilize on one leg because of inadequate hip stabilizers you will get injured very fast. This exercise, done daily, will strengthen your glute medius and will assist in stabilizing your hip joint. The more stability you have in your hips the more we can swim, bike and run more efficiently. When performing this exercise, think of having a book on top of your head with great core stability. Do not wobble all over the place. Remain tight and balanced. Your toes should be pointed inward to get more recruitment of the glute medius. When going lateral start off by doing 10 small steps to your left and 10 small steps to your right. Build to 30 small steps to your right and left. When going linear start off by doing 20 small steps forward and back and build to 30 small steps front and back.

5. Lateral/Straight Leg swings – This dynamic exercise is performed to increase hip mobility. This is a mandatory movement in your daily workout routine. If you lack mobility in your hips, your low back will take the stress and will eventually start to hurt. These movements will open your hips in a frontal and saggital plane of motion. World renowned strength coach Michael Boyle says, “The problem is that the hip is built for mobility and the lumbar spine for stability. When the supposedly mobile joint becomes immobile, the stable joint is forced to move in compensation, becoming less stable and subsequently painful.” During lateral leg swings keep your back stable and let your hips do the movement. Cross the center line of your body and do not let your toes externally rotate out. Keep your toes facing the wall. With straight leg swings maintain a tall and stable trunk. Swing your leg up as high as you can go without bending your knee. Keep your toes flexed back.