Have you reached a plateau? Shake up your routine!!!

Are you at a point where you are bored mentally and physically with your workout routine? Is the scale barely moving and you are working out, eating healthy, staying positive, etc.? The way to get out of the workout rutt can be as simple as making some changes that put your body into a state of shock (in a positive way).

Our bodies are amazing.... they adapt to how we treat it, which may not always be a good thing. When it comes to a workout routine it is important to implement what is called the overload principle. It is simlply just overloading the body in such a way that it has not expereinced before or has been awhile since it has done what you are asking it to perform. Below are reminders

For example, your cardio routines to overload you could do the following:

- Increase the duration of time
- Decrease the duration of time, increase the intensity
(e.g. 20 minutes of intervals w/a warm up and cool down)
- Change the mode of exercise performing
- Perform 2 or more modes of exercise in one session
- Implement stairs in a walk when you see them
- Increase the number of times doing cardio per week or even per day
occasionssionaly

In your weight training routines you can implement overload by:

- Decrease the weight amount and do a circuit with very little rest
- Increase the amount of weight lifting, increase the duration of time
resting (Strength)
- Change from performing machines to free weights and vice versa
- Change type of exercises (e.g. perform majority of exercises on the
ball, stand on one leg, etc.)

Points to remember:

- Shake up your routine every 2-4 weeks
- Have a goal/vision in mind for where you want to go and how you
want to FEEL when you get there
- Speak positive (including your inner voice and have positive
support around you
- Have fun

Always make sure to have a base of prior to doing the overload principle. If you have not started a fitness routine be sure to talk to your doctor prior to starting.

Have fun!!!

Shoulder Impingement

What is shoulder impingement?

Shoulder impingement is a common affliction, especially among overhead athletes and workers, caused by poor tracking of the head of the humerus bone under the bony roof of the shoulder (acromion). In a normally functioning shoulder, the head of the humerus spins smoothly in the socket avoiding contact with the structures forming the top of the shoulder joint. If the humeral head glides upwards as a person reaches into end-ranges of motion (especially overhead), the humerus may impinge on the acromion, pinching the soft tissues (rotator cuff and bursa) between the bony structures causing pain and limited motion.



How do people get shoulder impingement?

There are two general reasons people experience impingement: primary and secondary. Primary impingement is uncontrollable and related to anatomical factors that adversely affect the interface between the humeral head and the socket. The most common of these are a hooked acromion which means the bone forming the roof of the shoulder joint offers less space than normal, or degenerative changes in the acromioclavicular joint or shoulder joint causing bone spurs to decrease the space between the humeral head and the roof of the joint. Secondary impingement occurs when muscle and capsular imbalances exist and alter the coordination of movements into end-ranges. If the muscles are not working well together, the head of the humerus will not glide underneath the acromion (roof of the shoulder joint) and will impinge, causing pain referral into the upper arm.



How can I avoid shoulder impingement syndrome?


Primary impingement is not a controllable factor and avoidance of impingement symptoms requires staying out of end-ranges that will create impingement. People having these predisposing factors will not do well as swimmers or in throwing sports. Secondary impingement can be avoided by maintaining good posture and muscle balance across the shoulder joint. The maintenance of good posture and the strength of the rotator cuff muscles is particularly essential for people who consistently work or move into the end-ranges of motion overhead. The exercises described below for rehabilitating shoulder impingement syndrome also serve as good exercises for prevention in swimmers and throwing athletes.



How can I deal with shoulder impingement?



If you have shoulder impingement syndrome, the soft tissues that have been pinched consistently are likely rather inflamed and irritated. The initial phase of rehab involves calming the local inflammation with ice, anti-inflammatory medications, rest, postural corrections and pain-free motion. Proper posture puts the shoulder in a neutral position, which increases the space between the humeral head and the acromion and puts the muscles into better positions to work appropriately. Avoidance of reaching into end-ranges overhead is suggested during this time, allowing the tissues to heal. The next phase of rehabilitation builds on the initial postural adjustments adopted during the calm-down phase. The goal during this phase is to progressively regain shoulder motion while avoiding the range of impingement and to rebalance muscle forces across the shoulder.


Please contact Walton Physical Therapy to schedule an injury evaluation and discuss possible treatment options you might need.





http://www.waltonpt.com/

Making the best of your workouts

Hello. I just wanted to share some things that may help you with your workouts, training, etc. Check out the list below:

- Set goals to help you determine what you are striving for and how you want to feel when you get there

- Perform a proper warm up with a light cardiovascular exercise as well as dynamic movements

- Be in the moment. Focus on what you are doing

- Feel the muscles you are using on the exercise you are performing

- Focus on what you want, not what you don't want

- Focus and feel every rep and movement

- Leave your workout knowing you did the best you could for that day

- Do your best, don't sell yourself short

- Have fun - gotta remember that

What is Core Training?

Core training is essential to training for athletes as well as fitness enthusiasts. The core has been called the "power zone" and "power house" where the body's center of gravity is located. Most of all it is where all movements are initiated.

The muscles of the core include the abdominals, muscles of the hip and back. They are located at the core of your body where the limbs extend from. These muscles are responsible for developing power, maintaining balance and stability and improving coordination.

Just imagine performing a golf swing or even carrying groceries and how important it is to use your core to perform these movements. The benefits of a strong and stable core include:

• Increased power development to help with those movements that require changing direction, accelerating the body or limbs, etc.


• Improved stability and efficiency to be successful of providing an anchor for the major muscles of the upper and lower body.


• Improved balance to enhance athletic, recreational and daily living activities.


• Reduce risk of injury

Core training can be easily implemented into an existing strength routine by doing the following:

• Perform exercises standing on one leg or unstable surfaces


• Change seated exercises to standing exercises


• Make controlled movements in different planes of movement - rotate, diagonal, etc.


• Have feet together rather than apart when standing or sitting on a exercise ball


• Perform the exercises at different speeds

Hints to remember:

• Always control the movement performing


• Focus on what muscle or muscle group (s) using during the exercise and FEEL them working


• Read your body


• Maintain your posture

Go get'em. There are a lot of fun ways to train your core. Enjoy!!!!!

Resource: NSCA's Performance Training Journal, Volume 2, number 6.

I'm Back..... Optimizing Your Workout Tips

Yes, I am back. Many apologies for a big delay in entering posts for y'all.

I want to share with you some tips on how to optimize your workouts. Put these tips to good use and perhaps you may have some to share as well......

• Set goals or have a vision in mind. When you have something(s) to shoot for the likelihood of getting there is greater.
• Ask for support. The support may come from family, friends, doctors, teammates, personal trainer, etc. With having the support you have greater accountability and motivation to continue on your journey.
• In the movie theater of your mind, run your movie of being successful and what you want.
• Focus, focus, focus. Get connected with yourself physically and mentally. Pay attention to what you are doing with your sport, resistance training workouts, cardiovascular workouts, etc. How does the exercise you are doing feel? Where do you feel it? It will help you optimize the efficiency of your workout, as well as connecting to yourself physically and mentally.
• Stay positive. Remember that the input you put in your head as well as what you let in very powerful. It is so powerful it helps determine the road to your destiny and goals.
• Read your body.
• Breathe (could not resist that one)
• Have fun - remember this one!!!

Make it a great workout!!! YOU have the POWER!!!

More next week. Thank you for your patience.

Lori

Top Five Fitness Mistakes

My friend, Dr. Matt Hemsley has some great points to remember. Check them out........

Posture:
"The Cardio Slouch"
Just because you are working your heart and lungs does not mean that your back should take a break. Sit up/Stand up finish your cardio in the same posture you started in.

Skipping the weights to lose weight:
Resistance training increases your lean body mass which increases your resting metabolic rate. Yes, you will burn more calories watching TV.

Making your routine too routine:
Consider fitness your habits. Most of us gravitate to a comfort zone performing activities that play to our strengths. The body adapts quickly to exercises. As it adapts, benefits decrease. Variety is the key. Qualified/Certified Personal Trainers are great at helping you do that.

Improper Technique:
Remember form follows function. Maintain a neutral posture throughout the movement. Stay within your own limitations - "know thyself".

Not stretching after your workout:
Calming down those "overactive muscles" after you have worked out is essential to decreasing your risk of overuse injuries.

www.activecarepdx.com

The Value of Visualization in Sport and Life

Athletes routinely use visualization or mental practice to enhance their performance. Using the imagination to achieve physical results has been found to have comparable results to the actual physical practice. This is possible because the nervous system cannot tell the difference between an actual experience and one that is vividly imagined.

Research Quarterly reported an experiment on the effects of mental practice (using visualization) on improving the skill of shooting basketball free throws. One group of students practiced shooting the free throws physically for 20 minutes a day, and were scored on the first and last days. A second group engaged in no pracicte and was scored on the first and last days. A third group was scored on the first day, then spent 20 minutes a day, imagining they were shooting free throws. When they missed they would imagine that they corrected their aim accordingly.

The first group (practiced shooting 20 minutes a day)improved their scoring by 24
percent.

The second group (had no practice) had no improvement.

The third group (practiced using their imagination) improved their scoring by 23 percent.

Just imagine if their was a fourth group who did physical practice as well as imagination...... Wonder what the results would have been with that group?

Use your imagination and create the mental picture of how you want your performance to go. Visualize how it would look and feel. It can go beyond an athletic peformance. Perhaps it can be used for speaking in front of a group of people or preparing for a job interview or use your imagination......

We are powerful beings. Use your imagination to create your performance, whether it is in sport or life. Visualize what you want and "run the movie" of how it would look. The key is to run the movie, visualize daily. Have fun!!!!

source of information comes from: THE NEW PSYCHO-CYBERGENITICS by Maxwell Maltz, M.D., F.I.C.S.

Power Up With Power Plate

Powerplate Training
Written by: Chase Katich and Kelsey French or Walton Physical Therapy Clinic

The Power Plate is a vibration platform which can be used to perform functional strengthening, dynamic balance, as well as stretching and massage.

The power plate vibrates in three planes of motion: vertically and horizontally, side to side and front to back. This allows our bodies to react to motion in each direction while standing on a level platform.

The vibration of the power plate can be adjusted by its amplitude (the height of vibration) and frequency (number of oscillations per second). By manipulating these variables, we can improve balance, strength, and flexibility without having to hold additional weight, thus minimizing joint stress.

Strength: According to Newtons law, force = mass x acceleration. With traditional strengthening, to increase the force on your muscles you must add additional resistance (i.e. free weights / machines). With the power plate, we can adjust the frequency of vibration to allow the muscles to contract 30-50 times per second. This increased frequency of muscle contraction allows for improved force production.

Flexibility: Our muscles are wired with internal receptors that detect both length and tension within the muscle. The vibration of the power plate helps to turn-off the protective muscle reflex which allows greater muscle relaxation, thus enabling deeper stretches and greater range of motion.

Balance and Coordination: When the power plate vibrates it creates an unstable surface challenging the body to maintain proper form while performing balancing exercises. Overall, coordination is improved as the body adapts to the vibration and learns to hold more functional postures

Bone Density: Bone is a living tissue that responds to forces much like a muscle or tendon. Gentle strengthening on the power plate activates the osteoblasts within the bone to generate increased tissue, thus increasing overall bone density. Resistance training on the power plate is a safe and effective way to improve bone density without applying excessive load to injured joints.

Internal benefits: The massage setting on the power plate improves blood flow and circulation throughout the body providing muscles with oxygen and removing waste. This is extremely beneficial post injury to accelerate healing and decrease swelling.

The power plate also increases anabolic hormone levels to maintain homeostasis throughout the body. It has also been found to relieve stress due to increased serotonin levels and relaxed muscles.

Snapping or Cracking Joints a Cause for Concern?

Written by Chase Katich, Walton Physical Therapy

Popping knees and cracking joints can be quite disturbing, and often times a cause for concern. But more often than not these noisy joints have a bark that is far worse than their bite. These sounds can persist for years without a real problem ever developing, and sometimes the exact cause is hard to detect and explain. But rest assured, usually there is no damage being done to the joint during these events.

Most joint sounds are typically caused by nitrogen gas bubbles, soft tissue such as tendons and ligaments, or arthritis. It is very common for gas bubbles to form in the synovial fluid that bathes our joints. When the joint is rapidly stretched, the gas is released causing a pop or crack, while also forming a gas bubble. This is most commonly whats occurring when someone cracks their knuckles. The joint cannot be popped again until the gas returns into the synovial fluid.

Tendons and ligaments can also be a common cause of joint popping. When a particular joint moves the tendons and ligaments surrounding the joint also move and can become slightly displaced. A snapping sound may occur when the tendons or ligaments roll back into place over a bony prominence. A physical therapist can design a corrective exercise program to assist with normalizing joint alignment, tracking, and flexibility which may reduce or eliminate this form of popping.

Lastly, arthritic joints can cause a grinding noise when the rough joint surfaces come together during movement. This sound is often referred to as crepitus and can be quite disturbing. This form of popping or cracking is least amenable to conservative treatment. Some patients report benefits from a joint supplement such as glucosamine or chondroitin, but the current literature is still not conclusive.

So is a popping or cracking joint harmful? While not totally normal, as long as there is no pain associated with these joint sounds, they are usually harmless. However, if pain does become present with a cracking or popping joint then you should be further evaluated by a health care provider to understand the underlying cause.

1st Race of the 2010 Season

Lake Union Small Boat Race
Gas Works Park, Seattle, WA

Are You Ready To Move?

Here is a word from my friend, Matt Hemsley, Doctor of Chiropractic, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist NSCA, and much more:

In the words of the Greek philosopher Socrates “know thyself”. Knowing your body’s biomechanical limitations will help you increase performance and decrease risk of injury. When considering this it is important not to make assumptions. Talking with patients I typically here the phrases “I have a bad back, knee, etc”; however, most describe their symptoms and what needs to be rooted out is the cause. Previous injury, poor posture, faulty movement patterns and repetitive activities can all affect your participation in the adaptive game of compensation.

As compensations linger inefficient movement patterns evolve, forcing your muscles, joints and nerves into undergoing stresses and strains they are not designed to withstand. This predisposes the body to microtrauma leading to a weak link in the mechanical chain. The end result is an increased risk of revisiting those nagging injuries, poor performance and sometimes a new injury.

Functional movement screening can help you determine your weak link and provide you with the tools to stay out of this adaptive game of compensation. Knowing what to stretch and what to strengthen is essential to taking you away what I call the “shotgun” approach to training. For more information on Functional Movement Screening please visit my website www.activecarepdx.com or check out Gray Cook’s book Athletic Body in Balance.

In your health,
Matthew Hemsley DC, CSCS

Why Resistance Training?

I am sure you could not weight for this posting..... Whether using weight training machines, free weights, exercise tubing, your own body weight, etc. the benefits are great. Check out some of them below:

Increase muscle mass and lost body fat
Increase metabolism
Increase muscle strength
Increase bone density
Reduce Risk of Diabetes – increase glucose utilization
Improve cholesterol profile and blood pressure
Beat back pain
Fight Arthritis and strengthen joints
Help you become a better athlete
Strengthen your mental health
Reduce the risk of injury
Decrease aging process
Enhance overall function
Increase body awareness
And so on...........

So, if you are an athlete of any level, a mom or dad, grandma or grandpa, teenager, etc. get "pumped up". The benefits are amazing. Remember: make sure to check with your doctor if you have not been performing resistance training as well as seek professional coaching on how to perform resistance exercises properly. Have fun!!!

Success in 2010

By setting goals in 2010, there may be an obstacle or two that come up along the way. It is all part of the journey. Perhaps it may be a test of what the desire level is to accomplish the goal or goals. With that in mind, how can people set themselves up for success to combat the “speed bumps” (that is what I like to call them)? Below are suggestions on how to stay on the road to success:

• Write down goals and revisit them frequently

• Put up pictures, words, symbols, etc. to have daily reminders of the direction going

• Evaluate goals and change them if needed

• Keep self-talk positive

• Daiy visualize or “run the movie” of having success toward the goal(s)

• Ask for support from others

• Speak the goals into existence

• Stay relaxed and calm

• If there is comfort, then moving forward not happening

• Have fun!!!!

• Remember Beyond Goals: How will it feel when you accomplish the goal?

• Set up an award system that is appropriate for the goal(s)

• Have a goal for each day, workout, etc. and go for it!!!

These are just some examples of how to help create success in 2010 towards goals. Happy trails.

Beyond Goals in 2010

It is that time of year…. New Year’s Resolutions. How about beginning the year 2010 with a different focus? Set the goal(s) and then focus beyond the goal – how will you feel when you accomplish this goal(s) - to keep you motivated to accomplishing them.

When setting goals:
• Set specific goal(s)

• Keep goals realistic, but challenging

• Make the goals measureable

• Set the goals with a timeline

• Have long-term and short-term goal(s)
• Record and evaluate goal(s)

• Imagine what it will look like, feel like, sound like, etc. when you accomplish the goal(s)

Write down your goals. Commit to them on paper and create that vision of the goals. Imagine how it will feel when the goals are accomplished – focusing beyond goal. Let that be your driving force to going for what you want in 2010.

After you have determined how it will feel, look like, etc. to reach your goal, then ask yourself what is the smallest next step that will take me in the direction I want to go?

Go for it. You can do it!! See it, believe it, achieve it.

More to come next week, stay tuned…….

Paddling Tips by Peter Heaver

To contact Peter Heaver email peter_heaver@hotmail.com

Periodization - defined

Periodization helps strategize and coordinate how athletes approach practices and competition so peaking is optimized with goals in mind whether for a particular season or specific event.

Athletes can be good all the time… or great for short periods of time. Without a long range plan, critical training components are often missed and usually add years to peak development. Another benefit of Periodiztion is to reduce risk of over training and prevent injury.

Follow a training plan that includes components such as Cardiovascular Training, Resistance Training, Nutrition, Mental Training/Visualization will create the foundation and keep you on track. How and when these components are incorporated into a training plan effects development and optimal potential. This is what Periodization is all about. It is a flexible and personalized program to unleash maximum performance potential.

For more information contact me at lori@lorijorgenson.com