9 things to do when you’re All Banged Up
by Dallas Hartwig, PT, MS
As a physical therapist and strength and conditioning coach, I’ve spent a good portion of my professional career talking to people about recovery, either in the clinic following an injury or in the gym following a high-intensity workout. Since I believe that brief, high-intensity exercise is the most productive in terms of maximizing fitness and minimizing risk of overuse injury and excessive oxidative stress on the body, I prescribe exercise programs that look a lot like CrossFit, with a heavy emphasis on strength movements and gymnastics.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of information out there about how to exercise, but far less information about the application of proper rest and recovery techniques. I see more sub-acute and chronic injuries resulting from inadequate recovery from exercise (especially with high-intensity programs), than resulting from an acute or traumatic incident. The primary fault lies with inadequate or improper recovery from exercise, not the type or intensity of exercise. (To put it another way, it’s not that you’re hurting yourself doing pull-ups – more often than not, it’s because you’re not properly recovering from those pull-ups.)
I believe that a high intensity exercise program is both effective and sustainable life-long, when combined with good nutrition and recovery practices. So I find myself educating my PT patients about nutrition, sleep, active recovery techniques, and stress management practices as often as I do about the physiology of connective tissue healing, lumbar stabilization, or biomechanics. It was this experience that, in part, led Melissa and me to develop a comprehensive and integrative practice (Whole9) to help our clients continue to aggressively chase health and performance without being hindered by nagging pain and injuries.
At some point in our lives, we’re likely to find ourselves over-trained, under-recovered, under-fed, under-slept, over-caffeinated, and (eventually) actually injured. Ideally, the early stages are the time to pay attention to what your body is trying to tell you, and take immediate action to ensure those nagging aches and pains don’t become a seriously limiting chronic injury. So here are the Whole9’s recommendations for what to do when you’re All Banged Up.
1. Take extra rest days. I’m not talking about swapping your rest day from Wednesday to Tuesday – I’m telling you to skip a bunch of workouts. I’m a proponent of taking an entire week off once or twice a year from hard training – and can think of no better time to do so than when you’re banged up. And once you go back to intense training, you also need to give that injured body part another week or three of rest. Yes, really – rest it longer than you think you should. Trust me, you’d rather take three weeks off from all pulling exercises than be plagued with chronic injuries (and sucky performance) for the next six months. Finally, don’t even think about doing two workouts a day or a long met-con to “make up for” your extra rest days. The whole point is extra rest.
2. Get felt up (or feel yourself up). Seek out a good massage therapist. Cyclic compression of muscles after intense exercise reduce swelling and muscle damage. Massage can improve muscle function, resulting in less swelling and fewer signs of inflammation after exercise. Too busy to book an hour long massage? If you’re beat up, no you’re not… skip today’s workout and hit the massage table. Too broke to see your massage therapist every week? Luckily, there are cheaper and still-effective alternatives. Spend enough intimate time with your foam roller to make your significant other jealous. Buy a Stick and use it. Work with a tennis ball or lacrosse ball for some self-myofascial release.
3. Keep moving. Low intensity exercise can protect and enhance the immune system, even when you’re banged up or sick. It also helps with injury prevention and recovery. Moving your body increases blood flow and the number of cells that eat up “debris” in the injury. It also increases oxygen levels to speed up healing, and increases circulation to remove the debris out of injured areas. Finally, exercise prevents stiffness and decreases the formation of scar adhesions. Stay active with movements different from those you normally perform during workouts, but remember to keep things light and easy. Think dynamic warm-up drills, kripalu yoga, an easy swim or a brisk walk. And people… stretch.
4. Use thermal modalities (heat and ice) appropriately. If you have an acute injury (less than 5 days old), ice is your best friend. I prefer crushed ice (in a plastic bag inside a pillowcase) instead of those commercial gel packs – they warm up too fast. Apply the ice to the injured area for 20-30 minutes, at least 3 times daily. Or you could apply ice directly to the injured area with ice massage (as pictured above) for 8-10 minutes. Most importantly, don’t put heat on an acute injury. The inflammatory process is biochemical, and heat literally speeds up that process. Heat vasodilates and promotes the accumulation of interstitial fluid (edema), and the last thing you want with a fresh injury is to add to the swelling. If you really love your Tiger Balm or Icy Hot, that’s okay – but these products have no real thermal effect. (You might get the sensation, but it doesn’t actually heat or cool your tissue.)
Chronic injuries (anything that persists for longer than 2-3 weeks) respond best to heat, which improves blood flow to the healing tissue. So once you’re into the 5-plus day range, you can use contrasting hot and cold, alternating every 2-5 minutes for a total of 20-30 minutes, especially post-workout.
5. Remove inflammatory dietary factors. This should be a no-brainer around here. If you’ve been slipping back into old (poor) eating habits, now’s the time to clean up that mess. Get rid of grains, legumes, and dairy altogether. Need I even mention cutting out booze? And though it’s controversial, I’d also recommend eating less saturated animal fat (especially egg yolks and fat from feedlot-raised, grain-fed animals) as it can increase pro-inflammatory compounds in your body.
6. Boost your vegetable intake. Alkaline foods, especially richly coloured vegetables, help to offset the negative effects of acidic metabolic waste. Vitamin C and polyphenols, like those in broccoli and dark leafy greens, are essential for the repair of connective tissue and to reduce inflammation. Vitamins E (found in sprouts, avocado and dark, leafy greens) and A (found in green and yellow vegetables) are also important nutrients for connective tissue and cell repair. In summary, eat more veggies, especially green leafies… but not more fruit. (I’m wary of fruit’s impact on insulin levels, which, when elevated, increase inflammatory markers in the body). Go easy on carbohydrate-dense root vegetables for the same reason.
7. Calm down (your inflammation). The ratio of omega fats in your diet help dictate the “inflammation status” of your body. If your diet consists of mostly omega-6 fats, your inflammation response will be unbalanced and damaging to your cells. To that end, per Robb Wolf’s recommendations, bump up your fish oil supplementation to 0.8-1.0 gram of DHA + EPA per 10 pounds of body weight. The additional omega-3 fatty acids can help tip the balance in your body away from an inflammatory state. Also, avoid concentrated sources of omega-6 fatty acids, such as “industrial” vegetable oils like peanut, safflower, soybean, and corn oils. You could also consider a GLA (gamma-lineolic acid) supplement. (GLA, while in the Omega-6 family, is not converted to the pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid (AA), but rather to dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA). DGLA competes with AA and prevents the negative inflammatory effects that AA would otherwise cause in the body.)
And it may sound weird, but… don’t forget to brush your teeth and, just as importantly, floss daily. Periodontal disease can contribute to systemic inflammation in the body just like grains, legumes and dairy.
8. Get more and better sleep. This article explains how sleep contributes to a whole host of health and fitness factors, including injury prevention and recovery. During this time period, avoid caffeine, which can disrupt the quality of your sleep even if it doesn’t actually keep you awake.
9. Ditch the Advil. While I don’t purport to be smarter than your doctor, here is one area where I disagree with his recommendation to scarf the Vitamin I (ibuprofen) and other NSAIDs (non-steriodal anti-inflammatories). Sure, NSAIDs suppress the inflammatory process and help with pain control. But research has shown that they actually slow down the overall healing process, and cause the “healed” tissue to be less strong. So allow your body’s healing process run its natural course, and don’t band-aid it with Advil.
Following these tips will help keep you injury-free – and get you out of my PT office that much faster, should you find yourself all banged up. Post questions, leave your feedback or (at least) take the first step and cop to your serious “Vitamin I” habit in comments.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
H2O - water
Water - absolutely necessary for life and for exercise.
Aim to drink 8 glasses a day when not working out. On days you will work out, try to drink 1-2 glasses (8 oz) 1 - 2 hours before the workout. You can drink water during the workout, especially if it's hot and humid. After the workout, try to drink another 1-2 glasses. Staying hydrated is very important and it does affect your performance.
Aim to drink 8 glasses a day when not working out. On days you will work out, try to drink 1-2 glasses (8 oz) 1 - 2 hours before the workout. You can drink water during the workout, especially if it's hot and humid. After the workout, try to drink another 1-2 glasses. Staying hydrated is very important and it does affect your performance.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Sheep, Sheepdogs, and Wolves
(From the book, On Combat, by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman)
One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this... “Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.” We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.
“Then there are the wolves,” the old war veteran said, “and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy.” Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.
“Then there are sheepdogs,” he went on, “and I’m a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.” If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen: a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath--a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? Then you are a sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.
The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep. the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, “Baa."
Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog. Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day.
While there is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, he does have one real advantage. Only one. He is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population.
One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this... “Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.” We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.
“Then there are the wolves,” the old war veteran said, “and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy.” Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.
“Then there are sheepdogs,” he went on, “and I’m a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.” If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen: a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath--a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? Then you are a sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.
The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep. the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, “Baa."
Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog. Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day.
While there is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, he does have one real advantage. Only one. He is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
EPOC
Resistance Training and EPOC
Jeff M. Reynolds and Len Kravitz, Ph.D.
Introduction
After cardiovascular exercise or weight training, the body continues to need oxygen at a higher rate than before the exercise began. This sustained oxygen consumption is known as excess postexercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). Originally referred to as an oxygen debt, this postexercise state was first hypothesized by A.V. Hill and H. Lupton in 1922. Hill and Lupton theorized that the body needs to replace the oxygen used by working muscles during mild to intense bouts of exercise. More recently, researchers have used the term EPOC to describe the several different events that occur as the body restores itself to homeostasis, or rest.
This article will describe the physiological factors that contribute to EPOC, discuss its relation to weight management and review a recent article on EPOC and resistance training.
EPOC Overview
Body:During EPOC the body is restoring itself to its pre-exercise state, and thus is consuming oxygen at an elevated rate. This means that energy is also being expended at an elevated rate. The following occurs during EPOC:
1) Replenishment of Energy Resources: Replenishment occurs for the immediate source of energy, known as the phosphagen system, which is comprised of creatine phosphate and ATP (adenosine triphosphate). In addition, lactate, a molecule that is produced during more intense exercise, is being converted to pyruvate for fuel utilization. The body is also restoring the muscle glycogen (a stored form of glucose) that has been used during the exercise bout.
2) Re-oxygenation of Blood and Restoration of Circulatory Hormones: During exercise metabolism, large amounts of oxygen are used to break down food substrates for energy. Therefore, the body continues to expend energy after exercise to re-oxygenate the blood. In addition, in the postexercise period, the body restores the levels of circulatory hormones, which increased during exercise, to normal.
3) Decrease in Body Temperature: As energy is liberated from the exercising muscle tissues of the body, heat is produced. Thus, during EPOC, the body must expend energy to return to the normal core body temperature.
4) Return to Normal Ventilation and Heart Rate: Energy expenditure is greatly elevated as the body rapidly returns to a normal breathing rate. Heart rate is also returning to a pre-exercise rate.
EPOC and Weight Management
Because the body continues to expend energy after exercise, EPOC plays a supplemental role to an exercise program in weight management. Currently, researchers are interested in the effect different forms of exercise have on EPOC.
The evidence suggests that a high-intensity, intermittent-type of training (interval training) has a more pronounced effect on EPOC (Haltom et al. 1999). Also, it appears that resistance training produces greater EPOC responses than aerobic exercise (Burleson et al. 1998). The research suggests that high-intensity resistance exercise disturbs the body’s homeostasis to a greater degree than aerobic exercise. The result is a larger energy requirement after exercise to restore the body’s systems to normal (Burleson et al. 1998), and thus an explanation for the higher EPOC. The underlying mechanisms that cause the higher EPOC observed in resistance exercise include elevated blood lactate, and an increase in circulating catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine) and anabolic hormones.
Inspecting the data from several investigations, it appears that EPOC accounts for postexercise expenditure of 51 (Haltom et al. 1999) to 127 (Burleson et al. 1998) kilocalories. Since a pound of fat is equal to 3,500 kilocalories, the effect of EPOC on weight control must be regarded in terms of a cumulative effect over time.
Recent Investigation
Current research of resistance weight training and EPOC has noted a relationship between exercise intensity and elevated metabolic rate. As weight lifting intensity increases, the EPOC duration also increases. Most research up to now has been on EPOC and resistance training in males. This recent study attempts to clarify the effects of EPOC on resting metabolic rate (RMR) on healthy, weight-trained females.
Osterberg, K. L. & Melby, C. L., 2000. Effect of acute resistance exercise on postexercise oxygen consumption and resting metabolic rate in young women. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 10 (1), 71-81.
Seven females, with an average age of 27 years, height of 66 inches, weight of 141.5 pounds and body fat of 18.3 percent, participated in this research study. Subjects were required to maintain body-weight stability, which the authors defined as no gain or loss of weight greater than 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) in the last six months. All subjects’ meals were standardized prior to and during the exercise intervention.
The exercise program consisted of five sets of 10 different exercises. The exercises were performed in agonist/antagonist pairs (push/pull sequence), with 10 to 15 repetitions per set. Opposing muscle groups were paired together to avoid premature failure due to muscular fatigue, and the last two sets of each exercise were performed to failure. The exercise groupings consisted of bench press and bent-over row; leg extension and leg curl; military press and sit-ups; biceps curl and triceps extension; and lunges and lateral raises. The subjects were given a four-minute time period to perform the exercise pairs and could rest for the remainder of the time if they finished before the four minutes expired.
EPOC remained elevated throughout the three-hour postexercise measurement phase and was measured every 30 minutes. It was 13 percent higher than pre-exercise baseline oxygen consumption (VO2) in the final measurement stage. The subjects’ average RMR was 4.2 percent higher 16 hours following exercise, when compared to the pre-workout RMR. The authors concluded that intense resistance training produces modest, but prolonged elevation of postexercise metabolic rate in women.
Practical Application:
Intermittent, high-intensity weight training appears to have the greatest effect on EPOC (Melby et al. 1993; Laforgia et al 1997) and individuals who perform high volume (2- Color 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps at 60- 70% of 1-RM) resistance exercise will see minimal weight management benefits from EPOC (Burleson et al. 1997; Osterberg However, it should be emphasized that the overall weight-control benefits of EPOC, for men and women, from participation in resistance exercise occur over a significant time period, since kilocalories are expended at a low rate in the individual postexercise sessions.
Jeff M. Reynolds and Len Kravitz, Ph.D.
Introduction
After cardiovascular exercise or weight training, the body continues to need oxygen at a higher rate than before the exercise began. This sustained oxygen consumption is known as excess postexercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). Originally referred to as an oxygen debt, this postexercise state was first hypothesized by A.V. Hill and H. Lupton in 1922. Hill and Lupton theorized that the body needs to replace the oxygen used by working muscles during mild to intense bouts of exercise. More recently, researchers have used the term EPOC to describe the several different events that occur as the body restores itself to homeostasis, or rest.
This article will describe the physiological factors that contribute to EPOC, discuss its relation to weight management and review a recent article on EPOC and resistance training.
EPOC Overview
Body:During EPOC the body is restoring itself to its pre-exercise state, and thus is consuming oxygen at an elevated rate. This means that energy is also being expended at an elevated rate. The following occurs during EPOC:
1) Replenishment of Energy Resources: Replenishment occurs for the immediate source of energy, known as the phosphagen system, which is comprised of creatine phosphate and ATP (adenosine triphosphate). In addition, lactate, a molecule that is produced during more intense exercise, is being converted to pyruvate for fuel utilization. The body is also restoring the muscle glycogen (a stored form of glucose) that has been used during the exercise bout.
2) Re-oxygenation of Blood and Restoration of Circulatory Hormones: During exercise metabolism, large amounts of oxygen are used to break down food substrates for energy. Therefore, the body continues to expend energy after exercise to re-oxygenate the blood. In addition, in the postexercise period, the body restores the levels of circulatory hormones, which increased during exercise, to normal.
3) Decrease in Body Temperature: As energy is liberated from the exercising muscle tissues of the body, heat is produced. Thus, during EPOC, the body must expend energy to return to the normal core body temperature.
4) Return to Normal Ventilation and Heart Rate: Energy expenditure is greatly elevated as the body rapidly returns to a normal breathing rate. Heart rate is also returning to a pre-exercise rate.
EPOC and Weight Management
Because the body continues to expend energy after exercise, EPOC plays a supplemental role to an exercise program in weight management. Currently, researchers are interested in the effect different forms of exercise have on EPOC.
The evidence suggests that a high-intensity, intermittent-type of training (interval training) has a more pronounced effect on EPOC (Haltom et al. 1999). Also, it appears that resistance training produces greater EPOC responses than aerobic exercise (Burleson et al. 1998). The research suggests that high-intensity resistance exercise disturbs the body’s homeostasis to a greater degree than aerobic exercise. The result is a larger energy requirement after exercise to restore the body’s systems to normal (Burleson et al. 1998), and thus an explanation for the higher EPOC. The underlying mechanisms that cause the higher EPOC observed in resistance exercise include elevated blood lactate, and an increase in circulating catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine) and anabolic hormones.
Inspecting the data from several investigations, it appears that EPOC accounts for postexercise expenditure of 51 (Haltom et al. 1999) to 127 (Burleson et al. 1998) kilocalories. Since a pound of fat is equal to 3,500 kilocalories, the effect of EPOC on weight control must be regarded in terms of a cumulative effect over time.
Recent Investigation
Current research of resistance weight training and EPOC has noted a relationship between exercise intensity and elevated metabolic rate. As weight lifting intensity increases, the EPOC duration also increases. Most research up to now has been on EPOC and resistance training in males. This recent study attempts to clarify the effects of EPOC on resting metabolic rate (RMR) on healthy, weight-trained females.
Osterberg, K. L. & Melby, C. L., 2000. Effect of acute resistance exercise on postexercise oxygen consumption and resting metabolic rate in young women. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 10 (1), 71-81.
Seven females, with an average age of 27 years, height of 66 inches, weight of 141.5 pounds and body fat of 18.3 percent, participated in this research study. Subjects were required to maintain body-weight stability, which the authors defined as no gain or loss of weight greater than 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) in the last six months. All subjects’ meals were standardized prior to and during the exercise intervention.
The exercise program consisted of five sets of 10 different exercises. The exercises were performed in agonist/antagonist pairs (push/pull sequence), with 10 to 15 repetitions per set. Opposing muscle groups were paired together to avoid premature failure due to muscular fatigue, and the last two sets of each exercise were performed to failure. The exercise groupings consisted of bench press and bent-over row; leg extension and leg curl; military press and sit-ups; biceps curl and triceps extension; and lunges and lateral raises. The subjects were given a four-minute time period to perform the exercise pairs and could rest for the remainder of the time if they finished before the four minutes expired.
EPOC remained elevated throughout the three-hour postexercise measurement phase and was measured every 30 minutes. It was 13 percent higher than pre-exercise baseline oxygen consumption (VO2) in the final measurement stage. The subjects’ average RMR was 4.2 percent higher 16 hours following exercise, when compared to the pre-workout RMR. The authors concluded that intense resistance training produces modest, but prolonged elevation of postexercise metabolic rate in women.
Practical Application:
Intermittent, high-intensity weight training appears to have the greatest effect on EPOC (Melby et al. 1993; Laforgia et al 1997) and individuals who perform high volume (2- Color 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps at 60- 70% of 1-RM) resistance exercise will see minimal weight management benefits from EPOC (Burleson et al. 1997; Osterberg However, it should be emphasized that the overall weight-control benefits of EPOC, for men and women, from participation in resistance exercise occur over a significant time period, since kilocalories are expended at a low rate in the individual postexercise sessions.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Good article on Deadlifts (and why we push through our heels)
http://stronglifts.com/5-ways-to-avoid-lower-back-pain-from-deadlifts/
The prime movers during Deadlifts are your quadriceps, hamstrings & glutes. Your lower back, upper-back, traps & forearms perform isometric contractions: they stay contracted during the whole lift.
That’s how Deadlifts strengthen your lower back: you must keep your back rigid against a load. Unfortunately many don’t strengthen but hurt their back doing Deadlifts. Here are 5 ways to avoid lower back pain from Deadlifts.
1. Keep Your Lower Back Straight. Deadlifting with a bent back puts anterior stress on your lumbar vertebrae. This increases the risks of back injuries like hernia. You must Deadlift with a straight lower back.
Chest Up. Your back can’t round if you keep your chest up. Put your shoulder-blades back & down and keep your chest up at all times.
Bend Your Hips. Lower the weight to your knees by bending at your hips first. Unlock your knees once the bar reaches knee level.
Hip Flexibility. Tight hips will make your lower back round on Squats and when lowering the bar on Deadlifts. Do Leg Swings & Squat Stretch.
2. Use Your Glutes. The deadlift is a pull exercise. However pulling with your back increases the stress on your lower back. Pulling back is also inefficient as it means you’re not using your glutes properly.
Push Through Your Heels. Curl your toes up if needed. This makes it easier to engage your hamstrings & glutes.
Bring Your Hips Forward. Don’t pull back using your lower back. Bring your hips forward by squeezing your glutes as hard as you can.
Squeeze Your Glutes. If you have problems engaging your glutes, do glute activation exercises and check your posture for lordosis.
3. Don’t Hyper-extend Your Back. This is as bad as Deadlifting with a bent back. Hyper-extending your lower back puts posterior stress on your lumbar vertebrae, which also increases the risks of back injuries like hernia.
The Deadlift ends when your hips & knees are locked. No need to hyper-extend your lower back at the top. Lockout the weight by bringing your hips forward & squeezing your glutes hard.
4. Keep The Bar Close to You. The further the bar from your body, the greater the torque on your spine. You need to keep the bar close to you at all times.
Bar Against Shins. Start with the bar against your shins, shoulders in front of the bar & shoulder-blades directly over the bar.
Bar Against Thighs. Let the bar roll over your shins, past your knees. Bar stays in contact with your thighs at all times.
5. Use Your Legs. Deadlifts are not Stiff-legged Deadlifts. You can’t use your legs if you start with your hips too high or let your hips rise faster than your shoulders. Your lower back will be forced to do all the work.
Hip height depends on the length of your legs & torso. However the rules are the same for everyone. Bar against shins & shoulder-blades directly above the bar. Keep your chest up & push through the heels.
The prime movers during Deadlifts are your quadriceps, hamstrings & glutes. Your lower back, upper-back, traps & forearms perform isometric contractions: they stay contracted during the whole lift.
That’s how Deadlifts strengthen your lower back: you must keep your back rigid against a load. Unfortunately many don’t strengthen but hurt their back doing Deadlifts. Here are 5 ways to avoid lower back pain from Deadlifts.
1. Keep Your Lower Back Straight. Deadlifting with a bent back puts anterior stress on your lumbar vertebrae. This increases the risks of back injuries like hernia. You must Deadlift with a straight lower back.
Chest Up. Your back can’t round if you keep your chest up. Put your shoulder-blades back & down and keep your chest up at all times.
Bend Your Hips. Lower the weight to your knees by bending at your hips first. Unlock your knees once the bar reaches knee level.
Hip Flexibility. Tight hips will make your lower back round on Squats and when lowering the bar on Deadlifts. Do Leg Swings & Squat Stretch.
2. Use Your Glutes. The deadlift is a pull exercise. However pulling with your back increases the stress on your lower back. Pulling back is also inefficient as it means you’re not using your glutes properly.
Push Through Your Heels. Curl your toes up if needed. This makes it easier to engage your hamstrings & glutes.
Bring Your Hips Forward. Don’t pull back using your lower back. Bring your hips forward by squeezing your glutes as hard as you can.
Squeeze Your Glutes. If you have problems engaging your glutes, do glute activation exercises and check your posture for lordosis.
3. Don’t Hyper-extend Your Back. This is as bad as Deadlifting with a bent back. Hyper-extending your lower back puts posterior stress on your lumbar vertebrae, which also increases the risks of back injuries like hernia.
The Deadlift ends when your hips & knees are locked. No need to hyper-extend your lower back at the top. Lockout the weight by bringing your hips forward & squeezing your glutes hard.
4. Keep The Bar Close to You. The further the bar from your body, the greater the torque on your spine. You need to keep the bar close to you at all times.
Bar Against Shins. Start with the bar against your shins, shoulders in front of the bar & shoulder-blades directly over the bar.
Bar Against Thighs. Let the bar roll over your shins, past your knees. Bar stays in contact with your thighs at all times.
5. Use Your Legs. Deadlifts are not Stiff-legged Deadlifts. You can’t use your legs if you start with your hips too high or let your hips rise faster than your shoulders. Your lower back will be forced to do all the work.
Hip height depends on the length of your legs & torso. However the rules are the same for everyone. Bar against shins & shoulder-blades directly above the bar. Keep your chest up & push through the heels.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Footwear
What should you wear on your feet for workouts ?
Me - I'm a sucker for a good pair of crosstrainers - you can run in them, lift safely and do almost anything in them - they are multi purpose and useful for almost any WOD - kinda like CrossFit.
I wouldn't bother with running shoes, since we don't run a ton and when we do, it's short distances - usually 250 or 400 M, with the occassional 800 M thrown in there. Running shoes do not have adequate support for doing heavy squats, deads, cleans, etc.
Vibram Five Fingers are a new shoe that are basically a five-toed sock with a rubber coating on the bottom. Athletes who have tried them really like them...but I wonder if running outside would create havoc when you step on rocks and other crap....
You can also try barefoot - which is the way we were made to move about in the first place. In barefoot, you strike the ground with your toes and outer foot, instead of using your heel as you do with shoes. But barefoot isn't a very good option for doing olympic lifts, as you do need some cushioning when coming down from the jump and catching the weight. And I wouldn't recommend running on the dirty streets of Mpls with bare feet.
Some people like the classic Chuck Taylors - solid, gripping bottom, light, you can run, lift, jump, push off with them with no problem. Longer distances - eh, maybe not - but for CrossFit workouts they are just dandy.
Just remember, if your feet hurt, it is really difficult to do CrossFit...so wear the appropriate shoes.
Me - I'm a sucker for a good pair of crosstrainers - you can run in them, lift safely and do almost anything in them - they are multi purpose and useful for almost any WOD - kinda like CrossFit.
I wouldn't bother with running shoes, since we don't run a ton and when we do, it's short distances - usually 250 or 400 M, with the occassional 800 M thrown in there. Running shoes do not have adequate support for doing heavy squats, deads, cleans, etc.
Vibram Five Fingers are a new shoe that are basically a five-toed sock with a rubber coating on the bottom. Athletes who have tried them really like them...but I wonder if running outside would create havoc when you step on rocks and other crap....
You can also try barefoot - which is the way we were made to move about in the first place. In barefoot, you strike the ground with your toes and outer foot, instead of using your heel as you do with shoes. But barefoot isn't a very good option for doing olympic lifts, as you do need some cushioning when coming down from the jump and catching the weight. And I wouldn't recommend running on the dirty streets of Mpls with bare feet.
Some people like the classic Chuck Taylors - solid, gripping bottom, light, you can run, lift, jump, push off with them with no problem. Longer distances - eh, maybe not - but for CrossFit workouts they are just dandy.
Just remember, if your feet hurt, it is really difficult to do CrossFit...so wear the appropriate shoes.
Friday, January 1, 2010
New Year, New Direction
"Stronger people are harder to kill than weaker people and more useful in general"
With that gem in mind (thanks Rippetoe) Top Gun CrossFit is going to change things up just a bit.
We will start with the CFT and see where the numbers are.
For 5 weeks, we will work on one of three basic lifts - deadlift, back squat, overhead press - every Monday - going heavier each time. We will start at approx 80% of your 1 rep max. We will do 5x5 as that has been proven the most effective for strength and muscle growth. Every week we will increase the weight approx 5%
After 5 weeks, we move to the next exercise, repeat, then the next, repeat, then we will do the CrossFit Total and see how much we've improved on each lift.
Then it's a rest / 1/2 effort week to recover for a total of 17 weeks.
During the weeks we work on, say Deads, we will also throw in the random heavy squat or press days - we surely won't ignore them.
And we will always be doing the "Girls" and hero workouts, not to mention many heavy metcon days as well.
It's a chance to see if this type of program works (which I'm sure it will) and even though the rest of the program is random, our progression towards getting stronger is not.
With that gem in mind (thanks Rippetoe) Top Gun CrossFit is going to change things up just a bit.
We will start with the CFT and see where the numbers are.
For 5 weeks, we will work on one of three basic lifts - deadlift, back squat, overhead press - every Monday - going heavier each time. We will start at approx 80% of your 1 rep max. We will do 5x5 as that has been proven the most effective for strength and muscle growth. Every week we will increase the weight approx 5%
After 5 weeks, we move to the next exercise, repeat, then the next, repeat, then we will do the CrossFit Total and see how much we've improved on each lift.
Then it's a rest / 1/2 effort week to recover for a total of 17 weeks.
During the weeks we work on, say Deads, we will also throw in the random heavy squat or press days - we surely won't ignore them.
And we will always be doing the "Girls" and hero workouts, not to mention many heavy metcon days as well.
It's a chance to see if this type of program works (which I'm sure it will) and even though the rest of the program is random, our progression towards getting stronger is not.
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