Tip of the Week - Breathing

Become aware of your breathing.

Controlling stress is important for health and peak performance. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) helps us maintain the status quo (or not) without us necessarily being aware. Like yin and yang between the ANS has 2 sides - the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), which is active with arousal, and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which is active in rest.

So next time your watching TV, working or exercising pay attention to your depth of breathing, pace and inhalation vs. exhalation. If you have too much SNS activity your breaths will be shallow and quick. So slow it down, learn diaphramatic breathing and re-teach yourself this automatic process.

Drop me a line if you need clarification or comments.

The Overhead Squat - knees out

So in our starting stance, feet shoulder width and pointing straight ahead, squat to at least parallel (full ass to grass squats are OK for the knees by the way). If your knees shoot out to the side you may have a restriction in the hips. In particular test your range of motion in internal and external rotation at the hips. Do it prone and supine with hips at 90 degrees. Let me know how it goes.

Losing weight

If you want to drop excess pounds control your insulin levels. What does this mean? Eat a low carbohydrate diet. The more adipose tissue you have, the less carbohydrates you should ingest. This doesn't include vegetables though. Eat lots of those, especially the green ones. Also add in some fish oils. So in summary, as Charles Poliquin said "if it doesn't walk, swim or fly or isn't green don't eat it." You'll also sleep better, which is a big part of controlling your appetite. 

Healing potential

"Humans inherit self-healing potential for biologic survival. However, this potential to self-heal is considerably affected by stress level, medical history, nutrition, and lifestyle, as well as by genetic endowment and age. Each person, therefore, has a different potential for self-healing capacity, and this potential for self-healing is also changing dynamically. It deteriorates in people who abuse their health, and it improves in those who take good care of themselves."

Source: Ma, Y. Biomedical Acupuncture for Sports and Trauma Rehabilitation. p. 50.

Success

I wanted to give a shout out to a client of mine who put in a fantastic effort towards achieving his goals. Over the period of one month he dropped his bodyfat % from 17% to 13%! During this time he also increased his strength considerably. He made changes in his eating habits and put in some hard work in the gym. Hard work pays off!

The Motor System and Pain

"A hyperactive sensory system will have repercussions for the motor system as well as the other output systems. Like the sympathetic nervous system, there are local responses such as spasms and ill-health of collagen. There are also observable changes in patterns of gross movement and posture as people cope. These are often conceptualized as muscle imbalance syndromes. The decreased movement options available and the learned habits of the chronic pain sufferer may lead to deconditioning."

Butler, D (2000). The Sensitive Nervous System.

The overhead squat - knees in

The biomechanics of the body are such that during movement no one part is isolated from another. Different muscles work together around each joint and the movement of one joint has an effect on other joints. Continuing with overhead squat, if during the squat the feet pronate then we may see the knees and hips rotating in. So focusing on the knees dropping in, the hip, feet or knee tissues may be contributing. So what do you do? Check the range of motion of the ankle in dorsiflexion (foot off the gas pedal), hamstrings and adductors. Also check for soft tissue changes in these tissues and the tissues on the side of the hips as well. The muscles on the side of the hips or a small muscle around the knee may be weak. Here's a practical suggestion. Do Peterson Step-ups. Do 2-3 sets x 40-60 seconds/leg. Notice I said time instead of reps. Add resistance as needed.

http://www.jumpusa.com/peterson_step_ups_for_jumpers_knees.html