Foundation Building The Core 2 Core Values

Today we have the second installment of foundation building the core, core values. The core is a fitness buzzword, that word that all of the baseball players that used PEDS start throwing around when they shrink. Oh yeah this offseason I worked a lot of core, Yoga, and Pilates maybe they hit you with I am plant based now as well. All kidding aside the word is often overused, but it is important for all of us especially athletes. A weak core has been connected to plantar fascitiis, low back pain, hip, knee and lumbar dysfunction.  To move correctly during any activity, in any plane, you need a strong core as well as a few other pieces of the puzzle but we will get to those later.  As a refresher the core runs from ball and socket joint (the shoulders) to ball and socket joint (the hips). It is made up of two systems the local stabilization system, and the global stabilization system.  The local stabilization system involves the muscles that attach to the vertebrae, they are responsible for keeping your spine stabilized. Muscles in this system are the transverse abdominus and the multfidi, the secondary muscles are internal obliques, diaphragm and pelvic floor muscles. The local muscles are made up of slow twitch fibers, active in endurance activities. They are activated at low resistance levels. The global stabilization system are superficial and are responsible for controlling for body’s movement. They are made up of the following muscles: rectus abdominus, external oblique, erector spinae, psoas major and the ilicostalis. They are made up of fast twitch fibers, used in power activities, and activated in higher resistance levels. Many people have a weak core is due to working one system without engaging the other system.  

Brad Pitt in Snatch

The last time we focused on building a base for your core teaching you the basics, how to brace and showing you the plank, psoas stretch, Janda situp, bird dog, glute bridge, glute march, and the russian twist. In this article we are stepping up our game so if you have been doing the exercises in the prior article please proceed slowly. If you have not been doing the exercises start with the first core article do the exercises for a few weeks then ease into Core 2. Now for the exercises the nasty nine:
First up is one of my all time favorites the Turkish Get up, for our purposes here the half get up. The full get up has been called a “beautiful exercise” by Dave Whitely Master RKC and Master SFG and it is. It will hit your core from angles you have not thought possible: 

Before doing a full get up or a half get up, you need to know how to pack your shoulder properly. Otherwise you could be in trouble picking up a load overhead. Packing the shoulder refers to scapula retraction back and depression down. The ability to suck the shoulder into its socket is very important for health and performance. 
You must keep the elbow straight for the duration of the get up. Not for the sake of the elbow but for the sake of the shoulder-elbow flexion compromises shoulder packing. The idea is to get up with the weight overhead using proper shoulder mechanics. It is important to remain mindful to keep the shoulder inside the body, this is especially important in the transition points of the movement. 

Half Turkish get up

1)  Lying on your back, bend your right knee, put the kettlebell in your right hand (extended towards the ceiling)  

2)  Using your abs, punch the kettlebell towards the ceiling and raise yourself up onto your left elbow.  

3)  Raise up onto your left hand while keeping your right hand vertical 
4) Go Back down onto your left elbow keeping your eyes on the bell always. 
5) Lie back in the starting position and repeat from step one 

                                                                                    TRX Pike 

                                                                    TRX Reaching Row

                                                                      TRX Pendulum

                                                                 TRX Oblique Crunch

                                                                       TRX Knee Tucks

 

                                                                 Stir The Pot Swiss Ball

                                                             Barbell Windshield Wipers 

                                           
Many of us will skip core training thinking unless we can see our abs we are not doing anything, huge mistake underneath the adipose tissue is muscles that need work. The hope is that you can progress to these movements, work them into your program slowly.  Please keep me posted with your progress!
On Friday I will finally have the supplement article up that I was part of writing up.  In the coming weeks we will be looking at GMO's, Anti-inflammatory diet, reasons to support local farmers and a further look into gut microbiology. Thank you for reading this blog. Please sign up for the mailing list and share it as well. 

  

Where is your will going to take you?

 "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will." - Vince Lombardi

We are coming up on football season quicker than you realize, pros open camp soon, colleges and high schools in August. Many places have double sessions in the dog days of summer, to test your mettle, to forge a group of strangers into a team. If you’re a fan of football we hear about the physical benchmarks as well as the aptitude testing that goes into selecting an NFL draft pick. You also know about the guys who slip through the cracks, and think how did they miss that player. One big thing you cannot measure at the combine or with the Wonderlic test, Mike Mayock or Mel Kiper will miss on tape is will or heart. That is what we are looking at today, the will to win, the will to succeed and the will to live. I love that quote by Lombardi and find that it applies to just about all pursuits.  This article will contain instances in three lives that demonstrate the will to win, the will to succeed and the will to live even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. 

The first person on the list is the greatest basketball player ever Michael Jordan. I will accept no arguments on that, because it is a fact. Sorry Lebron fans and apologists. As a kid I hated him because he always beat the Knicks, and the announcers praised him non-stop. Truth be told we were watching greatness, and the praise was deserved. The first time I took note of his will was during one of  the playoffs against the pistons, they  bounced him on his head, it was more an assault then a basketball game. He did not quit, he did not go into a shell, he got up and kept playing like it was nothing. The next season I noticed he got bigger like he was creating armor, putting the league on notice you will not stop me.  Jordan hired a trainer worked on his craft on the basketball court and in the gym. It was not instant success, that came later after he got some help and the right coach.  One of my favorite games is the flu game in the 1997 Finals versus the Jazz, playing with extreme nausea in Utah he dominated scoring 38 points. Whats the four letter word that fits here? The six letter word that describes this killer? Will and Desire! How bad do you want it? Be honest with yourself.  Do you need it ? How hard are you willing to work for it? Jordan’s motivation was that he believed his father loved his brother Larry more than him. This has made him always try to prove himself to others, it has fueled his need to attack, dominate and ultimately win. 

Next up is the will to succeed. This guy is one of the best football players in the game, he is a perennial all pro, every year in the playoffs, a record maker and breaker.  We are talking about Tom Brady or The Great Tom Brady as one of my friends named him. He was not

always lauded as a great player, many teams passed on him. The only team that called the Michigan about Brady was the Pats. At Michigan he started out as the backup to Drew Henson, this taught him about competition, and competing every day for your job. He did not deal with this easily and often times Brady found himself frustrated to the point he wanted to leave for the University of California. He did not quit, he hired a sports psychologist, learned ways to handle difficult situations, and learned to thrive in that type of environment. In his first year as a starter at Michigan he set record for pass completions, earned All Big Ten honorable mention and was named captain in his Senior year. In 1998 he led the Wolverines to a win of Arkansas in the Citrus Bowl and in 1999 they beat Alabama where he threw for 369 yards and 4 touchdowns. He did not wow the scouts at the combine he was slow in the 40 yard dash, had a bad vertical, did not rep in the bench, but he scored a 33 out of 50 in the Woderlic test. This all converged for Brady to be drafted at 199. It did not dent his confidence, when he met Robert Kraft the Patriots owner Brady told him “I’m the best decision the organization ever made.”.  He also told one of his Michigan teammates he would take the starting job from Drew Bledsoe. In his rookie year he came in had a great training camp with a better preseason than Bledsoe. During  his second season Bledsoe was knocked out of the game by Moe Lewis , Brady took over and never looked back. They went on to win the first of three Super Bowls with Tom Brady at the helm. He took not getting drafted higher personally, but did not let it take away from his confidence or his abilities. It allowed him to elevate his game to a level it may have not reached otherwise. It was his will to succeed that has carried him through, that innate desire to keep go when others would have taken their ball and went home. In his story we find desire, will, and the belief in oneself and in our abilities are needed to succeed.

That is Irene in the front on the left. 

Lastly a story that is close to my heart, a story of a family member who left us in August of 2008.  This is the story of Irene Napoli, and really the story of most of the people in my family. She had been diagnosed with COPD and had it for a few years, COPD is Chronic Obstruction Pulmonary Disorder. The COPD was a complication of smoking cigarettes, and a further complication showed up in March of 2008 when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer.  The cancer spread into her bones, her brain and into her stomach. They did not tell her how long she had to live, it was not a like movie. The writing was on the wall, and Irene had to choose how to proceed for herself and her family.  She had two choices either get treatment that will make you sick and possibly kill you or let nature take its course. In all honesty there were voices on both sides of the argument in my family, but Irene only had one choice in mind. That was to go for the treatment fight to prove the doctors wrong, fight for her family, and really fight to live. The story of my family is that we are all fighters, it came from my Grandmother Elizabeth Castaldo. Irene had rounds of Chemotherapy, and radiation which took a lot out of her. The treatment took its toll she went from being a healthy, smart, energetic woman in the prime of her life to not being able to care for herself. I give her all the credit in the world she fought and fought willing herself to live another six months. Six months does not sound like much, I know many people in that situation who would have folded like a house of cards.  Irene did not give in, would not give in and she gutted out the treatments because she wanted to live. This has shown me that even in the face of insurmountable odds there is a ray of light, you have to stand and fight even if the victory is for six months its still a victory. 

Someone once asked me how I pick the subjects I write about. In this case, it was a memory that stuck with me or an unseen connection that was not evident before.  You hear it every year someone is a workout warrior or he looks like Tarzan plays like Jane. Then a guy like Tom Brady comes along and the analysts are scrambling thinking how did we miss this guy. I used the athletes as their stories are well known, the mythology is built into the story. This was ended with Irene’s story as it is in my heart, and in many ways shaped who I have become. The connection here is they were either proving themselves to someone or proving someone wrong.   Where is your will going to take you? 

Where is your will going to take you?

As always please read and share this blog   

Foundation Nutrition: Somethings Fishy

The past few weeks have reminded me that we are looking for answers and most of us want a straight answer. We need to take in the information decipher it and solve the puzzle the best we can.  This has been an ongoing thought in my mind, it is why I have switched to free range poultry, grass fed beef, bison, elk and other game meats as well as a mostly organic fruit and vegetable diet. But at times I scratch my head to like when we need to be conscious of the animal’s state of mind prior to slaughter. So we do not take in any unnecessary cortisol the stress hormone or other poisons. It makes sense but makes me wonder if you’re trying to just bust my balls or you are serious. 

Fish Oil and Omega 3 Fatty Acids have been in the news again due to a new article published in July 2013 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The article suggests that there is an association between elevated plasma omega 3 fatty acid levels and a heightened risk of prostate cancer.  We must take the results of this article with a grain of salt  given the following factors; the data used in the article was taken from a much larger study previously conducted that was not designed to determine any of the conclusions reached in the analysis found in the article. Findings published in the article are contrary to other studies which have found omega3 fatty acids can offer some protection from prostate cancer. The study that had this finding designed to do so "Consumption of Fish Products across the lifespan and Prostate Cancer Risk"1.

They noted the physiological marker of elevated Omega3 levels in men with prostate cancer, but failed to showed causation. The problem with causation is twofold in that the study only measured the Omega3 levels one time with a plasma test, the levels can be influenced by diet and or behavior. Nor did they review any of the participant’s dietary intake of fatty fish or supplementation of Omega 3's basing the conclusion of the study on one blood test. This could have been avoided if they used the Omega-3 index test this measures EPA and DHA in red blood cells, and is noted to be a more accurate indicator of long term omega-3 intake than the plasma omega-3 level which is influenced by day to day variables. 

A number of risk factors were present in the study may have had an influence on the purported results of the study. It is of note that 53% of the subjects with prostate cancer were smokers, 64% of the cancer subjects regularly consumed alcohol, 30% of the cancer subjects had at least one first degree relative with prostate cancer and 80% of the cancer subjects were overweight or obese. Most of all the article fails to show or suggest a biological mechanism that would explain why the fatty acids may increase tumorigenesis.

The benefits of eating fish and supplementing with Omega 3 fatty acids have been researched, and are well documented. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to improve cardiovascular profiles, as well as reduce chronic pain and inflammation.A dose of 2 grams of  EPA-DHA daily reduced pain in almost 60% of patients with neck and low back pain 2 In this case we are lucky the medical based evidence make it starkly clear that it would not be prudent to alter your current meal and supplementation plan with omega 3 fatty acids. We need to be vigilant in researching the researchers, was this an unbiased study, what were there sources of information. In this case was the data or study flawed from the outset, or what was said data truly intended for.  Often times we do not get a straight answer, we need to dig, research, get our hands dirty and work for it. But working for it is not always a bad thing. Sorry the postings have been sparse the last two weeks, we will get back on a normal schedule. The ideal amount of posts is three with the occasional weekend list. I have been busy doing some writing that will be up here in the coming week. Sunday I have a post about desire and will, the supplements and foods for joint health will be coming as well. As always please read and share this blog !

Sources

Torfadottir JE, Valdimarsdottir U, Mucci L. Kasperzyk J, Fall K, Tryggvadottir L, Aspelund T, Olafsson O, Harris T, Jonsson E, Tulinius H, Gudnason V, Adami HO, Stampfer M, Steingrimsdotti L, Consumption of Fish Products across the Lifespan and Prostate Cancer Risk PLOS ONE 2013 8 (4) e59799

Maroon JC, Bost JW. Omega3 fatty acids as an anti-inflammatory: an alternative to NSAID fir Discogenic pain. Surg Neurol 2006 65 (4) 326-331  

Get on the Mat: 7 Reasons you should be practicing Yoga!

This week I started the process of trying to publish some of my blogs as a book. It’s the next logical step for me, the goal is to spread the message of health, increasing your quality of live as well as your level of fitness. I also met with one of my readers who is a friend he had some questions and wanted answers from someone he can trust. It was awesome that one of my readers reached out, that is the point of this blog to spread the word, and give you options allowing all of us to make an educated choice.  We discussed many of the things we talk about here, two subject came up one that kept coming to mind was Yoga which is the subject of this weekends list. The top seven reason you should be practicing Yoga.

What is Yoga? It is an ancient body of knowledge going back at least 5000 years, which focuses on harmonizing the consciousness of a person to the universal consciousness. Its name comes Sanskrit Yuj meaning to unite or integrate. The belief is to integrate the mind body and spirit while balancing emotion, action and intelligence. You can achieve this through the framework of yoga exercise breathing and meditation. A yoga practice can effect the body by stimulating the abdominal organs, improve circulation, and squeeze the glandular system to bring the system back into proper order. The key to life is breath, though a healthy practice people learn to control their breath. They also learn to relax which is a key component to the next step meditation. We are looking for a quiet mind in meditation, turn down the outside influence to a minimum. In the framework of yoga we learn to focus, through that focus we can relieve our stress or put the stress in its proper place. You learn to see the bigger picture to act from integrity instead of going off. Lets look as some of the different types of yoga and find one that may be beneficial for you. 

Choices Choices Choices :

Hatha translated means sun and moon, this yoga brings about  the synchronizing of opposites. Hatha yoga can be described as gentle with a slow pace, with a focus on the basic poses, breathing and meditation. The benefits for this type of yoga is stress relief, exercise and it improves breath control. 

Vinyasa means flow and in this yoga you match your breath with movement. As you move in and out the poses your breath flows. It uses sun salutations as a basis but the sequencing of poses will vary. The benefits are improved strength and flexibility, engages the core, and has been said to reduce the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. 

Ashtanga comes from the yoga sutra of patanjali referring to yogas eight limb practice. The eight limbs are restraint, observance, posture, breath control, sense withdrawal, concentration, meditative absorption and entasy or bringing into harmony. It is fast paced and very intense focusing on push ups and lunges. The benefits are relief of stress, can help with weight loss and improve coordination.
Iyengar  is named after BK Iyengar its creator. It uses the same eight limb base as ashtanga it also focuses on body alignment. It emphasizes detail, precision and alignment with strength, mobility and stability is gained in the poses. In Iyengar yoga they will sometimes use props like blankets, straps, and blocks. They will sometimes use suspension as well. The benefits of this type of yoga are builds strength, its good while rehabing an injury, and improves balance. 

Bikram is named after its creator as well. It is also known as hot yoga and is practiced in a room around 95-100 degrees. It uses a series of 26 poses that loosen tight muscles and cleanses the muscles. It is good for speeding up recovery from injuries, enhancing flexibility, cleansing the body and weight loss. 

7 Reasons you should be practicing Yoga 

1. Stress Relief: Yoga can ease the effect of stress on the system. Yes, there is a good amount of work that relieves the tension in the body, but the pay off is in the end. Yoga helps to reduce the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Other benefits of yoga include lowering of the heart rate and blood pressure, improved digestion and boosting of the immune system. 
2. Pain Relief yoga does ease pain, the poses and meditation will help to ease pain. I have used yoga myself to reduce pain of chronic or acute injuries. It has been used to help people with Cancer, Immune diseases, multiple sclerosis, hypertension, arthritis and back pain. 
3. Better breathing One of the basic tenants of yoga is breath. It teaches people to take slower deeper breaths improving breath control and lung function. This also triggers the body’s relaxation response and increasing the amount of oxygen available to the body. 
4. Flexibility Yoga will improve your flexibility immensely through the breathing and the poses increasing your range of motion and reducing aches and pain.  The key thing is that tendons and muscles with lengthen allowing you to access more poses and getting into proper alignment. 
5. Increased strength cardiovascular conditioning and circulation Yoga postures work every muscle in the body increasing strength and releasing tension.  Some of the poses allow oxygenate blood to the body’s cells. Through breath control we lower our resting heart rate, increase endurance and improve oxygen efficiency. 
6. Live in the moment Yoga will help us to focus and concentrate on the present. In this awareness we help to create a unified mind body health, allowing for improvements in memory, reaction time, concentration and coordination. I believe in this awareness we can recognize things like pain and stress and put them in there proper place. Like a negative person high your here, but your not taking over my day. 
7. Inner peace through yoga meditation you can reach a deeper more spiritual place in your life. This has happened for many people and it is the reason they keep coming back. 

It my hope that this inspires you to try yoga for a couple of classes. The key is to find a place your comfortable and a teacher who your comfortable with as well. If your on Groupon by a package and go see if you like it. I have practiced yoga on and off for over five or six years and it has helped change me for the better. As always please read and share this blog.

Where do you get your inspiration? Music is the Answer!

Where do you get your inspiration? It can come from many different places art, music, photos, an article or a book about an inspirational person. The definition of inspiration is stimulation or arousal of the mind, feelings, etc, to special or unusual activity or creativity. Its also defined as the process of inhaling or breathing in. In other words it is the stimulus our mind is consuming that sparks action. We are looking at music’s stimulating effect; it can shape our mood, sharpen our resolve, bring us out of a depression, pick us up for coming the day and help us sleep through the night. Specifically we are looking at what you would call the Rocky effect, for men of a certain age group you put on the Rocky soundtrack they take action. Who is shadowboxing the meter in the street? One of you is looking at the eggs in the fridge, and someone is envisioning running through Philly. Ok I was shadowboxing just thinking of the music. I remember  articles about actors and directors that use music to set up their mindset with music. If I remember correctly while making Training Day Anton Fuqua listened to Eminem and while he made King Arthur he listened to epic classical music. Lets look at how you can make music work for you. 

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The main academic paper that I found which contains most of if not all the studies on music and exercise was done by Len Kravitz a PHD at the University of New Mexico. In his paper titled”The Effects of Music on Exercise?” He reviewed numerous studies and surveys to determine  what if any effect music had on exercise and physiology.  He broke it down into several sections, first it was to see if music increased respiration and heart rate. The study he cites are Ellis & Brighouse 1952 finding that heart to only moderately follow music increasing in response to fast music and decreasing with slower music. The Dainow 1977 study found slow sedative or stimulative music moderately increases the heart rate but this was the case with all types of music due to an emotional effect.  Next up he looks at the effects of different types of music on physical strength he cited the Pearce 1981 study on grip strength that focused on the influence of stimulative music, sedative music and silence. This study showed sedative music decreased strength significantly compared to stimulative strength and silence. He did note a determination in the Sears, 1957 study which demonstrated that stimulating music increased muscular tension. This next one will be of interest to PT’s and OT’s Dr. Kravitz noted that musics effect on rhythmic stimuli and the rehab of gait disorders from Rudenberg 1982 and Staum 1983 rhythmic music and percussive pulses favorably affected coordinated walking and proprioceptive control.  He went on to state that music or auditory stimuli improves gait regularity due to the use of the beat, helping people to anticipate the rate of movement. The effect of music on exercise performance he found that music has been shown to improve muscular endurance from the Chipman 1966 paper. The Leslie 1967 paper found it did not improve running speed, although some college age men and women found they could walk farther with less effort with music. This shows us that music can in some instances can directly effect our performance, and it can also make working out or running a more enjoyable experience. 

Earlier I mentioned how music can affect our mood, many of us rely on music to get us through the day at work or on a long commute, and some of us cook and even shower with music. Music does have a role in health care, in the classroom and in psychotherapy as well. The principles of Chinese medical theory use a five tone scale to motivate the mutual interaction between the Yin Yang and the Five Elements. The music helps to regulate the function of the organs in the body and restore metabolism. Musical treatment not only avoids side effects of medicine but allows for long term treatment, and a more efficient recovery.  Music therapy is being used to treat several different conditions such as Autism. People with Autism are noted to have a heightened interest and response to music. In autistic people music has been used to aid in verbal and nonverbal communication skills and in engaging normal developmental processes. In older adults diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia, music therapy has been found to improve mood, reduce agitation and improve cooperation with activities of daily living. Music therapy may increase response to antidepressant medications. In older adults music therapy has been shown to have long lasting effects. It may also be beneficial for patients suffering depression post total joint replacement or hemodialysis. Music has also been used to increase sleep quality, in older adults music has been found to increase sleep duration, quality and greater sleep efficiency.  This information can be found on the Natural Standards website.

Onto building the consummate kick ass workout playlist, thats why your here not to hear about studies, music therapy and Chinese medicine.  The normal heart rate in adults ranges from 60-100, the UFC fighter Michael Bisping has a resting heart rate of 54. When most of us workout or run we want fast paced music, studies have shown the ideal tempo is approximately 120-140 beats per minute. You do not have to count the BPM, they have a BPM assistant for MAC and the BPM Calculator. If you use i-tunes you can sort your music by the BPM. When you put your tracks in order consider what your using the playlist for.  In all likelihood you will want a slow build, yes you want to get the BPM up to 120-140. If your doing HIT cardio, tabata, or running hills you will want to time out the high and low BPM.  If you really love a song you can always speed up the BPM with Sony Soundforge without changing the pitch. After you have been using the same playlist for a while, its OK to hit the shuffle button! 

Originally the plan was to give you some pro-athletes playlist for working out, but it was scrapped. I am more interested in what my readers listen to. In the comments section please put up your favorite playlist. It is to be hoped that this article has shown you that music really is the answer. In the coming weeks I will be completing an article about gut flora, this will go past the previous entry concentrating on immune health.  Also in the works are articles focusing on functional training versus traditional split style, as well as the supplement piece I have been promising. As always please read and share this blog. 

  

Tuning out the heat and pain at Badwater

Sources

http://www.naturalstandard.com/index-abstract.asp?create-abstract=patient-musictherapy.asp&title=Music%20therapy

http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/musicexercise.html