Tri-Core Therapy

 With all the hype of late on barefoot running due largely to the popularity of the book Born To Run  by Christopher McDougall I thought it appropriate to weigh in on this issue.  The concept of barefoot running has been around for many years in many cultures all over the world, as McDougall describes in his book.  A key concept for the modern day runner to recognize is that most of us have been raised to walk on manmade surfaces(roads and sidewalks) that have been evenly paved and smoothed out.  Adding to which, we have spent our entire lives in built up shoes with cushioned soles and arch supports.  Contrast this with tribes like the Tarahumara that McDougall highlights in his book, who have spent their entire lives walking and running barefoot on natural, uneven terrain, and do so injury free well into the later years of their lives.  How can they do that?  Why do we suffer so many running injuries despite expensive running shoes and years of engineering making these shoes better? 

This is a log that lists all functional corrective exercises by category.  Exercises are broken down into body regions that they are designed for.   Each section is divided into Soft Tissue/Foam Roller, Movement Prep/Stretching, Mobility/Activation, Strength/Power.  This log will allow you to track your list of exercises and keep them organized by regions to make it easier to use as a reference during your rehab or functional training.  These categories are in keeping with our Joint by Joint approach to rehab in restoring proper movement and optimizing performance while preventing injury.

Print Functional Exercise Log

The Best Tool for Self Massage of Soft Tissue

If you have tight muscles, you can get a great sports massage by doing foam roller
exercises. The idea here is that you roll your body weight along the foam roller,
massaging through restrictions that may occur in the muscle and fascia.

The foam roller is an invaluable tool for muscle tightness, sports injury rehab, prevention of and management of chronic injuries.

Print Handout

Balance board training has been used for decades by sports medicine specialists to rehabilitate and treat a wide range of injuries to the foot, ankle, shin, calf, knee, hip, and trunk.  Good balance is the foundation that  healthy and active lifestyles are built on.

Print Balance Training Handout

What is Movement Prep and Why is it Better Than Static Stretching?

Print Movement Prep Handout

Developed by Mark Verstegen  at Athletes Performance, Movement prep is a series of movements done prior to exercise or sport that provide a more effective way to prepare your body for physical activity.  You perform a series of dynamic movements that increase your core temperature, prepare your nervous system for activity, and activate key muscles that you'll use in your training session.   More than getting warm, "movement prep" decreases your injury potential and improves your training. And it only takes about 5 to 7 minutes.

Real Core Exercises

This PDF covers the anatomy of the core and great exercises that train the core to improve spine and pelvis stability, improve human movement, generate power for sports performance, and prevent injury to the spine.

Print Exercise PDF Handout

Corrective Exercises to Retrain the Gluteals

The gluteals are often weak in people.  Weakness in the gluteals result in the hamstrings and lower back muscles having to work harder, resulting in chronic tightness of these muscles.  The proper functioning of the gluteal muscles is essential to  having good posture and core stability.  The gluts are  responsible for the ability to decelerate, change direction, accelerate and move more explosively.

Retraining the Hips and Gluteals Handout

Faulty posture usually results in shortening of the muscles in front of the chest(pectorals and SCM, latissimus dorsi) and in back of the head(suboccipitals), while other regions become weak(deep neck flexors in front of the spine, and the mid/lower trapezius in the middle back).  As the head moves forward, the shoulders protract forward as well.  This puts repetetive strain on the muscles of the neck and shoulder girdle.  These bad postures put your body under constant stress.  When you attempt to move your shoulders and arms, these bad postures cause you to start in a bad position.  Starting movement in a bad position often results in pain and poor movement. 

The exercises in the attached handout are designed to correct bad posture in the neck, upper back and shoulder girdle.  There are also exercises designed to strengthen the scapular stabilizers, the muscles responsible for supporting your shoulder.

Print Neck and Shoulder Exercise Handout

Is Gardening Exercise?

By Michael Boyle, Strength Coach

 This article was published on strengthcoach.com

Renowned and well respected strength coach Michael Boyle weighs in on 'trends in fitness' and gives us a lesson on what it means to really exercise.

It's amazing how much marketing affects truth in fitness.

A guest blog by strength coach Michael Boyle

The following article details interval training and why it is a better way to train than steady state cardio training for both fat loss and athletic and human performance.  Learn how and why it works and how to effectively impliment interval training into your exercise regimen.

I think every fat loss article we read espouses the value of interval training for fat loss. In fact the term HIIT ( for High Intensity Interval Training) is thrown around so much that many people just assume they know what it is.