In training clients and my own observation, the shoulder is the most fragile joint in the body. While non-weight bearing (like the knee or hip), the shoulder is the only joint that can go in any direction, making it very versatile and sensitive at the same time.
There are several common problems with the shoulder. Here's a look at a few.
1. Rotator Cuff injuries: the Rotator Cuff is a band of tendons that stretch over the back muscles and cross the shoulders to keep them in place. Tears are common (particularly amongst baseball pitchers, quarterbacks, and seniors!). Pain is usually felt in the front and side of the shoulder and is at its worst in bed.
2. Bursitis: the common symptom of bursitis is an achy pain that gets worse with overhead movements (shoulder presses, or putting away dishes!). Bursas are small disks located between tendons and bones, and are designed to lessen tension when tendons glide across the bone. Worn bursas can cause the chronic pain of bursitis.
3. Impingement syndrome: This involves compression of tendons between bones. Causes a throbbing type of pain.
These are some of the many things that can go wrong with a shoulder. The key is keeping it supple with stretching, not over-doing it if you feel pain, varying your exercise choices, and sometimes, just plain luck!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Aging and Weight Gain
It is widely assumed that aging, with it's loss of testosterone and estrogen levels in the body, brings on weight gain.
A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine concludes that it is food and lifestyle choices, not the natural effects of aging, that leads to the pound-a-year average weight gain in adult Americans.
The study was conducted by the Nurses' Health Study and was authored by Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. The study involved data collected from 121,000 men and women. The participants were tracked every four years for 20 years, and, on average, 17 lbs. over that 20 year period.
The article attributes most of the weight gain to unhealthy food choices like extra servings of potato chips, french fries, soda, white bread, and low-fiber cereals.
Other factors were increasingly sedentary lifestyles (hours of TV and computer use); poor sleeping habits (both too much and too little can lead to weight gain); and decreased consumption of fruits, vegetables, and other roughage. Alcohol, unsurprisingly, was another culprit.
To show that much weight gain can be prevented, the study noted that those who made the most unhealthy food choices gained nearly four pounds more in four years than those who made the healthiest dietary decisions.
The study suggests, rather than just calorie-counting, people should focus on improving their overall diet. Nuts, for example, while high in calories and fat content, actually helped provent weight gain. Exercise, of course, also helped prevent weight gain.
In my 20-plus years in the fitness field, I have heard many rational for age-related weight gain: childbirth; marriage (by men and women); "Bodily changes;" various injuries; raising young children; and the end of structured athletic careers. All may be valid to some degree. The bottom-line is, however, that maintaining a healthy diet, mixed with exercise, will prevent the weight gain that many think is inevitable.
A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine concludes that it is food and lifestyle choices, not the natural effects of aging, that leads to the pound-a-year average weight gain in adult Americans.
The study was conducted by the Nurses' Health Study and was authored by Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. The study involved data collected from 121,000 men and women. The participants were tracked every four years for 20 years, and, on average, 17 lbs. over that 20 year period.
The article attributes most of the weight gain to unhealthy food choices like extra servings of potato chips, french fries, soda, white bread, and low-fiber cereals.
Other factors were increasingly sedentary lifestyles (hours of TV and computer use); poor sleeping habits (both too much and too little can lead to weight gain); and decreased consumption of fruits, vegetables, and other roughage. Alcohol, unsurprisingly, was another culprit.
To show that much weight gain can be prevented, the study noted that those who made the most unhealthy food choices gained nearly four pounds more in four years than those who made the healthiest dietary decisions.
The study suggests, rather than just calorie-counting, people should focus on improving their overall diet. Nuts, for example, while high in calories and fat content, actually helped provent weight gain. Exercise, of course, also helped prevent weight gain.
In my 20-plus years in the fitness field, I have heard many rational for age-related weight gain: childbirth; marriage (by men and women); "Bodily changes;" various injuries; raising young children; and the end of structured athletic careers. All may be valid to some degree. The bottom-line is, however, that maintaining a healthy diet, mixed with exercise, will prevent the weight gain that many think is inevitable.
Monday, August 22, 2011
The "No Day-Dreaming" Workout
Without a doubt, the best weight workouts I get are with a training partner. The adrenaline flows, you push each through that last rep, and it's great having someone to do "negatives," "pauses" and other unorthodox techniques with.
When alone, the toughest part is keeping a flow to the workout. How many times have you done a set on the bench, and then sat around thinking about all of your other problems in the world? Or got into a conversation with a friend that turned a one-minute rest period into three or five?
To alleviate that down period, I like to super-set a strength-training set with a minute of jump rope, 30 hard seconds on the speed bag, or a set of hanging leg raises for abs. Not only does my concentration level stay higher, I know I'm getting just enough "rest" between each set for my muscles to breathe, but not fully recover.
To keep it more challenging, say to yourself: "If I tangle up on the jump rope or lose rhythm on the speed bag within that prescribed time, you must go back to your strength set that much sooner." Guaranteed, you will be more careful not to lose it!
One of my favorite workouts along this vein is the pull-up/chin-up drop down. I start with 10 pull-ups, and do a minute of jump rope in-between. Then nine, all the way down to one, the last five sets with a slow "negative" drop. Then you go into ten chin-ups (a little easier), and again, take it all the way down to one.
Oh, and if I miss on the jump rope, back to the "pulls" or chins" that much sooner! Finish it out with five minutes straight jump rope. Modify numbers on the pulls and chins, dependent on your current ability.
There's an unlimited number of variations of that basic workout. Figure out what your goals are, what you like to do, and what your capabilities are. Mix and match from there!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Back in the Swim
While I consider myself a runner, primarily, I had fun dabbling with Triathlons in
the 1980's. I did several sprint triathlons, with the longest endeavor a 1-mile swim in Barnegat Bay, a 25-mile bike ride, and 10-mile run in the Ricoh Triathlon on Long Beach Island in 1983.
Since getting married and having more responsibility, I've concentrated my competitive efforts back into running, while augmenting it with lifting, rowing, and most recently, some martial arts training.
Swimming has taken a back seat. We have a community pool in our development, and when I have the time, I take advantage of the sole lap lane and swim a mile. The mile was my normal training distance when I swam more regularly, and then, I could clock a regular training mile in under 30 minutes.
Distance and time-wise, swimming a mile is considered four times a running mile. So, my mile swim in 30 minutes was like running a little over seven-minute miles for four miles. In my mind, it seemed about an equal effort, too: nothing remarkable, but respectable.
Now, I probably do the mile about four or five times a summer, and my time has slowed to about 35 minutes. My preceived effort remains about a six on a 1-10 scale. My chest, arms and shoulders feel like they had a good workout, and it's a good flexibility exercise for my hips, obliques, and legs.
I sprint in the last 10 laps, so I'm breathing hard at the end, but I can't swim fast enough to truly test my maximum heart rate capabilities.
I feel great doing it, though! I sit out in the sun first, to get baking hot, and usually read a fitness magazine to get in the proper framework. The water is bracing at first in the unheated pool, but my body adapts as I steam along.
The first eight or 10 laps are the hardest, as my shoulders feel extremely tight (I always do the swim on a weekend, and I usually have done a weight workout in the morning).
I break the mile down into 10-lap increments, and am usually comfortable after the first ten. Then, it's just a mental game of sticking with your form (remembering to kick your legs, not letting the arms sag across your body underwater, breathing every stroke), and letting your mind wander, but not so much that you forget how many laps you have gone.
The mental game is much like a running race: 16 laps down, a quarter done. Then get to 20. At 32, your halfway. After 40, you're over the hump and can start picking up the pace. At 60, it's "is anyone watching my kick?"
At 64, I relax in the water about a minute, and jump out before my body starts to freeze as it idles. I wrap myself in the towel, go back to my magazine, and my 52-year old mind wonders: "how many more summers will that seem easy?"
the 1980's. I did several sprint triathlons, with the longest endeavor a 1-mile swim in Barnegat Bay, a 25-mile bike ride, and 10-mile run in the Ricoh Triathlon on Long Beach Island in 1983.
Since getting married and having more responsibility, I've concentrated my competitive efforts back into running, while augmenting it with lifting, rowing, and most recently, some martial arts training.
Swimming has taken a back seat. We have a community pool in our development, and when I have the time, I take advantage of the sole lap lane and swim a mile. The mile was my normal training distance when I swam more regularly, and then, I could clock a regular training mile in under 30 minutes.
Distance and time-wise, swimming a mile is considered four times a running mile. So, my mile swim in 30 minutes was like running a little over seven-minute miles for four miles. In my mind, it seemed about an equal effort, too: nothing remarkable, but respectable.
Now, I probably do the mile about four or five times a summer, and my time has slowed to about 35 minutes. My preceived effort remains about a six on a 1-10 scale. My chest, arms and shoulders feel like they had a good workout, and it's a good flexibility exercise for my hips, obliques, and legs.
I sprint in the last 10 laps, so I'm breathing hard at the end, but I can't swim fast enough to truly test my maximum heart rate capabilities.
I feel great doing it, though! I sit out in the sun first, to get baking hot, and usually read a fitness magazine to get in the proper framework. The water is bracing at first in the unheated pool, but my body adapts as I steam along.
The first eight or 10 laps are the hardest, as my shoulders feel extremely tight (I always do the swim on a weekend, and I usually have done a weight workout in the morning).
I break the mile down into 10-lap increments, and am usually comfortable after the first ten. Then, it's just a mental game of sticking with your form (remembering to kick your legs, not letting the arms sag across your body underwater, breathing every stroke), and letting your mind wander, but not so much that you forget how many laps you have gone.
The mental game is much like a running race: 16 laps down, a quarter done. Then get to 20. At 32, your halfway. After 40, you're over the hump and can start picking up the pace. At 60, it's "is anyone watching my kick?"
At 64, I relax in the water about a minute, and jump out before my body starts to freeze as it idles. I wrap myself in the towel, go back to my magazine, and my 52-year old mind wonders: "how many more summers will that seem easy?"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
