Month: April 2020

I have a theory I live by. Surely not original, but its one I’ve adopted over the years. For everything I want to get better at, I try to do one thing to learn, one action to practice and one effort to teach or reiterate what I’ve learned to help solidify it in my brain or body. During this downtime, I’m working at expanding my FRC practice into Kinstretch by learning and doing first. I was introduced to FRC or Functional Range Conditioning last fall when I started learning from some Physical Therapists about how to fill the gap between acute injury requiring a PT and rebuilding and maintenance that can be taught by an educated Personal Trainer. FRC is does just that by expanding your range of motion at the same time as building the strength to support that new range.

How does that apply to real life? Our bodies are strongest in our mid-range. So think about when you are lifting a heavy box. You wouldn’t lift it with your arms straight, nor would you lift it with your biceps completely flexed to your shoulder… you are going to lift from mid-range with your elbow at 90 degrees because our muscles can do the most work, safely from mid range. So we like to train at these mid-ranges because they are comfortable and they feel good.

Now… you are out playing tennis and a fast volley comes at you at an odd angle, it happens in an awkward position and suddenly you have a bicep tendon strain. This is real life, not a controlled gym. And real life doesn’t wait for you to put your arms, or your knees or your hips in just that perfect 90 degree angle whether it be to punch a fast volley coming at your belly button or lunge for a ball sailing wide and away. So you need to train for the unexpected!

FRC is just that kind of training. Injury prevention and rehabilitation through increased mobility and functional range. This is what I offer my personal training clients, but I would like to offer this to groups because as most of us know, exercise is more fun with friends and community. Enter Kinstretch, FRC’s group fitness cousin.

I am scheduled to go to California the first week of May to get my Kinstrech certification done but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen now. So instead I’m working hard to learn even more. Full circle back to take one, do one, teach one. Right now I’m taking and doing oodles of Kinstretch and FRC classes from far more experienced teachers that have been practicing and teaching for years, and also reading, practicing and learning everything I can. That’s my “take” and “do.” You can start to learn some snippets of my teachings through my YouTube videos here through my website. I’d love your feedback and if you are interested in participating in my practice classes before I get certified please drop me a note. Thanks!

February 14, 2020: For us die-hard tennis players it all comes together next week – Spring League Tennis! Don’t stop reading though if that is not your sport… this is for everyone and every sport. Theoretically, tennis players (or runners, or boot campers, or insert your sport here) should have been using the downtime from cold weather to focus on stability and mobility training. Building protective strength in your scaps and knees combined with increasing your articular range of motion (ah… that means joint movement) in your shoulders and hips, maybe the ankles too. This combination is square one for injury prevention. Without this base, forget using your kinetic chain to belt out your favorite topspin forehand or kick serve. If you can’t move your hips and shoulders correctly, then when you go to swing the racquet (golf club, baseball bat, etc), you will take that force straight to your back, knees, shoulder and elbow (medial for golf, lateral for tennis), and bam, just like that you are out for a few weeks of rest or maybe the rest of the season….

Stability and Mobility are key to closing the gap between when your PT says you are good to go and when you actually are not afraid to hurt yourself again. Unfortunately its a gap that is not filled with too many trained professionals. You might get tired of the bands and mini exercises or they no longer feel like they are doing anything, so you stop. What’s the number one injury you are likely to get after returning from a previous injury? That’s right, the same injury again! Yes, there is proof that you are far more likely to be re-injured right back in those old spots. So instead of just hoping that getting back out there is going to fix all your problems, make a change and start working on stability and mobility through a progression of isometrics and joint openers, move that into some challenging concentric moves and, only when you are ready, some controlled eccentrics. Some people might cringe at that word eccentrics – yes, that’s essentially plyometrics, but I’m not recommending deadlifts and box jumps (unless that’s your sport!), I’m talking controlled eccentric moves, and there are plenty of them if you know what you are doing. Ultimately you need to practice eccentric movements, because the bike and yoga that your Ortho recommended (right after she said, I really think you should never run, play tennis, swing a golf club, lift weights, etc again – which you ignored), is not going to protect you from the eccentric moves that are ultimately what injure us all. On the tennis court, or just walking the dog. That’s a fact that can’t be changed. But you can be smart and prepare for those moves ahead of time with the right training. Take care!

December 28, 2019: Mitochondria. That’s where I’ve decided to start. It says a lot about me. I love science. Always have. I love learning about exercise, nutrition, longevity, and disease prevention or delay. The first half of my life I devoured books. Anything I could get my hands on, but mostly fiction. But for the last 10 years I’ve somehow gravitated toward all things health. And movement. I’ve spent hours reading everything from NYT articles on health and wellness to deeply scientific medical journal articles, studied for hours, watched videos and went to seminars for my ACE personal trainer and EXOS Performance Specialist certifications and more recently devoured hours of podcasts and blogs by some of the most respected doctors, coaches, and longevity experts in their fields.

In fact, I just finished listening to a podcast about mitochondria and why for longevity and healthy aging we need to take care of ours. Healthy mitochondria helps us burn fat, better our current mental state and possibly ward off diseases associated with aging (think cancer, Alzheimers, heart disease, etc.). How do we do that? Move. Every time you move, you must contract your muscles, a process done by mitochondria…. and as part of that process they burn fat and release happy endorphins, and both in turn done day-after-day and year-after-year are what keep you healthy longer. Because let’s be honest. You won’t be doing CrossFit at 90, but you might want to be playing with your grandkids and walking the hills with the dog. Living independently. Enjoying time with family and friends. And unfortunately, you can’t wait until you are 90 to start this process. This is every day. Consistency is key. Overexercising is not only not necessary, it’s not recommended. There’s SO much more to this than I can put here… but that’s why I started a blog. I have so much to share and maybe nobody will listen, but I’m going to try. Because I care. I care about movement and how it impacts the brain, the body and the heart. Movement matters, and I want to share that with others.

Want more detail about mitochondria? (And I mean A LOT!) Check out PeterAttiamd.com for his Monday, December 23rd, 2019 podcast on Mitochondria. I could listen to him for hours. I have actually!