Never have joint pains or another injury ever again? “No way!, Not possible!” is what your brain is telling you and 100’s of my clients tell me every time I explain this to them when we first meet. While it may not be 100% likely you can escape every future injury or eliminate nerve damage from past injuries, it is possible to eliminate most aches and pains and chances for future injuries with these tips:

Several Types of Postural Deviations

Identify Your Problem Areas First

This is a blind spot for most people including personal trainers, chiropractors, massage therapists, and physical therapists these days. While most people understand some of the basic fundementals, very few can connect the dots or see all the blind spots and angles they are missing right in front of them. The blind spots I’m talking about are postural deviations in the way you walk, move, sit, sleep, and the list goes on. While most people think of their posture as something that is static or constant, this is false! Your posture is evolving daily around your movements and even non-movements.

How is this possible you might ask? Posture is how we hold ourselves and the alignment and position of our limbs, joints, and bodies as a whole. When our posture is bad or misaligned, this can be identified in the way we hold ourselves, aches and pains we feel in our bodies, and range of motion we have or don’t have either standing, sitting, or performing any movement. When our muscles are shortened, this in turn causes a change to the position and range of motion around joints. When your muscle tissue is altered in length or shortened, this will cause you your joints to not properly line up and expose these very tight areas and muscles that need to be addressed.

Attack Your Tight Muscles and Problem Areas 

Once you have identified these problem areas, you must attack these adhesions or knots in your muscles with pressure through fascial release whether through various forms of massage therapy, Self-Myofascial Release (SMFR) also known as foam rolling, or other forms of soft tissue release. You cannot proper or fully lengthen a muscles until you have done this step first.  According to Michael Clark, MS, PT, PES, CSCS and founder of the National Academy of Sports Medicine “By performing Self-Myofascial Release techniques on a simple piece of foam, your clients can improve flexibility, function, performance, and reduce injuries. In a nutshell, your clients use their own body weight to roll on the round foam roll, massaging away restrictions to normal soft-tissue extensibility. And your clients can perform this program at home, maximizing their recovery time.” I have been doing SMFR techniques for almost 10 years with clients helping hundreds of clients rehabilitate from sports injuries and major trauma to helping everyday people and athletes both perform and feel better.

In order to fully understand how and why this works so effectively, you must first have a basic understanding of the Kinetic Chain and how it works. The kinetic chain is made up of the soft tissue system (muscle, tendon, ligament, and fascia), neural system (nerves and the Central Nervous System), and articular system (joints). The kinetic chain works as an integrated functional unit. All components of the kinetic chain exist interdependently. If one component is not functioning efficiently, then the other components must compensate, leading to tissue overload, fatigue, faulty movement patterns, and finally initiates the Cumulative Injury Cycle.

Cumulative Injury Cycle

How the Cumulative Injury Cycle breaks down is muscle tightness restricts the range of motion that a joint may be moved. When muscle restriction occurs (tightness, soft tissue adhesions, and neural-hyperactivity), joint motion is altered, thus changing normal neural feedback to the CNS (central nervous system). Ultimately, neuromuscular efficiency is compromised, which leads to poor movement patterns, inducing premature fatigue and causing injury. The SMFR (Self-Myofascial Release) Program helps you and your clients improve muscular balance and performance.

There are two basic neural receptors are located in skeletal muscle tissue. These receptors are the Muscle Spindles and the Golgi Tendon Organs (GTO). Muscle Spindles are located parallel to the muscle fibers. They record changes in fiber length, and rate of change to the CNS. Golgi Tendon Organs (GTO) are located at the musculotendinous junction. They are sensitive to change in tension and rate of tension change. Stimulation of the GTO’s past a certain threshold inhibits the muscle spindle activity, and decreases muscular tension. This means your muscles are inhibited by their own receptors or this is also known as Autogenic Inhibition.

What is a foam roller?

A foam roller is, what a lot of fitness professionals refer to as, “the poor man’s massage.” When choosing a foam roller, product density is very important. Foam rolling simulates a deep tissue massage by working out the tension in your hard working muscles and providing a release for the outer sack of your muscles, also known as the fascia; hence the technical name for foam rolling: self-myofascial release (or SMR). If the foam is too soft, less than adequate tissue massage is applied. On the other hand, if the foam is too hard, bruising and more advanced soft-tissue trauma may occur, leading to further restriction, initiation of the inflammatory process, decreased range of motion, pain, and decreased performance. I use a combination of tools with my clients from soft and firm foam rollers, to Lacrosse balls and PVC pipes you may find at your local hardware store.

How does a foam roller work?

Demonstration of How to Foam Roll Your Calves

Start by either laying your body on the foam roller or placing the foam roller below you on the ground on the specific muscle group you are targeting. Resting 30-45 seconds on painful areas will stimulate the GTO and autogenically inhibit the muscle spindles; reducing muscular tension and will help regulate fascial receptors. Make sure you hold that pressure for the entire duration or it will not be effective. You don’t have to put pressure directly on the sore or tender area, near the area will also do. If you have a hard time applying enough force to release tight muscles, either change your tool to firmer or smaller object, add additional force yourself, ask your trainer, a friend or family member to help, or change your body’s position to apply more pressure as needed.

Once you have broken up all your knots and tight spots in your muscles, you need to stretch and length those targeted muscles back out to a proper length with static stretching. Hold each stretch for approximately 20-30 seconds. This allows you muscle time to relax and fully lengthen out.

Work on Correcting Your Form and Every Day Movement Patterns

                        Ankle Positioning

After identifying your postural deviations and eliminating tights spots, the next step is correcting your movement patterns to ensure you aren’t repeating the same mistakes. The first step is learning what proper form and postural alignment is and then what deviations you are making in your everyday movement from walking and squatting with your feet and knees turning in or out or hunching over your phone or computer all day. You can also have tightness caused by inactivity, such as sitting down for long durations of time which compromises your hips by keeping them in a flexed position.

Think of every action having a reaction in the body or as “cause and effect.” If you think of every movement you from your feet to your head and vice versa as a ripple effect, this will better help you understand your connection between with your upper body and lower body and the effects have on one another. This awareness helps me daily identify tight muscles in my clients in the gym immediately before we start training or receiving any verbal feedback from them. While most of my clients don’t realize I’m looking at their posture and movement pattern the second I say “hi”, while they are warming up, and every exercise and repetition after that. My goal with most clients is teaching more mind body awareness and proprioception, meaning “one’s own”, “individual,” and to take or grasp, is the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body and strength of effort being employed in movement. This is achieved through constant verbal feedback asking them to explain how and what they are feeling to non-verbal or other external feedback such as performing exercises in front of the mirror.

For more information and tips, please Contact Us for a Free Consultation with one of our experienced and certified personal trainers TODAY!

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Everyone knows that pregnancy changes a women’s body, it is inevitable.  Weight gain, those dreaded stretch marks, and sometimes certain body parts don’t sit as “Perky” as they used to.  But don’t worry, the end result makes all those changes worth it; when you are holding your precious bundle (or bundles!) the last thing on a mother’s mind is her pre-pregnancy body.

Here are a few tips to ease into your expected pregnancy weight gain, without gaining weight too quickly:

1. Get the notion out of your head that you are “eating for two”

Yes, you do need more calories, but not until the second and third trimesters.  In the first trimester your baby does not get any bigger than a plum, or a small apple. The calories needed to support this fetus are sustained by a normal 1500-2000 calorie diet provided by the mother.  When your baby has substantial growth spurts in the second and third trimesters, that is when you need an additional 300 to 500 calories per day.  Yes, you technically have two bellies to fill, but remember, one of them is very, very tiny!

2. Find an activity that keeps you moving every day.

For most, this can mean a brisk walk around the neighborhood with your spouse or family member.  Finding someone who will go with you and keep you accountable really helps. Also, keep in mind- three ten minute walks are just as beneficial as one thirty-minute walk.  Just because you are pregnant does not mean you have the excuse to sit around and be lazy. Many pregnant women find it beneficial to hire a Certified Personal Trainer that has experience with pre-natal women. Having the accountability of a trained professional can really help with unwanted and unnecessary weight gain.

Be conscious about what you are nourishing your body, and consequently, your baby’s body with.

Those extra calories needed in the second and third trimesters do not mean a bowl of ice cream every day! Rather, focus on eating extra raw fruits and veggies with every meal, along with a good source of lean protein at least once a day.  Not every pregnant woman is fortunate enough to have healthy cravings; it is ok to indulge every now and then, but try to always be aware that what you consume fabricates itself into your developing child.

3. Drink plenty of water.

This is beneficial for everyone, regardless if you are pregnant or not.  Drinking water during pregnancy helps your body to cope with the demands of your changing body. Keeping hydrated regulates all functions of your body and keeps headaches, nausea, and edema at bay.

Disclaimer: These are the opinions and experiences of the author. As always, consult your OBGYN before undertaking any new diet or workout routine and always be under the supervision of a trained professional.

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It’s that time of year again, when we all start looking back on our lives and reflecting on all our accomplishments, hopes, dreams, failures, lessons learned, victories, defeats, and what you plan to achieve this upcoming new year. I always love this time of the year. Today, I looked back on all my previous goals from last January, and while I was extremely happy to see I had achieved many of them for 2014, I am looking forward to setting and accomplishing even more goals in 2015.

Since becoming a certified personal trainer almost seven years ago, I have learned so much about setting and attaining many things that at first glance would have seemed impossible. I have had the pleasure of helping hundreds of clients lose thousands of pounds from all ages and athletic abilities. I wake up most mornings around 5 a.m. to meet with my clients. While most people find this to be crazy, I absolutely love it. I wake up every morning with a purpose to help others feel better about themselves both physically and emotionally. I believe that anyone can achieve whatever goals they set. While most great things in life don’t come easy, they won’t come at all if you don’t visualize yourself attaining it.  Below are 3 simple yet life changing tips to help you start your New Year of right.

1. Write down your goals. Too many people set goals, but don’t record them. Your likelihood of succeeding increases dramatically just by writing them down. In 1979, a Harvard MBA program asked graduate students, “have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?” The result -only 3% had written down their goals and plans, 13% had goals, but they weren’t in writing and 84% had no goals at all. Ten years later, the same group was interviewed again and the result was absolutely mind-blowing.

The 13% of the class who had goals, but did not write them down, was earning twice the amount of the 84% who didn’t have any goals. The 3% who had written their goals were earning an average of ten times more than the combined total of the other 97%!

Whenever I meet a client for the first time I start by asking them several simple questions to help identify what they hope to accomplish. First, I ask them, “what are your goals?” For example, let’s say a client says they want to “lose weight and reduce my body fat.”

Example: My goals are to lose weight and reduce my body fat. 

2. Create a Clear Vision. The first step to creating a goal is to figure out what you want. Be specific. The more detailed you are with your vision, the more easily you can set a course of action.

The next question I ask, “do you have a set goal weight or body fat you would like to see yourself at?” This enables them to set a quantifiable or measurable goal.

While the first two questions answer the core objective which is to identify a specific goal, I ask one more question to sum this up: “Why do you want to achieve x, y, and z?” By asking my clients to identify their why, they are reminded about what their ideal body composition. This comes handy when many obstacles arise (birthdays. holiday parties, vacations, etc.), which may slow them down along their journey to accomplishing their goals. It is a good reminder to remember why when you hit a plateau.

Example: My goal is to lose 20 lbs. and reduce my body fat by at least 5% by my birthday trip to Cabo. 

3. Set Specific Deadlines/Benchmarks. Start setting an attainable long term goal. Then, break big steps into smaller steps until goals seem less daunting and achievable. Benchmarks are a great way to keep you on track. You may find you are moving more quickly or slowly than you expected. That’s not a problem – you can adjust! Alter your expectations and timeline as you gather more information while achieving your benchmarks.

My clients and I set daily and weekly goals for their caloric intake and their exercise. If you break up these goals into smaller, measurable steps, and assign realistic time frames to each, you are more likely to stay on track and hold yourself accountable along the way!

Example: My daily goal is to consume 1500 calories daily, burn 600 calories every day from exercise, and have a caloric deficit of at least 500 calories each day.

Cheat Sheet

1. Ask yourself what goals you would like to accomplish for 2015? 

First, start by setting some board goals. Ex. I want to lose weight, travel more, make a career change

2. How much weight would you like to lose? How many would you like to take this year? What other careers would you like to pursue? What do I need to enter into those careers/industries?

Break down your broad goals into more specific goals with set numbers or metrics to help you give you set benchmarks to measure and track your progress. Try and set somewhat realistic goals, but don’t be afraid to still be somewhat aggressive and take some long shots. Michael Jordan missed many more shots then he made when the game was on the line. The only ones most of us remember are the times he succeeded. Ex. I need to lose 20 pounds. I will take 4 trips this year. I’m going to become a personal trainer. I need to become certified with the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

3. When do you need to lose 20 lbs. by? How much do I need to lose each week? Each month? When would you like to go on each specific trip? What are the dates of each trip? When do you need to have them booked by?

Once you have identified you specific goals, you need to map out what you need to do in order to accomplish these goals. Set micro or smaller goals that help build up to you achieving or accomplishing goal or goals. State your goals as definitives such as “I will” not “I hope to”. Be confident in your decision and any obstacles you may come across will melt away with your persistance. Ex. I will weigh 20 pounds. less by my birthday trip to Cabo, Mexico by May 27th, 2015. I will be in Cabo by May 27th. I would like to go to Peru by June 28th. I will be in Greece by September 21st. I will be in Australia by December 15th, 2015. I will study until March and take my NASM certification by March 28th. I will start interviewing for personal training jobs by May 1st and be employees by June 1st.