Strickland Fitness

I thought it would be a good change of pace to post this video, hopefully to get everyone pumped for Summer. That's right, it's Spring and bikini season is right around the corner. I found this cool video on using tether balls for a core circuit. Yes, tether balls – the same ones attached to those poles which we played with our elementary school buddies. Now they can get you fit as adults. Enjoy the video and please comment. – Best, Chad

Video from: Mensfitness.com

We really don't know what we have until they're gone, including our sense of balance. Below is a great article highlighting even more information on how important balance is. Just imagine how we'd lift weights without it! Please enjoy and comment. – Chad

Reporting by Dorene Internicola
(Reuters)

Dick Sandhaus, a healthy and fit 62-year old, says he never gave his balance a thought until he lost it. A wicked sprained ankle was the result. Now he practices balancing for a few minutes each day and urges his fellow baby boomers to do the same. "Rocking toes to heels and quadriceps stretches are things anybody can do if they have a floor," said Sandhaus, a self-described ex-hippie who dispenses fitness tips on his website, BetterCheaperSlower.com.

"If you put yourself in instability it gives you instant awareness of what balance is about," he explained.

Having good balance means being able to control and maintain your body's position; having poor balance can have dire consequences. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of adults 65 years and older fall each year. Falls are the leading cause of injury deaths among older adults. Dr. Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko, an expert on aging for the American Council on Sports Medicine, said lack of balance among older adults is a huge problem affecting mortality and quality of life. But he cautions against painting all older adults with the same broad brush.

"Physiological decline is an inescapable consequence of ageing but the rate and extent varies tremendously," he said. "Lots of (people) 85 and over are more than capable of functioning."  Read the rest of this entry »

The Plank

Do you see people at the gym holding a push-up position or holding that same position on their forearms? Do you ever wonder what they are really doing or what they are working? I have actually asked people what they are working when they are doing a plank and the number one response is, "I saw other people doing it so I decided to do it."

The plank has a very specific function and purpose. The Abdominals job in functional terms is to stop the back from hyper-extending (the lower back bending backwards). To feel what I mean, stand up and extend your arms high above your head. Start to slowly bend backwards at the lower back. You should begin to feel your abdominals tightening up the further back you get. Thats the abs doing their job to protect the lumbar spine (lower back).

Now, when you are holding a plank with your body in a straight line from head to toe allowing your lower back to keep its natural curve, you should feel yours abs tight. They are stopping your hips from sinking beneath the rest of your body, or your lower back from hyper-extending. That's the purpose of the plank. Our abdominals are supposed to stop movement, although they are trained mostly to create a movement (ie. crunches and sit ups). To strengthen your abs, do various versions of the plank for increased intensity. You will have decreased back pain because the muscle that supports it is getting stronger.

Try holding a plank for 3 sets of 15-30 seconds with rest in between. Once that becomes easy, try raising different limbs for higher demand of abdominal strength. Do not let the hips sink or the but raise in the air. Concentrate on keeping a straight line from head to toe.

Back Pain and Tight Muscles

This is definitely not a diagnosis; however, lower back pain can be caused by tight muscle in the legs, hips or abdominals. I have many new clients that come to me with one of their goals being to eliminate lower back pain. If this pain is not caused by soft tissue, nerve or spinal damage (which is out of my range to treat), the first thing I look for is tightness. Many times this is the problem. After a specific and persistent stretching routine, their back pain is slowly eliminated. Besides the upper leg muscles, abdominals, and muscles in the hips attaching to the pelvis, so do all the lower back muscles. If the any of the upper leg, abdominal or hip muscles are tight, that causes constant tugging on the pelvis. If the pelvis is being tugged on, then so are all the lower back muscles which are attached to it. This tugging on the pelvis is called a pelvic tilt. If the pelvis is tilted either way of the neutral position, this can cause extreme stress on your lower back. The purpose of stretching your legs, hips, and abdominals is to release the tight muscles and get your pelvis into a neutral position at all times. What are some things that can cause tight muscles? The first and most common thing is sitting down for long periods of time. Sitting causes the abs and hip flexors to be in a shortened position. The shortening causes an anterior pelvic tilt (the pelvis tilts forward). This puts your lower back muscles into a compressed state when standing. If you have a sit-down job, stretching the hip flexors and working on strengthening the abdominals will help to release your pelvis. Running is also a common reason for back pain. Now, I am not saying you shouldn’t run (it is a great cardio workout and stress reliever), however, what you do before and after your run can help to relieve back pain. Besides impact on the spine, running will cause a lot of your leg and hip muscles to tighten up. If you are a runner, be sure to do a good warm up of active stretching (see warming up post) and an immediate post run stretch and another one before bed. It is a good idea to stretch the morning after a run as well. I will post another article about specific stretches to do to release your pelvis and help eliminate back pain. If you have any specific questions, you can email me.

80% of all people will suffer from lower back pain in their life. A lot of times this pain is not caused from injury, but from overcompensation from weak abdominals. Strong abdominals help to make a strong core which stabilizes the spine. When you are working for that ripped mid-section, you are also working to alleviate lower back pain.

The majority of back pain sufferers are in a career where they are in a seated position for most of the day. Sitting at a computer or desk is basically being in a crunch position the whole time. This isolated crunch position elongates the back muscles which weakens them over time. When Sean Renninger from Integrity Sport and Fitness (www.integritysportandfitness.com) trains his clients with lower back pain, he puts emphasis on lengthening the abdominal muscles besides shortening them. “Doing crunches”, Sean says, “is a fundamental movement that everybody knows, but does not serve the true function of the abs which is to protect and support the spine and lower back.”

If working the abdominals has become a major part of your workout routine, be sure to concentrate on the lengthening of the muscle as much as the shortening or contracting of the muscle. This will help to strengthen your abs, strengthen your back, strengthen your core, and stabilize your spine. A stabilized spine is a great prevention to lower back pain and injury.