Are you making it worse?

Anyone I meet who exercises and is striving to live a healthy lifestyle is OK in my book. But, and there is always a but, there is a chance that some of the exercises that you are doing may be hurting you. Case in point, yesterday a very nice person came in for a biomechanmical evaluation, he has a severe forward head posture accompanied with pronounced rounding of the shoulders. This gentleman travels a lot and has been doing a lot of push ups and crunches. The unfortunate fact is that both of those exercises actually make his postural distortions worse and actually encourages the faulty patterns in his body. So, the catch 22 is that he is exercising but in doing so he is placing a sick amount of strain on his neck and taking years off his shoulders, specifically his Rotator Cuff. As I always say, please know what you don't know, and when in doubt let a QUALIFIED fitness professional get you started.

You are what you eat

Seems like a simple statement!, but the fact is that our foods are loaded with bad stuff. hidden sugars, fats, preservatives, stabilizers etc. few of which are good for you. It make sense to most that if you put sand into your gas tank the car will not run so good. Why is your body any different? We constantly overeat, intaking unbalanced foods deficient in nutrients, but as long as you take your processed vitamin you're OK. Did you ever stop and wonder why the incidence of cancers and other diseases is so high yet medical technology is the best ever? Mom was right, eat your fruits and veggies, but you definitely do not need to clean your plate.

Open your Mind to Access your Body

Yesterday, while I was working my weekly shift as a Paramedic (saving stupid people from themselves) my partner who is a very smart person was continuously shocked at what I brought to eat. She mocked my protein muffin and meal replacement bar and could not even comprehend the superfood drink I purchased. As my partner sat and contently ate her honey bun followed by her salty high fat chips it once again dawned on me that if you can not open your mind to different things or even try them you have already failed. Eating something different from the norm is so different that you will not even open your mind the concept that it can taste good. Is this any different from the person who has pain and refuses to do anything different to lessen their pain?. Oh, that's the definition of insanity.

Thought for the Day

Did you know that research has shown that people who fidget a lot actually burn more calories than people who just sit still. Now we are not talking about the 'A's who just can not sit still, we are referring to those folks who just move around alot. See, it's really not that hard to burn calories.

Thought For the Week

While riding around town this past weekend I noted just how many people are obese. When you are overweight / obese it creates an amazing amount of strain on your joints. You are forced to move differently because of girth, your joints take an incredible amount of force and compression that they were never designed to take. Over time this all wears down to the point of failure. Couple the metabolic effects (high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, kidney issues) and you don't have a chance. The rate of lost days from the above factors spirals upward and the obese person quickly becomes a burden on society (medical, insurance, employer). An interesting fact is that the majority of the obese are obese because of lifestyle and personal choices, most have no metabolic issues that make them obese. If you were to drop them in the middle of nowhere with only water they would be able to survive off their stored fat for weeks with little or no problems......just goes to show you what a little portion control will do!.

The Second Best Back Exercise Ever

Oh my gosh, it's time to let the secret out!. The worlds best second best back exercise. only it's not really a back exercise. This fantastic exercise actually works the abdominal wall or more specifically the obliques and a muscle called the transverse abdominius. These two muscles are directly responsible for giving your spine it's rigid stability and it's ability to move under control. They basically function like a corset around the lower torso. so with out further delay.........the Lateral plank aka the side bridge.