Why Can’t I Touch My Toes?

Why Can’t I Touch My Toes?

Instagram: @_tobz_

Twitter: @tobygarza

In our tip of the day on Intagram we showed you a quick way to improve your tissue quality with a softball, baseball, tennis or golf ball. We said that it could help people that struggle with, plantar fasciitis, calf tightness, shin splints and foot/toe cramps. The concept behind rolling out the bottom of your foot is very similar to that of the foam roller, but on a smaller scale and it is actually affecting a different tissue. In this case you are rolling out the Fascia which is on the sole of your feet.  

What is Fascia? It is a connective tissue that is similar to tendons and ligaments but fascia actually wraps around/ covers muscles. Its function is to help with a more fluid movement during activity or when contract muscles.

               

           Fascia can get stuck and loss its ability to function in providing the fluidity that the muscles need. Which is why either foam or ball rolling is important, and considering that fascia is connected to all of your body, it is important that we get it moving and help it in any way that we can to perform its function.

                

           The question of why you can’t touch your toes can be a loaded one, yet most people either have tight muscles or restricted fascia. Try this simple exercise:

           

           Try and touch your toes: don’t bend your knees or bounce. Remember how far you were able to reach. Some of you might not touch and some might touch the floor.

Now grab a golf ball or tennis ball: roll out each of the soles of your feet. Do this for about 30 seconds each focusing on putting pressure, you can sit down and do this if the pressure of standing on it is too much.

Try and touch your toes again: in theory you should be able to go a little further. The reason being is that you are allowing the fascia on the soles of your feet to regain their function. This can happen with not only the soles of your feet but all other muscles as well.

Continuing with the concept of teaching the basics of a fitness programing, lets finish up the first section of the warm up “Form Rolling Complex” .

Movement and Mobility 12-15 min Foam Rolling Complex Exercise Time Lower Leg Calf 15 sec/ per side Thigh IT band 15 sec/ per side Adductors 15 sec/ per side Quads 15 sec/ per side Hips Hamstring/ Glute Attachment 15 sec/ per side Glutes 15 sec/ per side Thoracic Spine Thoracic Roll 30 sec Lat Roll 15sec/ per side

Just like the soles of our feet, with foam or ball rolling you can change the tissue quality in other muscles. Here is a video of the “Hips” and “Thoracic Spine”:

                

Lets Talk Tissue Quality

Let's continue on what I posted via Instagram ( @_tobz_).

A great program starts with a great warm-up. Now there are many ideas of what a warm-up can look like, but if we take the science of training into account, many people are out of the loop. So let me try and help you through this. In the video that I posted you saw that we introduced a few concepts:

• Tissue quality 
• Foam roller
• Some key terms ( adduction, abduction, IT band, quads)

Tissue quality is simply how your tissues ( muscles, ligaments, tendons, fascia) move. If your tissue does not move you might have poor tissue quality, which can come from many things: working out, sitting too long, repetitive movement and the list can go on. 

Why is tissue quality important? It is what will help you lessen injury!

To me that is one of the, if not they most important concept in training. If you get hurt you wont come back and if you do it might take a long time. This is why I focus on foam rolling.

Foam rolling is a technique that is used to help change your tissue quality from being restricted and tight, to long and ready for movement. There is science behind the foam roller, but ill give you an illustration. Imagine that your muscle is a rubber band, and it has a knot in it, what would happen if you pulled on that rubber band? Yes! The knot would become tighter, and if you continued to pull, it might even tear. Now it is the same with your muscles, you develop these knots in them due to the same activities i stated before. If you do nothing about those knots and do some kind of work out you are pulling just as on that rubber band which can lead to muscle tears. In this case the foam roller acts as a release for those knots in the muscle, and trust me if you have never used one, I suggest you try and you will literally feel the knots I am talking about.

Foam rolling is best done at the start of a work out, and should focus on some major muscle groups. Now the best way to know which ones to roll is to be assessed by a health professional that understands assessments and how they apply to overactive and under-active muscles. Most people will have some type of muscle tightness, but the list from the previous post is a great start for anyone.

Here is a video explaining the other three areas in 'Thigh Section"

IT band- stands for illiotibial band, it is a small muscle that also has a band that runs all the way to you lower leg. This helps you abduct your leg, or lift it way from your body in the side to side movements.
Adductors- This area is made up of a few muscles that help with pulling back your legs from that out position.
Quads- 4 muscles in the from of your thigh that help with extending your leg, the motion of kicking something.

Movement and Mobility		12-15 min
Foam Rolling Complex	Exercise	Time
Lower Leg	Calf	15 sec/ per side
Thigh	IT band	15 sec/ per side
	Adductors	15 sec/ per side
	Quads	15 sec/ per side
Hips	Hamstring/ Glute Attachment	15 sec/ per side
	Glutes	15 sec/ per side
Thoracic Spine	Thoracic Roll	30 sec
	Lat Roll	15sec/ per side

  Working on these areas helps with many things, but one of the most important is keeping you hips in the correct position. When you have a great base and your hips are in neutral position your body is able to produce much more stability, power, and strength. The great thing is that you will be able to do this and have more confidence that you will not get hurt.

July Project – Teaching people fitness basics. 15 sec at a time!

July Project – Teaching people fitness basics. 15 sec at a time!

Instagram: @_tobz_

Twitter: @tobygarza

Now some of these concepts might not seem basic to people brand new  or even some that have been in fitness/ working out scene for quite some time,  but bear with me. By the end of the month my goal is to help you be able to set up your own workout routine. You should be able to add each new concept to your current routine fairly easy and continue to each day.

The main focus will be to help those who are new to fitness, but for my athletes/ seasoned gym goers out there, pay close attention because there are great take a ways from everything that we will be covering and I am sure you will be able to incorporate much of what will be talked about.

I will be using this site and my instagram account linked above, to drive this content. So follow me on both. 

We will cover everything from:

·         correct warm-up (flexibility, mobility, tissue quality)

·         base strength

·         base endurance (aerobic / anaerobic)

·         core

·         overall stability

·         speed

·         power

·         and more

       We will start with the Warm up which should take 10-15 minutes. We will talk about each of these concepts. Look for a short video on foam rolling later today. Sorry for the odd formatting!