Mobility or Strength?

I had to ask this question to myself today as I was training with a new athlete. We where showing the front squat and had him do a few reps, and saw instantly that his ankles and knees caved. For most in the strength and conditioning sector you would start thinking of what is really going on. Mobility or strength? So does the ankle need strength or more range of motion, do the hips need more range of motion or do they need to be stronger? That is the main question. Let me break it down as easy as I can.
You need to know that the body is made up of many joints stacked on top of each other, starting at the bottom with the ankle joint going all the way to the shoulder and cervical spine. Starting at the bottom we will look at the Ankle, Knee, and Hip.

Ankle- inherently the ankle needs to have more range of motion than most people think. The ankle is a very complex joint that needs to be able to move around to give the force production, the force absorption, and the mobility for daily activity. Many think that strength is needed because someone rolled an ankle, more time than not mobility is needed in the joint because it is not moving correctly. The use of incorrect shoes, having flat feet, or having a structural issue can be reasons for not moving correctly.


Knee- The knee joint is the total opposite, the knee is meant to be stable, and most know this if they have torn any ligament or cartilage in their knees. The ACL, LCL, PCL, are all ligaments that help to stabilize the knee joint, yet they are only strong enough to hold so much. Know this is where it gets tricky, the ligaments are strong enough to hold great amounts of force, but when other joints are not in alignment ( ankle, hip ) they cause unwanted and forces that the ligaments in the knee where not made to handle. There are great strength programs for the knee, strengthening the VMO, and other things, yet this is not the key to stability. You always need to look at the joints above (hips) and below (ankle) for the answer. If your knees cave in like my new athlete, check the hip and the ankle and you will find your answer.



Hip- The hips are meant to be mobile, most of the time the hips are not mobile enough for everyday movement or correct movement. However not having correct muscle activation can cause incorrect movement. In the case of the hip in my new athlete he has sub par glute medius strength, how do I know this? I tested it :). We will show a video next post on this. This muscle has been over looked in many things, it is responsible for helping keep the hip in correct alignment for better positioning. When this muscle is not working correctly, the knees could turn in like my new athlete.


All this too say that if you test your athletes right when you start training you can see these things and train to correct them before they get out of hand. Next post we will talk about testing the athlete and what to do, and I will record him so you can see what I am talking about.

#4 Dairy ( Fat- Free or Low-Fat Milk, Yogurt, Cheese and Cottage Cheese)

Superpowers: builds strong bones, fires up weight loss.

Secret weapons: calcium, vitamins A and B12, riboflavin, phosphorus, potassium.

Fights against: osteoporosis, obesity, high blood pressure cancer

Sidekicks: none

Imposters: whole milk, frozen yogurt.



Best way to Burn Calories! HIIT and Don't Miss!!

HIIT - High Intensity Interval Training

HIIT is a form of interval training.

What is interval training?

         Alternating periods of work with periods of rest.  

What is Aerobic and Anaerobic mean?

        Simply the terms "aerobic" ,running slower longer periods of time, and "anaerobic", Short intense bouts of exercises, refer to the presence and absence of oxygen, respectively.

Why intervals? 

        In the Gibala  study, two groups were tested. It compared 20minutes of interval training 30sec on 4min off, compared to 90 -120 minutes of steady endurance heart rate zone, same improvements in oxygen utilization.(1)

A great app I have used in the past is this Tabata Timer, very easy to use. 

        This means that both groups had the same effect on there VO2 Max and one did more then half the work. So...

• Intervals develop aerobic capacity better then aerobic training.(1)

• The fastest way to raise VO2@ max, the standard measure of aerobic fitness, is through interval training.(1, 2)

Interval Methods

• Work to rest- uses a set time for work and a set time for rest 

Work to Rest ratio

:15-:45 (3-1)

:30-1:30 or :30-1:00 ( 3-1 or 2-1)

1:00-2:00 or 1:00-1:00 ( 2-1 or 1-1)

As the interval gets longer the recovery time does not need to be as long as it relates to the interval.

Why do people still do aerobic training?

• Easier then interval work, and interval training is hard.
• Slow steady jogging or walking for long periods of time ( aerobic) is all they know. 

 Why should people do aerobic training?

• Aerobic training helps beginners.
• If you are going to or want to do aerobic sports; 5k's, 10k's, half and full marathons.  
• The reality is that conventional aerobic training is only good to get a person fit enough to tolerate interval training (2)

        If you want to lose weight, and be in great shape, interval training is the way to go. Interval training is great if you are pressed for time and can be done effectively and safely in about 30 minutes. It is also a great way to compete with your training partner.

 References

1.Gibala Study

Journal of Physiology, “ Short Term Sprint Interval Versus Traditional Endurance Training: Similar Initial Adaptations in Human Skeletal Muscle and Exercise Performance Sept 2006, Vol 575 Issue 3

2.  Interval Training for Athletes and Clients: DVD, Micheal Boyle 2007

How To Be A Nutri-Ninja This Holiday Season

What is a Nutri-Ninja? Well, he/she is one who uses the way of the ninja and applies it to nutrition. A very simple concept, but when you master this you will make it through all the difficult holiday parties looking good, and feeling great about the choices you made.

How to be a Nutri-Ninja during the holiday season? First, 3 characteristics of a Nutri-Ninja:

1. A Nutri-Ninja sets goals.
Granted the holidays are upon us already, and most individuals have the all-or-none mentality when it comes to nutrition. We either are on a very strict diet and only eat cabbage or we swing the pendulum the complete other way and eat anything and everything saying, “I will start January 1st.”

A Nutri-Ninja takes goals seriously and knows what they want when it comes to nutrition. They write them down. For example: no sugary drinks, less fried food, more lean meat, more greens… you get the picture. Oddly enough, no one has seen a Nutri-Ninja diet, but when is the last time you’ve seen a ninja?

2. A Nutri-Ninja always has a plan.
Like any great warrior a Nutri-Ninja knows that goals are only as good as the execution of them. Every Nutri-Ninja has a plan of attack to achieve their goals and this plan must be on point when the holidays come around. Ninjas know how to party and have fun don’t get me wrong, so don’t think that because you are making smart choices you have to sacrifice taste. On the contrary, the execution of your plan will allow you to stay within those parameters that you have set before you get to the event. For example, I will allow myself to eat a slice of cake, or I will allow myself to have a drink. Yet you know before going in what you are planning on doing, and this will save you from overindulging.

3. A Nutri-Ninja is stealthy
The great thing about being a Nutri-Ninja is that people will never know that you actually have your nutrition under tight control. They’ll see you at events and office parties eating and drinking as things are normal. However, you know that because of goal setting and having a plan of execution your nutrition is in check. So it’s ok to eat that cookie, because the rest of your week has been incognito to everyone else as to how well you are doing with your nutrition.

Now, Nutri-Ninja’s actually are allowed to recruit other willing individuals to the cause of being healthy and fit.
PS. Ninjas wear black for a reason!

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!