The Right Way To Stretch your Pecs, by Eric Cressey (I have been reading a lot of his stuff lately!) is the name of the article and you can access it HERE.

I have highlighted a few key points below:

1. The shoulder joint is more than just bone and muscle!  When performing shoulder stretches you must consider the integrity of the joint capsule.  The shoulder capsule can be thought of kind of like a sleeve as it surrounds the shoulder joint and provides stability both actively (proprioceptive) and passively (limits movement). The shoulder capsule can be easily injured, which can lead to laxity, constriction, and/or adhesion to the surrounding structures.  Eric talks about how tightness in the shoulder capsule can affect the positioning of your shoulder joint, specifically how the head of humerus behaves.

2.  One can’t assume that their shoulders or more specifically their scapulae are in a neutral position during in a relaxed state.  I touched briefly on this in my Thoracic mobility post.   Point being, if you are going to do a door way pec stretch make sure to set you shoulder blades first.

3.  Don’t forget about the minor.  As Eric mentions the pec minor can be an evil culprit to shoulder dysfunction. I also like how he points out that you won’t feel a crazy stretch as you would with larger muscles.  This is important because people often don’t think that they are doing something beneficial unless they can really “feel” it.  You cannot reef on tight muscles and expect for them to relax and lengthen.  If you force a muscle beyond a comfortable length your muscle will contract to protect itself via muscle spindles.  Relax into your stretches and focus on your breathing.

4.  Coaching for push-ups and bench press.  I always tell people to “pull yourself or the bar down and push away”.  When doing bench press or push-ups people often forget that they are working in the eccentric phase of the movement, which means you are not fully benefiting from the exercise!  Following this cue will not only protect your shoulder joint by helping bring it to a neutral position but it will also help build recruitment to your scapular stabilizing muscles during your horizontal pressing movements.

Be aware and present with all aspects of your training.  I know its tempting to want to shut your brain off and do monotonous exercises for 1 hour and still feel good about yourself because ” you went to the gym”, but doing so is a waste of time.  Find a way to challenge yourself and make the most of all movements you perform from your stretches to your lifts.  You may surprise your self to what you can achieve!

Thank you to everyone who has shared their comments.  I love hearing your feedback and would love to answer any questions so feel free to post them below!

Andrea

This is my answer…

There are several benefits of running.  Increase cardiorespiratory fitness (aerobic fitness) and efficiency, increase muscular endurance, decrease blood cholesterol, and increase bone density are some of the physiological benefits worth mentioning.  Running has also been shown to help to relieve stress and promote weight loss. However, there is no denying that running also puts an enormous amount of stress on our joints.  Studies have shown that during each foot strike the body is exposed to repeat impact forces estimated to be two to three times the body weight of the runner.

I generally consider running to be a sport.  As with any sport an athlete will dedicate a certain amount of time and energy investing and participating in the given activity.  Much like any other sport there are risks of overuse and other injuries that are associated with running.  With regards to the risk of injuries we expose our bodies to I think running is no “worse” than regularly participating in soccer, basketball, hockey, swimming, etc. Granted impact sports have their own list of special injuries you can run into, no pun intended, I am simply addressing the general wear and tear that come with  participating in competitive  and/or recreational sports.

I strongly suggest that all runners (especially those covering longer distances) should follow some steps to maximize their running potential and reduce injury incidence.

1. Get assessed and deal with your imbalances.  A Functional Movement Screen (by the team at BIM or any other FMS certified trainer) is ideal as it can identify functional limitations and asymmetries and give you a good idea of your overall quality of movement.  Try not to wait until your symptoms present as pain, and please do yourself a favor and don’t wait until you cannot run anymore because of your pain!

2.  You should not have pain during or after your run and your running schedule should be progressively managed with regards to time, frequency, and intensity.  This may mean that some will not be able to run for as long, as often, or as fast as they would like to or think they should.

3. Add in resistance training! And I’m referring to progressive strength training involving heavy lifts and explosive training.

I am going to refer you to a great article written by Eric Cressey, call Five Resistance Training Myths in the Running World

Eric Summarizes why runners need to be doing more than just running!  He does a fantastic job of explaining why you need to incorporate resistance training into you weekly routine and the types of training you will most benefit from.

4. Invest in a proper running shoes.  Everyone has different needs and different preferences.   Go to a store where the staff understands basic running mechanics and is well educated in products available.  The Running Room or Rackets & Runners for any in the lower mainland are two places I would recommend.

5.  Make sure your nutrition reflects your needs!  If you are an endurance athlete (or any athlete) you need to ensure that you hydrating and fuelling yourself appropriately.

Water Consumption:

2-3 hrs before activity:  400-600 mL (17-20 oz)

10-20 min before activity:  200-300 mL (7-10 oz)

During activity:  If intensity is high and/or exceeds 45 minute than I would consider including a carbohydrate to your fluid. It is recommended that athletes consume 60-70 grams of carbohydrates per hour during activity. Which equates to approximately 1 lifter of a 6%-8% carbohydrate drink (anything higher will interfere with gastric emptying and intestinal absorption rates).  Make sure you read nutrition labels and do the math!

(Grams of carbs/240mL)x100=% carbohydrate solution.

So depending on your choice of drink you will most likely be watering it down!  And do yourself a favor choose a drink that isn’t supplying your carbohydrates from high-fructose corn syrup (read the back of the label if your not sure).

After (within 2 hours): 16-24 oz for each pound of body weight lost

Food:

You nutrition requirements are dependant on many factors and caloric intake of carbs, proteins, and healthy fats is based on too many factors to get specific here. I could go into a few calculations outlining the ratios of carbohydrate:protein recommendations for pre/post workout but I am going to quote nutrition advisor, Lisa Carpenter here and tell you, it doesn’t matter what you eat before or after your sport/training session if the rest of your nutrition is garbage.  If your not eating balanced meals consisting of lean protein, healthy fats, fresh fruits and veggies, and other complex carbohydrates throughout the day then your training, your sport, and eventually you will suffer!

Summary:

It is worth mentioning that I would apply the majority of the above recommendations to most other sports.  Just make sure that your are taking the right measures to protect your body from injury and maximize your potential by addressing imbalances and building on weaknesses.  There are things that we love to do but sometimes in order to be successful at those things it means we also have to incorporate things that we don’t like to do as much!

Happy Running

Andrea

Resources:

1. Bobbert, M.F., H.C. Schamhardt, and B.M. Nigg. Calculation of vertical ground   reaction force estimates during running from positional data. J. Biomech. 24:1095-   1105, 1991.
2. H. H. Fink, L. A. Burgoon, and A. E. Mikesky. Practical Applications of Sports Nutrition.  Sudbury MA:  Jones and Bartlett Publishers;2006.

(always wondered what you office people really do…!)

I don’t know about you but I am definitely one of those people who uses New Years as a time to set new goals, re-focus my energy to positive things, think successful thoughts; set resolutions if you will.

Now I know there are some out there that roll their eyes at people who talk about such resolutions and goal setting but I think that is largely because many set a bunch of unreasonable goals that they don’t follow through with.  Is it lack of accountability?  It is laziness? Or perhaps by January 13th they stop caring and are just back into their “routine”? Our attitudes directly affect our success and this topic is very well portrayed in a book one of my clients just lent me called, Attitude Is Everything, by Jeff Keller. This book teaches the benefits of using your attitude and inner thoughts to help achieve success.  Just the other night I was reading it and came across one of my favorite quotes, whether you think you can – or you think you can’t – your right! -Henry Ford.  Your attitude not only directly affects your success it effects how you get there and the types of relationships you will have.

Lets face it to be successful you need to have goals, and not just in January!  As much as I encourage goals surrounding our physical state, there are 7 dimensions of wellness to consider:  physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social, environmental, and occupational.^[1]      It is important to remember that being committed to your health and well being is a lifelong process and this process is dynamic full of change and growth. Wellness is largely determined by the decisions you make about how to live your life, the everyday stuff.  This leads me to the my next topic, nutrition!

Nutrition is a big component of health and there are a lot of you out there planning to loose weight this year. With good intentions you may start cleaning up your diet, walking more, and may even hit the gym.  My experience with goal setting and more importantly accomplishing goals has taught me that you need accountability and structure.  You need a baseline and you need a plan to move forward.  This is why I wanted to tell you about a nutrition program that I highly recommend, called Foundations!

BUC_EAT_2012_02_Foundations

Lisa Carpenter is the founder of E.A.T and Bodies Under Construction and my go to person when it comes to nutrition and body composition change.  I have personally seen the success of participants of this program first hand and I love how comprehensive Lisa’s programs are. Well worth the investment!

I thought I would also share with you some of my goals for the new year.

The first is a 90 day challenge of not drinking any booze! This will be tough as much of my social life often revolves around enoying a “beverage” of some sort.  A lot of this is purely out of habbit and I plan to create new habbits that will last! Hopefully I still have friends by the end of all this . I am actually looking forward to this commitment of refraining from alcohol  as I know with help with the following:

Training goals:

• To finish the Fred Gingell stairs (in Tsawwassen, B.C) 10 consecutive times, perferrably running up each time in under 2 minutes. Oh and not feeling like I am going to die each time I get to the top!

(current record is 6 times up and down, times ranging from 1min48sec to 2min30sec)

• To complete 5 Pull ups (overhand grip)

(Current record .75, I suck at these!)

• To compete 10 chin ups (underhand or neutral grip)

(Current record 4.5, yes I think the .5 counts)

• Deadlift 200IBS 5reps

(Current record 135pounds 8X5X5)

• To improve the  range of motion in my right ankle

• To not suck at soccer!

(Currently I suck at soccer, but I am new to the sport in my defence)

Feel free to share you top goals below and/or contact me to help to set up a plan to start moving forward!!

Till next time,

Andrea

References:

Fahey, T., Insel, P., and Roth, W. 2005. Fit & Well: Core Concepts and Labs in Physical Fitness and Wellness, 6th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill. “Introduction to Wellness, Fitness, and Lifestyle Management”

In part 1 I discussed the importance of postural awareness and releasing areas of tension around the shoulder and upper paraspinal muscles. Once areas of tension have been released you can complete simple drills to further facilitate mobility. Lastly, it is important to reinforce this mobility you create with appropriate stabilzation exercises.

1. Side Lying Rib grab

This exercise helps to improve thoracic rotation and shoulder mobility.  This is a good starting exercise if your a beginner as it is usually quite tolerable and it also gets you to incorporate your breathing into the drill (which is extremely important and often forgotten). Lay on floor in a side lying position, flex the top hip to 90 degrees and support the knee with a foam roll. The head is supported by a block or cushion.  Reach under your ribs with the top hand.  Begin rotating your top shoulder to the floor and pull the ribs in the direction you are rotating.  Maintain contact between the knee and the foam roll and return to the starting position. Complete 5-10 pulls on each side.

2. Side Lying Rotation with Arm Reach

This exercise is slightly more advanced than the rib pull as you need to have adequate shoulder flexion, adbduction, and external rotation to get into the proper position.  It helps to improve thoracic rotation as well as provided a static stretch of the assossiated pectoral and lat musculature.  Use the same starting position as above; however, once you’ve rotated your top shoulder to the floor, reach top arm out at about a 45 degree angle so that you feel a comforatable stretch around your shoulder.  Lift bottom arm up, take a breath, exhale as you lower arm back to starting position. Complete 10-15 lifts on each side.

3. Thoracic Rotation Combo

This drill can be used once you have mastered the above two drills.  It involves 5 rib grabs, followed by 10 arm lifts, finishing with 5 arm swoops.

4. Wall Sit with shoulder Flexion

This exercise is good for those with limitations with their shoulder mobility.  If you lack shoulder flexion, external rotation, and/or shoulder abduction that this exercise is for you.  Just make sure to work in a comfortable range to avoid compensation. Sit the sacrum in contact with the wall and the lumbar spine flat against the wall.  Knees and hips are flexed with feet together; foam rolls can be added to reduce the amount of the stretch. Cup the end of a dowel with one hand and gently assist that arm to the wall with the other.  Your head and opposite shoulder should rotate to the arm against the wall.  I normally get people to complete 2 sets of 10 reps, making sure to hold in end position for 1 breath.

5.  Wall sit with shoulder Press

This exercise is a progression for the wall sit with shoulder flexion.  Use the same starting position as above except place the dowel over the head with the elbows in the 90/90 position.  Press the dowel over-head while the elbow, forearm, sacrum, and lumbar spine maintain contact with the wall. This exercise is a mobilty exercise as it helps to improve thoracic extension and shoulder mobility but is also a stability exercise.  You will feel the muscles of your upper back engage and they fatigue quite easily at first. I normally recommend that people complete 30 presses but take a rest as needed.  Watch for shoulder shrugging and hyperextension of the neck.

The above drills can be used a the start of a workout but can also be incorporated into a strength training session.  I will often get my clients to do a mobility drill or patterning exercise during a rest interval.  It is an effective way to add in corrective exercises as most often the corrective exercises are the most needed but often the most boring!

That is all for today!  I will save strengthening exercises for the lower trapezius, serratus anterior muscles for my next post!

Best Regards,

Andrea

Why? Because most people are often restricted with thoracic rotation, thoracic extension, or both.

Your thoracic spine consists of 12 vertebrae and each vertebral segment can elicit approximately 7 to 9 degrees of rotation. Compare this to the lumbar spine where each segment has roughly 1 to 2 degrees of rotation and you realize that the thoracic spine accounts for approximately 70 percent of total spinal rotation. This is of course is referring to a healthy spine.  When the mobility of your mid back becomes compromised compensation is very likely to follow in other areas and can affect the shoulders, neck, low back, and hips very easily.

Why all the problems with the mobility in our mid backs?

Yup you guessed it! We like to sit. Or we are forced to sit all day at work, and then we come home and sit some more.  There are other considerations of course; however, poor posture while sitting is a big one.

There are several strategies and techniques to help improve posture and thoracic mobility. I want to share with you the methods I have had the most success with.

First and foremost it is essential that you become more aware of your posture as often as you can. It takes practice and time to break habits but it is possible to stop slouching and sit up straight, even if it’s only for 2 minutes each hour or whenever you think of it.  The more you are aware of your posture the better chance you have to correct it.

The next step is to address soft tissue.  Keep in mind if you are currently suffering from pain it is best that you see a professional such as a registered massage therapist, a physiotherapist, a chiropractor, or an athletic therapist to have the area properly assessed.

As a means of regularly maintaining areas that are prone to increased tension a trigger point ball or foam roll are two tools that work fantastically to loosen up the soft tissue(s).

The first video explains how to use trigger point balls to loosen up your pectorals, lats, upper traps, and rhomboids.  I would suggest targeting any areas of tension of the upper back and shoulders.  The second part of the video takes you through a thoracic extension technique that also helps loosen up the associated paraspinal muscles.

The second video goes through how to use a foam roll to perform self myofascial release on your pectorals, lats, thoracic spine.

Both techniques provide similar benefits, choose which works best for you or alternate between them.  Generally I use this type of mobilty work as part of a warm-up prior to a strength training session.

Stay tunned for Thoracic Mobility Part Two where I will review several mobility drills for the thoracic spine and then discuss the importance of reinforcing the mobility you create with appropriate stabilty exercises.

Best Regards,

Andrea