Tag Archives: Fitness
Range of Motion is the Answer to a Pain Free Body
I am not going to lie. If I were an athlete, I would be kicked off the team. Because of my dread, it has taken me 3 months to fully get over my broken ankle. It just makes me reckon of Terrel Owens when he played for the Eagles.
He broke his ankle, or maybe it was a sprain, but it took him maybe three weeks before he was playing again. That is truly incredible. Being an Eagles fan, I reckon I remember him coming back and playing terribly.
The point of telling this small remembrance of mine is that I have finally started my yoga again… and WOW I am really really terrible at it. My range of motion is horrendous!
Range of motion is really vital in every aspect of your life. Reckon about how stiff you feel during the day. Your lower back may hurt constantly, or pains all over your body may occur. This is most likely due to a really terrible range of motion.
Some muscles are tighter than others causing other to be to stretched out and pulling your body into a terrible posture. This is why at The Art of Weight Lifting we concentrate an entire training on Flexibility. Whether you are a believer or not when it comes to stretching, it has been proven that stretching increases your joints range of motion.
The benefits of a fantastic range of motion are numerous…
1. Less Pain
For starters, you will experience less body pains. These pains are nearly always caused by posturial dysfunctions. This is how it works in the body. Lets look at the Hip Flexors.
The Hip Flexors one of the tightest muscles in the human body. This is because we spend a fantastic amount of our time sitting down. I know I spend a fantastic amount of time in front of the computer. So the hip flexor is shorter in length pulling the hips forward. This in turn stretches out the glutes and hamstrings.
A common dysfunction of this is forward pelvic tilt.
You fix this by stretching your hip flexors bringing things back in balance.
2. Better Results
With an increased range of motion, you weight training is going to flourish. You will be able to easily place your body into positions that allow for maximal muscle tension and use.
For example, squating past horizontal can really explode your results… but most people have such terrible ranges of motion, just getting to horizontal is a task in itself.
The same applys with exercises like dumbbell benching, lunges, deadlift, flys, etc…
3. Better performance
Performance means anything athletic. If you play sports, you will be more nimble and have the ability to make better moves. For example… soccer.
The range of your kick can be greatly increased. That with weight training will give you a very powerful kick and make you a start player.
You can also benefit from a boost in other performances… if you know what I am saying!
So work on your range of motion with Flexibility Training. Take the flexibility training one step further and practice yoga. While it can be really hard, it is one of the best ways to make sure you increase your range of motion and fight postural imbalances.
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Back Pain – Exercises To Keep Back Pain Away
Back Pain also known as ‘dorsopathy’ which is a pain felt in the back that may originate from the muscles, nerves, bones, joints or other structures in the spine. According to the research studies done by the Orthopedic Surgeons it is believed that nearly 80% of people have experienced some type of back pain in their lives before they died.
The lower back pain is always caused by overusing or misusing the muscles in the lower back region. It is only exercise that can keep us away from lower back pain. In olden days the treatment for lower back pain was increasing the core strength thereby increasing the flexibility of muscles which are tight; this will provide a better stabilization of the spine. If your back thigh is weaker than the front it will make an uneven pressure on the front side of the spinal column. There are many exercises for muscles to right this imbalance which in turn provide stability and support to the spinal column. Deep breathing is one of the most effective exercises for the spine. Deep breathing usually helps the diaphragm muscles by acting as a support to the spinal column and lengthening the spine. This is excellent for lower back as it supports you while you walk or run.
Hips and shoulder muscles should also be included for the exercise, as they are known as the core muscles. Any imbalance in the core muscles can make back pain. Effective way through which you can maintain the core strength is breathing rather than doing traditional crunches and sit-ups. Tummy tuck and bridge lift reduce the back pain thereby strengthens the core muscles. The tummy tuck is the simple pelvic tilt which draws the abdominal muscle away from floor. This can be performed by simply lying face down the floor and squeezing your glutes which in turn strengthens the spine. Instead of putting the pressure on thighs, you should try to reach out to the tailbone down towards the heels.
For bridge, you can keep the feet on a bench or floor and scoop the pelvis upward. This makes your rib cage stay low and reduces the irritation on spinal muscles. This is a stress reliever as it helps to relieve the stress from back and focus mainly on muscle contractions.
Inorder to alleviate the pressure on the spinal column you can go for the lumbar side, hip flexor and calf stretches.
Lumbar side stretch brings the legs wide with knees bent, while you sit or stand in this position bring one hand down towards the foot facing inside thighs and other behind your head.
Hip flexor stretch brings one foot forward by bending knee in a 90 degree position while other leg will be on the floor right behind you with foot pointed up towards the ceiling. This helps to open up your back muscles near spine and hips. Similarly you can squeeze the glutes to deepen its stretch. On each breath and exhale you will feel the stretch on back leg, thigh front and hamstrings of front leg.
The last and final stretch is the Achilles tendon. It is considered to be the most hard pull on spine. To do this keep an object under your foot and lean your body weight forward. This has to be continued for 30 seconds by maintaining fluid breathing. Doing this will make you feel the stretch behind your knee and shin.
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Exercise And Back Pain- Flex Your Way Out Of Pain
Research and studies in America show that nearly 80% of the Americans have the problem of back pain. Orthopedic surgeon’s academies in America also believe that this is right and say that nearly 80% or more of them experience some kind of problem with their back before dying.
The traditional treatment is increasing flexibility of the muscles in the back, for back pain, especially lower back pain. It will stabilize the spine and will give better support to the spinal column, thereby ridding the body off back pain.
Muscles between the shoulders and hips are called core muscles. Imbalance of any of these muscle between the hip and the shoulders, can and will cause back pain. Also if your front thighs are stronger than your back thighs, an uneven pull will be produced on the spinal column’s front and this uneven pull will cause pain in the back.
There are many ways which are effective with which you can integrate your core strength training into the other exercises that you do regularly. Breathing deeply will use your diaphragm muscles and will lengthen your spine and will support your back better and is excellent for your back. It is also the principle used in the exercises against back pains.
The bridge lift and tummy tuck are the best ways to strengthen core muscles and reduce back pain. The tummy tuck is just a pelvic tilt. It moves, away from floor, the abdominal muscles and to do this, lie face down and to increase the strength of your spine, squeeze your gluts.
Reach your tail bone towards your heels instead of pressing your thighs. Repeat each exercise 15 times and until you are done with a few sets, keep alternating them.
Scoop your pelvic region upwards after placing your feet on the floor or a bench. Make sure your rib cage stays low to avid irritation in spinal muscles for bridge lift. It will help you relieve the stress that is exerted upon your back and to focus into the contraction of muscles in the hamstrings and glutes.
Some other exercises are calf lumbar side, hip flexor and calf stretches. They all help in alleviating the pull in the spinal column.
Hip flexor stretch
It is done by bringing a foot forward by bending a knee which is in a right angle, while the other leg is left on the floor on your backside and foot pointed towards the ceiling. This stretch will open your back muscles near the hips. You can squeeze your glutes also to deepen eh stretch every time you exhale. You must be able to feel the stretching of muscles in the back part of your leg, front thigh and hamstrings.
Lumbar side stretch
It brings your legs wide along with bent knees when you are sitting or standing. Bring one hand to your inside of the thighs and the other behind your head.
The Calf stretch
It opens your Achilles tendon. It is a pull that is indeed the most distant one that is exerted on the spine. For doing this, place any object below your foot and bring your body forwards, while maintaining a fluid breath. Hold your stretches for at least thirty seconds. After some time you will start to feel the stretches in your shin and behind your knees.
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