Everyone wants to lose fat and shape up! But seriously, the amount of your bodyfat you have gives no indication of athletic ability. For example, someone with a chubby body (no six pack abs), could be aerobically fit and be able to run say, six rounds of a field without getting out of breath.
What's the point?
1) Focus on various aspects of fitness - strength, cardiovascular, endurance, mobility, etc. Instead of always doing strength training, try to add some variety such as brisk walking, stationary bike, riding a bicycle. Or try something for mobility of your joints - taichi, stretching, etc.
2) Try something to improve your agility and coordination. This will be challenging if you haven't played any real sport (gym doesn't count!) - soccer, futsal, martial arts, etc. It may be frustrating as you learn the skills, but it is also fun and you can burn some calories too.
For martial arts, try shadow boxing as a first step to learn simple coordination. For example, take a look here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnK-xRCFqbU
For overall sports agility, there are numerous videos on Youtube. Try this, all you need is an empty space. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcaU01yXMGM
As always, keep your goals realistic! You're not a professional athlete, so don't attempt to go full speed. :0
Monday, December 24, 2012
Body beautiful and injuries?
Many people who go to the gym eventually end up with shoulder pain due to overtraining (endless bench press, or pushups) and sloppy technique. Hence, it is reasonable to say that a balanced training program is important. Here are a few tips:
1) Train the whole body using movements that involve the 'entire' body instead of muscles in isolation. For example, a dumbell curl is pretty much an isolation exercise that works the biceps. You can save time and work your arms, shoulders, etc by doing other exercises such as squats with dumbell at shoulder level, etc.
2) Work on the smaller, stabilising muscles. In this post, I found three great videos where the physio to the Navy SEAL team gives some advice. Enjoy!
Knee pain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNgtVAIdIH8
Shoulder pain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk86iHgbdwQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn3W9i7r8zk
1) Train the whole body using movements that involve the 'entire' body instead of muscles in isolation. For example, a dumbell curl is pretty much an isolation exercise that works the biceps. You can save time and work your arms, shoulders, etc by doing other exercises such as squats with dumbell at shoulder level, etc.
2) Work on the smaller, stabilising muscles. In this post, I found three great videos where the physio to the Navy SEAL team gives some advice. Enjoy!
Knee pain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNgtVAIdIH8
Shoulder pain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk86iHgbdwQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn3W9i7r8zk
Feet exercise
This is a great post about exercises for the feet by Dr Andreo Spina, a chiropractor. Give them a try. I would not recommend towel scrunching if you already have bunions. Be prepared for sore feet!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OOJ9AQ1AEg
Core training - new thoughts
Core training is the buzzword these days... As you know, the core refers to many muscles which wrap around the torso (abdomen, lower back and sideways). Six pack abs show the *superficial* muscles but research suggests that the deeper muscles sre what contributes to stability in the body. It is difficult to coach how to activate these muscles without personal instruction.
the plank and side plank are two popular exercises for static core stability - that is the body should not move. They can be made more challenging by adding movement as shown in the video link. Always start with the easy version!
Key points
*Don't hold your breath.
*If you find your body shivering or shaking, stop (it is too difficult for you)
*Hold each position for 5 to 10 seconds. Rest. Then try to do it again for one or two more repetitions.
*There should be no twisting of the body. To stabilise, you may find it helpful to cough or SLIGHTLY suck in your belly button (like trying to fit into a smaller pair of jeans).
Front plank easy version
Side plank
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLPoJpXmTyQ
For easy version, try the movement shown from 1.05 to 1.08 minutes
For dynamic core stability - ie, stability while moving - this is not easy. Think about stability (no excessive side to side motion) when performing activities such as running , squatting with a dumbell and then standing up with one leg, and swimming.
By the way, you may like to add breast stroke kick (frog kick) and reverse breast stroke kick to your daily exercises. Watch a video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdquRdeKvQI
You may also note the popularity of farmers walk as a core exercise. Basically carry a dumbell in one hand and walk around for 30 seconds (maintain horizontal and vertical lines like in my earlier post). If the weight is heavy, chances are you will be using more of your *superficial* abdominal muscles.
Have fun!
If you have questions, please email tofulah@gmail.com
the plank and side plank are two popular exercises for static core stability - that is the body should not move. They can be made more challenging by adding movement as shown in the video link. Always start with the easy version!
Key points
*Don't hold your breath.
*If you find your body shivering or shaking, stop (it is too difficult for you)
*Hold each position for 5 to 10 seconds. Rest. Then try to do it again for one or two more repetitions.
*There should be no twisting of the body. To stabilise, you may find it helpful to cough or SLIGHTLY suck in your belly button (like trying to fit into a smaller pair of jeans).
Front plank easy version
Side plank
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLPoJpXmTyQ
For easy version, try the movement shown from 1.05 to 1.08 minutes
For dynamic core stability - ie, stability while moving - this is not easy. Think about stability (no excessive side to side motion) when performing activities such as running , squatting with a dumbell and then standing up with one leg, and swimming.
You may also note the popularity of farmers walk as a core exercise. Basically carry a dumbell in one hand and walk around for 30 seconds (maintain horizontal and vertical lines like in my earlier post). If the weight is heavy, chances are you will be using more of your *superficial* abdominal muscles.
Have fun!
If you have questions, please email tofulah@gmail.com
time to shapeup
Christmas time is here! As you make your new year's resolution, do take time to reflect upon life, besides thinking about how to lose weight, get fit, etc. Here are a few tips about exercising and staying fit.
*Do not hold your breath. Generally, breathe out as your lifting the weight or exerting. For example, during a squat - breathe in when you lower yourself to the ground, then when you come up breathe out.
If you have questions, please email tofulah@gmail.com
Key points
*Never stand still as you’re trying to catch your breath or end your last repetition. Always end by walking or marching around so that your blood circulation can be normalized rather than being drawn to the legs during a leg exercise (or arms when exercising the arms).
*Have realistic and achievable goals. For example, if you have not been exercising for a long time don’t aim for a 45 minute workout. Instead, opt for say five repetitions of two or three exercises.
*Do not lock (fully straighten) or fully bend the joints, especially elbow and knee.
*To save time and burn more energy, try performing exercises consecutively with no (or minimal) rest in between.
Here's a quick workout. Perform all exercises without stopping.
It is deliberately done using one dumbell as this forces you to counter-balance the weight so that there is no leaning or rotating to any side... think of horizontal and vertical lines like a cross.
1) Squat with dumbell at shoulder level
This works shoulders, arms and legs
Keep dumbell at shoulder level and perform a squat. After doing a few repetitions with the dumbell on your left shoulder, do a few with the dumbell on your right shoulder.
For an easier version, sit on a bench and get up, then sit down again. If you do it properly, you should feel the thigh and buttock muscles working.
For an easier version, sit on a bench and get up, then sit down again. If you do it properly, you should feel the thigh and buttock muscles working.
To make it more difficult, you can squat more (but knees should not go beyond your toes).
2) Squat with vertical dumbell
Class dumbell vertically between your fingers (or palms) and perform a squat. Note: In the picture my fingers were not fully clasping the dumbell
3) Kneeling dumbell row
This works the upper back muscles. Lower the dumbell without twisting any part of your body, then bring the dumbell up to around the level shown in the picture. Breathe in as you lower the dumbell and breathe out as you lift it up.
Use proper technique. If it's your first time exercising after a long break, aim for something realistic like 4 repetitions (instead of 10 repetitions) of each exercise... or just choose one exercise. By now your thighs will probably be sore and your heart is beating fast!
Walk around or march in place (small steps) until your breathing is back to normal.
That's it a quick workout that takes less than 2 minutes (excluding warmup and stretching which is not shown).
On a different day, you can do something different such as pushups and lunges.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Are you driving dysfunction?
With the knee outside of the foot, the alignment is not efficient for transfer of force from the ground. More importantly, the poor alignment may lead to injury...
Is this how you sit? Many hours of sitting with improper posture can lead to tightness of joints and other dysfunctions will be even more obvious when you try to exercise...
With a chronic shoulder forward / upward, this can lead to worsening of posture when you swing a tennis racket, use a dumbell, etc...
Posture
Posture can be affected by many factors. Excluding genetic and other disorders (eg, polio), our posture can be affected by HOW we sit, stand, sleep, walk, exercise, etc... That is, incorrect posture will be ingrained if we spend many HOURS using INCORRECT posture... So, we develop incorrect postures such as the 'prawn', hunchback, etc.
Look at the short animation below as a quick guide to common errors we make when sitting. A quick point about the body - the body is three dimensional (ie, many muscles inserting on different bones, various directions, etc). and muscles everywhere. For example, more than five muscles attach on the arm bone... So, if your shoulder is chronically sloping forward, this may lead to inefficient movements of those five other muscles and predispose you to stiffness or even injury elsewhere in the body.
Now here's the animation...
Can posture be corrected?
This depends on the type of condition and how long you have had the condition. For example, if you sought treatment for scoliosis during primary school, you have a much higher chance of success than if you sought treatment when you're 30 years old.
It's everywhere you go! Gyms and magazines scream the benefits of yoga, pilates, stability/Swiss ball, "core training", "core strength", "core stability"... these forms of exercise are claimed to improve posture and make people less likely to get back pain. You can read more about this in our blog... But I would like to bring up two points:
1) IMPROPER technique - whether it is yoga, pilates, gym, etc will still lead to injury. In the case of yoga and pilates, you have to factor in another consideration - breathing. Improper breathing may lead to dizziness and other side-effects.
2) If you ALREADY have lower back injury, do NOT attempt leg raises. Likewise, those with neck pain should probably avoid crunches; those with 'slipped disc' should also take precaution. Get clearance from your physiotherapist / chiropractor!
Check out our blog for more training ideas!
It's everywhere you go! Gyms and magazines scream the benefits of yoga, pilates, stability/Swiss ball, "core training", "core strength", "core stability"... these forms of exercise are claimed to improve posture and make people less likely to get back pain. You can read more about this in our blog... But I would like to bring up two points:
1) IMPROPER technique - whether it is yoga, pilates, gym, etc will still lead to injury. In the case of yoga and pilates, you have to factor in another consideration - breathing. Improper breathing may lead to dizziness and other side-effects.
2) If you ALREADY have lower back injury, do NOT attempt leg raises. Likewise, those with neck pain should probably avoid crunches; those with 'slipped disc' should also take precaution. Get clearance from your physiotherapist / chiropractor!
Check out our blog for more training ideas!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
chiro, physio, acupuncture or massage?
Which is better for rehab after sports injury? Chiro, physio, acupuncture, or massage?
It really depends on the nature of injury... if there are broken bones (fracture), torn ligaments (ankle, knee, shoulder), or torn tendon (shoulder rotator cuff), then it's wise to let the orthopedic specialists examine first.
Every healthcare professional holds a piece of the puzzle for better rehab after an injury...
Let me share a few key principles with you.
1. Reduce PAIN - many ways to achieve this... Painkillers block the pain signals and anti-inflammatory drugs can reduce the swelling (bengkak). Cold pack or ice wrapped in cloth can also be applied on the area provided there are no cuts or open wounds. TCM practitioners may prescribe some herbal recipe to boil and drink, while bone-setters (titda) may wrap the injured area with Chinese herbs to reduce the swelling (provided there are no cuts or open wounds).
You can read some guy's blog about his visit to a semi-traditional Chinese medicine centre... http://www.shaolintiger.com/2008/08/09/osso-bone-care-fix-your-joints-bones-general-pains/
Granted, it is difficult to find an experienced bone-setter nowadays but there are some around. Do e-mail me for more info (info@everhealth.asia)
2. Gradually increase MOBILITY (range of motion). Two ways to achieve it - via exercise and treatment. Here is where physio and chiro may excel because physiotherapists and chiropractors have knowledge about what exercises to recommend for *gradual* improvement. Skip the over-enthusiastic gym trainers for the time being!!
Treatment to increase mobility - acupuncture can be used to decrease pain, increase circulation to the injured area and some TCM practitioners may also add some massage (eg, tuina), pulling movements, etc.
Physio may use certain stretching techniques, etc to increase mobility while chiro may adjust the joints if necessary.
3. Improve strength and coordination. Depending on the nature and severity of injury, you may sometimes not be able to re-gain the level of strength and coordination as prior to your injury... but at least you will have a better quality of life and can get back to activities of daily living (walking, lifting, reaching, etc) with minimal pain.
As I have mentioned before, skip the over-enthusiastic gym trainers for the time being!! Knee, shoulder and back injuries can take a long time to heal... so you definitely don't want to go back to square one by doing exercises that you are not ready for. For example, jogging or doing full range squats when your knee is not ready for it.
What if you have a chronic sports injury (eg, six months up to several years)? Chronic injury usually leads to scar tissue or knots and relevant muscles will not work properly. For example, if you have an injured rotator cuff (assuming nothing is torn) for many months or years, you may not be able to move in certain directions such as reaching upwards. Hence, other muscles have to substitute to help you reach upwards... and over time you may find that you feel tight below the neck area.
For treatment of such chronic problems, you need a combination of deep massage and perhaps ultrasound (which on its own provides rather slow progress) to remove the scar tissue. Physiotherapists, massage therapists, and Rolfers would be able to help in this respect. Tuina or some bone-setters also know how to massage but since your problem is chronic, you need to bear in mind that the area that requires massage may be *more* than just the originally affected area (eg, shoulder). Hence, physiotherapists, massage therapists, and Rolfers may be more experienced in this aspect.
To find more about ultrasound, you can read here http://www.pthealth.ca/therapy_services.php?services=6
Finally, you also need to re-educate the brain (nerves) on how to move and use the proper muscles. In this aspect, physio is a good bet.
It really depends on the nature of injury... if there are broken bones (fracture), torn ligaments (ankle, knee, shoulder), or torn tendon (shoulder rotator cuff), then it's wise to let the orthopedic specialists examine first.
Let me share a few key principles with you.
1. Reduce PAIN - many ways to achieve this... Painkillers block the pain signals and anti-inflammatory drugs can reduce the swelling (bengkak). Cold pack or ice wrapped in cloth can also be applied on the area provided there are no cuts or open wounds. TCM practitioners may prescribe some herbal recipe to boil and drink, while bone-setters (titda) may wrap the injured area with Chinese herbs to reduce the swelling (provided there are no cuts or open wounds).
You can read some guy's blog about his visit to a semi-traditional Chinese medicine centre... http://www.shaolintiger.com/2008/08/09/osso-bone-care-fix-your-joints-bones-general-pains/
2. Gradually increase MOBILITY (range of motion). Two ways to achieve it - via exercise and treatment. Here is where physio and chiro may excel because physiotherapists and chiropractors have knowledge about what exercises to recommend for *gradual* improvement. Skip the over-enthusiastic gym trainers for the time being!!
Treatment to increase mobility - acupuncture can be used to decrease pain, increase circulation to the injured area and some TCM practitioners may also add some massage (eg, tuina), pulling movements, etc.
Physio may use certain stretching techniques, etc to increase mobility while chiro may adjust the joints if necessary.
3. Improve strength and coordination. Depending on the nature and severity of injury, you may sometimes not be able to re-gain the level of strength and coordination as prior to your injury... but at least you will have a better quality of life and can get back to activities of daily living (walking, lifting, reaching, etc) with minimal pain.
As I have mentioned before, skip the over-enthusiastic gym trainers for the time being!! Knee, shoulder and back injuries can take a long time to heal... so you definitely don't want to go back to square one by doing exercises that you are not ready for. For example, jogging or doing full range squats when your knee is not ready for it.
What if you have a chronic sports injury (eg, six months up to several years)? Chronic injury usually leads to scar tissue or knots and relevant muscles will not work properly. For example, if you have an injured rotator cuff (assuming nothing is torn) for many months or years, you may not be able to move in certain directions such as reaching upwards. Hence, other muscles have to substitute to help you reach upwards... and over time you may find that you feel tight below the neck area.
For treatment of such chronic problems, you need a combination of deep massage and perhaps ultrasound (which on its own provides rather slow progress) to remove the scar tissue. Physiotherapists, massage therapists, and Rolfers would be able to help in this respect. Tuina or some bone-setters also know how to massage but since your problem is chronic, you need to bear in mind that the area that requires massage may be *more* than just the originally affected area (eg, shoulder). Hence, physiotherapists, massage therapists, and Rolfers may be more experienced in this aspect.
To find more about ultrasound, you can read here http://www.pthealth.ca/therapy_services.php?services=6
Finally, you also need to re-educate the brain (nerves) on how to move and use the proper muscles. In this aspect, physio is a good bet.
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