Sep 12

Sciatica and Low Back Injury Prevention Exercises

Lower back, knee, and shoulder pain rank among the top contributors to hindrances to functional movement and participating in physical activities we enjoy.  Sitting at desks all day or mustering through routines of manual labor can cause us to ignore our body’s pain points.    After logging off the work scene, physical pain from previous injuries or current musculoskeletal conditions can become a prominent presence.  An after-dinner walk with our spouse, playing a round of tennis in the afternoon ladder league, or throwing a ball with our dogs or playing catch with our children and grandkids are a few examples of recreational physical activity that many people look forward to after checking out from a day of rigorous labor at their jobs.  However, when pain presents itself in an area of the body at the end of the day, entering into another physical activity is a crossroad that people afflicted with chronic musculoskeletal maladies commonly turn away from.

Joint, muscle, or nerve pain are a few examples of the issues that affect areas that seem to see more injuries.  Along with the knees and shoulders, problems in the spine seem to be a top contender for causing debilitating pain.  Back pain can be as severe as a spinal compression fracture or a bulging disc, or as simple as sleeping in an unusual position that causes tightness in a small muscle attaching to the spine.  Both can derail a person’s daily quality of life by causing fear and anxiety that a specific movement might trigger constant, sharp, and searing immediate pain.  A symptom we see commonly with our personal training clients is sciatica, which is a true “pain in the butt,” both literally and figuratively.

To understand the cause of sciatica, it’s worthwhile to appreciate the anatomy of the area in which the problem arises.   Networks of nerves branch off each portion of the spine.  A nerve plexus is a network of nerves budding out of the lateral openings of joints in the spinal column.  The cervical plexus provides connections to the head, neck, and shoulders.  The brachial plexus innervates the chest, shoulders, arms, and hands.  The lumbar plexus innervates the back, abdomen, hips, and lower extremities.  These networks of nerves send signals to the organs of each area they innervate.  A noteworthy portion of nerves includes the group of nerves that supplies a significant amount of neuromuscular signal to the lower extremities at the lumbar plexus, the sciatic nerve.

Originating at the bottom of the lumbar and sacral spine, the sciatic nerve connects at a junction point to create one large nerve that spans down the back of the buttocks, along the hamstring, down the calf, and ends at the bottom of the feet.  Suboptimal conditions for the orientation of the vertebrae position over the spinal root nerves, where the base of the nerve buds out of the opening between the joints of the spine, can create an environment around the nerve in which the vertebrae compress the nerve.  This scenario can produce sharp, searing, or chronic dull nerve pain.  The minor variants of this type of “pinched nerve” can be considered minor and remedied with productive tactics to recover the muscles around the vertebrae so the bones reside in optimal alignment.

If the deep intrinsic core muscles attaching to the spine, such as erector spinae, multifidus, and psoas muscles, are productively strengthened via skill exercise compliance, the likelihood of the spine shifting in a position that causes nerve compression could be reduced.  By exercising the deep intrinsic core muscles holding each vertebra together and connecting the spine to the hips, the supporting muscles of the spine have the potential to bracket the spine, acting as a reinforcing feature to avoid shifting of the spine that could lead to nerve impingement.

An exercise commonly seen in physical therapy practices when treating clients reporting low back pain and sciatica includes education on the pelvic tilt exercise.  Here are a few cues we offer our personal training clients to develop competency and mastery in performing pelvic tilt exercise against a wall:

Find a stable, flat wall to lean your back against, putting about twenty to thirty percent of your weight pressing against the wall.  The knees should be slightly bent, and the shoulder blades and base of the hips should be pressed against the wall.  Perform a tilting motion with your hips by pulling the crests of the front of your hips to your ribs, pushing the arch of the lower back into the wall, and pulling the navel toward the spine.  You should feel a slight muscular contraction in the abdominal and gluteal muscles.  Repeat this movement for five to ten repetitions.

Adhering to general injury prevention exercises, such as pelvic tilts, has the potential to decrease the concentration of pain and dysfunction from current back injuries.  Similar to daily routines like taking your vitamins first thing in the morning, performing injury prevention exercises to protect the trouble spots in our bodies is critically important to helping us live happier, healthier, and stronger lives.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Sep 04

Youth Strength and Conditioning-Sustainable Exercise Habits Always Win

“I do ten push ups every morning after I wake up and ten push ups before I go to bed.  Is that good?”  Asked Feldo, one of our personal training clients, who was in his mid-teens.  As a human maturing through adolescence and venturing through a state of discovery in the world of dynamic social interactions in high school, Feldo impressed me with this statement.

I could easily compose a ten-page article on the benefits that the push-up exercise has on the human body in terms of developing upper body strength and how it assists in everyday functionality.  However, it wasn’t that I was intrigued by Feldo’s fascination with improving the strength of his upper body, but it was more to do with the phrase “every day after I wake up” and “before I go to bed.”  I was fascinated by his understanding that a ritualistic routine would give him success.  He didn’t really know what that success was, but he knew a ritual of exercise was going to help him.  Furthermore, Feldo demonstrated that he had a powerful advantage in refining his fitness levels.  He was already understanding the types of triggers that motivated him to establish an effective exercise routine.  Whenever he sees his bed, he performs an efficient and effective exercise that has the potential to produce positive outcomes in his fitness journey.

Increasing lean muscle requires dedication and effort, which can be achieved by committing to a regular exercise routine and making optimal dietary choices.  As muscle is stressed via exercise, the muscle cells become disturbed and break down at the microscopic level.  Similar to how skin develops a scar and heals after a flesh wound has occurred, such as when someone slices their finger on a paper cut and the wound heals the next day, muscles recover similarly following resistance training.

After an hour-long resistance training session at the gym consisting of three sets of ten repetitions in which large muscle groups, such as when muscles of the thighs, chest, shoulder blades, and core muscles, have been exercised, microscopic tears in the lean muscle will develop.  The result of such resistance training sessions introduces an adaptation in which muscle cells not only fill the gap of the tiny tears in the muscle fibers but also add a reinforcing component, making them stronger, more durable, and able to produce more force.  The results of this muscular adaptation are a pivotal component toward enhancing a person’s overall functional strength and lean muscle mass.  However, our teenage friend Feldo has developed an invaluable tool in the form of his healthy habits, which many people, twice to three times his age, can benefit from if they apply the same behaviors of instilling small, healthy rituals throughout their day.

Feldo didn’t necessarily have the understanding of how to perform a barbell back squat, bench press, or pull-up correctly.  In fact, even though push-ups were the only exercise he knew how to conduct, his exercise form could’ve used some polishing around the edges as well.  However, ten push-ups first thing in the morning and ten push-ups before he goes to bed equate to twenty total push-ups per day.  If young Feldo conducted this routine five times a week, he’s doing one hundred push-ups per week.  While ten push-ups don’t seem like a very intense bout of resistance training when compared to a seventy-five-minute personal training session, an intense yoga class, or an adrenaline-inducing small group fitness class at a local gym, those push-ups performed over time have the potential to pay massive dividends.

Did Feldo’s arms look like they lacked muscle mass?  And, did the shape of his back look like a dilapidated bridge from the chase scene in Indiana Jones because he wasn’t engaging his core correctly during his initial evaluation?  Yes, they did.  However, let’s appreciate what his small contributions of daily morning and bedtime push-ups can lead to.  Imagine if Feldo did ten push-ups first thing in the morning, and ten before he went to bed every school night throughout the year for one hundred and eighty days.  Over the school year, Feldo will have performed close to three thousand push-ups through a series of six to eight months.  Do you think these seemingly small amounts of exercise in the form of ten push-ups in the morning and ten before he hits the hay will produce microscopic stresses to his muscles to impose an adaptation that allows for muscle growth?  We know that if he follows through with his push-up practice, he’ll be doing a few thousand push-ups.  Therefore, I’ll let the audience answer that question.

Visiting the gym, hiring a personal trainer, and signing up for small group fitness classes are invaluable contributors toward making progress in someone’s fitness journey.  However, let’s not forget something as simple as establishing a small habit that can be sprinkled into our routines a few times per week.  Something as basic as doing a few pushups, holding a plank for thirty seconds, and stretching for a few seconds habitually throughout the week has the power to make massive progress in our fitness journeys.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Aug 28

Building Healthy Back Strengthening Routines Using Isometric Exercise Practice

Our spines are comprised of five unique sections of bones called vertebrae.  Starting from the top of the head and travelling down to the base of our hips, the sections of the vertebrae are the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and coccyx.  These collections of uniquely shaped bones offer specific features allowing for movement in particular planes of motion.  The cervical vertebrae enable rotational, vertical, and forward and backward movement of the neck and skull.  Thoracic vertebrae have attachments to the ribs and shoulder blades, serving as a protective shield for the lungs, heart, and certain internal organs.  Lumbar vertebrae are the largest and bulkiest of the spinal bones, acting as a structural support in the center of the body.  Consisting of five fused vertebrae, the sacral section of the spine forms a portion of the pelvic girdle, a unit of fused bones that connect to our hips, allowing for the insertion of the upper body into the lower body.  The coccygeal section of the spine makes up the tailbone and consists of a few fused vertebrae.

Spinal root nerves bud out of each vertebral attachment and then form a network of peripheral nerves that attach to muscles and organs throughout the body, allowing signals from the brain and central nervous system to convey messages that instruct the body to move the skeleton in a specific way and perform autonomic functions, such as breathing or digesting food.  Ensased inside the spinal column is an elongation of the brain called the spinal cord.  Located at the top of our bodies inside the skull, the brain is equipped with a messenger system in the form of our spinal cord that transmits over a million signals throughout the body’s organs.

Maintaining the integrity of our spine can’t be overstated.  Similar to the results of downed power lines knocked over by high winds or a car crash, which can result in a telephone pole being cracked in half, causing power outages in buildings within the perimeter of that downed pole, the body reacts similarly when there is suboptimal stress in the spine.  Something as simple as an inflamed back muscle that connects one vertebra to another can cause a shift in the alignment of the bones that stack over nerves and cause a pinch in a nerve, resulting in symptoms of pain, neuropathy, or a loss of neuromuscular signaling to the muscles innervated by the afflicted network of nerves.  If there is an injury to the structural integrity and infrastructure of the bones responsible for human functions, life can change very quickly.

One of the top injuries causing dysfunction to the general population is back injuries.  While the mechanism of back injuries can occur from something as traumatic as an automobile accident or a seemingly uncontrollable event when a random tweak occurs from lifting something in an awkward position, back injuries seem to appear in situations we can’t necessarily control.  However, if skillful injury prevention tactics are consistently practiced, the appearance of random back injuries can be significantly reduced.

Finding solutions to remedy chronic back pain and the suboptimal circumstances resulting from a back injury rank among the top reasons people seek out physical therapy, medical interventions, or strength training in the form of personal training.  A simple and effective tactic to reinforce the core muscles and stabilize the hips, with a low learning curve, is the straight-arm plank exercise.  This isometric core exercise requires the exercise participant to face downward and hold themselves up with their arms and feet, while maintaining a structurally organized and reinforced back position for a short period.  We suggest to our personal training clients who are just starting on a strength training journey to perform their straight arm planks from an inclined position, as opposed to performing the plank on the ground.  This allows the participant to educate their body on how to conduct core strengthening tactics under a submaximal load, enabling them to master and develop competency in the technique before progressing to a more challenging position.

To perform the straight-arm plank from an incline position, place your arms on an incline surface that is about hip height, or the height of a kitchen countertop.   While keeping your arms straight and your hands just underneath your eyebrows, lean forward in a plank position.  Maintain this static position for a desired amount of time.  You should feel muscular engagement in the front of the shoulder, chest, triceps, and abdominals.  It’s essential to maintain a straight posture and avoid sagging in the lower back.  Hold this position for ten to thirty seconds.

Lower back pain can come and go, or it can remain a constant inconvenience throughout everyday life.  However, if consistent pain management exercises are practiced just as ritualistically as we check our bank accounts, we can develop healthy and strong back muscles, allowing us to maintain a happy, healthy, and strong quality of life.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Aug 22

Weight Loss Goals and Healthy Decision Making

“I’m not sure why I can’t lose this extra five pounds,” exclaimed Aramis, following a successful training session consisting of a slew of advanced resistance training and cardiovascularly challenging activities.  “I eat salads every day, I cut out carbs in the morning, and I jog three miles twice per week,” Aramis added, “I also get my butt kicked by you guys twice per week as well, which is far more intense than my leisurely jogs.  I can’t seem to get past this five-pound barrier of weight that’s been attached to me for the last three months.”

Aramis has been training under our personal training services for over a year.  The accomplishments he has achieved while navigating past obstacles, including physical and medical issues, have been an amazing feat.  Having been diagnosed with two bulging discs in his lower back and advanced arthritis in his hips and knees, he diligently follows injury prevention, mobility, and strength training tactics to reinforce his pain points throughout his body so he can participate in the activities he enjoys, like jogging and being able to join recreational excursions with his friends and family on vacations.  For a sixty-five-year-old gentleman who has seen his fair share of injuries to major joints of the body, he’s doing pretty well.   From my standpoint as Aramis’ professional lifetime fitness coach, I thought Aramis received an “A” on his report card for achieving his fitness goals.  So, why was he so distraught over losing a measly five pounds?

To some people, five pounds seems like a massive amount of weight to shed.  Depending on the physical composition of an individual, twenty pounds can be seen as a significant amount, or losing three pounds can be a substantial obstacle toward success.  Distribution of fat mass and muscle mass contributes differently to the digital reflection of mass when stepping on a scale.  For someone who has been exercising for over a year, following a consistent and regimented resistance training program, the body will likely have more lean muscle mass.  In contrast, sedentary individuals who lack regular exercise practices are likely to have a higher amount of fat mass on their bodies.  When a person consistently exercises and engages in physical activity for three months, it is more likely that they will decrease their fat mass and increase their lean muscle mass.  In Aramis’ case, he has been exercising consistently weekly for over twelve months, placing him in a category where his body has a high concentration of lean muscle mass.

Aramis is doing everything right when it comes to a sixty-five-year-old man who practices a healthy diet and exercises regularly.  One of the first things we examine that serves as a form of discovery of what gaps can be filled at points of plateau is the decisions people make.  I interviewed Aramis by asking him just a few discovery questions, like “Do you drink any coffee in the morning?” and “Do you eat any dessert after dinner?”  Aramis replied that he enjoys a caramel latte with full-fat milk a few times a week after taking his morning jogs.  He also shared that he enjoys a few pieces of chocolate-covered peanut brittle after dinner.  It seems like nitpicking, but those two or three caramel lattes and extra bites of chocolate peanut brittle add up throughout the week.  Seemingly small details, such as justifying treats like a whole milk latte and one or two bites of chocolate at the end of the day, have the potential to significantly derail fat loss goals.

Even with the consistent efforts of exercise Aramis was completing, the insulin-spiking effects of lactose and additional sugars in his caramel latte weren’t helping him following his jog.   The calories he burned after his jog were quickly overwhelmed by his caramel latte.  If this process is repeated three times per week, the body will develop into one that resembles a person who consumes three lattes per week.   Add in the intermittent chocolate peanut brittle feeding periods after dinner that seem like “a few bites,” and Aramis’ body has probably consumed an entire bar throughout a week.  If we do the math, three lattes plus one bar of chocolate peanut brittle per week can equate to five pounds of fat mass.

It’s common to experience plateaus in fitness journeys, even after consistently and effectively exercising regularly, eating foods that promote overall well-being, and engaging in regular recreational physical activities.  One of the reasons people thrive when following healthy lifestyle efforts is that losing fat, fitting into new clothes, experiencing less joint pain, avoiding stomachaches, moving more efficiently, and sleeping better feels amazing.  Just like our friend Aramis, people still want to achieve more by losing a small amount of weight, even though healthy lifestyle tactics have been ingrained into their lives.  When we reach a standstill, even after consistent exercise and healthy dietary habits have been established, examine the decisions made throughout the week that could be hindrances, and then make the necessary adjustments to support further progress in lifelong fitness efforts.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Aug 15

Walking with Purpose

The challenges of everyday life hit us from various angles.  Whether it’s the stresses of work life, a struggle in an interpersonal relationship, or the worry of a health problem, stray thoughts that stimulate worry, anxiety, or any other undesirable emotion consume a significant amount of energy.  While electronic devices that are meant to connect us to our phones, the internet, and streaming entertainment grant us the ability to talk to our loved ones and friends, clock into work, or watch the highlights from our favorite sporting event when ever we want, this freedom to be connected to electronic devices such as cell phone, ear pieces, or smart watches can create stresses that can put our minds on information overload.  It should go without saying that the revolution of AI and the acceleration of communication technology help us live more successful lives.  However, just like many things in life, if we use these amazing features too much, we can become saturated with the overstimulating information technology available to us and miss out on some of the gifts our world offers when we are in an environment that allows thoughts, feelings, and actions to occur without the use of an electronic device supporting our every action.

An invaluable resource that every human is equipped with is the ability to take a walk around the block.  Even if deadlines at work, a quarrel with our spouse, or news about the next terrible thing has been broadcast over our news updates on our phones, social media networks, or Fox News, we can all put our phones and smart watches on the counter, turn the TV off, and walk outside for a few minutes.  Putting our phones on the counter and taking a walk outside can enhance our everyday quality of life in numerous ways that we don’t even notice until we step outside the door and leave the confines of electronic connection behind us for a few moments.

A simple walk around the block has the potential to keep joints moving and reduce joint pain, offer emotional solace from stressful situations, and burn a few more calories throughout the day.  Sometimes the attachments to electronic devices that give us instant satisfaction via the ability to communicate with a text message, email, or phone call from our wrist or earpiece can keep us tethered to the need to check every alert coming from our connection to technology.  Before we know it, a simple rabbit hole of answering a few text messages on our smartwatches can lead to viewing the vast array of notifications that come with using the interface of our cellular devices.  We can develop an attachment and dependency on our electronic devices, making it challenging for people to disconnect from them.  The very thought of leaving one’s phone outside of their car is considered taboo.  Some people think we can’t operate our lives without a phone.  However, we can take a walk without a phone, avoiding the distractions of answering text messages, replying to emails, or taking a phone call.  If we take the phone watch off, set the earpiece on the counter, or put the phone on silent and set it next to our nightstand, and then take a walk, the cellular device will still be there when we return.  I promise.

Give yourself the gift of detaching from the confines of technology and take a walk.  Take a look at the trees, birds, and the beautiful Northern California countryside in which we live.  There are very few areas in the world that have the majestic natural beauty that Napa is blessed with.  Don’t look down at your phone or watch; look up at the blue sky, the mountains, and the greenery of redwood trees and vibrant green vineyards.  This simple act of walking to remind us how good we have it and taking a moment away from our technological connections has the power to reinforce our bodies, free up psychological and emotional bandwidth, and open up a different part of the mind that might have been put on hold.  Give yourself the gift of walking with the purpose to live a happier, healthier, and stronger life.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Aug 07

Progressions in Balance for Everyday Life Activities

Balance can be defined as the ability to stand on one leg, regain one’s center of gravity after losing it, or walk in a straight line.  Depending on specific circumstances, balance can significantly impact a person’s quality of life.  Sometimes, people in deconditioned states of fitness find the seemingly simple act of getting up from a sitting position and standing up to be an activity that presents a slew of balance challenges.  Fitness goals, such as mastering the skill of standing on one leg for an extended period, can be a moderate to challenging goal for most members of the general population.  For hyperathletic individuals in whom balance comes naturally, dynamic activities such as squatting or jumping on one leg are another goal of balance.

As professionals in the coaching and personal training field, who have offered our services to individuals at various levels of health, ranging from individuals recovering from injury or surgery to elite athletes, our fitness center has witnessed a vast array of balance levels among our exercise participants.  One of the most important factors that has aided exercise participants in improving their balance is to meet them where they are in their current level of balance and apply appropriate progressions.  To build strength in the core, hip, knee, and ankle muscles, a safe and effective exercise regimen offering an appropriate amount of challenge is integral to promoting strength, skill, and confidence in a person’s balance.

A critical success factor for improving balance is to identify and address imbalances in the body.   To discover levels of imbalance and determine the most appropriate exercises to address them, it’s essential to understand the presentations of imbalance that pose challenges in everyday life activities.  For the individuals in their mid-forties to mid-fifties blessed with their offspring blossoming into ages six to twelve years old, there might be a few other young energetic humans running rampant in various settings we’re usually not used to having such boisterous activity in.  For example, if a young human is chasing after a ball, playing tag, or practicing their first base slide on a hardwood floor in our homes, the need to evade a human who has now made their body into a projectile might arise in a short amount of time.  Therefore, the ability to change direction immediately, move one’s feet from one area to another in a split second, or possibly hop, skip, and jump without thinking twice might need to happen when we least expect it.  These activities to evade dangerous situations and regain balance are crucial for preserving one’s health and avoiding a devastating injury.

Regaining balance after a scenario that causes a presentation of imbalance can’t be overstated.  The action of immediately jumping out of the way of a moving object travelling directly at a person at a speed threatening to one’s health produces a need to recover from an imbalanced state.  However, regaining a safe and steady position after a sudden jolt of needing to evade a physical object colliding with the person is equally important.   Mastering the ability to stand on one leg for ten to thirty seconds is challenging.  Once that tactic has been mastered and a person can stand on one leg for thirty seconds without having to adjust their balance or fatiguing, another appropriate progression would be to add a type of movement that requires the body to dynamically introduce a presentation of imbalance and then recover from it for a certain number of repetitions.  A relatively moderate to advanced balance-based exercise that we instruct our personal training clients to perform is the lateral step over. This movement not only helps with lower body functional strength but also aids in regaining balance from lateral presentations of imbalance.

To perform the lateral step over, stand to the side of an object that is about mid-shin height.  Lift the foot closest to the object and step over it, landing on the opposite side.  Situate your balance on the foot that just landed, then lift the trailing foot up and over the box to land beneath your hips on the other side of the box.  It’s important to ensure the toes are high enough so that they do not scrape the top of the object.  Repeat this movement on both feet for five to ten repetitions.

The action of shifting the weight from one side of the body to the other, moving the feet laterally or backwards at a faster-than-normal speed, and planting the feet and decelerating from a fast-twitch movement is an important part of balance that is commonly overlooked.  Balance isn’t just demonstrating the ability to stand in a static position.  Optimal balance also includes the ability to recover from an event that causes the body to shift from one location to another and requires regaining balance.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Aug 01

Healthy Shoulders Make us Successful Humans

Reaching back to slide your arm into a zip-up hoodie, fixing a bun or ponytail in your hair, or simply lying on your side while sleeping in your bed shouldn’t be too challenging.  However, for those of us who have endured an injury to one or both of the shoulders, a seemingly simple everyday life action can seem like a complex and challenging decision on whether or not to make a movement that causes pain or discomfort.

Comprised of a network of unique bony attachments, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and nerves, the shoulder has unique capabilities that differentiate it from other joints.  The attachment of the humerus to the scapula and clavicle enables a full range of motion, which sets humans apart from other creatures.  Imagine if we had the shoulder design of a crab, cat, or lizard.  We wouldn’t be able to engage in the activities that have enabled us to become the most advanced organism on Earth.  However, it’s worthwhile to appreciate the differences our shoulders have when compared to other phyla in the world.

Our crustacean friends have shoulder joints that attach to their arms, equipped with little pinchers that grab onto food and transport it to their mouths.  If you’ve picked up a live crayfish and seen that they can only pinch something that’s in front of them, you can see the limitations of their shoulder joint.  Cats are one of the most agile and athletic species of land-dwelling mammals in the world.  However, they have similar limitations to those of Mr. Crabs.  They can’t reach behind their body.  Lizards have unique abilities to stay close to the ground and skitter along walls and crawl into narrow cracks. A lizard can abduct its arms out wide, but it can’t reach its arms up over its head or behind its body to touch its back.  We have quite the privilege of being able to move our arms in various planes of motion that grant us the ability to do something as simple as reach out in front of us and bring a cup of coffee to our mouths, to something as sophisticated as practicing and refining our ability to throw a football ten to thirty yards to a moving target.

So, why would we want to compare our shoulder joints to crustaceans, felines, or reptiles?  While we are the top of the food chain and the most successful species on Earth, if we don’t tend to our shoulders and ensure they are strong and able to move in optimal range of motion, our shoulders will devolve into the same shoulder limitations as crustaceans, reptiles, and felines.

Our personal training clients sometimes present a plethora of musculoskeletal injuries that may have been caused by using a dominant hand more than the other, a previous traumatic event such as a car crash, or the development of a degenerative connective tissue condition.   Shoulders that have endured unfortunate afflictions that affect a persons range of motion, strength, and structural integrity of the connective tissue within the joint that haven’t been properly managed via skillfull exercise decisions create scenarios in which the arm starts to move in the same manner as that of a crab with a pincher bringing a piece of debree from the bottom of the ocean to their mouths.

At the beginning of our client’s training sessions, exercise participants are required to perform a series of dynamic stretching movements that prepare the body for exercise.  Included in this routine are over ten tactics that pertain to shoulder muscular activation, range of motion practice, and education on how to move the shoulder correctly through various planes of motion.  One such technique that makes a big difference in a person’s fitness journey is shoulder protraction and retraction:

To perform scapular protraction and retraction, lift your arms and bend the elbows at about a ninety-degree angle, and elevate them until they are in line with your armpits.  While maintaining your elbows at a ninety-degree angle and keeping your fingertips facing forward, glide your shoulder blades forward along your rib cage until you feel a stretch in the upper back and a muscular sensation in your pectoral region.  Reverse the motion and glide your shoulder blades backward against your ribs.  You should feel a muscular sensation in the muscles surrounding your shoulder blades.   Repeat this movement for five to ten repetitions.

Equipped with the ability to reach the arm in front, across the midline of the torso, to the side, overhead, and even behind the body, the shoulder is an invaluable asset allowing humans to interact successfully in their careers, recreational sporting activities, and even simple everyday functions such as using our phone, working on computers, cooking, shopping, or driving.  Understanding and appreciating the range of motions of the shoulder is critical for successful and efficient functionality in everyday human life.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Jul 25

Using Exercise to Adapt to Changes in an Aging Body

After a three-hour competitive pickleball session with a few of my pickleball peers, we sat on the bleachers outside Vineyard Park in Yountville. Covered in a fine coat of sweat and sunscreen, we admired the picturesque landscape to the east.  Miles of trellised grape vines paved a vibrant green blanket of grape leaves and native California foliage across the land, leading up to the hills and mountain ranges that were speckled with patches of vineyards, rustic-looking buildings, and rocky protrusions as the line of sight traveled upward to the tip of the mountains.  One of my favorite views is the summit of a hill that can be reached by hiking to the legendary Stag’s Leap site, starting at the Rector Creek Reservoir trail.  That site brings back a sense of nostalgia from when I took a four-hour hike with one of my best friends.  He shared that the area we hiked to was named after a legend of a stag that the indigenous people of Napa were said to be hunting.  The tale has it that the stag evaded the hunters and cleared a rocky formation over ten feet high.  This glorious landscape, along with stories of the hikes I’ve taken in the mountains to the east of the pickleball courts, brings a sense of joy after concluding a heart-pounding, sweat-filled, and adrenaline-inducing session of smashing a wiffle ball at my opponents for three straight hours.

One of my fellow pickleball peers shared with me that pickleball was his favorite way to exercise.  I can relate, as I’m not fond of staying on a treadmill, staring at an electronic device, to burn the same amount of calories as I would engaging in one of my favorite recreational physical activities.  The thought of staying on a treadmill for anywhere over five minutes chills me to the bone.  He also added, “I haven’t felt knee pain until I started to play pickleball, though.”  He said, “I played tennis for years. Pickleball quickly became my new point of interest because it was new, fun, and gave me something different to work on.  But, after getting to age forty-five, and picking up a new sport, my knees ache after playing so much pickleball.”

It shouldn’t be a surprise that, along with the advancement of age, maladies in our joints can appear in new spots that we’ve never had before.  My grandfather and dad were physical specimens when they were my age.  They woke up earlier than I and any rooster that “cock a doodle doed” before the break of dawn, worked their hands to the bone, got home later than everyone else in the house, and went to bed after everyone else was safely asleep.  However, after they retired, they would occasionally experience back pain, knee pain, or a crick in their neck.  After observing firsthand that joint pain can occur in the most roughnecked, knuckle-dragging, and hard-nosed people like my dad and grandpa, I realized that investing in learning tactics to manage age-induced joint pain was a crucial part of being able to enjoy my life to the fullest.

Aging and the appearance of joint pain are usually an inevitable part of life’s progression.  Cartilage surrounding the ends of bones undergoes general age-related breakdown. Muscles aren’t the same as they were in our youth.  Previous injuries that didn’t seem so bad in the past might unmask themselves and re-appear in certain areas ten to twenty years later.  However, exercise is one of the most effective ways to reduce the likelihood of unexpected and severe joint pain.

Age-related joint pain can occur in various areas of the body.  Some of the most common sites of joint pain we observe in our personal training clients are in the knees, lower back, and shoulder joints.  These areas often emerge as pain points after years of manual labor or previous injuries.  To mitigate joint pain, the last thing we want to do is avoid moving.  Lack of physical activity triggers muscles to stop growing and adapting to the demands of everyday life.  Therefore, discovering safe and effective exercises that target strengthening the knees, lower back, and shoulders is critically important for managing age-related joint pain.

An effective index of exercises we prescribe for our personal training clients, to reduce joint pain, is to prioritize the muscles of the knee, lower back, and thoracic spine.  These portions of the body contain muscles that serve as the base of support for common areas of joint pain.  Learning how to engage the scapular and core muscles that surround the ribs and thoracic spine helps reinforce the neck, upper back, and lower back.  Consistently practicing movements that increase the range of motion of the hips and ankles helps the lower extremities take on the brunt of the load when engaging in physical activities that involve lifting and recreational athletics.  Exploring exercises that are enjoyable, safe, and supported by research to help alleviate joint-related pain has the potential to support a happy life while reducing joint pain.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Jul 17

Simple Exercises to Improve Life as we Age

As humans circle the sun, adding another year to their lives, some things remain the same, while others change. Thanks to the discovery of our buddy Isaac Newton in the late 1600s, we know that the presence of gravity remains constant.  Until our sun goes into a supernova a few million years from now, we’re pretty much guaranteed to have gravity pressing down on our bodies and adhering us to Earth’s surface.  In contrast, something that always changes as we circle the Earth is our age.  Unless we figure out how to hop in a DeLorean with Michael J. Fox and travel back in time in a blaze of 1980s cinematic glory, we’re more than likely not going to travel back in time, let alone reverse the effects of aging as we have more birthdays.

The gradual effects of aging include a few things we may not want to hear about that happen to our bodies, including the addition of some wrinkles on our skin, discomfort around our knee joints, and a symphony of exciting popping and cracking sounds after getting out of bed in the morning.  At certain periods in life, we may discover that we are no longer the vibrant, late-teen masterpiece of a human we were in our youth.  Things slow down with age, and we may not be as strong, fast, or mobile. However, something that is always within our reach and that we can improve is the ability to sharpen our mind, body, and spirit by utilizing the gift of exercise.  More often than not, people usually feel better following an exercise session.  Similar to the fact that gravity is always present, the ability to feel good after a workout is also always available.

A potential obstacle that can arise when starting on a fitness journey is finding a place to start.  Should an exercise newbie begin with a few classes at Orange Theory, acquire a few packages at a local Yoga or Pilates studio, or hire one of Napa’s finest personal trainers?  These are critically important factors in improving the overall quality of life as humans age.  However, starting on a new fitness journey can be a daunting task to pursue because people often don’t know where to begin.

A key theme in our personal training program for new clients is to focus on mastering movements that don’t require any resistance training equipment.  Techniques that shift the body’s position to hold the mass of the body resisting against gravity create a rigorous environment in which the body must use its muscles to resist against gravity.  These movements, which don’t require resistance training equipment like exercise bikes, treadmills, dumbbells, or fancy cable apparatuses, offer a lower learning curve, making them a welcoming entry-level and conservative approach to integrating exercise into a person’s lifestyle.  Below are two examples of upper and lower extremity body weight exercises we regularly program into our newer exercise participants’ exercise prescriptions to develop a sense of mastery and competency in their exercise performance:

To perform the incline push-up, place your arms on an incline surface that is approximately hip height.  While keeping your arms straight and your hands just underneath your eyebrows, lean forward in a plank position.  Gradually bend at your elbows to lower your torso toward the inclined surface.  Descend to the point at which your elbows meet your ribs.  Once the torso has achieved its targeted depth, reverse the motion and push yourself up to your initial position.  You should feel muscular engagement in the front of the shoulder, chest, triceps, and abdominals.   Repeat this movement for five to ten repetitions.

To perform the lateral split squat, take a large, lunge-like step to the outside of the body to where your legs are abducted away from each other.   Ensure both toes are facing forward and the feet are flat on the ground. Bend one knee and shift your hips laterally to one side of the body while straightening the trailing leg.  You should feel a muscular sensation in the glutes, quads, and inner thigh muscles.  Pay special attention to making sure the trailing foot remains flat on the ground.  Simultaneously pull in with the extended leg until you return to your initial position.  Maintain the “lateral split stance” position throughout the exercise, repeating the same movement until the desired number of repetitions is completed.  Repeat this movement for three to five repetitions with each leg in both the leading and trailing positions.

Simple and effective tactics stimulate mastery and competency throughout our exercise efforts. As we live longer, challenges present themselves at unexpected times, and physical activity may not necessarily seem like it gets easier. However, by reinforcing our bodies with the gift of exercise, we can always make efforts to make life better for the next day with a stronger, happier, and healthier lifestyle.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.

Jul 10

Weight Loss Goals and Focusing on What is in Reach

Reduction of subcutaneous fat mass, decreasing cholesterol, looking sleek and trim to fit into your best friends brides maid outfit she intends for you to wear in three months at her wedding, getting ready for a cruise through Greece in the Mediterranean basin, or simply losing some pounds to feel better physically, emotionally, and mentally fuel a goal that gives people a reason to endure the rigors of dieting and hanging out on a treadmill for hours at a time.  This goal is weight loss.  Whether it’s a recommendation from your physician, motivation induced by viewing a few social media feeds about diet and exercise, or self-inspired motivation to shed weight and decrease fat mass, the goal of losing weight stands among the top motivating factors to revise lifestyle habits.

A few commonly recognized effective tactics to lose weight include burning calories through physical activity, monitoring the amount of calories consumed throughout the day, and avoiding the temptation to head to the freezer after dinner and enjoy a few spoonfuls of ice cream.  These tactics may seem obvious to most of the population, but why do seemingly simple tactics, such as getting more exercise and tracking what you eat, seem as mind-boggling as matching up the squares on a Rubik’s Cube when it comes to establishing weight loss strategies? Perhaps it’s not focusing on what needs to be done, but rather on what we can change to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

I can recall one of my mentors at a previous gym I worked at explaining to me that losing weight is easy: “All you have to do is exercise more and eat less food.”  If I were to tell potential personal training clients who come into our fitness center for the first time this, we’d probably be out of business.  Why? Because people are really smart.  The general population knows that consuming too much sugar, consuming too much alcohol, and sitting at a desk and not doing anything about it is bad for the human body.  So, why can’t people adjust their habits to include eating less food and exercising more?  I have an answer that everyone can probably agree with:  ice cream tastes really good, and throwing back a few beers while watching the first week of football season with the guys after a long week of work is fun.  And, who wants to hit the gym at 5 PM after spending an impressive amount of emotional energy at work for eight to ten hours?  In other words, activities that require less energy and involve consuming amazing-tasting food that triggers fat mass gain are usually more enjoyable and easier to participate in than focusing on weight loss tactics.

The words “I want to lose twenty pounds” have more context than just the six words included in the phrase.  To understand how to lose this additional mass attached to the body, it’s worthwhile to recognize how it got there in the first place.  Most likely, an individual who weighs twenty pounds more than their desired weight has eaten too much of the wrong foods and hasn’t moved enough over the past year.  However, unveiling the types of foods consumed excessively and the activities lacking helps paint a picture of the contributing factors that led to an overweight status and how an individual arrived at that point in the first place.  A tactic that we’ve seen incredibly helpful in successful weight loss with our personal training clients is to focus on skillful decision-making when it comes to food selection and physical activity.  Elaborating further on skillful decision-making by understanding and educating oneself on the mechanisms of suboptimal decision-making versus optimal decision-making makes a significant difference in weight loss success.

Losing twenty pounds in a week is challenging and borderline unrealistic to achieve.  Unless a parasite has been contracted after accidentally drinking standing, rank, unfiltered water from a pond in a Saudi Arabian desert and an acute case of gastrointestinal distress occurs, we’re probably not going to lose twenty pounds in one week.  We need to reassess what’s within reach, which can come down to the decisions we make.

Sometimes referred to as “low-hanging fruit,” short-term and attainable goals can be accomplished through actions that yield an outcome that doesn’t require a lot of time.  A dietary short-term and achievable goal might be to focus on the types of food that end up on your plate at dinner time.  For example, suppose our dinner plate is full of bread, rice, pasta, and cheese. In that case, we’re just begging to absorb unused carbohydrates and fat into our fat mass that usually resides on the back of the arms, abdomen, hips, and the “love handle” area on the lateral aspect of the abdomen.  However, a decision to support weight loss might include limiting oneself to no more than three nights per week of having carbohydrates and cheese on the dinner plate.  This tactic has the potential to decrease the amount of carbohydrates consumed later in the day, when activity levels are low, which is typically around dinner time when humans generally move less and expend fewer calories as energy.

Adjusting skillful decision-making by limiting the number of dinners that include carbohydrates on the plate or restricting the amount of starchy, sugary, and fatty foods at nighttime is an attainable tactic for most people, as their decision to say “yes or no” is directly in front of them.  One could imagine that adhering to a goal to make a decision, saying “yes or no” to certain situations at the end of the day, is an easier task than “eat less food and exercise more.”  Instead of focusing on the daunting number of pounds to be lost, perhaps concentrating on tactics involving how many times one can say “yes or no” to excessive desserts, alcohol consumption, and late-night carbohydrate-dense dinners is a more attainable tactic to support long-term weight loss.

Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.