May 02
Injuries, joint conditions, and pain-producing areas among our personal training clients commonly occur in the lower back, knees, and shoulders. In terms of which area of the body is most affected by pain, the lower back seems to be public enemy number one, followed by the knees as the second most compromised area, and in …
Apr 17
As members of the general population, we engage in a wide variety of physical activities. Some of us participate in a broad range of hobbies and chores that keep us active, such as walking our pets, gardening, or completing home improvement projects. For those of us who have children or grandchildren, our physical activities become …
Apr 16
What if getting stronger and preventing injuries wasn’t about doing more exercises, but about moving better? That’s the idea behind functional movement training. Functional movement training grew out of physical therapy, rehabilitation science, and strength and conditioning. Instead of isolating single muscles, it focuses on training fundamental movement patterns your body uses every day (e.g. …
Apr 16
There are two primary forms of stretching we use with our personal training clients: dynamic and static. Dynamic stretching is performed before exercise. Dynamic stretching can be defined as the act of moving through full ranges of motion to create short, repeated stretches that prepare the body for exercise. A few examples include arm circles, …
Apr 12
Along with injuries and joint complications in the lower back and knees, shoulder injuries are among the leading causes of issues affecting everyday functional ability in the general population. Upper neck and shoulder impingement, rotator cuff strains, and frozen shoulder are among a slew of conditions that can afflict people’s shoulder health, causing pain, weakness, …
Apr 08
“That’s just bad math,” my physics professor told me, clearly unimpressed, as I struggled through a long equation involving solving for potential energy involving force production in overhead throwing athletes in the lab. “Use PEMDAS.” She had a way of delivering that line with just enough irritation to make sure it stuck. At the time, …
Mar 27
“Make sure you look forward,” I cued Tina, one of our personal training clients, as she was performing a set of “zombie squats” during one of her training sessions. Her eyes darted toward me momentarily to receive the instruction and then returned to looking straight ahead. She immediately rotated her head upward, with her chin …
Mar 19
“Drop Neck” is a condition where the neck muscles are too weak to hold the head upright. It is also known as Dropped Head Syndrome (DHS). This causes the head to tilt forward and downward. “Drop Neck” is caused by weakness in the neck extensor muscles. This can result from sedentary lifestyle habits, overuse or …
