Nov 14

Plans to Keep Moving when Sick and Hurt

Unexpected injuries and unwelcomed illnesses hold us back.  Heart conditions, the appearance of cancer, as well as upper and lower extremity injuries hinder people’s lives and their ability to perform normal physical activities.  These cases are emotionally scarring because physically active recreational sporting activities and extracurricular social experiences become limited.    Not to mention that recovering from an injury, progressing through chemotherapy treatment, or dealing with the stress of the uncertainty of the recovery is unnerving.  Even though unfortunately health issues hold us back, there are still opportunities to support the return to activity while on the mend.

When there are upper or lower extremity issues affecting movement limiting recreational physical activities, there is always another part of the body that can be refined.  A motivating story involves one of my Pickleball mates.  Jordan had an upper extremity injury that put him on the sideline for about 2 months.  This person is an active Pickleball player who I enjoy playing with 4 times per week.  Unfortunately, he has been sidelined due to this unfortunate injury.  However, he showed up the morning after his surgery and observed the various Pickleball athletes playing every morning.  Additionally, he would arrive with ankle weights strapped around the tops of his shoes to strengthen his lower body while his arm was immobilized in a brace.  He would also act like a ball machine for other players sitting out in games to work on their strokes by pitching balls to refine their technique.  Some valuable lessons to take away from Jordan’s story is his continued motivation to refine his physical activity craft, and awareness to strengthen other areas of the body while his upper body is out of commission.   The take home message from Jordan’s journey to recovery is there is always a road to recovery following significant injuries.  Sure, we will have to sit out for a little bit.  However, this doesn’t mean that we still can’t prepare and stay involved in the activities we enjoy for the day we return during recovery.

Another motivating experience involves a fellow Pickleballer who had to go through a few rounds of chemotherapy to treat a form of cancer.  Fabio was diagnosed with a form of cancer.  He knew that chemo was apparent.  To prepare for this, he kept playing Pickleball for 2-3 hours, 4 times a week before his series of chemo treatments initiated.   Fabio knew that the effects of this treatment would significantly debilitate the physical functions of his body.  But he didn’t let that slow him down.  He had a mentality that he was already returning after recovering from this harsh treatment before it started.  As the chemo treatments pursued, Fabio’s ability to play Pickleball faltered and his attendance lowered to twice a week. Then once a week.  Eventually, we only saw Fabio once every other week. Finally, Fabio had to sit out for 2 straight months. We didn’t his face for about 2 months until his return from a fully successful cancer treatment.  Fabio showed up to our weekend Pickleball at Las Flores, around 30 lbs. less than his normal body weight, frail, without a voice and a glaze in his eyes.  He picked up his paddle and started to do some light hitting.  After about a half hour, Fabio played 2 straight games.  We need to give credit to society’s advancement in medicine and treatment for cancer for Fabio’s recovery.  However, we can’t discount Fabio’s plan to stay in the activity he enjoyed.  Fabio planned for a treatment to go underway by staying active in his recreational physical activity before, during, and after a critically significant treatment.

If we catastrophize about the effects of an injury or serious illness, it will slow us down.  However, just like the injury prevention exercises we do with our personal training clients in Napa, it’s important for us to have a proactive mindset when we get dealt an unfortunate hand relating to a debilitating condition putting us out for a few months.  If we can set our feet after an unfortunate event, plan a return, and work to carry out that plan, we can continue to keep moving forward just like my dear friends Jordan and Fabio.

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.

Oct 26

Success Story: 4 years= Pull Ups!

A success story occurred recently for one our Napa personal training clients.  After many trials and hard work, this exercise participant was able to perform one complete pull up.  Let’s call this exercise participant who works out at our fitness facility Arnold for confidentiality purposes.  While making our way through a weekly training session, Arnold was given the task to perform band assisted pull ups, a form of the pull up exercise that we instruct our clients utilizing the assistance of a strong rubber band wrapped around the top of the pull up bar which is then looped under the participants foot.  This technique offers assistance to the participant to pull their body weight while performing the pull up movement.  We decided to try a set of pull ups with out the assistance of the band.  To Arnold’s surprise, he was able to perform 3 full pull ups unassisted.

Arnold was elated because this was a tremendous victory for him.  He had never performed a pull up in his life.  As an adult, this was a monumental moment for him and me.  He comically exclaimed at the conclusion of his pull ups, “After 4 years of training at Napa Tenacious Fitness, even you can do a pull up!”  However, even after his comical reference for a sales pitch to promote his success, he reflected more seriously upon his experience.  This statement was also a realistic statement of the truth.  Having never been able to perform a full pull up in his life, there was no question that the 4 years of adherence to a training regimen of consistently performing a professionally designed resistance training program was necessary to be able to achieve this elite level of human performance.  To master the pull up, a tremendous amount of practice, dedication, and time need to be put into a training program. More than half of the population in our society cannot perform pull ups.  The performance of a pull takes a tremendous amount of strength, courage and coordination.  While there are people who can perform pull ups, I have seen less than 10% of the adult population able to competently perform one.

Arnold’s journey to achieving this goal is similar to that of an apprentice sushi chef or a culinary student entering their stage.  Staging is an unpaid internship test when a cook or chef works for free to gain a position in another chef’s kitchen to learn and be exposed to new techniques and cuisines.  Historically, traditional sushi chefs in training have been known to cook and roll rice for months to years before actually picking up a knife and cutting sushi.  As culinary students enter their stage to learn about the infrastructure of restaurants, their tasks may be to peel shrimp, scrub bones with a toothbrush, or clean dishes before getting firsthand experience on how to properly cut an onion.  It might take another few months to a year to learn how to make a sauce.  We can see a comparison to the years of development of the muscles and coordination that are involved in harmoniously interacting when performing a pull up and the years of busy work for culinary students as they put in their time for a promotion in the ranks.  Arnold’s journey of mastering the pull up is an example of refining a lifelong craft to improve the strength of his body.  Whether it be peeling shrimp, cooking rice, or performing band assisted pull ups for years, mastering your craft in the arena of your choosing takes time, dedication, and passion.

Arnold had a similar experience to culinary apprentices.  He showed up on time for personal training appointments in Napa 3 times per week and put effort into every exercise.  The training sessions focused on a full body approach to strengthen his legs, upper body, and core.  Over this time, Arnold received adaptation in strength in his grip, forearms, and shoulder blades muscles.  Additionally, Arnold had to overcome his fear of heights and the rare possibility of slipping off the bar and falling.  As the story goes, after 4 years of showing up and facing these challenges, Arnold performed a pull up.  He can now do 7 in a row unassisted.

Arnold peeled the perfect shrimp in the back of the kitchen.  He cooked flawless rice for the veteran sushi chefs.  He put in the time to face his fears and work because he loves his craft of refining his body.  Sushi apprentices and culinary students cook food for people to express the love they exude toward their craft of preparing delicious meals.  Arnold’s commitment toward the time he puts into mastering the health and wellbeing of his body allows him to be a strong, healthy, and fit for the people he loves. If you show up to master the craft you love, you will improve.

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.

Oct 16

Taking Walks in the Fall

Another warm and beautiful Northern California Summer is coming to an end in Napa.  Grapes have been harvested to make some of the world’s finest wines.  New restaurants and tasting bars have been opened in downtown Napa to showcase how our amazing wines pair with world renowned cuisine.  The breath-taking summer climate in the Napa Valley promotes physical activity among its inhabitants.  Plenty of pickleball, golf, and bocce ball has been played in the one of a kind Mediterranean environment.  My Pickleball comrades and I enjoy the foggy, overcast mornings as we smash a ball back and forth as the vineyards glow gloriously in our peripheral visions.  It doesn’t get much better than summer in Napa.  However, just like many great things in life, all good things must come to an end.  The Fall season is upon us.  It’s time to bundle up, fend off the cold weather, and stay dry.  The sun rises later in the morning and sets earlier in the evening.  This offers the opportunity for plenty of sleep to fend of illness and recharge our bodies for the next season’s summer.

Along with the cold, damp, and dreary weather fall brings, so does the desire to stay indoors.  Our natural inhibition to remain inside keeps us warm, dry, and around light sources.  This helps us remain healthy, allowing us to perform our essential duties for work and daily living.  However, remaining indoors introduces the tendency to reduce physical activity.  Who wants to venture out to get wet, cold, and trip over something because it’s ominously dark like the setting of Friday the 13th?

There are deterrents to venturing outside during the fall and winter months.  However, this doesn’t mean that all physical activity needs to cease.  It’s vital for our previously active Summer bodies to stay moving so that we can maintain our fitness levels and healthy parameters of our body.  Cessation of physical activity from being formerly active can lead to threats of a sedentary lifestyle.  These detrimental effects include increased bodyweight, decreased immune system, and developing arthritic symptoms in joints.

Instead of letting the cold fend you off from venturing outside, welcome it.  A variety of outdoor beauty awaits us as the seasons change in Napa.  The leaves transform into yellow, orange, and amber hues like the historic paint strokes of Van Gogh and Caravaggio.  Fog rolls over the hills of valley that we reside in.  The fall sunsets melting against the greyish-blue clouds the cold Winter months bring are like no other time of year.  These moments are impossible to view if we remain indoors and hide from a little bit of winter weather.

One of the best times to venture outside is after dinner.  Once we get home from a long day of work, school, or yardwork and sit at the table to partake in some much-needed nutrition, the body needs a chance to digest.  If we simply sit down after a large meal, the food that we just took in will sit in our bellies.  However, by taking a small jaunt around the neighborhood, circulating blood will continue to deliver oxygenated blood flow throughout the body and the stomach.  This will give the stomach and gastrointestinal tract some energy to move along food and absorb nutrients as the food we consumed is passed through our bodies.  Not only is this important for immediate digestion following a meal at the end of the day but taking an evening walk is a calming conclusion to the day.  A post-dinner evening walk can symbolize an end point to the day.  This gives our minds and bodies to truly relax and get ready for a good night’s sleep.  Plus, we get to enjoy the picturesque beauty fall brings.  We can’t see that if we stay inside hiding from a drop of a few degrees and some water on the ground.  We don’t live in the mid-west where blizzards ravage the cities.

Summer will come again in another 6 months or so.  The physical activities and hobbies that we enjoyed during those months will return.  We need to be ready for those opportunities for movement next season.  Let’s keep the momentum and continue to move during this unique change of season before day light savings time hits.  Enjoy what fall has to bring and take some walks after dinner.

 

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.

Oct 02

Injury Intervention: Research, Professional Help, and Movement

Just like getting a flat tire while driving down the highway, injuries can happen when you least expect them.  Unexpected injuries hurt, decrease our strength, and serve as a inconvenient distraction in our everyday activities.  Being sidelined due to injury is discouraging as well.  Injuries can occur anywhere from poor posture while sitting, unexpected accidents or falls, and overuse from recreational activities.  Sometimes we’ll hear people say, “I’m hurt.  This is just the way it is and I have to live with it.”  This explanation is congruent with throwing your hands up in the air when you can’t solve a frustrating problem and just walking away.  If there’s anything that ruffles my feathers is the phrase, “You just have to live with it.”     If you just bought a brand-new Ferrari and got a flat tire on I-5 in the middle of Taft County, would you just throw your hands up in the air and walk away?  That $200K investment would sit on the side of the dusty road.  The car would hang out with the cows and tumbleweed.  Seems like a waste of time and money to me.  If we just “live with pain” and say, “that’s just how it is,” we might as well collect dust next to that Ferrari on I-5 with the flat tire.  Why let that Ferrari go to waste?  Why let your body go to waste because of the distraction of pain from an injury?  Fortunately, the human body can be fixed.  Just like a Ferrari with a flat tire stranded on I-5 next to Button Willow, CA.  The key is patience, trust and will power.

If we get a flat tire in the middle of nowhere and we don’t know how to replace it with a spare, the first resource available is to dig the car manual out of the glove compartment and read up on how to replace the tire.  Perhaps a quick web search via Google or a YouTube instructional video could offer pointers on how to accomplish such a task.  This example is similar to one of the first steps to intervening an injury from getting worse or keeping us limited in our physical activities for too long.  When we’re hurt, we have a plethora of research around us.  Have a case of golfer’s elbow?  Research it.  Look up the source of the injury, how it was caused, what you could do to alleviate the symptoms.  While the internet doesn’t have all the answers, we can at least learn more about our specific ailments limiting our physical activity.  Conducting research is a productive first step in discovering what tactics to prioritize to put us on a road to recovery.

A more direct solution to getting the tire fixed in our Ferrari stranded on I-5 while the cows gawk at us, would be to call a tow truck or specialist, like AAA.  If we can’t find the solution through a car manual or an internet search, perhaps we should consult with a pro.  As an exercise physiologist and lifelong gym rat, I struggle with mechanical repairs.  Therefore, with an activity that would take me 2 hours to figure out, the AAA representative can switch out tires in about 5 minutes.  I’d much rather utilize his skills as resource than going into a cave of frustration.  Just like a AAA representative could switch out a tire in record time, a physical therapist can narrow down the source of injury and design a rehab routine faster than us.  Physical therapists specialize in identifying injuries and understanding what exacerbates injuries and how to expedite healing.  So, if your hurt, seek out a specialist.  A brief phone call to an injury rehab specialist is far superior to “just living with it.”

More importantly, the most useful intervention to an injury is to keep moving.  Injuries can debilitate, slow down, and ultimately emotionally depress us.  Humans are blessed with the ability to move forward.  If the upper body is hurt, walk, hike, and perform resistance training on the lower extremities.  If a part of the lower body is injured, do some pushups and planks.  By keeping the body moving while another area is temporarily in the repair shop, the mind will still progress.  By maintaining a form of physical activity during an injury, we can provide a happy, healthy, and strong environment not only for our friends and family, but most importantly ourselves.

We can’t let injuries put us on the sideline and just leave them untreated.  Just like the $200K Ferrari parked on I-5 with a flat tire, we’ll just sit around and collect dust if we don’t keep moving forward to fix the injury.  Intervene and positively influence the recovery from injuries by continuing to research, seek out professional guidance, and continue to move.

 

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 23

Just like turning over crops, rotate your exercises

Growing up a gym rat and studying to be an exercise physiologist, I would never consider myself a farmer.  However, I do see similarities between the two.  Driving down to Monterey recently, I noticed the abundance of artichoke orchards scattered along the side of the freeway.  To my surprise, there would be random plots of land perfectly tilled and managed with nothing but dirt.  I thought to myself, “Why wouldn’t there be any artichokes planted in this perfect piece of land.”  After a quick Google search, I learned that crop rotations are a technique used to help soil maintain and regenerate the nutrients each season.  Little did I know, artichoke farmers perform this tactic purposely throughout seasons to ensure their world-famous artichokes grow strong and beautiful.

This is like how the human body reacts to exercise and physical activity.  If the body lacks “seasons” in exercise and physical activity, the possibility to grow and adapt diminishes.  Like a plot of land that hasn’t been turned over.  Performing the same exercise routine repetitively for weeks, months, or even years can lead to staleness in the effort put into workouts and decreased motivation.  Performing the same exercise routine can also lead to a decreased amount of stress put on the muscles because the body gets used to that stress, limiting the adaptive properties muscles and bones use to regrow following a challenging workout.  Additionally, performing repetitive physical activity increases likelihood of overuse injuries on significant joints such as the shoulders, back, knees or ankles.  Similar to how the soil can get overused, our bodies can get overused from too much of the same activity.

When the body doesn’t have a sensitivity induced upon it with a variety of exercise, its ability to adapt decreases.  Repeating the same movements we are accustomed to, we don’t introduce a chance to challenge muscle and bone cells to grow.  Additionally, when the body settles into a state of comfort in an exercise routine that has been repeated for months or even years, the energy spent during comfortable exercises won’t be efficient enough to burn as much fat as with newer, more challenging exercise routines.  When artichokes have an absence of nutrients in the soil, they will produce puny artichoke buds.  Similarly, if the human body has an absence of various exercises, the muscles won’t grow, bones won’t be as strong, and fat underneath the skin won’t metabolize as well.

An example of performing too much of the same exercises could be performing Zumba 3 or more times per week.  Granted, Zumba is an enthralling and fun form of physical activity.  But performing the same routine 3 times a week or more throughout a few years can add up to overuse injuries on significant joints like the knees or ankles.  Other popular modes of exercise include group aerobics or CrossFit classes.  Granted, these are effective and productive forms of physical activity that help society become healthy and fit.  However, performing the same modes of exercise repetitively can introduce factors leading to injury.  Too much jumping, change of direction, or lateral movement can add up over time. My personal experience of playing recreation softball about 4 times a week over the years added up.  I noticed that my shoulder experienced pain like never before due to pitching 7 innings, 4 times a week.  Dabbling with too much of a good thing introduces a threat of staleness in the body, where connective tissue may stop adapting and slightly deteriorate.  These factors can lead to nagging aches, pains, and decreased interest to perform physical activity at all because it hurts.

A solution is to take a page out of the artichoke farmer’s book.   Leave and come back.  The concept of having seasons is an effective practice to stop what you’re doing, and then pick up on a new activity.  We turn over our personal training clients exercise prescriptions every 4 weeks.  Certain exercises are removed, some are kept, and there are new additions.  This gives muscle groups prone to injury a chance to regenerate and opens an opportunity to exercise specific muscles that may have not been focused on previously.  Just like the plots of land lying dormant for a season, the dirt has a chance to regrow nutrients and healthy bacteria to supercharge the world-famous artichokes.  If we treat out bodies the similarly and take a few seasons off specific activities, or slightly reduce the frequency in which we are performing the same activities we enjoy so much, we can develop a more sensitive  environment to super charge the development of our muscles and bones while increasing the amount of energy we spend to burn more fat.

It might be a good idea to take some time off the activities you like so much.  That way you’ll develop a fondness of the activity and be motivated to return better than before.  Avoid doing the same old thing.  Develop a gap in which new activities can be explored in a safe and fun environment while keeping track of how long you’re away from the activities you love so much and miss when you’re away.  Just like rotating the artichoke crops, maybe we can learn something by rotating what types of physical activities and exercises we do each season.

 

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 11

A “Pain in the Butt”: Alleviating Hip Pain

Activities such as sitting, doing recreational activities or just hanging out with friends and family all seem like normal activities everyone should be able to do.  However, when pain arises somewhere in the body, these activities become challenging.  A common site of pain in the body is hip tightness.  Symptoms such as sciatica creates pain that runs down the side of the hip all the way down to the knee are common triggers that lead to debilitating pain.    Limping due to pain lingering down the leg can cause a halt to every day physical activities.  The IT band is a large ligament that spans from the back of the hip to the outer portion of the knee.  When the IT band gets too tight, pain will occur in this area.  Weakness around the lower back, back of the hip and knee joint occur as well due to the distraction that pain can bring.  This can hinder our desire to be active in our normal daily activities.  This “pain in the butt” can also distract us from being happy and turn our moods upside down.

Don’t let this pain slow you down, because it is curable.  Once we know what causes this pain, the detrimental effects of this type of injury can be remedied or avoided.  We teach our personal training clients the indicators that tell us the IT band may be irritated by noticing the factors that exacerbate this injury.  Likely culprits include sitting down for too long, insufficient injury prevention awareness, and lack of exercise to strengthen the gluteal muscles.

A common mechanism of injury is simply sitting down for too long.  Commuters, desk job workers, and students all sit for long periods of time.  Picture the entire weight of the upper body of a human resting down on the IT band, the sciatic nerve and the gluteal muscles.    Now imagine bending a garden hose at a ninety-degree angle while standing on it for a few hours.  You would notice that the rubber in the hose molds to the ninety-degree position.  It would take a while for the hose to revert to its initial shape.  The same process occurs in the human body when remaining in a seated position for a prolonged period.  The muscles and ligaments of the hip become molded in a 90-degree shape and take a while to return to normal position.  This constriction of muscles and ligaments limit the delivery of oxygenated blood flow to muscles, ligaments and nerves of the lower extremities.  This can lead to nagging nerve pain and stiffness in physical activities that shouldn’t be that challenging to perform.

The first solution to preventing the hips from becoming too tight is to simply stand up from long bouts of sitting.  We encourage our personal training clients to set timers every 90 minutes to get up and walk around for 5 minutes.  This stimulates blood flow to muscles and won’t force muscles to remain in a constricted position and lock up.  More importantly, exercising the muscles that attach to the hip joint are critical to help the joints maintain mobility and strength.    Providing a healthy environment for the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and adductors will help to support the structure of the hip and thigh bones so compression of the sciatic nerve and IT band is less likely to occur.

Sure, pain in the hip region can be a bear.  But don’t just let it sit there and linger.  If we throw our hands up in the air and settle with the fact that we have pain, we are going to live with pain.  However, if we can identify the source of pain, we can draw a road map of how to remedy the situation.  If you have tight hips, don’t forget to train the muscles surrounding the hip joint.  Most importantly, don’t forget to get up from your seats and walk around regularly.

 

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 22

Knee Health (Part 1): Future Proofing your Knees with Exercise!

The more you move, the less stiff your body will be.  The less stiff you are, the more you can move.  What happens when we’ve moved so much over the course our lives that now it’s painful to move to avoid getting stiff?  What happens when the joints and hinges holding us together begin to creak, crack, and crunch that is not only painful to you, but to people around that can hear your joints sound like Velcro when kneeling to pick something up?  The sound of two marbles rubbing together when moving your knees could be the result of more than 20 years of manual labor, the healing of injuries and surgeries, or just the amount of time spent on this earth contributing to wear and tear.  These symptoms contribute to arthritis and threats to future injuries.

A critically important joint to maintain so we can remain happy and productive in our future is the almighty knee joint.  Healthy knees joints are responsible for daily physical activities like picking things up off the ground, getting in and out of cars, or stepping up stairs and curbs.  We utilize our knees joints when interacting with our kids or grandkids, wrestling on the ground or getting down to their level to play.  One of the most common activities we do as human is sit.  Optimally functioning knees are responsible for getting in and out of chairs.  A knee that is lacking in structural integrity, strength, and coordination can hinder us from these normal daily functions.

As bipedal organisms, humans depend on putting one foot in front of the other when walking.  A car with old, rusty suspension and deteriorated wheels can’t be trusted to travel 100 miles.  Just like an unkept car, the human body can’t keep up with the demands of life with neglected knees.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we could keep the shocks and wheels of the knees functioning properly through our future years?  With regular knee strengthening exercise, this is possible. Even if father time decides to sprinkle a little age on our knees every 10 years

Significant structures of the knee joint include ligaments that protect the knee joint from going out of it’s normal side-to-side or front-to-back range of motion. The meniscus is a thick pad of cartilage responsible for absorbing force between the thigh and shin bone is also noteworthy.  Symptoms of arthritis can occur when the thigh bone and shin bone rub together due to the wearing down of the meniscus.  When arthritis is paired with inactivity, the bones lack stimulus to regrow because there is no stress or demand to move.  A vicious cycle can occur as knee pain hinders our desire to move.

A solution we offer our personal training clients in Napa is to focus on strengthening large groups of muscles in the lower extremities to reinforce the knee.  Popular muscles targeted for knee strength are the quads, hamstring and abductors of the leg.  These muscles are responsible for reinforcing the structural integrity of the knee and reducing the likelihood of pain through bone-on-bone rubbing.

Quadriceps are responsible for extending the leg and ensuring the stability of the kneecap Strong quadriceps will protect the kneecaps from shifting and scuffing the surface underneath, further decreasing arthritic pain.  Hamstrings attach on the back of the hip, through the back of the thigh bone and just below the knee joint.  Strong hamstrings not only aid efficient leg movement but are also a useful addition to reinforcing knees that have been affected by injuries to the ACL and PCL.  When the significant ligaments of the knee are affected from injuries or weakened over time due to inactivity, they don’t regenerate efficiently.  Therefore, using a strong and large muscle to reinforce the joint is a useful alternative.  Abductors are responsible for bringing the leg away from the midline of the body, lateral movement, and a contributor to correcting balance.  Similar to their cousins the quadriceps and hamstrings, the abductors serve as another reinforcing bracket of muscle that will protect the knee from injuries and also help reinforce bones from rubbing together at the knee joint.  Most importantly, performing resistance training on these muscle groups stimulate blood flow and regeneration of bone and cartilage cells in the knee joints, decreasing the detrimental effects of arthritis.

If we don’t want age to slow us down, we need to decrease joint pain over time.  We want to enjoy our hobbies, recreational sports, and hanging out with our families after we retire. Don’t let the advancement of age slow you down by worrying about previous knee injuries and arthritis.  Strengthen the muscles of the knee joint and live a strong, happy, healthful life as time passes by.

For more information on exercises that will build the hamstrings, quadriceps, and abductors of the thigh, tune in next week for “knee future proofing, part 2.”

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 04

Exercise before the day begins!

The to do list of daily chores and errands is ever evolving in our roles as responsible human beings.   Progressing in life as partners in relationships, parents, throughout careers, or when we retire, we undoubtedly get busier.  With time invested into these obligations, the and energy we invest in ourselves to be a good worker, parent, or retiree can fizzle.  40 hour per week jobs require face to face interactions, phone calls, desk work, or commutes.  Combine that with some ill-advised food decisions on the run, the lack luster results of sedentary activity and poor diet puts our bodies through the ringer.  Chauffeuring kids to school and extracurricular activities take away some much-needed opportunities for exercise.  Even in the retired population house projects, spending time with grandchildren, and errands can engulf an individual’s time to where there is no time to focus on refining the body, adding to the effects of aging.  Achievement driven individuals’ days grow long, and the hours of obligation fill up leaving little time to focus on health and fitness.  There are only so many hours in the day.  However, ensuring to get some much-needed exercise in early part of the day is a powerful technique to supercharge your day and positively contribute to life time fitness.

Accomplishing exercise early in the day benefits the human body mentally, emotionally, and physically.  Hormones such as adrenaline and dopamine are released in the body from exercise which can increase mental acuity, alertness, and serve as a natural energy booster.  Physiologically, exercising earlier in the day will increase the amount of oxygen absorbed by skeletal muscles, allowing the muscles worked by exercise to utilize fat as a fuel source more efficiently throughout the day.  Regular exercise improves strength and endurance, helping the body to be injury free and hold up to the stressful demands of the day.

Moving up in a career, managers and supervisors are likely to commend a person who takes care of their body and mind.  Why would a boss desire someone to represent their team or business with health risks?  As parents, it pays to be healthy, strong, and mentally fresh to be a good role model for our kids.  The retired community needs endurance, strength and the reduction of chronic pain to keep up the with activities and hobbies.

Achieving a workout early in the morning also decreases the likelihood of procrastination from exercise.  Accomplishing a bout of exercise earlier is a significant attribute having a good day before our busy lives take the day away from us.

We teach our personal training clients in Napa to adhere to a simple exercise routine before the demands of the day occur.  A brisk paced walk, aerobics class, or a home-based resistance training routine consisting of 10-20 minutes is enough to support exercise needs before the day starts.

An example of a short and effective exercise routine that can be performed in the comfort of your own home that we prescribe to our personal training clients in Napa might look like this:

  1. Start with a simple dynamic stretching routine
  2. Perform 3 sets of 10 body weight squat repetitions
  3. Lay down flat on your back on the ground and perform 3 sets of 10 hip bridges
  4. Turn over to where you are face down and perform 3 sets of 10 push ups (from knees if needed)
  5. Finish off with 30 seconds of elbow planks

That doesn’t seem like it would take too long.  However, a routine this simple will elicit positive adaptations of exercise that contribute to a strong, happy and alert body if done before the hustle of life envelops us.  We all have 24 hours in our day.  How we spend it is the determining factor of if we can get the most of it or not.  One thing is for sure, if you exercise early in the day before life takes you away, you will be fine tuning your performance as a parent, worker, and retiree.

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.

Jun 27

Keep Up Your Hobbies to Stay Young at Heart!

“10 years ago, I would have caught that ball!”

As my softball teammate cursed at himself, letting a fly ball sail past his reach. My teammate compared himself to how the younger version of himself playing little league baseball.  Spry, young, energetic, and unhindered by injuries and the stresses of life. Perhaps a sedentary lifestyle of his career, becoming a family man, and the lack of time devoted to fitness left him not as athletic as he once was and a little overweight.

A younger version of ourselves doesn’t include the hardships of our current everyday lives.  Challenging interpersonal relationships, parenting responsibilities, or financial obligations were absent in our younger days.  Minimal responsibilities made it simple to focus on being athletic and participate in hobbies, sports, and extracurricular physical activities.  Sure, aging can do a number on the body and mind.  However, if you let a jalopy from the 1940’ssit stagnant in the driveway for years, it’s going to be quite the challenge to start back up.  Our bodies work the same way, especially with father time officiating the game.

The silver is lining is that the soul can remain young.  As my softball teammate chased that ball down, his youthful energy remained prevalent in his subconscious.  The desire to continue hobbies and physical activities is the true medicine that keeps us young at heart.  If we want to stay young and combat age, we need to keep doing the playful activities that maintain our exuberance.

We’re all familiar with the deleterious effects of aging.  Our bone structure starts to deteriorate as osteoporosis kicks in, leaving our bone mineral density less concentrated when we were kids.  Decrease in muscle mass occurs, which can affect our overall strength.  Challenges to maintain coordination and balance becomes an issue, increasing the risk of injury or falling.   Gaining unwanted fat mass is increased due to the demand of adhering to a sedentary lifestyle with our careers.  Desk jobs and commutes can cripple us as our bottoms get glued to our chairs, propagating underuse injuries, unwanted fat mass, and cardiovascular disease.  It’s a double-edged sword as we advance in age when the body slows down and stress effects our lifestyle.  These conditions are obviously suboptimal.  However, most of the time age hits people like a ton of bricks when they stop participating in their physically active hobbies.

Senior division recreational slow pitch softball, dancing with a partner, hiking, Tai Chi, Yoga, pickle ball, and tennis are all reminiscent to what may have been done for fun in our adolescents or young adulthood.  Little league baseball, high school tennis, gymnastics, martial arts, or dancing with friends was very popular in our youth.  These activities are part of the same category to older adult activities, just in a different spectrum.  For example, gymnastics are for young people up to age 25.  Yoga is somewhat of the same activity, just more forgiving on the joints and less intense for someone who has endured the stresses of aging.  There is cornucopia of fun physical activities that can be enjoyed.  The body of a 15 to 25-year-old is structured different from someone who is 40-50-year-old.  However, both bodies thrive from moving for the sake of enjoyment.  This is one of the most important lessons we tell our personal training clients in Napa.  Stick with physically active hobbies you enjoy, and you will stay young.

These physically active hobbies organically contribute to improved strength, balance, and coordination.  The side to side movement of softball, pickleball, tennis and dancing help with proprioception, balance and overall body awareness.  Tai Chi and yoga contribute to balance in a stationary position and decrease injury with attention to healthy posture.  Heart health, ankle, and knee injury prevention are normal adaptations from dancing, biking, walking and hiking.

The “key to the fountain of youth” is always up for discussion.  If you every find it, let me know.  However, my softball teammate mentioned at the beginning of the article had heck of a time catching that fly ball.  Who knows, maybe I could’ve chased it down and caught it..  However, my teammate was 20 years older than me.  I thought to myself, “Sure, he missed it.  But he’s been chasing that ball down and cursing at it 20 years longer than I have.”  He’s still chasing that ball down.  He probably will be for the next 20 years too.

So how can we stay young and healthy?  We can exercise regularly, eat healthy, and stay free of disease.  However, it we look at my veteran softball teammate, one thing is obvious about staying young.

Keep chasing after that ball and keep having fun.

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.

Jun 19

Popular Exercise Trends as Time Goes On

As we age, we enjoy various forms of physical activities to keep us occupied and fulfilled.  It’s fun to engage in a pickup game of basketball, softball, or tennis.  However, as decades go on, we can find ourselves less entertained with activities we embraced 10 or 20 years ago.  From year 20 to 80 years of age, changes are affected by relationships, career path, or moving to a different location.  A tennis club 30 miles away seems unappealing compared to previously living in a town with organized tennis down the street.  Taking a job requiring a commute and 50 hours a week, it’s easy to pack it in for the night and skip your traditional recreational physical activity.

Then we have the big elephant in the room affected by aging. Our bodies.  About every 10 years or so, we might notice our bodies don’t function like they used to.  Aching joints, increased soreness after exercise, and the perception that you may have slowed down, makes that activity less desirable.  A problem arises within these scenarios where physical activities become dormant due to the factors associated with aging. might become dormant.  People might stop moving when posed with the obstacles aging brings.

Let’s not put a damper on aging through.  There are opportunities right in front of us waiting to be picked up like employers seeking job applicants over LinkedIn.  As we age, we need to keep moving to enjoy our lives while being able to see all the beautiful gifts the world can bring as after our kids move out, the mortgages are paid off, and we retire.  Here’s a list of some new, popular, and exciting fitness trends that are ready to get devoured like hotcakes on a Sunday morning.

  1. Pickle Ball: If Ping Pong and Tennis were to meet in college and have a love child, you would get Pickle Ball.  This game lasts an average of 10 minutes per game and uses a court half the size Tennis uses.  You get to smack a whiffle ball with paddle 90% lighter than a tennis racket at your opponents.  The best part is, your opponent won’t get hurt, and you won’t either.    Being hit by a whiffle ball is like getting hit by a marshmallow.  The mechanics are simple and easy to learn.  In fact, the game is based on making sure that participants can adapt to a learning curve on a level playing field of both beginning and intermediate players.  The limited number of steps backward and forward supply some much needed cardiovascular exercises while limiting excessive overuse and stress on joints.  Most importantly, Pickleballs culture is based around a non-judgmental and welcoming atmosphere ensuring everyone around has fun.  If you are looking for something new that includes social and physical improvements to your life, stop by the Pickleball courts.  You might see me out there looking for a teammate.
  2. Tai Chi: A fast growing “martial arts meets meditation” style of physical activity offer classes led by certified leaders in this calm yet challenging lesson of movements.  Tai Chi classes are becoming abundant because people are seeing improvements in their balance, cardiovascular health, and decreased anxiety.  This guided form of martial arts emphasizes slow and controlled breathing with some of the movement being performed with the eyes closed.  More people are choosing Tai Chi as a new form of exercise because it is a low impact, relaxing style of fitness that calms stresses from the day and previous years of life.
  3. Yoga: Branching off Tai Chi, Yoga classes are appearing all over the map like drops of rain on a windshield driving through Seattle.  Yoga is yet another form of exercise that welcomes advanced age individuals to enjoy stationary poses that challenge both technique and physical condition.  Progressing through different levels of poses and sequences is easy on the joints while still allowing for positive adaptions to strength, mobility and decreased pain.  The community and culture of Yoga is a welcoming way to try a new form of physical activity that helps people to thrive through, practice, mediation, and calming music.

One of the biggest threats of aging and exercise is decreased interest to continue moving because it’s boring or painful.  A hallway of doors waits to be opened via the path of physical activity.  The path to less pain, excitement, and an overall good time in life is waiting for healthy older people to embark on.  So, take a look around at these new and exciting trends of culture and physical activity.  You never know what your next healthy addiction could be for the next 10 years and then some.

 

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.

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