Trainer to the Trainers Juan Carlos Santana — Myth’s of Functional Training
Myth’s of Functional Training (Raw Video)
Check out Part 1 of the prank they pulled on JC Santana
Part 1 out of 2 Parts
Treating Chronic Pain: Top 5 Foam Rolling and Self-Massage Basics
According to a recent study, doctors are over treating chronic back pain. Most people over 30 have it. And it can really put a damper on life. Enter: the foam roller. It will change your life. I use it on myself and all of my clients. Some have a love-hate relationship with the foam roller. And others, well, let’s just say, it’s their new boyfriend (as you will see in later posts, we get reallyclose to our rollers). It’s great not only for back pain, but neck, shoulder, knee and foot pain.
Foam rolling (along with various types of body rolling tools) are key for keeping chronic pain at bay. Pictured above are various tools I use. At top the 6″x36″ foam roller, a 9″ Yamuna body rolling ball and MELT Method hand and foot treatment balls. So for the sake of simplicity, I’ll use the term foam roller, but it could be applied to the other tools as well. Tennis/lacrosse balls are another great tool.
Here’s what the foam roller does:
It rehydrates and brings back flexibility to the fascia and myofascia. Myo-what?
The layer of connective tissue under the skin is the fascia. It has 10 times more pain receptors than muscle. So when you think you have tight muscles and pulled “something”, it’s probably the fascia. Typically it’s those “knots” you feel in your neck, back, calves or wherever you hold stress. Or you know when you can’t turn your head to back up the car and you just don’t know what you did to pull a muscle, yeah, it’s the fascia. The fascia encases everything in your body, including muscles, organs, tendons, etc. And this is typically where chronic pain is lingering. The foam roller can also target deeper layers of our tissue and get into the myofascia, which is our muscle. Once we warm up the fascia, we can dig a little deeper into the muscle.
Do you know what happens when we overuse (logging miles and miles on the treadmill) or not use our bodies enough (the couch potato watching marathons of Breaking Bad)? The connective tissue and muscles start to stick together. Foam rolling helps break that up to keep everything moving along while keeping the tissues hydrated. Sitting, hunching, running, cycling…all these things are repetitive and start to accumulate over a lifetime and using the foam roller helps reverse over- or under-use of our bodies.
Top 5 foam rolling basics:
1. Softer is better. Start with a soft foam roller to target the fascia and warm-up the body. Roll up your foam roller in a yoga or pilates mat or towel, unless you have a MELT roller.
2. Less is more. Start with 10 minutes a day. Too much too soon can cause adverse reactions.
3. Roll in multiple directions, front to back, side to side, circles, indirectly.
4. Do not roll joints or “spaces” of the body such as under the neck, lower back, back of knees or ankles. Leave that to a professional masseuse.
5. No pain, no gain does not apply. Again, less is more when it comes to pain. Back off if it’s too painful. Rolling shouldn’t hurt. It should feel good.
If you have had recent surgery or a medical procedure, consult with your doctor before rolling.
Amy Mastrogiuseppe
Certified Personal Trainer, Yoga, Kettlebell & Krankcycle Instructor
September 2013 BeFit Method™ Challenge: “Turn up the volume”
Challenge date and time. Thursday, September 26th 6:15am
“Turn up the volume”
This workout agenda is all about high volume body-weight circuits, it will certainly challenge muscle endurance and lactic threshold.
5 min BeFit Method™ Dynamic Warm-Up – “Primal Awakening”
— 100 Twisties
— 300 Jumping Jacks
— 150 Air squats
— 30 BeFit Push-Ups (no rest at the top, 2 sec. hold at the bottom)
Set 1 16 min. (4 Stations 60 sec. per station, 15 sec. transition between stations for the full duration)
— 300m Deep sand run.
— Yoga Push-Up (modification plank downward dog inversion)
— Liner Incline Hop (modification lunge walk)
— Butterfly Crunch
Set 2 16 min. (4 Stations 60 sec. per station, 15 sec. transition between stations for the full duration)
— 20m incline shuttle
— Brazilian push-up (modification high-plank shoulder tap)
— Bend and reach
— Crab crawl/lateral shuffle
The BeFit Method™ Monthly Trainer Challenge is a series of physical fitness events challenging our trainers to maximize their performance in individual tests of “SPEM” Strength, Power, Endurance and Mobility. It is based on the Befit Method™ training principles. The initial physical screening test will be given to anyone who desires to become a Befit Method trainer.
Objective: The challenge is intended to breakthrough the level of instant gratification that our culture is often conditioned to. Most cases you will need to prepare for the challenge. Success will require preparation, persistence, self awareness and gratitude. Discovering ones ability to adapt, rethink, reconstruct and overcome is part of the process I consider the Art of Wellness. The BeFit Method™ is vehicle used to understand and appreciate the art.
Train On All Energy Systems.
I have mentioned in the Befit Method™ Philosophy to train on all energy systems.
It is the approach that our team recommends and is the foundation of our training
methods.
So What does that mean? Why Energy Systems?
Energy systems is how the body produces the fuel our working muscles need while maintaining homeostasis. It allows us to really understand the most important questions about acheiving optimal performance.
The truth is…
More Energy = Better Performance.
As stated by Dr. Yuri Verkhoshansky…(inventor of plyometric training)
“The role of an athlete’s strength and conditioning program IS NOT just to improve strength or conditioning…it is first and foremost to increase their potential to produce energy. This increase in energy is what provides the foundation for the athlete to perform their skill faster.
If you think in terms of power an athlete needs to perform the movement or skill faster with more velocity. If you think in the terms of endurance the athlete must be able to produce energy for longer.
In order to regenerate or maintain energy homeostasis during intense exercise energy expenditure, the body has three energy systems that differ in terms of how fast they can regenerate ATP (our cell energy source) and for how long they can regenerate it. The three systems are aerobic, alactic anaerobic and lactic anaerobic.
A simple way to think of energy systems is to observe a 100 meter sprint, a 400 meter sprint and the mile. The record for the 100 meter = 9.58s, (Alactic Anaerobic) the World Record for the 400m = 43.18s (Lactic Anaerobic) and the World Record for the mile = 3:43. (Aerobic). The longer the duration, the more that the aerobic process takes over.
We believe in training with the objective to increase overall physical preperation and performance. With the goal to improve overall performance it is best to focus on maximizing total energy production and to establish a balance between aerobic and anaerobic processes.
WHY?
Energy systems are an integral part of human performance since they are the foundation for all motor work. To develop all energy systems allows you to maximize power and deliver over a greater duration. Although aerobic and anaerobic can’t always be addressed simultaneously it is important to address both since some sports will demand reletive contributions from both.
For More Details On The Science behind Energy Systems and Performance
Check out Joel Jamieson
©2013 | Chris Vlaun
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