Healthy Holiday Tips!

As 2014 comes to a close, you can expect a number of people with resolutions for the New Year.  Here are some health tips you can focus on:

1.  Focus on GOOD MOVEMENT

There are tons of training techniques and exercises with too narrow a focus (ie. biceps curl.)  Think more about the types of things you are doing in life and use those as your training tools.  Practicing good lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling will help guide your program for the New Year!

2. Always keep practicing

Some people do the same exercise program and find that they get bored after a while with the same exercises.  If you find you are bored of the same exercises, focus on improving technique, tweak a few things with these exercises and you will find it will improve your performance.  In my program, I am always looking to improve my pull ups, my squats, my deadlifts.  I know when I do a bad rep and when I do a great rep. 

3. Have a bit of fun with your exercise

No need to go to the gym and be intimidated by all the fancy equipment and all the people there.  No need to rely on an expensive machine that limits you to one defined movement.  You can use stairs, dumbbells, kettlebells, weighted vests, or even just using your own body weight.  This equipment (or lack of it) gives you more freedom to do thing that you would do in sport or for your daily activities.  If the gym isn't for you, try an exercise class, or yoga, or swimming.  Do something active with friends.  Whatever you choose, make sure you are enjoying it! 

4. Try something you aren't good at

Its always good to try something new.  How will you know whether you like it or not if you don't try it?  It can be scary trying something new, but once you take the first step the rest of the journey gets a lot shorter!

5. Take care of yourself

Everyone gets busy, but make sure you are taking time to take care of yourself.  Whether it is chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, or meditation, make sure you are taking some time for yourself through the year.  It is really a small investment in time and money that will have a huge impact on your future and your ability to remain healthy.


All the best for the holiday season! Looking forward to 2015!

The Crowbar Effect and Low Back Pain

Sometimes I like going back through some of the research articles I have previously read.  I find that I can always refresh or learn something new/again from many of these articles.

One of my favorite articles explains a "Crowbar Effect" that occurs in the low back with slouching.  This is exactly what most people experience when they sit! 

When we sit in a slouched position, the pelvis rotates posterior (hips roll backwards) and spine moves forward as we lose the lumbar curvature in the back.  As the curvature is reduced, the back stiffens and is akin to a "bar."  Ligaments that attach from the spine to the pelvis act as a fulcrum around L5 causing the proposed "Crowbar" effect.



They also propose that two conditions must be fulfilled for the crowbar effect to occur:

1.  Loss of lumbar lordosis (lumbar curvature)

2.  Body weight placed behind the ischial tuberosities (those bony bumps you sit on).

If you look at figure 4 in the article, it has some great diagrams to show "good" and "bad" sittinng.

If you work at a desk job, or you happen to do a lot of driving (sitting) this article pertains to you! 

The article can be viewed for free here

3 Exercises You Should be Doing Every Day to Improve Your Health

These are my 3 exercises to improve or maintain your health

1.  "Shoulder Blades in back pockets"  

Most people tell you to "sit up straight" or "stand up straight" by sticking your chest out and putting your shoulders back.  The problem with this is that most people tend to over-correct and reduce or minimize the curve in their thoracic spine (mid back).  In fact, if you have "pinched your shoulder blades together" you can sometimes feel stiffness or pinching in the mid back. 

I prefer showing people to slide their shoulder blades towards their back pocket.  Like magic, their shoulder blades flush against their rib cage (reducing scapular winging), and their mid back slouching automatically becomes corrected.  Most people even notice the curve in their neck becomes more normal with this exercise. 

2. "Pick up something off the ground"  ie. Deadlift

When most people pick stuff up off the ground, they tend to do so by bending the back (typically forward flexion of the lumbar spine). 

I aim to show people how to minimize bending of the back and maximize bending of the hip.  The hips are an ideal joint to use as they have a tremendous range of motion.  They also have large muscles (glutes) attached to them which are much more efficient at lifting (heavy) items as opposed to the low back muscles. 

3.  Deep Squat

Deep Squatting is very important for maintaining range of motion as we age.  You don't have to lift heavy weights to go into a deep squat (although if you are weight training, it is good to develop strength through full range.)  For range of motion (particularly the hip joint), if we don't use it, we can lose it.  This is a great way to defend against arthritis of the hip.  Cartilage in the hip (and the rest of the body) does not have a blood supply and thus needs to be "squished" to bring fluid/nutrients into and out of it.  For this to happen, we need to put joints through full ranges of motion.