Foam Rollers: Do's & Don'ts 101: Part III

In the previous two parts of this series on Foam Rollers we discussed some of the benefits and dangers of using them. I didn't go over how to properly use a foam in the beginning because my goal was to educate you on the purpose and benefits but most importantly on the dangers of incorrectly using such a valuable piece of equipment. As I mentioned before, there are many people using them incorrectly in the gym so don't do something just because the person seems to look like they know what they are doing.
In Part I we discussed the benefits of Self-Myofascial Release for which Foam Rollers are a great tool. This simple device is great when you don't have the budget to invest on hiring someone to give you a professional sports massage, is low cost, readily available and very light which makes them easily transportable. In Part II you learned a little bit about anatomy so you can understand like in Part I, where and where not to use Foam Rollers and the reasons for that.

Here are best practices on using a Foam Roller for Self-Myofascial Release:

• Great to use as part of your pre-stretching regimen prior to starting any static or dynamic stretching and before starting any exercise or physical activity.
• Using slow movement of your body weight over the foam roller to look for tender spots
• When you find tender spots, hold your body over the area for at least 30 to 90 seconds. Although this may be quite uncomfortable, hold your position over the tender spot until the pain diminishes from 50 - 75%
• Look for more tender spots near the original point. Repeat the previous instructions on all tender areas. You may find that some tender spots close by are even more tender which is usually the original cause of more tight and tender spots. You can do one last long roll across the entire region once you have finished addressing the painful areas to help relax the entire muscle. Glide across slowly and from smaller to larger lengths. 
• Always glide across parallel to the path of the muscle which you are working on.
• Foam Rollers are a great tool to massage the muscle after an intense workout, therefore a great tool to use during your cool down. 
• Follow this link to download a copy of Perform Betters' Foam Rolling Techniques PDF and get started on your own Foam Rolling regimen. 

I hope you found this 3 Part Series on Foam Rolling useful. If you have any questions I can always be reached at (323)972-4487 or damien@irondogfitness.com. 

To Purchase your own Foam Rollers Click Here: Foam Rollers

Foam Rollers: Do's & Don'ts 101: Part II

I hope you enjoyed the first part of this series. The first half of this article focused on some of the benefits as well as some of the potential dangers of Foam Rollers. In this segment we will discuss some of the best situations in which to use a Foam Roller, proper use on certain muscles and more situations in which Foam Rolling is ill advisable.
So here is some more food for thought. It is ill advisable to Foam Roll on a tendon. You need to understand anatomy to realize that rolling on tendons is a bad idea. I will try and describe this in layman terms so you understand. Think of a muscle like a piece of rubber band or bungee band. If you stretch it, it regains it's form and with age just like our bodies, it begins to lose it's elasticity and can tear from over use. Tendons on the other hand are more like a piece of beef jerky. If you stretch it, it doesn't regain its shape so easily. In fact if you over stretch it, it loses it's original form which is what happens to tendons and ligaments when you injure them. The reason tendons recover so slowly is due to limited blood flow. If you use a large round marble to press and roll it over a rubber band, again like a muscle it regains its shape. If you do the same thing to a slice of beef jerky, well that just doesn't happen so easily. Using a Foam Roller on a tendon which exacerbate the overstretched tendon. A tight tendon, again if you understand anatomy, is actually due to a tight muscle. If a muscle is tight from injury or inadequate warm up, your tight muscle will pull at the tendons which connect it to the bone. So the tendon if you understand this, becomes the victim of a tight or knotted muscle until that tension is release. Once the tension on the muscle is release, the tension and strain on the tendon is like to release and relax unless the tendon was somehow directly overstretched such as in a sudden jerking and bending of the ankle due to excessive force.

As we discussed in Part I, make sure you are using your Foam Roller in areas where there is bone to protect the organs of your body. Also, don't do any rolling over your joints since there isn't much muscle in those area with the exception of the shoulder joint. You can roll over your Deltoids but it's actually quite difficult and awkward to do so. Instead have someone massage your shoulder with their hands or the famous runner's tool know as 'The Stick'.

Click Here to Purchase 'The Stick'

Great areas of your body to use Foam Rollers are your Calves, Abductors, Adductors, Tensor Fascia Latae (NOT your IT Band - Ilio-Tibial Band), Piriformis, Latissimus Dorsi and Thoracic Spine (avoid the Lumbar Spine as mentioned before due to risk of putting excess pressure on your Kidneys). All ways roll parallel in the direction of the muscle length rather than the width. If you don't understand anatomy enough to know what I am saying or find the muscles I just mentioned, you are probably better off not doing any foam rolling techniques. Your more likely to cause a problem rather than fix or prevent a problem. 

Foam Rollers: Do's & Don'ts 101: Part I

You may have heard of them, seen them lying around in the gym and you may have even seen people using them. Do always do what you see others doing because more than half the time people are doing the wrong thing in the gym. It's like a monkey see, monkey do kinda thing. I've seen people using foam rollers in the gym and sometimes I want to tear my hair off and beg them to stop. In my industry you learn that not everyone wants your advice no matter how right you are. The National Academy of Sports Medicine recently wrote and article on whether or not it's good to Foam Roll on your lower back. 

So what is the purpose of Foam Rolling? The answer: The purpose of Foam Rolling is to relieve muscle tension popularly called knots in the muscle and to relieve muscle pain. Benefits of Foam Rolling include increased flexibility, function and performance of the muscles but can also help reduce injury by directly releasing muscle tension.

Be careful when searching through Google to find guides on how to use foam rollers and even when searching on YouTube. You will find explanations but not everyone showing you how to use them is actually telling you the right thing. 

Below is a list of the benefits of using a Foam Roller for Self-Myofascial Release:

Benefits of Self-Myofascial Release

• Corrects muscle imbalances
• Improves joint range of motion
• Relieves muscle soreness and joint stress
• Decreases neuromuscular hypertonicity
• Increases extensibility of musculotendinous junction
• Improves neuromuscular efficiency
• Maintains normal functional muscular length

So before we talk more about how to use a Foam Roller properly let's first discuss whether or not Foam Rolling is good for use on your back. Most importantly take my advice and don't use a Foam Roller unless you absolutely understand how, what, why and when's about Foam Rolling. Make sure you first understand the cause of your back pain. Avoid self-diagnoses if it is not your profession. Don't take the advice of someone who is not a professional in the field of health and fitness or sports performance. Okay, now that we cleared that up let's talk about Foam Rolling and your lower back. While Foam Rolling may help reduce some pain if the underlying cause of lower back pain is not addressed, you aren't really doing anything to solve the problem. It's like placing a bandage on a cut, it covers the problem but it doesn't solve it. I found one key paragraph which really pointed out why it is ill advised to use a Foam Roller on your lower back. This is what Kyle Stull had to say in the NASM article, "If an individual does as is taught (about proper use of Foam Rollers) and does try to relax then they essentially just lay across the roll and force even more of an arch in their low back along with applying excessive pressure on the lumbar spine and the discs that separate them. Therefore, this ultimately aggravates the mechanical position that caused the low back pain in the first place". Here is another important point Stull mentioned that I haven't mentioned yet, "Areas the foam roll is used should have bony protection for organs. For example, when rolling the chest, there is no danger to the heart because the rib cage provides adequate protection. In the low back, there are the kidneys and the liver, which have little to no bony protection (Newton, 1998). While they may be protected by large muscles, it is still considered an endangerment site, especially when using body weight compression across such a large object.

So the moral of the story is first find out what the problem is by speaking to a professional. Address the root of your lower back problem and use the advice of a professional to help you solve the underlying cause before doing anything. 

To read more on the original article go to the NASM website: Should Your Foam Roll the Lower Back

If you wish to purchase a Foam Roller you can click on the picture above or follow this link: Foam Roller

Sleep Apnea and Your Health

Sleep Apnea is more common than people realize it. Did you know that if you are male you are 3 times more likely to suffer from Sleep Apnea? Do you know the health risks? Do you know what you can do about it? Here is an interesting infographic which provided some statistics and information on the dangers of Sleep Apnea and more. Click on the image to enlarge

Original Source: Sleep Apnea

Runner's Common Injuries

Running injuries can become a nightmare for an avid runner but those who experience it the most are those who have little to no exercise history and suddenly try to go all out on a vigorous exercise regimen. This is true about starting up on any type of exercise program. Rule of thumb --> Think of gradual, organized and planned progressions in the form of Periodization!

How Important is Your Calcium Intake?

You probably heard that calcium is important for healthy bones. What else do you know about calcium? Some people know that it is important to regulate your heart rhythm and others have also heard that it helps with weight loss. 

You may have also heard that a diet poor in calcium can lead to frail weak brittle bones. We know that osteoporosis is a preventable dis-ease that we don't ever have to experience if we get enough calcium. It is important to realize that calcium plays critical roles for everyone but is extra important for women because of losses of calcium during the menstrual cycle. 

We are taught that in order to get enough calcium we need to drink milk and other dairy products on a daily basis. This is partially true, but not absolutely true. Did you know that 255g of Spinach will give you 345mg of Calcium. That is more calcium than the equivalent of 300mg of Calcium provided by 240g of Milk. There is a big question about how much sense this makes. Most people would argue that you need to get the absorbable Calcium from Milk. Have you ever seen a grown Gorilla drink milk? Have you ever seen any other species other than a human drink milk during their adult life? This may be shocking to think about but if all the science is true then why is it that all the other species whom do not drink milk at adulthood demonstrate the ability to maintain strong bones without having dairy in their diets? Real life situations seem to show a lack of evidence as shown in human studies. 

http://thevegetariancenter.blogspot.com/2011/04/what-are-calcium-rich-foods.html

Some dangers in consuming milk and other dairy products include the consumption of high levels of saturated fats and bad cholesterol. Also, you risk the chance of suffering uncomfortable symptoms like flatulence and loose bowel movements attributed to lactose intolerance. You probably also hear that cows are pumped with hormones and are given loads of antibiotics in their feed in order to prevent disease and encourage rapid milk production and growth. These same cows are fed corn which isn't a normal staple in their diet. The reason for feeding them corn is to get the cows to gain weight fast thus increasing the companies profits.

Calcium is important for several reasons. It plays a critical role in proper nerve impulses. Calcium is important in the creation of blood clots to prevent excessive bleeding. In order to have healthy bones and teeth it is important that you get adequate amounts of calcium since they compromise 99% of all calcium in the body. Heart health requires calcium as does the regulation of blood pressure. Their are times when physicians will prescribe calcium channel blockers in order to maintain normal blood pressure rhythm. Proper muscle contraction and regulation of enzyme activity also require calcium. A diet high in acid foods, use of pharmaceutical medications and other physical stressors may lead excessive loss of calcium in the bones since calcium plays an important role in maintaining a proper pH balance. 

To learn more about how much Calcium you should consume on a daily basis for your age and other useful information go to: Calcium needs. I hope you enjoyed this article. Feel free to add your comments and thoughts :D. 

Nutrition: It's Not That Complicated!

This weekend during our football game out in Bakersfield a group of Sports Medicine doctors and myself were discussing the challenges we find when discussing diet, nutrition and weight loss with our clients. I was not surprised to hear that we shared the same concern. We hear the same things from our clients so it's quite obvious that it not an isolated situation. 

Most people when thinking about weight loss, the first thing they think about is all the hype out there claiming that you need to take some miracle supplements or that latest fat burning pill and worst yet about the latest surgery to help them lose weight. The same media hype that was used to introduce toxic activities like smoking and drinking soda has been used to market a billion dollar industry out of nutritional supplements that contain more unknown ingredients than whole foods. Seriously, you can't grow or raise more than half the stuff they put in those supplements. Someone has to arrive to work and get started in the laboratory to extract and produce millions of ingredients to create a product rather than go to a garden and grow a food. 

It's equally challenging for a personal trainer or strength coach who wants to truly offer sound advise to their clients because every corner we turn these days their is someone trying to get us to help them sell their product rather than getting us to try and help them sell some whole foods. I have yet to meet an individual who accomplished a successful weight loss program that they couldn't have done by sticking to a strict whole foods diet, regular exercise program, great sleeping patterns and stress management. Don't give in to the hype. I've been a victim of it many times myself but I have decided to stick to my ground and not promote a single supplement out there. This great planet in which we live in provides us with all the nutrients we need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. You just have to be willing to consume whole foods rather than products. I challenge you to go 30 days straight without consuming a single product but rather consuming whole foods. If you take this challenge, please post your challenges and your thoughts on this blog so others can see how you over came the need to consume products. Thank You and I wish you great success.

First We Make Choices, Then They Make Us!

I have been reading this book I recently purchased on and placed on my Kindle books library titled

'The Compound Effect' Although this book is focused on business success it talks about many things that lead to success or failure in any aspect of life. This book was written by Darren Hardy who is the publisher of Success Magazine. Here is a powerful excerpt about how the choices you make on a daily basis regarding your nutrition intake can have a significantly powerful positive impact on your life and health or a tragic outcome to your life and health.

"the Compound Effect can.. work in a negative way and can create a ripple effect that impacts your entire life. (Here is the story): Bard makes some muffins from a recipe he learned from the Food Channel. He's proud and his family loves it, and it seems to add value all around. He loves his own cooking and eats more than his share- but not so much that anyone notices. However, the extra food makes Brad sluggish at night. He wakes up a little groggy, which makes him cranky. The crankiness and sleep-deprivation begin to impact his work performance. He’s less productive, and as a result, gets discouraging feedback from his boss. By the end of the day, he feel dissatisfied with his job and his energy level is way down. The commute home seems longer and more stressful than ever. All of this makes him reach for more comfort food—stress has a way of doing that. The overall lack of energy makes Brad less likely to take walks with his wife, like he used to. He just doesn’t feel like it. She misses their time together and takes his withdrawal personally. With fewer shared activities with his wife and an absence of fresh air and exercise, Brad’s not getting the endorphin release that had helped make him feel upbeat and enthusiastic. Because he’s not as happy, he starts finding fault with himself and others, and stops complimenting his wife. As his own body starts to feel flabby, he feels less self-confident, less attractive and becomes less romantic. Brad doesn’t realize how his lack of energy and affection toward his wife affects her. He just knows that he feels funky. He starts losing himself in late-night TV because it’s easy and distracting. Feeling his distance, Brad’s wife starts to complain, then becomes needy. When that doesn’t work, she emotionally withdraws to protect herself. She’s lonely. She pours her energy into her work and spends more time with her girlfriends to fulfill her need for companionship. Men start flirting with her, which makes her feel desirable again. She would never cheat on Brad, but he has a feeling something’s wrong. Instead of seeing that his poor choices and behaviors are at the root of their problems, he finds fault with his wife. Believing that the other person is wrong rather than looking inside and doing the work necessary to clean up your mess is basic Psychology 101 stuff. In Brad’s case, he doesn’t know to look inside—they don’t offer self-improvement or relationship advice on Top Chef or his favorite crime shows. However, the thought may have occurred to him that, if he had read the personal-development books his buddy Scott read, he might have learned about ways to change negative habits. Unfortunately for Brad, the small choices he made on a daily basis created a ripple that wreaked havoc on every area of his life.

So the moral of the story is obvious. Brad made some choices on a daily basis. He made the choices but those choices eventually made him. He became a person he was no longer proud of. It cost him his health, self-confidence, his work ethic, his feelings toward people and his whole life  in general. He fails to realize that the problem is not them but rather him. The key thing he also fails to do is take personal responsibility for his actions. It's so much easier to blame people and circumstance for the outcome of our life because it takes no effort and it's easier to blame others. It's harder to face our inner demons and confront our faults and flaws. When you make it a choice to take 100% responsibility for what happens in life, you prepare yourself to make choices which will improve all aspects of your life. Taking self-responsibility for your choices is not enough though. Once you realize this you have to initiate action and continue working on healthy choices to make a drastically positive impact on your overall life. Every small progressive step you take toward making things right and better has a compound effect that you won't regret. You will be able to look back and see all that you have accomplished and it will seem less of a chore to continue to take more actions over a period of time to create a compound outcome. You will use your time more wisely. Remember this. You can make more after you lose it, you can rebuild a home after it's come to the ground but you can never make more time or build more time. You can't borrow time. Time wasted is time lost forever. 

Source: Hardy, Darren (2011-11-01). The Compound Effect (pp. 14-15). Vanguard Press. Kindle Edition. 

19 Daily Rules to Looking Your Best & Feeling Your Best in 2014

Here is a summary of things you can do to look your best and feel your best by summer of 2014.
#1 Walk 10,000 Steps Daily.
#2 Eat whole foods and avoid animal based foods.
#3 Drink water and whole foods juices as your source of liquids to re-hydrate.
#4 Perform strength training at least 3 times per week.
#5 Stretch daily
#6 Focus on good posture when you find yourself sitting.
#7 Practice some form of stress management.
#8 Stay away from industrialized foods and products.
#9 Don't smoke & drink no more than one serving of alcohol if you drink.
#10 Develop a regular sleeping pattern and sleep between 7 - 8 hours daily.
#11 Always tell somebody you love them.
#12 Hug somebody everyday.
#13 Stop worrying and start doing something about your problems.
#14 Spend time with people who encourage you rather than discourage you.
#15 Let the things you see, think and speak reflect on gratitude and happiness.
#16 Smile everyday as often as you can, even when you wake up, as you fall asleep and when ever you meet people.
#17 Read books on personal development and growth.
#18 Spend time around people that inspire you so you too can inspire others.
#19 Spend intimate time with the love of your life.
If you follow these 19 rules you will discover how amazing life can be. Enjoy!

Take Our Challenge for a Real Life Experience of Fitness & Healthy Eating

It gets more an more difficult to stay on track with exercise and nutrition when you find thousands of publications on the latest diets, the latest news on fitness and the bulldozer marketing of the supplement and meal replacement industry. Believe me, I have fallen victim to this many times in the past and it took years to start stripping away at facts versus marketing. 

When I started to study Chinese Medicine I took a stealthy approach of throwing the pharmaceutical gorilla off my back. It was a bit easy to do this because I didn't ever buy into the idea that we need to fill our bellies with man made medicine to make me feel better when I was feeling sick or less enthusiastic than normal. 

The hardest battle I faced was getting away from supplements and meal replacements because they were so convenient. This is the same culprit that has led to the SAD (Standard American Diet) eating patterns of fast food which has contributed to the growing trend of childhood obesity and the obesity epidemic in Americans in general. 

It is for this reason that in 2014 I want to and will offer a FREE series of fitness and nutrition seminars. I hope to educate and reveal the dirty secrets that the supplement and food industry is using to get people hooked on their brands and start a movement that will start a viral health promoting movement. So I thought of this title for my free educational seminar, "The Phit Loser" Challenge? This is short for 'The Physically Fit Loser' meaning that you lose and give up something in order to improve your health. I would love to hear what you think of this idea? 

I will be launching the website soon which will be directly linked to www.irondogfitness.com. I hope to see you at one of the seminars and in a few days you will hear my announcement.