More on P90X....

diagram credit: Gray's Anatomy



Yesterday, I wrote some thoughts on the workout called P90X. I was writing those thoughts after watching the workout from the comfort of my recliner with a glass of wine. This morning, I was intrigued enough to give it a shot. Now, I have some more practical thoughts and I can speak from experience and not just from analyzing the exercises.

First of all, I still hold the same opinions from my last post on the workout even after going through it.

Second of all, can I be honest? This workout kicked my rear end! And every other part of my body for that matter! Getting through this workout is a slight overstatement because I got through the first 7 exercises and I was dead. I would consider myself to be in fairly good shape and have taken lots of core classes and pilates, but the intensity and duration of this workout is nothing like i've experienced (except for maybe a spin class or military training).

Third, let me say that before you start this workout or any other for that matter, watch each exercise and make sure you are using correct form and engaging the proper muscles before actually trying to go through the workout. I say this because once you start getting fatigued (in my case around the third exercise), you will think less about your form and more about how tired and how much work you're doing. This is true for any exercise or activity.

Fourth, unless you've been through it before, don't try to do the whole workout the first time. My goal the next time is get through first 10 exercises. This sounds crazy, but i looked up after 7 exercises and the clock still showed 38 minutes left in the workout!! Now, I understand that many reading this are in much better physical condition than I am, and this advice won't apply. I am speaking mainly to the crowd of people that are looking for a new workout or who are fairly new to the core/functional type exercises.

Lastly, let me again say that the exercises in this workout are outstanding for building core strength and most of all core endurance! These can be great for any type of athlete or for protecting the weekend warrior from sidelining injury. I use lower level variations of these exercises in a rehab setting, so I know they are effective. I would suggest taking the exercises that are the most challenging for you and practice them individually or ask a professional if there are modifications or lower level exercises that can be used to strengthen the muscles necessary to complete the exercises in the workout correctly. Also, the developers of the program do offer a free P90x "fit test" to complete before starting the workout. I would highly recommend doing this and being honest with yourself during and after the test. Don't risk an injury by trying to just get through the workout! Remember: Correct muscle engagement and form, form, form!! Have Fun....i'm going to be sore for the next week!!

Cool Video on Core work

Sorry it has been awhile since our last post. Here is a link for a video which shows is what is going on here in Indiana at St. Vincent Sports Performance Center. Remember these are elite athletes!

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234127/100476-episode-13-team-indiana-elite-core

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

the runner's core exercises

In this post we have listed the key exercises which Lou & I use in order to keep up our baseline strength and mobility. These exercises load the key muscles involved with running. Each of these phases have a different goal and we try do them in this order to achieve these goals. More reps is not necessarily better. As I do these exercises, I try to think of the goal and concentrate on the quality or control of the movement. We try to do these 2-3 times per week on easy running days or rest days. In the off season, in our case winter, we may do these more frequently. Click on the highlighted words for a link to the post which will demonstrate each exercise. I will also eventually add these to our sidebar with updates for the exercises which I don't have a description. Remember give us some feedback with a comment. I never really know if anyone gets anything out of this blog.

Phase 1
Foam Rolling Goal- relax/release key muscle groups / Hamstrings, ITB, quads & hip flexors
I do 20 reps on each muscle group

Phase 2- Gently lengthen muscle groups which were released with foam rolling.
My key areas are my hamstrings and hip flexors.

Hip Flexor stretch

Lower Abdominals -This is a good way to indirectly work lengthen my hip flexors by increasing
the strength of my lower abdominals and stretch my back extensors without
actively loading my hip flexors as with the majority of Pilates exercises.

Phase 3 - With this group of exercises, the goal is to strengthen muscles by isolating the weak ones which try to get out of doing the work (primarily the glutes).

Clams

Bridging series

Arms

Phase 4 Goal- Strengthen the key muscles in a more functional way or to integrate the muscles which were stressed in phase 3. I don't do all of these in one session but rather I pick 2-3 of these. In the next workout I do the ones I skipped in the previous workout.

• Step Overs /Balancing
  
• Step Downs
  
• Lunges/Front Step up (modified lunge)
  
• Squat

Note to readers: Always consult a physician before starting any exercise program. The posts on this blog are purely for educational purposes only. The information written in the posts is the opinion of the authors and should not be taken as medical advice.

Core strength/ Lower abdominals

This is a great way for our runners to strengthen their lower abdominals without further loading their hip flexors (Pilates or full range sit-ups).

The runner will lie down supine with their knees bent at 90 degrees. They will then tighten their lower abdominals (rolling the pelvis toward their nose/flattening the lower back toward the floor). This position is maintained as they slowly raise their arms overhead holding a ball. The lower back should not arch away from the floor. The higher the arms are raised the more difficult it is to keep the "core" engaged. They will continue to slowly raise and lower their arms until the lower abdominals are fatigued.












We then have them load their External and Internal Obliques by repeating the same exercise but they start at the side of the pelvis and raise the ball at diagonal toward the opposite ear.












Once this is mastered we advance them to a more difficult position. They repeat these exercises but with the legs straight out. In this position it is much harder to keep the core engaged as the hip flexors are in a relatively lengthened position. This is a sneaky way to work on lengthening tight hip flexors and back extensors while strengthening the muscles that oppose them.

Pilates vs. Yoga

Photo credit: Chris Fanning, www.fitnessmagazine.com







Pilates and Yoga have gained significant popularity over the last 10 years with athletes of all sports, genders, and ages. Many studios are now offering pilates and yoga for kids. They have both become the cross-training choice of many endurance athletes. I have taken a series of classes in both basic yoga and pilates. Yoga, the older of the two disciplines (originated in India over 26,000 years ago), literally means "union". This union is between the mind, body, and spirit. There are several different branches of yoga (8), but the one we mostly identify with is described as Hatha Yoga, which refers to the practice of physical postures and poses (asana). Depending on the tradition of the instructor, classes can combine these postures and poses with relaxion and meditation to acheive a therapeutic healing of the mind, body, and spirit. Pilates, originally developed and taught by Joseph Pilates 80 years ago, is a series of exercises that are performed with the goal of elongating the muscles of the spine, developing core strength (the powerhouse: abdominals, postural muscles, gluteals), muscular control, and balance. Both disciplines are very concerned with quality of movement and being connected with your body in order to control movement. A meditative state of body awareness can be acheived with both disciplines in order to have a therapeutic stress relieving component.


All of that being said, I find that there are great benefits to both. As with all types of fitness and strength activities, I believe one has to identify their own goals when beginning a program whether it be going to the gym for a workout or starting a yoga class. The word that comes to my mind is balance. In my experience, yoga poses tend to focus more on flexibility. This is not to say that the poses don't require strength, because I can tell you that this is far from the truth. There are several poses that I couldn't even start because i didn't have the strength to hold the position. On the other hand, Pilates classes seem to focus on strength and control. To be honest though, some of the movements in the class I had trouble performing because, you guessed it, I wasn't flexible enough. To solve these dilemmas, I found that many of the pilates and yoga instructors would incorporate movements from both disciplines to supplement those deficits. I'm by no means an expert in either of the disciplines, so I don't know to what extent they overlap, but I did find that many of the movements overlapped each other i.e. flexibility movements in pilates and core strength movements in yoga.


Balance is the key. In my field, I see muscle imbalances everyday. I can see a muscle imbalance from a mile away when i'm watching a track meet. There's millions of opinions out there as to the cause of these imbalances. Is one muscle too tight? Is one muscle weak? Is the joint or joints hypermobile (too flexible)? Why are they in this state? Do they have a faulty postural habit (sitting on feet)? Do they have a faulty movement pattern (squatting or bending)? Have they had an injury or surgery that caused this compensation? Do they have a genetic trait (true leg length difference)? The list goes on and on. I believe that in most cases the cause of muscle imbalance is a combination of two or more of these.


Too often, I see athletes that have chosen to focus on only one part of the puzzle. For example, a runner who runs 50-60 miles a week and does yoga twice a week comes into the clinic with hip pain. In this situation the person was focusing on flexibility and neglecting stability. Their hamstrings, glutes, piriformis, and lower back muscles were above average for range of motion and flexibility, but their hip strength (buttock muscles and abdominals) were weak leaving muscles that were being overworked in order to control the hip and pelvis while running. Correcting the muscle imbalance with functional hip and core strength allowed them to return to running. This is just one example of many.


I am not saying that everyone who does either yoga and pilates and is a runner is going to end up injured or with a muscle imbalance. I know many athletes who do both, just one, or neither and never have a problem. My goal is to make people more aware of balance between strength and flexibility in order to perform better. I did both at separate times and felt stronger while running. I felt like my body was more stable and was able to be more efficient during workouts. Yoga definitely made me more fluid and relaxed while pilates made me feel longer and more powerful.


If you are injured or question whether you might have a muscle imbalance that might be hindering your performance there are many good (and some, not so good;) articles on the internet. Consult a sports medicine physician, physical therapist, or athletic trainer for a postural analysis or movement screen to identify problem areas.


Both pilates and yoga are great options for cross-training. Just remember to keep balance.

Be Hip!

(c) http://www.physiotherapy.co.uk/
This weeks topic on take and run Thursday is running injuries. This guy has a problem. Check out that hip position. This is a great picture of hip drop which is a problem we see often. The left hip drop is most likely because of right Gluteus Medius weakness. The primary function of this muscle during gait and running is to help stabilize the hip when the foot is in contact with the ground. It controls stance leg hip adduction. This can lead to multiple running injuries including ITBFS, knee, groin, lateral hip & lower back pain. The best way to correct this problem is to train/strengthen this muscle the same way it functions during gait. That is with the right foot on the ground. With my left groin strain last year, we noticed that my pain would increase in cushioned running shoes which allowed more pronation. We also noted that along with that I had more right hip drop (left gluteal medius weakness). I initially worked on left single leg stance exercises while simulating where my hip should be during stance (level hips). This is done by contracting or squeezing my left buttock/ leveling the pelvis. I would hold this position for 5 to 10 seconds and would fatigue very quickly. I then progressed to higher level functional exercises but only if I could maintain this position. In my case, flexibility had very little to do with why I was having pain with running. With a different neutral running shoe and increased functional strength of my hip I was able to return to pain-free running.

Our previous post on the step down, is an example of one of the higher level exercises. We will post some more video of others. Check out this related post. Got strength?
I hope this helped to explain this common hip issue.
Be hip!

You Don't Have Squat?

Photo Credit: Dan in conjuction with Horizon International Inc.

The big question is: Should I squat? Squatting, in my opinion, is one the fundamental movements that the human body can and should be able to do if all parts are functioning normally. Certainly, there are exceptions to being able to squat fully. Knee, hip, back, ankle, or foot injuries may limit your ability to perform a full squat. However, from the time a baby begins the developmental sequence, a squat is a way to get up and down from the floor, keep a good center of gravity, and keep stability when losing balance. Over time, adults tend to lose this ability because we don't squat. The result is muscle imbalance. These muscle imbalances can be seen from the shoulders all the way down to the ankles. The muscle imbalances translate over to all athletic movements, including running. Performing a correct squat requires a good mix of core strength, hip mobility and stability (like John mentioned in his previous post: Got Strength), knee stability, and ankle mobility/stability. Many times when performing a squat in a mirror, a person can see, or even, feel the muscle imbalances.