michael reid

Rehab Tip - Do the Opposite

Here is a little rehabilitation tip.

When a movement causes pain, doing the opposite will usually relieve the pain and correct the problem.

E.g. 

• My shoulders hurt when bench pressing ... do more rowing (pulling) exercises like chin ups or supine pull ups.

• My low back hurts when I bend forward to tie my shoes ... do press ups.

• When I sit for long periods I get pain in the back, neck and shoulders ... stand more and do the Brugger Relief Position.  Hold the below position for 5-15s and do 3-5 repetitions.

image: www.sportsandspine.org/pain_headache.asp

Be Well,
Mike Reid

Killer at Large

Why as a society are we getting fatter?

My initial thoughts:

• Overconsumption of the "white devils" (sugar and processed grains)
• not moving enough

Be Well,
Mike Reid

Do your athletes land like this?

Do your athletes land from jumping like this?  Well if they do, you just identified an athlete with a higher risk of a non-contact knee injury, particularly ACL tear.  Male or female, it does not matter but females will display this kind of knee posture more often then males and this is one of the reasons why females are 2-8x greater risk of a non-contact knee injury.

What can we do about this?

• Get stronger using movements like squats, lunges and single leg squats with great technique (i.e. keep the knees out!).

Be Well,
Mike Reid

The videos you were supposed to see

During my presentation last weekend I had some multi-media difficulties and was unable to show the class these videos.  The videos demonstrate what the research indicates; athletes injure their knees when they have an increased valgus stress at the knee.  Valgus at the knees simply means when the knee(s) collapse inward toward the mid-line of the of the body.

Be Well,
Mike Reid

Training the Athletes Knee

date: 10-05-2008 (this Saturday!)                              time: 1030-1400 (Bar-b-Q Lunch Provided)

venue: Gothia Arena, Gothenburg, Sweden                            Cost:  200 SEK

Overview:

• Learn how the knee works and it's supporting structures.

• Why females have greater risk of knee injuries.

• Jumpers Knee – what exactly is it?

• It's not about the muscles.

• Learn specific exercises you can use during a practice session to keep the knees healthy.

• The #1 Swiss Ball exercise

• The Health Lift for the intermediate lifter.

• Sample Programs

• This seminar is part lecture and part movement.  You are going to learn by doing, please come prepared to move.

Registration:  Please Contact Marina  031 693 550 (daytime)

marina.tillberg@hogsbobasket.se

Strength Coach Podcast

The strength coach podcast, if you have not listened, is quite good.  The information presented is geared towards professionals working in the health, fitness, rehabilitation field and obviously the strength coach.  It comes out every 2 weeks and each one last about 60 minutes.

I usually download it and listen to it while I train, the Swedish athletes I work with get all "excited" when I tell them I have a new episode of the Strength Coach Podcast!

Be Well,
Mike Reid

Single Leg Squats

Single leg squats are a great exercise for keeping your knees healthy.   In a future post I will give further explanation on why this is a good exercise and even show some research.

Be Well,
Mike Reid

ps Even though there are many coaches who advocate single leg exercises, below I found one who has an interesting argument against them.

from: Charliefrancis.com

Single Leg Squats (SLS) 

“Compete on one leg; train on one leg.” “Train the sport specific way.” It’s hard to miss the promotion of this training method or the self-promotion of its Gurus. You can deep squat over 200kg, yet, when tested, you can’t do one unloaded single leg squat without starting to fall over. Amazed by your newly discovered ‘inadequacy’, you’re easily convinced that you must overcome it. But that argument can be turned on its head. Since the formula for power output is weight times distance divided by time, it is precisely this same test that proves there will be training losses if SLS work is substituted. Let’s get this straight from the outset. You will be hard pressed to ever lift one sixth as much with a single leg squat as you could with both legs, no matter how long you work at it, so there better be a convincing argument for its inclusion. Supporters claim that you must be able to stabilize at least your own bodyweight to be optimally stabilized in motions specific to your sport. But, like the gyroscopic effect of a bicycle in motion, the stabilization requirements for a body in motion are far less than when stationary, regardless of the direction of that motion. Supporters argue that the single leg squat is more specific to the motion of the sport itself. While that might sound reasonable at first, it doesn’t stand up to closer examination. A study by Loren Chiu, a PHD candidate at USC, Dr John Garhammer of Cal. State Long Beach, and Dr. Brian Schilling of the Univ. of Memphis compared the movements of the single leg squat and other movements. They found that the magnitude and direction of forces in a SLS were significantly different when compared to running to cut, backpedal and cutting to the left for both the hip and the ankle. In fact a bilateral squat was much closer to these movements than a SLS. (The Science of Specificity).

Great Movements #2 - hip Flexibility Drills

In the below video I go over a series of movements to improve your lower body flexibility with particular attention to the hips.  All the drills are based on the Squat, Lunge and Dead Lift.  Great to use before training sessions as part of a warm up.

Be Well,
Mike Reid

PS  this is also the video to accompany an interview that I did with www.TheCrossOverMovement.com.

What makes a Good Athlete?

If someone has good athletic ability does that make them a good athlete? 

Any comments?

Be Well,
Mike Reid

Are Abdominal exercises needed?

We know it is important to have strong abdominal and trunk muscles, which has become known as the "core".  But do we need to be doing isolated exercises for these muscles or can we get away with just doing whole body lifts that work everything? 

Well I will be the first to admit that I always thought you need to do separate exercises for your trunk muscles to fully develop them but maybe we don't?   The study below sheds some light on the issue.

Be Well,
Mike Reid

 

"The Difference in Trunk Muscle Activation During Dynamic Weight Training Exercises and Instability Exercises

The purpose of the following study was to determine the extent of trunk muscle activation during dynamic weight training and isometric instability exercises.

Sixteen subjects performed squats and deadlifts with 80% of 1 repetition maximum (RM), as well as supermen, sidebridges, squats and deadlifts with body weight only. Electromyographic (EMG) activity was measured in the following muscle groups: lower abdominals, external obliques, upper lumbar erector spinae, and lumbar-sacral erector spinae.

The results of the study indicated that EMG activity of the lumbar-sacral erector spinae during the 80% 1RM squat significantly exceeded EMG activity for the same muscle during the 80% 1RM deadlift, bodyweight squat and deadlift, superman, and sidebridge. EMG activity of the upper lumbar erector spinae during the 80% 1RM deadlift significantly exceeded the EMG activity for the same muscle during the 80% 1RM squat and all body weight exercises. There were no significant changes in EMG activity for the lower abdominals or external obliques.

The researchers concluded that because the lumbar-sacral erector spinae and upper lumbar erector spinae muscle activation during the 80% squat and deadlift exceeded muscle activation during body weight exercises, instability exercises may not be necessary to augment core stability training, so long as individuals perform upright, resisted, dynamic exercises."

Hamlyn, N., D.G. Behm, and W. B. Young. Trunk muscle activation during dynamic weight-training exercises and isometric instability activities. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 21(4), 1108–1112. 2007.