Kyphotic Posture

Hey everyone,

Well well well........I will admit that 70% of the clients that I train or they train at Dessange gym have increased thoracic kyphotic posture. Are you one of those individuals hm........

Bad posture at the upper area of the spine is associated with excess bad sitting habits. Maintaining this bad posture for a long time can create other problems like neck or shoulder problems.

Here are some tips to try an correct this increase thoracic bad kyphotic posture:

1. If you are trapped in a sitting position for any reason for more that 2 hours, try and break it up by walking for couple of minutes.
2. Exercise the right muscles and stretch the ones that are tight is the correct philosophy. Strengthen specifically the thoracic erector spinae, multifidus/ rotatores, rhomboids, midddle/ lower trapezius, teres minor, infraspinatus and subscapularis.....you pretty much have to strengthen your mid- back and all the shoulder tendons that are located at the back of the shoulder. Stretch specifically the chest, upper abdominals,front shoulders , and lattisimus dorsi.
3. Upper body Mobility techniques and foam rollers are really very useful.
4. Medical massage targeting the upper body is suggested to loosen up the muscles and tendons.

The bottom line is.....start moving now...use it or lose it.....doooooooo it. I'm out........

Functional Movement Kinetic Chain Dysfunction Seminar Notes!

Hey everyone,

I attended last week a great seminar on functional movement/ kinetic chain dysfunction by Mike Antoniades here in Cyprus.....believe it or not...yes fitness seminar in Cyprus.

These are some notes that you will find useful:

• The body functions as a chain. If there are any imbalances, the body tries to correct the dysfunctions and some muscles are over- firing and some are not firing at all.
• Kids should exercise (movement of any kind) at least 3 hours a day to keep fit and adults 2 hours per day.
• Some postural/ movement dysfunctions are: back pain, chronic migrane, asthma, abdominal dysfunction, infertility and gas/ bloading.
• 60% of individuals decrease symptoms that were related to postural/ movement dysfunction with just correcting posture and the way they were walking in a recent study.
• It is a fact that almost 99.99999999% of the people do not know the correct way to walk or run properly. You have to admit it that no one showed you how to walk or run the correct way . This phenomenon was proven by all the people that tried to walk and run at the seminar. I was personally amazed by that
• Most of the individuals are front thigh muscles (quads) dominant instead of the back thigh muscles (hamstrings) or back muslces while they walk or run.
• Increasing the intensity of a workout, yet your nervous system is on fire.

These are some points to think about. Walking/ Running are 2 of the most important funtamentals that are ignorted by most of you out there. They are a form of art and you can always use a help form a specialist to figure this out in detail. I'm out.........

4 Thoughts and tips of the day !

4 Thoughts/ tips that you can use:

1. Undulated resistance training program: If you have not heard about this form of training, then you are the one who is missing. This old strength training variation can increase your strength and power. In short, you vary the resistance during the week for example Day one 2-5 Repetition MAX, Day two 6-8 RM and Day three 10-12 RM. Rest is crucial, yet you can vary the repetitions and resistance for the next days.
2. Physiotherapist and Chiropractors who are qualified should know how to perform a clear diagnosis of any injuries that you may have. Yes even in Cyprus...a good practitioner does not need always the use of X-rays and MRI's that most of the practitioners unfortunately do here in Cyprus.
3. To lose weight you do not need to restrict your calorie intake. If you follow some simple healthy nutritional tips you can accomplish this specific goal. My clients are the proof of this theory.
4. Strength Training does not stand out without the use of proper Stretching techniques. I currently use active or PNF stretching with my clients and to tell you the truth the results are great.

Any comments? I'm out.......

An interesting article from the NSCA PTJ !

How do Aerobic and Anaerobic
Exercise Compare in the Ability
to Alter Cardiac Risk in
Overweight Adults?

Recently researchers from Brazil examined the effects of 12
weeks of aerobic or anaerobic exercise on cardiac risk factors
with 22 over weight adults with a mean age of 40±8.
The exercise sessions for both groups were performed 3
days per week and duration of activity was progressively
increased from 20 minutes in the first week to 60 minutes
in the fifth week where it stayed for the remainder of the
12 week study. In the aerobic group continuous activity
was performed at 10 % under the lactate threshold, while
the anaerobic group performed intervals at 20% above
the lactate threshold at a work-to-rest ratio of 2:1.

Prior to
the initiation of the study, and immediately after, the following
measures were performed: total body mass, body
mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference, and
body composition. Additionally, plasma concentrations of
glucose, total cholesterol, and triglycerides were assessed.

Both exercise interventions resulted in significant reductions
in total body mass, waist circumference, body mass
index, and plasma glucose levels. Only the aerobic group
demonstrated reductions in total cholesterol and hip circumference.
Conversely, only the anaerobic group demonstrated
significant reductions in the waist to hip ratio.
Based upon these results it appears that both aerobic and
anaerobic exercise interventions have the potential to favorably
alter cardiovascular risk factors. However, the authors
of this investigation suggest that both aerobic and
anaerobic exercise interventions are warranted to maximize
the effectiveness of the exercise regime.

Moreora, MM, De Souza, HP, Schwingel, PA, De Sa, CK,
& ZOPPI, CC. Effects of aerobic and anaerobic exercise
on cardiac risk variables in overweight adults. Arq Bras
Cardiol 91:200 – 206, 219 – 226. 2008.
Does Strength Training Result

Why slow speed weight training is superior?

Three reasons why slow speed weight training is superior than fast speed are:

1. Slow speed causes high tension, on the other hand fast speed results in low tension.
2. Slow movements with heavy weight can increase the stress on the muscles, and
3. Decelarating weight lifting action such as 5 to 10 seconds up and down movement can increase strength.

In short, slow lifting causes maximal strength gains.

from 'VARIETY IN STRENGTH TRAINING BY CHARLES POLIQUIN. SPORTS SCIENCE PERIODICAL ON RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY AND SPORT. PHYSICAL TRAINING, AUG 1988, VOL8 NO.8'.

Shoes Insoles ?

Its been a while that I was thinking about this....does shoes insoles have any major role?

I understand that this topic is not related to strength conditioning, but its best if you know the answer. This guy the other day tried to fool me that I have flat feet and he was insisting that I personally want shoe insoles for better support.

Well, the answer to the question is that you do not need shoe insoles. Actually, the best form of training is without shoes. What really happens with the shoes is that they do not let the muscles of your feet to work properly, yet your feet muscles are shut down completely. The foot fingers are in a fixed form and do not move freely engaging all the foot muscles to contract.

If all the foot muscles work properly, there is better proprioception, and support through your feet. Sometimes this can cause less problems in the knee and hip joint....if you let your feet muscles to fire (orthopedic problems to the feet can cause problems to the above joints or vise versa).

In cases though, where othopedic problems are evident, the shoes insoles are used to re- align the biomechanical position of the body joints.

As for shoes, try out the Nike Frees and you can see the difference.

I'm out...........

Doctor's knowlegde about exercise???

Happy new year to everyone!

Well, this post goes back to a client that I counsoldate just before the holidays. He had a problem with his lower back(spondylolysis if you want the exact medical term).

His orthopeadic surgean suggested that the best for this specific client was only exercise, and not surgery. I reviewed what the doctor suggested for this client and I could not believed what he told me. All the exercices that the doctor told the client were totally off.....really really off. I could not underastand why this doctor did not refer this client to a trainer.

The plan of action, in short, for this client was to correct his exercises, stretch the right musculature, educate the client to protect his spine, and add some more exercises that are vital for recovery.

I can understand why people trust doctors, but you have to realize that a doctor does not know anything about exercise. Maybe they know what exercises can help you if you have an injury, but just knowing the 'right' exercises is one piece of the buzzle.

A fitness professional is the person to go to for this kind of issues. Performing the exercises correctly, progressing the training program with new exercises, education the client which movements are 'good' or 'bad' for them, stretch the muscle that are affected by the injury(which most of the time are not the muscles that the pain is localized) are some of the job duties of an exercise specialist.

You have to realize that doctors do not know it all! I'm out.......