"How To Incorporate Scientific Balance Training" - Part 2

In Part 1 of this series, we looked at how stability and posture relate to balance. Specifically, we learned that if either one of these factors are not functioning optimally, not only is there a chance one’s balance will suffer, but structural degeneration and/or injury will be a likely result if not corrected.

Part 2 of this article series will review the basic reflexes we use during balance activities and how you can apply this information to your clients.

Matching Environmental Demands with Balance Training Demands

As upright human beings, we move across the earth in a field of gravity. On any given day, we face a number of balance challenges, though depending on what we do for a living, the amount of balance we require varies greatly. For example, individuals that drive cars, work in office buildings or sit around the house all day will have far different balance requirements than people who climb mountains, work at construction sites, ride subway trains, or drive motorcycles. Each activity we perform requires activation of specialized reflexes intended to protect us from falling and hurting ourselves. These reflexes are, in part, responsible for the action of putting our hands out to catch ourselves after a bus begins to drive before we have had a chance to get seated. These reflex reactions can be broken into two main groups:

• Righting reactions. These are used primarily when we are on a fixed or stable surface. For example, if you are walking along a sidewalk and you are forcefully pushed by someone behind you, you will primarily use your righting reactions to stabilize yourself and prevent yourself from falling.
• Equilibrium reactions. These are used primarily when the surface beneath us moves. For example, if you were taking a step off a curb and accidentally stepped onto a skateboard, in order to catch yourself from falling while the skateboard shot out from under you, you’d be primarily using your equilibrium reflexes.

These responses are quite important to our development and survival, which is why the majority of our righting and tilting responses should be built into the nervous system before the age of three.

Righting Reactions

Righting reactions can be broken into five different reflexes that serve the following functions:

• Keep the head in a normal position
• Right the body to a normal position
• Adjust the body parts in relation to the head and vice versa

These reactions are called:

• Labyrinthine righting reflexes acting on the head. Stimulation of the proprioceptors of the labyrinth causes changes in tone of the neck muscles, which bring the head into its natural position in space.
• Body-righting reflexes acting on the head. Reflexive effects of the neck muscles, which bring the head into the correct position in space caused by stimulation of pressoreceptors in the body wall by contact with the ground.
• Neck-righting reflexes. Changes in position of the head cause alterations in tone of the neck muscles through stimulation of proprioceptors in the labyrinth, which bring the head into its correct position in space. Stimulation of proprioceptors in the neck muscles in turn causes reflex movements of the limbs, which bring the person into the normal position in relation to the head.
• Body-righting reflexes acting on the body.
• Optical righting reflexes.

Examples of activities requiring righting reactions are numerous. They are used any time we are on a stable surface. Included in this list but not quite as obvious an example is walking on a balance beam.

Equilibrium Reactions

In addition to righting reactions, we also have equilibrium reactions. These reactions are developed in us as children for the purpose of maintaining or regaining control over the body’s center of gravity, thus preventing us from falling. According to Barnes, there are several categories of equilibrium reactions:

• Protective reaction of the arms and legs
• Tilting reactions
• Postural fixating reactions

As stated earlier, equilibrium reactions are more dominant when the supportive surface moves underneath us. Examples include wind surfing, working on a fishing boat in the open sea, riding a horse, driving a motorcycle, riding on a subway train or riding a skateboard (below). These activities use righting and equilibrium reactions together but may require a dominance of equilibrium reactions at any given moment.

To illustrate how this works, lets use the example of someone riding a subway train. When the train begins to move, if someone is not holding onto the pole and has slow equilibrium reflexes, there is a strong likelihood she will fall (cartoon below). The same could be said of any activity that requires a reflex response to maintain an upright posture or to protect the body. Vladimir Janda stated that if we could speed the reflex response time of our bodies by 50 percent, we would reduce the chances of acquiring an orthopedic injury by about 80 percent.

What is important about Dr. Janda’s statement in today’s training environment is that due to poor diet, lack of exercise and a number of other physiological stressors, many clients’ reflex responses are likely to be quite weak. The result of this is an increased chance of orthopedic injury, particularly during balance training exercises that may be too advanced!

How This Applies to a Fitness Professional

When selecting exercises for your client, it is important to consider the dominant reflex profile in the activity for which they are conditioning. In sports such as equestrian activities, surfing or motorcycle racing, it is important to determine which aspect of the task is most challenging to your client, and therefore needs the most attention.

Example problem 1: A motocross racer has a difficult time sliding through corners, but can handle straightaway riding and jumping.

Solution: They are likely to benefit from exercises that emphasize the tilting aspect of an equilibrium response. In this instance, kneeling on a Swiss Ball and catching medicine balls tossed from the side (below) would aid in improving the rider’s ability to respond more quickly to the motorcycle when sliding through corners.

Example problem 2: Another motocross racer is competent in the corners but has a difficult time controlling the bike through rough sections of the course due to a lack of strength or strength/endurance (below).

Solution: A circuit emphasizing righting responses and consisting of a series of exercises organized in a sequence of descending neurological demand would be useful in this scenario. For example kneeling on the Swiss Ball (below), followed by single-leg stance exercises and finishing with two-legged stance exercises would prove to be beneficial to this athlete.

The next progression would be a single-arm-opposite-leg cable push, followed by single arm abductions with a dumbbell (standing on the same leg), alternating between left and right sides for equal repetitions and finally finishing with a bout of body-blade work. The intensive interval method (~30 seconds per exercise) would be optimal. After one minute of rest, the circuit would be repeated up to five to 10 times, depending on the condition of the motocross racer. The key factor in selecting work volume is to make sure that bad motor skills are not being developed or reinforced by fatigue, as this may have a negative effect on racing performance.

Using a protocol such as the one described above will also serve to enhance postural fixating reactions regardless if the intention is to focus on improving righting or equilibrium reactions. This is important for the maintenance and development of any client reflex profile, as well as sound motor engram development.

Conclusion

I hope this installment of Scientific Balance Training has demonstrated the importance of identifying the type of reflex demands being placed on a client before you prescribe a balance exercise for them. Take a moment to think of any field or court sport (i.e., rugby, soccer, American football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, tennis). Are the athletes playing these sports on a fixed surface or a moving surface? Unless they accidentally step on the ball they are playing with or on another player, the surface they are playing on is relatively fixed – the athletes are moving across the surface. Therefore, using the information provided in this article, would they benefit more from a righting-based or equilibrium-based balance training program? Hopefully by now, the answer should be pretty clear.

More than anything, I’m trying to show you that simply putting someone on the latest piece of balance training equipment will not necessarily improve an athlete’s performance or prevent a client’s injury. As with any exercise program, it must be done scientifically, systematically and by using your brain! Remember, anyone can throw exercises at people and anyone can follow someone else’s recipe, but you are a professional. With the information provided here, you are now equipped to give your clients the right type of balance exercises based on the dominant reflex profile in their sport, work or everyday environment.

Part 3 of this article series will show you how the many control systems of the body relate to balance. For example, you’ll learn how the eyes, ears and the masticatory system all effect balance, as well as how levels of hydration and the presence of food allergies can also effect balance.

References: Paul Chek

Forwarded By, Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutritional Expert, Wellness Coach, Author, Speaker,

Call Me For Your FREE Consultation Today! 1-800-681-9894 or e-mail fitnesselementsassociates@yahoo.com

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" The Inner Game Of Health And Fitness" Part 1

"The Inner Game Of Health And Fitness" Part 1

"There is an Inner Game to Everything said W. Timothy Gallwey. He should know, Gallwey has written several books on " Inner Game" playing. The most popular are The Inner game of Tennis, The Inner Game of Golf, and The Inner game of Skiing. My personal favorite is the one he co-authored with Bary Green, The Inner Game Of Music.

There's an inner game of Your self- Image when it comes to your Health And Fitness too, and it plays a major role in developing Your Wellness Vision. Let me prove it to you by applying the Inner Game principles to Health and Fitness.

Self One: The Belittler

When you've decided and attempted to approach a weight-loss program, diet, or tried to incorporate healthier lifestyle changes in the past and discovered a little voice in your head judging your plan? You might hear it right now. It's the voice that tells you your plan is good or lousy (usually the latter). You may be used to this well-intended unseen companion that you don't know he's there in your head. But he's there, Believe me. And it's the inner Belittler called self one in The Inner Game that stops you from exercise, eating, and living fully to enjoy your recreational hobbies, sports, and fitness, etc. Your health and fitness should be approached with ease, flow, and add value and purpose to your life. Don't let self one the not so good buddy prevent you from exploring whats possible for you. The better you is there you just need to discover it my friend. Go for it take the leap and move towards the better you when it comes to your physical, spiritual, intellectual, and emotional self. Do that which you were born to be and live with joy!

We will explore Self Two: The Master in this two part series of "The Inner Game of Health And Fitness" Bye for now and keep those thoughts Focused on all that you are becoming that is good.

Your Friend In Health & Fitness,

Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutrition Expert, Author & Speaker


Call Me For Your FREE Consultation Today! 1-800-681-9894 or e-mail fitnesselementsassociates@yahoo.com

"The Five Most Dangerous Trends Facing Health & Fitness Consumers Today"

"This Rubik's Cube has more than four billion possible combinations. Fortunately, there are only five that you need to worry about when it comes to being a successful exerciser and eater in our new millennium. Don't be puzzled by dangers facing consumers! Get our FREE education today."

Weight Loss

Myth #1: Dieting Will Help You Lose Weight and Make You Healthy

Apple and scale


Every day we are bombarded with medical garbage. It comes from all sources — maybe even your doctor. There are also medical myths that have been passed on from one generation to the next — unfortunately, no one has looked carefully at where the information started and whether it is in fact valid or not.

In the following weeks, I would like to explore five of those myths and raise some questions. Hopefully, you will begin to think about them (and others) more critically…

I hate budgets and I hate diets. I think I hate them for the same reason — they make me want all the things I can’t have even more. Have you ever noticed that the word DIET is a four letter word and that the first three letters are DIE?! That’s how I feel about dieting. So many times we go to the doctor and he/she says “Well you are overweight and you need to start on a diet”. Unfortunately, many health professionals do not know exactly what this means — it is also the wrong approach to take to lose weight.

Instead of going on a diet, why not change the way you look at food and the way you approach your health? Why not change your reality and realize that food is nutrition that is good for the body as long as it’s the right kind and eaten in moderation? Food is not the enemy — choosing the wrong foods and overeating is the enemy.

A major problem started with flawed research that was then capitalized upon by food manufacturers. In the 1970s and 80s, it was erroneously determined that our high fat diet was making us all fat.1 Food manufacturers quickly caught on and soon every product had a label that said “low fat”. Unfortunately, we replaced the fat with sugar. As we all ate our low fat diets, the entire country got fatter.

A variation on the theme is being seen now with carbs. Everyone wants to be on a low carb diet. So now everything at the grocery store is advertised as “low carb”. Once again, most people have no idea what this means. There is more than one type of carbohydrate and not all carbs are bad.

Natural plant fiber is made from carbohydrates. Fruits are carbohydrates but should not be considered the same as carbohydrates from a doughnut. If we only look at the carb count, once again we will be led down the wrong path due to creative advertising.

So what are we to do? How can we figure all this out? I have two simple recommendations that will help. First get back to nature. I do not mean move to the mountains (although that does sound nice) — but start eating natural foods. Think of it this way — if you can’t catch it or pick it, don’t eat it. If you follow this rule, you can have all the fish, fresh meats, vegetables, and fruits you want.

In fact, if your diet consisted of just these foods, you would never be fat. As I write this, I am at a scuba diving resort in Borneo, Malaysia. This island does not have an overweight person on it. Why? Because they only eat what they can catch or pick. They have a natural high protein, low carb diet.

Second, if you are going to eat processed foods, always check the label. You will find protein content in grams, fat in grams, and carbohydrates in grams. Under carbohydrates it will list sugar in grams. If the grams of sugar are higher than 10 (8 if you want to be strict), put it back and choose something else.

You will be amazed at what does and does not have sugar once you start looking. Remember, it is not simply the fat or carbohydrates — as it turns out, the problem is the amount of sugar it contains.

Finally, I have an 85/15 rule. If you eat like I just showed you 85% of the time, you can eat what you like the other 15%. Food is energy — it is good for you. Choose the right foods and they will keep you healthy. Choose the wrong foods and they will make you ill. You are in fact what you eat.

Reference

1. http://weightoftheevidence.blogspot.com/2008/02/dr-jamie-bailes-fat-free-fallacy.html

2. By Dr. Tim Reynolds

Forwarded By Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutrition Expert, Author, & Speaker

Call Me Now For Your FREE Health & Fitness Consultation and Wellness Coaching Session $ 279.00 Value

1-800-681-9894 or visit www.Myfitnesselements.com

"How To Use Corrective Exercise That Is Functional - Part 2"

This article is a continuation from Part 1....

Although working with clients in pain for the purpose of “treating” or “fixing” their pain is outside the scope of practice of the fitness professional, this does not mean that our clients do not have active symptoms. Many clients feel they have exhausted treatment options or have plateaued with their care. Managed care and capitation that has limited visits for physical therapy has created a new demographic seeking personal training. Add the aging baby boomer generation and the health history profile of many personal training clients is increasingly more complex. These individuals still want to be healthy, physically active, functional and productive. The appropriate training progressions can help them do that.

There is a critical point here I would like to emphasize. In my observations, many fitness professionals have adopted the "Far Right (FR)" philosophy, not recognizing the full complement of tools that a physical therapist or chiropractor - who also uses the FR philosophy - utilizes as part of their intervention. Aside from having a more in-depth education on joint mechanics, tissue tolerance, etc., physical therapists and chiropractors also apply joint mobilization, joint distraction, manual resistance and even orthotics to enhance what they will do with fully integrated, multiplanar exercises.

Following comprehensive assessments on their patients, these medical professionals will use these various other “tools” to prepare the patient’s body for fully integrated, multiplanar exercises. These tools are used to address dysfunctions at the local level to improve the global response. The fitness professional who applies exercise strategies from the FR philosophy without addressing the local segmental dysfunctions first provides the body an environment to perpetuate compensatory movement patterns.

The appropriate application of corrective exercise can produce benefits similar to many manual interventions. In fact, from a motor learning perspective, the benefits of corrective exercise can be even superior to manual intervention because the client can reproduce the benefits independently of the health professional. This allows for more frequent and proactive changes by the client that can not occur with manual interventions performed two or three times a week. This is assuming the fitness professional has the prerequisite knowledge of functional anatomy and application of specific corrective exercise.

A fitness professional who does not assess musculoskeletal function or who does not have a thorough understanding of the results of an assessment may incorrectly believe that getting an exercise done is the same as getting an exercise done right. Or that if an exercise does not produce immediate pain, it is not doing any harm. The reality is that cumulative mechanical stress from inappropriately applied functional exercises is the same as cumulative mechanical stress from any other activity.

Proprioceptive Flow Following Injury

The ligaments and joint capsules contain mechanoreceptors that provide feedback on joint position and acceleration. Certain mechanoreceptors also contain pain receptors. When a ligament or the joint capsule is injured, the amount and quality of proprioceptive information is reduced. During the healing process, scar tissue forms. The properties of scar tissue are not the same as the original ligament tissue. Therefore, proprioceptive information remains reduced, unless the injury was followed by a comprehensive rehabilitative process that challenged the local proprioceptive system.

Unless you are working with high level athletes, how many of your clients have gone through comprehensive proprioceptive training following an injury? Many people won’t even go to a doctor for a diagnosis following a sprain, never mind therapy.

Muscle spindles will adapt to injury as well. Edgerton et al. studied the muscle activation of spinal muscles during a variety of motor tasks in whiplash patients. Their research showed an under activity of agonists and over activity of synergist. They concluded that the nervous system can detect a reduced capacity to generate force from a specific muscle or muscle groups and compensate by recruiting more motor neurons. This compensation is achieved by recruiting more motor units from an uninjured area of the muscle or from other muscles capable of performing a similar task (synergist).

Babyar looked at a population that had experienced shoulder pain. As part of the patient’s compensation strategy, they elevated their scapula when the arm was raised. Patients were reevaluated after the shoulder pain was gone. Babyar observed that the scapular elevation continued even in the absence of pain.

Janda also describes muscles that have a low irritability threshold. These are posturally shortened and hypertonic muscles. These muscles will create a bias of the motor neuron pool and are prematurely active (or overactive) and exert inappropriate influence on selected movements.

Interestingly, joint range of motion (ROM) may return to pre-injury levels after the ligament or joint capsule heals. But ROM does not correlate directly with proprioceptive flow from the mechanoreceptors. Therefore, even if a previously injured joint has normal ROM, it may not be “feeding” the necessary proprioceptive information to the CNS during activity. Our internal feedback systems are based on the quality of the proprioceptive information we receive. Therefore, poor proprioceptive flow from the periphery will negatively affect the quality of the motor response based on that poor proprioceptive information.

For example, the client or athlete with a history of ankle sprains that were never rehabilitated properly will have poor proprioceptive flow from the damaged ligaments. The body will not sense the “stuck” talus that is inhibiting adequate dorsi flexion during midstance in gait. The body unconsciously figures out the best way to maintain equal stride lengths is by prematurely lifting the heel on the affected side during the stance phase. This creates biomechanical changes at the hip and lumbar spine.

Also associated with joint injuries are two muscular responses resulting from disruption of the joint integrity. Both are unconscious and neurologically based. One response is reflex spasming. This is a response to pain in which the muscles splint via co contraction around the joint to protect it by reducing movement and minimizing additional damage. Motion required at the protected joint must be transferred to joints proximal and distal to the protected joint.

An alternate response by the CNS is reflex inhibition. This is the complete opposite of spasms. As the result of the arthrogenic reflex, the muscles surrounding the joint become inhibited. This often follows distention of the joint due to effusion (swelling). Inhibition prevents the body from using that joint, thereby avoiding any potential additional harm. Biomechanical compensation is therefore necessary to compensate for the weak link.

An often overlooked example of this is the role a blocked sacroiliac (SI) joint has on the function of the ipsilateral gluteus maximus, internal oblique and multifidus. If the appropriate movement of the sacrum on the innominate does not occur, the activity of these three vital lumbo-pelvic stabilizers is delayed due to inhibition by the CNS. Force production is secondary to appropriate timing of muscle activation for joint stabilization. The role of the SI joint is critical in load transfer of forces from the ground to the upper body. Poor load transfer through the SI joint requires compensatory reactions at the knee, hip and lumbar spine, compromising optimal lumbo-pelvic stabilization.

Therefore, it is questionable if, for example, an anterior lunge with the trunk flexed forward can improve gluteus maximus function if the SI joint is blocked on the same side. According to Hungerford’s study, there is more likely to be an earlier onset and increase in activity of the biceps femoris, also a hip extensor. Clearing the SI joint with the appropriate corrective exercises prior to lunging will facilitate appropriate timing of gluteus maximus function in the lunge.

Stay tuned for the third and final part of this series... coming soon!

References:

1. Babyar SR: Excessive scapular motion in individuals recovering from painful and stiff shoulders: causes and treatment strategies, Physical Therapy 76:226, 1996
2. Brooks, VB The Neural Basis of Motor Control. New York: Oxford University Press 1986
3. Edgerton, VR., Wolf, SL., Levendowski, DJ., Roy, RR. (1996). Theoretical basis for patterning EMG amplitudes to assess muscle dysfunction. Medical Science in Sports and Exercise 28: 744-51.
4. Hungerford B, Gilleard W, Hodges P 2003 Evidence of altered lumbopelvic muscle recruitment in the presence of sacroiliac joint pain. Spine 28(14):1593
5. Jeansonne, J, (2004). Motor skill learning looks beyond outcomes. Biomechanics Magazine Online. Retrieved June 2004.
Keele, S.W. Summers, JJ (1976). The structure of motor programs. In G.E. Stelmach (Ed.), Motor control: Issues and Trends (pp. 109-142). New York: Academic Process.
6. Lee, Diane (2001). An Integrated Model of Joint Function and Its Clinical Application. 4th Interdisciplinary World Congress on Low Back and Pelvic Pain. Montreal, Canada, 137-151.
7. Laskowski ER, Newcomer-Aney K, Smith J, (2000). Proprioception. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America. May;11(2):323-40, vi.
8. Magill, RA, (2001). Motor learning: Concepts and applications. New York. McGraw-Hill, 2001
9. McGill, Stuart (2002). Low Back Disorders: Evidence-Based Prevention and Rehabilitation. Champaign, IL. Human Kinetics.
10. Myers, T. (2001). Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists. New York, NY: Churchill Livingston.
11. O’Sullivan PB, Twomey LT, Allison GT. (1997). Evaluation of specific stabilizing exercise in the treatment of chronic low back pain with radiologic diagnosis of spondylolysis or spondylolisthesis. Spine;22:2959-67
12. Anthony Carey

Forwarded By, Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutritional Expert, Author, Speaker

Call Me For A FREE Fitness Consultation OR Functional Fitness Training Session

1-800-681-9894 or 480-419-6462 or go to

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" How Halloween Can Kill Your Diet!"

"How You Can Achieve Results By Implementing My "Total Body PUMP-kin Workout" Guaranteed!!

"As Halloween season is ominously looming around the corner, the time is now for a big-time reality check: pumpkin season is REALLY when the holiday weight gain starts! While the month of December is typically blamed for holiday weight gain, the fact remains that the pounds actually start to get packed on in late October. The amount of eats and treats that people consume is alarming. One of the main problems is the smaller “snack sizes” that the candy manufacturers have made available. Eating several “mini” chocolate bars is something people see as “ok“ because of their smaller size. In other words, it becomes a lot easier to convince yourself to indulge in these gut-swelling goodies and then you end up eating even more than before!

Well my rant aside, let’s focus on what we can control. Use the following three figure-saving tips that we have used with great success with our own clients for keeping the pounds off while still allowing for the occasional indulgence this trick or treat season:

1) Workout with Pumpkins:

Engage in some amazingly fun and effective seasonal fat loss workouts involving only your body weight and you guessed it… a pumpkin! This orange fruit can be used just like a medicine ball except for the smashing or throwing aspect, unless that’s your goal! Make your very own four-minute total body pumpkin fat loss workout, using the provided template below (the options are endless):

Exercise#1- Double-Leg Lower Body: Pumpkin Squats @ 20 s max reps, 10 s rest and transition

Exercise#2- Upper Body Push: Pumpkin Push-ups @ 20 s max reps, 10 s rest and transition

Exercise#3- Single-Leg Lower Body: Pumpkin Lunges @ 20 s max reps, 10 s rest and transition

Exercise#4- Upper Body Push: Pumpkin Bent-Over Rows @ 20 s max reps, 10 s rest and transition

- Perform this 2-minute circuit 2x for 4 total minutes

These high-intensity, metabolism-boosting circuit interval training workouts only take four minutes to complete and will have you burning tons of calories during the workouts AND even more calories while you’re resting... or having those naughty Halloween treats!

2) Make Healthier Halloween Recipes:

Think outside of the box when it comes to preparing Halloween snacks. One great strategy is to use fruit as a main component in your baked goods. The most popular fruit of the fall, the Pumpkin, is a health food in disguise. Loaded with beta-carotene and packing 7 grams of fiber in just one cup, adding this to any treat immediately improves it's health profile. For example, culinary queen Naomi Nazario makes a fall-time classic, Pumpkin Pie, into a much more figure-friendly option. In her "Guilt-Free Pumpkin Pie" Nazario substitutes the loads of sugar with splenda and replaces high-fat condensed milk with only half the amount of low-fat or fat free condensed milk. Simple changes like this eliminate the high-sugar, high-fat combination that is responsible for the major weight gain around the holidays.

3) Use Common Sense:

- Only buy enough candy so that you expect to run out before the evening is over. It’s crucial to weight loss success to not have “trigger” foods lying around – the temptation is often too great.

- Allow yourself just one piece of candy in the morning and then one at night. Skip any desserts
that you would normally eat after dinner. Also, be sure to increase your exercise activity by thirty minutes on every day that you eat your two pieces of candy. This will counteract the increase in calories that you are consuming.

- Furthermore, if you indulge a bit too much it’s important to forgive yourself and move on. Dwelling on the past will not help your success.

We must break out of the frustrating emotional eating patterns that sabotage our fat loss efforts during the holidays. Our brains are wired to crave the sugar-laded treats that typify the Halloween season. So, instead of using Halloween as a reason to justify eating a bunch of junk food we spin the seasonal event to spice up our boot camp workouts by using pumpkin exercises and making healthy pumpkin pecan shakes. Halloween thus becomes a fat loss tool for us, an approach that is key to adopting a healthy lifestyle for long-term weight loss success.