Correcting through Exercise

Well, after months of studying, I am now a newly minted ‘Corrective Exercise Specialist’.  I signed up for this certification in July thinking that it would be easier than the fitness Nutrition Specialist certification that is also issued by NASM and which I had passed just weeks before.

BOY, WAS I WRONG!

It was not that I have learned new tricks but have added a lot to the arsenal that I already have. The NASM CES certification is great to sharpen skills of static and movement assessments, and in my very first assessment after this certification, I identified a compensation that would have escaped me before in the initial assessment.

I love the fact that I can now merge MELT and CES into one comprehensive package, and it is my expectation that I will be able to help my clients and class participants get on the path to better well-being and health even more effectively.

Standing Tall

When I teach a MELT (Myofascial Energetic Length Technique) class, I always begin by talking the participants through an assessment where I describe ideal alignment, and the participants are encouraged to evaluate by comparing their self-perception to the ideal. I recently had a question about this. Here it is:

“Why is it so important to be in ideal alignment?”

Sure, it looks look when somebody has good posture but that is not the main reason.

When we are in good alignment (i.e. have ideal posture), we have proper relationships within our musculoskeletal system and move the ease and efficiency. Even slight deviations compromise this efficiency. For example, if our head is a little forward, something in our body has to go backwards to maintain the center of gravity. Thus we have shortened a muscle somewhere and lengthened another to compensate. If we always return back to ideal posture, then those relationships are restored to their proper length but that usually does not happen.

We often stay in less than ideal alignment, and the result is that compensations become permanent. The detrimental effects are not immediately obvious, particularly when the deviations are slight. When we notice it a lot is when we have an injury which causes us to limp for a while or if we are immobilized in a cast. For one, it costs a great deal of effort to get from point A to B. And it usually does not take long, and we notice that other parts of our body begin to hurt. The lower back, for example, is often a victim of an ankle sprain.

It is my belief that bad posture often starts as a bad habit. Habitually carrying heavy objects on just one side (which includes small children on just one hip), sitting in front of the computer with the head jutting forward and slouching instead of sitting upright are just some examples.

So: what can you do about it? First, notice it. It’s half the battle. I am biased and believe that a MELT class is a great place to learn about your posture.  But a skilled fitness professional can also help you identify imbalances and compensations and design a program that can address them.

And now: head up, shoulders back and abs tight – just as your mother always said!

In Knead of MELT

Last Wednesday, I had another opportunity to talk to a group of massage therapy students. It was about one of my favorite subjects, MELT (Myofascial Energetic Length Technique).

There are many professions, massage therapy being one of them, where the professionals have to rely on the effortless functioning of their bodies in order to pursue their careers. Sue Hitzman, the creator of the MELT method, is a manual therapist herself, and she developed the MELT hand treatment in response to her own problems from overworked hands.

Just looking at the effects of the MELT hand treatment itself, the benefits are great, whether people sit at their computers all day long or are in a profession where the use of hands is a main part of the job like massage therapy and hair styling or recreational activity such as arts and crafts. Taking just 10 minutes a few times a week can help maintain the health of the hands as well as have beneficial impact on structures higher up the arm lines like shoulders and necks. 

Mulling over Movement

I recently had the privilege to review a manuscript which tries to address the question which we are all asking: considering the well-known risks of not exercising and excess weight, why is it that we – as a nation – are getting more unfit and heavier at the same time.

To start with my punch-line; this may feel like a downer: I do not have the answer either.

The excuses are legend and rarely justified: no time, too tired, family first, and many others. It is usually not lack of knowledge. Many preface their excuses with a list of what they ‘should do’ before starting in on the ‘buts’.

It is not possible to scare people into healthier behavior; who wants the stick? And a carrot does not seem such an alluring option if you can carrot cake with frosting, maybe even à la mode.

I also watch with pharmaceutical advertising with concern. Controlling diabetes or hypertension with a pill makes the person still diabetic or hypertensive even if the blood work is good and the blood pressure reading is normal. Yet, somehow we have convinced ourselves that it is not there if we cannot see it.

For me, moving is about the freedom to do what I want. I love walking and am fortunate enough to have a faithful canine companion who shares my enthusiasm. I never thought of movement as exercise that I do apart from my life. Our bodies were designed to move, to push and to pull, to reach and to extend.

I know that many feel like I do. I also know that many more do not. I feel sorry for them because they are missing out on a sensation of well-being they have never known.

And even though we can only lead a horse to the water, we should still do it over and over again at the odd chance that it will drink one of these days.

IDEA World 2012 – Perspiration and Inspiration

30 years of IDEA … I have been part of the last 17 of it. I can say without exaggeration that the conferences I have attended have very much shaped what I do as a personal trainer. Being exposed to so many ways of looking at the body and being able to pick my own vantage point has made me the trainer I am today.

This IDEA was no different in offering opportunities to perspire while being inspired. There is something to be said for a conference when – as a trainer who prides herself on good posture – I could not wait for the last lecture of the day where I was able to slouch in a chair after having spent the entire day on the floor

There is no more doubt that the industry has indeed discovered fascia. Everybody talks about it but few do something for it. MELT is one example but another is ViPR training which uses a log reminiscent of the Scottish Highland Games to move it ever which way. As I watched and tried, I was reminded of my very colorful Haberman’s Sphere which I love to use as an illustration of the interconnectivity of fascia. I could just see it employed in extensibility and creating a gentle external force on the entire system.

While this stands out for me, there were many other interesting sessions. The one on protein research was informative. It appears to be of benefit to level the protein intake out during the course of the day even if the same total amount of protein is consumed. I also really enjoyed one about corrective shoulder exercises. Since I am the proud owner of two surgically altered shoulders, I had a primary interest in anything ‘shoulder’. During that session, I learned quite a few new things, and I am very anxious to throw myself into the study of the NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist curriculum from which that material derived.

I enjoyed the workouts I signed up for. I started off with Pole Dancing (yes, you may trust your eyes) and have garnered a healthy respect for it. Very suitable for gymnasts and dancers – for everybody else I would suggest: if you want to get from one side of the pole to the other, just walk around it.

I also took a Yoga / Tai-Chi fusion class from my favorite instructor Lawrence Biscontini. He always makes me feel as if I can actually do that stuff. His radiant personality and in-depth knowledge combine for a wonderful experience.

Last I took a workout called 3 D Pilates using both a Bosu and a ballast ball. Since we have both at the studio, I will certainly include some of the exercises that I learned even though I will leave the parlor tricks alone.

In summary: Happy Birthday, IDEA. I am glad to be a part of it.

Newton was Wrong

Newton’s first law: Every object continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a straight line, unless compelled to change that state by external forces acted upon it.

That may look like a bold statement from a personal trainer in the 21^st century, and maybe Newton meant to have excluded humans from that statement. All things considering, I suggest a modification applicable to humans:

Karin’s first law: Every human continues in its state of rest, unless compelled to change that state by internal forces acted upon him/her.

As a personal trainer, people come to me to get guidance for exercise after they have already made up their minds that they want to exercise. Picking up that phone and crossing the threshold to my studio are often the biggest steps a person will make. All following steps are small in comparison.

We in the fitness industry are often lamenting that we are not reaching out enough to the sedentary population. The results of lack of exercise and bad eating habits are in plain sight. I do not know of anybody who is not aware that this is detrimental to your health.

So: what can we do?

Maybe we should consider what we should not do: stigmatize those whose appearance makes it obvious that they have made some unfortunate choices.  Let’s declare a peace treaty on the ‘War on Obesity’ because they are not our enemies.

There is no external force that can make somebody do anything. Only internal motivation can accomplish that. And such internal motivation can grow much easier on a soil of understanding and compassion.

Of Carbs and Men

As of Sunday, June 10, 2012 I am the proud owner of the title ‘Fitness Nutrition Specialist’ which is a certification through NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine). As such, I can voice my opinion on food choices and vitamins and supplements with greater depth of knowledge than I could before.  I have studied for several months, biting my way through a nutrition textbook of prodigious dimensions while having a few reminders of my organic chemistry class in school.

While the science of nutrition over the years has discovered just enormous amounts of knowledge of how the body works, there is still a lot that is not known yet.

Particularly when it comes to fruits and vegetables, there is simply more to any variety than is yet discovered. We know about fiber, the carbohydrates and the vitamins and minerals but there is a whole additional world called ‘phytochemicals’ which have the following definition according to Wikipedia:

Phytochemicals, chemical compounds that occur naturally in plants (phyto means "plant" in Greek), are responsible for color and organoleptic properties, such as the deep purple of blueberries and smell of garlic. The term is generally used to refer to those chemicals that may have biological significance but are not established as essential nutrients.  Scientists estimate that there may be as many as 10,000 different phytochemicals having the potential to affect diseases such as cancer, stroke or metabolic syndrome. Although certain phytochemicals are available as dietary supplements, some scientists speculate that potential health benefits of phytochemicals may best derive from consumption of whole foods.

So: an apple a day keeps the doctor away after all.