Are you ready to get your back in shape? Contact Jason Cornish, Medical Fitness Specialist, Personal Trainer, and Health Coach in Auburn, AL today at 402-521-0314 or email at jason.a.cornish@gmail.com.
Disclaimer: Please consult your doctor before you begin any exercise program. The content of this blog is for educational purposes only. You are responsible for the outcomes for the use, misuse, or lack of use of the information presented in this blog.
The secret to staying young is KEEP CHALLENGING YOURSELF
People of any age can turn their health around and get stronger, become more capable, and turn back the biological clock. When the human body is challenged it will respond and get stronger. This is what the body was meant to do.
It has been so inspiring to coach and train people in their 7th, 8th, and even 9th decade of life. I love hearing stories from my clients about how they don’t have to give up going on trips, garden work, other hobbies, and above all stay independent/ strong/ happy!
During a large group training session this past week I had a moment of amazement at what one of my clients was doing (go Roberta!). It truly is amazing, especially considering her physical capabilities 3 years ago when I first met her. She has come a long way!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3BexDZZtQk
Ready to get stronger at any age? Contact Jason Cornish, Medical Fitness Specialist, Personal Trainer, and Health Coach in Auburn, AL today at 402-521-0314 or email at jason.a.cornish@gmail.com.
Disclaimer: Please consult your doctor before you being any exercise program. The content of this blog is for educational purposes only. You are responsible for the outcomes for the use, misuse, or lack of use of the information presented in this blog.
Neck and upper back pain are a modern plague for many people. The most afflicted groups are chronic users of technology (office workers)! Who would have guessed that not moving very much could cause so many injuries?
Picture of the trapezius muscle in red.
One helpful restorative exercise that I have found for people that spend a significant amount of time on computers is the overhead shrug. What is most interesting about this exercise is that it targets the upper trapezius fibers. These fibers are typically elongated and weak on most people. Why? Because lack of arm usage leads to weakness and poor alignment of the human shoulder girdle. The primary driver of dysfunction is not age or genetics. Environment is the main driver for the large majority of people. This sort of phenomenon also happens to orcas in captivity that have bent over fins.
Pic from cindy.ocliw.com
On to the exercise.
The overhead shrug will target the upper trapezius. In addition, it is the opposite action of being seated all day (compression). Overhead shrugs are a great way to elongate the body (decompress).
Are you ready to get your neck and shoulders in balance? Contact Jason Cornish, Medical Fitness Specialist, Personal Trainer, and Health Coach in Auburn, AL today at 402-521-0314 or email at jason.a.cornish@gmail.com.
Disclaimer: Please consult your doctor before you begin any exercise program. The content of this blog is for educational purposes only. You are responsible for the outcomes for the use, misuse, or lack of use of the information presented in this blog.
70-80% of Adults in modern countries experience low back pain at some point in their lives.
Here is a short video explaining how most sore backs do NOT want to be stretched out. Yes I know it feels good in the moment.
Check it out:
Are you ready to get your back in shape? Contact Jason Cornish, Medical Fitness Specialist, Personal Trainer, and Health Coach in Auburn, AL today at 402-521-0314 or email at jason.a.cornish@gmail.com.
Disclaimer: Please consult your doctor before you begin any exercise program. The content of this blog is for educational purposes only. You are responsible for the outcomes for the use, misuse, or lack of use of the information presented in this blog.
Small group training is the future of personal training for many people.
It is great for people who want:
-More community in their lives
-Individualized high quality training and need/ want to save money with training costs
-Motivation from a group and a trainer (double the motivation!)
-To work with others on common goals.
As I like to tell my clients, small group training is my best attempt to provide personal training for 2-4 people at the same time. So far, the reviews and feedback are greatly positive.
Small group training works well for most people. However, it is still better to work one-on-one with a trainer if someone is new to exercise, has specific goals, does not “play” well with others, or has difficult medical/ health conditions.
Here is what small group training looks like:
Ready to try small group training? Contact Jason Cornish, Medical Fitness Specialist, Personal Trainer, and Health Coach in Auburn, AL today at 402-521-0314 or email at jason.a.cornish@gmail.com.
If your body is prepared for deep squatting, it is time to train this movement.
The best way to progress your deep squat prep from the quadruped position (on hands and knees) to a vertical deep squat is to start with a partially loaded squat. Here is how you do it.
Hang onto something that is fixed like rails, a pole, or anything that can help you up and down. After you have found a good and safe fixed object it is time to position yourself carefully down into a deep squat position. If your body is unaccustomed to this position, only spend 10-30 seconds in the deep squat. After you are done pull yourself up with mostly your arms.
Another tip is that you need to position your feet forward to make your lower legs (shins) as vertical as possible. This takes the mechanical load off your knees. Sparing the knees is very important for beginners.
Worried about foot position? Don’t be. Everybody has variations in their anatomy (there are several different shapes the human pelvis can take on). The shape of your pelvis, the amount of rotation in your leg bones, and a few other factors will determine your ideal foot position. For now, just get comfortable.
If you are able to do a deep squat as discussed here today start with a round or two a day. Stay down in your squat for 10-30 seconds. As the days go on add a bit more time or more rounds throughout your day. In time, your joints, ligaments, cartilage, and muscles will adapt and become stronger (as long as good progression is used and severe injury is not present).
When practicing be fully aware and present with your body. Try to determine if this level of deep squat works for you or if it is too much. If your body does not accept it, go back to the previous level as discussed in part 1.
Next blog: how to take the deep squat one step further. Practice and be ready! Remember that deep squatting has been a health promoting normal part of human existence until we put furniture everywhere.
Disclaimer: Please consult your doctor before you being any exercise program. The content of this blog is for educational purposes only. You are responsible for the outcomes for the use, misuse, or lack of use of the information presented in this blog.
How many people do you know that have gone through a hip replacement? How about anyone with a pelvic disorder or low back pain? I know a few….ok dozens and dozens…. and I have worked with many both before a surgery and long after any produce.
I am often told by new clients or I hear them comment that their pain or dysfunction is “just part of getting old”. Most people hold the idea that more birthdays equals painful joints and are surprised when this common narrative is challenged. As I remind everyone I coach, both young and old, time on this planet is only ONE factor that leads to degeneration and dysfunction. This is good news. When thinking about the causes of modern day joint issues, behavior and what a body is asked to do (or asked not to do) is the BIGGEST driver of joint health or dysfunction.
Why do many hip joints and therefore body’s break down? One major factor is most people have lost their squat, especially their deep squat abilities. With the loss of the squat, which has been a basic human movement for our entire existence until very recently, our wonderful and powerful hip joints have lost a vital nutritious movement.
Did you know that joints get nutrition through motion and load?
Most modern human hips are squat deficient. It is like how vitamin d deficiency can lead to a dysfunctional immune system.
As a consequence, the pelvis and some aspects of the cartilage, ligaments, and muscles atrophy. The wonderful human pelvis becomes weak and breaks down. The human body has never lived in a time when it did NOT have to squat. Furniture, chairs, and seats placed everywhere in our culture has allowed our hips to do so little throughout the day.
Good new: Your hips are a living part of you and can respond to stimulus.
Ready to take action and reclaim your hips? They are likely crying out for squat nutrition.
Beginners can start here:
Start by going to your hands and knees with a nice knee pillow:
Next: rock back until your butt touches your heels. Go to the point where it feels restricted or that you feel a stretch. If this position is a challenge for you, the goal is to spend 10-20 minutes a day in this position. If you feel that you are very “out of shape” start with 1-3 minutes. Others could start by spending about 5-10 minutes in this position a day. Do what works for you. It is OK and expected that you break up your time throughout the day. I would also expect that you do something else while being in this position. Talk on the phone, listen to a podcast or music. watch TV, read, or whatever. Do what you like to do with your time but do it in this position.
Was this position too hard or perhaps it didn’t work for your knees or hips? Try the same pose on your back instead:
The goal of this position is to achieve a squat position from your back while not trying to flatten your back (this is not a back stretch). In fact, you can even put a small support (rolled up towel) to hold your low back up in place. Same goals apply to this position as mentioned above. Slowly increase the time you spend in the position.
Try these positions out if you want to better the health of your hips. These are the beginning position for hips that have lost their ability to squat. If you already have replaced hips or knees, these poses may not be suitable for you. I often use a different tactics for people with replaced joints which I will not go over in this blog today.
Next time I will write about how to progress the squat pattern or what to do if you can still squat from your feet.
Enjoy and reclaim your squat.
Disclaimer: Please consult your doctor before you begin any exercise program. The content of this blog is for educational purposes only. You are responsible for the outcomes for the use, misuse, or lack of use of the information presented in this blog.
Here is a great video of how to do the Turkish Get-Up.
There is so much involved in this move. It is one of my favorite exercises and is a great way to keep functional strength. In other words, if is an exercise that when used will enable a person to get up and down from the ground with grace. This ability is something we need to keep strong during our entire lives.