One of the top fitness trends for 2010 that actually makes sense is "Functional Fitness".
This means training your body with movements that actually mimic real life situatations or "activities of daily living".
In this short but VERY impactful video, I talk about the most basic functional fitness move that you MUST incorporate into your everyday living or else suffer the eventual consequences of debilitating back pain, sciatica, and hip problems.
I have literally seen people die (one very recently) because of a back pain episode that caused horrible disability and depression.
So I honestly believe that this simple "hip hinge" move can literally save your life!
ALSO…after watching the video below, be sure tocheck out this previous video post I did that incorporates the hip hinge move during a highly effective stretch for sciatica, back pain, and hip pain. (13,127 views and 35 comments to date!)
YOUR QUESTION OF THE DAY…
What other questions about fitness do you have? I'm sure many of you have embarked on new or different exercise program as a New Year's resolution…right? What's your biggest concern or question about exercising? Leave your question by leaving a comment below!
Join me today during my morning ritual of education, meditation, and exercise in the gazebo at Perrin Park!
The balance challenge I present in the video is one of the most powerful challenges ever if you're interested in being able to walk effortlessly and painlessly for as long as you want!
Let me know how you do with the challenge by leaving me a comment here on this post! (BTW…I've made it MUCH easier to comment now by changing a setting on my software)
I'm also taking questions for the "Ask Dr. Steve" segement on my upcoming "Core Wellness Radio"podcast! So SHOOT!
The benefits of "earthing" are absolutely amazing!
I did a presentation on this about 6 months ago at the office and during my research, this is what I discovered about the benefits of actually getting your body connected with the earth:
1. Anti-Oxidants! That's right…when your body is exposed to toxins,gets rid of toxins, makes energy, fights off viruses, or makes hormones, it is breaking your body down and leaving behind an unpaired electron called a "free radical".
The free electrons that flood your body when you connect yourself to the earth go to work to neutralize those suckers and keep you from rotting like an apple (also known as AGING!)
2. Helps ground you and protect you from all the electromagnetic pollution you're exposed to everyday like cell phones, wireless internet, powerlines, etc.
3. When you're barefoot on the earth, you are also flooding your nervous system with "afferance" or input that does three things 1. blocks pain 2. relaxes tight muscles 3. increases coordination to the brain!
When you wear shoes, this crucial input is GONE! And paradoxically, you end up with more ankle sprains, hip and knee problems, and a greater likelihood of falling (and sometimes NOT being able to get back up!).
So take your shoes off, soak up some electrons from all those lightning strikes, improve your balance, and get back in tune with the NATURAL WAY!
Until next time…
Think good thoughts, eat good food, and STAY VERTICAL!
LA Times Article (Left) Raises Controversy Over The Right Way To Train Your Core.
NO SIT UPS?
I can hear the cheers from across the globe!
But I can also hear the steam coming out of the ears of the millions who do theirs faithfully and swear by them.
So what gives?
Here’s the deal…Sit ups where you curl up with a rounded back put a TON of pressure onto your discs. That’s the main reason my teacher, Dr. Stu McGill, is so against them.
He’s been sticking electrodes in back muscles for decades at his lab in Waterloo, Ontario and has VOLUMES of literature about the causes of disc injuries.
So if Stu says no sit ups, I agree!
Well sort of!
Here’s what I mean. You should always look at an exercise and say, "Does this help train and protect my body during my activities of daily living? In other words…"IS IT FUNCTIONAL?"
Well, the answer to the sit up question is, "Of course it’s functional!" If you’re lying down, you should be able to "sit up", right?
So yes, you should be able to do it…BUT to do it 25, 50, 100 times? That’s way too much disc load and even if you have no pain with them right now, why risk the repetitive injury??
As a matter of fact, our thinking here at Core Wellness has evolved even beyond these "man made" exercises to the "neurodevelopmental model" that’s come out of Eastern Europe the last few years.
I mention it in my comment I left of the LA Times blog (copied below) and wrote about it in the first post ever on this blog.
- – - – - – -
COMMENT #290: Well written article. I’ve worked with dr. mcgill personally several times over the last 10 years and the man’s amazing with his detailed science.
the “belly button to the spine” for most people, tends to create a flared rib cage in the front and a loss of intra abdominal pressure which creates an “energy leak”.
so for human FUNCTION, you must train FUNCTIONALLY!
here is where we must look to infant posture development as the model of how to train the “deep core stability” system. this system is automatically triggered by reproducing the environment encountered by the infant as posture is developed fully at four years old.
this new model has emerged from prague and is the only one that’s ever made PERFECT sense. this is because it’s how we were designed.
Good form and deep core stability is key for successful fat burning exercise
The first thing and most important factor for weight loss is, of course, to get your body moving. But just the thought of exercise can send some people running (or limping) to the hills!
You may have your reasons…sometimes they’re emotional (made fun of for lack of athleticism in school), and sometimes they’re about the time it takes (just don’t have any!).
But the biggest reason I hear is because SOMETHING HURTS! “I started yoga and hurt my back”, “I did turbo-kick and my hip started hurting”, “I started Curves and my shoulders started hurting“.
I’ve heard ‘em all, just about. And it’s a shame, because if you can exercise effectively you can burn fat like crazy!
For instance…There’s a lot of proof that high intensity interval training (HIIT) can burn up to 9 times as much fat per calorie expended during exercise. WHY?
Because the high intensity stuff builds more lean muscle which consumes/burns more fat. BUT…the whole “high intensity” thing also brings up a common problem…INJURIES that lead to inability to do anything!
The fact is…without good biomechanics, even slow and easyaerobic exercise (which I still whole heartedly recommend despite all the “cardio myth” propaganda) will eventually cause breakdown. So when you turbo boost the intensity you’re really asking for it! Which brings me to…
TIP #1: You MUST Use Good Form And Have Good Core Strength Before Doing ANY Kind Of Exercise.
What do I mean? I mean focus on FORM is everything! And I’m not just talking about “keeping your shoulders back” or “pulling your belly button to your spine!
I’m talking about moving like you were designed to move! Strain free, efficient movement IS the design as long as your posture developed normally without any neurological conditions or blocked joints.
But therein lies the “snafu”…
According to Professor Voigta’s clinical research in Prague, (Pr. Voigta has passed but his predecessor, Pavel Kolar, has stood on his shoulders and taken the “developmental kinesiology” model to new heights)up to 1/3 of children do NOT develop normally and therefore develop movement patterns that don’t allow for the strain free efficiency that the majority of people have the capacity to easily accomplish.
How can you tell if you or your children are part of the 1/3 that missed out on some good postural development and need to pay some special attention to re-awakening the deep core stability system?
I’ve posted a couple of “self test” videos below (from our soon to be released DVD and multi-media program) to see if you’re at risk for crossed posture syndrome or deep core amnesia.
The new DVD will reveal how you can reverse damaging posture patterns that lead to injury and early breakdown while re-awakening your “youth and renewal” system. It will also introduce the system we’ve created called the Myobalance Method(tm) and we are extremely excited to finally be able to make this unique and powerful training method available beyond the walls of Core Wellness.
If you’d like to be on the early notification list to take advantage of the special bonuses we’ll be offering exclusively to our “inner circle”, be sure that you’ve signed up for the Core Wellness Community Update at the upper right hand corner of the page!
I’ll be back in a few days with some surprising diet strategies that not only help you burn more fat but cool the fire of pain and inflammation as well…so stay tuned for part 2!
drh
P.S. By doing the following 2 tests, you’ll know just how in tune you are with your “deep core stability” or whether you’ve got deep core amnesia!…
OH, and please let me know how you did by clicking “leave a comment” at the top of the post!
This baby's position can teach you about your "true" core If you really want to “get to your core” you have to understand what your “true” core really is!
The approximately 6 month old baby’s position on the left is the same position you got yourself into before you creeped, crawled, or anything else! (called sagittal stability)
This awareness is a prerequisite to good, functional movement and yet according to pediatric neurologists and and physiotherapists from the Czech republic, 1/3 of all children do not develop this ability properly!
The kicker here is that any type of stress tends to create muscle imbalances that cause us, as adults to totally lose connection with this ability.
I call it “deep core amnesia” or DCA for short. DCA is a major problem because, like I said earlier, your inability to anchor your back support zone to the floor causes inefficient and damaging movement patterns that cause overload to your muscles, joints, ligaments, etc.
That's why our first goal at the Core Wellness Institute is to create a renewed awareness of this “Deep Core Stability System” so you can move with strain-free, efficient ease that preserves and protects your joints from damaging overload!
I have created some “self test” videos so you can see if you’ve developed this amnesia yourself!
Stay tuned to the blog for more info about how you can keep your body moving pain free for as long as you desire! Think good thoughts. Eat good food. And KEEP MOVING!
Dr. Hoffman
P.S. My teacher, Dr. Craig Liebenson, has a very good summary article about this whole new paradigm on his blog at http://www.craigliebenson.com/?p=666
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