Kick Your Glutes In To Gear

If you're looking for a new exercise to wake up your glutes, try doing a single leg deadlift. Stand on your right leg and kick the left one behind you, keeping the knee straight. With your shoulders, back, hip, and knee all in a straight line, reach forward towards the ground. Repeat 10 times, then switch legs. To add difficulty try holding a medicine ball or weight in your hand. CAUTION: if you're holding a weight to make the exercise harder and your back starts to arch, or you can't keep your body in a straight line, then you're not ready to add weight. Remember, never sacrifice quality!!

Training Errors and Overuse Injuries: Why do they occur?

A great article from Competitor Magazine about training errors, overuse injuries, and the benefits of seeing a physical therapist. 

Should I Wait And See Or Go Visit A PT?

• By Dana Reid, DPT
• Published 4 hours ago

• 0 comments
 
• Tweet
 
• Share

Acute pain can usually be easily resolved by correcting a training error, while long-term pain often requires long-term care.

Many of the injuries athletes sustain fall into two categories: training errors or overuse.

Training errors commonly occur when athletes add mileage, intensity, or speed too quickly or do not allow for enough recovery time – either on a daily/weekly basis or within an overall periodization program.

Overuse injuries are those nagging but consistent pains that we put off, sometimes for years.  The pain may be minimal or it may stop you in your tracks.  Overuse injury is often like the constant companion – and ignored until it is too late. While many argue that overuse injuries are caused by overtraining, I look at things a bit differently.  Overuse injuries are indicators of a more global systemic problem, muscular balance issues, poor biomechanics, or poor sport-specific mechanics.  Overtraining is often an isolated (or very sporatic) episode of pain caused more directly by a training error.

RELATED: The ART Of Injury Prevention And Optimal Performance

The pain that comes from training errors is usually a surprise.  You have been training well, likely gaining fitness and speed, and you have been feeling good.  Then you go out for that one swim, bike, or run and come home in pain.  This can be a frustrating and scary moment.  The good news is that if treated quickly and appropriately, these injuries will usually resolve in short order.  In times like these the best course of action is to reduce the inflammation as quickly as possible.  We have all heard it – Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.  This is the time to think of your long-term training and racing plans, then truly take a break to recover from the injury.

Rest – Often this means taking 1-3 days completely off; however, active recovery can be a part of this equation as well.  Use caution with active recovery because pushing into or through pain will only delay or prevent healing.

Ice – Extremities do well in 10-minute ice baths. Use ice packs for generalized areas up to 20 minutes or perform 5-minute ice massages for localized areas.  Icing several times daily is important, but wait a minimum of two hours between treatments so tissues may warm and blood flow increases to the area.

Compression – Compression is not just for swollen ankles anymore, and a plethora of garments is available to help.  Supporting the injured area with compression can help decrease inflammation, decrease the workload of the area, and improve the lymphatic system’s ability to clear waste products.  When done correctly, it should never be painful.

Elevation provides relief comparable to compression and helps at day’s end when swelling and inflammation are often highest.  During this time, anti-inflammatory medications can also be very helpful.

By helping to reduce inflammation with proper care, injuries from training errors may heal within 7-10 days. If after 10 days a return to the inciting activity is still painful, I recommend seeking medical advice to ensure no underlying biomechanical issue exists.

Overuse pain is something athletes often chalk up to being ‘in training’.  Often they have sought tests, had massage, chiropractic, or physical therapy, but the pain continues.  The key to changing overuse pain is persistence.  Find a physical therapist who understands your goals and will work with you to reach those goals. I have treated people who have had knee pain for 20+ years and just want surgery to ‘fix it’.  These types of injuries are frustrating and often prevent athletes from returning to their chosen sport.  I believe the vast majority of overuse injuries can be helped by physical therapy.

The most difficult aspect of treating this type of injury is the time it takes to make a difference.  In the case of the patient with 20+ years of knee pain, walking down a flight of stairs without pain was an issue. We treated twice a week for 3 months.  Yes, that’s a long time and a lot of treatment… but this person climbed Denali with no pain one year after ending treatment.  Changes in muscular balance, joint mechanics and motor control take time.  Long-term complaints of pain can require long-term care and occasionally intermittent check-backs.  Having said this, gains should be regular and noticeable.

While I personally enjoy utilizing a variety of body-work professionals, I do believe physical therapists are the movement specialists.  They are trained to look at muscular balance, fatigue, neuromuscular control and much more.  Changing the way the body moves in order to reduce the chance of injury or improve acute and chronic pain can require multiple aspects of care.  Physical therapists are not just for surgical recovery anymore!  In many areas your physical therapist can be your first entry point into medical care and help get you back to moving pain-free!

****

About The Author:

Dana Reid is an avid endurance athlete and Doctor of Physical Therapy in Hood River, Oregon.

FREE running and fitness apps

RunKeeper

http://www.runkeeper.com/

RunKeeper is a virtual running companion that uses your phone's GPS to map routes. The app will auto-pause if you have to stop for lights and provides audio feedback from your running "coach".

Map My Fitness

http://www.mapmyfitness.com/

This is one app that will do it all! You can track your route, upload stats, sync with your GPS watch, and log nutrition. This app is free if you don't mind the advertisements and pop ups. If you want an ad-free app, the cost is $1.99.

Nike Training Club

www.nike.com

This app by Nike is made for cross-training. You can choose which body part, time, and whether you want a strength or cardio based workout. There are video demonstrations and you can even earn new workouts.

The Compression Battle: Socks vs. Sleeves

Compressive garments are becoming popular in running and triathlete groups. Their purpose can be two fold: to keep muscles warm and improve blood flow to the lower legs, and to aid in recovery after a race or long bouts of training. So what is the difference between a compression sock and sleeve, and what is the right choice for you?

A compression sock is full length from the toe to knee. This is a good choice if you're a runner that isn't particular about wearing a certain style sock or if you don't wear a low profile minimalist shoe. The material around the foot can be a little thick and difficult to fit into a minimalist style shoe. A compression sleeve runs from the ankle to knee. When wearing a sleeve, you can wear your typical socks and shoes. If you're a trail runner this may be a better option as you could wear a moisture wicking sock as well as the sleeve. For a triathlete, the sleeve is also superior because it can be worn during the swim and makes for a faster first transition time.

If your intent is to wear the compression garment for recovery, then the full length sock is the better choice. The sleeve may cause some mild swelling in the feet when your body is a little more sedentary. This won't be the case wearing the full length sock because of the constant compression from toe to knee.

There are definitely pros and cons to both the sock and sleeve. It all comes down to personal preference and what your intended use will be. 

New Running Singlet

Ultimate Fit has introduced their 2012 running singlet. Samples are available to try on at the store (in order to gauge your size) until February 11, 2012. Orders will take 8-9 weeks. The singlets are a very high quality material and come in men's and women's sizes.  They look like the picture to the right except some additional sponsors will be added, including ProRehab! The price is $34.99/ea. Stop by the store to try one on and place your order today!

1308 S Green River Rd
Evansville, IN
812-431-0201

Chocolate Milk Mustache

Did you know that drinking chocolate milk following a workout is just as effective as a more expensive carb-protein shake? A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning in May 2011 compared the effects of lowfat chocolate milk to a placebo drink. A group of cyclists drank the lowfat chocolate milk following an intense interval training and a second group drank the placebo drink. Four hours later they were asked to ride a 40k time trial. The cyclists that drank the lowfat chocolate milk had significantly faster times than those that drank the placebo. Although the mechanisms are not completely understood, it is known that  carbohydrates and  proteins are necessary to improve energy and muscle tissue recovery. Nutritional information may vary depending on the brand and amount of fat in the milk (1% lowfat chocolate milk is recommended).

Dean's Lowfat Chocolate Milk

Calories 150

Fat 2.5g

Carbs 24g

Protein 8g