All MFN blog Archives - Page 4 of 142

Gait and Alignment

Kama Linden/28 March 2024/ All MFN blog/

Many times when I run in Central Park, I see some elite runners. They look like gazelles. However, sometimes, I will see runners who have knees turned in, toes turned the opposite way, or simply just POUNDING on their feet.

When I teach Yoga, or even strength training, I advocate aligning the hip bone (asis joint) with the knee, and the 2nd toe.

i.e., Squats.

Often trainers will tell students to “bring their feet hip width apart” and perhaps, having read too many magazines with models who are super thin, they bring their feet so wide that they are BEYOND the alignment they could possible sit in or walk in. Imagine the MANSPREAD on the subway. Over time, if clients keep doing “squats” with their feet so beyond the width of their hips, it puts undo strain on the ACL, ankles, and causes many muscle imbalances.

In a squat, the goal is NOT to “go lower”.

A member once wrote a nasty comment via the gym website that “I didn’t go low enough” in my squat. What is “low enough”? If you are compromising form, or bending your back over more to make up for the fact that knees can only bend so much, then this is counterproductive.

When squatting, you should “crease” the hip joint (hip flexors) and imagine a chair being pulled out for you. Reach for the chair with your butt while bending your knees. The chest may tilt slightly forward, but the movement is NOT initiated by bending the upper body into forward flexion. Imagine if you were wearing all white, dry clean only clothing, and were carrying a tray of martinis (or red sauce). You would have a mess if you bent forward with your upper body. Therefore, keep your chest high, hold the platter high, and only angle forward as needed. This way all the work goes into the quads and glutes, and not into the back.

Another drill I like to teach is a step-to 1 leg squat. Take a step to your right, balance on the right leg, and perform 1-3 squats. Then repeat by stepping left. To advance this, take a little hop, and then do 1-3 1 legged squats.

1 leg step ups (pictured above): place 1 foot on a bench laterally. The step should have 2 risers on each side if you are between 5’ and 5’4, and maybe 3 risers if you are above 5’6, and 4 risers if above 6’ tall. Press the weight into the foot that is on the bench and full stand up on this 1 leg. Then sit back down into the squat stance with both knees bent (one will be on the floor).

1 leg dead lifts (pictured above): based on warrior 3: 1 leg is very straight without locking. Like a seesaw, pitch forward by lifting the free leg as high as it can go, but do not round the back, or drop the chest. I also look forward and keep my chest slightly lifted. Recover to upright by raising the gaze. Repeat 4-8 reps per leg.

Sit, stand, raise lower…this is a combination 1 leg squat into 1 leg deadlift (warrior 3). Repeat 4-8 reps.

Practicing 1 legged drills will make it so that when you perform drills such as squats on 2 legs, you will remember that if you were to take 1 leg off the ground, your stance/width should be based on this idea.

This will give you better form for running, and even walking.

The hip, knee, and 2nd toe should always REMAIN FRIENDS in every exercise for better alignment, and pain-free workouts.

Kama Linden has been teaching fitness for over 2 decades. She has taught strength, step, pilates, vinyasa yoga, senior fitness, and has worked with clients and students of all ages and fitness levels. She is certified by AFAA Group Exercise and NASM CPT, as well as 200 hour Yoga. She has a BFA in Dance from University of the ARTS. Her new book, “Healthy Things You Can Do In Front of the TV” is now on sale on amazon.com, BN.com, and Kindle. Visit Kama’s website, bodyfriendlyoga.com, and kamalinden.com.

Seniors with trainer in gym at sport lifting barbell

4 Tips to Help Your Clients Reduce Their Risk of Falls

Christian Thompson, PhD/26 March 2024/ All MFN blog/

No matter how fit and healthy your older clients are, there is one thing that can change their lives forever: a bad fall. Every year, almost 1/3 of older adults fall and many cause injuries that will affect them the rest of their lives.

As a fitness professional, you need to be well-prepared to deliver the most effective fall prevention exercise programming to your clients. You can find excellent guidance on assessment and program design at www.mobilitymatters.fit. But you also should be providing advice to your clients on how to reduce their fall risk in other ways.

Have them do these and keep them on their feet!

1. Many falls happen outside where there are lots of potential hazards. Advise your clients to avoid walking on loose gravel, metallic/painted surfaces and cracked sidewalks and avoid being outdoors in bad weather (e.g., rain, sleet, snow). Appointments can always be rescheduled, but a trip to the ER should never be the reason!

2. Indoors, advise your clients to make sure that their path from the bedroom to the bathroom is free from obstructions (e.g., pet toys, rumpled rugs) prior to going to bed at night – that way a trip to the bathroom will not include a trip and a fall!

3. Advise your older female clients to never wear high heeled shoes outdoors. Put their heels in a canvas tote bag and walk outside in sneakers or flats instead. Nobody looks good falling, no matter how stylish the shoes!

4. In the bathroom, advise your older clients to line the floor of their shower/tub with textured adhesive strips. These are less likely to cause a slip or a trip than a rubber bath mat that might slip or bunch up. They also give a nice pedicure!

Christian Thompson, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of San Francisco and founder of Mobility Matters, an exercise assessment and program design platform designed to help fitness professionals and clinicians work with older adults. Christian has published scientific articles on exercise programming for older adults in peer-reviewed journals such as Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, and Journal of Applied Research.

Specialized Education for Fit Pros

Break It Down – KISS Principle (Keep it Simple for Seniors)

Holly Benson, BS/21 March 2024/ All MFN blog/

Teaching proper and biomechanically safe movement patterns takes a keen understanding of each pattern. What muscles and joints are involved? What skills are required for good execution? What deficiencies does the client have based on your preliminary movement assessments? Begin with the simplest version of each fundamental movement pattern and build on the complexity and intensity slowly.

Adjust accordingly, and encourage the client to give honest and precise feedback as they are learning. Find out if there is discomfort physically and/or psychologically. Adjust again. You want your client to feel successful and excited about their accomplishments during the exercise session and overall. They need to feel confidence in their ability to learn and improve, and enjoy the learning experience while they get stronger and more functional. Learning to exercise properly and safely is hard work for our clients. We must progress them gradually and with well thought out, logical, and achievable progressions. Knowing when they need to rest and reset is essential to building trust with the client, and creating a positive learning experience for them.

Fatigue and the Body/Brain Duo

It is critical that researchers consider the brain as well as the body when examining fatigue development and its impact on the body. By looking at brain and muscle function simultaneously, they will see that when participating in highly cognitive tasks, brain resources are divided which may speed up the development of physical fatigue. Processing and executing detailed and complex exercise instructions can accelerate the onset of body fatigue.

A study conducted by Ranjana Mehta, PhD., assistant professor at the Texas A&M Health and Science Center School of Public Health, evaluated the interaction between physical and mental fatigue and brain behavior. The study showed that when we attempt mental tasks and physical tasks at the same time, we activate the prefrontal cortex of our brain. This can cause our bodies to become fatigued much sooner than if we were only participating in a physical task. (Study published online as: Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society This study was co-authored by Raja Parasuraman, Ph.D., professor of psychology at George Mason University in Virginia)

When we are working with geriatric clients, and one of our objectives is educating them, we must be cognizant that the lesson material must be “dosed-out” in absorbable amounts. Keeping the instructions simple and concise for maximum understandability is advised. When combining actual physical movement with the processing and following the instructional cues, the client is working extra hard and fatigue can set in sooner than you had planned. You may notice them starting to lose attentiveness or move slower. They may abruptly stop what you have them doing. They may look a bit frustrated or flustered. They have detached from the workout experience. The brain is full. The body feels tired. They need a break.

Taking pause to re-assess and re-set allows time for the client to recover mentally and physically. It is also a good time for the trainer and client to decide how to adjust and move forward in the session. Switching to less physically demanding, easy-to-do exercises feels like a relief to the client. They experience ease and a sense of control as their body and mind restore.

You can resume the previous exercise if the client wants to. If they are done with that hard thing, they are done. Save it for the next session to practice or learn again, and celebrate the effort and attention that the client gave the exercise that day. Educate them on the facts surrounding fatigue levels after learning and practicing complex physical movement. Tell them the cognitive benefits of combining cognition with physical effort!

Fit Pros: Guide Older Clients as a Geriatric Fitness and Lifestyle Specialist

Millions of people over age 65 looking for guidance from fitness professionals who are knowledgeable in exercise, nutrition and lifestyle principles that can help them improve functional mobility, while also preventing and managing chronic conditions to live their highest quality of life. The Geriatric Fitness and Lifestyle Specialist online certificate course will give you insights, strategies and tools to be a successful professional in this rapidly growing market. Learn how to be a valued part of clients’ continuum of care, working with the medical team to improve functional outcomes and positively impact people’s lives.

Holly H. Benson, BS, is a veteran in the Recreation and Fitness industries with over 35 years of administrative and technical experience. She holds two bachelor’s degrees, Corporate & Community Fitness and Recreation Administration, and numerous fitness certifications. She has developed thriving fitness programs for special populations and has passionately focused her career on the much older adult. She currently owns and operates Moving Strong Medical Exercise, LLC in Lakewood, Colorado and provides in-home and virtual fitness training to older adults and persons with chronic medical and orthopedic conditions.

Stop Stress Eating with These 3 Simple Steps

Deborah Kesten, MPH/19 March 2024/ All MFN blog/

Do you often eat as a reaction to stress, anxiety, and other unwelcome feelings? Do you turn to high-fat, sugary “comfort foods” to cope with negative emotions? Discover why you stress eat in the first place, why it works, and some simple steps for doing some damage control.

Some say it’s “stress eating.” Others call it “self-medicating.” Psychologists describe it as “emotional eating.” Whatever words are used, if you often (over)eat to self-soothe negative feelings such as boredom, stress, anxiety, or anger—in other words, for reasons other than hunger and having a healthy appetite—it’s likely you’re a stress eater. Not only does stress eating increase your odds of overeating, my own original research on overeating reveals that Emotional Eating is the #1 predictor of overeating and becoming overweight or obese.^1,2

Here’s what stress eating might look like:

For Ann, stress-related overeating episodes often start after work, especially when she’s on deadline with a large project. First, she visits her local supermarket to buy a bag of potato chips, a pint of her favorite ice cream, and a bar of creamy dark chocolate. Then she heads home, changes into comfortable clothes, and turns on the TV. Settling into bed surrounded by her favorite comfort foods—and sometimes, a glass of red wine—Ann begins what she describes as “zoning out”—eating until she feels calmer—often to the point of falling in and out of sleep well before bedtime.

All the while, Ann remains vaguely anxious and distressed about her workload, and dependent on food to manage her darker moods. And she’s concerned her stress eating is keeping her overweight. At the same time, on a not-quite-conscious level, she senses the chips and chocolate allay her anxiety in some way. And she’s right: High-sugar, high-fat, high-carb food (products) do indeed relieve emotional tension. Here’s why.

The Food-Mood Connection

The idea that the food you eat can actually medicate your mood and vice versa—that your mood may motivate you to make certain food choices—was given the scientific stamp of approval in the 1970s when Judith Wurtman, PhD, a scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, uncovered a fascinating facet of the emotional eating enigma. Call it nutritional neuroscience, psychoneuroimmunology, or the study of food and mood, Wurtman launched a new field of nutrition research that has confirmed what many of us know intuitively: what you eat affects your mind and mood, your tendency to pile on pounds, even the quality of your life.

What Wurtman discovered is this: About twenty minutes after you eat a carbohydrate-rich food (such as bread, potatoes, cookies, or cake), your brain releases a naturally occurring substance called serotonin; in turn, you feel more relaxed and calm. Want to feel more perky? Consume a lean, high-protein food such as fish, and the substance that’s released (norepinephrine) lets you feel more awake and energetic (unlike the kick you get from caffeine, you’re not stimulated, just more alert). And certain fats in food end up as endorphins—substances in the brain that produce pleasurable feelings.³ More recent research, specifically on stress eating, reveals that women under stress experience strong sugar cravings that lead to overeating high-carb, high-sugar foods.⁴

The Food-Mood Syndrome: It Can Be a Vicious Cycle

Here is where the food-mood link really gets interesting. Since Wurtman’s discovery about the food-mood connection, we also know that the sugary, sweet, or crunchy and fried processed food products that emotional eaters most often choose to get a serotonin high actually contribute to deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals that can cause your emotions to plummet, leading to a serious case of the doldrums.

In this way, the food-mood syndrome can become a vicious emotional cycle. You’re feeling down, so you reach for, say, a prepackaged brownie. Sure, the brownie’s sugar and white-flour carb content will soothe and calm you, but its high sugar content has a hidden side effect: it actually depletes some nutrients that could help combat depression. In other words, the sweet concoction may somehow soothe your soul, but isn’t it ironic that at the same time, it may also contribute to anxiety, depression, and other unpleasant emotions?

3 Smart Steps to Stop Stress Eating

Want to get the mood-calming, feel-good benefits of serotonin without the vitamin and mood-robbing downside inherent in high-sugar, highly processed foods? Here are three smart, simple, proactive steps you can take to curtail stress-related overeating episodes—without the downside.

Be “B” wise. From dreary doldrums to a deeper depression, various B vitamins—including B1, B2, niacin, folate, and B12—can help you bust the blues. But most B-family relatives are processed out of refined foods, such as white flour. To help defeat depression, “B” wise and consider some especially good B-abundant blues busters found in unprocessed, unrefined grains (oats, millet, brown rice, etc.), fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and seeds. Consuming vitamin B–rich greens such as spinach are especially good for overcoming overeating.

Shake the sugar habit. Consuming a lot of refined white sugar both damages and destroys B vitamins in the body; in this way, it contributes to deficiencies. Cut down on, or eliminate sugar from your diet, and depression often lifts—although why this is so isn’t well understood. One theory is that the “high” a person derives from sugar is due to elevated glucose (blood sugar) and feel-good endorphins, which produce feelings of relaxation and euphoria. Conversely, when a diet is low in sugar and high in B vitamins, levels of B vitamins, glucose, and endorphins remain stable, reducing odds of depression.

Sip some tea. Consuming too much alcohol to relax and de-stress can cause the loss of certain B vitamins—and deficiencies of vitamins B6 and niacin, especially, can bring you down. Not only does excessive alcohol consumption reduce the absorption of B vitamins, but it also contributes to protein and mineral deficiencies. The operative words here are “too much” and “excessive,” meaning, the tipping point is different for different people. Consider this: In place of wine to de-stress, try sipping some soothing herbal tea.

Stopping Stress Eating

The science that studies nutrients in the foods we consume, and the way they influence our brain chemistry and emotions, provides a peek into how food and the mind and body work together. By being aware of whether you “feel” like eating to assuage stress or to appease a healthy appetite, each food you choose to eat may be looked at as an opportunity to fine-tune your moods and emotions, while nourishing your body.

In other words, the key to being a success at stopping stress eating is making a commitment to eating for feel-good feelings, when you have a healthy, authentic appetite for food, and when you’re anticipating the pleasure and experience of true mind-body nourishment.

Article originally printed on integrativeeating.com. Reprinted with permission from Deborah Kesten.

Deborah Kesten, M.P.H., is an award-winning author, specializing in preventing and reversing obesity and heart disease. Her expertise includes the influence of epigenetics and diet on health, Lifestyle Medicine, and research on the Whole Person Integrative Eating dietary lifestyle to treat overeating, overweight, and obesity. She and her husband, behavioral scientist Larry Scherwitz, Ph.D., collaborate on research and writing projects. Her latest book, “Whole Person Integrative Eating” was named the “Winner” in the Health category by the 2020 Book Excellence Awards.

References:

Larry Scherwitz and Deborah Kesten, “Seven Eating Styles Linked to Overeating, Over- weight, and Obesity,” Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing 1, no. 5 (2005): 342–59.
Deborah Kesten and Larry Scherwitz, “Whole Person Integrative Eating: A Program for Treating Overeating, Overweight, and Obesity,” Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal 14, no. 5 (October/November 2015): 42–50.
Judith J. Wurtman, Managing Your Mind and Mood through Food (New York: Rawson Associ- ates, 1986).
Danielle Marques, et al, “Sweet craving and ghrelin and leptin levels in women during stress” Appetite, Vol 80, September 1, 2014, 264-270.

Why We Lose Balance and How We Fix It

Cate Reade, MS/16 March 2024/ All MFN blog/

It’s no secret that balance tends to decline with age. Your clients may notice they are swaying a bit more while standing and walking, or feeling weaker or less steady. We all want it, but what is balance? We need to understand what it is in order to restore what was lost, safely, effectively and efficiently.

Balance is the ability to maintain the body’s center of mass over its base of support. Your center of mass is a few inches below your belly button or can be thought of as your trunk. Your feet are your base of support (unless you are performing a handstand!)

Balance is the ability to stay upright when standing (static balance) or when moving and performing activities like walking or climbing stairs (dynamic balance). The most common question I hear from older adult clients is, “Why am I losing balance?” Let’s find out why.

What is Balance?

Balance is a sense that lives in the brain. Balance relies on information constantly flowing into the brain from three main sensory systems including our visual, vestibular and proprioceptive systems. Moving properly depends on the ability of the brain to gather and interpret the sensory information provided by eyes, ears and joints. This is essential because the brain then tells the body how to respond to stay upright and balanced.

The quality of the sensory input gathered directly impacts the quality of movement. The stronger the sensory signals sent to the brain, the more accurate the instructions sent to the body will be. On the flip side, as sensory signals become impaired, movement quality dwindles, as reaction time becomes slower.

Making Sense of Balance: The 3 Systems

Let’s explore the sensory systems that make up balance.

Visual System: Your eyes tell your brain about where your body is relative to the environment, whether you are walking inside your home, in a busy airport, or strolling on the beach. With aging eyes, a great many people don eyeglasses to function day to day, and as our eyesight weakens, so too does the quality of the sensory input.

Vestibular System: The ears relay information to the brain about the motion and position of the head to adjust posture to maintain balance. Semicircular canals in the inner ears contain fluid and tiny hair cells. As the head nods up and down, moves left to right, or tilts to the side, the fluid in the inner ear moves and the tiny hair cells sense the speed and direction the head is moving in.

By age 70, it’s typical to have lost 40% of those sensory-detecting hair cells (Zalewski 2015).

Proprioceptive System: Proprioception, literally meaning “sense of self”, is your sense of body awareness and is a prerequisite for balance. It’s how you understand the parts that make up your body, where they are located, how they feel and even what they can do. It’s the way your body communicates with itself so you can walk without looking at your feet.

Proprioceptors are sensory nerves that live in and around joints, in ligaments, joint capsules, tendons, muscles and connective tissues. They sense and send signals to the brain about joint position and motion, as well as the muscle force involved in movement.

As we age, our sense of body awareness is impaired leading to poor joint function, body alignment, control and coordination. The result: poor balance and higher risk of falling.

Losing and Restoring Balance

As our eyes, ears and joints lose their sensory capabilities, this is why balance is gradually lost.

To regain what was lost, we apply the SAID principle (Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands) to improve function with targeted training. Up to 70% of the sensory input for balance comes from your joints (Peterka 2002), so improving joint function can be a highly efficient way to improve proprioception at any age so clients can enjoy better balance and more confidence to prevent falls.

Most Efficient Balance Training

I start each balance training session using the MoveMor® Mobility Trainer to warm up clients’ lower body, restore ankle mobility and foot stability while increasing proprioception. Clients are thrilled to experience improved functional abilities so they can save themselves in time to prevent falls.

With 12-points of resistance, MoveMor® makes it simple to restore joint flexibility and strength in less time than any other tool, all from a safely seated position! This wakes up proprioceptive sensory nerves essential for balance while stimulating motor nerves for quicker reflexes.

You can get started with training clients on their journey to feeling steadier, stronger and more confident by visiting MoveMor.com/exercise-programs. There are 7 exercise programs to choose from that vary in length from 5-30 minutes. Our Take 10 to MoveMor exercise program is proven to improve balance, ankle flexibility, strength and more in just 10 minutes! An exercise guide makes it simple to identify weaknesses and tailor exercises.

MoveMor® seamlessly integrates into your balance and fall prevention training to accelerate functional outcomes and satisfaction so your clients can enjoy better balance and an extra spring in their step today!

Cate Reade, MS, RD is a Registered Dietitian, Exercise Physiologist and Functional Medicine Practitioner candidate on a mission to improve functional mobility and health span utilizing the power of lifestyle medicine. She has been teaching, writing and prescribing healthy eating and exercise programs for over 25 years. Today, as CEO of Resistance Dynamics and inventor of the MoveMor™ Mobility Trainer, she develops exercise products and programs that target joint flexibility, strength and balance deficits to help older adults fall less and live more.

The Importance of Exercise for the Disabled or Handicapped

Terrance Hutchinson/14 March 2024/ All MFN blog/

Everyone must remain active. This is only achievable with the help of exercise. Contrary to popular belief, handicapped people also wish to stay fit and healthy. On the other hand, some of handicapped individuals do not realize the importance of it.

Let’s discuss the importance of exercise for handicapped people.

Prevention of Heart Disease

Exercise can help reduce the risk of developing diseases relating to the heart. This includes high blood pressure, heart attack and ischemic heart disease. Furthermore, exercise is essential for preventing various other medical conditions.

Prevention of Comorbidities

Inactivity is a disease in itself. Being inactive makes the body less productive. This makes them more prone to the development of illness, ranging from something as small as flu to as big as cancer. Disabled and inactive individuals have a higher chance of developing colon cancer and diabetes.

Prevention of Anxiety and Depression

Being inactive and indoors can lead to depression and anxiety. You may feel down most of the time. Exercising releases endorphins in our body. These help in regulating mood; those who exercise regularly experience improvement in their moods.

Alleviates pain

Inactivity can cause harm to your bones and muscles as well. The majority of people suffer from pain in joints and other complications. Stiff muscles are also an additional drawback of inactivity.

Handicapped people who exercise more often do not suffer from these symptoms. They report relief of pain. Furthermore, such people also have faster healing of wounds and injury from trauma.

Clears the mind

Exercising not only helps with our physical well-being. It also aids in improving our mental health as well. Brain fog is a real thing; people can be doubtful about the decisions they make. Exercising helps people to think clearly. They can divert their mind from useless jargon to more productive thoughts.

DO NOT LET OTHERS STOP YOU FROM EXERCISING

Being handicapped has a certain societal stigma with it. The perception of people can often stop you from exercising. Always remember that exercising will only benefit you alone. Don’t worry about what others think!

Conclusion

Being disabled can be a hard thing. But, exercise is an activity that will help you to gain self-esteem. You do not need to start with rigorous workouts.

This journey begins with a single step, time will help you get better in the long run. So what are you waiting for? Start looking for an exercise regimen that suits you best.

Here’s to your health!

Terrance Hutchinson is the Owner of Your Best Lifestyles Fitness and Nutrition. He is a Certified Personal trainer specializing in Exercise Therapy, Corrective Exercise, Sports Nutrition, and Corporate Wellness. He an author of 3 books, he has his own podcast, he has contributed articles to major newspapers and magazines, Terrance has spoken at health events, webinars, seminars, hospitals, schools, doctors offices and has been featured nationally syndicated television platforms. Terrance has clients in many states and counties and is looking to help others bridge the gap between the medical and fitness industries. To learn more about Terrance, visit yourbestlifestyles.com

Large group of fit and active people resting after doing exercise in nature.

Exercise Outdoors: Cross Training & Hydrate

Mirabai Holland, MFA, EP-C, CHC/12 March 2024/ All MFN blog/

Exercise outdoors when it’s hot can be a challenge. Cross training exercises are a good way to mix up your workouts and give yourself time to cool off, drink water and stay hydrated in summer heat.

Although I’m away from home, in the mountains, and not as affected by this huge triple digit heat wave, I did get a wake-up call of my own that I thought would be important to share. I was shooting an exercise video this week in 90-degree heat. It was hot, but I got on a roll and forgot about the time. Less than an hour in, I started to swoon. Not a good shot on an exercise video. I realized immediately what had happened; I’d gotten so involved, I forgot to drink water between takes. I can say from experience that it creeps up on you. So you need to take steps to keep yourself cool and well-hydrated when you exercise outdoors. Cross-train with strength exercises mixed in with your cardio gives you a lower intensity interval so you can drink water, stay hydrated and cool off.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine losing more than 2 percent of your body weight through dehydration puts your body at risk for heat illness. This is serious business. We’ve all read the stories of team athletes who have actually died.

When you exercise in the heat you can lose up to five cups of water per hour. So it’s important to drink water before, during, and after vigorous exercise. The rule of thumb is to drink 2 cups of water a couple of hours before you start exercising so you are fully hydrated. Remember to bring that water bottle with you and drink a cup of water every 15 minutes or so while you are exercising. Don’t wait till you’re thirsty. If you’re thirsty, you’re already getting dehydrated.

But you’re not done yet. You need to drink another 2 cups over a two-hour period after exercise.

Sounds like a lot of water. It’s not. It’s just making up for the water you lose when you exercise in the heat.

Pouring water over your head during exercise won’t help you rehydrate, but it does make you feel better. A study at Cal State Fullerton with trained athletes showed that athletes exercising in 92-degree heat in a controlled setting felt cooler and that the workout was easier to perform.

But you know what Noel Coward said about “mad dogs and Englishmen.” Give yourself a break. If you can, exercise outdoors when it’s cooler, early mornings or late afternoons when the sun is less direct. Try finding shady areas.

Instead of keeping up your brisk pace for the whole workout, break it up. Go at normal pace for a bit, do a short light interval and then pick up your speed again.

Another idea is when you exercise outdoors do cross training exercises. Add intervals of strength training between shorter bouts of cardio. You’ll get a chance to drink and pour some water over your head too! Stop at a wall, a tree or a fence, and do these five exercises: two for your upper body and three for your lower.

Exercise Outdoors Video

Here is an Exercise Outdoors video with some easy cross training exercises to tone you up, no equipment necessary. (Please subscribe to my YOUTUBE channel; I have several more health & fitness videos!)

Exercise Outdoors: Strength Exercises Using Your Own Body Weight

With all these Strength training exercises, remember to exhale on the exertion.

Standing Push Ups: Stand facing a surface with legs hip width apart and place hands shoulder width apart. Keeping your body straight, lower yourself down to the surface and then push back upright again. Muscles Worked: Chest, Triceps, and Shoulders

Calf Raises: Face surface and hold on for balance. With feet together pointing straight ahead, slowly lift your body up on to your toes, while tightening calf, abs and buttocks muscles. Then slowly lower yourself back down again.

Muscles worked: calves, abs, and buttocks.

Squats: Face surface, legs hip with apart. Hold on for balance. Shift weight back into heels. Keeping back straight, abs pulled in, gently bend at the knees and squat to about a 90-degree angle. Hold for a moment, then, using just your leg muscles, return to an upright position.

Muscles worked: Front of thigh (Quads), Back of thigh, (Hamstrings) Buttocks, Abs

Wall Sit: Stand against surface for back support. Holding on as needed for balance, slide down to a sitting position against wall, knees at about a 90-degree angle. Pull your abs in and hold for 10 to 30 seconds.

Muscles worked: Thighs and Abs

Upper Back Squeeze: Stand with your back to the surface, feet shoulder width apart. Place hands behind you on surface. Straighten your arms behind you and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Hold for 10 to 30 seconds.

Muscles worked: Back, Shoulders, Back of arms (Triceps)

Mirabai Holland MFA, EP-C, CHC is one of the foremost authorities in the health and wellness industry. Her customer top rated exercise videos are now available online 24/7 at on her website for Age-Onset health issues like Osteoporosis, Arthritis, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Orthopedic Issues & more. Mirabai also offers one-on-on Health Coaching as well as a NEW Weight Management 8 Week Course Lose To Win™ on ZOOM or Phone. For more info, visit mirabaiholland.com. Contact her at askmirabai@movingfree.com

What Brings You Peace of Mind?

Lori Michiel/28 February 2024/ All MFN blog/

Your thoughts can run in your head like a broken record–or can you sit still and “hear” the quiet?

Is there an activity, exercise, religious or meditation practice you do regularly to slow your mind? Or do you take medications which can have multiple side effects? For example, I experienced a severe emotional strain while dealing with my mom’s death. Before her passing, I cleared my calendar and rearranged my schedule so I could be more involved in her care. Both my sister and I were with her every day.

I decided to reintroduce yoga and meditation and good eating habits into my weekly practice to ease the stress and mindless chatter in my head. The benefits were almost immediate.

Adding more diversity into my weekly routine (that always includes exercise) made it easier to cope with the stress and strain that this new event presented. Each night when I put my head down on the pillow, I meditate on how grateful I am for my good health, family, the right care my mom received, and my ability to cope with all the obstacles and challenges of the day.

My new routine is here to stay. So far it has saved me emotionally. Will it again when the next crisis comes up? I don’t know, I hope so. It would have been easier to go down a more familiar (negative or hopeless) path, but I choose to take a different, more positive, approach. I can’t control everything; I know that logically, I can still try. Control has been part of my DNA since I was a teenager. I remember the 1994 Northridge earthquake only amplified those feelings.

Pick up any health-based magazine or newspaper and it talks about the power of meditation. The research is there: it works! Discover what brings you peace of mind when you feel you’ve reached your breaking point.

Lori Michiel, NASM-CPT, Founder, Lori Michiel Fitness seniors in the home

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The Importance of Isometrics for the Joint Replacement Client, Part 2

Pat Marques/15 February 2024/ All MFN blog/

In Part 1 of this article, we defined isometrics and discussed the two basic types of isometric exercises, yielding and overcoming, and why you might choose one over the other. In Part 2, we’re going to discuss the benefits of isometrics, especially for joint replacement clients, and ideas on how to use and program isometrics.

What are the benefits of isometric exercises?

Isometric exercises are beneficial for everyone – athletes, fitness enthusiasts, those with musculoskeletal pain, those in rehab, etc. But they are especially beneficial for joint replacement fitness. Here are the primary benefits of isometrics training:

You control the effort level – The client has complete control over the amount of effort/force they are producing. This not only contributes to the safety of isometric training, but it also helps joint replacement clients (or anyone recovering from injury or motor control issues) learn how to control their force production. Isometrics specifically activate pre-motor and supplementary motor areas in the brain.

Isometrics are the least neurologically threatening form of strength training^[1] – Because the client is in total control of the effort level and that force is being produced without joint movement, isometrics are a very low threat to the nervous system. This very often allows clients to utilize isometrics well before dynamic exercises, and feel safe producing force, which is very important as joint replacement clients relearn neuromuscular activation patterns.

Larger amounts of force can be generated than dynamic training – If you are doing multiple reps of an exercise, you are, by definition, not producing maximum force. Isometrics allow a client to work up to max force production in a safe and pain-free manner.

Isometrics promote joint health and strength – The synovial fluid in joints is a Non-Newtonian Fluid, meaning that when increased pressure occurs through the joint, the viscosity of the synovial fluid increases, to provide more protection for the joint. Thus, isometrics take advantage of the hydrodynamics of the joint fluid, which increases joint stability as increasing amounts of force are put through the joint.

Pain reduction – Isometric exercises have been shown to reduce pain in patellar tendinopathy^[1] and lateral elbow tendinopathy^[2], sometimes used by itself or with other modalities. In our experience, isometrics can be a very powerful tool to mitigate musculoskeletal pain.

How do you use isometrics?

There are three primary parameters we can adjust when doing isometrics:

Effort level – This is the percentage of effort/force output at which you are engaging the target musculature. You could get objective numbers by using a dynamometer, but these can be expensive and most medical fitness trainers will not likely have access to one. We have found at a practical level that a subjective estimate by the client works just fine (e.g., “push at 50% effort… now increase to 75%… now ease into 100% effort if there is no pain.”

Time of contraction – A full, 100% effort level of contraction can be held at most for six to eight seconds. But this does not mean that longer, sub-maximal effort isometrics are not useful. In fact, most of the studies that have used isometrics for pain reduction do just that – isometric holds at 30-60 seconds at 50-75% effort.

Joint angles – An old myth about isometrics was that strength increases were only gained at the exact joint angle at which the isometrics we done. We now know this is not the case, and that strength increases can be found at multiple joint angle positions from isometrics, although how large of an increase can depend upon which joint angle was used.^[1]

A good place to start with joint replacement clients would be lower effort levels, longer times of contraction, and the most comfortable joint angle. For a knee replacement client this could look something like:

Exercises: Standing Knee Flexion and Standing Knee Extension
Effort: 25-75% (highest possible without pain)
Time: 30-45 seconds
Joint Angle: 90^o / mid-range
Volume: 2-3 sets of the 30-45 second holds

Unilateral, open chain exercises like these are great as they force stabilization to happen on the non-working side, so you would want the client to do isometrics on both sides. When the non-replaced side is doing the isometric, the replacement side must do the stabilization. This is just as important as the strength work. However, depending on the client’s starting point for stabilization, you may need to start with closed chain exercises.

As the joint replacement client becomes stronger and more stable, you could shift into higher effort levels, shorter times of contraction, and multiple joint angles. For a hip replacement client this could look something like:

Exercises: Lunge / Split Squat Stance
Effort: 75-100% (highest possible without pain)
Time: 6-8 seconds
Joint Angles: 1) Near fully stretched, 2) 90^o / mid-range, and 3) near fully contracted
Volume: 1-3 sets of 6-8 second holds at all three positions (e.g., 1 set = a 6-8 second hold at positions 1, 2, and 3)

Isometrics can be a very useful and powerful tool when training joint replacement clients but also for general fitness, performance, and pain clients! You can learn more about isometrics, specific isometric exercises for joint replacement clients, and about taking a neuro-centric approach to medical fitness with our Joint Replacement Fitness Specialist online course, available through the MedFit Classroom!

Pat Marques is a Z-Health Master Trainer and NSCA-CPT specializing in training the nervous system to improve performance and get out of pain. After retiring from the Active Duty Army, Pat pursued his education and certifications in exercise science, initially working with wounded, ill, and injured soldiers. During this time that Pat discovered the power of using a neurological approach to training to get out of pain and improve fitness and performance. He currently provides exercise therapy, movement reeducation, and strength and conditioning for all levels of clients at NeuroAthlete, from chronic pain sufferers to Olympic-level and professional athletes.

References

[1] Cobb, E. (2017). 9S: Strength & Suppleness Course, Z-Health Performance Solutions.

[2] van Ark M, et al. (2015). Do isometric and isotonic exercise programs reduce pain in athletes with patellar tendinopathy in-season? A randomised clinical trial. J Sci Med Sport (2015).

[3] Vuvan, V., Vicenzino, B., Mellor, R., Heales, L., & Coombes, B. (2019). Unsupervised Isometric Exercise versus Wait-and-See for Lateral Elbow Tendinopathy. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

[4] Kubo, K., Ohgo, K., Takeishi, R., Yoshinaga, K., Tsunoda, N., Kanehisa, H., & Fukunaga, T. (2005). Effects of Isometric training at different knee angles on the muscle-tendon complex in vivo. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports.