• Head, Shoulders, Knees Over Toes: http://ow.ly/9abuo from Tony Gentilcore
• Exercise only preserves the muscles you use: ow.ly/95q3E from Alex Hutchinson
• What makes your muscles sore a day or two after exercise? ow.ly/92LTc
• Strength Training for Runners Part 2: http://jdstrength.com/?p=542 from Jeremy DuVall

Diet/Nutrition:

• Does Dietary Elitism Scare People Off “Healthy” Eating? ow.ly/95smb from Yoni Freedhoff
• How Birth Control & The Menstrual Cycle Affect Weightlifting: ow.ly/95zLb from Lift Big Eat Big
• Nutrition Triggers & Tips: http://ow.ly/9aelg from Nia Shanks
• All About Carb Cycling: http://ow.ly/9adHK from John Berardi

Mobility:

• Use this simple knee assessment before you Squat or Lunge: http://ow.ly/9abjo from Nick Tumminello
• Types of Stretches, who should use them and when: ow.ly/93Vlu from Mike Robertson

Fitness Industry:

• How to Become a Fitness Guru in 25 Easy Steps – goo.gl/2IAHJ from Bret Contreras
• The 6 Rules for Getting Yourself Published in Major Fitness Magazines: bit.ly/xpTHh3 from Jonathan Goodman
• Social Media Tips for Fitness Professionals: ow.ly/95ms2 from PTontheNet
• Setting an Example – What Standards Should we Have for Coaches & Physical Educators: http://ow.ly/9abce from Garrett Perrella
• How to tell if your personal trainer knows what they’re doing: http://ow.ly/9ab7H from Molly Galbraith
• Post encouraging women to not stay complacent with how the fitness industry treats them: http://ow.ly/9ab3p
• What good personal trainers should have in their desk: ow.ly/93GLt #training from Jonathan Goodman

Misc:

• What to do with your old Race Bibs, T-shirts, and Medals: ow.ly/9a7zC
• Detecting Muscle Soreness with Infrared: ow.ly/95paL from Alex Hutchinson
• Book Recommendation: “Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?” ow.ly/97ieH

I just finished reading the book “Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights? Fitness Myths, Training Truths, and Other Surprising Discoveries from the Science of Exercise” by Alex Hutchinson, Ph.D. and I LOVED it.

This book is awesome!!!  It has all of the fitness, health, and nutrition myths that I’ve ever heard of (plus dozens more) and explains what “research science has–and has not– proven to be true.”  I love this book for several reasons:

1) Interesting and Relevant

The best quality of this book, in my opinion, is that it is extremely interesting and applicable to everyone.  Whether you participate in endurance activities, strength activities,  team sports, or are completely new to exercise, there is something in this book for you.

Alex takes common questions and myths about fitness, health, and nutrition, and answers them for you, all in one book.  No more dealing with unreliable internet or magazine sources —  Only real research studies are used.

The main topics include: Getting Started, Fitness Gear, Physiology of Exercise, Aerobic Exercise, Strength and Power, Flexibility and Core Strength, Injuries and Recovery, Exercise and Aging, Weight Management, Nutrition and Hydration, Mind and Body, and the Competitive Edge.  Under each main heading are 8 -12 myths or questions that are explained and resolved.

You can read it cover to cover or skip around by looking at the Table of Contents to read about a particular topic that interests you most.

Some of my favorite questions to read about were:

• Will running barefoot help me avoid injuries?
• What role does my brain play in fatigue?
• Will running on hard surfaces increase my risk of injuries?
• Can lifting weights fix my lower-back pain?
• Do flexible runners run more efficiently?
• Should I take pain killers for post-workout soreness?
• Can exercise keep my DNA from aging?
• Is lifting weights better than cardio for weight loss?
• Will taking antioxidant vitamins block the health benefits of exercise?
• If my brain is tired, will my body’s performance suffer?

3) References Section with the Research Studies listed

Alex Hutchinson uses real research to answer the common questions that people have and he lists all of the studies at the back of the book under the topic that they were referenced in, so that it’s very easy for people to see exactly which studies are being used for which topic.

So that’s my take on this book.  I bought it used on half.com for about $5, so definitely buy this book and give it a read so we can stop those pesky myths from circulating the globe

Training:

• Functional Hypertrophy: ow.ly/91m0E from Charles Poliquin
• Exercises You Should Be Doing: Dumbbell Reverse Lunge to 1-Legged RDL: ow.ly/9183D from Tony Gentilcore
• Box jump with 1 leg landing: ow.ly/9180p from Eric Cressey
• The 6 Week Sprinting Solution: ow.ly/917LP from John Romaniello
• Core Exercises for Runners: ow.ly/91764 from Jeremey Duvall
• Awesome deadlift variations and alternatives to help you master the exercise: ow.ly/90lTJ from FitJerk
• Try this awesome bodyweight core Exercise – Abs Snails | from Nick Tumminello Fitness: ow.ly/90ODP
• Top 9 Drills to Improve Acceleration Technique: ow.ly/90lu9 from Joe DeFranco

Diet/Nutrition:

• Research approved carb cycling: ow.ly/917Bw from Mike Roussell
• The Dieter’s Paradox: ow.ly/91mNg from Lyle McDonald
• A non-sugar-coated fat loss plan: ow.ly/91mmX from FitJerk
• Interesting discussion on protein + carbs for endurance athletes ow.ly/8XchJ from Bicycle Lab
• Flexible dieting 101: ow.ly/8UxsC from Sohee Lee Fitness

Mobility/Injury:

• Good Exercise for Shoulder Health – Scapular push-up to yoga push-up: ow.ly/917Z0 from Matt Siniscalchi
• Should we train people in pain? ow.ly/916UF from Jonathan Goodmand
• 3 Simple Steps to Fix Your Hips – Improve Your Movement: ow.ly/916JA from Diesel strength
• All Things Thoracic Spine Part 1: Functional Anatomy - ow.ly/90NQI from Dean Somerset
• Hip Demands of an Upright Torso: ow.ly/90kij from Mobility WOD
• Healthy Knee Must #5: Hip Mobility: ow.ly/90jxi from SAPT Strength
• Very cool post on pain perception and treating chronic pain: ow.ly/8YIQm from Bret Contreras
• How massage can help sore muscles heal faster: ow.ly/8Ykkx NY Times

Misc:

• On Challenges, Uncertainty & Becoming a Supreme Badass bit.ly/AfBbcK from Roger Lawson
• Fitness Minimalism – Removing the Nonessential from Exercise & Nutrition ow.ly/90kRt from John Berardi

We focused on two common injuries for runners and other athletes: plantar fasciitis and shin splints.

Most people think that if any of these problems arise, you should stretch the affected area. However, Julie argued that stretching could make the problem worse and that the problem is not necessarily in the muscle being too tight, but rather having too many knots and kinks in the muscle fibers themselves. If you stretch the muscle before working the knots out, it will just make the knots tighter and harder to get out.  With proper myofascial release technique, one can release the bunches out of the muscle fibers and relieve pain.

Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis is a common injury to runners that involves pain in the sole of the foot that is typically worse in the morning upon waking up and lessens in pain throughout the day.

Julie explained that the problem is not in the bottom of the foot itself, but rather the tendons that attach to it.  The anterior tibialis tendon inserts into the medial side (inside) of the foot and the peroneus longus tendon inserts into the lateral side (outside) of the foot.  A tight Achilles tendon can also contribute to plantar fasciitis, as the achilles inserts into the back of the heel. If the muscles of these three tendons get tight from ‘knots’ in the muscle fibers, the result is that the aforementioned tendons all pull in opposite directions resulting in the pain you feel in the sole of your foot.

To combat this, we need to loosen and release these tight, knotted muscle fibers.  Julie recommends using a Trigger Point massage ball (a lacrosse ball works fine) and working it into the anterior tibialis (muscle next to your shin bone), peroneus (muscles along the back and outside of your lower leg), and soleus (muscle in your lower calf).  You could also use a foam roller but a ball is can be easier to work with. Julie joked, “If you feel pain, you’re doing it right” but it should be a good kind of pain like you feel when using a foam roller on any other muscle.  Any joint pain could be indicative of a more serious problem.  Some of the attendees at the clinic felt almost immediate relief after massaging their muscles for a few minutes as directed.

Shin Splints

Many people, including myself, have experienced shin splints at some point in their lives. This injury is felt as pain in the front of the shins when running or even walking.

One of the causes, again, is overly tight muscles in the calf (the gastrocnemius and soleus) causing an imbalance between the muscles in the front and back of the lower leg. To remedy this problem, again myofascial release is encouraged. All the muscles of the lower leg can be massaged but focus on the anterior tibialis and the calf muscles.

Try this: every morning before you get out of bed, lie on your back and use the heel of one foot to work the opposite calf and anterior tibialis. Hold for a few seconds when you find a painful spot. Do this for both legs regularly and you should see your shin splint problem go away.

• The Limitations of BMI: ow.ly/8LbOJ
• For Healthy Wrists, Rotate Your Rows (or Chin-Ups, or Presses, etc.) ow.ly/8N77I from Harold Gibbons

Training:

• 26 Things I’ve Learned: Training Edition ow.ly/8Ld86 from SAPTstrength
• Strength Training Exercises for Runners – The Science and the Programming: ow.ly/8POCo from Jonathan Goodman
• What to do when you don’t like treadmills: ow.ly/8QfsD from SAPTstrength
• 10 Common Deadlift Mistakes: ow.ly/8RUwt from Lift Big Eat Big
• The Trap Bar Deadlift combines the best qualities of the squat and the traditional ow.ly/8Q7JF
• Why you need single-leg training in your life: ow.ly/8QfCz from SAPTstrength
• See Why Pulling > Pushing in your workouts: ow.ly/8OVqF from Harold Gibbons
• The Negatives of Aerobic Training: ow.ly/8SzG6 from Charles Poliquin
• 10 Reasons Why Endurance Athletes Should Include Weight Training: ow.ly/8Szvl from Charles Poliquin
• 7  Principles of Exercise Selection: ow.ly/8RVCj

Mobility:

• Having trouble with your squat form? Try this excellent mobility drill: ow.ly/8QsqI from Mobilitywod

Diet/Nutrition:

• 12 Reasons You’re Not Losing Fat: ow.ly/8Pyob from Jason Ferruggia

Business:

• Huge Online Success Story: How John Romaniello Turned Fitness Expertise Into a 6-Figure Business ow.ly/8Q8J3

Miscellaneous:

• Out of the box thinking: ow.ly/8N5qw from  Colin Pistell

Training:

• T NATION | 6 Questions About Tempo Training: http://bit.ly/z88O67
• Powerlifts: The Squat vs. The Deadlift http://ow.ly/8JQ6m from Charles Poliquin
• All About the Bench Press: http://ow.ly/8JIYU from Jim Wendler
• Tips for Improving Your Speed and reducing Risk of Injury: http://ow.ly/8Jfi7 from SAPT Strength 
• How to do a perfect push up http://ow.ly/8Jfab from SAPT Strength
• SAPT Exercise of the Week: Goblet Squat to Stepback Lunge from SAPT Strength
• Cardio Bunny? Stop It – Stop It Now!: http://ow.ly/8FL3Z from Sohee Lee

Diet/Nutrition:

• Intermittent Fasting 201: http://ow.ly/8JQDU from John Romaniello
• Is salt bad for you?  http://ow.ly/8JCGA from Eric Cressey
• Why “bulking” and “cutting” is dead http://ow.ly/8FaIC from Jason Ferruggia

Physical Health: 

• 2 Keys to Less Knee Pain: http://ow.ly/8JGWNfrom Mike Robertson
• Static stretching might not be so bad. Study shows static stretches <60 sec don’t diminish performance http://ow.ly/8EsdI from PEAKc
• 10 Musts for Healthy Knees: http://ow.ly/8ErcJ from SAPTstrength

Recipes:

• Cauliflower Curry Couscous Recipe http://ow.ly/8EpYV from Neghar Fonooni

Give these a read and let me know what you think

The human body is like a giant chain.  If something goes wrong in one of the links it can throw off the other links further up in the chain and vice versa.  Thus problems with alignment down at the ankles can manifest in injuries of the neck, shoulder, back, hips, or knees.

So what is Postural Restoration?

Postural Restoration is based on human biomechanics.  It is a holistic, integrative, clinically proven, and scientifically based approach for examining underlying causes of pain, dysfunction, and slow recovery from trauma.  Therapeutic treatment works to reposition the musculoskeletal system, correct movement imbalance, restore normal tonicity to muscles and strengthen efficient, balanced, functional activity.

Humans are naturally asymmetrical, however, our lifestyles today contribute to large imbalances, outside of a healthy range, that contribute to pain, reduced mobility & strength, and decreased breathing efficiency.  We all tend to exhibit Right Side Dominance in our bodies.  This imbalance results from several factors:

1. Biological Asymmetry:
   • Distribution of organs is unequal (ex. Left lung has 2 lobes while right lung has 3, heart lies slightly to the left, heavy liver on right side of body, diaphragm is asymmetrical, etc.)
   • Our spine has a tendency to orient towards the right as a result of the distribution of our internal organs and muscles.
2. Neurological Asymmetry:
   • The right side of our brain controls the left side of the body while the left side of our brain controls the right side of the body
3. Environment:
   • Modern inventions/infrastructure geared towards right side dominance (ex. Using right foot for gas pedal & brake pedal, computer mouse on the right, running around a track, running on the right side of the road, shaking someone’s hand, etc.)
   • Most people are right-handed (I’m a lefty though, but only for writing)

Posture

Right side dominance is the tendency to use the limbs on right side of the body for every day tasks such as opening doors, using the gas pedal of a car, writing, picking up objects, etc. and especially  standing with most of your bodyweight on the right leg while reaching for something with the right arm.  Reaching with the right arm causes upper trunk rotation to the left (even left-handed people show right side dominance movement patterns!).  As our upper trunk rotates back towards the left, our right side bends, which moves the right ribs closer to the right pelvis and the left ribs further from the left pelvis.

Because of the tilt in the ribs and pelvis, the left abdominals have trouble anchoring the left lower ribs to the left pelvic crest.  As a result, the left pelvis rolls forward and inward while the left rib cage elevates and flares.  The lumbar spine is then pulled into extension due to the tightness on the right side and the misalignment of the left side.

The overall result of all of these factors is that the back and right-side muscles are tight, while the abdominals and left-side muscles are overstretched and weak.

Right Side Dominance then, results in tightness and shortness of the muscles on the right side of the body and looseness and elongation of those on the left side of the body.  The muscles used in right side dominant movement are used more often and become stronger than the muscles involved with left side movement.

As a result of our asymmetrical movement patterns plus a more sedentary lifestyle, we experience a lot of stress, injuries, dysfunction, and pain.  Even though we have two legs and two lungs, our center of gravity is shifted to the right and our right lung is relied on more than the left.

Breathing

The diaphragm is our main respiratory muscle.  It moves up and down during breathing to help expand and shrink the thoracic cavity, to draw air in and out of our lungs so we can breathe.

Due to the aforementioned conditions associated with right side dominanace, the diaphragm becomes overstretched and its ability to perform as a respiratory muscle is diminished.

With the diaphragm not functioning at its optimum level, we then begin to depend on our neck muscles to elevate our ribs to get enough air into our lungs.  However, our neck muscles are usually only recruited to assist with breathing during exercise.  Since the neck muscles are now used more to assist with normal, quiet breathing as well as with exercise, they become overactive.  (Think about this: How often have you been running and found that your neck gets sore?)

This state of constant activity for our neck muscles stimulates the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight system) and puts us in a constant state of stress.

Restoration through Repositioning 

So how do we correct all of these problems?  The first step is the utilization of repositioning exercises that restore the musculoskeletal system to neutral alignment.

People may see some results immediately but some repositioning exercises can require more practice.  In my case, I was able to restore the shoulder mobility of my right shoulder (the tighter, less mobile shoulder) to that of my left shoulder after about ten minutes of practicing a repositioning exercise.

The exercises are progressive and get more challenging as the body becomes accustomed to the repositioning exercises.

The ultimate goal of these restoration exercises is to remove aches and pains as well as improve mobility and function, but athletes could use these exercises to potentially increase their efficiency and performance as well.

Resources

For more resources, check out these links:

• Postural Restoration Institute
• Poster with Simple ways to Improve Your Posture: 
• Video: 90 90 hip shift modified from Postural Restoration Institute: 
• Video: Paraspinal Release with Left Hamstring modified from Postural Restoration Institute

References:

Advance Physical Therapy

Functional Movement Screenings are done to assess an individual’s movement patterns.  The screening comprises 7 tests that the client performs and is then graded on from a scale of 0-3 with 0 being very bad and 3 being excellent.

The screening can identify imbalances between different sides of the body, weaknesses, and potential injury risks.

The 7 tests only take 10-20 minutes to perform and then the score from each test is added up to produce the final score ranging from 0-21 with 14 being a passing score.

The idea is that by identifying limitations of the body, one can then perform corrective exercises to strengthen weaknesses, prevent injury, and potentially improve performance.

The tests include a deep squat, in-line lunge, straight leg raises, trunk stability push-up, shoulder mobility, rotary stability, and hurdle step.

I really like the idea of a Functional Movement Screening.  With Colin’s help I found out that I am in pretty decent shape functionally, but I do have an imbalance between my left and right ankles, and I could improve my whole body overall.

My right ankle has much less mobility than my left ankle.  I also noticed today that my right arch is more flat than my left.  I’m not sure if the two things are related but Colin gave me some ankle exercises that I can perform to increase the mobility of both ankles.  This could help me a lot with both squat form and lunges.

Now I think it would be useful to have a Functional Movement Systems certification.   I could attend a workshop in my area possibly next summer so that’s something to think about!

I definitely recommend a Functional Movement Screening to anyone who exercises or wants to begin an exercise program.

There are 3 primary fiber types that I’ll talk briefly about.

Type 1 Muscle Fibers (Slow-Twitch)

• These fibers are also known as slow twitch or oxidative fibers. They require lots of oxygen, have lots of ATP-producing mitochondria, and have many surrounding capillaries (for improved oxygen delivery and waste removal). They can only provide small amounts of force but for an extended amount of time (think endurance activities).  They also are the main fibers in postural muscles such as your erector spinae and the muscle of your lower leg.

• Type 2b muscle fibers are your fast-twitch (glycolytic) fibers.  These are like an opposite of type 1 fibers.  Type 2b muscle fibers require glycogen (stored carbohydrate) for fuel through a process called glycolysis. These fibers have very low amounts of mitochondria and capillaries.  Type 2b muscle fibers can provide very large amounts of force but for only a very brief amount of time.  They are quick to fatigue (think high-intensity activities like sprinting or Olympic lifting).

• Type 2a fibers are interesting because they possess properties of both type 1 (slow-twitch) and type 2b (fast-twitch) fibers.  They get their fuel primarily from oxidative activity (using oxygen) like slow twitch fibers but they have some glycolytic activity and contract very quickly like Type 2b fibers.  Therefore, Type 2a fibers can be thought of as a hybrid.

Cool fact: You cannot convert Type 1 fibers to Type 2 fibers but you can convert between the Type 2a & Type 2b.

Your muscle fiber composition is genetic but you can train muscle fibers to act more aerobic or anaerobic.

I created these wonderful things a while back  and I am so excited about them.  They taste great and they are an awesome dessert that is pretty high in protein and fairly low in carbs and fat but you can always tweak the macros to your liking.

I made a Chocolate version and a Vanilla and experimented with the amount of protein.

Filling Ingredients:

• 3 servings of Jello Pudding Mix (Whatever flavor you like. The box I used had 6 servings in it)
• 1/2 cup of Almond Milk
• 1/2 – 1 scoop of protein powder (This is person preference. I found that my protein powder didn’t change the taste whether I used 1/2 or 1 whole scoop but different powders are different. You also may or may not need to add more Almond milk if you use more protein powder. You could use chocolate or vanilla flavor depending on which pudding flavor you use. I used vanilla for both.)

Crust Ingredients:

For the crust I used one of my protein pancakes and baked in a bowl with a smaller bowl on top of it to get it into a pie crust shape and to make it a little crisper.  It worked great!  You could  also use real pie crusts

• 1/4 cup egg whites
• 1/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• cinnamon

(makes 2 pancakes/pie crusts)

Assembly Instructions:

1.) Mix all of the filling ingredients together for about 2 minutes 

6.) EAT