This is a very informative lecture by Neil Pearson, current chair of the Pain Science Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association.

Check out his website at www.lifeisnow.ca.

 Spring has truly arrived...HOORAY!  After spending the entire Easter week-end outside doing yard work, it occurred to me that many of you will possibly be feeling stiff and sore as a result of the "gardening pose" (hinged over, bent over, on one's knees, pulling, lugging, dragging, etc. ) That was me and let me say I almost had myself into a full-fledged 'flare-up' with my lower back and neck.  Oh, but what progress in my yard!

To avoid a painful gardening experience, I'd like to share a few tips for this spring:

1) TAKE BREAKS! It is ok, really...

2) STRETCH (gently) by doing movements opposite of the "gardening pose" such as shoulder rolls, gentle mobility with the neck,  "doorway arm stretch" for the chest, and "hugging the barrel stretch" for the shoulder blade and upper back region.

3) SWITCH up tasks and movements while working (ie: if you're raking switch to bagging leaves and debris, to lugging as an example). This will help to avoid being in one position or doing one movement for too long.

4) HYDRATE with water often!  (Although some of my neighbours think cold beer is sufficient... please don't forget water).

5) SNACK- fueling the body is important.  Otherwise your glorious plans for your yard may take a nosedive, not a lot of great decision making occurs when one is light headed from hunger.

6) Get the youth in your home involved.  It's a great way to spend time together. They get fresh air and pride from being part of the project, and ultimately off the darn computer. If you don't have children, borrow the neighbors’.  (Kids are such great helpers – they could hold open your bag for leaves and maybe even run to get you some water.)

7) If you do find your lower back is extremely sore, try the "leg up the wall stretch": Lie on you back and position your legs up the wall, glutes are positioned against where the wall and the floor meet and hang out for 10-15min.  You can open your legs into a V position and hold for  5 controlled deep breathes and then bring them back to centre, alternating between the V position and centre position for the duration of the stretch.  When getting out of position: bring legs into chest, roll to one side and slowly get up into upright position.  This gentle stretch will help to de-compress the lumbar spine, the illio-lumbar ligament, passively stretch the hamstrings, and rejuvenate one's self from the deep breathing.

8) If you find yourself in a pain cycle or "flare-up", we can help you at One to One Wellness Centre via Massage therapy, Physiotherapy and Strength Training.

...Which reminds me, I must book a massage therapy treatment with Tara Patriquin, our newest team member.  She has two years of clinical experience and the expertise to treat the symptoms from my "marathon yard weekend." Tara has an empowering approach to treating her clients and is a wonderful addition to our team.  WELCOME TARA!

 HAPPY SPRING AND GARDENING!

Trudy MacKinnon, B.Sc., M.T.

 

 I’ll admit it: I’m spoiled.  Since beginning work at One to One Wellness five years ago, I have had the benefit of using some of the top strength training machines available today.  While there is certainly personal preference to take into consideration, the H.I.T. community is generally in agreement that MedX is tops.  These machines have many settings to align the mechanics to an individual’s anatomy, are splendidly frictionless, use variable resistance, and require very little maintenance.  On top of this, I have a fantastically focused environment in which to squeeze out every last drop of my potential each workout. 

I have only had a handful of workouts outside of One to One during the last five years with the most recent being on my vacation to Varadero, Cuba. As referenced in my last post, my clients frequently struggle to perform workouts on their own when out of town. I may have fallen into this category as well except, for me, all-inclusive resorts are boring! Aside from a day trip to Havana, the biggest decision I had to make was whether to read on the beach or by the pool.  I hope that sharing my experience will help you feel a bit more confident working out in new locations and without supervision.  Although it won’t feel as seamless, work outs are still worth doing as long as you adhere to sound training principles.

The gym on my resort was essentially a cable multi-station, a smith machine, and some free weights with a bench. My workout consisted of chin-ups, body weight dips, leg extension/ curl on cable stations, seated overhead press/ bicep curls using dumbbells, and squats on the smith machine.  These are a few of my thoughts on this experience:

• I felt a bit deconditioned to the body weight movements. I have not done these for some time, so because I fell a few repetitions short of my aim, I added some negative-only reps at the end, which left me pretty sore for the next 2 days. This involved stepping myself up into the top position, and lowering my body weight down after I wasn’t able to lift my body weight. You are much stronger lowering than lifting so this is a great technique if you fall short of your target repetition range.
• The cable exercises we’re pretty bad mostly due to the lack of variable resistance.  Wow, does this ever make a difference. The sticking point without a cam is very aggressive, and on top of that, there was an absurd amount of friction from lack of maintenance.  Not only will this reduce the quality of your set but most people, without proper instruction, would heave and jerk to try to overcome this effect. I really didn’t feel good about what I did, so I required additional sets, performed using stage repetitions to work around it.  I think this is a great method for working around the flaws of sub-par equipment.
•  Privacy makes a difference. It’s been a while since I have worked out under the pressing gaze of others. It wasn’t that bad, but was definitely in the back of my mind and likely led to a sub-maximal performance. Heads we’re turning when I was breathing like a freight train toward the end, as this isn’t common in traditional lifting due to much longer rest periods between sets.  If you find this preventing you from working as hard as you would like, take the set as far as you are willing and then rest for 5-10 seconds between individual reps for a few extra.   I prefer machines to the free weights. Free weights are fun once in a while, but I feel like I require lower loads and cannot push myself as hard.  When it comes down to it, both will work, but I feel that for most of the general population, machines are the way to go.  One is not better than the other in terms of results, so go for what allows more intense and safer sets.
•  Watching people train without proper technique makes me worry for their safety. It’s been a while since I was at a commercial gym and got a chance to watch people train on their own. I would advise NEVER mimicking what you see others doing, including many personal trainers.
• Vibram Fivefingers are amazing to squat in.  We very often have people leg press in sock feet as it is easier to push through the heels and allows for better feedback based on pressure or force output from the trainee. Vibrams are a way to get the benefit of this, with some more protection to the bottoms of your feet.

All in all, it was a pretty good workout. The bottom line of this post is that the tool is not as important as how you use it. You can get a good workout anywhere if you understand your objective and apply proper principles.