Importance of Foam Rolling

The foam roller not only stretches muscles and tendons but it also breaks down soft tissue adhesions and scar tissue. By using your own body weight and a cylindrical foam roller you can perform a self-massage or myofascial release, break up trigger points, and soothe tight fascia while increasing blood flow and circulation to the soft tissues.

How It Works

The superficial fascia is a soft connective tissue located just below the skin. It wraps and connects the muscles, bones, nerves and blood vessels of the body. Together, muscle and fascia make up what is called the myofascia system. For various reasons including disuse, not enough stretching, or injuries, the fascia and the underlying muscle tissue can become stuck together. This is called an adhesion and it results in restricted muscle movement. It also causes pain, soreness and reduced flexibility and range of motion.

Myofascial release is a body work technique in which a practitioner uses gentle, sustained pressure on the soft tissues while applying traction to the fascia. This technique results in softening and lengthening (release) of the fascia and breaking down scar tissue or adhesions between skin, muscles and bones.

Myofascial release has also been shown to relieve various muscle and joint pains such as IT Band Syndrome and Shin Splints as well as improving flexibility and range of motion.

Foam rollers are inexpensive and with a bit of experimentation you can target just about any muscle group. (Quinn, About.com Guide) April 2010

Top 10 Reasons Heavy Weights Don't Bulk Up the Female Athlete As seen on Elitefts.com

by Tim Kontos

Dave Adamson and I were driving to the IPA Nationals this past weekend talking training (yeah we're pretty passionate about what we do) when the subject of training women with heavy weights came up. I am in my ninth year at VCU as the head strength and conditioning coach and David has been in strength and conditioning for 3 years and this is a subject we deal with every year regardless of how much training information is available to the public.

The best way to get information is to go to the source. So, we asked Sarah Walls. Sarah is another strength and conditioning coach at VCU, a writer for Muscle and Fitness Hers, a former figure competitor, and a Women's Tri-Fitness competitor…..not to mention she is a strong female athlete that is not bulked up. Therefore, she has a great perspective on the subject. So we, being a good team, put our heads together to find a way to combat this never-ending dilemma.

Our way of combating this is through education. And, only one answer to a question is never enough. If you know your job well, then you know that there is more than one way to skin a cat. So we came up with following list:

1. Women do not have nearly as much testosterone as men. In fact, according to Bill Kreamer, in Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, women have about 15 to 20 times less testosterone than men. Testosterone is the reason men are men and women are women. After men hit puberty they grow facial hair, their voice deepens, and they develop muscle mass. Because men have more testosterone they are much more equipped to gain muscle. Because women do not have very much testosterone in their bodies they will never be able to get as big as men.

2. The perception that women will bulk up when they begin a strength training program comes from the chemically altered women on the front of bodybuilding magazines. These "grocery stand models" are most likely pumped full of some extra juice. This is why they look like men. If you take the missing link that separates men from women and add it back in, what do you have? A man!

3. For women, toning is what happens when the muscle is developed through training. This is essentially bodybuilding without testosterone. Since the testosterone is not present in sufficient amounts, the muscle will develop, but will not gain a large amount of mass. The "toned" appearance comes from removing the fat that is covering a well-developed muscle.

4. Muscle bulk comes from a high volume of work. The repetition range that most women would prefer to do (8-20) promotes hypertrophy (muscle growth). For example, a bodybuilding program will have 3 exercises per body part -- for the chest they will do flat bench for 3 sets of 12, incline for 3 sets of 12, and decline bench for 3 sets of 12. This adds up to 108 total repetitions. A program geared towards strength will have one exercise for the chest, flat bench for 6 sets of 3 with progressively heavier weight. This is 18 total repetitions. A high volume (108 reps) causes considerable muscle damage, which in turn, results in hypertrophy. The considerably lower volume (18 reps) will build more strength and cause minimal bulking.

5. Heavy weights will promote strength not size. This has been proven time and time again. When lifting weights over 85%, the primary stress imposed upon the body is placed on the nervous system, not on the muscles. Therefore, strength will improve by a neurological effect while not increasing the size of the muscles.

And, according to Zatsiorsky and Kreamer, in Science and Practice of Strength Training, women need to train with heavy weights not only to strengthen the muscles, but also to cause positive adaptations in the bones and connective tissues.

6. Bulking up is not an overnight process. Many women think they will start lifting weights and wake up one morning and say "Holy Sh__! I'm huge!" This doesn't happen. The men that you see who have more muscle than the average person, have worked hard for a long time (years) to get that way. If you bulk up overnight contact us because we want to do what you are doing.

7. What the personal trainer is prescribing is not working. Many female athletes come into a new program and say they want to do bodyweight step-ups, bodyweight lunges, and leg extensions because it is what their personal trainer back home had them do. However, many of these girls need to look in a mirror and have a reality check, because their trainer's so-called magical toning exercises are not working. Trainers will hand out easy workouts and tell people they work because they know that if they make the program too hard the client will complain. And, if the client is complaining there is a good chance the trainer might lose that client (a client to a trainer is a.k.a. money).

8. Bulking up is calorie dependant. This means if you eat more than you are burning you will gain weight. If you eat less than you are burning you will lose weight. Unfortunately, most female athletes perceive any weight gain as "bulking up," and do not give attention to the fact that they are simply getting fatter. As Todd Hamer, a strength and conditioning coach at George Mason said: "squats don't bulk you up it's the 10 beers a night that bulk you up." This cannot be emphasized enough.

If you are a female athlete and training with heavy weights (or not) you need to watch what you eat. Let's be real, the main concern that female athletes have when coming to their coach about gaining weight is not their performance, but aesthetics. If you choose to ignore this fact, as a coach, you will lose your athletes!

9. The freshman 15 is not caused by strength training. It is physiologically impossible to gain 15 lbs of muscle in only a few weeks unless you are on performance enhancing drugs. Yes the freshman 15 can come on in only a few weeks. This becomes more complex when an athlete comes to a new school, starts a new training program, and also has a considerable change in their diet (i.e. only eating one or two times per day in addition to adding 6-8 beers per evening for 2-4 evenings per week). They gain fat weight, get slower and then blame the strength program. Of course, strength training being the underlying cause is the only reasonable answer for weight gain. The fact that two meals per day has slowed the athlete's metabolism down to almost zero and then the multiple beers added on top of that couldn't have anything to do with weight gain…..it must be the lifting.

10. Most of the so-called experts are only experts on how to sound like they know what they are talking about. The people who "educate" female athletes on training and nutrition have no idea of what they are talking about. Let's face it, how many people do you know that claim to "know a thing or two about lifting and nutrition?" Now how many people do you know that actually know what they are talking about, have lived the life, dieted down to make a weight class requirement, or got on stage at single digit body fat? Invariably these so-called experts are also the people that blame their gut on poor genetics.

These so-called experts are the reason you see so many women doing sets of 10 with a weight they could do 20 or 30 times. They are being told by the experts that this is what it takes to "tone" the muscles. Instead, they are only wasting their time doing an exercise with a weight that is making no contribution to the fitness levels or the development of the muscle.

In case you haven't figured it out by this point in the article, what is currently being done in fitness clubs to help female athletes tone their bodies is not working. It is not helping these women get toned, and it is definitely not helping improve athletic performance. Maybe it's time for a change. Contrary to the non-effective light weights currently being used, heavy weights offer many benefits for women, including: improved body composition, stronger muscles, decreased injury rate, and stronger bones (which helps prevent osteoporosis). Let's try lifting some heavy weights and controlling our diet and watch this logical, science-based solution make the difference we've been looking for.

Light Weight, High Reps???? Not Always the Best Case

Most women believe that lifting light weights for a high rep range will prevent them from "bulking". Theses guidelines are said to create "long, lean muscles". How is it possible to alter the length of your muscle????? Could you change the length of your bones too??? Not possible. Everybody is genetically predisposed to the shape and length of your muscles and bones. Changing your fat free body mass will give you a different appearance, but the actual length will not change.

The way to get that defined look that you are looking for is to constantly change the sets and rep ranges of your workouts. You must put your muscles under enough stress in order for them to strengthen and grow. If you continue to lift your little pink dumbbells for 15 to 25 effortless reps, you will potentially increase your muscular endurance, but you wont increase your muscle mass, which, in turn gives you that lean look your working for.

My suggestion is to cycle your lifting days in three different levels. Theses levels will be a heavy, medium and light day. Heavy days should include rep ranges from 5-8 reps. Medium days will include rep ranges from 8-12 reps. Light days will be anywhere from 12-20 reps. Take note that on each of these days, whether it be a 15 rep day or 6 rep day, the last few reps should be difficult! This is also beneficial because this type of training will not allow your muscles to adapt to your programs. Muscles adapt to volume (reps x sets) before the actual exercise.

Why Do my Knees Snap, Crackle and Pop????

These sounds you hear typically occur when your squatting or walking up and down stairs. The general rule is that if no pain is accompanied with theses sounds, then don't be too concerned. If there is any pain involved then you should seek medical attention to prevent the condition from worsening by taking appropriate actions.

There are a few factors that can contribute to these unpleasant sounds. The first being that tendons could rub against the bony ridges in your knee. These tendons snapping back into place may potentially produce some noise.

Another reason could be the release of gases from the synovial fluid (lubricant for the knee) in your knee joint. This is similar to cracking your knuckles.

To help prevent these sounds, be sure to perform a good warmup before exercising. Low impact aerobic activity for 5 -10 minutes, followed by thorough stretching of the quads and hamstrings are ideal. This will help reduce pressure in the knee and prepare the joint for more intense activities.

Check out the website!

www.thebodyologist.com

Posture

What Does "Bad" Posture Look Like?

While most of us can point out someone else with bad posture, we may not realize it in ourselves. And, even if we do, we may not do anything about it. Poor posture can come from many sources, including incorrect sitting and standing habits, obesity, pregnancy, an improperly arranged work environment, not enough flexibility and weak muscles. Signs that you may have poor posture include:

• Slouching and hunching your shoulders over
• Holding your head and neck forward and/or down
• Arching your lower back too much
• Commonly carrying a heavy purse or backpack on one side of your body
• Sitting on a wallet in your back pant's pocket
• "Holding" your phone between your neck and shoulder
• Slumping forward while seated

How to Get Good Posture Today

While it will take time to adapt your body to naturally assume good posture, you can use these tips to improve your posture today. With a little perseverance, your posture will be back on track (and, remember, modeling proper posture is essential to ensure that your kids have good posture, too!).

Good Posture Tips While Sitting

• Keep both feet flat on the floor (if your feet cannot reach the floor, adjust the chair or use a footrest)
• Align your back with the back of the chair
• Don't slouch or lean forward
• Adjust the chair so your knees are even with your hips, or slightly higher, and your arms are at a 75-90 degree angle at the elbows
• Keep your shoulders straight
• Choose an ergonomic office chair with good back support
• Get up often and stretch

Good Posture Tips While Standing

• Keep your weight on the balls of your feet, not your heels
• Let your arms hang naturally by your side
• Keep feet about shoulder-width apart
• Don't lock your knees
• Keep your head level and in line with your neck and spine, not pushed forward
• Keep your shoulders upright and stand up straight

Want to check your posture? Stand with your back to a wall. If your shoulders, bottom and back of head are all touching the wall, then your posture is correct.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) describes muscle pain, muscle soreness or muscle

stiffness that is felt 24-72 hours after exercise. DOMS is most common for individuals who begin

new exercise programs, but could also be caused by a change in the intensity and length of your

current program. (Baechle, Earle)

Delayed onset muscle soreness is thought to be a result of microscopic tearing of the muscle

fibers. The amount of tearing (and soreness) depends on how hard and how long you exercise

and what type of exercise you do. Any movement you aren't used to can lead to DOMS,

but eccentric muscle contractions (movements that cause muscle to forcefully contract while it

lengthens) seem to cause the most soreness.

This sort of muscle pain is not quite the same as the muscle pain or fatigue you experience during

exercise. This delayed pain is also very different than the acute, sudden pain of and injury such

as muscle strains and sprains, which is marked by an abrupt, specific and sudden pain that occurs

during activity and often causes swelling or bruising.

The delayed soreness of DOMS is generally at its worst within the first 2 days following the activity

and subsides over the next few days.

Here are some tips for dealing with soreness after exercise:

• Wait. Soreness will go away in 3 to 7 days with no special treatment..

• Use active recovery techniques. This strategy does have some support in the research.

Perform some easy low-impact aerobic exercise to increase blood flow. This may help

diminish muscle soreness.

• Use the RICE method of treating injuries. (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate)

• Although research doesn't find gentle stretching reduces soreness, some people find it

simply feels good.

• Gently massage the affected muscles. Some research has found that massage was

effective in alleviating DOMS by approximately 30% and reducing swelling, but it had no

effects on muscle function.

• Try using a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication (aspirin or ibuprofen) to reduce the

soreness temporarily, though they won't actually speed healing.

• There is some evidence that performing Yoga may reduce DOMS.

• Avoid any vigorous activity that increases pain.

• Allow the soreness to subside thoroughly before performing any vigorous exercise.

• Don't forget to warm up completely before your next exercise session. There is some

research that supports that a warm-up performed immediately prior to unaccustomed

eccentric exercise produces small reductions in delayed-onset muscle soreness (but cooldown

performed after exercise does not). (Quinn)