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Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Fact vs. Fad in Purchasing for Training, Treatment and Rehabilitation

By: Joel Luedke

This article can be very tongue in cheek for me as I used to be fascinated by the latest gadget or gizmo that was presented to me and if someone had armed me with a budget that I could do some damage with, boy would I have. I’m writing this on my way to the 2017 NATA Convention and the Expo is one of my favorite parts of it all.  So many new inventions and people selling as hard as they   It’s a good think my current position does not arm me with a big budget but enough of one I could cause trouble for myself.

possibly can.

The reason for this article (and corresponding CP Short, out 6/28) is there is always “new and better” coming out on the market and often times just as much money is put into the marketing of the product as the actual development of the product.  CharlesPoliquin once stated that “there is very little that is actually new in the world of fitness.  Everything is just repackaged and put together to create the illusion of ‘new’.”  That is the reason for writing this article as we believe the basics work and when you find the systems that works for you, that is where the magic happens.  Not in a fad or quick fix.  Here are some ways to keep yourself in check while looking at all the options.

Is it Backed by Science
This can be tricky if something is just coming to market as it might not have been around long enough to have a ton of science done on it.   That being said if the producers were very serious about it that is something they should have considered early on in the process to show they had the evidence to back up the claims they are putting out.  There are different levels of buyers and for me I am not the ‘early adopter’.  I usually want a couple people to have tried it out first in order to see how things go for them and also if any science comes out in the corresponding years that have no ties to the company and have little to no chance of being influenced.  This is often where you will get your most honest information and answers and that can be a huge help in deciding if you want to go through with a big purchase.

Reading the science isn’t always fun but it can be well worth it in the long run.

Does it Hold Up to the ‘3 Why’s’ Test
I stole the ‘3 Why’s Test’ from a CEO of a huge company in Brazil (found this through the Tim Ferriss Show) and when he cam in to redo the entire company everything had to go through the ‘3 Why Test’.  If you could answer Why three times when you were defending or justifying something at the company you probably should keep it around.  If you couldn’t do that it needed to go or studies much closer.  This can be applied to anything.  Buying fitness equipment, buying a program whether lifting or nutrition, or as simple as looking at the food and/or supplements you want to take.  Here are some examples.
            -Why is this the only option?
            -Why would I want to take this over something else similar or cheaper.
            -Why is this specific item going to make a difference compared to something else.
Be harsh with these and they should help keep you honest and potentially save a pretty penny and some potential frustration along the way.

Is it Scalable for your Needs?
This idea applies a little bit more to running a gym, weight room and/or studio but is important none the less.  You may really want that one piece of equipment but is it really going to be able to get utilized to the extent you want it to?  In a Sports Performance Center I’m’ associated with there are a   Not quite and therefore we have refrained from purchasing the piece of equipment.  There is no doubt it would get use but it would not be near what we would like to do if we had 5 or 6 of them.  So we added it to the wish-list.  This is a very important and honest question you have to ask yourself when looking at things.  It can spark creativity because you have to come up with an alternative but this saves you from having that piece of equipment just hanging out in 10 years with no use and very few ways to get ride of it.

lot of things I would love to have (i.e. curved treadmill) but does that allow me to do what I would want to training 30-60 people at a time?



Be careful jumping all in on the latest gadget or technique that might be thrown out in front of you.  Often times it can end up collecting dust in the back of a drawer or cabinet.  They also apparently have very little resale value (who knew?).  Be diligent in your search, maximize your budget and keep up the good work.

Monday, June 26, 2017

Mobility Monday: Recovering Hamstrings and Adductors


Even if you aren't into CrossFit and didn't do the 17.4 workout odds are if you lift and are active you've felt plenty of soreness throughout your hamstring and adductors.  It can range from a mild soreness that you hardly notice to full blown affecting your ability to walk.  Here Kelly Starrett runs through  couple simple things you can do at home to get your tissues moving again and help recover those muscle areas to get ready for your next workout.


Things It Helps:
-Sore Hamstrings
-Sore Adductors/Groin
-Decreased ROM of the Hip


Thursday, June 22, 2017

Friday Food: Chinese Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

We thought we would change it up a little bit with the style this week and so we go Chinese.  This is a simple yet tasty dish that you can tweak and add the vegetables you want as you go.  You can take this one to the next level of healthy by substituting out the traditional sauces and find alternatives that are paleo or Whole 30 approved.  Give it a try this weekend.

Ingredients:
-2 tsp cornstarch
-3 tbsp + 2 tsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
-2 tsp rice win
-4 tsp sesame oil
-1 lb sirloin steak, trimmed of fat, thinly sliced against the grain
-1/4 tsp kosher salt
-4 cups broccoli florets
-4 medium scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces; white and green separated
-1 tbsp minced garlic
-1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
-2 tbsp packed dark brown sugar
-1 tbsp oyster sauce

The Game Plan:

  1. In a shallow glass container, whisk together the cornstarch 2 tsp of the soy sauce, rice wine and 1 tsp of sesame oil.
  2. Sprinkle the salt over the steak.  Add the steak to the marinade, turn to coat, and let rest at room temp. for 30 minutes.
  3. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil.  Add the broccoli and cook until bright green and tender-crisp, 45 seconds to 1 minute.  Drain and immediately rinse with cold water to stop the broccoli from cooking further.
  4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat.  Add 1 tsp of the sesame oil and half of the steak.  Cook 30 seconds on each side, without stirring as it's cooking.  Transfer to a plate and repeat with another 1 tsp of the same oil and the rest of the steak.
  5. Heat the remaining 1 tsp of the sesame oil and add the white part of the scallions, garlic and ginger.  Cook for 30 seconds.
  6. Add the broccoli, brown sugar, remaining 3 tbsp of the soy cause and oyster sauce.  Cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds.
  7. Add the beef and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from the heart and stir in the scallion greens.
  8. Serve over brown rice.

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Mobility Monday: Correcting the Butt-Wink


In honor of our friend Kyle being over in Prague (yes, that Prague) and studying under the originators of DNS and some of the best practitioners in the world we wanted to highlight another guy who utilizes DNS to improve weight lifting.  In this video the 'butt wink' is worked on and corrected in squat form and if you have ever struggled with this movement we recommend you checking it out.


Things It Helps:
-Squat Form
-Low Back Pain (from squatting)
-Squat Depth and Performance

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Friday Food: Philly Cheese Steak Foil Pack

After searching for some healthy steak recipes this one came up and I couldn't not share it.  Personally I'm a big fan of Philly Cheese Steaks so I'm excited to give this recipe a try and eat it more than I probably should.  Give it a try at your next cookout.

Ingredients
-1 lb. flank steak, thinly sliced
-2 bell pepper, thinly sliced
-1/2 onion, thinly sliced
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-2 tbsp. Italian seasoning
-2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
-kosher salt
-freshly ground black pepper
-4 slices provolone
-Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

The Game Plan

  1. Heat grill to medium-high.  In a large bowl, toss together steak, peppers, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, and olive oil and season with salt and pepper
  2. Place steak mixture in foil packs.  Fold up packs and grill, 10 minutes.
  3. Open packs, top with provolone, and cover grill to melt, 2 minutes.
  4. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Resource: Delish

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Study Spotlight: Kombucha and Electromagnetic Radiation

By: Joel Luedke

This Study Spotlight stretches our boundaries a little bit here at TAT.  It is very interesting but strays away from most of the studies that we take a look at.  The background behind this one is we recently got into kombucha and have even made a homemade batch (second one is brewing as I type this).  There is a lot of benefits to drinking kombucha with a lot of them being based around the probiotic element that occur throughout the fermentation process.


This study takes a look at how kombucha might help out with some other things that affect us in our daily lives.  That being electromagnetic fields (think cell phones) but they take a look at this in rats.  Stay with us and check out the information below.


Clinically Pressed video coming soon on making homemade kombucha (have to wait for the next round)

What They Did:
This study set to look at how kombucha (KT) can affect trace element levels in the brain, spleen and intestine in male albino rats when exposed to a 950 mHz electromagnetic field (EMF).  There was four groups of rats, control, KT, EMF, EMF +KT.  The rats set to be exposed to EMF were then exposed for 8 weeks.

What They Found:
The animals that were subjected to to the electromagnetic waves had significant increases in iron copper levels and the copper/zinc ratio with a decrease in zinc levels in all studied organs.  Combining the kombucha with the EMF resulted in a successful attenuation of the adverse effects of EMF.

What It All Means:
Cell phones operate somewhere between 450mHz and 2700mHz (quite the range I know) and this is most likely our most common source of EMF in our world but take into account WiFi, power lines and anything else similar.  When you add it all up that can be come scary amounts of electromagnetic waves.  There is a lot out there on EMF and potential other health risks but that is out of the scope of this article.

Having higher levels of iron copper in your organs is not necessarily a good thing.  Our body does a great job adapting but accumulation of these elements of the long term can be very hard on your body and its tissues.  The decrease in zinc is also not something you want to see as that is typically a trace element we are low on (along with magnesium).  

Drinking kombucha is a simple and easy way to combat this and it tastes pretty fantastic and like mentioned above can be made at home (check back for that video in a couple weeks form 6/13/17).  It can be inexpensive and again makes for a simple home remedy to combat the EMF you are dealing with on a daily basis that you might not feel but could be having an effect on your life.  Give kombucha a try.

LINK: Zinc Magnesium Asparate supplement

Resource: Effect of kombucha on some trace element levels in different organs of electromagnetic field exposed rats

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Injury Alternatives (Other than going to something a little more drastic)

By: Joel Luedke

This is a post that I've been thinking about doing for awhile since we put out a lot of information going in many directions to help with your movement/mobility, chronic tightness, and overall health. Often times it is hard to put it all together and as with many good things it takes time but the hope of this article is to breakdown some options to give a try before going to something a little more extreme (heavy duty medication or surgical options).

As with anything we put out these are ideas and things to look into a little bit more.  It is NOT medical advice but hopefully information that can help you make your decisions moving forward with your own health and wellness.  These are in somewhat of an order ranging from more of a preventative angle and then going to treatment but all of them can be integrated at any point.

Nutrition
Research continues to compile on the role of inflammation in your body and how that can affect long term or chronic pain.  Having inflammation in your body isn't  typically the only contributing factor to pain and injury when we talk about chronic pain (see movement training) but it can play a huge factor.  What do we mean by inflammation?  Inflammation when it comes to acute (just happened) injury is something we want but when it comes to having inflammation present over the long run it can be detrimental.  This type of inflammation isn't the type you see in a swollen knee or ankle.  This inflammation is often undetected by just the human eye.

This type of inflammation can be present throughout your entire body and you may feel a little 'bloated' or you may feel like your joints just don't move as well as they should or potentially ache a little bit.  How does all of this happen?  The type of food you put into your body is typically the cause.  Simple sugars and added preservatives to your food can actually cause minor 'insult' to your body and these add up.  What we can do about it is first just start cleaning up your diet by eliminating as many of these 'irritants' as you can.  Simply taking out one or two things at a time can help (i.e. removing soda, or cookies, etc).  You can also look to increase the 'good fats' you put in to help control the inflammation such as fish oil, coconut oil, and avocados.  Another simple, yet highly, effective addition to your day is just increasing your water intake.  Check out another great resource below.

Resources:

Movement and Training

Having 'good' movement patterns is an excellent predictor of not only your likelihood of acute injury but how your body will respond to long term movements and adapt.  You never want to put strength, power, or endurance on poor movement patterns as this is just going to set your body up for problems.  Our body is an amazing machine in that it is able to take a lot of not perfect movement before something happens.  It may take several thousand repetitions before something "breaks" and you notice something is wrong and that is the importance of establishing good patterns early.


You can get very into it with getting screening done through the Functional Movement System (FMS), the Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) or another version of a movement screen.  You may also not need to get quite that sophisticated and can focus on just simple movements that if you are good at should translate to overall improved movement for yourself.  Movements such as a full range of motion squat, being able to move your arms over your head and having full motion through your spine.  More resources on both types below.

Resources:

Treatment Options
This option could be before or after the rehab section in this post but we have it hear.  These tools and techniques applied with rehab can have to many effective results in restoring range of motion and general movement through releasing tight and overworked muscles.  Techniques such as massage, active release technique (ART) and Gratson can work through the muscles extremely well and restore motion by getting tissues sliding over each other how they should and also through a range they need to be at.  You can also get after this on your own by working through Mobility WOD and utilizing foam rollers. lacrosse balls and any other option to help increase you ability to move.

Resources:

Rehab
It seemed like it used to be that in order to fix something that was torn (i.e. labrum, meniscus) or painful (hips, knees) that surgery was your only option to get in and get everything cleaned up.  More research is now coming out that in a lot of cases surgery isn't the case, especially when it comes to returning to being healthy and pain free in daily life (and even recreationally active).  Focusing on
rehab and movement patterns is not a 'quick' fix when it comes to pain but it can be a highly effective one that will not only save you from the trauma of surgery but can also save you time and money in a lot of cases.

Focusing on a rehab plan an progression can be extremely effective in getting muscles to work that haven't been working and in turn helping reduce compensation from other muscles that might have taken over a workload they weren't supposed to.  This combined with the treatment options above can be an extremely powerful combination that can get you a lot of results.  Below are a few options to start looking at options to get started.

Resources:
-Clinical Athlete
-Clinically Pressed Insights
-Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Mobility Monday: The Sink + Shoulder Extension

We all may not want to be gymnasts but being able to extend our arms behind us to full range of motion is something we should all strive for.  It may not seem like a big deal but having this range of motion can make a huge difference in how your upper body feels.  In a world where we are constantly leaning forward and arms/shoulders are rolled inward this simple move can help put everything back where it should be.



Things It Helps:
-Tight anterior shoulders/pecs
-Overhead range of motion
-Improving overall shoulder Mobility


Thursday, June 8, 2017

Friday Food: Lettuce Wrapped Cheeseburgers

Here is a great alternative to the classic burger if you are trying to stay low-carb or follow a Paleo or ketogenic lifestyle.  Still very easy to make and enjoy and perfect for the weekend.


Ingredients:
-2 lbs ground beef
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 tsp pepper
-1/2 tbsp oregano
-2 tbsp reduced sugar ketchup
-2 tomatos sliced thin
-1 head of iceberg lettuce, leaves removed
-6 slices American cheese
Spread
-1/4 cup mayo
-3 tbsp dil pickle relish
-Dash of salt and pepper

The Game Plan: 

  1. Heat your grill or skillet on medium heat and add a little Kerry Gold Butter
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the beef, salt, pepper, oregano and ketchup
  3. Divide the mixture into 6 sections, and roll each piece into a ball then press down flat for 6 burgers.  you can also use a burger press if you have one.
  4. Place each burger on your grill/pan and cook for approximately 304 minutes on each side.  Try not to press down on the burgers...they end up a little dry that way.
  5. Once you flip the burger, add your cheese to the top cooked side.
  6. In a small bowl mix together the spread ingredients and refrigerate.
  7. Once you have cooked all your burgers and removed them from the pan, assemble them.
  8. Place 1 cheeseburger on the lettuce leaf, top with 2 slices of tomato, a spoonful of spread, then wrap top to bottom with another lettuce leaf.

Sunday, June 4, 2017

Mobility Monday: Czech Get Up


We are big fans of Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS) at TAT.  It is based on the developmental movement our bodies naturally go through as we move in our first years of life.  The 'Turkish Get-Up' is a classic move that is often used to work on not only stability but also get work on mobility in order to get through the entire movement under control and efficiently.  


This move is the DNS version of the Turkish Get Up and is the Czech Get Up. Extremely challenging and worth giving a try if you've been doing the Turkish Get Up for awhile.  Check it out.

Things It Helps
-Hip Mobility
-Development of Movement Patterns
-Shoulder Stability