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Monday, July 30, 2018

Mobility Monday: Explore Your Ish-Tube


Your ischial tuberosity is your 'sit bone'.  If you shift in your seat it is the pointy bone you feel as you shift your weight from side to side.  This is also where your hamstrings attach and they can play an important role in many areas of pain and tightness.  If you're hamstrings are tight and start pulling down on these insertion points which can cause some soreness as well put your low back in an unnatural position.  Try working this area out.


What It Helps:
-Upper Hamstring Tightness
-Glute Tightness
-Potentially Help Low Back Pain


Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Opinion: Death by Burpee

By: Joel Luedke

"Anyone can work you out and make you sore in order to make it feel like you got something out of the workout."  The sentiment is one that we feel strongly about at TAT and Clinically Pressed.  There are so many big box gyms and varying forms of 'specialized' workouts that want to make you feel like you are getting something done and they accomplish that by coming up with flashy and often times impossible workouts.

Within these different gyms there can be a lot of variety and we don't believe that any one particular form of training is inherently bad but we do believe it is important in how the workouts are implemented.  Coaches and trainers need to be cognizant about who they are working with and make the workout fit the client/athlete and not make the athlete fit the workout.  People are at all stages when it comes to getting involved with fitness and if you don't take that into consideration things can get bad, quickly.


That is the focus of this article, what can go wrong and how you can avoid it when it comes to getting back into workout.


Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS): This is common when you start working out again or when you change up your work outs to try something a little bit new.  For some it can be a badge of honor and they enjoy that feeling as it makes them feel they got something done.  While that soreness can range from slight to extreme, it is on the extreme end that you can really start having some problems.

If it gets so bad that you aren't able to move normally, sit down, or get comfortable when you're sleeping you have gone too far.  We saw an example of this with someone who was wanting to challenge themselves and had an interested in functional fitness.  The workout ended with "Death by Burpee" which consisted of doing a burpee for each minute for up to 20 minutes.  They got to 13 and had to 5 for the remaining time.  This led them to being barely after to walk for the rest of the week. Obviously unpleasant but borderline dangerous and it could lead to the following condition.

Rhabdomyolysis: This is an extremely serious condition that can happen when workouts get too extreme or intense.  What occurs is when the muscle starts breaking down way too quickly from being overexerted.  The result of this is the muscle fibers start dying and the resulting death releases those contents into the bloodstream.  What the ultimate result can be is complete kidney failure as the kidneys are not able to remove the waste and concentrated urine.

This can lead to extreme pain and complications and could potentially be fatal.  It is something you can treat and handle with quickly and proper care but that must occur in a hospital as it'll take IV fluids in order to get the body to be able to begin to handle itself again.  This means getting your kidneys functioning again and being able to process all the junk that your body accumulated.


DOMS is common and can be a good thing, Rhabdo is not and shouldn't be something you ever deal with.  Remember, anyone can work you out and make you sore, that isn't hard.  It take a lot of hard work and planning to set up training to reach your goals and do so in a safe and efficient manner. Have a great workout.

LINK: Training Smarter Not Harder

LINK: Training Like an Athlete Part I: The 'Everyday' Athlete

LINK: Training Like an Athlete Part II: The 'Competitive' Athlete

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Mobility Monday: Baseline Movement Standards


This Mobility Monday strays a little bit from our usual posts but the information is very important.  When we focus on all the mobility work we need to make sure that we are applying it all to good movement patterns.  Without proper movement patterns all the mobility and strength in the world is only going to lead to future problems.  This video is a great explanation and is filled with knowledge bombs.


What It Helps:
-Establishing Baseline Movements
-Putting good strength on a good foundation


Monday, July 16, 2018

Mobility Monday: Bias, Hip Flexion and External Rotation


We've said it a lot before and we will say it again, the more motion you have through your hips the better off almost everything is going to be.  It can allow so many things to open up when it comes to running, lifting and performance in general.  You'd be surprised at how much it can help with lower body muscle strains as it helps everything move more free.  This can also apply to your low back because by opening up your hips it can reduce stress on your low back.  Check it out.


What It Helps:
-Hip Mobility
-Lower Extremity Motion and Movement
-Potentially Low Back Pain


Thursday, July 12, 2018

Friday Food: Pesto Pork Pinwheels w/ Grilled Peaches

With a couple of our basil plants growing out of control we wanted to use the pesto sauce we had been cooking up for something other than throwing it on pasta (although there is nothing wrong with that).  We did some searching and came across this recipe and looks to be a winner.  Give it a try.

Ingredients: 

  • 3/4 cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 prepared pesto
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1/3 tsp ground pepper
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed
  • 2 large peaches, quartered

The Game Plan: 

  1. Preheat grill to medium.
  2. Combine breadcrumbs and pesto in a small bowl.  Combine oil, vinegar, pepper and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
  3. Lay pork on a large cutting board.  Holding the knife blade flat, parallel to the road, make a lengthwise cut through the center of the meat, stopping short of the opposite edge so it remains in one pice.  Open as you would a book.  Cover with plastic wrap.  With a meat mallet or rolling pin, pound to an even 1/4" thickness.  With a long side closest to you, spread the breadcrumb mixture over the pork, stopping 1" from the opposite edge.  Starting at the side closest to you, roll up the pork.  Brush with 1 tbsp of the oil mixture. (set the rest aside).
  4. Slice the pork crosswise into 8 pinwheel slices.  Put 2 pinwheels each on four 10-12" skewers, about 1" apart, threading the skewers through the meat to keep the pinwheel shape intact (put the smaller end pieces on the same skewer; they'll cook more quickly and may be done before the bigger pieces).  Toss peaches with the reserved oil mixture; thread onto the remaining two skewers.
  5. Oil the grill rack.  Place all the skewers on the grill, arranging the pork skewers flat side down. Grill, turning once until the peaches are soft and the pork registers 145degF on an instant read thermometer; 3-5 minutes for the peaches, 8 to 10 minutes for the pork.



Source: Eating Well

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Training Like an Athlete-Part II: The "Competitive" Athlete

By: Joel Luedke


A couple weeks ago we wrote the first part of this article, 'Training Like an Athlete-Part I: The 'Everyday' Athlete' and highlighted some of the majors things you need to focus on when you're training that hard.   It isn't always about just going harder, it's about having an plan and a well rounded program.  In this article we dive deeper into what training like a competitive athlete and what areas might get overlooked.


Plan for the Macro, Adjust the Micro
We truly believe you need to have a plan for your training.  For most the means you need an annual plan, for some that means looking at 4 years.  It is important to create this plan around competitive seasons, major events and other highlights of the year.  This allows you to look at where you can peak your training, where you can recover and also where you can maintain.  Without this plan you can be lost in your training programs.

While it is important to have the big picture laid out it is a guide, not an end all be all of your training.  You may have to and probably should adjust on the micro phases of the annual plan.  Even in the most perfectly crafted program things don't always play out that way.  Injuries, life events and other issues come up that can positively or negatively effect your training.   Being ok with these changes is important and to not let them throw you off your bigger plan and know that at certain times things need adjusting and that you can always get back on track.

Mobility and Correctives
Work in the weight room is about more than just picking up heavy things and putting them back down.  While that I important and play into the development of the athlete it does little good if you  aren't able to move your body through full planes of motion.  You have to work on mobility and be able to let your body take the stress of change in motion and extreme body positions.  Make this an area of focus.

Along with having improved mobility there are also areas that leak energy that could potentially lead to injury down the road.  This is where we focus on 'corrective' exercises to help address areas of potential injury and get ahead of a problem.  They can be simple and built right into the program but a few minutes each workout will be worth it in the long run.

Conditioning & Strength (not always Strength & Conditioning)
Often referred to 'strength and conditioning' the conditioning part often takes second and can even be non-existent.  The conditioning portion of training is of paramount importance.  While strength is extremely important the ability to move and stabilize is equally important if not more.  This is not an area that you can neglect and if you do it can set you up for injury or at least decreased performance.  Start at the basics and move up to the speed and sport-specific training.  Becoming a better, more well rounded athlete is the first start to improving your sport.

Rest, Recovery and Nutrition
In the first article we mentioned the other 22 hours of the day.  That doesn't change for this type of training, it gets taken to the next level.  
Rest: You have to get minimum of 7-8 hours of sleep.  Not just sleep but good quality sleep that allows your body to regenerate.  This is 1a. of the tops things that needs to be a priority to keep your body running at high capacity.  (LINK: 5 Hacks for Better Sleep)
Nutrition: This is part 1b.  This isn't to say you have to have perfect nutrition all the time and eat completely clean food at all times.  What it does mean is that you need to eat enough food.  If you are under consuming your calories it will lead to decreased energy, reduced recovery, and potentially injury.  We find a lot of people undercut and by quiet a bit, use a calculator or get your calories expenditure measured to get the best idea.
Recovery: This is an area you should focus on and brings in the areas of foam rolling, cold plunge, graduated compression and a whole host of other ideas to help your body get ready for the next workout.  There is a lot of things you can implement for not a lot of money so don't get carried away or feel the need to but also don't neglect this area at all.

There is a lot to take care of with training but when it is put into a system it can all be managed and work to your overall benefit.  Happy training.

Monday, July 9, 2018

Mobility Monday: Thoracic Extension


Having mobility in your thoracic spine can be a came changer in so many areas.  This is an area in your body that you want/need to have movement as it is a transition point for so many things that your body does for movement.  Tight shoulders?  Try loosening up this area to see if you can get set into a better position to help your shoulder move more freely.


What It Helps: 
-Mid/Upper Back Pain
-Shoulder Mobility
-Low Back Tightness


Monday, July 2, 2018

Mobility Monday: Necking


No, no, not that kind of necking.  Although if you have a lot of tightness through your neck you may have all kinds of preventable pain.  Tightness through the neck could be caused due to posture  changes that we can address or potentially a disc that has been taking some abuse over the years.  By addressing these areas you can reduce both local pain and potentially pain that is radiating down your arm.


Things It Helps
-Tightness Through the Neck
-Pain Related to Disc Injury