In PT with Jessie Carter – Holiday Shop But Don’t Drop!

By:  Physical Therapy Contributor Jessie Carter, PT

Low back pain has been a common theme around the clinic lately. Every year around this time, there seems to be an increase in patients complaining of back pain – aches and pains from shoveling snow, back strain from carrying shopping bags and packing gifts, and chronic pain patients want to address before the holidays.

I was out with the best of them on Black Friday braving the crowds. What started as a quick trip to snag some deals, however, turned into an all-night, exhausting event.

Consider these tips to keep your body from wearing down before you do:

• Wear comfortable shoes such as walking or running shoes when shopping. When it comes to walking the mall, comfort should win out over your cutest pair of heels to prevent stress to your ankles and feet.
• Lighten your load when you can. If you are shopping for a lot of items or for a long period of time, consider making frequent trips to your car to drop off packages. This provides extra exercise while reducing the stress on your back muscles.
• Distribute the weight of packages and shopping bags evenly on both sides of your body.  This means that you have to avoid holding all your bags in one hand to sip your favorite drink or fumble for your keys. This also means avoiding what I call “attitude standing” – propping all your weight through one hip (often times to hold a child propped on that same hip). Standing in this position can create undesirable forces through the hip joints, pelvis and spine.
• Women, keep your suitcase (I mean purse) weight to a minimum to avoid undue stress and fatigue. Only carry necessary items such as your wallet and keys. When carrying your purse, consider strapping that makes your body work the least or requires large joints over smaller joints to carry. For example, use a bag that has a shoulder strap or can be worn as a backpack instead of a purse with smaller handles.
• Plan ahead if possible. Whether you are going to campout to get the best deals or do a marathon shopping spree, you can ease physical and mental stress by making a list and avoiding prime shopping times. Remember that long lines and busy parking lots increase your time standing and walking.

While most back pain is mild and resolves on its own, some pain persists or comes back repeatedly over time. A lot of my patients, who have experienced low back pain for years, tell me they have tried multiple treatment options without success. They also report that each time the pain returns, it seems to get worse.

When you experience low back pain, one of the best things to do is to stay active and continue with your normal routine as much as possible, without the risk of further injury. This seems to contradict the old approach of “putting someone to bed” when they are down on their back. Bed rest for more than a day has been shown to actually slow recovery.

If your pain worsens or lasts more than a few days, then it is time to see a medical professional.  Immediate medical attention should be sought if you experience loss of bowel or bladder control, numbness in the groin or inner thigh and/or pain that does not change with rest.

Continue your Total Gym routine over the holidays to maintain optimal strength and tone. Try these “Cable Core Work” exercises to target your snow shoveling and shopping muscles: the shoulders, back, arms and chest in conjunction with the core.

Arm Cable Exercises; Recruiting the Core

The mad rush of the holidays is here…following these simple tips and taking care of your body will allow you to enjoy the season and shop without the drop.

Happy rehabbing!

Jessie Carter is the owner of High Pointe Rehab in Clarksville, TN, where she utilizes Total Gym for physical therapy and fitness training to offer the full continuum of patient care. Jessie is a 2001 graduate of the University of Evansville (UE) in Evansville, IN, where she earned both her BS and Master’s degrees in physical therapy. Contact Jessie at jessie@highpointetn.com with your questions or ideas for future topics.

In the News! UFC Gym “Trains Different” with Total Gym

UFC Gym Corona is hardly just a “Fight Club.” Read how UFC  is “training different” and attracting all member populations with Total Gym PlyoRebounder in this month’s Club Solutions Magazine!

Breaking Out of the Norm

When people see UFC GYM a million thoughts run through their mind – amazing fitness club may not be the first. Adam Sedlack, the SVP of UFC GYM, understands this and has found ways to overcome discrepancies.

“Every new business faces challenges, especially in competitive markets like the fitness industry,” Sedlack explained. “Our specific challenges are driven by the fact that the traditional fitness customer perceives UFC GYM as a ‘Fight Club.’ However, we are a full-service facility offering an array of programming for the entire family and every fitness level. We have close to a 50 percent male to female ratio and the average club houses 450 youth members under the age of 12.”

UFC GYM has the advantage of being aligned with one of the fastest growing sports in the world. The concept was developed by Mark Mastrov, the founder of 24 Hour Fitness, his partner Jim Rowley, brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and their partner Dana White – the Fertitta’s and White comprise the executive staff for UFC. “As UFC continued to grow, Mark and Jim saw the demand and the potential to offer the innovative training techniques of these athletes to the traditional fitness consumer. Not only does mixed martial arts have incredible physical benefits, it also adds and intense, empowering, yet fun aspect to working out.”

Sedlack has used marketing to make consumers perceive UFC GYM as a family fitness club. “Our current marketing campaign illustrates exactly what sets UFC GYM apart from any other fitness facility. We offer an alternative to the traditional workout with a multitude of ways for the entire family to sweat different, move different and burn different. We are seeing people get in the best shape of their lives while their self-confidence improves, positive mental attitude changes and overall outlook on life gets better as a result of what they are learning within our four walls.”

To focus on the family aspect of the club, Sedlack had to incorporate more youth programming and ancillary sales such as retail or merchandise. “These are areas we’ve seen the most expansion. After opening our first location we realized the demand to diversify our offerings to target not just the typical UFC fan, but women and youth as well.”

It’s easy for Sedlack to understand the importance of youth programming. “Growing up, fitness and athletics were always part of my lifestyle, and as a result, I always saw myself in some sort of competitive or health related field. While I was in college, my major was psychology and I began to appreciate how people prioritized life decisions, and the motivations that led them to that end result. For the most part, people are creatures of habit and we all have a circle of influence that develops our characteristics when it comes to integrity, honesty, nutrition and overall well-being.

“For me, fitness allows all people in all circles of life to improve and empower their lifestyle. If their brain is programmed to be negative, fitness and nutrition can cure that. If an individual is competitive and focused, fitness and nutrition will help you get better. This industry is where science meets psychology and allows anyone the opportunity to live better. My passion was introduced to a great opportunity through industry experts Mark Mastrov and Jim Rowley who molded me to look at my professional position not as a job, but as a lifestyle.”

Perceiving his role in fitness as a lifestyle pushed Sedlack to dig for new and innovative ideas. “From state-of-the-art cardio and conditioning equipment like Total Gym GTS®, Total Gym PlyoRebounder® and PlyoBalls® to youth programming to Pilates and cycling, we offer something for any fitness type.” Of course, UFC GYM also provides members with the opportunity to practice MMA programming, such as Muay Thai, kickboxing, jiu jitsu and women’s self-defense and team-oriented daily ultimate training.

People may continue to view UFC GYM as a “Fight Club” style gym, but with people like Sedlack working on branding the company as a full-service club for families, more and more people will find themselves getting in fighting shape, looking and feeling better. -CS

By Tyler Montgomery

http://www.clubsolutionsmagazine.com/2011/12/breaking-out-of-the-norm/

Total Gym Weekly Workout – Kiss Your Gut Goodbye!

Healthy New Posts From “Fytness Fanatik” Amanda Lynn Hare!

New Total Gym Inside blog contributor Amanda Lynn Hare is a Total Gym user since 1998. Amanda Lynn is here to share her enthusiasm for healthy, fit and fun living.

Keep your gut in check this holiday season with Amanda’s favorite core strengthening exercises! Benefits include: a tighter midsection, stronger core (trunk and back) and improved posture!

Amanda suggests completing 10-15 reps of each exercise below (depending on your fitness level):

* Pullover crunch with legs in table top position

* Ab crunch with SCRUNCH (Now 50% Off! Click here)

* Crunch with hamstring curl using the Folding Foot Holder (standard on Total Gym Sport, GTS and PowerTower) or the Wing Attachment for XLS

* Crunch at higher incline (no hamstring curl)

Total Gym “Fit Before Feasting” Workout

You know you’re going to do it. The turkey, stuffing, candy-coated yams and butter drenched rolls – it’s all too decadent to avoid! You’re going to indulge on Thanksgiving; it’s tradition!

To help counteract the calorie-laden Thanksgiving meal, we’ve put together a full-body Total Gym “Fit Before Feasting” workout! Warning:  Feeling this good may cause you to make healthier food choices come turkey time!

Try to complete 10-15 reps of each exercise demonstrated below in 2-3 sets.

Cardio Pull - A great compound exercise to warm up the upper and lower body.
Cardio Pull

[Unhook cable pulleys from glideboard]

Squat Progressions - From single to double leg, to plyometric squats. You’ll feel the burn! Squat Progressions

[Attach cable pulleys to glideboard]

Flys and Curls - Sit laterally to perform single art chest flys and bicep curls.
Seated Lateral_Single Arm Chest Fly-Lateral Biceps CurlsAdvanced Cable Work – High-level progressions for shoulders, arms, chest and back, with recruitment of core stabilizers. Advanced Upper Body Cable Sequence

[Detach cable pulleys from glideboard and add/engage foot holder]

Hamstrings and Abdominals - Get an optimal stretch and flexion for hamstrings, while maximizing abdominal involvement
Upper Extremity Progressions

[Remove/disengage foot holder]

Sprinter Start – Explosive leg exercises that mimic a sprinter’s start to torch calories!
Sprinter Start

Back by Popular Demand! Fun & Fit with Plyometrics: Part II

Hey Total Gym Team!

Plyometrics. I love em’ …  my clients love em’ … and you should integrate them into your training as well.

This month’s blog is a follow up to my “Fun & Fit with Plyometrics” post in September. Try adding these upper body Plyo moves to your Total Gym routine to increase the challenge, intensity and body-shaping results of your workouts:

Your challenge is to try these exercises unilaterally!

Stay tuned as I will play more with Plyos in upcoming blog posts. Don’t worry golfers, I will be back with more golf-specific Total Gym tips in January when the tour kicks off it’s 2012 season in Hawaii.

Enjoy and hit em’ straight!

JayDee Cutting is a GRAVITY Master Trainer, certified personal trainer, Pilates instructor and creator of the “Core Golf Fitness” program. JayDee’s Core Golf Fitness DVD offers on-course and warm-up exercises proven to help advance your golf game and is available for purchase at http://coregolffitness.com.

A Day @ UFC Gym – Behind the Scenes

A behind the scenes look at Total Gym’s visit to UFC Gym in Corona, CA. UFC Gym focuses on fitness through martial arts & functional training with Total Gym GTS and Total Gym PlyoRebounder. The gym’s members include top MMA athletes as well as men and women of all fitness levels.

Here’s a behind the scenes look at our video shoot with UFC Gym trainers and members:

Camera man Brian is ready to get his shot!

Total Gym GTS workout:

UFC-style Total Gym PlyoRebounder Circuit:

Fitness Psych – Total Gym Adds Healthy Life-Years

If you work out in a gym take a look around. You’ll probably notice that about 1 in 4 people are in the baby boomer generation, born between 1946 and 1964. There are 78 million baby boomers in America. Within less than 10 years, the 65+ population will increase by about 40% to 55 million adults. And of those 65+, 7 million will be 85+. Nearly 11 million of us boomers belong to gyms.

These people aren’t your grandparents. No, these are actively aging, healthy folks pushing off any age-related disability as late into life as they –ok, WE—can … if not forever.

This generation is looking at every anti-aging solution available, from specific nutritional recommendations to support mitochondrial energy production, to therapeutic levels of vitamin and mineral supplements, to smart drugs for preserving and enhancing oxygen supply and neural function in the brain, adding therapeutic doses of hormones, decreasing cortisol and enzymes like MAO, and heavy doses of “clean living.” This is the generation that is avoiding toxins, pesticides, pollution, using chelation to remove heavy metals from their bodies and avoiding radiation (good luck!).

Why? Are we just trying to live forever? No. We want to increase our “healthy life-years.” But there is a simpler, well-proven and ultimately healthier and frankly more enjoyable way to add life to our years and years to our lives. It involves movement, activity, exercise.

Inactivity doubles the risk of mobility limitations and propels cognitive decline. The amount of data demonstrating the effect of exercise in slowing the aging process is simply staggering.

We are looking for gentler, kinder “fitness” workouts like low-impact, comfort and diminished risk of injury, but that still leave us feeling like we got vigorous exercise. We know we need to incorporate training in posture, strength, endurance, flexibility and balance to promote the kind of activity-related benefits that favorably impact our hearts, weight, blood pressure, sexuality, blood chemistry, state of mind, physique and social abilities.

That’s where I believe the Total Gym comes in. At home or at the gym, the Top 5 Total Gym Exercises for boomers today are all a central part of the hundreds of exercises available on this fitness marvel.

1. Cardio – easy enough to use your full-body to get your heart pumping to the max in five minutes, kicking and pushing off the glideboard at an intensity level that you can increase as your fitness level improves.
2. Strength training – we lose 30% of our muscle strength between the ages of 50 and 70 years. Normally, adults who are sedentary beyond age 50 can expect muscle loss of up to 0.4 pounds a year. This reduction in muscle strength leads to impairment in carrying out the ADLs, “activities of daily living.” Resistance training for each of the muscle groups, head to toe, is straightforward on the Total Gym. Bicep curls, chin-ups, chest presses, chest fly (incline, decline and lateral), shoulder presses, upright rows, front and lateral deltoid raises, pull-ups, kneeling rows, leg curls, squats, and many more are easy and efficient on the Total Gym.
3. Flexibility training—here’s where stretching and range of motion exercises become important to connective tissue, so regular stretching is an important part of the Total Gym ROM workout.
4. Balance training – musculoskeletal injuries are the number one reason people seek medical help and are among the leading causes of death for the 65+ population.  Balance training as you work your core muscles on the Total Gym, is built into nearly every exercise.
5. Core training – boomers can easily forget they have abs. The abdominal exercises available on the Total Gym, including crunches, reverse curls, sit-ups and side planks, will quickly reintroduce you to your six pack.

Find these and more Total Gym exercises at www.TotalGym.com/exercises.

Michael R. Mantell earned his Ph.D. degree at the University of Pennsylvania after completing his M.S. degree in clinical psychology at the Hahnemann Medical College, where he wrote his thesis on the psychology of obesity. He has served as Chief Psychologist of Children’s Hospital and Health Center of San Diego, and created and led the nationally recognized Psychological Services and Employee Assistance/Wellness program for the San Diego Police Department. He is a member of the Sports Medicine Team at The Sporting Club in La Jolla, California, maintains a private clinical practice in La Mesa, California, and writes and speaks for the American Council on Exercise.