Total Gym

Ask Dr. Salada – Exercise Relief for a Pain in the Neck

Q:  I have been spending a lot of time on the computer lately. I have noticed that my neck is really starting to bother me, and I am starting to get headaches as well. What exercises can I do to avoid these aches and pains?

A:  This is a very common problem and one that is usually due to poor body positioning and/or weakness of the shoulder and neck muscles. Strong shoulders and upper back muscles actually help to take pressure off of the neck and help maintain the head and neck in an anatomically ideal position.

The first step in avoiding chronic neck pain involves assessing the position that you are in while at your desk or computer. The elbows should be at a 90 degree angle with the work station so your hands can work with minimal involvement of the arm muscles.

Next, is the position of the shoulders. Anything that causes you to round your shoulders forward will put excessive strain on the neck. If you find that your shoulders are rounding forward while you sit at work, here are 2 simple exercises that will help to counteract this posture:

1)  The first exercise involves developing the latissimus dorsi muscles, which are located along the lower side ribs and mid back area. One way to strengthen these muscles is by performing an exercise that pulls weight against resistance from above your head, such as a Total Gym Lat Pull Down (see the exercise here). The idea is to train your shoulder muscles to be pulled down, away from your ears while at rest.

2)  The second exercise involves recruiting your back muscles, including the rhomboids, teres major and minor, to help keep your shoulders back and down away from your ears.  You can recruit these muscles by squeezing your shoulder blades together and holding that position for 30 seconds, or perform Pull-ups on Total Gym. Try this exercise by visiting http://www.totalgym.com/c-18-upright-prone.aspx and click on the “Pull-up” video.

If you do 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions of these exercises 3-4 days a week, that is all you need to develop healthy posture and avoid neck pain.

Find more Total Gym Back and Shoulder Exercises by visiting the NEW Exercises section of Total Gym.com at www.totalgym.com/exercises. You can search for exercises by Body Position here: http://www.totalgym.com/c-7-back.aspx.

Remember:  Avoid any exercise that requires you to push weight up and over your head, which could develop your trapezius muscles that sit high up on your shoulders and can aggravate your neck pain.

In addition, any type of stretching, range of motion or yoga exercises can help to relax your neck as well to increase your flexibility. Of course, if you are not sure of the cause of your neck pain or headaches, or if you have weakness or numbness of your hands or arms, consult your doctor as there may be more to the issue than just neck strain.

In the meantime, continue to use your Total Gym, consulting with a personal trainer or physician along the way, to ensure you are doing the exercises properly.

Keep working hard at staying well and healthy!

Until next time,

Elizabeth Salada, MD

Dr. Salada is board certified in Internal Medicine and has been in practice in San Diego since 1996. She attended medical school at Wake Forest University where she received high honors in Family Practice and Internal Medicine. Her final training was obtained from Pennsylvania State University where she completed her residency in Internal Medicine. Visit Dr. Salada’s website for more information: http://elizabethsaladamd.com/. 

Total Gym Weekly Workout – Shoulder & Squat Cardio Blast

Healthy posts from “Fytness Fanatik” Amanda Lynn Hare!

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

Today, Amanda Lynn demos her favorite Total Gym Shoulder & Squat Combinations for a fast, effective strength & cardio blast!

Perform 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps of the following exercises:

* Squats with Shoulder Shrugs

* Squats with Shadow Boxing

* Calf Squats with Parallel Arm Flex

* Calf Squats with Shadow Boxing

* Singe Leg Calf Squats with Parallel Arm Flex

Total Gym on TV! Higher Grades & Exercise

Total Gym was on San Diego 6 News yesterday with Total Gym Inside blog contributor Dr. Michael Mantell to talk about how exercise can lead to better grades.

Did you know that the ratio of children defined as “seriously overweight” has gone up to 1 in 3, tripling since the 1970s? That’s a frightening statistic!

Watch how kids are using Total Gym to shape up AND improve their school performance. A double whammy for parents!

Total Gym … Kid Tested, Lives Improved!

Fitness Psych – Total Gym Can Improve School Performance

Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.

The January issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine reported an interesting and illuminating piece of research that has caught the attention of many of us concerned about the lack of exercise among America’s school age children.

Get this …

The ratio of children defined as “seriously overweight” has gone up to 1 in 3, tripling since the 1970s.

Children between the ages of 10-13, who are already obese, are likely to have a 70% chance of obesity persisting into their adult years.

It’s time to pay attention!

We can either ignore these hard facts OR curb childhood obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, emotional disturbance, immunity issues, poor self-esteem and, according to the newest research, poor grades in school—but we can’t do both. 

Exercise could benefit children’s academic performance through increased blood and oxygen flow to the brain. It can also lower their stress levels, improve their mood and increase growth factors that support synaptic plasticity—just like exercise does for adults. In fact, like adults, children benefit from an hour each day of vigorous activity to derive maximal health and school-related benefits.

Allowing children to sit for long periods of time and overuse digital toys, in addition to parents focusing too much on competitive team sports and “winning,” coupled with negative comments about children’s activities, according to the American Council on Exercise, will be harmful to the physical well-being of our nation’s youth. And, according to the latest research, promotes poor academic performance.

“…we [have] found strong evidence of a significant positive relationship between physical activity and academic performance. The findings of one high-quality intervention study and one high-quality observational study suggest that being more physically active is positively related to improved academic performance in children, ages 6-18.” – this according to the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine report.

Here’s where the Total Gym becomes a true family exercise center.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends age-appropriate exercises that your child enjoys, including cardiovascular, strength training and bone strengthening activities. These can all be safely and easily accomplished on the very same equipment moms and dads enjoy at home or at the gym—the Total Gym!

Specific Total Gym full body exercises are available for youngsters here.

Like adults, children can safely work to their comfort level on squats, calf raises, front pullovers, lying triceps extensions, chest presses, bicep curls, push ups, pull ups and many more exercises.

Committing to provide your children with aerobic activity, muscle and bone strengthening activity, while helping to promote academic performance, is a true “win.” Of course, parental supervision is always required when children are enjoying the Total Gym.

Explain to your children the value of exercise to their health and yours. Be sure your children see you enjoying the Total Gym and create a “buddy system” approach to exercise. You can also encourage your children to bring a friend, with that child’s parental permission, to create a group activity. Make it fun … perhaps even establish a family “fitness night” each week complete with healthy nutrition and rewards.

The best exercises for children are the ones they will do. Making it playful on the Total Gym makes it very inviting for children and motivates youngsters to continue to meet their fitness needs.

Follow Dr. Mantell on Twitter @FitnessPsych

Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D., earned his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania after completing his M.S. degree in clinical psychology at Hahnemnann Medical College where he wrote his thesis on the psychological aspects of obesity. He coaches world-class athletes and fitness enthusaists for performance enhancement. He is Senior Consultant for Behavioral Sciences for ACE, on the faculty of the Equinox Fitness Training Institute, a national Community Ambassador for Experience Life Magazine’s health initiative and for FitFluentials, appears weekly on San Diego’s CW channel 6, is a consultant to Les Mills International, writes for IHRSA, is a member of the Sports Medicine Team at the Sporting Club of San Diego and the La Jolla Sports Club specializing in fitness psychology, writes the “San Diego Fitness Psychology” column and “San Diego Life Coach Examiner.” He is also a writer and consultant to the Total Gym company. Dr. Mantell has written two best-selling books and appears regularly on radio and TV.

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.

NEW Fun with Fitness – Upper Body Blast

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

New Total Gym Inside blog contributor Amanda Lynn Hare is a true “Fytness Fanatik” (as you’ll see on her website) and a Total Gym user since 1998. Amanda Lynn is here to share her enthusiasm for healthy, fit and fun living.

This month, Amanda Lynn demos the creative and fun ways she’s spicing up her upper body training routine. Watch this “Fun with Fitness – Upper Body Blast” video to see Amanda’s favorite arm, chest and back exercises on the NEW Total Gym Sport to improve posture, prevent injury and develop lean muscle to burn more calories!