This Week on the DS Blog
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Happy New Year to you all! We are so looking forward to 2012 at Dynamic Solutions. Last year one of our goals was to start to focus more on training athletes and to continue our growth as performance enhancement specialist. Since our move in September, things have definitely picked up. We’re now seeing teams from sports that traditionally do not put a whole lot of attention in to weight training, contact us about our Sports Performance programs. I truly feel that there’s a paradigm shift taking place in youth sports and Dynamic Solutions is happy to be a part of it.
The Myth of Discipline
First up for 2012 is a good piece by Charles Poliquin. Poliquin is a big time strength coach to professional athletes and Olympians that I’ve been following for years. This blog entry here is right on time! Our 28 Day Body Transformation begins this Monday and it’s going to be hard for some to make it through it. Poliquin says that there is no such thing as discipline though, only love. I like this! If you truly love yourself, than you shouldn’t have any problems with avoiding foods that make you feel like CRAP. Check out this short entry, you’ll love yourself for it! 
How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body
Next up is a highly controversial piece by William Broad I found in the New York Times. I know what you’re thinking…yes we do offer yoga at Dynamic Solutions, but I would bet my last dime that Mary Johlfs is one of the best instructors around. Our classes at Dynamic Solutions are more of a gentle yoga that focuses on proper positioning and breathing. Unfortunately, this is not what you see taking place in most yoga classes today. A bad yoga instructor is just as bad as an uninformed strength coach…they’ll both take you down. Finding a yoga instructor that can modify postures for today’s population is becoming harder to do. If you’re looking for a yoga class that can address your limitations and restrictions, come check us out. Our class is held on Sundays from 1 – 2:15. The first class is FREE!!
SPOT REDUCTION… Ugh!!! As a trainer, you hate to hear folks asking, “can you help me lose some weight around my feet?” Spot reducing is another big myth and since I’m tired of answering that question, I’m going to let one of our favorite fitness professionals, Paul Chek address the myth of spot reduction.
Specificity: The Key to Athletic Development
Dr. Thomas Lam talks about the importance of sticking to the script when designing strength and conditioning programs for athletes. Every rep counts and there’s no need to use a bunch of fancy looking exercises that don’t help the athlete with getting more explosive, faster and stronger. Olympic lifters possess all of the skills previously mentioned, yet their programs are very basic. Good read here!
Finally, for your weekend viewing enjoyment checkout this funny clip on $h*t Women Say to Personal Trainers. This is what it’s like to walk in our shoes!
Stay Strong… Kettlebell Strong!!
This Week on the DS Blog 12/10
By · CommentsHip Mobility and Shoulder Injuries : Implications for Tennis, Volleyball and Baseball Players
In our initial meeting the baseball players participating in the year’s Sports Performance program, we talked about how limited range of motion (ROM) at the ankles, hips, and t-sipine will sabotage an athlete’s on field performance. We’ve screened hundreds of athletes and just about all of them, have some sort of restriction in at least one of those areas…many have restriction at all three. Address the dysfunction and everyone walks away happy.
In a 2010 study showed that a reduced total IR + ER for the non-dominant leg lead to decreased velocity for pitchers. Makes sense to me!
MOVE BETTER… PLAY BETTER!
We want to make sure we can actually do what Coach Moon is teaching us.
Why We Move Poorly…and What to do About It
The exercise paradigm of challenging conventional wisdom lags the nutritional paradigm by about 10 years. – Gray Cook
I may not know everything about exercise, but I do know that the programs that I see trainers using with their clients are outdated and are doing more harm than good.
Have a look:
This video is an example of what you see a lot of today. Unfortunately our lifestyles, bogus certifications and just misinformation through marketing madness has led us to programs that resemble survival contest. If you want to move better, the first thing you need to do is to get assessed. Next, find an instructor that can use that assessment to create a program that addresses YOUR needs, then and only then will you be on the right path to moving better!
**Aspartame – Sweet Killer – It puts the DIE in Diet Soda**
Here is a great article on the affects of aspartame. Also below is a list compiled by the FDA based on about 10 thousand consumer compaints regarding aspartame from the book Sweet Deception by Dr. Joseph Mercola and Dr. Kendra Degen Pearsall. We highly recommend this book!!!
Reported Adverse Reactions Included in Order of Frequency of Report (As of April 1995):
Headaches and migraines, Dizziness or problems with balance, Change in mood quality or level, vomiting and nausea, Abdominal pain and cramps, change in vision, diarrhea, seizures and convulsions, memory loss, fatigue, weakness, other neurological problems, Rash… and more.
High Knee Walk to Spiderman with Hip Lift and Overhead Reach
My exercise of the week has become an instant classic at DS! There’s a version of this exercise that doesn’t include the overhead reach, and it’s referred to as “the world’s greatest stretch”. This one’s better…so what do we call it!?!
Stay Strong… Kettlebell Strong!!
This Week on the DS Blog 11/27
By · CommentsThe Most Important Thing That I’ve Learned…
To say exercise has come a LONG way over the last 3 years is a huge understatement. I can still remember the first kettlebell I picked up at the IDEA conference in New York city. ( It was a 10 pounder BTW).
Now kettlebells have taken the fitness industry and athletic training population by storm. The versatility of the kettlebell and the benefits it has on enhancing human movement is MAGICAL!
I’m exhibit “A”. Seriously, I can still jump just as high now as I could when I was in high school. The reason, I believe, is my understanding of how to better train for optimal performance and the influence of kettlebells.
As a former athlete, one of the things I love most about what I do, is the opportunity to help other athletes reach their true potential. Performance Enhancement training is growing rapidly because of the explosion in early sports specialization. Everyone’s looking for an edge nowadays.
On January 21st and 22nd we are hosting Rehabilitation of the Athlete: Return to Sport & Performance Enhancement with Dr.Craig Liebenson, a consultant of the Arizona Diamondbacks and one of the most recognized figures in the performance enhancement field.
Below, I have a video I want you all to have a look at of Dr. Liebenson explaining what DNS (Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization) is all about.
According to Pavel Kolar, ”DNS is an overall strategy designed to better understand the neurophysiological principles of locomoter system function. It includes both a knowledge, and theoretical base, in addition to assessment, treatment, exercise and lifetime strategy.” Pavel Kolar
This is truly the most important information I’ve learned yet regarding human movement.
I’ll keep saying it until I’m blue in the face, but we can’t expect anyone, especially young athletes to operate at high levels without good movement and proper muscle sequencing. No need for fancy wheels if the frame is all beat up and you need a timing change!
Focusing on the quality movement, building functional strength and explosive power is the edge we look to give our clients and athletes at Dynamic Solutions. We’re always looking to learn from the best in the Wellness and sports performance industries.
Check it out!
As a bonus, I got a two minute video from Paul Chek entitled “Is Cardio Making you Fatter?” Listen and you’ll see why many believe exercise should be prescribed. I’m leaner than I’ve been in years, yet I can’t remember the last time I’ve done aerobic type of training. If your goal is to lose weight, cardio probably is not the best option for you.
Is the Present Day Athlete Prepared for the Initiation of Athletic Performance Enhancement Training?
This article by Robert Panariello MS, PT, ATC, CSCS, alludes to something I’ve been pondering recently. If you are a reader of the DS blog, by now you should know my feelings on early sport specialization. I feel that it truly has done more harm than good for youth sports and I’ll keep voicing my opinion on this topic until we begin to see some changes.
In this piece, Robert asks, are our athletes even qualified to participate in a performance enhancement program. I totally get this. No question, early sport specialization is one of the reasons why we see kids that are not as athletic as kids only a decade ago. Last week I stated that our training of athletes needs to get back to the basics. There is no reason to have young athletes doing squat jumps if they can’t perform a perfect squat or a bench press if they can’t do a push up. Just about every athlete I played with in high school could rep out 50 perfect push ups without breaking a sweat. Asking for 10 good push ups nowadays is pushing it.
Sorry for another rant, but check out this article by Robert and you’ll definitely see where I’m coming from!
Exercise of the Week- Single Leg Hip Thrust with Band-Resisted Hip Drive
This exercise does it all. I put this exercise into my workout on Friday and it instantly became one of my favorites. The ability to train glute hip extension and resisted hip flexion at the same time is PRICELESS! We will begin implementing this into our Sports Performance programs right away, as it is perfect for the athlete looking to improve top end speed and acceleration.
Stay Strong…Kettlebell Strong!!
This Week on the DS Blog
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Excess Estrogen and Weight Gain
For those that have problems, getting rid of stubborn belly fat this is a MUST read. The first question potential clients ask is how can the lose fat around the stomach? There are a million different diets that claim to do this and do that, yet there’s only one diet that’s guaranteed to shed your waistline of unwanted flab; increasing the intake of estrogen inhibiting compounds.
Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification & R.K.C. Re-certification
This February 11th we’re hosting our third Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification with Master R.K.C. Brett Jones. This is a great opportunity for personal trainers, strength coaches, medical professionals and fitness enthusiasts to learn how to correctly perform and teach the kettlebell swing, goblet squat and swing from one of the top instructors in the industry.
Also, to all those that are already R.K.C. certified, we’re offering a re-certification course on February 12th. Register before 1/14 to save $100 on the H.K.C. and 2/7 to save $100 on the R.K.C. re-cert.
Is stiffness the key to stopping shoulder injuries?
Do you need more reasons why the Turkish Get Up is my #1 exercise for building healthy and pain free shoulders. Most physical therapist will use band exercises in their rehabilitation protocols. However, I’ve found during my training of clients with shoulder injuries, incorporating rehab exercises that engage the trunk work best.
My Daily Health Tonic Made with doTERRA’s Essential Oil Blend On Guard
Essential Oils are gaining more acceptance for their therapeutic benefits and that’s evident if you train at Dynamic Solutions! This past Saturday there were folks lined up outside of our office looking for Christina to spread some essential oil love. I can’t blame em’…I need my fix daily as well!
Rotary Stability Planks
Rotary stability is something we focus on a lot at Dynamic Solutions. Personally it’s the FMS screen that I need to focus on most. Our body’s ability to resist rotation is HUGE.
Benefits of rotary stability:
- It will assist in transmitting rotational forces efficiently, thereby eliminating energy leaks that slow you down.
- It will increase eccentric, isometric and concentric rotary power which is needed when sprinting, throwing, swinging, striking, and kicking.
- It will prevent certain joints from incurring torsional stresses , which can wreck havoc on soft tissue and lead to injury and pain.
Western Movement
This is an AWESOME article by Gray Cook PT! I feel most people don’t understand, that our lifestyles have clearly affected our health and the way we move. It’s easy to see when you look at today’s younger athlete. Simple agility drills are way more difficult than they should be and getting a kid to perform a perfect pushup or squat is almost impossible. This is the main reason why our Sports Performance programs focus on recreating quality movement FIRST!
Stay Strong… Kettlebell Strong!!
This Week on the DS Blog
By · CommentsAlthough I’ve been meaning to get this blog entry out for a while, I thought this week would be the perfect time to do so.
Rehab of the Athlete by Dr. Craig Liebenson is just simply awesome stuff and it explains exactly what the future of training athletes will look like. The good news for those that train at DS, this is what you’re program already looks like.
With our Winter Sports Performance program set to begin in 2 weeks, I think it’s very important that coaches and parents with athletes understand how youth sports have changed they way athletes must train.
With more athletes than ever participating in one sport year round, the importance of an athlete finding time to address pain issues, muscle imbalances and strength deficits has become a MUST and not an option.
Normally, athletes would use the off season to either play another sport or participate in an strength and conditioning program. Either way, the athlete avoided the same patterns that lead to overuse injuries. Instead of increasing power and getting as strong as can be, now we’re spending valuable time trying to address compensations, limitations and injuries. My how things have changed!
Next up is Reflexive Lifting by Dr. Eric Cobb the creator and co founder of Z Health Performance Solutions. Dr. Cobb is one of the world’s foremost experts in utilizing the neurology of movement to create extraordinary change in the human body.
At Dynamic Solutions we teach packing the neck, which I feel creates extraordinary change in the body. ”Packing the neck” refers to placing the neck in a neutral position when performing a weight lifting activity like a squat or deadlift. This technique requires targeted practice and allows for a healthy stabilizing of the core, which in turn allows for more hip mobility. It’s amazing how much stronger and powerful I felt once I started using this technique.
This article Reflexive Lifting goes a little deeper. Dr. Cobb talks about the eyes role in producing safe and powerful movements. Eye positions enhance propriocetion (body awareness). According to Dr. Cobb the eyes and the ears work together to create balance and stability for nearly all human movements. Always learning!
Exercise of the Week- Kettlebell BU Arm Bar & Rotations
This is a re-post of one of my favorite exercises. I like this one especially for all overhead athletes (baseball, volleyball. swimmers, lacrosse). Not only does it enhance upper back mobility, but it also strengthens the shoulder girdle, particularly the rotator cuff.
Sugar: Friend or Foe?
Always controversial, but always good! I highly suggest you subscribe to Josh Rubin’s blog, friend him on Facebook…whatever you need to do to keep up with this guy.
Check this video out, I GUARANTEE there’s something in it that’ll make you say…huh?!
Stay Strong… Kettlebell Strong!!