Skinny Girls and Office Workers - Pay Attention!

   Ok, listen up. I'm going to talk about a subject that I see now with almost all of my female clients - it is especially noticeable in the skinny ones. . now that the nice weather is out and the clothes are getting tighter it is very easy to spot.

 3 sexy words - Anterior Pelvic Tilt.

   You know who you are. You are the women who either wear heels all day or who sit at desks for the majority of the day. You are the women who complain of back pain and have flat stomachs that tend to stick out. You have a low back curve big enough for a family of small birds to make a nest and raise a family in.

  I can tell as a woman is walking to the back office for a consultation if she has a desk job. We've all seen Jurassic Park. Remember the velociraptors? Minus the hissing, this is essentially what I see. Shortened dorsiflexors, excessive lumbar curves and slight kyphosis. There are actually a few women who even have the limp wrists like the raptors do, but I wont get into that now. I hope they don't read this..

   So, what do we do to fix this?? I hate to say it, but if you want to have a long and healthy, pain-free life. . . .ditch the heels. Ok, maybe just don't wear them so much. I know, you look gorgeous, but it has to be done. Believe me, I hate to say it - I love the way women look in heels, but they just aren't natural. Think about how you feel after a day of heels. No woman is like, "Wow! That was incredible! My feet feel amazing, and I feel like I could run a marathon!" No. They hobble around and want foot rubs. Nothing wrong with a good foot rub by the way.. I'm just saying, foot rubs don't usually just end with foot rubs - think about it, men.
   I am on my feet here at the studio for sometimes 11 hours at a time, training clients, bending and lifting, and I feel like a million bucks at the end of the day.  

 Ok, we need to get down to business. There are a few things we need to do in order to combat the heels (since I know no woman is going to get rid of them) and prolonged sitting.

   First! Get the range of motion back in your ankles that you've lost over the years.

 Ankle mobility drills - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPa9-fpqnUE

        Just gentle rocking back and forth. Move 10 times towards the front of your foot, 5 towards your big toe and 5 towards the little one. 3 sets. 3. . . .4. . .maybe even 5 times a day.

   Second! Stretch out those hips - Reduce the amount of "velociraptoring" - new verb -
                                  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwToKziL5A4

        Make sure to keep upright with your upper body and try to actively squeeze those glutes on the back leg. Hold for 1 minute each side. "Feel" the stretch.

   Third! Get those glutes working again.. this will help with the back pain and help pull your pelvis back into proper alignment.
                                  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwToKziL5A4

         Focus on making your butt work and not your hamstrings! Really concentrate and play around with the distance from your feet to your butt.

   Lastly!! Pull that core back in and find neutral spine..
                                  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G89Mh1Fd37E

          Now, this may look like nothing, but you have to really focus on keeping your low back flat during this whole exercise - fighting to maintain this will be more difficult depending how long you've been in your raptor mode. Tilt your pelvis back and slowly exted one leg out all the way, keeping it about an inch off of the ground. Bring it back in and switch legs. If your low back comes up at any time, start over. It may take some practice, but this will REALLY help with your posture by strengthening all of those stretched out, weakened core muscles.

   So - office workers.. . as the clothes get tighter, make sure your posture isnt making you look bloated. Fix yourself up, and you will thank me when you are in your bikini.

Getting Beach Ready

Ok.. . So it's that time of year.

  Winter bulk is over. (I didn't put on 50 lbs this year, only 15) Now, I know that eventually in the coming months, my shirt is going to have to come off in a public setting. I started the winter at 170, and am now about 185. A few lbs *could* be muscle, but I drank like a fish this holiday season, and I can only pretend so much.

  I've always said that up until you are in your mid 30's, winter bulking is completely acceptable in order to put on some quality mass. After that, you can still do it, but it gets harder for you to lose that added weight. It's not impossible, and I know people that are the exception to the rule - but for the most part, it gets harder as you age due to the slowing of your metabolism and your body's response.

   So, now I need to come up with a plan. It's relatively simple and I've made it work for myself the last few years. Find what works for you. I know people that can do 3 full protein days in a row with no carbs at all for 72 hours. Well, let's get one thing straight. If I go for more than 24 hours with no carbs, everything starts to look like a potato and someone is going to get bit. I get hazy, cranky and start to be really bitter about life. I just can't do it.

  So, I incorporate a carb cycling approach. I still like lifting heavy while I "cut". There are many benefits. I get to keep the strength that I have accumulated over my bulking period, and I wont lose as much muscle as if I just completely switched to cardio based exercises. I keep my cardio to fasted morning runs (or walks if I'm feeling lazy that day) and the biggest change comes in the food that I stuff into my face.

  I have high carb days and low carb days. I will explain the difference and why I do it the way that I do. My high carb days fall on my heavy lifting days. I need the extra energy to maximize my performance on my big lifts and the added glycogen (sugars from these carb sources) does just that. I'm eating leaner protein and my fat content stays roughly the same. Now, the big difference comes on my low days. I cut my carbs down to about 50g per day (roughly 2 slices of bread) and make sure to get cardio in on that day. Now, what this does is depletes your body readily available glycogen stores and your stored fat is more likely to be used as a fuel source when that happens. I replace the carbs with lean protein and greens as to keep my total calories at a decent level. So, on the days I am lifting and eating high carbs and protein, my body can be slightly anabolic, and on the days I am jogging and eating less carbs, I will be more catabolic and elicit a different response from my body.

  I start this early in the season as I don't like counting calories...  It's a lot of work and I just don't want to do it. I'll eat this way for a couple of weeks, to see if there is a loss without cutting down my total calories by too much. If I am losing too much (more than 1.5lbs per week) then I will add in more calories. If I am not losing, I will simply cut my calories down by 2 or 300 a day. It's relatively simple.

  As you can tell from my previous blog posts, I really don't like to complicate things in my nutrition, or my life.. haha, so this works out perfect. So now, by the summer, I shouldn't be this pale mess that sits in front of this computer and writes this blog.

   Feel free to try this approach yourself - let me know how it goes.

Take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

 Yesterday I had a client who came to me complaining about low back spasms that she was having last weekend. Now, this client is the epitome of perfect health. Middle aged, works out with me twice a week, does yoga twice a week and is in very good shape. Yet, she had this terrible back spasm in her RIGHT spinal erectors  (vertical low back muscles) whenever she raised her LEFT arm overhead. She attributed it to having a problem with her low back. She was up all night that night stretching and icing. Nothing helped.
  So, I suggested she move her focus from her low back to her shoulder. Her back didn't hurt when her arms were at rest, they hurt when she forced that overhead movement.
  Too many people look at just the affected area. That area may be the source of all of your pain, but it's not necessarily the source of the problem. Chances are, it's a symptom of a much bigger issue.
  In this woman's case, that was exactly the problem. I did some range of motion and mobility tests on her shoulders and upper back and her left side was lacking almost 1/3rd of the right when it came to mobility. On the right side she was fine, but as soon as we started forcing extension through her left side, she compensated by leaning back with her low back instead. This happens a lot, and is a huge factor of low back pain in a lot of clients that I see.

  So, I could have had her do some soft tissue work on her low back, stretch the hell out of it, even suggest that she get a massage.. But, I always try to take a step back and see how everything else is moving. At the end of her session, the back pain was gone and the range of motion in her thoracic spine and shoulder were improved dramatically. Even something like pain in hip musculature on your right side, can be caused by tightness in the shoulder on the left side.

  I am trying to take the same outlook on things that are happening in my life. I can take things day by day and worry about the little things that are happening, or I can step back, get complete control of my life and put things in place that ensure that I will get to where I want to be. Living day to day is tough, it's full of unexpected surprises and you never know what's coming next. Getting rid of that tunnel vision and preparing for these things before they happen is much easier. So, next time that you get cut off in traffic, or your bread falls peanut butter side down, step back and figure out how it's going to affect your entire day or even your entire week.