Gravity Fx Fitness

Can working on your breathing patterns help with your posture and flatten your stomach?

Yes!!

In recent years, several physical therapists and doctors have recommended breathing exercises to restore proper abdominal function and  reduce low back pain.  In particular, they have had patients start with diaphragm (abdominal) breathing exercises before moving on to other exercises.

While there has been some disagreement about how important this function of your “inner core” really is, one thing is certain, your abdominal and low back muscles function as a unit to help stabilize your spine.

After injury or surgery, or just being sedentary for a long time, your abs may not be functioning as efficiently as possible.  Starting with breathing exercises helps to activate (turn on) your deeper abdominal muscles.  There are different layers of muscles in your abdominal wall that function as a unit, kind of like a “plywood effect,” where the whole is greater than the individual parts.

The strength of plywood comes from the multiple layers crossing in different directions, similar to your abs.  Before moving on to more difficult ab exercises like planks, its a good idea to make sure those inner muscles are functioning properly.  Diaphramatic breathing exercises can help accomplish this task.

Various plank exercises can be progressed from here, as you get stronger, as well as standing exercises that focus on keeping your core stable.  Here is an example of an isometric exercise on the Power Plate to help with ab and back stability.

Kneel on the platform with knees about hip width apart.  “Brace” your abs, keeping them tight without sucking them in or letting them push out.  Keep your spine in a neutral position throughout the exercise.  This should not create pain!

If so, you may need to modify the exercise or choose another exercise as a substitute.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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One of my clients gave up her jazzercise routine at the first of the year for cardio strength training and hasn’t looked back since.

This fabulously fit 50-something did her previous workout routine for quite some time and it helped her get in pretty good shape…..but her body had gotten used to it and she needed something new to challenge her.  (Vicki in action)

Her sister-in-law had recently started working with me and recommended it to her and her husband.  After the free trial, she decided to give it a try and see how she liked it.  She went from good shape to even better shape.

She has maintained her cardio conditioning and increased her strength at the same time.  All the upper and mid back exercises have reduced some occasional neck problems, giving her increased posture and alignment.

After doing the same exercise routine over and over you need to give your body a new stimulus in order to see improvement.  Besides keeping your body guessing this also keeps your mind fresh, which is also important for avoiding plateaus.

This is why you see so many gym members hit plateaus – you get used to your routine and need a new stimulus.  Recently, a young woman came in to try and make some additional progress.

After doing the elliptical machine 5 days a week, she is in good shape but wants to keep improving.  Your body gets very efficient at doing steady state (pace) aerobics and high intensity intervals will shock the body and increase your metabolism.

Resistance training will help build lean muscle tissue and keep your burning more calories after you have stopped exercising.  It also accentuates a woman’s natural curves while building or maintaining bone mass – a win/win situation!

The increased strength  makes everyday activities much easier.  The time efficient nature of these workouts doesn’t hurt any, either – about 2 hours a week (3 sessions) is all she does with me and then some walking on her own.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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Here are some simple exercises to use as part of your warm up or to help improve your posture.  The first two can be done with only bodyweight and can be done standing or lying face down.

You can use this to help stretch the front of the shoulders and “activate” or turn on the rotator cuff and posterior shoulder, as well as the upper back.  The TRX is a great training tool and also great for reinforcing posture and strengthening the upper and mid back.

A great compliment to these exercises is using Indian clubs for increased flexibility and coordination involving the upper body.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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You can have great abs without doing hundreds and hundreds of crunches!  I’m not big on marathon sessions of crunches and situps - partly, because it just takes too much time and I’m too busy to do something inefficient.

They take so much time because there isn’t much tension on your stomach and tension is key to training  your muscles, including your midsection.

So how do you get six pack abs without doing crunches?  Simple, you first burn off the fat covering your stomach with multi-joint exercises that use the large muscles in your body and get rid of the “junk” in your diet, otherwise noone can see your flat stomach, anyway!

When doing specific ab exercises, train them with tension – increase the intensity, not the amount of time you train them.  Start off with exercises like planks and bridges to strengthen your stomach and low back.

Then progress to exercises like “rollouts” on an ab wheel or do various pushups and pikes on a suspension trainer like the Bandit’s Loops or TRX.  This trains your stomach and low back to provide stability and coordination while your upper or lower body is moving.

Besides adding to your total body coordination and athletic ability, this also is more time-efficient than spending 15-30 minutes on the floor doing a separate ab workout and I’m all about doing efficient workouts.

I also like using sandbags and kettlebells to hit this area with some intensity.  Sandbags in particular are great for hitting your obliques – adding in a measure of back prevention while giving you a more athletic body.

Many of the “gimmicks” you see on TV use professional fitness models to promote their product.  Most of the time, they have never used that product before and got in great shape with other methods – then they might have even had some liposuction done just before shooting the commercial, to look even better.

Besides getting a flatter stomach, you will probably have better posture and possibly prevent back injury at the same time.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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Indian clubs are a great way to enhance or maintain your posture and shoulder mobility.  They can be used as part of a dynamic warmup for the upper body, prior to sports or a workout.

Weighted clubs have been used for physical training for centuries in India and neighboring countries – heavier clubs for strength, and lighter clubs for coordination and mobility.  They could be found in many turn of the century or early 1900’s gymnasiums.

I’ve used Indian clubs weighing 1or 2 pounds for a while now and they are a great way to warmup.  The circular movements train the wrist, elbow, and shoulder at the same time, lubricating the joints.  There are many different patterns that can be used, from simple to complex.

Someone who has lost some mobility and maybe has some posture issues can start with basic pendulum moves and gradually add more complex patterns.  The more difficult patterns increase upper body coordination – teaching all the joints to work together.

They force you to expand your ribcage as you swing them overhead – perfect for someone sitting at a desk all day with poor posture.  I think that they work well with joint mobility programs that are done with bodyweight.  They add just enough resistance to make additional demands on the body.

They can be used by the older golfer, baseball player or tennis player who wants to keep from losing their mobility.  They also are great for those doing strength training.

I’ve got some wear and tear on my shoulders from lifting weights with poor posture and they help me keep training intensely, past the age of 40.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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This old dog recently learned some new tricks at a continuing ed course on deep tissue massage therapy.  If you think that massage needs to be painful to be effective, think again.

One of the nice things about these CEU classes is getting worked on by another professional.  In general, I prefer firm to deep pressure when getting worked on.  In the last two courses I’ve attended, the therapists that I worked with, used decent pressure, but not as much as some of the work I’ve received.

Yet, the massage was fairly precise and skillfully applied – and the results were noticeable.  As I was driving back from Chicago last weekend I noticed that I was able to breathe easier and deeper than before.

A few days later I noticed that my shoulder was moving a little better, even though there really wasn’t much work done directly to the glenohumeral (shoulder) joint – which can tell you that where it hurts isn’t necessarily where the problem is.

The next night my mother asked for some assistance for some pain she got while doing yard work over the weekend.  She had lifted some things she probably shouldn’t have and had pain around her shoulderblade that was radiating down her arm.

Instead of having her lie face down on the table, I put her on her opposite side and worked around the upper and inner edge of her shoulderblade while I used gravity to let her scapula drop down a little.

Instead of using a lot of pressure, I massaged the area while using her arm to add movement to her shoulderblade, which helped relax the tense muscles.  Besides not causing any undue pain, I didn’t work any harder than necessary, which is also a good thing.

I talked with her today and she said that the pain had disappeared after the massage work, with no more radiating pain going down her arm, either.

Deep tissue massage doesn’t always need to use the most amount of pressure from the therapist.  There are different layers of connective tissue (fascia) that can develop adhesions and they need to be unstuck.  Light, relaxing massage usually works on the superficial layers only, often leaving the deeper layers stuck together after an injury or trauma.

Moist heat prior to the work can soften the connective tissue, making it easier to manipulate.  Warming the soft tissues with lighter massage first can prepare the tissues for the work to follow.

Clients sometimes tell the therapist they can go deeper, even though the therapist is still “prepping” the tissues for the deeper pressure to follow – just like how an athlete warms up prior to playing their sport.  Be patient!

In wrapping up, I’ve had deep tissue work that didn’t get the desired results because it wasn’t as skillfully applied as it could have been.  Pressure is great, but skill is more desireable than just being heavy handed.

By the way, my Mom still needs some strengthening and posture training to prevent future problems.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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Improving your thoracic mobility may add some distance to your golf drive.  If you’re like many people, you may have had some posture changes as you get older.

Spending most of your time sitting – at work, in the car, or in front of the TV or computer – can negatively affect your posture over time.

When your shoulders round forward, your thoracic spine can also have too much of a curve.  This results in a loss of mobility which can take distance off your golf swing, as well as place unnecessary stress on your shoulders.

Golfers who have lost movement in the hip and thoracic regions may use their low backs to make up for lost rotation.  This is not good for your back!

Here is one way to improve that mobility.  Chiropractic care and/or skilled massage therapy can help increase movement, as well.

In previous articles, I covered abdominal (diaphragm) breathing, which can also improve your ability to move properly.

You also need to train your abs and low back for greater stability.  New ideas in “core training” have developed the thought that these muscles function more as anti-rotators.

Meaning you should get your rotation at the hip and T-spine, while the abs and low back are providing stability, so that you can generate more power while providing greater protection for your spine.

This follows the joint by joint training ideas of physical therapist Gray Cook – some joints are meant to provide more movement than others.

Loss of thoracic mobility can also result in lost movement at the shoulder.  The body is linked together like a chain and one area can affect the function of others above or below it.

Get moving!

Brian

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….that is the question.  Are spinal flexion movements like crunches and situps damaging to the spine, or nothing to worry about?

If you’re familiar with top spine researcher Dr. Stuart McGill, you should know that his research shows that repeated flexion, such as doing 15 minutes of crunch and situp variations, can be damaging to the discs.

I attended one of his seminars on core stability a while back at Palmer Chiropractic College.  Having read some of his articles, I was fairly familiar with his concepts for core training.

Recently, I listened to a podcast with Dr. McGill and he stated his belief that we have a limited number of forward flexion (bending) cycles in each one of us and that doing lots of these type of ab exercises just wastes that number.

He thinks that those who have tempted fate in this manner, may have genetics that allow them to get away with it, up to a point.  He advocates “bracing” the abs isometrically to support the spine and strengthen the abdominal wall……

a wall with different layers of muscles running in different directions, kind of like plywood, where the different layers are stronger together than any of them on their own.

Plank exercises are the starting point for these different “bracing” strategies of core stability.  These can be done in the front and side positions, and bridges can address the glute and back muscles.

McGill recently has done studies with competitive strongmen, like the ones you see on ESPN, lifting massive amounts of weight.

This confirmed the role of the quadratus lumborum as an important spine stabilizer.  These muscles run from the bottom of your ribcage to the pelvis and also attach to the spine.

When you carry a heavy suitcase in one hand, it places a lot of demand on this muscle to keep your back straight – or when you carry a heavy suitcase in both hands, these muscles are working hard to support your spine.

So training your abs and low back to stay tight when lifting heavy objects is one of the benefits to this method of training.  Improved posture is another.

If you are someone who has had disc problems or sciatica, then situps and crunches are the last thing you want to do, as this puts unnecessary stress on your back.

One of the few exceptions to doing flexion might be those with too much curve in their low back.  A few sets of reverse crunches might help keep everything in a more neutral position.

After basic stability is gained, I like to use sandbag exercises and suspension training for increased intensity to your midsection – teaching your upper and lower body to work with your “core” for increased coordination – the way it works in real life situations.

Get Moving!

Brian Morgan

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I’ll share some “shoulder savers” with those of you over 35, like me.  This is especially helpful for those who spend all day sitting at a desk and then go for a round of golf after work or on the weekends.

Cyclists are also prone to posture issues, due to the amount of time spent leaning forward, so if you also spend your work day seated, make sure to strengthen your upper back.

I’ve done damage to both of my shoulders in the past and have worked on plenty of shoulder injuries, so these tips might help.

Rowing exercises strengthen your posterior shoulders and the area between your shoulderblades.  Both of these areas need to be strong if you want healthy shoulders.

When your shoulders are rounded forward, it puts unnecessary stress on them.  A neutral position  makes your movements more efficient, whether you are throwing a golf disc (frisbee, to some) or swinging the clubs.

Besides reducing your risk of rotator cuff injury, you’ll likely see improvement in your distance.  If you’re like me, you might be interested in passing for a few years younger.  Improving your posture and upper back strength sure doesn’t hurt your appearance any.

Increased stability with your shoulderblades can also increase the range of motion in your upper arm – something that often plagues older golfers.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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Suspension training is one of the hot, new exercise trends.  In fact, the TRX trainer was voted Best Total-Body Tool in Men’s Health article on best new fitness gear.

I tried it out at a fitness trade show in Chicago and its a good tool.  I recently purchased the Bandit’s Loops suspension trainer from Art of Strength, and I love it.

There are plenty of different exercises that can be done with these, all of which are great for core stability.  Instead of doing endless crunches, I prefer to train my abs and low back to work with my upper or lower body.

Besides being a more time efficient way to train, this really hits your abs with lots of intensity.  It also increases your total body coordination, making all your movements more efficient and making you more athletic.

I’ve had plenty of shoulder problems, in part because of poor posture.  Suspension trainers can help with your posture and build core stability, so you minimize the risk of back pain.  The rowing exercises are great for your upper and mid back.

Besides being important for your posture, strength in this area is extremely important to help prevent rotator cuff injuries.  I’m speaking from experience here, as I’ve done some damage to both of my shoulders in the past.

You can work on shoulder stability from the pushup position as well.  With the Bandit’s Loops you can add some spice to your pushups by working from different positions – either with your hands holding the loops or your feet in them, doing a “suspended” pushup.

These movements are similar to gymnastics training and will build decent strength just by doing bodyweight training.  Gymnasts have a very impressive amount of upper body strength compared to what they weigh.

The large loops make it easy to slip your feet into and you can adjust the straps quickly for the amount of resistance you want.  This makes it possible for those with minimal strength to exercise, as well as those who are already in decent shape.

A pretty versatile tool if you ask me.  I like the creative movements that are possible, besides the fact that I don’t have to spend extra time to work my abs.

If you train at home or outdoors, the loops are a great tool to use for bodyweight exercises.  Add some dumbbells, sandbags, or kettlebells for a fast, efficient workout.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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