Gravity Fx Fitness

There is a new way to do lat pulldowns that might be superior to the standard machine, in my opinion.  Lat machines are a standard in most healthclubs and gyms.

They let you work your back, arms, shoulders, and grip at the same time.  While pullups and chinups are a great exercise, not many have adequate strength to do this demanding exercise.

I was talking to my father recently about his cardiac maintenance program.  About a month ago he graduated from his 12 week cardiac rehab program, after undergoing a quadruple bypass.  Anyway, he mentioned the different exercises he was doing and that some of the people were also doing strength training.

He was trying to describe the lat pulldown exercise – not knowing what it was called – and his description got my attention.  I thought he said something about pulling the bar down behind your head and I wanted to make sure, as this is an exercise that has significant risk of shoulder injury when done in this manner, especially for those over 45.

I then let him know that if he ever did this exercise that you want to pull the bar down in front of your head. I then told the story of an acquaintance of his who injured his shoulder a couple years ago while pulling the bar behind his head.

Due to postural changes and lack of use, many lose their shoulder flexibility over time.  A new alternative to the lat pulldown addresses this issue very nicely.  A seated rope climber called the VLT allows you to do the this exercise with one arm at a time, which has some added benefits.

This allows those with limited range of motion in their shoulders to only reach as high as they can without any pain.  By pulling down with one hand and then the other, similar to climbing a rope, you allow the user to control how high they reach – without fear of losing their grip on the bar.

Not long ago they were featured by trainer Gunnar Peterson in a Muscle and Fitness article……”Using these rope machines is very different from doing lat pulldowns and pullups because the hand-over-hand motion breaks the kinetic chain, forcing you to re-grip each time.”

I got to try them out a a fitness trade show last year and loved it.  Its definitely on the wish list for my studio.  It has 7 different resistance settings and can be used to train strength, cardio and grip all at the same time.  For those like my father who need increased shoulder flexibility and upper body strength, it is a perfect solution – his once powerful hands have become severely atrophied, due to disuse.

I have also seen it used on TV in the training of MMA athletes, including Quentin “Rampage” Jackson.  Pulling hand over hand at an all out pace is an intense and “fun” workout.  It can be included in a fat loss circuit, as well.

Brian Morgan

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The ancient art of swinging Indian clubs has made a small comeback here in the US, with those involved in  martial arts particularly.

These are clubs that resemble skinny bowling pins and weigh about a pound or two, making them ideal for increasing or maintaining shoulder range of motion.  You can find many testimonials on the web of people who have increased their mobility or reduced pain in their shoulders.

I was introduced to them by Dick Thomas, the owner of Motion Rx.  He had a frozen shoulder when his brother Ed, a PhD in physical education, recommended he try swinging the clubs.  At first all he could manage was to swing them back and forth in an arcing movement, like a pendulum.

Gradually, his shoulder movement increased and over time he could swing them overhead in many different circular patterns.  Club swinging is great for upper body coordination because they integrate the elbow and wrist in all the movements.

Dick demonstrated some of the different patterns and told me that he could go out and throw a baseball with his adult sons once or twice a year and throw as hard as they could, with no soreness the next day.  As anybody who has thrown a baseball will tell you, that’s no small feat for someone over 55.

I like to use them for a few minutes as part of my warmup before doing any upper body exercises.  Its a great way to get blood flow to the shoulders and rotator cuff, and good for prevention in my opinion.

Others are using heavier clubs and “maces” for strength and stability.  These lighter clubs are more for mobility.  The different rotational patterns are important for coordination and swinging them overhead helps expand the ribcage, which can become tight with lack of overhead movement.

One local mixed martial arts legend has successfully used them to help with his shoulder rehab after he hit a sticking point with traditional exercises.  I have several pairs of both the (approximately) 1 and 2 pound clubs.  For those with decent upper body strength, the 2 pounders work nicely.

You know what they say – use it (move it) or lose it!

Get moving

Brian

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Can rope training be a part of rehab for shoulder injuries?  I think so.  Having worked with many shoulder injuries and having my own rotator cuff problems in the past, gives me a little insight on this issue.

If you’ve never heard of rope training before, you probably will see plenty of it soon.  It was just voted Best Cardio Equipment 2009 by Men’s Health magazine.

I recently added it to my own workouts for some upper body cardio and love it.  They are a fun and creative way to train…… and pretty effective, too.  The movements are very rhythmical in nature and involve up and down, side to side, diagonal, and circular movements.

Something that doesn’t irritate my shoulders in any way, gets plenty of blood flowing to the upper body (great pump), as well as helping with coordination and quality of movement – something very important for healthy shoulders.

Several years back, I worked in a physical therapy clinic.  There were plenty of shoulder injuries being treated and they would often use an overhead rope pulley system to increase shoulder range of motion.  Another tool used was the Bodyblade.

It has a handle in the middle with weighted ends.  You grip it with one or both hands and shake it back and forth.  The blade is flexible and the weighted ends cause it to oscillate as it moves.  It requires coordination and rhythm to keep it moving properly…..

which is one of the goals – to increase coordination and stability in the muscles surrounding the joints.  Its frequently used to help rehab shoulder injuries and help restore movement awareness (proprioception), with the many oscillations (vibration) sending lots of feedback to the nervous system.

Many of the “average” (non-athlete) patients had a difficult time with these movements and they may have lacked coordination before their injury.  The rhythmic nature of rope training might be an additional component to increase coordination in these patients.

In trying to restore movement awareness (proprioception), movement quality is extremely valuable and should be considered when evaluating progress.  I think that the ropes could definitely play a part in this, though the size of the ropes may need to be adjusted.

The movement also greatly increases blood flow to the injured area, which can help with the healing process.  Not to be forgotten is the grip work that ropes provide.  Your grip is important for helping with shoulder stability.  Something that is discussed in the Secrets of the Shoulder DVD’s.

The Power Plate is another tool that can help with awareness as the multiple vibrations help stimulate your postural muscles – the ones that are important for proper joint alignment and stability.

Soon I will discuss Indian clubs which are one more awesome tool for mobility and coordination.

Get moving!

Brian

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Did you know that some common exercises done in the weight room can put your shoulder at increased risk of injury? Let’s take a look.

Not long ago I spoke with a gentleman of about 65 who felt something “go” in his shoulder while doing a lat pulldown behind his head.

Having dealt with injuries to both shoulders and having worked on plenty of aching shoulders, I feel like I have a good background to draw from on this one.

Back in 1991, I injured my left shoulder while doing lat pulldowns behind my head.  During my set, I suddenly realized that my left arm was out at a slight angle, while my other arm was still pulling straight down.

A year and a half later, after some ups and downs with that shoulder, I found myself in an orthopedic surgeons’ office, where he told me what I already knew – that I probably had a partially dislocated shoulder and a partial tear in my rotator cuff.  He said I could have surgery or quit lifting weights.

I later discovered that poor posture contributed to my problems by placing them in an inefficient position. Did pulldowns behind my head contribute to this injury?  Most definitely. However, it wasn’t the sole problem.

After that point, I started doing some reading on shoulder injuries and came across some interesting information.  One study done in 1993 by a group of medical doctors, looked at 20 patients with shoulder pain and instability who lifted weights.  It was determined that certain exercises put the shoulder in what they termed the “at-risk position.”

This position occurs when the upper arm is 90 degrees away from the torso with the elbow also bent at 90 degrees and behind the head, such as in the lat pulldown done behind the head.  Other exercises in this category included the military press behind the head and chest flyes on a machine that places the bent elbows in a 90 degree position with the palms facing forward.

Ten of these patients studied had to have surgery and the other ten were able to complete conservative exercises for the shoulder.  Eight of those who didn’t require surgery went back to lifting weights and by avoiding this at-risk position, had no more problems.  One of these patients, however, avoided the advice to skip these exercises and the pain came back.  After rest and modifying the exercises, he was able to lift without pain.

In the last 15 years or so I have worked in and worked out in many different facilities in many different cities.  In probably 90% of the time I saw people doing the behind the head pulldown, they finished this exercise bent forward, usually by doing a crunch to help finish the exercise.

Now its bad enough for your shoulders by doing them sitting straight upright.  But the crunch just adds to the stress your shoulders receive, along with killing your posture.  The solution is simple – sit perfectly upright and pull the bar straight down in front of your head.

You work the same muscles that way.  Then you can change the muscles affected by altering your grip and you can also lean back at a slight angle and pull down to your chest.  You get all the benefits at a much lower risk of injury. If you are over 35, like I am, you need to weigh the risk versus the rewards.  You can still work out intensely, but be a little smarter.

And by the way, the average age of the twenty patients in the study – 28.  I was a little younger than this when I injured my shoulder.  Also, at least a third of the guys I’ve talked to in various gyms, who have lifted fairly intensely for several years, have some degree of problems with one or both shoulders.  Sounds like a need for some prevention.

An exercise that could also potentially cause harm is the barbell upright row with a very narrow grip, so that the hands are almost touching.  This places the shoulder into extreme internal rotation so that at the top of the movement, where the elbows are above the chin, you run the risk of impingeing the shoulder, irritating some of the tendons as they rub against other shoulder structures.  This information comes from the book “The 7 Minute Rotator Cuff Solution.”

If you want to do this exercise, I would modify it by moving your hands farther apart so they are about shoulder width.  When doing pec flyes with either dumbbells or on a machine, just make sure not to go too far with your stretch.  Don’t let your hands go farther than your body.  If using a machine, use one that puts your hands at the same level as your shoulder, that you grip with your hands.

In closing, I would recommend doing plenty of work to strengthen the muscles surrounding the scapula and to make sure that you balance out the amount of pushing and pulling you do.  For every press, do an equal amount of rows and pulls.  And make sure to watch your posture while lifting to help prevent rotator cuff injuries.

Brian Morgan

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