Category Archives: Nutrition

Nice butt! How to get strong gluteals

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Who doesn’t appreciate a nice butt? The buttocks, or gluteals is a group of 10 important muscles that allow us to stand and move. Less fat located anywhere on your body, not just the buttocks, is mostly due to two primary actions on your part—eating sensibly and being physically active However, aside from  appearance, the gluteals affect your ability to walk, run, play sports, rise up from a chair and stand on one leg. In particular, the showy gluteal muscles are at the core of movements of the hip joint. The gluteals play an important role in maintaining a level pelvis, extend and externally rotate the femur, and prevent the legs  from rolling inward.
The gluteus maximus, taking up a big portion of the shape of the buttocks, and the gluteal medius, located more laterally on the outside of the thigh, are muscles worth strengthening. You are less likely to suffer from tibial stress fractures, low back pain, iliotibial band syndrome, anterior cruciate ligament injury, knee problems and leg-related strains and  pulls if you have proper alignment of the pelvis and femur. Unfortunately, it usually involves an injury that sends you to a physical therapist for rehabilitation where you learn the best exercises to improve gluteal strength.
Three top gluteus  medius and gluteus maximus exercises used in rehab stood out in a study published in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. In rank from the highest maximum voluntary isometric contraction value to lowest, these exercises were front plank with hip extension (106 percent), a single leg squat, (71 percent) and a side plank with hip abduction (73 percent). All of these exercises require no or minimal props, and can be done at home as part of your routine.

Front plank with hip extension: Start on elbows in plank with trunk, hips and knees in neutral alignment. Lift one leg off ground, flexing the knee, and extend your hip past neutral hip alignment by bringing the heel toward the ceiling for one beat and then return to parallel for one beat.Front plank with hip extension ( Photo 1 )

Single leg squat: Stand on one leg and slowly lower buttocks to touch a chair 18 inches in height for two beats and then extend back to standing for two beats. ( Photo 2 )

Single leg squat

Side plank with hip abduction: Start in a side  plank position, keeping shoulders, hips, knees and ankles in line, then rise up to plank position with hips lifted off the ground. While balancing on elbows and feet, raise your top leg up (abduction) for one beat. Maintain plank position throughout all reps.

Side plank with hip abduction

Side plank with hip abduction: Start in a side  plank position, keeping shoulders, hips, knees and ankles in line, then rise up to plank position with hips lifted off the ground. While balancing on elbows and feet, raise your top leg up (abduction) for one beat. Maintain plank position throughout all reps. ( Photo 3 )

Photos used with permission from the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy

Aim for 10-12 repetitions for all three exercises.

Connie Aronson is an American College of Sports Medicine fitness specialist. Visit her at www.conniearonson.com

Published in the Idaho Mountain Express Friday March 1, 2013

Slouch No More

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Over time, slouching can be a pain in the neck. At any given time, neck pain affects about 10 percent of the adult population in the U.S. Our heads can be a heavy load, so much so that many of us have lost proper alignment because our heads are too far forward from the rest of the spine. The consequences of your head hanging off the front spine, called forward head syndrome, can result in shoulder and rotator cuff problems, neck aches, headaches, back spasms and poor breathing patterns, all fixable problems.
Forward head syndrome is the first sign that muscle imbalances are present. This causes the front muscles, pectoralis and subscapularis, to become tighter and the muscles around the shoulder blades to become lengthened, both factors limiting the muscles’ functioning. You can assess forward head posture by having a friend look at your posture from the side. A neutral head is rooted firmly, like a tree, in the “ground” of the upper back with the ear aligned with the center of the shoulder.
Now face a mirror. Are your palms, or one more than the other, turned inward? If so, your shoulders are most likely slouched. Opening your hands so that the palms open in front and you can instantly correct some of your slouching.
The key to change is to become aware of old habits creeping in again.
As much as sitting in front of computers and television can be blamed for our heavy hanging heads, the root of the problem isn’t just that. Of course we would want to also look at the rest of the body to see if the cause may be coming from somewhere else. But overall, weak, tight muscles can inhibit moving well, as there is a rich dynamic inherent in the control of posture so that it is relaxed, not work. Ideal standing posture places the body’s joints in a state of equilibrium with the least amount of effort to maintain this upright position.

RX: Sitting upper-back strength exercises:
The cervical neck, seven vertebrae, blend into the thoracic region of the spine. This area supports the head and is an important attachment point for several muscles that support the middle back. You know them, as this is where stress builds up, in the levator scapula, rhomboids and the upper and middle trapezius. The following exercise can improve neuromuscular control and stabilize the spine:
Sit against a wall with your knees bent and firmly press your back, buttocks and shoulders into the wall. Pull your abdominals in to brace your core. Raise your
arms to shoulder level, bending your arms so that they are parallel to the floor and the backs of your upper arms rest against the wall. Gently press the back of your head into the wall, keeping your chin level. Exhale and firmly squeeze your shoulder blades together while
pressing the backs of your arms and shoulders into the wall. Hold for five to 10 seconds, relax, and repeat four times. You can also do this exercise lying on the floor, or advance it by combining it with a wall squat.

RX: Imagine this (sitting, standing or supine) (adapted from “Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery” by Eric Franklin )
Try resetting what standing or sitting straight feels like by visualizing the spine as a chain of spotlights. Turn on the lights and observe their focal directions. If they shine in many confused directions, adjust them so that they all focus in an even plane. Now adjust them so that they shine with equal brightness.

The key to change is to become aware of old habits creeping in again. Healthy shoulders require proper posture, good flexibility and good strength about the scapular region.

Connie Aronson is an American College of Sports Medicine health and fitness specialist. http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005145909#.UQyHaaXJDzJ

Visit her at www.conniearonson.com.

New apps help create new habits

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Fitness Guru

The new year is a perfect impetus to jump-start fitness and health goals & new apps can help you.

The new year is a perfect impetus to jump-start fitness and health goals & new apps can help you.

The new year is a perfect impetus to jump-start fitness and health goals—a fresh start. But how do you keep it simple, so you stick with it and actually reach the goals that you want? Change is challenging, and what’s missing for most of us is specifics: a SMART plan, specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely. Today we have unprecedented instant access to good coaching, in the form of apps and smartphones. As a result of more mobile technologies, we have online communities, like Facebook with more than 900 million users, and You Tube, where more than 72 hours of video are uploaded every minute. You can find apps that charge you $5 for skipping going to the gym, like Gym-Pact’s aggressive take on motivation, or entertaining gaming and tracking sites that count calories: such as www.rexbox.co.uk/epicwin and www.myfitnesspal.com. Among the thousands of health and fitness apps, a few stand out that are lifestyle and behavior focused:

 

www.tinyhabits.com

Stanford professor B.J. Fogg teaches classes about habits.

“I’m fascinated with how habits form. I believe that to design new habits for ourselves or for others, the best starting point is to do what I call ‘tiny habits.’”

His goal is to help you practice the skill of creating new habits. I believe you can get better at creating new habits. Much like a pianist who practices scales, or a chef who practices knife skills, people can practice the skills of creating habits. I was hooked when B.J. suggested that after brushing your teeth, floss one tooth. For me, flossing is one more thing that keeps me from getting into bed sooner. The criterion are that you choose a behavior that you do at least once a day (brush my teeth), takes less than 30 seconds and requires little effort. The habits don’t have to be earth-shattering, but simple ordinary things that are useful in your life. By anchoring the new tiny habit behavior after an extremely reliable habit, you succeed in creating a small change (teeth flossed—bed sooner).

 

www.stickk.com

This goal-setting website began with a group of Yale economists to help users achieve goals and increase productivity with commitment contracts. They point out that for many of us who want to be on time, eat less sugar, lose a few pounds or stop procrastinating on a project, it’s not always that simple. The site is based on two principles of behavior science: 1. People don’t always do what they claim they want to do. 2. Money talks, as you put money on the line.

 

www.healthmonth.com

Healthmonth.com is a game in which you choose your own rules for the month and compete with other players. Choices can be anything from taking a multi-vitamin a day to limiting alcohol. You’re encouraged to experiment with what works best for you and deciding on which challenges are better suited for you. You can post self-created rewards and punishments, such as donating to a charity or eating a head of lettuce if you didn’t do what you said you would. The site challenges you by asking how important or difficult the rule is and whether you think you can pull it off, so you have accountability.

 

Before committing to a new app or site, make sure it’s a good fit for you, so your time will be well spent. Let them inspire you in the coming new year.

Connie Aronson is an ACSM health and fitness specialist located at the YMCA in Ketchum. Visit her online at www.conniearonson.com.

 

 

 

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Roots of Temptation-Just Say No?

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Thanks to our brain’s complex pleasure/reward system, we all succumb to the pull of food differently. For some, the brain sometimes can’t resist the powerful influence of a fabulous bakery or a plate of French fries, yet others are able to eat a little and stop. But for millions of people, food is never far from their minds. Ever. The current trajectory of the number of obese Americans, along with related disease rates and health care costs, is on course to increase drastically in every state by 2030. The analysis findings, based on a model published last year in The Lancet, show that all 50 states could have obesity rates of more than 44 percent, with medical costs associated with treating preventable diseases soaring from $48 billion to $66 billion per year. By contrast though, according to a study released by Trust for American Health and the Robert Wood Foundation, reducing the average body mass index by just 5 percent could prevent an epidemic. For a 6-foot-tall person weighing 200 pounds, a 5 percent reduction would be the equivalent of about 10 pounds. The good news is that scientists are learning more about the cue-urge-reward-habit cycle of the human brain, so that a 5 percent loss may be quite attainable without entirely giving up your favorite foods.

Neurons and Taste

For some people, certain foods seem to exert a magical pull, writes former Food & Drug Commissioner Dr. David Kessler in his book “The End of Overeating.” The food industry works hard to create high-calorie foods with the most addictive possible combination of intense flavor and “mouth-feel.” In his book, Kessler tells how neurons, the basic cells of the brain, are connected in circuits and communicate with one another to store information, create feelings and control behavior. Tasting tantalizing food stimulates the brain neurons that are part of the opioid circuitry, which is the body’s primary pleasure system. Known as endorphins, these brain chemicals have the same addictive and rewarding effects as morphine and heroin.

The Roots of Temptation

No matter how good the intentions, avoiding fattening foods is always a challenge, and biology is a factor in why it seems so difficult to bypass a bowl of M&Ms. Brain chemicals are in more regions than previously thought. Researchers have traced an unexpected area of the brain in rats that had primarily been linked to movement. This new evidence might help explain why chocolate can be so irresistible and why we binge. Published this week in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, the research team probed a brain region called the neostriatum, causing the rats to gorge on twice the amount of M&M chocolates than they would otherwise have eaten. The researchers found that a neurotransmitter called enkephalin, a drug-like chemical produced in that same region of the brain, surged as they ate more M&Ms. The chemicals increased their desire and impulses to eat more.

“That means the brain has more extensive systems to make people want to overcome rewards than previously thought,” said Alexandra DiFeliceantonio of the University of Michigan. “The same brain area we tested here is active when obese people see foods and when drug addicts see drug scenes.”

It’s likely that these neurotransmitters wire us for a little overconsumption and addiction. Understanding what triggers overeating and how our neural pathways can stump us can be useful the next time you walk down the potato chip aisle.  Five percent sounds like a good plan.

 

Meal Timing, Protein and Conditioning

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If you compete or enjoy working out, eating right helps you train harder, delays the onset of muscle fatigue, and aids in recovery from a workout.

If you compete or simply enjoy working out, eating right helps you train harder, delays the onset of muscle fatigue and aids in recovering from a workout. Eating proper foods doesn’t have to be complicated or rigid, and certainly no one approach fits everyone. Your body needs carbohydrates, protein, fat, minerals and fluid to fuel it for exercise. Eating right helps your body adapt to workouts, improves body composition and strength, enhances concentration, helps maintain a healthy immune system and reduces the chance of injury. The timing of meals and snacks is equally important. At a recent American College of Sports Medicine meeting, Nanna Meyer, Ph.D., and dietician at the University of Colorado and United States Olympic Committee at Colorado Springs, told an audience, “Don’t bother lifting if you haven’t eaten breakfast.” Current research recommends Greek yogurt with some fruit and nuts, oatmeal cooked with milk, cereals or a carbohydrate sports bar pre-exercise, with an emphasis on protein, like yogurt, chocolate milk, recovery mix or a bar containing some protein as soon as possible after training.

Are you getting enough protein?

Recently, research has demonstrated that having some protein before and immediately post-workout results in greater strength gains and muscle repair. Nancy Rodriguez, Ph.D., R.D., director of sports nutrition programs at the University of Connecticut, notes that increased protein, greater than the dietary allowance but within the recommended range, helps reduce body fat, maintains muscle mass and increases satiety—all positive weight management outcomes. Post-workout, research suggests about 15-25 grams of protein, found in milk (eight grams of protein per cup), Greek yogurt (15-20 grams of protein per cup) or a carbohydrate/protein mix, for example.

We also snack a lot less if we get enough protein. According to Dr. Alison Gosby, in the online journal PLoSONE, “Humans have a particularly strong appetite for protein, and when the proportion of protein in the diet is low, this appetite can drive excess energy intake. Our findings have considerable implications for bodyweight management in the current nutritional environment, where foods rich in fat and carbohydrate are cheap, palatable and available to an extent unprecedented in our history.”

It’s always a good idea to talk to a registered dietician for your specific needs. For example, the Soya Granules by Fearn is recommended for those who are lactose-intolerant. Remember also that 15 minutes to an hour after a hard workout lasting more than an hour, nutrient-rich snacks help replace carbohydrates, sodium and potassium. Less time than that, if you’re watching your weight, water is a good choice. Whether you’re training hard, or just enjoy being active, make good food choices for optimal energy and improved performance.

Connie Aronson is an American College of Sports Medicine Health & Fitness specialist at the YMCA in Ketchum.

Willpower-know what you really want

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Willpower is an instinct everyone has, yet it consists of much more than simply saying “I will’, or “I won’t”. As we move into the third week of the New Year, some of the lofty goals and self-control have vaporized. Don’t despair though;   self-control is only one part of willpower. The ability to remember what you REALLY want, (get out of debt, fit into your clothes, more sleep) is the ability to say “yes” to that particular goal. This is what Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., psychology  lecturer  at Stanford University, whose course, The Science of Willpower, teaches and  which her new book is based on. “To exert self-control, you need to find your motivation when it matters. This is the “I want” power, she writes.

Now Strategies

A student in Dr. McGonigal’s class, a producer, was an e-mail addict. Her behavior disrupted not only her work, but annoyed her boyfriend. The student described her email impulses almost as an itch-she just had to check her email. She was always tense. Her assignment was to catch herself before she reached for her phone. With time, she realized that her impulses had nothing to do with seeking information and was doing nothing to relieve her tension. As she began to notice how she gave in to her impulses, it gave her new control over her behavior. Catch yourself  falling  for your impulses earlier  in the process, and  notice which thoughts or situations might make it more likely that you will give in to your impulses, are strategies that McGonigal  teaches.

Stressed and Sleepless: The Enemies of Willpower

Willpower is essentially a mental muscle, but the body also needs to get onboard. The best intentions in the world can be sabotaged if you are sleep-depraved, stressed, sedentary, have a poor diet, or a host of other factors that sap your energy. Stress is the worst enemy of willpower, McGonigal writes. The  American Psychological Association shows  that 75% of Americans have high levels of stress and 76% of Americans want to improve the quality and quantity of the sleep they get. New evidence shows that poor sleep and stress contribute to poor self-control and focus. How can you harness positive willpower if you are exhausted? Inadequate sleep also contributes to weight gain, high blood pressure, depression, and lowered immunity. Globally, sleep deprivation affects the quality of life of 45% of the world’s population, according to the World Association of Sleep Medicine.

A Willpower Workout

( from The Willpower Instinct. How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of it -by Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D.)

  • Strengthen “I won’t” Power; Commit to not swearing (or refraining from any habit of speech)
  • Strengthen ‘I will” Power: Commit to doing something everyday that you don’t already do just for the practice of building a habit and not making excuses. It could be meditating for five minutes, or finding one thing in your house that needs to be thrown out or recycled.
  • Strengthen Self-Monitoring: Formally keep track of something you don’t usually pay close   attention to. This could be your spending, what you eat, or how much time you spend online or watching TV. You don’t need fancy technology-just a pen and paper.

Above all, believe in yourself and keep your dreams alive in 2012!

Water-Plain Good Sense

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Nothing can be plainer than water, yet it is a vital source of life. It is an essential nutrient for us, and essential for all living things. Like the earths surface, our bodies are composed of roughly 60 to 70 per cent water. Blood is mostly water, and your muscles, lungs and brain are composed of 75%, 70% and 90% water respectively. We need water to regulate  temperature  and to provide the means  for nutrients to travel to our organs. Water also transports oxygen to our cells, removes waste, and protects our joints.  Yet many of us aren’t drinking enough fluids to keep us adequately hydrated. Although it makes sense that you would be thirsty if you needed water, thirst isn’t an indicator of hydration. By that time, lethargy, headaches, muscle cramps, or diminished performance are all warning signs that you might be mildly dehydrated.

Each day we need to replace 2.4 liters of water that we lose from breathing, sweating, and going to the bathroom. Broken down, we pee approximately 6.3 cups a day, plus another 4 cups of water through breathing, sweating and bowel movements. We can easily get 20% of the water we need through the food we eat. Fruits, for example, have more water than something dry like pretzels. The other 80% of fluid that you need comes from what you drink, and a little more than 8 cups, along with the food that you eat, will typically replace your lost fluids. In general, 8-9 cups is a good guideline, though variables such as your health, where you live and how active you are may vary person to person. A simple way to tell if you are dehydrated is that you don’t have to get up in the night to pee. ( Color should be clear )

Drink more water

I’ve always thought the title “drink more water” would be a no-brainer bestseller. Plain water fills you up. Researchers at Virginia Tech recently finished a 12 week study of 2 groups of people on the same diet. The only difference was that one group was told to drink 2 cups of water before breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is no surprise that at the end of the study the water drinkers lost 30% more weight: 16 pounds to the 11 pound loss of the non-drinkers. The choices of waters with electrolytes, vitamins, sodium or caffeine is vast, and unless you are exercising for more than an hour, tap water, bottled or sparkling water is preferable, and slightly chilled, for increasing absorption. If you don’t really like water, try adding a squeeze of lime, lemon   or fruit slices to make it more palatable.

If you like plain brewed coffee, don’t worry. Once considered questionable for your health, coffee is not as much a diuretic as once thought. It is, if you drink more than 4 cups a day, but recent research shows that not only does it provide liquid, but valuable antioxidants as well. If you regularly consume caffeine the body will regulate itself to any diuretic effect .If you are sensitive to caffeine, as it is a nervous system stimulant, there is a vast array of herbal teas, many with soothing and healing properties. Again, water is the probably the best, inexpensive and readily available choice for hydration.

As the temperatures drop this fall, and you stay active, remember to drink at least 2 cups of fluid approximately 2 hours before you exercise. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that you drink at least half a cup of water every 15 minutes during exercise. Whether you’re in spin class, hiking or practicing a vinyasa flow sequence, also drink another 2 cups of fluid for every pound you lose during exercise. A lot of water, I know, but it is the stuff of life. A simple prescription for a  happy healthy hydrated life.

Connie Aronson is American College of Sports Medicine Certified Health and Fitness Specialist , currently in the Mediterranean Sea enjoying the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top Treatments for Osteoarthritis

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You don’t have to let osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, stop you from staying active as you age. Also called degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis is the progressive breakdown of cartilage, a joint’s natural shock absorber, and its underlying bone within the joint. Firm and rubbery, cartilage covers the ends of bone to reduce friction. It also has the ability and qualities to change shape when compressed, like play-dough. Unfortunately, as cartilage breaks down, bones start to rub against each other, causing pain, grating, crackling sounds, swelling or stiffness. The most common joints affected are the hands, knees and hips. Estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that approximately 27 million Americans have arthritis.  “Osteoarthritis is the signature medical issue of Baby Boomers”, says Dr. Robert Sallis, Co-Director of Sports Medicine Fellowship at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fontina, California. However, osteoarthritis is not a natural part of aging and something you have to just put up with. You have a lot of options to manage it in order to  delay or prevent surgery.  Self management and medications are the first line of defense.

Moving is the Best Medicine

Genetics, excess weight, prior injuries, such as cartilage tears at an early age, all can contribute to osteoarthritis. Those younger patients who suffer cartilage tears in high school, says Dr. Sallis, show significant arthritic change by their mid-thirties.  It’s not only a Baby Boomers problem, as degenerative changes can also begin as early as your teen-age years. Most alarming is that one out of 250 US children have some form   of arthritis. Losing  weight, at any age, will give you symptomatic relief. A study in Arthritis & Rheumatism showed that losing just one pound resulted in a fourfold reduction in knee joint  load among overweight people with osteoarthritis.

 

Rest  and Recovery. Repeat!

Moving is the first line of defense, but it’s important to rest until you’re pain free.”As our bodies get older”, says John Koth, physical therapist and owner of Koth Sports Physical Therapy in Ketchum, “what we can accomplish in terms of athletics is no different than when we were younger-the amount of recovery we need is the only factor that changes. Allowing rest for  to recover between activity prevents overload and the inflammatory response to arthritis.”Don’t increase the stress on an already stressed area.

Take Tylenol or Topicals

One Tylenol , 4 times a day , to help  reduce inflammation for mild to moderate pain, is the initial treatment  recommended by The American College of Rheumatology . Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, despite cardiovascular and gastrointestinal concerns, in smaller doses, also help relieve pain. Capsaicin, an analgesic derived from chili peppers, can be used, as well as Bengay, although there is no real data on it. Also, very low doses of anti-depressants   are sometimes recommended.

Glucosamine and Chrondroitin

Supplements are unregulated, but these supplements seem to work for some people with knee osteoporosis. Although the research is mixed, they are much better than being on NSAIDs, says Dr. Sallis, and recommends them for his patients. Experts advise to stop taking them if you don’t notice any difference in six months.

Corticosteroids Injections

These shots, 3 or 4 times a year, although they don’t slow the disease down, can be helpful. Corticosteroids injections seem to work well with younger patients, when arthritis is not so advanced. Getting hyaluronic acid joint injections  may also provide pain relief, though experts say it depends on your symptoms  and the other treatments you’ve tried.

Ice, Canes and Nordic Poles

Ice   helps control swelling, more so than heat. Studies show that there isn’t any benefit   to the old thinking of heat and ice combinations. Canes or Nordic poles are helpful to unload forces to your knees and hips, especially when you consider that walking transmits 3-6 times your body weight across these joints for every step that you take. Core training  and building muscles up around those very joints is crucial, as well. Finally, Sallis also highly recommends an Unloader Knee Brace ,  that shifts  forces from one side of the knee to the other.

Whatever you chose, don’t let arthritis stop you from moving-make it your signature issue!

 

 

 

Why Full Sit-ups Can Back-fire

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Core training is the foundation of great athletic performance, whether you’re a seasoned pro or week-end warrior. The core consists of the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex, and the thoracic and cervical spine-not just “abs”. 29 muscles attach to this powerhouse allowing   efficient acceleration, deceleration, and stabilization during dynamic movement. The abdominal wall, part of the core, is like an anatomical corset which also includes the deep transversus abdominis, which are below your belly button, internal obliques, the lumbar multifidus, pelvic floor muscles and the diaphragm. In any athletic move, these muscles work together, like a large stable column, to fire quickly and efficiently. This core, the body’s stabilization system, is like a good foundation on a home: if it’s not built right, the house will have problems somewhere down the road. In the gym, for example, someone lying on a weight bench lifting a bar for a chest press might have their lower back several inches arched in the air, demonstrating an inefficient core. So there is some misunderstanding of what kind of ab exercises work best to keep your mid-section strong .The full sit-up, for example, can place devastating loads on your spine. Simply modifying the sit-up to a partial curl-up, with the head and shoulders lifting a few inches off the floor, would be better.

In a New York Times article last month, titled Core Myths, the belief that the core means only the abs was challenged, for there is no science behind the idea. Stuart McGill, a professor of spine biomechanics and chair of the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo in Canada, compares the spine to a fishing rod supported by muscular guy wires. If all the wires are tensed equally, as in the whole lumbo-pelvic –hip complex, the rod stays straight. A core exercise program should emphasize all the muscles that girdle the spine, not just the abs, to ensure balanced strength. In his lab, he’s demonstrated how an average sit-up can exceed the limit known to increase the risk of back injury in normal American workers. In fact, in 1991, the safety of the full sit-up test was deemed no longer recommended for school-aged children as a means to test their abs. Instead, the partial curl was recommended.        

The full sit-up is 3 muscle actions: neck flexion, spine flexion, and hip flexion. It’s important to be able to sit up, no doubt, but repeated sit-ups   can place hundreds of pounds of compression on the lumbar disks. Hooking or holding the feet down places even greater stresses to the low back. Ironically, the bent knee sit-up has been taught to minimize the action of the hip flexor in the sit-up, though it is not correct. The abs can only curl the trunk. The sit-up is a strong hip flexor exercise whether the knees are bent or straight.

 Instead of full sit-ups, research shows that although there is no ideal exercise for each individual, the traditional crunch, or many variations of a curl-up, with the head and shoulders lifting a few inches off the floor, holding briefly, is a good exercise to challenge the abdominal muscles while imposing a minimal load to the lumbar spine. Speed of movement has an impact also. In The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research May 2008, curl-up speeds were shown to have a significant impact on spinal loads, and that the combination of slow and moderately controlled speeds  is generally recommended for health and fitness programs. In their opinion, at the competitive level, coaches can choose fast explosive trunk exercises, but to also aim for a more varied program that includes trunk endurance, strength and good motor patterns that ensure spinal stability.

McGill says that 3 exercises, done regularly, can provide a well-rounded core stability program: practice the curl-ups, learn how to do a side-plank (lie on your side and raise yourself in a straight line, and the “bird dog” (from all fours, hands and knees, you raise an alternate arm and leg level  for 4 or 6 seconds) .

 

 Connie Aronson is an ACSM Health & Fitness Specialist in Ketchum, Idaho

Printed in the Idaho Mountain Express August 28, 2009

 

 

What Are You Hungry For?

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Stare long enough at carrot cake in front of you and you will eat it. eventually you’ll take a bite or two out of it. Even if you’re stuffed, weren’t that hungry, or don’t particularly like carrot cake.

 It’s not that easy control sometimes, because the psychological drive to eat, our “head hunger” can take over. Not only are triggers such as stress and anxiety the wrong reasons to eat, but biology, conditioning and metabolic influences also drive our appetites and hunger. Researchers are studying at least 70 receptor sites on individual brain neurons known to play a role in how hunger works to shed some light on our hunger mechanisms.

True hunger, the stomach-growling kind, is an intense feeling of having to eat something, resulting from low blood glucose. We’re faced with hundreds of food choices every day, of wanting to eat, but good food choices go out the window when you are this hungry. Nor does it help us that our supermarkets tempt us with 17,000 new products on the shelves yearly, most of them dense with calories and fat. To make matters worse, when you’re over-hungry or skip a meal, the body needs to make up for this missing blood glucose to sustain itself and uses the amino acid alanine,which is stored in muscle. Overtime your lean muscle shrinks, and your body becomes better at storing fat. A better way to control your weight and hunger is to eat small meals throughout the day. Researchers found that female gymnasts and runners who ate less than what was required of their sport during the day had the highest body fat levels. Other studies that looked at athletes showed the ones that ate smaller, more frequent meals and snacks, instead of bigger end- of- day meals, had lower body fat and lower overall insulin release.

We receive signals from the brain when we want to eat and when we’ve had enough, but they aren’t always reliable. Ghrelin is one of the hormones responsible for wanting to eat.  When you’re sleep-deprived, this same hormone amps up to drive us to eat more, and decreases the turn-off switch, leptin, that tells us we’re full. A recent Standford University study showed that adult men’s appetites for high fat food increased by 45% when they were getting less than 8 hours sleep a night. Interestingly enough, anorexics are masters of ignoring these strong signals to eat. These signals to eat, if we listen to them, can help us understand our eating behavior .It just might be that maybe you really are exhausted, and need a nap, or you might be dehydrated, because you haven’t been drinking enough water.  Dr. Barbara Rolls, professor of nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University, explains how you can eat normally, without dieting, if the foods you choose are simply less dense. For example, in her book, The Volumetrics Eating Plan,  a pale –looking traditional high-fat Shrimp Fried Rice, is transformed to one that includes broccoli, carrots, scallions, frozen peas, red and green bell pepper, fresh garlic and ginger. High fat-dense calories, like oil, are replaced by high fiber, lower calorie, nutrient rich vegetables.

It would be easy if there were just a pill to help curb our appetites and up our metabolism.  To date, 2 drugs are FDA approved and 300 clinical trials are underway that are tackling the complicated issue of obesity. The lifestyle changes involving diet and daily exercise are still your best bet to have a healthy, happy appetite for life!

Connie Aronson is an ACSM Certified Health Fitness Specialist, ACE Gold Certified Personal Trainer and an IDEA Elite Personal Trainer located at Koth Sports Physical Therapy in Ketchum. She is currently working on eating slower.

Published  August  10, 2007 in The Idaho Mountain Express.