Some of the best exercises for being healthy are walking, running, push-ups, sit-ups, and squats.  These exercises do not require equipment but only require you to do them.  Exercise three to five times a week once you have approval from your physician to exercise regularly.   If you have not exercised in “a while” then start with this walking program:

Walk at a moderate pace for 5 minutes, then walk at a brisk pace for 12 minutes, then walk at a moderate pace again for 5 minutes.

As you feel yourself improving in fitness over the upcoming weeks, then just increase your pace within this same workout.  If you become very good at this you may turn this into a jogging/running program.  Adding 5 push-ups, 5 sit-ups, and 5 squats after your walking program will enhance your fitness.  As you feel ready, try to add one or two of each every other workout!  Often the first two weeks after beginning an exercise program are the most difficult as far as motivation, consistency, and soreness.  After that, people often start to feel energized by their accomplishments!

You can have some control over your health and your health care costs.  Be your own health care reform package!

 The positive aspect is that stretching is being evaluated with scientific research.  The negative aspect is that there is more confusion among athletes as to what to do with stretching.  I would like to give a couple of key thoughts regarding how an athlete should stretch.

 1.            Don’t confuse stretching with warming up.  These can be two different activities.

2.            Stretching isn’t the only way to warm up.

3.            There are different types of “stretching.”

 Stretching, the way many athletes think of it, is done by lengthening a muscle into a range where discomfort it felt and then held for a period of time.  This is best described as passive static stretching.  Recent research has shown that passive static stretching immediately before high speed or power athletic moves such as jumping, hitting a golf ball, or sprinting can reduce performance.^1,2  Some research has indicated that stretching before sport participation does not reduce overall injury but may reduce muscle and tendon injury.³  Many parents, coaches, and athletes have interpreted that the information specific to stretching implies that a warm up does not improve performance or decrease injury.  However, remember, stretching is not a warm up.  Stretching can be a component of a warm up or a cool down and should be used differently based on the application.

The purpose of a warm-up should be to increase body temperature and therefore blood flow to prepare the body for sports activity.  Research has shown warm-ups that include activities other than stretching were effective in improving athletic performance.⁴  Dynamic warm up means the athlete is continuously moving.  Moving muscles into a lengthened position while other muscles are stabilizing is appropriate and effective for preparing the body sports activity.  In fact, one study has shown that aerobic activity before and following stretching improves range of motion and performance more than stretching alone or aerobics alone.⁵  Another study indicated that the negative effects of static stretching on sports performance can be eliminated if sports specific activities are completed after stretching and prior to participation in the sport.²

 So what does all this mean?  Do we stretch or not during warm ups?  My recommendations for a warm up are:

 5-10 minutes of a cardiovascular activity,

select static stretching to defined problem areas,

dynamic/moving stretches (such as walking lunges with alternating arm elevation and alternating trunk rotation), and

high intensity sport specific activities (such as off-ice jump progressions and landing positions for figure skaters.)

References

1.            Gergley JC.  Latent effect of passive static stretching on driver clubhead speed, distance, accuracy, and consistent ball contact in young male competitive golfers.  J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Dec;24(12):3326-33.

2.            Taylor KL, Sheppard JM, Lee H, Plummer N.  Negative effect of static stretching restored when combined with a sport specific warm-up component. J Sci Med Sport. 2009 Nov;12(6):657-61. Epub 2008 Sep 3.

3.            Small K, Mc Naughton L, Matthews M.  A systematic review into the efficacy of static stretching as part of a warm-up for the prevention of exercise-related injury.  Res Sports Med. 2008;16(3):213-31.

4.            Fradkin AJ, Zazryn TR, Smoliga JM.  Effects of warming-up on physical performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis.  J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Jan;24(1):140-8.

5.            Murphy JR, Di Santo MC, Alkanani T, Behm DG.  Aerobic activity before and following short-duration static stretching improves range of motion and performance vs. a traditional warm-up.   Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2010 Oct;35(5):679-90.

Author:

Bryan Ryndak PT, MHS, OCS, CSCS

Owner, Ryndak Physical Therapy

ptmhs@comcast.net

The first 30 minutes after your workout are key for energy replacement and muscle repair so what you eat and drink in this window of time are crucial.  In other words, proper post work out recovery nutrition is as necessary as warming up.  Post work out nutrition has to be as consistent as your warm up is supposed to be!  It has to be a habit.

There is a lot of information out there so here is some simple advice.  In the first 30 minutes after your workout you must either have a snack or eat a meal.

Your snack should contain about half of your body weight in grams of carbohydrates.  If you weigh 80 pounds you should have 40 grams of carbohydrates within 30 minutes of your workout.  You ALSO need to eat 10 to 20 grams of protein.  How do you know how many grams are in your food?  Learning to read nutrition labels in an important aspect for any athlete.  For more information on reading nutrition labels see:

http://www.fda.gov/food/labelingnutrition/consumerinformation/ucm078889.htm

For more information on sports nutrition see

 http://www.fitness.gov/faq.pdf or,

from the American Dietetic Association:

http://www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=7055 and,

from the United States Figure Skating Association:

 http://64.207.226.21:8215/Athletes.asp?id=346

Nutrition for athletes is often overlooked in improving performance.  Be knowledgeable, be prepared, and be awesome!

What a great fundraiser for the Bloomingdale area schools.  My friend John Rossini from Amber Mortgage and me combined our entries to make this super entry.  It may show up next year!

EntreLeadership Scholarship Contest Entry: Bryan.

It was also in that room that I began my return to the football field once the cast was off. The trainer patiently gave me some exercises to do and off I went. Apparently I worked hard enough because I was able to play in the last two football games of my sophomore year. Fond memories I have. But my mind began to formulate some ideas and questions. How come I really didn’t work out while I had a cast on my ankle? At least I could have worked out with my arms or my core, right?

What can you do when you break your ankle and are in a cast. First and foremost, you follow all the instructions your doctor has given in regards to how much weight you can put on your foot and any activities you have to avoid. If you are allowed to put full weight on your foot then you can do some exercises standing, sitting, or laying down.

I would recommend medicine ball work for your core, one foot push ups (on the uninjured foot), pull ups, dips, single leg squats on your uninjured leg, light to moderate plyometrics on your uninjured leg, and as much cardio as you can handle.  It is a good idea to work with a physical therapist on the details of your program so there can be no doubt that you and your body can handle the work out without further injuring the ankle.  Remember this is in addition to specific exercises for your injured leg that your physical therapist may prescribe for you.

If you improve your strength and conditioning while recovering from your injury, then the time it took to heal will have benefits for you beyond simply healing the injury.

Go Lake Park Lancers!!

For more information on physical therapy or strength and conditioning visit www.ryndakphysicaltherapy.com

Risk factors include recent growth spurts, year-round training without rest, improper technique on ice or off – ice, improperly fitting skates or shoes, and improper off – ice training surfaces.

What can be done to prevent overuse injuries in a year-round sport such as figure skating? 

1)  The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a yearly physical for pediatric athletes. 

2)  In addition to the yearly physicals, all competitive skaters’ training should follow a periodization schedule of training to allow for structure and cycling of training intensity, duration, and frequency.  The US Figure Skating Association’s website contains information on periodization.

3)  All competitive athletes should be involved in a well structured off – ice program that includes regular assessments and regular supervised training sessions mixed with independent training sessions.

With proper training cycles, proper supervision, routine assessments, and immediate treatment of sore areas the risk of overuse injuries can be decreased.  If you suspect you or your skater have an overuse injury see your sports medicine professional right away.

What should be done if you think you have an overuse injury?

1)  Pain should not be ignored. 

2)  Painful areas should be iced. 

3)  Pain lasting more that two weeks should be evaluated by a sports medicine physician. 

4)  Medication should not need to be taken in order for a child to participate in practice or competition.

Recognizing the signs and symptoms of a potential overuse injury is the first step in addressing the problem.  Seek out a qualified sports medicine professional who can help you treat the current symptoms as well as address the causes so you can prevent the overuse injury from returning.  In my next article we’ll discuss risk factors and prevention of overuse injuries.

The mechanical stress to a tissue is too strong or too repetitive for that tissue to handle. 

This results in inflammation, pain, tissue injury, decrease tissue tolerance to mechanical stress which leads to more inflammation, pain, etc., etc.  Overuse injuries can be seen as a process.  At first the symptoms are minor and may even be barely perceptible.  When the mechanical stress on the specific tissue continues, the symptoms will increase.  If the tissue continues to be stressed beyond its ability to handle that stress, significant injuries such as stress fractures or premature growth plate closure can occur. 

It is important to be able to identify signs, symptoms and risk factors of overuse injuries.  Stay tuned in for future posts!!

For those of you who didn’t make it through you will begin your active rest season.  This is the four-week time period during which you take 1-3 weeks off from skating and you also significantly decrease the intensity of any off – ice activity.  The primary objective of this active rest period of time is rest and recovery.  This an excellent time to have any injuries, however mild they seem, evaluated and treated.  Any off – ice activity or exercising should be mild and very different from what you normally do.  A few examples of different activities might be swimming and rock climbing.

You also need to be planning the next year of off – ice training.  I recommend having an off – ice coach/trainer who will change and progress your programs based on the timing of the season and the results of your assessments.  Always discuss your plans with your on ice head coach!

Again, congratulations to all UGL competitors and good luck next season!!