Welcome To The July 2020 Newsletter
Yoga For The Busy Woman Is Now Here!
You probably already know by now that my evergreen course has launched, and as the name implies, it is onlne, on-demand and always available for you whenever your busy schedule allows just 10 minutes to reset and take care of yourself!
Unlike your typical yoga courses or youtube videos, these flows are rooted in physical therapy and each one is a targeted joint-specific routine. Link to subscribe is located below:
Think You’re Too Manly For Yoga? Think Again..
Yoga for men is a very effective form of exercise to build upper body stability, core strength and lower body flexibility. Poses might need to be modified in the beginning along with the use of blocks or straps to get into the poses, but the same health benefits women achieve from yoga are also applicable for men, as well:
1.Decrease stress
2.Decrease anxiety
3.Address underlying pain or tension
4.Improve upper body stability, core strength and lower body flexibility
Some great poses to start your yoga routine with: cat cow, downward dog, planks, low/high lunge and chair pose back to back. Stay tuned on social media for this flow!
What Exactly Is Runner’s Knee?
With summer weather, comes more outdoor running. And with more running, comes greater risk for developing knee pain. Runner’s knee is a misnomer, since the condition isn’t specific just for runners. Same as tennis elbow isn’t just for tennis players! Runner’s knee is technically a general term for any condition that can create pain underneath the kneecap, such as Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome or ITB Syndrome.
All of your knee muscles start at the hip/pelvis, and your kneecap is a free floating triangular bone not directly attached to the thigh or shin, making the area behind it an ideal spot for swelling and inflammation. This is where you feel the symptoms, but the cause of runner’s knee is usually weakness of the hip muscles, especially your glute med.
What happens when the repetitive motion of bending and straightening the knee causes the cartilage under the kneecap to get inflamed? Pain with stairs, sit to stand, squatting, even sitting with your legs crossed.
To alleviate runner’s knee, don’t just focus on where you’re feeling the pain. Remember that all knee muscles start at the hip and all the joints in your leg work together as a chain to function properly. So make sure you are performing adequate strengthening and mobility exercises of the hip, knee and ankle!
Is It Better To Use Low Weights Or Heavy Weights?
It depends on what your goal is. If you’re new to strength training and haven’t used weights before, or if you are recovering from a surgery or injury, you want to start with low weight using multiple reps to build strength.
Once you are no longer challenged by the exercise and want to create greater and more global stability and strength, medium to heavier loads with lower reps would be more appropriate.
You don’t have to stick with dumbbells to increase load, kettlebells and barbells can be equally effective. The important thing is that you listen to your body, use proper technique and body alignment, as well as what your fitness goal is.
