This article is exactly why I am embarking on a new venture with FitSource.  If I sent this article out to fellow trainers, the community, and especially those who I know love running, what do you think would happen?

Are the authors of this article correct?  How exactly was their study conducted to get those numbers?  Oh, and what do those numbers mean?  I certainly don't think running is good for every body.  But who is running for, and who shouldn't lace them up (so to speak)?

This, along with the thousands of books on fitness and conditioning, is why FitSource will become a household word.

Hi to each of you.  It has been a very long 3 years for me and my family.  When the dust settled, my wife is a 3 time cancer survivor, and FitSource is taking a new direction.

I am excited about a new service FitSource will be offering to gyms, Personal Trainers, Fitness Directors, anyone who manages Personal Trainers, insurance companies, and anyone else who needs to know where the finest Personal Trainers are...those who are safe, effective, and reputable.

In the next two months, you will hear more about this service, as I will announce in the beginning of January everything I have been working on the last two years as my lovely wife battled through her treatments.

See you again soon!

Total Motion Therapy

I can't wait for this weekend's seminar on a somewhat newly developed technique by Tom Dalonzo-Baker. He, after years of trial and error, has developed a system of simple exercises to try to help patients recreate their pain, and relieve the pain almost instantly. Sounds kind of like Z-Health, except the premise behind Z health is increased performance through the CNS system, whereas with Total Motion, Tom wants the ADL's to be pain free. Me, I just hope I can use this technique so when a client comes in with a pain, we can relatively ease that pain, so we can get something better out of their workout!

Could be a problem with other PT's who all they want to do is make it so that THEY fix the pain, and the patient is reliant to them...keeps 'em coming back I guess...

TotalMotionRelease.com

wanna stretch? what for??

"Gentle stretching of a muscle that is already sore is perfectly acceptable, is not likely to negatively affect the muscle recovery, and can be used to briefly minimize the soreness. What about post-exercise stretching? It is often claimed that static stretching after a hard workout can reduce muscle soreness. Well, now that we understand the initial cause of muscle damage (micro tears in the fiber after during a workout) you should also be able to appreciate that this claim simply does not make sense. Is static stretching going to somehow magically undo what has already happened anyway? Stretching after a workout where the muscles are warm can indeed, when done on a regular basis, increase muscle extensibility. " Tony Webster, PhD Exercise Physiology.


Mr. Webster states the research on stretching that is still being asked about to this day. We've known this for a long time, but Mr Webster puts it succinctly here. How can stretching undo microtears you have created during your workout? It can't. Now, after a run, bike ride, or less intense workout, where microtearing is minimal, a good easy static stretch will help.

The other thing of note is this, if you BELIEVE it is helping, it probably is. Our mind conrols everything, and science or not, if my client who has no other issues, wants to prop their leg up to 'stretch' their hamstring so they can have a better workout, then so be it.

One question...how did our ancestors stretch? After a big hunt, did they plop down and do the hurdle stretch, the 90/90 stretch, cobra, etc? Just wondering.

5 Fingers

Try 'em on.

friends with who?

"Make friends with pain, and you will never be alone." Once said Ken Chlouber, creator of the Leadville Trail 100.

Seems that exercise and the brain (body and mind) are more closely linked than Westerners havce ever thought, or at least we've forgotten about. Remember the mice in the wheel? When they were MADE to run, their vitals didn't improve, but when they ran because they LIKED it, they were healthier and happier than ever. Go figure...
The above photo is taken from the Cooper Canyons by a fellow that ran the trails with the Tarahumara, and was featured in the book Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall.

Livestrong.

Depression, of which I've spoken of before

Below is an interview of Frank Forencich of Exuberant Animal. The interview was done by Chris at Conditioning Research.

Modern society seems to be sad! I keep hearing of friends or family members who are depressed or suffering anxiety attacks. How much of this stress and dissatisfaction do you think comes from our “modern” lifestyles?

"Depression is epidemic. The World Health Organization forecasts that, by 2020, “depression will be second only to heart disease in terms of disability or disease burden.”

To me, this is even more shocking than our epidemics of heart disease, obesity and diabetes. This is a disease state that’s psychospiritual as well as physical. There are many explanations, but I like the work of Kelly Lambert. She’s a neuroscientist who’s traced reward centers in the brain. She’s discovered a strong association between areas that coordinate movement and those that deliver a sense of satisfaction. I call this “the ancestral reward system.”

We move vigorously in search of a goal, usually food, and then we feel a sense of satisfaction for having done so. In contrast, modern society offers us only abstract striving (with computers) and even many of our rewards are non-physical and intangible. Consequently, we experience a sort of neurological black hole of non-reward. A huge percentage of our circuitry goes unused and dormant. I believe that an enormous amount of depression stems from inactivity. The human body thrives on action."

What can we do about it?

"This puts our physical training in a new light.

As trainers and educators, we are doing a lot more than building muscle, cardio or skill. We’re actually pumping up the reward circuitry in our brains and delivering a sense of satisfaction and resilience.

Movement is thus highly protective against depression. Sooner or later, people are going to figure this out. The way to counter the epidemic of depression is to get people moving again. Any movement is good, but locomotion is probably the best place to begin. Long walks, or running if people can manage it, are ideal.

Mimic the experience of travelling the grassland and you’ll get a good outcome."

Welcome to Exuberant Animal Check out Frank Forencich and his animalistic ways of moving about.