Women’s Flexibility and Stretching
You should do flexibility and stretching exercises every day to help your body feel and perform better. Flexibility is the normal extensibility (capable of being elongated or stretched) of all soft tissues (muscles, ligaments, tendons) that allow the full range of motion of a joint.
Flexibility training integrates various stretches in all three planes of motion to produce maximum extensibility of tissues. You may have to undergo some corrective flexibility training based on your postural assessment or based on previous injuries incurred.
Here are 3 ways you can improve your flexibility:
1. Static Stretches – These stretches are performed without movement. The individual gets into and holds the stretched position for 20-30 seconds. The different types of static stretches are:
a. Passive
b. Active
c. Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation(PNF)
d. Isometric
Static stretches should generally be done after your workout to return your muscles to their normal length. They are also useful if you are in rehabilitation from an injury.
2. Dynamic Stretching – An effective dynamic warmup is a MUST before your workout or game. A dynamic warmup will prepare your body best for practice or games.
Do static stretches after your workout (when muscles are warm) to increase your range of motion.
Accomplish the following during your dynamic warmup:
a. Make sure your “power center” is flexible. Your “power center” consists of the glutes, hips, quadriceps and hamstrings. This area of your body is prone to some hard-to-recover-from injuries!
b. Your hip flexors need to flexible. Tight hip flexors cause many problems, including problems with your glutes and hamstrings.
c. When you warmup, practice relaxing your face, shoulders, arms and torso. You will perform better when you are relaxed and you want your body to work like a “well oiled machine.”
Some good dynamic warmup exercises are back pedals, lunges, step ups, cariocas, form running, medicine ball exercises, shuffles and jump rope.
3. Massages – Massages will help your body perform better.
a. Sports massages are a must for women who exercise regularly. Typically, lifting weights, training with medicine balls, increasing speed, etc. are thought of immediately as ways to improve performance.
Sports massage is also an important tool that you can use to help you perform better while exercising. It can be used before, during and after workouts. Stress, tension and adhesions build up in your soft tissues (muscles, skin, tendons, etc.) during intense exercise and overuse.
The benefits of sports massage include improved flexibility, tension release, relieving of swelling, alleviation of fatigue and prevention of injuries.
b. Self Myofascial Release (SMFR) is like getting a massage (self massage). The foam roller is one of the most effective techniques for releasing tension while improving mobility.
Foam rolling exercises will release and organize your muscles, as well as release and align your skeletal system. Muscle injuries such as strains and tears and broken bones can be avoided with proper flexibility and skeletal alignment.
Keep your body flexible all year to perform better during workouts and avoid injuries.
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“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”
Check out my other great blogs:
My Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as a Top Health Blogger! Quite an honor coming from that institution!
Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!
Top 5 Causes of Low Back Pain
You can lessen your risk of low back pain or injury with proper training and good posture. Bad movement patterns over a long period can cause some serious low back pain. In some cases, you may need to consult your doctor.
Low back pain is a major problem for the American population. As many as 75%-80% of adults have experienced significant low back pain. Lack of core stability and strength is the major cause of low back pain.
According to research, here are the Top 5 Causes of Low Back Pain:
1. People with chronic low back pain have inadequate firing of the transversus abdominis, internal oblique, multifidus and deep erector spinae.
2. Training the abdominal area without proper pelvic stabilization increases intradiscal pressure and compressive forces in the lumbar spine.
3. Core training done without proper recruitment of the tranversus abdominis, multifidus and other stabilizers will lead to the development of muscle imbalances and inefficient neuromuscular control of the kinetic chain (human movement system). Brace before doing core exercises (like you’re getting ready to take a punch to the gut).
4. People with chronic low back pain have inadequate stabilization endurance. When training the core, the stabilizer muscles (which are primarily slow twitch muscle fibers) are best trained with the “time under tension” method. This method of contraction lasts for 6-20 seconds. This method also improves static and dynamic stabilization.
5. Maintaining the cervical spine in a neutral position during core training improves posture, muscle balance and stabilization. If the head protrudes (forward head) during training, the sternocleidomastoid (anterior neck muscle) is recruited.
This can lead to pelvic instability and anterior rotation of the pelvis. When this happens, the eyes re-align and are not level. This will negatively impact your exercise performance.
Strengthen your core with exercises like planks, side planks, bridges, cobras and back extensions.
Get your free women’s fat loss guide now!
“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”
Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!
Check out my other great blogs:
My Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as a Top Health Blogger! Quite an honor coming from that institution!
Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named one of the 50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!
Shape Your Body and Correct Your Posture
So, you’re fired up to shape your body and get “smokin’ hot!” Good idea. You also need to correct your postural problems or you will have a “smokin’ hot” body in terrible pain. Its important to look great and feel great. Quality of life is what you want and need.
One danger of “jumping into an exercise program” is that you have postural problems that need to be identified and corrected (as much as possible). If you skip this step, you will “jump right into injuries!”
Remember, exercising is about Health, Fat Loss and Weight Loss! Don’t leave out the health part of the equation. You will always hear me stressing both health and fitness! Its possible to wreck your health in the quest for a “hot body.”
So, what about postural problems do you need to know?
1. Its very important to do exercises with correct postural alignment. For example, you shouldn’t let your head drop down or rise up when you do bentover rows (the head should be in line with the torso, looking down). There are thousands of examples like this one.
2. Stay out of the injury cycle. Uncorrected postural problems will keep you in the injury cycle. If one part of the kinetic chain (human movement system) is out of alignment (and stays that way), you are headed for a pattern of muscle injuries, trunk injuries and even arm and leg injuries.
3. Some common injuries caused by postural problems include: hamstring strains, groin strains, low back pain, headaches, biceps tendonitis, shoulder injuries, plantar fascitis, shin splints and patellar tendonitis (jumper’s knee). There are many others.
4. Its important to strengthen your core and not just focus on sculpting six-pack abs. About 80% of all people experience low back pain and injuries. This is usually due to a weak core. Having strong arms and legs doesn’t help you much if your core is weak.
5. As you burn fat and lose weight, continue to work on improving your posture. This will make your workouts more efficient and pain-free.
Get your free women’s fat loss guide now!
“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”
Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!
Check out my other great blogs:
My Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as a Top Health Blogger! Quite an honor coming from that institution!
Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named one of the 50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!
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