 Every week in the gym I'm working with someone with back pain from having tight hamstrings. Every person I have train with tight hamstrings had back problems. I realized this years ago and know I have been very successful helping clients overcome years of back pain.
Whenever the hamstrings are tight it, restricts full mobility of the hips. This creates more movement in the lower back region and lower back shouldn't be moving. Having tight hamstrings over a long period of time will cause the low back muscles to fatigue and develop scare tissue in the lumbar region of the spine. This will lead to back pain and lower back stiffness, siatica pain, and slip disc issues. Todays medical industry treat back pain as a problem directly associated with the muscles of the lower back. Which lead to them treating the lower back area with specific treatments and medication. However, this would give you relief but only temporary. You will still have continued flare ups of back pain over time. This is because they did not solve the problem which is causing the low back pain. We have focused on the hamstrings as a big contributor to back pain. By improving the flexibility of the hamstrings you can return the hamstring back to their optimal length and increase the chance of the pain going away and not coming back. The best way to do this stretch is to use an active stretch technique. An active stretch is where you use the opposing muscle to stretch the opposite muscle. When a prime mover muscle is contracting the other muscle will automatically stretch. Start the hamstring stretch laying down on the floor with both legs straight. Place the strap around one foot while you holding the ends of the stretching strap with your hands. The correct way to execute the stretch is to lift one leg with only the muscles of the leg then at the highest point in the lift pull the strap with your hands for 2 seconds then stop pulling the strap and return foot to floor. Repeat this technique 15 - 20 times then do the other side. If you have a foam roller you could get more from this stretch if you foam roll your hamstrings before doing the active hamstring stretch. If you need other ideas on back pain please email me at reggie@afitconcepts.com.
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 This picture is a perfect example of a working lifestyle which leads to bad posture. Bad posture leads to neck pain, back pain, stiff joints, achy joints, loss of confidence, and the feelings of getting older. Work, home, recreation, and even sleep lifestyles will add to bad posture. By engaging in habits to create good posture is a start to feeling pain free, younger, and more confident.
 Staying younger is a desire a lot of us have. It's nice to hold on to the feeling of youthfulness for as long as you can. Whats really amazing is there are some simple things you can do to make you feel younger. Here are 10 tips I have learned which really works.
1. Drink more water. Your body is 70% water and if you do not drink sufficient amounts of water your skin will look weathered and dry. The plus bonus to having adequate water is more energy. Yes that is correct. The more water you consume the more energy you have. 2. Don't sit with rounded shoulders.(Improve posture tip) 3. Stretch your chest.(Improve posture tip) 4. Strengthen your spine by doing the cobra daily.(Improve posture tip) 5. Strengthen core.(Improve strength tip) 6. Improve mobility of the hips.(Improve mobility tip) 7. Improve mobility of ankles.(Improve mobility tip) 8. Strengthen the glutes.(Improve strength tip) 9. Specifically improve the strength of the legs with weight training.(Improve strength tip) 10. Eat more vegetables and less process foods.(Eat better tip)  The base of our training programs is rooted in having good posture. Your daily routine can destroy your posture, working out can have a negative effect on your posture also. Bad posture is the very beginning of pain issues in your neck, shoulder, back, hip , knee, and ankle. When clients first come to us we look at their posture. We are looking for the basic posture distortions.
1. First lesson we learn was to correct these posture issues first. (Do not build strength upon bad posture) 2. Mobility must be regain and all basic movement patterns must be clean and without restrictions. 3.Use functional movements to improve mobility as a warm-up instead of cardio,( walking on treadmill) 4. Bad form creates bad posture. 5. Good form supports good posture.  Good form is the base of building sound posture. One of the areas where we see bad posture is in people who are fit, because some of them do not use good form. Its very easy to overlook the importance of having good technique. Most of us are driven by the desire to workout hard and burn calories until we just throw having good form out of the window.
When you use good form it supports good posture. Good posture will reduce your chances of injuries and improve your overall performance. Everyday we have bad sitting habits and work habits which destroys your posture then you come to the gym and make it worse. We apply a concept call mobility before strength. If your posture is bad, why would you build strength upon it. The better way is to improve your posture first by improving your mobility first and making sure you can go through the basic functional patterns such as squatting, lunging, hip flexion, and that your T-spine is mobile and can rotate freely along with extending and flexing. Then you build strength upon a functional system which has a chance to reap you maximum results from your training. Train smart. Please!  The most important daily stretch you can do, is a kneeling hip flexor stretch. We spend hours everyday sitting at work, driving, or watching TV or similar inactive activities. After hours and days of doing this week after week and month after month and even years our hip flexors become short, tight, and weak. This shows up as back pain, knee pain, hip pain, and with some even shoulder pain. Doing this stretch each day for a minute each side will drastically reduce your chances of getting these type of pain issues. If you already have some of these type of pain start stretching your hip flexors.
Bonus tip: If you have tight hamstrings you should seriously start stretching your hip flexors. You will see a change in your hamstring flexibility in 4 - 6 weeks. The above picture shows the stretch in its maximum range. When you start out stretching you will not have this range of motion in your stretch. But be consistent and it will slowly improve. You can get more information on the exact way to execute this stretch if you have pain. Just email or text us. Thanks In todays marketing of fitness you see the main stream media focus on the tougher workouts. Of course they get results and you would think they are more fun for you but they are not for everyone. AFC is dedicated to those who want and need fitness in their life. The question we ask you is how and why?
Let me tell you what we believe. We believe every one wants to be fit even if they are not. We believe exercise should provide a level of fitness in your life which improves the way you live. We are inspired to create ways which allow you easier ways to enjoy fitness. We are dedicated to teaching ideas that motivate you to live a fit life with comfort and excitement. There is a way you can have fitness in your life that effects how you share time with your family and friends. Which gives you a sense of contentment and satisfaction without you having to compete with anyone or trying to break your records every time you workout. Training smart is understanding the basics and applying them in very simple steps to attain very high levels of fitness. AFC is unique in this process because we want to teach everyone who wants to be fit how to reach these goals with the least amount of effort. We understand your lives are very busy and keeping up with a fitness program which takes a lot of time isn't smart. Brushing your teeth in morning can be challenging but we do it, because we understand the end result, and its really simple to do. Training smart has these same traits. Easy, quick, simple, and highly effective. Our blog is about supporting you so you can live your best life. A life you deserve. Start your journey today. Join our email list and keep up with all the great articles. Find the problem, make the problem better, make the client better.
Find their weakness, make the weakness better, make the client better. Find the mobility issue, make the mobility issue better, make the client better. Find the posture issue, make the posture better, make the client better. This is the purpose of AFC's training program Mobility before Strength! AFC's program uses 4 basic stretching modalities for optimal range of motion.. Myofascial release, active stretching, neuromuscular stretching, and static stretching. Each one has a specific benefit. When you are trying to lengthen a tight shorten muscle you should apply all 4 methods to gain optimal range of motion. Myofascial release should be used first, then active, and neuromuscular stretching last. This is the protocol we have found gives us the best benefit.
Okay guys. I'm excited about our New blog and site. We will bring you a daily tip, a weekly instruction question, and a client profile weekly.
Some of you know me already but for those who do not, I'm Reggie Clements, and I have been training clients for over 25 years. I have created this blog to share my knowledge with you. I have chosen to use each week to provide you information which may inspire you and I hope it has some affect on how you live. Today's question is : What is the fastest way to lose weight? This is what I would do if I was starting a exercise program today. First, I would consider my nutrition. Because the biggest lesson I have learned is that starting off improving your nutrition will guarantee you results. Your results will be greatly enhanced if you do this first. There are 3 factors you have to consider when you are preparing a plan to improve your nutrition. The different ways to lose weight, the cost, and your motivation. Take these 3 factors and go and gather information on each and personalize it to your situation. I have put together a short example for you to start with below. 1. What are the different ways available to me to lose weight
Being consistent is the major key. |
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