Brio Health Club

Brio Health Club co-owner Jocelyn Rylee gives HSC a shout out on a recent blog post. Check it out: http://www.briohealthclub.com/2009/04/injury-rates.aspx. 

Thanks Jocelyn!

Elliptical Illusion

One day while breaking for lunch at the gym I work out of, I began (as I often do) observing different people "working out". As usual I saw the beach boys (chest and bi's), the full body band people, and the BOSU-ers. However, I found myself watching a new group of gym go-ers called the "Elliptical Goddesses". You might recognize this demographic: Generally young to middle aged, average sized, females that hop on the elliptical each day to do their "cardio" or even worse...their entire workout.
In the words of Lloyd Christmas from Dumb & Dumber...... Criiiipes.

Now don't get me wrong, the elliptical - like every piece of fitness equipment - has its place.  I think it is a decent machine for people with joint problems or injuries that are exacerbated with ground reaction forces. I also think they can have some success in warming up the body in the sense of joint lubrication prior to a weight workout. 

However, that is about the end of the line for the pros of this ever popular cardio box.  The problem lies in the fact that the majority of the people that use the elliptical present with the same problems that probably forced them to use the elliptical in the first place: gluteal amnesia, genu valgus, anterior pelvic tilt, excessive core rotation, and anterior dominance.  

The elliptical is slowly taking all of these issues and making them worse. Here are 3 reasons why the elliptical might not be the best choice of cardio equipment:

Reason #1: There is little to no hip extension

If you look at most elliptical machines, the stride is often more similar to riding a bike than running.  Because the stride is cut short, the glutes are often not even engaged, as the hips do not get anywhere close to extension. 

Reason #2: It encourages genu valgus

Most ellipticals have pedals that are very wide and very far apart from one another.  When this occurs, the feet are placed outside of a regular gait stance with the knees falling medially just to maintain stability.  Because a lot of people already have week hip stabilizers and extensors, and relatively short/overactive adductors and internal rotators, the elliptical is breeding ground for continued patello-femoral/meniscal pain once back on flat ground.

Reason #3: The handles allow your arms to do all the work

The majority of elliptical users will get more of a rowing workout than a leg burn. Often the arms will take over to propel the elliptical faster and faster without actually engaging your leg muscles.  In addition, you see a very pronounced side to side rotation of the torso with very little core control.  There is no core activation that will allow for anti-rotational stability. 

So does this mean don't use the elliptical at all? Not really, but if you are going to use it, do so for the right reasons and try the following:

• Use your arms similar to running by taking them off the handles. This way you are at least challenging your core musculature and hip stabilizers in attempt to improve balance.
• Try to focus on extending the rear leg by engaging the gluteal at the very end of the movement so that you aren't just "gliding" along the pedals and looking like Tony Little. 
• Try to find an elliptical with pedals that are more narrow, allowing your hips, knees and ankles to align more similarly to a normal anatomical position. Think about spreading the pedals apart from one another without actually moving your feet. 
• Think about staying relatively linear with your trunk with only slight side to side movements. Moreover, consciously think about avoiding extreme rotation of the spine by slightly engaging the muscles surrounding your spine. 
• Increase the intensity. Many people who use the elliptical do so at a constant, low tempo while carrying on a conversation with their friend beside them. Cross-training is not an excuse to do away with high-intensity intervals. 

Lastly, if you want a better bang for your buck for improving your cardiovascular fitness, biomechanics, and warm-up, try the stairmaster (but not the spring loaded ones). 

Thanks for reading!

5k's, mags, blogs, and more!

It's been a while since my last post and I've been pretty busy to say the least. Last weekend I competed in my first real 5km race. It's funny when people say that 5km is an easy distance compared to something like a marathon. I have to question if they've ever ran a 5km, and if so, how hard did they push themselves. That was one of the hardest things I've ever done. After the race I felt like someone had removed my kidneys, lungs, and heart, and steamrolled the crap out of them. Not too mention my hamstrings felt like they had been put through a paper shredder. Anyways, the course was about 5.2km and I ended up with a time of 18:56...not bad for "non-runner".

I also just had one of my articles published in the Mar/April edition of Can-Fit Pro Magazine. It's called "Running Away from the Weights: Dispelling the myths of strength training for runners". So if you are a member take a look and let me know what you think.

I wanted to also take the time to inform everyone of my colleague Carmen Bott's new website. It's a great looking site with phenomenal resources. In particular, I wanted to highlight her latest blog post which points out the infinite examples of taking a fitness tool and adding it to strength training for the sake of variation. Carm's post can be found at www.carmenbott.com/blog .


Lastly, I'd like to point out how some of the philosophy's of the Human Motion team were not only put together for strength and conditioning but they seem to hold true for success in general. Jim Kelley writes for sportsnet.ca and recently published an article regarding the Leaf's missing the playoffs...again. Never wanting to miss out on an opportunity to torture Leaf's Nation, I thought I'd share some of his article and point out the similarities to the pillars of Human Motion.



JK: "Since his (Brian Burke's) arrival his changes have been few and largely inconsequential. Now you might make an argument that a GM that arrived in November could have tried to do more and perhaps should have done more, but I won't go there. Change for the sake of change and the appearance of doing something is a big part of the reason the Leafs are out of the postseason for the fourth time in as many seasons and a big part of the reason the team has been something of a laughingstock for years going on decades."

HM: CBott's post talks about variation for the sake of variation and why this gets away from true results. As the title says, "Since when was variety a training principle?". Just as the Leaf's are the laughingstock of the NHL, not getting results due to circus acts in the gym is the laughingstock of the S&C world.


JK: "The smartest and most sensible thing Burke has done so far is secure a long-term (a reported six years) deal for himself at a salary that makes firing him anytime soon a serious financial caution and in setting himself up for the long term, Burke has set the Leafs up for the kind of sensible, long-term change that the franchise has needed for decades. He's not likely to need the entire six seasons, but he would be wise to take the time he needs to build a foundation for the shaky franchise and then to build upon that foundation.That may sound backward to the higher-ups at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, people who have run the organization for years with an eye toward short-term financial gain instead of long-term and, eventually, fundamentally sound business principles that would not only ensure high revenue streams, but might someday also produce a winner."

HM: Essentially this is the basis behind Building a Strong Foundation. To rush into a weight program without first ironing out the underlying biomechanical issues an athlete has is simply looking for the short term gain. If you take the time to allow the body to adapt to concrete core, joint stability, mobility, and technique, you will set yourself up for success for the long term. We could run a bootcamp to make quick cash and let athletes get their "sweat" on, but we are looking for long term results, not a long term physio bill.


JK: "One thing you can always say about a Burke-managed team is players get their chance. The ones that are here have had theirs. Some will stay, others won't and Burke will make those decisions based not on what he's heard, but what he's seen. It makes a difference.What he did say without hesitation is that the next step is to make the playoffs and that is a reachable goal as early as next season and that: 'We're going to make changes to do it.' Making an assessment is the first step. Having a plan is the second one."



HM: As an industry, we should make decisions (exercise selection, program design, coaching cues, etc.) based on research and in the trenches work, not the latest fad or celebrity regime. Assessments are used to determine the plan of action. And, "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail" is a phrase echoed throughout our team.



Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my next post regarding the always entertaining elliptical.