Normalizing Pain as part of the aging process, but nothing ages you more than pain and lack of mobility…

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post. My last blog post was super technical and it was about myofascial release. I know that not many of you know what that is, and since pain has been a topic that has come up a lot with my clients and myself, I decided to dedicate another post to the issue. Hopefully after reading this post you will look back on my last post What is Self-Myofascial Release? What is Trigger Point Therapy? And how can it help me? and find ways to relieve your body of pain. It is the daily aches and pains that you feel, that general stiffness that is preventing you from being able to perform properly at the gym, and therefore it is hindering your progress.

I have found that we generally normalize the pain that we experience on a regular basis as part of “getting older.” Sore necks, backs, sore knees when squating or doing lunges, all seem to be attributed to age and are just left to get worse. Sometimes people treat these issues with the occasional massage therapy, and physiotherapy, but they never follow through with the recommended stretches and exercises. Basically, the problem never goes away, and if anything it gets worse. For some reason, I think that people have this idea that somehow the problem will just go away. However, the problem never really “goes away,” instead people have found ways of babying the injury. They avoid certain sports, exercises, and movements. Generally people avoid pain at all costs, so they will avoid anything that may cause them further pain, even if it will benefit them in the long run. Even when someone has injured themselves, they may avoid treating the injury all together to avoid the pain of rehabilitation. Generally the treatment for these kinds of issues is painful, tedious, and not so fun. On the flip side, if you choose to ignore your injuries and your current pain, then it will most likely become worse. So much so that you can no longer ignore it. So, why wait for that? Because if you think the rehab would be painful now? Just wait until the problem has escalated!

In addition, you will never get the body you want by avoiding compound exercises that may cause you pain like the squat. Plus you will forever have a body with major imbalances, pain, and weakness if you don’t treat the issues that are causing you pain and immobility. Ladies, you won’t get a squat booty, if you’re not able to properly activate your glutes. Most people when they squat they only feel their quads, or their knees hurt, and that’s because a lot of them cannot get into a proper squat position. Why is that? Because their body won’t allow them to. They don’t have the mobility. You may think that you’re squatting, because you’re getting low. Your brain is telling your body to squat and your body is doing the best it can with what it has, and if you don’t have the range of motion in your joints because you’re too tight, then your body will find the path of least resistance to get you down in a “squat.” The best way to know if you’re squatting properly is to have someone film your squat and/or have someone take a photo of you at the bottom of the squat position, then compare it to a video/photo of a proper squat movement pattern. That is the only way you can see for yourself whether or not you’re doing it right. I have a video and a blog piece about squatting, take a look and compare yours. Squat Tutorial Video!  I also have a blog piece called I can’t Squat Because…. Check it out if you think you have trouble with this exercise! The reason why I brought up the squat is because it is a very complex and important basic exercise that many people perform incorrectly for various reasons, and one major reason is because of lack of mobility. There are other exercises that can be drastically improved once you have improved your range of motion. In fact, the greater your range of motion the better you are able to activate your muscles. This is why addressing your aches, pains, and muscle tightness is so important to not only getting the results you want but to help prevent you from causing further damage. If you don’t address these issues, you will only get so far in the gym before you have to either give up and just let your health suffer, or you can face the music and deal with your pain.

Generally speaking, I am quite flexible and I have the full range of motion of all my joints. I do get tight hips from time to time, but other than that I am naturally flexible and have maintained my flexibility up until now. It is because I have maintained my flexibility, I have been able to avoid any major injury. **KNOCK ON WOOD** I have never seriously injured myself or broken a bone. I’ve had minor strains, and pulled muscles, and a cyst on my ankle, but that’s about it. It is a fact that some people are more prone to injury, but most of the time injury happens because of repetitive movement, lack of flexibility/range of motion, or malpractice. What do I mean by malpractice? I mean either doing something really dangerous and not so smart, or improper form. Improper form is usually caused by immobility, meaning your muscles are too tight and they will not allow your joints to move freely. This means that no matter how hard you try and correct your form, you will not be ale to do it right until your body has loosened up. The only way to fix it is by addressing the issue that is restricting your movement. On the other hand, improper form can also be caused by ignorance, you were never taught how to properly execute the exercise. That can easily be fixed by asking for help. However, if that is not the case and your body simply won’t allow you to execute the movement correctly, then you must relax those muscles using various methods before you can re-learn the movement pattern and perform the exercise correctly.  It is only then, that you will truly reap the benefits of your workouts.

I’m not saying that you can’t workout at all if you are highly inflexible, that’s not true. You can modify many exercises to help you in the mean time. However, you will never be able to exercise to your fullest potential if you don’t take the time to stretch, and rehab your pain away. You must put yourself through the pain of foam rolling, massage therapy, cupping, athletic therapy, accupuncture, physiotherapy, stretching, and/or yoga to get your body working at it’s best. This pain is only temporary, especially if you do the exercises and stretches that these professionals who treat your pain give you! Sure, doing therapy will help in the short term, and it is definitely an important part of anyone’s fitness journey, but all of it will be in vain if you don’t work hard to maintain it! Just like your six pack of abs, it can easily disappear if you don’t take the time to stretch on a regular basis. Just because the pain has gone away, does not mean it will never come back! This is why it is so important to incorporate stretching and rehabilitation into your regular exercise routine. Flexibility and mobility for most people is earned, and it diminishes as you age. The only way to maintain your range of motion is to constantly stretch and foam roll before and after your workouts. Massage helps as well, but not everyone has the ability to get a massage regularly. That being said, you must properly warm up your body, and make sure that you get the blood flowing to the muscles that you will be using in your workout, and that you have primed the major joints that will be used in your workout as well. After your workout, it is important to stretch, even the next day if you’re sore from your previous workout. Doing nothing and laying on the couch won’t make it better. It may actually keep you sore for longer!

Stretching, foam rolling, and massage therapy all hurt so good. The pain is real, but at the same time it feels good because your body is releasing tension, and harmful toxins. Rehabilitation can be a lot of work, and it can be very exhausting as well. This may be a reason why a lot of people avoid it, but the pay off is so high! I’ve watched a lot of my clients and even some of my friend’s movement patterns, and I wonder, how do they live?! It just looks so awkward, and uncomfortable! I can tell that they’re in a lot of pain, even if they don’t want to admit it. If anything, they may have become numb to the pain! It’s sadly become their norm. Back pain, tight shoulders and neck pain are so very common. So many of us work at desks, and don’t sit properly. This is mostly because you’re sitting too long, and if you’re sitting for extended periods of time your posture is bound to fail. Therefore, back and neck pain are almost guaranteed. No amount of pills like Advil is ever going to make the problem go away. In fact, medication like that only treats the symptoms of back pain, but not the source pain itself. Like I’ve mentioned before, the only way to treat this sort of pain is through therapy, regular exercise, and proper nutrition. Of course making your desk more functional and taking regular breaks so that you’re not sitting for too long at a time are all important as well. However, in general nutrition, exercise, and proper rest are the trifecta of good health! Proper rest/relaxation (this includes stretching, massage, meditation etc), regular exercise (cardiovascular and weight training), and proper nutrition are the very basics to optimal health and a body that you can be proud to call home. Nobody wants to live in a body that is full of pain and discomfort. It is this sort of pain and discomfort that prevents you from doing things, not just exercise, but all kinds of things, especially as you get older! And that’s the saddest part of it all! You may not think that you’re causing yourself too much harm by not exercising regularly, or stretching regularly, or avoiding your aches and pains altogether. It is not until something serious happens to us, or when we start to loose the ability to do the simple things in life, that we begin to realize how much we have failed ourselves. Please don’t let that be a sad realization that you come to. Of course age is something we cannot prevent, but you can age gracefully, and with less pain. Age does not have to be as painful as it seems! Do yourself a favor and take care of your body, give yourself the gift of free range of motion. It’s not easy, but it is so worth it to be able to move in any way you please without worrying about pain! Most of us were born with the ability to move as we please, without ever thinking about it. We as small children had full range of motion. Over time a lot of us have lost this ability, because we have stopped moving, and we have stopped practicing our flexibility. But all is not lost! You can regain strength, range of motion, and flexibility! It’s tough, but it is so empowering to be able to do whatever you want with your body.

No gym? No problem! Easy at home workouts for Beginners

I am very much aware that not everyone is able to afford a gym membership. Even though there are discounted gyms in Canada like “Fit for Less,” or at your local community centres, these costs still might be too much for some of us to take on. Also, buying your own equipment to make a home gym can be costly as well. So, I’ve decided to write a piece about getting active for free!!

First things first, I think you should get outside of your house. Spring is ALMOST here!!! Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, BUT if my grandparent’s can go for a walk every day (minus when it is super icy out, Nonna has a walker) then you can too! Or you can go and walk around the mall and do a few laps, just leave your purse in the car. However, walking outside is in my opinion a better choice. Not only can you get a breath of fresh air, but you can explore your neighborhood and get to know your community a whole lot better. If you’re a beginner going for a brisk walk everyday is an easy way to get more active, and it doesn’t cost you a thing! Especially if, you’ve never worked out in your life, OR if you have any injuries/medical issues, walking is a very low impact form of cardiovascular exercise. Plus the more you go out for walks, the farther you’ll be able to walk without getting tired. Think of how much of the city you’ll see! Also, walking is great to do with a friend. You’ll both get some exercise, and you’ll have plenty of time to catch up and talk about anything under the sun. Plus you can both keep each other motivated to go on your daily walks! Just make sure that you’re not always walking to your local Tim Hortin’s or any other restaurant because that defeats the whole purpose.

Now that you’ve started walking everyday, and getting some cardiovascular exercise into your routine, here is a simple at home workout that you can do at home and it requires absolutely no equipment! It is also a workout for those of you who are truly beginner, the vast majority of the workout is made to engage your posterior chain and correct posture!! Complete the prescribed number of repetitions for each exercise, and then move on to the next one. Please do a total of three rounds of the entire routine with as little rest as possible!

Exercise 1: Body weight squat. Do a total of 15 reps! Below is my first ever video tutorial on how to properly do a squat! Please watch before doing this circuit!

Exercise 2: Incline push-up. Do a total of 15 reps. You can place your hands on a bench, ottoman, sturdy coffee table, or you can even use a staircase to assist you with your push-ups. The higher the incline, the easier the push-up is. If you find it too difficult to perform a proper push-up (where your spine is neutral/back is straight, and you can lower your body down completely without breaking form) then you can even use the wall to start. Also, as you can see in the photo below, I have set my feet wide for my bench push-up, this also makes your body more stable and therefore makes the exercise a little bit easier. If you don’t need to modify the push-up at all, then you can perform the exercise from the floor.

Exercise 3: Plank, hold for 30 seconds. Please watch this video that I made on the plank. It will give you some ideas on how to make this exercise a bit more challenging if need be, or how to modify it (I called it a regression in my video) if it’s too tough to hold up your own body weight for the full 30 seconds.

Exercise 4: Side Plank, hold each side for 30 seconds. In the photo below I am doing a modified plank, please do a modified side plank if you are not able to properly hold your own body weight without rotating your hips to the back. Also, please make sure that your elbow is directly under your shoulder! If it’s not please correct it, and again, if it’s too hard to hold a side plank with your legs extended straight, and your shoulder in the right place, then do a modified side plank!

My face is red not from the exercise lol but from teaching two group fitness classes and my own personal workout before hand! 

Exercise 5: Floor Y-T-I raises. Perform 12 reps of each exercises, one right after the other without any rest in between. These exercises help to engage your muscles in your upper back, and they help to stabilize and strengthen the shoulder joint as well! In the photos below, you will see that I have my chest slightly off the ground. This is an advanced version of the exercise and should only be done if you don’t experience any back pain while doing it. If you are going to lift your chest while performing this exercise, please exhale as you lift your chest, and draw your navel in towards your spine to properly engage your abdominal muscles. Also, please make sure that your thumbs are always pointed up towards the sky during these exercises!

First position of the Y raise. Thumbs are up and my palms are facing one another. 

Second position of the Y raise 

 

First half of the T raise 

The second half of the T raise 

First half of the I raise 

Second half of the I raise 

And that’s it guys! Do this circuit three times with as little rest as possible in between exercises. I would perform this circuit three times a week, with a daily brisk 30 minute minimum walk a day. This is a great way to begin a resistance training program at home that requires absolutely no equipment. Stayed tuned! I will definitely post a new routine to do at home in the near future! Please let me know if you’ve tried this workout, and how it’s going?!

 

I can’t Squat Because….

Lately while teaching some of my Bootcamp classes I’ve heard the following excuse “I can’t squat because…” Now to make this very clear, I am asking the member to do a body weight squat with their hands clasped behind their head as part of their warm up. The most common excuse as to why someone cannot perform a squat is because of their knees… This is very frustrating for me, because these members tend to be very persistent of their inability to perform the exercise, and not to mention I’m teaching a large class. I don’t have much time to explain to them that they literally perform a body weight squat everyday, and I don’t want to single them out in front of the class either. So, I decided to write this blog post to inform you guys that just because you may have knee issues of any kind, this includes arthritis, it does not mean that you can never ever perform a squat. I mean if you can figure out how to poop standing up without a diaper, please give me a call! Because literally every time you sit and stand up you are doing the same exact movement as you would when performing a squat…

Almost everyone is born with the ability to do a full squat like this child. How many children have you seen sitting like this to play?! This is a proper squat, however without proper practice we loose the ability to perform our squats like this…

A squat is a natural movement, it is a functional exercise, and it is something that you do everyday. The problem however, does not necessarily lie with the exercise itself but with your inability to perform the exercise correctly. This is why many of you may feel pain in your knees when you go to sit and stand up. It is very unfortunate the amount of fear that surrounds the squat. It is fear, reduced range of motion, and excess girth that makes the squat difficult and uncomfortable to perform. Just because something is difficult, or uncomfortable, does not mean that you should completely cut it out of your exercise routines, especially when it is something that is so essential to your everyday life! Instead of trying to avoid this exercise at all costs, ask for help! Explain your pain, and your situation to someone who is a trained professional like a physiotherapist, an athletic therapist, or a well trained personal trainer. They can assess your movement pattern, and help you to improve your form and strength when performing a squat so you can either reduce or remove any sort of pain when you squat. Like I’ve said before, you do some sort of squat everyday, so why not learn how to do it properly? Because if you are experiencing pain when you squat, then there must be something wrong, and if there’s something wrong it should be corrected! If it is left unattended your pain will only increase, and your ability to sit and stand on your own will degrade over time. Do you really want to have to hold on to something like a cane so that you can be able to sit and stand?Probably not, but if you are in pain now when you squat, and therefore you refuse to squat, or even break past 90 degrees when squatting, then this will be your foreseeable future sooner rather than later.

The body is an amazing thing, and there have been so many accounts of people coming back from serious injuries and learning how to move again. So why is it that people think that just because they experience minor knee pain, they can no longer can bend their knees and perform a squat? To me it is illogical, and fearful. You can squat, even if it is assisted or with just body weight there is no reason why you cannot sit and stand back up. I have done a video tutorial on the squat in the past, actually it was the first video tutorial I’ve ever made. It is meant to teach you how to properly perform a squat and what a squat should look like. Watch the video, then record yourself performing a squat. Compare, and evaluate your squat. I have also provided some suggestions on how to improve your range of motion and strength so that you can further improve your form. https://alexrinaldo.wordpress.com/2015/10/15/squat-tutorial-video/  In addition, I have written another article related to the squat, it can also help to provide some insight as to why you are not performing the squat properly and therefore experiencing pain. https://alexrinaldo.wordpress.com/2015/10/02/want-to-feel-more-bootylicious-but-youre-not-seeing-the-results-here-are-some-reasons-why-you-might-not-be-getting-the-jlo-butt-youre-looking-for/

This post is not meant to be rude, judgemental or harsh. I just want to simply open your eyes to the fact that completely avoiding certain exercises like the squat will not help your situation. If anything it will only make your situation worse. As the saying goes “if you don’t use it, you loose it.” This is very true when it comes to your range of motion in the squat. If you never allow yourself to get full depth and range of motion in your squat, you will loose the ability to do so. This is why you must work on your flexibility, mobility, form and strength in your legs so that you never loose the ability to sit and stand. Even if you must start out with some sort of assist so that you can perform the exercise properly, so be it! If you continue to work on it, eventually you will be able to perform a squat completely on your own! Wouldn’t it feel so great to be able to move freely without pain? Well it takes patience and hard work, but it is possible! People do it all the time! You just have to be willing to work through the pain now, so you can be free of it later.