Tight hip flexors?

                      

As I've said many other times, the hip flexors are an area that has become more and more susceptible to tightness due to modern habits. 

A lot of people sit in a chair for 8 hours a day, and often a chair that does not allow you to keep good posture all day either. 

The result of this is that your hip flexors will become tighter and be at risk for a strain unless you perform stretches. 

Now ideally you should be performing these stretches every day for at least 1 minutes, if you can do up to 2 minutes even better!

Stretches Lying Down

This is a great stretch to start off with because it's so gentle and natural for your leg. To perform it all you need to do is start off lying down on your back, try to take some slow, relaxed breaths until your body become relaxed. Once you feel ready lift up one of your legs, allow your knee to bend, then place both your hands just behind the knee and gently pull upwards towards your chest until you feel a good stretch. You can hold this stretch as long as you'd like, typically recommended is around 20 seconds and then try to go further after a short break. A key thing to note about this stretch is that if you feel any hip flexor pain, stop immediately.

Stretches Sitting

Many people initially classify this as a groin stretch, but remember some of the Hip Flexor muscles are also considered groin muscles, which is partially why this is a great stretch. Secondly, if you have really tight Psoas muscles you will also stretch those in this position.

To perform the butterfly stretch sit on the floor with your legs outstretched. Begin by shaking out your legs and taking a few deep breaths. To initiate the stretch pull in both your legs until the bottoms of your feet are touching, this should force your knees out. Increase the stretch as needed by putting your hands on your feet and pushing down on your knees. Hold for 20 seconds then shake out your legs again and repeat once or twice more. **Note: Try to keep your lower back straight, you should not be rounding your back and hunching over during the stretch.

Stretches - Standing

Standing stretches are amazing at targeting the inner core muscles around the pelvic region. Here are two of the best stretches you should incorporate into your stretching.

Lunge

You may have seen this one before because it is one of the best Hip Flexor stretches. The reason for this is that it works, and is worth reiterating.

Perform this stretch by standing upright initially, and then taking a large but comfortable step forward. Next, descend into a lunge position where your front knee is at an approximately 90 degree angle. Now push your lower hips forward until you feel the stretch and hold the position for up to 30 seconds. Just 3 sets of this stretch alone will do wonders for your flexibility.

Lunge Twist

This final stretch is similar to the lunge stretch above, but with an advanced twist on it. It will look very similar to a lunge, but instead you can allow your back leg knee to rest on the ground. Try to keep your upper torso upright and then lift the arm of the lowered leg over your head. You will know immediately if you are doing this correctly, as this stretch targets several of your muscles, even the hard to reach Tensor Fascia Latae.

Static Stretches

This is a special type of stretches performed using a resistance band or tube that can be used both as a stretch and strengthening exercise at the same time. To perform you need to attach one end of the band to a wall or anchor point and the other end to your ankle. Next, lift up your knee as high as you can and hold the position for 10-15 seconds. You should not only feel a stretch, but also fatigue in your Hip Flexors.

Hip Flexor Stretches Summary

To recap, you do not need to perform every single one of these exercises every day. Listen to your body and how it responds after a week or two of stretching and adjust accordingly. If you stick to a good schedule I am confident you will see incredible improvements in your hip mobility doing just a few of these Hip Flexor stretches and prevent a potential injury.

Information is power; you owe it to yourself and your body's health to understand your injuries. If you are able to understand injuries, you can diagnose them faster, treat them better, and recovery to the highest possible levels.

The Bulletproofbodies Team wish you all the best.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Dale_Cudom/1225185

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6898245

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fsd_BgT-jy8

Overcoming Gymtimidation

                   

So, January is here and my Gym is already full of new people who don’t have clue about how to train, Gym etiquette or sharing of the facilities.

However, I don’t blame them, we’ve all been there when we started our fitness journey.

The Gym can be an intimidating place if you are not comfortable in those surroundings.

The term “Gym-timidation” has been coined for such a situation.

Sweating, other people’s sweat, cold iron, Lycra clad ladies and muscle bound blokes in vest tops are all reasons why the Gym can be unappealing. 

The alternative is working out on your own in the privacy of your own home, however, can you really motivate yourself to achieve your maximum without the encouragement of others?

It’s time to shift your view on Exercise in the Gym, as Body building has lost its appeal and importance in the fitness community. 

The Functional Fitness revolution has changed the way we workout, as we want fitness that helps us outside the gym with exercises that helps us lift, move, play, dance and recreate ourselves. 

The term “fitness” means adaption to a specific task and you don’t get that from isolated muscle training. Fitness has 11 components divided into three categories physical fitness, motor fitness and injury prevention.

Physical fitness refers to flexibility, endurance (muscular and heart), strength and speed. Motor fitness refers to Accuracy, Balance, Power, Agility and Co-ordination. 

With this in mind, people want to exercise for than just health reasons and to lose weight / tone up. 

People also want a challenge, to learn a new skill and get that sense of achievement that the elliptical or the bicep curl can never bring.

Therefore, it is no surprise that adventure races involving mud, Bootcamps, 

Functional movement training, Hot Yoga and CrossFit have gained in popularity.

This is because a community of people working out together to achieve the same goal is more fun than the loneliness and isolation of your home. 

It is not uncommon to pay a year’s membership to a health club, only to go once and never return, wasting both precious money and motivation.

Furthermore, working out in a community is much better when it comes to exercise adherence because it then becomes a social experience rather than putting earphones on and jumping on the treadmill, surrounded by people but interacting with no-one unless they are on a machine that we want to use which brings us full circle back to Gym-timidation.

Lots of people want to get fit, let’s make it a social experience and all train together to achieve the same aim, a better version of ourselves.

Injury prevention is our specialty at Bulletproofbodies. 

We are Physiotherapists and we provide Functional Movement Screening, Orthopaedic assessment, injury diagnosis, Manual Therapy, Exercise Therapy Body Maintenance and Optimisation for you to build a robust and Bulletproof Body.

Download our FREE injury prevention E Book:

Video: https://www.youtube.com/user/buffdudes

Plantar fascia pain management

               

Over the weekend the Bulletproofbodies Team were asked lots of questions about foot pain in particular, plantar fasciitis.

After 22 years in the Military I can tell you that I have tried all sorts of tricks when it comes to footwear, Orthotics and inner soles.

Wearing boots for long periods of time can irritate the bottom of the foot resulting in plantar fascia pain.

The plantar fascia is a thick band of connective tissue that acts like a ligament to help support your arch and provide shock absorption during weight bearing activities.

The area where the plantar fascia attaches to the bottom of the heel bone is a place that can get stressed or injured and become inflamed.

When this happens, you have plantar fasciitis. The good news is that you can prevent this happening and stop the problem before it gets worse.

Our answer is "get some balls!"

At Bulletproofbodies our weapons of choice are Rockballs and Pulseball:

 If you want to get money off Rocktape products visit the website below:

https://www.rocktape.co.uk/

Use the Bulletproofbodies discount code:

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Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1lT1I35jAc

Bulletproof Physio at the Fan Dance Winter 2019

                  

While everyone else is thinking about joining the Gym and losing some weight for the New Year, Endurance Athletes have been training hard over the Christmas break to perform on the first adventure race of the year, the legendary 

Fan Dance.

Last weekend three events were available:

The Fan Dance, Double Tap and Trident.

Some were also doing Blade Runner!

Clean fatigue choose to run, others TAB as they are carrying load, but all of them will be challenged by the hill.

AEE (Avalanche Endurance Events) are an awesome team to work hard to make this race the gold standard for both fun and safety.

There is always a different feel about this event when compared to other races.

There is a Military flavour to this event that makes every athlete sit up and take notice.

From the kit checks to the photo at the finish, this event is the real deal.

The Bulletproofbodies Team were there to keep all athletes from getting a Musculo-Skeletal injury and for treatment in between races.

Physio support from Dale and Uzo was available around the clock as we provide the necessary treatment to keep athletes going.

This is Claire who is clearly telling us that she wants to come in first place.

Mark in the ready position at the start of his third and final ascent.

Don’t forget to check out our e-book on injury prevention and management for the Hill.

We will see you back on the hill for the Summer Fan Dance 2019.

After the pain, a well-deserved Fan Dance Ale.

The Bulletproofbodies Team salutes all athletes and support staff with AEE.

Have You Tried The 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise?

                    

This Christmas we are all going to get a bit stressed.

Perhaps you will not be able to do your usual workout and your routine is disrupted.

You can however do this breathing exercise to relax you before you verbalise your stress in an unhelpful way!

The 4–7–8 Breathing Technique

This breathing technique developed by Dr. Andrew Weil is a great way to elicit the relaxation response that gets more effective over time.

It is a direct influencer on the Autonomic nervous system, shifting energy from the sympathetic to the parasympathetic system, with many physiological benefits, including lowered blood pressure and heart rate, increased circulation to the extremities and skin, and improved digestion. 

It can also help you let go of emotional upset and cravings.

How to do the 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise

1. Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge behind and above your front teeth and keep it there through the whole exercise.

2. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.

3. Close your mouth and inhale deeply and quietly through the nose to a (silent) count of 4.

4. Hold your breath for a count of 7.

5. Exhale audibly through your mouth to a count of 8.

6. Repeat steps 3, 4, and 5 for a total of four breaths.

This breathing practice can be done in any position; if seated, keep your back straight. 

Note that you always inhale quietly through your nose and exhale audibly through your mouth. 

The tip of your tongue stays in position the whole time. Exhalation takes twice as long as inhalation.

The absolute time you spend on each phase is not important; the ratio of 4:7:8 is important. 

If you have trouble holding your breath, speed the exercise up but keep to the ratio of 4:7:8 for the three phases.

Practice the exercise at least twice a day and, in addition, whenever you feel stressed, anxious, or off centre.

Do not do more than four breaths at one time for the first month of practice but repeat the exercise as often as you wish.

After a month, if you are comfortable with it, increase to eight breaths each time.

Dr Andy Weil, the Bulletproofbodies team salute you.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsTIyXL-dEsFRXTGbSuOcOA

Four Daily Mobility Drills For Athletes

            

Over the Christmas Period you will be sitting for long periods either in front of the TV, driving to somewhere or doing a “Sam Briggs” style Marathon Row on Christmas Day.

All of which are sitting!

So take 2 minutes out of your busy schedule to mobilise your body with the following 4 exercises:

1.     Passive to Active Hang

2.     Jefferson curl down

3.     Deep Squat and Reach

4.     Easy Bridge

1. Passive to active hang

The passive part of the hang stretches the muscles of the Pectorals and Lat Dorsi.

The active part of the hang isometrically strengthens the depressors of the scapula.

2. The Jefferson Curl or controlled roll down

This is a controlled global spinal flexion exercise that starts in the standing position. 

You then put your chin on your chest and spinally flex from cervical, through Thoracic then finally into Lumbar.

3.     Deep Squat and Reach

Squat down as deep as you can.

For balance you might need to hold onto something for balance.

Reach up with one arm and rotate your Torso towards that arm.

4.     Easy Bridge

This is a tough exercise if you are tight on your anterior structures (Pecs, Abs, Hip Flexors and Quads).

Sit on the floor with your hands behind you and fingers facing away.

Bend your knees at 90 degrees.

In one movement, lift up your pelvis as high as you can and at the same time push down through straight arms and extend your shoulders.

Whatever you are doing, try these 4 mobility drills for 30 seconds each. 

That’s only 2 minutes per round.

Try 2-3 Rounds for optimal benefit.

Get mobilising!

Video: https://www.youtube.com/user/Calisthenicmovement

Improve Your Multi-Rep Deadlifts

                   

Deadlifting is important for every athlete.

The Hip Hinge movement is used in many movements including Deadlifts, Good Mornings and Kettle Bell Swings.

Many of these movements will be performed many times with the stresses of speed, load, intensity and the resulting fatigue.

So how do we keep hip hinge function optimal for multi-rep movements.

What is a Hip Hinge?

The hinge involves a flexion/extension movement that originates in the hips and involves a posterior weight shift.  When done correctly, it can be one of the more powerful movement patterns you can perform.

Often considered one of the primal movement patterns (one that we are all physiologically designed to execute with ease), the hip hinge offers many benefits:

It opens up hamstring flexibility and offers mobility through the hip joint

Builds symmetry and reduces injury

Shortens the learning curve when introducing more complex movements/exercises

Serves as a great assessment to diagnose flexibility/mobility issues as well as a weak or unstable core area

Is great for un-doing some of the damage that prolonged sitting can do to the body

Unfortunately, many people have no concept on how to hinge properly or disregard the movement as unnecessary because of it looks too “simple.”

But, as legendary strength coach and author Dan John said, 

“The truth is, the hinge, in its own right, is more powerful than the squat.”

How To Hip Hinge:

The first thing to understand is the difference between a hinge and a squat:

Squat: Maximal knee bend and maximal hip bend

Hinge: Minimal knee bend and maximal hip bend

https://www.johnsonfitness.com/blog/awesome-exercises-you-need-to-be-doing-the-hip-hinge/

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMeXmOqG2vE