Tag: back pain

5 Reasons to Never Miss Leg Day (Seriously!)…OK 6

 

I was working these quads, hamstrings, glutes and abdominals early this morning… in a combination of deadlifts, squats and lunges…wow! Leg day is hard but I hear that it brings the most benefits over all other lifting routines so its worth the hard work!

Leg muscles are the largest muscle groups in the body, so they burn the most calories… did you know that your gluteus Maximus (ie your buns) is the largest muscle in the body?

OOH! Leg Muscles look Good!

Leg muscles are our big muscle groups, but they also look really nice.  Strong glutes, athletic quads, healthy hamstrings and toned calves certainly look good in a pair of shorts.  However, there are 5 bigger reasons to work those legs than just for the looks!  …

  1.  Power and Endurance

Legs are powerful when they are strong and give us higher athletic ability to do other sports such as running, jumping or sports requiring speed!  Having strong conditioned muscles also gives us more endurance so that we can move faster and for a longer period of time without getting tired!

2.  Less Injuries

When our legs are strong, joints are optimally supported and there is much less likelihood of having certain injuries especially during sporting activities

3.  Burn more Calories

With conditioned leg muscles, our whole body will generally have a higher metabolism.    Those larger muscles require more energy and therefore your metabolism 24 hours per day will be higher!  Aha!  Weight loss!

4.  Less Back Pain

Less back pain will be there if we have strong lower body.  The glutes take a lot of the strain off the lower back when we are standing.  If we sit all day, we are more likely to have short hip flexors and weak hamstrings (leading to sore back)….  Stretching those hip flexors and working on strengthening the glutes, hamstrings and abdominal muscles can make a dramatic difference in reducing back pain.

5.  Practical strength

With strong legs, even if you are not an athlete, it will help you with day to day activities without getting hurt.  Things such as moving around heavy items, carrying groceries, moving furniture are easier if the legs are strong because your body will have the strength to squat and hinge at the hips.  This way, when we use our strong legs, we can much easier lift heavy items without hurting our back!

LEG WORKOUT TIP

With leg exercises, it is important to start low and gradually increase the weights.  Do full range of motion slowly, with abdominals in to support the back and slowly increase the depth of your movements.  It is very important to use proper form to avoid hurting the knees so be sure to research this or get a coach (like me) to help you out.

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The Benefits of Core Work (and How You Can Improve Your Life Too)

Working the core can be SUPER fun if you find the right program
Working the core can be SUPER fun if you find the right program

There are many benefits that I have noticed from working on my core strength. I used to have intermittent severe back pain that would incapacitate me for days, back aches, hip soreness, and even knee and neck pain.

If you have experienced this you will know what I mean here… Lower back issues that are acutely flaring up can cause the pain and muscle tightness to spread all over the back and body even leading to neck issues, headaches and more! In addition, having pain issues even intermittent, can lead to decreased mood, frustration and the use of pain killers which come with their own wonderful side effects to endure.

So what can be done about this?

Core strengthening leads to greater stability of the muscles surrounding the spine, hips and abdomen. By having greater stability here, it reduces movement within the spine that can lead to inflammation and pain.

I am currently on round 3, day 12 of this core blasting program and I notice a huge change in how I feel, my core feels super strong and agile and having no more back pain! What a relief this is! Being without pain is totally life changing!

Why strengthen Core?

The “core” is a term used to describe just about everything on your body that isn’t your legs and arms. This means you can think of your glutes, hips, abdominal muscles, inner abdominal muscles, pelvic floor, and scapula as your core. Your core is where your power is generated in order to carry out any movement. While abdominal and inner abdominal muscles do play a large roll in core stability, they don’t make up the core all by themselves.

Beyond the management of pain and disability, working the core can really improve our performance in other activities as well.. with a strong core, we will be a better runner, horse back rider, jumper, court sports performer, hockey player plus have more stability in every-day activities such as picking things off the floor, lifting children or grandchildren, hauling in groceries, cleaning the house and so much more!  To be able to do all of these functional activities with power, confidence and without injury is what we want, isnt it?

Tips to Strengthen your Core…

If a person is just a beginner with core work, the exercises should look a little different and please don’t focus only on the ab muscles in the front with crunches.  Only doing crunches in the setting of an already weak core can have a negative impact on your spine!

It is important to start gentle if you are a beginner with core work.   Timothy Bell does a good job giving you 5 exercises to start with to get your core muscles working for you…Check out the 4 minute video below that explains each exercise for you.  Perform each exercise back to back for the below prescribed time and reps and do this every day for the most benefit

  1. Bird Dog – 10-second holds, 8 reps per side
  2. Band Anti Rotation – 10-second holds, 8 reps per side
  3. Dead Bugs – 8 reps per side, alternating sides each rep
  4. Clam Shell – 10-second holds, 10 reps per side
  5. Tummy Vacuums – 5-second holds, 8 reps

Once you have built the strength of your core and you would like to consider more advanced core training, you may want to consider joining a Core Blasting Fitness Challenge with me.  CONTACT ME once you are feeling ready for this.

Working on and optimizing your core strength can totally change your life.  It has for me and to no longer be suffering with pain, or use of medications is a much better existence overall!

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