So you wanna run, but your knees get too sore? I hear this frequently, and can understand the feeling. Most of the time, doing some training to start running can help but there are other considerations as well.
When I first started running I just wanted to get out there. I didn't have any accumulated running gear, and I was hitting the concrete streets of Toronto. At first it was uncomfortable - like my body didn't quite understand how to run, or how to run properly. I thought I was in good shape, but my heart was racing, and I was sore!
Fast forward to today and my knees have become a non-concern. It takes conditioning, the right gear and the right type of run, but you too can run with less knee pain.
Here are my top tips for reducing the knee pain of running:
1) Wear really good running shoes and rotate them often.
Purchase one pair of really great (and often more expensive) running shoes, but make sure to replace them within about 6 months - earlier if you're covering more distance in them. For runners hitting about 20-40km per week, your shoes might only last you 3-4 months. Or, you can purchase several pairs and rotate them frequently. Each pair of shoes will last longer in that way, though you may have to spend more in the short-term.
2) Strengthen your hips!
You can relieve the strain on your knees by increasing the strength of your hips and glutes. This even extends into the pelvic cavity and low back as strengthening these muscle groups help to keep the body and joints more stable. Lunges, squats, hip adduction and hip abduction will all support this.
Yoga can also act as a strengthening exercise for those muscles. Look for yoga videos or classes specifically tailored to runners. Christine Felstead has a great book called "Yoga for Runners" as well, and she often teaches at the annual Toronto Yoga Conference & Show.
At the same time, beware of deep tissue work that can over relax major muscle groups. Using a foam roller on the legs - especially the IT band - is fantastic, and can help to decrease knee soreness. However, a really deep tissue massage of the low back, hips and glutes might actually set you back by a few days. It's not uncommon to feel a little too loose and wonky after a really tough massage, so be prepared to restrengthen those muscle groups.
3) Avoid running on concrete.
Cement has very little give for a runner compared to a trail. If you can run on softer surfaces, opt for that! With a slightly lesser impact, your joints feel less of a shock. Myself personally, I find that I'm more sore the day after I've run on concrete versus a dirt trail or boardwalk.
4) Run with a mid-foot strike, or on the balls of the feet.
Running with a heel-strike may look good in an advertisement, but mechanically is murderous on your legs. When you strike with your heel, the impact of that strike shoots up the leg with a more compressive force on the knee and hip joints. By using the mid-foot or balls of the feet, the back half of your foot acts as a sort-of shock absorber. This allows you to bounce more gently, taking the pressure off the knee joint and putting it more on your muscles to catch you and propel you forward.
The only downside to this is that some newer runners may notice shin splints when starting this technique. Doing a proper warm-up and post-run stretch can help alleviate that stress. As can magnesium, foam rolling, and using hot and cold water therapy as appropriate.
5) Consider additional joint support via supplementation.
Depending on your age and physical and medical history, this might include cartilage helpers like glucosamine and chondroitin; anti-inflammatory substances such as Omega-3 fish oil and curcumin; or other vitamin, mineral, and amino acid support such as vitamin C, hydrolyzed collagen, and bone broths.
6) Visit a physiotherapist
If you're unsure about your running technique and you're getting pain or soreness, it might be time to go see a physiotherapist. They can assess your gait and stance, perform muscle testing, and then set you up with stretching and/or active motion exercises to reduce your pain and support proper body mechanics. (If you have insurance benefits for physio, this one is a no-brainer!)
Showing posts with label squat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label squat. Show all posts
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Thursday, December 28, 2017
How do you make a home gym affordable and user-friendly?
The home gym. I have to say it's probably my favourite gym. No line ups for machines, no sweaty men staring at you, no worrying about the A/C not working, or of it working too well.
The issue is that many people will argue that it's too tough to have a "home gym". They don't have enough space, or they can't afford big machines. The truth is that a home gym is what you make of it, and it can be so much more simple!
My own personal home gym is actually my living room. While in my undergrad, it consisted of a 3'x6' space between my bed and the wall where my yoga mat would fit. During my grad studies, it was my basement: a huge open space with a cold, tiled floor, and no furnishings. Just a makeshift table that my laptop sat on and oodles of basement space to do some kickboxing videos or animal flow.
Now, in my very own house, I transform my living room into a home gym. It's more affordable than you think and the only "set up" is moving the coffee table out of the way and rolling out my yoga mat:
The first thing to do is decide what you want to do at home. Maybe you just want to do yoga at home, or maybe you want to be able to do a variety of workouts. My collection consists of:
1) Yoga (P90X yoga, a few Rodney Yee videos, and Wanderlust TV's 21 days of yoga which can be streamed online for about $30 for full access anytime you want)
2) Weight aerobics: I love The Firm and all of their videos but their original ones from the 90's are by far the best workouts I've ever done!
3) Cardio: Cardio-dance-kickboxing fun, I have a collection of Turbo Jam and Turbo Fire DVD's from BeachBody's Chalene Johnson. Totally fun, and I can still manage it in a small space.
Building your home gym
The above workouts are just a small tasting of what's out there. I highly recommend visiting www.collagevideo.com to checkout a variety of workout videos. See what you like - what looks like fun and what you would be interested in doing. Based on what which workouts you want to add to your collection, you can start thinking about the equipment you need.
In general, start with a yoga mat. Something for you to work on, or stretch on. Any mat will do, though I'm in love with "The Mat" from Lululemon as it provides extra grip support and doesn't slip.
If you want to include yoga, invest in yoga blocks. These by far are my favourite accessories. They can help with posture and support, even with just sitting on the ground.
Beyond that, work up slowly with anything. Always start a new workout without any weights at all. Just go through the motions and get used to the new routine. Then work up in weight. Start with 1-3lbs. In the picture above, I have a set of 1 lb hand weights (pink), 3lb dumbbells (black), 5lb dumbbells (green), 7lb dumbbells (silver and pink), and 2lb ankle weights that used to belong to my mom.
The nice thing is that you don't need to buy 3-5 sets of dumbbells all at the start. For most beginners I suggest picking one super light hand weight (1-2 lbs) and one slightly heavier dumbbell (3-5lbs), depending on your physical strength and condition. That's really all you need to start. For a lot of videos and workouts, you might not need any weights at all.
To make things even more affordable, focus solely on body-weight exercises, (or hook up a TRX system). These don't require any hand weights at all, just your own body and your own strength. The goal is to find a routine that you love to do. That way, exercise isn't a chore, it's a part of your daily body maintenance, a fun activity, and part of your everyday life.
The issue is that many people will argue that it's too tough to have a "home gym". They don't have enough space, or they can't afford big machines. The truth is that a home gym is what you make of it, and it can be so much more simple!
My own personal home gym is actually my living room. While in my undergrad, it consisted of a 3'x6' space between my bed and the wall where my yoga mat would fit. During my grad studies, it was my basement: a huge open space with a cold, tiled floor, and no furnishings. Just a makeshift table that my laptop sat on and oodles of basement space to do some kickboxing videos or animal flow.
Now, in my very own house, I transform my living room into a home gym. It's more affordable than you think and the only "set up" is moving the coffee table out of the way and rolling out my yoga mat:
1) Yoga (P90X yoga, a few Rodney Yee videos, and Wanderlust TV's 21 days of yoga which can be streamed online for about $30 for full access anytime you want)
2) Weight aerobics: I love The Firm and all of their videos but their original ones from the 90's are by far the best workouts I've ever done!
3) Cardio: Cardio-dance-kickboxing fun, I have a collection of Turbo Jam and Turbo Fire DVD's from BeachBody's Chalene Johnson. Totally fun, and I can still manage it in a small space.
Building your home gym
The above workouts are just a small tasting of what's out there. I highly recommend visiting www.collagevideo.com to checkout a variety of workout videos. See what you like - what looks like fun and what you would be interested in doing. Based on what which workouts you want to add to your collection, you can start thinking about the equipment you need.
In general, start with a yoga mat. Something for you to work on, or stretch on. Any mat will do, though I'm in love with "The Mat" from Lululemon as it provides extra grip support and doesn't slip.
If you want to include yoga, invest in yoga blocks. These by far are my favourite accessories. They can help with posture and support, even with just sitting on the ground.
Beyond that, work up slowly with anything. Always start a new workout without any weights at all. Just go through the motions and get used to the new routine. Then work up in weight. Start with 1-3lbs. In the picture above, I have a set of 1 lb hand weights (pink), 3lb dumbbells (black), 5lb dumbbells (green), 7lb dumbbells (silver and pink), and 2lb ankle weights that used to belong to my mom.
The nice thing is that you don't need to buy 3-5 sets of dumbbells all at the start. For most beginners I suggest picking one super light hand weight (1-2 lbs) and one slightly heavier dumbbell (3-5lbs), depending on your physical strength and condition. That's really all you need to start. For a lot of videos and workouts, you might not need any weights at all.
To make things even more affordable, focus solely on body-weight exercises, (or hook up a TRX system). These don't require any hand weights at all, just your own body and your own strength. The goal is to find a routine that you love to do. That way, exercise isn't a chore, it's a part of your daily body maintenance, a fun activity, and part of your everyday life.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
How to have your best and easiest bowel movement
Most of us can agree that there is something awesome about having a really great bowel movement. Yes, we as naturopathic doctors love talking about and analyzing bowel movements. We get so much information on how the body and digestive system are working, simply by looking at poop.
So today I'm telling you that you can have an awesome bowel movement and it simply involves changing your body mechanics. We can't change our toilets; they're situated at a fixed height. What I'm teaching you today is how to change your body position for the best and easiest bowel movement.
What's this big secret? Well, not a secret at all. Our bodies were designed for it, but we simply stopped practicing it: The full squat.
The squat is an amazing position that our bodies were designed to do. I don't think I realized how big of a difference it would make until I did a little back-country camping on unofficial camping sites - meaning, no thunder boxes. You had no choice but to take a little shovel with you and squat in the woods. I managed to find an area with a huge root of some sort coming out of the ground, much like the squat bars women find in hospital delivery rooms for birthing. In this position, you are giving your body the most favourable position for elimination.
Sitting with your knees at a 90-degree angle can actually work against you by "pinching" off or restricting passage through a section of the colon. It's another reason why the squat position is favourable for birthing; you're creating the most favourable position (smooth muscles, ligaments, general pelvic floor) for elimination.
How do you do it?
Easy: Take a step stool (like the Rubbermaid ones we all have in our homes) and place it in front of your toilet. Alternatively, you can purchase a Squatty Potty that has a slightly better design. Step up on the stool and using support as necessary (some of us are not used to squatting that deeply), lower your pelvis (sans pants) to the toilet. Knees should be nice and bent and you should feel a lessening of pressure in your pelvis (this is part of the magic).
What will you notice?
1) Less straining. That poop will leave your body without a fight. Just a smooth train out of your body and into the bowl.
2) This also means less chance of getting hemorrhoids, less chance of fissures and of bleeding.
3) You will likely poop faster because there is less resistance.
4) You should feel like your bowels have been evacuated. Sometimes we feel like we just didn't get everything out. Well, this will decrease that likelihood.
This form of elimination is also quite helpful for people who suffer from constipation and hemorrhoids, as you're decreasing the internal pressure from fecal matter. Try it out. You have nothing to lose, other than poop, just be mindful of your body and make sure that you're lowering and lifting your body on the stool safely. No one wants to get injured while on the toilet.
Happy pooping!
So today I'm telling you that you can have an awesome bowel movement and it simply involves changing your body mechanics. We can't change our toilets; they're situated at a fixed height. What I'm teaching you today is how to change your body position for the best and easiest bowel movement.
What's this big secret? Well, not a secret at all. Our bodies were designed for it, but we simply stopped practicing it: The full squat.
The squat is an amazing position that our bodies were designed to do. I don't think I realized how big of a difference it would make until I did a little back-country camping on unofficial camping sites - meaning, no thunder boxes. You had no choice but to take a little shovel with you and squat in the woods. I managed to find an area with a huge root of some sort coming out of the ground, much like the squat bars women find in hospital delivery rooms for birthing. In this position, you are giving your body the most favourable position for elimination.
Sitting with your knees at a 90-degree angle can actually work against you by "pinching" off or restricting passage through a section of the colon. It's another reason why the squat position is favourable for birthing; you're creating the most favourable position (smooth muscles, ligaments, general pelvic floor) for elimination.
 |
| From: Squattypotty.com |
How do you do it?
Easy: Take a step stool (like the Rubbermaid ones we all have in our homes) and place it in front of your toilet. Alternatively, you can purchase a Squatty Potty that has a slightly better design. Step up on the stool and using support as necessary (some of us are not used to squatting that deeply), lower your pelvis (sans pants) to the toilet. Knees should be nice and bent and you should feel a lessening of pressure in your pelvis (this is part of the magic).
What will you notice?
1) Less straining. That poop will leave your body without a fight. Just a smooth train out of your body and into the bowl.
2) This also means less chance of getting hemorrhoids, less chance of fissures and of bleeding.
3) You will likely poop faster because there is less resistance.
4) You should feel like your bowels have been evacuated. Sometimes we feel like we just didn't get everything out. Well, this will decrease that likelihood.
This form of elimination is also quite helpful for people who suffer from constipation and hemorrhoids, as you're decreasing the internal pressure from fecal matter. Try it out. You have nothing to lose, other than poop, just be mindful of your body and make sure that you're lowering and lifting your body on the stool safely. No one wants to get injured while on the toilet.
Happy pooping!
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