By: Mike Staszak Shoulder impingement is the pinching of one of your rotator cuff tendons (most commonly supraspinatus) against a bone called the acromion process when certain movements are performed such as reaching overhead and behind the back. In a normal, healthy shoulder the supraspinatus tendon has plenty of room to move freely without getting pinched when you perform shoulder motions and activities. In rare occasions some people have a congenitally larger acromion process which causes a higher likelihood for shoulder impingement. In most cases, however, shoulder impingement is brought on over time by poor shoulder mechanics and posture, weak shoulder stabilizer muscles, and muscle tightness around the shoulder. What can be done to improve shoulder impingement? The first step to correcting shoulder impingement is improving one's posture. Forward shoulder posture puts the shoulder in more of an impingement position by narrowing the joint space where the rotator cuff tendon is, thus increasing the likelihood for it to get pinched on the acromion process with certain shoulder movements. Next, we need to work on loosening up all of the tight soft tissue around the shoulder; the pectorals, upper trapezius, lat, and the posterior rotator cuff muscles that pull the shoulder forward into an impingement position if they aren’t flexible. This can be achieved both with manual therapy applied by a physical therapist and by the person stretching the tight muscles around their shoulder. Corrective Exercises > The last piece involves shoulder blade and rotator cuff muscle strengthening, but it's critical to do this with your shoulder in the correct position. This is not as easy as it sounds; there are many small muscles that must work together in a coordinated manner to move the shoulder joint without pinching any of the tendons running through the joint space. The specificity in which you do these exercises is critical; if you're not doing them correctly it can actually compound the problem. No pain, no gain is not an adage to work by when addressing shoulder impingement. -- The best plan if you have shoulder or upper arm pain is to see a physical therapist for help. Sometimes trying to work it out on your own can make the problem worse. About Mike Staszak Michael Staszak has been an outpatient orthopedic physical therapist for the past 27 years. He is the owner of Staszak Physical Therapy & Wellness Center in Eugene. He and his staff believe that the more people understand how their bodies work and learn proper body mechanics, the less likely they are to become injured again. With this commitment to patient education, Michael provides wellness articles and presentations for businesses and community members. Photos from SportNova UK, MayoClinic
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The Spine: What it is & Why it's Important The word spine typically refers to both the vertebral column and the spinal cord. The spinal cord starts at the base of the brain and runs through the vertebral column, a flexible pillar of approximately 33 bones that houses the spinal cord for protection. Approximately because some lower vertebrae can fuse together over time. This column encases the spinal cord, a nerve network containing 31 nerve pairs that send information to initiate movement and action and receive stimuli to react and respond in the world. The spinal cord floats in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), a unique water-based conductive liquid that envelopes and protects it. The spine is the most important structure in the body because we can't move without it and all major functions are done through it. The nerves that run through it and to the rest of the body are critically important for motor function and recruitment, and without that, we are immobilized. When you think about it, you can't do anything without a functional and healthy spine. Bending over, twisting, reaching, and leaning all require some degree of spinal flexion, extension, rotation, or lateral flexion. CNS & PNS: The Body's Orchestra The central nervous system is the conductor to the orchestra that is the complex collection of nerve networks, neurons, and all other major and minor bodily functions that make life happen. It primarily resides in the spinal column, where it then branches out into the peripheral nervous system, the portion of the nervous system that enacts movement and receives environmental stimuli for response and reactions. If the CNS is the conductor, the PNS is the band where the neurons listen and make the music. Thirty one pairs of nerves stem from the spine, starting at the cranial and cervical nerves running all the way down this nervous superhighway to the lumbar and sacral nerves. This complex and deeply interwoven series of nerves is critical to proper functioning of any kind; this is why neurodegenerative and neurological diseases are so pernicious. Any damage done to the spine can be life altering forever. Common Postural Distortions Major institutions, such as Stanford Health, are going as far to say that "sitting is the new smoking." Why? Because a sitting lifestyle is a sedentary lifestyle; a sedentary lifestyle is an unhealthy lifestyle. Imagine this all-too-common scenario: A man wakes up for the day. He gets his coffee and sits to check his emails. After that, he sits in his car to go to work. When he gets to work, he sits at his desk. Maybe he'll go out for lunch and sit with friends. When he gets home he sits at the couch for some TV time and/or at at the table for dinner. Sitting won't literally kill you--but sitting 50+ hours a week, every week of the month, every month of the year might. Worse yet is the postural distortions that occur from this. The spine has three natural curves to it, called the cervical, kyphotic, and lordotic. We'll skip the latin, but basically these are the natural curves that give the spine that S shape. When these curves get too severe, though, postural distortions occur, like kyphosis and lordosis. These can worsen over time if uncorrected. Kyphosis, Lordosis, Upper & Lower Crossed Syndrome Let's go back to our sitting man. This man who sits (and doesn't sign up at Evolve Fit Studios) will eventually develop kyphosis, an over-curving of the spine. This will lead to upper crossed syndrome, or the shortening of anterior (front) muscles, which can lead to a host of issues including but not limited to shoulder pain or impingement, a tight or stiff neck, and back pain. If not corrected and he goes to lift something heavy without right mechanics, he can throw out his back and have problems for a lifetime. Don't be the sitting man. Lordosis, on the other hand, can be considered the inverse. Again, sitting will exacerbate this natural curve. Prolonged sitting will lead to inactive glutes, making them weak, which the body will compensate for in other ways. This might create tight quads, pulling down the pelvis and making that lower lordotic curve more severe, leading to pinched nerves, back pain, hip pain and more. So get up and move! Technique & Lifestyle > This sitting man is an extreme example to illustrate a point. A healthy lifestyle with walking, cardio, and a functional fitness program (created by a stellar trainer at Evolve) will combat the worst of these harms. The most important thing to keep in mind is movement often and to exercise the full range of your body's abilities. The old adage, "if you don't use it, you lose it" is a very real maxim when it comes to the body. Engage your core properly, hire a trainer if you're not confident in your technique, and don't skip out on your workouts. Our body was built to move and move well, so get out there and move some dumbbells! (properly ;) ps: lots of clean water with electrolytes will keep that CSF lubricated and conductive for a right functioning CNS for all your days tasks, cognitive, movement, or otherwise. -- I hope this brief piece on spine health taught you something you didn't know about the spine and how important it is to move often and properly. Taking care of our spine is the most important thing we can do when engaging in lifting of any kind. By: Benjamin Cole Building an effective fitness program is no easy feat. Everyone's body is highly unique and is a special blend of height, weight, metabolism, and ability, with no one being the exact same. Pretty amazing when you consider there are nearly 8 billion of us! That said, in this piece I'm going to outline the next critical components of building an effective fitness program for you. Be sure to read the previous post first. (Did I mention that you can come in for group fitness or hire a trainer @ Evolve Fitness Studios? ;) Visions->Dreams->Goals->Steps->Action I left off at picking your goals in the first part of this blog series. Here's a post from our Instagram that will set the stage for this portion that outlines well what I want to discuss: It's not enough to have goals when building a program. Goals disconnected from a vision are nothing more than 'things to do'--and in the modern world we all have plenty to do nowadays. You want to leg press 8 plates. Why? Because you saw someone on social media do it, or because it's a part of a vision you hold of becoming an Olympic athlete or trophy-recognized bodybuilder? Have a definite vision.
If you look at any championship bodybuilder page you'll quickly see that they echo a similar tune: have a vision and break it down into steps. The post above goes a bit further in that visions are broader than dreams, with dreams below visions. The point here is if your goals aren't connected to a higher ideal, semantics of visions vs. dreams aside, you will quickly lose steam in pursuing their achievement. As an example, let's say you are a father and want to play with your kids more who are very active and like hiking, but because of the sedentary nature of your work you just don't have the gas to do so. Playing with your kids for personal fulfillment is a dream; getting fit enough to do so is a goal. Do you see? Define a vision or dream and your goals should become apparent. From there, break them down and go after it day by day. If the vision is sharp and grand enough, nothing will stop you from achieving it. Make the program multi-modal. Uh-oh, fancy word alert! Multi-modal = multiple modalities; more than one type of exercise. Many novice lifters or 'fitness folks' get hyper-focused on one aspect of their physique or fitness they want to achieve. At times that's necessary, especially if it's a part of your sport or stage-ready physique. But for the general population--that's most of us :)--we want to have a balanced program with different modalities. If you only bench press or squat with a barbell, there's a high chance that you'll develop a muscular imbalance because we all favor a dominant side. So programming in dumbbell days during the week will help you keep a balanced physique, as dumbbells require the body to work in an unstable movement plane. You could go as far as to program exercises in the same workout that are barbell-dumbbell-bodyweight. The point is mix it up but don't get too crazy. The body likes structure--just enough. Another component here is getting fixated on just hypertrophy or strength training, or just yoga and stretching. If we focus too much on one aspect of our body's abilities it often comes at the detriment of other abilities. Again, if that's what's necessitated by your sport or lifestyle, that's alright. But if you're like most of us, you're going to want to incorporate a mixture of strength training and stretching. Arnold once talked about some bodybuilders becoming muscle-bound, in that they were too focused on building the muscles and working them (contraction/concentric) and not enough relaxing or stretching them (lengthen/eccentric). The balance of the different ways our bodies can move will help you feel more balanced in your life. Having a balance of weights, cardio, and yoga will create a resilient body and mind. You are creating stress. Are you ready? I stress this point--pun certainly intended--because it's so important. At this point in reading this series you have all the keys to building an effective fitness program. Now, it's up to you to follow through. By engaging in any fitness program you are intentionally putting stress on the body. You create this stress on the body because you are expecting it to adapt to that stress. This is what the body does regardless if you realize what stress you're putting it through; the human body is an adaptation machine. You have to commit. You've figured out where a program will fit into your life; you're ready to up your daily energy input and output; you have a clear vision and have broken it down into steps. Just do it. Or, you could simplify all this a great deal and join us at Evolve Fitness Studios for our weekly group fitness classes, or if you fancy, hire a personal trainer or PT to help you define a vision and goals :) -- Ideally, this short series gave you all the components needed to know where you are and where you want to go and what you need to do to get 'there.' If you found this helpful or informative, please share it, as there is a plethora of misinformation surrounding the fitness industry and many people in need of quality content. If you think this is quality content, please do share and be sure to read next week's post. About Benjamin Cole Benjamin is a multimedia freelancer and health and wellness practitioner. He has been training the mind and body for nearly a decade and writes and speaks regularly about the benefits through various channels and pages. Through his work he hopes to inform people on how they connect to their inner guidance and higher self so that they may live more illuminated and inspired lives. By: Benjamin Cole
There are countless fitness programs, promotions, and plans out there that someone could spend an eternity scouring the internet for the 'right' one but actually end up worse off than they started because it wasn't the right one for that person. We all have highly individual needs, bodily dynamics, and morphology, and finding or building the proper fitness program depends on who you are, what you do, and fundamentally, what you want. Join me today as I lay out what you need to know fundamentally. In this post I'm going to outline the base elements for building an effective fitness program. This isn't going to give you a bro-split, push-pull-legs, or a program at all. Rather, I'm going to outline the basic principles that go into building a program so that you can build your own with them. From there, it's plug-and-play, because the internet and YouTube abound with exercises and splits. (Or you could hire a PT or trainer @ Evolve Fitness Studios ;) What do you do? First and foremost, what do you do? Why do you want to 'get fit,' and what does that look like to you? Is it six-pack abs or a 315lb deadlift? Is it being able to run a 5k? Does going for your fitness goal complement or interfere with your day-to-day lifestyle and work? These are all questions that need to be answered if you are to find or build the right program for your lifestyle. As an example, it's not necessarily a good idea to put yourself on a diet cut in combination with your new fitness routine if your work is cognitively demanding or requires you to be aware for the safety of others. Coming into a job where you have to be your best while you're not just depleted calorically but physically exhausted too puts you at a high risk for injury and endangers you and potentially others. This is why you should consider what you do daily before hopping into a new program--you want your program to complement, not detriment, your lifestyle. Do you walk a lot for your job? Then considering low-intensity, long-duration cardio split throughout the week would be a great way to complement your work; the extra cardio makes your day-to-day easier, not harder. HIIT would be helpful too. Another example would be if your job requires you to sit a great deal. Perhaps the most common postural distortion personal trainers and PTs see is upper crossed syndrome, which is a physical condition of the shoulders rounding, upper thoracic spine overly curved, causing pinched nerves and tight front (anterior) muscles. This occurs because the body forms itself to its most common positions. So you wouldn't want to get right into a radical push-based program that 'maximizes your bench' because you would be causing more harm than good. You'd want to build a program exemplifies pulling motions to combat the shortened muscles you have from your daily sitting posture. This way, when you get into work, having worked pull muscles the day previous, your body is more balanced. Is it energy efficient? What's your typical energy intake/output? At first, it sounds great. "I'm gonna get shredded or massive this month with my new program," you think. Then, come week two, after your 4th workout of the week and 12th chicken breast that's three days old and dry as the Mojave, you start to lose steam. Why? Because your body hasn't yet adapted to the new energy input and output. The body has its own economy of energy allocation and production. Engaging in a new fitness routine has multiple facets: new recovery demands placed on your entire system; more macros to digest to fuel you and build damaged muscles, which requires calorie burn itself; more, deeper sleep to rebuild; nervous system recalibration to account for foreign movement. All of these factors take a tremendous toll on the body and mind if the program isn't tailored right to you and your needs. If you go too fast too soon you'll burn out and likely want to quit. Don't do that. Consistency > Instead, take into consideration, again, what you do daily. Does the program complement that? Great. Is it adding undue complexity to your life and making you stressed because you 'missed a day'? Not great. Create a program that seamlessly--if you can--melds into your daily life so feel energized going into it, coming out of it, and genuinely look forward to it, and don't beat yourself up if you miss. It's the rest days that we're really building, so don't be afraid to take an extra to rest to come back stronger the next. What are you goals? This would've been the first point in most fitness blogs--where do you want to be in 8 weeks? How would that feel? Do you want to look good, be strong, lose weight, or all three? This is important, but only once you know how you want a program to fit into your life, and not make your life fit the program, can you nail down some hard goals. Don't be afraid to aim high, because the human body is highly adaptable and resilient. If you really go for it but don't hit that high goal, say, squatting 315, you'll still be stronger than you started. You will be surprised how quickly the body forms itself to your goals. So really go for it! Be ready to commit. Perhaps the most disappointing moment for a PT or trainer is when their client gives in, doesn't show up, or quits. We get it--a new program can be demanding, forcing us to adapt and elevate our mindset to meet the demands of an arduous program. But you have to know that adaption occurs when it gets hard. If you aren't ready to face the demands that come with an engaging and formidable program, then you might as well not start. If you want to excel in life and elevate, as we do at Evolve Fitness Studios, then you have to be able to show up consistently for yourself, day in and day out. And that includes days off! -- I hope this brief piece on the building blocks of creating or finding a program help you. To reiterate, this is intended to show you what you should take into consideration before choosing or creating a fitness program. There are many fads out there trying to sell you a whole-lotta-nothing, but if you're clear on these basic principles it will be easy to find or create the right program to help you evolve. About Benjamin Cole Benjamin is a multimedia freelancer and health and wellness practitioner. He has been training the mind and body for nearly a decade and writes and speaks regularly about the benefits through various channels and pages. Through his work he hopes to inform people on how they connect to their inner guidance and higher self so that they may live more illuminated and inspired lives. By: Mike Staszak PT One aspect of starting a workout regimen that people dread is the soreness that comes with it. The day after a workout can be tough for even the most dedicated gym-goers. It is important to recognize the difference between soreness and a sports-related injury. Soreness Soreness is very common and naturally occurring caused by muscles stretching and being stressed during a workout. Typically, you will notice the first signs of soreness either the night of or the morning after your workout. With soreness you may have tenderness and stiffness in the muscles that you used at the gym. To treat soreness light activity and stretching that keeps you moving but doesn’t cause extra stress to the impacted muscle groups is recommended. Normal activity should not be restricted from this type of soreness. Injury Unlike soreness, an injury will typically show itself as a sharp stabbing pain. If this occurs, it is time to see a Physical Therapist. Sometimes though, an injury is not as obvious and can disguise itself as common soreness. The difference between an injury and soreness is the length of recovery. Soreness should only last a few days and anything longer than that could potentially be a sign of underlying injury. If movement is hindered and and the soreness lasts longer than expected, it is time to make an appointment to let a professional determine what is causing your pain. Physical Therapy Physical therapy can help in both treating an injury and preventing injuries from occurring in the first place. Before you begin a workout regime consult a physical therapist to determine what your body can handle and to learn proper techniques when working out. If an injury occurs a physical therapist can create an individualized workout plan to get you back to full strength and back in the gym. -- For more information about the differences between soreness and injury and how physical therapy can help with these problems call us at 541-505-8180. At Staszak Physical Therapy & Wellness Center, our professional staff want to help you reach your full potential. We will focus on you and your individual situation to create a plan that will help you achieve your goals. About Mike Staszak Michael Staszak has been an outpatient orthopedic physical therapist for the past 27 years. He is the owner of Staszak Physical Therapy & Wellness Center in Eugene. He and his staff believe that the more people understand how their bodies work and learn proper body mechanics, the less likely they are to become injured again. With this commitment to patient education, Michael provides wellness articles and presentations for businesses and community members. Photos From Healthline, NBC News By: Benjamin Cole What does it mean to be mentally fit? Is it one in the same as physically fit? Do they build upon each other, does one build the other, or is one needed to first to build the other? In this short piece we are going to explore what it means to have mental fortitude and how your fitness journey is a crucial step. What is mental fortitude? From Latin, fortis "strong, mighty; firm, steadfast; brave, spirited," mental fortitude is a skill that can be honed every day with small tasks that build upon the previous day. Synonymous with mental fitness, to have mental fortitude means that one is able to persevere through struggle, stress, or duress despite the current moment's want to quit--emphasis on the want. Just because our body or brain wants to quit doesn't mean we have to or will; this is fortitude--to be able to overpower our body and brain's want to quit using our mind. Overcoming regular struggle is the best way to build this mental ability. How do I build mental fortitude? One of the best ways one can engage in building their mental toughness is by engaging in regular, vigorous exercise. In intense physical exercise we experience moments of the want to quit. Our lungs burn, our legs shake, our noses run and eyes water. "When will it end?" we think. Thoughts like "Maybe I should stop here," or "I'll save that rep for next time" begin to creep into our mind trying to stop us from going further. But it is precisely this moment in which we can decide to continue, where using our mind we elevate above the body and brain's want to quit and decide to persevere through the moment's struggle. It's these split second decisions to continue that show us our true grit, our real ability. This is what builds mental fortitude. It's moments like this that build our ability to overcome struggle of all kinds, not just in the gym. The gym becomes the sandbox for building our mental fitness as well as physical fitness. How does this carry over to my life? Many people will go to the gym for the bodily benefits. And with good reason, as our body is what will carry us through life and a healthy body is one of the most valuable investments we can make. But it's often an overlooked facet of working out that we are simultaneously building the mind. It's the day in and day out routine of the repetitions of weightlifting or cardio, of deliberately activating your core in a pilates flow, of prepping and cooking the same meals for macros that a build a strong, capable and hard mind. The carryovers from this to everyday life are abundant and there is truly no limit to what this can do. This mental fortitude carries over to our studies, to our work, and to even our family life. Wherever it is that we need to be mentally stronger there is carryover; the gym is just a proving ground. Are there other ways I can build mental fortitude? Absolutely. Meditation is a great way to build mental strength and resilience. The very act of sitting still has become a near impossible task for many in today's hyper-stimulated digital environment. The ability to let go of our phones and digital media for extended periods of time is an act of building mental fortitude. The act of fasting is a way to show ourselves that we can use our mind and not be used by it. Taking cold showers, forgoing our favorite foods or snacks, and even reading a book are all ways to build mental fortitude. The point is doing something hard, doing something beyond what we think we can. It's going beyond our perceived limits that shows us just how strong our mind's really are. --- Opportunities to build our mental fortitude abound. Evolve Fitness Studios is a place where we teach mental fortitude and show you how you can elevate above what you thought you were capable of by empowering you to excel in every workout, every time. Join us this week in one of our group classes! About Benjamin Cole Benjamin is a multimedia freelancer and health and wellness practitioner. He has been training the mind and body for nearly a decade and writes and speaks regularly about the benefits through various channels and pages. Through his work he hopes to inform people on how they connect to their inner guidance and higher self so that they may live more illuminated and inspired lives. By: Benjamin Cole In this week's blog we are going to dive deep into what is a mind-body practice, examples of such, and the primary benefits of doing it regularly. Be sure to check out this week's corresponding Instagram post that covers three main points from why you should be engaged in some kind of mind-body practice. What is a Mind-Body Practice? Definitions from a brief internet search of the term "mind-body practice" provides a loose and vague definition of what it is and alludes that one needs a teacher or practitioner to show them. While a teacher is always beneficial, anybody can engage in a mind-body practice today. However, if one is to receive the full benefits of the practice of their choosing a teacher or practitioner is recommended. A mind-body practice is one that, unlike traditional seated meditation or regular exercise, is a mindful way of unifying the body, mind, and breath in some form of unified harmonious movement. Yoga, Pilates, Reki, Qigong, and Tai-chi are forms of potent and remarkably powerful forms of mind-body practices. They allow you to move your body with intention, be mindful of your breathing, and breathe in and through the movements prescribed by the practice. Each has a slightly different flow and set of principles that underlay it, but fundamentally the goals are the same: harmony in movement, mindfulness, resilience, and ease of stress or tension. It's important to note that exercise like weightlifting or cardio can 'technically' be considered a mind-body practice because the body and mind are working together to achieve wellness. However, there is a disconnect between that and the practices mentioned here. These are typically done with the goal in mind of easing tension, generating healing bodily energy, and harmonizing subtle energy systems in the body. What are some of the benefits? Benefits of mind-body practices are wide ranging and abundant. Many people report feeling lighter, calmer, more aware or focused, and in some cases even healing injuries, their mental health, and altering or ending behavioral addictions. Major institutions are now recognizing mind-practices as a legitimate way to offset health issues like high blood pressure, insomnia, and anxiety. Moreover, practices like this show you how to ease the mind and unify the breath with the movement of the body. Often we don't realize how our movements don't synchronize with our breath and much of our stress comes from poor breathing patterns and postural distortions. These practices seek to correct this by creating a space every day or every week where we mindfully harmonize all these factors. One benefit that's overlooked is nervous system sensitivity. Many practitioners report being able to feel their body and their senses in a heightened fashion they weren't previously able to tap into. Things like intuition, gut feelings, and subtle knowings are all amplified with dedicated and consistent practice. Lastly, by engaging in the practice of your choosing, you will likely achieve a very relaxed state that brings your brain into low brainwave states like alpha and even delta. These states have been shown to increase the 'bridge' between the subconscious and conscious mind, allowing practitioners information that may be helpful to their own or others healing. What practice should I choose? The mind-body practice you choose is going to personally rooted in what resonates with you and what values of the system aeew. As said, the fundamental goals are the same; what differs is what the practices teach as its underlaying value system. For example, yoga's fundamentals are good posture, right breathing, and mindful mantra with meditation. The system itself is actually deeper than that: yoga is ancient Hindu practice that doubles as belief system with a lush, rich history steeped in tradition and culture. Yoga loosely means in Sanskrit 'to join' or 'to unite.' You are uniting the energy systems of the body. Many feel called to the practice just for the connection to the culture and some find themselves falling in love with yoga through the culture. Qigong is similar in that in has a deep-rooted philosophy underpinning the principles it provides for practitioners. It teaches that human beings are the sacred bridge between earth and sky and that the practice itself is a way to unify the body, mind, and spirit to the energy of the earth and cosmos. Both practices are to achieve the same aim: wellness, harmony, and ease of living. What practice you choose is up to you and what you draw to yourself. Oftentimes practitioners report that their practice "chose them." Maybe that'll be the case for you! Set your intention and you will find the right fit. -- Mind-body practices have a rich history in many ancient cultures and this short piece is intended to show you some of the benefits and how you might be able to choose the right one for you. I hope this piece opened you to what's possible by harmonizing the body and mind and gave you some direction in what practice to choose. And remember, all too often, it's the practice that chooses you! About Benjamin Cole Benjamin is a multimedia freelancer and health and wellness practitioner. He has been training the mind and body for nearly a decade and writes and speaks regularly about the benefits through various channels and pages. Through his work he hopes to inform people on how they connect to their inner guidance and higher self so that they may live more illuminated and inspired lives. By: Mike Staszak, PT
Fasting and intermittent fasting (IF) have been around for a long time for weight loss and have shown to aid in lowering blood pressure, cholesterol, and improvement in blood glucose and insulin levels. Studies in humans, almost across the board, have shown that IF is safe and incredibly effective. However, many people find it difficult to fast. A growing body of research suggests that the timing of the fast is key, and can make IF a more realistic, sustainable, and effective approach for weight loss, as well as a number of other health-related benefits. Extensive research has been done on animals so far with a more limited amount of human trials, but all of the resulting information points to definite health benefits. Human trials show definitive weight loss, with a loss of body fat, but no loss of lean body mass. Preliminary studies show a reduction of inflammatory markers, leading to a general decrease in inflammation and a reduction in digestive inflammation, equating to improved digestive health and a stronger immune system. It has also been shown to help with reduced fatigue, improved focus, increased stress resistance, type 2 diabetes, and potentially with autoimmune disorders and even preventing cancer. So how do we make something that seems so extreme work in our lives? There are several different types of fasting protocols, from long-duration fasts, fasting for 24 hours every other day to reducing the hours of eating on a daily basis. I recommend a type of IF called time-restricted eating. This involves basically increasing your nightly fasting period, eliminating nighttime snacks, and eating your dinner earlier. Eating dinner by 5:00 p.m. will make it easy to go 12-14 hours without eating. Another positive aspect of this that recent research has revealed is that if you do this five days per week there is no reduction in the positive benefits, allowing us to have two days per week that we can shorten the fasting period. Additionally, animal research shows another potential positive effect of IF is living longer. Mice that have gone through time-restricted eating protocols have lived 15% longer, but we have not yet done human trials long enough to quantify these types of results for us. The preliminary research, however, is encouraging. The health benefits of the time-restricted eating are unmistakable if you can make it work in your life. One of the big concerns of a lot of people is being hungry, but once you start, it will only take a couple of days before you will not have those hunger cravings later in the evening. Remember, even when committing to an eating program like this you still need to make healthy food choices. Oh, yeah, and don’t forget about adequate hydration. Drinking lots of water is imperative to a healthy lifestyle and while intermittent fasting. About Mike Staszak Michael Staszak has been an outpatient orthopedic physical therapist for the past 27 years. He is the owner of Staszak Physical Therapy & Wellness Center in Eugene. He and his staff believe that the more people understand about how their bodies work and learn proper body mechanics, the less likely they are to become injured again. With this commitment to patient education, Michael provides wellness articles and presentations for businesses and community members. He also has a passion for nutrition and how it affects our physical health. By: Mike Staszak PT
Sleep deficiency is a common public health problem in the United States. People in all age groups report not getting enough sleep. An estimated 50 to 70 million Americans have chronic (ongoing) sleep disorders. Insomnia is estimated to affect 30 million people in the United States. Inadequate and poor quality sleep are risk factors for impaired cognitive performance, accidents, chronic disease, and even mortality. The average adult needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep tonight, on average we need a little less sleep as we age. Common Sleep disorders Insomnia This is when someone can’t fall asleep or wakes in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep. Suggested treatment is behavior modification, possible sleep aids. Daytime Sleepiness Sleeping during the day or at unexpected times is sometimes diagnosed as Daytime Sleepiness. Suggested treatment is behavior modification. Sleep Apnea Sleep Apnea is described as breathing in interrupted while you sleep. A recommendation is to consult a sleep specialist. Circadian Rhythm Disorder Shift workers are primarily affected due to working abnormal hours. Recommended to modify your sleep area, including black-out curtains and possible earplugs to improve daytime sleep as much as possible. Restless Leg Syndrome This affects 5-10% of the adult population. Recommendations are to eliminate evening alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco, moderate-intensity exercise before evening, stress reduction, and getting a massage. Obstructive airway Oftentimes people with this problem are overweight or have a thicker than the normal neck. Weight loss, exercise, and limiting alcohol can often be helpful. Sleep and health Research has shown a strong correlation to increase risk of multiple diseases in people with sleep-related disorders. Including, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, atrial fabulation, stroke, diabetes, immune system suppression, pain, and arthritis, increased inflammatory markers, cancer, chronic kidney disease, mood disorders, depression, and increased mortality. Additionally, the shorter length of time someone sleeps the greater risk of obesity and mental health disorders and have shown improved outcomes when addressing sleep disorders. Positive effects of getting adequate sleep Sleep is said to be the golden chain that ties health together in our bodies. It replenishes the body, helps with healing, and increases energy. Behaviors and Habits that Impair Sleep Quality
Things to do to improve sleep
Exercise
Things to do as relaxation techniques
Nutrition
About Mike Staszak Michael Staszak has been an outpatient orthopedic physical therapist for the past 27 years. He is the owner of Staszak Physical Therapy & Wellness Center in Eugene. He and his staff believe that the more people understand how their bodies work and learn proper body mechanics, the less likely they are to become injured again. With this commitment to patient education, Michael provides wellness articles and presentations for businesses and community members. Photos from MedicalNewsToday, Newsmeter By: Mike Staszak, PT What are your core muscles? When you hear people talk about the "core muscles" do you know what they are talking about? In simple terms, your core muscles are your deeper muscles groups. This means you can think of your deeper hip muscles, lower abdominal muscles (not your six-pack abdominals), pelvic floor, and scapular muscles as your core. Your core is where your power is generated in order to carry out any movement. While abdominal muscles do play a large role in core stability, they don’t make up the core all by themselves. What does the core do? Your core most often acts as a stabilizer and force transfer center rather than a prime mover. Yet people consistently focus on training their core as a prime mover and in isolation. This would be doing crunches or back extensions versus functional movements like deadlifts, squats, and pushups, among many other functional closed chain exercises. By training that way, not only are you missing out on a major function of the core, but also better strength gains, more efficient movement, and longevity of health. Why is it so important to have your core muscles working properly? If you have a muscle group not functioning properly other muscles will try to do their job, and they are not very good at it. For example: if your lower abdominal muscles are not functioning well your lower back or anterior hip muscles will take over, leading to compensation patterns that turn into bigger problems eventually. Similar compensatory patterns can develop in other areas as well. These are some of the biggest issues we deal with in our Physical Therapy practice on a daily basis. So, with all this in mind, it's a good idea to keep your core at the top of the "to strengthen" list. But remember, if you are not strengthening these areas correctly you could be making the problems worse. If you'd like personal help in strengthening your core, contact us today to schedule time with one of our Physical Therapists or certified personal trainers. About Mike Staszak Michael Staszak has been an outpatient orthopedic physical therapist for the past 27 years. He is the owner of Staszak Physical Therapy & Wellness Center in Eugene. He and his staff believe that the more people understand how their bodies work and learn proper body mechanics, the less likely they are to become injured again. With this commitment to patient education, Michael provides wellness articles and presentations for businesses and community members. Images from NBC News, Health Line, Men’s Health |
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