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This one is for you Dave...

The Low Pulley Row, also known as the Seated Row, is an exercise for the mid and upper parts of the back. It works the large muscles of the back, the latissimus dorsi, the trapezius, the rear portion of the shoulder (posterior deltoid), the biceps assist in the move and the forearms get a decent workout from it too.

It is another of the exercises you will often see undertaken with "bad form" in gymnasiums up and down the land, and it is once again recruitment of the lower back that is the problem. The muscles of the back really are large and powerful muscles, and so this exercise is one where you can find yourself lifting really quite heavy weights, and that is the danger, when the weights used increase, so does the potential for injury. In this exercise then, it is especially important that neutral spine is maintained.

To have the best chance of performing this exercise safely and effectively, really it is best broken down into 2 seperate parts (1) getting to the start position, and (2) performing the exercise itself.

I think in all honesty that the reason this  exercise becomes unsafe in most cases is because there is a tendency for those 2 seperate parts to be joined together, becoming one exercise involving heavy use of the lumbar (lower) region of the spine, thus placing it at risk, as Clarkson would say, LIKE THIS:

Familiar?

You really don't want your lower back to be working like that, it's just too risky. So what should we do? Well, lets start with the first part:

1. Getting into position:

Select a light weight to begin with, you can always increase it later on. In fact it is a good idea to do this with all exercises. If you only need a light weight then you've kept yourself safe from injury by not lifting too heavy, and if you need a bigger weight, then one or two light sets will serve you well as a warm up for the exercise - though not to be used as an alternative to your full warm up at the start of your session I hasten to add!

The weight stack is usually the only adjustment at the Low Pulley. If there is a bar attached to the pulley you may like to change it for the handles, this exercise is best performed with a neutral grip (palms facing eachother). Place your feet on the angled foot rests and take up a seated position where your knees are bent comfortably (less than 90°). set your back upright and take a moment to establish your neutral spine. Once you are happy with that, break from neutral to lean forwards and take a hold of the handles (it will be quite a reach), take a big breath in to prepare and upon exhaling use the strength and power of your back to return under control to an upright posture, and now re-establish your neutral spine. Your arms at this point do not move, imagine them as a rope connecting the handles to your shoulders. With neutral spine established, you are now ready to perform the row.

2. The exercise:

From the start position, breathe in again to prepare, then as you exhale (forcibly blowing through pursed lips is ideal) pull the shoulder blades in towards eachother at the same time bending the elbows, so that the handles are drawn in towards your body. The pulley rope should travel in pretty much a straight line as those handles are pulled in to your abdomen or the lower part of your chest. Your legs do not move, lock them in psition. Your lower back does not move, lock in that strong, stabilised posture. At the end of the movement (your arms will be able to go no further, just try to maximise the range of motion by really squeezing the shoulder blades together, imagine trying to make the inner edges of them meet. reverse the motion slowly and under control back to your starting position, spine still in neutral, as you inhale. Exhale and repeat for your target number of reps.

These pictures hopefully will show not only good form but also a good alternative to using a machine.

Only when you have completed your set should you pause and take a breath in, then on exhaling break out of neutral to lean forward and return the weight stack under control.

Enjoy!

Tags: Seated Row

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So what is Pilates?

This question seems to pop up often. I've been saying to people it's kind of like Yoga, but not so stretchy, using the strength of the muscles rather than the length of them. I have a more definitive answer now though....

"It's a system of exercises that, when practiced regularly, can help to improve flexibility and improve strength in the deep stabilising muscles of the spine".

From my own personal experiences of doing it, I have reaped many rewards - improved posture, less back ache, clunking clicking aching bits all over my body don't do that any more, huge improvement in my core strength, and my running is much better for it (posture endures better, stronger at the end of races, hip flexors no longer a weak link, better control of my breathing), it's almost better for my my running than running is!

Joseph Pilates himself was a very sickly child with rheumatoid arthritis, rickets, and all sorts of stuff, he couldn't play out like all the other kids, his body just didn't function well enough to permit normal movement. However, on the strength he gained from doing these exercises he pioneered, he overcame his ills and fought his way all the way to become a top class gymnast!!

This stuff works!!!

So, I'd like to share with you just one little snippet of what I've been learning over the weekend. It's a warm up exercise, called the Roll Down and is a fantastic mobility exercise for the spine, it will give your hamstrings a bit of a stretch too, so great for us runners! Now part of this (if you read this blog regularly) you should already know, otherwise please check the link, neutral spine. We're going to expand on that just a little bit though, as in Pilates the way we breathe is critical, and holding that mild tension (about 30%) in the abdominal belt and the pelvic floor will help with this, as well as creating the intra-abdominal pressure that protects the spine. So, breathe deeply in through the nose, and out through the mouth, purse your lips to help really maximise the expulsion of all that used air.

We are aiming for lateral thoracic breathing, that means the air you breathe in fills up your lungs, not your abdomen. To assist, face a mirror, and place your hands on the lower part of your ribs, outstretched middle fingers of each hand touching. maintain the 30% tension in your core stability muscles (transvers abdominals and pelvic floor we've already mentioned) and keep the shoulders down and relaxed, and as you breathe in, your fingers should be pushed apart as the air fills up your lungs, pushing your ribcage out to the sides, exhale through pursed lips and the fingers come back together, take a few breaths like this until you are happy to drop your hands to your sides, and maintain that lateral thoracic breathing pattern.

Now to roll down, as you breathe in, drop your chin towards your chest and start to let your weight drop slowly forwards. Imagine you are a sheet of wallpaper peeling off the wall, you're bum doesn't go sticking out backwards (can't, there's a wall there!), you just slowly peel off, from top to bottom, gently falling. Begin to exhale as your neck has peeled off that wall, then your shoulders, and now the rest of your spine starts to peel away, one verterbrae at a time. You are not hingeing at the hips, your spine is curling. If it helps, imagine there is a beach ball infront of you, you are slowly dropping onto it as your torso takes up the shape of that ball. Your hands hang towards the floor, like two weights gravity is slowly taking down. As you get lower, you'll start to feel your hamstrings stretching, just go as low as is comfortable for you. When you reach the bottom point of your own range of motion (doesn't matter if people around you can go further, or less far, it's about you) take a breath in and start to re-stack those vertebrae, one on top of the other, again you'll need to exhale, continue one at a time to re-stack your spine, like little building blocks, stacking back up one by one in the exact reverse order of which they came down. As you slowly draw back upright, your shoulders will come back against your imaginary wall, and the final thing will be your neck as you bring your head gently back up.

Have a quick re-check of your posture. Is your pelvic floor still at 30% tension? Are your shoulders down and relaxed? Is your abdominal belt still tightened 30%? Are your knees remaining off lock? Are your feet still parallel? Still hip width apart? If you need to make small corrections, do so.

If everything is ok, then breathe in as you drop your chin, and again start to roll down. Exhale through pursed lips again as you continue your slow descent. You'll probably drop down a little further this time, great, but if not, don't worry. Keep visualising your spine as wallpaper slowly curling down off that wall, and on the reverse, again visualise, really imagine your vertebrae as those small blocks stacking back up with the last one off being the first one back on. Stick with the lateral thoracic breathing - in, drop chin, out, roll down, in, start back up, out roll up. Really focus on it, try to move your body in time with your deep, whole, breaths. As you come towards the end of your exhalation, again your shoulders come back to their starting position, and finally the head. breathe in, go again, there is no beginning to the movement, nor is there an end, you flow seamlessly from one roll down to the next.

Do just 3 or 4 these, slowly and under control, and I (almost, for there is always 1 exception) guarantee that your spine will feel wonderfully loose and mobile after that, and you'll be on your way to being ready to do some Pilates, or maybe just ready for whatever challenges life is about to throw at you!

Enjoy!

Tags:

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Because I will be on a course this weekend getting educated to teach Pilates, I thought it might well be most appropriate this week to share some of my newly acquired knowledge. Therefore, I will post at some point later in the weekend.

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My wife is sat watching "I'm not a celebrity but would sure like to be, get me in there" at the moment, tomorrow she'll look in on Strictly Come Dancing, and the X-Factor, and that's set me thinking.....

All these programmes have built their success on letting their audience decide on what they want to see, so I'm going to do the same on here. Post a comment saying what (if indeed there is anything) particular thing you would like help with, doesn't have to be an exercise, could be nutritional, keeping going with the training over Christmas, anything at all, and for next Friday's Form Guide, I will post an answer for the most popular choice. In the event of a tie, I'll pick one, and follow it with the other one week later. Don't be shy! You won't be the only one thinking it.

For this week though, lets take a look at Bicep Curls.

An Isolation exercise for the muscles on the front of the upper arm. What does that mean? Well, as with the Dumbell Kickback we looked at a couple of weeks ago, we set ourselves up in a neutral spine position, and throughout the entire range of motion for the exercise, the only joint that moves is the elbow.

There are scores of variations of this exercise too, seated culs, standing curls, cable curls etc, and the question of which one is best I personally feel is a matter of personal choice, but one thing is for sure, choose a basic variation and do it with good form, and it will always be better than any of the more advanced variations performed badly. So, to that end, I'd like to consider the Barbell Curl:

Use the “get set” position and deadlift - I will be providing instruction for these in a future Friday Form Guide - to safely bring the bar to the start position with a closed underhand grip (hands, elbows and shoulders all in line). 

(Please note, I try to find pictures that illustrate common errors, and in this instance, this man is throwing his spine out of neutral alignment by focusing his eyes too high up, eyes should be forward, level, pick something at eye level on the wall to focus on, or ideally, a mirror - so you can watch that you are performing the exercise correctly)

Breathe in to prepare yourself for the lift, then on exhaling, bend (flex) the elbows to lift the bar up towards the shoulders. Elbows stay by the sides of the body and shoulders do not lift.

Be mindful of maintaining neutral spine, if your back arches to help you lift the weight, the bar is too heavy, reduce the weight to keep the exercise focused on the targeted biceps muscles. Return to start position under control whilst inhaling. Repeat for desired number of reps.

Those of you with a keen eye will have noticed that the pictures show a curled bar, whilst you may be more accustomed to seeing this:

Most gyms will have both types of bar. Try them both, one will be more comfortable for your wrists than the other, make that one the one you regularly use.

And one final thing, please smile a bit more than our man in the pictures here, exercise is supposed to be fun!

Enjoy!

Tags:

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I'm having technical trouble, so this will be brief:

How many of us avoid the rowing machine because we've used it in the past and it's been quite painful on the lower back?

What a shame it is to be missing out on one of THE best aerobic workouts available to you, recruiting muscles from the whole body and really challenging the cardiovascular system to deliver blood to all parts of the body.

Easily fixed though, it doesn't have to hurt, maintain neutral spine!

RIGHT:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrz4phuBJkI&feature=related

WRONG:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLO1XAOwzMo&feature=related

Did you notice how much work the lower back is doing in the second video? Did you notice too how the instructor says "remember your posture" then doesn't?

It may well be good technique on the water (I don't know, I'm not a rower), but in the gym, neutral spine every time!

Tags: Rowing Machine

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There are basically 2 types of exercises which can be performed with weights:

"Compound" exercises utilise several different muscles to perform the exercise, as movement takes place across a number of different joints. A good example would be the Squat, where there is movement at the ankles, knees, and hips, which means muslces of the front of the legs, back of the legs, and of the lower legs are all involved.

"Isolation" exercises freeze every joint bar one, the one that is acted on by the muscle you are intending to work. A good example of this would be the Dumbell Kickback, where the intention is to really focus on working the Triceps (back of the upper arm) and only the Triceps, and this is achieved by making sure that the only joint that moves is the elbow.

I'd like to take a look at the Dumbell Kickback this week because lately I have seen it been done as an exercise with great body movements which started at the toes - clearly the elbow had not been effectively isolated in these instances - meaning those people would (a) not get the results from it they hoped for and (b) risk causing themselves possible injury through the jerky and uncontrolled motions through their spines.

Really the main reason it went so horribly wrong was all about the set-up position of the bench. With weight training, set up is everything. Start off in a poor position, and you will carry that poor position and posture throughout the entire exercise - risking injury - and that is the last thing we want.

So how do we do it? Stand initially at the end of a flat bench. Spend a moment organising yourself into your Neutral Spine alignment. You'll want light dumbells for this exercise (working through a full range of motion is key to getting the best out of any exercise - go too heavy on the dumbells and your elbow will barely move, so there'll be little or no benefit to doing the exercise) placed one either side of the bench. If you have access to mirrors, use them, head on, side on, preferably both, so you can keep an eye on your elbows.

Assuming you'll want to work your right arm first (you should change this frequently so as not to end up with one side much stronger than the other), maintaining neutral spine, position yourself with left knee and left hand on the bench, right leg out to the side. Supporting hand should be just below shoulder, back reasonably level, bend right knee to dip down and pick up the dumbell and come back up to that Neutral Spine position. Use a closed neutral grip (palms facing body) and bring the elbow up to be firmly wedged against the side of the body and bent to roughly a 90 degree angle. You're ready to start.

Take a breath in to prepare yourself, then as you exhale, extend the elbow (straighten the arm) to raise the dumbell behind you, until the arm is straight, but not locking the elbow. Take a couple of seconds to lift, then in a smooth, flowing motion lower the weight in 2 - 4 seconds. Repeat for your desired number of reps, then switch over to the other side of the bench and work the left arm.

The main thing I hope you will see from these pictures is that this lady's legs, back, shoulders etc are all firmly locked into position. She has successfully isolated that elbow joint, nothing else moves, and that really is the key to getting this one right. 

You may notice in the second picture this lady has turned her wrist so that her palm is facing the ceiling. It is not essential to do this and I wouldn't recommend it until you're familiar and comfortable with fixing all other joints in position and keeping the elbow locked against the side of the body whilst being the only joint that moves. Once you are familiar with it, then twisting the wrist this way does produce an extra squeeze in the targeted triceps muscle, so is a useful way to progress your training.

Enjoy!

Tags: Dumbell Kickback

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First of all, apologies for the slight delay in publishing. With the news that an old freind has recently passed away it was really quite difficult to think, and more so to write, with any sort of clarity yesterday evening.

Down to business though, and as ever I would like to focus in on the things I have seen this week which have concerned me. I must point out, that when I see these things, I am quite clear in my thoughts that it is never the exerciser who is at fault, but the instructors in the gymnasiums who have seen these people going about their workout, doing lifts in a sometimes dangerous fashion, and yet stood back and done nothing to help them. I am not that kind of instructor. I have a genuine desire to see everyone getting the very best out of their workouts in terms of both results and enjoyment.

The structure of a workout properly is an essential part of it's success. In fact, it is arguably the single most important part.

So how do we do it?

Well, it goes like this:

Warm Up - Mobilise (& Pre Stretch?) - Main Workout (Cardiovascular Work - Resistance Work) - Cool Down - Post Stretch

Warm Up - So often neglected and yet so vital to the success of your workout. Setting yourself in Neutral Spine right at the very start is a great idea! A light cardiovascular workout of about 5 mins will gently (safely!) raise the pulse, increase core temperature, divert bloodflow to working muscles and get the all important lubricating fluids flowing around the joints.

Mobilise - Just a minute or two mobilising the spine will help to protect it through the heavier work to come.

Pre Stretch - There's much debate going on at the moment as to whether static pre stretching does actually reap any benefits. My own personal take on it (from my own experience) is that pre stretching is vital, the key things are to stretch lightly (you are not trying to make your muscles any longer at this stage, you're just letting them know they are about to do some work), to stick to holding static stretches for just 8 - 10 seconds, and if you really feel that static stretches aren't helping you at all, try something a little more mobile (eg a lunge will still stretch the quads), and stretch the muscles you are actually going to be using.

Main Workout

Cardiovascular - Obviously what you do here will depend upon your goals, so I'm not going to go into huge depths about it. Whatever you do though, try to remember Neutral Spine and maintain good form throughout. Also, unless your goal is mainly muscle building (in which case you'll probably want to do your resitance work first) CV work is best done at the beginning of your main workout. If you're a beginner, 20 minutes of CV work is about right, and you can do it all on one machine (if you're in a gym) or 10 minutes each of 2 different machines. Which do you enjoy the most?

Resistance - Again, your goals will dictate what you do, but there are a couple of things worth bearing in mind. If you are new to weight training, for the first few weeks at least you are probably better off (whilst your body makes it's neuro-muscular connections and adapts to the type of work) sticking to resistance machines for most of your workout. Also, working the 'whole body' is better for a beginner.

Balance is really important. For example if you do an exercise for your chest, then balance it with an exercise for your back.

Some exercises recruit lots of different muscles (compound exercises eg. Chest Press) and these are really demanding on the body, and therefore best done toward the start of your resistance work, whilst less demanding, single joint (isolation eg. Bicep Curl) exercises are best performed towards the end.

Abdominal and core muscles will be busy supporting your body throughout the whole of your workout, so if you are going to work these muscles specifically, do them at the very end of your resistance work, or else they'll be too tired to hold you up properly for all the other exercises.

Thinking about the "beginner" again, you should be able to get a good 'whole body' workout done in about 15 minutes, 8 -10 exercises is plenty, as is 1 set of each when you are just starting out. Progression with weight training can be made in an endless variety of ways, so I'll leave that for another day.

Cool Down - Similarto the warm up, about 5 mins of gradually easing cardiovascular work just to (safely!) bring everything back down to a 'normal' state.

Post Stretch - Unquestionably best done as static stretches, stretch the muscles that have been used in your workout, hold each stretch for about 10 - 15 seconds to return worked muscles back to their normal length. Areas of particular tightness (hamstrings are often tight because of the amount of time we spend sitting these days) can be stretched in a developmental way if desired. this will mean holding the stretch for about 30 seconds in total, but the main thing here is to pay attention to your body's stretch reflex. Initially, when you get into a stretch position, your body sends a "stop" signal to the brain, protecting itself from damage, the brain returns a signal saying "you're ok there, actually you can stretch a bit more". It doesn't happen every time, but when it does, it takes about 6 seconds, and you'll feel your stretched muscle relax. If you get that relaxation after a few seconds, take the stretch a little further for the remainder of the 30 seconds, if there is no relaxation of the stretch reflex, just hold where you are.

That whole workout will last about an hour.

Enjoy!

Tags: Structuring A Workout

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This week, what I've really noticed both in the gym and in day to day activities in work, is how much unnecessary strain we all seem to put our poor old lower backs under - no wonder they hurt from time to time! I could have picked any one of a number of different back exercises for this 3rd installment of The Friday Form Guide, but in the end I've plumped for the one that seems to be the most frequently used, and also seems to be most prone to being done in an often ineffective, and sometimes unsafe manner - the Lat Pull Down.

This exercise targets the large muscles of the upper and middle portions of the back, the Latissimus Dorsi, the Trapezius, the Posterior deltoids, and also assisting in the move, the biceps (front of upper arm).

The Lat Pull Down machine usually has a fixed seat with an adjustable padded bar that sits just lightly on the top of the thighs. Select a light weight on the machine initially (most common error I see with this; people using weights that are too heavy). For most people it will be neccessary to stand to grasp the bar with a wide - hands should be on the downward curving part of the bar -closed overhand grip (error no.2; grip too narrow, as deliberately chosen in the picures below), and sit in the strarting position (see pic).

Your spine should be in neutral alignment (see here if you're not sure what this means http://www.realbuzz.com/forums/healthy-body/threads/on-line-instruction/), feet planted firmly and evenly on the floor to support you, arms should be straight but with the elbows just off lock, eyes forward, chest slightly lifted, elbows directly under wrists. Breathe in to prepare, and exhale as you roll the shoulders down and flex (bend) the elbows to bring the bar down (it will pass pretty close to the end of your nose) until it just lightly touches the top of your chest. Now here is where you see why I've purposely picked a picture with too narrow a grip:

Look at the finish position in the picture below; because this ladies grip is too narrow (on the flat part of the bar) she is unable to work her back muscles through their full range of motion, the bar is nowhere near touching her chest. To effectively work any muscle with weights it needs to travel through the fullest possible range of motion. Also, in this position, if she were to try and bring the bar down to her chest, she'd be flaring her elbows out to the sides and backwards, which would move the emphasis of the exercise on to other muscles and away from the muscles she is intending to work.

Maintain neutral spine throughout the move (you can see in the pictures this ladies lower back has not moved at all - this is a very common mistake, people choose that heavy weight, and consequently use their lower back to 'row' the weight down, we are not exercising the lower back here, or at least we shouldn't be). When the bar has (just about) touched the top of the chest, inhale as you return slowly (2 -3 seconds to pull down, 2-4 seconds to return) and under control to the starting position, and repeat for your target number of reps. Select an appropriate weight for your goals once you have established safe and effective form.

Enjoy!

Tags: Lat Pull Down

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