CrossFit? The bad and the good about it.

CrossFit is basically like doing cross training. You're doing a series of exercises, from one exercise to the next, in a fast pace. It's like circuit training, although it has a higher demand. It's a big exercise program consisting of functional training. You may do a number of jump squats, then switch to another ply-metric exercise or you'll switch to a deadlift, before switching to the next exercise..

What people don't realize is that you're doing all this stuff super fast, but nobody pays attention to how correctly they're doing the exercises. First of all: Sit-ups are bad! Sit-ups pull on your back more, than crunches do. Plus doing them too fast and hard, puts a huge demand on your spine! It'll cause more back injuries or maybe a hernia. Doing sit-ups or crunches and pulling on your head, is never good. You will strain your neck. You must keep your neck and head straight and lined up with your spine.

Also during squats, people may have they're feet turned out or turned in, when they should be straight! There's research about orthopedic cautions on exercise, BUT with me being a Corrective Exercise Specialist, I'm also telling you this. I want to inform people that it's not good because I care!

Doing a deadlift too fast can also put your back out. As well as doing any exercise too fast, can cause injuries! Doing improper squats, especially too fast and hurt your knees and other problems also...

I personally don't believe in the whole crossfit era, and don't think it should be around. All you got to do is do those exercises slower and focus on doing everything correctly. Whether you're doing functional training like a set of lunges or squats, with holding weights, or doing single leg exercises, or back extensions, you'll function better in your life style!

Injury Prevention, muscle imbalances and bad posture

THE PAIN IN THE BUTT THAT YOU HAVE, AND HOW YOU'RE WASTING MONEY ON CHIROPRACTORS!    Information by Adam.

Besides the thousands of people who are overweight or obese, including children; there's something else to think about: The pain and the bad posture that people have! Everyday, people are suffering and complaining of their back's hurting and getting stiff, or they're complaining about their knees, hips, or neck pain, or any joint that's aching on their bodies. Why? What's causing all of this? I'll tell you in a moment! Also flexibility is important! If your muscles are tight, you lose mobility. Joints are stiff because nothing's lubricated, you'll have more injuries at any age. Bad balance is also a factor. 

Millions of people are always going to their local chiropractor or a chiropractor who maybe a little more distant to them, and they're getting their backs cracked or adjusted, or treated. People think they're getting a good treatment done, but in some cases they're not! Plus not to mention, people have a popped disc or a herniated disc/s in their backs! And chiropractors won't tell you to stretch and correct your posture, which is causing pain in the first place! Whyyyyy the pain?

The answer is, that people are walking around with bad posture due to sitting for long periods of time, repetitive movements, postural stress, injury/trauma, improper exercise techniques or from working and doing tasks improperly. Tight muscles in certain areas, and the weak muscles in the other areas are causing bad posture! And then you'll have improper movement, then muscular and joint pain. Your body will go into the cumulative injury cycle. From trauma to inflammation, to muscle spasms to muscle knots, to altered neuromuscular control and then muscle imbalances again!  So then what do people do? They run to a chiropractor because they're having back pain or hip pain, etc, or they pulled their back. Going to the chiropractor isn't the fix, BUT it's YOU who can fix this problem! You pop or herniate your disks because of your pelvis being lopsided, which provokes scoliosis, an S or a C in your back, either permanently or temporary. People also have muscle knots that need to be worked out. I show a picture on here to show normal tissue & tissue with knots. Knots block blood flow and nutrients. I believe pain can develop from that also. Muscles are starved from oxygen & nutrients carried in the blood. Then muscles can't function, and nor do you have energy. Our brain also feeds off glucose from carbs. to function. 

Change the way you sit, change the way you lift things at work or at home, change the way you walk around. Correct your posture: Keep your head up, keep your back straight most of the time when you sit and walk, keep your feet straight when you walk and start stretching your muscles more often each day!  You got to increase flexibility (range of motion + extensibility) and extensibility (your muscles being able to stretch).

Order one of these chairs from Isokineticsinc.com, and sit on it at your office or ay home, and it'll help your posture and your spine from injuring ever again!
               
     

            

BACK PAIN CAUSES

• The buttocks or gluteus maximus is weak, or your butt is tight & pushing up on your iliac crest. And your latissimis dorsi muscles get mostly tight, so there's a tug-of-war going on. The glutes need massaged & stretched, and possibly the latissus dorsi. Every time you sit down or walk around, everything you do, your butt will weaken from office work. So then other muscles compensate like your hips, your quadratus lumborum or love handle areas, your thighs and even your upper back (lats). 
• Your latissimus dorsi muscles and your butt muscles work together (synergistic-ally), to support your low back, they create strength. But when they're imbalanced, you get back pain. 
• Hip flexors are tight pulling you forward in a bent position. Therefore, hamstrings and butt could be weak. The lats are also a factor in the anterior pelvic tilt with your arms falling forward.
• Long periods of sitting also makes your hamstrings and your hip flexor muscles (in front of your body above the quad muscles) tighter. So when those are tighter, it creates pain. It pulls on your back, and spine.  
• If you have an anterior pelvic tilt, that means your butt pops out, or sticks out in the back, and your back (spine) is curved. This causes back pain and stress because all the muscles in your vertebrae are being flexed. Your hip flexors will get tight and pull you forward into that tilt. Your butt could remain normal though unless it's weak to pull you up, or like in a excess forward lean (bent over), and hamstrings will be weak also because you can't erect yourself up. The gluteus maximus is the most muscle that erects you up or extends your hips as you walk up stairs. That's how you herniate or pop a disc. Chiropractors don't tell you that. When the hip flexors are right it's hard for a person to stand up erect, those front hip flexors need stretched to improve posture! 

• Or you have a posterior pelvic tilt where your butt sinks in, and your hips tilt forward. And your abs are tight in the front. Again, this causes spinal pain and popped discs. The chiropractor won't tell you! 

                                  Normal        Kyphosis     Military stance        Lordosis      Lordosis

HIP AND KNEE PAIN 

• A weak walking gait, like with your feet can cause hip and knee pain. Especially when you run! If your feet turn in, which may cause grinding on the inside of your knees, and a MCL tear. Or your feet turn out, and will cause grinding on the lateral part of the knees and/or tear the LCL. Your knees won't be lined up with the rest of your body. Your body is like a kinetic chain with the muscle-tendon unit, bone-ligament unit, and the stress goes up the legs and through the spine from your feet.  All that causes an increased Q-angle. Nothing's lined up. 
• When your inner thighs are tight, and outter glutes are weak, your knees will buckle inward (knock-kneed). So again, when nothing's lined up, your back will hurt, or your hips/knees. The fact that your knees buckle in, is why you have knee pain! 
• If your knees supinate out, or move outward when you walk, when you run and when you sit down or whatever, that will cause the hip or knee pain.  
• Think of a leverage system, when your gluteus maximus is tight, it makes it harder on the hip flexors in the front of the thighs or other muscles to work, those tight muscles need stretched in order to complete a movement like hip flexion.. Think of trying to flex your elbow when your triceps are tight.. 

Treatments for back pain and hip/knee pain (lower cross syndrome)

Keep in mind for everything you do, there's 33.5 lb of pressure per sq inch, put on your body and neck. So if you lean forward or back, etc. 4 in, then take 33.5 lb x 4 in = 134 lb of pressure on your body. No wonder people have pain!

Stretch your calves and strengthen the shin muscles to help your feet be straighter. Stretch your inner thighs, or in your case, you may have to strengthen your inner-thighs if your knees are supinating outward. Strengthen your buttocks too, to prevent back pain and do lat pulldowns or use toning bands to strengthen the lat muscles of the back. Do bridges, sing your pelvis into the floor or ground. You can do 2-3 sets of 12-20 reps or do isometric holds of 30 sec to 1 min, per set. 

Upper body and neck pain

If your rhomboids and trapezium muscles are weak, and your upper trapezius muscles are tight along with the SCM & other neck flexor muscles, your shoulders will elevate when you lift things. SO your neck muscles and your upper traps will get tight and hurt. So you need to strengthen the back muscles and stretch the neck as it says down below.  Your head could be shifted to the left or right, or rotated. So one group of muscles are tight while the other are lengthened/weakened. One example is the semispinalis muscle originates from the transverse process to spinous process, in the head, it just inserts to the occiput. Therefore, it causes a contra lateral rotation.. So if you can't turn your head to the left, the right semispinalis is tight. If you can't slant your head down to the left, the splenius capitus muscle is one of the muscles that are tight. Depends what side of the neck, so think of the muscles. 

Treatment for neck pain and upper back pain (upper cross syndrome)

Stretch the chest and front of the shoulders. And do rows with dumbbells or toning bands or a cable machine. You can use a fitness ball and lie on it and/or sit on the ball and do your rows and lat pulldowns, etc. You got to train your posterior shoulders and back muscles (rhomboids and middle and lower traps). Stretch your neck muscles by turning your head to one side and the other, and aim it downward and at an angle to stretch the muscles on the left side or the right, which ever ones are tighter.

There are certain muscles to be stretched, while other muscles are worked. If I was training you, I would evaluate you and design a specific regimen for you. I can't tell you everything in here as it's too difficult... 

Wild cold Alaskan Salmon oil capsules help with any joint pain or inflammation in the body. Also look for Arnica pills at the Vitamin Shoppe, GNC or any of your local market stores, Organic stores. There are different kinds to look for. These are strong & will take away the symptoms muscle pain, stiffness & joint pain. Arnica is of the plant, in the Sunflower family.