PARTNER HAMSTRING STRETCH

This is the first in a series of exercises we will show you to increase the flexibility of various muscles of the upper and lower body. This is the Partner Hamstring Stretch that is designed to elongate the muscles that comprise the hamstrings. Done correctly this can also be an excellent stretch of the lower back and with proper positioning of the leg on the ground you can even get some elongation of the hip flexors.

Watch the video to see how to perform this correctly and utilize it in your current workout regimen as a great tool to increase flexibility.

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How Cycling Helped Me Lose 50 Pounds
Paul Lopez
pacificpedaling.com

In 1990, the year I got married, I was somewhere just over 190 lbs, which was a few pounds up from my high school days. Fast forward to the year 2007, 16 years later I was tipping the scales at just a pound or two under 260. I'd gained nearly 70 pounds in just under two decades. It was finally time for a change.

Like most people wanting to lose weight, I've been on the roller coaster ride of losing a few, and gaining them back, with no real plan of attack besides eating better and trying to get more exercise. The problem with telling yourself that you'll eat better, is that can be a floating curve. The same is true about simply telling yourself to get a little more exercise. On top of that, I hate exercise, so that plan is bound to fail! But something needed to be done, so I started doing a little research.

I know that counting calories is not the end all, be all solution to losing weight and getting healthy, but for me, it was at least the start of some tangible measurement. When I stopped to add up what my day looked like, it was pretty frightening. Couple bowls of cereal in the morning, latte mid morning, (sometimes with a scone to go with it, 'regular' lunch out just about anywhere, and I could easily be pushing 2000 calories only halfway through the day. With another coffee drink, a big dinner, and a snack in the evening, I was regularly having 3000-4000 calorie days.

I set out to make a daily goal of eating less than 2000 calories each day, with the basic knowledge that any calories I didn't burn, or expel some other way, would transform into additional pounds of fat on my body. Within the first couple weeks I dropped over 10 pounds and was excited about the realization that I could, in fact, control my weight if I simply made a plan and stayed with it.

However, I knew I would need to incorporate other elements into my plan. I started not only counting calories, but evaluating the types of calories I was taking in. I started drinking way more water than I normally did, which had previously been very little. I tried to eat more often during the day, in smaller meals, and I tried to stop eating altogether by 7 pm. To cap it off, I decided it was time to exercise.

As a kid I loved riding bikes, so I purchased a cheap WalMart bike and started getting out around the neighborhood, and immediately discovered that I still loved riding. Within a month or so, the bike started falling apart, so I upgraded to a Trek Navigator comfort bike and started adding in more miles.

Within the first month or so, I had been regularly doing a 12 mile loop near my home, riding in baggy sweats, garden gloves, and tennis shoes. Happily pedaling along on my comfort bike, dressing up in tight, bright clothes and locking my feet down to the pedals were the furthest things from my mind. I would never become one of THOSE cyclists, I was more of the fuddy duddy dad, happy to be on my comfort bike. Then I had a massive paradigm shift.

My younger brother left for two weeks on vacation. Before he left, he suggested I babysit his steel, Italian road bike and see if I like it. It was very much UNlike my comfort bike. It had dropbars instead of a nice upright wide handlebar. Super narrow tires compared to my big wide knobby balloon tires. Zero suspension as opposed to the fork and seat suspension of the Trek. And a seat that looked like it wouldn't be comfortable to anyone at all, let alone a guy with a big backend, who'd be used to a wider, cushier saddle as he rode. "Looks can be deceiving," my brother insisted.

The first time I took out the road bike, a hot looking, fire engine red Torelli, it felt foreign and unstable to me. The front end was squirrely, and I didn't like leaning over the bike rather than sitting upright. Additionally, my butt and the tiny saddle didn't agree. However, I noticed one thing that I did really like. The bike really responded to my pedaling. I felt like every ounce of energy I put into a pedal stroke, I was immediately getting back in performance of the bike. I began to realize that the big tires, both shocks, and the extra weight of my comfort bike were sucking up some of my energy. The trade off for a less comfortable ride, was a gain in performance….very much like a sports car vs a luxury sedan. I could get used to this.

The next day I took it out for a 20 mile ride. I had never been 20 miles, but figured I'd give it a shot since I had a 'real' bike to do it on. I was still in a funky, mismatched sweats and windbreaker outfit, but the bike looked good. I flew. Ok, in all actuality, I probably was doing 15 miles an hour or under the whole way, but to me, compared to my 10 mile an hour riding on the comfort bike, I was moving like the wind! And by the end of the ride, I was instantly addicted. I went out several days that week, and over the two weeks my brother was gone, logged 200 miles on his bike. After the first week I went to the local shop in town that had put his together for him, and asked him to build me it's twin, and as quickly as possible!

As I said earlier in my post, I don't enjoy exercise. I still hold true to that statement, with one exception, I love cycling. I started riding that comfort bike in early spring, and by late September I rode the 70 mile Livestrong Challenge, in a monsoon-like conditions. Additionally, along the way, with keeping an eye on my caloric intake, drinking water, making smarter food and meal choices and spending time on the bike 2-4 times a week, I had managed to lose 50 lbs, and felt TONS better. In a 6 month period of time, I had managed to turn my health completely around.

Fast forward two years and I still love cycling. I run a cycling blog, sponsor a cycling team, and even competed in multiple race series for the first time ever. My weight has waffled a little here and there, but I've managed to keep off 40-50 lbs over the past couple years. I won't be going back to that crazy place I was at 2 years ago. Finding time to ride can be tricky, but I know how to eat smarter, and work in a couple workouts a week. I love helping other people discover the joy of cycling as well, and love to answer any questions about bikes or riding that I can.

Get out there and ride!

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The History and Evolution of A Cycling Blog
Paul Lopez
pacificpedaling.com

In the Spring of 2007, I set out on a serious effort to lose some weight. I had gained nearly 70 pounds over the 16 years I'd been married, and all my previous attempts at getting healthy ended like most folks experiences–either shortlived, or in rollercoaster fashion at best. I would need something to help me get out of that rut, and the internet proved to be an invaluable tool in doing just that.

I read an article about a very tangible way to lose weight by watching closely what you eat, counting the calories, and understanding how many a typical person needs for each day. The article made sense to me, and resonated with me as well, so I set out to give it a try, not really knowing what to expect. Surprisingly, it worked. I started dropping weight and was very excited about it, but I'd been there before and didn't want to fail after just a few days, so I set up a sort of accountability for my efforts — I started blogging about it.

I launched a personal weightloss journal at http://weightlossgrace.blogspot.com/, and kept track of all the things I was doing to get healthy and lose weight. Additionally, I told all my friends about it, so they could keep checking in on me as well. If EVERYONE knew I was trying to do this, I'd be more inclined to succeed and not give up.

Over the course of the year and a half that I was journaling there, I realized that my posts had slowing started turning from meal plans and daily weigh-ins to stories about bikes, cycling and anything else having to do with two wheels. This change in postings reflected my thought process in life too. I had gone from thinking everyday about how to lose weight, to thinking "how can I get out on my bike today?"

In October of 2008 I launched PacificPedaling.com, a blog about cycling, bikes, and riding in this Pacific Northwest area we live in. Our goal was to not only write about what was going on, but also be a part of the cycling community in very real ways.

In April, we sponsored, and helped pull off the Union Street Bridge grand opening event in downtown Salem.

In September, the Pacific Pedaling sponsored cycling team began racing in the MTB Short Track races  and in October we began racing in two different Cyclocross Series.

As we end 2009 and look forward to 2010, the PacificPedaling blog is a sponsor of the Boys and Girls Club Junior Cycling squad, and team members have become part of the team of mentors and coaches that will help train the kids to ride a 100 Mile century ride this coming summer.

We're looking forward to 2010 at PacificPedaling.com!

Here are some great pictures we wanted to share showing off the awesomeness of the Pacificpedaling.com Team.

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We have already covered some good stretches you should do right after you wake up in the morning to help activate your muscular system. What about before going to bed? Throughout the day we all develop tightness and stress in different areas of our body. These areas often include our neck, upper and lower backs, hip flexors and hamstrings. Most of these can be attributed to the lack of stimulus to our muscular system throughout the day to take our joints through their full range of motion, as well as the seated position our bodies cast to over a period of time.

Before going to bed, you should take advantage of these 5 great moves that will help to combat the tightness that builds up so you sleep better, and ultimately don’t allow those tightnesses to consistently progress into worse and worse posture that could eventually result in chronic pain symptoms.

These moves focus on lengthening out the different muscles that most often become tight from sitting on a consistent basis.

Downward Dog – Lengthens the hamstrings and lower back. From your hands and knees, point your toes into the ground then lift your hips by straightening out your legs. Keep you quads flexed and try to pull your chest towards your knees. Hold this position for 30 to 60 seconds.

Lower Spinal Floor Twist – A very standard move that loosens up the lower portion of the back. Lay on your back with your legs straight on the floor. Now raise one leg up with your knee bent at 90 degrees, and with the opposite hand, pull it down across your body. Your lower back should be twisting as you pull your knee down, keeping both shoulders on the floor. Hold between 30 and 60 seconds each side.

Cats and Dogs – A move that goes well after a spinal rotation move like the lower spinal floor twist as it reintroduces flexion and extension into the spine. From your hands and knees, tuck your chin to your chest as you arch your back up towards the ceiling, then look up towards the ceiling as you let your back drop towards the floor. Repeat this motion 10 to 20 times

Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch – Lengthens out tight hip flexors from sitting. From a kneeling position, place one foot out in front of your body and press your weight into that hip. Be sure to contract the glute of the leg in back, and do not let your front knee go farther than your front foot. Keep your shoulders up tall throughout the stretch. Hold 30 to 60 seconds each side.

Spreadfoot Forward Bend – Lengthens out hamstrings and groin. Stand with your feet spread out as comfortably a possible, then bend forward from the waist, keeping your back flat and quads contracted. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds.

Loren Sheets

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First remember that there are multiple ways to stretch a muscle. The way we are going to discuss and to be honest is the best option in our opinion is to lengthen the muscle by contracting the antagonist or opposite muscle. What is the opposite of the Hamstring then is what we need to determine. The obvious answer is of course the quadriceps. We also want to make sure that the hip flexors are included in this as well. The reason for this is that just like the hamstring, the hip flexors and quadriceps are responsible for the anterior movement of the pelvis.

Since your hamstrings attach at the back of your pelvis, the movement of the pelvis forward or anterior then will pull on the hamstrings causing them to lengthen. Lengthening of the hamstrings then involves not only getting the body in a position to attempt to completely straighten the leg, it also requires the contraction of the quadriceps and hip flexor muscles.

Here are a few examples of some moves that will do this for you.

The basic leg lift is actually a good way to start when gaining flexibility in the hamstrings. To perform the move make sure that before you begin to lift the leg you have contracted the muscles of the quadriceps as hard as you can and pull your toes back towards you. Now lift as high as you can until the knee wants to bend, then lower it back down.

The next move is similar to the leg lift but know you use the arms to assist in getting the leg a little higher than you can with just your muscles. Make sure that with the assistance of the hands that you are still contracting the muscles of the quadriceps and hip flexors as hard as you can while you hold the stretch. Like Loren mentioned in one of the Fitness Tips of the Week, hold the stretch for 30-60 seconds to allow the hamstring to lengthen.

We have also done a few moves in our Exercise of the Week Program Like the Runners Stretch that are great examples of moves to lengthen the hamstrings.

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I was surprised how many of the people in my classes wanted to wear them to train in. They wanted to go for a run, do some jumping workouts, or even play some basketball in them. The idea makes a lot of sense. If wearing them to do pull-ups will make you stronger, then everything else you do while wearing them should help to make you better as well. The idea makes sense but it is completely wrong.

Have you ever wondered why people complain about pain their joints when they are 20, 40, or even a hundred pounds overweight? The reason is that they are placing more stress into the joints than the muscles can support and the result of this becomes pain. We have mentioned constantly throughout the last year how our muscular systems lack of efficiency causes our bodies to be in an incorrect anatomical position. Postural imbalances of all different sorts are the main reason why it would be very dangerous to train in weight vests.

If you look in the picture to the left, notice the angles that are created in this athletes legs as they sprint. There are a significant amount of muscular imbalances that are forcing the legs to run in a circular motion as opposed to driving the femur straight forward allowing the knee to punch straight up in the air. By adding additional weight to the frame of this athlete will increase these imbalances and put the knees and ankles at an even higher risk for potential damage.

The same could be said for doing jumping routines. I know quite a few trainers like to use this as a tool to help build explosion in an athlete. If you are doing jumping drills with a 180 pound athlete would they not get stronger muscles if they had to now power up 200 pounds by adding a 20 pound weight vest? Technically yes but once again at train2move we always go back to the worst case scenario mentality.

If you are doing jumping drills with an athlete you had better be positive that they do not have any form of inefficiency in their body during the jump. Are they able to do the move perfectly? If there is tightness in the hips that forces more stress into the knees upon landing, the weight vest is going to greatly magnify this. The damage to the knees is going to be much more pronounced.

Weight vest, like ankle weights that we discussed a few weeks ago, are a great tool to add to your current program. However, understanding how to use them is the key. Adding weight to a strong athlete who is very adept at a move like pull-ups can take them to the next level. Adding weight to an athlete with poor muscular efficiency can prove to do much more harm than good.

If you are looking for some good weight vests, we recommend trying these out. The Valeo are a good brand that are reasonably priced.

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First is to realize that the odds of you doing much after your meal are fairly slim so take the time to do a workout before you eat. It does not have to be much but even a little stimulus to the muscles throughout the day can make a major difference. If you are not sure what to do, follow some of these links to free workouts we have given you in the past. Here is a warm-up. Here is a strength training routine. And finally here is a general yoga style routine.

If you have the time, do all 3!

Some other useful tips we can share with you are to drink a lot of water before, during, and after you eat. The amount of food we eat and the types both can be brutal on our digestive system. Water is a major asset to your digestion so do yourself a favor and drink some. Try starting early in the day and shoot for 40-60 ounces before you eat. Then have some water with you as you are eating. When finished have another 15-20 ounces an hour or so after you eat.

Now let's assume you want to get up and move some after you eat. Make sure to give yourself a good hour before you do. When you do get ready to move choose something light like a nice walk to get away from the In-laws, or take them along, whichever seems necessary. Feel free to do some of the exercise routines we provided above as well.

And one final piece of advice to help lessen the damage to your body today is go easy on the appetizers! If you are like me you will eat a signifcant amount of food long before the main feast arrives. This will drastically increase your calories and make you less likely to take in the better calories to be had later. Look for the fruit and veggies when eating your appetizers!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone.

The Train2move Crew.

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RUNNING WARMUP

Here is the complete Running Warmup for you to follow. Give it a shot the next time you are headed out for a run. We have taken the time to put together an intelligent warmup that incorporates the various components necessary to promote an efficient stride. Here is the extra descriptions for each move along with the number of repetitions of each.

Standing 3 Position Arm Raises – 10x each position (Stand with feet at hip width, arms relaxed by sides. Lift arms to the 12 o’clock position (arms straight overhead pointing behind). Repeat arm lifts at 10 and 2 (arms halfway between overhead and straight out from sides) and finally at 9 and 3 (arms straight out from sides.)

Windmills – 10x each direction (Stand with your feet out much wider than the hips and your feet pointing forward. Now place you arms straight out to the side at shoulder height. From this position bend and twist from the waist as you bring your right hand down to your left foot. Stand all the way back up, then go to the other side)

Standing Cats & Dogs – 10x (Stand feet hip width apart, hands on thighs, and knees bent. Arch back up like a scared cat and push chin to chest, then lower back toward floor and raise head up. Repeat alternating between the two positions.)

Standing Quad – 30 seconds each leg (Stand in front of a chair on left leg, place left hand on chair for support; bend right knee and pull heel toward glutes, reach down with right hand and hold right foot. Keeping knees even and hips square to chair, squeeze right glute and slightly press hip forward and hold. Switch legs and repeat.)

Runner’s Stretch – 30 seconds each side (On hands and knees, place left heel directly in front of right knee, stand up keeping your feet in place and straightening both legs. Keep both thighs tight and bend over front foot. Rest hands on floor or chair and hold.)

Standing Hip Flexor Stretch – 30 seconds each side (Stand with hands on hips, right leg out in front of you and left leg behind. Bend both knees allowing your left knee to drop toward the floor. Hold this position with left leg a few inches above the ground and then without raising your hips, try to straighten your left leg. Switch legs and repeat.)

Rotational Stork Walk – 20 steps (stand with hands behind head. Pull left knee outside and up to 90 degrees and bring knee back to shoulder width while keeping foot under knee (one fluid motion). Step forward while lowering left foot toward the floor and repeat with right leg.)

Lateral Lunge Walk – 15 steps each way (Stand with feet under hips and hands behind head, bend right knee and take a big step to the side with your right leg. Standup by straightening right leg and bringing left leg underneath hips. Repeat then switch directions.)

Full Squats – 10x (Stand with feet directly under hips and toes pointing forward. Place hands behind head and pinch shoulder blades together. Without letting heels come off the floor, squat down as far as is comfortable and back up; repeat.)

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When you are stretching, you need to be sure that you are contracting the antagonist muscles to the ones you are lengthening in order to make the stretch functional and fully lengthen out the fibers of the muscle you’re attempting to stretch. The antagonist is the muscle that does to opposite function of a certain muscle.

A good example of this is the standing quad stretch. The most overlooked component of most stretches, and especially ones like this, is the contraction of the antagonist. In the standing quad, the muscles of the front of your leg, the quadriceps, are being lengthened. In order to ensure you are really getting the full benefits of the stretch, you must make sure you are flexing the glutes and hamstrings of that leg in order to push the hip forward.

Doing this makes it a more functional move, and helps develop greater range of motion in your joints as well as flexibility in your muscles.

Loren Sheets

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FULL SQUATS

Full Squats or Free Squats are one of the more common exercises we use at the end of warm-ups and cool-downs to introduce proper loading into the hips, knees, and ankles. With the progression of the warm-up exercises leading into this one all designed to properly align the skeletal system, this moves help to reinforce this anatomically correct position.

Next week we will be putting together the complete video warm-up with each of the exercises along with the number of repetitions or time to do each one.

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