This is fun - this article is the 600th Fitness Fixer post.
Yesterday's post started a series on Triathlons. Triathlon races of different names, organizing bodies, and distances are held year-round. The Ironman is a trademarked name of one particular triathlon and its qualifying races.
The Ironman Triathlon is a long-distance race of a 2.4 mile swim (3.86 km), 112 mile (180.25 km) bike, and a marathon run of 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 km), continuously, in that order.
Fifteen men competed in the first Ironman triathlon in 1978. Then, it was a known "Fitness Fact" that women could not do hard athletics. Several sports of the time banned women. Magazine articles appeared regularly that women had special problems that made doing athletics more dangerous and less possible. Scuba magazines printed (and reprinted) bizarre myths by reporters, that women were physically predisposed to injury from heat, cold, exercise, and decompression. Even chapters in medical books had separate "woman sports" chapters with "proofs" such as shorter legs and less testosterone and blood volume. Currently, teen Asian girls are beating the times of big Western men from that era. Injury rates are shown to be not from gender as much as training. I am a former anatomy and physiology professor. Don't try to snow an anatomy professor about joint angles and limb length as proof of athletic prowess or injury. Future posts will dissect these myths from a physiology basis.
The name "Ironman" and related "Iron" labels are official property of the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). The WTC hosts other triathlons around the world that are called Ironman. Who owns what name seems to change, and can get confusing. Several events formerly called Ironman no longer use the word due to aggressive trademark protection. Readers can comment to keep us current.
The Hawaii Ironman Triathlon (various alternate names) hosts the Ironman world championship and owns the race held each fall in Hawai'i. Last year's 2008 Hawai'i Ironman drew over 1700 athletes. The 2009 Hawaii Ironman will be held October 10, 2009. Qualifying races required for eligibility are held throughout the year. Several qualifiers are going on right now, this June and July.
Next - Ironman Qualifiers.
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Read success stories of Fitness Fixer methods and readers, and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. See class schedules, get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
This week - a fun series with a post each day about triathlons.
A triathlon is usually a race, where each competitor swims, bikes, and runs one continuous effort. The first person to finish all three is considered the course time-winner. The order is often swim first, then bike, then run, although order can change depending on the length and kind of course, and opinions of the officiating body.
Some triathlons are relays. One person enters each part, for example the first person swims, then their teammate continues the run. A race consisting of a run, bike, then run again is considered a duathlon, even though the competitors do three parts. "Run-bike" and other duathlons will be covered in future posts, as will summer and winter biathlons.
The first modern triathlon was possibly a race in 1920 or so, in France, called "Les Trois Sports" (the three sports). Within that decade, several more three-event races of various distances and names followed.
In the 1980s, different big triathlons became more popular - including the several Ironman distance races and comparable races, called full triathlon and long distance, by other organizations. The "Ironman" brand and name is highly protected and can't be used by anyone else, a topic for another post. These are usually 3800 m swim (2.4 miles), 180 km bike (112 mi), and 42.2 km run (26.2 mi). In 2005, the World Triathlon Corporation started the Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman.
Triathlon became an Olympic event at the Sydney Games in 2000. Olympic Distance is considered a short triathlon - 1500 m swim (0.93 mi), 40 km bike, (24.8 mi), 10 km run (6.2 mi). The Olympic Triathlon is about half the bike and run distance, and a slightly shorter swim, of what is usually called a half-triathlon.
The many other triathlon events can vary in length and level of organization, depending what is available to the organizers. Distances may conform to standardized organizational rules, or vary with whatever length the available course allows. A kids' summer camp may use their pool or lake and a dirt road, track, or field nearby. A town may organize their waterways or harbor and roads. Sometimes the world comes together to host international events.
In some smaller-scale races, participants can show up on race day, sign up, and go. Larger races require registration and briefings before race day. Big triathlons require qualifying times in previous races and large entrance fees.
Read success stories of Fitness Fixer methods and readers, and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. See class schedules, get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
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Photo 1 - Emma Snowsill wins in Beijing, image by Getty Images via Daylife Photo 2 of winner at Southeast Asian Games 2005 via Wikipedia
Fast Fitness - Somebody Please Do My Personal Responsibility For Me!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
A couple was buying a house. The real estate agent told them a problem with the house was that it was near the train, rumbling noisily by every night. It would take the first two weeks to be able to sleep through it. "No problem, said the couple, we'll spend the first two weeks in a hotel."
An opening line of last Friday's Fast Fitness was, "How long does it take to stop slouching, or stop herniating a disc, or stop paying money to eat food that is bad for your health? It takes as long as you want to continue injurious ways."
The letters came in. Some missed the whole point, hoping for magical externals to do it for them: " Can I use a posture brace until it works? … Is it until my shiatsu starts working? … My body worker says it takes 6 weeks for massage to make me aware of my body… My yoga teacher said the pain has to be worked through so I bend wrong to get used to it… OK, bending right does fix my pain, but every time I go back to bending wrong the pain comes back. I do the exercises 10 times. How long until the exercises work?... "
The "martyrs" blamed externals: " It is not possible to control how I stand or sit, I am fat/ weak/ large chested/ too thin to have muscles/ old/ young/ a person of privilege… You're wrong, the slouching just comes back by itself. … You're wrong I have gone to a chiropractor three times a week for years and I have to go or the pain comes back, that proves he is helping me and I can't change the pain…Another blog said to get a thousand dollar mattress and that will fix it… "
Some of the whining was comical: "You can't expect me to actually try to remember that… You're wrong, my body FORCES me to slouch… I have read all your posts and you didn't mention posture or answer readers when they asked (for new readers, you can fall over laughing at that)… Don't you know that it hurts my back to sit at a desk to read your book on fixing pain?..."
Excellent readers sent the brains: "You expect me to actually get free exercise using my muscles to make my own life better?? Congress will hear about this!… I can move my own body? Shocking!… Burn more calories, free, and be healthier and stop disc pain by sitting so that my back does not hurt? I won't, I won't, I WON'T!!!..."
The moment you bend right, you will stop injurious forces on the discs and knees. Keep good habits, and they can heal. Stop tensing your body and it will not be tight and tense any longer. Relax does not mean slouch. The moment you change to healthier sitting habits, you will be able to sit more comfortably.
No exercises, no séances, no pills, no mattresses make you bend right and stand in the kitchen preparing meals with healthful stance, breathing not grunting, shoulders back, not hunched, smiling and contented instead of poisoning your body with stress chemicals that you generate yourself through hurtful behaviors.
The method you choose to fix your injuries depends on your view. If you don't like to have it free, quickly, and in a way that uses your own body to get exercise as part of your life, then of course go to another method and comment there about your pain. It seems to be a 'sign of the times' to do pills and blame. Time for change to something healthier (if you want). This Fitness Fixer and all my other methods are for people who would be embarrassed to whine, and want direct, intelligent ways to get their own life back. Be prepared to have fun and use your brain.
Where to Start (if you want to, no one is making you):
www.DrBookspan.com/books. Read the descriptions if you want the right book for your injury or life goals. Up to you.
--- Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. See class schedules, get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
This is an unusual post. Long-time Fitness Fixer success Ivy from New Zealand, continuing inspiration to many readers, wrote me a good-bye and thank you. Her computer is broken. Can anyone help this situation?
Ivy is a Great-Grandmother (pretty darn great, we think). Ivy wrote us years of dedicated Fitness Fixer stories of fixing disabling pain and regaining healthful fun life. Now that her computer is broken, she wrote me she would keep in touch with hand written letters. She wished all of you readers well.
Ivy's 86-year-old neighbor snapped photos for several of Ivy's stories. Both of them laughing as the neighbor pressed wrong buttons and Ivy had to hold poses and try again and again. Ivy sent me fuzzy prints by mail, which I scanned and posted. Follow Ivy's adventures, starting with Inspirational Ivy.
Ivy wrote:
"Just a short note to let you know that my computer up and died a few days ago.
"Actually, I was going to write you a letter (by hand - smile, smile) it being a long time since I have had to do that. For the moment, I am not going to replace the computer, finances being a little tight. Bill, who lives here in the village has kindly offerred his computer to allow me to look up the Healthline web site every ten days or so for which I am extremely grateful. He is aware just how much I enjoy your posts.
"I would suggest that you not send a reply, it more than likely will not arrive.
"I promise I will keep in touch with you be it by a friend's computer or by a "handwritten" letter. "Love and hugs as always to you and Paul" Ivy
If anyone has an old working computer or ideas to get one to Ivy in her little New Zealand village, please comment. Making life great, sharing life's good, doing right and having fun doing it is real health.
Thank you.
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Read success stories of Fitness Fixer methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. See class schedules, get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Helium Speech - An Astronaut Calls the President of the United States
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
When you take a breath from a helium balloon and speak, your voice rises humorously. What happens when an astronaut does the equivalent and calls the President of the United States?
In 1965, Sealab II replaced Sealab I, 62 meters (200 feet) down on the ocean floor (photo at left). Sealab II was sometimes called the “Tiltin' Hilton" because of the slope of the site. Teams of "aquanauts" lived and slept inside, dry, breathing air pressurized to that depth. The Sealab project was under command of Dr. George Bond, Captain, U.S. Navy Medical Corps, affectionately called "Papa Topside."
NASA Astronaut Scott Carpenter (photo right) spent a record 30 days in Sealab II. After spending that much time at that depth, specific protocols of changing the breathing mixture and the pressure are needed to avoid problems from the dissolved gas that was absorbed while breathing the air at SeaLab pressure. Commander Carpenter did that inside a special decompression chamber, while breathing an air mixture containing helium. Yesterday's post How To Stay Underwater For A Month explains.
Helium changes heat transfer both inside and outside your body, and changes how fast sound can travel. Sound travels faster through helium than through air. That is the "Donald Duck" effect. People who inhale helium from a balloon and speak on the exhale have a distinctive humorous voice change. Funny voice is temporary, lasting only as long as helium is passing the vocal apparatus. (Helium can't support life. Don’t continuously breathe balloon or other helium source to get a few laughs talking funny.)
I had heard from my Navy friends that an old recording existed of Commander Carpenter trying to phone President Johnson for a formality of congratulations while still inside the recovery chamber breathing the helium mix.
Recently, my colleague Dr. Derrick Pitts, Director of the Fels Planetarium at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and I were talking about space and underwater habitats. He told me that the recording of Commander Carpenter had been found, restored, and was available through NPR National Public Radio.
Click LBJ & the Helium Filled Astronaut to read the short story and listen with RealAudio in 14.4, 28.8, or G2 SureStream. (If link is not clickable, try http://www.npr.org/programs/lnfsound/stories/991015.stories.html).
The description lists the event as 1964, but I think it would have been 1965. It doesn't matter. Enjoy the recording.
Over this summer, I hope to write you some interesting stories about decompression, scuba, space research, cool people involved, and my work living under the sea. Until then, here are related stories:
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. See class schedules, get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
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Photo of Commander Carpenter and Sealab II via Wikipedia
Human beings have gotten all the way to the moon, but can't get far under the sea. In space we can wear special suits to decrease effects of pressure change and deliver air to breathe, but (in brief) the farther you go down underwater, the more these same conditions constantly change in difficult ways.
For ordinary scuba diving, divers wear a tank of regular air. A compressor squeezes ordinary filtered air into the tank, so that several times more air fits. For more time underwater than a tank allows, a diver can breathe from a special long hose from the surface. How far you can go depends on the length of the hose and the power to compress the air to the right pressure. With other specific training, you can wear a rebreather. A rebreather scrubs and reuses exhaled air instead of losing the exhale into the water (shortest description). In all these cases, the deeper and the longer you stay, the more nitrogen in the air you breathe dissolves all over your body.
When a diver starts back to the surface, pressure reduces all the way up, letting nitrogen back out. You need to come up slowly enough and not have stayed too long to be able to go directly to the surface without the nitrogen forming bubbles inside your body, part of the diving injury called decompression sickness or The Bends. Decompression sickness, and bubble formation, transit, and medical effects was a passion of my career work in physiology for many years. Still is.
On deeper dives, it works better to breathe less nitrogen. You can't substitute more oxygen at deep depths, because oxygen becomes increasingly toxic. You need a gas that doesn't make as much trouble during each depth and time. One choice is helium to replace some or all nitrogen, and part of the oxygen.
If you have lots of dissolved nitrogen or helium or other gases chosen for a long and/or deep dive, you need to stop on the way up, called a decompression stop. Where and when and for how long to stop is interesting, and the subject of research and arguments (discussions) among scientist and divers. Different Navies and commercial companies use different protocols, some known well, some closely guarded as company secrets.
For extreme depth diving for research, commercial work like oil drilling, mining, and communications, military surveillance, espionage, and "proprietary commercial interests," divers can spend time on "deco" stops, but for long dives, many stops are needed, some more than 10 hours. Doesn't work to do that, then go back to work the next day and repeat. One solution is to stay down inside the rig or habitat or other enclosure designed for that. I wrote a little of my work doing that in Living Under The Sea.
At each depth, you can only absorb a certain amount of gas. After that, no more fits. It doesn't matter how long you stay past a certain point, you have the same decompression obligation on the way up. Staying down until you are full of gas is called saturation diving. You can stay down a week or a month, then decompress once. Decompression can be done in the water, but there are problems of cold, darkness, bathroom needs, and gas supply. Another solution is inside a vehicle designed for that purpose. The decompression vehicle can be raised and removed from the water, and the divers inside slowly decompress safely. It was also experimented, to drag divers straight to the surface and throw them as fast as possible into a surface chamber to quickly compress them back to pressures at depth, then slowly release according to algorithms people back then decided were right. Tragically, some regular scuba divers heard about these two kinds of "surface decompression" and thinking it meant the water surface, managed to publish articles in diving magazines, and give lectures at dive shows, with that misinformation being widely repeated, that one could come straight to the surface after deep dives and float around in an inner tube and read dirty magazines, as the guys in the special recompression chambers did to pass the couple days they'd spend.
You wouldn't turn inside out from the huge pressure differential produced, as depicted in some science fiction movies, but it might kill you as effectively. That is a sample of what happens when reporters don't read what scientists write in their research articles, just repeat some sentences taken out of context, conclusions in the abstracts, or what someone else wrote.
Tomorrow - a fun story about NASA Astronaut Scott Carpenter in 1965. He lived 30 days underwater in SEALAB II, in the US Navy’s Man-in the-Sea Project off the coast of California. Commander Carpenter was breathing a helium mix during his surface decompression in a chamber. In tomorrow's post, hear a recording of what happens when he makes a pre-arranged phone call while breathing helium in the chamber to President Lyndon Johnson.
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. See class schedules, get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Fast Fitness - Save Money, Fix Pain, Do More Exercise, Get Fit Faster - Strengthen Personal Responsibility
Friday, June 19, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Fast Friday Fitness - Reduce reliance on gimmicks, medicines, potions, expensive paraphernalia, and repeated treatments for the same problem.
How long does it take to stop slouching, or stop herniating a disc, or stop paying money to eat food that is bad for your health? It takes as long as you want to continue injurious ways.
Reader Paul J wrote:
"A few days after you left for your conference, something in the news caused me to start thinking you should be in the news…….
"In other news today, scientist Dr. Jolie Bookspan is prescribing doses of Personal Responsibility and Activity for various joint pain conditions. Her work along with regular doses of PR & A will result in curing many forms of back pain, knee pain and foot problems. She has also gone so far as to suggest its off-label use may cure non joint ailments as well.
"Since PR & A is neither a pharmaceutical nor a medical device, companies that normally engage in the distribution of free pens have not found the financial benefits of PR & A.
"Many doctors have not seen PR & A in their patients or on pens, and therefore are not familiar with its indications. "
Paul J.
It is up to the person's view of their own body - do they want to stop damaging themselves and do beneficial things, or must they have others change them with constant treatments, sessions, therapies, adjustments, "somatics," (etc). Get free exercise of body and mind by taking personal responsibility for your own slouching. How are you sitting right now? Do you slouch waiting for your pain treatments or back exercise class?
Instead of causing common health problems, then spending time and money on drugs and treatments, stop causes and do good instead. Ongoing treatments are not short cuts, but a long, indirect route.
If you throw trash, it is no mystery when the place is trashy. Stop doing unhealthy things and you feel better.
Click for More:
Faster Improvement in Strength and Health With Personal Responsibility:
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Class schedules, get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
On the web, Grand Rounds is a list of the best on-line medical posts from the past week. A different host works each week to find and list the articles. This is different from the Grand Rounds in a hospital, which is a lecture for doctors about a patient or topic.
Special thanks to ACP Internist for finding Knee Arthroscopy in last month's Fitness Fixer articles. Two other Grand Rounds editions informed me it was "not appropriate" for an audience of physicians.
Doctors and patients benefit by information that helps them make healthier decisions. Knee surgery is done, recommended, repeated and taught, but the evidence base shows it is not needed in many of the cases.
Thank you to this week's host ACP Internist for doing the hard work of collecting and featuring our posts.
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Read success stories of Fitness Fixer methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. See class schedules, get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Neutropeptide Y Generation for Healthier Stress Response
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Yesterday's article, Extending The Envelope - Military and Civilian, told some of my career work to improve and strengthen human ability. Today, a study from Fort Bragg on Green Berets.
A study of soldiers at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, found that Special Forces soldiers produced more of a molecule called Neuropeptide Y in their blood than regular soldiers. Neuropeptide Y is generated by the body to calm the brain in times of extreme stress.
The Special Forces soldiers mobilized more neuropeptide Y than ordinary soldiers, and were able to sustain it for longer periods. It was concluded that higher levels make them more resilient to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than the average soldier. Neuropeptide Y returned to normal levels within 24 hours in the Special Forces subjects, but dipped below normal in the control subjects of regular soldiers.
Army Special Forces personnel are also known as Green Berets. It is not known whether the Green Berets' better ability to generate the peptide and endure trauma was something they came in with, which made them more likely to pursue becoming a Green Beret, or had been acquired or enhanced through training. The researchers said, "If we could bottle this, or if we could train people to mobilize their own neuropeptide Y, that would be primary prevention for PTSD - a very exciting approach."
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Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, click the labels under this article for more Fitness Fixer on each topic, or check the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. See class schedules, get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
When I worked as a military research scientist, strong brave men got hazardous duty pay to spend a day with me.
I measured what humans can do, physically and mentally, and how to make them better at it. I tested pilots undergoing acceleration to see what determined susceptibility or resilience to blackouts and other g-force effects. I tested combat swimmers to see what makes them swim faster, farther. I worked on modalities to prevent astronauts' bones from de-mineralizing, because without the pull of gravity, muscles do not make the bones retain calcium. After weeks in space, astronauts return with the equivalent of years of bone loss. I worked on countermeasures. I tested ground troops to see how much they could carry and why.
My work trains the person, making him self-contained and able to withstand harsh conditions without special clothing, tools, or pills. Another department works with garments that help resistance against temperature, weaponry, and other effects. Another group are the 'gadget guys' making yet more things I have to make the guys able to carry around. Another department is pharma-chemicals - what drugs they could develop and administer to block need for sleep and food, heighten focus, or increase strength or speed. Some heart drugs are long-known and used for steadying the marksman's hand by decreasing the contractile pulse of the heart.
Click the labels under this article for more Fitness Fixer on each topic. I have written several posts, with more to come, on my work to "extend the human envelope."
Look for tomorrow's post for one of the things the pharmaceutical groups work on.
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Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right.
Fast Fitness - Better Standing Hamstring, Achilles, and Inside Leg Stretch
Friday, June 12, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Fast Friday Fitness - get a better stretch for the hamstring of the standing leg when stretching the other leg to the side:
When you stand with one leg stretching to the side, notice the leg you are standing on. It is common to stand with the foot turned outward and the hip rounded under you.
Instead, turn the standing leg to face directly ahead. Knee and toes straight forward. Not turned out, not even a small amount. Stand straight.
Notice the stretch move to the back of your leg.
My student Leslie is pictured above at age 68. I snapped this shot of her while she was waiting for one of my classes. The position of the foot on the standing leg isn't visible, but she is straight ahead. I had to snap the photo quickly before the club manager told us to stop.
Stand straight without leaning over, rounding your upper body, or letting your hip round under you. This is different from the way most people are used to.
The straighter you stand, the more stretch, while training the function of healthy posture - a functional stretch. You need to be able to lift one leg without being so tight that your back rounds and your hip rolls under. Think of stairs, kicks for dancing, aerobics, martial arts, stepping over things, stairs, much real life. If you are not only using bad mechanics for daily life, but training unhealthful tight mechanics with conventional bent over stretching, what are you accomplishing?
If you can't stand straight, lower your leg to where you can. There is little point stretching for health while practicing unhealthful ways.
What has happened in a year? She can now do 40 push-ups. We just don't have a video camera. While we get one, click the link to do your push-ups with her each morning while it is still only 30.
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Get Certified, Learn With Fitness Fixer Personally In Colorado USA in July
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
In July, I will be back at the annual conference of the Wilderness Medical Society in Snowmass, Colorado to teach three workshops. Six actually. By demand, I will be giving each one twice to allow more people to learn.
My classes are eligible for certification through the Academy of Functional Exercise Medicine (renamed from Functional Fitness Medicine) - www.DrBookspan.com/Academy. Certification counts toward Academy Fellow requirements - FAFEM. Fellow status is a distinguished degree.
The Wilderness Medicine conference is open to all who want to learn.
1. Prevent and Fix Injuries Fast moving, jam packed, hands-on workshop. Learn how to recognize, fix, and prevent conditions that cause sprains, bad arches, knee, disc, shoulder, upper back, lower back, SI joint, and mystery back pain. I will teach this workshop twice (one session each): Monday July 27, 2009, 7:40-9:40 am OR Tuesday July 28. 1-3pm.
2. Not The Same Old Stretches - Why Well Known Stretches Aren’t Stopping Injury and What to Do Instead. Come relieve conference aches on the spot. Discover why conventional stretching promotes flexed (aging) postural habits and degenerative forces on joints. Take home effective new and innovative techniques. Same class offered twice: Tues July 28, 2009, 3:20-5:20pm, OR Wednesday July 29, 7:40am-9:40am.
3. Functional Core Training - What's Hot and What's Not No crunches or forward bending that pressures discs and teaches bent over "old" posture. Learn fun, quick techniques to straighten posture, fix lower back pain from hiking and backpacks, and functionally strengthen, from simple moves to the toughest you can get. Bring a backpack (optional backpack training). Same class offered twice: Monday, July 27, 2009. 10am-12pm, OR Wednesday July 29 10am-12pm.
This year, my workshops are free with conference admission. In the past, they were extra charge, payable to WMS, but you did not need to pay for the conference separately.
You don't need to attend the whole conference to take the workshops, although the conference and the people who come to the meetings are fun and interesting. With free admission to my workshops, class size is limited. I will give preference to those seeking certification so that they may learn better. Certification is extra fee. Dedicated students are allowed to take the same workshop twice at no extra fee. Even when there was a class fee, this allowance was always offered. Learning is more important than fees.
Read success stories of people using my methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
"I enjoy the all day exercises using squat and lunge for my daily activities. Thank you for sharing your philosophy.
"However, those exercises are mainly for lower body. I would like to ask if there are good all day exercises for upper body parts i.e., shoulder, neck.
"I found some stretches for shoulder and neck that you introduced.
"Thank you and best regards, Vietanh"
This is a great question and understanding that fitness is something that you do during real life. In gyms and health centers, even therapy settings where people are going there for the purpose of fixing and increasing function, they sit waiting in terrible unhealthful positioning - photo at right - waiting for a class or activity for health. I have read fitness books saying the posterior shoulder is "difficult to target." Hold your shoulders straight, rather than letting them slump forward. You will get built in upper body functional exercise. Apply this to exercise, to lifting, sitting, sewing, all you do.
Look at your many hours each day of real life - when you prevent round shoulders with retraction to neutral, you are getting upper back extension exercise. When you sit and bend and lift right instead of rounding forward, you get healthful, functional upper and mid range back extension. When you use neutral spine to walk, run, kick, and jump, by extending at the hip instead of allowing the lower spine to increase in arch passively into hyperlordosis, you get healthful lower back extension and abdominal exercise at the same time. It is the abdominal muscles that will flex you forward to straight, rather than overarched. They only do this when you deliberately use them. Strengthening alone does not create movement to healthful position. Healthful positioning strengthens and gives exercise. Look at the photo above again and see that how you really live, not a gym, is your exercise and health.
Apply upper body muscle use for function in daily life:
Using upper back muscles to prevent rounding forward in round shoulders gives continuous built in exercise. This is not forcing, just mobile, comfortable muscle use. How are you sitting while reading this?
There is more to this excellent question. Will come in future posts.
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Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Fast Fitness - Develop Ankle Stability Sense While Stretching
Friday, June 05, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Fast Friday Fitness - prevent a common source of overstretched lateral ankle ligament, which is one contributor to repeated sprains - turning the ankle when stretching:
When you stretch your hip and legs, or sit cross legged or in yoga poses, notice if you allow the foot to turn, increasing stretch on the outside ligaments of the ankle - too much supination. Reader Liz demonstrates in photo 1 below.
Straighten your ankle, Liz photo 2, below.
You may notice you get more good stretch from your hip to make up for the motion you were getting by turning your ankle. Holding straight gives better stretch in the hip, and better ankle stability training.
Then remember to use this sense and knowledge of ankle straightening when you stand, run, take stairs. You need that separate balance training. Lying down to stretch alone will not train ankles. The idea is not to make ankles worse with your stretches.
Not all things are good to stretch. Ankle ligaments are an example, another example below.
Ligaments are like a briefcase latch. They attach the top bone to the bone below it. Like a latch, a ligament is not supposed to stretch, but hold position, so that the briefcase hinge (your ankle joint) does not rattle and the briefcase does not pop open (side of your ankle sprain). While sitting cross legged, straighten the ankle so that it does not turn up.
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
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Healthy photos thanks to Liz of New Zealand Ligament stretch yoga ankles by Than Tan
Weak Hips on Purpose? Running Injury and Hip Strengthening
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Who works their hips? Fitness Fixer success story Robert Davis wrote me several
notes that the weightlifters he knew didn't want to exercise their hip because they thought it would take away from the "V shape" they worked for.
Mr. Davis said that using my daily good bending and other functional exercise worked his hip greatly. He was pleased with reduction of stiffness and pain and increase in strength and mobility. No decrease in "V-shape."
The May/June 2009 issue of Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach, published a study based on a literature review, concluding that running injuries to the lower leg may have more to do with weak hip muscles than how many miles run. Lead author Reed Ferber, Assistant Professor and Director of the Running Injury Clinic from the University of Calgary stated ”Hip muscle weakness especially appears to lead to atypical lower extremity mechanics and increases forces on knees and feet while running.” He also stated, "Based on a literature review, it appears that foot pronation (turning the arch and ankle flatter to the ground, and/or the knee inward) and inadequate hip muscle stabilization are the top categories for injury.”
From my own work in this area, I found that strengthening alone won't make you run with good mechanics, prevent pronating, or other injurious habits, you need to retrain them too. Not hard. Stopping your life to do rehab exercises then returning to bad daily movement also isn't so helpful. My work builds-in both strengthening and mechanics to daily life - functional exercise. Robert Davis has been sending in his successes fixing back and other injury using functional fitness.
Robert Davis writes:
"I had made a slight error in my story! I just wanted to let you know.. I had not ordered fix your own pain till only about 4 weeks ago cause I was looking at my expenses and the Amazon one came up!
"So to see how rapidly things change when you take up these habits is even more encouraging.
"Some things I noticed along the way (I did have some slight questions on this!). My hip muscles for one, started to get "sore". I believe this is because of over tightness and overall lack of use. My guess is like every other gym rat they avoid things to make obliques and lower back "too" big because it takes away from the V shape they are after. Everyone seems to fall for this but it is an un-healthy trap I now realize.
"Anyhow I had started to get really sore over the last few weeks in hip muscle areas and even upper buttocks from stretching these areas and working them (using your stuff). When I practiced going into full squats, this really seemed to stretch out areas that began to show signs of weakness/tightness. So it was like working out muscles and getting that "soreness" when your muscles start to adapt. I kinda figure it is as it is just as normal to workout a bicep and for it to "be sore" the next few days.
"The soreness goes away and with each passing week, it becomes more mild - kinda like the body getting used to biceps being sore and you don't get sore anymore.. They do not get sore like they did when I first started your stuff. I was just curious if you had seen this. I am sure it is normal, especially for a group of muscles not used to being used or stretched out.!
"Jeez I do not think most people realize just how tight and weak they can be in areas, mostly because they are never used or people are used to being tight there. People do not believe in the squat (I showed a few people to prove them wrong lol) because they are too tight. I realize how much I am glad I found this out early in life. I get stronger every day in the areas that were weak. I know I will have a much better core, lower back, complete back, and body then before I hurt myself :)
"I put together my "planche/pull up" setup for pictures and to start working on a full planche! That is difficult to do like you do it! Any suggestions? Just keeping trying? Heheh
"Thank you again! Thank you for posting my story."
Mr. Davis, thank you. You are well ahead of the fancy researchers :-)
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
The RSS feed may still be down. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Mr. Jim Morris won the Mr. Universe title in 1977, was inducted into the Physical Fitness Hall Of Fame with Bill Pearl and Jack Lalanne in 1978, won Mr. Olympia Masters in 1996, and other awards.
He continues bodybuilding at age 73, able and active, encouraging healthful nutrition and exercise practices, and responsible living.
For his ongoing positive teaching, he has been appointed as a Practitioner of the Academy of Functional Exercise Medicine. The Academy is the teaching arm of my practice, which works for a smart healthy world.
Mr. America write to us:
"Dr. Bookspan,
"I am so thrilled to be so honored.
"The Academy is the “missing voice” in the litany of exercise noise. The goal of improving daily life should be foremost in our priorities. Just as an athlete perfects a movement we should continually be looking to better those things we do constantly. As always you are at the forefront of thinking and implementing. Congratulations on the new Academy and the best of luck with it. I am honored to be placed in so exalted a position and shall cherish it.
Jim"
Mr. Morris was first featured in Fitness Fixer in:
The Academy has classes, fun activities, cool t-shirts, certification for teaching and health professionals, fellow advancement opportunities for physicians and researchers, and other opportunities. Click the Academy link for more about Functional Exercise - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
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Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Fast Fitness - Built in Upper Body and Core Exercise Carrying Children
Friday, May 29, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Friday Fast Fitness - get better exercise and stop aching back and shoulders when carrying children (or anything else) in backpack carriers or by piggyback:
Put on the carrier (and baby for a fun practice ride or use groceries, etc). Look sideways in a mirror.
See if you round your upper and or lower back forward. See if you lean your upper body backward under the weight. Notice if you increase your lower spine inward curve, are tilting the hip out in back to hold up the carrier.
Straighten upper and lower body segments. You will feel a strong pull on your abdominal muscles when you reduce overarching in the lower spine and prevent leaning the upper body backward. You will feel an upper back workout when you don't lean or round forward.
Use straighter positioning all you can:
It may be "natural" to try to offset loads by hunching and contorting your body, but it still hurts.
Overarching the lower spine makes carrying feel easier because it shifts weight to the spine joints (facets) and surrounding soft tissue, and off the ab muscles. Rounding forward feels easier as it shifts weight to the discs and off the back muscles.
Get more exercise and less joint trauma with neutral posture.
Looking downward with good neck dynamics: Holding healthful position does not mean never look up or down to see where you are going. It means to get natural, built-in upper body exercise, burn calories, and enjoy your time going places with the kids - Tax Preparation Health
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
RSS feeds are still going down - Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Knee Surgery - Arthroscopy Results No Better than Pretend Surgery
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
A study of arthroscopic knee surgery found that the surgery was no more successful than pretending to do the surgery.
Arthroscopic surgery for knee arthritis is performed in substantial numbers. Why? The patient's doctors said they needed it. Where did the doctors get that opinion? It is taught in medical school and repeated at medical conferences. Repeating things is not evidence-based medicine (which is key) but vehemence-based medicine. When highly paid people repeat things without even knowing if it is true, that is eminence-based medicine.
Studies are now following up the same patients who had the surgery. Numbers show that often the surgeries are not needed, and people can do as well without surgery, and with intelligent non-surgical rehab.
This is not new. In the 1930's, patients being prepared for the rigors of surgery through exercise, often found that by surgery time, they didn't need it. Other patients without receiving exercise went straight to surgery. They may have had continuing pain and damage after surgery or later in life, but patient tracking was not done. Doctors just reported that the surgery was done, the patient lived, and that was all, and on to the next paying job.
Then studies compared surgery to physical rehab without surgery. Improvement rates were found to be about the same.
Then came an even more interesting study in 2002 of 180 patients that compared knee arthroscopic surgery to cutting the patient but not doing the knee surgery. Sixty patients in the placebo group received skin incisions and underwent a simulated surgery without insertion of the arthroscope. Two other groups had one of two typical knee procedures: Sixty-one patients had arthroscopic lavage group, and 59 to had arthroscopic débridement.
Results showed, "At no point did either of the intervention groups report less pain or better function than the placebo group." Conclusions were, "In this controlled trial involving patients with osteoarthritis of the knee, the outcomes after arthroscopic lavage or arthroscopic débridement were no better than those after a placebo procedure."
Source: A Controlled Trial of Arthroscopic Surgery for Osteoarthritis of the Knee. New England Journal of Medicine. Volume 347:81-88. July 11, 2002. Number 2. NEJM.
This does not mean that surgery does not "work" but that you do not have to have it or be rushed into it, if it is not right for you. There are other ways, often as quick, and less expensive and painful and without the limitations following. Take your time. Don't let anyone push you into something not right for you. Medical claims that you will get worse if you do not have immediate surgery have not turned out to be factual.
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Comments, A Medical Conference, New Findings on Discs
Monday, May 25, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
By the time this post comes out, we should be halfway out West to a medical conference. I'm presenting a study, which took years to do, and which found something unexpected.
I am a medical researcher. I find out the things that doctors (with any luck) then learn and put into practice. A research career has all (and more) of the medical schooling, but without the burden of the medical salary. In previous studies, I found that chronically overdoing the inward lower spine curve pinches the lower spine. It forces the spine joints, called facets, backward against each other, eventually wearing them out, and compresses surrounding soft tissue. After long periods of standing, exercise, and lifting with too much inward curve, lower back pain is not a big surprise or mysterious to fix. In the work I am presenting, I found that although it is known that the main factor to injure vertebral discs is too much bending forward, that overarching backward can hurt discs too. This is a new proposed mechanism of disc injury.
There is supposed to be a small inward curve to the lower spine. With the (very) small normal inward curve, spine bones line up on top of each other like stacks of cups so that there is equal pressure on discs from front to back. That is called normal lordosis (inward curve). Chronic bending forward manages to unequally load the discs so that they push out in back. Overarching also unequally loads the area. It seems to pinch already protruded discs, and may even factor in the herniation process. I will be presenting on years of my work that lead to this finding.
I made a diagram showing the disc injury coming from overarching/ hyperlordosis/ hyperextending the spine that is so common in pop fitness. The Healthline blog software is still not loading any new photos of my own. Stock photos or those from other people's sharing sites appear, but I the blogger is not letting us get my own diagrams and student photos to you, for now. I mailed the image to Healthline.com staffer Jerry, who said he could upload it for you. It should appear here, below this paragraph, so you can understand better why hyper-lordosis, although common, and often taught, it not neutral spine and can make unnecessary pain. The damage and pain can be quick to fix when you know how. Click the labels "facets" and "lordosis" for posts explaining this issue.
I have to pay the travel to get to the conference, pay the conference fee, essentially, pay to work. I have to bring a computer and projector to give my own presentation (or pay an AV fee to the conference) but won't have Internet access to see or answer questions. Leave fun comments but hold questions for the next two weeks.
Photo is me, taken on the way on the way to a previous medical conference, out for some barefoot climbing.
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Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
RSS feeds are down. To subscribe, click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Fast Fitness - Quick Refreshed Perspective Every Day
Friday, May 22, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Fast Friday Fitness - strengthen appreciation. Appreciation increases happiness, lowers blood pressure and stress chemicals, and reduces resentment, an unhealthy state of mind:
When you turn on a water faucet, notice that you get water. This is more than several millions of people have. Real people, as deserving as everyone else, walk miles and pay criminally inflated prices for water that is sometimes too dirty to drink.
When you turn on an electric light, notice that you get light and have electricity. In every room. At all hours. In many part of the world, even in major cities, they do not have electricity more than a few hours and sometimes, none in non-public areas.
If you are reading this, you may have a computer or other electronics. Even if it is in a library and you waited in line, you have these luxuries to browse for life enhancing ideas.
Right now, there are people carrying loads and walking miles just to dig for food and water, or carrying all their belongings on their back and living in tent refuge cities to escape persecution, sieges, physical attacks and worse, and have been for years. Not complaining doesn't mean to not change things. Do something about it:
It is fantastic bounty to have water and electricity. Try to notice it, and be happy for it. It is also true that Western water is full of unnecessary chemicals, and destructive pharmaceuticals. We can reduce polluting and taking unnecessary drugs. Don't pollute and litter without thought. Work to change the lives of all the many without basic rights and privileges. Show children that you appreciate, and don't destroy. Lead by example.
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Thank you Healthcare Technology News for including my post Prevent Back Surgery in this week's Vol. 5 No. 35 edition of Grand Rounds. They wrote, "Jolie Bookspan finds that a major overlooked part of health care reform is that many standard payments are for things that shouldn't need to be done in the first place. See her example - of How to Prevent Back Surgery."
Particular thanks to this Grand Rounds because they included a prevention post in their Health Care Reform theme edition
On the web, Grand Rounds is a collection of the best on-line medical posts from the past week. A different host works hard each week to find and list the articles. This is different from the Grand Rounds in a hospital, which is a lecture for doctors about a patient or topic.
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Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more in the comments, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
RSS feeds are down, subscribe, free by using "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Pectoral (Chest) Stretch - The Most Common Mistake in the Best Shoulder Stretch
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Mike Benson has sent several Fitness Fixer inspiring stories. In response to reader requests, he made us this photo set showing, "The most common mistake in the best stretch - How to not get any stretch from the pectoral stretch." I asked him to demonstrate this, because I see this mistake so often. People often "do" a stretch without "getting" a stretch.
Why is this stretch so good? Round-shouldered posture is a main contributor to neck and upper body pain and rotator cuff injury. Round-shouldered posture feels comfortable and natural when the front chest muscles are tight. A common mistake is to stretch the shoulder joint, which does not address this problem.
The purpose of the pectoral stretch is to lengthen chest muscles so that healthier positioning feels natural and comfortable. If you merely hold your elbow to the side, little lengthening can occur - shown in first photo:
Second photo below - changing the position to get the purpose - lengthening anterior (front) muscles that go across the chest. One way is to use a wall to help you press your elbow back.
Turn your body and feet away from the wall.
Your elbow is behind you, no longer out to the side.
Raising the elbow higher or lower changes the stretch.
Experiment until you only feel a stretch in the front chest and no pain or pinching anywhere in the shoulder:
Keep shoulder down and relaxed
Do not make any pain anywhere. The idea is to make things healthier, not to strain, push, force, tighten, grunt, and call that a health promotion activity.
Understand the purpose first. The purpose of this stretch is to lengthen front chest muscles so that tightness does not pull you into feeling that round-shouldered position is the norm or that it is uncomfortable to straighten. Feel the stretch in the intended area.
Use a mirror to help you connect what the position looks like with what it feels like.
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
RSS feeds still down - Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
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Photos by and of Fitness Fixer reader success Mike Benson
Back pain from lifting and carrying babies and young children is common. Rehab and PT programs commonly have people spend time (away from their children and other important things they need to do) to lift weight to strengthen back muscles.
Here is an idea - if weight lifting helps, lift the kids. Just lift them right, so that you do not get the back pain in the first place. It is not the lifting that causes the pain.
Good Kid Lifting:
Prevents pain,
Strengthens your muscles,
Gives built in exercise (functional exercise the way your muscles work),
Increases contact with your young kids, important to their development,
Improves ability to keep time with your children fun, healthy, and happy.
Readers asked me to make reminders for them about how to lift and carry their young children.
I created several different reminders on good lifting, bending, carrying. Fun T-shirts for kids are available in several colors and fabrics. There are bibs, singlets, and shirts for babies, and fun Back and Neck Saver reminders for grownups too.
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Here is Friday Fast Fitness - by special request of martial arts students starting my summer semester university class this Tuesday - Make a quick soreness relief rub at home:
Cut open hot red peppers and remove the seeds. If you have sensitive skin, use gloves.
Crush the seeds using a mortar and pestle. If you don't have that, try a mallet or any pounding tool. More seeds makes a hotter rub. Experiment sensibly. Crush in some pulp of the red pepper (or a green one) to add substance and color.
Add oil to preferred thickness. Coconut oil is great, and becomes solid in cool temperatures. Or try sesame or olive oil, whatever is healthy and handy in the kitchen. Rub on sore areas.
Some commercial preparations contain petroleum products, like Vaseline, unhealthy for bodies like the Earth and you. Some contain methyl salicylate. Even though these are natural plant substances, poisonings and overdoses are common. Other soreness balms contain any number of toxic substances. Fresh, healthful hot pepper rub is quick and good.
**Wash your hands well with soap before touching your eyes or using the bathroom to avoid burning the touched areas. Be sure to remove hot pepper traces before handling contact lenses.**
Make sure it is your muscles that are sore from good honest effort, not joint injury:
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
On the web, Grand Rounds is a collection of the best on-line medical posts from the past week. A different host works hard each week to find and list the articles. This is different from the Grand Rounds in a hospital, which is a lecture for doctors about a patient or topic.
Thank you to this week's host for doing the hard work of collecting and featuring our posts.
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Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
For weightlifters who enjoy Olympic lifts, rows, cable cross-overs, curls, and all the other good stuff with endless heavy weight, you may like growing vegetables.
We have been tilling a vegetable garden from a rocky field at my Mom's. Seems her home was built on landfill. We had to sledge-hammer and pry concrete slabs - prodigious squatting, levering, clean-and-jerking, and hundred pound medicine ball throws over the just-built garden fence into a pile. Then lifting and hauling away the pile.
Carrying sand, earth, rocks, weed bales, tree branches as heavy as you can lift, over uneven rocky hilly earth back and forth from the truck, the field, and the new compost pile a hundred feet away for hours is functional weightlifting. Hours of repetition-maximum (RM) hoeing gives a harder abdominal, arm, and gluteal workout than it looks.
Healthline software still isn't uploading my own photos. At left above, a photo of a statue with too much lumbar curve/hyperlordosis to be healthy, but in general doing functional weightlifting. Use your muscles to prevent overarching like this when you swing a sledge, a kettlebell, or other weight. For Fitness Fixer posts on neutral spine and hyperlordosis, click the photo or here.
Over the winter while visiting home in Asia, my husband Paul and I went to a workman's shop. The store-keeps remembered us and smiled. The first time we went there years ago, they were so sure we were lost tourists, they took our shoulder and gestured at a restaurant. In the best Thai I could manage, I explained that Paul is a carpenter, has done forge metal work, and loves old-world tools, strong bamboo handles, and hand-hammered metal. They smile each year we return. In the US, we live in a crowded urban area with minimal bricked exterior in deep shade from surrounding buildings. Vegetable gardens don't grow. Paul wanted to plant my Mother's field - a brambled overgrown area.
In the Thai tool store, I explained with the words I knew that Paul was looking for a specific Thai tool, shaped like a backward shovel, that you use in overhead action, like a mattock (flat bladed pick).
Quickly, excitedly, word went from the store-keep, to her friend in the next shop, to the next, and next:
"Man who good to Mother of wife!"
The coconut telegraph was happy. We bought two heavy tools, called "job" in Thai. Both had thick lovely bamboo handles. One was giant sized for Paul, the other for me. Fun getting them through flights and US customs.
Mom had asked a local man what it would take to clear her field, and he told her a blowtorch, a machine plow, three men, and a week. Paul and I cleared it in one day in early April with a digging stick and the Thai hoe-shovels. The ground was half frozen. Six, or so hours massive exertion - first clearing brush and tall grasses, then hours of half-squats to seize handfuls of stalks, standing back up to pull them with grip strength. Then excavating slabs of concrete and discarded materials with a pry bar, the Thai digging tools, and bare armed weight lifting.
The packs of seeds we had scattered in assorted flowerpots, pans, shoeboxes, and containers sprouted over just a week into tiny plants - broccoli, cabbage, pea, hot and sweet peppers, strawberries, eggplants, and assorted spices. We have been learning about complementary planting - plants, just like people, who are better and healthier with specific other kinds of plants so that chemical fertilizer isn't needed. We are learning about plants that repel pests, instead of using insecticides.
We got a rain barrel to reduce water bills. We attached an old broken hose. The holes made it a natural soaker hose. We poked more holes and arranged it around the garden for drip irrigation. We don't know the water quality of either the rain or from the tap. We will send six dollars and a soil sample to an agricultural university for testing. Maybe other toxic things are in that landfill that we don't want the vegetables absorbing. Maybe commercial food factories have the same problem. Many things to learn.
Weeks pass squatting and sitting well to plant seedlings, still hitting buried rubble. More lifting and hauling. Each night we are too tired to worry or think anything bad. We are barely were able to lift hands and feet. I consider what people for thousands of years have been doing just for subsistence farming, day after day, year after year. I thought of Fitness Fixer success story Ivy and her story - Farm Work, Lifestyle Exercise, and Preventing Overuse Pain.
We thought we planted everything, then found a half pack of pea seeds left. Paul mentioned we didn't have one more container for them. I laughed, "we didn't have a pot to pea in."
Ideas:
If you're a tough vital strong person, or want to be, dig a garden.
If you don't have anywhere to dig one, hook up with some nice elder who wants one, a community group, Habitat for Humanity, or someone who doesn't want to exercise like this but still wants a garden.
Contact your community to see about organizing parents and children out in sunshine for functional exercise doing good for all.
If you only want one hour a day of hard total body fat burning muscle building exercise, only plant a small vegetable garden.
No need to buy fancy tools, use what's handy.
If you don't want to exercise so hard, try a single pack of seeds in some potting soil in almost any container on a sunny windowsill. A chance to get the vegetables you like.
Fancy individual peat pots and seed starters aren't essential; a simple pack of seeds can get you a pan full of fragrant oregano, said to be very healthful. It gives a gasp of wonder (to me) when seedlings actually sprout.
Before the 2008 election, a video appeared by Roger Doiron (I don't know him, just liked the video). He asked the next President to grow a garden. It did come true. Here is his viewpoint of getting your own garden started, showing various bending, occasionally good:
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Certain headaches can be initiated or aggravated by tense facial muscles (squinting, scowling, furrowing brow), and by tight, tense, overstretched muscles in back of the head, neck, and shoulders, common with letting the upper body slouch forward. Headaches from tight muscles were formerly categorized as tension headaches. A growing theory includes upper body muscle use among triggers of a different kind of headache, the migraine, previously thought of as only a vascular event.
The wide range of kinds of headache is not my major field of study. I had previously had results with patients retraining upper body position to stop tension headache. I was not aware my own research would be useful to people with other kinds of headache, so I am learning from my patients who frequently report stories just like this one recently in from engineer Johannes Ernst:
Dr. Ernst writes:
"Some mindblowing ideas one might come across by accident instantly convert you into a new missionary because they are so clearly and obviously true, no further check required. Your particular religion ;-) of fitness is one of them.
"I would summarize it as follows: if our ancestors, over 10's of thousands of years, had had as many ailments as we have today, the human race would have died out a long time ago. No ergonomic chairs but only rocks and logs to sit on? No exercise equipment? Not even one pill a day? Just leaves and furs instead of expensive mattresses and beds? Humans clearly had no chance.
"Well, but here we are nevertheless. So given how many ailments we have, something that we are doing these days must be much worse than what our ancestors did in the forests. Jolie's mindbogglingly straightforward answer: instead of using ever-more complicated medical and fitness tools and regimens, whose benefits, never mind costs, often are marginal or doubtful, what about we use our bodies how they were meant to be used? Duh!!
"The shameful thing is that medicine, as a profession, does not necessarily nudge anybody in that direction. Often, its leading practitioners seem totally oblivious to what should be a "Duh".
"What is wrong with this picture?
"In my case, over the course of 25 years of headaches, healthcare professionals on two continents, etc. etc., nobody, never, not once, suggested, that I could improve my posture. I got all the drugs, regardless of how expensive, few of which would make much difference other than to put me out cold.
"Last week, for the first time, about 6 weeks since I got a few of Jolie's books, I managed to extinguish an immobilizing headache through some rather simple exercises, completely without drugs. I totally expect that I will be able to do it again. (I did! This morning!)
There is more to headache than posture, of course. Many causes can be controlled without unhealthful pills. The book Health & Fitness in Plain English THIRD edition has an entire chapter devoted to known ways to prevent and end a headache.
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Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Here is Fast Friday Fitness - Bend right and pull one of the highest nutrition garden items, free, even if you have not planted a garden:
Find dandelions. You can tell them by their jagged leaves. The leaves gave them their name, from the French for 'dents de lion' (tooth of the lion).
Use good bending, with squat or lunge, to pull free nutritious food. Many people will let you have theirs free.
You can eat the green, the flowers, even the roots. USDA Bulletin #8, "Composition of Foods" (Haytowitz & Matthews 1984) ranks dandelions in the top 4 green vegetables in overall nutritional value.
Dandelion has long been known as a top nutritional food and even medicine. The official name, Taraxacum officinal, comes from the Greek, 'taraxos' meaning 'disorder' and 'akos' meaning 'remedy.'
Eat the greens as salad, sautéed like other green vegetables, or make juice. Greens are best fresh and young, just before the plant flowers. Greens have bitter taste (like coffee and beer) that is said to aid digestion. People who are accustomed to junk sweets may not like them at first, then they taste better over time, and mixed with nuts, spices, and vinegar.
Dandelion flowers are pretty in salads and on vegetables, or use them to make wine (to be covered in posts to come). Dandelion root contains inulin, a soluble fiber which does not raise blood sugar or triglycerides, making it helpful to people with diabetes. Dig roots in early spring or fall. You can eat them as is, or soak them in a jar of brandy or vodka for four weeks (or more) to make a tincture.
Now you can stop using poisonous and expensive chemicals on your lawn too. Better not to add these substances to the water system, or to yours.
The good news? Even when you pull them to eat, they come back to make more free nutritious garden without work.
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Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
On Saturday May 16th 2009, I will be offering an opportunity to learn many techniques in one day, and pursue certification.
I will teach two different workshops. Come learn to fix injuries for yourself and others.
Optional certifications in each course will be available by arrangement. The certifications are authorized by the International Academy of Functional Exercise Medicine:
Fix and Prevent Injuries - Ankles, Arches, Discs, Knee, Back, & Neck 9am-1:30pm and Stretching Smarter Stretching Healthier 1:30-4:30pm.
Both workshops are held on the same day, Saturday May 16th, in downtown Philadelphia at Temple University Center City campus, 1515 Market Street, across the street from historic City Hall.
People fly in from all over the world to attend this double workshop in one-day format.
The Academy has been in process of renaming to "Exercise Medicine" instead of the previous "Sports Medicine" for the wider application outside of sports. New developments are listed on the Academy site:
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Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
My post features a short video of a 7th grader who finds the fast food industry has paid for food lists including fast food to be placed in classrooms as educational materials. Click Health Homework to see it.
On the web, Grand Rounds is a collection of the best on-line medical posts from the past week. A different host works hard each week to find and list the articles. This is different from the Grand Rounds in a hospital, which is a lecture for doctors about a patient or topic.
Thank you to Nursing Handover for doing the hard work of collecting and featuring our posts.
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Read success stories of Fitness Fixer methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
The RSS feed is down. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right to subscribe, free. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Readers, patients, and students have asked me for years to write down for them about good lifting and bending over babies and children. I wrote articles and books. I did experiments in the lab. They still said they couldn't remember. So I made something for all of you. You can give these to everyone in need for Mothers and Fathers days, coming up, and all year.
Here it is, quicker and easier than reading the books:
If the photo does not appear (blogger is having troubles) click this link.
I designed singlets and one-piece suits for infants, T-shirts for toddlers and children, various sizes and colors.
One student had asked me to write down and hang the information around her neck so she would have an easy way to remember all the time. So I made a bib too - for the baby - so she could see it each time she bent to feed and lift.
I was surprised people wouldn't just remember on their own to live in a way so important to their health. But they kept coming back asking for me to tell them again. I am drawing the various concepts and putting them on daily items as funny reminders. I will show them in future posts if readers are interested.
Click the photo or go to this site for all the educational gifts designed so far - http://www.cafepress.com/AcademyGifts. Send your requests for other ways to have fun health built in to daily memory.
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Read success stories of Fitness Fixer methods and send your own.
Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from fun ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, or in the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. RSS feed currently not working so click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. See Dr. Bookspan's Books. Get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Fast Fitness - Double Arm Strength, Endurance, Balance, Stability, and Free Inversion Table
Friday, May 01, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Fast Friday Fitness - build on the handstands you have already been doing with Fitness Fixer.
Do a handstand against a wall. An easy way is to stand with your back about a foot or so from a wall, crouch down and put one foot, then the other, high on the wall.
With feet still against the wall, begin to lean your weight until you are holding yourself up on only one arm.
Hold as long as you can. Breathe normally. Leave shoulders relaxed, not tight. Switch to the other arm.
"Sorry my video requires a lot of phone power so I had enough to snap a shot before I have to charge it. Angle is kinda odd as it is on a "tv" with my wallet ingeniously holding it in a position so it can see me instead of the floor lol. I need to go and buy a camera.."
If you like lifting weight overhead for upper body strength, you don't need to wait to go to a gym, or to get weights or equipment.
How to get started with a wall handstand - Wall Handstand Success With Liz. Use your brain before trying this. Be safe and careful, obviously.
Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from cool ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, and the Fitness Fixer Index.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. Become certified through the Academy - Dr.Bookspan.com/Academy. SeeDr. Bookspan's books.
Here is the latest fun update from Robert Davis on losing fat and increasing strength and flexibility. He has been sending success after success using Fitness Fixer techniques:
"I have noticed a big improvement since I started in my flexibility. I noticed this the other day when I realized just how much farther I can stretch now. I could not lower completely into a sitting squat without tipping before. Now I can and it sure as heck makes working in really low areas for a longer time very easy without resorting to bending (bad weighted flexed) which I refuse to do at all now.
"I have seen increases in all areas of stretching. I see that it just takes time and consistency.
"Since I am a musician, I carry a guitar bag everywhere. I decided to make a "portable" gym. Got a pull-up bar that goes in doors (removes and mounts quickly) and my guitar bag. That is all I need. I fill the bag with random objects to add weight and strap it on (like a backpack) and do everything from the books with increased weight and also pull-ups of all kinds of grips/variations for more challenge. You mentioned the wall handstand pushups and this reminded me of that. I strap my weighted bag to my back and do those now too. No need to go to the gym =P
"PS my friends think the wall stand pushups are "nuts" and can barely hold themselves up in position when they try. Who needs the military press? I actually found this to be much harder because of all the stabilization. Unlike a machine or barbell, it feels like a lot more muscles are coming into play a bit more when doing them like that. Seems so with almost all the body weight exercises. No wonder aside from cosmetics, weight training has no functional use outside of the gym. Takes a bonehead like me to realize this!
"Oddly, since I had changed my diet from meats and animal to Vegan (inspired by the body builders you have shown on the Fitness fixer) I have had people comment that I seem to be getting bigger! This is kinda funny because I actually lost some mass and it is mostly body fat from the weightlifting diet (now changed to vegan) and doing these exercises in place of weight training. They often do not believe me when I say I have not touched the bench in 3 months or so now. =0"
Watch for Fast Fitness this Friday to see what Robert Davis will show you next.
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Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from cool ones. Before asking, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, and archives at right.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. Become certified through the Academy - Dr.Bookspan.com/Academy BrowseDr. Jolie Bookspan's books on her website.
On the web, Grand Rounds is a collection of the best on-line medical posts from the past week. A different host works hard each week to find and list the articles. This is different from the Grand Rounds in a hospital, which is a lecture for doctors about a patient or topic.
Kerri wrote, "You can also just recycle, which keeps the earth fit." Thank you Kerri for doing the hard work of collecting and featuring our posts.
Click "Garbage Dreams" to see uplifting answers to destructive practices.
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Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from cool ones. Before asking more, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, and archives at right.
Healthful Real Food Tastes Good - No Commercial Health Food Needed
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Ivy of New Zealand sends me frequent updates of her continuing improvements. She is a great-grandmother and still getting stronger, healthier, more mobile, and having more fun while she does all this. Ivy writes,
"Around 7.30 yesterday morning, my daughter's partner arrived - he was in the area so thought he would surprise me with a visit. I was about to make breakfast. He laughed and asked if I was about to cook some steak.
"I dished up buck wheat, molasses (he commented that it was horse food) banana, feijoas followed by ground flaxseed, sunflower and sesame seeds. I ground the seeds so he would not comment that I was feeding him bird seed. Smile, smile.
"Surprise, surprise, he could not get over as to how delicious it was. I pointed out that it was "whole food" and it would stick to his ribs, therefore no junk food required mid morning."
Hugs Ivy
Many Fitness Fixer readers send inspiring stories. Some continue to send updates, with improved fun, strength, mobility, and good thinking each time. Ivy's Successes have inspired many readers, all ages and abilities. Here are some of Ivy's gems:
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from selected ones. Before asking, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, and archives at right.
Fast Fitness - Pro-Social Behavior Improves Health of All
Friday, April 24, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Friday Fast Fitness - Doing selfless good is not only for the benefit of the receiver. Move your body and brain to make a happier world, passed on like a game of tag.
Lily is one of my martial arts students. She writes:
"In my Psychology class called “Child and Adolescent Development” my teacher asked each of us to do simple acts of kindness throughout the semester.
"Pro-social behavior is the opposite of antisocial behavior. The ideas behind doing simple acts of kindness are as follows: behavior is contagious, we model behavior for others, and we become what we do. Acting in kind ways toward others is positive behavior that we model for others. It is valuable to model this kind of behavior for children. (The Behaviorists say that behavior is learned). It is important to teach children about kindness, because children’s brains are developing, and experiences hardwire the brain.
"Each week at the beginning of class, my teacher would ask her students to please share a simple act of kindness. Examples (some are mine, some are others'):
“I held the door for someone.”
“I gave a friend who doesn’t have a car a ride to school today.”
“I cooked my mom dinner.”
“I helped my mom stretch her legs in ways she normally could not, to help relieve her pain.”
“I helped a stranger change their tire.”
“I was about to pull into a parking spot, but let another person, who was obviously in a rush, have the spot. They thanked me.”
“I e-mailed a classmate the homework assignment when they had missed class.”
“I helped a very drunk girl find the bus stop and gave her a token to get home.”
“I helped my little brother with his homework.”
“I call my grandmother regularly now, just to talk, when before I only called her if there was a specific reason.”
“I helped someone fix their printer, even though I was initially unsure how to.”
Try some. Move your body and brain. Make health contagious. Send in your own successes doing small things that pass happier ways on. Click the label 'spirit' for Fitness Fixer ideas.
Lily's Posts:
Lily demonstrates a better lunge stretch and gives a no-cook delicious recipe: - Lunges and Beans
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from selected ones. Before asking, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, and archives at right.
Health Homework Becomes AntiObesity Chronic Disease Reality Check
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Jeff & Sabrina sent me an e-mail that their 7th grade son was given a school assignment about the "proper amount of calories to have a normal weight" but with junk foods listed in the menus.
They made a video of the events, explaining,
"Could it be that our schools are actually Suspect Number One in fostering obesity and chronic illness?"
This is not a surprise. I have taught at medical schools and attended medical conferences that serve unhealthy foods. I was on a national committee to determine nutrition consensus statements where the box lunches served had cookies, sodas, processed bread, cured meat and cheese sandwiches, "sports bars" which are candy in an expensive wrapper, and gloppy fatty dressing. I have received many letters from doctors and fitness instructors that they can't be expected to eat right, or even exercise enough given their busy schedules. This is not fitness. Fitness is not appearances, or being unhealthy while giving medical advice to others, or taking stimulant drugs to stay awake to work extra jobs to support a spending habit, or doing repetitions of artificial exercises 10 times, then returning to slouching and bad bending to pick up your gym bag. Fitness is how you think, move, act, and help the world be better.
We need some role models. Click the arrow to watch the video.
If the video does not appear on your screen, click their link
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from selected ones. Before asking, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, and archives at right.
On the web, Grand Rounds is different from the Grand Rounds in a hospital, which is a lecture for doctors about a patient or topic. Thank you to this week's host for doing the hard work of collecting and featuring our posts.
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Read success stories of Fitness Fixer methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from selected ones. Before asking, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, and archives at right.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. Find your topics on the Fitness Fixer Index, and seeDr. Jolie Bookspan's books on her website.
All the More Reason To Try - Exercise to Overcome Each Difficulty
Monday, April 20, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
E-mails and questions pour in - "I am weak from a recent bout of flu, will strengthening help me? I never had strong legs, should I bother doing leg exercise? My shoulders do not stay straight, they just become round when I let them, does that mean that I cannot have good posture? My ankles tilt toward each other when I stand up, does that mean that I should not stand straight? My balance is poor, why should I do balance exercise as I will just have a hard time of it. I have multiple sclerosis and it is tiring to stand up, should I try? I am overweight and have health problems from it, will I get any benefit from not eating so much? My toes are all tight from tight shoes, should I stretch my toes?"
These are real inquires. The answer to all is yes, you need the exercise even more than the person without these difficulties. Yes, work to overcome, to change what is hampering you, to regain function.
Hear it phrased this way:
"I earn less than the rest of my office, would getting a raise make a difference?" "My car veers to the left ever since I hit that pothole, should I try to hold the wheel straight, even though it seems so natural for the car to swerve uncontrolled?" "I just have a natural temper, why bother controlling it?"
When things are tough, you need to control it all the more. If you like to run or swim but are slow, you need to work harder at speed, not omit speed work. You have to work to get results. There is a saying "If the sword is not sharp, use a heavy handle." If you are not good at something, you need to work harder.
For inspiration, click the arrow to watch the video of The Thousand-Hand Guanyin, performed by 21 dancers of the Chinese Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe. All the dancers are deaf and cannot hear the music. Lead dancer is 29 year old Tai Lihua, who earned a BA degree from the Hubei Fine Arts Institute.
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from selected ones. Before asking, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, and archives at right.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. Find your topics on the Fitness Fixer Index, and seeDr. Jolie Bookspan's books on her website.
Fast Fitness - Add Balance, Stability, and Portability to Military Press - Handstand Pushups
Friday, April 17, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Fast Friday Fitness - If you like lifting weight overhead for upper body strength, you don't need to wait to go to a gym, or to get weights or equipment.
Get more exercise, practice balance, and shoulder and arm stability, with handstand dips:
Do a handstand against a wall. An easy way is to stand with your back about a foot or so from a wall, crouch down and put one foot, then the other, high on the wall.
With good judgment, do upside down pushups (dips).
Vary the depth of each dip, speed of each, speed you can do a number of dips, and distance of your hands from the wall to vary the exercise.
Robert Davis sent in his video of how to do handstand pushups. Blogger is still having trouble uploading visuals. Click this link to watch it:
he writes, "I replaced the military press with this. It is portable for one! Ever notice how pronounced male gymnasts shoulders and arms are? They do things like this:) "
Robert was a weightlifter who hurt his back with conventional lifting (bad bending and overarching the lower spine). He rehabbed quickly with Fitness Fixer techniques and has been sending in his success stories one after the next. He writes:
"This was not a very problematic exercise as I had been used to destroying my shoulders with mega high weight LOL. But this is different because of the engagement of muscle groups that control stabilization.
"But yeah, I have been doing that in place of military press and see how it is more beneficial as the stabilizers have to kick in more then being benched or using a machine.
"Once again thank you and I think people should really listen to you. I am glad I did because I have no need to go in to get scanned or be told I need surgery or something silly ;)
"Like I said I am not into pro body building, I just did it to stay "fit" and look fit as I thought it was. But after going thru this, it is not all that functional to pound out reps of heavy weight and not be able to do a plank or walk/sit straight. I lifted enough just to have "lean muscle" but not to be huge. But I realize now this is easily done safely with your methods and I do not need a gym."
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from selected ones. Before asking, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, and archives at right.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. Find your topics on the Fitness Fixer Index, and seeDr. Jolie Bookspan's books on her website.
Beside your Fitness Fixer post each day, what else is here for information and fun?
Down the right-hand column of your screen are several categories of links:
First is "Health Expert Updates" where you can subscribe and have each new Fitness Fixer post sent to you free.
Under "Health Expert Updates" is "Recent Posts." Recent Posts lists the ten Fitness Fixer posts before the one you are reading in the main screen. If you are reading an older post, you will not see current posts.
Under "Recent Posts" come the "Archives." Clicking an archive link gives all posts from that month. I have been writing Fitness Fixer since 2006, so there are many months in the archives. Archives may not look interesting, but a month of posts at t time lets you quickly skim for short interesting reads. Try one.
Under the Archives is "Who We Read." Here is where I can share with you sites I personally use:
Bonkers Institute, in the guise of comedy and with a deft hand, exposes serious medical scams. I introduced it in the post Technical Difficulties.
New Scientist generally has a variety of well-done and interesting science articles
Scuba Doc is a massive wealth of scuba medical and technical information, put together by my dear colleague and friend Dr. Ern Campbell, MD, FACS. "Scubadoc's Diving Medicine Online" has an open Scuba Clinic Forum where you can find many diving questions and answers by topic, and interact with other divers and interested people. The Tenfootstop Weblog is a lovely helpful scuba blog. The FAQ is a considerable collection of scuba answers. The "Site Map and Table of Contents" gives a huge list of articles.
TruthOrFiction calls itself "Your Email Reality Check" by checking veracity of "rumors, inspirational stories, virus warnings, hoaxes, scams, humorous tales, pleas for help, urban legends, prayer requests, calls to action, and other forwarded emails."
Any time you want to see the most recent Fitness Fixer post, click the blue underlined "Fitness Fixer" link under the Healthline.com menus, to the left of my name. It is (so far) always just above the title of the top post in the main screen.
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Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from selected ones. Before asking, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, and archives at right. Find your topics on the Fitness Fixer Index, and seeDr. Jolie's books on her website.
On the web, Grand Rounds is a collection of the best on-line medical posts from the week. A different host works hard each week to find and list the articles. This is different from the Grand Rounds in a hospital, which is a lecture for doctors about a patient or topic.
Thank you to this week's host Dr. Flavio for doing the hard work of collecting and featuring our posts.
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Read success stories of Fitness Fixer methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from selected ones. Before asking, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, and archives at right.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. Find your topics on the Fitness Fixer Index, and seeJolie's books on her website.
Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from selected ones. See if your answers are already here by clicking links and archives. Read success stories of these methods and send your own.
Have The Fitness Fixer e-mailed to you, free. Click "updates via e-mail" - Health Expert Updates (trumpet icon) upper right column.
Fast Fitness - Recycling and the Movie "Garbage Dreams"
Friday, April 10, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Fast Friday Fitness - Recycling trash is honorable and beneficial for people and Earth.
The word 'Zabal' is a person who collects trash. The Zabaleen of Cairo are class of people who for generations, have collected the city's trash by hand, with devotion and honor, and the certainly that from their sweat, they do important work for their community and the world.
The Zabaleen recycle 80% of all they collect, all by hand. They build and run their own school to educate their children in literacy, manners, good and honorable conduct, studies, and recycling techniques. The city decided it was progress to be modern and great like the West, and change to using trucks and companies to collect the trash, mostly dumped into landfill. The livelihood of the Zabaleen is dwindling. The movie Garbage Dreams shows their members visiting a landfill, incredulous that anyone would throw such literal treasure into a hole. One exclaimed that trash, and the possibilities and materials it possesses, is a gift from heaven, not to be wasted at cost to the Earth.
The movie tries to appeal to audiences by making it a drama of the decisions of three of the teen Zabaleen, but I hope the greater message the teens make is not lost. It is not progress to look down on classes of people. It is not progress to waste. It is not progress to be made to feel you are not good because you work to clean the world.
See the movie Garbage Dreams.
Learn a long-known, little talked-about world crisis encompassing health, politics, economics, sweat-of-the-brow work, pollution, and human rights.
Notice litter on the ground. Stop littering. Know that it is good and honorable to pick up trash, not something beneath your values. Pick up trash today (be prudent what you reach into). Thank others who do this work.
Garbage Dreams was supported by a grant from the Sundance documentary film program. It won several Film Festival awards.
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Read success stories of Fitness Fixer methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from selected ones. Before asking, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, and archives at right.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right.
Spring Garden is Fitness Health Goodness as a Lifestyle
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
United States First Lady Michelle Obama led the way to dig and sow a vegetable garden on the south lawn of the White House. Local primary school (elementary school) students helped, and are scheduled to continue sharing the work and knowledge and benefits of planting, weeding, caring for, and harvesting vegetables and herbs for the White House kitchen.
The first lady is developing programs to promote healthy eating for American families. In an interview, she stated, "My hope is that through children, they will begin to educate their families and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities… Its most important role, will be to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at a time when obesity and diabetes have become a national concern."
Plans involve the entire First Family. President Barack Obama is scheduled to help weed and tend the garden.
In the 1990's US President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton tended a rooftop vegetable garden.
In 1943, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a Victory Garden in front of the White House. (In the 1920s she was also prominent in the movement to allow women to vote in US elections.) Her White House war effort Victory Garden inspired millions. By 1945, 40 percent of produce in the US was grown at home.
Read about teaching neighborhood children self-respect instead of vandalizing, and to reap what they sow, and share what they harvest for healthier neighborhoods - Lifestyle Fitness for Kids Through Gardening
For more Fitness Fixer on each topic, click labels gardening and green fitness under this post. The label children gives fitness of all kinds for children.
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Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from selected ones. Before asking, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, and archives at right.
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This is the second time that reader Robert Davis is featured in a Fitness Fixer Post selected for the Grand Rounds collection of the best on-line medical posts from the past week. Click the Fast Fitness link above to see why.
A different Grand Rounds host works hard each week to find and list the articles. This is different from the Grand Rounds in a hospital, which is a lecture for doctors about a patient or topic.
Thank you to this week's host Leslie for doing the hard work of collecting and featuring our posts.
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Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from selected ones. Before asking, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, and archives at right.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right.
A news report published in several publications including The Wall Street Journal stated that anesthesiologist Scott S. Reuben faked data so that it would seem that benefits occurred from painkillers like Vioxx and Celebrex. The studies had been published in several anesthesiology journals between 1996 and 2008.
Dr. Reuben had been a paid speaker for Pfizer, a powerful pharmaceutical company, and Pfizer paid for some of the research.
The journal Anesthesiology has retracted three of Dr. Reuben's articles. The journal Anesthesia & Analgesia has retracted 10 of Dr. Reuben's studies and posted a list of 11 of his studies published in other journals.
Jacques E. Chelly, head of acute interventional postoperative pain service at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said that the situation has prompted his hospital to review the protocols it uses to treat patients for pain, because Dr. Reuben's work was so influential in establishing them.
Editor James C. Eisenach warned in an editorial in the journal Anesthesiology, stating:
"these retractions clearly raise the possibility that we might be heading in wrong directions or toward blind ends in attempts to improve pain therapy."
Other Problematic Drugs. Vioxx and Celebrex are not the only highly prescribed drugs that have been found less effective than advertised. Several major drugs prescribed for pain/fibromyalgia and headache were later ordered by the FDA to carry a Suicide Risk Warning:
Healthy Ways To Stop Sources of Pain. Specific well-known medications and surgeries have found to be no more effective than less expensive and disruptive methods:
Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from selected ones. Before asking, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, and archives at right.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right.
Fast Fitness - Better Legs and Pain Relief Comes From You Not The Exercise Ball
Friday, April 03, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Friday Fast Fitness - Be healthful when you do health activities. What a concept.
How fit is it to use fitness equipment in unhealthy ways?
When you pick up and put down an exercise ball, or any exercise equipment, how do you bend? Unhealthfully? During an activity you use to improve your health?
Robert Davis sent in this change of bad bending to good bending . Good bending shifts weight and leverage off lumbar discs and onto leg, hip, and back muscles.
Robert Davis wrote. "I had to use my cell phone on timer so the pictures are not the greatest quality."
Here is the ouchy
Here is the squat
Robert Davis was a weight lifter with a painful back injury from conventional lifting. He fixed his back pain with Fitness Fixer, intelligently applying principles of healthful movement for everything during exercise and also daily life. He wrote:
"I took a picture of what was causing "ouchy" because it is so normal in America *for adults!*.. (upper photo of forward bending). Then ouchy started to go away the more I did, 'ah much better' (squatting)... Pretty soon ouchy was gone from the bad forward bending.
"I am now doing a complete head to toe revision... Point was that my back stopped hurting, and as you said, heals when I let it, with better movement.
"I am glad there is someone out there like you who tells you how it is. It gives encouragement and hope. I have seen people my age already with a few surgeries (and they are in the 20s to 30s!). They were from injuries, and sadly they never had a chance to find that they didn't need it.
"I was encouraged by others' stories and with your statement, "don't let them scare you" because I was a bit scared. I have never been injured before with that much pain. But, I was more then willing to try this because I did not want limitation as I had seen in my friends who had surgery. Some multiple times. "
Mr. Davis has been sending in success stories one after then next. Here are some of his Inspiring Functional Fitness:
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from selected ones. Before asking, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, and archives at right.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right.
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Yesterday's post started a series on Triathlons. Triathlon races of different names, organizing bodies, and distances are held year-round. The Ironman is a trademarked name of one particular triathlon and its qualifying races.
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