FitSugar

Relax Already: Rolling Hip Massage

FitSugar — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:30:00 PST

Many of you must be so excited for Winter because you get to ski, snowboard, and snowshoe. Those snowy sports are not only thrilling, but they really work your thighs and glutes. After a day on the mountain, give your upper legs a little love with this rolling hip massage.

Music: "Sunshine Blues" by Hossenger

To find out how to do this

Sit on the floor with both legs out in front of you. Bend your right knee and rest your right ankle right below your left knee.
Lean over to the right, placing your right forearm on the floor. Bend your left leg so your left heel is by your bum and hold onto the top of your left floor with your left hand. You'll be resting on your right elbow and your right hip.
Now use your left hand to make small circles with your legs, rolling over your right hip. Then roll in the other direction.
Release and then switch sides.

Try it! You will be amazed how your booty feels after this self massage.

Get to Know Your Iliotibial Band

Susi May — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:04:32 PDT

Many a runner has been sidelined by knee pain caused by the iliotibial band (aka the ITB). But knowing how to deal with this long band of fascia, which runs down the outside of the thigh from the pelvis to just below the shin, can help keep an injury at bay. Knowledge is power, and we want to help keep you on the road.

First off, fascia is a stiff connective tissue (like tendons and ligaments) that surrounds muscles, bones, and joints, providing both support and protection. It's like shrink-wrap; once fascia becomes tight it tends to stay tight, causing pain and injuries. When the ITB shortens, usually due to poor biomechanics (like losing your running technique when tired), it can pull the knee cap out of alignment. The faulty alignment creates inflammation in the joint and pain when bending the knee. This injury, known as iliotibial band syndrome, occurs more in women than men, most likely due to the wider female pelvis.

To avoid overuse injuries, it's important to keep this thick band of fascia flexible, especially if you're training for a race and upping your weekly mileage. Keep reading to learn how.

The 4 Things Runners Need to Do Every Week

Jenny Sugar — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 17:08:03 PDT

Running is one of the most popular forms of cardio because it's inexpensive, you can do it anywhere, and it burns major calories while toning your lower body. That said, if you run, here are four things you should be doing every week.

Vary your workouts: Doing the same running workout all the time can not only be boring, but can also lead to overuse injuries in the muscles. Mix up the surface you run on, change up your pace (don't forget sprinting intervals), incorporate hills, and vary the distance you run. You'll be amazed at how strong your body becomes and how mixing it up makes you a better runner. Also be sure to incorporate other forms of exercise such as cycling, swimming, strength training, and yoga to give your body a break from the same movement.
Stretch it out: Don't skip out on stretching after your run (and never static stretch before). It not only feels good, but stretching will also relieve soreness and increase your flexibility - supple muscles are also less prone to pain and injury. Focus on stretches that target the hips, hamstrings, lower back, and shoulders. Follow along with this video to learn a yoga series for runners. You can also use a foam roller to stretch and massage your muscles. Rolling out your IT band can prevent knee, back, or hip issues, and here are five other foam roller exercises for runners.

Keep reading for two more things runners need to do every week.

4 Steps to Stop Procrastinating With Your Taxes

Emily Co — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:10:41 PST

If you're dragging your feet on doing your taxes, it's time to get started on them now. According to a recent MasterCard survey, 10 percent of taxpayers are planning on filing in April. Why put off the inevitable? Here are a couple of tips to help you get started.

Fill out the simple details. Take a deep breath and just start. Filling out details like your name and address isn't so hard, right? Take one step at a time and work on it across several nights after work or on the weekend. Slowly, but surely, you'll make your way to the end. Trying to tackle everything in one go may overwhelm you, so it's better to take it slow.

Find a buddy. Find a tax buddy and resolve to do taxes together on a designated day. Make a date out of it and do it at home while watching old episodes of The Office or schedule to meet up and bring your laptops to a hip neighborhood café.

Announce it. Announce your intentions to work on your taxes to the world . . . OK, well, maybe just Facebook and Twitter. Seeing all the "likes" and comments roll in will definitely motivate you to do them. And the cherry on top? Telling everyone that you're done with taxes and just waiting for your juicy refund to come.

Reward yourself. Promise to reward yourself with a small treat when you're done. Perhaps it's a blueberry yogurt from Pinkberry or a relaxing massage. Create positive incentives to give you the extra push you need to complete your taxes.

Strength Training No-Nos: What Not to Do When in Squats

Susi May — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:02:53 PST

No matter your fitness passion, from snowboarding to CrossFit, you likely do squats in your sweat sessions - they're a fitness staple. Sometimes, the more simple the move, the more careless we become when doing it, and before you know it you have sloppy squats. Here are four common mistakes that plague the standard squat. Next time you head to the gym, take a little time to get back to basics and run through this list. Not only will these corrections make the exercise more effective, but they prevent injuries too.

Mistake: Weight Too Far Forward
To take care of your knees and really engage your glutes, keep your weight in your heels. You should be able to freely wiggle your toes as you sit back into your squat. Weighting your heels also keeps the knees from moving beyond your toes, which can seriously strain that joint.
The Fix:
Practice squatting with a stable chair or weight bench behind you, and aim to lower your booty onto the front third of the seat - quietly and with control, no plopping down. This will help you shift your weight far enough back to truly challenge your glutes.

Mistake: Leaning Forward
When squatting, you want to keep your torso fairly upright, but tight hips can pull the upper body forward, straining the knees and the low back. Leaning forward also interferes with your ability to go deep in the squat, decreasing the amount of work for your backside.
The Fix:
Before a strength training session, do a dynamic warmup to open the front of the hips. Walking lunges work well as an active stretch for the tight hip flexors. To keep your torso upright, use an exercise ball at the wall for your squats and single leg squats too. Here are details on how to set yourself up for ball squats at the wall - just make sure you're going deep enough into the squat so your thighs are parallel to the ground.

Keep on reading for more about squats after the break.

No More Pudge! 5 Tips For Rocking That Cropped Top

Self — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 05:10:01 PDT

If you're anything like me, back in the day - before exercise seemed like an issue - you rocked cropped tops everywhere. Circa 1994, was there something else worth wearing? In recent years, though, I've generally kept a little fabric between my belly and the world. Until now. Cropped tops are a must wear again. Luckily, Pilates instructor Natalie Ridley of The Sports Club/LA (where the likes of Katie Holmes, Victoria Beckham, Britney Spears and Nicole Kidman have been known to work out) offered up these toning tips, so we can bare (at least a tasteful bit of) our bellies without fear.

SELF's style team loves this American Apparel ($26.90) top. Get their picks for classy, not trashy cropped tops.

If exposing your stomach sends shivers down your spine, don't let the above picture scare you. To rock this style, there's no need to wear skirts this low or show your entire stomach. But, should a little tummy be revealed above high-waisted pants, skirts, or
shorts, you don't want to have to feel embarrassed by pudge either. According to Ridley, these five Pilates moves will tone your mid-section:

1. Roll Up:
"This exercise is intended to strengthen abdominal muscles and inner thighs. Begin lying on your back with the arms straight up toward the ceiling, legs sealed together, and feet stretched forward. Engage your belly and use your arms to pull yourself forward. Roll up. To advance this exercise, you can roll up with a straight single leg (then change to the second leg)."

See the rest of this ab-centric workout after the break!

Gym Rat or Not, Don't Forget to Do This at the Gym

Leta Shy — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 03:06:19 PDT

Wouldn't it be nice to end every active week with an intense deep-tissue massage to help ease your muscles? But since we can't always spring for a trip to the spa, here's what we can do - use the foam roll at the gym.

You may have seen people in the gym foam rolling and think it's just for serious athletes or gym rats, but that's not the case. But there are many reasons why massaging out the tight knots in muscles is an important part of your workout routine, even if you already stretch regularly. Why? Because no matter how much you stretch, the build up of fascia that creates muscle knots that won't go away, which can lead to many different problems.

I've been consistently seeing my trainer for a few weeks, and the aftermath is clear: not only am I working new sets of muscles (meaning new ways of being sore) but I'm also realizing how much more I need to be foam rolling. My trainer, Tim Rich at Crunch Gym, says that everyone, avid athlete or not, should be using those long spongy cylinders daily. Read on for why and how you should be foam rolling every day.

Helps prevent common injuries. One of the most important reasons for a regular foam-rolling routine is to prevent those often too common exercise-related injuries. Many runners, for example, become painfully well acquainted with their IT band if they don't take care to massage the band of tissue. IT band syndrome and other similar flare-ups can be caused by too-tight muscles. Foam rolling every day ensures you are massaging away fascia buildup in your muscles, in order to help prevent those areas from becoming injury trigger points.
Helps you de-stress. Had a hard day? Foam roll your worries away. Digging for those knots "releases tension that is built up in the connective tissue to keep you less stressed," says Tim. He recommends a simple all-over body routine in order to combat the "desk posture blues" that happen from sitting too long in the office.
Keeps you flexible. Building up your flexibility is key for any fitness routine, Tim says, which means you constantly should be stretching and doing exercises that'll help you gain flexibility. Stretches that lengthen your hip flexors, for example, can help combat tightness from sitting as well as lower back pain.

The more regularly you use a foam roll on your tight muscles, the less painful it'll be. Ready to roll? Here are five important stretches you should be doing with a foam roll, and a video on how to foam roll your quads and IT band for elongated, flexible, and injury-free thighs and happy knees.

Source

Get Massaging and Rolling With a Foam Roller

FitSugar — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 03:47:00 PDT

There's nothing quite like a sports massage to help one feel rejuvenated and refreshed. Unfortunately, we don't all have the time and money required to pamper ourselves on a routine basis. Enter the foam roller. The cylindrical apparatus can provide your body relief in your own home or at the local gym. It helps the body relax and stretches it in ways that are often left to therapeutic masseuses. Come check out a few simple rolling techniques that will have your body smiling inside and out.

Psoas Stretch: If you have tight hip flexors or lower back pain, try the psoas stretch. Lie perpendicularly on the foam roller with your sacrum just on top. Pull one knee up to the chest with the opposite heel on the ground. Hold for 30 seconds and switch legs.
Quad Release: Do you run or climb much? The quad release exercise helps release tension in those muscles. Lie face down with your quads on the roller and your hands on the ground. Using your hands, roll yourself back and forth over the roller to massage the quads.
The IT Band Stretch: Avid runners know that the IT band is not to be messed with. To keep your knees healthy and prevent them from tightening up too much, roll on the IT band area. This video shows you how to do it correctly.

Want more? Come check out some other moves that will massage the glutes, chest, upper back, calves, and shins!

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