FitSugar

Fit Tip: Cool Down After Lifting

FitSugar — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:00:00 -0800

Even if you're only lifting weights or doing body resistance exercises, you should still cool down. A great cool down for your lifting days is stretching the worked muscles for five minutes. Then using a foam roller over the worked body parts for another five minutes. Your tired muscles will appreciate the love after making them work so hard.

Need ideas for stretches? Be sure to check out all the stretches I've posted about.

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BodyBolster

FitSugar — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 10:15:00 -0800

I just came across the BodyBolster. It's a foam roller, gym ball, and Pilates reformer all rolled into one.

It can be used with your exercise routine, to rehabilitate injuries, or for workplace health. It provides active support because it's filled with air - it molds to your body, encouraging healthy joint movement.

It's made with Torflex, a soft, latex-free medical grade PVC, which gives it a malleability and a comfortable skin-like feel. What makes the BodyBolster unique is its adjustability - a valve allows you to deflate it with a squeeze, and with another twist of the valve it self inflates - there’s no need to blow it up!

Here are some ways you can use the BodyBolster: For back support while sitting at your desk or in the car, use as padding to make stretches more comfortable, add to exercises to make them more challenging, or use as a physical therapy tool.

For $44, the BodyBolster comes with a DVD user guide demonstrating: 13 neck and back release exercises, 11 core strength and stability exercises, 13 stretches for the whole body, and 10 seated back and neck stretches.

Check out their website to see videos on how the BodyBolster is used for rehabilitation, for stretching and strengthening, and at work.

Exercise Video: Hip Flexor Stretch with Foam Roller

FitSugar — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 14:30:00 -0800

Do you run? Do you sit? Do you bike? Do you drive? If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you probably have tight hip flexors. Here is one of my favorite stretches using a foam roller.

Watch it and try it.

If you have a yoga bolster, you can use that instead of a foam roller. The stretch might not be as intense, but it will still be beneficial.

Also, let me know if you have any questions about this stretch. I am always happy to clarify.

It Is Thigh Time: Roll Out

FitSugar — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 12:00:00 -0800

I have had lots of requests for thigh trimming exercises and I know a thing or two about bulky thighs - having speed skater thighs myself. A lot of factors are at play when it comes to body shape. There is genetics - when I look at the legs of all my female relatives and see many "speed skaters." But the outer part of the quad tends to overwork and the inner part of the leg and the hamstrings tend to be lazy. Evening out this musculature imbalance can help bulky thighs elongate.

So here is the first video in our IT IS THIGH TIME series.

To slim down muscular thighs you need to start by releasing the overworking quads muscles as well as your IT Band. Releasing them with the roller is the most efficient way to do this.

Fit's Tips:

Do not roll over your knee when rolling your quad - that would hurt!
Rolling the IT band can be painful, so call "uncle" when you need to. But my theory is the more painful it is the more you need it.

Keep your eyes peeled for more IT IS THIGH TIME videos.

The Skinny On: Foam Rollers

FitSugar — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 15:30:00 -0800

You've seen them at the gym - the simple cylinders, about 3 feet long. You've seen white ones. You've seen blue ones. You've even seen ones that look like a squeeze of Aquafresh toothpaste. But what is it really?

It is a foam roller and it can be a great work out tool if you know what to do with it.

So, if you want the skinny on the foam roller, read more

Foam rollers can be used in a variety of ways to challenge your abs and strengthen your core. If you lie on a roller lengthwise you can perform basic abdominal exercises like sit ups, but since the roller is unstable you have to stabilize yourself as well. Upping the abdominal ante so to speak. You can add variety to a Pilates routine by trying an exercise on the roller.

The roller is also great for massaging, stretching and myofascial release. For example, lie face down with your quads on the roller with your elbows or hands on the ground. With your hands, push and pull yourself back and forth over the roller to release your quads. If you run or use the StairMaster regularly this is a great thing to do for your legs.

To purchase a roller click here.

Ease Sore Muscles With a Tennis Ball

FitSugar — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:00:57 -0700

Getting a massage is not always an affordable option to relieve sore muscles. I use The Stick at home but when I'm on the go it's not something I can take with me. Because of its size, a tennis ball provides on the spot muscle relief wherever you are.

Here's how I've been using mine:

For leg muscles I sit down on the floor with my legs outstretched and place the ball underneath myself where the thigh meets the butt. I slowly move from side-to-side and let the ball work itself over my muscles, placing my hands on the floor for support. This motion can be worked all the way down leg. After that's done, I turn over and place the tennis ball under the front of my thigh and start the rolling motion all over again.
For my back, I place a tennis ball between myself and a wall - this works especially well for the muscles near the neck and shoulders. Lean back into the ball and let it roll back and forth over your muscles.
Use a tennis ball underneath the arch of your foot to relieve tired muscles. Sit down in a chair and place the tennis ball under your foot. Put some pressure on the ball and let it roll up and down the muscles of the foot. This is an easy way to get a great foot massage!

The basic idea is that you can work a tennis ball into a trigger point with just a little bit of pressure. If you need to cover greater surface area, put a few tennis balls into a long sock and tie off the end.

Low Back Pain? Try Stretching Your Hip Flexors

FitSugar — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:38:51 -0700

After doing a sprint interval workout, my running buddy complained that sprinting often made her low back feel tight. I had a notion that her psoas might be tight. This muscle is a major hip flexor and it attaches to the low spinal vertebrae. When the psoas gets short and tight from activities like sprinting, it can yank on the vertebrae, creating a sensation of tightness. The good news is that stretching out the hip flexors can alleviate a lot of lower back pain. Once you are warm, and especially after a run or sprinting session, you should stretch your psoas.

Learn two ways to stretch your psoas.

Spring Running Prehab: Roll Your IT Band

FitSugar — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Longer days plus warmer weather equals longer runs, especially if you're training for an endurance race. While you can often feel that your muscles have taken a beating, the IT band, the fascia that lines the outside of your quad, takes a beating too. Often you don't feel how tight the IT band is until it interferes with your knee joint function and you end up with the Iliotibial Band Syndrome. Here are some classic signs:

Pain on the outside of knee that increases when running, especially running downhill, and the pain disappears soon after you stop running.
Tenderness when you touch the outside of the knee, with signs of inflammation.
As the syndrome progresses there may be a sharp stinging pain, or burning on the outside of the knee.

Now you know the signs of the syndrome, learn how to treat and prevent it when you read more.

The best way to deal with ITB syndrome is to prevent it before it starts. I find that releasing the ITB with a foam roller is the best and most direct approach. It can be a little uncomfortable (that is an understatement) at first, but if the fascia is super painful you really need to roll it. The video below will teach you how.

Folks with excessive pronation are prone to ITB syndrome, so if you pronate and run, look into getting a pair of orthotics (podiatrist made insoles) or motion control sneakers designed to lessen pronation.

When I talk to folks that have been running for years, they tend to give me unsolicited advice and a lot of them tell me to take care of my knees. So roll those ITBs out, even if you don't have knee pain since a little prehab goes a long way.

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Healthy Dose: Link Time

FitSugar — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:00:00 -0800

Today is the day for free BRight ice cream at Baskin-Robbins - FitCeleb
An out of this world turkey chili recipe for you to try - Margarita Shapes Up
Foam rollers are the best RX for sore muscles - Fresh Fitness Tips
The lowdown on dairy as a source for calcium - Nutrition Data Blog
Trainer Bob loses his cool on Biggest Loser Couples - That's Fit
Put exercise on the top of your to do list - Shape
Desk yoga for the sedentary and the tight - Fit Bottomed Girls

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Block Work: Upper Back Release

FitSugar — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:00:00 -0700

If you've never stretched using a foam block, then get ready to embark on a whole new realm in the world of stretching. Blocks can be used to get you deeper into stretches than you can on your own. This upper back release is a simple and relaxing exercise that will open your chest and shoulders. If you don't have a foam block, then use a stack of small books with a hand towel over it that measures four inches wide, six inches high, and nine inches long, or a foam roller will work in a pinch.

Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Place the six-inch high block directly behind you, about five inches from your bum.
Lean back and place your hands on the block so it doesn't slide away, centering the middle of your spine on the top of the block.
Then arch all the way back, releasing your head down to the ground. Rest your hands on either side of your body.
The block should feel comfortable so if any part is digging into you, make adjustments until it feels right. Then stay here for a minute or longer, allowing gravity to draw your shoulders towards the ground, feeling an amazing opening in your chest and upper back.
Once you've had enough, press your hands into the ground and sit up.