Ever had your heel hurt?

I had never experienced it until about two weeks ago when I was late to my co-ed soccer game and I ran out onto the field with no warm up. I know, I know, I know better. This was 7pm, and I figured that since I had worked out/warmed up with my 5am workout group that morning I would be fine.

Ha!

Ground Theory

Turns out, my accidental experiment with a 14 hour “warmup” gap isn’t terribly effective nor do I recommend it. When the game concluded, I had a super sore left heel and my teammate was complaining of a sore low back. She attributed the soreness to a weak core and the hard ground we were playing on.

I had my doubts that the ground was the problem.

If the ground was the problem, or the sport was the problem, then everyone playing that sport on that ground should be struck down by some sort of malady as we were. I listened closely to my teammates chitter-chatter after the game, and no one else was complaining of anything.

Hmn.

Quad Theory

There goes that theory. If it is not the ground’s fault, then what could possibly be wrong?

Guess I just have to take a good long look at the body I used during the game. (Sigh. It’s always me! 🙂

I instantly suspected my quads were too tight, which interfered with my hamstrings being able to work properly, which was going to make my calf work more, which would make the Achilles tight, which would pull on my heel where it attaches, and make my heel hurt. That seemed totally reasonable.  I was astounded at the weird places my heel would hurt. Driving in the car. Lying in bed. Both times the heel was totally unloaded …absolutely no pressure on it…but it burned! 🙁
 
Darn it.

My client Juanita has been dealing with a very sore heel for a couple weeks now too, and she said it hurt more after her Physical Therapist tried to massage it directly. That caught my attention.
 
Why wouldn’t massaging the heel make it feel better?
 
My client Trish had been telling me her heel hurt too, off and on, for some weeks now.
 
So, dear readers, when I get “hurt”, I go into experiment mode. First off, to test my too-tight-quad theory, I hopped on the Trigger point roller and rolled, scrubbed, and compressed my quads just like my client Stacy is in the picture below.

 
Yep, definitely better. Oooh, those hamstrings working is a fabulous thing!

Weight Theory

However, the next morning, the pain was back with a vengeance when I wanted to go running. I noticed one really notable thing: the weight distribution in my feet was what’s called “counter-rotated”, meaning the weight was on the ball of my right foot, and super heavy on the heel of my left foot.
 
Have you ever paid attention to the weight distribution in your feet? Stand up on a flat level surface, and close your eyes, and think about where the weight is in your feet. Is it in the balls or heels, or one ball and one heel? How about insides or outsides of feet or one of each? How about more weight on the right foot, or more weight on the left? 

Consistently, over the next two weeks, my heel would hurt, and I would notice that the weight distribution was counter-rotated. So what do you do to center your weight distribution in your feet again? You twist. I blogged about twisting last time and I tried some other versions of twisting as well. Here are my clients Stacy and Jim demonstrating them for you:

Twist Theory

The Scorpion:

 

Start lying on your tummy with your arms out to the side in the letter “T”. Then, using your glute and hamstring, bring the opposite foot to the opposite hand for 90 seconds like this: 

Now, if lying on your tummy doesn’t sound fun, try walking twisty lunges instead: 

Go out into a lunge, then put the opposite hand next to the foot and open up into a big twist. After any twist, you always want to neutralize from the twist with something like cats and dogs ( cat/cow in yoga). 

Here’s the Cat where your back arches up and your head drops. Try 10 times: 

And the Dog where your back sways, head comes up, and shoulder blades collapse together: 

How did that go for you? Any better? 

Finally, I did a motion experiment, this time with my client Trish. She and I went running, and her heel hurt within seconds of us beginning to run.  I said, “Let’s try something. I’m pretty confident your heel isn’t the problem and your glute and hamstring are. So, while you’re running, I want you to consciously contract that glute and hammy on the sore heel side while you run and let me know if it makes a difference.” I had tried it myself, and it had instantly taken the pain out of the heel, but I didn’t know if it would replicate with an unsuspecting client. Her head spun around, and she looked at me saying with complete amazement, 

“It’s gone. The heel pain is totally gone!” 

Voila. A couple strategies to help you combat heel pain! Let us know how the exercises went and what you think in the comments below.  

The real reason your low back has pain!

Are you not having any luck releasing tightness in your low back? The real reason might be just above it, in the thoracic spine.

Recall that you have 7 cervical vertebrae in your neck, 12 thoracic vertebrae in your mid back, and 5 lumbar vertebrae in your low back. With that in mind, let’s now have a quick review of biomechanics by looking at this picture:

Image courtesy of Squat University

Notice that the joints highlighted alternate “mobility” and “stability” in an every-other-joint flowing pattern. One joint is stable, so that the next joint down can be mobile, and then the next joint down is stable, etc. etc. This is an ideal world, and all is happiness and butterflies and unicorns. 🙂

However, what happens if one joint screws up the flow? For instance, let’s say the thoracic section gets artificially “stable” because you sit all day in a chair and your body has slowly over time been caving forward into the letter “C”. The middle of your back isn’t generally sore, and it seems like it feels okay, so how do you know if it has become the silent problem maker?

Here’s one quick way of knowing: When you lean over, this is what your back looks like.

It is not relegated to 50ish something triathletes and endurance male athletes like my client Gary above. It strikes all ages. Here is a sixteen year old client of mine, Madi. Her back gets so tight sometimes she told me she can’t breathe.

Breathing is pretty important!

Twist to loosen up

What is one technique that you can use to break loose the tightness lurking (sometimes unbeknownst to you) in the middle of your back? Here is a video I made after kiteboarding a couple summers ago, showing you a basic twist.

Now, if that is too simple or your hand hits the floor right away, you need this next video: the MEGA twist.

I have a 22 year old client Allison who likes to workout, but primarily sings opera. Her voice coach was forever telling her to “pull her shoulders back” and she also had back pain. I tried the kiteboarding version of the twist, but she is super flexible, and needed the MEGA twist.

Here is the video to show you how to do that. It is really very simple!

Finally, please neutralize from your twist after each side with a little pelvic tilts or cat/cow from yoga. Something to set your body back on the straight path again so you don’t stay twisted.

Let us know if this tip helped you or if you have tried twisting to help low back soreness in the comments below.

How do you improve your reaction time?

This is a fantastic question.
 
Let me first share a story about my client Vic. I have blogged about him before- he’s the one with a four level fusion in his back with the screws that look like the ones used to build my deck. As you might imagine, recovering from such a major surgery is quite a task.

Compounding this task is his desire to return to the dating world as he lost his wife of 50 years 5 years ago to cancer. Things like smoothly walking his date to her car and being able to sit through the symphony were high priorities for him.  

 
How did we accomplish both?

 At first, we mostly stuck to level ground with very low rises to build up his strength. We walked sideways, and backwards, and more sideways to get very critical hip muscles on board. His physical therapist had him step up on one step, and I noticed he had a death grip on the rail, which meant he was really pulling himself up rather than using his hip muscles to drive up onto the stair.  

I pointed out that he couldn’t very well go out on a date, and if he had to ascend or descend stairs, push his lady friend out of the way so he could grab the rail. 
 
That’s bad form. Not really second date material. 🙂
 
Here he is, standing above his nemesis.

So I announced we would practice walking up and down stairs without holding onto the railing in an effort to help his love life. I sneakily knew that the mere act of shifting his weight from one foot to lift the other to step one step down gave us some one foot balance work, loaded one hip at a time, and was really a great way to accomplish both. This all sounded like an easy enough plan.
 
Except his brain totally froze on him.
 
He stood at the top of the stairs, and twitched, and shifted, and broke into a sweat trying to figure out how to get down one step. This literally would go on for twenty minutes. I would be standing halfway down the staircase, trying to coach him through picking one foot up and stepping down. He said, “Why is this so hard?” I smiled and said, “It’s hard for everybody!”
 
Finally, we had a breakthrough. I had introduced him to Pandora and suddenly…
 
 the Bee Gees came on. “Night Fever” no less. 🙂

https://youtu.be/-ihs-vT9T3Q
 
(Who knew being a child of the 70’s would come in handy? I have a tendency to dance and wiggle to music most anywhere, and this was no exception.) I started dancing on the stairs, and invited him to do the same. I said, “Shift side to side with the beat of the music, and as you do, lift one foot slightly, THEN step down.”
 
Viola!
 
Like magic, he started down the stairs. What happened? Do the Bee Gees have mystical power over people? 🙂
 
Coincidentally, Auburn University in Alabama was experimenting with a similar concept….

Move before you need to move or react.

The coaches have their softball team two foot hop in the air the moment the players hear the bat connect with the ball. Apparently, traditional baseball strategy is that two steps are to be taken as the batter connects with the ball, and this is an improvement on that concept. Watch their 2 1/2 minute video here:
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIkVRARoC6g&feature=em-share_video_user
 

All the Pro’s hop 

I took the concept of moving before you need to move to the tennis court with my fiancée. Ian plays tons of tennis, two or three times a week, and I am no match for him.

However, when I tried hopping as I heard his racquet connect with the ball, I was able to return his serve or volley much more easily and frequently. Maybe you’ve watched the Australian Open, and seen the person receiving serve shifting from side to side on the baseline. Try it. It works. 
 
There you have it! Your quick tip to improve your reaction time?
Move before you have to move!
 
Let me know what you think in the comments below or if you’ve used this concept in your own life.
 

Top seven tips on balance and core training

Meet Wade.

Wade, as far as I am concerned, is a balance guru. Actually, I shouldn’t narrow it down to just one component because he’s got it all: strength, power, balance, endurance, and flexibility. As I told him, I have seen a lot of people do a lot of different things in the fourteen years I’ve worked at Club Sport and my twenty plus years as a trainer, and very few impress me. His ability to move caught my eye, and more than that, his ability to be perfectly still was even more fabulous.

How does he do it?

Well, he works very hard at all of these components, writes down his workouts, and it helps that he boosted his overall workout knowledge by obtaining his level one Crossfit certification in 2009. He was in charge of 30-40 men in the army and wanted to make their two hour a day “PT” ( physical training) more interesting and outside-the-box.

His average workout takes about two hours. He starts with minimum twenty minutes of cardio on the arm bike:

And he weight lifts for his upper body using the classic three exercises per muscle rule.

Core Training

Then he finally gets to the core part of his workout, which is comprised of ten minutes of sitting on the ball being as still as possible.

Notice I did not say “abdominal workout” as there are many muscles in the front AND back engaged. The next ten minutes are spent twisting with an 8# medicine ball, for a total of twenty minutes. He said he never spent a minute on the ball before getting hurt, and this was a relatively new piece of his workout. He makes it look so easy. Makes me ill.  🙂

Are you noticing that ramrod straight spine? Holey Moley that is outstanding! I took a side view to show him, too. There is no slouch in that back!

By way of comparison, here is my coworker Colin who agreed to let me take an action photo cold of him balancing on the ball with no hands or feet helping.

Striking differences, eh? First off: Talk about a curvy spine! Colin then informed me he’d done ab training earlier in the day and his stomach cramped trying to hold the pose. Core vs. Abs. Big difference!

So what’s Wade’s secret?

I asked him if he would be willing to share his “secrets” with me. I am so glad he did, because he had ideas I certainly hadn’t thought of. I love collaborating with and picking the brains of super smart people!

Wades’s top suggestions for core and balance fitness

Here are his top suggestions, with regards to the core and balancing in particular.

ONE Practice balancing on something soft

For instance, a mat. Not just a little mat, but something substantial. Maybe two yoga mats side-by-side. This will help you be less concerned with falling, if you know you just might.

Come on now. You will! 🙂

However, falling when you are first learning is inevitable. Have an escape plan. Try:

TWO Tuck when you fall

Rather than trying to brace yourself.  Channel your inner gymnast!

THREE Have something to grab ahold of

(Like a wall) if you don’t have a mat, so that both hands can reach out for stability.

When it comes to actually balancing, core is like any other muscle group, and it needs to be built up in segments. Notice this isn’t called an ab workout, because the core muscles are three dimensional and include the back. Need a quick review on the anatomy? Check this core blog post out. 

Here is a sample workout plan devised by Wade:

• Start with 30 sec without touching anything, and a 45 second break.
• Set a goal to do that series for five mins, and it is important to set goals so you don’t get discouraged.
• Goals make sure you give yourself some positive reinforcement, not negative self talk like, “oh man, I’m not getting any better!”

 

FOUR Visual focal point

When starting out make sure find something to visually focus on … don’t look around or chat with your neighbor. Try a spot on the floor, or a nearby object. Even TV works. 

Remember: Where your eyes go, the body goes. 🙂

For the two legged folk: do like just double leg lifts, and try keeping legs straight or make a “v” with your body. The act of lifting and lowering your legs creates balance, or try with legs bent like you would if you were sitting in a chair. This also saves fatigue in the hip flexors.

FIVE Go horse riding

Here is a completely different way. Sit on ball like horse saddle, and squeeze it like riding a horse, which will cut down on wobble a little bit.

Wade said,  “I look at it that you’re cheating a little bit if you do it like that.” 

Additionally, If you lean back, the balance centers primarily in the hams and glutes, and then you will feel the work generate in your low back. No bueno. Once stronger will use sit bones.

SIX  Give yourself more challenge

Find this easy? There is always a way to challenge yourself more…

• Be Zen like Wade and Sit Still On Purpose, or
• Move intentionally and work on all four directions on top of the ball.  Thats a really good chance of falling!

 

SEVEN Start with a little support

Still struggling? You can make a four-sided barrier with octagon weights like the ones below at the base of the ball, and then as you get better take away two at a time.

You can also try balancing on your knees like my client Elizabeth for another variation.

Let us know what you think of these fabulous tips on balancing in the comments below!

Top 5 Rowing Tips

What does a world class paddler and rower have to say about her favorite top 5 tips and tricks to improve the efficiency and mechanics of rowing? Plenty, so I had her boil it down to five. 

#1. Breathe. Exhale as you pull when possible*

*Note the “when possible”.

Here is a perspective on how much work is required of a rower.  I am reading The Boys in the Boat, and a quote from page 40 of the book says, “Pound for pound, Olympic oarsmen may take in and process as much oxygen as a thoroughbred racehorse. This extraordinary rate of oxygen intake is of only so much value, it should be noted. While 75-80 percent of the energy a rower produces in a two-thousand-meter race is aerobic fueled by oxygen, races always begin, and usually end, with hard sprints. These sprints require levels of energy production that far exceed the body’s capacity to produce aerobic energy, regardless of oxygen intake. Instead the body must immediately produce anaerobic energy. This, in turn, produces large quantities of lactic acid, and that acid rapidly builds up in the tissue of the muscles. The consequence is that the muscles often begin to scream in agony almost from the outset of a race and continue screaming until the very end.” 

Scream in agony. How about that! Better brush up on your aerobic  and anaerobic conditioning. 

#2 Hinge at your hips ( bend forward from your hips,
not from your back ) and use your whole body in a sequence

Pull phase: legs-torso-arms
Reach phase: (to load the muscles for action) arms-torso-legs

Here are some photos of what that should look like, from a “good” and “bad” perspective. “Good” meaning most efficient and powerful, “Bad” meaning inefficient and overly taxing.

Good Start

Good Midway

#3 Focus. Feel what muscles you are using

For instance: Is your neck getting tight? You are pulling too high as seen in the “bad” photo above.

#4 Keep eyes forward and up to prevent rounding of the back

We don’t want any letter “c” hunchback rowers out there!

#5 Use a proper warmup to prepare for movement that includes hip hinging and setting your shoulder blades. 

There is that “hip hinging” mentioned again. Must be pretty important. Do you know how to “set” your shoulder blades? Here’s a hint: re-read the foam roller love blog.

I additionally asked her about the setting on the side of the ergometer that ranges from 1-10. I had heard UW rows at setting ten and Harvard rows at setting one, so both have their merits…or maybe it is the reverse. Her comment is setting ten is harder because of the resistance that is generated. However, if you like tests of strength, like Lori does, this is your favorite setting. When you drop the setting to one, it is easier in theory, because the resistance is less. Keep in mind with low resistance comes a greater rate of work, so setting one becomes hard in it’s own way. 

Are you feeling more prepared to hit the water? Let me know in the comments below! 

6 Top Tips for Olympic Lifting

Olympic lifting is a highly technical but fantastic way to get strong. However, because the weights are generally being lifted by big burly men who grunt and groan and drop the weights with a big crash, it often occurs as intimidating.

With the Summer Olympics upon us in Brazil, I wanted a kinder, gentler approach to this sport. I turned to my longtime friend and former coworker Bri Rudolf. Bri, mother of two, explains and demonstrates the basic Olympic squat for you, in plain English and with a smile (rather than a big grunt!).

Tip #1: How much weight you have on the bar is not important

But it is really easy to lift the bar badly and hurt your back if the bar is not heavy when you are just learning. Heavy weights actually force you into joint centration, a good thing, which we will discuss further in a future blog. That leads us into…

Tip #2: Keep core engaged when beginning the lift.

Here is an example of a bad starting position:

Here is a good start, even with a light bar:

Tip #3: You need your hips to hinge

And you must use your hip strength

Here is an example of a bad hip position: see how much she is using her back instead? It is totally cranked in an exaggerated lumbar curve:

Here is a cool action photo where she is throwing her hips forward to create the strength with her hips instead to get the bar up:

Tip #4 Here’s some Olympic lingo:

You want to “Sling the bar up” and get your elbows high!

Bad elbow position looks like frowns and elbows down:

Good high elbows and smiles look like:

Tip #5: Technique is very important.

Don’t forget body mechanics from beginning to end.

Tip #6: Ask someone for help

or spotting – or education when learning or even when you think you’ve got it!

Thank you, Bri!

Or even better – prevent shin splints

How do we fix or prevent shin splints? Let’s explain the shins in detail first. Here is a photo of the shin muscle, the tibialis anterior. (literally translated: the front of the tibia)
 

It’s really not very big, is it? The pain comes from repetitive stress to the shinbone and connective tissues that attach that muscle to the bone. They pull away from each other, and hurt. No fun! 🙁 The burning question in everyone’s mind is: Why?

Why do they pull away and hurt?

Here’s what I think: The important thing to keep in mind is that the shin muscle is the body’s third choice muscle to pick the leg up!
 
If you are using the third choice muscle to pick the leg up are you super efficient?
 
No.
 
Are you super powerful?
 
No way.
 
Are you super fast?
 
Nope.
 
Not for long, anyway. It hurts too much!
 
Sprinters are in a bit of a conundrum, because of two big factors:

1. You are wearing spikes which weirdly jack up just the front of your feet and make you walk funny while wearing them and
2. We know from our one big tip for sprinters (see my blog post about that here ) that we want that toe pulled toward that shin when working on good sprinting form.
    
   So you need that little anterior tib to work to pull the foot toward the shin for form, but not to try and pick the whole darn leg up! Other sports also use that muscle in various ways. For instance, in soccer your ankle is supposed to be locked when you kick a ball with the inside of the foot, and that is accomplished by pulling the toes towards the front of the leg. That is a great use of that anterior tib muscle. However, it gets overused quickly when it also is trying to do that and attempt the picking-up-the-leg work.

Your second choice

If the anterior tib is the body’s third choice, what is the body’s second choice?
 
The quad.
 

 
This is actually a grouping of four different muscles. Notice it attaches to the front of the outside of the hip, and then all the tendons come together (and not pictured here) go over the kneecap and attach to the front of the tibia.
 
That is fine, but it still is the body’s second choice. Not as efficient, strong, or centrally located as the body’s first choice. Not to mention that the quad might get too tight and start to interfere with the ability of the hamstring to work, or clamp down on the knee joint since it attaches on the front of the tibia. Those are other problems, and easily fixed, but not our focus here. 

First choice muscle? The hip flexor! 

I have blogged about the iliopsoas ( read my blog about it here ) before ( that is the fancy name) and I will tell you flat out: this muscle should be the main leg-picker-upper and when it is working you can instantly relieve the pressure and workload taking place in the shins. 

Here is a picture of Sarah sprinting, and using her hip flexor to pick her leg up: 

How do we fix ourselves?

So how do we release the pressure off of those calves and shins? What did I have those kids do on the infield of the track? Two simple exercises.

1. Kneeling Ankle Squeezes – kneeling, and put something firm inbetween your ankles and heels, but not your knees. Squeeze and release the ball, or roller as pictured here, with your ankles and heels trying to feel your calves, hamstrings, and glutes work to a burn equally. Don’t let your back help, exhale with every squeeze, and try 2-3 sets of 90 seconds.
   
2. Single Leg Squat Touchdown
   Hang onto something for balance with your right hand. Stand on your right foot with your left hand in the air. Hinge at the HIP by shooting your booty waaaay back and feel your hip flexor in the front of the crease of the hip tighten up, and then drive thru your heel as you stand back up to feel your glute and hamstring kick in. I shot a video and you can see it in real time here: 

Let us know how you did in the comments below. Any trouble running? This isn’t the first time I have recommended these exercises! 

Last time I promised you a great story about an amazing runner. I expanded this to include two other great sources of inspiration, because I love these stories and I think there is magic in threes. If you are hitting a bit of a lull from your January resolution, or just want some rainy day I-need-to-get-some-mojo, read on and be prepared to want to go out and whoop it up!

Warning:

All three will make you appreciate what you’ve got, proof that you can defy the odds, and are a guaranteed tug on your heart strings …

Meet Kayla Montgomery

Kayla is a really fast North Carolina high school cross country runner. That isn’t really all that makes her story compelling.
She was a soccer player, but one day after a soccer game she told her mom that her toes were tingling and she couldn’t feel her feet. Several doctor visits and MRIs later, the doctor called with the diagnosis: multiple sclerosis.

When told of the diagnosis, Kayla said, “I just cried. A lot. I didn’t let anyone in my room. I was mad. I was just mad. “

For 8 horrible months she lost all feeling in her legs, but eventually with medication, the feeling returned. She had to give up soccer, but was able to start running in it’s place. The MS didn’t go away, and interestingly enough her symptoms are triggered and exacerbated by heat. Translated: As her body heats up, the loss of feeling in her legs slowly spreads from her feet and higher until it reaches her hips. As a matter of fact, she can’t feel her legs at all while she runs, which means she doesn’t feel pain, but also means she can’t tell how fast she is running. It also means that she no ability to decelerate when she reaches the finish line. This is when her coach has to literally catch her as she finishes a race, and then get her cooled down as quickly as he can with ice and water so that she can walk again. The cool thing: the short term symptoms seem to have no long term effect.

Honestly, it is one thing to write about it, and quite another to listen to her coach and see her race, especially the final race of her high school career. Watch her 12-ish minute video here, as seen as a special on ESPN.

 

Next up: an unusual father and son triathlon team.

If you haven’t seen this one, just click on the link. This is a short 5 minute video…you might need to grab a tissue!

This is a fantastic story about the triathlete dad Dick Hoyt who bought a boat, adult stroller, and adult bike seat for his handicapped son Rick so the two could enter races together. Rick told his dad that he loved being on the bike because he felt like “he was flying”. In return, Rick helps his father to improve his health. Watch it!

 

Finally, you may not be a football fan

All the same, this really short 2.5 min video will get you so pumped up you won’t know what to do with yourself! The original blogger Nick Johnson of homesnacks.net on January 6, 2016, wrote:

“The Seahawks got off to a slow start, and lots of people overlooked them as a threat in the NFC this year. Now, they’re on a roll, and lots of people say they have a solid chance to barge their way to the Super Bowl once again. Let’s all get on the same page and watch this video, which is getting the entire city of Seattle to believe.

The video starts out with some inspiring quotes from motivational speaker Les Brown. Things like: Sometimes you’re up, and sometimes you’re down. And, during those down moments is when growth takes place. This isn’t just a great insight into life in the NFL, this is life itself. It seems like every year, a wild card team makes a solid run in the playoffs. This year, it’s going to be the Hawks.”

We know how the Seahawks story turns out for the Super Bowl. Ignore the football part of it, and focus on the superimposed audio and words of Les Brown. The name of the video: “Greater is Coming”.

It is incredible.
http://www.homesnacks.net/this-will-make-you-believe-the-seahawks-will-win-it-all-this-year-124705/

Let us know in the comments below if you were inspired! Greater IS coming! 🙂

In a USATF press release dated March of 2015:

PORTLAND, OREGON — The City of Portland will play host to the 2016 USATF Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Oregon Convention Center, March 11-12, USA Track & Field announced Monday.

The Team USA roster for the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships will be chosen on the same track on which they will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals, one week later. The 2016 World Indoor Championships are slated for March 18-20 at the Oregon Convention Center.

The indoor track stadium at the OCC will feature a new, 200-meter IAAF-certified track and will be configured to accommodate more than 7,000 spectators for the event.

“Having our USATF Indoor Championships in Portland will enable everyone, from athletes to local organizers, timers and event staff to have a test run for World Indoors,” USATF CEO Max Siegel said. “We are looking forward to hosting the best that the U.S., and the world, have to offer as we kick off the 2016 Olympic year.”

I know this is an official press release, but it sounds exciting! I read somewhere that this is the first time the USA has hosted a indoor track championship since 1987, and the second time ever that the USA has hosted a World Indoors. That is a lot of pressure to put on two gigantic events, especially back to back. So, a special request was made to the track manufacturer that they build the “fastest track in the world”. What does something like this cost? No specific number was quoted, other than a broad “in the millions”.

No cost was spared. No biggie. Portland just needs the fastest track in the world! We are hosting two gigantic events! This is important! 🙂

Back to my house…

My older daughter Sarah was asked to run in an indoor track meet two weeks ago and gave me the address of a place which took us to the depths of the warehouse district. I told her there were no tracks or parks at that address. She said, “Yes, there is mom!”, so to indulge her I drove her to the address she specified. Yes, I was right and there was a warehouse, but on the door was printed:

and when we walked in, it was as though we had entered Narnia… of the track and field world. We were greeted with massive neon signage and a huge green indoor track:

Here are the up and coming Olympic hopefuls that we saw racing when we first arrived. Look at this cutie pie.

Why wear running gear? It’s not necessary! 🙂

House of Track uses an actual starter, with an actual starting gun, and when he said “on your mark, get set…” these little guys did this:

and covered their ears from the noise! I don’t blame them!

Ok, now seriously, what about this track?

Here are what some of the athletes that have been training and racing on this track have to say about it, as interviewed for the Portland Tribune:

“The color is really cool,” says sprinter Jenna Prandini, like Wheating a former University of Oregon runner. “I’ve never seen a green track before. It’s fast and very comfortable to run on.”

“I run faster on harder surfaces,” says another ex-UO sprinter, English Gardner. “The track I train on at UCLA is a little bit softer. This was different, but it’s what we need for fast times. I felt fast on this track. It will call for some crazy times at Worlds.”

“I like it more and more as I work out and race on it,” says Olympic distance runner Matthew Centrowitz, a member of the Nike Oregon Project group that has held training sessions at the facility. “I’ve run on a lot of indoor tracks. Is this one the fastest in the world? It certainly has the potential.”

There is a rumor that the track will stay local, and another rumor that is has been purchased for a school in the Midwest.

Anyway…

Ever hear of Usain Bolt?

At this sprinting workshop was a guy who beat him in July of last year. His name is Ryan Bailey. Super nice guy. Amazingly balanced athlete. I don’t see bodies I functionally envy often; most of the time I can pick them apart very quickly. He, however, is a machine!

I told you I got to learn from an Olympic coach? Well, the coach was there, and so was the Olympian! Here he is signing autographs with all the kids from the workshop.

The one tip

What one thing did his coach reiterate over and over? What is the one tip he wanted the kids to remember in learning how to sprint?

The claw.

What in the heck is that??

Here is a hint:

The claw is your foot pawing the ground, fast. You are trying to pop the knee up to ninety degrees, extend your lower leg, keep your straight foot flexed toward your shin, claw the ground with just the ball of your foot, and have that knee whip back up to ninety degrees in as fast a revolution as possible.

That, in a condensed nutshell, is what makes speed, according to coach. ( I hope I am not revealing Ancient American Olympic Sprinting Secrets here!)

Practice this revolution, balancing on one foot. You may hold the wall to balance and execute the move at first, but there is no wall on the track, so wean yourself off the wall if possible. 🙂

Further instructions:

• Keep your chest up and tummy tight. You need all the action to happen in the front of the body.
• Land on the ball of the foot, not the heel.
• Do not over extend your arms- if you reach too far out, you will over-stride with your leg.

 

What, dear readers, should bring that knee up to ninety degrees?

The hip flexor! How are your hip flexors? Need a refresher on hip flexors? Check out that blog here. 

Coach did not get into the muscles behind the movement, at least when I was listening, but you know that is my favorite part.

Thus you get from him what the motion should look like, and from me what muscle should be the prime leg-picker-upper. You can force form all day long, but form with function (aka the right muscles working) is far more powerful.

Give it a try!

Good luck to all of our spring athletes, big and small, and good luck to the racers visiting our fair city in a matter of days. Next time: stay tuned about a unique track star who has an extraordinary story.

Let us know how this sprinting tip has helped you in the comments below!

There are lots of ways to help your snoring problem… if your nose itself isn’t the problem. 

Sew tennis balls in the back of your pjs. Sleep on your side. Don’t drink alcohol.

Doesn’t work? Have a sleep study and maybe you’ll get to use a CPAP machine.

Go to your dentist and be fitted for a super sexy oral appliance or a mouth guard.  

Or, you can try one of several horrible sounding surgeries – here’s the list from mayoclinic.org.

• Palatal implants. doctors inject braided strands of polyester filament into your soft palate, which stiffens it and reduces snoring. Palatal implants don’t have any known serious side effects; however, the benefits and safety of the procedure are still being studied.
• Traditional surgery. In a procedure called uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), you’re given general anesthetics and your surgeon tightens and trims excess tissues from your throat — a type of face-lift for your throat. The risks of this procedure include bleeding, infection, pain and nasal congestion.
• Laser surgery. In laser-assisted uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (LAUPPP), an outpatient surgery for snoring, your doctor uses a small hand-held laser beam to shorten the soft palate and remove your uvula. Removing excess tissue enlarges your airway and reduces vibration. You may need more than one session to get your snoring under control.
• Radio-frequency tissue ablation (somnoplasty). In this outpatient procedure, you’ll be given local anesthetic. Doctors use a low-intensity radiofrequency signal to shrink tissue in the soft palate to help reduce snoring.

Boy, that sounds fun. Especially when you might need more than “one session”. However, do you see what all of these surgeries have in common? 

The Soft Palate.

In every case, the soft palate is targeted in an effort to reduce or eliminate snoring. Guess what the soft palate is made of? 

Muscle and connective tissue. 

Guess what else? The muscles in the soft palate get lax as you age. (In my experience, lots of muscles get “lax as you age” if you don’t use them!) 

So how then do you “workout” those lax muscles in the soft palate?

Smithsonian.com  in January of 2014 reported a story on British choir director Alise Ojay’s specially designed singing sound system as a way to eliminate snoring.  The author wrote, 

“Ojay came up with the idea back in 1997, when a friend shared that his snoring was so severe that it led ultimately to the breakup of his last relationship. After listening in on his snoring, she suspected that his soft palate (a swath of controlled tissue located near the back of the mouth) was very lax, to the point where it produced loud acoustic vibrations with each breath. She then wondered if making sounds that toned up his palate would allow it to better resist the force of the air that funneled through each time he breathed in.”

She put a mirror in front of her own mouth, watched how her soft palate moved with each note, and created singing for snorers. 

Doesn’t that sound like a much better way to stop snoring? Work the muscles! 

Speaking of working the muscles

Further, remember that diaphragmatic breathing is what allows opera singers belt out those notes, so don’t forget how I cured myself of snoring: diaphragmatic breathing.

I am really convinced that the walking or running and breathing all though my nose in an inhale 3 breaths, exhale 4 breaths pattern forced that muscle to firm up. 

I blogged about that previously, but under the headline of engaging core muscles, which is an additional benefit. Breathing powerfully has SO MANY BENEFITS! Read that blog post here. 

Sidebar: I also notice that eating sugar makes my nose run, which interferes with breathing through my nose, so I try to not be a sugar eater! 

How else can I stop snoring? 

Interestingly enough, there were comments at the bottom of the smithsonian.com article. One comment stated that learning to play the didgeridoo was akin to singing for snoring.

Another suggested that if you didn’t have a didgeridoo, surely you had a vuvuzela that you could blow. What, you ask, is a vuvuzela? 

It is a long horn blown by fans at soccer matches in South Africa.

Those sound like fun options!  

I would encourage any people out there sawing zzzs loudly to investigate the fun, noninvasive, nonsurgical ways to improve their snoring. Singing? Breathing? Playing a horn?

How did you get yourself to stop? Let us know in the comments below.