Monday, January 4, 2010

Tuesday Training Tip

Ok, I am rolling out a new feature of my blog for 2010. Each Tuesday I will put out a great little tip that you can use to help you get a better or more effective workout. You may wonder if the information is coming from a credible source. I hope that working in the fitness industry for over 12 years, having several group fitness, personal training, and coaching certifications, coaching for 6 years, and having racing experience will make me a credible source. With that being said, I rely heavily on other great coaches and trainers. I will pass along what I have learned from them and what experiences that I have had both good and bad with the methods that I have used.

Feel free to ask questions in the COMMENT section and I will answer back as best I can. You might bring up a question that someone else has about the topic I am posting about or you may prompt me to address you question in another Tuesday Training Tip. No question is a bad question.

So with that I give you Tuesday Training Tip #1!

Strive to have both mobility and stability in the body. Mobility refers not just to flexibility but also range of motion.
ROM: Range of Motion
Stability refers not only to strength but also balance. A person may be able to lace their fingers together behind their back but then only raise their arms up a few inches. Other people might be able to do 150 lbs. on the leg sled machine but they have trouble standing on one leg for more than 15 seconds. without putting the other foot down to keep from falling over.

Starting from the ground and going up...
  1. Work on ankle mobility
  2. Work on knee stability
  3. Work on hip mobility
  4. Work on lumbar spine (low back) stability
  5. Work on thoracic spine (mid back) mobility
  6. Work on shoulder stability
As you go through your off-season strength training workouts be thinking to yourself, "Does this exercise help me improve my mobility or stability?" If you have doubts, ask questions and look for exercises that do provide you with the mobility or stability that you are trying to gain.

Over the next few weeks I will be highlighting some great mobility and stability exercise that you may want to add to your workouts. You may already be doing these exercises and thought that they were great and yet you did not even know that they were providing you with mobility and stability.

Have a great day!

Liz

7 comments:

TNTcoach Ken said...

great Idea, why didn't I think of it? hey that foot has toenails, isn't that unusual for a runner type????

CoachLiz said...

Well Ken, I have all of my toenails and have not had a black toenail in 6 years and I am doing lots of running. However, I may just be the exception to the rule.

Heidi Austin, PT, DPT said...

good advice! i'm finishing my doctorate right now in PT...... it seems that people never realize how a deficit lower in the kinetic chain can transfer it's way up the chain and cause other problems!

Mike Russell said...

Great post Liz. I started buying bigger shoes and that took care of the toenail issues. I am like you -- I have great toenails. :)

When I play other sports I have a tendency to roll my right ankle. What suggestions would you make to an outside foot striker to bring that more into alignment?

CoachLiz said...

Hey Mike,

I have rolled my right ankle as well many times on a run because the ground was uneven or I was super tired like on mile 22 of my last IM marathon. The interesting thing is that I have never injured myself doing this. I think part of it is due to my quick reaction to get my weight off of the foot and part of it may be due to some ankle flexibility.

I also make sure that I work on ankle stability exercises as well. I have two exercies that I like. One is to sit on a weight bench with just my feet hanging off the end. I place a handweight or larger dumbbell between the feet and I do ankle curls. This helps to strengthen the muscles of the lower leg, specifically the anterior tibialis. I also use a Body Band looped around one ankle and with the other side around the arch of the other foot. I then take the foot and pull out to stretch the band. This works the peroneal muscles on the outside of the lower leg. Also, heel raises are great. It challenges balance when you are up on the balls of the feet. Take it step further and raise up on the toes and then turn your head to look over your shoulder and see how good your balance is.

If you are rolling your ankle and injuring it you may want to visit a Physical Therapist to have them help you recover that injury and give you stratagies to not injure the area again.

Good Luck!

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Speed Racer said...

So getting so drunk I can't stand up straight is a great triathlon workout??? Fantastic!

Great feature.