Month: April 2013

One Week Until the Colorado (Half-)Marathon

Standard

I like this plan. You might too.

The Colorado Marathon and Half-Marathon are coming up on May 5.  It’s in Ft. Collins, north of Denver.  I’m running the half-.  It’s actually my first half-marathon.  I’ve run several 10-milers, a 15-mile trail race, 10k’s, 5k’s, and one marathon, so this shouldn’t be any radical departure.  This is a very popular race that fills up early.  The course is supposed to be scenic and this time of year is spectacular in Colorado.  It’s also slightly downhill which should make for a fast race.

My goal time is just under 1:38 about 1:47.  That’s based on a 23:10 5k I ran last year.  That it’s downhill makes me think I might get a little bit better time.  I’ve been following the 3-run per week Runner’s World Run Less, Run Faster plan developed by the Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training (FIRST).  I enjoy the plan for several reasons.  First, it covers the whole spectrum of speed: fast track workouts, tempo runs, and long runs. Everything is paced.  Times are based on a 5k race time.  The plan pushes me to run harder than I probably would on my own.  That’s good.  Second, with only three runs per week it’s time-efficient.  The idea is for you to do only what you need to do and nothing more. That’s another good idea.

I’ve been lifting several times per week with two of those workouts being hard workouts.  The workouts are loosely based on the Wendler 5/3/1 scheme. (Week 1: 3×5 reps.  Week 2: 3×3 sets.  Week 3: 5 reps, 3 reps, 1 rep.  Week 4: reduce the work load and take it easy.  Then start the process over with more weight.)  They’ve looked like this:

Workout 1

  • barbell, kettlebell, or dumbbell clean & press
  • box back squats
  • core work, one or more of the following: ab wheel roll-outs, hanging knee-ups, cable chops, cable lifts, side bends, Turkish get-ups, 1-arm farmer walks

Workout 2

  • 1-leg work: pistols alternated each week with 1-leg RDLs.  I mix pistols off a box with TRX pistols.  Two weeks from the race I’ve done some single leg jumping on and off a plyo box.
  • weighted pull-ups or chin ups
  • bench press
  • core work: similar to workout 1

Other workouts

  • Mobility work: I’ve been religious about using the rumble roller, lacrosse ball (big-time favorite of mine), and the Stick to address my soft tissue.  I’ve also been smashing my quads with a barbell ala Kelly Starrett’s Becoming a Supple Leopard pg 326.  (That one’s great for nausea.  That is, if you’re not currently nauseous and you’d like to be, the barbell quad smash will get you there.  Seriously, it’s really improved my hip flexor ROM and helped reduce soreness.)  I’ve worked a lot on ankle mobility; foot/big toe mobility; hip flexors, extensors, adductors and rotators; quadratus lumborum (HUGELY for me lately), and thoracic mobility.  I’ll often combine this work with a trip to the hot tub either before or after.
  • If I missed an exercise one day due to time or fatigue, I fit it in on another day.
  • There are lots of core exercises to pick from.  I don’t do them all in one workout, therefore I often get one or more in on another day.

I think single-leg work is very important.  Running is a one-legged gig.  Mobility, stability and strength on one leg is an essential ability.  Further, it seems that getting strong on one leg makes me stronger on two legs (squat or deadlift), but getting stronger on two legs doesn’t necessarily seem to make me stronger on one leg.  The last week before the race I might do some single-leg jumping only–and nothing else.  It’s time to rest.  More work at this point won’t improve my race performance.

The core work has been a big part of this scheme.  I’ve spent more time on specific core work than I have in the past.  I understand it better.  I perceive its importance more thoroughly than I used to.

I’m hoping for good weather.  Spring in Colorado can be sunny and gorgeous or it can be frigid, snowy/rainy, and rough.  Sunny and gorgeous is my preference.

Share
Tweet
Share

PBS’s The Truth About Exercise

Standard

“The chair is a killer.”
– Michael Mosley, PBS, The Truth About Exercise

Attention all exercise geeks and anyone fond of learning about the ins and outs of regaining or maintaining your health: You must check out the new series from PBS called The Truth About Exercise with Michael Mosley.  (Actually, it seems that each episode has it’s own title “… with Michael Mosley.”)  I watched the first episode and it’s tremendously interesting.  The second episode is titled “Eat, Fast and Live Longer.”  I just started it.

(Thanks to my mom for telling me about this show.)

Mosley uses himself as an experimental subject as he delves into some of the following topics:

  • How to reduce your insulin response with 3 minutes of (very) intense exercise per week.
  • How and why exercise can help remove fat from the blood stream.
  • The very deadly perils of sitting too much.
  • Why some people are “non-responders” to some aspects of exercise (and why exercise is still healthy for “non-responders.)

I know very little about Mosley but that he seems to be a fairly common sort of guy who’s not in particularly good shape.  He has the questions about his health that many of us have.  He talks to various exercise physiologists, nutrition scientists and coaches as he searches for answers and examines several exercise myths.  I love it because much of what he discovers is informed by the latest science.  He’s not rehashing the “common knowledge” (which is commonly stale and fairly inaccurate.)  It’s a very entertaining show that moves quickly and isn’t overly science-y.  It has a pretty decent soundtrack as well.  I highly recommend it to anyone reading this right now.  Previews of each episode are below.  Go here to watch the full episodes.

Watch The Truth About Exercise with Michael Mosley – Promotion on PBS. See more from Michael Mosley.

Watch Guts with Michael Mosley – Preview on PBS. See more from Michael Mosley.

Share
Tweet
Share

The Quadratus Lumborum (QL)

Standard

Get to know your QL.

Recently I’ve been investigating and working on my quadratus lumborum or the “QL.”  This muscle attaches to

the top of the hip bone (illiac crest), the 12th rib, and parts of the lumbar spine. For a long time I’ve had a bit of pain (ranging from a lot of pain to just a pinch) in the neighborhood of my right low back.  At one point in time I was also told I have a right leg-length discrepancy.  (Most leg-length discrepancies are functional rather than structural.  That is, the discrepancy is typically due to contracted muscles pulling the leg up rather than one leg bone being longer than the other.)

A gimpy QL can cause various problems including low-back pain, shoulder dysfunction, breathing problems and balance problems.  Problems in the QL can affect hip position, ribcage position, spine position–all kinds of things. A tight QL can contribute to pinched nerves in the back, the symptoms of which I’ve had sporadically.

I’ve been digging around my low back with a Rumble Roller, the Stick and a lacrosse ball; and I’ve been working to lengthen the QL.  I’ve also been directly working the QL via side bends, side bridges, and 1-arm farmer walks.  I’m liking the results.  If you’ve got back pain you may want to work on your QL.

Here’s a link to a fairly good QL stretch and further information on the QL.

Below are some videos discussing and demonstrating ways to address the QL. The first video is a very thorough rundown of what the QL is, what it does, and common symptoms of QL dysfunction. The next two videos are from Kelly Starrett at MobilityWOD.  He discusses some ways to address a tight, gunked-up QL.  Next comes a video from chiropractor Dr. Craig Liebenson and strength coach Chad Waterbury. They present a way to test your QLs and then present a nice progression of strength exercises.  I’ve just started using this process with myself and some clients.  Finally, there’s a very brief QL stretch.  I like to use a stretch like this to test each QL and see if one is tighter than the other.  There are lots of ways to stretch the QL.  This is just one.

I personally have had some good, quick success in playing around with some of these strategies. I make no guarantees but maybe some of this stuff will help you too.





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share
Tweet
Share

“Body Talk” Lecture Series by Rick Olderman

Standard

If you’re in Denver and you’re either in pain or your a trainer/therapist who’s interested in helping people who are in pain, then I highly suggest you attend one or more of the following lectures from Denver physical therapist and certified personal trainer Rick Olderman.  I’ve mentioned Rick before (here, and here) and his hugely important role in helping me recover from back pain and regain my running ability.  Without question he’s one of the main reasons I was able to resume running and run my first marathon last year.  He’s part of the Body in Balance physical therapy office. The information here will be practical and probably very powerful in helping you or someone you know get out of pain.  And it’s free!

  • Neck Pain & Headaches: Innovative answers you’ve been missing.
    Tuesday, 4/9, 6pm
    Presented by Rick Olderman MSPT, CPT.
  • Trauma, Pain, and the Brain: How to use your brain to fix your pain.
    Saturday, 4/13, 1pm
    Presented by  Rick Olderman MSPT, CPT.
  • 3 Patterns Causing Back Pain and How to Change Them.
    Tuesday, 4/16, 6 pm
    Presented by Rick Olderman MSPT, CPT.
  • Accidents and Chronic Pain: Why you’re not getting better and how can you change your outcome.
    Saturday, 4/20, 1pm
    Presented by Rick Olderman MSPT, CPT.
  • How You Walk Can Fix Your Back, Hip, Knee, and Foot Pain.
    Tuesday, 4/23, 6pm
    Presented by Rick Olderman MSPT, CPT.
  • Stretching: Is there a better way to lengthen muscles?
    Saturday, 4/27, 1pm
    Presented by Rick Olderman MSPT, CPT.
  • Core Performance Versus Core Strength: Common mistakes with abdominal strengthening.
    Tuesday, 4/30, 6pm
    Presented by Rick Olderman MSPT, CPT.
  • How Does Walking Contribute to Chronic Foot and Ankle Pain?
    Saturday, 5/4, 1pm
    Presented by Rick Olderman MSPT, CPT.
  • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: A unique approach to solving pain.
    Tuesday, 5/7, 6pm
    Presented by Rick Olderman MSPT, CPT.
  • Running Injuries: It’s more than just foot-strike patterns.
    Saturday, 5/11, 1pm
    Presented by Rick Olderman MSPT, CPT.
  • Dry Needling: How is it different than acupuncture and how can it help you?
    Tuesday, 5/14, 5:30pm
    Presented by Aline Thompson PT, MSPT, OCS.
Share
Tweet
Share

The Problem(s) With Surgery

Standard

“In America the scalpel reigns supreme. Some patients accept that surgery isn’t for them and gladly follow the non surgical recommendations, but others go from surgeon to surgeon until they get the surgery they think they need.”
– Dr. Jennifer Gunter MD, FRCS(C), FACOG, DABPM

I just read a very enlightening post from an MD regarding surgery vs physical therapy.  In To cut isn’t always to cure: knee surgery, health care, and our love affair with the scalpel Dr. Jen Gunter hits several nails very squarely on the head.  First, she discusses research comparing physical therapy alone vs arthroscopic surgery for treatment of knee miniscus repair and osteoarthritis.  What did the study find?  Dr. Gunter says,

“Patients over 45 with OA and a meniscus tear were randomized to typical arthroscopic surgery (which included post operative physical therapy) or physical therapy (PT). They were allowed to cross over to the other group if they so desired. At 6 months and at 12 months those who had surgery were no better off pain or function wise than those who stuck with the physical therapy regimen (30% of people decided to switch from PT to surgery).”

She goes on to discuss our view of surgery, and that we often view surgery as the ultimate best solution for pain.  Couple that view with our widely available yet very expensive MRI technology and we are a society hungering for surgery even when it’s clearly a questionable solution in many cases.  More from Dr. Gunter:

“A lot of people have arthritis of the knee (we know this because of all the knee MRIs that we do in this country at $1200 or so a pop). According to the NEJM study, 9 million Americans have osteoarthritis of the knee confirmed by x-ray or MRI and 35% of people over the age of 50 will have a meniscus tear on MRI. A torn meniscus itself doesn’t necessarily identify the cause of the pain because 2/3 of meniscus tears are totally asymptomatic. MRIs are so sensitive they identify tons of things that are not causative as far as pain is concerned.

Because we have an aging population, because we MRI everyone, because we have a problem with obesity (a major co-factor in osteoarthritis), and because surgery is highly reimbursed almost 500,000 people get their partially torn meniscus trimmed by a minimally invasive surgery called arthroscopy (using a surgical telescope) each year in the United States.

However, recent studies have called into question the value of arthroscopic knee surgery. For example, we know that arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis (OA) alone is no better than sham surgery. Yup. Put a patient to sleep, nick the skin with a scalpel. squirt water on his leg or stick a telescope into it and fix what you think needs to be fixed… the outcomes are identical.”

Dr. Gunter makes a great point regarding treatment of arthritis and by addressing obesity via lifestyle:

“And what about diet and lifestyle? Obesity is a major co-factor in osteoarthritis of the knee. Not only because the knee is load bearing, but the fat pad in the knee is metabolically active like the fat around the belly and contributes to the inflammatory changes of arthritis. The average body mass index in the NEJM study was 30. That means that obesity was the norm.”

I’m very pleased to see an MD making these kinds of observations.  The big message is that surgery isn’t always the best solution is tremendously valuable.  We love to think American medical care is wonderful but in so many cases it’s just incredibly wasteful.  We spend the most of any 1st world country on medical care yet our outcomes are questionable when compared to other modern countries.  We spend too much on things we don’t need when there are practical ways to reduce costs and maintain a high quality of care.

I would add that surgery often only treats a symptom rather than the cause of something like arthritis.  Osteoarthritis is typically related to poor movement patterns.  If we can use our muscles to correctly control our joints then we have sloppy movement.  The result is friction within the joint and thus a buildup of bone–arthritis.  The process is similar to the formation of a callous on the skin.  If we only clean up the arthritis and we do nothing to correct movement, then we should expect to continue to have pain.  Surgery doesn’t correct movement.  That’s what physical therapy and similar modalities are for.

 

Share
Tweet
Share