Posts Tagged ‘Fitness’
Welcome to Chiropractic Life and Wellness Center's Fitness Archive. Here you can learn more about Chiropractic Life and Wellness Center, Chiropractic, and Dr. Brandon Chorney, today's choice for Chiropractors in New Fairfield, CT. Read Dr. Brandon Chorney's Chiropractic Fitness for the health of it.
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by Dr. Brandon Chorney | Jul 5, 2011 | Health Articles
Or is it? However you choose to scoot around on your two wheels – on-road, off-road, for fun or in competition – the bicycle you use to do it has to be tailored not just to those needs, but also to your body, physicality, and health considerations. You wouldn’t enter a road-race on a kid’s plastic trike, and neither should you ignore the finer points when matching your bike to your body.
Your bike needs to fit your body. When it does, you will feel the difference because you will ride more comfortably, more powerfully, covering more ground faster, with less effort, and with less risk of injury.
In a nutshell, there are five considerations when matching yourself to a bike:
1. Frame size
2. Seat height
3. Seat position
4. Seat tilt
5. Handlebar position
Frame Size
Get this wrong and you’ll look like you just stole the bike from someone else. This is the most important measurement to properly size up because the frame is the one thing that cannot be adjusted – unless you’re handy with a hacksaw and welding torch. Frame size is not always down to a person’s overall height; it is the leg length that matters. You should be able to straddle the bike frame (not the seat) and be able to plant both feet flat on the floor without squeaking from contact made higher up. For guys with the horizontal top-tube design, this is important if you are ever shifted forward off the seat unexpectedly. If your feet don’t hit the floor before your crotch hits the top tube … squeak.
- For a road or hybrid bike, the crotch/tube gap should be an inch or two.
- For a mountain bike, it should be about four inches given the higher likelihood of an unplanned dismount on rough terrain.
Seat Height
Setting the seat too high or too low can lead to pain and injury to the back and knees, and an inefficient revolution of each pedal stroke. When the pedal is at its lowest point with the ball of your foot on the pedal, your knee should be slightly bent. Make this seat adjustment wearing the shoes you will normally wear when riding.
Seat Position
You need to be sitting on your bike to check the seat position, with the aid of something or someone to hold on to so both feet can be on the pedals. Rotate the pedals until they are at the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions. With the ball of your foot on the pedal, your forward knee should be directly over the axle of that pedal. If this is not the case, make the necessary adjustment by sliding the seat forward or backward.
Seat Tilt
Your seat should ideally be level, which can be checked with a spirit level if you’re really bored. Make sure you’re not on a hill when you do this – obviously. If your seat tips too much one way or the other, there will be pressure on your arms, shoulders, and lower back. Choose the seat design accordingly, bearing in mind the padding and the length of your average bike ride.
Handlebar Position
How you position the handlebars will be determined largely by the type of bike you have. Bullhorn handlebars on a racer won’t really work aerodynamically. Your shoulder, neck, and back are all affected by your handlebar position and design.
Always Wear a Helmet!
It’s no use having very relaxed muscles if your head breaks open. As your muscles go into rigor after death, even the ME who deals with your body will have no idea how relaxed you were just before the impact. The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration reports that a properly fitted bicycle helmet reduces the risk of head injury by 85%, and brain injury by 88%. You can ensure your helmet fits correctly by taking note of the following:
- Your helmet should be level on the head, while protecting the forehead.
- Your ears should just fit inside the Y shape of the side straps.
- The chin strap should be snug enough that if you open your mouth wide, it pulls the helmet down slightly.
- If you can move your helmet back on your head more than an inch by pushing on the front, it is not correctly fitted.
- If the helmet dislodges when you give your head a shake, you can be sure worse will happen in an accident.
- Sounds obvious, but don’t wear another hat under the helmet – you’re not Eminem.
- Helmets should conform to the relevant national/international standards applicable to the country where you live, and have the appropriate stickers to prove it. World War II helmets aren’t a good substitute and you will quickly become known locally as “that loon on the bike”.
by Dr. Brandon Chorney | Jun 28, 2011 | Health Articles
There will always be some bright spark inventing a new-fangled way to exercise. Strange machines and contraptions and weird exercise routines. If that sort of thing appeals, then fine – so long as it does what it’s meant to do. One thing you may not have considered, though, is simply getting back to basics in terms of your exercise. It doesn’t cost anything, you don’t need to go anywhere special to do it, and it’s really good for you. What is it?
Walking. Plain old leave-the-house-and-have-a-wander-round walking. It’s been keeping people fit since growing legs became all the rage. That’s a long time ago.
The Benefits of Walking
All you need to go walking is the will to do it, a little time, and a decent pair of walking shoes. There’s no excuse for leading a sedentary lifestyle when you consider walking as a viable form of exercise. You can walk anywhere, and it provides the following benefits, and many more:
- It improves your cardiovascular endurance
- It tones the muscles of the lower body
- It raises your metabolic rate into an ideal range for calorie burning
- It reduces the risk of heart disease
- It is not potentially injurious to your joints as jogging and running can be
Choosing Walking Shoes
You’re not on the catwalk when you go out walking, so don’t be swayed by the latest fashion. Simply choose a pair of shoes that will provide the best comfort and support.
- Make sure the shoes fit properly. Check that the ball of your foot rests where the front of the shoe bends with each stride.
- The soles should have plenty of cushioning to absorb the impact.
- Shop late in the day or following a workout when your feet have swelled to their largest, and wear the type of socks you will be walking in.
- Try to have a wander around the store in your chosen shoes for at least 10 minutes to make sure they feel right.
- Make the store detective following you even more suspicious by walking faster and faster.
The life of a walking shoe varies, depending on their usage – the weight of the person wearing them, for example, or the terrain tackled. As a rough guide, experts consider replacements should be considered at between 300 and 500 miles.
Getting Going
Before beginning any new exercise routine, always consult with your doctor. Assuming the all-clear, 12 minutes walking every other day is a reasonable target at first, and even that will confer health benefits. Your aim should be to increase to 30 minutes, five days a week. As the actual pace of walking will affect how much exercise is really taken, experts tend to agree that adults need to be taking 10,000 steps a day to be labeled “active”. A pedometer will tell you how you’re measuring up.
Tips to help you keep going:
- Let your arms move naturally and freely. If your right arm is swinging in synch with your right leg, something is very wrong.
- Don’t stoop, drop your head or look down as you’re walking as this accentuates your neck curve and throws your weight off.
- Walk without any leg weights or wrist weights and without holding dumbbells. Keep them as a separate exercise routine.
- Don’t be put off by a little soreness in the thighs and calves in the early days. Anything worse or more persistent, go and see your doctor of chiropractic.
- Keep up a good brisk pace as though you’re heading somewhere quite important. Too slow, and your cardiovascular system will not enjoy the full benefits.
Which Surface?
It’s likely that most people who walk recreationally will, for the sake of convenience, just leave their house and walk a few blocks before returning. Concrete isn’t the ideal walking surface, but it can be mitigated by a highly cushioned pair of shoes. A better option is to walk on grass for the extra give, although you have to watch for uneven spots and dips and irresponsible dog owners. The best choice would be the cushioned or rubberized tracks that recreation centers sometimes have, as these are both smooth and soft.
The Cause of Pain and Injury
Walking is a low-impact activity that’s unlikely to cause injury unless you walk into a lamppost. It’s therefore probable that any pain you do feel while out walking is being triggered by a pre-existing problem. It’s also likely that the root cause of the pain will not reside in the area where you are actually experiencing the pain. In other words, the injury is systemic rather than isolated or regional. Pain felt in the knee or the hips, for example, may be the result of a problem with the foot or ankle, and every step taken is throwing more imbalance up through the whole system. Unless rectified, this can continue until you may end up with pain in the back or elsewhere.
If such a situation does occur, with unexplained pain in places that don’t seem to make sense, a visit to your doctor of chiropractic is in order. Chiropractors are trained to track down and identify the source of your pain, then devise a treatment plan specifically geared to your personal circumstances.
by Dr. Brandon Chorney | May 16, 2011 | Health Articles
Kids love to play sports today just as they always have done, but these days the variety of sports on offer is huge. It is so easy to indulge their passion that, in the fun of it all, the importance of proper conditioning and healthy nutrition may be overlooked by parents and kids alike. Without these two elements, performance will not be as keen as it might be, and the chances of injury will be much higher.
In those more competitive of sports such as football, athletics and gymnastics, the training regimes imposed upon the kids can be something they are just not ready to handle unless their bodies are fully prepared, and they understand how to guard against the possibility of potentially serious physical damage.
Warming up, stretching, strength-training, cooling down, are all necessary for kids involved in sports, but even when they choose to follow the routines, they may not have sufficient learning to follow them properly. Thus it is not necessarily the sport itself that can be injurious; it may be the preparations that cause the damage. Improper stretching or weight-lifting techniques can be fairly ruinous to a still-developing teenager.
There needs to be appropriate and professional instruction given to young athletes in both general warm-up procedures, and in sport-specific warm-up. A slow jog is not sufficient preparation for a sport which may test body parts to their limits.
Eating proper nutrition and keeping well-hydrated are also crucial to support the rigors asked of the young athlete’s body. If 8 to 10 eight-ounce glasses of water each day is recommended for a non-sporting person, the requirements for an athlete are obviously greater considering how they are taxing their systems and sweating it out. A nutritious breakfast is very important, and during match or competition days the athlete should aim to eat a healthy meal around 2 to 4 hours before their physical exertion, and within 1 to 2 hours afterwards to properly refuel the body.
It is one of the traits of youth that kids feel nothing can hurt them, but this obviously isn’t true. By following the tips below, you can ensure your child is well-prepared for whatever their chosen sport throws at them.
Your child should endeavor to:
Wear the correct equipment
- This is obviously vital in certain contact sports, such as football and hockey, which can be dangerous.
- Make sure equipment fits well.
- Alert the trainer if equipment is damaged.
Eat healthily
- Young athletes should eat a well-balanced diet and avoid skipping meals.
- Candy bars, fast food and the like should be shunned.
- Provide healthy foods at home, such as fruit and veg rather than cookies and potato chips.
Keep to a healthy weight
- Dietary rules are imposed on participants of certain sports, without which optimum performance is unlikely.
- Be watchful of your child becoming too fanatical about this and ending up losing too much weight.
Drink plenty of water
- Hydration is vital to optimal fitness.
- Teenage athletes need at least 8 eight-ounce glasses of water a day.
- Younger athletes need 5 to 8 eight-ounce glasses.
Avoid soda
- Commercial sodas are massively responsible for poor health and obesity. Look at a good quality sports drink for young athletes who need a sustained source of replenishment.
Warm-up properly
- Before every event – competition or practice – the athlete should warm up. Talk to the coach if this isn’t happening.
- Jogging, jumping rope, lifting light weights are all good ways to avoid torn or ripped muscles.
Take vitamins daily
- Multi-vitamins may help a young athlete avoid a deficiency.
- B-complex vitamins and amino acids can help reduce pain after contact sports.
- Thiamine helps promote healing.
- Vitamin A is good for scar tissue.
Avoid gimmicky supplements
- Performance-enhancing supplements like creatine should be avoided in the under-18s.
Rest well
- Young athletes should get eight hours of sleep a night to avoid adversely affecting performance.
- Fatigue can appear as irritability and a loss of interest in the sport.
Chiropractic Care Can Help
Doctors of chiropractic are trained to provide treatment for the whole neuromusculoskeletal system, and are able to offer advice on appropriate training, nutrition and injury prevention.
