The Python Challenge in Grand Rapids

This is Ted Bingham attempting "The Python Challenge." 84 ft of thick rope attached to 100lbs. Ted finished in a time of 21.67 seconds. Come out to Train Out Pain Chiropractic in Downtown Grand Rapids and try to beat it. It's a full body workout, with extra emphasis on the upper extremities.

Posterior Chain for Athletes

I've written before about the importance of the posterior chain for athletes. My views haven't changed. It's probably the single biggest and easiest things you can do as a coach/trainer/therapist and see some great results from your athletes that you work with. Everyone can use some extra strength there, it will always benefit. My favorite exercise is the Glute Ham. Some key points I like to teach, drive the toe into the toe plate, maximally recruit that calf/gastroc tie in. Keep the knee slightly past the pad to begin, this will allow the knee to drop and let the hamstring work from origin to insertion. Keep the shoulder in line with the hip. Finish with a strong glute contraction. The video is the most basic version. As you progress you can do different hand positions, hold on to weight and even hook jump stretch bands on to increase the difficulty. You can even do a type of plyometric I learned from strength coach Yoseph Johnson based out of Muskegan, MI. Most runners are quad based and will begin to have an anterior pelvic tilt. This type of exercise will help bridge the gap between therapy and performance. The glute ham is very hard to duplicate, and no, a bodyweight russian lean doesn't qualify. Find one and use it. Your performance will thank you.

Hillsdale College Charger Drafted

Congratulations to Hillsdale College offensive lineman Jared Veldheer! I don't get to brag about the football at my college often, so if I get a chance, I will. Jared was drafted in the 3rd round by the Oakland Raiders. He is 6'8",320lb. This past February he was in Indianapolis for the big combine. He was top 10 in every physical characteristic they measure from speed, quickness, agility, strength and power. He was a local Grand Rapids, MI native attending Forest Hills Northern. Congrats!

Monday Motivation

For some reason while driving the other day I kept thinking about this quote from Les Browns book, "Live your Dreams."
I had it memorized all through college and I could remember most of it even today, but I did a quick google search to make sure it was exact.

"If you want a thing bad enough to go out and fight for it, to work day and night for it, to give up your time, your peace and your sleep for it...
If all that you dream and scheme is about it, and life seems useless and worthless without it...
If you gladly sweat for it and fret for it and plan for it and lose all the terror of the opposition for it...
If you simply go after that thing you want with all of your capacity, strength and sagacity, faith, hope and confidence and stern pertinacity...
If neither cold, poverty, famine, nor gout, sickness nor pain, of body and brain, can keep you away from the thing that you want...
If dogged and grim you beseech and beset it, with the help of GOD, you WILL get it!!"

It's a good one.

Law of Accommodation

Have you ever reached a barrier in your training? Can't break 5 minutes in the mile, 11 seconds in the 100 meter or a 405 pull deadlift. You've been training for that specific thing for some time now and your not getting any closer to reaching your goal. Welcome to the Law of Accommodation. Learn it well if you wish to progress. Simply stated the law states that after a certain amount of time your body will no longer accommodate to the same stimulus. You will learn to run at the 5 minute mile pace. You're body can't get any stronger from the work you've been doing day in and day out to get you over the 405lb deadlift.

Your body needs change, but before you go and get crazy, it still needs specificity. How can you have both? You need to change it up to elicit a new response, but elicit a response that will help in your ultimate goal. Will starting out a 5k training program help your deadlift? Absolutely not, but increasing your glute ham strength will. Maybe you do a specialized sled dragging program for 6 weeks, got in and retest the deadlift. You will be quite surprised.

Run 800 repeats at a 4:50 mile pace. Gradually bring the rest intervals down. Your introducing a new speed for your body to adapt to. Maybe you do a 3 week core/hip strengthening program. Now your left glute med isn't allowing your pelvis to collapse and your cruise to a 4:55 mile.

The body is an amazing organism. It will adapt to what you throw at it. But only for so long. Keep throwing new things at it, that will challenge it for the greater goal. That's the Law of Accommodation.

Davenport Rugby back in the News

I'm going to start helping out again with Davenport Universities Rugby program. They played their last regular season game this weekend. They beat Western Michigan University 35-12. They finished this year 3-3 and barely missed making the jump up to Division 1 for next year. Here is a nice article about the beginnings of the program and one of the athletes Erin Hillary.
It will be nice to have a facility that the guys can come get treated and trained. Two weeks till Train Out Pain Chiropractic opens in Downtown Grand Rapids!

Brachialis and Elbow Pain in Grand Rapids

The brachialis muscle is often an overlooked and overworked muscle. It's a unique muscle and critical for elbow health. It's the strongest elbow flexor and since it doesn't insert on the radius, it inserts on the coronoid process of the ulna, it is not affected by pronation or supination. But with that said it contributes more than 50% of elbow force with flexion.

When the muscle contains lots of adhesions it will not want to contract as forcefully on flexion and your other elbow flexors will take up the slack, most notably brachioradialis and extensor carpi radialis longus. These two small muscles will then over time develop dysfunction and create elbow pain. So because the brachialis doesn't complain, it just so to speaks, shuts down, the other smaller muscles which complain with pain get the attention.

So if your dealing with elbow pain, check out the brachials. Find someone that can work that muscle and your elbow health will thank you, if your in West Michigan or Grand Rapids, stop by our new clinic downtown. Keep those elbows healthy!

Grand Rapids Brazilian Jiu-jitsu

Yesterday was the first day I got to work with the Grand Rapids Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Club. I am going to be helping out with some of their conditioning. Which is basically some of the most demanding conditioning you can ask your body to go through. High Intensity Anaerobic work in a Aerobic environment. Take your body close to redline, back off, repeat. They have some fighters getting ready for a May 1st fight at the Delta Plex here in Grand Rapids, MI.

I was impressed with the guys conditioning already, and there willingness to put out. Dig deep and keep going. I think it will be a lot of fun helping these guys get into even better fighting shape. If your ever interested they have a brand new gym located on the corner of 32nd and Jefferson. It's really a great looking gym. It's run by Clint Crabtree, a blackbelt in BJJ. Which if you know about the sport, speaks for itself.

Expand Your Mind With These Jumps

This is some amazing stuff. It's eight minutes but the last jump is incredible. Crazy. Enjoy!

Monday Motivation

Last week I recently had the opportunity to hear Greg Mortenson speak on the Grand Valley State University campus. Greg is the author of "Three Cups of Tea" and "Stones to Schools." I haven't found the time to read Stones to Schools as I've been quite busy getting my private Chiropractic office/Gym up and running for it's opening in May, but "Three cups of Tea" was a great book. If you haven't read it, pick it up and let me know what you think.

It was a great to hear him talk about his adventures and beliefs for an hour and you can't beat the price, FREE! He closed with this quote that I had never heard before and have been thinking about. He credited Martin Luther King JR.

"Even if I know the world would end tomorrow, I will still plant my seed today."

Testing The Thyroid Gland

The Barnes Thyroid Test is an easy and possibly more accurate test for your thyroid then blood work. It was in fact developed by Broda Barnes MD in the 70's. It's easy and cheap. The only thing you need is a basal thermometer, they work better then digital. Immediately upon rising, with as little motion as possible, you place the thermometer in your arm pit. Relax for ten minutes. Record your temperature. Repeat this for 5 days. Take the average. The mean changes depending on who you ask. The last nutrition seminar I attended had normal 98.2-98.8. Dr. Barnes felt that this test was a check on the most basic function of the thyroid gland: its ability to regulate the metabolic furnace of the body, and to control temperature.

HCL Deficient Checkist

Hydrochloric acid (HCL) is a very important stomach acid. Many people with Western diets are deficient. Lets put it this way, if you don't have enough HCL your not going to digest and assimilate the food you ate. Why can we be deficient?

1. Stress: Sympathetic overload shuts down the parasympathetics.

2. Excessive Protein: Requires more HCL

3. Poor Eating Habits: Eat a ton all at once. Don't chew well. Drink a lot of water during the meal.

4. Lack of Thiamine/Zinc: B1 and Zinc are both necessary for HCL production in the stomach. Zinc is the #1 deficient mineral in the body.

5. Antacids: This an other meds, can suppress stomach acid.

6. Alcohol: Robs the ability to make HCL.

7. Salt free diets: Sodium is needed.

8. Aging: Decreases HCL production.

Juicing

I'll admit I go in streaks with juicing, mainly because of time. I just get lazy. I figured I would bust out my juicer to see if I can help out with a little healing for my elbow. This is one bag of carrots, two apples, five beets, ginger root and some cherry juice. Total time 23 minutes from start to clean up. It made 16 oz. Total cost 4.17 cents. I bought this juicer in Chiropractic school, I don't remember the brand name and weirdly enough it doesn't say it on it. I remember researching pretty carefully and getting one that doesn't heat up to kill the enzymes. Do you have any favorite juicing recipes?

Elbow brace

It's been almost three weeks post surgery. Here are a few pics of the brace I have to wear. 3x a day in extension, 3x a day in flexion, 30 minutes a pop for each, 3hours total. Each time trying to get a tad further then previous, fighting to get a tiny bit more range of motion.