Midweek Post: Books, Iso's and Orthotics

If you're looking for a fun quick read for a few days, try out Dhani Jones new book.  I'm about all the way through it and it was a fun read.  I loved his show on TLC which was him traveling to other countries, spending a week there, learning there sport and culture, culminating in him competing in the sport against locals.  It is a cross between his thoughts, travel diary, sport/culture and different training styles for each and how they benefited his play in the NFL.  The Sportsman: Unexpected Lessons from an Around the World Sports Odyssey.

I've played around this week with Jay Schroeders Deadly Seven Iso's.  You hold a squat, push up, right and left lunge, chin up, good morning and finally inverted row for 5 minutes.  Obviously you're not going to be able to go 5 min.  You accumulate as much time as you can, rest and keep going.  I only did 3 min.  The only one I made it through without stopping was the squat.  The upper body stuff was extremely hard for me.  I was pretty surprised at how sore I was the next day.  I really liked the fact, that I could feel my weak spots being challenged.  An old shoulder dislocation from rugby has always made my left scapulae do funny things and feel weaker/less stable.  I think this will be a valuable tool in the toolbox to iron out some dysfunction.

I recommend the iso push up and inverted row for all chiropractors to help protect your shoulders.  Doing side postures on people day in and day out can lead to some shoulder problems down the line.  Protect yourself.  

I often hear people say they don't like orthotics and they use the analogy, if you had back pain would you put them in a brace and say don't move.  Well, obviously I wouldn't.  But a good orthotic, isn't about  stopping motion, it's about stopping excess motion.  If I had a shoulder dislocation and had a to play a contact sport, I would wear a brace that stops extreme end range motion for sure.  Same thing with a good orthotic.  Professional Golf, I was told by a biomechanist in Boston, doesn't allow the use of orthotics unless for a medical condition, because it's considered a performance enhancement.  Food for thought.