Different Exercises seen in a Visit to Suria Akhara, Varanasi

Found this video.  Thought it was super interesting to see a whole different way a culture strength trains. Never have seen the type of squat with the big wheel on the bike.  Those were some big Jori Clubs.  I'd like to try out the big steel mace sometime, that looks fun.

Weekend Coffee #5

Get your favorite coffee, sit down and peruse some good readings from the last few weeks.

Understanding pain is a very complex subject and Chronic Pain is even worse.  Sometimes an understanding of what is happening is actually very beneficial to the patient.  This was a nice article.  Teaching the Nervous System to Forget Chronic Pain.

Another Pain article, do you have a tissue problem or a pain problem.  Just framing it this way can lead to greater understanding for both patient and clinician.  Does Your Patient have a Pain Problem or Tissue problem.   Never forget that tissues heal.  

Keeping with the Pain theme, Olympic athletes and pain.  This article tells why pain is good and is needed to for sports performance.   It allows a barometer to effort.  But, the brain tells lies long before the body gives out.  Athletes are more pain tolerant.  Training to live with Pain.

Nothing to do with pain or reading, but I really enjoyed Mike Mahler interview of Tom Furman on this podcast.  As I learn more and more, I think I align my thoughts more and more with someone like Tom Furmans thinking.  Just something I've noticed about myself.  

Obesity, Microbes and Thoughts

I came across this info graphic the other day and was struck by it's clarity.  Obesity in under 20 years has risen dramatically everywhere in the US.

Is it the lack of physical exercise?  Gorging on junk food?  A combination or something else.  Growing up I think I existed on white bread, fried bologna, fruit and Tang.  I don't think my mom could get me to eat anything else.  Not sure I ate anything green until I was out of college.  LOL.  But, we didn't go to fast food and we didn't really snack.  (Perhaps it's not just the quality of the food, but the quantity)  A medium these days would have been like an extra large a few years ago.  Sun up to sun down I was running around though.  Every kid was.  We had gym class.  We rode bikes everywhere.  There was constant motion.

This article will be sure to make you rethink the obesity and food problem as well.  Do our microbes, our gut bacteria, control more then we think.  It may not be just move more and eat less when you ARE obese.  I think it's very different problem to keep obesity from happening then having an obese person reverse it.  Obesity and Gut Flora.

The Real You - Alan Watts

What I Learned Recently: Deltoid as a Damper

Reading though a book last night, the author presented the idea that in Gait, the deltoid acts more as a stabilizer then as a mover.  The Arm swing is more to provide a shock absorbing system almost to allow the neck to be a stable platform.

The deltoid is an interesting muscle with its pennate fiber angle.  It is active in the forward and backward swing of the arm, but is active because of, not to create it.   It absorbs the rotation of the body to help keep the head level.

These ideas are based off research by Pontzer, Holloway, Raichlen and Lieberman.  Control and function of arm swing in human walking. 

I often find that patients have a hard time really engaging the deltoid and want to shrug or flex the biceps.  The Delt is a direct continuation with the trapezius, so it makes sense.  Also, the trapezius contracts just prior to heel strike in the gait cycle.  Another mechanism to help keep the head level and not allow the head to pitch forward.

Cool Stuff.  Reading through Born To Walk, by James Earls.

Ancestral Health and Matt Smith Talk Low Back Pain

I thought this was an excellent talk on low back pain.  How obesity, exercise, physiology can all influence acute and chronic low back pain.  Sometimes just understanding a little of this can help those dealing with lower back pain.  "What exactly is going on?"

There are some awesome points on exercise and why one thing can work for someone and not for someone else.  Definitely worth the time to watch.

American Ninja Warrior Training

In case you have never heard of American Ninja Warrior, it's a show on NBC.  People run through an obstacle course that is intense on Grip and Core Strength.  This year the show has seen the first women and the first 50 year old make it to the finals.  It's a pretty fun watch in my opinion.  There are also a lot of people doing hanging challenges, so I thought I'd put some thoughts to this.

What I've taken away is the type of training that you must do to be successful.  What got me really thinking was a Bobsledder I know competed and while he put up a nice effort, didn't make it very far.   At 220lb I don't care how much you climb your grip isn't lasting that long.  So first thought, no more then 185lbs.  You are just working against yourself if your are heavier.  I'd say 165 is more the ideal.   So weight loss equals instants strength endurance gain.

Must be able to hang in the 1/2 lockout position for 3 minutes.  That would be elbows at 90 degrees.  Simple, but not easy at all.

Must be able to hang in the full lockout position for 3 minutes.  That is arms fully extended.

2 minutes of back and forth on the monkey bars.  Not only does this get used to the pattern of alternating arms, it's dynamic and endurance at the same time.

Be able to swing from a bar and try to reach out and land in front of of you with your feet.  8-10 feet is a good goal.  (I was surprised at actually how hard this was for me when I first tried)  It looks easy on TV.

Not many people will have a warp wall, but if you can run up to a 12 foot wall and propel yourself up, there is a good chance the warp wall won't stop you.

Run quickly over a balance beam or something narrow slightly off the ground.  The cement stand alone curbs work well.

PREVENTATIVE

Your forearm muscles will take abuse.  Make a peanut with some lacrosse balls and tape and roll those muscles for at least 5 minutes each, every day.

Bear Crawls will help to stabilize the shoulder girdle and get those muscles stronger to allow more intense training sessions.  They also act as a dynamic forearm flexor stretch.  Incorporate these into all your training sessions.

Kids parks make great training places.  Pull ups, monkey bars, dips.  Climb trees.  Ledges off buildings will hold new meaning.  Join a rock climbing gym if there is one in your area.