Author Archives: annamalec

BO-ING! goes the spring

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Let me start off with the disclaimer that I’m pretty sure I squeaked by with a C in physics. I’m really truly hoping that someone far more intelligent then myself will read this and be inspired to put something more comprehensible and useful together for the good of the exercise industry. Most likely this has already has happened, clue me in, I would love to read it. For now here’s a peak into the sloppy place called my brain.

I have heard over and over, “Our bodies are a system of levers and pulleys”. Although I agree with this, it’s not in the sense of a simple rope. These levers and pulleys are pulling on our internal springs. When this “internal spring” term is used it is most commonly used in the context of the legs, more specially the vertical jump. However, I see springs everywhere in the body.

Ok let’s start simply; there’s two ways a single spring can generate force while trying to return to its original shape. If you push inward on a spring and let go it springs outward. If you stretch the spring and let go it springs inward. What I think is really of cool is that the potential for these two forces are rarely equal in the same spring. A tight spring is going to generate more force stretched then compressed, and a stretch out spring is going to generate more force compressed.

Ok so how does this relate to our bodies? Lets look at two bodies like these two springs. The tight spring being compressed is an overly stable body. This person’s workout has consisted for too long of adding load and resistance. At some point they did get bigger and stronger doing this and common sense dictated more is better. There most likely exists the potential to load lift or pull more, however something very different has to happen first. We need to take some of those strings and lengthen them and pull a couple turns out of the coil. This is going to feel much harder then the exercises they are used to not only because they have to expand (circumference of spring), but they are working on mobility (lengthening of spring). Once this happens the springs become stronger and they are able to handle those loads with out completely compressing their potential for energy.

The stretched spring is someone hyper mobile but unstable. This person’s workout has consisted of expanding and lengthening for too long. They need to twist and tighten up their spring not only for that rebounding energy but also for stability.   If you took a really stretched out spring and compressed it, it most likely would flop to one side or the other not go straight down. You have to give it a little twist on the way down tightening it up to the center it would compress in a more balanced way.

We’re not just one spring though, the levers and pulleys control that balance of the springs and the relationship they have to each other. Hook some springs together and what do you have? An overstretched one can’t effectively pull a tight one. A tight one doesn’t give an overstretched one a fighting chance of compressing. Add in the internal and external rotation there’s all kind of interesting things going on. This is where people are failing at stretching and stabilizing. As I have said before look to the opposing structure of your problem and you will find your path to healing and strengthening. Think of how you can get expand areas of your body that feel very rigid, and how you can bring stability to areas that are very flexible. The balancing act will surprise you and teach you wonderful things about your structure and potential.

What’s your best feature?

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Recently someone complimented me on my back. I personally love backs but it’s not something like legs, boobs, or butts that gets a lot of attention.  The more I thought about it the more the compliment sunk in. Let me clear, I hold no judgment against people that go under the knife. However, to the best of my knowledge a back can’t be “faked”, and although some folks work on sculpting the back in the gym I don’t.  It’s not only a reflection of the things of love (carrying my kids way past a reasonable size, swimming, Pilates, and Foundation training), but also a badge of recovery.  In a past life it was weak and probably contributed to a bad shoulder injury. Once I realized it was the critical link in allowing me to recover I suffered through the difficulty and got stronger.  That’s something I can proudly flaunt.



Eas-y

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The boys are sick in my house. As my husband kercoo-ed across the counter I yelled at him, “hinge when you sneeze!!!” You would be horrified to see how many backs are blown pooping or sneezing. Don’t even get me started on sneezing while pooping (super dangerous). Build good movement patterns to protect you when you are most vulnerable. Oh and God bless you!

Attn: Children of the 80’s

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You are probably getting close to wrapping up your Christmas shopping by now (no pun intended), but I made a gift recommendation I was exceptionally proud of the other day I thought I would share.  Pogoball! Remember those? The ball with the disk around it. I think I went through at least four or five of them as a kid. My brother and I would bounce down the sled riding hill pretending we were skiing in the summer and I got pretty darn good at jumping rope on the gadget. They have fallen out of favor but here’s why I love it. Several awesome things are going here.First you have to squeeze this ball between your feet like hell to stay on it, building hip adductor strength and hip stability. Second you are using your core to stay balanced. It’s great cardio. And finally, your building your internal springs getting the the thing started, beneficial in any activity or sport that requires a quick take off or jumping ability. You’re welcome, your kid will love it. You might even want to get yourself one.  Happy Holidays!

You too can have me in your living room!

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I’m still working out the details of my hologram image, but in the meantime I am officially offering training via FaceTime or Skype. When I first started playing with this idea I have to admit I was a little skeptical. I am very hands on with my people and didn’t like taking that element away. For the last couple months I have toyed around with being on both ends of the camera and I am very pleasantly surprised at the results. Sessions last 30 minutes and are a great way to stay on track in between your group classes or in person sessions during this busy season. You waste less time running back and forth to the gym and you can even finish your workout before that load comes out of the dryer. If you would like to know more send me a request titled “online training” to ammovewell@gmail.com.

Footprints

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I had a lousy morning. I’ll spare you the details, but one of those days that nothing was going my way. When I gave up on getting a lane at the pool I threw up my arms and said FINE I’ll take a walk at the beach. I needed to work on my arches anyway. Then my head began to spin. Which spot would be most efficient? I already wasted so much time I needed to walk and get on with whatever was next. Mind you, I didn’t really know what that WAS, but I’m sure there was something.
I checked and noted the time and began my march aware of my alignment and at a pace to bring my heart rate up. A rouge wave occasionally slammed into my feet disrupting my stride but I trudged on.
Then I started noticing how many vultures were on the beach. There must have been two dozen. “So appropriate” I think, but stop to watch a few. I creep closer to watch them feed. One stretches out his wings to scare me off. Back to work. Now I’m in a standoff with a very handsome pelican. He not going anywhere. I like his spirit so I go around. The rest of the way down I watch a piece of driftwood in the surf. When I finally reach it I decide it too heavy to take back with me and I turn around. I’m stopped in my tracks by my own footprints. I thought I was walking a straight line but they curve back and forth, almost rhythmically.
What’s more interesting is as I come closer to where I began my line becomes very straight. Parts are missing washed away by the surf. More of path remained where I was more connected to my surroundings. My feet knew the right part of the beach that was neither too soft or too hard. Perhaps we should let ourselves waver more in and out of the obstacles and points of interest in our paths.
When you hear HAPPY “successful” people speak they often sound like it was one big accident. My best decisions did not arise from goals and to do lists. They were things that pulled and sometimes pushed me in a direction. Now as I am following my straight path I start to think about how I might write this entry when all of a sudden I am interrupted by a blast that scared me stiff. I kid you not, a baby gray whale less then 15 ft away! I stop and watch her eye rise above the water and she looks back at me for a bit. Finally I say ” well hello”. She turns and swims slowly away.
As I walk up towards the lot a ranger in a truck is laughing at me. He tells me he had been chasing her down the beach trying to get a photo, but she circled back to me and had been flipping around for awhile before I noticed her as if she was trying to get my attention. Hope your ok little one and you find your momma.
In the parking lot there is a man with a nice camera taking a picture of a gull on a cinderblock. He puts down his camera and smiles as I get closer I quietly say ” if you want some more interesting material there’s a baby whale just past the dunes”. ………………”just follow my footprints”.

“I’m just not flexible”

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I feel like once a week I’m explaining to someone that shoulder range of motion (people say flexibility) is determined by the balanced strength of the shoulder girdle. This video from Ido portal is a great example. He starts the exercise in a balanced active hang, then slides into an inactive hang in a balanced state to rotate. The second incorrect demo you can see how much the range of motion is affected by starting out of balance. Strengthening imbalances is just as important as stretching what you think is tight. Always think, “Ok what is the opposing structure to the area?”. Impingements and tightness can be a result of an over stretched weak opposing muscle. Rather then building reps and adding weight to what you are already good at, seek out weakness and true strength you will find. Just make sure you say that last part like Yoda.

A Few Basic Foam Roller Moves

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So I forgot my mic this night and it’s been sitting on my computer for a ridiculously long time now. A considerable amount of nagging from you folks has let me put technical difficulties aside on this one. It’s not rocket science just rolling, hope you can get the idea despite the crummy audio. In return I pinky promise to have a much more detailed Foam Roller Workshop in the spring. So get Rolling!