ROD

Tuesday, 05Apr11

  

Due to circumstances beyond our control, Friday morning classes,10 & 11am, will be cancelled.

Tabata Tuesday

4 rounds of 30 seconds work/20 seconds rest non stop at circuit A, rest for 2 minutes, and then move on to circuit B and do the same.

Circuit A: 30/20 x 4 rounds non-stop.

• Jumping pullups
• Kettlebell swings
• MB Jacks 
• MB Toss w/Russian twist

Rest 2 minutes.

Circuit B: 30/20 x 4 rounds non-stop

• Dumbell push press
• Kettlebell High pull/squat
• Burpees
• Slam ball

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Nxt Level trained Athletes do it again on the field

Staten Island fast-pitch softball: Panthers win two

Published: Monday, April 04, 2011, 2:14 PM     Updated: Monday, April 04, 2011, 2:55 PM

MEDFORD, N.J. – The New York Panthers Black won 2 of 3 games at the USSSA Spring Dazzle, including a 12-0 decision over the Ocean Sharks and a 4-3 victory over the Chill. They also dropped a 4-3 decision to the South Jersey Wildcats. 

Nina Russo (seven hits, three doubles), Shannon Damon (five hits, two doubles) and Christina Rubin (game-winning hit in the bottom of the sixth vs. Chill) supplied the offense while Melissa Miloscia notched the victory against the Chill. 

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HOWELL, N.J. – Jessica Giardiello and Lindsay Palmieri (HR) had four hits each as the SI Saints defeated the Lacey Storm 6-5 and the Diamond Divas 12-5 in Howell Heat 10-and-under play. Kristen Blanchard picked up the win in the opener. 

 Again, our athletes keep dominating their opponents on the field. We are so proud of all their wins.

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Use SMR To Naturaly Release Muscle Pain

by Coach Donald

So let’s get started! 

What you need to get:

1) 6″ foam roller (either the 1′ long or 3′ long version)

2) Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” CD

3) A leopard-skin thong

4) Two quarts of baby oil to lube yourself up

Note: If you thought I was really serious on numbers two through four, you need to get your mind out of the gutter and find a new favorite website!

Techniques

These techniques are actually very simple to learn. Basically, you just use your body weight to sandwich the roller between the soft tissue to be released and the floor. Roll at a slow pace and actually stop and bear down on the most tender spots (“hot spots”). Once the pain in these spots diminishes, roll the other areas.

In order to increase the pressure on the soft tissue, simply apply more of your body weight to the roller. The simplest way to do this is by either moving from working both legs at once to one leg, or by “stacking” one of your legs on top of the other to increase the tension.

As you get more comfortable with SMR, you’ll really want to be bearing down on the roller with most (if not all) of your body weight. As with almost anything in the training world, there’s considerable room for experimentation, so you’ll definitely want to play around with the roller to see what works best for you. Be careful to avoid bony prominences, though. (Insert your own joke here.)

One other technique I’ve found to be beneficial is to work from the proximal (nearest the center of the body) to the distal (away from the center of the body) attachment of the muscle. For instance, instead of working your quadriceps from top to bottom all in one shot, shorten your stroke a little bit. Work the top half first, and after it has loosened up, move on to the bottom half.

This is an important strategy because as you get closer to the distal muscle-tendon junction, there’s a concomitant increase in tension. By working the top half first, you decrease the ensuing tension at the bottom, essentially taking care of the problem in advance.

Note: Those NLP members with circulatory problems and chronic pain diseases (e.g. fibromyalgia) should NOT use foam rollers.

SMR (self-myofascia release) is a type of corrective exercise and relaxation technique that begins to be more popular in these past few years. As a corrective exercise, the SMR can be used as a tool to correct postural problems, as a relaxation technique, people use the SMR to re-condition the body, or even pain or tightness release, but I found out that alot of misconception occur in the ways the technique applies. This article will give you the correct and most effective ways to use SMR for all kind of its use.

The muscles in the body work as a complicated combination of push, pull, and hold activities to make a balance structure. These balance conditions make it possible for every single part of the body position and move the way that they should. Problems occur when the balance get disturb by one or several muscles which force to work wrongly, because they have to maintain the body to adjust its position in awkward posture. This condition cause a unbalance condition of the body’s postural called the muscular imbalance.

When tightness happen in the muscle, one can perform stretch technique to release the tension by perform some kind of lengthening activities on the specific muscle. Doing the stretch will give some release to the muscle fibers, but not the fascia, that is the reason why some muscle will get back to repetitive tightness even if you do stretch to it regularly. To get more long term release for the muscle, you need to give it a complete relaxation which are both the stretches and the SMR.

In general what the SMR does is to release the unwanted knots that can be stubbornly stay at the outer layer of the muscle called the fascia by putting extra pressure to the area and its surroundings to make the brain thinks that the area needs to be relax or partially shut down for some amount of time.

To apply the SMR technique, you need to use some equipments like a foam roller, rubber ball, rubber noodle, etc., depend on the area that you want to give relaxation to. In general a foam roller should be enough. These stuffs can be found at the gyms or fitness equipment providers, even they are available online to get.

There are several ways to do the SMR technique, depend on the objective of what you are doing the exercise for. If you use the SMR technique for re-conditioning the whole body parts, you need to do it after warms up in the beginning of workouts. To do so, after a proper warm up, get the foam roller and an exercise mats, and find some place open. Start from the lowest body part which are the calves, by putting them on top of the roller, and start rolling slowly up until it reach almost the lower part of the back of your knee. Roll it down and up two or three times until you feel a slight release on the area. After the calves, continue to the other body parts such as the hamstrings, front thighs, buttocks, back, and chest.

To get rid of the discomfort at problem areas, you can do the same thing with the conditioning technique, only this time the pressures need to be done more slowly and carefully. When you roll in a problem area you will get a pain/hard pressure feeling in the knot, try to adjust to the stage which you can bare, and stay at that exact point for approximately 30 seconds, then move to other area in the same muscle. Do the same thing to the same area for three or four times as you will feel that the pain will reduce each time. When you are done with one body part, you can continue to other body parts.

This SMR technique is not meant to cure any medical condition, It is only meant for release muscle discomfort and cramps although a lot of annoying problems sometimes can be caused by a simple manner. If the problem persist, it is wise for you to check to the doctor or professional opinion to get a proper advise.

Demonstrations and Descriptions

Hamstrings: (muscles of the back of the legs) You’ll want to try these with the feet turned in, out, and pointing straight ahead to completely work the entire hamstring complex. Balance on your hands with your hamstrings resting on the roller, then roll from the base of the glutes to the knee. To increase loading, you can stack one leg on top of the other.

Hip Flexors: (muscles of the upper thigh)  Balance on your forearms with the top of one thigh on the roller. Roll from the upper thigh into the hip. Try this with the femur both internally and externally rotated. To do so, just shift the position of the contralateral pelvis. (In the photo, Mike would want to lift his right hip to externally rotate the left femur).

Tensor Fascia Latae and Iliotibial Band: (muscles of the side of the thighs and upper hip)  These are a little tricky, so we’ve included pictures from two different angles. Without a doubt, this one will be the most painful for most of you.

In the starting position, you’ll be lying on your side with the roller positioned just below your pelvis. From here, you’ll want to roll all the way down the lateral aspect of your thigh until you reach the knee. Stack the opposite leg on top to increase loading.

Adductors: (muscles of the inside of the legs) Balance on your forearms with the top of one of your inner thighs resting on the roller. From this position, roll all the way down to the adductor tubercle (just above the medial aspect of the knee) to get the distal attachments. You’ll even get a little vastus medialis work in while you’re there. Watch out for your twig and berries on this one, though!

Quadriceps: (muscles of the front thigh) This one is quite similar to the hip flexor version; you’re just rolling further down on the thigh. You can perform this roll with either one or two legs on the roller.

Gluteus Medius and Piriformis: (side of the butt and deep inside) Lie on your side with the “meaty” part of your lateral glutes (just posterior to the head of the femur) resting on the roller. Balance on one elbow with the same side leg on the ground and roll that lateral aspect of your glutes from top to bottom.

Gluteus Maximus: (your ass) Set up like you’re going to roll your hamstrings, but sit on the roller instead. Roll your rump. Enough said.

Calves: (back of the lower leg) This, too, is similar in positioning to the hamstrings roll; you’re just rolling knee to ankle. Try this with the toes up (dorsiflexion) and down (plantarflexion). Stack one leg on top of the other to increase loading.

Tibialis Anterior: (muscle in the shin) This is just like the quad roll, but you’re working on your shins instead.

Peroneals: (muscles on the outside shin) This one is similar to the TFL/ITB roll; we’re just working on the lower leg now. Roll along the lateral aspect of the lower leg from the knee to the ankle.

Thoracolumbar Fascia: (lower back area) With your arms folded across your chest, lie supine with the roller positioned under your midback. Elevate the glutes and roll from the base of the scapulae to the top of the pelvis. You’ll want to emphasize one side at a time with a slight lean to one side.

Thoracic Extensors, Middle and Lower Trapezius, Rhomboids: (upper back) With your arms behind your head (not pulling on the neck), lie supine with roller positioned in the middle of your back; your glutes should be on the ground. Roll upward, reversing direction when you reach the level of the armpits. This is an excellent intervention for correcting kyphosis.

Latissimus Dorsi and Teres Major:  (under your arm along almost to the waist) Lie on your side with the same side arm overhead. The roller should be positioned at the attachment of the lat on the scapula in the starting position. You’ll want to roll toward the attachment on the humerus (roll toward the armpit).

Triceps: (back of the arm) Start with your body in the same position as you would for the latissimus dorsi. Now, however, you’ll want to place the roller at the top of your triceps (near your armpit) and your noggin on top of your arm to increase the tension (and no, you don’t have to be that geeky kid from Jerry Maguire to know the human head weighs 8 pounds!)

Pectoralis Major and Anterior Deltoid: (muscles of the chest and front shoulders)  Lie prone with the roller positioned at an angle slightly to one side of the sternum; the arm on this side should be abducted to about 135° (halfway between completely overhead and where it would be at the completion of a lateral raise). Roll toward the humeral head (toward the armpit).

Wrap-Up

Hopefully, this article has been proof enough that SMR on the foam roller is an excellent adjunct to your training, diet, supplementation, and restoration efforts. And, even if it isn’t, we’re only talking about ten bucks here, people! For crying out loud, just look under the couch cushions for change and you’re halfway there!

Where do you buy one? Try www.performbetter.com:

More Durable Foam Roller Plus

Come early before class ask Coach Donald to teach you how to roll  properly & give it a shot. Your body will thank you for years to come!