We’re already getting great feedback and questions regarding Assess and Correct, so I thought I’d start this week by answering a common question.

Q: Bill, I noticed that you, Mike, and Eric use the seated 90/90 position as part of one of your progressions in Assess and Correct.  I read somewhere that some people had concerns about it irritating the posterior hip capsule.  What’s your take on this?

There are some therapists and trainers that are concerned that the hip capsule can be stretched to often resulting in a “loose hip capsule” and hip joint instability.  My response to this is that it’s possible but unlikely during intentional stretching activities.

If you consider the way capsular tissues adapt to stress in actually adding length, you need very long duration, low load forces applied repeatedly over a long period of time.  Doing so results in what are called plastic adaptations.  This means that the tissues adapt by adding true length to the collagen fibers that make up the capsule which is a relatively permanent adaptation.

Occasionally, we’ll have to use this type of stretching if we encounter a shortened capsule in the PT clinic or in the gym, but it is truly an exercise in self-discipline and determination as it is not very comfortable and may last up to 20 minutes at a time several times a day.  Most plastic changes in the real world are a result of repetitive behaviors or postures that place tissues on stretch under low load conditions such as chronic postures or crossing your legs the same way for extended periods of time as many people do rather than the result of typical stretching protocols.

Considering the volume of total exercise, the protocols used in Assess and Correct, AND the way connective tissues adapt to stress, it’s doubtful that hip capsule will be overstretched.  The exposures aren’t long enough to result in plastic capsular changes.

Bill

It was a good day at the gym today.  Everyone that came in was feeling good and putting out a great effort.  I even got a session in at IFAST.

I’ve been working on some foundational things like developing my cardiac system and my ability to produce energy locally in the muscles as well as addressing some mobility issues in my hips.  This is the kind of work that really isn’t much fun, but it will set me up for the more intensive training to come later.  It screws with your head a bit because, as you’ll see some of this programming is easy from an effort standpoint, but it can challenge your mental toughness.

Sled drags warm-up
followed with lower body mobility

Subjective readiness:  7/10
forgot my heart rate monitor

Safety squat bar (SSB) step-ups to just >=90 degrees
95 x 6, 135 x 3 x 6
SSB Squat to box just below parallel
225 x 6, 275 x 6, 305 x 6
SSB Tempo squats
135 x 30 sec x 3 on 60 sec rest
SSB deep quad dominant split squat
135 x 2 x 5

Sub jective level of effort 7/10

3 hours later 30 min of LISS aerobic work at 120 bpm.  This is to ultimately improve recovery and I’ll be doing it more frequently.  Intensity is so low that it won’t impact any other aspect of programming, but I’m expecting to see some improvement in sleep as I adapt.  It is horribly boring, so I watched a bit of Ironman to occupy my brain.

All in all, not a bad session.  Still felt challenged from an energy standpoint which brought my level of effort down to a 7/10.  Nothing was to failure and I did’t really have any hip pain during training.  It did stiffen up a bit after cooling off a bit.

Subjective readiness

Subjective readiness is a measure of how ready I feel for training after warming-up.  It will vary depending on sleep patterns, stress (mental and physical), nutrition, state of recovery, etc.  It’s a good measure to allow you to make programming changes on the fly.  For instance, if you normally get 7 hours of sleep and wake at 6am, but last night you got 5 hours and woke at 5am, you may not feel as good and not as ready as you should be for an intensive training session.  If you still rate your readiness at a lower than normal level (it varies depending on the person), you can effectively adjust your training for that day to prevent excessive loading that may slow or even halt progress.

I do recommend that you warm-up first as a little activity may actually improve your rating and level of readiness.  I’d also track this measure before every training session to allow you to establish your own typical trends as to how your react to certain intensities and loads.  I tend to use <5/10 as a cut-off for continuing with a regular session or just doing some light recovery work.

Ankle mobilization

A lot of coaches will use an active mobilization to improve ankle dorsiflexion as part of their preparation for training.  I’ve had a bit of issue myself in my left ankle, but using Mulligan’s mobilization with movement techniques help quite a bit.  Problem is that it’s damn awkward to try to mobilize your own ankle when a skilled practitioner is not around. 

I was messing with a technique that I’ve recently started using on myself with a couple clients this morning.   They had some rather significant improvements and were pretty pleased with the result.  It was also quite easy for them to pick up the technique.  I have no idea if anyone else has used this method before, so I’m going to create a video and pass it around to some people and have them test drive it themselves.  If it goes well, I’ll try to post it for all to use themselves.

Have a great Independence Day!

Bill

I was doing my food prep last night while my wife was watching “60 minutes.”  Most of the time I’d have ignored the TV, but they were talking about the science of sleep and it’s impact on health so my ears perked up.

Here’s some highlights:

After 6 nights of sleep deprivation, subjects of one study were found to be pre-diabetic…6 nights!

Leptin hormone concentrations are altered by sleep deprivation such that you become hungrier and consume more calories.  This kind of makes sense that I you’re awake more you would eat more, but these calories may be in excess of your daily requirements and increase fat storage.

A lack of deep sleep may be risk factor in most of the major cardiovascular diseases.

As we age, we spend less time in deep sleep.

Sleep is not just a primary recovery tool as part of your training (see http://billhartman.net/blog/2007/06/22/restoration/), but it’s also an important component of overall health.

One little piece of advice:  Try to go to sleep and wake at the same times each day.  Otherwise, it’s like constantly changing time zones which makes it harder to get restorative sleep.

Here’s a link to the 60 minutes segment:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/14/60minutes/main3939721.shtml

Bill

Restoration describes means by which one is able to return to the previous state. In training, it refers to methods that you may use to recover from your most recent training session in preparation for the next assuming that your goal is a progressive increase in performance or fitness.

While this is a broad and sometimes complex subject with methods including such things as contrast baths/showers, vibration, lasers, accupuncture, etc., in the real world where we have lives, most of these simply don’t apply.

Here’s a short list of restorative means that have the greatest impact for real people :

1. Planning your training

Most trainees don’t consider this a restorative measure, but fluctuations in training intensity, volume, and training means are an essential method to promote adequate recovery and assure consistent progress.

2. Sleep/relaxation

Aside from the actual training program, sleep is probably most essential. In fact, I would say that if you’re not getting adequate sleep, no other restorative measure will compensate. In other words, get enough sleep whether you function best on 6 hours or 10 hours a night, find your sweet spot and stick to it.

3. Nutrition

High-frequency (every 2-3 hours), nutrient dense meals will cover the bases for most trainees. Athletes training multiple times per day need to be more concerned with pre-, during, post-training nutrition to assure adequate restoration between sessions.

4. Soft-tissue therapy

Repetitive loading and strain will promote the formation of adhesions and myofascial restrictions eventually leading to altered joint motions and compensations that lead to dysfunction and injury. Regular soft-tissue therapy, and I’m not talking your regular, weekly feel-good massage, but rather methods such as rolfing, ART, foam rolling, and even some intensive stretching sessions each week. Having someone walk all over you is optional.

5. Ice

A little ice goes a long way. Post-training it will reduce and inflammation that was produced. More importantly, when applied to the joints affected by your training session, the lowered joint temperature prevents the breakdown of the protective hyaline cartilage by inhibiting the destructive enzymes that can progressively destroy joint surfaces.

Bill