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01629 733123 Rowsley
01246 290040 Dronfieldinfo@woodlandsfitnesscentre.co.uk
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Press ReleasesDronfield Eye October 2008 Work is doing my head in! In previous articles I have discussed the problems associated with sitting down for more than 3 hours per day and the subsequent affects it has on the body. In this article I decided to look into one of the most common ailments linked to sitting down – the headache. Believe it or not the headache is often related to posture and the position we find ourselves in at work or at home. The good news is with a few simple exercises you can alter your posture and help to prevent headaches in the future. When sitting at a desk or working with computers it is common for the chin to poke forward and the shoulders to round. This altered movement pattern causes many muscles in the upper back and neck to become tight (overactive). Once our ideal posture is altered in such a way we develop muscle imbalance. Whenever there is a tight (overactive) muscle there is a weak (underactive) muscle. In this case our upper back (upper trapezius) muscles become too strong- you may notice this as the day gets older and tension increases in the upper back and the shoulders start to lift. This can cause knots and adhesions in the trapezius. To counter this it is important we strengthen the weaker muscles, notably the lower and middle Trapezius. These two muscles – often weak in many people have the job of drawing the shoulders DOWN and BACK. Try this exercise: The seated Cobra • Sit in chair unsupported by the back of the chair • Extend arms down towards the floor with palms facing forwards • Draw shoulders down towards floor (create largegap between ears and shoulders) • Squeeze shoulder blades together keeping arms straight • Hold for 10 seconds and repeat 3-4 times. • Try to repeat this exercise every hour. Why? This exercise activates the weak muscles of the middle and lower Trapezius; it will help to stretch the tight muscles across the chest and shoulder. Woodlands are offering a MOVEMENT APPRAISAL which offers an insight into which muscles in your body are overactive and underactive and offers advice on how to correct such imbalances. For more information on posture control and corrective exercises you can contact Woodlands Fitness Centre 01246 290040 or drop in at 61b Sheffield Road, Dronfield (next to Little Italy restaurant). Matt Sanderson is Managing Director at Woodlands and a Corrective Exercise Specialist trained by The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Dronfield Eye August 2008 Core Blimey! One of the most popular forms of exercise over the last few years is that of Pilates. Pilates is a method of training the core muscles that stabilize the spine and other muscles that attach to the spine. The main reason Pilates is so popular is due to a change in shape and posture of the general population. Due to advances in technology fewer people work in manual roles and many more work at computers. Many of us also drive more miles and generally sit down more. When we sit down the chair in which we sit supports the spine and effectively does the job of the core stabilization muscles referred to. The core stability muscles’ main role is to create a ‘pressure’ when they contract (known as Intraabdominal pressure). This pressure helps to stabilize the spine and hold it in its proper alignment. When we sit down and use the chair for support we don’t require these muscles to fire up and contract – the chair is doing the supporting for us! This leaves the core stabilization muscles weak and unable to contract with as much force, and also unable to contract for as long. In many people this causes posture to deteriorate as the day goes on. When performing Pilates exercises you effectively retrain these muscles and bring them ‘back to life!’ Pilates teacheyou how to move into the correct alignment and how to engage the right muscles to keep you there. Core stability training is vital to everyone. If you suffer with poor posture or back ache or just want to prevent the onset then find a Pilates class near you – TODAY! To try a Pilates class call Woodlands Fitness Centre 01246 290 040. Matt Sanderson is a Personal Trainer trained through The National Academy of Sports Medicine and a Pilates Coach based at Woodlands Fitness Centre. Woodlands have 3 trained Pilates Coaches teaching classes’ and one to one sessions. Dronfield Eye June 2008 Are you sitting comfortably! I anticipate producing this article will take me around 1 hour to write, read through, make amendments and submit. What effect will the next hour have on my wellbeing? For many people this is how they spend much of their working day. Whether they are sitting in front of a computer, in a car, or on a sofa, there is one commonality – sitting down!- and we all do too much of it. After reading this article you may be able to make a few subtle changes to your working environment. If that is not possible then perhaps try to perform some of the exercises outlined below during work time to prevent postural problems arising in the future. Either way it is important to understand what happens to the body when we sit down so that you are able to make a your own choice. When sitting; the front of the thigh becomes active (tight), and the opposite muscle to this – your backside (gluteals) becomes lengthened (weak). If by sitting you weaken the buttocks you affect two main areas- the lower back and the knees. The buttocks grip the leg bone, if the grip is weakened because the buttocks are weakened through sitting, this will have direct impact on the stability of your knees. This will eventually lead to knee pain. Weakened buttocks also lead to an unstable lower back which in turn leaves the spine vulnerable to injury. The research shows low back pain affects nearly 80% of all adults and this pain is prominent among workers in enclosed work spaces (such as offices). So get exercising those buttocks! Not just for vanity but because these muscles are vital to the correct function of your body. Try these simple exercises to strengthen your buttocks: 1. Buttock squeezes – can be performed while sitting squeeze 1 set of 20 every hour 2. Squats – stand from the chair and sit back down again 1 set of 10 every hour 3. Walk – around the office, up the stairs, on the spot if necessary! Whenever possible. For more advice on strengthening your buttocks and a movement analysis contact Woodlands Fitness Centre on 01246 290040 or you can even do it via sitting at the computer! Dronfield Eye September 2008 It’s all about balance... Many of us are aware of the benefits of performing ‘weight bearing exercises’ and how such exercises can help to increase our bone density and help prevent or reduce the risks associated with osteoarthritis and brittle bones. Research recently undertaken by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) has however shown that the benefits derived from improving a persons balance can far outweigh the benefits from focusing on weight bearing exercise on its own. Let’s start with a common myth about balance - many people believe balance naturally gets worse with age. This is proven NOT to be true! The real issues relating to losing balance is more likely to do with becoming more sedentary and not moving around as much. In fact balance can actually improve as you get older – as long as you perform the correct exercises and challenge your stability safely. One major cause of poor balance can be an injury to an ankle at any stage in life. Ankle sprains are one of the most common injury’s reported. An injury to an ankle alters feedback from sensory organs to the central nervous system (CNS). As a result signals from the CNS can be sent to the wrong muscles to perform a certain movement. This eventually leads to incorrect mechanics and altered movement patterns and subsequently leaves a person more unstable. By training your balance you become more aware of your limit of stability. Your CNS can learn new and improved movement patterns and this has a major positive effect on ‘Fall Prevention’. Balance training also benefits those looking for weight loss. By balancing when exercising you contract many more muscles. The more muscles stimulated in an exercise the more calories are expended. In short – performing weight bearing exercises will help increase bone density and muscle strength, training your balance prevents falls and broken bones. Put the two together and you give yourself the best opportunity to live a healthy, mobile and pain free life. For information on how to best develop your balance you may contact Matt Sanderson directly at Woodlands Fitness Centre on 01246 290040 alternatively email Matt at info@woodlandsfitnesscentre.co.uk Matt Sanderson is a registered Personal Trainer and Performance Enhancement Coach with NASM Dronfield Eye July 2008 The great 50 calorie challenge! There are an increasing number of overweight and obese people in the UK. A desire for a quick solution for weight loss has led to the mystification of exercise and diet and an environment ripe for promoters of quick weight loss methods and fad diets. Sorting through this pile of myths and inaccuracies makes the health and fitness professionals job a daunting one. Clients are coming to the health club with preconceived ideas about how they should be eating. These ideas may hinder their long term progress and have negative consequences. The facts about weight loss are (and have always been) quite simple. Eat fewer calories than are expanded and there will be a reduction in weight. Conversely, consume more calories than are expended and there will be an increase in weight. Today’s environment provides a constantly available, palatable food supply (increasing calorie intake) and promotes a sedentary lifestyle (reducing calorie expenditure). The facts are we eat too much and move too little. This combination is causing the Western world’s waistline to expand! To alter this trends is often considered a major challenge, but consider this; An imbalance of just 50 surplus calories per day can produce a significant weight gain over a period of just a few months. Could you burn an extra 50 calories per day? One of the best ways to burn calories is by following a specific training plan. As a health and fitness professional I can maximise the caloric expenditure of a training session. This produces a state called ‘Excess Post exercise oxygen consumption’ (EPOC). EPOC is simply a state in which the body’s metabolism is elevated after exercise. This means that the body is burning more calories after exercise than before the exercise was initiated. (Much like a car engine stays warm after it has been driven). Burning those extra calories each day really shouldn’t be so daunting. Research conducted by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) has shown that splitting exercise into 3 x 10 minute intervals through the day is as effective as performing it all at once. Find something you enjoy doing that involves increasing your heart rate and those surplus 50 calories will be turned into minus 50 calories in no time. Matt Sanderson is Managing Director at Woodlands Fitness Centre and a Level 3 Qualified Personal Trainer and Performance Enhancement Specialist with NASM. To contact Matt about specific training plans for weight loss or athletic performance call him at Woodlands Fitness Centre 01246 290040. Dronfield Eye May 2008 New Training Methods prove a big hit at Woodlands! The new ‘Functional Training’ methods used by the Fitness Team at Woodlands Fitness Centre are making a real impact on the lifestyles of their members. ‘Functional Training’ is based on the concept of applying specific exercises to correct muscle imbalance often caused from inactivity and sitting in a chair at work. Matt Sanderson of Woodlands explains “Many of our members work with computers and sit for more than 3 hours per day. Over time this causes some muscles to become tight and overactive, and some muscles become weak and underactive. Our job is to provide exercises that strengthen the weak muscles and stretch the tight ones and restore the balance”. The Woodlands team are all qualified through the National Academy of Sorts Medicine (NASM) and have undergone intensive training to enable them to offer this service. “The exercises we prescribe can make amazing differences to how a person moves. This is suitable to people that do not exercise but want to improve their lifestyle, for people recovering from injuries and also for top level performers who want to move quicker and with more power”. For more information on improving the way you move speak to a Fitness Coach today. Dronfield Eye April 2008 ‘Rolling back the years’ Woodlands Fitness Centre at Dronfield is ‘rolling out’ a new stretching technique that is scientifically proven to help reduce muscle adhesions (knots) and improve the flexibility of tight muscle groups. The new exercises known officially as ‘Self -myofascial release’ are performed using a foam roller. If you have ‘knots’ then the muscle is prevented from performing effectively. This can lead to movement compensations and restricted movement around joints. By applying gentle pressure to a knot it is possible to straighten muscle fibres that have become bundled. For many people these knots have been around for many years, and the technique simply ‘rolls out years of tension’. “With so much technology in our lives many of us find ourselves sitting for longer at work and at home and ‘sitting down’ is a major cause of muscle tightness and knots. At the same time people who play sport or keep themselves fit are also very likely to inherit such knots – so I guess foam rolling has a benefit for everyone!” says Lucy Sutton, Fitness Coach at Woodlands Fitness Centre. Lucy adds, “The huge benefit of foam rolling is that it can be performed wherever you are. Having a roller is like having your very own Sports Masseuse as the roller works using the same principals- yet at a fraction of the cost!” All Woodlands Fitness Centre coaches are trained through The National Academy of Sports Medicine and as such all their methods are scientifically proven. To try foam rolling for your-self or to observe the technique, Woodlands are offering a free trial during April. To take advantage please contact Woodlands direct on 01246 290040 or enquire through the website. |
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