AL East Champs!!!

One celebration down, three more left (division series, pennant, World Series). Let the madness begin!!

Who wants to face this guy in the 9th inning?

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Mini Band Side Steps

I'd be happy if I saw the hip abduction machine collecting dust in the corner of the gym. I'd be even happier if gyms got rid of this machine altogether. "But I need to shape my hips" all the ladies in their one piece spandex suits would say. Okay then. Go get a $2 mini band from Perform Better. Wrap it around your ankles. Keep your legs straight and leading with your heel, move your leg out to the side. Do not allow the band to slacken as as you bring the trailing leg in. Take anywhere from 10-20 steps in one direction and then move the other way. Now your glutes are working properly.
This is a great exercise as part of your warm-up in order to get your glutes firing, because in too many people these muscles are inhibited. Or throw it in at the end of your workout as part of your prehab or finishing work.
And guys, this exercise is not just for the ladies. If you're one of those whose knees tend to cave in when squatting or you're constantly having trouble with your hamstrings, get side stepping. Plus you'd look good in your spandex.

Top 5 Worst Exercises

Here's my list of the some of the worst exercises I see being done. Feel free to post your thoughts on some of the worst exercises you see being done

5) Leg Extension Machine. A trainer I know says the only use for this machine is if you're in an ass-kicking contest.
4)Rotary Torso Machine
3)Ab Crunch Machine
2)Smith Machine Squat. Just watching someone perform this exercise looks painful
1)Anything done standing on a Bosu Ball. How are you supposed to lift a substantial amount of weight, when you're so worried about falling of this damn device?

Exercise of the Week: BirdDog

The BirdDog is an exercise that is found being done in many rehab settings. It is an exercise that is done to address any type of low back pain or weakness. But people who are suffering from low back issues are not the only ones who should be doing this exercise. Want to tighten up the glutes? Use the Birddog. Want to get those glutes turned on and firing? Use the Birddog. Want to work another exercise into your warm-up routine? Use the birddog.
In order to perform the BirdDog, start in a quadraped position. Your hands should be underneath the shoulders and your knees should be underneath the hips. Simultaneously, extend one arm out in front and the opposite side leg back, getting full extension at the shoulder, hip and knee. Take a slight pause at the top, really focusing on squeezing the the glute and return to the starting position. Perform the set number of reps on one side, then switch to the opposite sides.


A couple of key points to remember while performing this exercise are:
1) Maintain a neutral spine throughout the exercise.
2)Keep your eyes down on the floor, so your neck is not in a hyperextended position.
3)Brace your abdominal area as if someone was to punch you in the gut.
4)If you find your toes pointing out when extending the leg back, rotate your foot in as much as possible.

Fatigue Seekers

Some of my least favorite clients. They want to train until they puke. They want to be gasping for air for a full 60 minutes. They want to feel so sore the next day that they can't even take a seat on the toilet. They have no regard for their training program as long as they're exhausted at the end. No other goal, except to be tired. Well you know what? Any person can make anyone tired or sore. I could tell you to chase my dog around the block for an hour, stand there with my arms crossed, and I'm sure you'd be tired at the end of the hour. But does creating this feeling of fatigue end up in results? No. Seeking fatigue and getting results are not correlated. Results are created by a well though out plan that enables performance to improve from a workout to workout basis. After some workouts you may feel wiped out. After others you may not. But is your performance improving? Are you becoming leaner? Is the pain subsiding? These are the parameters you should be judging your workout by.

ISLOP

After spending the night with my friends and their spouses over the weekend, ripping it up pretty good at a wedding Saturday night, a greasy breakfast was in store for the next morning. So the only place really near the hotel is IHOP, International House of Pancakes. You want breakfast anytime of the day, you can get it here. You want lunch for breakfast, this is the place. I haven't been there in awhile, and I do not think I'll be back for awhile. I figured I'd get some type of omelet, my usual order. Then I look at the menu and see that I get 3 pancakes with my omelet. I passed on the pancakes, and I wished I had passed on the omelet. These omelette's were enough to feed a family of five. I could not believe the size. And they want to give me pancakes? Are they just trying to waste food or fatten everybody up? I looked around my table, a couple of healthy conscious people, and no one had put a dent in their breakfasts 15 minutes after they were placed in front of us. But I looked around at the rest of the restaurant and what I saw was an omelet-pancake-french fry-burger eating contest. Remember when mom and dad made you finish everything on your plate at dinner. Well, screw mom and dads dinner orders. Get your portions under control and get yourself healthy, before your next IHOP omelet is your last.

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Split Squat

Before any squatting, deadlifting or any other bi-lateral lower body exercise is performed there should be a focus on single-leg training. Single-leg training will address strength differences between right and left sides and can also tell you if there are any other muscular imbalances. For instance, when performing a single-leg exercise if there is a tendency for the knee to buckle in, that usually indicates a weak VMO and glute medius. By knowing this, you are able to work other exercises into your lower body routine in order to address these imbalances.
One of the most basic (and this is where I like to start with all clients, basic) exercises is the split squat. The basic split squat is done with both feet in contact with the floor. Using body weight alone is hard enough for most people. Once you are able to execute 12-15 reps on each side perfectly, then you can start adding in some dumbbell or barbell resistance.


You'll notice in this picture that my knee is traveling over the toes of my front foot. And most of you have probably heard that the knees should not travel over the toes with any exercise. Nonsense. If you watch people move throughout the course of a day or during a game, you will see the knees travel over the toes a good amount of the time. So why are we told to not let the knees travel over the toes? And if we're told not to let the knees travel over the toes when training, what's going to happen in a real life situation when the knee travels over the toes? You're going to have a hard time getting out of that position, correct? I'll let you think about it.
In any case, use the split squat as a training tool. Not only to get strong, but to address what is weak.

Too Much Change

Some trainers and more trainees have come down with a serious case of Exercise ADD. They're doing different exercises just for the sake of it. They're working in different rep ranges from one workout to the next. Yet, there is no science behind their reasons for changing. The only reason for changing up their routines is that they're bored of doing the same exercises, the same number of sets and the same number of reps. Well I hate to tell you this, but boring works. Changing up exercise routines just because you're bored is going to get you nowhere. There needs to be some constants in your workout. How are you supposed to know what's working and what's not if you're constantly changing routines and exercises. You've just confused the nervous and muscular systems so much, they don't know what to. Does this mean to stay with the same routine forever? No. But give your routine a chance. Change in routines should be planned, not random. Beginners should be giving their routine at least 4-6 weeks, whereas more advanced trainees should have some planned change every 3-4 weeks.

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Kettlebell Swing

Training hip extension is of utmost importance for any athlete. If an athlete is not able to properly extend his or hips forcefully or correctly they are going to be weak, slow and may be even wind up injured. So what are some exercises that train hip extension? Squats, deadlifts and Olympic lifts. But trying to get someone to execute these lifts properly can be difficult. Most of the time the back rounds, the weight is distributed in the wrong areas and there is no recruitment of the glutes or the hamstrings (it is turned into a quad dominant movement). It can be frustrating as a trainer to watch. And it must be painful as a client to perform. Well the kettlebell swing is here to save your aching back. If you're having trouble trying to get your hips back and placing the load on your hamstrings rather than your lower back, give the kettlebell swing a try. It's easy to learn and will set the foundation for future hamstring/glute exercises. Plus it's an exercise that can be used for conditioning purposes.
Don't have a kettlebell available? Try a one-arm swing with a dumbbell. Same idea, just with a lesser load. Now the key to this exercise is getting all the weight back on your heels in the bottom position while keeping your spine in a nice, neutral position (no rounded back). From there, forcefully extend your hips and drive the kettlebell up to about eye level. The momentum generated from the hip drive should carry the kettlebell up. Do not turn it into a front raise.

Work this exercise into your lower body day. Or use it as a conditioning exercise at the end of your workout, performing a high number of reps with little rest between sets. Or use it as part of a total body circuit.

Look Above, Look Below, Look to the Other Side

We've all been there. Whether we developed a chronic condition through excessive use, suffered an acute injury or just developed some sort of repetitive strain injury through poor posture. Tennis elbow, chrondromalacia , plantar fasciatis and shoulder impingement are some common maladies. So we do as we're told, the old R.I.C.E (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) method and pop a few Advil. Next step is rehab. We strengthen and stretch with all the focus being on the source of pain. The pain still exists a couple of weeks later. We continue with the Advil. We continue with the exercises that the physical therapist has given us. The pain is still there. Okay, now we go back to resting with hopes that the pain goes away. The pain goes away, so we get back to our normal everyday and exercise routines. The pain comes back. What in God's name is going on?
I see this scenario too much. Do you know what God (if he was a great physical therapist or trainer) would tell you? You're treating the symptoms, not the problem. Pain is just an indicator that something is wrong. It is not always going to tell you where the source of the pain is. If you've already put all your focus on the site of the pain and are still having trouble, it's time to look elsewhere. Look above. Look below. Look to the other side. There may be muscular imbalances or excessive tightness at the muscles above, below and on the opposite side. Or there may be a trigger point that is referring pain elsewhere. I'll give you a couple of examples.
Look above. Your knee joint was designed for stability and your hip joint was designed for mobility. What happens if you're hip joint is excessively tight and not very mobile. Now your knee joint has to make up for the lack of mobility in your hip. What is supposed to be a stable joint is now being asked for mobility. The end result: knee pain
Look Below. Same idea. 80% of the population has dealt with back pain at one time or another, mostly lower back pain. And if I were to check the mobility in these persons hips, I bet you I would find very little. So again, the forces are transferred. The lower back is not made to excessively twist and turn. It's role is stability, just like the knee. The end result of the lower back having to be to mobile because the hips are not: back pain
Look to the other side. Every time I pick up the paper or turn on Sports Center, at least one athlete has suffered a hamstring strain. And sometimes it's the same guys over and over again. Must just be a case of chronically tight hamstrings, right? Maybe, but not always the case. Look to the other side. Look at the hip flexors. If the hip flexors are tight they are going to rotate the pelvis too far forward. If the pelvis rotates too far forward, the hamstrings become lengthened. So if the hamstrings are already lengthened, what can happen when they have to be lengthened even more when running? A hamstring strain.
There are many more painful conditions that can arise from places we may not suspect. But if we are aware enough to remember that pain is just a symptom, not the problem, we'll have a better chance of operating pain free.