RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Side Plank w/Lateral Raise

This weeks exercise targets the core, while adding in some pre-hab work for the shoulders. I like to use this exercise as a "finisher" at the end of a workout.

Bootcamp Sign Up

Is it ever going to get any warmer here in New England? I hope so, because in May I will be starting up the first session of RichRuff Bootcamp!! These workouts workouts will be group training workouts taking place in Lexington, Wellesley and South Boston. And these will not be not your average group training class workouts. These will workouts will be designed to push to to the max with a little of fun mixed in.

For more information or to sign up, please call me @(617)835-0564 or email richrufftraining@comcast.net.

The 23:1 Rule

It's great that you spend an hour, give or take, in the gym trying to get yourself in the best shape possible. But don't forget about the other 23 hours in the day that are spent outside of the gym. All that hard work you put in will get you nowhere if you forget about those 23 hours. Everything that you just worked for can be undone. For example what good is it to to do postural or scapular retraction exercises if you go and get behind a desk and slump your shoulders for the remainder of the day? Or what good is it to to perform a fat loss workout and head for the drive thru window at Burger King and super size a Whopper meal? What you do outside your workouts is just as important as the workouts themselves.

Let Me Rant

Sorry if I sound like an old, grumpy man with this post. But it is Monday, so let me get it out of the way now.

Has text messaging eroded people's writing skills? Why is that when people email me with questions, usually about exercise and fitness, that they feel like they can just spell words incorrectly, abbreviate other words, use run on sentences, not capitalize anything and basically write like a five year old? Yet, I'm supposed to answer these questions with correct grammar, use spell check and communicate clearly. This so frustrating to me. If you want me to take the time to answer your questions, please take an extra 2-3 minutes to double check your email. Otherwise I'm not going to take you seriously. I do not know much about grammar, but I know the word "cuz" is not in the dictionary.

Thank you for letting me get that out of the way. Have a great week.

Question to RichRuff Training

I have a l4-l5 stress fracture that I can't heal to get back to running and playing sports. I need some exercises and help on how to get me back on track. I am 32 yrs old and had this injury since I was 23. Its strong enough to work on but as soon as I try to run or jog it goes back to uncomfortibility. I do core exercises but dont have a wide range of them to heal this frustrating injury. Please help me. I'm so frustrated. Matt

Hello Matt. First, the stress fracture has to heal. If it hasn't healed, I'd recommend dropping the activities that are causing the pain. Second, I'd suggest working on your hip mobility through some soft tissue work and static and dynamic flexibility. If your hips are not mobile, your lower back has to account for this lack of mobility. Your lower back is not supposed to provide mobility. It's supposed to provide stability. This leads into my third suggestion, spinal stability. The bulk of your core training should be spinal and abdominal stabilizing work. This would include exercises such as: prone planks, side planks, bird dogs, glute bridging, woodchops, etc.. I hope this helps. Good luck.

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: High Pulley X-Row

Check out my first Exercise of the Week video. Hopefully, all future Exercises of the Week will be in a video format. If I can figure this whole computer thing out, may be it won't take me hours to get videos up onto my blog. Anyways, here it is:



And with any luck in the next few weeks I'll have an exercise video library up at my website, www. richruffing.com.

"You're going the wrong way!!"

Have you ever watched some one perform a forward lunge for the first time? Chances are if they've never done any lunges before, it looks ugly. Even for someone who has done some training for awhile can look pretty bad doing a forward lunge. The stride is either too short or too long. The knee of the forward leg buckles in. The upper body collapses forward. And some people just do not have the strength to get back to the starting position. These same people are probably holding dumbbells by their side, when they can not even perform a proper bodyweight forward lunge. Yet, the forward lunge seems to be one of the first leg exercises beginners tend to place in their leg programming. And it's not just the people exercising who are guilty of this. Trainers are making this mistake also.

Don't get me wrong. I am not telling you to abandon the forward lunge. What I want you to do is progress to the forward lunge. I suggest starting out your unilateral lower body training with a split squat. Once you've spent time on the split squat, move to a reverse lunge. The reverse lunge is an acceleration pattern,as opposed to the forward lunge which is a deceleration pattern. Acceleration patterns are usually easier to perform. Once you've mastered the reverse lunge, now move to the forward lunge.

Anyone can do a forward lunge. But don't you want to do it right?