Acetabular labral tears, functional training O MY!

I have been an athletic trainer for some time . Over 13 years to be exact. I have held ACSM, NSCA , NASM, MES, KB1 2 3. and every other fad certification known to the fitness world. I have also watched Personal Training go from informed and safe protocols to misinformed , misaligned and misunderstood quasi-functional training protocols. In 46 years I have been relatively injury free up till a year and a half ago and to make a long story short in an effort to challenge myself I hired a trusted and recommended Personal Trainer to push me to triathlete fitness levels. It wasn't soon after I got started, while doing a transverse lunge with a 28k kettlebell, that I blew out L4 and L5 and tore my anterior superior aspect of my hip Labrum. I since then had 1 spinal surgery and a Hip surgery. I endured 1 and a half years of excruciating pain and I am slowly making a recovery to tolerable levels of pain that do not require heavy doses of narcotics. My prolonged experience has given me time to reflect on the fitness industry as a whole and to also research and test theories about "FUNCTIONAL TRAINING". So here goes: (Athletic activities that involve repetitive pivoting motions on a loaded femur have been associated with damage to the acetabular labrum . Specific sporting activities, such as soccer, hockey, golf, and ballet, have been linked to labral abnormalities, because they require frequent external rotation [Some tears also have been attributed to running and sprinting The end-range motion in positions of hyperabduction, hyperextension, hyperflexion, and external rotation is thought to contribute to the higher incidence of labral tears seen in this population of active individuals. It is thought that the labrum takes on a weight-bearing role at the extreme of motion with excessive forces leading to tearing.)Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY USA


Megan M. Groh, Phone: +1-516-220-0405, Email: yankegirl8@yahoo.com.


Corresponding author.


Received March 7, 2009; Accepted March 12, 2009.


So there you have it in a nut shell. What is interesting about Groh's research is its mention of pivot. If you are a person who has a trainer and works out in a gym with a personal training department you must take notice of how much of the work you are doing is comprised of loaded pivots in transverse Planes of motion. Subsequently you must also be cognizant on how many exercise that you perform are comprised of loaded lateral motions in the frontal plane. i.e. loaded lateral lunges. It is extremely evident that placing loads distal( away from the center of gravity) to the center line of the body in multiple planes is counter intuitive. We just don't move heavy object in that way and nor should we try. Rather it is important to push loads in the best position possible; working with gravity. This is a simple concept that has lost it's place in the field and has been replaced with so called "functional training" in multi-planes. While functional training has its place it has no business being loaded. Conversely, compound movement such as bench press, military presses, Lt pulldown are in my opinion functional. The phenomenon of loaded transverse and lateral motion has usurped the industry and made countless trainees its victims. The cause of this change has nothing to do with advanced science but everything to do with a level of boredom a trainer and trainee feel after months of repetitive exercise execution. It also speaks to the industry desire to keep consumers coming back to their facilities. In other words, dollars.


The key concept here is; if you have not develop optimum strength in Frontal and Sagital planes,using compound multi-joint movement,you have no business loading the transverse. I will also go out on a limb and state that you need never load a transverse motion, period! Most of us do not understand the hidden pathologies of our own hips and spines. It isn't till the actual injury occurs that we discover the ticking time bomb. You ask yourself what you truly want and need from training and plan accordingly and safely assuming all along that there are potential land mines. To do this one must ere on the side of caution and communicate with your hired trainer. Anyone can call themselves a trainer. National certifications are not required and one could also liken the acquisition of a drivers license to that of a personal training certificate; we all know what that means and need I say more. It is paramount, when taking on an exercise regiment that we do ourselves due diligence and research not only credentials but exercise philosophy, practical experience and most import scientific knowledge. You must start by asking your trainer practical questions that are basic in nature, such as anatomy questions, or muscles and their supposed actions. The trainers answers must be well informed and scientific. So if I ask a trainer how many muscle in a quadricep, he or she should be prepared to tell me and they should also identify them by name. This does not require you to know them but it does require that you research and write them down so as to match the response to the science. If you do not get a scientific answer , move on! I would not trust my car to a bad mechanic nor should you trust your body to a bad trainer. Lets face it, most of us are after aesthetics; lose a few pound shrink a few inches etc. those goals could be attained easier and safer without the useless performance of gimmicks. Stay simple! Be smart! Always go with your gut and please stay away from kettlebells.

The Perfect Meatball Sub or the perfect meatball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyu1uTa9-Uc


Here is a post I hope you all enjoy. Meatballs have suddenly become gourmet with many restaurant popping up everywhere with the meatballs as the featured dish. No mind you, i have yet to visit any of these restaurant simply because i cannot imagine them making a better meatball than me. So for those of you who are interested, check it out. if you have questions feel free to comment. if you want the recipe i will be happy to send it to you. Note:I managed to put background music on this post and it can be annoying but unfortunately i cannot edit it out. Oh well. Enjoy.

Sewing a Jean hem

I have recently taken an old pair of Jeans and redeemed them. I chose in this exercise to not only shorten the jeans but also attach the original bottoms. Now most of us do not have the time to sit and hem their own pants. Hell most of the time i don't either but i am currently not working and i need to fill may days with what i consider to be meaningful project. This is one of them. I am also learning to navigate a blog so I will try and post my short video on the subject. Here goes.