Cycling Posture...Trying to Wrap This Up!

Alright, if you've been following this short little series on cycling posture, then you are aware that we have discussed the use of Trigger Point Myofascial Compression techniques to help release tension across the chest musculature.  Releasing the tension in the pectorals is the first step in returning the shoulders (and shoulder blades) to their normal resting position, and eliminating Upper Crossed Syndrome (UCS).

Throughout this series I have also introduced to you the concept of 'length and strength'.  Releasing the chest musculature, and returning those muscles to their normal resting length, is quite obviously, the length component in the equation.  Now let's move on to the strength (or lack thereof) issue.

I've said it before...and will surely say it again.  Muscles are like light bulbs...we can switch them on and off.  Unfortunately, the switching-off part usually takes place without us even knowing it is happening.

Here's how it works...

The shoulder joint is controlled by anterior (chest) and posterior (mid-low traps, rhomboids) muscles that, when all is right with the world, work harmoniously and synergistically to position the joint for optimal performance.  Imbalance occurs when one of these muscle groups decides it doesn't want to play well with others anymore, and becomes dominant.  This is what is happening with UCS.  The chest muscles (and in part, the upper trapezius) become dominant due to the repetitive and prolonged positioning we learned about earlier in this series.  As a result, the antagonist muscles, which in this case are the posterior muscles, tend to give up the fight.  When this happens, they become weak and lengthened, allowing the joint to be pulled in the direction of the dominant muscle group.  Hello Upper Crossed Syndrome!

So what can we do to correct this?  Let's flip the switch and turn them back on!  It's as easy as that in most cases.

It sounds easy huh?  I have a feeling however, that you are wondering just how we are going to accomplish that little task.

Anyone care to hazard a guess?

That's right...strength training.  But not just any strength training...and this is where many trainers fail.  This type of strength training should be corrective-based.  You see, if a client (or you) present with postural dysfunction due to muscle imbalance, simply prescribing traditional, body-building based exercises will only serve to compound the problem.  The goal at this time is to correct the underlying issues, rather than simply stacking strength and size on top of dysfunction...a recipe for certain disaster!

A thorough understanding of human movement is often necessary to identify the culprits, and provide corrective-based exercises specific to the issue at hand.  In the case of UCS, the weak muscles of the posterior chain are the scapular stabilizers.  The posterior scapular stabilizers (middle and lower trapezius) are responsible for stabilizing the scapulae (shoulder blades) and maintaining proper positioning of the humerus (upper arm bone) within the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint).  

The picture below shows an individual who has serious scapular dysfunction, resulting in what is known as scapular winging.  In this case, the scapular stabilizers are so weak and dysfunctional, that they are allowing the scaps to be pulled and tipped, resulting in the obvious protrusions.  The scapuale normally lie flat, along the rib cage.

Another set of muscles that become weakened, allowing scapular dysfunction, is the Serratus Anterior...a fan-like group of muscles that lie anteriorly along the rib cage.  Serratus Anterior, while not a posterior muscle, often needs to be strengthened to regain normal scapular positioning, and provide proper mobility throughout the shoulder.

Alright, I guess we won't be wrapping this up today due to the volume of information that I want to share with you.  So please check back to see what exercises we will do to re-strengthen those weakened scapular stabilizers, make your shoulders bullet proof, and return you to normal posture...basically making you one Sustainable High Performer!

Yours in Health and Performance!

John

Let's Get Our Move On!

move·ment

/ˈmo͞ovmənt/

1.  An act of changing physical location or position, or of having this changed.

We live in a dynamic world - people and things are moving all around us...all the time.  In fact, the world on which we live is in a state of perpetual movement...it has to be.  Without movement, we would cease to exist.

Have you ever thought of movement in this manner?  

Movement is something we take for granted...it just happens.  I performed a Google search for "how often does the human body move"...amazingly, there was no clear response.  Let's look at this from a different perspective...

The average human blinks their eyes approximately 12-16 times per minute.  This equates to roughly 17,000-23,000 blinks per day.  What creates this movement?  Three muscles are required to blink...the orbicularis oculi, the levator palpebrae superioris, and the superior palpebral muscle.

It has also been said that we touch our faces between 2000 and 3000 times per day!  Once again, muscles are used to control these relatively subconscious movements that we take for granted every day of our lives.

Where am I going with this?  Am I simply on another of my tangents?

My point here is that movement is a necessary part of life, yet we pay little attention to addressing our ability to move.  As we age, we notice small changes in our movement such as our ability to simply squat down to pick up an object.  We accept it to some degree...we write it off as part of the aging process.

Take a look at the photo below.  We were created to move freely, and when we were young...we could.  A variety of factors begin to take a toll on our bodies over time, and limit our ability to be highly mobile.  Mobility plays a role in performance...especially when we are talking about high-performance.

 

Now look at the pictures below.  Do your see any problems?  Over time, muscle imbalances have resulted in movement dysfunction among both of these women.  Dysfunction of this sort can decrease athletic performance and increase the risk for injury.

 The issues are quite apparent...knees collapse inward, excessive forward lean at the waist, inability to descend deep into the squat, arms falling forward, etc.  These movement deficiencies are due to both strength imbalances as well as abnormal length-tension relationships of the muscle tissues surrounding our joints.  Length what?

The picture above is a very simple example of a muscle imbalance and abnormal length-tension relationship.  The blue lines in the picture represent a joint in our body, such as our knee, or our hip joint.    The bulbous, tan objects are muscles, and the white areas at the end of the muscles are the tendons that attach muscle to bone.  Every joint in our body is controlled by muscles or muscle groups that oppose one another.  These are referred to as agonist and antagonist muscles, and they have a 'push-pull' relationship with one another.  Tension created by the contraction of the muscle tissue is converted into movement as the tendon(s) push and pull on the joint, causing the bone to move.  Voila...human movement!

Muscle imbalances are created by our daily actions such as exercising, sitting in front of the computer, repetitive unilateral swinging of objects such as hammers, tennis rackets, and golf clubs.  The human body is an amazing machine capable of adapting to climates, stressful situations...and even things like swinging that hammer, time and time again...day in and day out...using the same arm,  controlled by the same muscles...over and over.  

Or maybe it's the golf club for you, or in my case, pedaling a bike.  Sooner or later, the body adapts to these repetitive stresses by increasing tension in one muscle, and releasing tension, or relaxing the opposing muscle.  As is represented in the picture above, this imbalance causes the normal, resting joint angle to change.

 

The combination of aging, sports training/competition, and muscle imbalances often leads to acute or nagging, chronic injuries and pain.  One of the goals of this blog is to help you identify muscle imbalances that may be creating movement dysfunction, and provide you with corrective exercise techniques designed to help restore proper movement.

Corrective-based exercise is defined by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) as "the systematic process of identifying a neuro-musculoskeletal dysfunction, developing a plan of action, and implementing an integrated corrective strategy."  If you hang in there with me, and follow along regularly, I promise you...we're gonna talk corrective exercise!

Self Myo-fascial Release (SMR) is a flexibility and self massage technique designed to aid in the release of overactive muscle tissue, and help return proper muscle balance to dysfunctional joint complexes.  These techniques utilize a variety of tools such as foam rolls and tennis balls to provide the muscle stimulus.  In my role as a Performance Enhancement Specialist, working with both athletes and firefighters, I use SMR tools produced by the Trigger Point company.  

If you intend to follow along and learn these techniques through this blog, I highly recommend that you click on the Trigger Point Performance Therapy advertising link at the top-right of this page.  You will be taken to the TP website where you can learn more about these high-quality and highly effective tools.  If you are an elite level athlete, or just a weekend warrior like me, I encourage you to spend the money of one of these SMR kits by Trigger Point.  It may be some of the best money you have ever spent on your sport.  And yes...I do get a kick-back from this company for each purchase made through my blog...I am part of the Trigger Point Performance Therapy Affiliate Sales program.  Sure, I stand to make a little money here - but believe me, these are the exact SMR tools I use on myself, my athletes, and my firefighters...I highly recommend them!

Thanks for reading!  There's more great stuff to come!

Yours in Health and Performance,

John