Glute Medius Exercises (Hip Stabilizers)

The following video is a summary of some beginner and intermediate exercises to strengthen the Gluteus Medius muscle of the hip.

You will find the 2 common beginner exercises: The Clam shell, and The Windshield Wiper, as well as a couple of more intermediate exercises.

Pay attention to your body alignment while performing these exercises.  If you experience any pain while doing these exercises, discontinue and consult your doctor or therapist.

What are the 5 aspects of health and wellness?

In my opinion this would be the short and concise list of the most important things one should do to maintain and or achieve optimal health. 

1.  Exercise and move well

2.  Proper nutrition and eating well

3.  Positive mental attitude and thinking well

4.  Proper rest and relaxation and sleeping well

5.  Optimal Genetics - (not really our own choice)

STRETCHING ADVICE

How Long to Hold a Stretch?

Simple answer to this question is a long time?  Recent research has indicated that it may take up to 2 mins before a typical stretch will effectively beat our innate stretch receptors and allow for some amount of new length in the affected muscle.

So the old idea of holding a stretch for a mere 15 to 30 seconds may not actually increase muscle length, however, research shows that holding a stretch for this shorter length of time does help bring blood flow to the affected muscle and may also reduce post exercise muscle soreness.

We should also consider that just doing a static stretch alone (even for 2 mins at a time) may not actually do anything usefull when it actually comes down to controlling your new range of motion or flexibility.  Rescent research has revealled that certain types of isometric contraction and relaxation exercises maybe required to allow proper training of the nervous system to make the newly gained range of motion and flexibilty actually usable.

I will be posting some videos on this type of exercise and stretching in the near future.

HOW MUCH SHOULD I EXERCISE TO BE HEALTHY?

Well the simple truth may surprise you on this one?

The original data from the American College of Physicians years ago said that we need at least 3 times per week of aerobic exercise (20 min duration per session). This was intended to keep us healthy and reduce our risk of the major diseases of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Although this is not a bad start, it seems that recent data confirms that we likely need much more than that amount to really achieve health in the body.

The story behind this goes back a long way in our evolution. Our bodies are programmed through millions of years of evolution to be "active and mobile". In ancient times we would have needed a very well developed physical body in order to hunt for food and survive. For example we would have had to be able to walk a slow to moderate pace (for hours at a time days on end )to follow potential food sources (like deer or antelope etc..). This would mean we needed a well developed lower level aerobic system. As well we would have needed to be able to step up the pace and run fast and even sprint all out to catch those animals. Don't forget that we also would have needed to have good muscle strength to lift things and be able to climb and jump at a moments notice (or risk being eaten yourself by a lion or tiger etc..).

So what does this all mean to us the modern "cave man/women". Well - just about everything!It seems that more recent studies have confirmed that our underlying physiology is exactly the same as it was millions of years ago. We have barely even changed an inch since the last ice age 10,000 years ago in terms of our evolutionary biology. So fast forward now to our high tech and very sedentary world and what do you end up with.....no exercise, way to much food, and no outlet for our stress. This is not a good mix as science shows diseases of lifestyle like heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancers are on the rise. In fact more people on the planet die now of diseases of lifestyle than they do from infectious disease and starvation.

Exercise is fundamentally the most important aspect of our lifestyle that we must improve. Exercise is the most important thing you can begin to do to improve your health. It turns out that we need to exercise almost daily to stimulate our underlying physiology to grow and not decay.

So how much? Well low to moderate intensity aerobic exercise (walking, bike, run, swim etc...) should be done a minimum of 45 Min's 4 days per week. Strength or resistance exercise is also critically important and should be done at least 2 times per week......3 if you want to improve your strength and power. As well along with those lower level aerobic exercise sessions you need to get the intensity up into the higher levels at least 2 times per week.

A good week of exercise could look like this (M,W,F,Sat, - aerobic exercise at least 45 Min's), Tuesday, and Thursday, strength/weight training).

Sounds like a lot - and it is. Don't get upset if your not at this level yet. Our bodies are made for it, and most people can eventually get to this level even if they are not really athletic. In nature every one's body is supposed to be athletic. The great thing about this exercise thing is that not only will it make you healthy and make you live along time, you will also eventually lose weight and look great (not a bad combination).

So - start exercising and stop decaying. If your not in good shape - talk with your doctor first before you start a program and start very slow. Rome was not built in a day.....besides your going to live a long time so you've got lots of time.

In upcoming blogs I will be discussing more details about specific exercise and nutrition.

Doc Bill

When is the best time to stretch?

Should you stretch before exercise? or after? This has been debated quite a bit in the research lately.

The best evidence to date indicates that stretching before exercise (especially before your warmed up) is not recommended. Don't confuse this statement with properly warming up before exercise. For sure a proper warm-up is supported by research.

So what is best?

The general consciences seems to be that one should begin to warm-up with cardiovascular type exercises similar to your given activity ex. walking before running. Then add in some simple dynamic movements of the body to limber up the most important limbs/joints and muscles to be used in your given activity. A few sprints and drills would also be a good idea especially if you are warming up to do some intense exercise or a race. Finally after your work out is finished it would be a great time to cool down slowly and follow that with a series of slow static/or yoga type stretches.

An example for someone warming up to do a fast 10 km run.

I would suggest that you start by walking briskly for 5 minutes, followed then by some dynamic movements involving the hips, knees, ankles, arms, and shoulders etc.. followed then by some light running drills for 5 minutes i.e. "A's", "B's" etc... followed then by some short 10 - 20 sec moderate sprints. All this needs to be done before actually starting your 10 km run. Of course I would suggest a slow walk to cool down after your run workout, followed then by a good static stretching routine.

Sounds like a lot of warm-up? Perhaps overkill?

Lance Armstrong has been know to warm-up for over 1 hour before his intense time trial stages of the Tour. A proper warm-up will protect you from injury and increase your performance.

So warm-up and have a great workout.

Happy Trails

BC

How To Stretch Your Hamstring Muscles

Streching the hamstring muscle is not as simple as you may think. The first problem that most people encounter when trying to stretch the hamstring muscle is not being able to isolate the stretch to the muscle belly. In other words they seem to feel the stretch behind their knee in the tendon insertions of the muscles. The second prolem the occurs is not holding the stretch long enough to achieve any real increase in flexiblity. Recent studies have shown that to achieve any change in flexibilty of the musce being stretched, you will need to hold the stretch gently for at least 1-2 minutes.

Here are a few tips for proper hamstring stretching.
1. Warm-up before stretching with a cardio warm-up or some dynamic callistenic type movements.
2. Stand up and place one of your feet up on a normal height chair.
3. Keep a slight bend in your knee on the leg to be stretched.
4. Arch your lower back to increase the lumbar curve.
5. Shift your hip backward on the stretching side leg.
6. Raise your chest forward and upward to increase the intensity of the stretch as you lean slightly forward.

As I mentioned you should feel this stretch in the belly of the muscle and not behind your knee. To vary the stetch you can turn your foot out or in to help stretch more fibers of the hamstring group.