by Cori Lefkowith | Nov 25, 2018 | Blog, Exercises, Pain Relief
Rotator cuff injuries are all too common. And often when we have an injury, we think the muscle must have been weak and that is why they got hurt.
But all too often that IS NOT the case. All too often smaller, weaker muscles end up injured because they become overstrained and overworked.
So while we may need to rehab them to rebuild them after the injury, it is key we also understand that overworking them again is NOT the answer!
Your rotator cuff is an important muscle group to keep strong to support your shoulder. HOWEVER, all too often these small muscles become overstressed and overstrained.
These muscles can become overworked due to our poor posture. Therefore working on thoracic extension and shoulder mobility are key.
So while we do need to strengthen them, we also need to make sure that other bigger and stronger muscles are pulling their weight to support our shoulders and prevent them from becoming overworked!
First off, what are the 4 muscles of your rotator cuff?
- Supraspinatus
- Infraspinatus
- Teres Minor
- Subscapularis
So what do these muscles do?
The Supraspinatus abducts the shoulder, aka helps you raise your arm out to the side.
The Infraspinatus and Teres Minor externally rotate the shoulder. If your elbow was in by your side and bent to 90 degrees and your hand was out in front, it would help rotate your hand out to the side.
The Subscapularis internally rotates your shoulder. So if your elbow was bent in the same position as I described above, your hand would move in toward your body.
It is important to note that while these muscles all help stabilize your shoulder they all can contribute to different joint actions. That is why if you have had “rotator cuff injuries” it is important you know which one!
But these muscles are key for stability since your shoulder is a ball and socket joint. Think of it as if you had a golf ball on a tee and wanted to hold that golf ball in place so it could rotate but not fall off!
These muscles are also made up of mainly type I muscle fibers. So when you do want to work them for stability purposes, higher reps and lower loads will be key.
But remember, while keeping these muscles strong for stability is key, if your stronger, larger muscles aren’t working, or say that golf ball isn’t properly aligned on that tee, these muscles can easily become overworked which can lead to injuries such as tears!
So while you want to make sure activation moves are included for these muscles, preventing them from being overworked with foam rolling and stretching is key while also focusing on activation of larger muscles!
3 Key Moves To Prevent Rotator Cuff Overuse Injuries
To help prevent overuse of your rotator cuff muscles, you will want to make sure you have proper thoracic extension as well as shoulder and scapular mobility and stability.
In my Arm Burner program, I provide you with Burner Workouts that include foam rolling, stretching and activation series to help you address common areas of immobility and weakness due to our modern lifestyle aka the fact that we spend so much time sitting hunched over!
These help keep your body healthy and mobile BEFORE you end up with compensations, imbalances and injuries! They are also great prehab to keep previous injuries at bay!
Below are 3 moves that are important to include in your upper body training routines if you have a desk job especially!
1. Shoulder U Foam Rolling:
To do the Shoulder “U,” a bigger foam ball works best. Lie face down on the ground with the ball under your chest, under your collarbone and right beside your shoulder. Begin to roll out your chest. Hold on any tight spots in your chest as you move your arm from overhead down toward your feet.
Then roll the ball right along the muscles around your shoulder joint and then under your armpit. You can hold on any tight spots and relax and breathe. Continue moving the ball under your armpit to the side of your back, especially the muscles where your arm and back connect at the back and top of your armpit. Hold on any tight spots as you move the ball around your back.
You can roll it down the side of your back a bit and then up your back around your shoulder blade. Work up and down the shoulder blade then roll it back around front. And repeat a couple of times.
2. Active Foam Roller Star Stretch:
To do the Active Foam Roller Star Stretch, grab a foam roller or block that you can place on the ground under your knee. Start by lying on your back with the roller running parallel to your body and about the middle at waist height. Bend your knee, on the side furthest from the roller, and bring it up toward your chest so that your hip is bent to about 90 degrees.
Take the hand on the same side as the roller and reach across to the outside of that knee and pull your knee across your body to place it on the roller. Hold your knee down on the roller and even relax your lower leg down on it. You will want to keep your knee on the roller even if you do roll forward or backward a bit on it. Just don’t let the knee come up off of it.
Place your other hand behind your head so your elbow is open and out. Rotate to bring that elbow down on the ground by your opposite shoulder. Don’t just flap your arm but actually rotate your body.
Then lift the elbow up and rotate your chest back open toward the ceiling as you try to touch your shoulder and that elbow back down on the ground. You are trying to rotate as open as you can, twisting through your spine without letting your knee come up off the roller. Open up, pause and then rotate back closed. Repeat all reps on one side before switching.
3. Single Arm Scapular Push Ups:
To do Single Arm Scapular Push Ups, set up facing a wall. Place one hand up on the wall at about shoulder height. Your arm should be straight, but make sure you aren’t shrugging. You can be at a slight incline to make the move harder by walking your feet back, but start standing more vertical to the wall so you can really focus on proper movement of your shoulder blade.
Then, keeping your elbow straight, press your chest toward the wall as you feel your shoulder blade retract back. You should feel your shoulder blade move toward your spine. Do not shrug your shoulder as you focus on moving the shoulder blade. Pause then relax back out.
Make sure you don’t shrug or bend your elbows or rotate to try to make the movement bigger. Keep your core tight and isolate that one side working. You will feel the muscles along the side of your back and your ribs working. You can even put the opposite hand below your armpit on the working side to feel those muscles working.
Want to learn more about your upper body AND have over 700 workouts to help you prevent injury, improve your pull ups and push ups and build a strong, sexy back and arms?
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by Cori Lefkowith | Oct 31, 2018 | Blog, Butt, Core, Pain Relief, Warm Up, Workouts
If you want to stay injury free, it isn’t enough to just rest and then return to your normal routine.
You’ve got to CORRECT the problem that caused the pain to occur aka address the movement distortions, compensations and imbalances that lead to the overload.
And in the case of our lower backs, this is generally tight hip flexors, an immobile spine, overstretched hamstrings and weak abs and glutes.
This is why you need a 3 step approach to improving your movement patterns as well as your mobility and stability so you can prevent the pain from reoccurring – you need to Foam Roll, Stretch and Activation, not only as rehab or prehab but also as part of your WARM UP to your runs, rides or lifts.
If you’re ready to get those glutes and abs activated as you improve your spinal and hip mobility to prevent lower back and even hip and knee pain, check out my RStoration program!
The Prevent Lower Back Pain Workout
FOAM ROLLING:
Complete 1 round through the series, holding on any tight spots you find instead of rolling quickly back and forth. If something isn’t tight, you don’t need to roll it. But if something is tight, don’t hesitate to spend an extra 10-15 seconds on that area.
CIRCUIT:
30 seconds Peanut Foam Rolling
30 seconds per side Psoas Foam Rolling
30 seconds per side Adductor Foam Rolling
30 seconds per side TFL/Glute Foam Rolling
STRETCHING:
Complete 1 round through this series, spending more time on any tight areas. You can do these for about 20-40 seconds per move or side or up to 10 reps per side. Your focus is on improving your range of motion over the reps or time.
CIRCUIT:
4-6 reps per side Child’s Pose with Reaches
5-10 reps per side Active Foam Roller Star Stretch
10 reps per side Half Kneeling Hip and Quad Stretch
5-10 reps per side World’s Greatest Stretch
ACTIVATION:
Complete 2-4 rounds of each triset, resting up to 30 seconds between rounds if needed. Rest up to 1 minute between trisets as needed. If you are doing this as part of a warm up, 1-2 rounds of each is more than enough.
TRISET #1:
20 seconds Vomiting Cat
20 seconds Glute Bridge with Rocks
20 seconds Swimmers
TRISET #2:
20 seconds Thoracic Bridge with Sit Thru
20 seconds Bulldog Shoulder Taps
20 seconds Frog Bridge
With the stretching and rolling, focus on your areas of tightness even skipping areas that aren’t tight especially if you are short on time!
by Cori Lefkowith | Oct 23, 2018 | Blog, Diet, Recipes
I believe eating well is a balance…and sometimes that balance even means having no balance aka what I consider “cheat days.”
But for those days you don’t fully feel like indulging but do have a hankering for some of those not so healthy treats, it can be fun to come up with macro-friendly alternatives.
These macro-friendly recipes help keep you on track while still satisfying your cravings so that you don’t want to binge.
They are a great way to find balance with eating well so that you don’t feel deprived and can still stay focused on your goals.
They help you create that oh so elusive LIFESTYLE so many people talk about.
And one of my favorite macro-friendly treats is this Pita Pepperoni Pizza!
No this isn’t the cleanest meal you’ll ever eat, but guess what?! Sometimes you NEED that!
So if you’re craving some pizza but want to stay on track, and potentially trigger worse cravings, try this Macro-Friendly Pizza alternative!
The Pita Pepperoni Pizza
SERVINGS 1-2
INGREDIENTS:
2 pitas (Joseph’s Flax Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Pita Bread)
16 slices Turkey Pepperoni (65% Less Fat)
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese Shredded
1/2 cup Italian Herb Organic Pasta Sauce
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese, Low-Fat
1 tbsp Parmesan & Romano Grated Cheese
Sprinkling of Red Pepper Flakes
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 and place the pita bread on the middle rack for 3-4 minutes just till it starts to get crispy but not brown.
Then remove from the oven and split the ingredients between the two pitas. I like to measure as I put the toppings on, especially if I’m not eating both at that meal.
Top first with tomato sauce. Then the pepperoni. Then sprinkle with the mozzarella before spooning on chunks of the ricotta. You can also spread the ricotta on if you don’t want bigger chunks.
Place in the oven again on a baking sheet and cook till the edges of the pita start to brown and the cheese is melted.
Then remove from the oven and top with parmesan and red pepper. Enjoy!
You can of course place any other toppings on that you like. Others that are good include olives, onions, spinach, mushrooms…The options are endless! Just make sure to adjust the macros below based on the ingredients you use!
MACROS FOR BOTH PITA PIZZAS:
Calories: 475
Protein: 46 grams
Carbs: 34 grams
Fat: 23 grams
FOR A SINGLE PITA PIZZA….just in case you wanted to be lazy and not do the math ;-):
Calories: 237.5
Protein: 23 grams
Carbs: 17 grams
Fat: 11.5 grams
Ready to strike a balance between indulging in the foods you love and eating clean and according to your goals?
Sick of trying to find a “lifestyle” when most diets force you to cut out the foods you love?
It’s time you learned a bit more about Macro Cycling. CLICK HERE!
by Cori Lefkowith | Oct 15, 2018 | Blog, Diet
So one of my male clients told me a few of his female co-workers wanted to start losing some weight. He told them they should eat more protein.
And they said back to him, “But we don’t want to get bulky!”
WHAAAAAAAT!?!
I was a bit stunned when he told me this.
They thought that by eating protein, since they so often saw MEN consuming protein powders and higher protein to gain muscle, that eating too much protein would make them BULKY!
BULKY…It’s a word so many women fear.
It’s a word that holds many women back from even starting to weight train. And now I find out it is a word that holds women back from even eating the protein that they should!
Let me set the record straight…
PROTEIN WILL MAKE YOU BULKY.
FALSE!!
Protein absolutely, positively will NOT make you bulky, ladies. NOT AT ALL!
What protein WILL DO is:
- Help you look lean and toned like you want
- Help you feel energized to power through your workouts
- Help you LOSE WEIGHT WITHOUT FEELING HUNGRY
- Did I say look strong, sexy and LEAN!?!
Protein is the KEY…Literally the KEY to getting the results you want.
So a bit more about WHY protein so key for us LADIES and WHY it won’t make you bulky….
- It’s the building blocks of muscle. Not only will you preserve your lean muscle mass while potentially dieting in a calorie deficit BUT you can also build lean muscle to help you look more toned! AND as we get older, especially us ladies, it can be harder and harder to retain and even GAIN muscle. A diet high in protein helps! Plus, when we are injured, we often think we need less protein, BUT a diet higher in protein can help us prevent muscle loss while we are out and restricted from training.
- Keeps you feeling fuller for longer. Protein keeps you satisfied so that you don’t end up feeling like you are starving even if you’re trying to lose weight.
- It makes weight loss EASIER! The thermogenic effect of protein makes it EASIER to lose weight and drop body fat on a protein rich diet EVEN if you “overeat.” A study 2014 study showed that even on a hypercaloric diet, people didn’t gain weight due to the high protein. Plus, because it preserves lean muscle mass, you will tend to burn more calories even at rest and your metabolism will stay healthy.
- Improves recovery and muscle repair. You will provide your muscles with the building blocks they need to repair. AND the increase in protein can also help your tendons and connective tissues repair. Greater protein synthesis accelerates tissue repair and strengthens connective tissues to reduce your risk for injury.
- Can improve bone density and prevent osteoporosis. It is actually a common misconception that high protein is bad for your bones and this “myth” is based on a misunderstanding of bone metabolism. Actually the amino acids in protein are used to build bone AND because protein increases muscles mass, there is an increase in bone strength! (1)
- And studies of protein rich diets have even shown to improve brain functioning, quality of sleep AND even lower blood pressure!
And speaking to those ladies going through menopause and post-menopause struggling to keep the weight off…PROTEIN IS KEY TO RETAIN THAT LEAN MUSCLE MASS and keep our skin, hair and nails healthy and strong! It is the building blocks!
During and post-menopause, protein can help keep our hormones in check and help us avoid that dreaded weight gain! It can help improve our body composition as well as our overall body functioning.
In menopause your hormone levels change and even specific hormones decrease, so if you don’t get enough protein, you’re going to have a harder time maintaining hormonal balance, which is what can affect muscle retention and cause weight gain. It can also affect our digestive system, thyroid and bone health!
So really ladies I should be asking, “Why WOULDN’T you eat more protein!?!”
If you’ve been struggling to get the results you want, track your food and you’ll notice that you probably are low on protein!
Protein doesn’t lead to bulk. It leads to that strong, lean muscle that helps us move better, feel better and even LOOK BETTER!
Ready to take control of your diet and get the lean, strong body you’ve always wanted?
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by Cori Lefkowith | Oct 4, 2018 | Blog, Bodyweight, Core, Exercises
GASP! Maybe there is something to this LOWER AB thing!
Fitness elitists will get really mad if you utter the term “lower abs.”
Because technically there is no lower ab muscle.
Technically it is all the same muscle the rectus abdominis that we are usually targeting with our core work, especially if we want six pack abs.
(I’ve had to turn away when another trainer tries to lecture me on using the term lower abs to secretly roll my eyes. I guess I could lecture them back…but why?)
Anyway…
All those “lower ab moves” we used to use started to get written off as simply hip flexor exercises since most of those moves done for lower abs include leg lower type movements.
And yes…your hip flexors DO work during those leg lowers.
But I just couldn’t fully accept that they had no impact on the “lower abs.”
My “lower ab” definition was best when doing more leg lower movements after learning the pelvic tilt and after doing hanging abs.
I felt the lower ab region really WORKING during those moves and I’m always extra conscious when testing movements to feel WHERE is activating.
Because guess what? Doing the right moves even without feeling the correct muscles working is going to do NOTHING except put you at risk for injury!
So feeling my “lower abs” working led me to include hanging abs and the posterior pelvic tilt in my Killer Core program.
If you feel the muscles activating, and have clients agree with those finding and feel their “lower abs” like never before, SOMETHING is going on.
So that led me to hours of pouring over studies trying to see if I could figure out what I, and my clients, were feeling.
Were we simply mistaking this feeling in our “lower abs” for our psoas working?
That’s when I found studies showing that different ab exercises DID, in fact, activate portions of the URA and LRA (upper and lower rectus abdominis) to different extents. (Study 1)
Which frankly makes sense considering we’ve shown, and even more widely accept, that exercises activate upper or lower pec fibers differently and even upper and lower glute max fibers differently.
Another interesting results I found in a study was that POSTERIOR PELVIC TILT actually had HIGHER LRA for groups that learned to perform it correctly and were even more active AKA all of us who’ve trained a lot and are looking for that true engagement! (Study 2)
This also made me realize how important it was to correctly teach the posterior pelvic tilt progression – a progression we often skip to jump right to the hardest leg lower move.
Ever feel your lower back taking over during leg lowers? Ever put your hands behind your lower back to correct this?
Well this is just putting a bandaid on the problem. This is why we end up only working our hips and quads, and maybe even lower backs, with these moves.
It’s why we DON’T work our lower abs to the extent these moves can work them.
When you want to work your lower abs, you need to focus on what is working. REGRESS the posterior pelvic tilt progression to maybe a single leg lower or bent knee march or even just a simple HOLD.
But regress until you can properly feel your abs working and then slowly progress!
Ok so maybe you’re now thinking “I buy the whole activating different aspects of the muscles, BUT leg raise movements are STILL hip flexor moves….”
Well guess what!?!
Hanging Leg Raises actually have the highest mean AND peak activation of the rectus abdominis! (Oh and this article not only confirms that but also the existence of differences in activation between the Upper and Lower RA!)
I would say it looks like my abs are working pretty hard here…as well as some other important muscles of my core!
So for you that are non-believers adamantly against any leg raise type movement who annoyingly try to correct anyone who even utters the words Lower Abs, just be open to the differences in activation!
And also realize that part of what makes a difference is what you force your body to feel working and how you even cue and coach the moves. Just like the double leg lowers…You sometimes need to regress to progress.
It may mean starting with a Hanging Pelvic Tilt to learn how to engage the abs to then help assist in the Hanging Leg Raises. Or it may be doing a bent knee raise to start. But the key is being conscious of what is working as you utilize these moves!
I almost feel like this adamant “there are no lower abs” makes us cut off our noses to spite our faces.
Why miss out on moves that can only HELP!?!
Don’t miss out on using these moves because the term we use is referring to a region of a muscle not a separate muscle.
Hanging Leg Raises, Pelvic Tilt…oh and even the Body Saw (a study also showed a longer lever plank like the Body Saw was great for the core!) are KILLER ab moves you NEED to be including!
Let’s not miss chances to get the results we want when we can FEEL something working!
It’s also another reason to THINK about what you actually feel working and constantly assess your recruitment patterns!
So take some time today and test out those moves!
Ready to work not only your LOWER ABS but your entire core?
Ready to implement some Hanging Abs, Pelvic Tilt and even long lever planks into your routine?
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