COMMON PROBLEM AREAS ADDRESSED
IN THE LIFESTAGES FITNESS TRAINING METHOD
Click on the labeled areas within
the graphic below to learn more.
Muscular Imbalances
All joints in the body must be aligned properly
to absorb shock, allow forces to dissipate into the ground, and
avoid unnecessary wear and tear. The muscles that surround each
joint have to have optimal tension in all directions to hold the
joint in place. If the muscles are unbalanced, the joint position
is altered and the arthrokinematics (specific movements of joint
surfaces) of the joint is also changed. If the joint does not
move correctly due to muscular imbalance, then stabilizer and
synergist muscles must do extra work to stabilize the joint. This
makes the muscles of prime movement weak, adding to the cycle
of imbalance.
When a joint starts to hurt, you will compensate
by altering your movement to accommodate the weak joint and avoid
the painful range of motion. For example, if you have pain in
your elbow joint, you will change movement patterns to avoid pain
and this can lead to overcompensation in the shoulder. This puts
stress on the shoulder joint and can lead to injury.
The vertebrae of the S-curved spinal column
serve to evenly distribute weight from head to toe. The spine,
joints, and muscles work together to engage the body in a range
of motion. Once a joint is out of line, and muscular imbalance
occurs, the natural S-curve of the spine is altered (e.g., increased
arch of the spine at the low back, or S-curve of lower spine becomes
flattened out), and can be a source of back pain and decreased
functionality.
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Posture
Muscular imbalances are revealed by assessing
your posture. We do this several ways. The first is via a gait
analysis -- by watching you walk on a treadmill. If the gait pattern
is functional, the hip, knee, ankle, and foot move as a unit.
Both sides of the body are doing exactly the same thing in a coordinated
sequence.
During our training we are constantly evaluating
your posture at four crucial points in the kinetic chain: the
feet, the knees, the lumbo-pelvic hip complex, the shoulder complex,
and the head. In a person with good posture the joints in the
feet, knees, hips, and shoulders are perfectly aligned and all
joints are at levels that are parallel both horizontally and vertically.
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Feet
Properly aligned feet are positioned straight
out and are in line with the knee joint. Often, what we observe
in people is that one or both feet are rotated out (pronated).
Pronated feet are a sign that you are walking with your hips,
rather than the gait muscles of the leg (quadriceps, calves, and
hamstrings). This in turn weakens the gait muscles and strengthens
the hip muscles. The hip muscles are comprised of two separate
muscles: the Iliacus and the Psoas Major. Together, they are known
as the Iliopsoas, or hip flexors. The function of the Iliopsoas
is hip flexion, which means bringing the thigh up towards the
abdomen. The hip flexors are also active when the abdomen is being
moved towards the thighs, e.g., traditional sit-ups, versus abdominal
crunches.
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Knees
Properly aligned feet are positioned directly
below the hips and just above the ankles and they point straight
forward. If your feet are out of balance, we often observe knees
that either buckle inward or outward. This adds to dysfunction
of the primary gait muscles.
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Lumbo-pelvic hip complex (pelvic girdle)
In an aligned pelvic girdle, the hips are level,
square and sit directly under the shoulders and over the knees.
We often observe a forward tilt of the pelvis. Overdeveloped and
tight hip flexors can contribute to lower back pain by causing
the pelvis to tilt forward. A feeling of tightness develops in
the lumbar region. The more you walk with your hip flexors, the
more the lumbar muscles are pulled on, causing a chain reaction
up and down the back. To relieve the tension, you slump your shoulders
and head, forcing them into an unnatural position to accommodate
dysfunctional hips and gait-pattern muscles.
Another common irregularity of the pelvic girdle
that we see is hips that are tilted under, tipping the pelvis
to the rear. The effect of this hip displacement is to flatten
out the S-curve of the spine. This condition grows out of general
structural weakness as gravity pulls everything over and down.
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Shoulder complex
The shoulders act as counter-weights to the
hips, and so react to the hips. If the shoulders are not level
and parallel with the hips, then there are potential problems.
Often, the shoulders are rolled forward because you are not bearing
your weight in a functional way. Once the shoulders get locked
into this position, the shoulder blades and the rest of proper
shoulder movement is compromised. Restricted movement of the arm
occurs and a myriad of shoulder problems can arise – impingement,
bursitis, and rotator cuff tears.
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Head
A head that is in an unbalanced position can
lead to increased stress on the neck musculature, jaw complex,
and can contribute to myofascial trigger points than can cause
headaches. Women have 40% less neck musculature than men, yet
their heads still weigh the same proportion to their body weight
(8%) as men. Women get more headaches than men, so proper positioning
of the head is especially critical for women.
An unbalanced head is evidenced by a head that
is pulled forward and down or juts forward and is caused by dysfunctional
shoulder and back muscles. A balanced head is erect with the chin
straight and level.
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Core Strength
The core muscles lie deep within the trunk of
the body. They stabilize the pelvis, spine, and muscles that support
the scapulae (the shoulder blades). The core muscles stabilize
these areas to create a firm foundation for coordinated movement
of the torso, legs, and arms.
Training the muscles of the core corrects postural
imbalances. Core stability is also needed in everyday life to
prevent injury, e.g., lifting heavy luggage, or taking groceries
out of your car and into your house.
A core stabilization program is developed for
you to optimally stabilize your pelvic girdle. We develop a program
that follows a systematic approach. The exercises are safe, challenging,
stress multiple planes of movement, and utilize the entire muscle
action spectrum.
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Balance
You are confronted with balance challenges every
day. You have to quickly avoid a pothole in the street, jump over
a puddle, or the dog you are walking sees a squirrel takes off
after it with you still holding the leash. As we age, balance
becomes more and more critical as the risk of broken hips increases.
We place emphasis in our training on increasing
your balance. Because the body moves in all planes of motion (forward
and backward, side-to-side, and turning around), we train your
body to take on balance challenges in all three planes.
We incorporate balance challenges into your
training program at every level. For example, if your trainer
feels you are ready, they might have you perform biceps curls
on one leg. Balance challenges are always progressed in a safe
manner and when your body is ready for them.
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Flexibility
As you age, your muscles tighten and range of
motion in a joint can be minimized. This can put a halt to active
lifestyles and even hinder day- to-day normal motions. A flexible
joint has the ability to move farther in its range and requires
less energy to do so. Flexibility increases blood supply and nutrients
to joint structures. Flexibility training increases tissue temperature
which in turn increases circulation and nutrient transport. This
allows greater elasticity of surrounding tissues. Flexibility
decreases risk of injury by increasing the range of motion decreases
the resistance in various tissues, and you are less likely to
incur injury by exceeding tissue extensibility (maximum range
of tissues during activity).
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Safe Progression of Exercises
We train you in a progressive fashion. New exercises
are incorporated as your body is able to accept the challenge.
There is no one formula for the safe progression of exercise --
it is completely dependent on your body and progress.
We utilize the following progression continuum
- Simple to complex
- Known to unknown
- Slow to fast
- Correct execution using proper form and technique
to increased intensity.
We also increase the proprioceptive (unconscious
perception of movement and spatial orientation arising from stimuli
within the body itself) demand on your body by utilizing medicine
balls, dumbbells, and tubing. The proprioceptive demand of each
exercise can be increased by utilizing unstable surfaces (e.g.,
dumbbell bicep curls sitting on a stability ball).
