SportFit Physical Therapy & Yoga

Come join me this Sunday!!! Gain a sense of increased balance and stability by learning to work with the lower legs, ankles, and feet. Workshop Agenda... **Learn simple exercises that can improve balance and proprioception. **Discuss the importance of foot and ankle position and how position can affect problems higher up the chain, such as hip or low back pain. **Review balanced structural alignment in the lower extremity. **Integrate yoga postures for foot and ankle into a simple home program. **Discuss common foot and ankle pathologies and how to adjust your practice. Sign up here!! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/yoga-for-foot-ankle-pain-ticke

http://www.themanualtherapist.com//childs-pose-as-assessme Another PT integrating yoga into her practice. Love it! Read how to assess a patient with child's pose.

Hand position on the bike and yoga mat I'm doing a little research on hand position on the bike as compared to on the yoga mat. The distance of handlebars is measured from either end to end, or center to center. The width of your shoulders is used to determine the handlebar size. When you place your hands on the yoga mat, the distance apart can be estimated by aligning the outer shoulder to the center of your wrist. ... My handlebar width (center to center) is 40 cm. When I marked 40cm on my yoga mat, it was the distance apart for my hands, using the space between my index and middle finger and lining that up with the center of my wrist. If your hands are too close together, you get increased stress in the neck and shoulders, whether you are on the yoga mat or bike. It's much harder to engage the muscles that stabilize the shoulder blades on your back, and help maintain spinal and shoulder alignment. Too wide is not good either. It's like driving a big Mack truck on the bike, making it harder to control your bike, with slower reaction time. On the yoga mat, you can't properly engage stabilizing muscles either. The increased stress translates to neck and shoulder pain. Proper alignment both on the bike and on the mat improves performance, such as when you are pulling on the bars to sprint or climb. You can access more challenging yoga poses and stay safe with proper alignment on the mat. Check it out and let me know if this works for you!

I've never seen more spandex at a coffee shop, than just before the Criterium National Championships! Here is the science behind what cyclists have know for years. Caffeine improves endurance performance by augmenting strength and motorunit recruitment, rather than reductions in pain and effort. Read Abstract below:... Caffeine’s Ergogenic Effects on Cycling: Neuromuscular and Perceptual Factors BLACK, CHRISTOPHER D.1,2; WADDELL, DWIGHT E.3; GONGLACH, ALEXANDER R.1 Collapse BoxAbstract Caffeine improves endurance exercise performance, but its ergogenic mechanism(s) remain unclear. Purpose: This investigation sought to examine the effects of caffeine on perceptual and physiological responses to endurance exercise. Methods: Two experiments were performed. In study A, 14 participants were tested. Maximal voluntary strength (MVC) and motorunit recruitment (%ACT) of the knee extensors and elbow flexors were tested before and 60 min after ingestion of a 5-mgkg1 dose of caffeine or placebo and after completion of 40 min of exercise (30 min of submaximal leg or arm cycling followed by a 10-min time-trial performance). Muscle pain, RPE, and cardiorespiratory variables were assessed throughout. To determine the effects of caffeine on muscle pain and RPE during high-intensity exercise, a second study (study B) was performed. Twelve participants exercised at 95% of their gas exchange threshold (GET) and at 70% of the difference between their GET and VO2peak (70%) after caffeine and placebo ingestion. Results: Compared to placebo, caffeine improved MVC (6.3%, P = 0.014) and %ACT (5.5%, P = 0.013) in the knee extensors, but not the elbow flexors, and reduced muscle pain (P < 0.05) and RPE (P < 0.05) during both submaximal cycling modalities. Caffeine ingestion improved time-trial performance during leg cycling (4.9% 6.5%, P = 0.03), but not arm crank cycling (2.1% 8.2%, P = 0.28), but the effect on pain and RPE was eliminated. Caffeine ingestion had no effect on pain or RPE during cycling at 95% GET and 70%. Conclusions: Our results suggest that augmented strength and motorunit recruitment, rather than reductions in pain and effort, may underlie caffeine’s ergogenic effect on endurance exercise.