I'm excited to announce that in a few weeks I'll be delivering a workshop at my gym on using supplemental exercise to improve performance and reduce the risk of injuries for runners.
Description:
Jonathan Pratt has been a running coach for 10 years at West Ferris and has
been running for 16 years. This workshop will focus on using supplementary
exercise to reduce the risk of injury and improve health and performance. Topics
include …
Foam
Rolling and Trigger Points
Mobility of the Ankles, Hips, and
Thoracic Spine
Stability of the Core and Hips
Using Strength to Improve
Performance
Providing Balance to the Autonomic
Nervous System
Bodyweight and Free Weight Exercises
Location:
Pratt’s Pro Fitness at 2689 Trout Lake Road at Inside Out Chiropractic. The
entrance is behind Nipissing Windows and Siding.
Dates:
Saturday February 8 and February 15
Time:
2:30-4PM
Cost:
$10/person
Registration:
Please register through email to jp.ppf@hotmail.com. Due to space constraints a
maximum of 10 people will be able to attend at any one time, so book early.
Training
for strength is a fantastic endeavour for everyone regardless of their health
and fitness goals. Strength training enhances one’s ability to perform
activities of daily living, improves body composition, and improves athletic
qualities such as speed, agility, and jumping ability.
However,
I was recently reminded that being strong doesn’t always carry over to improved
movement quality. Watch from a minute onward as 76-year old Roy Mason deadlifts
529 lbs! While I wish I could lift that kind of weight I’d rather be able to
move freely than have to shuffle along. I should also add that one can have a
high degree of cardiovascular fitness and move poorly as well.
When
I train myself or my clients developing strength is important as well as
developing quality movement. Everyone can improve their movement quality even
high level athletes. We start by foam rolling to improve muscle tissue quality.
This temporarily improves muscle extensibility. Next we perform mobility work
for the ankles, hips, and thoracic spine as well as stability work for the
hips, lumbar spine, and scapular region. Following this isolated work we then
work on integrating these exercises into basic movements such as squatting and
lunging. That’s 15min out of a 60min session just for improving movement
quality.
I measure movement quality through the Functional Movement Screen.
Now
it’s time for developing qualities such as strength, power, and hypertrophy.
But, this doesn’t mean that we’re not improving movement quality. Movements
such as squatting, deadlifting, lunging, pushing, and pulling as emphasised
instead of focusing on isolated muscles. In addition, as one recovers from
performing a taxing movement such as a deadlift she works on improving movement
quality with an easier exercise such as those from the warm-up.
The deep squat: A movement that most people lose over time.
Strength
training is important for improving health and fitness, but basic movement
quality must be addressed too. Fortunately, it’s easy to develop both without sacrificing one or the other.
