Basic techniques of a lunge:

• Always be in control of the movement with or with out weight
• The “lead” knee will bend to 90 degrees
• The majority of the weight will always be placed on the heel of the lead foot with the toes pointed forward
• The trail leg will normally come close to bending to a 90 degree position with the knee never touching the floor (within a 1″)
• Keep the core tight and stable throughout the entire movement
• Movement should come from the hips not the waist and work on maintaining your chest held high
• Never swing weight for momentum-you want the muscles to do the work
• Aways return to your original position under control

Sports and life is not always done in a linear fashion so make sure you are adding in some variety when doing lunges through the phases of your training program.  Here are some examples of how to change it up:

• Forward Lunge just one side at a time
• Alternating Forward Lunges
• Walking Forward Lunges
• Reverse Lunge
• Walking Reverse Lunges
• Alternating Forward Lunge To Reverse Lunge same leg
• Alternating Forward Lunge T0 Reverse Lunge Alternating legs
• Walking Forward Lunge 15 yards then right into Walking Reverse Lunge for 15 yards

I think you get the idea and can see how small changes can really make things more difficult and productive.  You can continue on by substituting or adding in 45 degree, 135 degree, and side lunges as well.

Just pay close attention to the form and technique and enjoy the positive results that lunges will provide.

To your health,

Jerry

Manual resistance is just one of the many modes of injury prevention exercises that can be applied.  The biggest problem with manual resistance type of exercises is that it will only be as good as the person performing the resistance.  The major benefit is; the resistance can be varied throughout the range of motion.  This is HUGE because no machine can do this, no weight can do this; only a human can feel the amount of pressure and adjust the amount applied throughout the exercise.

This does take a little practice.  The partner that is applying the resistance must learn to “feel” the pressure that is being applied and make the adjustments necessary to allow the athlete to complete the full range of motion.

There also needs to be communication between the coach and athlete while going through any manual resistance type of exercise.  The resistance applied should be smooth with no jerky movements or “powering” into the pressure.

There are three manual resistance movements that will be covered in this article: Inversion (turning the ankle inward), Eversion (turning the ankle outward), and Dorsi-flexion (pulling the foot back towards the shins).  Each of these movements target certain muscles in the lower leg.  The tendons of these muscles extend down around the ankle and attach to various bones around the ankle and foot.  If strengthened properly they will act to support the ligaments that surround the ankle joint to help with stabilization.

The inversion and eversion exercises are basically the same movements except for the direction of applied pressure.  Have the athlete sit on a bench or table with the leg extended straight and the foot/ankle off the end of the bench.  Place the ankle in a 90 degree position, take one hand and cup the athlete’s heel, place the other hand on the upper outside of the foot just below the toes, and instruct the athlete to apply pressure against this hand (turning the ankle outwards).  Make sure the athlete is not rotating at the hip and the ankle is maintaining a semi 90 degree angle throughout the full range of motion.  When the athlete has reached the full range of motion; instruct him/her to try and hold pressure in that position as you manually push the ankle back inwards beyond the starting position.  Repeat until the athlete starts to become fatigued.  The number of reps will be determined by the athlete’s strength and the how much pressure the coach is applying.  Usually around 10-12 reps is adequate.  This is called ankle eversion.

When doing ankle inversion; just switch the hand positions.  Take the hand that was place on the heel and place it on the inside of the foot just below the toes, and the hand that was on the outside of the foot will now cup the heel.  Repeat the same exact process by applying resistance against the inside of the foot.  Complete the exercise and then work the other ankle.

Finish with Dorsi-flexion.  Have both feet extended off the end of the bench.  Place each hand on the top of each foot just below the toes.  Instruct the athlete to pull their feet back towards the shins.  Again they will continue to hold and press against your hands as you pull the feet back towards you.  Repeat until fatigued.  You will be surprised how quickly this will happen.  This is also a great pre-hab exercise if the athlete has a history of getting shin splints.

During a training phase, try these exercises once a week before the emphasis lifts.  You will be happy with the results and the athletes will really feel this working.   Remember, this is only one way to work the ankles.  I believe you need to apply a variety of techniques to really see the number and severity of ankle sprains go down.  For more variety and training techniques; go to  www.varietytrainer.com and review the injury prevention articles and videos provided.

To your health,

Jerry

There are many ways to train the calf muscles. The exercises in this video post focus mainly on the gastrocnemius muscle in a standing position.  You can also train calves in a seated position.  This will also contract the gastronemius but in a secondary role as the soleus muscle, which is under the gastrocnemius, would be the primary firing muscle.  OK, I am sorry, I don’t want to sound like a textbook.

Training with high reps or low reps, toes in or out, wide, shoulder, or narrow stance, both feet or single leg is up to you.  Remember the calf muscle is no different than your triceps muscle so do not get pulled into the idea of needing to do isolated calf raises every workout.  There will be some level of calf stimulation with every standing exercise you do.  If you are doing isolation work; I would recommend trying to go the full range of motion each rep.  Hold it in the stretched position for a second or two and then in the contracted position for another second or two.  Your calf should almost feel like it is going to cramp up.  When you have reached this type of feeling you know you are getting great muscular recruitment.

In the video I show you how to use a simple chunk of 2″ x 4″ board; but really you will want it to be a little higher to get a truer full range of motion.  A step works great.   If you are just starting out; body weight calf raises in a controlled temp as explained would more than likely be all you need.  Progress by adding weight and experiment with different rep ranges.  I have some silly names that I use to represent these rep ranges.  I position the feet toes forward and in three different positions: shoulder width, wide stance, and narrow width and all reps done consecutively.  Here are some sample sets for you to try.

Satan Calves: 6-6-6 (Heaviest Calf Day)

Crazy Eight Calves: 8-8-8

Dirty Thirties: 10-10-10

Dirty Dozen: 12-12-12

I usually don’t go higher reps than that but I will do a 100 rep set and break it into sets of 25 reps and all reps are kept at shoulder width.

I hope that helps and I answered the questions that was asked.  If you have a training question or want some ideas on training just ask and I will try to keep up answering all your requests.

To your health,

Jerry

Injury prevention exercises are always a priority while writing up programs for my athletes.  I also hold these same ideals when it comes to training programs for my clients and yes even for myself.  I love going on backpacking trips and hiking those trails that take you away from civilization and back to nature.  There is a lot of good solid exercise involved in hiking a rocky trail with a 50 pound backpack loading you down the entire way.  So training for these trips is vital so I can truly enjoy the entire adventure and not get tired or injured along the way.

These ankle mobility techniques I believe have saved my ankles on more than one occasion.  Sometimes the trails are rocky and sometimes I have to cross a stream by going from rock to rock.  Let’s face it, rocks do not always stay in place and many times roll from under your foot.  Having mobility and being able to stabilize not only protects my ankles but also my knees and has helped to prevent falls.

I believe these simple type of joint mobility exercises are very important for everyone.  Give them a try and see if your ankles start feeling better in a few weeks; heck they will feel better right after you do them.

Hope these help!

Jerry

This past weekend I went on a backpacking trip into the beautiful mountains of Pennsylvania with a couple of friends of mine.  Today I feel great; a little tired but my mind and spirit is completely refilled.  There is more to back packing than just going for a long hike with a heavy bag on your back. You have the scenery, fresh air, mother nature, and best of all; no radio, no TV, no cell phone, no deadlines to get work done, no busy traffic…………I think you get the idea of where I am going with this.

Anyone who truly knows me, knows that I am a simple person and have a few things that I really enjoy doing; weight training, drinking good coffee, sports, spending time with my family, and going trail hiking/backpacking.  This past weekend’s backpacking trip was three days long but I have gone on a couple of five day trips and would love an adventure of a two week trip or more.

OK, so let’s talk about the fitness side of trail hiking.   First, it is nothing like walking or running on a treadmill.  Secondly, it is not like riding a bike.  But what it is like is it’s own little adventure challenge.  You have a task at hand-the trail, and you want to complete that task.  But before you jump on the first trail you find; make sure you do your homework first.  Things like how long and the difficulty of the trail.  Almost all marked trails have information listed about them on the internet.  Find a trail that is close to where you live that might only be a mile or two or up to a few miles.  After you have researched your trail and are all set; find a friend to walk it with you or at least a portion of it so you have an idea about how the terrain is laid out and how long it took you to cover a certain amount of distance.  Each time you walk the trail see if you can decrease your time and if you are more efficient in completing your distance.  You might be surprised at the amount of distance you are covering as you are taking in all that nature has to offer.  Another thing you will notice is your renewed sense of being.  There is a real difference training outside verses being in a fitness center with TVs and/or a radio.  That’s right-I recommend you leave that I-pod at home while you are on the trail.  Enjoy your surroundings and I bet you will look more forward to a nice but challenging hike than going to find that treadmill or elliptical.

I mentioned backpacking also in this post.  This post is a little preview of an article that I am writing that will go into much more detail about hiking and some of the safety precautions to be aware of.  It will also contain information pertaining to multiple day trips with everything you will need to survive in a back pack and some of the measures to actually train for a trip like this.

If you like the idea of going for a hike on a trail for a different type of workout and you have a specific question or information you would like me to contain in the upcoming article; please just let me know so I can help supply you with this information.

Train with a purpose,

Jerry