To The Wonderful Members at Life Time in Minnetonka

Greetings!

While working at Life Time Fitness has been an enjoyable and rewarding experience, the demands of my chiropractic profession are such that I can no longer balance the two endeavors fairly. 

As such, this letter will serve as my notice of resignation effective October 31, 2009.   I can’t underscore enough how meaningful it has been for me to interact with the members at Life Time in Minnetonka.  The conversations we’ve had and the changes you’ve been able to make in your lives are inspiring and humbling. 

Over the last year, you have achieved amazing goals, from running a never-before-imagined 5K to finishing a marathon, and making it through the day with 3 kids under the age of 4.  You’ve measurably improved your golf game, competed in the Life Time Triathlon and had your teen-age daughter tell you that you look “buff.”   Many of you have attained your goal weight and exercise at a healthy, sustainable intensity that leaves you wanting more.

I can’t take much credit here because as a trainer, I merely provide guidance as you do all the heavy lifting.  It is vital that you continue your efforts, set new and higher goals, and remain dedicated to your overall health.  The team of trainers at Life Time in Minnetonka is exceptional and our leader, Kym Jolstad, will be available to consult with you on finding a new trainer.  I will be maintaining my membership at Life Time and I hope to see you on the fitness floor often!

Meanwhile, I will continue to work at Knewtson Health Group in Excelsior as a chiropractor and exercise specialist.  I also write a health and fitness blog, the link for which is below.  I strive to keep the content relevant, educational and of course entertaining, so please check it out! 

If you should have a need for chiropractic care or know people who might benefit from a holistic approach to health, please feel free to give them my contact information.  I hope to see you at the gym!

Best regards,

Molly Muniz

Doctor of Chiropractic

NASM Certified Personal Trainer

(c) 952-217-2693

www.mollymuniz.blogspot.com

Parents Of Teen-Age Girls MUST READ THIS!

Take a look at the x-ray to the left.  Notice anything...painful?  If you guessed that the knee on the right is missing cartilage and is bone-on-bone, you’re right!  X-rays don’t show cartilage which is why the knee on your left has a dark space between the bones.  The knee on the right has almost no cartilage left and if you think that hurts, you’re right!

These are the knees of an otherwise healthy woman, who’s now scheduled for a knee replacement.  She can no longer endure the pain and disability associated with one knee being “bone-on-bone.”  And she is twenty-nine years old.

In high school this woman was an active teen-ager who played J.V. basketball.  One day, she jumped up, landed “funny,” and went to the hospital instead of to the play-offs.  She hadn’t been slammed by a nasty pick or bumped bodies under the net.  She had destroyed a vital ligament in her knee—the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL—and her chances for lifelong athleticism simply by landing wrong. The injury also damaged the cartilage, which can’t be adequately repaired.  The changes in the ligament and cartilage altered the mechanics of the knee—like a crooked hinge—and every step accelerated the wear-and-tear. 

This scenario is repeating itself all over our country and benching roughly 100,000 teen-age athletes —mostly female—each year.  Of those, 25% will need a second knee surgery and 50% will have arthritis in the knee within ten years of the original injury. There are documented academic consequences for patients who have ACL surgeries during the school year and the effect on the athlete’s team, self-esteem and aspirations can be devastating.  With the financial cost of these injuries and the ongoing medical issues relating to them ringing in at $1.7 billion annually, it’s a shame we don’t do more to prevent this injury.

Fortunately, we have the ability to screen athletes to see who’s most at risk, and we can intervene on a team and/or individual level to prevent non-contact ACL injuries using the following techniques:

 

• The jump and hop test, which detects dangerous weakness in the hips, is a thirty-second screen that can be easily completed by a parent or coach. (There’s an example at www.khealthgroup.com). 

• Evaluating core strength, because without it, the athlete will fail to keep her center of balance along the line of the foot, knee, and hip, putting her knee in an acutely vulnerable position.

• Video analysis of athletes who jump, such as volleyball and basketball players, will reveal unsafe leg movements while the athlete is in mid-air.  Landing on a poorly positioned leg is an all-to-efficient way to suffer a non-contact ACL tear.

• Assessing deceleration and “cutting” biomechanics will reveal opportunities to improve the athlete’s technique and also increase performance.  

In a quality intervention program, the results of these assessments give rise to specific exercises that closely mimic the actual activity desired. For example, instead of lying on the ground doing sit-ups to increase core strength, the athlete can practice a single-arm overhead pull, (mimicking a volleyball “spike”), or practice standing de-rotation exercises with a weighted pulley system.  Attaching a resistance band around the athlete’s knees and moving the leg through a “soccer kick” motion will activate the weak muscles in the hip and help establish a safe pattern of muscle contraction. Asking a basketball player to jump backwards, landing on one leg, will train her ankle to respond safely when landing, which protects the knee as well. 

All of these interventions are aimed at keeping our athletes in sports, off crutches, and on a track for a healthy, active lifestyle.  The strength and flexibility that results from this program makes the athlete both safer and more versatile.  If you have an active teenage daughter, please contact me for a complimentary screening for ACL injury prevention at drmolly@khealthgroup.com.

You Can't Fire a Cannon From a Canoe

Well, maybe you could if the canoe had strong but flexible tethers that were custom-developed to enhance structural integrity and provide stability against recoil.  While it’s unlikely you’d find a canoe with these specifications, our spine is built this way, with muscles that function like those tethers already at your service.  We call them your “core.” 

All the buzz and popularity of “core conditioning” has us focused on our abs like never before.  We’re looking, I fear, for a “6-pack”—the cosmetically desirable combination of low body fat and development of the rectus abdominus muscle.  That’s the muscle that runs from the pubic bone to the 5^th, 6^th and 7 ^th  ribs and sternum. (It’s shown with vertical lines on this picture.)  Its two functions are holding abdominal contents in and aiding forward flexion of the trunk.  Please note, it is not attached to the spine and provides no stabilizing influence for our backs.  It’s essentially the tether from bow to stern of the canoe: not at all useful for lifting, turning, or launching.

The muscles that do stabilize your spine run around your trunk

--like those elastic weight belts made famous by Home Depot employees--and are attached to your spine and pelvis.  (They’re the diagonal fibers in the picture.)  These muscles are hard to target directly in a resistance training workout, but you can mentally try to activate them before you move dumbbells, laundry baskets, or small children.  The result is a stronger, more stable core, which serves you well for both preventing injuries and lifting heavier kids—er, loads. 

Here are some of the activation techniques that have worked for my clients:

1.  Place your hands on your hips, with your middle fingers on your hip bones.  Now move your middle fingers an inch or two toward your belly button to the soft tissue just inside the hip bone.  Clear your throat.  Did you feel the muscles contract?  Now contract the muscles without clearing your throat.  You should be able to contract and relax those muscles at will, breathing normally and independently of the contraction. 

2.  Pretend you’re about to fall backward into a pile of leaves.  That sensation you have of stiffening your abdomen is a voluntary contraction of your core.  Alternatively, pretend that I’m about to slug you in the stomach, but don’t bend or hunch over.  Do you feel a sense of invincibility, as if you could absorb a hit and then throw a football into the endzone?   It’s “throwing sports,” such as baseball and football, that gave rise to this  canoe-cannon analogy.

3.  Draw your navel toward your spine without “sucking in.”  Try to pick up one foot, then the other, while maintaining that contraction. 

Once you have command of core activation, you will be stronger and safer than without it.  Try it: next time there’s a stuck lid on a jar, stand up straight, activate your core and give it another go.  I bet you’ll have better luck.  You see, without this activation, you have all the stability of a canoe floating freely in the water.  Absorbing the recoil from any outgoing or incoming force will cause unwanted movement.  In a canoe, that’s a dip in the drink.  In your spine, that’s a trip through the MRI machine.

But like so many human attributes, “on-demand” core performance is a use-it-or-lose-it privilege.  Creating demand for core activation in your workouts requires a little creativity, but it’s worth doing.  The chest press, for example, is typically done on a machine or a flat bench.  Doing a chest press on a 30” stability/Swiss ball, however, demands contraction in those “girdle” muscles around your abdomen.  Tricep extensions are also commonly done on a machine, but can be done with a cable running diagonally across the body.  Keeping your body straight with a diagonal load requires “de-rotation,” a function of your core.

This sounds magnificent—and it is!—but there are two potential challenges for anyone who wants to use this approach.  First, if your spine is unstable to begin with, you must proceed carefully.  Get clearance from your doctor, preferably somebody with sports medicine and/or spinal expertise, before undertaking any resistance-training program.  Second, when working out, pay attention to the core activation techniques noted above and concentrate on employing them on every repetition.

The entire fitness industry is moving away from fixed machines that provide external stability, and is looking instead to the individual to develop his or her own core stability.  As a chiropractor and personal trainer I am happy to assess your readiness and help develop a personalized program for you.  Please contact me at munizcasa@mac.com to get started building on a safer, stronger canoe.

Chiropractic + Personal Training + Nutrition Coaching = HEALTH!

I love being a chiropractor because I can often provide quick and effective pain relief for my patients without the use of medication. 

I love being a personal trainer because my clients tell me things like, "now it's easy to lift up my grandson," or, "I can see muscles where I never have before," or my favorite, "I used to hate my body and now I'm so happy with all I've lost!" 

Of course, none of those successes can occur without proper nutrition.  We have to give our bodies the fuel needed to keep up with demands but not so much that "excessive caloric storage" occurs.

To promote my work in these areas, and to bring benefit to The ICA Foodshelf, I am participating in Tonkadale Greenhouse's Scarecrow Contest.  Meet "Chiropractic Carol:"

The winner of the scarecrow contest wins a $250 gift certificate for the charity of his or her choice, (in my case, the ICA Foodshelf), and votes are tallied on October 24th.

Each vote costs either $1 or 1 canned food item, all of which are donations for The ICA Foodshelf.  I strongly encourage you to bring a truckload of canned food to Tonkadale and vote for Chiropractic Carol as many times as you are able.  They take cash too.

I also encourage you to email me so that we can work together to develop the alignment, strength and eating habits that will keep you pain-free and proud of yourself.

Follow Your Heart

Simply put, your body uses two fuels: fat and sugar.  You burn a mix of these two fuels depending on the rigor of your activity. 

For example, while sleeping, most people burn primarily fat.  But if you get up and run from that pack rapid wolves you were dreaming about, you’ll switch to burning mostly sugar. 

Your body burns sugar during intense exercise because it doesn’t have enough oxygen to burn fat.  Put another way, your body cannot burn fat in the absence of oxygen. This means that if you’re breathing heavily and your muscles are burning, you can’t use fat as a fuel; you have to use sugar.  But we don’t have infinite supplies of sugar in our bodies; even the most highly trained athletes have, at maximum, ninety minutes of sugar stored in their bodies.  (For those with a heightened interest in exactitude, the ninety minutes of sugar is mostly in the form of glycogen, stored in skeletal muscles and in the liver.)

The implications of this are two-fold.  First, if you’re looking to get rid of some fat, you need to provide your body with enough oxygen, even while you exercise, to use fat as a fuel. 

Second, burning mostly fat will leave your blood sugar relatively untouched, so that after your workout, you won’t crave carbohydrates—in the form of breads, pasta, and candy—and replace all the calories you just burned. 

The question becomes, then, “how do I know if I’m tapping fuel from my fat tank or my sugar tank? The answer lies in your heart.  As you increase the intensity of your exercise, your heart rate will also increase as it tries to circulate blood fast enough to meet all the muscular demands.  At some point along the increase, you’ll switch from burning mostly fat to mostly sugar.  That last sip of 50/50 burn is called your “Aerobic Base.”  (“Aerobic” means “in the presence of oxygen.”)  Your aerobic base is all the exercise you can perform and still burn mostly fat.  This will happen at a heart rate that is specific to you and it varies widely among people.  You are not able to feel or otherwise perceive when this happens.

Then, if you continue to increase your intensity, you’ll switch to burning only sugar.  That point is called your “Anaerobic Threshold,” commonly abbreviated as “AT.” (“Anaerobic” means “without oxygen.”)  Exercising above your AT is valuable in that in promotes a healthier heart, but if it comprises more than about 20% of your total exercise, you’re training your body to burn sugar when you workout.  Fortunately, at AT, you might experience a few tell-tale signs: your mouth drops open, your focus increases, your muscles start to burn, and you can no longer speak in full sentences. The pack of wolves behind you is also a good indication.

If you want to use cardiovascular exercise as a means to increase your athletic ability or control your weight, you need to work out between your aerobic base and your anaerobic threshold.  Thankfully, ascertaining and monitoring those numbers is pretty simple.

There are some mathematical formulas that estimate your Anaerobic Threshold (AT).  An example is “Anaerobic threshold = 0.8 x (220 - your age).”  These formulas exist for health and safety; it’s vital that you not exercise beyond your AT for too long.  This mathematical estimation will be off by a bit, but it’s better than nothing. Unfortunately, formulas can’t tell you the location of your aerobic base.  Your heart rate at aerobic base is important to know because below it, you’re not getting the most benefit from your exercise.  To put it another way, unless you’re watching birds or wooing someone on a leisurely stroll, you’re wasting your time if you aren’t getting your heart rate up to your aerobic base.  The best way to ascertain that critical number is through a metabolic assessment.

Metabolic testing can take a few forms, including periodic blood draws, (for extremely serious athletes), or exhaled air analysis, (for the rest of us).  During the fifteen-minute test, you wear a neoprene mask with a system of valves on the front so that you can breathe comfortably. The exhaled air goes through a tube into the computer for analysis.  This computer then determines your aerobic base and anaerobic threshold.  In other words, by measuring the air you exhale as you exercise, this test will tell you when you’re burning fat and when you’re burning sugar.  

Since those markers—which are unique to you—are expressed as heart rates, you will need a heart rate monitor.  

A good one will have a transmitter strap that goes around your chest and measures (but doesn’t alter) the electrical conductance of your heart.  The strap sends the information to the wrist unit, which provides a continuous reading of your heart’s effort.  Heart rate monitors start at around $149, depending on features and accessories.  (There are some lower-end models for less than $100 but I wouldn’t skimp on this particular piece of gear; accuracy is vital.)

The results of the test include at least a few weeks of exercise prescriptions so that you can guide yourself through researched, planned and tailored cardio workouts designed to achieve your desired result. 

I’ve had the privilege of coaching many people through this process and when they use the program they invariably get measurable results.  Whether you’re seeking an easier jog through your neighborhood, a fifty-pound weight loss or some combination of the two, the easiest way to get there is by listening to your heart.

Please contact me for resources on metabolic testing and heart rate monitors at munizcasa@mac.com.

 

Roll Away Knotty Spots

Sometimes your brain tells your muscles to contract but sometimes they just contract on their own.   Don’t believe me?  Pinch the muscles at the base of your neck—don’t be shy, dig in!  Sore?  How about pressing your thumb firmly into the side of your thigh?  Tender?   If so, you’ve got knots, my friend.  And there are probably more just like those all over your back, arms and legs.

 

These knots, also known as trigger points, are areas of isolated contraction in your muscles. 

If an entire muscle contracted like that, it would be a true muscle spasm and it would affect your posture and even the way you walk.  Fortunately, most people don’t experience complete muscle spaz-out.  However, knots do affect parts of your muscles and you could be a lot happier if you did something about them.

Enter the foam roller.  Decidedly unpretentious, this relative of the “noodle” aqua toy can be used to alleviate troublesome knots.  Just roll it against your sore muscles to force the knots out.  The theory is that if you put enough pressure on these knots for 15-30 seconds—just the weight of your own body will do--you will deprive them of the nutrients they require to continue to contract.  Once they cry “uncle” you move on the next knot.  For example, you can roll your calf muscles by sitting on the floor, putting the roller under your ankle, lifting your hips just off the floor and rolling up toward your knee.

If this is starting to sound like self-inflicted deep tissue massage, you’re getting it. Of course, it’s helpful to have a skilled, licensed massage therapist in the Rolodex who will identify and work out your knots.  I know several highly talented, moderately masochistic therapists who can help iron you out.   You can also get muscles to relax from chiropractic adjustments, for which I can also provide a referral.  But you’ll benefit from rolling every day, or at least before you exercise, and it’s probably not practical for you to keep a massage therapist and a chiropractor on your personal staff.  You can hire a foam roller, though.

Typically 6 inches in diameter and available in lengths from 1 to 3 feet, foam rollers come in a variety of densities, densest usually being the most durable and effective.  You can buy them for about $10 to $30.  I can recommend a supplier to you, such as OPTP, but avoid the “Go Fit” brand.  It includes an unhelpful DVD and is consequently set at a higher price than just a roller.

There are a few common culprits—call them knot magnets—you’ll want to pay special attention to, including your calves, upper leg, hip, lower shoulder and upper back.   Once you’ve rolled out the knots in these areas, I think you’ll be delighted with the way your body feels.  You may even—(gasp!)—miss the roller if you omit it from your routine.  And why wouldn’t you?  Right now you’re perilously unaware of those little monsters living in your tissues.  You might think that’s just the way your legs and back are supposed to feel!  Once the knots are gone, you’ll be able to feel them when they return, and can quickly squash them out of existence again.  You’ll experience less pain, better range-of-motion and greater strength from the muscles you roll.

The logistics and techniques of foam rolling are best conveyed in person. Please attend one of my upcoming complimentary foam roller workshops in the Twin Cities this month.  I will provide you with a foam roller to use and a hand-out detailing the techniques we cover in the workshop.  Email me soon at munizcasa@mac.com to reserve your spot, as space is limited to 12 people. 

Complimentary Foam Roller Workshops

Friday September 18^th, 7:00 a.m., 
             Life Time Athletic in Minnetonka 

(For LT members and their guests)

Tuesday, September 22^nd, 6:30 p.m., 
            Life Time Athletic in Minnetonka

            (For LT members and their guests)

Tuesday September 29^th, 9:15 a.m.,
            Knewtson Health Group

            (Open to the public.  23505 Smithtown Road, Excelsior, MN)

Wednesday, September 30^th, 5:15 p.m.,

           Knewtson Health Group, 

          (Open to the public.  23505 Smithtown Road, Excelsior, MN)

What Fat People Know

It’s inspiring and delightful when, as a personal trainer, I meet new members at Life Time Fitness who have simply “had it” with their physical condition.  I’m not talking about the fairly fit people who are trying to up their game.  Rather, I’m thinking about overweight people who show up with the courage to initiate healthy changes.

The inspiring thing about these people is that they are on the verge of a dramatic yet slow and steady metamorphosis.  They point to parts of their bodies that they want changed and ask me how to “get rid of” this and that.  They want to know how fast it can be done, and if maybe this will be the time that it lasts.  I’ll address those answers in the next few blogs, but let me tell you what these newcomers already know.

They know that today we are all new.  Each day our bones reshape themselves to accommodate current demands, and our muscles rise to the occasion with carefully orchestrated growth and repair.  We possess all the neurological pathways created by being alive for another day and package it all up with 43 million new skin cells.  Granted, some bits of us have less turnover than others, but we are ultimately 100% dynamic.

What this means, and what the overweight people who start exercising know, is that a person’s history isn’t a sentence.  Habits are only actions that have happened consistently over time in the past.  While there are threads of the past being woven into today, it’s imperative to remember that we are all weavers.  With knowledge and tools we can create for ourselves an experience that we wouldn’t want to change.

If you have the desire to make a healthy change, or even “up your game,” please contact me so that we can talk about tools you can use to make it easier, fun and successful.

Be well!

Dr. Molly Muñiz

munizcasa@me.com