Your gluteal muscles have some important features:

• are the main muscles used for walking, when moving legs from hips
• essential for the stability of the hips when walking. Without them you would topple over to one side.
• allow you to extend your back
• allow you to stand from a sitting position
• Gluteus maximus supports the extended (straight) knee. It does this via the iliotibial tract (ITB). This is the fibrous band of connective tissue that runs down the outer side of the thigh.

Gluteal dysfunction and weakness can have quite a large effect on the functional physiology of the body. Glute weakness can cause some of the following:

• lower back pain – over-using lumbar muscles to compensate
• hamstring over-use (tightness and pain) –> can also then lead to pelvis rotation –> pressure and pain in lower back
• knee pain from reduced stability
• tight hip flexor
• ankle problems
• plantar faciitis

As humans, we tend to find the easiest and laziest way to do things. Perhaps this is energy conservation. For example, when picking something up from the ground we tend to lean over with a flexed back instead of bending the knees and squatting down. The gluteal muscles can simply just get deconditioned and weak through lack of use. The simple solution is to wake them up again and do a few exercises. Even doing something as simple as squeezing your butt cheeks together while waiting for the bus can help (try 3 sets of 10 reps) or whenever you remember during the day, for example whilst waiting for the jug to boil. Something this simple can help the brain and glutes make a better neurological connection and “switch on” better for movement patterns.

Pain can also be a limiting factor. There could be any number of pathologies in the hips and back creating a painful situation that limits movement. Pain is remarkable in that it causes an inhibitory effect on muscles in the affected area. Hence, once the pain has subsided the muscles can still be inhibited or have decreased motor response (“switched off”). Again, doing a few floor-based gluteal exercises can help to retrain the connection with the brain and the bum muscles.

For example, the correct firing order for leg extension (lying on tummy and raising leg up towards ceiling) is:

Glute -> Hamstring – > quatratus lumborum and lumbar muscles.

However, with a dysfunctional glute it can become:

Hamstring + lumbar muscles.
Hence, much more strain is placed on the surrounding structures.

Anatomy:
Gluteus maximus – the largest muscle in the body – forms the buttock cheeks.

Gluteus medius and minimus – lateral stabilisers. These muscles are located on the sides of the hips. They wrap around the bony part of the thigh bone (trochanter of the femur).

Gluteus minimus

Training the glutes

Strong, healthy glutes are important for proper movement and health maintenance. However, there can be other problems that are present in the pelvic/lumbar region that need to be addressed before any rehab training and exercise should be performed. Muscular fatigue (“feel the burn”) is ok but acute and neuralgic pain is telling you some damage is going on. Please always train being mindful and respectful of your body’s abilities.

Below are a few glutes floor-based exercises to get you started.
Lying on the side, back should be straight (neutral spine), and all the movement should be occurring in the leg that is facing the ceiling. You can support your head and neck with one arm, and have something soft to lie on. You can use a yoga mat or towels. Please note it should not be painful to do these exercises. After a while you should feel muscular fatigue. However, if you experience any acute pain or nerve pain please stop and get assessed by a health professional.
Do each exercise 10 times then roll over to other side and complete 10 times on other leg. Repeat this for each exercise. Once you have done them all, go back to the top and re-do them. Try doing 10 minutes in total first. Then as you progress you can extend the time to 20 mins. Aim to do the exercises daily or every second day.

Clam : Open your legs just like a clam would open its shell

Side lift : Point your toes towards the ground. It helps activate more of the glute muscle. Then move your straight up as high towards the ceiling as you can. Then move it down again. Repeat.

Toe taps: Point your toes towards the ground. It helps activate more of the glute muscle. Tap your big toe in front of you and then swing your straight leg back and tap behind you. Repeat.

Kick: Just like kicking a football with a straight leg.

Bike circles: Like peddling on a bicycle. Move your leg in a circular fashion as you would when riding a bike. Go forwards 10 rotations then backwards 10 rotations.

“Trail Mix” (dried fruit and nuts) is very good for you. Research is suggesting cadiometabolic benefits, reduce cardiac risk factors and improved glycemic control. Dried fruit and nuts have a long shelf life and very portable. Next time you need a snack – reach for the bag of almonds and sultanas and not the chocolate bar.

http://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-016-0142-4

Klaus Obermeyer , 95 and still skiing

Amazing story. Klaus Obermeyer,  life long skier and still doing it well.
He is  95, still gets out on the planks , does martial arts daily (akido), swims, tries to eat vegan (but cheats a little) and still runs a business. What an amazing bar he has set … also inspiration it can be done.

Read full article 

Recently I heard on a radio science show something very interesting regarding antioxidants. Apparently they negate the training effect of exercise. One of the usual goals of exercise is to become healthy, stronger and more capable. We do this by over loading the muscles, causing slight damage and then when they repair they come back stronger. In damaging the muscles we cause oxidative stress. As it turns out the, we need these free radicals to stimulate the body’s own antioxidants and cause the wonderful training effect of exercise. If you train and take antioxidants supplement you won’t get this effect and you won’t change physically.  If you want to get buff, throw away the pills and get some tasty, good whole foods.

https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/antioxidants-and-exercise-more-harm-than-good/

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/11/12/4124033.htm

There is defiantly a chill in the air! Perhaps it’s time to get fit for the ski season with some great conditioning exercises.

I tried these exercises and it’s quite a challenging workout. The exercises mimic the movements you do on skis/snowboard. It is really helpful for balance and endurance.

Snowboarding is amazing fun. Especially in deep soft powder snow. It’s like surfing on a cloud in marshmellow land. However, these are special conditions. Most of the riding happens on the pistes or courses with smooth but somewhat harder surface.

During my recent travels I developed a bit of a painful foot issue. I was snowboarding almost daily and being experienced rider I would ride quite aggressively. After a time I developed a sharp neural pain on the sole of my right/back foot on the snowboard. This was towards the front on the ball of my foot between the 3nd and 4th toes (Plantar aspect of the distal head of the 3rd and 4th metatarsals). Sudden impacts would trigger an electric exquisite pain. At times so intense it would take the breath away and the vision would fade. It would only happen while snowboarding. Otherwise I have had no troubles with my feet with physical activity/running etc. Needless to say it was a bit of a concern and reducing the enjoyment I was having.

I believe the intensity of the downwards pressure towards the board was causing a tendonitis and inflammation of the metatarsal phalangeal junction. A ski boot fitter was of the opinion I was starting to develop a Morton’s neuroma. I would concur with this but would also consider capsulitis.

Solution

I treated myself with acupuncture directly on the problem area with associated points for the foot around the ankle. Some of the needles went directly into the sole. It was refreshing but also satisfying feeling. I followed up with some moderate pressure massage and gentle mobilisation of the foot bones. I repeated this 3 times and it had a good effect.

Next thing was to reduce the pressure that was placed on the foot by the boot. Josh the boot fitter (Boot Solutions, Hakuba, Japan) made some custom “neuroma pads” that went into the innersole of the snowboard boot. This provides a greater contact surface area for the ball of the foot, spreading the load more evenly over the sole of the foot. The pad also splays or separates the metatarsals (long bones of the foot) a bit more. This provides more space for the nerves that travel between the toes.

This combination worked very well. I’m happy to report in my particular case this reduced the problem to a level that was not too noticeable. I consider this to be a good result. Wearing snowboard or ski boots has an inherent level of discomfort. It is normal and to be expected. Having said that, when the discomfort becomes too unbearable it is good to know there are solutions out there.

What a fantastic experience!

Refreshed and renewed, I have returned from my travels in Japan.

Japan is an extraordinary place: not only for its outstanding snow slopes, but also for the exceptional people and culture.  There is a lot of care and respect between people.  It’s probably one of the few places in the world where you can safely leave your board, gear and skis outside while you go inside for some warming ramen for lunch.  I have heard of people forgetting their wallets on the train and then returned to them with all contents and cash intact.  People don’t expect tips.  There is no hustling for extra charges or money.  Prices are set and respected.  Courtesy is highly regarded.  If you do someone a kindness, it is extremely well received and appreciated.

* The experience of working as an acupuncture TCM practitioner in another country.

* Incredible powder snow.  This is probably one of the best places for fresh snow in the world.

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Beetroot juice has been topic of research for the last couple of years and is not just because of its vasodilation properties which facilitates nutrient delivery to muscles, but apparently regular intake of Nitrate (NO₃), which is found in high amounts in beetroot juice, can decrease blood pressure and improve sports performance optimizing Oxygen (O₂) utilization.

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