Personal Trainer Newsletters

Vol. 16 Newsletter -  June 2003
by Mandy Sosnowski
http://www.healthfxamerica.com

In this issue:

* Rotator Cuff Injuries
* Featured HealthMax Pro Exercise - Push ups
* Virtual Personal Trainer Subscription
* Featured Recipe

***Rotator Cuff Injuries***


Right up there with back pain, rotator cuff injuries and pain is a very common complaint I get from clients.  
The shoulder joint and the hip joint are the most complicated joints in the body because they involve
movement in all three planes.  All this means is that they can move forward and backwards
(flexion/extension), in and out (adduction/abduction), and twist (internal/external rotation).  Because of the
complex movements that can be done with the shoulder, there are many muscles that provide the
strength for these movements to happen.  The shoulder joint and surrounding space are also small and
compact, so all these muscles are packed into a little area.  Everything is placed in just the right way so
the movements can occur.  Muscles and tendons slide next to each other and through each other
sometimes.  If any of these muscles or tendons become irritated and inflamed or swollen, they don’t slide
as well as they are supposed to.  They get caught as they are moving and this, along with the swelling,
causes pain.

The rotation is the most complicated movement and the muscles involved with rotation are the smallest in
the shoulder.  This is why the rotators are the most common injury point.  The rotator cuff is the combined
name of both the internal and external rotators.  If you have your upper arm at your side and your elbow
bent at 90 degrees, as if you were going to shake hands with someone, if you bring your hand towards
the center of your body, that is internal rotation.  If you then rotate your shoulder so you go past your
starting point and now the palm of your hand if facing forwards, as if you were going to hit with your
forehand in tennis, that is external rotation.

The most common way to injure your rotator cuff in real life situations is trying to do something with arm
near shoulder height while reaching behind you.  An example would be reaching into the back seat of the
car from the front seat to grab your briefcase.  In this example, your arm is completely internally rotated
and this puts the shoulder in a very precarious position.

The two most common ways to injure your rotator cuff while strength training are using poor form or
excessive resistance while doing either the overhead/military press or the chest fly.  In these examples,
your arm is completely externally rotated and also puts the shoulder in a weaker position.  This does not
mean these are bad exercises, but caution does need to be taken while doing them.

If you already have a rotator cuff problem, the muscles need rest.  Try very hard to stay away from
anything that irritates it.  This may or may not mean avoiding upper body.  You should still be able to do
exercises like biceps curls and triceps extensions.  If it is a fairly new injury that is causing you frequent
pain, you should ice it as often as possible.  If it isn’t getting any better, you may have a tear as opposed
to a strain which may require surgery and you should see a doctor.  Rest and ice should help, but
unfortunately, rotator cuff problems do tend to become chronic problems.  Most people never return to
100 %.  It will also help to do some exercises that isolate the internal and external rotation movements with
very light resistance.

Be careful when you are exercising and please email me with further questions on this subject, but if you
feel like you have a problem, you should see your doctor.  Good luck and be safe!

***Featured HealthMax Pro Exercise***

Overhead press

The muscles being used in this exercise are the deltoids (shoulders) and triceps (back of upper arm).  
This is a very easy exercise to do, but as mentioned in the article above, if done improperly, it can cause
shoulder injuries.

No adjustments need to be made to the machine to complete this exercise.  To set the resistance, adjust
the bottom cylinder to 1 and adjust the top cylinder to desired intensity level.  Remember that it can be
dangerous to use a resistance level that is too much for you.

Begin the exercise sitting facing the HEALTHMAX PRO pad and straddling the bench. Your hands should
be gripping the outer handles on the Y bar and elbows should be bent so the handles are near shoulder
level.  If you already know you have shoulder problems, you may not want to start the exercise down this
low.  You can begin higher than shoulder level if that is more comfortable for you.

To complete the exercise, push up on the handles and extend your elbows as far as possible then return
to the starting position.

Exercise Quick-Reminders

Always remember that form is much more important in strength training than how much weight you can
lift.  Proper form insures that you are working the muscles the exercise is designed to work.  It also helps
to decrease your chance for injury.  If you find that you are not isolating the intended muscle group or you
are completing the exercise by doing extra leaning or wiggling or twisting, etc. you probably need to lower
the resistance.  You will find that you get a better burn that way anyway. .

Virtual Trainer Subscription

If you would like to purchase an annual subscription  I can personalize a workout for you and help track
your progress.  Stop by our web site for all the details.
http://healthfxamerica.com/vpt


***Featured Recipe***

Lemon Slush Punch
(Yummy summer drink.)

6 cups water
juice of three lemons
3 cups pineapple juice (46 oz can = 6 cups)
1 large package of lemon Jello (you can use any flavor to match your occasion, but lemon tastes the best)
3 cups sugar
dash of salt
3 large bottles of ginger ale

Boil water and sugar, and then add the remaining ingredients except the ginger ale.

Place in Tupperware and freeze well.  When serving, add ginger ale and stir until frothy.  If you want to
serve cup by cup rather than using a punch bowl, you can scoop the frozen slush into a cup and add the
ginger ale directly to the cup.



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