NIFS Healthy Living Blog

By now, you may have been to the gym a few times and have seen or even tried using the foam rollers. As we have learned from NIFS Personal Trainer Kris Simpson in her blog, foam rollers are a great way to loosen up the muscles by promoting flexibility, blood circulation, and recovery through self myofascial release. Although foam rolling is great, we can take the self myofascial release techniques a step further by implementing a commonly found piece of fitness gear, the tennis ball (or lacrosse ball).

Differences Between Foam Rollers and a Tennis Ball

A tennis ball or lacrosse ball can be used as a tool for applying self myofascial release to the muscle, similar to foam rolling. Differences between foam rolling and tennis ball rolling go beyond the obvious. Visually, a foam roller is traditionally a cylindrical, foam object and can be rather bulky, which would be fine for large muscle groups such as the glutes, hamstrings, or latissimus dorsi. The tennis ball is much smaller and round, giving it the ability to reach smaller areas and pinpoint tight, sore muscles. This is great news for small-muscle issues, but it is not exactly practical for total body myofascial release.

How to Use a Tennis Ball for Self Myofascial Release

Some examples of areas on which I like to utilize a tennis ball or lacrosse ball(pictured) include the hip flexor, the glute, and the shoulder blade. Follow these steps:

1. Rest your body weight (as much as you can handle) on the tennis ball.
2. Support yourself with your opposite-side leg and foot or with your upper body (depending on the area you are targeting).
3. Then, roll over your target area, pinpointing and triggering muscles that otherwise may have been missed by the bigger foam roller.

Foam rolling and tennis ball rolling intensity can be determined by increasing or decreasing the size, shape, and hardness of the tool. The various tools you bring to the table will ultimately determine the experience you have with myofascial release.

If you are new to self myofascial release or want to experience some new rolling techniques and tips, meet with a NIFS health fitness specialist or personal trainer to get started on your way to wellness excellence. A more fit day is right around the corner.

This blog was written by Thomas Livengood, Health Fitness Specialist at NIFS. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers click here.

Fit & Forty+ (Fabulous) Series—Foam Rolling and Increasing Your Range of Motion

by NIFS Personal Trainer Kris Simpson

As you reach your 40s, your body becomes less flexible, from sitting too much. Your body gets softer, from loss of muscle mass. Your weight creeps up, and your bone density drops. YIKES. Getting old stinks. But hold on, ladies: We can fight back!

Our video today shows you how to increase your range of motion (ROM) and move better. We introduce you to the foam roller, which is becoming a popular way for people to break down adhesions and sore muscles to get the muscles to fully function. The roller is a great way to start your workout.

If you can move better, the next part—adding strength—will be more effective. Here at NIFS, we can do a Functional Movement Screening (FMS) to determine your imbalances and give you exercises to help you move better.

If you want to schedule an FMS screening click here to contacted by a NIFS staff member.

In the next segment, we look into your diet with help from Angie Scheetz, our staff dietitian. We will give you challenges to improve your diet—plus a circuit to burn some serious calories!

If you missed the first blog in this series go back and read and watch our video on Getting Started.

This blog series was written by Kris Simpson BS, ACSM-PT, HFS, personal trainer at NIFS. If you have questions about something in this series or would like to schedule an appointment with Kris please contact her at 317-274-3432 or email. To read more about Kris and NIFS bloggers click here.

Okay, I know what you are thinking. I have conversations about Pilates almost daily with skeptical fitness enthusiasts, and so often people feel that Pilates is not worth their time. I sympathize; before I tried Pilates I thought that I had things covered with weightlifting, core work, yoga, and cardiovascular training. Why would I need to add anything to my already busy schedule?

When I took my first Pilates class, I realized that I was wrong. I could barely finish any of the exercises and for several days after I was so sore that I thought I had broken a rib. I almost did not go back because I was embarrassed by how poorly I had done. I could not believe how weak, inflexible, and uncoordinated I was. Later I learned that the muscles targeted in Pilates exercises should be used in other forms of training, but that people are not always taught how to use them when they exercise. Since including Pilates in my regimen, my strength and skill has improved in all of my workouts!

The Workout Benefits of Pilates

So, why should you consider Pilates? Pilates enhances everything you do. The Pilates Method Alliance states that Pilates improves posture, coordination and balance, flexibility, and strength in every muscle group. It helps to align the body and adjust imbalances from sports. The system even increases lung capacity, circulation, joint health, and bone density. From marathon runners to baseball players, athletes in every sport benefit from Pilates.

I love that, once you are confident enough to do so, you can take Pilates with you anywhere and do it any time. It is easy to incorporate the movements and principles into your workout regimen, and you don’t have to do many repetitions for the work to be effective. Even a few exercises a day will benefit you greatly!

Pilates at NIFS

Interested in trying Pilates? Check out our online Pilates Fusion class through the NIFS at-home page.

This blog was written by Morgan Sanders-Jackson a group fitness instructor at NIFS. Meet our other NIFS bloggers.

Shoulder Care: The Rotator Cuff

In this post I want to go over the basic anatomy of the rotator cuff, the functions of its parts, and some exercises that can help strengthen your shoulder stabilizers to keep your shoulders healthy. The shoulder tends to be a problem with not only athletes but in the general population as well. The shoulder is one of the most mobile joints we have, so when we are working up the kinetic chain we want to work on its overall stability so that we can protect it from injury.

Anatomy of the Shoulder

First and foremost, the rotator cuff is a group of tendons and muscles in the shoulder connecting the upper arm (humerus) to the shoulder blade (scapula). The rotator cuff’s main purpose is to hold the head of the humerus in the glenoid (shoulder) cavity. Below are the rotator cuff muscles and their main functions.

The muscles in the rotator cuff include the following:    

• Supraspinatus: Abducts the shoulder in the first 30 degrees.
• Infraspinatus: External rotation.
• Teres minor: External rotation.
• Subscapularis: Internal rotation.

 You can remember these using the acronym SITS.

Exercises for Shoulder Stability

Now that you have a basic understanding of the shoulder’s anatomy and functions, let’s go over exercises that help improve strength and overall stability of the shoulder.

Supraspinatus (Abduction)

• Empty Cans
• Incline Bench-Ys (Thumbs Up)

Infraspinatus and Teres Minor (External Rotation/ER)

• Wall Slides―Active ER
• Incline Bench-Ls (Row to ER)

Subscapularis (Internal Rotation/IR)

• Band IR

Grip Strength and Stability

Performing exercises that challenge your grip strength is another great way to improve the stability in the shoulder. These exercises target the entire shoulder instead of focusing on one muscle. Examples here include KB bottoms up variations such as half kneeling single-arm bottoms-up press or bottoms up walk.

Programming

As a strength coach, I deal with overhead and throwing athletes on a daily basis, so keeping the shoulders healthy is a big part of my job. My goal is always to keep the shoulders healthy and strong instead of waiting until they are completely out of competition due to injury. Shoulder care exercises are not just for throwing athletes. These exercises can benefit all athletes and should be integrated into your weekly training program.

The biggest concern that I deal with on a daily basis is fighting overuse injuries. Overuse injuries account for most of the shoulder injuries, and so I have to find a balance to keep their shoulders healthy. My pitchers are required to do some sort of shoulder care each day that they are in. This past year my pitchers were doing mostly supraspinatus strengthening and everyone else did more external and internal rotation exercises.

Depending on what is in your workout for the day, you can complete these either before or after the strength portion of your workout. If you have pressing, pulling, or any overhead exercises, they should be done first to activate the shoulder musculature to reduce the chance for injury. If it is more of a lower-body workout, you can finish your workout with some shoulder care exercises.

Hopefully you now have a good understanding of the importance of shoulder care, the benefits of strengthening your rotator cuff, and how to implement these exercises so that your shoulders can feel better than ever.

This blog was written by trainer Josh Jones, MS, CSCS, USAW, NIFS Center for Athletic Performance. Read more about the NIFS bloggers here.

If you want to increase your fitness level, lose weight, become healthier, or say good-bye to any unwanted fat on your body, you have to work out with a plan. You have already done the hard part: you committed to becoming more fit and you got your butt to the gym, so make the most of your time and work out with a purpose.

Try Group Fitness Classes

This may be overwhelming to you. No worries! It is very simple and affordable. Try group fitness classes! They are highly energetic, effective, and motivating. All of NIFS’s classes are designed by fitness professionals, so you can trust they are safe and effective. Les Mills classes are backed by ongoing scientific research and are always being tested and proven to bring results—and bring results quickly. Let me say that again in case you missed it: scientifically based and proven to work!

Creating an Effective Group Fitness Workout Plan

Okay, so all that info is great, but how can you apply it? Easy! To create an effective workout plan for all-around fitness, you need to combine strength, cardio, and flexibility. Try one of the following plans:

Working out three days per week:

• Two strength classes (BODYPUMP™, Boot Camp)
• One cardio class (Tabata, Cycle/RPM™, Step)

Working out four to five days per week:

• Two to three strength classes (BODYPUMP™, Boot Camp)
• One to two cardio classes (Dance Fitness, Cycle/RPM™, Step)
• One mind-body class (Yoga, Pilates)

By smartly combining the different varieties of group fitness classes, you can create an effective workout plan that will get you the results you want without adding extra cost to your gym membership. Remember, each class will feature some strength, cardio, and flexibility, so use the class descriptions to get a feel for whether it will fall into a strength-based or cardio-based category.

Make sure to check out the NIFS Group Fitness Schedule to see which classes will fit your schedule and help you reach your goals.

Sign up for a free class pass today!

This blog was written by Tasha Nichols, former Les Mills US National Trainer.