Continuing to prepare to return to Club life

Living Well...together, while apart

Not to get ahead of ourselves but we are so excited to get back to the Clubs when we're able to reopen. And so, we are diving into all the work we need to do to ensure your workouts are going to be as safe and effective as possible.

So, you have important prep work to do.

We know when those doors open, your bodies and spirits will sprint towards all the tools and toys you have missed. All the heavy lifting and high intensity, explosive workouts.

There are SO MANY important benefits to these kinds of workouts. Today, however, I would like to focus on one of the challenges inherent in these workouts. Because, within every challenge there are opportunities. And I would like you to embrace these opportunities over the next few months so YOU are ready when we open…

When you perform an exercise at a high intensity – fast pace, heavy weight, explosive power, high heart rate – your body goes into a fight or flight response: It levies an all-out, 150% effort in order to slay the dragon, win the war, and save the day.

In order to ensure you are as powerful as possible, your body therefore will rely on the strength patterns that are extremely well grooved. The neuromuscular adaptations that are right at your fingertips.

This is a sound survival mechanism.

However, if your strongest patterns are NOT optimal for that heavy lift, intense sprint, explosive jump – you are likely to get injured.

We have been sitting more, texting more, ZOOMing more. So, our bodies have adapted – even more than before – to certain musculoskeletal patterns. Some people refer to these as Upper Crossed and Lower Crossed Syndromes: Where specific muscles in the neck & shoulder and through the hip & pelvic region are overactivated while others are relatively weak and dormant.

What that means is if you simply head back into a high intensity training regime without waking up the sleepy muscles, your overused muscles will continue to get overactivated. And either the tight, strong muscles will scream and break from overuse. Or the weaker muscles – when yanked up, will tear under unaccustomed load.

Your homework? Commit to some mobility and stability work in order to:

• Reposition and relax your tight areas so these over strong muscles learn to share the load
• Activate your dormant muscles so they wake up and get stronger
• Reposition your joints in a more natural state so movements are smoother, more comfortable, and encourage less injury and better performance.

Upper Crossed Syndrome:

The muscles at the back and sides of the neck and upper back (upper trapezius, levator scapulae, suboccipitals, and sternocleidomastoid) and chest (pectoralis major and minor) are tight and overly active. The deep flexor muscles in the front of the neck and the mid back (rhomboids, lower trapezius, and serratus anterior) are weak and inhibited. The joints throughout the cervical spine are compromised as the weight of the head – which is so heavy! – is no longer balanced directly over your centre. Shoulder stability is also compromised as the arm bone is sitting too high and forward – pulling and rotating the scapulae – shoulder blade – away from the spine.

Lower Crossed Syndrome:

The muscles through the lower back (erector spinae, multifidus, and quadratus lumborum) and hip flexors (rectus femoris, iliopsoas, and tensor fasciae latae (TFL)) are tight and overly active. While the muscles through the trunk (rectus abdominus, obliques, and trans and transversus abdominus) and glutes (gluteus maximum, medius, and minimus) are weak and inhibited. The pelvis will tend toward an anterior tilt creating excessive tension through the hamstrings and further inhibiting the gluteus maximus. The joints though the lower portion of the spine remain flexed leading to low back tension and pain.

“Sorry… What’s our homework?!?!?”

Right!

Create length and mobility through the upper neck, front, and tops of the shoulders, chest, hip flexors, and low back while strengthening the backs of the shoulders, middle of the back, glutes, and abs.

There are loads of ways of doing this. We will take you through some simple examples in the Trainer Moves today.

We’re getting ready. We hope you are too!

Sources:

http://www.muscleimbalancesyndromes.com/janda-syndromes/upper-crossed-syndrome/

Key J. The Pelvic Crossed Syndromes: A reflection of imbalanced function in the myofascial envelope; a further exploration of Janda's work. Journal of bodywork and movement therapies. 2010 July;14:299-301

Bayattork, M., Seidi, F., Minoonejad, H. et al. The effectiveness of a comprehensive corrective exercises program and subsequent detraining on alignment, muscle activation, and movement pattern in men with upper crossed syndrome: protocol for a parallel-group randomized controlled trial. Trials 21, 255 (2020). 

Communication Changes

As we move fully into spring and prepare for summer, we’ve decided to make a change to our weekly communications. You’ll still receive the Living Well on Mondays, to start your week off right, but on Thursdays, you’ll now receive our Healthy View & Spice of Life emails, on alternating weeks.

Stay tuned! This Thursday, you’ll receive your first Healthy View newsletter, incorporating content from the practitioners at the Sport Medicine Clinic & Adelaide Health Clinic!

Today’s Inspiration

“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr., P.S. I love you

Today’s Live Workouts

Happy Monday! Ready to get moving to start your week off right? We’ve got TWO classes on the schedule for today!

TOTAL BODY CONDITIONING WITH ROBERT S

Join Robert S today for a Total Body Conditioning workout! Challenge your cardio and strengthen your muscles from head to toe with this incredibly effective no-nonsense bodyweight training.

No equipment needed today.

Join Robert at 12:00pm (30 minutes) from your own living room.

Click here to join the workout.

Meeting ID: 864 5295 2847
Password: 991724

YOGA FUSION WITH ROBERT Y

Join Robert Y today for our new Yoga Fusion workout! A combination of hatha, ashtanga, and kudalini yoga techniques. This class will engage your muscles, open your joints, calm your mind, and lift your spirits. (All levels)

No equipment needed today.

Join Robert at 5:15pm (45 minutes) from your own living room.

Click here to join the workout.

Meeting ID: 899 4248 0739
Password: 624126

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

Click here to view our weekly schedule.

If you have questions about our virtual live workouts, please reach out to Lauren.

Today’s Trainer Moves

As Meg mentioned earlier, she's exploring some movements to create length through your tighter areas and highlighting exercises that will activate some of those muscles that tend to be a little bit weaker and sleepier.

For questions about today’s Trainer Moves you can connect directly with Meg here.

Today’s Bite

Fresh Spinach Pasta

Have you always wanted to try making your own pasta from scratch? We know it can often feel intimidating, but this recipe makes it easy. Try your hand at making your own fresh spinach pasta!

For more recipes like this, check out our Spice of Life Recipe Book.

Ingredients:

• 200g spinach, washed & drained
• 2 large free-range eggs
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 400g Italian ‘00’ flour, plus extra to dust
• Semolina flour to dust (optional)

Tools:

• Clean tea towel (or small towel)

Instructions:

• Put the spinach in a large pan covered with a lid, then cook gently for 1-2 minutes until it starts to wilt. Stir, so all the leaves wilt, then drain in a colander, using a wooden spoon to push out any excess moisture. Put the leaves in a clean tea towel, gather up the sides, and squeeze out as much water as possible. Roughly chop.
• To make by the pasta dough in a food processor: Whizz the spinach in the processor briefly, then add the eggs and oil, and whizz again until smooth. Add the flour, whizzing until the mix comes together to form a firm dough. You may need a little extra flour or a little water. Knead briefly until smooth and silky.
• To make the pasta dough by hand: Finely chop the spinach and mix with the eggs and oil until smooth. Sift the flour onto a clean work surface to form a mound. Make a well in the centre, then pour the spinach mixture into the well. With your fingers, gradually incorporate the flour into the wet ingredients. Make circular stirring motions and bring increasing amounts of flour into the centre of the mound. When the dough has come together and has a good texture, it’s ready – you may not need all the flour. Once the flour is incorporated, knead the dough as if making bread – it needs to be smooth and silky, and spring back to the touch.
• Wrap the dough well to prevent it from drying out, then set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

Tips:

• Make the pasta dough up to a day ahead. Wrap well to stop it drying out, then chill. Bring to room temperature at least 2 hours before rolling. Or freeze the dough in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight at room temperature, then roll and shape as in the recipe.
• If the dough is too sticky to handle, knead in more flour, a little at a time, until the dough is smooth and elastic. If it’s a little dry, add a splash of water, and knead until smooth and elastic.

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Do you have a “Something of the Day” you’d like us to share?! Email Meg.