ashleyd /

Fit Fascia

I am Lauren Greer, Personal Trainer at Equinox 19th Street, NYC. I’ve been a Trainer since 2009 and have been with Equinox since December of 2010.

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Over the past three months, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Ashley. In fact, you can read about some of our sessions on her blog:

Personal Training Check In: TRX

Personal Training Check In: A Month Later

Personal Training Session #2

My First Session With A Personal Trainer

Let me tell you, Ash is one tough chick who loves a challenge! Thus far, our training has focused on strength & conditioning, and stability & coordination. As Ashley’s marathon approaches, training will soon cycle into sport specific training that will have her ready for the big day.  
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One of our more recent sessions involved the ViPR (http://www.viprfit.com/), which stimulated a discussion on fascial tissue. Thanks Ashley for this opportunity to share some important information with your readers! I hope this guest post finds all of you well! IMG_2979 (478x640)

Out with the old, in with the new… Unless you’re seeking an Arnold Schwarzenegger build, forget training that targets specific muscles, train dynamically– train your fascia!
Head to toe, fingertip to fingertip, from the deepest to the most superficial layers of our bodies, we are covered by this fascinating fascia.  Every cell, muscle, bone… is connected by fascial tissue, and based on this fact, it is essential for injury prevention and functional movement that we train our body as a unit.

IMG_2984 (478x640)Yes, this means stop with the bicep curls already, pick up a barbell, kettle bell, TRX, ViPR…  and get your body moving through multiple planes of motion with numerous joint actions occurring.  Our bodies are complex and are meant to move dynamically, not face down on the hamstring machine curling weight till our knees ache. Don’t get me wrong, machines have their place, but unless you’re rehabbing an injury, be kind to your fascia and do some kettle bell swings instead.
From IDEA Health & Fitness Association (http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/fascial-fitness), here are a few tips to help get your fascia, fantastically fit:

  • Bouncing. When you land on the ball of your foot, you decelerate and accelerate in such a way that you not only make use of but actually build elasticity into the tendons and entire fascial system.
  • Preparatory Countermovement. Preparing for a movement by making a countermovement—for example, flexing down before extending up to standing, winding up before a pitch, or moving the kettlebell toward the body before moving it away—makes maximum use of the power of fascial elasticity to help make and smooth out the movement.
  • Whole-Body Movements. Engaging long myofascial chains and whole-body movements is the better way to train the fascial system.

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  • Adaptive Movement. Complex movement requiring adaptation, like parkour (see the beginning of the James Bond movie Casino Royale for a great example), beats repetitive exercise programs.

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  • Skin and Surface Tissue Stimulation to Enhance Proprioception. Rubbing and moving the skin and surface tissues is important to enhance fascial proprioception. One weightlifter is having good results scrubbing himself with a vegetable brush before going into competition.

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    Live Strong!

    Lauren S. Greer, NSCA-CPT

    Trainer at Equinox 19th Street

    lauren.greet@pt.equinox.com

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Sharp Knives Dull Your Nerves

Today I have the joy of smiling, enjoying a beer and giving a thumbs up.

IMG_3063 (478x640) But yesterday, this was my face.

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This is a face you never want to see on a loved one.

Last night, our friends Mike and Liz invited us over to their place for an evening of drinks on their building’s amazing rooftop.

IMG_0741 (640x478)Mike and I decided that making homemade guacamole was a great idea to enjoy with some chips and beers.

IMG_3054 (640x478) One quick trip to Whole Foods later, I was happily in the kitchen prepping the ingredients. Unfortunately, I was attempting to prepare ingredients using a very small cutting board and an EXTREMELY sharp STEAK knife. 

IMG_3053 (640x478) It seems to be one of those counter-intuitive things, bigger knives are actually safer in the kitchen.  Chopping tomatoes, onions and jalapenos worked reasonably well but once I reached the avocados, things took a turn for the worse.  Anyone who has ever made guacamole, knows the standard trick of knocking the knife into the seed and twisting to remove the seed before scooping out the delicious creamy fruit.  Without a thought, that was the technique I attempted.  The first attempt scraped off the side of the seed.  “No big deal,” I thought, as I wound up for another attempt.  Yeah right, no big deal my ass.  The second attempt glanced off the seed and the momentum of the knife continued through the fruit into my hand below.  More specifically, the knife drove itself into the outside of my left thumb.  The minute the accident occurred, I knew that something was serious.  Its an interesting experience to be injured.  Having been hurt seriously twice within the last six months, I’ve had more experience and thus more opportunity to reflect on this than most people do within the course of a half-year.  The human body works in mysterious ways, but I have to say that you KNOW, the minute it happens, that you need medical attention.  It was so strange too.  Before I saw the blood, and before I saw how deep the cut was, I knew that a trip to the emergency room was unavoidable. 

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image  IMG_0737 (478x640)I was right and after being examined by the plastic surgeon on-call, I learned that I had severed the digital nerve of my right thumb (seemed to make sense as half of my thumb was numb). 

IMG_0740 (640x478) That brings me to last night’s result; a painful thumb with three stitches. 

IMG_0743 (640x478)And, the future, a nerve reconstruction surgery that must happen sometime this week lest the disconnected end of the nerve die and never live to see the light of day again.  I’ll check back in later this week with a description of the surgery but suffice it to say that it is not going to be a pleasant experience.

IMG_3058 (640x478) Until then, please make sure that you have an appropriate cutting board and knife in your kitchen. They are requisite for safe and delicious kitchen creations! They also make perfect house warming or wedding gifts for your friends!

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NYCM Long Run #1: First Avenue

Yesterday morning one of my favorite dates returned to my calendar, a long run with Theodora. As you may recall, we spent many miles training together last year as we each conquered our first marathon. You learn a lot about someone when you spend 18 miles running through Central Park or 15 miles exploring New York City and Brooklyn.

I was up by 6:15 to prep my CamelBak and enjoy some pre-run fuel.

IMG_3016 (640x478) I was excited to enjoy our first long run of marathon season and the hour of catching up.

IMG_3018 (640x480) Theodora met me at my place where we quickly stretched a few minutes and talked about our route. We are both tired of the West Side Highway so we chose to conquer the East River Path instead. Our initial plan was to run up the East River to the Upper East Side before heading back down towards Union Square.

Unfortunately we were met with some East Side barricades including running up the FDR on ramp by accident before having to hop over a concrete barricade. After that we were only able to progress a half mile before hitting another dead end. Come on NYC, why can’t you make the East River Path as nice as the West Side Highway? Frustrated, we headed over to First Avenue to continue our run up towards the UES.

I actually remember spending a very long 3 miles on First Avenue last November, with Melissa by my side, hating every minute. During the marathon you hit First Avenue around mile 17, right after the Queensborough Bridge, and then stay on it all the way until crossing the bridge into the Bronx.  It’s not the intimidating type of hill like a bridge or Central Park’s Harlem Hills, instead it’s a quiet gradual and consistent incline for two straight miles.

imageOnce we hit the 3.5 mile mark, we turned around and headed back down First Avenue until reaching 14th street where we cut over towards JackRabbit. IMG_3019 (640x480)

By the time we arrived we were disgusting, to say the least. We had dirt on our legs from our East River escapade and sweat everywhere else. Theodora was worried she’d get sweat in her eyes if she actually opened them.

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Only the two of us would decide to conquer a long run and then go directly to a Well+Good NYC free yoga for runners and athletes class. The second Saturday of each month, they host a free class at the Union Square and Upper East Side Jack Rabbit locations. These free classes are amazing because they specifically address the concerns of runners, cyclists, and other athletes.

IMG_3020 (640x478) By the time the class started there were six of us in attendance, enjoying an hour long class with an instructor from a local yoga studio. The small class meant that she adjusted us frequently which was a bit uncomfortable yesterday due to my sweat and stench. But, her adjustments did make me move into deeper stretches which felt amazing.

After class I ran .9 miles home to make my long run a total of 8 miles. My overall pace for the entire run came to 10:09 based on my faster last mile run home after yoga. Our pace for the 7 miles together was 10:17. While this is slower than normal it is still well within my marathon training pace and not bad considering the heat,  humidity, and gradual incline.

I used RunKeeper to track yesterday’s run with my iPhone and am overall very pleased with the output it provides.

image My goal is to try doing First Avenue again in a few weeks and see if I can improve the pace.

Question: Are you training for the NYCM or another race? How is your training going?

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