How to walk properly and what to do when it hurts

Walking is probably the single best activity we can adopt to both maintain the health of our joints and tip the balance with weightloss.

Whenever someone has stalled out with their diet, I advise at least 10,000-15,000 per day. And when someone comes to me with (insert pain or soreness here), I recommend at least the same if not more.

My Mom is a good example of someone who I have watched lose weight, get off blood pressure meds and become healthier/more resilient simply by increasing her steps. After she retired, she began walking 20-30,000 steps per day and had returned to her high school weight six months.

The problem that we sometimes encounter however is shoulder, knee or back pain on one side versus the other. Often, we have trouble shifting weight from one side to the other and literally get stuck more so on one side than the other.

Much like squeezing one side of a garden hose, this causes pressure to build up in one area and ultimately leads to more gravity on the left or the right side. This not only impacts pain when we walk or run, but also how we stand, sit, etc.

What I recommend for all my clients is a 30-45 minute of reciprocal activity (walk, bike, run, elliptical, stair stepper) at least three times per week.

In this week’s article, I cover a simple warm up that will eliminate the pain you experience when you move, stand or sit by helping you to move better from side to side.

Finding your center during Crisis

As the situation has evolved, it has become clear to me that this virus is far more infectious than just it's physical component. It has spread fear, panic and a sense of despair throughout our community and our world.

 While I lack the expertise to add to the precautions which virtually every small business is recommending (and I agree with), I can offer the resource which has personally helped me to navigate this crisis.

The Lakeland Meditation GroupI have attended for several years on Wed at 6:30 PM has been an incredible source of insight in to myself and the way I react to times good and bad. As someone who is always looking to the future and what must be done next, I have learned to better experience what is happening right here, right now.

I personally have found a lot of peace inbodyscanningfollowed byLoving kindnessmeditation to evoke feelings of empathy and personal calm. When I encounter difficult situations, I will take one minute to focus on my breathing or briefly scan my body. 

Even if you feel meditation is not your thing, taking time to journal or focus on something that brings you joy helps to let go of feelings of panic and false urgency.

You may say you don't have time for such things in the midst of this crisis, but this exactly when we need it most.

How to Rehab your squat!

The squat is undoubtedly one of the most important exercise for both general health, improving athletic performance and getting jacked in the gym. My opinion is that every human should be able to perform a full deep squat, but not necessarily load it.

The typical issues we see preventing this from occurring include stiff hips, poor upper back posture and a lack of ankle mobility. But rather than list a bunch of random mobilizations, we are going to attack the big rocks- the pelvis and ribcage. If we can squat with these things stacked (see video 3), many of the mobility issues we often see will magically disappear- because gravity is now working in our favor.

Here are three exercises that I love to restore the deep squat.

Short seated reach This exercise reverse engineers the deep squat by starting us at the bottom. The keys to this drill are to drop the ribs (think about crunch) in the front, reach with the arms without hunching forward and push knees in to elbows to activate the outer hip muscles. Take a deep INHALE thru nose to fill back with air and exhale thru pursed lips.

90/90 kinetic stretch I love this drill to activate and train the muscles which pull us in to a deep squat. Rotate torso to face front knee and inhale on the way down. Attempt to pull the front foot up toward the ceiling (you won't actually get off the ground) to activate outer hip muscles. Exhale while pushing front foot in to ground to propel back to start position. Repeat 6-8 times.

Stacking squat Elevate heels on a bolster or rolled up mat, drop ribs down to get abs and tuck the pelvis under by digging heels back in to mat. Initiate this move by pushing knees forward versus butt out and descend down. 🔥 #squats #squat #squattherapy #squatchallenge #squatrack