This presentation is geared towards office workers ranging from the receptionist to the partner at the investment banking firm. The presentation educates employees on how to be healthy at work and some simple techniques to improve work performance. Included in this corporate wellness presentation is the truth about supplements. The goal is to educate people about supplements and why they work and why sometimes they do not. Corporate Wellness

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I chose this site because I have followed the owner, Eric for many years. He has an incredible knowledge base and is a true professional. His site is a great reference for any trainer looking to learn from the best. I have integrated many of his principles into my own training. I have worked with many of his clients and helped them follow his custom program.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-importance-of-stretching

This site is fantastic because it is easy to navigate and the information is solid. In the fitness industry there are many myths and false information is all over the place. This site actually explains how to stretch and why stretching as a warm up is wrong. I use this site to help educate skeptical clients. It is hard to dispute Harvard.

www.backfitpro.com

This site is an incredible resource for both the public and health professionals. The information Dr Mcgill researches is incredible and useful in every day life. I chose this site because I share Dr Mcgill’s philosophy on the low back. He explains why many of the traditional core exercises may actually be doing more harm than good.

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/bam/teachers.htm

This is a great website. The resources have solid research behind them and it is easy to navigate. The site is a great tool to help the average person educate themselves on all aspects of health and fitness.

How Even a Little Sleep Loss Hinders Your Athletic Performance

Over the last 10 years, the population of children with special needs has increased over 165%.  According to Autism Speaks, the diagnosis of autism affects 1 in 45 children. As this segment of our population continues to grow, our society needs to have a better understanding of autism and other disabilities. It is important that we offer programs and treatment for both children and adults with disabilities. While many early intervention and cognitive programs have become available, there is still a lapse in the accessibility of fitness programs. In fact, there are very few exercise programs or physical fitness centers available to accommodate these children.

Parents and schools are earnestly focused on academics and social interaction in the classroom. Physical fitness is the last thing anyone worries about, and in most cases kids with special needs are allowed to skip gym class. The classroom is an integral part of development, while physical fitness is often overlooked, meanwhile it is actually one of the most crucial components for these kids’ development. This is because academics and social interaction can be integrated into physical activities, and the combination has the potential to cause greater results than any of these methods alone.

Science shows that physical activity stimulates the nervous system and forces the body to work as a unit rather than in parts. Improving nerve function is beneficial for anyone with a disability. Exercise creates and improves motor pathways and proprioception, stimulates serotonin production, helps regulate the energy systems, builds a mind body connection, strengthens the immune system, helps control weight, and builds muscle. Additionally, the nervous system and the immune system are more closely connected than people realize. For example, stress causes the body to go into a state of fight or flight. This can disrupt hormone levels, especially cortisol, which can lead to a weakened immune system. Therefore, exercise is good for neuromuscular health and for immune function, so it makes sense to increase physical activity.

Special needs children are 58%more likely to be obese and to have below average muscle mass since physical activity is usually pushed aside. Physical, emotional, and behavioral issues can be addressed in a workout session demonstrating that education can be achieved through physical activity in a social setting. In fact, it is quite simple to make fitness both fun and educational.

Fitness programs will vary depending on both the child’s ability to participate and his/her physical and cognitive limitations. For example, if a child does not have physical issues and is high functioning, he/she can participate in a circuit that includes a mini obstacle course with ring jumps, an inertia wave, and balance walks, this can be followed with a simple math or English question before moving on to the next obstacle.  For a child with more physical challenges, you can make an easier obstacle course that includes tossing a light medicine ball back and forth while counting out loud how many times he/she throws it, thereby incorporating social, mathematical and physical activities into the workout. For children with even more limited physical constraints, the activity can be adjusted to fit their abilities. For instance, a child in a wheelchair with limited limb movement would need assistance moving his/her limbs in order to improve upon the movements he/she already has.Further, if the child is non-verbal, he/she can engage with number puzzles and use a peg board to count the amount of exercises performed.

While it may be intimidating, personal trainers should not be fearful since training special needs children is just like training anyone else.  As with any client, a trainer should evaluate the child’s current state of fitness and address weaknesses. Therefore, if balance is poor and core muscles are weak, exercises should be assigned to make improvements. Just because some kids cannot perform higher intensity exercises does not mean they cannot benefit from simpler tasks, such as standing on one foot while holding a rail.

Physical activity is crucial for children to function in everyday life. Walking, bending, sitting, standing, balancing, and carrying are all activities needed for daily living. Exercising and training builds strength and confidence in children. Additionally, physical activity can be a social outlet through playing on the playground or during group activities and gym classes. The socialization from playground interaction and a gym class far exceeds the benefits compared to classroom socialization. By nature, children like physical activity, and they will request it when they are exposed to it as part of their routine. Special needs children have the same nature, and they are physically capable of activity. However, many of them have a great deal of anxiety and therefore may not participate for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, noise, lighting, touching and fear of groups. Non verbal children are more likely to experience excess stress. Exercise is a great way to burn off excess nervous energy which can improve calm attention in non verbal children.

Activity should be introduced slowly and carefully and take into account both the child’s physical and emotional requirements. A small task such as rolling a ball back and forth will get a child moving while interacting with another person. Furthermore, playing catch and rolling a ball are both equivalent to a conversation, and it is a great way to introduce your child to social play, especially for non-verbal children. All these small interactions add up to create change and to improve the quality of life for any child. By combining purpose-based exercise and education into group and one on one sessions, you will see vast improvements in other areas.

Fitness and nutrition are intertwined to improve both function and health. Nutrition is a key factor in maintaining a healthy nervous and immune system, since 80% of the immune system is housed in the gut. With Autism, it is important to rule out intestinal dysbiosis, check for environmental toxicities, investigate impaired detoxification, and look for heavy metal toxicity. Additionally, check for high levels of inflammation, evaluate mitochondrial dysfunction, assess food sensitivities including gluten, monitor oxidative stress, and look for nutrient deficiencies in zinc, magnesium, manganese, vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin D and omega-3 fats. These issues can cause inflammation and cause leaky gut syndrome, which may disrupt digestion, nutrient absorption, pH of the blood, the lymphatic system, and the nervous system. When toxins and large food particles enter the blood stream, they can cross the blood brain barrier and cause both behavioral and cognitive issues. Changes in diet and supplements are good tools to help combat these nutritional concerns and enhance the benefits of exercise. Poor nutrition and vitamin deficiencies can contribute to behavior issues and diminish the body’s ability to regulate energy.

Author: Charles DeFrancesco CPT

Collaborator: Denise Groothuis MS RD CFMP Pn1 CPT

References:

• https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/obesity.html
• https://www.unicef.org/disabilities/files/Factsheet_A5__Web_NEW.pdf
• https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/04/20/number-of-us-students-in-special-education.html
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S107476130900421X
• http://www.balancingbrainchemistry.co.uk/peter-smith/111/NAC-Cysteine-depression,-bipolar,-addiction,-anxiety,-detoxifying.html
• https://www.webmd.com/depression/how-depression-affects-your-body#1-3
• https://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science-news/new-government-survey-pegs-autism-prevalence-1-45

Research has shown that training the nervous system with Olympic lifting, plyometrics or any type of explosive high intensity training can be beneficial to the athlete when done correctly. There is much debate on the subject of CNS (central nervous system) fatigue and whether it is a real phenomenon or a false naming of adrenal fatigue, muscle fatigue, etc. Whether or not CNS fatigue truly exists or is being named correctly is beside the point. The fact is that explosive exercises with weight such a Olympic lifting place very high demands on all systems of the body and carry serious risk of injury if not learned and practiced properly.

Olympic weightlifting requires a high level of understanding and skill. Bompa has a suggested that the optimal number for training the nervous system is 1-3 repetitions with a rest period of 6 minutes between sets. In addition ATP is only present for 6-8 seconds which is about 3-5 reps before needing at least 2-3 min of recovery. Once ATP runs out the lifts will become compromised because the muscle does not have the energy to elicit the contraction the nerve is demanding. Anything beyond said rep range starts to overload the joint because form is compromised. Since these methods are designed to tax the central nervous system it does not make sense to try to change them into strength and endurance movements for high reps. Despite the research and proven science many mainstream programs will suggest doing a set of anywhere from 10-20 repetitions or even do as many reps as possible in a 30-60 second window. Using these methods for endurance is like telling a sprinter to sprint through marathons for training.

The other issue is that these methods require a very high level of motor control. Proper movement patterns need to be practiced without resistance at a low level until the client shows proficiency in the movement. Of all the lifting methods, Olympic lifting is the most difficult to master because of the required flexibility and motor control for explosive movements with heavy weights to get the max benefit. Olympic lifting is a sport in itself and can take years to learn. From our experience it takes the average person 4-6 months just to be able to get into the positions required to properly perform the movements. Once they can move it can take another 6-12 months to actually learn how to correctly do the lifts with weights. Olympic lifting is a professional sport yet everyone thinks they can do it without training. Even professional athletes should be cautious because the lifts were designed not for football, soccer or tennis, but for Olympic lifting.

Athletes should integrate Olympic style lifts into their strength and conditioning programs to reap the benefits of these movements but not duplicate them exactly. I suggest most athletes train from the power position which is called the hang (bar just below knees) since that is what most sports require. If a super elite athlete wants to learn the full lifts, it should be determined by a very high level coach.

Most courses that teach this method are 2-4 days and then a certification is received allowing one to teach the lifts. Since we all agree Olympic lifting is just like basketball or any other pro sport, then how is that possible? One cannot learn basketball in 2-4 days, let alone teach it, right? The answer seems obvious, yet people still spend millions on extreme home training videos and going to training facilities to do trendy high intensity programs that make no scientific sense.

The videos are the most dangerous, in our opinion. Any professional knows you cannot learn plyometrics by watching a video, and that the average person does not have the knowledge of the basic physical requirements and proper progressions. The science behind plyometrics is similar to Olympic lifting and should not be done for high repetitions either. The sad truth is that a majority of programs break the laws of proven science and safety, but their obvious flaws are overshadowed by attractive instructors, celebrity endorsements, extreme marketing tactics and industry politics. These companies are commendable, in a way, because the business intellect required to achieve such enormous revenue is impressive and there are some very good components in many of these programs. The main issues with these programs are that the parts that are wrong are so wrong it negates any of the positive aspects.

So the big question we get is  “why do they work if they are wrong?”

The fact is that if you do anything consistently and intensely while eating well you will obtain results. If you were to move bricks from one side of the yard to another for two hours a day with a 15 minute jog every 30 minutes for two months, you can be assured there will be fat loss and muscle growth. This is especially true for people who have never exercised or have done very little. So does that make it right? This sounds crazy but one of the best NFL receivers of all time, Jerry Rice, did just that growing up. He played a lot better when he started training like a football player instead of moving bricks.

Why doesn’t everyone get hurt? I know a guy who has been doing that stuff for years! Well, there are people who smoke until they are 90 and have no issues while others who never smoke die of lung cancer at 40 years old. In most cases smokers will develop health problems before 85, but there are always the exceptions. Everyone is different. There are countless variables that contribute to our physical constitutions and what our bodies can handle before we break down including genetics, nutrition and mental/emotional patterns, just to name a few. Some people are born athletes and can tolerate these programs because they have a natural ability to perform most plyometrics correctly and are strong and flexible enough to weather the storm of poor training.

Are all cookie cutter programs bad? No. There are some great instructors out there who can run programs that follow science and elicit even better results. This article is meant to educate you and serve as the WARNING LABEL. This is not meant as an attack on any particular company or program. It is simply meant to provide information based on common sense and science so that better results can be achieved safely.

Written by

Charles DeFrancesco

Dr. Robert Inesta

www.fitandfunctional.com

References:

Bompa, T. (2005) Periodisation Training for sports. 2nd ed. Human Kinetics (taken from  http://www.brianmac.co.uk/cns.htm#ref)

Peinado AB, Rojo JJ, Calderón FJ, Maffulli N.

BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2014 Apr 24;6:17. doi: 10.1186/2052-1847-6-17. eCollection 2014. Review.

Training tennis players requires a multidimensional approach that includes strength and conditioning training as well as the sound principles of injury prevention. Tennis is a sport that requires a lot of repetitive movements and full range of motion in every joint. The goal of this program is to discuss proper biomechanics, importance of flexibility, outline proper training techniques and how nutrition affects performance.

Biomechanical Evaluation

It is important to evaluate the body as a whole to detect weakness and any joint dysfunction. To avoid overuse injuries screening for muscle imbalances is an extremely important part of any training program. The rationale behind it is that there are detectable and correctable abnormalities of muscle strength and length.  These imbalances can affect basic movement patterns such as running or swinging a racket and lead to unexplained musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction.  Once detected, a specific functional rehabilitation program can be implemented.  This can include but is not limited to soft tissue release, corrective exercises, core strengthening through tri-planar movements, and balance and flexibility training. The focus is on restoring function and stability by correcting irregular muscle patterns and treating the body as a whole.

Flexibility

Flexibility and balance are the two most important concepts to build a solid foundation.  Moving incorrectly will hinder the body’s ability to create maximal force which will undoubtedly affect your game and workout. Repetitive incorrect movements actually shut muscles off and create synergistic dominance, reciprocal inhibition and altered neurological pathways which will greatly inhibit your form. Tight muscles cause compensation patterns that will disrupt proper movement and hitting mechanics. Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF), active and dynamic stretching should be part of your program. We find that most athletes move incorrectly due to poor flexibility and balance. Most tennis players have very tight hips, shoulders and pecs. You need to stretch just about every day especially after a match or practice. If you do not stretch you will have a short lived career riddled with injuries.

Core Training

Core training needs to be specific to tennis and should include balance and proprioceptive exercises. Sit ups, bicycles and leg raises should be eliminated totally from a tennis program. According to research these types of exercises further tighten the hips which are already prone to tightness. These floor exercises also put tremendous torque on the spine irritating disks and do not recruit as many abdominal muscles as you might think. Athletes do not play tennis lying down on their back, so why train that way.

Training should include core stabilization and tri-planar exercises that mimic movements specific to tennis.  Training with medicine balls and using chopping motions with balance devices are a good idea.  The core is the center of all movement so it should be trained in a way that is optimal for each individual.  Building a strong core creates a solid base for supporting your body through specific movements.   A weak core will increase the risk of injury and can lead to loss of power on the court. You need to set up the training environment that challenges balance and proprioception specific for tennis players. Implementing cuing exercises will improve motor skills and promote proper movement patterns. Poor balance and flexibility create wasted movements and will inhibit the body’s ability to decelerate properly and change direction explosively.

Strength and Power Training

This is the most overlooked aspect. All athletes can benefit from strength training and should do at least 2 days a week even in season. The exercises should relate directly to tennis and incorporate full body movements targeting weak links. You should be training using multi sets mixing resistance with endurance training. It is crucial to train at a high velocity since tennis is a fast sport.

You need to establish core strength and proper movement patterns before moving onto plyometrics and explosive exercises. Plyometrics should be added only after a full body movement analysis is performed. Too many times athletes do plyos without being able to move or absorb force properly.

Endurance training

Most of your cardio and endurance training should be on court since that is where you perform. Running 5 miles has little benefit to a tennis player since the court is only 78×28. Interval training should be the staple of your program. Ex. Set up cones on a tennis court or measured area and have athletes run to the cones and explosively change direction while rotating. It would not be a bad idea to do a 30-40 min weight session and then play a practice game. This method can be effective for endurance strength because in a real game you are never doing prior weight training. This method is called pre-exhaustion.

Riding the bike doesn’t make you better on court either. It is ok for a cool down or an infrequent change of pace but should by no means be substituted for court work. You stand during tennis so why sit when you train? You should not even sit between points.

You should be training according to time. The average 3 set mens match is about 2 hours but a 5 set match can be up to 5 hours. There are short rests of 10-15 sec between points and about 120 sec between sets. An average point is about 15 sec but can go longer. If you play multiple opponents at a tournament Juniors have a minimum 1 hour rest but it can be longer depending on length of previous match. So it is important to train in the same time frames that the game demands. Would it make sense for a boxer to train 2 min rounds and 1 min rest, when a round is 3 min with 1 min rests or to only do 2 or 3 rounds in training sessions? Running and most cardio is aerobic so training that way limits carryover greatly. Research proves that too much aerobic activity is actually detrimental to sports training. 

Nutrition

This is the absolute most important aspect to any training program. Poor nutrition will hinder performance no matter what sport you play.

• Water
• Calcium/Potassium/Magnesium
• Pre workout carb loading facts
• Pre game carb loading facts
• Restoring glycogen stores after a match or workout
• Importance of multiple meals
• Use of supplements
• Use of BCAAs during long matches

Recovery between multiple games

During this time you need to stretch and rehydrate with carbs to replenish glycogen stores and some protein (BCAA). Gatorade in any form is not recommended, drink something with natural electrolytes and carbs. Zico makes coconut water which has more potassium than 10 Gatorades. An organic protein bar or some type of easily digested form and fruit is a good idea for long days.

Rest

It is necessary to rest. Working out is not good for you every day regardless of how it is done. The body needs to recover, more is not better. Over doing things leads to injury and only hampers results.

At Pure Fitness, we believe that restoring optimal function is the most important concept in eliminating pain and preventing injury. With the combination of our evaluation, treatments and structured program, tennis players will find improved performance and playing satisfaction.

www.fitandfunctional.com

914 774 3644

Charles DeFrancesco