Strong Foundations For A Strong Pain Free Body

I think you agree with me when I say that if a building cannot stand without strong foundations, no matter how much iron rods and cement we put on every floor, a human body cannot be strong without a strong foundation no matter how strong the other floors may be.

For your body that foundation is your feet. If your feet are not strong, your weight properly balanced between your two feet and you do not use/move them in the correct way there is damage to be expected.

And that damage might not even be felt in the feet. No, no, it can be the knees, the hips , the lower back. But the source of your pain may very well be your feet.

Now I am not a doctor, a physio or podiatrist. But I study books such as The story of the human body , Alexander principles and I read articles by doctors, listen to interviews etc etc.

Today I realise how much the faulty use of my body and particularly of my feet contributed to pain and struggle.

As a teenager I used to literally walk on the outside of my feet, lifting my the arches as high as I could. Why did I do that !!!

I was also very, very heavy footed, stumping around like a dinosaur. Still am a little but that’s changing day by day.

And in the past I also used to take, rather force, long strides just because I was short and everyone was making fun of my short strides.

But things changed

I had the greatest luck to be coached by the amazing Michael Cohen, obstacle race coach and founder of Wild Forest Gym.

What he did was to open my eyes to the bad habits I developed through time. From there on I took over, I began to study and experiment on myself and boom!! my knowledge of the human body and movement exploded. And my body started to heal as well.

Now I believe I am here to give back. To help you heal as well. And for this I bring in not only what I learnt from Michael but the extraordinary wisdom from Traditional Martial Arts. Together they form powerful tool for my clients.

Now although my clients come to me to get fit, reduce stress, even lose weight I also help them with pains throughout their bodies that come as a result of body misuse.

The moment they understand how to use their bodies everything, everything changes. And in some cases the changes come after 2-3 sessions as we address posture and balance. Things I also coach over skype from the comfort of their home.

Three elements for you to become aware of and practice:

If you manage to address these elements you are on your way to healing. Ignore them and probably nothing will change. Your choice…

3. WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION

When you walk become aware of which foot takes the most pressure. Then is there a foot that pushes off more aggressively than the other when you step?

Once you become aware of this imbalanced try to balance your weight evenly on your feet. This can solve so so so many problems as in knee pain, leg pain, hip pain, lower back pain. In some instances your pain comes from this faulty body weight distribution.

2. STABILITY MUSCLES

This is where we talk about strong foot muscles. The easiest and fastest way to strengthen them is to sand on one leg. Yes, balance exercises.

And you don’t need a stability ball, trust me. First you need to learn to balance properly without under or over pronating, distributing the weight of your body evenly on the ball of the foot and heel.

Then you learn how to use your toes to strengthen the muscles. Then you look at the knee position. Then your become aware of your core contribution. And so on.

Then there are loads of variations of balance exercises you can try home. You do not need a stability ball so stop wasting your money on gym equipment and start actually doing something.

Lack of equipment is just an excuse for not doing anything. Sorry, but in many cases that is the truth. I used that excuse many times as a teenager 😉

1. POSTURE

Although we are talking about feet I want you to know that your posture is the beginning of everything.

Your cannot balance properly to strengthen your foot muscles and the rest of the body if you cannot hold a nice, relaxed, elongated posture.

You MUST address your posture. I cannot stress this enough

Changing the way you move, breathe and live

I am putting together a virtual coaching program which will cover all these elements here as well as meditation, mindfulness and habits that lead to pain, discomfort, weight gain, lack of energy in the first place.

All designed to take you from stressed out, exhausted, in pain and feeling down to energetic, enthusiastic and pain free by transforming the way you move, breathe and live.

This program will also have the power and tools to enhance your body’s ability to heal itself.

If this sounds good to you please email me at alexandra@urbanwomenfitness.com and I will contact you with more information regarding the upcoming program.

‘Engage your core’, what does that mean? Why should I do?

crunch — Photo Credit: ShareHows.com via Compfight cc

‘Engage your core’, ‘suck your belly in’ or ‘squeeze your abs’ are terms repeatedly used by fitness professionals, including myself, but do we really think about what that means? Due to a limited time frame we never really delve into the benefits of building up a strong ‘core’ or how specifically to do it, in each training session.

So today I am drawing on my experiences as a gymnast, dancer and personal trainer to give you the low down on why you really should be engaging your core throughout exercise and how to do it.

Have you ever wondered how a particular dancer/gymnast/ice-skater effortlessly glides around the stage or floor? Well here is your answer in basic terms.

I have been taught from a young age in gymnastics and dance how to ‘shift my weight’, ‘stay on top of my supporting leg’, ‘find where my weight is’. All of these demands require you to connect your mind to your body. The individual tells their body to move a certain way and it responds correctly.

This is Mind-body connection is something innate to dancers and gymnasts. It is not, however, natural to everyone, which is why there is often difficulty when a non-dancer/gymnast is asked to engage his or her core.

So initially, I would suggest mindfulness as a useful tool for reconnecting the body to the mind, and incorporating breathing techniques into exercise.

girl — Photo Credit: martinak15 via Compfight cc

So once the individual manages to connect to their core, why should they focus their time on building strength in that area?

1. Keeps you graceful – It helps with your ability to control your movement, particularly when you come across a difficult exercise or you are starting to fatigue.

2. Back health – It is estimated that four out of every five adults (80%) will experience back pain at some stage in their life. Back pain is the number 2 reason for long – term sickness in much of the UK.(http://www.backcare.org.uk/factsandfigures).

The ‘Core’ is made up of a group of muscles that begin with your ‘abs’ and wrap right around to your back.

A strong core will support your back in times when it may be vulnerable to injury.

3. Power – A strong core is the starting point in powerful explosive movement, such as lifting and jumping.

4. Balance – Our bodies have the potential to do a lot more than we think. If ever in a situation where your stability is compromised a strong core will enable you or increase your chances of staying upright.

5. Light on your toes – If you ever start to feel fatigued and tired during exercise, your core is there to get you through and ensure that keep exercising effectively and efficiently.

But how do I do it?

I have found this to be the easiest way to activate connection to the core:
1. Start by lying or standing up

2. Place your hands on your stomach

3. Take a deep breath in allowing the stomach to balloon

4. Start breathing out feeling the abdominal muscles pushing the air out your lungs

5. Keep breathing out until your lungs are completely empty, to do this requires more effort then normal breathing and so you should feel your abdominals fully contract/tighten.

This exercise can be used as a core activation exercise or throughout your workout.

handstand1 — Photo Credit: Evil Erin via Compfight cc

What’s my ultimate core strength exercise?

It has to be pike handstands (influenced by my gymnastic days). I love playfulness of the movement, challenging your body’s ability to respond to the movement quickly and you feel like you are doing something really impressive.

For those still building up core strength an easier, but equally impressive, version can be done by using a Swiss Ball to support the legs.

About the author: Alice Bowmaker

Alice is an East London based, YMCA qualified personal trainer on a mission to inspire and motivate people to push themselves past their expectations and help them rediscover their love for the beauty and strength of their bodies.

She has a background in dance and gymnastics which he uses extensively in her training repertoire. She also holds memberships with REPs and NRPT.

You can contact Alice at www.alicepteast.com

Tag: back pain