Author: Michael Devon

Lower Back Pain? Try this!

Posted on by Michael Devon

Our favorite part about Monday is that it’s a great day to spend time doing some self care and preparing your body and mind for the week ahead. In this case these ladies are spending time doing some myofascial release and breathing to relax their muscles and recondition their nervous system to handle stress better!

If you can equip your body to respond to stress in a healthier way that will directly translate to a healthier life because you won’t be managing stress with alcohol, drugs, or other addictions like food. Doing myofascial release won’t magically make your stress go away but it will start to train your body to handle the stress when it does come. Then you’re less likely to break down and you’ll be able to understand what is causing the stress in the first place.

Aside from the stress relief, this release is great for knee pain, hip pain, and even lower back pain. It can be done with a pvc pipe or a tennis or lacrosse ball. Start by rolling the pipe or a ball up and down the front of your thigh until you find a trigger point or a “knot” and hang around that area for a solid 2-4 minutes until the tension starts to release, then switch to the other leg and repeat. But don’t forget to breath!

This release is a starting point for managing aches and pains in your day to day life, it creates body awareness and can activate dormant muscles or relax overactive ones to restore balance and harmony to your body. Once your body is responding well to myofascial release work then it’s time to go onto the next step and learn how to re-tension your body. For example, if your lower back is always tight then your body holds tension there so through proper exercises we would re-tension your core and signal to your central nervous system to hold more tension in your core and less in your lower back.

If you’re serious about managing your aches and pains so you can live a more functional and active lifestyle then we’re here to guide you in the right direction. We bridge the gap between physical therapy and personal training and give you the best of both worlds. Simultaneously rehabbing any injuries, preventing injuries from occurring, strengthening your body to function in the real world, and conditioning your body for everything life throws at you!

 

Body. Brain. Let’s Connect

Posted on by Michael Devon

A picture is worth a 1,000 words… this picture says a lot because a lot is going on during this exercise, physically and mentally. John is incorporating thoracic rotation by connecting his Left lat to his Right glute & his Right shoulder to his Left hip via a deep connection of muscle groups known as the myofascial slings. These slings connect the upper body with the lower body- an important connection for quality movement. We’re taking it a step further with this exercise and integrating the movement at a nueromuscular level to make this sling connection a sub conscious action. If you want to move pain free the rest of your life, the way all your muscles work in unison with each other has to happen at a sub-conscious, automatic level. 

During this exercise John’s left glute is on fire and the deep core musculature is engaging as the left lat pulls and right arm punches connecting with the obliques to help rotate his ribcage and thus the myofascial slings are engaged and connecting John’s upper body with his lower body. The action during this exercise replicates a way our muscles connect with each other in life outside of the gym. It’s important to connect the body in the right way if you want to move better in day to day life and move better during exercise, both which lead to less overall aches and pains in the body. 

This exercise was all about getting John’s body in the correct position to automatically activate the correct muscles at the correct time so his joints didn’t do the muscles job, aka no more joint pain when he is out functioning in the real world! When your muscles work correctly this means less wear and tear on your joints, the key to sustaining an active lifestyle well past your prime!

If you’d like to learn how you can optimize your lifestyle, we’re here to help!

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Let Food Be Thy Medicine

Posted on by Michael Devon
“The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in a proper diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.” -Thomas Edison
It’s time to go back to the old ways… modern medicine has its place but if you understand how to prevent disease from occurring you won’t need to rely on medication for the rest of your life.
Let food by thy medicine and optimize your health. Real food is powerful and if you eat it in the right amounts and balance what you eat then you’ll find that when your friends and family catch a cold or are suffering from allergies you’ll be as healthy as a horse because your immune system is functioning at high capacity because you fuel it with high quality foods.
  • For starters limit grains, avoid fake foods because they’re ridden with chemicals that disrupt our normal metabolic function, cut down on your alcohol and caffeine consumption, and drink more water. Red meat is fine just make sure it’s grass finished with no hormones or antibiotics, same with eggs and other sources of protein.
  • Fats like olive, coconut, and avocado oils are great, even REAL butter too. You can never go wrong with an avocado, and snacking on nuts instead of a bag of chips will really transform your energy levels!
  • Load up on vegetables of any kind, the more color variety the better… and yes potatoes count as a vegetable. Just don’t turn a potato into junk by constantly using cream and making mashed potatoes or loading up a baked potato with sour cream, cheese, and bacon bits. Try baking them and then cutting them up and sautéing with protein and veggies like beef, chicken, or eggs! Potatoes over rice and rice over pasta and bread.
  • Cut down on your artificial sweet treats and if you can’t then I’d suggest limiting them to a special occasion. Fruit gets a bad stigma because it’s loaded with sugar but it’s sugar in its natural form so fruit in moderation is okay because it’s also loaded with vitamins and minerals to help boost your immunity. Some fruits have less sugar than others and when it’s all said and done, snacking on fruit to get a sugar “fix” is a better choice than reaching for a brownie.
So to recap, drink more water and eat real food: protein, vegetables, quality fats, and moderate amounts of fruit. Limit, cut back, or cut out fake foods, alcohol, caffeine, refined sugars, grains, and heavy carbohydrate consumption.
If you found this post to be helpful and want to learn more about what you can do to live a healthier lifestyle then contact us to set up a FREE consultation!

Strawberries, Vitamin C, and Your Health

Posted on by Michael Devon
If you love strawberries then you should know that they are a sodium free, fat free, cholesterol free, low calorie food- containing around only 50 calories per cup! What you may not know is that strawberries pack more vitamin C per serving than an orange, and the best part is that they’re lower in sugar than most other fruits!
Strawberries also provide a good dose of fiber, folic acid, manganese, and potassium AND contain high levels of antioxidants known as polyphenols. Polyphenols help protect the body against oxidative stress, disease, and inflammation so they’re a potent preventative “medicine” that can improve your health. 
So if you aren’t including strawberries in your diet then you’re missing out on the potential health benefits for your life. Treat your food as medicine now, otherwise you’ll be forced to use medicine as food later. Do your health a favor and start reaching for a handful of strawberries instead of a bag of chips.

The Quick Fix

Posted on by Michael Devon

Nowadays it seems that everyone is looking for that magic pill to solve all of their problems, especially when it relates to their physical function. If they can’t walk without pain in their knee they use a knee brace, if they can’t get rid of their lower back pain they opt for surgery, if their muscles always feel tight they see a massage therapist every week. I’m not saying these choices don’t work, but at the end of the day they don’t fix the problem in the long run- they’re the “quick fix.” Instead of getting to the root of whats causing knee pain or lower back pain you’ll be stuck treating the symptoms rather than the culprit.

You can’t expect results over night, chances are the pain you feel has manifested from years and years of environmental influences and poor habits, whether you recognize them or not. That means it’s going to take some hard work on your part to really get the fix you are after, how quickly it happens depends on how much you work at it. There is no cookie cutter approach to fixing real problems, every body is different and it takes a constantly evolving approach to improve your quality of life.

If you’re serious about getting to the root cause of what is limiting your movement or causing you unnecessary pain then rest assured you don’t have to live with it! Together we can start making immediate changes every training session and start you on a better path to restoring your quality of living. We all have a short time on this world so we may as well do what we can to make sure our time here is quality. We don’t promise quick fixes but if you do want a fix, we do promise that we work hard to get to the bottom of how to make the fix a long term fix.

We aren’t your typical gym or personal trainer, we aren’t here to just count reps or make you work so hard that you puke. If that’s what you’re looking for then you’ll miss out on all the potential benefits of correcting your movement dysfunctions and diminishing your pain that we offer here. It’s like something you’ve never experienced before, it’s an entirely new way of looking at the body and how one should train it to function. The fitness industry is still so new and is constantly evolving so if you’re still prioritizing your training like Arnold Schwarzenegger did in the 70’s then that’s like you riding a horse to work when we have access to cars.

If you’ve tried everything and nothing has worked the way you had anticipated then it’s time to check us out and see what we’re all about! Start by scheduling your free consultation with us to learn what we can do for you and what you want to get out of your life outside of the gym. We’re all about No Pain, Just Gain!

Beef, Cabbage, and Garlic- Oh My!

Posted on by Michael Devon

Here’s yet another recipe inspired by one of our clients! We love that our clients take their healthy lifestyle so seriously by getting creative with traditional recipes and making them healthy! This recipe is packed with nutrients to help boost your immunity and loaded with flavor so your tastebuds are happy!

Here’s what you’ll need to make this delicious dish:

  • 1 medium Cabbage head purple or green
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 medium onion
  • 3 gloves garlic
  • 4-5 medium tomatoes OR 2 cans of diced tomatoes
  • 2 TBS Italian spice/herbs(s)
  • 2 TBS olive or avocado oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Dice up cabbage as desired. In a big pot put your 2 TBS of oil and add cabbage. Next dice up tomatoes OR add the two cans of diced tomatoes WITH liquid. If you are dicing your own tomatoes add about ¾ C of water to cabbage and tomatoes. Add 3 cloves of chopped or squeezed garlic and 2TBS of herbs. Give this a good stir and cover it with a lid to let it begin to cook down, stirring occasionally.

Next chop your onion and add to skillet with ground beef. Once your beef is browned/fully cooked and onions are sautéed, add onion and beef mixture to the pot with cabbage and spices. Give it a good stir and let this simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

This is such a comfort dinner! So warm, tasty and healthy! You hardly know you are eating cabbage! All you taste is the yummy Italian spices. Bon appetite!

Green Goodness Avocado Dressing

Posted on by Michael Devon

We love the freshness that comes with eating a salad, but we don’t like the poor quality salad dressing that usually comes with it. Instead we decided to make our own with high quality natural ingredients. This way we know what we’re eating and can rest assured that the salad dressing is just as healthy as the salad!

The great thing about this dressing is that it can go on more than just a salad! We’ve used it as a healthy sauce for chicken and a healthy dip for veggie snacks! Here’s what you’ll need to make this delicious dressing.

Ingredients:

  • 2 avocados
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 TBS red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp Pure maple syrup
  • 2 TBS lemon juice
  • 1 tsp salt (Himalayan)
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 2 TBS favorite Italian seasoning (we used one with only natural herbs)

Combine all ingredients in a blender or NutriBullet and wallah! We made this recipe on the spot and played around with the ingredients until we got it just right. This healthy homemade dressing has only real ingredients so the shelf life is not as long as a dressing you’d buy from the store, but your life could be longer because of it 😉

Posture and Pain

Posted on by Michael Devon

Functional Fitness attempts to adapt or develop exercises which allow individuals to perform the activities of daily life more easily and without injuries. One of the keys here is without injuries. As we evolve we are becoming a more and more stationary society. We go from sitting at our desk, sitting at lunch, back to the desk and finally home to sit on the couch and watch Netflix. Unfortunately this is what our day looks like 5 days a week! Then if we are being honest we spend Saturday scrambling to get our lives together so we can spend Sunday “recharging” aka binge watching Netflix.

This sedentary lifestyle is affecting our entire body but the most obvious effect is our posture. The issue is how our posture effects our day to day activities, workouts, and problems with pain. We are becoming hunched over and a lot of our muscles dormant due to lack of activity. “But I work out 4 days a week so this isn’t for me.” Do you have knee pain? Back pain? Neck or shoulder pain? Then your workouts may not be as effective as you think. You may be working out but are you respecting your bodies’ mechanics by integrating multiple muscles into an exercise the way we do in day to day life? Can you name one movement or daily function that only uses one muscle in your body? I can’t. Picking up a baby: biceps, core, hamstrings, back, glutes, to name a few. Taking a shower: biceps (washing your hair), core stabilizes you, hamstrings if you are bending over to shave. I mean you are always activating multiple muscle connections to do a daily task. The question is are your muscle connections functional or dysfunctional? Only doing isolated movement isn’t respecting your bodies mechanics. You could be feeding your dysfunctions instead of fixing them.

Fitness of the future won’t be concerned with how much weight you can lift or how big your arms are, true fitness will help improve people’s day to day living and allow their body to do whatever they need it to do without any restriction. The current fitness trend of “looking good” is not sustainable and can end up doing more harm than good on our bodies in the long run. At the rate we are going, heavy squats can lead to sitting in a wheel chair when you’ve reached your 50’s and 60’s, but if we respect our body mechanics then you’ll be walking well into your 80’s and 90’s. The tough question you have to ask yourself is, if your current fitness regimen is improving your life or hampering your day to day function?

Guidelines for Healthy Eating

Posted on by Michael Devon

All of us pretty much know what food and drinks aren’t great for our health, yet we still over indulge and make poor decisions from time to time. The information that circulates about health and nutrition can be overwhelming, contradicting, and constantly changing. We want to share some helpful tips that you can use as a guide when making decisions about your diet!

  • Lower your carbohydrate intake. Most carbohydrates should be supplied by fruits and vegetables. Try to significantly limit carbohydrates from breads, chips, pastas, and foods that use traditional flours.
  • Avoid corn, wheat, soy, and sugar as much as possible. All of these are filler ingredients in most processed foods and can lead to health complications, from fatigue to leaky gut syndrome.
  • Limit dairy consumption. Dairy can cause inflammation in the body which can further lead to other health issues, such as GI upset and headaches. Note: pasteurized dairy is safer to drink but is linked to everything from allergies to heart disease. Raw dairy has a better nutrition profile but has been linked to harmful bacterial ingestion because it was not pasteurized to kill germs. Overall consider the quality of the dairy you’re consuming, if it has a ton of preservatives then its probably not the best choice. If you do decide to drink raw milk then make sure it’s from a healthy cow that wasn’t fed a bunch of hormones and antibiotics.
  • Lower or eliminate grains, most people have trouble digesting grains so this leads to intestinal bloating and metabolic diseases. From a nutrition standpoint there is nothing positive about refined grains, they are low in nutrients, fattening, and harmful, and most of us are eating way too much of them.
  • WATER- aim for 4 Liters a day, not including other beverages like tea or sparkling water. Water is important for survival, every cell, tissue, and organ in your body needs water to work properly.
  • Avoid sweetened beverages, especially if it contains artificial sweetener. Decreasing consumption of sugary beverages will automatically decrease the amount of calories you consume on a daily basis- leading to weight loss in the long run! You’ve heard the old saying, don’t drink your calories.

While there’s more information about diet and nutrition out there, we wanted to keep things simple and show you that making a few little changes would be the best place to start on a path to a healthier you! Even if you can’t follow all of these guidelines right away or all at once, start with implementing just one into your life. If you don’t drink enough water everyday then start there, if you have no problem staying hydrated then start working on lowering your carbohydrate intake. The best part is that almost everyone can benefit from these guidelines as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Senior Citizens Can Walk with Confidence

Posted on by Michael Devon

As you age it gets harder to avoid falling, doctors tell you it’s just part of getting older and something you have to live with. I’m here to tell you that you can re-learn how to walk and avoid falling! It has to do with you biomechanics and the positioning of your body to support your structure as you move. No more shuffling your feet and walking with your head down, re-gain the ability to pick your feet up when you walk to avoid tripping and crashing to the ground.

At SA Functional Fitness we take it steps further than traditional balance training that has you standing on one foot for long periods. Instead we incorporate balance into walking, so we’re training your body in the environment that you want it to operate in. Going over the foundation of walking in the gym will prepare your body to handle the demands of walking in real life, so you’re body is better prepared to handle any kind of terrain.

The reason we don’t prioritize standing on one foot to improve your balance is because that will likely cause an excessive shift of your hips to one side. When your hips shift to the side your entire body comes along with it, leading to an overall shift of your body. That shift will contribute to poor posture and dysfunctional compensations when you walk, leading to pain or injury in the long run.

We mimic the patterns your body goes through in everyday life while we exercise, so your muscles engage the way we want them to in life outside of the gym. Standing on one foot may have some relevance but when you’re out on the town or even walking through your living room, when do you ever stop and stand on one foot for the sake of it? Probably never, so we shouldn’t prioritize that during our workout, we want to prioritize what you do most, walking!

The goal during each exercise session is to connect your upper body to your lower body so that we can train the body to stay integrated as we move around. If the body is not integrating muscles together when it moves then your balance and stability begin to suffer and falling becomes more likely. Re-establishing the connection between your legs, torso, and arms will ensure that you are able to walk functionally and significantly reduce your chances of falling.

If you want to improve your quality of life, your first step is to contact us to schedule a FREE consultation! You’ll get to meet our certified personal trainer who is experienced with the human gait cycle and how it impacts different aspects of our lives, from walking to posture, and balance to joint health. You’ll learn how proper exercise can address all of these important aspects and optimize your life!

info@safunctionalfitness.com

210-947-4597