Helping Your Muscles Help You
| The human body is an amazing machine, and muscles are a large part of what drives it. There are about 650 muscles in the body, and they provide all kinds of support and propulsion. The skeletal muscles, in conjunction with tendons and ligaments, support the body's frame and give it shape; smooth muscles line body organs; and cardiac muscles pump the heart. Muscles are working all the time to adjust your posture, move your body parts, help keep you upright, operate certain bodily functions, and generate heat in your body.
Skeletal muscles work in pairs so that when you move, while one contracts, another relaxes. This way, all the parts that need to bend can also return to their normal position. Muscles need the nutrients and oxygen from blood to keep them functioning. Nutrition and exercise affect these very important parts of your body; the better muscles are cared for, the better they perform. Skeletal muscles are made up of very elastic fibers connected by tissue.
Each fiber develops from the fusion of many cells specific to the function of the muscle. Blood vessels and nerves run through the connective tissue. Skeletal muscle fibers line up in bands and are called striated muscles.
Done properly, exercise strengthens muscles, helping them to do their job better. If you exacerbate a muscle group because you overwork it (even without intending to), you can strain and even tear your muscles, which can force you to stop exercising until the muscles heal. To avoid this, you want to treat your muscles with respect. Warm them up, don't push them too hard, and help strengthen them properly by stretching carefully and thoroughly.
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Stretch After You Run
Advice for Marathon Runners
| A major misconception about running is that you must stretch beforehand. In fact, the opposite is the case: You should stretch after a workout. If you really feel you should stretch because you want to loosen up or warm up your muscles before the serious work, jog or walk for 5–10 minutes and then stretch.
Before stretching, you need to warm up your muscles. Don't stretch past the point of slight discomfort. If your muscles are still cold, don't try to stretch them like a rubber band, especially if you haven't run in a while.
It's very important to remember to stretch after a run. A workout isn't over until, as part of your cool-down period, you stretch thoroughly immediately following the run. You need to make sure you establish the good work habits of successful runners, for whom the stretching period after the run is as important as the run itself.
View stretching as a part of your overall workout. It should be just as natural and routine as jogging to warm up before an event. This is because your legs are most receptive to the benefits of stretching immediately after you run. Stretching 30–40 minutes later when your muscles have cooled down actually increases your chances of causing injury. Your muscles are fatigued and tight after a run, especially after a long or fast-paced one, and stretching can help to alleviate soreness later.
In short, stretch gently and slowly while your muscles are still warm. One final rule: No bouncing when you stretch. That is called ballistic stretching, and it can cause injuries! | |
Walk, If You Don't Run
An easy exercise with many benefits | Do you want to use walking to build your aerobic fitness, endurance, and strength? If walking is your favorite exercise activity, it can be the base to build on for a more complete shape-up program.
Cardiovascular and Aerobic Conditioning: Walking by itself is cardiovascular exercise. Walkers can improve their aerobic conditioning by building their speed and following a program of a variety of interval, heart-rate guided, and endurance workouts. Moderate to vigorous intensity cardio workouts burn calories and fat while reducing health risks.
Core Strength: Walking relies on the core and abdominal muscles for good posture, which is essential for speed and walking form.
Opposing Leg Muscles: Walking works the hamstrings, glutes, and shin muscles. But it does little for the quadriceps, the big muscles at the front of the thighs which are important for knee health. For complete lower body shape-ups, walkers need to add crosstraining activities that work the quads, such as bicycling, step-ups, and squats.
Flexibility and Balance: Walking outdoors on a variety of surfaces helps keep the body's sense of balance in tune. Stretching and dynamic flexibility exercises can be added to a walking workout after a five minute warm-up at an easy walking pace.
Diet: Shape-up your eating as well as your exercise. Aim to increase your fresh vegetables and fruits and balance proteins, carbohydrates and fats. If you want to lose fat and gain lean muscle, keeping a food diary can help you spot empty calories. | |
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Click here for details and to enter Now! | | | | | | Muscle aches and pains are common and can involve more than one muscle. Muscle pain also can involve ligaments, tendons, and fascia, the soft tissues that connect the muscles, bones and organs.
Muscle pain is most frequently related to tension, overuse, or muscle injury from exercise or physically-demanding work. In these situations, the pain tends to involve specific muscles and starts during or just after the activity. It is usually obvious which activity is causing the pain.Muscle pain also can be a sign of conditions affecting your whole body, like some infections (including the flu) and disorders that affect connective tissues throughout the body (such as lupus).One common cause of muscle aches and pain is fibromyalgia, a condition that includes tenderness in your muscles and surrounding soft tissue, sleep difficulties, fatigue, and headaches.
Muscle aches from overuse and fibromyalgia often respond well to massage. Gentle stretching exercises after a long rest period are also helpful.Regular exercise can help restore proper muscle tone. Walking, cycling, and swimming are good aerobic activities to try. Begin slowly and increase workouts gradually. Avoid high-impact aerobic activities and weight lifting when injured or while in pain. | | | | | | Show us your 2011 "medal" get a 75 Minute Massage for the price of a 60 minute and
receive a complimentary jar of Sombra Warm Pain Relieving Therapy gel
For services rendered on or before 4/30/11 | | | | | Regular massage is a common part of training for serious athletes. If you are training for a marathon or an Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk or other multi-day walk, you may want to begin using massage to work out the kinks and knots before they cause problems.
The areas that are the most stressed in endurance walking are: hamstrings, quadriceps, hips, calves, knees, ankles, heel, gluteals. Walkers who have back problems may benefit from a back massage. And any walker can enjoy a nice foot massage!
The Stress Reliever spa package for $112.50 includes 60 minute swedish massage and 30 min foot reflexology. | | |
New at the Spa
The Omni Cervical Pillow
| The Omni Cervical Pillow uses an ergonomically contoured shape to comfortably "cradle" the head and neck in the proper position to encourage gentle traction and correct cervical curvature. This allows total relaxation of neck, shoulder and back muscles. It’s an amazing experience in mind and body relaxation. Experience the results within minutes while laying on the Omni Pillow. Improper cervical curvature is one of the leading causes of headaches. relaxes tense neck, shoulder and back muscles.
Features:
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Tell your therapist that you would like to use the Omni Cervical Pillow during your treatment.
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