One question I get all the time is, “How do I know when I’m ready to make an exercise harder?”. Usually that’s followed up with another question, “How do I safely make an exercise harder?”. These questions are really important! When you’re working out consistently, it’s important to continue to challenge yourself so you stay on track to make steady progress. Today I’m going to list 6 tips to help you answer these questions and make sure you keep making progress.
1. Have a goal
This is really important because a goal helps determine what we are prioritizing in your exercise program. For example, if you goal is to lift heavier weights the program should be built around improving strength. If your goal is to run a certain distance, your program will look completely different! So, first thing you have to do is figure out what your goal is. It could be focused on strength, endurance, or even just burning calories to stay fit. Keep that goal in mind as we go through the next few tips.
2. Understand the different parts of an exercise
Every exercise can be broken down into a few specific things. We have the movement itself, the how much weight you’re using (intensity), how many times you’re doing this (sets and reps), the speed of the exercise (fast or slow), and how many days/week you do this (frequency). So for example if you’re doing squats as part of your program, think about those different components. Are you doing bodyweight squats or are you adding weights? How many reps and sets do you regularly do? Are you moving fast through each squat or are you intentionally moving slow? Also, how many days per week are you squatting? Each of these different factors can be changed to make an exercise harder or easier. The fun is you can pick and choose which one you want to use!
3. Which of these do I pick?
Think about your goal for your exercises. If you’re trying to build strength, I would probably recommend increasing the weight of the exercise. If you’re more focused on endurance, it might make more sense to add more reps or sets. If you exercise to burn calories and stay fit, you might try to increase the speed or even add an extra day of the week you’re exercising. Having balance is important here so make sure you only pick one of these factors at a time!
4. Things to track during a workout
Tracking a few small things during a workout can be really helpful in deciding when you’re ready to progress your exercises. First off, keep a workout log and write down what you do each day and how you felt doing it. For example, you would write down that you did squats on Monday, 3 sets of 10 with a 25# kettlebell and at a smooth controlled speed. You also would write down how that felt, “They were definitely challenging, but I felt in control and by the end of each set I felt as if I could do probably 4 or 5 more reps”. The key things here are writing down exactly what you did and then how you felt in that moment. A great way to do this is writing down how many more reps you could have done at the end of a set. Another thing to record is how tired you were at the end of the exercise. I recommend using a RPE scale that measures how hard you’re working from 1-10. Here is the chart, so you can see where you fall on the scale after each workout.
So make sure to keep track of these few things and they will help you know when you can make an exercise harder.
5. How do I use this info to know I’m ready to make the exercise harder?
So you wrote down the workouts you have been doing, how many more reps you feel like you could do at the end of your sets, and you scored 1-10 for how tired you were at the end of your exercises. If you feel like you can 5 or 6 more reps at the end of each set, you’re probably ready to make the exercise harder. If you’re scoring less than a 7 on the 1-10 scale, you’re probably ready to make your exercises harder. The key is NOT to score a 10/10 or to feel like you can’t do any more reps at the end of each set. The idea is to work hard, but feel like you’re not draining yourself.
6. Keep up with your program and tracking your workouts
Consistency is the most important part of every exercise program. If you get used to tracking your exercises and making them more challenging, you will get a lot better at it! You will also get great results towards your goals.
This can be a lot of information to process but using it can really help you with your exercise programs. These tools will give you the ability to safely make progress towards your goals. If you want to talk this over with us so we can get specific about you and your goals, let us know!
We also did a webinar on this topic in a little more detail last week, so if you want to check that out you can see the information presented online too.
I don’t need to remind anyone of all the lifestyle changes we’ve had to make over the past few months. Everyone has had to make different changes depending on your particular habits, but we all can relate to the common theme of being able to do less. We definitely are spending more time at home, less time in the gym, and less time being active in general.
Because of this, we’re seeing a difference in our ability to stay fit and healthy. A lot of how we know this is based on how we feel. Personally, I feel like I haven’t been as healthy as I’d like because I can’t play in my soccer leagues anymore and I haven’t been able to go to the gym at all. It’s hard to measure being less active and healthy, but that’s what research is for! There was an article published in the European Journal of Sports Science on May 12th, 2020 that looks at this exact topic. The authors review the impact of being sedentary due to COVID-19. Even better, they also provide some recommendations for how to combat the effects of being more sedentary. I’m going to do a bird’s eye review of this article and help outline their tips for physical activity and nutrition.
The first thing this article talks about is how we can lose muscle strength very quickly if we are totally inactive. You can see these changes after just 2 days of total bedrest. Thankfully, we are not on total bedrest. Even if we are confined to our homes and are only able to leave the house for groceries or a walk in the neighborhood, that is still a great way to maintain some muscle strength. Combine that with some structured exercise and you can definitely prevent muscle loss during this time at home.
The article also looks at some more specific topics like blood sugar levels and how people with conditions like diabetes or heart disease should especially take action to stay healthy during this time. Decreased activity has a direct effect on our bodies blood sugar levels and our cardiovascular fitness. One thing they found is that most of us are getting a lot fewer steps each day. I usually aim to get 10,000 steps on a normal day, but recently that is not even a remote possibility. I find that by the time I finish doing some work in the afternoon I’m lucky if I‘ve done 1,000 steps. This article recommends that you aim for at least 5,000 steps each day, which is much more manageable in my opinion. If possible, try getting outside and go for a walk, jog, or hike. Mixing it up and trying different ways to keep moving will help make it easier to get your steps in each day. By doing this you will help keep your blood sugar more regular and even help maintain your cardiovascular system.
Finally, the article also talks about nutrition and how we need to strike the balance between eating enough without overeating. I found it really interesting that they mention it is common for people in very stressed environments to actually under eat. People who are sick or have a very strict home confinement situation may feel so stressed that their diet is suppressed. Personally, that is how I felt at the start of quarantine. Things were changing so fast and we had no control over it. I found myself not hungry or getting full after just a few bites of dinner, which is highly unusual for me. It’s definitely gotten closer to normal now, but I still feel my diet has changed the past few months.
The other side of this is the group of people who are finding themselves much less active, bored, and with a free time to snack and eat more. Since we have been social distancing you might have started watching more Netflix, reading, or just relaxing around your home. If you combine that with your normal eating habits, you may start to gain weight or lose some of the fitness you were maintaining. The article states people are seeing 35-40% less energy expenditure than they usually do. This basically means we are burning a lot less calories and if we don’t make a slight adjustment to our intake, we will probably gain some weight. The article recommends reducing your daily intake by about 15% or so. Of course this will vary person to person so ask for help if you’re not sure what you should be doing!
Overall I found this article to be really interesting and practical for making some lifestyle changes that will help keep us healthy during this time of quarantine. The big takeaways I found were:
Exercise at least 30 minutes each day
Take at least 5,000 steps each day and getting outside can be helpful to do this
If you’ve been really stressed and lack appetite, make sure you’ve been eating enough
If you feel you’ve been overeating, try reducing your daily intake by 15%
Stay positive and optimistic! Things will get better and return to normal
Keep these tips in mind and please let us know if you have any questions or concerns on how to use this information!
Here is the article citation for reference: Narici M, De Vito G, Franchi M, et al. Impact of sedentarism due to the COVID-19 home confinement on neuromuscular, cardiovascular and metabolic health: Physiological and pathophysiological implications and recommendations for physical and nutritional countermeasures [published online ahead of print, 2020 May 12]. Eur J Sport Sci. 2020;1‐22. doi:10.1080/17461391.2020.1761076
A lot of people out there are missing their gyms and can’t wait to get back to their normal workout routine. Over the past few months, we’ve all had to adjust our exercise habits and try to find a new way to stay healthy and motivated. At first it was novel to change up our program and find new ways to exercises. It was even a bit of fun trying to think of creative ways to workout, but we all really just want to make sure what we’re doing is actually making us stronger, more fit, and healthier! The last thing anyone wants is to hurt themselves working out at home or waste their time not getting in better shape. Here are my 5 tips for working out at home to make sure what your doing is safe, smart, and effective.
1. Your workout program should be consistent. When you think about your exercise routine it should be consistent. The frequency of how often you’re exercising, and the intensity of the workouts should be relatively steady. Of course it’s fine to add one extra day in a week or to have a bit of a more challenging session, but overall things should be pretty consistent. What I would NOT recommend is a schedule where you take a whole week off and then workout 6 days the next week. Or where week 1 the workouts are super easy and then the next week are the hardest workouts of your life. Keep things consistent and slowly make things more challenging to see progress.
2. It should get more challenging over time. If you want to see yourself get stronger or healthier, you need to increase the challenge of your program over time. This means slowly making things harder as your body adapts to the workouts you’ve been doing. Here is an example- day 1 you do 3 sets of 10 bodyweight squats and they were tough to do. On day 15 you do 3 sets of 10 bodyweight squats and they were easy! This means your body has adapted and gotten stronger, which means you have to change something to make it harder now. You could add a few more reps, weights, or even an extra set. Choose one of these to change, but don’t choose all of them.
3. Choose one progression at a time. When you realize you’re ready to make an exercise harder, pick one small thing to change at a time. If squats are getting easy to do, try to add more reps, weights, or even an extra set. Here is an example of what I would NOT recommend doing- 3 sets of 10 bodyweight squats is easy for me to do now. To make it harder I’m going to hold a 20-pound kettlebell, increase each set to 20 reps, and do a 4th set as well. Don’t change too many factors at once, making any one of those modifications would be awesome, just don’t try to change them all at the same time.
4. Keep a goal in mind. Think about what you’re trying to get out of your home program. Is it to get stronger? Do you want to improve your cardio? Or maybe you just want to get a good sweat in a few times a week. Any of those goals are great! Keep that goal in mind when you’re exercising and make sure that’s what the program is doing for you. Your workouts should help you reach that goal by being specific and targeting the right parts of your body. Balance is good, so having a mix of these different goals is great, but focusing on one at a time will make your workouts more effective.
5. Enjoy your workout. At the end of the day you doing a workout is something you do for yourself. It’s something that you should enjoy and have fun with. I always say the best form of exercise is the one that you like doing. If you’re not a runner know that you don’t have to be. If you’re not a weightlifter you also don’t have to be one. Find the kind of exercise that gets you excited and then stick with it! Every type of exercise has its purpose and can be really helpful in specific ways, but at the end of the day you need to enjoy the time you spend exercising.
Let us know what you’ve been working on at home. If you have any questions, comments, or need help making sure your home workouts are following these 5 tips let us know!
Rich found us about 8 months ago. Here is his story…
“In December 2018, I ruptured my left achilles tendon during a game of basketball (on my 37th Birthday, to be exact). It was a long process through surgery, cast, walking boot, and recovery. My whole life, I have been active and athletic, both in my profession as a physical education teacher and a high school basketball coach, but also it drives my passions around Crossfit, playing sports, hiking, and being outdoors playing with my kids. The injury was a big setback, physically and mentally. I didn’t know where to begin once the standard recovery process was over. I was fearful to try anything and felt like my Crossfit options were behind me. I was frustrated with the lack of information on the best ways to rehab and rebuild strength. Most of all, I was looking for a partner to guide me through the process and help me regain confidence.”
When we met, he was down and out. He had completely lost his identity and was in need of some help. Sure, he was able to go about his day but not in the way that he would like.
“I found myself stuck in this place where the cast was off and my injury was technically repaired, but yet I didn’t know how to move forward. My frustration led me to stay stuck for a few months, moving very tentatively and not knowing how to take the next step. Physical activity is a huge source of energy, joy, passion, and motivation for me. Without it, life felt dull. It affected my mood and my outlook. I suddenly felt like there were so many limits on what I would be able to do post-injury. It was a hard time, to say the least.”
One of the best parts about my job is being able to make an impact in people’s lives and giving them the tools they need to guide them through their own success stories. I love being able to empower motivated individuals like Rich.
He was asked what he felt like before he started your treatment and how it helped.
“Lost. I wasn’t sure where to turn for credible information or how to rebuild my own confidence in myself and what my body was capable of. I also felt very limited, like I had few options and that my athletic days were suddenly behind me. Finding Infinite Potential was a critical turning point in my recovery – on all levels. First, I felt like I found a credible, experienced, and trustworthy coach in Loni. She has the right combination of PT expertise and Crossfit expertise, mixed with a great approach and attitude. She earned my trust by listening to my concerns and addressing them. For the first time, I felt like I had a PLAN. That was a huge step and once again gave me goals to work towards. Physically, I had the direction I needed to make progress. She pushes me and the workouts and routines are hard, but I see progress every week and I’m already so much further than I expected to be. My goal was to dunk the basketball in the new year, which I was able to do.”
Some patients like to be told what to do. They just say, “I’ll do whatever you tell me to do.” I like that but I also use this as a teaching opportunity as well. I teach concepts of PT to my patients, not just dictate to them and tell them what to do. Rich was open to any and all suggestions and I firmly believe that he learned a lot! I also learned a lot about how I can best serve patients like himself. It was a great growth opportunity all around to be able to take him from limping to dunking.
Video Cred: Rich
“The home program was clearly mapped out and a solid plan, with every detail plotted and videos to help show me what to do. It was easy to access, follow, and succeed with. I’ve worked with PTs in the past for different issues, but usually left with a printed 8×10 paper of generic exercises to follow. This felt customized for me.”
He has come SO far since we began and I could not be more proud of his accomplishments.
“I’ve done a complete 180 from where I was in early 2019, post-surgery. Today, I am back to many of the activities that I love, including Crossfit workouts, golfing, moderate running, playing with my kids, being able to keep up with the physical demands of my job (elementary physical education teacher), and slowly but surely starting to play a little basketball again. Mentally and emotionally, I am so much stronger and happier to have a plan and a path forward. My mood has lifted and I no longer feel like I’m at the end of my “athletic road”.”
I look forward to continuing to help him on a monthly basis with giving him guidance as he continues to be an active participant in daily workouts and men’s league basketball games. Rich has become a good friend at this point and I am very lucky that I am able to continue to work with him.
“I’ve had a great experience with Infinite Potential and with Coach Loni. From the start, I felt like she understood me and had my back, and that my success was personal to her. She celebrated my small wins and she pushed me to try new things. What a difference it makes to partner with the right people and have the right plan – it makes it possible to set new goals and be successful. I can’t thank this team enough for helping me get back on my path and find my passions again, trust my body again, and enjoy my life with less pain and less fear.”
Burpees: They are that universally challenging but all-around effective move that works most major muscle groups and ups your cardio endurance.
How to: The basic burpee is a four point maneuver. From standing position, drop into a squat with hands on the ground in front of your feet. Next, kick your feet behind you into a solid plank position then jump your feet back towards your hands. Jump up into the air, then do it all over again.
This exercise is no joke. Since it’s a combo move, the exerciser should have a good master of the plank and good mobility to be able to deep squat.
You’ll notice that arms, back, chest, core, glutes & legs are fired-up as your heart rate raises. The full-body/full-cardio maneuver is super effective at burning fat and building muscle. This is a perfect at-home exercise as no equipment is needed: high intensity interval training anytime & anywhere.
Believe it or not, there actually was a Dr. Burpee who invented this infamous move. Exercise physiologist Royal Burpee created “the burpee” in the late 1930’s as a multi-part exercise for a fitness test – part of his “seven tests of physical capacity.” Its origins were for a WWII military-fitness test where participants were asked to do as many burpees as they could in 20 seconds then 60 seconds.
If you are looking to get into shape quickly for functional everyday living or sport specific training, this is the move for you. Even 90 years after its inception, it’s a training staple.
Attention all CrossFit and OrangeTheory (OTF) Members! This article takes you step by step on how to properly frame your return to full gym participation.
I see LOADS of you folks walk through the doors of Infinite Potential PT. It is incredibly important that we help educate the public about how it properly return to the gym or activities you love to do.
This article is not meant to be the be all end all or any sort of medical advise. It is, however, a skeleton plan at how to get yourself from being sidelined to being back to full participation in the gym!
Before I began working with members of CrossFit and OTF, I did not have a solid grasp on what it took to rehab someone in their shoes. Any competent PT knows how the body works and knows how to get most people out of pain. For me 2-3 years ago, the average client I was working with was not asking me to help them get past pain with heavy back squatting or through mile 14 of a 26.2 mile marathon. They were asking for help because of pain with lifting a heavy gallon of milk or putting on their seatbelt. Sure, sometimes the people I see now need that too, but those types of complaints are usually helped early in their rehab process and the larger goals are focused on. Many PT’s, like myself 2-3 years ago, only felt confident helping people wean back to being a participant in a fitness class, but not necessarily taking them the entire way to the end goal of being completely confident in their abilities.
So, what does it take to get yourself back to the old you of being resilient AF and being able to do whatever you want in the gym?
I tell the previous story because it is important to be working with a medical professional that understands not only what you do but HOW to get you back. Below is a step-by-step guide to follow to give you a grasp on what rehab should look like.
Step 1: Establish your long term goals.
This is very important so you can get a meaningful plan in place that can be tracked, monitored, and adjusted.
Each of those goals need to possess a few “SMART” characteristics:
Specific: It has to have a particular subject – ie. Running pain-free vs being active without pain – running is more specific
Measurable: It has to be able to be tracked over time – ie. Running a 5k pain-free vs “running” pain-free is not measurable
Achievable: You have to know your own body – ie. Running a 5k pain-free vs running a marathon pain-free – first off, a marathon is not pain-free but if you have not run a marathon pre-injury, then running one post injury may not be a realistic goal whatsoever.
Relevant: It has to be meaningful to you or you won’t work towards it.
Time sensitive: You need to put a time cap on it – ie. Running a 5k pain-free by September. Putting an end date allows you to set markers along the way and keeps you accountable.
So… sit down and make that goal. This is a step that can NOT be skipped.
Step 2: Establish a starting point.
This is an incredibly important step as this is the “point A” to the “point B”. Without figuring out where to start from, you can’t establish a plan to the end goal!
You want to figure out your exact status with regards to what activity you want to get back to doing. So… Think hard about where you are write it down! It has to be specific.
For example: “I can’t run right now” is not enough. Can you run for 1 minute? 1 mile? 30 seconds?
Figure it out and write it down.
Step 3: Establish your short term goals.
This is really where a PT or other medical professional can help you set some realistic, achievable markers of progress and short-term goals. They can help you understand tissue healing times and normal courses of rehab to best advise you on what to expect based on what you have going on.
For example: If someone is dealing with a long-term diagnosis of a shoulder tendonitis (or condition of a tendon) and wants to be pain-free lifting overhead within a month, the therapist will helpfully give you information on the normal course of rehab. A tendon takes time to heal and change back to a state where it can handle the loads that exercise / life puts on it. That time can range anywhere from 3-12 months depending on many, many, many factors. This is an important time to say that it is important to have a guide familiar with injuries like yours, the goal you want to achieve, and the path to get you there.
The following example sets the stage and understanding of how to set realistic expectations when dealing with an overuse injury.
Appropriate long term goal: “I want to be lifting my previous weights overhead, pain-free within the next 6 months.
A few short-term goals or progress markers based on the above:
With little to no pain, be able to handle lifting moderate weight with angle modification (ie. Landmine press on an angle vs overhead press with a barbell) within in 4 weeks.
With little to no pain, be able to handle lifting moderate weight overhead with grip modification using dumbbells within 8 weeks.
Step 4: Establish a plan
This is the tricky part and definitely needs some guidance. I can not get too specific here because every single person is different, but I can play off the example in the previous step to show you what the plan would look like.
The plan must begin with taking the end goal, short-term markers and starting point and figure out what needs to be implemented in order to achieve the short term markers step by step.
The plan must include:
isolated work / exercise done on the area of injury
global work done on the surrounding areas to continue to improve supporting strength
cardiovascular training to maintain fitness and promote tissue healing
Goal-centered activities such as a return to running program that begins with walking to simulate what they body has to do in order to run
Each of the above are progressed and managed as life happens and changes occur but this is the usual start to any rehab program that I plan.
Step 5: Track the progress
This is the fun part but also most challenging to explain. The rehab process is always up and down and never, or vary rarely, linear. You don’t just keep getting better and better. There are constant ups and downs, setbacks and speed bumps. That all being said, the ups and downs are 100% normal and should be expected. This sets the stage for realistic expectations and reduces the desire to search for more answers or a better plan as the program continues. If someone dealing with injury rehab does not know that pain will constantly resurface in the process or recovery, they will jump ship pretty darn fast.
Does this seem overwhelming? It should! Unless you are a PT who deals with this daily. But even though I see this day in and day out, I still get overwhelmed by cases that are not making the expected process.
That being said, the point of all of this is to expose you to the skeleton of what a proper rehab program should look like. Your program should include very specific activities and exercise routines that are prescribed with your goals in mind.
Not all PT’s are created equal and I am going to put a shameless plug here for my rehab programming. I have taken many CrossFitters and OTF members of all ages and ability levels right back to the point of returning to full class participation. Many of those people were being seen a few days per month or less and the work was being put in consistently outside of our office walls.
Click here to see a scroll through an activity-specific “Return to Competitive CrossFit” home program
Click here to see a scroll through an activity-specific “Return to OTF” home program.
Thank you for reading!
If you are interested in learning more, please do not hesitate to contact us directly. We want to make sure you are informed about how our programs work!
We ALSO offer complimentary consults to do just that (above).
The rising cost and the decline of quality healthcare has someone like myself upset with the trend. There are a few major factors that play a role. I am going to discuss some of these factors below in hopes to help inform the public of why it is so important to self advocate for the care you deserve.
“Medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability.” (1)
I begin with this quote to help explain modern medicine in very few words. The most important word to process is the word, “uncertainty”. The lack of acceptance with this word is a major flaw in the healthcare system and leads to some of the issues we deal with. The following discusses some of the ways that uncertainty impacts healthcare cost and the quality of care.
Medicine is not black and white. In school, medical professionals are tested with multiple choice questions. Questions that have one right (or less wrong) and 3-4 wrong answers. Test questions dip into the grey but not enough to help the students understand the importance of how grey the professional world can be. This undoubtedly increases the likelihood that medical professionals will perceive uncertainty as a threat. This perception will bleed into how they interact with and treat their patients in the future. With this mindset it becomes more and more challenging to accept uncertainty. It feeds the fire for the search for specific diagnoses and black and white answers. Uncertainty in medicine also factors in when we see different outcomes from the same treatment on different people with the same diagnoses. We hope for positive results but we aren’t 100% certain of the outcomes. That can be scary not only for the physician but also the for client.
Unreliable research. Much of what we study in medical research is backed by sub-par outcomes and poorly performed studies. We are not willing to admit that there is too much that we don’t understand and it is hard work and dedication to stay up on the most recent research. Many medical providers don’t possess enough humility to adapt and change with the times. That being said, the unreliability of medical research has us questioning who to trust and what to believe.
Over-medicalizing. Running multiples tests just to check boxes is what I mean by over-medicalizing. Many tests ordered are unnecessary and simply are performed to check boxes for insurance companies or because the physician is following an outdated protocol. In the world of pain management, the unnecessary tests can lead to unnecessary diagnoses. Many of the “abnormal” findings on tests are actually normal parts of the aging process and have poor correlation with symptoms.
Physician burnout. This topic is a factor, two-fold. The first as to do with the decline in reimbursement rates and the increase in the number of people in need, medical professionals are forced to work harder and harder. The are pushed to see more clients per hour and complete more paperwork than ever before. Both of these factors contribute to a decline in the quality of care that physicians are capable of. The second factor involved here is that if physicians can not embrace uncertainty, they will continue to look for black and white answers, which continues to emphasize the black and white mentality, driving them to the point of questioning why they practice medicine.
Bean RB, Bean WB. Sir William Osler: aphorisms from his bedside teachings and writings. New York: Henry Schuman, 1950.
Today we are highlighting Lily who has been with us since the Fall of 2019. Lily is a high school crew athlete who was dealing with knee pain that lead her to stop running at practice. The pain crept in seemly out of nowhere and she noticed that it just was not going to go away on it’s own.
“I have been doing crew since 6th Grade and really enjoyed rowing out on the water with my friends. When I joined the High School Crew Team in late August 2019 however, I noticed that my knees would begin to hurt during our warm-up runs and would then prevent me from participating in the other activities in practice. Due to the already existent pain, my knees would then begin to hurt when I was sitting down, often at school. This would prevent me from paying attention to my full abilities in class.”
She was impacted on a daily basis by her symptoms and was at a loss of what to do about it. Being a teen, she felt that she shouldn’t have to deal with pain like she was having.
“I had pain in my knees when I was walking up and down hills or stairs, running, jumping or any form of impact on my knees. I often found that my knee pain would flare up during the day at school.”
After the first session with Lily, I knew that I was working with an incredibly dedicated young lady. It isn’t uncommon for a young client to speak for themselves during the evaluation (versus their parent), but it is truly impressive when it does happen. Lily took the lead and consistently advocated for herself throughout her entire rehab. She was very diligent with her program and communicated with us between sessions like a mature adult.
“Before starting the treatment I did not think that there was any way that my pain and discomfort could be helped. I knew that, after talking to a Orthopaedic Surgeon, nothing could be done to directly treat the symptoms.”
I can’t say there wasn’t any eye rolling, big sighs or, “do we have to?!’s” during sessions, however, Lily worked hard, poured in a ton of effort and always did her best.
“Even though sometimes the treatment is difficult, after every session I feel stronger and my knees do not hurt nearly as much as they did only a few months ago.”
At this point, Lily is in her third and final rehabilitation phase. She has progressed to returned to running, she performs her strength routine at least 2 days per week on her own, and returns to our office for a monthly session to review and progress her home program.
“I can now run, with little to no pain for a relatively long period of time. The treatment has not only strengthened my leg and the other muscles surrounding my knees, but also my core and upper body. This has an incredible advantage when rowing and allows me to participate in all the practices and spend time with my friends and teamates.”
We asked Lily to tell us what others should know about seeking treatment at Infinite Potential PT.
“I believe that if you are prepared to work hard and persevere through the treatment plan that Lori gives you, which can sometimes feel like a challenge (especially when you have other commitments to your studies & crew team, and also want to spend time with friends and family!), you will definitely feel the benefits! Don’t give up – trust that you are strong enough, both physically and mentally, to succeed and become the best that you can!”
Thank you, Lily for your hard work! It was a pleasure to have gotten to know you and help you through this process.
Box jumps are a mainstay of most CrossFit programs and many people have trouble making the smooth landing. No matter the height, it can be scary to try and leap off the ground and safely make it to the top of the box.
Luckily, there are many ways to adapt box jumps to any ability level. Performing a step-up, for example, is a great way to make a slight modification yet still achieve the end goal of getting you up on the box. You can also modify by reducing the height of the box to make it more manageable. Many facilities also have soft boxes in order to save your shins – have you ever missed a box jump and left some DNA on the edge of a wooden box? I sure have and hope it never happens again.
This all being said, there are a few ways that you can help get better at this powerful movement. It is not just about practicing more, it has a lot to do with basic strength and turning that strength into power!
Each area being worked on below helps the process of jumping and clearing the box. You need strength in the lower abs, hip flexors and ankles to get everything flexed enough to clear the box. In addition, quad and calf strength helps power you high!
Box jumps require strength in a few areas that will be explained below. The exercise will be featured within each section. Now… working on these exercises once won’t get you the results you are looking for. This program takes time to take effect and each exercise should be performed at least 2-3 days per week.
Hip flexors! The muscles on the front of your hips that help to bring your knees toward your chest. Many strength programs do not have a focus on hip flexor strength but training this muscle group has many benefits (not only for box jumps). They are helpful for running performance as well as for treatment of lower back pain.
The hip flexor march is a great initial exercise to begin work on this muscle group.
Begin by lying on your back with a medium resistance band around the tops of your feet.
Spread your feet apart approximately hip width and flex your ankles to keep the band in place.
Draw your knee towards your chest, pulling against the resistance band.
Return to the starting position and repeat on the opposite leg.
Lower abdominals! The muscles in the lower abdominals help to pull your knees toward your chest and flex your torso. Not only will strengthening this area help with box jumps, but it also has a benefit on improving hamstring flexibility as well as lower back pain.
Begin lying on your back with your arms overhead holding onto a weighted object. The object should weight at least 10 pounds.
Draw your knees toward you chest and have your knees and hips bent to 90 degrees.
Inhale through your nose and tighten your abdominals as you lower your legs towards the floor.
Lower your feet towards the floor but keep your knees bent to 90 degrees as you lower them – if this is not maintained it will either become very easy or too hard.
Return to the starting position
Quad strength! The muscles in the front of your thighs are your quads and they help you jump because they work to quickly straighten your knees. Working on these muscles can also help knee pain.
The weighted ball squat is a specific squat that targets the quads compared to other types of squats (ie. Goblet squat) because it keeps the torso and shins vertical during the entire movement. Using a ball is the easiest way to perform this type of squat without the need for much gym equipment. This can also be effetely performed at a gym that has a smith machine, but that is not necessary for a beginner.
Begin by holding a weight at your chest while learning against a ball on the wall.
Slowly squat down until your thighs reach parallel to the floor.
Stand back up without completely allowing your knees to lock out – this will keep tension on the thighs and make it harder.
Ankle strength! You have some muscles on the front of your shins that work to flex your ankle up. Training these muscles will not only benefit box jumps but they can also help with rehab from an ankle sprain or prevent running-related injuries.
The toe raise exercise targets the muscles in the front of your shins and if you do it correctly, you will really feel its effect.
Begin standing about 3 feet from a wall.
Flex your ankles upward and slowly lower them without allowing them to completely rest on the floor
Don’t let your entire body rock back and forth as you perform this because you will take away from isolating the area.
Calf strength! Your calf muscles in the back of your lower leg are the last piece of the puzzle to get you off the ground. Not only do these muscles help with jumping, but they are incredibly important with running.
The heel raise is a very basic calf exercise that works to strengthen the entire calf muscle complex.
Begin by standing at the edge of a step.
Raise up onto your toes slowly and go as high as you can.
Slowly lower yourself down to allow your heels to drop off the back of the step.
I hope that you learned something from the article. As I stated in the beginning, do not anticipate getting better after doing this once. I would suggest finding where you feel you are the most limited and focus on that movement. If you try and take on too much, it can be overwhelming!
Questions about which exercise is right for you? Leave a comment below!
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Consulting with a qualified exercise shoe salesperson is key to getting the right fit and achieving the best workout possible. That professional can address your individual gait, arch and foot stability needs.
1. Injury avoidance: Ill fitting shoes can lead to shin splints, joint pain, muscle pulls.
2. Improved athletic performance: Proper fitting sneaks provide foot support and stability, enhancing athletic performance.
3. Shelf life: Sneakers last 300-500 miles – that’s total running miles, including “running around” and commuting miles. I can tell when I’m approaching that “need new sneakers” stage – when my shins begin to ache. Aching shins…sneaker fitting time.
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Locally in the Boston area Marathon Sports is a great resource for quality sneaker selection, professional fitting and knowledgeable staff. They’ll watch you jog in a variety of sneaker options and hone in on the best choice for your specific needs.
So, don’t short change your exercise performance & personal health by picking the prettiest and cheapest choice on the shelf. An investment in great sneakers is an investment in yourself.
