Why EVERYONE should be using the RIP Trainer.

I don't know about you but I have cursed Mother Nature more than I care to admit these last few weeks. It seems like every time I go out to walk my dog I'm slipping on ice or stepping over mounds of snow that my lovely neighbors have left in the middle of the sidewalk. One day last week, Friday to be exact, I was out walking Pepper (my dog) after a rare attendance at Geoff's 9am Fusion. We had spent the hour bouncing back and forth between the RIP Trainer and Suspension Trainers working, well...everything. My core, glutes, and hamstrings were fired up and ready for the day. As Pepper and I were neared the end of our walk I slipped in a hidden patch of ice. My left leg slid forward, my right hand (leash hand) whipped back, my poor dog snapped to attention, but instinctively my body fought the urge to yard sale on the sidewalk and righted itself. Crisis averted. Why you may ask? The answer should be obvious, the RIP Trainer! 

If you are unfamiliar with the RIP Trainer it is a rather simple looking piece of equipment. Created by Peter Holman, former member of the US Taekwondo team as well as a Physical Therapist, he sought a way to train his clients and teammates to create and control rotational forces. The ingenuity of the product is recognized as soon as you place your hands on it. Core muscles are forced to engage to either allow for rotation or to prevent it. Just think "All Core. All The Time."  The RIP allows for 3 dimensional exercises to be completed in all the frontal, sagittal, and transverse planes, while providing an asymmetrical load. If that wasn't enough, balance and stability are challenged as you increase the difficulty of each exercise. With 85% of the body’s core musculature running on a bias, rotational movement is one of the best way to train and the RIP makes it happen.

To put a real life spin on this just think of what your body has to do when you….slip on a patch of ice, step out of the car, shovel, start a snow blower, throw a bag of salt over your shoulder, pick up uneven bags of groceries, or even your kids. You twist. You bend. You even prevent each of these from happening as well. Everyday life requires you to create and control rotational forces! The RIP Trainer prepares you for whatever lies outside the walls of CPC.

Don’t be fooled and think the RIP Trainer is just for athletes. It is a training tool for everyone, and with snow predicted for the end of the week and spring nowhere in sight it’s time you start thinking about training with it too. You’ll be glad you did.

SK

The Tortoise and the Hare: Speed of Movement

Speed of movement through an exercise is very important. It is easy to rush through a workout and not focus on key points of an exercise, but you won’t be getting out as much as you should for the time and effort you put in. Different types of exercises and training styles will have different goals, and different requirements for each movement. For the purpose of this topic, we are talking about general movements and not a power/speed development movement.

With most movements, there is a starting position, a midway point, and a return to the starting position. For example, with a squat you start in an upright position, squat down to hopefully somewhere near having a parallel femur, and return to the upright position. It is very common to see people drop to the bottom of the squat, abruptly stop and struggle to return to their upright position. I’m going to urge my quick squatters to slow it down, and here is why:

1. Speed of movement is often a compensation for stability. People may have a difficult time finding muscular stability, so the speed of movement is increased to compensate. What on earth is being used for stability you ask? Passive restraints such as ligaments and joint capsules as well as faulty bony alignments. You don’t have to be a doctor to know that doesn’t sound good. This leads to a misconception that you are training the muscle properly and a BIG increase in the risk for injury. THAT IS A BIG PROBLEM!
2. As if that wasn’t enough, you are missing out on the best part of the exercise. Someone may argue that regardless of the manner in which you descend, you are using muscle to stand back up. Although there are great benefits to that portion of the exercise, controlling the decent can be very beneficial. Controlling the downward portion of this exercise is an eccentric movement, and requires eccentric contractions at major muscles groups. Eccentric movements are a major part of how we properly move as humans, but also have been proven to have greater strength gains and demonstrate greater power outputs than their concentric counterparts. SUMMARY: YOU ARE SKIPPING THE MOST BENEFICIAL PART OF THE EXERCISE. Hey, its okay I go to the movies just to watch the previews, too.

This concept applies to many different movements. Not worrying about the speed of movement can lead to increased risk of injury and a lapse in receiving a true training effect. Slow your roll, take control of your movements, and reap the true benefits that you are working for.

-TM