Time is one of the finite resources in life and is reported as the main barrier by individuals who do not reach the national guidelines for exercise minutes each week. Each portion of a weekly exercise program should be evaluated for both health and fitness, as well as, injury prevention benefits. Static stretching consistently...
Plyometrics have been utilized in late stage Physical Therapy and strength and conditioning programs for decades. These jumping and bounding movements are initially attributed to the Russian track and field coach Verkhoshanski in the 1960s as shock or jump training. The term plyometrics is attributed to Purdue University track and field coach Fred Wilt in...
Resistance training remains a foundational intervention for all of our patients at our Boulder Physical Therapy practice. Previous research has highlighted the importance of strength training for all individuals from children to older adults. Authors have noted a significant decrease in cardiovascular risk factors among individuals with higher amounts of muscle mass. These correlational studies...
Diabetes, commonly broken down into type I and type II based on the body’s ability to properly utilize insulin, affects over 400 million people worldwide. In our country, this chronic disease continues to become more prevalent with an estimated 10% of Americans being diagnosed with one of the two types of diabetes. Exercise remains one...
Exercise continues to be shown as one of most effective interventions at reducing pain from injury, surgery, and disease. This reduction in pain has been described by researchers as exercise induced hypoalgesia and its’ benefits have been studied consistently over the last ten years. Participants with pain from a variety of conditions experience a significant...
Strength training remains an essential component of your weekly exercise sessions. Getting the most out of these workouts requires proper exercise prescription on reps, sets, and rest periods. Repetitions in reserve is an important concept for exercisers to understand on setting the intensity or resistance of their sets. Instead of establishing the repetitions...
CrossFit gets a bad reputation for having high rates of injury. I have heard many Physical Therapists and Orthopedic Surgeons say things such as “CrossFit keeps me in business.” This could not be further from the truth and is a lie the healthcare profession needs to stop propagating. My hypotheses for why people repeat ignorant...
CrossFit has often been described as a cult, and that is not entirely inaccurate. A cult is a social group (community) that is defined by its “unusual” religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs, or its common interest (health and wellness) in a particular personality, object, or goal (fitness). The practice of these beliefs is commonly associated...
CrossFit is well known for utilizing momentum driven variations of gymnastics movements in workouts commonly referred to as “kipping”. Kipping pull-ups and kipping ring muscle-ups are two skills that many new (and many experienced) CrossFit athletes desire to perform so they can complete the WOD at their local box. Often athletes are told they need...
Obesity is one of the greatest health problems facing our country. The causes of obesity are multifactorial in nature, but one contributor is a lack of daily activity or exercise by both children and adults. The CDC estimates less than 1/5th of Americans reach the weekly recommended amounts of exercise including either 300 minutes or...