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Showing posts from December, 2011

Exercises In Everyday Places: Shopper's Walk (Core)

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We see these baskets in the front of the grocery store all the time, but the shopping carts always seem to win.  If the grocery list involves restocking milk, juice, eggs and fruit, grab a basket and work your way to a stronger core and better posture. My current personal record for this exercise is two gallons of milk, two cartons of orange juice, one pack of 30 eggs, one bag of cereal, banana's and bagels.  With a little bit of Tetris skills, those baskets can hold a lot of groceries! SHOPPER'S WALK HOW-TO: Anyone familiar with the Farmer's Walk exercise will feel at home with the Shopper's Walk- aside from the fact that it's done in a grocery store with shopping baskets and not in a gym with weights.  If you don't know what a Farmer's Walk is, don't worry, this exercise won't make you look weird.  All you have to do is walk with good posture while carrying a basket on one side.  Simple enough right?  The difficult part involves trying to

Kinesiological Approach To Bike Fit: Cleat Position

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CLEAT POSITION:   There are four types of adjustments which can be made to a cleat. Fore/ Aft:   FORE:  Positioning the cleat forward allows the ankle to move more freely, allowing for a smoother pedal stroke.  The trade-off is that this requires more ankle stability, calf strength and puts the rider at risk of developing quad dominance. AFT:  This position limits ankle motion.  This provides added stability to the ankle, allowing the calves to rest, but makes the rider prone to bouncy pedal strokes.  When switching from a forward cleat position to a rearward position, a lower saddle position is needed to compensate for decreased plantarflexion. Lateral/ Medial:  The goal is to spread weight evenly across the foot side-to-side. LATERAL:  Shifts weight towards the outside of the foot (small toe side). MEDIAL:  Shifts more weight onto the medial side of the foot (big toe side).  Limits the maximum amount of external rotation available before the heel strikes the crank arm.