GGX Schedule for Wednesday, Nov.18
AM: Zumba (Nats) -8:30am-9:30am
PM:TRX (Ferleen)-5:00pm-5:30pm;5:30pm-6:30
Spin Bike (Beth)- 5:30pm-6:30pm
Tone and Sculpt (Bel) - 5:30pm-6:30pm
Zumba Toning (Allen)-6:30pm-7:30pm 

What causes knee pain?

Knee pain can be divided into three major categories:

Acute injury: such as a broken bone, torn ligament
Medical conditions: arthritis, infections
Chronic use/overuse conditions: osteoarthritis, patellar syndromes, tendinitis, and bursitis
Below is a list of some of the more frequent causes of knee pain. This is not an all-inclusive list but rather highlights a few causes of knee pain in each of the above categories.

Acute injuries

Fractures: Direct trauma to the bony structure can cause one of the bones in the knee to break. This is usually a very obvious and painful injury. Most knee fractures are not only painful but will also interfere with the proper functioning of the knee (such as kneecap fracture) or make it very painful to bear weight (such as tibial plateau fracture). All fractures need immediate medical attention.

Ligament injuries: The most common injury is the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury. This is often a sports-related injury due to a sudden stop and change in directions.

Meniscus injuries: The menisci (medial and lateral) are made of cartilage and act as shock absorbers between bones in the knee. Twisting the knee can injure the meniscus.

Dislocation: The knee joint can be dislocated, which is a medical emergency that requires immediate attention. This injury often occurs during a motor-vehicle accident when the knee hits the dashboard.

Medical conditions

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition that can affect any joint in the body. It can cause severe pain and disability.

Gout is a form of arthritis that is most commonly found in the big toe, though it can also affect the knee.

With septic arthritis (infectious arthritis), the knee joint can become infected; this leads to pain, swelling, and fever. This condition requires antibiotics and drainage treatments as soon as possible.

Chronic use/overuse conditions

Patellar tendinitis is an inflammation of the tendons connecting the kneecap (patella) to the bone of the lower leg. Patellar tendinitis is a chronic condition often found in individuals repeating the same motion (such as runners and cyclists).

Osteoarthritis: A wearing down of cartilage of the joint due to use and age

What are risk factors for knee pain?
Biomechanics: The knee joint is a complicated in its operation and is used frequently throughout the day. Any change in the movement of the joint (leg-length difference, change in walking style due to back problems) can cause subtle changes and cause pain and injuries.

Excess weight: The stress on the knee joint is increased with excess weight. Obesity also increases the risk of osteoarthritis as the cartilage breaks down more rapidly.

Overuse during repetitive motions as are found during certain exercises (jogging, skiing) or work conditions (long periods of kneeling) can cause breakdown of cartilage and lead to pain.

GGX Schedule for Tuesday April 28:
AM: Spin Bike (Kanae)- 5:45am-6:45am
Tone and Sculpt (Ella) -8:30am-9:30am
Yoga (Nicole) -9:45am-10:45am
PM:TRX (Gerald) - 5pm, 5:30pm
Spin Bike (Aaron) - 5:15pm-6:15pm
Pilates (Ella) - 5:30pm-6:30pm
Zumba Toning (Allen) -6:30pm-7:30pm

Strength in Knowledge:
Must Read!!

STRENGTH IN KNOWLEDGE:

Beginner’s Guide to Plyometrics

What Are Plyometrics?

Unlike typical strength training exercises that involve long, slow movements designed to increase muscular strength and mass, plyometric exercises involve quick, explosive movements designed to increase speed and power.

A plyometric exercise consists of three phases. The first is a rapid muscle lengthening movement called the eccentric phase. Second comes a short resting period called the amortization phase. Finally, the athlete engages in an explosive muscle shortening movement called the concentric phase. The athlete repeats this three part cycle as quickly as he can.

The goal of plyometric exercises is to decrease the amount of time in-between the eccentric and concentric movements. By reducing the time in-between these two movements, a man can become faster and more powerful.

A Brief History of Plyometrics

Plyometrics were developed by Soviet Bloc scientists during the Cold War. The leading researcher of plyometric training was a Russian scientist named Yuri Verkhoshansky. Dr. Verkhoshansky developed a system of exercises called “Jump Training” that used repetitive jumping in order to increase the speed and explosiveness of Russian track and field athletes. He published the results of his studies on this new form of training in 1964.

During the 1960s and 70s, Soviet Bloc countries dominated the Olympics thanks in part to Dr. Verkhoshansky’s exercises. Seeing that the Americans were getting their asses handed to them by the Commies, American track and field coach Fred Wilt started to investigate how they were training. He saw that the Soviets were doing a bunch of crazy jumps from boxes and skipping around like school children. Wilt took some notes, went back to America, slapped the moniker “plyometrics” on these new exercises, and started implementing them with his athletes.

Since then, sports teams across the U.S. and the world have incorporated plyometrics into their training regimens to help their athletes become faster and more explosive.

The Benefits of Plyometrics

Plyometrics improve the functions of muscles, tendons, and nerves so that you can run faster, jump higher, and hit harder. In short, plyometric exercises can help you improve your pick-up basketball game or prepare your body for when you have to save your own life.

Benefits to muscles. Physical power is the ability to convert strength into speed as quickly as possible. In order to increase your power, you need to increase and strengthen the muscle fibers that are responsible for converting strength into speed. These fibers are often referred to as fast-twitch fibers. Plyometric movements can strengthen and even increase the number of fast-twitch fibers in your muscles. The stronger the fast-twitch fiber, the faster the muscle contraction.

Benefits to tendons. In order to increase the power and speed of muscular movements, you need to increase the strength of your tendons. Moreover, stronger tendons mean fewer injuries. Many men I know have had to undergo surgery because they tore a tendon while playing soccer or basketball. They might have been able to avoid these injuries had they only worked on increasing strength and elasticity in their tendons. Plyometrics strengthen your tendons and boost their elasticity by placing stress on them in a controlled setting.

Benefits to nervous system. A final component in increasing power and speed is your nervous system. Every time you contract your muscles, a signal is sent from your brain to your muscles via your neuromuscular system. The more efficiently your neuromuscular system can transmit this signal, the faster you can contract and relax your muscles, which in turn increases your athletic speed and power. Plyometrics boosts this efficiency.

Plyometrics for Beginners

There are dozens of different types of plyometric exercises. In fact, you can find books filled with hundreds of pages of them. I couldn’t possibly include them all here in one post, so I’ve narrowed the list down to the ones a beginner could easily try. But before we get to the exercises, let’s discuss some general guidelines to keep in mind as you get started.

Safety First. Plyometrics are by their nature intense. You’ll be putting a lot of load on your joints and tendons. If you haven’t worked out in awhile, I recommend holding off on adding plyometric exercises to your routine until you’ve built up your strength and flexibility with regular cardio, weight training, and stretching.

When you first start off, take it slow and focus on performing the exercises in a controlled manner. You should always warm up with some light jogging and stretching before you begin. Allow adequate resting time between plyometric workouts. I usually only do two plyo days a week: one on Tuesday and another on Saturday.

Sets, reps, and rest. Perform all of the exercises listed below. With each exercise, I like to perform 3 sets of 12 reps with 1 minute rest in-between sets. In-between exercises I rest for 3 minutes.

Exercises

Squat Jumps. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Squat down and jump as high as possible. Upon landing, squat and immediately jump up again.

Lateral Jumps. Stand next to a cone or another object that you can jump over. Jump sideways to the opposite side of the cone. Upon landing, immediately jump to the other side. Remember to make the jumps as quickly as possible.

Power Skipping. Remember skipping as a kid? Well, you’re going to do it again, but this time you’ll put a bit more oomph into it. Perform a regular skip, but jump and lift your knee as high as you can.

Tuck Jumps. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Explode and jump as high as you can. As you rise, pull your knees into your chest. On the way down, straighten your legs and land softly on the balls of your feet. As soon as your feet touch the ground, perform another tuck jump.

Alternate Leg Bounding. Bounding is sort of like running, except your steps are longer and higher. Drive off your right foot and bring your left knee up. Try to stay in the air as long as possible. Land on your left foot and repeat with the right foot.

Box Jumps. Stand in front of a box or other suitable platform (like a park bench). Try to find a box that’s at least 18″ off the ground. As you get stronger, increase the height. Jump onto the box and immediately back down to the same position. Immediately repeat. Perform the jumps as quickly as possible.

Vertical Depth Jump. Start off by standing on top of a box or other platform. Hop off the box and land on both your feet. As soon as your feet hit the ground, jump as high as you can. Get back on the box and repeat.

Plyometric Push-up. Assume a normal push-up position. Lower yourself to the floor. With explosive force, push off the floor with enough force that your hands leave the floor. Repeat.

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/05/21/beginners-guide-to-plyometrics/

STRENGTH IN KNOWLEDGE:



                                                                   

Articles by Stuart
How to build muscle: the closing 7 big lies.


LIE #1: YOU CAN CONVERT BODY FAT INTO MUSCLE

Fat and muscle are different types of tissue, with different functions. Fat is a very simple tissue when compared with muscle. Fat cells are just storage “bags” for lipids. Muscle cells undergo extremely complex metabolic processes. Fat can’t be converted into muscle.

What you can do, of course, is trim excess body fat, and build muscle, but each is independent of the other. If you lost 10 pounds of body fat, and gained 10 pounds of muscle, you’d end up with the same bodyweight but your body composition would be changed substantially (unless you were very fat to begin
with). But that doesn’t mean you converted the fat into muscle.



LIE #2: YOU CAN GET RID OF FAT BY SWEATING IT OFF

When you sweat, you lose water and a little weight. But when you properly hydrate yourself you’ll restore the water weight you lost, and return to the same weight you were before the bout of sweating.

Fat can’t be sweat off, but the exertion that yielded the sweat uses up calories, and if that caloric consumption makes a contribution to keeping you in sufficient caloric deficit for long enough to force your body to live off its body fat stores, there would be fat loss.

Efforts to exaggerate sweating while exercising—wearing excess clothing, and exercising in a hot environment—are foolish because they put an exaggerated strain on your body, which is dangerous for some people. Some people have died as a result of severe dehydration arising from intentional exaggerated sweating.

If you’re dehydrated while you exercise, you’ll mar your performance. Being properly hydrated is essential for optimum performance, including delivering sufficient intensity. Consider how much importance professional athletes place on staying hydrated when they train and compete.

Keep yourself properly hydrated when you exercise.



LIE #3: WHEN YOU STOP TRAINING, YOUR MUSCLE TURNS TO FAT

When some former premier bodybuilders gave up training, their body composition changed dramatically. Their muscles shrank, and their body fat increased, but that doesn’t mean their muscle turned to fat.

What happened was that because they no longer exercised sufficiently to maintain their muscle mass, their muscle atrophied; and because they consumed more calories than they needed now that they have become much less active, they stored the excess calories as body fat.

But had they reduced their caloric intake so that it was just sufficient to supply their reduced caloric needs, their muscle mass would still have diminished but their body fat wouldn’t have increased.



LIE #4: ON A LOW-FAT DIET YOU CAN EAT AS MUCH AS YOU WANT WITHOUT GAINING ANY BODY FAT

If you exceed your energy requirements you’ll gain body fat even if you’re on a low-fat diet. Conversely, you could eat a fat-rich diet, but provided you don’t exceed your caloric requirements you won’t gain any body fat.

Of course, it can be easier to consume excess calories from fat-rich food than low-fat food, because a gram of fat has nine calories whereas a gram of carbohydrate or protein has just four calories. But calories can still be consumed in excess even on a low-fat diet. A low-fat intake could be loaded with sugary food, and easily oversupply calories. Some weight-gain powders are low in fat, but loaded with calories due to their abundance of carbs (including sugars), and will quickly make you fat if, because of your overall intake of calories, you way exceed your energy requirements.



LIE #5: LOTS OF AB WORK DEVELOPS A SIX PACK

Common but skewed thinking imagines that doing ab work will somehow “whittle away” the midsection fat. But human physiology doesn’t work that way. (And neither can fat be reduced through sweating, massage, or friction.)

Properly done, ab work will build muscle on your six pack, but it does nothing to help reveal a six pack. You can have a well-developed six pack, but it can’t be seen if it’s hidden under a thick layer of fat. Conversely, you could have no extra ab development, but if you’re under 8% body fat you’ll have a ripped six pack.

There’s no such thing as spot-reduction other than through surgery. To lose fat from around your abs, you must lose fat from all over your physique.



LIE #6: WEIGHT LIFTING MAKES YOU MUSCLE BOUND

The notion that developing bigger muscles reduces flexibility is one of the oldest myths. Bigger muscles may accompany a reduction in flexibility, of course, but they may also accompany an increase in flexibility. It depends on how the training is carried out.

During and immediately after a hard set of a weight-lifting exercise, the involved muscles feel tight and congested, which may reduce your flexibility; but that’s just temporary. It may be from that sensation, at least to some degree, that the “muscle bound” myth originated.

For many years, weight training—also called resistance training and strength training, which is the essence of bodybuilding—wasn’t common among athletes, at least in part due to the “muscle bound” myth. But over recent decades weight training has become ever-more popular among athletes, to build muscle and improve their performance. But this wouldn’t have happened if weight training automatically made people less flexible.

If you currently have a below-average level of flexibility, and you build muscle while avoiding full ranges of motion in your exercises, and not doing any stretching, you probably will become less flexible. But that’s a bastardization of weight training.

If you use a full but safe range of motion in at least most of your exercises, and you supplement your resistance training with a good flexibility routine, you’ll increase your flexibility.

People can become more or less flexible irrespective of whether or not they do resistance training. It’s what’s happening in other areas that matters more.



LIE #7: TODAY’S GREATEST PHYSIQUES ARE HEALTHY

Due to abuse of their health, a few top physiques have died while in their prime, or had a close brush with death. It all depends on what was done while building the physique, and what’s done while maintaining it.

The bodybuilding I teach—drug-free, using sensible training routines, and while following a healthy overall lifestyle—is one of the best things you can do for your health. But some other approaches can destroy your health.

The benefits of proper bodybuilding, including a healthy lifestyle, are huge: It builds strength, develops muscle, strengthens bones, improves overall fitness, increases the body’s caloric consumption, helps control body fat, improves posture, slows the effects of aging, increases resistance to injury, and transforms physical appearance. No other single form of exercise can produce all these benefits. And when the weight training is supplemented with properly performed stretching and cardio work, you’ll have a complete program of exercise.

Your health is your most important possession, and much more important than the size of your muscles. But not only is it possible to improve your physique tremendously while following a healthy lifestyle, that strategy is the best one for keeping your health and a terrific physique over the long-term.