Cary Raffle Certified Personal Trainer - NYC

Part one of a series of 3 articles Good posture is essential for the best exercise performance, and to avoid pain and injury. and in everyday life. Flattened and externally rotated feet, Knees rotated and tilted inward... When these postural distortions are observed while standing or performing movements, they indicate a Lower Extremity Postural Distortion. The legs are not capable of producing optimal levels of force, or of absorbing force from activities such as running. Tight Muscles include: Calves Inner Thigh IT Band Hip Flexors Common complaints with this postural distortion include foot pain (heel spurs or plantar fascitis), knee pain, hip pain and shin splints. Weak muscles include: Tibialis (shins) Vastus Medialis (a quadricep) Glutes Maximus & Medius Hip External Rotators As you can see, when a muscle is tight, its opposing muscle is weak. An effective corrective component of your exercise program will focus on strengthening the weak muscles and stretching the tight muscl...

From the American Council on Exercise In a perfect world, everyone would know exactly what and how much to eat for both optimal health and peak performance. Unfortunately ours is not a perfect world and most of us are left on our own to decipher the implications of current research findings or the latest nutritional fad. Americans seem to be married to the idea that in order to achieve our goals, we must consume special dietary products in amounts not normally found in a typical diet. But while the initial promises offered by makers of these supplements are often enchanting, the actual benefits to the consumer don't necessarily live up to the advertising. Let me know if you have any specific questions, and click here to read or download a PDF of the full story. Fit Facts are reprinted from ACE FitnessMatters magazine. permission granted.