However, what many people fail to realize is, problems also develop when these tissues aren’t exposed to the sufficient levels of stress, needed to maintain functional health. The levels are placed on the following scale:

Paralysis: where muscles and ligaments are not used at all and their ability to function has diminished.

Immobilization: where use is temporarily put on hold and muscle strength and size diminishes over time.

Sedentarism: This is when muscles and ligaments are only minimally used, which leads to obesity, deconditioning, hypertension, and poor fitness, common in all age groups.

Normal use: which varies widely. In this level, all of the muscles and ligaments are used for daily activities.

Strenuous use: which includes regular exercise, participation in recreational sports and leading an active lifestyle.

Progressive overload: which consists of people, such as athletes, who continuously push their bodies to the limit to improve performance and build strength.

Overuse and damage can occur in any of the above groups, at varying degrees.

When muscles and ligaments are stressed, they respond by repairing and strengthening; but if the overload is frequent, damage may result. Trauma, or sudden stress, to a ligament begins with pain, swelling and results in a degree of lost function.

Injuries and damage need proper treatment in order to heal rapidly.

Rest is important; which includes days of immobilization of the damaged area, followed by reintroduction of movement and activity. Reactivation is also necessary — which consists of exercise and guidance, which your Chiropractor can provide.

SOURCE: “Adjunctive Therapies to the Adjustment: Ligament and Muscle Stress,” Dynamic Chiropractic, March 26, 2001, Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 16-17.

EFAs cannot be produced by animals or humans; therefore, sufficient amounts must be consumed in the diet. EFAs are converted by the body to maintain cellular structure, aid in the formation of hormones and help maintain the function of the central nervous system.

EFA deficiency leads to impaired growth, dry and scaly skin, excessive thirst and urinating. In monkeys and rats, EFA deficiency has been associated with behavioral, sensory and neurological dysfunction. Several studies that focused on the EFA metabolism in children with ADHD found the same symptoms.

Malnourished rats were found to have a change in behavioral patterns; human infants given nutritional supplements showed benefits in cognitive function. These findings suggest that a poor quality diet permits the brain to function under normal, stable conditions, but under stressful conditions a person is more susceptible to behavioral and cognitive disorders.

Among the most recognized symptoms associated with ADHD are problems paying attention, listening and completing tasks. ADHD children are often fidgeting and squirming, blurt out answers, interrupt others, all of which affect school performance, family relations and social interactions.

A cross-sectional study of 6 to 12-year-old boys from central Indiana found that the 53 boys with ADHD had significantly lower levels of EFA than the 43 boys who didn’t have ADHD — subjects with lower levels of EFA had significantly more behavioral problems than subjects with normal levels of EFA.

Low levels of fatty acids are associated with an increased frequency of symptoms, indicative of EFA deficiency — supporting the results of previous studies that a correlation exists between EFA levels and behavior in children. Low levels of essential fatty acids have been found to increase behavioral, sensory and neurological dysfunction.

SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 71, No. 1, pp. 327-330, January 2000.

So I thought I would write a quick blog post explaining exactly what functional exercise actually is and how you can tell if what these “sales men” trainers are doing to you is in fact anyway functional.

first of all lets look at the definition of what functional actually means – func.tion.al 1. capable of operating or functioning 2. having or serving a utilitarian purpose; capable of serving the purpose for which it was designed.

so in order for exercise to be functional it has to be able to serve that person for their given goal or task.

As a CHEK Practitioner I see the following characteristics essential to regarding an exercise functional…

1. Comparable reflex profile (righting or equilibrium reflexes)
2. Maintenance of your centre of gravity over your own base of support
3. Generalized motor program compatibility
4. Open/closed chain compatibility
5. Relevant Biomotor abilities
(strength, Power, Speed, Co-ordination, balance, endurance, flexibility and agility)

these characteristics may mean nothing to you, but for any exercise to be truly functional they must include all of these aspects…

now what I see happening in the gym and rehabilitation environments is far from this, as many gyms now are littered with fixed resistance weight machines and various cardio machines and the functional equipment such as dumbbells, barbells, kettlebell, swiss balls, and cable machines are becoming less and less.

This isn’t good at all! as it is my opinion that a gym is a place where you make your body stronger, more dynamic, healthier and fitter but using these fixed resistance machines, you will be doing the very opposite and will encourage injury, muscle strains and a false sense of achievement.

lets look at an example to make this clear, lets say that you are a rugby player.

A rugby player needs a high amount of all the bio-motor abilities, they need to maintain their centre of gravity over their base of support, they need a quick righting reflexes, predominately closed chain exercsies and be able to integrate their lower body with the upper body and so on…

but if you look at the typically conditioning programme of a rugby player then you will see a programme filled with exercises like the leg press, smith machine, bench press and so on, all of which require no integration of upper lower extremities, no maintenance of centre of gravity, no agility, co-ordination,etc no use of the righting reflex profile.

so what you get is a load of players that are strong on the machines but when it comes down to integrating that strength with the rest of the body they cannot do it, which will lead to high risk of injury when playing rugby.

To see how radically different a non-functional exercise is like the bench press is compared to a functional exercise like the cable press try this next time your in the gym…

go on to the bench press and see how much you can lift for 3-5 reps (after you have warmed up), then try and see how much weight you can lift doing a standing chest press on the cable machine…

I will guarantee you will not be able to get anywhere near the amount of weight on the bench press! why? because the cable press requires you to integrate upper and lower extremities through the core musculature, it requires you to maintain your centre of gravity, it requires high amounts of co-ordination, flexibility, strength etc and by doing this you will be building a much more efficient motor-engram that will have a high amount of carry-over to your work and/or sporting enviroments that require you to push in an unsupported manor (WHICH IS MOST SITUATIONS IN LIFE)

So the bottom line is, get off the machines and get on the cables, dumbbells, TRX’s etc etc!

If you would like to have a CHEK Exercise Programme where I will assess your entire body and create your unique exercise programme includeding all the essesntial exercises, tempos, reps sets etc to suit your needs then contact me on 07500059064 or email me at info@primalwellness.co.uk

here are some functional exercises…

In Health & Happiness
Andrew Graves,
CHEK Practitioner, Personal Trainer & Sports Massage Therapist

“What the Secret was to Wealth, The Cure is U! is to Health” ~Nykki Taylor

Hi Andy Here

I work with David Scharps who recently completed a transformational film that I thought might interest you called ‘The Cure is U!’

The film takes you on a thought provoking journey of self-discovery while bringing forward a new health paradigm, that what we hold in our thoughts and beliefs maybe one of the most significant factors in determining your health and wellbeing or whether you experience disease.

This is one of the most powerful messages to come along in decades. The film is an empowerment piece which suggests that we can create vibrant health by changing our beliefs and our thoughts.

I would be grateful for you to take a look and give us your feedback. Please visit the films website at cureisu.com to view the trailer and other incredible cuts from the film.

Be the change you want to be, why wait!

Enjoy! ,

Andy
info@primalwellness.co.uk
Website: cureisu.com http://www.cureisu.com/AP.aspx?ID=1000&EID=19167248

In some areas, aluminum sulfate is added to fluoridated drinking water as a clarifying agent. A report issued by the National Institute of Environmental Health Services (NIEHS) acknowledged that fluoride has been observed to have synergistic effects on the toxicity of aluminum.

In other words, when both substances are present at the same time, adverse health effects maybe greatly increased.

The Institute also reported that most water treatment processes result in increased levels of aluminum in the finished drinking water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported that most drinking water contains a substantial amount of fluoro-aluminum complexes.

This finding of increased danger was supported by three studies carried out at Binghampton University. Among rats who were exposed to .5 mg of aluminum fluoride per liter of drinking water, an 80% death rate was reported. Rats in this study also suffered brain and kidney damage. Their level of fluoride in their water was less than HALF the amount of fluoride added to drinking water in many areas.

After these findings were revealed, the National Toxicology Program was asked to commission studies in order to assess the neurotoxic damage caused by aluminum in drinking water and the effect of fluoride.

Andrew Graves
Personal Trainer, CHEK Practitioner

SOURCE: Dr. Joseph Mercola, www.mercola.com/2000/jul/16/aluminum_water_alzheimers.html

The key to success as with anything in life is to take small baby steps, instead of going from a couch potato to hitting the gym 3-6 times per week, eating microwave meals, takeaways, cook from frozen foods, processed foods, sodas, and alcohol to eating vegetables, fruits, nuts & seeds, lean meats, fish and water, and for many trying to go cold turkey on cigarettes, all at the same time.

Instead write a list of all the things you can cut out or add in to your lifestyle, diet and exercise program, then choose 1-3 things off that list and focus on doing those 100% correct before adding another 1-3 items from your list, this makes things much easier to fit into your lifestyle, and it prevents you from being overwhelmed and the chances of you quitting goes down dramatically – understand that making changes for a healthier lifestyle takes time – remember Rome wasn’t built in a day.

There are a few techniques you can use to help keep your motivation up and help inspire you to make these changes.

Using Motivational Quotes

One of my favorite methods to keep me training hard and make the changes in my life that I want to make is using quotes from inspirational people, a good method to use is to write down all your favorite quotes in a scrap book and read them on a regular basis daily, these work on a similar basis to affirmations some of my favorite quotes are
[quote] Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in your way of doing it, the time will pass anyway, we might as well put that passing time to the best possible use- Earl Nightingale. [/quote]

[quote]
Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that! — Rocky Balboa [/quote]

Videos
Videos work in the same way as using quotes, however I find using videos much more powerful, as with quotes you can use them to motivate you for specific events, be it psyching yourself up for a gym session, motivation on making change, whatever it is you can find motivational videos all over the place especially youtube! again here are a few of my favorite videos for training and life in general, enjoy …
For making positive change in your life..

this is a must watch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk56VxaeqEQ&feature=channel_video_title

For Training or Competition

That about wraps this post up for now, join me for part 2 where I talk about the affects of negative thinking and self sabotage along with some simple solutions to removing negative thinking.

Peace & Love
Andy

The Skin Deep database was created by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), whose goals are to protect the public from health problems attributed to toxic contaminants and to get the federal government to change existing policies so they invest in conservation and sustainable development.
In their own words: “Our research brings to light unsettling facts that you have a right to know. It shames and shakes up polluters and their lobbyists. It rattles politicians and shapes policy. It persuades bureaucracies to rethink science and strengthen regulation. It provides practical information you can use to protect your family and community.”

In the Skin Deep database, accessed at http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com, you can enter the name of any product, ingredient or company to find out more information. It doesn’t contain every product, but the most common products are there, and much more. When you search a product, you’ll find:
The overall level of hazard, rated from 0 to 10.
A summary of the health risks associated with the product.

A list of each ingredient along with its individual hazard rating and a list of the related health concerns.
A clickable link to more information about each ingredient, including the source of the information provided in the database.
Skin Deep is a real time-saving resource you won’t want to be without.
Source: Skin Deep Database: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com, Environmental Working Group: http://www.ewg.org

Andrew Graves, CHEK, MTA, FDN
www.primalwellness.co.uk

Thus, it seems it is no longer just the food that a person eats or the amount of stress in their lifestyles that are the causes of increased blood pressure. To really keep blood pressure under control, a calm and quiet home and sleep environment can really be important to a person’s overall health and wellness.

Source: Imperial College London. “Aircraft Noise Raises Blood Pressure Even Whilst People Are Sleeping, Says Study.” February 2008. http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_13-2-2008-10-14-29
Andrew Graves, CHEK, MTA, FDN
www.primalwellness.co.uk