That said, check out this video of awesome Patriots highlights:

GO PATS!!

Granted, rotator cuff exercises have their place. Assuring good external rotation strength at the shoulder can surely help in some instances (e.g., in baseball players – especially pitchers – who regularly take their shoulders through greater than normal ranges of motion in external rotation), but you’re much more likely to get better external rotation at the shoulder with good ol’ fashioned pec stretching and basic rows than you are with standard external rotation exercises.

The fact is, although the rotator cuff is often injured, it’s not a lack of strength in the external rotators (teres minor and infraspinatus) that’s usually the problem. The rotator cuff may take the beating, but it’s typically the victim, not the culprit. The issue usually lies more in one’s ability (or lack thereof) to keep the scapula retracted and depressed as the arm moves overhead.

Here are a couple videos to illustrate the point. The first is someone performing an overhead press with a “packed shoulder” (i.e., scapula retracted and depressed):

See that little space between the head of the humerus and the edges of the clavicle and scapula? That’s called the “subacromial space.” We have a lot of structures that run through there – including the supraspinatus (another of the four rotator cuff muscles) tendon, the biceps tendon, a bursa and some nerves.

Now, watch what happens during an overhead press WITHOUT scapular retraction and depression:

That little space disappears, which means all the stuff in the middle gets pinched. End result? Irritation, inflammation and PAIN – a condition known as impingement. You can do external rotation exercises all day long but they won’t help the condition much if you still can’t keep your scapula down and back as you lift your arm. The head of your humerus will keep banging into that scapula and pinching your  tissues.

That said, I’d rather train the rotator cuff to perform its stability function of pulling the head of the humerus down and into the glenoid fossa (shoulder socket) while maintaining scapular retraction and depression.

Here is a good exercise to get the job done (pay particular attention to how Tony gets in position at the beginning by depressing his scapula):

You can increase the challenge by using a kettlebell, and eventually add a more dynamic movement like the windmill:

Note: Start light! If you really need to do these exercises, chances are you have a hard time “packing” your shoulder – which means you actually have to learn to do it before adding a lot of load!

P.S. Anyone know if the groundhog saw his shadow? I was up way before the sun… But if winter is 60 degrees like yesterday, I wouldn’t mind another six weeks!

Marketed as a way to “turn eating into exercise,” these “heavy” utensils with 1.5-lb. dumbbells for handles are collectively termed the “Knife and Fork Lift,” and they’re masquerading around as exercise equipment. I’m actually surprised we didn’t see them at the SAG Awards…

The idea is apparently to remind people that “eating puts on weight,” and encourage them to “exercise restraint” at the table and eat slowly. Either that, or we’ve just given people another excuse to eat more and think they don’t need to do real exercise…

If things continue this way, I foresee a lot more of this in our future:

With the upper body, it’s pretty clear: A push is a vertical or horizontal movement that involves moving a load AWAY from the body (either overhead or to the front, respectively), whereas a pull is a vertical or horizontal movement that involves bringing a load TOWARD the body (either from overhead or from the front, respectively). Here are some examples:

Vertical upper push: Overhead presses

Vertical upper pull: Chin-ups, pull-ups and pull-downs

Horizontal upper push: Any type of chest press or push-up

Horizontal upper pull: Any type of row

With lower-body movements, however, it’s a little less clear.

Some say it doesn’t matter because muscles can only “pull” on bones; they can’t push. While true, I still believe we need a classification system to organize our programs.

Some say anything that involves “triple extension” (i.e., hip extension, knee extension and ankle plantarflexion) to lift a load is a “push.” But both the squat and the deadlift are triple extension exercises, yet we call the squat a push and the deadlift a pull.

Some choose to use the terms “hip-dominant” and “knee-dominant” instead, but I don’t think this really solves the problem either. With this distinction, any multi-joint exercise that emphasizes hip extension more than knee extension would seemingly be a pull, and any movement that emphasizes knee extension more than hip extension would be a push. Seems to be a solution at first, but let’s look a little more closely at some movement patterns.

With the deadlift, we clearly have a pull. The load is being “pulled” from the floor in toward the body, and hip extension is clearly emphasized more than knee extension because the moment arm is much greater when measured from the hip than the knee.

That is, the perpendicular distance from the line of force created by the bar to the hip is longer than that from the bar to the knee, so hip extension must be emphasized more to lift the load. No problems here.

But what about the squat??

Assuming the above technique, in the front squat, the anterior bar placement forces a more vertical torso and the hips stay under the bar, creating a longer moment arm from the knee than from the hip. This would make the front squat a “knee-dominant” exercise, or a lower-body push – so we’re okay there, too.

But the moment arm in the back squat is actually greater from the hip than from the knee when the bar tracks appropriately over the backs of the balls of the feet and the lifter sits the hips back in the descent. Hip extension must therefore be emphasized more than knee extension to lift the load. This would presumably classify the back squat as a “hip-dominant” exercise – yet we call it a push.

We also call split squats and lunges lower-body pushes. When looking at the moment arm, this makes sense: Assuming a vertical torso position, the moment arm is greater from the knee than the hip, so knee extension is emphasized more to overcome the load. But if you’ve ever done any of these “pushing” exercises, you can attest to the fact that you often feel them more in your glutes than in your quads (especially the next day). Does this mean that hip extension is actually the primary joint action in these exercises? Are these, too, actually “hip-dominant” pulls?

And what about slide board reverse lunges?

The load and the moment arm don’t really change from the standard version, but you emphasize hip extension more to “pull” your back leg forward and stand up, as opposed to “pushing” into the ground. So is it a push or a pull??

According to THIS LIVESTRONG.COM ARTICLE, lower-body exercises are characterized as such:

Lower push: “Lower-body pushing exercises include vertically and horizontally loaded movements. Single and double-leg vertically loaded pushing exercises work the quadriceps, adductor magnus and soleus muscles…Horizontally loaded lower-body pushing exercises target the gluteus maximus, hamstring and calf muscles.”

Lower pull: “Lower-body pulling exercises emphasize hip extension and knee flexion movements. Hip extension leg pulling exercises activate the gluteus maximus, hamstrings and adductor magnus muscles…Knee flexion lower-body pulling exercises activate the hamstrings, hip adductors, sartorious and calf muscles.”

Well, that doesn’t help much…By these definitions, back squats and slide board lunges could be either be vertical lower-body pushes or lower-body pulls.

And that brings us back to the question at hand: What about the hip bridge?

A bridge is both a horizontally-loaded exercise that targets the gluteus maximus, hamstring and calf muscles (i.e., “triple extension”) AND a hip extension exercise. By these definitions, it, too, could really fall into either category.

My thoughts: Intuitively speaking, I’d have to say the hip bridge is a push (so does the LIVESTRONG article). Specifically, it’s a horizontal lower-body push. After all, you’re “pushing” the load of your hips upward (though horizontal to the body) against the force of gravity. But for the purpose of program design, I group it as a pull because it’s “hip-dominant” (so does THIS PRESENTATION from athletesperformance.com) – and here’s why:

Let’s not forget that the whole point of having a movement classification system is to assure balance about our joints when writing and reviewing our exercise programs. The fact remains that gravity is always “pulling” us down into flexion, creating a greater need to train the extensor muscles on the posterior side of both the upper and lower body – those that “pull” us back into an upright posture.

The primary joint action in the hip bridge is hip extension and gluteus maximus is the prime mover – so I don’t think there’s any question that the hip bridge works the posterior chain. And if we agree that we should do more “pulling” exercises that target the posterior chain to offset the negative effects of gravity and our flexion-dominant modern lifestyles, it makes more sense to me to group the “hip-dominant” hip bridge as a lower-body pull so that it shows up more often in my clients’ programs than exercises that train the front side of the body. Same goes for a quadruped hip extension (which could also be categorized as a vertical lower-body push).

That’s my argument and I’m sticking to it!

Comments welcome.

P.S. In my programs, slide board lunges are grouped as pulls but back squats are still grouped as pushes. When I come up with a good reason for it, I’ll let you know what it is.

Same goes for why Steven Tyler was allowed to sing our national anthem.

Go Patriots.

If you aren’t familiar with this funky little device, it’s basically a two-inch, 1.4-oz. touch-screen pedometer that tracks how much you walk, run and take the stairs – all the while motivating you to go further. The screen reveals how many steps you’ve taken and how many more you need to reach a given distance. Come April, it will be updated with a social-media feature that will also allow users to share their progress and challenge other users via Twitter and Facebook.

Check it out:

Its creators have been tracking users over the last few months and they’re walking increasingly more, so it seems to be working so far.

Here’s a much less cool device:

“The perfect exercise companion,” according to the video.

UGH!

Here’s FocusNYC trainer Alex demonstrating three great joint-friendly tools we use to improve conditioning in place of traditional “cardio.” They’re more fun and, frankly, far more effective. And as you’ll find out, they also have other benefits. What we’re trying to say is that if there were fitness awards, they’d be Golden Globe winners. Do these three exercises in a row, and we guarantee you’ll be gassed.

1. SLEDS

The sled push is a lot harder than Alex makes it look, especially if you put on some weight plates. One lap of the facility is plenty for most people.

And although research suggests weighted sled training does not improve top speed, it does have application for improving acceleration (the ability to start, stop, speed up, slow down and change direction) – which is far more important. Just ask Tom Brady.

Enough said. Tim Tebow better get back to the sled!

Resisted sled work trains the ability to put force into the ground with proper running mechanics. But the key is to find the maximum amount of load that can be used without altering correct motor patterns; and this depends not only on the amount of weight on the sled, but also on the coefficient of friction between the bottom of the sled and the surface on which it’s being used, as well as that between the ground and the user’s feet.

A smooth surface like that of the Focus floor results in less frictional force between the sled and the ground than there would be on grass, for example – so more weight on the sled would be required to produce the same total resistance. But the frictional force between the ground and the user’s feet may also be less (depending on his/her footwear), which could potentially make the exercise harder.

In addition to improved acceleration, sleds can be used with various pushing and pulling activities to enhance strength and work capacity.

Key Cues:

• Keep the hips down
• Keep the midsection braced
• Stay on the balls of the feet 
• Push the feet into the ground
• Drive the knee to the chest
• Push forward on the sled

2. DYNAMAX

This exercise also trains core stability and explosive power through the hips. While the ability to produce force (strength) is certainly important, it is the ability to produce force at rapid speeds that really counts – and medicine ball work is a great way to improve this quality.

Key Cues:

• Face sideways to the wall with the ball at the outside hip and more weight on the outside leg
• Keep the midsection braced and low back still as you and turn the hips and shoulders
• Pivot the outside foot (Alex!) and drive off that hip to throw the ball forcefully into the wall
• “Give” with the catch as you return to the starting position to begin the next toss

You can also do a number of other throws with the Dynamax (from the chest, overhead against the wall or on the floor).

3. ROPES

That’s just one way to use the battling ropes. You can mix it up with a number of different waves, slams and movements to not only improve conditioning, but also your ability to sustain velocity. Rope work can therefore enhance your speed, power and muscular endurance all at the same time.

Key Cues:

• Start with the ropes slightly slack and arms just in front of the body
• Keep the knees and hips slightly bent
• Keep the chest up
• Keep the midsection braced
• Sustain the velocity of the wave throughout the set

You won’t find these fun pieces of equipment everywhere, but at least now you know what they’re for. If you’re in Manhattan, stop by and give them a try. And don’t forget to vote!

How does it work? Here’s an excerpt from a recent New York Times article that explains the gist:

For starters, you need to have an iPhone to use the service, though it will soon be available on Android and HTML5 devices.

When you sign up, you’ll need to decide how many days a week you want to go the gym, along with what sort of penalty you will be slapped with if you’re too lazy to get there. You need to commit to at least one day a week for 30 minutes, with a minimum penalty of $5 for every missed visit. Gym-Pact’s average user commits to three days a week.

How does it know if you show up? Given that your smart phone knows where you are at all times, it also able to track if you’ve hit the gym. Gym-Pact has more than 40,000 gyms in its database — or more than 70 percent of gyms — and they said you can easily add your own (as long as it’s not a workout room in, say, your basement).

Once you’ve downloaded the app to your phone, you hit the check-in button every time you arrive, and it will confirm your location. And if you leave before the required 30 minute workout, you’ll get an audible pop-up warning you that your workout will be canceled if you don’t go back and sweat it out for full visit.

If you fail to get to the gym altogether, the credit card that the company keeps on file will be charged $5 per visit (or more, if you raised the stakes above the minimum).

But if you do satisfy your agreement, you will be rewarded with cash, which comes from your lazier peers who did not meet their commitments. The money is funneled into a PayPal account, and you can withdraw your winnings once they reach $10 (the company deducts a $1 fee every time you pull money out, though they may eventually charge a percentage of your earnings).

So, what you actually end up earning depends on how much other people slack off, and how many times you don’t.

I doubt anyone will put themselves in a position to pull a Hostess and file for bankruptcy (maybe a good sign for America??), but still not a bad idea for self-aware, financially-driven people with no motivation to exercise. I suppose it’s kind of like having a trainer: Once you invest money in your workouts, you’re a lot less likely to miss them. Not sure I agree with exploiting other people’s sloth, but if getting paid actually gets more people moving, I’m all for it. Of course, I’d rather them just pay me to make them sweat!

We know what the dollar-driven advertisers want you to think, but what does the research actually say about these things?

THIS RECENT ARTICLE from the New York Times sheds some interesting light on the matter. I encourage you to read the whole thing, but it’s pretty lengthy – so here are the take-home points:

• Recent Australian findings suggest that the reason so many people have trouble maintaining their weight loss is that after dieting, the metabolism remains in a biologically altered state, with hormonal abnormalities that cause the body to want to regain its lost fat.
• The caloric disadvantage after dieting is 250-400 calories. That is, a person who hasn’t dieted would need 250-400 more calories per day to maintain a given weight than someone who dieted to get to that same weight.
• It’s NOT how fast the weight was lost that determines these changes, but the percentage of total body weight lost.
• Environment is also a problem. We live in a society that views food as reward rather than sustenance.
• There is a greater emotional response to food after dieting. You want it more, but the restraint areas of the brain are less active.
• There are also changes to muscle fibers after dieting. They act more like the slow-twitch type, burning 20-25 percent fewer calories.

Pretty interesting stuff!

Although not so encouraging… The article does note, however, that there ARE people out there who successfully maintain their weight loss, and that we should NOT just throw all caution to the wind and stop trying. We just need to be aware that it won’t be an easy road.

Here’s what successful dieters seem to have in common:

• They exercise for an hour or more each day
• They weigh themselves daily
• They eat breakfast regularly
• They tend to eat the same foods in the same patterns
• They don’t “cheat” just because it’s the weekend or a holiday
• They eat 50-300 fewer calories per day than most people
• They watch half as much TV as the general population

What’s still unclear is whether or not there’s some window of time during which we can gain and lose weight without causing a metabolic catastrophe. The body doesn’t seem to reset its weight to a higher level overnight, but we don’t know exactly how long it takes.

SO, to answer your burning questions as to whether or not ditching the chocolate truffles and Girl Scout cookies (yes, even the new low-fat ones) in attempt to lose those holiday pounds will all be in vain, and how long you have to get the job done before your body is permanently affected… We can’t tell ya.

What we CAN tell you is that excess body fat can lead to a host of health problems – including diabetes and heart disease – and that losing even a small amount can cause immediate improvements in blood sugar, blood pressure and lipid profiles, not to mention body image, self-esteem and self-efficacy.

Ask me, and that’s reason enough to strive for change.

They’re definitely better when they’re free! Check out these five free nutrition apps, recommended by none other than our resident nutritionist, Cindy.

1. Fooducate by Fooducate, LTD

This app made the top of our list for a multitude of reasons. For starters, it allows you to scan a product barcode to see product highlights, both good and bad. From there you can select better alternatives by comparing the nutrition information that the app analyzes and makes available to you, including whether a product has excessive sugar, trans fat, additives and preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup, food colorings, and/or confusing serving sizes. Better yet, the Fooducate app was developed by dietitians and concerned parents, and has no influence from food manufacturers, supplement companies, specific diets or any other agency.

Features:

• Available for iPhone and Android
• Bar code scanner
• Over 160,000 products analyzed
• Analyzes both nutrition labels and ingredient lists of products

2. Calorie Counter by MyFitnessPal, LLC

This app is a close second with plenty of terrific features that make it much more than a simple calorie counter. It has the single largest food database of any Android app, with over 750,000 foods and counting! It also allows for food and exercise entry so you can keep track of your progress in both areas. For food specifically, it calculates calories as well as fats, carbs, protein, sugar, fiber and cholesterol, and can even store and remember foods that you’ve eaten for easy access.

Features:

• Available for iPhone and Android
• Bar code scanner
• Recipe calculator (enter your own recipes to get a nutrient analysis)

3. The Carrot by Health Analytic Services, INC

This particular app is more of an “all-inclusive” type that helps you keep track of many health aspects, but its “nutrition tracker” component is terrific, providing in-depth nutritional and caloric information. What really makes this app stand out is its ability to analyze different areas of your life that affect your health and track them so that you can reinforce good behaviors and change the bad ones.

Features:

• Available only for iPhone
• Multiple “trackers” (nutrition, exercise, medications, pregnancy, blood sugar, sleep, and many more)
• Can enter notes and add photos to trackers for further reinforcement

4. Lose It! by FitNow

This app focuses on weight loss (as its name implies) but also provides you with the ability to set goals and establish daily calorie budgets, as well as record your food and exercise. Like the other apps, it also has the ability to analyze your food and track nutrients like fat, carbs and protein. And if a certain food isn’t in the database, you can add it yourself.

Features:

• Available only for iPhone
• Allows for detailed reports to be emailed or printed directly from your iPhone
• Works with or without a network connection
• Simple interface

5. Restaurant Nutrition by Foundation HealthCare Network

This one serves as a great guide when eating out and can help you choose healthier options in a pinch. Users can look up nutrition information from over 100 popular restaurants and over 15,000 food items. You can also learn about your eating habits by tracking your food items, calories and other nutritional information. Some reviews reference outdated menus and inaccurate calorie counts for some foods; but when viewed as a general guide to help you make better choices – even at fast food restaurants – I think it does the job.

Features:

• Available for iPhone and Android
• Allows you to hide menu items with selected food allergies
• Map feature allows you to find nearby restaurants

Try ‘em out and let me know what you think. And if you have others you like, leave a link in the comments!

2011 marked some major milestones: FocusNYC celebrated its 10-year anniversary, opened a new facility and started a very successful personal training institute. And I finally finished grad school and took a nap! Unless 2012 really does bring the apocalypse, I think it’s going to be an even better year.

If you’re interested, check out this video for a recap of 2011′s fitness trends, and see what John Spencer Ellis and Mike Mahler see in store for 2012:

And if you’re not about to sit through that… here’s what I see on the horizon:

1. Mike Boyle as the new Red Sox strength and conditioning coach, and me very excited for my team! Congrats, Mike. The Sox are lucky to have you.

2. Digital fitness. I’m with Mike Mahler on this one. Fitness apps like FitnessBuilder are bound to be popping up in the new year. And given that they reached the top of the list of search engine trends on Sunday, I’d say this prediction is spot on.

3. Programs for middle-aged exercisers. New Rules of Lifting For Life is due out in April, and Alwyn Cosgrove and Lou Schuler specifically geared their latest book in the “New Rules” series toward mid-life lifters for a reason. Now that the middle-aged crowd has come around on exercise, they want to know how best to prepare for their later years. They’ll probably be a bit slower to come around on the fitness apps, though – so a book like this is bound to be in demand.

4. Semi-private training. (OK, that’s a plug for my class…) The economy is still shaky, and people are always looking for cheaper ways to get supervised fitness programs at a lesser rate. Small group classes give you the best of both worlds.

5. Educated trainers. Fortunately, the fitness field is one of the few still growing, and that means more and more people are looking to get into the industry. As a result, trainers are going to have to step up their game if they want to succeed. Vocational schools like FPTI fill a niche by giving aspiring fitness professionals a leg up through quality education. (Yes, that’s another plug; but hey, it’s warranted!)