Are you having problems gaining the serious muscle you want to? Are you working out a lot with little changes to your body? Want to get that ripped look men and women will envy and desire? This article will reveal three ways to thicken and strengthen your lower back muscle in making your ultimate physique and how to avoid injury which can derail heavy lifting for months or even permanently.

Tip No. 1: DEADLIFTS are as basic as an exercise can get for targeting quick muscle growth in the lower back region: It also hit your traps, lats and thighs to varying degrees.

Start with a barbell on the floor just in front of your shins; bend at the knees, grab the bar and stand up. As easy as that sounds, proper form is paramount for safety and effectiveness. Always lift with your thighs first, keeping your head up. Pull the bar up as close to your legs as possible (it should actually rub against them). An alternate grip (one palm underhand, one palm overhand) will prevent your fingers from giving out before your legs or back are properly taxed.

Proper warm-ups followed by sets of six to eight reps will stress your lower back area along with other major muscles. Deadlifts should not be performed heavy for every lower back workout.

Tip No. 2: GOOD MORNINGS – Exercise remain among the best ways to hit the lower back region.

Standing with your knees slightly bent, hold a light barbell across the back of your shoulders. Now push your butt backward, keeping your lower back arched and tight until you feel your hamstrings reaching the point of maximum stretch. Unless you are particularly flexible, you will not (as is often advocated) have to bend your torso so that it is perpendicular with the floor. The stretch in the hamstrings indicates where the range of motion ends. Repeat for six to 10 reps.

It is sometimes prescribed that you keep your knees locked throughout the movement. Don’t do it! As locking your knees will divert emphasis to your hamstring tendons and greatly increase the probability of a visit to the doctor!

Tip No. 3: HYPEREXTENSION

Assume a prone position on a hyperextension bench or other appropriate flat bench. If you’re using a hyperextension bench (either a 45-degree or flat models), hook your feet (back of the heels) under the bar or have a partner hold them if you’re using a bench that lacks a component to stabilise your feet/lower body. Allow your upper body to hang down over the forward end of the bench. The forward edge of the bench/pad should be at the level of your hip joints. Knees should remain slightly bent throughout the movement.

Then leading with your head, “curl” your torso up and back as far as you can, squeezing out a peak contraction in your erectors at the top. Lower yourself to a point at which you still have at least half the peak stress on the lower back muscles and repeat for 10 or so repetitions.

Note:

Four out of five people experience significant back pain during their lives, so to avoid being one of them, have one eye on injury prevention first and building muscle mass second.

Your ultimate body is within reach, providing you follow the proven principles in this article. Quick muscle growth is not a pipe dream or only for those with the perfect genetic makeup. Use these strategies in the order mentioned and very soon you will see your lower back grow thicker and stronger. Your lower back is of paramount importance because it is the foundation of your power.

As we continue to grow old, work, stress and lifestyle often make us lose the ability of attaining our fitness goals. Taking diet pills, Starving yourself or constantly working out may fail to work and with so many diet and weigh loss programs available currently, it can be very difficult to know which diet program will be effective for you.

Today however, I will be looking at a new program that has recently launched on the scene and is creating quite a buzz in the fitness community.

Introducing The Shepherd’s Diet

The Shepherd’s Diet is a Christian based weight loss program which claims to helps to eliminate excess body fat by following biblically inspired principles and lifestyle habits.

Below you’ll find a brief overview of the program, how it works, the pros and cons and conclusion. This should help you to make an informed decision if this program if right for you and your weight loss goals.

Here Is The Shepherd’s Diet Review

How the Shepherd’s Diet Works -Shepherd’s Diet Program requires users to focus their energy on listening and heeding to the Holy Spirit’s direction in their lives. The Bible inspired regimen encourages users to use biblical guidance to help them to determine the correct nutritional choice and how to use self control to prevent over indulgence in eating.

Additionally, the diet program recommends users to have an eating plan that contains high amounts of healthy fats i.e. “Holy Fats” which helps to eliminate fatigue.

According to Kristina Wilds, the program’s author, the fats contain innate healing abilities which help to boost metabolic and digestive functions that in turn lead to quick burning of body fats.

The diet plan works in a natural and very automatic way. It works even when one is sleeping.

Here’s a list of manuals you’d get if you invest in the Shepherd’s Diet:

1. What would Jesus eat grocery– field Guide: It contains a list of some of the best diet foods to eat.

2. Moses Secret Fat-Loss Protocol: it’s a fasting fat loss guide that explains how to correctly fast in order to accelerate weight loss.

3. Prayer-warrior anti stress guide: it contains details of common stress causes and Biblically inspired mental practices that one can use reduce stress.

4. Fat Burning Furnace-Nutrients Report: This part focuses on the specific foods, why & when you should eat those foods.

Users’ Feedback On The Program

Reviews published by users reveal that this diet program has mixed results. There are some people who give positive praises about it and it’s considered as the “Biblical Diet Breakthrough for Weight Loss” while some says it’s just a rehash of the Ketogenic Diet.

With That Being Said, Have A Look At Some oF The Pros And Cons Below:

Pros

• The diet program can be used by anyone.
• It contains five different components that help to maximize its odds of success.
• Shepherd Diet Program gives a comprehensive guide about the food that you should eat and how to manage your food intake. For example, users are introduced to certain types of proteins, carbs, fats and fibers and how they aid in weight loss.
• Most foods recommended by this diet program can be easily found in local groceries and supermarkets.
• The diet program isn’t only about weight loss; you will be shown how you can develop and maintain a clear skin and how to improve your mental health.

Cons

• You have to be patient and consistently follow the program to achieve noticeable results which sometimes takes weeks.

• The diet program contains too much information which the user can find irrelevant and overwhelming.

Conclusion

The shepherds diet weight Loss program is based on the ancient and reliable bible facts. It is a diet consisting of low carbs, moderate proteins and lots of healthy fats.

This type of diet is indeed effective at burning fat.

Moringa tree also known as Moringa Oleifera has been grown in India and Africa for more than two thousands years. Most parts of tree are edible, and it has many nutritional properties and medicinal properties which are unknown to western world.

This article only introduces Amino Acids found in Moringa. Human body needs twenty different Amino Acids (also call building blocks of proteins) to act as building blocks to maintain a healthy body. Eleven of them are nonessential and nine are essential. Essential Amino Acids can be obtained from diet, but our human body either cannot make them at all or cannot make them in sufficient quantity to meet its needs.

Below is the list of naturally occurring Amino Acids found in Moringa.

1. Isoleucine-Best known for its ability to increase endurance and help heal and repair muscle tissue and encourage clotting at the site of injury. It also keeps energy levels stable by helping to regulate blood sugar.

2. Leucine- It increases production of growth hormones, and helps burn visceral fat. It works with Isoleucine and Valine to repair muscles, regulate blood sugar, and provides the body with energy.

3. Lysine- It helps prevent outbreaks of herpes and cold sores, and is needed for hormone production and the growth and maintenance of bones.

4. Methionine- It helps body process and eliminate fat. It contains sulfur which is required to produce the body’s most abundant natural antioxidant – glutathione. It also can produce two other sulfer-containing Amino Acids-Cysteine & Taurine, which help the body to eliminate toxins, build strong and healthy tissues, promotes cardiovascular health.

5. Phenylalaine- It needed for normal function of the central nervous system.

6. Threonine- It supports cardiovascular, liver, central nervous, and immune system function.

7. Tryptophan-It supports immune system, alleviates insomnia, reduces anxiety, depression, migraine headaches. It also works with Lysine to reduce cholesterol levels.

8. Valine- It stimulates the central nervous system, and is needed for proper mental functioning. It also works with Isoleucine and Leucine.

Foods from animal sources like chicken, fish, eggs, beef, pork, dairy products are rich in essential Amino Acids. Plant source foods like dried beans, peas, soy, nuts and seeds are generally lack one or more of the essential Amino Acids. But by taking Moringa supplement all the Amino Acids can be obtained.

Have you heard about Alexander Zass? He was also known as the Amazing Samson.

Do you know about Alexander Zass isometric exercise?

Zass was best known for his feats of strength. To many he was considered… AMAZING!

Most people thought that he obtained his strength by weightlifting but in fact, unlike other strongman of the day, he refused to do any feats of strength that required lifting weights. This infuriated the weightlifting community of his day.

For they were firmly convinced that this is how he developed his incredible strength and ability to burst chains wrapped around his chest.

Here’s a little background on this amazing strongman.

Alexander Zass was an old-time strongman, born in Poland in the 1800s, but later on his family moved to Russia.

As a young boy he was motivated to build his strength when he saw circus performers and the incredible feats that they performed. He began by climbing trees and fashioned some homemade barbells and dumbbells to begin working out with. As he became older, he began working out with some of the great Russian strongman of the time.

In some of the books he wrote, specifically Samson Systems and Methods he expounded on his idea that in order to have true strength you need to have what he called… Tendon Strength.

He felt that you needed to develop your connective tissues, the tendons, first rather than concentrating on the muscle fibers. He concluded that the best method is to use is what today we call isometric exercise.

Most of his conclusions came about as a result of his imprisonment during World War I. He escaped so frequently that the guards had to change him inside his cell. He practiced and learned how to break his chains. Later on he would use these chains to maintain his strength and physical conditioning by using them in his isometric workouts. And so he developed Alexander Zass isometric exercise.

Later on he would publish a training program in instructional course that detailed his use of isometrics employing a chain like exercise device.

Here are some of his feats of strength that he performed:

* Lifted a 500 pound girder with his teeth

* Carried a small horse

* Caught a woman fired from a cannon

* Had several professional boxers hit him in the stomach

But his most exciting demonstrations or in having himself wrapped with chains and then bursting them in front of individuals and of course bending steel bars.

People in London were astonished with his incredible feats of strength and several newspaper articles were written about him. This created a boom in sales of his books in instructional courses on Alexander Zass isometric exercise training.

Whiskey and weightlifting don’t mix – and that doesn’t just mean don’t have a few drinks before hitting the gym for your next workout… It means weightlifters and bodybuilders aiming to live a healthy lifestyle should avoid alcohol as a general rule.

First, let’s look at why people lift weights. Weightlifters hit the gym regularly to get stronger, more fit and be healthy. Bodybuilders hit the gym to build muscle, burn off bodyfat and be able to present the best physique their genetics will allow.

Now let’s examine just how alcohol impedes both scenarios. First, and most important to both weightlifters and bodybuilders, alcohol suppresses the body’s production of testosterone. Testosterone is a vital hormone produced by your body and is probably the biggest natural activator when trying to gain lean mass and build muscle in both men and women. Natural testosterone levels are much higher in men than women, which is one of the reasons men develop much larger muscles than women do. Would you want to effectively turn off the tap on such a strong muscle-building hormone? Of course not – or you wouldn’t be lifting heavy in the gym a few times every week.

Secondly, drinking alcohol shuts down the fat-burning mechanisms in your body. The sugars in alcoholic beverages are much more readily available for your body to use for energy, so as long as the alcohol is in your system your body has no need to burn off bodyfat. Getting ripped and shredded is hard enough for most bodybuilders without losing potential fat-burning time for a few hours at a time.

Third, liquors, liqueurs and beer all can contribute significant calories to your daily intake with little or no healthy benefits. Liquors like gin, rum, tequila or vodka contain up to 82 calories PER OUNCE, while a regular 12-punce beer has 146 calories. Mixed drinks have even more calories due to the mixer added – for example, Pina Coladas can contain 450 calories each. When you consider that an hour of steady-state cardio, running on a treadmill for example, burns just 500 calories, having 4 or 5 drinks with friends on Saturday night could easily negate the hours you spent on the treadmill or elliptical for the whole week!

This doesn’t mean you can’t be out having a great time when friends hit the bars – offer to always be the designated driver and watch how often you get invited along – often at their expense. And keep your drinks healthy – for example, order a soda water & cranberry juice for a good non-alcoholic carbonated drink or opt for a ‘virgin screwdriver’, also known as a glass of orange juice. Weightlifters and bodybuilders can still party with friends and have a great time, just leave the alcohol out of your personal equation!

If you often feel bloated, tired, or not so good after a meal; if you gave frequent have stomach pains, cramps, or bowel problems; if you have strong food cravings or food dislikes; if you experience a collection of symptoms that you just cannot explain, or sometimes become more anxious, irritable, or depressed f you may be suffering from food allergy.

Allergy has reached epidemic, proportions, and it has been estimated that at this rate, half of Europe will have allergies in a few years. Food allergies are of particular concern, as they are now being recognized as a factor in many health problems and diseases, especially in children.

Many scientists and health practitioners believe that a poor diet and the sheer quantity of toxins that are now present in our food are major factors in this unprecedented rise in the number and severity of allergies over the last decades.

When Food Harms Instead of Helping

Much of our food is over-processes and treated with toxins all the way from production to sale. Instead of being a major source of true health and resilience, therefore, the food we eat can actually undermine our body’s ability to deal effectively with daily stresses, and to clear out the toxins that assault us from all sides. No wonder that more and more of our bodies are reacting with food allergies.

Food allergies not only harm our bodies (and our minds), they also prevent us from deriving the full nutritional benefits from the healthful foods we do eat. By causing damage to our digestive systems, they can prevent complete breakdown of foods into essential nutrients, and interfere with the body’s ability to properly absorb what nutrients are available. This can lead to nutrient deficiencies and malnutrition, even though you might be eating lots of good food.

Another problem is that food allergies can restrict your ability to eat the foods you need. A diverse diet offers maximum assurance that you are getting the nutrients you need, but if you live in fear of a reaction, you might find yourself limiting your diet more than you need to. For instance, a person with an allergy to swiss chard or silverbeet might eliminate all greens from their diet, when really, they might only be reacting to a particular chemical found in plants of the ‘beet’ genus. By eliminating all greens, this person is losing many health-giving properties of greens, which are outstanding sources of chlorophyll, calcium and magnesium.

Allergenic foods

An allergenic or reactive food is one that causes an allergic reaction, such as hives, wheezing, stomach cramps or stuffy nose. The foods that tend to be most highly allergenic (especially to children) are: milk wheat corn sugar soy nuts eggs.

Other highly reactive foods are: oats, yeasts, chocolate, seafood, beef and citrus.

However, you can develop an intolerance, sensitivity or allergy to any food. The degree of sensitivity to a food depends on your tolerance ‘threshold’ for that food. You might be able to eat small amounts of a food, but react to larger amounts. Or some foods may be eaten without reaction once in a while, but not more frequently.

In fact, you may not be reacting to the specific food, but to one of more of the components of that food. It might surprise you to learn that the most common problematic substances are the vitamins and minerals in foods. They can cause us to have allergic reactions to many foods we eat on a daily basis. Other major causes of food allergy are food additives, sulphur, pesticides, biotechnology and genetic engineering.

Symptoms of Food Allergy

There are many warning signs that indicate that you might have a food allergy: dark circles under the eyes, frequent sniffing or throat-clearing, irritability, moodiness, hyperactivity, or frequent fatigue. Other signs may include headaches, stomach aches, bowel problems, muscle pain, coughing or wheezing, and frequent digestive or respiratory problems. Symptoms vary from person to person. Common signs of food allergy include the following:

Digestive problems – Reactions to food allergens can damage to walls lining the digestive tract, and also disrupt the balance of hormones and chemicals needed for proper digestion and elimination. This can lead to problems such as Leaky Gut syndrome, where the walls of the small intestine leak partially-digested food into the blood stream. This can lead to bloating, stomach cramps and inflammation, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, autoimmune and immune deficiency diseases, and many other problems.

Blocked airways – Food allergens are responsible for excess mucus in many allergic people, leading to chronic blocked noses, and mucuosy throats – as well as ear infections. Babies have very small upper airways and it takes very little to block them. When the allergens are removed from the diet, the mucus dries up.

Middle Ear infections – Over 70% of children suffer from middle ear infection at some time or other, and it believed by many researchers to arise from food allergies, particularly to milk and wheat. One study reported that 78% of the children with otitis showed allergies milk, wheat, egg white, peanuts, and soy, and when these foods were eliminated from their diet, 86% experienced significant improvement.

Psychological or emotional problems – Food allergies have been clearly linked to a range of psychological and behavior disorders such as autism and hyperactivity in children, anxiety, depression, inability to concentrate, mood swings, and ‘fogginess’.

Food addictions – If you are addicted to a food, you are probably allergic to it. This is because allergic reactions in the body trigger the release of certain chemicals, among them, opioids, which make you feel good. If you feel happier when you eat that food, you can develop a craving for it.

Types of Food Allergies

If you are allergic to a food, you can experience either an immediate or a delayed reaction to food. The immediate reaction pattern is referred to as Type l food allergy. Immediately or within a short time after eating the food, you show clear and often dramatic symptoms. If you are allergic to fungus, you might develop abdominal cramps within an hour of eating a ragout containing mushrooms. A child with a type 1 reaction to kiwi fruit might experience severe itching in the mouth or vomiting within 15 minutes of eating a kiwi fruit.

The most dangerous Type l reaction is called anaphylaxis – a severe reaction that can be fatal within minutes. If you or your child experiences light-headedness), swollen tongue or throat, difficulty breathing, fainting or facial swelling immediately after eating food, seek immediate emergency care.

Type l food allergies are easy to diagnose. They respond to allergy skin tests, and show up on blood tests because they result in an excess of IgE antibodies. For many doctors, this is the only kind of real food allergy. Recent estimates show that that Type l food allergies occur in between 3-5 % (sometimes to 8%) of children, and in 1-2 % of adults.

Type ll food allergy does not involve IgE antibodies. Instead, IgA, IgG and IgM antibodies may be produced. This reaction pattern is associated with the release of inflammatory substances by the immune system. Many food allergies are of this type, therefore, they are not detected by standard allergy tests, which usually only test for the IgE antibodies.

Some reactive patterns are ‘hidden’. Delayed patterns of food allergy (referred to as Type lll food allergy) often go unrecognized because the symptoms are not usually obvious, and may occur days after the food is eaten. Also, since they do not involve the production of excess IgE antibodies, delayed allergy reactions to not show up on skin tests or IgE antibody tests. Rather, they tend to show up as clusters of physical, behavioral and learning problems affecting several body systems at once.

You may experience Type lll allergy as a combination of recurring or persistent symptoms such as breathlessness, frequent clearing of throat, episodes of hyperactivity and emotional hypersensitivity, chronic stuffy nose, and frequent flu-like symptoms. Another person may experience recurring headaches, frequent itching of the eyes, abdominal pains, fatigue, bouts of depression, sleep problems, and swelling of the lymph nodes. These delayed reaction patterns of food allergy are difficult to diagnose. Yet according to many health practitioners, they account for the majority of food allergies, especially in children.

In fact, food allergies are so common – and still so frequently undiagnosed – that you should take any undefined pattern of illness that involves different symptoms and different body symptoms as a sign of food allergy until proven otherwise.

Treatment

It used to be accepted that children outgrew food allergies, and adults sometime report the same, but we now that allergies just evolve and change over time. For instance, allergies to milk or eggs can evolve into respiratory or other allergies, or as various health problems. For true healing to occur, the underlying allergies must be addressed.

The most common treatment for food allergies is avoidance. This will relieved the symptoms and prevent further damage; however, it can mean a lifetime of restrictive diets.

There is some evidence that eating organic foods can decrease the incidence or severity of allergic reactions to food, and may even help protect against allergic reactions. Organic foods provide more of the quality nutrients needed to build up the immune system, which is always weak in those with allergies. Certainly, a diet high in organic foods decreases the chances of developing allergies to food additives and pesticides, and can reduce the incidence of allergies.

However, if you already have food allergies, the damage they have already caused still needs to be corrected.

The best solution to food allergies is desensitization. There are different treatment options available, some of them immunizing the body to allergens with extracts taken under the tongue or injections. Acupuncture has also been shown effective in treating some allergies. The problem is that these therapies may not address the underlying health issues, such as nutrient deficiencies, toxin overload or stress, that caused food allergies in the first place.

For a real solution to food allergies, choose a program that involves detoxification to clear the body of toxins that contribute to allergies, corrects other underlying health problems, and desensitizes you to the allergens that are affecting you.

Once the food allergies are under control or eliminated, it is important that you obtain solid nutritional advice to help you maintain and build the health of your immune system. If you don’t eat enough of the right foods, or eat too much of the wrong foods, you are at risk of developing new allergies or other problems. A good diet is still your best protection.

Keeping in Shape with Wrestling Drills

As with any sport, it’s important for wrestlers to perform a series of wrestling drills to keep them in their finest form on and off the mat. Since wrestling is a sport that requires brute force and agility, the repetition of these drills not only builds strength in the necessary areas, but also helps to build muscle memory which can be essential in winning wrestling matches. Try these wrestling drills during practices or as a part of the pregame warm-up.

Aim for the Knees

First, here’s a drill called “Knee Grab” that’s appropriate for wrestlers of all ages. To begin, two wrestlers of comparable strengths stand facing each other in their regular stances. Both wrestlers should have their hands facing downwards and extended out near their knees.

In this drill, the wrestlers will attempt to use their hands to grab their opponent’s knees while trying to keep their opponent blocked on the outside. Make sure the wrestler really grab for their opponent’s knees as opposed to just a mere tap or slap. Run this drill for 2 or 3 sessions of 20-30 seconds in length, allowing the wrestlers a 10-20 second rest between sessions.

When performed correctly, this drill can be quite physically demanding. Since performing countless wrestling drills can become monotonous, some coaches like to inject a little competitive spirit into their drills. This is one of those drills that functions really well as a mini-competition, with the winner of each pair facing off with a winner of another pair until only one wrestler remains victorious.

Grabber-and-Go

Next is the “Grabber” drill, which is great for building upper-body strength. To begin the drill, two wrestlers stand facing each other in their regular stances. At the sound of the coach’s whistle, both try to get their opponent in a body lock or to get behind their opponent while remaining in an upright, standing position.

The best moves for winning this drill are the duck under, arm drag to body lock, or the wrist lock. Some coaches will allow head locks for this drill as well. Perform this drill for 3 sessions of 30 seconds in length, allowing at least a 10-20 second rest between sessions.

A Fine Balance

This next drill called “Hopper” is a simple yet effective way of helping wrestlers develop and maintain their balance. To begin the drill, two wrestler stand facing each other in their regular stances. At the sound of the coach’s whistle, one wrestler grabs and holds their partner’s foot at waist level. They are permitted to move the foot as much as possible without bringing it above chest level.

The goal of this drill is for the wrestler on one foot to constantly readjust their balance to avoid falling to the mat. Run this drill for 2-3 sessions of no more than 20 seconds, as it is quite tiring for the wrestler on one foot.

Plantar Fasciitis, an overview of the problem:

Plantar Fasciitis (Heel Pain) is a very common problem that seems to be “incurable” to most doctors and physical therapists. I am going to challenge this belief and show you what actually goes on with plantar fasciitis, and why it is fix-able. A lot of common therapies: NSAIDS/Cortisone Shots/Surgery/ Stretches usually never fix the true cause of the plantar fasciitis, and most people with plantar fasciitis stay in pain for MONTHS with no real improvement. Why does this happen?

The Nature of a Normal Injury:

When you have a normal injury, anywhere in your body, your body responds with inflammation and a whole cascade of events happen (triggered by the chemicals that produce inflammation):

1. The muscles around the injury tighten up. (To force rest)

2. The area becomes hot and inflamed (red and swollen, this is to rush nutrients into the area.).

3. The Fascia (connective tissue around the muscle fibers) also tightens up.

4. Tenderness at the site of the injury occurs. (Pain when touched)

5. Restricted movement of the joints around the injury due to the tight muscles and fascia we mentioned a second ago.

When this happens, the body is telling the person to rest. Usually, guided by pain, we are forced to rest the area, and in a couple days to weeks, the injury heals and the muscles relax and un-tighten, the swelling goes away, the tenderness subsides, and we regain all of our flexibility back. It may hurt a little bit for awhile, but it’s usually “live-able” pain. We notice it, but it’s not that bad. In a couple months, that pain slowly disappears, and we are all healed up.

What happens with Plantar Fasciitis??

First and foremost, the same events happen that were mentioned above. The tightness/inflammation/swelling/restricted movement all happen when you have pain in your heel. BUT, instead of resting and fixing the problem, people push through the pain and try to ignore it (most people have to go to work/school and have no choice). What this causes is more and more damage. This also causes more and more tightness in the muscles around the heel and tightness in the fascia (connective tissue).

When this person finds that it’s no use, and that the pain is driving them crazy, THEN they finally decide to rest the area. They then wait and wait… sometimes days, sometimes months even (in a cast or walking boot). When they try to walk again, the pain… is still… THERE! How is this possible?!?!

They go to the doctor and try a cortisone shot. They get great results, but it comes back a couple months or weeks later, and with a vengeance. They are in more pain, and they are more desperate.

They try out “supportive shoes” and “orthotics” and they feel a little improvement! It helps take the edge from the pain, but the pain… is still… THERE!

They go to a physical therapist and try some stretching exercises. It feels a little bit better, but the results are slow. The person sticks with the stretching exercises and gets depressed because the results are still not there.

They search all over the internet and cannot find new treatments to try. There are magnet therapies/acupuncture/laser therapies/ultrasound etc and none of these exotic therapies seems to be proven to consistently beat the heel pain.

How do you get out of this vicious cycle?? Where is the light at the end of the tunnel??

So, we have a case of heel pain that won’t go away. Like we talked about before, the muscles and fascia are STILL tight. What this means, and this is the most important thing to know, is that when the heel (plantar fascia) actually does “heal” from rest, the problem is “re-created” because of the tight muscles and tight fascia! (They become tight to restrict movement, and force rest. When you move a tight and restricted joint, it will damage itself and the surrounding structures, especially the plantar fascia)

No matter how much healing power you push into the heel area, if the tight muscles around the heel do not relax/loosen, the area will never heal (quite a tongue twister!). It may get better temporarily, but the problem (the tight muscles and fascia) must be fixed FIRST. These tight muscles and fascia cause problems because they pull constant force on the heel, in an attempt to force you to rest. The body says to your foot “If you move that foot, or put pressure on that heel, I swear I will make it hurt!” when this goes on long enough, the muscles and fascia “get accustomed to” staying tight. This “tightness” is great when you have a new injury, but in a long term “chronic” injury, this tightness is what’s actually causing you most of the pain!! The tight muscles and fascia will cripple the way you walk and move, and shoot pain signals to your heel every time it hits the ground.

Which muscles are pulling on what? How do these tight muscles/fascia actually perpetuate the heel pain?

The Plantar Fascia starts at the toes, goes to the heel, then it wraps around the heel and becomes the Achilles tendon. The Achilles tendon is attached directly to your calf muscles. They act on your foot like a puppet, when your calf muscles contract (flex), it moves the foot in various ways. Right when the calf muscle contracts (flexes), the power of the muscle pulls up on the Achilles tendon, and this pull continues to the plantar fascia to move the foot. If the calf does not function properly, or is excessively tight, it places a mechanical load/stressor on the plantar fascia. If you have any inflammation in the heel area, you can be sure that the calf muscle will be tight, perpetuating the problem and preventing it to heal.

There are also other muscles under the plantar fascia that are deep in the foot. These cause the toes to move and also support the arch of the foot. The integrity of the heel and a lot of its strength is given to it from the support of the muscles.

The muscles also act as “pumps”, forcing nutrient rich blood into the tendons and heel area. When these nutrient “pumps” become tight (and in turn less able to do their job), they do not “pump” nearly as much nutrients into the injury (which are needed to fix the plantar fasciitis).

This is all caused by “micro tears” (tiny areas that have been “sprained”) in the plantar fascia from stressing the plantar fascia over time. This is done from over activity (running too far, standing on the feet all day, or from being overweight), from weak muscles in the foot/calf area or from a severe injury to the heel (sports injury etc). Whenever your body fixes those tiny “micro tears” in the plantar fascia, everything should be fine and fixed for good. But! If the muscles/fascia is tight around the heel, they will pull directly on the newly fixed area and rip apart the scar tissue (this is what the body uses to fix these injuries) and you are back to square one, with a severe injury (and LOTS of pain).

Every time the plantar fascia heals, those tight muscles/fascia cause the area to be ripped apart over and over and over again. This makes it seem like the pain will never go away!

OK so they are tight muscles… Why not stretch them??

This is a huge mistake. When you have tightness in a muscle/fascia from an injury, it forms “trigger points” in the muscles and “adhesion’s” in the fascia. These do not “relax” with just stretching. When your muscles are tight after a workout, stretching works great to release them. When you have tight muscles from an injury, you must use other techniques to fix/release them. When you do a stretch prescribed by a physical therapist, it causes these “trigger points” to freak out and tighten up EVEN MORE! This is why those stretches can do little to no help (and cause more harm in the long run) with someone who has plantar fasciitis.

How in the world do we fix these “problem causing” tight muscles/fascia??

Soft tissue mobilization therapies, in a specific order, can fix these tight muscles and fascia very fast and easily. Soft tissue mobilization methods, can release these “trigger points” and “adhesions”. These are done through special massages with different tools (including your own hands).

I always find that plantar fasciitis, in particular, responds better to release of the muscles first, with trigger point therapies (these can be done easily, and at home, with your hands!). Then second, the fascia should be released. Fascia is much easier to release usually when the trigger points are released. This is usually done with “scrapping” the fascia with special tools. This can cause the adhesions that were formed in the fascia to break apart.

If you have pain and inflammation, you will have tight muscles and fascia around the heel, no matter what. When you get rid of the trigger points, you should have ALOT less pain. When you get rid of the adhesions in the fascia, the pain will have less chance of coming back. Next is kinetic chain stretches…

What happens after you fix these trigger points and adhesions??

The next stage of treatment is to do “kinetic chain stretches” that stretch specifically fascia (Stretching the fascia makes it less likely that the trigger points will come back, and also prevents the adhesions in the fascia from forming again).

Also you should focus on methods that break away from the chronic inflammation cycles (by causing GOOD inflammation. Fighting fire with good fire!). This is usually done with cross friction massage methods that you can do at home with house hold objects. This “good inflammation” can cause the body to fix all the damage that has been done. These methods cause your body to finally get rid of the scar tissue and get rid of the pain for good. When you cause good inflammation, the horrible effects of chronic inflammation can be “un-done”. Good inflammation causes more cells to form in the injury, and also forces the body to further fix the injury.

Usually when you have an injury in the plantar fascia, the scar tissue is laid down in un-uniform patterns. The scar tissue looks like mixed up spaghetti with fibers going in every direction. This is great for short term healing, but it is a weak structure. When you cause “good inflammation”, the scar tissue is forced to be laid in the “direction of force” (which is parallel and uniform with the other fibers around the scar tissue). This makes it possible for the scar tissue to be laid down in a parallel pattern, which is much stronger.

What about chronic inflammation? Why is it different than normal inflammation?

When you have this horrible cycle for more than 4 months, the body “gives up” on healing the heel, and starts to break the area down. It literally starts eating the area up slowly because it feels that it’s “no use to the body” (scary but true). This is why ESWT works for some people and prolotherapy as well. These therapies cause a concentrated and localized amount of “good” inflammation to fix the area. These therapies cause a specific type of damage to the heel in order to work properly. They force the body out of the chronic inflammation cycle and into a “fast healing” and “good inflammation” cycle to fix the damage fast (but these therapies do not fix the tight muscles/fascia). Cross friction massage is very effective at doing this also, and you can easily do it at home. Fast AND effective relief!

I like to take vitamins daily, are they helping my heel pain??

I find that most vitamins should be taken WITH a healthy diet. This includes raw foods such as raw vegetables/fruits/seeds/nuts etc. The reason these are so good for inflammation is because they have enzymes.

These enzymes help the body a lot with different functions in the body. This is why my favorite supplement for Plantar Fasciitis is Systemic Enzymes. These cause the body to chemically stop the chronic inflammation. When you have chronic inflammation for a long time, the body has all sorts of chemicals and toxins circulating in the blood stream that are limiting your body’s ability to heal.

When you take systemic enzymes, on an empty stomach, they get absorbed into the blood stream and fix the damage that has been done from the chronic inflammation. One enzyme, called serrapeptase, has an amazing ability to digest scar tissue. It literally goes into your blood, accumulates in the heel area, and breaks up and digests the scar tissue!

What happens if I release the muscles/fascia, take some supplements, and have a good diet?

You should be able to fix the heel pain pretty quickly. I have heard of people having amazing results in less than a week. It all depends on many factors though. What I do know is that plantar fasciitis is NOT an incurable disease, and if dealt with properly, it can be fixed in no time! The hardest part is accepting how bad the injury is, and giving it all the effort you can to fix it fast. Do not ignore the pain or push through it. I know that after months of pain, you will get desperate. If something hurts, do not do it!

Why do regular treatments SUCK?

Cortisone: This chemical causes no inflammation wherever it is injected. This means “chronic” (bad) inflammation and “good” inflammation all cease to exist in the heel area. When the cortisone leaves the heel over time, the area has not healed at all, and it is now weaker than before. So now the person is back where they started (actually worst off because the heel area is weakened), and in lots of pain!

Orthotics: These are great when you have severe pain, but if you think that it will fix your heel pain, think again. All that orthotics “do” is take pressure off the heel and causes weak foot muscles (instant pain relief, but does not fix the problem). When you wear an orthotic for many months, the pain comes right back again (can be weeks, or months, it simply will return if that is the only method of treatment). Supporting the plantar fascia does not fix the pain, it does help though, and I do believe they should be used, but they will not actually “fix” your pain (they do help IF you wear them while releasing the muscles/fascia, then you must slowly stop using the orthotics when they pain subsides). If you have been wearing orthotics for a long time, your foot muscles are slowly becoming weaker and weaker by the day. This does not help your heel pain.

Stretching: Stretching a muscle with a trigger point causes the trigger point to become worst (more tightness). If you have pain, you more than likely have some trigger points in your feet and calf. You must release the trigger points first, and then later on you can stretch the muscles so that the trigger points do not come back.

Surgery: Not needed. And when you get the surgery, the muscles/fascia is still tight, so the pain comes back. Some people do get results with surgery, but not many. It is very rare usually.

Icing: Is OK, and relatively safe, but does not do much. If you just hurt your heel recently, it is good for the first few hours, but after that, it does little to nothing.

Taping: Works great if your pain is severe, but it DOES weaken the foot muscles. So it is temporary relief. I find that it’s great to support the plantar fascia so that you can walk a little further and give the area a “break”, but it will not fix the tight muscles/fascia that are causing your pain.

Before Charles Atlas — also known as Angelo Siciliano — became famous by promoting his exercise course called… Dynamic Tension, there have been many old-time strongman that used body weight (isotonic) and isometric exercises.

One of these individuals was Alexander Zass — better known as — “The Amazing Samson.”

(Zass, born in Poland but, lived most of his life in Russia and later on as circus performer lived in Great Britain after 1924.)

The important thing to note about Alexander Zass was how he developed his belief in the application of isometric exercise. Or as he referred to it “Maximum Tension.” He believed this training protocol was superior to any other of the normal training programs used by strongman of his day and that included using weights in the development of physical strength

He understood that isometric exercises not only developed muscular strength but, also strengthened the tendons and ligaments which are crucial to developing strength.

The amazing Samson, who was also billed as “The World Strongest Living Man” was quoted as saying “I aimed first to develop the underlying connective tissues rather than the superficial muscles,” (Taken from His Instruction Manual — Samson Systems and Methods)

He further explained, “I always wanted to develop tendon strength… without tendons, one possesses no control over the muscles and the body… the development of the tendons are the strength to my secret. Muscle alone will not hold back wild horses — but tendons will and do!”

Alexander Zass further stated in his training manual that bodybuilder type muscles were merely an illusion when it came to strength. Although he did not discourage students from developing muscular size — he did instruct them on the practice of tensing their muscles one at a time– then grouping the muscles together and tensing as many of them as possible– all at one time.

In the use of isometric exercises, he outlined 3 distinct methods — and they are as follows:

Freestyle

In freestyle you’re using no devices or appliances you’re just doing freehand isometrics. You are typically just using your own body.

Wall Exercises

In this method, you are using a wall, or even a tree to provide resistance instead of your own body weight or body.

Isometric Exercises Device

Here is the ideal or best way to perform isometric exercises. The disadvantages of both the freestyle and wall exercises is that there’s no effective way to measure your strength gains.

And how do you know you’re using 100% or even 70% power in this exercise? That’s where an isometric exercise device such as the Tensolator or Bully Xtreme comes into play.

These types of bodybuilding contraction devices will allow you not only to measure your strength gains but typically will give you more variety in the type and quantity of isometric exercises you can perform.

The biggest appeal of isometrics is that with a few simple movements and not a whole lot of time you can get a complete body workout — in your home — in your office — or anywhere!

Most of the time getting rid of man boobs is not as hard as most people make it to be, it’s only hard because people have a problem in executing whatever program they were using. Also, most people think that you need some kind of surgery or to pop pills in order to get rid of man boobs, but what if you could do it in a more safer way, all natural way?

And I don’t mean just exercise here (we will get into that later on) but also a good diet, made specifically to burn fat off your chest even in your sleep.

Man boobs can be caused by hormones or fat most of the time…but if you had them for some amount of time the chances are that the hormone deal is fixed but you still have them because they now store fat….and that’s what you need to lose.

Exercising helps, but it only helps if you do it the right way. For example push ups wont necessarily help you get rid of man boobs, and in some cases it can make it worse by pushing the fat off your muscle and making your boobs even bigger. This is why it is important to stick to a detailed plan of action with both a diet and an exercise routine.

So in order to get rid of your man breasts you need the right diet and workout routine, so that will strengthen your muscles and they will start burning fat faster and faster until you reach the point that your body’s metabolism will burn the fat for you because of the diet and the bigger muscle…I hope this isn’t too confusing, I’m trying to explain the best I can.

There is a program out there that I reviewed and it has already helped thousands of people with success, and it is an all natural and safe way to get rid of man boobs, no pills no surgery. Some people even started to see results after a few days time, and that my friend is awesome.