Hey! We would like to welcome Regina Hill to our Fitness Family!

We welcome new folks to our morning boot camp family!

Bettina Cochran

Kaitlyn Knotson

Brenda, Jack and Josh Whitaker

We welcome these fine folks to our little family!

Lirio Navarro

David and Whitney Braun

OW! My aching back!

You’re having an amazing workout, when suddenly everything stops. A stinging sensation moves from your leg all the way up your back, sending paralyzing pain through your body. Could the pain have been prevented? Probably. Here are two tips to help you do just that.

Stretch It Out

Before beginning an exercise routine, stretching your body out slowly is still one of the best ways to prevent injury. To stretch out your back, try the following:

• Lie on your back with your feet flat on the ground, knees bent, and both hands resting on your chest. Then allow both legs to fall gently to one side of your body, while keeping your body in its original position. Raise your legs back to the starting position and allow them to fall to the other side. Hold each stretch for 5 to 10 seconds.
• Lie on your back, feet flat on the ground, knees bent. Pull one knee to your chest at a time, holding for 15 seconds. Repeat for the other leg, and then pull both knees to your chest for one or two repetitions.
• Resting on your hands and knees, relax your back and let it sag toward the ground while keeping your arms and legs in their original position. Once your back is as far down as it is going to be, bring your back to its original position and slowly arch your back like a cat toward the ceiling. Repeat two or three times.

Strengthen Your Core

In addition to stretching out your back, you should also actively work to strengthen your back. To do this, you’ll need to strengthen the muscles that protect your back – the core muscles. However, if you’re suffering from back pain, you should avoid some of the most common exercises that focus on the abdominal muscles, such as sit-ups (both regular and partial sit-ups) and lifting both of your legs in the air while lying on your back. You should also avoid other exercises that result in back pain or demand a lot from your back, such as standing toe touches.

If you aren’t experiencing back pain, any exercise that helps your core grow stronger is going to help you avoid back pain in the future. At the same time, you can go a long way toward protecting your back by performing other exercises properly and not involving your back in exercises that aren’t meant to work the back.

When Prevention Isn’t Enough

Despite your greatest attempts, you won’t be able to avoid back pain every time. When you begin to hurt in your back, you can often help your back pain feel better at home. A good first step is to ice your back. After a couple of days, you can alternate ice with heat.

While you may think staying in bed will help your back recover, taking bed rest will actually prolong the time it takes for your back to feel better. Instead, stay moderately active, being careful not to further injure your back. In the event your back pain doesn’t go away after a couple of weeks, seek medical attention, as it may require more intensive care than you can provide on your own.

In America, the fastest route to good flavor is rarely the healthiest option. When someone suggests a healthier alternative, the idea is often shunned as being time-consuming or more expensive than other, fatty options. But these days, healthy doesn’t always mean expensive and it doesn’t have to take a lot of extra time.

Ready to make the changes that will turn your fat-filled recipes into healthy, light dishes? Grab your apron and get started!

Cook with Care

One way you can keep your dishes bursting with flavor without added fats is by cooking food properly. If you find yourself adding unhealthy flavoring because a food is dry or bland, you may have cooked it the wrong way. This problem happens easily with meats, so avoid overcooking your poultry, beef, and pork.

Remove Fried Foods from Your Repertoire

Grandma made great fried chicken and there’s nothing better than fried okra, but scientists have yet to find a healthy fried food. With so little hope for nutritional value in fried foods, do your body a favor and cut fried foods out of your recipe books. Instead, learn how to cook using boiling, broiling, or another healthy technique.

Use the Grill

Though you may consider grilling against good health sense, giving the grill a chance may be just what the doctor ordered. When cooking on a grill, excess fat simply drips off the meat, never to be seen again. You’re then left with a nice piece of meat that hasn’t been cooking in its own fat and has a wonderful flavor that can only be achieved on a grill.

Get Steamy

To create delicious vegetables without adding butter and excess salt, get steaming. If you don’t have a fancy steamer, toss your vegetables in a perforated basket, and place the basket above a pot of simmering water. On top of securing the vegetables’ great flavor, steaming also keeps the natural vitamins and nutrients intact, so you get the healthiest vegetables possible.

Head for Herbs

Herbs are a healthy, natural alternative to the saturated and trans fats present in butter and margarine. If you choose to use fresh herbs right out of the garden, add them toward the end of cooking and use them liberally. Dried herbs, on the other hand, should be added at the beginning of cooking and should be used sparingly to avoid an overpowering flavor.

Switch It Up

In addition to changing how you cook, adding flavor healthily requires some substitutions. You may not have to say goodbye to certain flavors altogether, but you will need to go with the healthier alternatives. To keep foods full of flavor without too much bad stuff, use the chart below the next time you go to the grocery store.

By implementing these easy tactics, your food should be as flavorful as it is healthy, so you should have no hesitations when it’s time to dig in!

Before you dismiss it as nothing major or take medication to resolve the issue, you should figure out what’s bringing on the pain. Doing this will allow you to get to the root of the problem and get a real cure instead of a cover-up.

Here are seven things that may cause your stomach to get in knots.

1. Hernias

Hernias occur when the intestines protrude beyond the stomach muscles. Even the description makes you cringe. It’s no wonder hernia sufferers are miserable. A little extra precaution today will lead to years of living without this painful condition.

2. Heartburn

Eat the wrong foods or even too much of the right foods, and you could be in for pain that radiates through the chest and enters the abdomen. Know your body and how it reacts to certain foods, and you’ll be prepared to sidestep heartburn. That is, as long as you can withstand the temptation of those delicious spicy dishes.

3. Constipation

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind of life and forget to answer the call of nature. Do it long enough and you’ll be hurting for a good bowel movement. In the event this occurs to you, call a time-out to relax in the bathroom. You’ll be glad you did.

4. Kidney Stones

If you don’t eat right or drink right or just have the wrong genes, kidney stones will bring you to your knees. They cause a sharp, sudden pain starting from the back near the ribs and moving toward the groin. Considered by many to be more painful than childbirth, kidney stones require immediate medical treatment.

5. Anxiety

Butterflies in the stomach are cute. They occur when you’re a little nervous about your next date. Excessive anxiety, on the other hand, is nothing but a pain in the gut. When the demands of work and life raise your anxiety level too high, take a step back to reprioritize and relax.

6. Sedentary Lifestyle

Sit around a lot without exercising? You’re more likely to have weakened abdominal muscles, putting you at risk for injuries that cause stomach pains. You’re also more likely to eat unhealthy foods that cause stomach aches. So get up and get feeling better.

7. Addictions

Believe it or not, an addiction to alcohol, tranquilizers, or other chemical substances put you at a higher risk for chronic pain of all kinds. So while you may be attempting to escape the pain through another drink or shot, you may actually be adding to the pain you’re suffering. The good news is that all of the above causes of stomach pain can be resolved with the assistance of an experienced physician. If you’re not sure why your stomach is causing you pain, talk with your physician today.

Wesley working the Americana Lock

The Stripe!

]]> http://www.combativesgroup.com/archives/1409/feed 0 http://www.combativesgroup.com/archives/1403 http://www.combativesgroup.com/archives/1403#comments Fri, 25 Jun 2010 02:29:55 +0000 Jim http://www.combativesgroup.com/?p=1403 Welcome Yarixya Rivera and Diana Rivera