Faculty and Staff Gym

Sarcomeres are the basic functional units of a muscle cell that cause contraction.  A stretch is just the lengthening of a muscle’s sarcomeres.  Sarcomeres consist of microfilaments called actin and myosin which “contract” when myosin crawls across thin actin filaments, causing them to overlap.  They stretch by simply thinning out longitudinally as myosin slides back across actin. Once the sarcomeres have completely extended, the connective tissue is second to give.  Collagen fibers elongate and align in the direction of tension.  This realignment of muscle and connective fibers is what allows scarred muscle tissue rehabilitation and induces the feeling of relief.

Explanatory Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVuW560nRII

However, before that feeling of relief, you have to get through the pain.  The pain is caused by the stretch reflex. The stretch reflex is the result of your body’s instinctual reaction to a stimulus from the proprioceptors in the nerve endings of your tendons and muscles. These proprioceptors of your musculoskeletal system relay a signal to the spine that the muscle is being stretched and immediately causes a contraction of the muscle called the stretch reflex.  There are two types of stretch receptors:  

“Muscle Spindles”

• Muscle Spindles run parallel to normal muscle cells and consist of two forms; Nuclear Chain Fibers and Bag Fibers.  When either of these receptors is stimulated by a stretch, they fire a signal which causes a stretch reflex. The difference between the two fibers is the rate at which they fire that signal. 
• Nuclear chain fibers are long and fire at a slowly increasing rate, which allows for the gradual muscle tightening during a stretch. This is called the static component of the stretch reflex. 
• The dynamic component is caused by Bag fibers. They are shorter with a bulbous middle section that is excessively flexible and elongates rapidly upon stimulation. This central elongation fires a quick contraction that fades as the rest of the fiber compensates for the initial hyperextension of the middle. 
• Practice and Flexibility work can decrease the stretch reflex and sensitivity of proprioceptors over time. 

The muscle spindles cause the muscle contraction during stretching, but the Golgi Tendon organ is responsible for the most interesting and ultimately enjoyable part of the stretch.

“Golgi Tendon Organs”

                The stretch receptors in your tendons, called the Golgi Tendon Organs, serve to protect the tendons from tearing as well as provide basic sensory input.  Once they sense a sudden increase in tension, they fire a signal until a threshold is reached, and the body ceases to contract; forcing the muscle to relax and avoid injury.  This fascinating safety mechanism is called the lengthening reaction.  This is why when you hold a stretch for a long period of time; it eventually causes the stretched muscle to relax. 

Read More:   http://web.mit.edu/tkd/stretch/stretching_2.html#SEC16

No matter the genre, everyone likes listening to music. Whether it’s live at a concert, through the headphones of an iPod, or blasting through the speakers of a home stereo system, music is constantly being listened to at all times of the day. What many people don’t realize is that music has many unnoticed benefits, especially while exercising.

It has become very common for athletes and gym goers to exercise while listening to their very own work out playlists designed specifically to pump them up. Although it seems ridiculous to think that music can actually improve your workout, it does exactly that. It has been shown that listening to especially up-tempo music during exercise encourages you to work harder and helps your body work more efficiently. In a study on cyclists, while listening to upbeat music they were able to pedal harder, faster, and cover more ground than their music-less counterparts. Another related study shows that while listening to music, the cyclists would align their effort to the beat of the song which in turn used 7% less oxygen- implying their cardiorespiratory system was working more efficiently. Music also distracts you from your feelings of exhaustion which could allow you to workout longer and harder without even realizing.

Music is known to have psychological effects and can affect one’s mood in a negative or positive way. While listening to music that enhances your mood, you will be in a better mindset and in turn have a better workout.

If you want to get more technical, you can calculate the beats per minute (BPM) of your favorite tune and use that during specific types of workouts to get the best results. For example, songs with BPM around 160-180 are best for high intensity cardio while songs with BPM around 120-140 are better for lower intensity cardio such as jogging.

Listening to music while exercising can benefit you and your workout in numerous, technical ways. More importantly, however, it makes your workout more enjoyable and when you’re able to enjoy what you’re doing you’re more likely to do it again.

Writer: Emma Regenbaum

All information taken from: http://www.askthetrainer.com/benefits-of-listening-to-music-while-exercising/

Don’t just get on a treadmill and begin to run like a hamster. There are numerous other benefits and ways to incorporate a total body workout with simply a treadmill. David Siik, a four time Michigan State Champion in Track and Field, uses the treadmill as a method of fat-burning intervals, dynamic strengthening, balance and toning. With care and precaution, some ways to change up your treadmill workout and target different muscles than the traditional forward running are to run backward or sideways on the treadmill. This will target hamstrings and glutes or inner thighs.  If you do decide to run on the treadmill in the traditional way, ensure your form is correct to get the most natural stride. Proper form includes taking a step back from the front of the treadmill in order to allow space to open up your stride without knocking into the front of the machine. Having an open stride allows your body to not become tight and tense. However, as you increase incline your stride should shorten to protect the knees from shock. Additionally, keep the incline at a natural height. Outside of the gym, there are turns and curbs to jump over, but the incline for natural sprints should typically range from 3-6percent. Don’t forget to lean into the incline as well. This will shift the impact force from your spine to engaging your lower back muscles to absorb some of the shock.  

Below is a workout designed by David Siik for fat-burning interval training on the treadmill
(http://q.equinox.com/articles/2013/10/treadmill-video?icmp=hp-hero-fitness):

3 minutes warm-up
Segment 1: Creating Best Incline
30 seconds at your starting ‘fast’ speed (e.g. 6.0, 8.0, or 10.0) @ 1% incline
1 minute recovery @ 0% incline
Repeat sequence @ 2%, 3%, 4%, then 5% incline
2 minutes complete recovery

Segment 2: Creating Best Speed
30 seconds starting fast speed plus 0.2 (e.g. 8.2) @ 0% incline
1 minute recovery @ 0% incline
Repeat sequence @ starting fast speed plus 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0
2 minutes complete recovery

Segment 3: Combining Speed and Incline
30 seconds new fast speed (e.g. 9.0) @ 1% incline
1 minute recovery @ 0% incline
Repeat sequence at 2%, 3%, 4%, then 5% incline
2-3 minutes cool-down

Exercises to Help Prevent Shin Splints

By: Tatiana Mamola

            If you are a runner, you may be familiar with shin splints. Shin splints are extremely painful and cause great discomfort in the front of your lower legs. For most people, icing and taking pain relievers only causes temporary relief. Sometimes strengthening the area is the most effective way to heal and prevent shin splints. The following are a few strengthening exercises that may help shin splints from reoccurring:

1. Heel Walking: Walk across the room on your heels 2-3 times a day. Gradually build repetitions. You should be able to feel this in your heels.
2. Alphabet: While sitting or standing, lift your foot off the ground slightly and then trace the alphabet with your toes. Repeat on the opposite foot.
3. Point and Flex: Flex and point your toes anytime you are seated.

*Source: http://blog.gaiam.com/3-exercises-to-shoo-away-shin-splints/