Best for Bruises?

Lately, my back and shoulder muscles have been sore. I use a heating pad and icy hot, but that doesn't seem to give me total relief. One of my friends suggested I use Dit Da Jows or Tiger Balm. What do you recommend for sore muscles and bruises, Leo?



When I first heard about Dit Da Jow, I was training in Shaolin Lohan Gung-Fu. In the Chinese martial arts Dit Da Jow is a necessity, especially within the disciplines designated as "hard" styles. This is because they involve the daily smashing of limbs against various training apparatuses. I guess if you spent hours a day slamming your fist, arms, legs, and etcetera against bags filled with rocks you'd come up with some pretty strong bruise juice, too.

I used Dit Da Jow for years. I used to get it at a place called The Flying Dragon in Fairfax. It was good stuff as far as I remember, it definitely did the job! I once read a history of Chinese and Japanese masters. It was written that the Japanese masters were notorious for having huge, gnarled hands that were very powerful and seemingly invulnerable to pain. However, the text said the Chinese masters were just as powerful and yet their hands looked spotless and normal. Why is this? The Chinese believe it is because they have been in the game for a long time and have come up with methods that are safe and effective and without many negative consequences. Dit da jow is one of these methods. If you were wondering, it smells very earthy like roots.

Another readily available liniment that I have just discovered is from Thailand. It's called Nama Muay, and it's excellent! I was introduced to it by my Thai Boxing trainer and this is the real deal. The stuff stings when you put it on and God help you if you get it in a sensitive area! It's yellow and smells like super Icy Hot...probably because it IS super Icy Hot.

As far as Tiger Balm goes.... Well, it is pretty good and it comes in different strengths, but compared to the previously mentioned liniments Tiger Balm doesn't fly. Use it if your situation isn't serious. Or I guess you can stick with the Icy Hot.

Am I getting an Office Space Body?

Hi Leo!

I have one for you - I would like to know more about the negative effects working at a computer for extended periods of time can have on your body. If there are any exercises you can do while at work to ease the tension you can get, particularly in your shoulders from working the mouse. Also, if there are any suggested office gadgets that can help.

Thanks,

Devon


Working in an office environment can be totally disastrous to your body. Let's identify some of the negatives; first, you are probably sitting in a chair that you would classify as comfortable only for the first 30 minutes of sitting on it. After that , you are shifting around uncomfortably trying to find some relief. One of the places I train clients is a chiropractic center and to the office's credit even the receptionist is practicing good spine health. She sits on a chair that has a core ball as the seating surface.

The good thing about the core ball is that it's so versatile. You can do all kinds of exercises with it and the degrees of difficulty vary from post-rehab to athletic level. You should sit on a core ball when at the computer because it forces you to be in a correct posture, not to mention your core (abs and lower back) are constantly working to keep you on the ball. Let's say that you are really feeling compressed after a long session at the computer. According to Fairfax-based Chiropractor Vishal Verma, when you bounce on the core ball your spine is actually mimicking the same actions it would if you were on a walk. This action elongates and stretches the vertebrae of the spine making your back feel revitalized.

Some other postural problems you can create at the computer are the rounding of the shoulders and forward head. Both of these phenomena throw off the alignment of the body and lead to other problems like back pain and decrease in range of motion. Here, let's illustrate this further. Find any teenager that you know who spends way too much time on facebook or myspace and check out their profile. Does it look something like this?

Here is a pretty good example of what sitting at a computer, watching TV, never stretching or keeping your posture in check can make you look like. Continue this you'll have a hunch-back in no time!

Okay, as far as things you can do at the office to counteract these negative outcomes let's begin with the chest. Rounded shoulders become permanent when the chest is tight and the back is weak. Make it a daily office habit to stretch your pectoralis major and minor against a wall.


Stretch your arm out from the body making a straight line from your shoulder to your wrist. Then bend your arm 90 degrees from the elbow so that your fingertips are pointing at the ceiling. With your arm in this position, place your forearm against the wall and turn your body away from the wall. You should feel this stretch on the muscles starting in the front of your shoulder down into you chest.


Now it's time to strengthen your back as this will pull your shoulders into proper alignment. To accomplish this you will do a row. For this exercise you will need a resistance band (you can buy this fairly inexpensively piece of equipment from any sporting goods store, and boy is it versatile!) Sit on the ground with your legs locked and in front of you. Loop the band around the bottom of your feet and grab the handles of the band. Keeping your back straight and your shoulders relaxed, pull the handles back until your elbows travel a little beyond your back. You should try to squeeze your shoulder blades together as you come into the full contracted position. This will ensure full-range of motion (important!)
The picture to the right illustrates the end of the movement.


These are just a couple of ideas to relieve the stress you put on your body everyday. On top of these exercises you should be doing a daily stretch routine to help make your life a little more enjoyable in the years to come.


- L. Napper

Questions are a great way to start!

Okay, so I have been racking my brains to figure out what I should start writing about. I mean, it would be easy just to put any topic up but would it speak to and help the people reading? maybe. Well, i have a better idea...you guys write me with questions and I will research and answer them. Let the thinking begin.

Gym Jones

There are a lot of training programs out there that get the job done (i.e. achieve a specific goal), however that’s really the easy part in our profession. Reaching goals, as long as they are realistic, is all scientific. Measurable. A fitness professional may work in many different specialties but I guarantee you they have a single interest that propels them to research human science. For myself, I find that even though I work with a variety of fitness levels, I love experimenting in the question of how strong and well-rounded can the body become.

Enter Gym Jones in Salt Lake City, Utah. You can find some of their videos within this blog. They are the guys that transformed the actors in 300 into Spartans. What they do is amazing. Why? Before the whole 300 movie workout craze Gym Jones was finding out how far the body could go. You won’t find unnaturally muscle-bound men and women here; in fact you might think that not much is going on there just by looking at these guys… until you watch one of their videos (or all of them in my case!) These people train to become strong, not just look strong. The training they do is reminiscent to the evolutions I endured training to go to BUD/S and the exercises I did as a gymnast and their work-ethic is that of a collegiate-level wrestler.

One interesting thing about Gym Jones founder Mark Twight is that he isn’t a certified personal trainer. As far as I can see he is just an amazing athlete who has studied what the body can do on a personal level, started a gym located in a huge warehouse, and invited friends to challenge them to physical superiority.

After writing this article I will start contacting the gym to open up lines of communication. I will keep you all abreast of what comes of it.