Posts Tagged ‘stretch’

Mechano Growth Factor

July 3rd, 2009

Mechano Growth Factor Arnold

Scientists in the UK and Denmark have shown that elderly men are capable of dramatically increasing their muscle mass.

All it takes is some growth hormone and some deep knee bends (elderly man speak for squats).

barry bonds then now before afterGrowth hormone???

Isn’t that the same stuff Barry Bonds was (allegedly) self-medicating with?

Well, yeah, but it’s okay because….because the doctor says so.

In fact, study researcher Dr. Geoff Goldspink says that this reseach “raises the question: Can age-related loss of muscle strength and increased fragility be ameliorated by the therapeutic application of mechano growth factor (MGF)?”

Question 1:

Is it morally acceptable to demonize athletes for taking GH or MGF or all manner of anabolic steroids and then turn around and put Grandpa on the juice?

Answer:

Next Question

Question 2:

What the heck is MGF?

Answer:

According to the Dr. Goldspink, MGF is a local muscle growth/repair factor (MGF).

This  means that MGF is produced locally in response to mechanical stress and acts on those muscle fibers that produce it. And once released, that local MGF pulse lasts for a few days.

It  is derived from the insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) gene by alternative splicing, but, owing to a reading frame shift, MGF has a unique C-terminal peptide. After resistance exercise, the IGF-I gene is spliced towards MGF which ‘‘kick starts’’ hypertrophy and repair of local muscle damage by activating the muscle stem cells as well as anabolic processes.

When you stretch your muscles during exercise, they start pumping out your own supply of MGF. That activates the stem cells that are already present in your muscles. And once “activated, these progenitor cells begin to divide, creating additional muscle fibres and increasing the size and strength of the muscle”.

Interestingly, loss of muscle mass in old age and in certain diseases is associated with an impaired ability to express MGF. In these conditions it seems that the muscle stem (satellite) cell pool is not adequately replenished.


Question 3: I’m young and loaded with growth hormone. Where do I get some of this MGF to kick start my anabolic process?

Answer:

  • Option 1 – You can buy a synthetic version of MGF on the internet. (link is strictly for illustration purposes. I am not advocating buying MGF on the web) Currently it’s expensive, but the price is expected to drop in the coming months.

And yes, this stuff is already popular amongst bodybuilders, strength athletes, professional ball players, old men aching to strut their stuff on the beach… In fact, the combination of IGF and MGF is preferred by many performance enhancement gurus over the use of straight GH as an anabolic agent.

  • Option 2 – Research has shown that MGF is a stretch sensitive growth factor. And not just any old 30 second static stretch. Both MGF and IGF respond much more strongly to clclic/dynamic stretching than to static stretching. This research jibes well with the research that shows eccentric resistance exercises to have a very powerful effect on MGF production. This makes sense as it combines muscle lengthening with increased mechanical stress (load).

So, what does this mean to you?

If you want to naturally increase your production of MGF and IGF and get bigger and stronger and more powerful, you need to stretch your muscles under load.

I would like to suggest 2 different methods to achieving this goal.

  1. Eccentric weight training.
  2. Resistence Stretching ala Dara Torres

But remember, this is bleeding edge science kind of stuff. Listen to your body and don’t do anything stupid. Also, go see your doctor for a check-up…turn and cough

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STAND UP STRAIGHT, your posture is making you look short and fat

May 28th, 2008

Ladies and gentlemen,

As this wonderful politically correct illustration demonstrates, poor posture makes women (and men…shudder) look short and fat in their leotards.

And who wants that.

Not me.

before

after

Okay, I still look like Shrek, but did you see those buns O’ steel.

Why does Poor Posture make You look Fat?

Two of the most common postural flaws are:

  • Anterior Pelvic Tilt

Which leads to Lordosis

Anterior Pelvic tilt & Lordosis manifests themselves as a protruding Gut and Butt.

  • Kyphosis

Kyphosis and a ‘forward head’ position makes you look hunched over and appear shorter.

When you put the two together, you end up with the typical North American slouched posture.

Along with the whole looking fat and short thing, you are likely to suffer from headaches, neck pain, bicep tendinitis, dry mouth, pain under the shoulder blades, mid back pain, lower back pain, lateral knee pain, torn knee ligaments, hamstring tears, plantar fasciitis and sciatica.

Yay!

This is what you should look like.

Here is a postural analysis video that should provide additional detail.

So What Do I Do About It?

The short answer is that you need to stretch some muscles:

  • Psoas
  • Iliacus
  • Rectus Femoris
  • Tensor Fascia Latae
  • Spinal Erectors (special care here)
  • Pectoralis Major
  • Latissimus Dorsi
  • Teres Major
  • Anterior Deltoid
  • Subscapularis
  • Upper Trapezius
  • Levator Scapulae
  • Suboccipitals
  • Sternocleidomastoid

and strengthen other muscles:

  • Rectus Abdominis
  • External Obliques
  • Glutes
  • Hamstrings
  • Mid/Lower Trapezius
  • Rhomboids
  • Pectoralis Minor

The long answer I will provide in a future post.

My Upper Trapezius and Levator Scapulae are getting tight sitting here at my desk hunting and pecking out this post.

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Structural Balance

April 14th, 2008

In my last post, The Components of Physical Fitness, I broke down physical fitness into it’s component parts and provided a brief introduction of each part.

In today’s post, I will investigate in further detail one of those components: Structural Balance

Last time, I said that this structural balance deals with the alignment and interplay of your skeleton, skeletal muscles, ligaments, tendons & fascia.

For example, are your hamstrings too tight? Is your pelvis in proper alignment? Is the fascia covering your diaphram too tight?

If your body is out of alignment in one place, there will be adaptations elsewhere. Whether those adaptations will result in pain and injury depends on factors that are largely out of your control.

Before I begin to look at this topic in more detail, I have to admit that of all of the aspects of physical fitness, this is without a doubt NOT my area of expertise.

That is why I always say that before beginning a new fitness program, it might be a good idea to visit some form of physical therapist or an osteopath for an analysis of your structural balance.

If that is not an option, the following set of links will guide you towards the collected knowledge of some of the BEST experts on physical fitness as it pertains to your structural balance.

Vern Gambetta

Eric Cressey

Mike Boyle

Ken Kinakin

Mike Robertson

Gray Cook – Athletic Body in Balance

Each of these individuals have a unique approach to putting your body into balance. If it is possible to meet with one of them for an assessment, I would highly recommend it. If not, read some of their articles, decide which of their styles makes the most sense to you and apply ONE concept. Don’t try to do everything at once.

Before trying to correct any postural flaws, you should take a few digital photos of your posture – standing & sitting, from the front, rear and both sides. Lift your arms overhead, squat, etc… You would be surprised how easy it is to see your own flaws in a photo.

Most likely, this is what you are going to see.

This example was taken from

Neanderthal No More III
The complete guide to fixing your caveman posture!

Side View:

Client exhibits classic exaggeration of the double S-curve posture.

Forward head posture and chin protraction are evident.

Rounded shoulders combined with an exaggerated kyphosis are apparent in the upper thoracic region.

Significant anterior pelvic tilt with a concomitant increase in lumbar lordosis is also evident in the lumbo-pelvic region.

Anterior weight bearing is difficult to determine due to the cropping of the photo, but still seems to be an issue of concern.

This all to common postural flow is described in the following graphic taken from part 2 in Cressey & Robertsons’s Neanderthal No More series.

While posture #1 is the ideal, #4 is all too common. Primarily caused by hours of sitting and staring at television and computer screens, posture #4 has become all too familiar. Think about it, an hour sitting in the car driving to work, sittiong for most of your 8+ hours at work, driving back home and then finally dropping down onto the couch to watch some ‘must-see” tv. All this adds up to poor posture, misalignment, and eventually pain and disfunction.

Okay, enough doom & gloom.

This can all be corrected. Start with the links listed above. Take it slow. Your poor posture wasn’t created in a day and it won’t be corrected in a day.

Good luck.

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