The Proper Push-Up

By: JT Lenga 


Hello readers! Recently while I was working out in IM West, I noticed something a little off- putting. I saw a student in the gym doing push ups. Now I know that this doesn't seem like it's out of the ordinary, however, his form was atrocious. That is why I have decided to write a post on the proper push up form. Below is a video that gives an example of the top 5 ways that people can mess up their push up. 


Push ups are an amazing exercise that works a variety of muscles. The main muscles being worked in this exercise are the chest, tricep, shoulder, and abdominal muscles. 
My trainer always used to give me a hard time in the start of our training. He would always tell me to keep my head straight, have stable shoulders and back, have hips and torso straight, and to have controlled movement. These are all things that you should keep in mind when doing a push up. Below is a visual that shows the above points and more. 

Like all exercises, If your form is not right, then you can have an increased risk of injury. Doing push ups improperly can result in rotator cuff injuries, muscle imbalances, sprained/ strained wrists, and more. Another thing to keep in mind is to be able to have controlled full movement. This means going slow and doing a full repetition like the ones shown in the video above. By doing this, your strength/gains from doing this exercise can increase greatly. 

I often see people in the gym that have very poor form, and it drives me nuts. Those people doing poor form are those who probably have little exercise experience, so I take it upon myself to go and help those people. The last thing I want to witness while exercising is someone hurting themselves because they never took the time to learn the proper form for their exercise. If everyone just took the time to learn proper form, not only for push ups, but for all exercises, They could maximize the amount of gains they could achieve.  

References

"5 Ways People Do Push Ups Wrong". Youtube, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFLo0Gf2S5w.

Perry, Marc. "How To Do A Push-Up With Proper Form (& Technique)". Builtlean, 2011, http://www.builtlean.com/2011/02/23/how-to-proper-push-up-form/.

"The Perfect Push Up - Do It Right!". Youtube, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IODxDxX7oi4.

Prompt #4

by Emily Goltz

Hi everyone! This week, I will be answering one of our prompts about the difference in a blog post and an actual article or book. The point of this is to show the reader and audience which one is more beneficial for the specific reader. Both the blog and the book are important to the kinesiology field and world because it gives different levels of commitment to the subject and allows the reader to pick which one is better for them.

First off, I chose a blog called the Total Therapy. It is run by a professor or student from the College of Kinesiologists of Ontario in Canada. It is a very clean and well organized blog with sections dedicated to showing you where each topic is and labeling everything. I would say the blog is for beginners who are just getting into kinesiology or who are just wondering what it is as a whole. It is very informative on telling the reader what kinesiology is, what it does, and when or where you use it. Besides the basic kinesiology information, it also gives you helpful links and videos that also help describe it and other health information.

The second resource I found is a Google Scholar called Research in Biomechanics. It is written by D. Gordon E. Robertson, Graham E. Caldwell, Joseph Hamill, Gary Kamen, and Saunders N. Whittlesey. It is a book that goes into depth about everything that has to do with the function and movement of the body and kinesiology and so forth. The book looks like it is a book for a class in biomechanics. From the bits and pieces that I have read, it is very helpful and detailed. The book definitely reaches out to kinesiology or human biology majors. It seems like a higher level book so I assume it is for a class you would take deeper into your major.

http://www.totaltherapy.ca/blog/what-is-a-kinesiologist/

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Douglas_Robertson6/publication/259237520_Research_Methods_in_Biomechanics_Second_edition_print/links/0c96052a8e17255a02000000.pdf

Benefits of Eating Healthy

By: Regan Tarrow



   In my kinesiology lab, we talked about a variety of dieting. We discussed dieting pills, surgery, and exercising programs/equipments. One thing that I would like to stay focused on is the benefit of eating healthy and how it helps your body in many ways. 

   Eating healthy helps your blood sugar. Eating foods high in sugar can cause a spike in blood sugar. Your body can eventually create a insulin resistance resulting in type 2 diabetes. In order to maintain a healthy blood sugar, eating complex carbohydrates can stimulate a slow release of sugar in the bloodstream resulting in it regulating the blood. Complex carbohydrates consist of whole grain bread, oatmeal, and brown rice.

  
    Decreased risk of cancer also is a main bonus to eating healthy. You want to limit how much processed and red meat you eat. In substitution, you can eat fish, poultry, or beans instead. Eating at least 2.5 cups daily of veggies and fruits are also ideal. Lastly, eating whole grain foods and refined carbohydrate foods lead to a decrease in cancer risk. 

   
   Eating healthy can benefit brain function. Foods rich in B vitamins, especially B-6 and B-12, helps reduce homocysteine levels. High levels of homocysteine have led to an increase in dementia according to Harvard Medical School. Leafy greens and fortified cereals/grains really help this problem. Also, Omega 3 fatty acids help improve memory and learning of battling mental disorders. 

   After all, these are just a few examples of how a healthy diet can improve your body. There are many benefits to eating healthy and I hope reading this made you want to start eating healthier! 

   References:

"Diet and Physical Activity: What's the Cancer Connection?" American Cancer Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2017. <https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/diet-physical-activity/diet-and-physical-activity.html>.

Writer, Leaf Group. "The Advantages of Eating Healthy Food." Healthy Eating | SF Gate. SF Gate, 16 July 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2017. <http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/advantages-eating-healthy-food-3731.html>.




 

Methods Of Calculating Body Composition

By: Nick Izzo

Hey readers! Today I’m going to talk to you about the many ways body composition can be measured. The technique used depends on the availability of equipment, how well the staff is trained, the condition of the patient, location where the assessment will be done and also how much the assessment will cost.

One of the most basic ways to measure body composition is girth measurement. The only piece of equipment required is a tape measure. You take the measuring tape and measure your fat sites and muscle sites. So this includes stomach, arms, legs etc. A prediction equation can be used with the numbers you find to assess your body composition. Some problems with this technique is that the user has to be very consistent with measuring which can take some skill. Another issue is the areas you measure may not correctly depict fat distribution since everyone has their weight distributed differently. Although this method has some flaws it does provide pretty accurate estimations. Another way to measure body composition is BMI or Body Mass Index. This is the most common way and the one used by your doctor at your yearly check-up. A quick side fact about this technique is that it was invented by insurance companies in the 1940’s solely based on mortality statistics. They found that people with a higher BMI the more likely they were to die. This method is very simple to use; it only involves plugging in two numbers into a very simple equation. You take your weight, in kilograms, and divide that by your height squared, in meters. This method is proven to be just as accurate as the more costly and advanced methods. One issue with this technique though is it tends to over-estimate very muscular individuals. This is because their weight could be high but that’s because they have a lot of muscle, not a lot of fat. One interesting way of measuring body composition is hydrostatic weighing. This finds the density of the body which can be calculated to find percent body fat. This method uses Archimedes principles. This states that if the amount of buoyant force on an object is equal to the amount of water it displaces then you can divide a person’s body weight by the difference in body weight in air and underwater. This will determine the percent body fat an individual has. As accurate as this method is though, there are many issues with it. This technique requires specialized facilities which can be hard to come by. Also, when you are submerged underwater, you have to exhale as much as possible from your lungs. This can be very uncomfortable for the person being assessed which sometimes means people will opt out of doing it. Lastly with this method, it is very expensive and time consuming. So in the end why spend a lot of money and time on one method when using the BMI method is almost as accurate, costs virtually nothing and doesn’t take up nearly any of your time?

Here is hydrostatic weighing in action:

It's very important to find a method that works for you. If you have the money and time and are comfortable with being fully submerged under water for an allotted time then hydrostatic weighing is the method for you. If you want something more comfortable, affordable and less time consuming then BMI and girth measurement are very reliable methods. There are many more methods than the three listed and they all have their positives and negatives. Depending on cost, time and accuracy finding a method suitable to you shouldn’t be all too difficult.

References:

"Archimedes' Principle." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Mar. 2017. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

“MSU- KIN 173 – Foundations of Kinesiology – Spring 2017”. Education.msu.edu. N.p., 2017. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

Hypertension

By: JT Lenga 


Hello readers, Another interesting topic for you this week. The past couple of weeks I have been doing a lot of online research on Hypertension. This is a hot topic for many people struggle with. Hypertension is a medical term that means the pressure of a person's blood is increasing to a point where it is so high that it can damage their heart and blood vessels. A person's blood pressure depends on the amount of resistance in a persons blood vessels. This resistance is caused by the narrowing of the arteries. With the narrowing of vessels your heart will still try to pump the same volume of blood through your vessels. Think of it as if you have a running hose and you slowly start to kink it in the middle. Less and less water will come out of the hose and the pressure in the hose will increase, causing possible damage to the hose. 

There is no single cause of hypertension, there are several causes. Some of these causes are poor diet, lack of physical activity, age, smoking, stress, etc... These are all things that can increase your risk of developing high blood pressure. Unfortunately some of the are harder to control than others. 

High blood pressure can also lead to a great variety of other physiological diseases. These diseases include Heart attack, stroke, heart failure, cancer, and kidney damage. This is only a few of the possible complication that having hypertension can lead to. 

Now your probably wondering what can we do to prevent hypertension, and reduce our risk of developing the associated diseases. There are a few key ways to prevent hypertension. Getting enough physical activity can help to reduce the amount of fat that floats around in your blood, thus reducing possible blood clots. Having a well balanced and healthy diet can help. Working with positive stress relief techniques in order to calm yourself. Developing a healthier lifestyle in general greatly reduces your chances of developing hypertension. 

The topic  this week was interesting for me to go out and research. I currently have a couple of family members in the hospital due to diseases associated with high blood pressure. It's pretty scary knowing that something like this can lead to other more dangerous things. Doing the research has helped me to understand what is going on with them. If you have someone in your life that has high blood pressure I encourage you to motivate them into living a healthier life. 

References

"Blood Pressure Animation | Heart Disease Risk Factors". Youtube, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOwBDmu1Y0c.

Cold, Flu &amp; Cough et al. "Causes Of High Blood Pressure". Webmd, http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/guide/blood-pressure-causes#1.

"High Blood Pressure - Google Search". Google.Com, https://www.google.com/search?q=high+blood+pressure&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiG7IGc-u3SAhVMyoMKHY8BA_gQ_AUICCgB&biw=1038&bih=639#imgrc=D23ZPFLGXtvbTM:.

"High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Complications - Mayo Clinic". Mayo Clinic, 2016, http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/basics/complications/con-20019580.