Muscle Irradiation how it relates to decreased risk of injury during particular exercises, improved movement patterns and greater force output: Muscle Irradiation is the ability of a muscle performing an action to generate greater tension (i.e. force) by being “innervated” from the surrounding muscles.  What does this mean for you? In order to generate maximal power …

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 You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know.All exercise modalities fall under what is known as aerobic or anaerobic.  To put it simply, aerobic exercise uses oxygen for fueling muscle fibers, while anaerobic muscle contractions is fueled by energy sources stored in the body and is not dependent on the oxygen we breathe.  Aerobic exercise is of a …

Understanding how to train your cardiovascular system Read More »

Traditional footwear prevents the foot from correctly performing the functions for which it was designed by evolution, since the design of such footwear is totally different from the human foot. One foot is flat, there is no difference in height between the hindfoot and the forefoot. If we place a heel on a shoe, the …

What happens to the foot if we put on incorrect footwear? Read More »

What Are Isometric Exercises?      Isometric exercise involved sustained contraction against an immovable load or resistance with no or minimal change in length of the involved muscle group” (Carlson et al. 2014). In other words, isometric exercise is holding a steady position by activating your muscles without moving from the position. For example, imaging …

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The aerobic energy system is a low power output energy system that offers a sustainable flow of energy over longer durations that its anaerobic brothers.  As we discussed in the last blog post, the aerobic energy system starts to take over as the dominant Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) producer as soon as any physical activity begins to take …

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As seen in the image above, exercise style/emphasis ordering is our first and most important determining factor. Fatigue is half of the ordering equation, but it has the most influence over daily structure. Because effective resistance training programs require some form of cardio, we need to make sure that our sessions support concurrent (targeting more …

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Doing the same things, the same way, every day can be harmful to our mental and physical health. Being comfortable as creatures of habit doesn’t do much to keep our brains healthy. Memory recall, problem solving, and even motor-memory skills can dwindle by abiding in our comfort zone. Here’s a computer ergonomic tip that has …

Mousing with Non-Dominant Hand: Anti-Aging at Your Fingertips Read More »

Workplace strain injuries are among the costliest for maritime employers. In 2017 alone, overexertion injuries cost employers $13.8 billion1. Understanding how the body gets injured provides insight on prevention strategies to minimize the cost of these injuries and improve the efficiency of operations.  Injury occurs when the tissue (e.g., muscle, tendon, or ligament) experiences an …

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Another way to introduce postural variation into the office workplace is to implement a break policy that requires the worker to step away from the workstation periodically throughout the day, ideally every 20 to 30 min. Traditional breaks – two 15 min and one 30 min – are not sufficient to minimize discomfort at the …

Break Reminders: Look, No Equipment Needed Read More »