Lynbrook | New Hyde Park | NY

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Create the Perfect Pitch: Putting the Pieces Together (Part 3 of 3)

Your arm is not the only body part involved in throwing a ball- the whole body is involved! Proper strengthening, stretching, and mobility are important for the whole body. What makes it hard to simply give a preseason routine to a group of athletes to follow is because every person has strengths and weaknesses are all unique to each individual. A general routine will not do in addressing these individual needs. A screening may be necessary to specifically see what individuals need to work on. Some might need mobility, others strength, and most both.

 

A great tool to determine what an athlete needs is a Functional Movement Screening (FMS). FMS is a test that a professional can administer to see areas that can be improved. Mobility is of the utmost importance, followed by stability, and then strength. Moving to quickly to strengthen without having the mobility and stability often leads to injuries. If you are not sure of your mobility, have a professional from Peak Performance put you through the Functional Movement Screen to find out what you can improve.

 

References
Gray Cook (FMS)
Arnold Tobin Specializing in grip strength
Hector Duprey, Baseball specialist

 

By Corynne Pereira

Hand Strengthening & Stretching for Baseball Players (or Anyone!)

In the baseball off-season, it is important for athletes (of any sport) to take care of any injuries that need to be rehabilitated and continue following a strength
training program. However, one thing most baseball players might neglect to work on is mobility. Not only shoulder mobility, but trunk, hip, wrist and finger mobility. Mobility and stability go hand and hand. By increasing mobility along with strength, you have the ability to increase the velocity of a throw, distance of a throw, and arm endurance for throwing. As your strength training continues, mobility exercises and stretches should be integrated on a daily basis. Strengthening distal (fingers) to proximal (shoulder) can enhance elbow and shoulder health.

Strengthening the whole body is important for all sports. When we say entire body, we mean even your fingers. As a baseball player your hands are doing work every time you catch, throw or hit a baseball. Grip strength and flexibility of each finger is important. By properly strengthening the hand muscles, research findings show that you can help prevent UCL injuries. Strengthening and stretching of the fingers, wrists and forearms is something that may seem insignificant, but it can give you that edge which might be missing. Our hands have muscles, tendons and ligaments just like every other part of our body, so why not take care of them?

Many people use hand grips to work on the strength of their hands, but every finger needs to be strengthened. Most of the times, when using the grips we tend to not use all of our fingers equally. Yes some fingers are stronger than others in certain positions, but it is important to focus on each one and the coordination of specific movements. By starting strength training at the hand (distal), it carries up the chair to strengthen the whole arm. Some of the movements we see in our hand come from muscles in our forearm. In fact, when you see your hand go from palm down to palm up (supination), the rotation is occurring from the elbow. Our muscles are overlapping all over our bodies and you might not realize how many muscles you are using to do movements every day. After working on the strength in your hands, wrists and forearms, and the muscles are warm we want to switch the focus to the flexibility of those muscles. Flexibility for split finger fast ball and fork ball are very important, as is finger strength for any pitch. Just s you would stretch the muscles out in your legs our arms, you need to stretch the muscles in your hands and forearms.

 

By Corynne Pereira

Recipe of the Week: Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • ½ cup brown rice flour (whole wheat would work also)
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tbs coconut oil
  • 2/3 cup hot sauce

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 450*. Cut head of cauliflower into bite size pieces. Whisk flour and water together with the spices. Coat cauliflower evenly by placing into a bag or a sealed container and shake. Bake on greased sheet for 15 minutes.
  2. While the cauliflower is baking, heat up oil and hot sauce in a pot. Re-coat cauliflower evenly with the hot sauce/oil combo and place back into the oven for another 20 minutes, or your preferred done-ness.
  3. Enjoy! They are delicious when dipped in a hummus or greek yogurt dip.

 

 

 

Guidelines to Support Digestive Wellness

  • Eat in a calm, relaxed setting. This activates our parasympathetic nervous system, also known as our “resting and digesting” system, which facilitates digestion.
  • Eat slow. This allows your body time to produce digestive secretions in the mouth and stomach and also improves our ability to determine when we have been satiated.
  • Chew your food. The mechanical action of chewing is responsible for generating saliva and alerting the stomach to prepare for food entry. Starch digestion also begins in the mouth.
  • Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate! Water provides the fluids that we need to complete digestion and absorption and to maintain homeostasis. In addition, people often mistake hunger for thirst, which can lead to overeating and exacerbate health conditions.
  • Boost your mineral intake. People are often deficient in minerals like magnesium, chromium, and zinc, which can lead to cravings and poor blood sugar regulation.
  • Include protein at each meal. Protein digests at a slow rate thus your blood sugar is more likely to remain in balance. Protein is broken down into amino acids and used to make neurotransmitters like serotonin and beta-endorphins. These neurotransmitters help to create energy, regulate moods, reduce physical and emotional pain, and encourage relaxation.
  • Include healthy fats. Fat has been associated with negative results but fat has many health benefits. Quality fats help to balance blood sugar and hormones, help absorb fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, K and calcium, create cellular membranes, support brain health, and so much more. Some sources of healthy fats include avocado, nuts, seeds, coconut oil, olives, fish oil.
  • Eat with the seasons. Eating foods that are in harmony with nature help us to adapt to climate changes and remain healthy. During the winter, make sure you consume warming foods that include soups, broths, root vegetables, winter greens, squashes, mushrooms, and pears. Now is the perfect time to include those soups and stews made with immune supporting broth and vegetables.

 

By Pamela Geisel

Recipe of the Week: Quick & Easy Egg Muffins

Serves 12
Prep Time 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 8 eggs
  • 1 cup red pepper, chopped
  • 1 cup orange pepper, chopped
  • 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Chop all of the vegetables and set aside. Heat a non stick pan over medium heat with oil. Add peppers, onion, and a 1/8 tsp of salt. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add in spinach and mushrooms and cook for another 3 minutes. In the last 30 seconds, add the garlic. Season to taste.
  1. Whisk eggs in a large measuring cup. Add sautéed vegetables to the eggs. Pour egg/veggie mixture into greased muffin pan.
  1. Bake for about 18 minutes or until cooked through. Let cook in pan for a few minutes before removing. Store in airtight container in the fridge for no more than 5 days or immediately freeze for future use.

 

 

Turning Your Resolutions into SMART Goals

January is the time of year when we set resolutions. The phrase “new year, new me” is a common mantra. It’s great to set new expectations for yourself; whether it is to commit to a new hobby, cooking healthier meals, spending more time with your kids, or deciding to lose weight. When it comes to making a New Year’s Resolution, broad or general statements may not be enough. How often do we find ourselves falling off track by February 1st?? One way to help you stick to your resolutions is by writing out your goals. Creating SMART goals is an effective method to create a plan of attack. Read on for step-by-step instructions to turn your resolutions into SMART goals!

  • Specific
  • Measureable
  • Attainable
  • Realistic
  • Time-Oriented

Specific
Specific is the What, Why, and How of the S.M.A.R.T. model. Goals should be written out clearly and simplistically to emphasize these points.

Basic Example: “I want to lose weight”

SMART: “I want to lose 10 lbs. by February 15, 2016 by exercising at Peak 3 days per week for 1 hour and logging my food in my nutrition journal daily.”

Measurable
Goals should be measurable so there is hard evidence that you have accomplished the goal. Using the SMART goal above for this example, the goal can be measured by February 15th. The essential measurement is whether or not this client loses the 10 lbs. by February 15th.

Attainable
Goals should be achievable; they should push you a bit so you feel challenged, but well-defined enough so that you can attain them.

Using the example from above, this client wants to lose 10 lbs. in about a 6 week time frame. After speaking with your Exercise Physiologist, you have learned that healthy weight loss is 1-2 lbs. per week. Committing to exercising and utilizing a food journal are the “How” of the SMART model.

If you plan your steps wisely and establish a reasonable timeframe, you should be able to carry out those steps. On the other hand, if a goal is impossible to achieve (i.e. the client wants to lose 30 lbs. in the same time frame), you may not try to accomplish it.

Realistic
Ask yourself if the goal is realistic. In reference to the client and their weight loss goals, we have discussed how the goal itself is realistic within the specified time frame.

Another consideration might be if the goal is realistic for this client. Have they spoken with their doctor? Are they committed to exercising at least 3 days per week? Do they carry their food journal to work or school?

Time-Oriented
When are you going to achieve this goal? What can you do in the next six weeks? What are you going to do today? Today you can commit to exercising and tracking your nutrition.

Short terms goals are the building blocks of our long-term goal. If the client’s ultimate goal is to lose 30 lbs., the long term goal should then be set in an attainable time frame, for example a 16 week period. Along the way, setting smaller goals will set you up for success!

By Louise Mills-Strasser

So you got a FitBit… now what?!

Okay, so you got a FitBit for Christmas/Hanukkah/your birthday… now what?!
We have noticed that many of our clients received these activity trackers as a gift this holiday season. However when it comes to using your new wrist accessory, there might be a little confusion about what it can do. We put together some simple tips to help you get started. This way we can finish 2015 strong and start 2016 right on track in order to achieve our goals! All of the links on this page will take you to FitBit’s website.

What can your FitBit do?!

• Track your daily activity (how much are you moving around?)
• Record your exercise (regimented exercise like biking, walking, or pilates)
• Log your food (did you eat too much, too little or just the right amount today?)
• Record your weight (log your weight to see progress over time)
• Monitor your sleep (did you get 8 hour or toss and turn?)

How do I set myself up?
Start here! From this page you can download the program for your computer or on your phone or tablet via an app. The setup page will guide you step by step to get started using your FitBit.

Simple setup directions for setting dominant wrist, goals, calls, and silent alarms are here! But, if you have additional questions about setting up your tracker, refer to this link!

All of your daily stats are displayed in your dashboard. You can find this by logging into your account on FitBit’s website or opening the app on your phone or tablet.

Goals! Everyone has goals whether we want to become more active, lose weight, eat more vegetables, or run a faster mile. Everyone is different! You can customize your FitBit to help you achieve your goals. Maybe 10,000 steps a day is a breeze because of your commute- try shooting for 12,000. Maybe climbing 10 flights of stairs seems too tall- start at 5 flights and work your way up. Set your goal for a certain number of: Steps/Day, Very active minutes, Floors climbed, or Calories burned.

Track Activity/Exercise
While your FitBit will automatically track your steps throughout the day, you can log exercise manually or record it by starting the timer.
For more information on using the Exercise Mode, click here! Or if you forgot to wear your tracker, you still get credit for your exercise! Use this link to learn how to manually track exercise.

Log Food
Nutrition and exercise go hand in hand when it comes to being healthy. Help keep yourself on top of that New Year’s Resolution by logging your breakfast, lunch, and dinner. FitBit gives you a simple layout for monitoring your nutrition:
• An estimate of your daily calorie consumption (logging the foods you eat and quantity)
• A readout of the number of calories you have burned and eaten so far in the day (all those steps expended calories and your breakfast, lunch & dinner fuel your body)
• A real-time comparison of the calories you’ve consumed in your diet versus those you’ve burned through activity (calories in v. calories out)
• Feedback about whether you are under, within, or above your plan’s recommendation (based on your personal goal to lose, gain, or maintain your current weight)
You can manually enter the foods you eat, search the database to find a product, or scan an item’s bar code to add the nutritional information.

For more information about tracking calories and setting a weight goal, use this link. To learn how to scan the bar code of an item (i.e. a cereal box or yogurt container), use this link!

Challenge your friends!
Our favorite part of exercising is doing it with a friend. Having a workout partner (virtual or walking next to you) can provide that extra push to keep going. You can add friends by syncing contacts from your cell phone, linking your FitBit to Facebook, or adding them by email address. Adding friends gives you a little more motivation whether it’s cheering each other on or challenging one another in a daily step challenge! Your Exercise Physiologists, Pam & Louise, are using their FitBits- ask to be their friend! (They’ll give you a tough challenge 🙂 )

For even more information about getting the most out of your new fitness tracker, check out this article published by Time.

UPDATE! We started a FitBit group for our Peak members to join! It’s called Peak Performance Fit(ness)Bit. Login to your FitBit account then use the following link to find us https://www.fitbit.com/group/22PKJ3

 

By Louise Mills-Strasser

Maximizing the Leg Press

One strength training exercise that is frequently done incorrectly is the leg press. Here are a few mistakes and how to fix them to maximize your efforts!

1. One common mistake is bringing the feet too close together (pictured bottom left). The feet should be shoulder-width apart in order to relieve less stress from your knees. With your feet shoulder-width apart you should push the weight through your heels, do not push through your toes. This will ensure you are not putting any more strain on the knee joint.

2. Do not allow your knees to hyperextend! (Pictured top left). When you lock out your knees completely on the leg press you are putting pressure on the ligaments in your knees and leaving them vulnerable. We want to keep the muscles in our legs engaged throughout the whole exercise. Instead, keep a soft bend in the knees as you extend your legs.

3. Place your feet at the proper height. Ideally your legs should be parallel to the ground (pictured right). If you place your feet too high on the foot pad you end up shifting attention to your glutes instead. However placing your knees too low on the leg press will cause extra stress on your knees because the weight shifts to your toes.

Overall in order to get the most out of the leg press exercise make sure that your feet are at the proper height, shoulder-width apart and maintain a soft bend in your knees when you straighten your legs. Happy exercising!