Wednesday's Musings and Kinetics

Wednesday, March 15, 2017 · Mike Davis

Good morning!

First of all, I hope all my good friends in the Northeast are safe and warm! Wow is about all I can say! Global warming? Hmm… Running will certainly be a challenge for a few days. I will not gloat or even praise the weather here in North Carolina but, as bad as it has been, it has been nothing compared…

Today is test 3 of 6 in my Exercise Science class and while I have enjoyed this particular block as it is about hips, knees, legs, ankles and feet, it is also very challenging because of all the feet stuff. I am not overly confident and will be happy in the 80 range but, who knows! I have learned a lot about the actions and reactions, so I am excited about that. So much to consider when one area of the body is not functioning properly and never as simple as we might think. The kinetic chain has many failure points that can result in something 3 extremities away being the root cause of the injury or visible result. IE: the knee may hurt but, the problem may be the glute max not firing properly and exerting extra tension on the ilium and in turn that tension cause the IT band to pull on the patella (knee cap). Normally we might think IT band and believe that the foam roller is the solution. While foam rolling can often help, the solution is actually further up the kinetic chain and even then, we have figure out why the gluteus maximus is not functioning properly? Definitely a problem for Carrie Jose, a physical therapist but, from a coaching standpoint we need to understand the possibilities. Very challenging stuff but, interesting.

Because of my schedule and feeling less than energetic, I have done nothing this week as far as exercise. If my brain is not mush tomorrow after my classes, I will try and get either a run in or some rowing. I bought a jump rope today and I want to start using that before my runs as a part of my dynamic warmup. I have had clients use one in the past and for some reason, I did not. I am trying to improve my running cadence and I read something recently that suggests that jump roping prior will help to speed up your cadence. I am kind of stuck at an average of 171 and want to get up to 175 to 180. I have even tried to focus on improvement however, the data has not shown improvement. My problem is too much lift in my feet, which is slowing down my turnover. I would never have thought I pick my feet up too much but, my Garmin data says I do. I will report back after a few runs.

Hard to believe that we are at the mid-point of March already! Time certainly moves along at a fast pace, the older I get. Kind of makes me value each day more and treat each one as a blessing and opportunity.

Time to get off to my Men’s group and then to Exercise Science, should be an amazing day! May your day be warm, safe and blessed!

God Bless!

Mike