Good Posture and How to Get it

What is good posture?

Is sitting up straight and uncomfortable like a pencil in your desk for 8 hours a day good posture?

Be honest, which of these two pictures do you feel more comfortable sitting like?

Good Posture vs Bad Posture

If you're honest with yourself, the "good posture" picture doesn't scream "relaxing."

Whereas the "bad posture" picture looks a lot more relaxing.

And one actually is NOT better than the other. Actually, studies on this topic show people with "good posture" tend to have more pain!

Now, let's do a little experiment for why this could be. Try clenching your hand as hard as you can and hold it like that.

Hold it. Hold it... Hoooold it. How did that feel? A little uncomfortable, even a little painful right?

It's the same idea if you're keeping your shoulder blades clenched all day to achieve "good posture". Eventually we all give in and slump back into our regular, comfortable posture. 

It's OK to slump sometimes, and I know, I may be the first physical therapist to say that to you. Good posture isn't something that you have to break your back for.

There's a saying that your best posture is your next posture. The most important thing is that you're moving in and out of different postures. Rather than staying in one posture through the whole day.

One great way to achieve this if you're working from a desk all day is to get a standing desk.

We've linked the standing desk we like below. It makes it easy to transition from sitting to standing whenever you like.

Electric Standing Desk

You can also watch this video to see how to make the most out of your standing desk.

Standing Desk Video for improving Posture and function throughout the day

So with that said let's get back to the question at hand, what is good posture?

Good posture will keep you upright, stable, and movable.

As in, you want to feel balanced while standing and doing any other activity. As well as be able to move in and out of different postures with ease.

So what are the main things that will actually help with that? You don't have to do 1 million chin tucks, I promise.

Ridiculous Chin Tucks

First is to work on the strength of your back muscles. Next is working on movements with a large range of motion and a twisting component. Finally, moving frequently throughout the day.

Back Strength and Good Posture

Strong back muscles help fill out your frame and keep you stable and upright. The best way to get these muscles is through lifting heavy weights.

Now, if you've never lifted weights before "heavy" is relative. Starting off with over 100 lbs is unnecessary and may lead to injury. The best method is to get on a consistent schedule of exercise that progressively gets harder.

Big, Twisty Movements and Good Posture 

Next is doing movements with a large range of motion that also involve a twisting component. This helps the feeling of stiffness from being in one posture for long periods of time.

Moving in different ways is the big thing here. And, twisting and turning tends to be one of the first things we stop doing and lose proficiency in as we get older. Regular life doesn't seem to require as often as it does in sport, that is, until it definitely does.

But! Twisting movement does seem to be important for when we're caught off guard. Most actions that have a quick, sudden reaction have us bending and twisting in some way. This can lead to injury if you haven't been practicing these movements.

You want to take your joints through full ranges of motion, many times a day. But, not only do you want to move your joints fully, you also want to load them. This can mean lifting weights but often the only thing you need is weight bearing activity. 

Moving More and Good Posture

Finally, moving more frequently helps joints and muscles adapt to different positions. It also helps blood and nutrients flow through the body.

And you can do this in whatever way you like, even walking is a great option.

On that note, the "rule" of 10,000 steps per day is a good goal but is not a one size fits all prescription. If you track your steps, figure out what your daily average is and try to increase it by 1000 for one week. After that, if you're feeling OK you can try to increase it another 1000 steps/day.

If you're only getting 2,000 steps per day and try to increase to 10,000 steps per day you'll be very sore.

What you can do to walk more throughout the day is go for a 10 minute walk after each meal.

I've linked video examples of exercises you can do to help with your posture below.

Rows

As, Ts, Ys

Bow and Arrows

Crossover Lunges

Forward Lunge with Twist

Dragon Walks

D2 Chops

Single Leg RDLs

This Is Why Swimming is so Hard

Getting better at swimming can be a difficult and frustrating task for triathletes. Most triathletes did not start off as swimmers in their early lives. They don't have a coach focused on honing their technique.

The result is usually putting a massive amount of effort in the swim for an unsatisfactory pace. Like cycling and running, to get better at swimming you need to spend a lot of time doing it.

Focus on technique for swimming has to be much more intense than the other 2 disciplines if you want to see progress.

That's the difference.

The reason for this is that the amount of "friction" your body gets from the water is so much greater than the air. This is why you can put out more effort in the swim and not maintain (or even getting worse) speed. 

You end up getting very little, or even no, return on your effort. So it makes sense that you get frustrated when you're not getting faster but you're trying so much harder.

So what are the best ways to focus on getting faster for swimming?

Beginners can often learn to swim faster with no extra effort. Sometimes, they even need less effort than before.

Think about this: Your goal is to eliminate drag. NOT to swing your arms wider or kick your feet faster... At least when you're starting out.

With that said here are the 2 biggest faults that I see new swimmers making that kill their speed in the water.

Not being horizontal enough in the water

While you're swimming you want your body to be as horizontal in the water as possible. Think about Superman flying through the air.

New swimmers tend to lift their head too high in (or even out of) the water and their legs drop as a result. This leads to you swimming through the water with your legs acting as a wall.

The first step to improve this is getting comfortable breathing to the side while continuing to take strokes in the water. This will prevent you from lifting your head too high and having a miserable time.

Sometimes all you need to be more comfortable breathing in the water is a better pair of goggles. Check out these 2 pairs of goggles that we like and recommend.

Speedo Mirrored Vanquisher 2.0 - Great for open water swims to counteract that sun glare, these are perfect for race goggles

Speedo Speed Socket 2.0 - For increased visibility and drag these are great for the serious swimmer

You can practice a drill (same as the one below) where you hold onto the wall, take a stroke, and breathe to the side. That way you will have more stability in the water compared to regular swimming.

If you fix your breathing and still have trouble with this it may be your shoulder mobility.

If you can't fully reach over your head with a straight arm your body will compensate. This will happen by dropping your legs lower in the water and creating more drag.

I've linked a few very quick exercise demonstrations below to help with this. It's best to do these for a warm up and cooldown for your swim workouts. But, if you really want to see results shoot for 5x/day.

Do 5 reps of each exercise holding 5 seconds each time.

Overhead Door Presses

As, Ts, & Ys

Thoracic Rotations

Kicking your feet too far apart

This is a common mistake new swimmers make. They lack coordination in the water to stay balanced and in a streamlined position. The easiest first step in fixing this is to perform a kicking drill on land rather than in the water.

The drill has you lay face down on a bench with a short resistance band tied around your ankles. From there you kick your feet like you would want to in the water.

The band keeps your feet close together and engages your core. This in turn helps with staying in a more streamlined position.

The next step in this drill is to add a resistance band to simulate the pull strokes of freestyle.

This way you can develop your coordination without a lack of stability and oxygen.

Check out the video link below to see how this drill is done.

Kicking Drill

Links for the bands we recommend listed below:

Crossover Symmetry

Resistance Loop Bands

After you've got this drill down the next step is to move to the water and work on your kicking like kids in swim lessons do. Hands on the wall of the pool, face in the water, and kicking your feet.

But, unlike the kids your goal is to keep the kicks small, smooth, and controlled. This will help you learn to maintain your form while swimming.

Once you've gotten hang of that, practice taking a stroke with one arm and breathing to the side. Now you're basically swimming (without actually going anywhere).

Finally, put these drills to use and try doing a few laps swimming only focusing on how close your feet are. Try not to think about anything else, all that matters is how close your feet are kicking.

Take it slow and easy to start. The first goal is to learn the skill of keeping your feet close together for short distances at an easy pace.

After you've got that down, you can increase the distance.

Shoot for a goal of 400-500 yards with good technique. After that, you can work on increasing the pace while maintaining good kicking form.

If you don't have a coach giving feedback, you'll know from how much easier swimming feels in general.

After fixing your mobility and kicking form you should notice swimming becomes much easier and faster.

Drag is the main source of fatigue and slowness in swimming. So, if you're having a bad day in the water, try working on these two things before you give up on the workout for the day.

3 tips to Get Rid of Unbearable Knee Pain

Activate the Muscles Around Your Knee

Your muscles provide support and stability for your knee joint so you want them to be able to do their job. For one reason or another that could be overuse, underuse, poor sleep, an injury, etc. the muscles around your knee may have stopped firing as effectively. This is the cause for many injuries but don't worry, there is something you can do about it. You can get improve activation of your muscles with an exercise called isometrics.

Isometric Guide

Isometrics are a form exercise where you activate your muscle without actually moving. You want to tighten and hold your muscle in a fixed position for a set amount of time

As an example, think about holding your arms up and flexing your biceps. That would be an isometric and the same can be done to almost every other muscle in your body

When holding your isometric you want to be in a position that you can feel your target muscle tense

How much tension?

For rehab purposes you just want a light amount of tension, think about a gentle squeeze of the muscle

Perform 5 repetitions

Hold for 5 seconds on each rep

If your pain is fairly intense and you’re having difficulty doing anything, try to do your isometric exercises 5 times per day.

As pain improves you can include more activity and/or regular exercise into your day and decrease how often you do the isometrics

Full Range of Motion Exercises

The key with this tip is to make the exercises what is called "Weight bearing" which involves standing on the ground and using your bodyweight as resistance. The advantage of exercises like these is that they cause the muscles surrounding your knee to work harder resulting in your actual knee joint to taking less stress!

We have example videos of exercises you can do to help with your knees linked below.

Crossover Lunge

Forward Lunge with Twist

Goblet Squat

For all of the exercises listed above aim to start with 5 repetitions, only go as low as you can manage, and use balance support from your hands as needed. You can increase repetitions to 10-15 as you get stronger and less painful.

Use a pool

If you've been dealing with pain for awhile and doing full weight bearing exercises are just too much to take right now one of your best options is to get exercise in a pool! The advantage of this is that your weight is reduced but you can still get good use out of your muscles due to the resistance of the water.

All of the above exercises can be performed in the pool (without added weight for the goblet squats, obviously).

As your pain and strength improve you can transition back to land when you’re ready.

Should You Stretch a Strained Lower Back?

Stretching, while it may feel good in the moment, isn't the first thing I would recommend when you're dealing with lower back pain.

The effects of stretching are very temporary and actually have the negative trade off of decreasing the strength/function of whichever muscle you stretch for about an hour (you can see an example of this here).

Instead it’s better to focus on starting with isometrics of other muscles surrounding your lower back. Isometrics have a pain decreasing effect (when done the way described in our quick guide below) as well as the added bonus of increasing activation and strength of the muscle you are working!

We'll go over what isometrics are, how to do them, how often, and how to know which muscles you should do below.

The next recommendation after completing your isometrics is to move and be active as best you can.

You don't have to do anything crazy. Even walking is a great start.

You also don't have to push yourself into Navy Seal levels of pain. Do your isometrics, try to go about some of your usual daily movements, and then if it starts to get too uncomfortable take a break in a relieving position and repeat your isometrics.

If you notice that your pain decreases afterwards, which may be seconds to minutes after re-doing your isometrics, you can go right back to your usual activity. From my experience as a physical therapist I have seen patients recover much faster from bouts of lower back pain when taking the approach I desribed above rather than stretching or doing the old, outdated RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) technique.

Isometric Exercise Guide

• Isometrics are an exercise where you activate your muscle without moving it and hold it for a certain amount of time

• Think about flexing your biceps, that is an isometric and the same can be done to almost every other muscle in your body

• When doing your isometric hold your arm/leg/trunk in a position where you can feel your target muscle tense up

• How much tension? For the purpose of rehabbing your lower back we just want a light amount of tension, think about a gentle squeeze of the muscle

• Perform 5 repetitions

• Hold for 5 seconds on each rep

• If your pain is just starting or you are just having difficulty doing anything else during the day because of it, aim for doing your isometric exercises 5 times per day

• As your pain improves and you are able to include more activity and/or regular exercise into your day you can decrease how often you do the isometrics

Check out the videos below for the most common isometrics we start patients with

Standing Desks: Are They Worth it?

Today we're talking about standing desks, if they're actually useful, and if so, how to get the most out of them. The biggest things that will increase the utility of your standing desk is the ability to change between sitting and standing and the ability to move/stand in different positions.

The biggest takeaways are the focus should be to keep moving and switching positions WHILE standing at your desk. Our bodies are meant to move a lot throughout the day which doesn’t have to be hard but it does have to be frequent.

The links to all of the items mentioned in the video are listed below:

Electric Standing Desk

Manual Standing Desk Converter

Under Desk Treadmill

Airex Foam Pad

Step Stool

Knee Pain: Why ReTri Physical Therapy Isn't Just an Option, It's the Solution

Knee pain can cripple your stride, turning every step into a painful reminder of what you can't do. Here's a secret, the patented One80 System® we use at ReTri PT isn't just another symptom modification gimmick, it's your ticket back walking, running and jumping pain free.

At ReTri PT we understand how your knee works with the rest of your body. Because of this we can correct mechanics at your feet, hips, and even back that may be leading to your knee pain. We also know that muscle function is the driving force to normal movement. That’s why we focus on the root cause of strength and stability deficits, neuromuscular inhibition. These are two of the points that our unique system addresses that the conventional medical model overlooks.  

How long does it take for patients to get back in the game of life? How does results in one visit sound? Although every patient will be a little different, most ReTri patients leave their first visit with results that let them go back to normal activity and sports with little to no limitation. But we won’t stop at just getting you back to feeling better. Our goal is to get you back to full function, teach you proper injury prevention and maximize your ability for the long term.

Post-Surgery and ReTri PT: A Dynamic Duo

If you're coming out of ACL surgery, knee replacement, or meniscus/patellar procedures, ReTri PT will get you better faster and more safely. We are the bridge between the operating room and your activities. When our patients have post op check ups, their surgeons are blown away with how fast strength, motion and exercise progresses at ReTri PT versus conventional rehab.   

If you've injured your knee, sitting out isn't the answer. ReTri Physical Therapy should be your first call when symptoms arise. Rest, MRIs, ice and braces are not going to solve the problem. The right move is seeing the experts in the field (a One80 provider) and getting on top of recovery before swelling, weakness and pain start making recovery harder.

Knee pain doesn't have to be your new normal. With ReTri Physical Therapy, you can take control and jump back into your active lifestyle. Ready to get started? It’s as easy as calling (312) 857-6300 and setting up a FREE consultation.

Want to dive deeper into ReTri PT? Check out our resources at Retriperformance.com, on our Instagram account and YouTube channel.

Back Pain With ReTri: Cutting Through the Noise

Back pain isn't just a nuisance, it's the most common cause of days missed at work and doctors’ office visits. It disrupts our activities, play, and peace of mind. But before you think its just something you’ll have to put up with, know this, the patented One80 System® we use at ReTri PT has changed the game.

Do we have a proven track record of helping people with back pain? Absolutely. That why most of our patients say “ReTri is magic!” What sets us apart from conventional PT, chiropractic and massage? We actually get to the root cause of symptoms, not just mask them. For us, it's about long-term solutions, not quick fixes.

Everyone wants to know, “How long does it take?” Unfortunately, conventional treatment for back pain focuses on one-size-fits-all symptom modification strategies. Most people go to PT, chiropractic, massage or even get injections for weeks, months, or even years with minimal long-term results. At ReTri Physical Therapy we don’t accept the drawn out, minimal success with repeated visits model.  Because of our system, patients experience results day one, and are taught how to maintain those results between visits.

What about sciatica, that sharp, shooting leg pain stemming from your back? Can ReTri PT help? Yes, it's actually one of our most commonly seen conditions.

Can ReTri PT help with “bad discs” seen on an MRI? Yes, we will get to the cause of your disc issue, teach you how to stay on top of it, and relieve the fear that is limiting your abilities.

What about arthritis, can ReTri PT help? Yes, what you will find out is “arthritis” isn’t the cause of your symptoms, and we can quickly get you back up and running.

In the world of back pain, ReTri Physical Therapy has become the industry leader. It's got the science, the strategies, and the success stories to back it up. Don't just take our word for it, check out what patients are saying, read our blogs, connect with us on Instagram, or get expert insights on our YouTube channel.

Don't let back pain limit your life. Call (312) 857-6300 today to schedule a FREE consultation. With ReTri, you can take control and step into a world of pain-free possibilities.

The One80 System: A Game-Changer in Orthopedic Medicine

Forget what you think you know about physical therapy because The One80 System® is rewriting the rules. This isn't your run-of-the-mill treatment approach, it's a patented revolution in how we view and treat the human body.

Why patent a physical therapy method? Because innovation that works this well deserves protection. The One80 System we use at ReTri PT is a proprietary blend of techniques designed to optimize human movement in ways that conventional PT, chiropractic, or massage therapy can't touch.

Does the One80 System work for everyone? It's a bold claim, but the idea is simple: when you correct the root of dysfunction, the benefits ripple outward, and symptoms disappear. Whether you're an athlete or someone just looking to move better around the house, the principles used at ReTri Physical Therapy apply universally.

What sets One80 System providers apart isn't just what we do, it's how we do it. This isn't about temporary fixes or surface-level treatments that most practitioners settle for. It's a holistic approach that combines an understanding of neuromuscular physiology, biomechanics and anatomy with critical thinking and focus on individual patients. It's the difference between putting a band-aid on a problem and actually solving it.

When it comes to success rates, the One80 System doesn't hide behind vague subjective reports. Success is measured in improved function, increased strength, restored stability and enhanced motion. It's about real results that allow you to return to activities that were previously off-limits.

Intrigued? You should be. The One80 System is more than a treatment, it's a Revolution. You are a click away from breaking free from quick fixes and experiencing sustainable health. Get more info about how we do what we do at ReTriperformance.com, follow our journey on Instagram, or get insights on our YouTube channel. Or, better yet, call and schedule a FREE consultation today at (312) 857-6300.

The One80 System isn't just a change in direction, it's a complete game changer! And it's time you joined us.

Demystifying Physical Therapy: What You Really Need to Know

Physical therapy (PT) is often misunderstood, so let’s clear the air. No, it's not just for athletes, it's not a massage, it’s not just a quick “feel better” fix, it’s not being hooked up to machines and it’s not riding a stationary bike followed by ice/heat. At least that’s not what it is at ReTri Physical Therapy. We believe it's a science, an art, and a journey to a better way of living.

The conventional PT model, what you’ve experienced before, is focused on symptom modification. Decrease pain for an hour, increase motion for the short term, and/or teach you how to work around or avoid weakness/instability. What patients experience at ReTri PT is the opposite of that. We focus on function, target the root cause of symptoms, and get you back to your activities WITHOUT sitting out, taking meds and settling for short term relief.

Your journey shouldn’t just stop when you “feel better.” At ReTri PT your path to enhanced performance, function, and quality of life is the goal. It's about helping you understand your body's mechanics, physiology and using that knowledge to recover and reduce reinjury.

Do we work with recreational to professional level athletes? Yep. Do we help patients recover from surgery? Yep. Does that mean that’s all we do? Nope. Because the patented One80 System® we use at ReTri PT is based on human physiology, we use the same thought process with all of our patients no matter age, activity level or diagnosis. This is why our Medicare patients recover just as quickly as our teenage athletes.

We can share patients’ stories and testimonials for days. The best part is most of our patients tried conventional PT, chiropractic, massage and even surgery before experiencing the ReTri difference. But, success isn't just about numbers, it's about regained function, eliminated symptoms, and improved lives. Making us the go-to experts for muscle, joint and nerve issues.

Want to dive deeper and really understand the nuts and bolts of it all? You can check out the wealth of resources like our YouTube channel, our Instagram account, or keep reading our blogs. But, the best way to learn about One80 is to feel the difference for yourself by scheduling a FREE consultation just by calling (312) 857-6300.

Remember, your journey and recovery depend greatly on your choice of providers. When your health is a priority, working with the leaders in the field will get your further faster than just settling for average care.

Why Runners Are Racing to ReTri PT for Injury Recovery and Prevention

The road to recovery, and the path to prevention, shouldn’t be a solo sprint. At ReTri Physical Therapy, we're the setting the pace in rehabilitating runners and keeping them injury-free.

Shin splints, Achilles tendinitis, runner's knee, plantar fasciitis — these are common issues that can derail your training. But why settle for the typical treatments and limited results? The patented One80 System® we use at ReTri PT has replaced passive stretching with dynamic warm up, massage with active muscle re-education, inserts with barefoot exercise, and ‘rest’ with… running!

Here's the cold hard truth, conventional PT is an expensive and time-consuming way to runaround symptoms. At ReTri PT we’ve flipped the script. Our methods focus on finding the cause, reversing it, educating you how to progress all while keeping you active with your training.

But, ReTri doesn’t stop there. Our goal is to help you maximize your performance with exercise strategies, biomechanics assessments and one on one attention you won’t get from the typical PT, chiropractor, or massage therapist. The result? You run faster, run longer, run stronger and keep running without setbacks.

Are you ready for the ReTri PT paradigm shift but aren’t quite sure what to expect. Call today at (312)857-66300 and schedule a FREE consultation to experience what our patients call “ReTri magic.”

ReTri Physical Therapy has the science, the strategies, and the success stories that make us the industry leaders. Don't just take our word for it, check out what patients are saying, read our blogs, connect with us on Instagram, or get expert insights on our YouTube channel.

Where Foot and Ankle Pain Come to End

Do you have foot and ankle pain? Are you tired of the failed conventional treatments of orthotics, stretches, ice packs, and the all too often advice of “take a rest?” Would you rather get personalized care, science-based treatment, accurate advice, and real results? Of course you would, that’s why you need to do a One80.

Foot and ankle issues don't just spring up out of nowhere. They're the result of complex, underlying imbalances in your body's mechanics. It's not just about the sore spot, it's about the whole kinetic matrix. At ReTri Physical Therapy we're able to trace those problems back to their roots.

The patented One80 System® we use at ReTri PT will steer you clear of the gimmicks that mask symptoms but ignore the cause. Orthotics might support your step, and ice might numb the pain, but they're not solutions. At ReTri PT, our purpose is to address neuromuscular dysfunction that leads to inappropriate pressure on the ligaments of and ankle and plantar fascia of the foot.  

Our approach is a full-scale, biomechanical overhaul. We assess, we analyze, and we retrain your body’s specific movement patterns. This is what will allow you to be pain-free and powerful. How’s this for an example: typical PT for an acute lateral ankle sprain usually keeps athletes on crutches, in braces and out of the action for 2-4 weeks. At One80, our athletes with the same injury return to play after just 2-4 visits!

The list of foot and ankle issues we treat is extensive. Heel pain? Gone. Ankle instability? Stabilized. Post-surgery rehab? Optimized. Plantar fasciitis? No problem. We've seen it all, and we've tackled it all, and we can do the same for you.

Ready to step away from the run-around and toward real results? Experience the ReTri PT paradigm shift for yourself and walk away from foot and ankle pain by calling (312) 857-6300 today. and ask for a FREE consultation.

Redefining Shoulder Pain Treatment

When conventional physical therapy only scratches the surface, ReTri Physical Therapy goes deep to address the root cause of your shoulder pain. It's not about quick fixes, it's about lasting solutions.

At ReTri Physical Therapy we utilize the patented One80 System®. This system is not just another treatment method, it’s a philosophy, a comprehensive approach that targets the underlying dysfunction causing your shoulder issues. This system is about precision – from our total body assessment to each customized exercise you are given, our experts will normalize your function in as little as one visit.

Why does the One80 approach leave traditional PT in the dust? Because symptom modification misses the point, and One80 is in the business of hitting bullseyes. While conventional treatments focus on short term pain modification, One80’s purpose is to maximize your nerve/muscle function. This is what will restore strength, increase motion, eliminate pain and get you back to your daily activities quickly.

From rotator cuff disorders to impingement syndromes, shoulder dislocations to post operative recovery, shoulder issues are easily assessed and addressed with the One80 approach. Our practitioners have extensive post graduate training in biomechanics, anatomy and physiology allowing them to ensuring our patient’s recovery is swift and sustainable.

New patients often arrive at ReTri Physical Therapy after failing traditional treatments. Here they find a paradigm shift — a fresh perspective that combines their unique history with our expertise. It's a collaborative effort, one that yields results where others have failed.

Our success stories are testaments to a method that is the opposite of everything else, a true One80. From NFL stars to Broadway dancers, from Division I college standouts to hardworking high school athletes, from Medicare patients to those suffering from auto injuries, One80 Physical Therapy has redefined what it means to recover, rebuild, and return stronger.

If your shoulder pain didn’t respond to PT, chiropractic, massage and even injections, it's time to do a One80. Experiencing the difference between old school and the revolution is as easy as scheduling a FREE consultation. Call (312) 857-6300 now to get started.  

Get more info about how we do what we do follow our journey on Instagram, or get insights on our YouTube channel. Or, better yet, call and schedule a FREE consultation today at (312) 857-6300.

Discover Your Heart Rate Zones for Endurance Training

This week we're tackling heart rate zones with endurance training.

Before we get into the details I have created a spreadsheet for this blog post that will calculate your heart rate zones for you as well as provide you with free beginner/returning from injury running programs for 5K/10K/Half marathons. So email cganzer@retriperformance.com for a copy of the spreadsheet.

If you have suggestions for future topics that you want to know more about for endurance, strength, injury recovery/prevention you can reply to this email!

First: What are heart rate zones and why are they important?

Your heart rate zones are tied to 2 main things. The first is essentially psychological, your effort. 

There is even something called a Borg scale that ranges from 6 to 20 which is supposed to roughly align with your resting to max heart rate. If you rate something as a 6 it's as easy as sitting on the couch. If you rate it at a 20, it's the hardest you could possibly work and you fear your heart may explode.

The next is physiological, which is the lactate levels your body is producing and getting rid of. You've probably heard of "lactic acid" build up from a hard workout. As lactate accumulates your cardiovascular system is working simultaneously to clear it out.

This is where "Zone 2" that you may have heard of comes in. This is the zone where you are challenging yourself aerobically at the level that your body is able to clear out lactate at the same level it is being produced.

You can stay in zone 2 for a long time without accumulating much fatigue which is why this has become such a popular training method for endurance athletes.

This is also the reason you may have been told to avoid training in "Zone 3" or the "gray zone" because you are getting the same return from zone 2 but lactate is building up faster than it can be cleared out and you get much more fatigued as a result.

So, how do we find out what our personal heart rate zones are? The first things we need to know are your resting and max heart rates. Resting can be easy to find. If you have a wearable that tracks your heart rate check what the average has been over the last 7 days or so (even better if you wear it while sleeping). If you don't, sit down and relax for 5 minutes then set a 15 second timer and check your pulse at your wrist (then multiply by 4 to get your resting heart rate). Next is finding your max heart rate... which will take a little more work. 

Unfortunately the old 220-Age equation has proven not to be very accurate for finding your max heart rate. The best way to find your personal max heart is to go for an all-out workout.

You can keep it simple, I like:

5x400 meters run with 1-1:30 rest between

OR

5 min all out on the bike (VO2max effort)

Obviously you want to warm up before each of these workouts but these should give you a better sense of your own max heart rate.

After you have your resting and max heart rates you can simply plug the numbers in to the Excel calculator attached to this email to get your zones.

We've already explained zones 2 and 3 above so we'll describe zones 1,4, and 5 below:

Zone 1: Known as the recovery zone, this is typically used for improving blood circulation during a rest day or for training with ultra endurance athletes.

Zone 4: This is often described as Threshold training. It is typically around where your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) falls for bike training and represents the theoretical effort you could sustain for 1 hour.

Zone 5: This is redline training, if done correctly this type of training can only be sustained for a few seconds to a couple minutes.

There are various training methods that we won't dive too deeply into that give guidelines for training.

The most popular being the 80/20 Training popularized by Matt Fitzgerald. The basic principle is to do 80% of your training at zone 2 effort and 20% at zones  4/5 effort while staying away from the Zone 3 gray zone.

80/20 Training has shown great results for athletes of all skill levels when compared to athletes who train primarily in the gray zone.

If you're looking for something to accurately track your heart rate during your workouts your best bet is a chest strap HR monitor. I've linked a Garmin option below:

Garmin HRM PRO

I like the chest monitor over a wrist watch because they tend to be much more accurate, especially on hard efforts.

Why I Never Recommend Stretching

This week we're going over why I NEVER recommend stretching to my patients and athletes. It doesn't matter whether you're an elite level athlete or just have difficulty getting out of a chair. 

1. Clarifying Terms

Whenever I say stretching, I am referring to passive stretching where it is being held in an elongated position without any significant load on the muscle for a sustained period of time. 

Dynamic stretching does not fit these terms as you're often performing it while standing, not holding for any significant period of time, and the muscle is loaded (due to the standing and/or active movement component).

Yoga is also generally fine because most of the "Stretches" are actually being held in difficult balance or stabilizing positions causing the muscle to work and contract to  maintain its position.

2. What's Actually Happening When You Stretch

For this we need a short lesson in Neuromuscular physiology, fancy words for how your nerves and muscles work together. Along your muscles are things called "Muscle spindles." 

These Muscle Spindles give feedback on muscle length and how quickly that muscle length changes. These spindles get stretched when the muscle lengthens (AKA stretching). 

When the muscle spindles stretch the connection between nerve and muscle essentially weakens. You will notice a significant drop in force production as you can see in this quick video.

This effect typically lasts 1 hour, so it's not permanent, but definitely not moving you in the direction you want to go for any kind of activity afterwards. 

Think about starting your car. Do you want the wires to your car battery loose and splayed open? Or do you want them tight and orderly? Chances are the latter option will have a better chance of starting your car.

There are 2 main things that can happen with stretching and then trying to perform whether that be in a workout or a race.

1. You don't perform as well as you could have had you done something to activate your muscles

2. You expect a certain level of performance from your body that it can no longer give and increase your chance of getting injured as a result.

3. If I Shouldn't Stretch, What Should I do Instead?

There are 2 easy things you can do to replace stretching in your routine that will actually help you improve your performance.

1. Isometrics

2. Increasing muscle recruitment

Isometrics are pretty simple, you're generally isolating one muscle group by holding your arm/leg/trunk in a certain position and squeezing that muscle for a certain period of time (I usually prescribe 5 times for 5 seconds each). 

This has the benefit of facilitating the muscle that you're contracting. If stretching weakens the connection between nerve and muscle, isometrics strengthen it. I've attached demonstration videos for the 3 most common isometrics (well 2 videos, one of them you'd have to pay extra to see) I give out that is mostly due to the frequency we sit.

Butt Squeezes (this is the one with no video)- While standing squeeze your butt muscles together and hold for 5 seconds. Repeat 5x.

Quad/Hamstring Isometric

Chair Crunch 

Increasing muscle recruitment can be accomplished through 2 different ways: Increasing the load/weight the muscle has to move or increasing how quickly you are trying to move. This video of a full dynamic warm up involves both of these aspects.

Strength Training for Triathletes

How many of you have been told you need to include strength training if you want to be a well rounded endurance athlete? While this is for the most part true, there's very little good information out there for where to start (as a triathlete).

The goal of this week's newsletter is to give a starting point and lay out the things that are actually important when it comes to strength training to save you time and maximize your results.

1. Common Mistakes of Lifting for the Endurance Athlete

One of the most common misconceptions with strength training as a triathlete is that you should be primarily focused on muscle endurance. This makes sense at first, after all, you're an endurance athlete. Shouldn't you be working on endurance in the gym too? 

In reality most of your endurance work should be saved for swimming, biking, or running. Whereas the gym should be used for building strength and power which typically looks like low reps and lots of rest.

Along with that is either training your sets to failure (where you couldn't possibly do one more rep) or not training intensely enough to come anywhere near failure.

You want to find a happy medium, giving a good, strong effort for every set without burning yourself out too much and ruining yourself for tomorrow's run (as an example). We'll go over this in the next section.

The other common fault I see is that triathletes don't include plyometrics into their training programs. Explosive plyometrics (box jumps, broad jumps, pogo hops, depth jumps, etc.) are crucial for increasing the amount of power and resilience your body has when running. Running is one of the highest loads we can place on our bodies (and this isn't a bad thing). As you continue to run over time your body adapts to that load and is able to handle more. I'm guessing your first run wasn't 10 miles after lacing up your shoes and heading out the door. There's a good chance you had to build up to that.

But, many of us have experienced hitting a wall with our runs where either we can't move any faster, or, we can't move any further. Plyometrics will help with both of those aspects because they load the body more than running does. If you want your body to adapt and push past the ability to handle a certain amount of stress, you need to introduce it to something more stressful.

With that said, trade your banded sidelying clamshells for some plyometric training in the gym!

2. The Basic Components of an Effective Strength Training Program

The barebones of a strength program can be broken down into a very simple rule: The 3 to 5 rule. Pick 3-5 exercises, do 3-5 reps, for 3-5 sets, training 3-5 days per week, and take enough rest to give full effort on the next set. The effort you are shooting for is about an 8/10. Now, this can be difficult to gauge, especially as a beginner but you can think about getting to the point where you could only do 2 more reps before you would completely fail the lift.

I would also mention that, with the amount of training being done for triathlon already, you can typically get away with training 2x/week instead of 3.

Now I know adding on more training sessions with the amount of time triathlon already takes isn't exactly desirable. If you email cganzer@retriperformance.com and request our 12 week strength training template we have a plan that has you lifting 2 days per week. If you're efficient, these workouts should take you 30 minutes or less. You also don't have to do 5 accessory (or extra) exercises every workout but the template has them there if you feel the need.

Plantar Fasciitis

Hey! This week we'll be starting a series of common injuries that occur in triathletes, how you can spot them, and what you can do for them! To kick it off I figured we'd start from the bottom then end up... Here? Anyways, this week, we're going over...

Plantar Fasciitis

What is plantar fasciitis?

To make it simple, plantar fasciitis is an irritation of the connective tissue that connects your foot bones to your heel bones. The presentation for this is usually described as significant pain within the first 5 steps of the day (around the area pictured to the left) that dissipates to some level with continued walking.

Where things can get confusing is when words like inflammation, degeneration, heel spur, etc. come into play.

These things can sometimes play a part in the symptoms of plantar fasciitis but they are often not the root cause, which we'll discuss next. 

Root Cause of Plantar Fasciitis

The root cause of plantar fasciitis can be boiled down to something called neuromuscular inhibition.

In other words, certain muscles have stopped working to their normal and necessary capacity. 

And for plantar fasciitis, it is often not the muscles on the bottom of the foot that are inhibited!

Instead, we will be focusing on muscles in the front of the shin as the culprits!

The reason for this is something called reciprocal inhibition (more fancy words). This basically states that opposite muscles talk and work with each other.

But! When one muscle is inhibited, it doesn't take its fair share of the workload, and the opposite muscle (in this case, the muscles on the bottom of your foot) end up taking on more than they can handle.

What To Do About It

So, we've established that plantar fasciitis stems from certain muscles not doing their part, how can we make them... do their part?

First, we need to confirm what you're experiencing actually is plantar fasciitis and if there are any additional factors contributing to pain. Unfortunately, a lot of things, such as Achilles tendinosis, posterior tibialis tendinitis, and so on, all get lumped in as the same plantar fasciitis diagnosis. In reality those diagnoses have different muscles not working in different ways to cause the issue.

The best way to do this would be in the clinic where I could assess you myself but if that isn't an option right now here are a few things you can quickly check to see if your pain fits in the right box of plantar fasciitis.

• Pain on the bottom of your foot at the front of your heel (possibly into the arch)

• Symptoms come on in the first 5 steps of the day or whenever initiating walking after a prolonged period of sitting/lying down

• Pain may decrease with walking for a few minutes but generally cannot tolerate more stress such as running (this may get worse if you have been dealing with it for a long time)

• Difficulty/tightness felt doing this heel walk test. This may or may not be painful

If you fit those criteria the next, most important step is to cut out the crap!

Static stretching, foam rolling, massage gunning, scraping, shoe orthotics, and rolling on an ice bottle/lacrosse ball on the bottom of your foot lead to more neuromuscular inhibition. Although this time around you've shut down the signal from the muscles on the bottom of the foot leaving both sides of your leg weak and dysfunctional. That is, until your pain comes back and you have to repeat the cycle.

Those things may provide temporary relief (which is why it may be difficult to let go of them) but they don't solve the long term problem.

So, what do I recommend instead?

Start with this simple 3-way ankle raise exercise. Do 5 reps in each direction holding 5 seconds each time. This is the first step in reversing the inhibition of your shin muscles. 

Then follow it up with 5 crossover lunges and forward lunges (with a twist) on each leg.

Try to do these exercise 5x per day in the early stages (especially the ankles raises right when you wake up). Then go about your day with as little support in your shoes as possible (exceptions below). If you are in a situation where going barefoot or having minimal support shoes for most of the day isn't an option try to go barefoot at home as much as possible.

Exceptions: If the heel walk test gave you pain (in the heel) it is OK to walk with some cushioned shoes until pain decreases. This can be a sign of a heel spur causing irritation which can improve with time but just needs some short term relief in the beginning.

If you have diabetes continue to wear your orthotics as prescribed (if you have them). 

P.S. These tips will be more successful for you depending on how recently this problem has started, how closely you fit the diagnostic criteria above, and how closely you follow the exercise/activity prescription. If you are still experiencing problems you can book an appointment with us at ReTri Performance by calling/texting (312)857-6300 or emailing Cganzer@retriperformance.com

Zone 2 Training

What is it?

A form of training utilizing specific heart rate zones to maximize aerobic function through building mitochondrial efficiency and fat as fuel utilization rather than carbs.

Why do I care?

As an endurance athlete this is how you build speed over longer distances and also decrease your likelihood of injury because you are training at an overall lower intensity

How do I find my Zone 2… Zone?

Free, Low to No Effort: MAF (Maximal Aerobic Function) Method

The simplest way to get an idea of your top zone 2 heart rate is as follows:

180-Age= Max Zone 2 HR, subtract additional beats for each of the following scenarios

If you are recovering from major illness (heart disease, any operation or hospital stay, etc.), in rehab, take regular medication, or are chronically overtraining , subtract an additional 10.

If you are injured, regressed or plateaued in training or competition, get more than two colds, flu or other infections per year, have seasonal allergies or asthma, are overweight, are slightly over trained, or been inconsistent, just starting, or just getting back into training, subtract an additional 5.

If you have been training for more than two years without any of the problems listed above, have made progress in your MAF Tests, improved competitively and are without injury, add 5.

Free, high effort: Karvonen Method

The Karvonen Method, like the MAF method, is another math equation that is just slightly more complex. The equation is as follows:

[(Max HR - Resting HR) x %Intensity] + Resting HR = Target HR

In order to find the limits of your zone 2 heart rates the intensity should be 60-70% so you would plug in “.6” to the %Intensity part of the equation and then again plugging in “.7”.

The “high effort” portion of this method comes from finding your actual max HR. Sure, you could just do 220 - your age but this hasn’t been very accurate for a lot of people who may have an above or below average max HR.

So, how do you go about finding your personal max HR?

Well, one effective method would be doing two max effort 400 meter intervals after a 10+ minute warm up. You could also try a couple all-out hill sprints over a shorter distance.

Whatever you choose to do, the first interval should elevate your HR substantially. Look at the peak HR after the first interval and, if it doesn’t go any higher during your second interval, that is your max HR.

The point is, you have to put it all out on the line and make it hurt (probably a lot). It also helps to have a device measuring your heart rate as taking an accurate manual heart rate can be challenging immediately after a max intensity effort. In my experience a chest heart rate strap is ideal, wrist HR monitors can be significantly inaccurate.

Lactate testing

This method is primarily for individuals with metabolic diseases such as diabetes, or, super nerds (which is totally cool, if you wanna geek out, geek out!). It involves pricking your finger with a lancet, placing it on a lactate strip, and plugging it into a lactate reader (which you can find here: https://www.edge-usa.com/lactate-meter/ ). The way you would find your zone 2 using these is to workout while tracking your heart rate while testing your lactate. Obviously pricking your finger 20 times in a workout doesn’t sound like an enjoyable experience so for maximum efficiency I would start with finding your estimated zone 2 heart rates with the Karvonen method, work up to the peak of that mathematically defined zone and test your lactate then. If your reading is just under 2 mmol/L (or 36 mg/dL - some of these devices provide different units) that is your maximum heart rate for zone 2.

How do I know that I’m in Zone 2?

Conversational pace

The most cost efficient way to know if you are in zone 2 is if you are able to have a conversation while performing the activity. You want to be right before the point where you feel like you can’t chat about the weather with someone but you shouldn’t be able to hide the fact that you are exerting yourself.

Wrist heart rate

The next level up that involves an expense but also the ability to start tracking your data is a wrist heart rate monitoring device. These include Apple watches, Garmin, Whoop, FitBit, or several other brand name watches that allow you to track your workouts with a heart rate reading.

While these are a step up in terms of being able to track your performance as compared to the previously mentioned, “See if you can talk but not well” method of tracking your zone 2 workouts, they still are not ideal. If you are running, biking, swimming, or doing other activities that would involve a lot of jostling, pressure on your wrists/forearms, or submersion the watch’s ability to track your HR accurately, or at all, can be compromised.

So, what can we do about it?

Chest strap heart rate

The best answer for myself has been a Chest strap HR monitor that connects to my watch and phone. I use the Garmin HR-M Pro but there are other options available. The chest strap, compared to the wrist HR monitor, is much more accurate when actually measuring your HR. It is negligibly affected by any jostling during a run and it sits right over the thing you’re trying to measure (your heart).

This option has been ideal for me because I can set up my workouts on the Garmin app to keep me within a certain HR zone, sync it to my watch, throw on the chest strap, and go do my workout. I don’t have to waste extra time or energy constantly checking if I’m in the right HR zone because my watch will yell at me if I veer outside of it.

Lactate testing

One extra way to measure your zone 2 workouts would be through lactate testing where you essentially prick your finger and measure it using lactate strips at 15 minute intervals during your workout to make sure your lactate is under 2 mmol. Now, this may sound ridiculous; however, it can be a useful tool for individuals with certain medical conditions, particularly diabetes. If you, or your doctor, believe that you have a higher baseline lactate levels AND those levels rise at a higher rate then the previous HR zone equations mentioned above might not mean anything because you’re not actually working in a fully aerobic capacity.

How much should I do for Longevity? Performance?

Let’s preface this topic with examples of what longevity and performance look like for different people. After all, if I told a powerlifter attempting to reach a max deadlift of 600 lbs that he needs to do 10 hours a week of low intensity cardio on a bike… well, he may be inclined to drop that deadlift on my head.

We can define longevity in two primary ways, lifespan (essentially starting the clock the day you’re born and stopping it when you die) and healthspan (how many of the years out of your life that you are able to perform physical, mental, and social activities that result in a personally fulfilling and meaningful life). Many people towards the end of their lives experience significant limitations in their capabilities that restrict them from truly enjoying their lives. Zone 2 cardio, is one essential tool we can use to combat the likelihood of this happening.

So, if you want to be able to make it up a flight of stairs when you’re 80 years old without needing a 5 minute sitting break or pick up a bag of mulch to tend to your garden when you’re 90, zone 2 is large piece of the puzzle to accomplishing those goals.

Most research points to 4-6 hours of zone 2 per week being optimal for improving cardiovascular health and function. With that said, if you are starting off from doing nothing, doing something will be better. There is nothing wrong with striving to complete 180 minutes (or 3 hours) per week, broken into 10 minute bouts if you are just starting out or coming back from an injury/illness.

When it comes to performance the limit for improvement is rather high. There are some professional endurance athletes who push 30+ hours per week of zone 2 training on top of higher intensity work. With this said the answer really depends on your goal. If you’re working full time and attempting to train for an Ironman, you may peak at around 12-18 hours per week. Shorter races can obviously take less of a time commitment but in terms of gains, if you are a regular human and not a professional mutant, it is going to be hard to hit a ceiling where you wouldn’t see performance benefits from doing more zone 2 work.

Zone 5 Training

What is it?

Zone 5 is a heart rate zone at the top end of your maximal heart rate (between 90-100%) that also happens to indicate you are providing maximal effort for very brief periods of time.

Why do I care?

If zone 2 is the best method for building endurance of volumes of work, zone 5 is the most effective method for building speed and power. Zone 5 is a crucial component to training for endurance events if want to complete those events faster.

If you notice that you’re able to go longer on your zone 2 runs and rides but your pace has remained stagnant, you may want to look at incorporating some zone 5 efforts into your training.

How do I find my Zone 5… Zone?

This is fairly easy, the top end of your zone 5 is… your max heart rate. While you can find the bottom end by using the Karvonen formula:

[(Max HR-Resting HR) * (.9)] + Resting HR

The (.9) is indicative of 90% intensity because zone 5 is supposed to be 90-100% effort.

When it comes to finding out what your max HR you could simply do 220- your age, or, if you want to make it more specific to you (if you think you have a naturally higher or lower heart rate) you can perform 2 max intensity 400m intervals. The first interval is to attempt to reach your max heart rate, the second interval is to confirm that it was actually your max.

How can I tell if I am in Zone 5?

This, like finding your zone 5 heart rates, is also fairly easy. Take whatever activity you are doing: running, cycling, swimming, competitive badminton, etc. and make the pace hurt. Preferably rather quickly. The 75 year old men wearing khakis with belts to a serious athletic event will never know what hit them when you sprint to the front to spike that birdie harder than a D1 volleyball player on Adderall. You also might be banned from the country club so perform this at your own risk.

How should I implement this into my training?

It is important to note that zone 5 training is a very large load on your entire body. It can accumulate a lot of muscular, cardiovascular, and nervous system fatigue very quickly. So, it should not eat up a very large portion of the time you are training.

One prevailing theory is the 80/20 principle for endurance training. The idea behind this is that 80% of your training should be within zone 2 and the remaining 20% within zone 5.

Training in this fashion helps you build volume of work and continue to improve speed without overtaxing your body and leading to increased likelihood of injury.

The other point to make is within the workouts themselves. Should you just go out and sprint a 5K once a week? Probably not. This is where intervals come into play.

A general framework for building interval workouts is to create a work to rest ratio of somewhere between 1:3 and 1:5. This means that for whatever amount of time you are working hard, you spend between 3-5x that amount of time resting or at a very low intensity to recover.

You can extend the rest times if you are working harder, for example, doing 200 meter sprints on the track. However, I wouldn’t decrease the rest to be less than the 1:3 ratio if you are truly working within your zone 5.

An example running workout could look something like this:

Warmup - 5’ dynamic drills, easy jog 10’

Main Set: Repeat 10x

30” 5K pace/1:30 walk or jog

Cooldown - 10’ walk or jog

Total Time: 45 minutes

As you can see it can be very simple to build a tough workout and easy to manipulate too. You could alter the repetitions/paces/times of each interval to fit your current fitness level but keep the goal interval the same within workout.