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Exercise for brain health

Rachel Larson · August 3, 2023 ·

Everyone knows that exercise is good for humans. But, did you know that exercise is one of the most effective ways to maintain brain health?

Why is improving brain health important?

5.8M people in the United States over the age of 65 have dementia. 80% are 75 or older. Two thirds of them are women (Alzheimer’s Association, 2020).
By 2050, a projected 13.8M people aged 75 and older will have dementia. (Alzheimer’s Association, 2020)

Incorporating exercise into daily routines is a foundational strategy to maintain brain health and improve quality of life with higher levels of energy, strength and brain function. The best results happen when we combine cardiovascular, strength and mind-body exercise (cognitively challenging) exercise into our weekly routines. This is good news for Flostate members – we are already doing this! You just have to show up for class (or planfully use the on-demand library).

Here are some benefits to each form of exercise:

Why do Cardio?

According to the work of John Ratey, in Spark, increasing heart rate to 60-70% of maximum heart rate for even 10 minutes positively changes the brain. 35 minutes increases cognitive flexibility and executive function. This means faster thinking and better decisions!

Strength Training Perks:

Strength training builds not only muscles, but bones. A stronger and more active body means healthier mitochondria and faster metabolism. The boost in circulation and healthy cells enhances your brain health.

Yoga/Pilates and MindBody Fitness:

Practicing balance, connecting with one’s abilities, and challenging the mind and body to move in multiple patterns while learning new skills is critical to brain health. Increasing body awareness, strength, focus, and balance all lead to a great sense of confidence, increase neuroplasticity (flexibility and growth of the brain). It also reduces the incidence of falls and fear of falling.

Your weekly exercise recommendation:

Strength Train: 2 times per Week.

Join Alice’s live Dumbbell Essentials class or grab other strength training classes from our on-demand library.

Cardio: 2-5 Sessions per Week.

Need a jolt of higher level thinking? Do some cardio before your next important presentation. Even 8-15 minutes makes a difference. Challenge yourself to 25 minutes at least 2 days a week. Try our live Cardio Core with Arm Tone Blast or sample other cardiio classes from our ono-demand library.

Yoga/Mindbody: 2 Sessions per Week.

Try our signature Yoga Restore Flo or Balanced Body Method class live or on-demand. Any class that requires you to be breathing, and thinking carefully about your body movement while challenging your balance and concentration is key.

Questions? Reach out to Rachel at info@theflostate.com. See you in class!

Glute exercises to relieve low back pain

Rachel Larson · August 3, 2023 ·

The Link Between Low Back Pain and Your Glutes

Why low back pain?

Low back pain plagues 80% of Americans at some point in their lives and can originate from a variety of factors and conditions. Today’s focus is on glute activation to help relieve low back pain.

How your glutes play a role in low back pain

Your gluteal muscles are meant to work synergistically with other muscles to stabilize your femurs when you stand, extend and externally rotate your hips. Sometimes these “other muscles” can take over and lead to weakened and/or shortened glutes. This imbalance of strength and muscle activation can lead to low back pain. This pain happens when the low back becomes overly mobile as a result of the glutes not properly stabilizing the femur. For instance, when you are walking or running, the femur can internally rotate, causing a drop in the pelvis (Trendelenburg gait) which pulls on the lumbar spine.

3 Quick Ways to Assess Your Glute Function

How do you know if your glutes are firing adequately? Try these three assessments for clues. Grab a friend or family member to watch you move and help you see subtle clues more clearly. Better yet, sign up for your full Virtual Assessment with Curated Class Prescription. See the end of the article for details.*

Posture alignment test: Take off your shoes. Stand sideways with your feet together. Bend your arms and put your wrist on the side of your high hip bone (Iliac crest). Lay your hand flat and fingers straight down the side of your thigh. Note where your longest finger lines up. It should be at the level of your greater trochanter- the bump on the side of your upper thigh. Now look to see where that bone is lining up with your outer ankle bone- your lateral malleolus. With optimal posture, those bony landmarks should line up. If your greater trochanter is in front of your lateral malleolus (your lateral ankle bone) you may have weaker or shortened glutes.

Do some squats and see what happens to your knees: With shoes off, widen your feet to hip width apart. Reach your hands directly in front of your shoulders with elbows straight. Sit back into a squat and watch what your knees do. Did they rotate out or inward? This can be subtle, so watch carefully. And, try to not overly control your movement to make your knees stay straight. We are trying to understand what your body does when you are not thinking about your movement. If your knees move inward, you may have weaker or shorter glutes.
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Try a single leg squat: With shoes off, place your hands on your hips and lift one foot off the ground and bring the knee to hip height. Watching the knee of the leg you are standing on carefully, try to squat down a little. This is going to be a small range of motion compared to your regular squats and that is okay.

Again, watch what your knee does. Did it rotate out or inward? This can be subtle, so watch carefully. And, try to not overly control your movement to make your knees stay straight. If your knees move inward, you may have weaker or shorter glutes.

My glutes may be weak or shortened, now what?

Weaker or shortened glutes are not the end of the world, but if you sometimes experience low back pain or want to avoid low back pain, improving your glute strength and function will help. Try to incorporate more lower body strengthening exercises such as squats, lunges or hip thrusts into your routine. Try 2 sets of 12 reps, 3x per week.

Release Muscle Tension with Myofascial Stretching

Rachel Larson · August 3, 2023 ·

Myofascial stretching helps release tension in the body which in turn helps reduce pain and helps you move better. In this article you’ll learn about: 1) What fascia is and why it is important, 2) What can happen when it gets too tight in certain areas, 3) How fascial stretches differ from standard stretches. 4) How myo stretches help release constricted areas.

What is fascia and why is it important?

You can think of fascia as a webbing and support structure for every part of your body and cells including muscles, joints, bones and nerves. It provides shape and structure to the body – it literally holds us together!

Fascia is a key element of every kind of physical training we do:

• Strength training

• Agility and speed work

• Flexibility

• Coordination

• Recovery

It surrounds and penetrates all of the structures of the body to:

• Create structure

• Transfer force

• Allow fluidity between structures

But what happens when fascia gets too tight or unhealthy?

Fascia can get constricted, shortened or tight due to injury, trauma, inflammation or chronically poor posture. These constricted areas can put extra tension on muscles, nerves,bones and joints – altering function and movement. This often leads to pain, movement limitations, and malalignment of joints and imbalances in muscles.

How are myofascial stretches different from standard stretches?

Myofascial stretches are three dimensional. The body is positioned using all three planes of motion (sagittal, transverse, frontal planes).
Myofascial stretches require strength. Every stretch has a muscle contraction component. For example, if we are trying to stretch out hamstrings, we contract the quadriceps.
These stretches require concentration. These are active stretches that require thought and focus. You can think of them as a form of mediation!
Finally, true myofascial stretches are held 90-120 seconds. Much longer than your typical 20-30 second hold.

How we incorporate stretching into Flostate classes:

We have myo stretches included into the Yoga Restore Flo, Foam Roll and Lengthen, and Intensive Stretching classes. The stretches are woven into class and blended with more traditional yoga poses and stretches, creating a unique blend of movements designed to improve your range of motion, decrease aches and pains and leave you feeling more physically ready for anything. Try out one of our Flostate yoga restore classes and feel the difference!

Contact Rachel at Flostate to learn more about how you can increase your joint health, improve your mobility, strength, balance and reduce pain at info@theflostate.com.

Want to reach your goals? Do these 5 things

Alice Halvorson · August 3, 2023 ·

Tis the season for goal setting, resolutions, and embarking on new ventures. Most of us have that nagging feeling that we want to make changes and start fresh. This can happen at any point for any reason, but the drive is especially strong right now as we usher in a new year. We always have good intentions, but many times we miss the mark with our plan (wait, I need a plan?!) and ultimately fail to reach whatever we set out to achieve. How can we do better? What do we need to change to reach the goals we set and get the results we seek?

Here are 5 things you should be doing to reach your goals:

Number 1: Make your Goals “Smart Goals”

You’ve probably heard this one already, but it bears repeating. Your goals should be S.M.A.R.T. That stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound. Why?

Specific goals help bring focus to what you want. You can’t do everything; narrow it down.

Measurable goals are anchored in metrics that you can measure and therefore track. How will you know how far you’ve come if you don’t have a way to measure it?

Achievable goals are things that you know you can realistically accomplish. So probably not losing 20lbs in one month or climbing Mt. Everest…forget the extreme, get real instead.

Relevant goals are those that make sense in your life. Why is this goal important to you? This may be one of the most important aspects of your goal and goal setting in general – THE WHY. It has to mean something to you, or when the going gets tough, you’ll jump ship.

Time Bound goals have a deadline attached to them. You need this time frame so you can create your plan. It also gives you a sense of urgency that motivates you to act.

Number 2: Defining Your “WHY”

Get crystal clear on why you want to do this. Why change at all? Why THIS goal? Make it for you, not for anyone else. Why will this goal improve your life, health or situation? Why is it important? Visualize how you will feel once you achieve this goal. Is it striking a nerve or not? Go deeper and keep asking “why” until you can articulate why this goal is important to pursue.

Number 3: Learn from Past Experiences / Failures

Most likely you’ve tried to make changes before, or even tried to achieve this same goal in the past. Reflect on that. What worked? What didn’t? What were your “hiccups”? Where did you get stuck? When did it get hard and why? This reflection could give you some important information on what strategies to use this time around.

Number 4: Secure a Source of Accountability

Tell someone about your goal, and better yet, someone with whom you value their opinion (related article). And get specific. Talking about the plan you will do specifically (versus the end goal) is even more beneficial in terms of holding you accountable. There is a part of you that won’t want to let the person you tell down or risk their disappointment if you fail. Use this to your advantage! And along with that, get yourself an “Accountability Partner”. Maybe this is a coach, friend, trainer, colleague – someone that you trust and “gets it”…someone that will support you through the journey, but will also get real with you and coax you back on track when things get challenging. Speaking of challenges…

Number 5: Expect Challenges

If nothing changes, nothing changes. Reaching a new goal will require a shift in you and it will require WORK from you. This is uncomfortable. I believe this is one area where people tend to have a blind spot. We want to skirt through on motivation alone, thinking it should be relatively easy because we just want to succeed so bad. However, there will be times that you want to quit and following your plan will be hard. What’s your plan when it gets tough?

When that happens, you know what? Come back to this article. Come back to your “Why”. Analyze it all again. Call your accountability partner. Follow your plan. Keep on going. You’ll shatter your goals and learn a ton in the process!

Which foam roller is right for me?

Rachel Larson · August 3, 2023 ·

When it comes to foam rollers, there are lots of choices to pick from. When choosing you must consider size, diameter, length, density, color and brand. In this article we break these options down to help you to select the best foam roller for you.

What size foam roller is best?

Online you will find dozens of foam roller shapes and sizes. The most common and “original” size is the 9” diameter and 36” length. This allows you to lay length-wise on the foam roller for some unique core strengthening and posture enhancing movements. Anything shorter will not work. We recommend this 9”/36” foam roller as our top pick for Flostate classes.

How firm should my foam roller be?

Not all rollers are the same density or firmness. To the body, this means that some foam rollers will feel very hard and others softer.

Softer rollers:
Softer foam rollers are much more comfortable to use and allow a person to relax more while using it. This is because myofascial release of hardened or “locked” tissues can cause some discomfort. A softer foam roller will not press as deeply into the muscle/tissues and will be a more gentle solution. It can prepare tissues for a firmer foam roller as your body starts to unwind.

Firmer rollers:
Firmer rollers will help you “get right to it”. You may be more uncomfortable at first using a firm roller versus a softer option, but you will eventually adjust. The trick is to use the foam roller on a frequent basis- weekly for example. Your body will begin to unwind, and as it does, the pressure will become more comfortable. This is a sign that your fascia is responding and “unlocking” or improving.

Which foam roller is right for me?

Here’s one way to decide. Do you prefer a deep tissue massage? Or would you rather have a gentle soft to medium pressure massage?

If you you are a soft to medium massage pressure person, we recommend the pink OPTP foam roller.

If you are the deep tissue massage sort of person, we recommend the black Power Systems foam roller.

Still not sure? You could try them both?

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