Fast Fitness - Stronger, Straighter Upper Back

7 Comments:

• At Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:08:00 PM,  Anonymous said…

  Hello Dr. Bookspan: let me start by saying a big THANK YOU! reading the wealth of information you provide in this blog has completely changed my approach to fitness as a life-style, and I purchased 4 of your book to expand my learning.
  
  Now, let me switch to a practical question regarding back exercises: as I am adding this exercise to the lower-back and upper-back extensions, I wander what is your view of the value or risk of combining lower-back and upper-back extensions into a single exercise, what people call the "superman". Is it beneficial, or do you recommend sticking with the separate lower-back extensions vs. upper-back extensions?

   

• At Saturday, June 06, 2009 1:14:00 AM,  Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…

  Hello Anonymous, thank you for good work making your real daily actions healthful. Health is supposed to be your regular life, not a separate, artificial, limited set of gestures.
  
  Practically, you would get more back extension during healthy daily movement than during any sets or reps of any kind of extensions. I am not convinced that "supermans" are bad, as others say. Supermans can be useful to train certain needed movement. I use them in some of my work for specific purposes. I have seen people injure themselves doing them wrong, forcing and sheering their back, craning their neck, but with understanding the function, and changing the movement to get the real function, then you can benefit. Come to a workshop so I can see and comment with more knowledge. From your description, it sounds like you already are doing great.
  
  Better than sets of extensions, look at your many hours each day of real life - when you prevent round shoulders with retraction to neutral, you are getting upper back extension exercise. When you sit and bend and lift right instead of rounding forward, you get healthful, functional upper and mid range back extension. When you use neutral spine to walk, run, kick, and jump, by extending at the hip instead of allowing the lower spine to increase in arch passively into hyperlordosis, then you get healthful lower back extension.
  
  Excellent that you knew to get some of the books. The books show many different ways to apply this for all the body - daily, functional muscle use and exercise continuously built in to your real life. Make sure you only have the third edition of Health and Fitness and the third expanded Ab Revolution, rather than previous editions.
  
  Keep writing in with your successes with all the information. Have fun. Stay inspired.

   

• At Monday, June 08, 2009 1:00:00 PM,  Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…

  Another reader asked the insightful question of how to get built-in upper body exercise by functional healthful movement during daily life - click Upper Body Built in Functional Fitness.

   

• At Tuesday, June 09, 2009 10:30:00 AM,  Anonymous said…

  Thanks for adding the reference to the post that contains your answer to a related good question, and thanks even more for the continuing, relentless reminder that a few minutes of focused exercises should be complementary rather than replacing the greater benefit that comes from simply doing it right in the first place. ;-)
  On a different note: I would like to take you on your suggestion in the first response that I will come to a workshop so you can see and comment with more knowledge; I would really love that opportunity; are you planning any workshops in the Boston area in the near future?

   

• At Thursday, June 11, 2009 2:13:00 PM,  Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…

  Anonymous, your June 9 question on classes doesn't show up in all browsers. Some readers may not know what I am replying to here. In any case, Excellent grasp that many of these exercises are complementary, not stand-alone. Like many things, the message gets lost, but the idle actions repeated.
  
  I also "Supermans" and other common moves as something better than an exercise - as diagnostic. If someone is too tight, weak, that they cannot do them, or with such movement dysfunction that they do them injuriously, it shows specifics that likely hinder their life.
  
  My web site CLASS page - DrBookspan.com/classes - updates classes and locations.
  
  A great opportunity is when I can give several workshops in a short time at one location. The next chance is detailed in Get Certified, Learn With Fitness Fixer Personally In Colorado USA in July. People come from all over the world. Road trip?

   

• At Friday, June 12, 2009 3:36:00 PM,  Anonymous said…

  While your books are inspiring and you are doing a great job in communicating your vast body of knowledge in writing, I am sure that 1 hour of actual practice under your guidance would have made quite a difference. Unfortunately, I cannot afford the Colorado trip. I hope to have the opportunity to learn from first hand in the Boston area, and I will certainly follow your published classes schedule and locations.
  Until such time, thanks for the taking the time and effort for sharing with us you knowledge online, and address our questions!

   

• At Wednesday, October 14, 2009 3:47:00 PM,  Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…

  Thank you, and addendum: I usually use the term "Supermans" to mean raising only the upper or lower, not both. Some researchers have shown large compressive forces of combining them. I hope more people relate this to the larger problem of standing and moving with such increased lumbar arch - which adds compression longitudinally (pressing body weight down from gravity). Lying prone removes longitudinal compression and shifts more effort to extensor muscles. With the prone extension, the idea is to separate vertebrae, not knock them together, through retraining the motion. More on this is in my books and classes. Classes are a rare opportunity to get personal evaluation and instruction. I do not do many classes. Get 'em while they're hot.

   

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