Contest - Name The New Feature on Fitness Terminology
Monday, February 22, 2010
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is a fun new contest - can you think of a great name for a new Fitness Fixer feature?
In December, a reader helped me know that perhaps others beside himself do not know basic names of body parts and processes. "Anonymous" felt that the muscle names submitted to the Sit Up Straight contest were "impenetrable." He wrote:
"I think his answer, which may be 100% technically correct, is 0% helpful for most people without a degree in physiology. The great thing about this website is that it converts medical mumbo jumbo into accessible language (including visual language).
I replied:
"Dear Anonymous, Thank you for instructing me that other readers too, may not recognize basic body parts and what they do.
"No degrees should be needed to know fundamentals about yourself. Just like knowing common car parts, you can prevent unneeded repairs, and being fooled by sales pitches.
"I took your good idea in the next article after this one, I added a description why a muscle was named and how to understand its action by the name - Fast Fitness - Mobilize and Strengthen With Serratus PushUps. I plan others to follow."
It is not only people "without degrees" who don't know basic body parts and functions. Often, trainers, instructors, even doctors, do not know either. They just repeat the same myths they have read and heard.
The new feature will explain how muscles got their names, movement names like flexion and extension, and body processes that are often misunderstood and repeated in pop fitness, and in health care and medicine.
This new feature can be a fun way readers can understand and benefit, not like in school where it is often is just lists of terms and definitions you don't recognize or care about.
What shall we call it?
Some ideas:
Basic Body Terms What Does That Mean? - Then the term goes here… Understanding Health Words
Reader Paul J submitted these:
“How it works” “How the body works” “Body works” “Bookspan’s Body Works” “Bookspan’s Body Brain Booster” “The Brain Booster” “Say, what?” “What Did The Doctor Say?” “Under the Skin”
Submit your entries in the comments below - make the titles descriptive, helpful, smart. Hurry so we can begin this new feature.
--- Read success stories and send your own. See if your answers are already here - click Fitness Fixer labels, links, archives, andIndex. Subscribe free - updates via e-mail or RSS, upper right. For personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions. Limited Class space for personal feedback. Top students may earn certification throughDrBookspan.com/Academy. Learn more in Dr. Bookspan's Books.
Reader Paul J has been named Winner of the contest to name the figure who illustrates many of my books, articles in Fitness Fixer, web site articles, and Academy teaching materials.
The comic figure who educates about healthy movement continues from one I had an artist design for me. The artist moved away and could no longer work for me. I am no artist, and had to learn to draw him - not great like the original artist's, but what I could figure out for myself.
When I hired the talented young medical graphics artist, I told him I envisioned an image that was not man or woman, not black or white, not young or old, but everyone. He drew me a white guy, with a big western nose. Still it was a funny warm character that people say they can identify with as he figures out life.
Runner-up was reader JayaKrishna who gave him the name, Dr. Goodback™. I like that, and that remains his formal professional name. The rest of the time, thanks to Paul J, his name is Backman!™
When you see Fitness Fixer posts with this character, you should see the trademark symbol and his copyrighted name.
The name also reminded me of a SuperHero name. I wrote to thank Paul J, saying "I am BACKman!™ POW! splat! take that Joker!"
He wrote back, "Do you mean Jock-err...the steroid using muscle man that does bad bending?"
Close to 200 drawings in the book Stretching Smarter Stretching Healthier, many more in Health & Fitness THIRD edition, among the 114 photos and drawing in The Ab Revolution™ third edition revised expanded, and Fix Your Own Pain Without Drugs or Surgery - all on www.DrBookspan.com.
--- Read success stories of these methods and send your own. See if your answers are already here by clicking labels, links in posts, archives, and The Fitness Fixer Index. Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, click "updates via e-mail" upper right. For personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions. Limited Class spaces for personal feedback. Top students may apply for certification throughDrBookspan.com/Academy. Learn more in Dr. Bookspan's Books.
What does it take to sit up straight? Is it possible that the numbers of physicians, surgeons, instructors, and trainers who entered did not know? We now have five winners:
Paul J was first to write in to the contest with understanding,
"Brains are required to think and correct bad posture."
Steve Rice knew it when he wrote in the hints that first in importance, above doing any strengthening or stretching is,
"1. Engage the brain to develop better postural habits. No matter how strong the elongated muscles get, and how long the contracted muscles get, if the brain says "slouch" that's what the body will do. The other steps (stretch/strength) are necessary but not sufficient to fix the posture problem.
He also correctly stated that you use back muscles (not abs) to pull your spine back to straighten from rounded forward.
1. Only the brain is required. I simply have to do it! 2. Name the muscles -- lean back by stretching the pectorals, and maintain neutral spine in the lower back. All these years I was just too ignorant to use them until Dr. Jolie said so! 3. I think it's 'cause their chest is too tight from rounded shoulders. Good pectoral stretching, and remembering to maintain good posture will correct.
It's that remembering thing that's the problem. Fortunately my back keeps reminding my brain to use what I've learned! :-D
"Thanks, again, especially for what I've learned from you. My back is getting much better and I don't need a doctor!!!"
I learned things from readers:
Hopefully joking, were not one, but two surgeons who wrote that surgery is required to cut tight front (anterior) muscles.
Readers think abdominal muscles do every motion of all your limbs whether they do or not.
Readers think that somehow squeezing your abdominal muscles makes you move, and they think using one set of muscles magically makes you stop (inhibit) others. This is an often repeated bit of mythology, not true in all cases as previously thought. In fact, we couldn't move properly if it were true.
Readers think abdominal muscles somehow stop you from rounding forward and make you sit straight if you just do something called "engage." I have no idea how or what that would be. Abdominal muscles are flexors (bend the spine forward - not the body as a whole). Fourth winner Mr. Georges Nakhlé, my Academy instructor and manager of the Middle Eastern division was one of the two entrants who knew that abdominal muscles do not straighten you from a rounded forward position. Your back muscles are needed to pull back enough to straighten you (only if you use them). He names them in the Hints. Abdominal muscles do not attach to your legs. They cannot pull your body closer to your leg (or leg closer to body) if you are sitting with your hip slouched back away from your leg.
A helpful comment from Anonymous in Contest Hints enlightened me about a major source of the problem - readers honestly don't know what muscles do, and they feel like outsiders when hearing names of muscles and their actions. This is important. It opened a large door for me.
Thanks to these reader comments, I know to start writing articles explaining actual muscle use. No one should need any medical degree or training to know your body, names of parts, and how you move. Just like if you are not a mechanic, by knowing simple car parts, you can save much money and pain and being fooled by fancy sales talk.
Fifth winner was reader Sister Mary Smackham Witherstick of the Royal Order of Order,
"Quit yer sorry whining. Straighten up laddies!"
How hard was that?
Maybe our slogan for this contest could be the zombie cry from Return of the Living Dead,
--- Read success stories and send your own. See if your answers are already here - click Fitness Fixer labels, links, archives, andIndex. Subscribe free - "updates via e-mail" upper right. For personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions. Limited Class space for personal feedback. Top students may earn certification throughDrBookspan.com/Academy. Learn more in Dr. Bookspan's Books.
We have three excellent answers so far that will be announced as contest winners along with reader BikaBill who sent in winning photos. There is still time to send in yours to be among the winners. About thirty to forty wrote claiming some vague involvement of abdominal muscles. Pop fitness throws around "abs" so much that odd ideas get ingrained that are not real anatomy.
To help with your contest and your real life, which is the idea of the contest:
Hint 1
Abdominal muscles curl your spine forward.
If you are already sitting rounded forward, you do not want to curl forward more. You need the opposite - back muscles to unround, not the abdominal muscles in front.
Readers correctly noticing the tilted back pelvis that is part of rounded spine in the photo of bad sitting (note the stripes pointing back at the side of the hip instead of vertical) were correct that the top of the hip/pelvis needs to pull forward, to reduce the angle between pelvis and leg so that the pelvis can straighten to upright and vertical. Abdominal muscles do not that do that. Abdominal muscles do not connect to your leg, so cannot move your leg closer to your body or your body closer to your leg.
Think what muscles may be the ones you need instead. Then, do strong muscles move all by themselves?
Hint 2
Mr. Georges Nakhlé is my director of the Lebanon office of The Academy of Functional Exercise Medicine (AFEM), the teaching arm of my practice. He instructs classes and wrote in to help readers:
Mr. Nakhlé writes:
My answer is: Muscles required to contract are : the paravertebrals (extension of vertebrae), trapezius inferior (adduction and lowering of scapula), the deltoideus posterior and latissimus dorsi (extension of arm) and the rhomboideus (for scapula stabilization)
Muscles required to stretch: pelvi-trochanters to ease the medial rotation of the pelvis on the femur and the pectoralis major
Muscles required to straighten the back: the major work goes for the Latissimus dorsi and a part for paravertebrals; the rhomboideus for scapula stabilization, the trapezius inferior for scapula lowering, the triceps brachii for arm extension.
Another contest question was: >Explain why the same tightness or weakness does not show itself standing where people often hyperlordose instead of flex the lower spine.
Mr. Nakhlé writes:
Tightness when standing: When standing the psoas is stretched so it pulls the lumbar vertebrae, and if the rectus femoris is tight it will tilt the pelvis in an anterior pelvic tilt. Weakness when standing: when standing we don't need muscle strength, just little adjustments.
Readers what do you think?
Here is the Contest. Send In Your Answers, Winners Announced Next Week:
--- Read success stories of these methods and send your own. See if your answers are already here by clicking labels, links in posts, archives, and The Fitness Fixer Index. Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, click "updates via e-mail" upper right. For personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions. See Dr. Bookspan's Books, take a Class, get certified - DrBookspan.com/Academy.
---
Thank you to djwhelan - Slouching and calling it fitness photo
Academy Awards - Academy of Functional Exercise Medicine Awards Leading World Health 2009
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
It is an honor to announce the 2009 award winners of the Academy of Functional Exercise Medicine, AFEM. I am director of the Academy, and work (unpaid) for it to be an international resource for people and communities to learn to be healthy in body and actions. Award winners were selected for representing and carrying out true world health.
This year is the first year that we will award honorees. The design for the award is by Alessandro Schiavone, Creative Director from Ravenna, Italy.
The Academy is the certification teaching branch of my sports medicine practice. My practice and the academy teach individuals and groups healthy biomechanics and movement habits for daily life instead of injury-producing habits, good food instead of disease-causing food, healthier training for athletes, healthier medical practices for the sick, no cost preventive medicine, "green" fitness, and healthier mindset.
Leading World Health - Award Winners 2009
The 14th Dalai Lama He leads by example in his message of healthy, clean, non-violent, kind life to all ages, all people, all colors, all politics. www.dalailama.com
Jackie Chan - Nickname of Chan Kong Sang Antiviolence role model in martial arts, anti smoking public service pieces, leading by example of discipline in physical training, charity work, respect for teachers, and honor as a lifestyle. www.jackiechan.com
AboveTheInfluence.com English language web site for young people of personal responsibility in drug use prevention. www.abovetheinfluence.com
Jack and Elaine Lalanne Changed their own lifestyle to health, and since the 1930's have led by example to stop junk food and to exercise no matter what your condition or age. Jack Lananne is (at this writing) in his 90's, Elaine, in her 80s. They continue to exercise daily. www.jacklalanne.com
Amnesty International World organization to raise consciousness that lack of personal safety, rights, and freedom, lack of safe drinking water and adequate nutrition for some, is lack of world health for all. www.amnesty.org
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Newly elected President of Liberia. Liberia has suffered 25 years of war, hundreds of thousands dead, lack of electricity or running water, 80% unemployment and 90% illiteracy. Grandmother of 6, imprisoned for her work for rights, she continues to put her country on a course of health and renewal. africanhistory.about.com
My Mother - Academy Lifetime Achievement Award Her students stop me in the street to say how she showed them healthy movement. Also their children, their grandchildren, and now, small great grandchildren who have also studied with her and learned that keeping moving is the way to health. Exercise Your Sense of Humor
Leading World Health 2009 - Youth Award Winners
The Youth Leading World Health award this year is shared by 16 year old Babar Ali of west Bengal India and William Kamkwamba of Malawi:
Babar Ali teaches hundreds of students in his family's backyard, where he runs classes for poor children from his village who cannot afford to go to school. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8299780.stm
William Kamkwambabuilt a windmill from junkyard parts to bring power to his village, continuing work to provide for all Malawians, where only 2% have electricity. He left school at 14 because his family could not afford the $80-a-year tuition. He went to the library: "I was very interested when I saw the windmill could make electricity and pump water. I thought: 'That could be a defence against hunger. Maybe I should build one." He built a turbine from spare bicycle parts, a tractor fan blade and an old shock absorber, and fashioned blades from plastic pipes, flattened by being held over a fire. "I want to help my country and apply the knowledge I've learned," he says. "I feel there's lots of work to be done." news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8257153.stm
Everyone - "There's lots of work to be done" Enjoy the beauty and health you can bring.
Coming later this month - 2009 Fitness Fixer Hall of Fame
--- Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Before asking questions, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, and The Fitness Fixer Index. Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. For personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions. Limited Class spaces for personal feedback. Top students may apply for certification throughDrBookspan.com/Academy. Learn more in Dr. Bookspan's Books.
Fast Fitness - Contest for Children (and Everyone) To Learn What They Live
Friday, November 20, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Fast Friday Fitness - a contest for your kids, students, co-workers, and teams to reinforce healthy movement, deeds, and thinking as part of normal everyday life. It's one thing to say it, or read it, and better to do it and live it:
Choose something fun and easy from Fitness Fixer. There are over 670 Fitness Fixer posts so far. Use labels under posts to get categories, for example all Fast Fitness articles, or all reader inspiring stories, or use the Fitness Fixer Index.
Have your group (or self) learn one or more of the methods or activities. It can be anything from learning simple good bending to use all the time, or better sitting for the whole class, to preparing healthier meals with good body positioning, to doing good deeds in your neighborhood or home.
Draw pictures or take photos of what everyone learned and did, write your stories, and send them in.
A child who lives with healthy ways learns health as a lifestyle. Use your brain. Have fun. I will post the winners - everyone who tries.
--- Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Before asking questions, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, and The Fitness Fixer Index. Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. For personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions. Limited Class spaces for personal feedback. Top students may apply for certification throughDrBookspan.com/Academy. Learn more in Dr. Bookspan's Books.
Dr. Jolie Bookspan from The Fitness Fixer has been collecting some interesting data about sitting straight up. Read about it here: Fast Fitness - Contest: What Does It Take To Sit Upright? Back health is important, but do you know how to keep your back healthy? The health and fitness industry is another area where health care professionals are finding some interesting non-clinical opportunities.
On the web, Grand Rounds is a collection of the best on-line medical posts from the past week. A different host works hard each week to find and list the articles. This is different from the Grand Rounds in a hospital, which is a lecture for doctors about a patient or topic. Thank you to this week's host Dr. Kim for doing the hard work of collecting and featuring our posts.
Read success stories of these methods and send your own. See if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, and The Fitness Fixer Index. Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. For personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions. Limited Class spaces for personal feedback. Top students may apply for certification throughDrBookspan.com/Academy. Learn more in Dr. Bookspan's Books.
Here is Friday Fast Fitness - another contest! Do you know what constitutes ability in balance as a lifestyle? Tell us!
On the urging of reader Mr. Georges Nakhlé, I started the Academy of Functional Exercise Medicine (AFEM) to train people in healthier, functional, more common-sense exercise and lifestyle. We teach classes, certify top students, and are creating better methods of instruction.
One of our courses is Balance. Mr. Nakhlé, who runs the AFEM office in Lebanon asked me, "Which test tells whether a person has good balance or not?"
Readers - Your Challenge:
Write your ideas for different needed levels of balance
Write specific balance skills or training drills
Give examples that are needed for real daily life - functional balance testing, rather than isolated clinical measures.
Here Is What To Know:
Standardized tests exist, but don't predict how someone can function (move doing real things) in real life without falls, sprains, and other injuries of poor balance. A single test, such as the standard, "Can you stand on one foot for 5 seconds" may give a low basic measure, but a single test doesn't cover range needed throughout real life. That means we need several simple tests to rank ability.
Examples:
Basic low level balance needed for safe healthy life:
"Can you step over a pile of clothes and toys on the floor, without spilling a cup of water"
"Can you descend narrow basement stairs holding a laundry basket in both hands without holding the railing?"
"Can you put on hosiery and shoes standing up?"
"Can you rise from your chair and the floor without using your hands?"
Average:
"Can you leap over a puddle or hole in the street and land lightly on the other foot?"
"Can you safely climb a stepladder without hands and change an overhead light bulb without holding on?"
High:
"Can you walk though a rushing rocky stream and rescue a child on a rock?"
Your ideas here…
Last contest time running out - How well do you know human movement?
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. Before asking questions, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, and The Fitness Fixer Index. Read success stories of these methods and send your own. For personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions. Limited Class spaces for personal feedback. Top students may apply for certification throughDrBookspan.com/Academy. Learn more in Dr. Bookspan's Books.
Fast Fitness - Contest: What Does It Take To Sit Upright?
Friday, October 16, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Fast Friday Fitness - a Contest!
Conventional beliefs about posture include that you must do certain exercises or stretches or strengthening to change your posture. Is that true?
Look at photo 1 and 2 and answer the simple question below:
Photo 1
photo 2
Submit Your Answer:
What muscle strengthening or stretch is required to change from first (unhealthy rounded) to second (upright) sitting?
Name the muscle(s) and action needed - don't just name a muscle, say which way it needs to pull.
Explain why the same people (with the same tightness or weakness) who sit with the lower spine rounded forward (flexion) often stand with the lower back overly curved inward (hyperlordosis) - just the opposite.
Disregard the leg position in the two photos - the question is not how to move the leg, those were just the two photos I could find. Focus on describing how to change yourself to upright sitting without moving the leg (why? if you need to move the leg, then you are too tight for basic health. This question is how to restore that basic).
Use your brain. Partial credit applies. I will post answers, explanations, and winners.
Hint for success:
Sit and try it yourself, don't go only to anatomy books.
Read inspiring success stories of these methods and send your own. See if your answers are already here by clicking post labels, links, archives at right, and Index. For answers to personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions. Subscribe free, "updates via e-mail" upper right. Limited Class space for personal feedback. Top students may earn certification,DrBookspan.com/Academy. Learn more (answer to this quiz too) in Dr. Bookspan's Books.
First Winner - International Academy of Functional Sports Medicine Logo Design
Monday, February 16, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
In January 2008, we announced the Logo Design Contest for the International Academy of Functional Sports Medicine. We are honored to announce the first winner, Alessandro Schiavone, Creative Director from Ravenna, Italy.
Sig. Schiavone's design will grace our awards division. His logo will appear on International awards each year to top people.
The International Academy gives annual awards to thank, recognize, and support those who help the world. Awards are conferred for those deserving special recognition for work, humanitarianism, teaching, developing programs, writing, and so on. It has been pointed out that awards each year will be called the Academy Awards :-)
Grazie Sig. Schiavone! Many good things behind the scenes are coming from this.
Other Academy logos still need to be designed, including Certifications, Fellow Advancement, and the main logo for the Academy itself. Contact us and send your designs and ideas to be included in this exciting and far-reaching project. See the Academy website for information.
--- Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Before asking questions, see if your answers are already here by clicking labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, and The Fitness Fixer Index. Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. For personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions. Limited Class spaces for personal feedback. Top students may apply for certification throughDrBookspan.com/Academy. Learn more in Dr. Bookspan's Books.
Evidence-based education in functional physical medicine, sports medicine including diving medicine, and rehabilitation, changing exercise and medicine to healthier ways,
Internationally attended sports medicine congresses,
Certifications for physicians, allied health, physical therapists, fitness instructors, massage professionals, and the public,
Fellow advancement opportunities for physicians and researchers.
We are non-sectarian and dedicated to peace and health of all. We accept no advertising from unhealthful "health and sports" products. Part of course tuitions go to medical research, charity, and elderly help.
We are holding a contest to design the Academy logo. Winning logo will be seen internationally with credit to the designer. Logo designs should be simple, incorporate the concepts of brains and functional strength. Other concepts and ideas welcome.
If you are interested to help through your logo design submission, or other good ideas and talents, or be part of this organization, let me know. Be prepared to have fun and use your brain.
Questions come in by the hundreds. I make posts from selected ones. See if your answers are already here by clicking links,labels under posts, archives, and the Fitness Fixer Index. Read success stories of these methods and send your own. Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer - Click "updates via e-mail" (trumpet icon) upper right. For personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions. Limited Class spaces for personal feedback. Top students may apply for certification throughDrBookspan.com/Academy. Learn more in Dr. Bookspan's Books.
