Bill Hartman

Author: Bill

  • Getting in Shape to Run?

    I’ve talked about this before, but I’ve been overrun (pardon the pun) by injured runners over the last 2 weeks.  4 new runners this week alone.  All overuse injuries.

    All of them had at least one, and more commonly several, significant finding such as weak core musculature, poor hip range of motion, poor hip strength, lack of ankle dorsiflexion, functional pronation, etc.

    If your foot hits the ground 1,500 times per mile at 2+ times body weight loads with any of the above, something will eventually wear out and become symptomatic.

    On my drive to my clinic, I counted 14 runners on the road and sidewalks making an obvious effort at weight loss in the wee hours of the morning.  By observation, I’d say two of them were probably “in shape enough” to run.

    Is there really that much “leftover” from the jogging craze?

    Let me be blunt…

    Unless you’re training for a marathon or some other endurance-related event and have been properly evaluated by a qualified health professional who gives you the green light that it’s safe to run….then don’t run.

    Find another activity that is probably more effective in the first place.  If you must run, then have the willingness to properly prepare to do so.

    Bill

  • Inside-Out Sale!

    So we’ve got the new gym, Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training (IFAST) just about ready to go.

    One problem.  Storage space.

    Just like your favorite car dealer, “We gotta make room!”

    To clear out some stock, you can get Inside-Out: The Ultimate Upper Body Warm-up for a massive discount…try 40% off!

    Here’s how you do it.

    Go to the Inside-Out website and order the DVD and manual as usual.  When you get to the shopping cart page, enter “IFAST” (except the quotes part) in the coupon blank, click apply and, BINGO, 40% off.

    Personal record workouts and healthier shoulders are a click away.

    Wake the dog, tell your friends, and do it quickly.  We expect to clear out our back stock very quickly, and we’re cutting off the sale as of Monday July 21st.

    Bill

    P.S.  don’t forget to sign-up for the I-FAST newsletter if you live in Indy.  We’ll be sending you a huge discount membership coupon if you do.

  • Faster Fat Loss

    I’m still pretty lean from my first couple times through the Warp Speed Fat Loss Program, but I’ve been wanting to see what I could do as far as getting into “contest shape” at my tender age of 42. 

    I’m think a little more muscle mass would be nice (I can’t help myself), but before I go for it, I’m going to do another round of Warp Speed.  Some of my best gains came after my first bodybuilding contest at age 21 when I hit the 5% body fat marker (hydrostatic weighing).  Insulin sensitivity and nutrient partitioning is improved when you’re leaner, and there’s less chance of adding excessive amounts of body fat when calories are increased.  If you’re looking to add some muscle, it might be a good idea to lean out a bit first.

    This’ll also give me an opportunity to be more supportive of the lovely Diane who’s down 11.5 pounds on her current program.  My pizza night didn’t go over too well last week. 🙂

    Other notes…

    I can’t stand peanut butter, however, almond butter rocks!

    Official opening day for I-FAST is August 4th, but if you’re in Indy and want to stop by, I’ll be in and out over the next two weeks if you’d like to stop by and check it out.  Just drop me line.  You can also sign up for the gym newsletter, which has some discount membership bonuses in it, on the website.

    Most protein powders still taste like sh*t.  I do have two favorites that I use, but c’mon this is 2008.  If you say it tastes like chocolate carmel, it should taste like chocolate carmel.

    I’m testing the Tiger Tail vs. “The Stick” for self-applied soft-tissue treatment.  So far the Tiger tail is winning.  I’ll keep you posted. (You can get them at PerformBetter.com)

    Bill

    P.S.  I’ll track my progess at the Faster Fat Loss Zone if you’d like to follow along.

  • Fat Loss and Consistency

    The lovely Diane and I went cooler shopping over the weekend.  She’s been hitting the fat loss program pretty hard over the last month (down 10 pounds of fat!!) and her cooler was looking a little worse for wear.

    Our quest for the perfect cooler for her got me thinking about what this purchase really meant.  It meant that my wife’s behavior had reached a level of consistency that I don’t think even she is aware of.  She’s like a fat loss machine.

    She’s become a master of food prep, packing, and cooler carrying.

    It’s interesting how often new fat loss clients balk at the idea of carrying their food around in a cooler to assure that they eat at the right time of day AND eat what they’re supposed to.

    But what if they did it anyway?

    We were out of the house yesterday for few hours, but before we left, the lovely Diane was sure to bring along the meal that she’d have missed had she not planned ahead to bring her own food along.

    I was so proud.

    It was automatic.  She wasn’t stressed out about it.  She wasn’t concerned about what anyone else thought.

    It’s just what she does now.

    She’s consistent and her progress shows it.

    Bill

    P.S.  Mike Roussell, Jon Fass, and I have put together the ultimate fat loss community for you at www.fasterfatlosszone.com.  It used to be the website available only to our private training clients, but now you can check it out for 14 days for only $1!  We have a new program each month, instructional videos, weekly articles, and a complete members forum.  Check it out today.

  • Specificity in Assessment

    While there are tests or assessments I’ll do on just about everyone, I think you need to get more specific in your testing depending on the demands of the sport or activity in which an individual participates.

    Case in point, I was working with firefighter recruit today who was having some ankle and achilles tendon pain when he ran. 

    [Note:  Why do does every training academy feel it necessary to run their candidates to death.  It’s really not a great choice of training modality.  Mike Berry at www.strengthcats.com has been promoting the importance of strength training for firefighters for years and rightly so.  Check it out] 

    He’s been catching a lot of flack from his superiors because as long as he’s not running, he’s essentially painfree.  They think he’s trying to get out the long runs.

    In testing him in the clinic, there really wasn’t much that was influencing his symptoms.  Range of motion, isolated and gross movements and strength testing, special tests, and several others failed to reproduce his pain.

    So I had him run.  And run some more…until he started to feel the symptoms in his achilles.

    Then I retested him. 

    After running, his gluteus medius tested weak, he was unable to actively dorsiflex his affected ankle equal to his unaffected side, and his pronation increased during gross movement testing.  The unaffected side continued to test normally.

    With these findings, we can now address his weaknesses and provide some adaptive taping and temporary shoe modifications to get him back to normal training.

    The take home point is that had I not tested him in the environment in which he was symptomatic, my conclusions may have agreed with his superiors and this guy wouldn’t have a shot at becoming a firefighter.

    Make sure that your assessments give you the information you need by addressing the actual training environment. 

    Bill

    P.S.  You can get more info on the effects of fatigue and forces and how they affect testing and performance in the Indy Performance Enhancement Seminar DVD’s