Increase Your Blood Flow

11.01.2011

Blog

Index Your Blood Flow

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based upon height and weight. BMI applies to adult men and women. There are many BMI calculators and charts on the internet, but it is not advisable to think the results of your personal data are your specific body fat measurements. The BMI is an educated guess based on population studies and inappropriate for individual diagnosis.

Many athletes who are heavily muscled and extremely lean have Body Mass Index’s that would be considered unacceptable concluded from population standards.

If you are curious about your BMI a Calculator is located @ http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

     Underweight = <18.5
     Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
     Overweight = 25–29.9
     Obesity = BMI of 30 or great

Health risks associated with high BMI’s include cardiovascular disease, but more recently neurodegenerative disease. Elevated BMI has shown by using SPECT imaging in healthy adults decreased blood flow in the prefrontal cortex (anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain)

SPECT, which is an abbreviation for Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography, is a sophisticated nuclear medicine that examines precise blood flow information in the brain, which can be used as baseline knowledge of a healthy brain structure.

Decreased blood flow to the prefrontal cortex may negatively impact behaviors associated with this brain region. In numerous studies increased adiposity is associated with lower brain metabolism and cognitive performance in executive function and attention.

By the same token building a huge body without a corresponding increase in the musculature surrounding the head and neck would not be advantageous for the athlete or weight training enthusiast throughout their lives.

All peripheral vasculature in the systemic circulation is related to blood flow. Peripheral resistance is also dependent upon the distensibility or elasticity of the blood vessel through which the blood travels. Neglecting the vascularity of the musculature of the head and neck changes the resistance and does not enhance blood flow to the brain.

When you and your athletes strength train, train the whole system to remain healthy. Start with the musculature of the head and neck after all this is the smart way to Get Strong.

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Closed And Open Chain

Open kinetic chain exercises of the lower limb are movements, where the distal segment is unloaded and free to move. The opposite is true of closed kinetic chain exercises, whereby there is enough resistance to prohibit free motion.

Closed kinetic chain exercises are movements such as squats, Pendulum Squat Pro, leg presses and lunges, while open chain exercises are actions like leg curls, leg extensions and the Pendulum Reverse Glute Ham.

The kinetic chain can be understood as interrelated joints and body parts working with one another during motion. This creates a chain of events that affects the movement of neighboring joints and segments.

The advantage of open chain movements is that they tend to be better at isolating muscle and often are selected for specific rehabilitation and used to accentuate performance. While closed chain movements in general would be classified as more functional and closely approximating movements that are used in sport and daily life.

Open Chain Reverse Glute Ham

Closed Chain Pendulum Power Squat Pro

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2-for-2 Method

Some trainers, coaches and athletes use what is called the 2-for-2 Method for increasing training load. The rule is if the trainee can perform two or more repetitions over one’s ‘repetition goal’ in the last set of an exercise, for two consecutive workouts, the weight is added for that particular exercise the next training session.