Meet Taylor White, massage therapist for 7 years and graduate from the Aveda Institute of Des Moines. 💆🏼‍♀️Taylor started her career as a massage therapist at a chiropractic office but missed the company of Aveda.  She then went on to work at a salon and spa in Urbandale called Art of Life. 💖 She grew up in Des Moines and now lives in Polk City with her fiancé and cats. 🐈🐈‍⬛

🌟Connect with Taylor ⭐️
📱Instagram: @taylorwhitemassagetherapist
📩Email: taylormckenziewhite@yahoo.com
​www.artoflifesalonspa.com

Rest is best, right?  Well, it's a bit more complicated than that.  Of course there are times where rest can help resolve some muscle soreness, especially if you have been training high volumes with your lifts or if you have significantly increased your mileage with running.  We'd also be remiss not to mention proper sleep and recovery.  

Still, rest alone isn't the answer to everything and often times leads people down a path of prolonged recovery and time spent away from doing what they love. 

Over the years we have seen this time and again.  That's why we've put together this list of five injuries that likely won't resolve with rest alone as well as a couple of tips for how to get started resolving them, so that if these issues arise you know exactly what to do to get back to training. 

Here are the five injuries that likely will not be resolved with rest alone, along with a couple of tips for how to get started resolving them. 

1. Back Pain With Deadlifts
Back pain during deadlifts can come from one of three things (or a combination of all three). These three things are 1) you lack trunk stability, 2) you lack hip extension strength, or 3) you lack hip extension mobility.  The combination of these things can cause you to overextend your low back during the lock out instead of extending through your hips at the top. This back and forth motion couple with a loaded spine with cause your brain to throw up a red flag and give you a "check engine soon" light known as low back pain. 

You're probably saying "but what should I work on to turn off that warning light?"
​
- Answer 1: Improve your ability to keep your trunk stable.  Think "ribs down" when lifting. 


-Answer 2: Work on improving your hip extension mobility and then hit the save button and lock it in by following it up with something like a single leg glute bridge. 

2. Hip Pain With Squats
Pain in the front of your hips or a "pinching" sensation is very common.  This can happen for multiple reasons but more than likely your hips are just running out of room when you go down in your squat. 

"What should I work on?"
​
 -Answer 1: Improve your ability to keep your trunk stable.  Again, think "ribs down" when lifting. This will put your pelvis in a better position which will help to increase depth in your squat. 

 -Answer 2: Improve your hip flexion mobility.  This is the ability for you to move your knee toward your chest.  If you get a "pinching" feeling by laying on your back and bringing your knee to your chest, then this is for you:

3. Knee Pain With Running
There are a couple of reasons you may be feeling pain in your knee while running.  The things that seem to pop up repeatedly in our clinic are limited hip mobility, poor hip control, and a hard landing during foot strike. 

"What should I work on?"

 -Answer 1: Improve your hip mobility as well as stability.  This will not only allow you to move through the full range of motion during your stride but will help to keep less tension on your quadriceps which can pull on the knee (the quad tendon crosses over the knee) and cause knee pain. (See Hip Extension Mobility Video Above)

 -Answer 2: Work on landing softer.  Think about "landing like a ninja."  Your heel will make contact with the ground but ideally it should not be the first point of contact.  One drill to improve this is to try running barefoot on the grass, then put your shoes on and run the same way you were when you were barefoot.  Some people will opt to just run barefoot or in minimalist shoes, too. 

4. Shoulder Pain With Pull-ups
A common complaint with pull-ups is a "pinching" feeling or pain in the shoulders with pull-ups.  If this is the case for you, you likely are having some difficulty with overhead mobility and/or stability.  When movements like the overhead press, the humerus (arm bone) needs to be able to sit back.  If it isn't able to , it will run into the front part of the shoulder blade (aka acromion) which can cause pain when you repeatedly move into this position. 

"What should I work on?" 
​
 -Answer 1: Work on improving your shoulder flexion mobility. The is the ability to move your arm straight in front of you to the overhead position. 

​5. Shoulder Pain With Pressing
Last but not least is another very common complaint.  If you are having pain with a pressing motion such as the bench press, push-up or overhead press, it could very well be from a lack of shoulder stability.  This simply means that you are having difficulty controlling your shoulder blade when you press a barbell or kettlebell.

"What should I work on?"

 -Answer 1: If you are having most of your issues during an overhead press I would start by working on overhead mobility.  (See Overhead Band Opener Video Above)

 -Answer 2: Practice stabilizing your shoulder blades and creating torque through your shoulder when pressing. By doing this, you will create a stable platform from which you can press both more efficiently and effectively. 


Now, as we mentioned earlier there are times when rest is important and as we know recovery is just as important for you as your actual training is.  However, if you are training movements with poor mechanics, there is no amount of rest that is going to fix that issue.

If you have been dealing with stiffness or pain for weeks, months or even years and you haven't been able to solve the problem on your own then it is time to give us a call.  We help active people just like you every day to continue their training without pain or limitations. 

Want to work with Kaizen?  Here's how:

Step 1:  Book A ​Discovery Call
​​Book a free 30-minute discovery call. We’ll ask you a few questions and listen to your needs, goals, and pain points.

​Meet Joel Baxley, personal trainer and strength coach specialized in sports performance. 🏋🏽

Coach Baxley has a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science, is Special Strengths Certified through Westside Barbell Club, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist(CSCS), and a Certified Personal Trainer(CPT).🏆

We chat about his work with high school and collegiate athletes and what brought him to this place in his professional career. 🏌🏾

🌟Connect with Joel ⭐️
📱Instagram: @baxleystrength 
📩Email: baxleystrength@gmail.com

WHAT IS BODY TEMPERING?
Body tempering (BT), a form of soft tissue mobilization developed by Donnie Thompson in 2014, is performed by placing heavily weighted cylinders across muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia. As a result, this can help prepare the muscle for activity and improve muscle recovery. Think of it as foam rolling on steroids.

Now, I'm sure there are many that will read this and argue that foam rolling is a waste of time but there is quite a bit of research that supports the use of foam rolling to help create temporary improvement in mobility.  Because of the fact that the results people see from foam rolling are temporary and don't create long-term chances, many will say that we should stop using this modality in our training. However, we can use these temporary changes to our advantage as a part of a bigger mobility plan. 

DOES IT WORK?

I wouldn't be writing this if it didn't ;) . Just like foam rolling, scraping (aka Graston Technique, instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization or IASTM, etc.), BT does a great job of improving mobility. It has quickly become my favorite way of performing soft tissue mobilization, and my patients have loved it. Our patients that have tried BT will also tell you that foam rolling doesn’t even compare to the feeling of BT. When performed properly, body tempering is more intense than foam rolling without being more painful.
​
How do we accomplish more intensity without pain? By utilizing different loads based on the body part that we are working on so that the athlete feels significant pressure without being painful. From there, we simply temper that muscle, joint, or area for 1-2 minutes.

Because most BT devices are weighted (anywhere from 22 – 200 lbs.), you would think this would be painful, but the large surface area of the cylinders disperses the pressure across the muscle. Contrast this with other soft tissues modalities using smaller tools or a therapist hands that have a much smaller surface area and can lead to discomfort and pain.

The pec minor is a great example of a muscle where hands-on work is often a bit painful for patients. However, when we temper it for 30 seconds with a larger device our patients don’t report pain but we are able to quickly notice that the pec minor relaxes and the shoulders drop back.

For more information on how body tempering works, check out this article for a detailed description of the proposed mechanisms. 

www.roguefitness.com/rogue-dt-tempering-roller​

If body tempering is something you would like to try, we have many different affordable options for you.  Choose from single sessions at 30 minutes, 45 minutes, or 60 minute sessions and if you buy five sessions you'll save even more!

References:
Body Tempering. (2018, November 3). Body Tempering. BodyTempering.Com. https://bodytempering.com/body-tempering/

Coop. (2019, February 26). Rogue DT Tempering Roller Review: Body Tempering Device for the Masses. Garage Gym Reviews. https://www.garagegymreviews.com/rogue-dt-tempering-roller-review

​Dunning, J. (2019, April 5). Body Tempering for Myofascial Pain & Performance Enhancement: Proposed Mechanisms. OSTEOPRACTIC. https://osteopractor.wordpress.com/2019/04/05/body-tempering-for-myofascial-pain-performance-enhancement-proposed-mechanisms/

Long, Z. (2020, April 28). An Intro to Body Tempering. The Barbell Physio. https://thebarbellphysio.com/an-intro-to-body-tempering/

M&F Editors. (2015, November 2). Body Tempering to Improve Physical Performance. Muscle & Fitness. https://www.muscleandfitness.com/workouts/workout-tips/body-tempering-improve-physical-performance/

Rogue. (2020, December 31). Rogue DT Tempering Roller. Rogue Fitness. https://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-dt-tempering-roller

​We are excited to introduce you to Jodi Bullock, intuitive health coach and so much more.🧘🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️
Jodi is the mom of two boys and works hard to teach others the truth about food.🍌🍒

We chat about her career path as a registered dietitian leading her to owning her own business and truly helping people the way she was called to do.🥦🥕🍎

🤍She shares with us her personal health journey and how it has led her to where she is today.

🌟Connect with Jodi Bullock⭐️
💙Facebook: Jodi Bullock/Food Rebels
📱Instagram: @food_rebel_eats
📩 Email: jodi@jodibullock.com
www.jodibullock.com

This week we got to chat with Terri Good, owner and trainer at Infinity Training Center and Elizabeth Sullivan, lifelong ice skater and mom of four. Together they own Personal Trainer in a Box. They both have a passion for helping others, especially women with health and fitness goals. 💪

They believe a true lifelong commitment to a healthy, fit lifestyle calls for an inside-out personal development approach. That with a fresh mindset and perspective to take with you wherever you go, you’re unstoppable. 🧘
We discuss mindset, confidence, eating habits, and the exciting product and programs they offer at Personal Trainer In a Box. 📚
🌟Connect with Terri & Elizabeth⭐️
💙Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/personaltrainerinabox/
📱Instagram: @personaltrainerinabox
📩 Email: personaltrainerinabox@gmail.com
https://personaltrainerinabox.com/ 

This week we got to chat with Ami Hokomoto. Ami is the owner and founder of Capitol Row in downtown Des Moines. They opened in August of 2018 and since she has been sharing her love and passion for rowing. 🚣🏻‍♀️

They are Des Moines’ first indoor rowing studio. 😍 Offering full body, low-impact, trainer led group fitness classes and including continuous coaching, feedback, and encouragement. 💪🏼

Ami is a certified ERG instructor with a passion for helping others achieve their fitness goals. 🥇👏🏼👏🏼 Capitol Row believes in inspiring crew members and connecting with community. 🫂

🌟Connect with Ami ⭐️
💙Facebook: Capitol Row IA
📱Instagram: @capitolrowia
☎️ Phone: 515-661-9252
📩Email: contact@capitolrowia.com
​https://capitolrowia.com

This week we caught up with Libby Trausch from Breath. Physical Therapy & Wellness 👩‍⚕️ .

After 10 years as a doctor of physical therapy, Libby has created a niche practice in persistent pain, women’s health, and pelvic floor dysfunction. 💥

She has had 3 babies and experienced nearly every pelvic floor and low back symptom that they treat, in addition to most kinds of birth (C-section, VBAC & almost home birth). 😳

She loves putting together the pieces and help people with the most complicated medical histories see a way forward, find relief, and even more importantly, rediscover hope. 👏

🌟Connect with Libby⭐️
💙Facebook: @breathedsm
📱Instagram: @breathedsm
📩Email: libby@breathedsm.com
📞Phone: 515.255.3932
​ https://breathedsm.com/
​