Flexi-bar

Hi,

This week I want to talk a little bit about another vibration related training modality - Flexi-bar. I actually know the distributors of this product and the guy from all the videos, Steve Schiemer. Before we get on to the product, I would like to say that Steve is a really great guy and knows what he is talking about.


Flexi-bar is an interesting device and the theory behind it is sound. I tried one for a few weeks and found it to be challenging but also interesting. Maybe this is where it's real benefit lies, making training varied and fun. Some of my colleagues at London South Bank University, Drs Jo Bowtell and Katya Mileva did some testing and found that there were differences in muscle recruitment with Flexi-bar but the investigations were not deep enough to allow real conclusions to be drawn. It looked like Flexi-bar was doing something.

I haven't seen the athletic version yet, but I think for core stability training it could be an excellent addition to a training programme. I know Wayne Rooney's girlfriend Coleen McLoughlin has been seen using one plus I know a few sports teams use them especially in Germany.

Hope this helps

Best wishes

youbreathe and back pain

Hi,

This week I want to talk a little about using youbreathe and it's potential effects on back pain. Seems like a strange connection to make, but there could actually be a strong benefit of regular youbreathe use on treating back pain.

Let me explain. One chronic problem that can lead to very diverse negative symptoms is chronic hyperventilation (breathing to much and too quickly). Most people actually breathe too much and this has been explained as a probable cause of many diseases such as some cases of asthma and various cardiovascular diseases. Now when you hyperventilate your blood carbon dioxide level goes down which leads to a removal of the neural drive to the breathing muscles. So if the drive to the diaphragm is lower it means the diaphragm is in a more relaxed state. The diaphragm also has a role to play in core stability and stabilising the mid to lower spine, so this means that a more relaxed diaphragm gives less support to the lower back, possibly risking injury.

Additionally, chest breathing and not using the diaphragm means that you are not going to oxygenate the blood very well, and also the blood will become more alkaline, meaning oxygen transport is compromised.

This has certainly been my experience. I have suffered from back pain since I was in my mid teens but since developing youbreathe and using it regularly my back pain has cleared up. I still do my stretching as a flexible back is also very important for injury prevention and health. For more info on youbreathe please visit www.youbreathe.com

There are too many potential symptoms for me to cover in this blog, but the exciting part is that using youbreathe with it's vibration can enable people to relearn abdominal breathing quickly and permanently.

For more info on back pain please visit these sites:

NHS - Back Pain

Back pain general information

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - Back Pain

Back pain tutorial - prevention

Please visit the abdominal breathing section of the downloads page on the youbreathe website : http://www.youbreathe.com/

Hope this is all clear.

Have a great week.