Elemental Exercises of Gym

Dario Palhares Jos Antnio Rodrigues
Corrective Biogym
of the
Elemental Exercises
Dario Palhares Jos Antnio Rodrigues
Corrective Biogym
of the
Elemental Exercises
NOVEMBRO, 2010 Direitos de Publicao Reservados
Editores
Gina Cordeiro Silva Ricardo Henrique de Brito e Sousa
Assistente Editorial Moreno Cordeiro Carvalho Revisor Prof. Dr. Omar Silva Lima Assistente de Produo Luanna Cordeiro Arte da Capa Estdio Ex Libris
Conselho Editorial
Ada Augusta Celestino Bezerra Doutora em Educao USP (SP) Antenor Rita Gomes Doutor em Educao pela Universidade Federal da Bahia - UFBA (BA) Gina Cordeiro Silva Mestre em Educao, Comunicao e Administrao UNIMARCO (SP) Harrysson Luiz da Silva Ps-Doutor em Ergonomia Cognitiva - UFSC (SC) Jos Rodorval Ramalho Doutor em Cincias Sociais PUC (SP) Omar da Silva Lima Doutor e Mestre em Literatura pela Universidade de Braslia UnB (DF) Ricardo Henrique da Costa e Sousa Ps Doutor em Cincias Biolgicas pela Harvard University (EUA) Ricardo Vlez Rodrguez Ps Doutor pelo Centre de Recherches Politiques Raymond Aron, Paris (Frana) Samuel Pereira Campos Doutor em Lingstica Aplicada - UNICAMP - Campinas (SP) Valeska Zanello Doutora em Psicologia pela Universidade de Braslia (DF) Vladimir Stolzenberg Torres Doutor em Informtica na Educao pela UFRGS (RS)
Palhares, Dario & Rodrigues, Jos Antnio. Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym. Dario Pahares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues. Braslia-DF. Ex Libris, 2010. Bibliografia 1. Exerccios de Ginstica 2. Bioginstica 3. Ginstica Corretiva ISBN 8590 287-72-6
EDITORA EX LIBRIS (61) 3522-5196 e (61) 7813-2176
Summary
Presentacion,
7
PREFACE,
9
INTRODUCTION,
11
THE HUMAN POSTURE,
15
THE POSTURAL EXAMINATION,
31
PRINCIPLES OF FUNCTIONAL GYM,
35
LESION,
43
STRETCHING,
53
EXERCISE CLASSES,
61
EXAMPLE OF CLASSE,
87
References,
99
Presentation
Prof. Jos Antnio Rodrigues is the creator of the Corrective Biogym. He first developed the Biogym for himself to find the cure for his knee and back pain related to an extranumeric vertebra. He then administered gym classes at the Clube dos Previdencirios de Braslia from 1982 to 2000. His knowledge and experience have been taught to many practitioners. Nowadays, the two other authors keep the gym going with continuous advances in practice and theoretical bases. Dario Palhares was a pupil of Jos Antnio Rodrigues for 11 years. He was at the same time a practitioner and a patient of the Corrective Biogym: through the Biogym, a chronic plantar fasciitis was finally resolved after years and years of visiting various orthopaedists and attending several sports classes. Nowadays, he is a paediatrician and the supervisor of medical students at the University of Brasilia. He also specialises in sports medicine. He teaches the Corrective Biogym at the University of Braslia. His complete academic curriculum is available in English and Portuguese from the Lattes platform of CNPq (National Counsel of Research of Brazil): http://lattes.cnpq.br. For this book, he is the corresponding author. Any comments and messages are welcome to dariompm@unb.br.
Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues
Thas Coury Piantino is graduated in Physical Education by the University of Braslia and teaches Arabian dances. She takes part in the video containing some of the exercises of the Corrective Biogym. We are grateful to her for the participation in the video. Any contacts with her can be carried out through the e-mail thaispadma@yahoo.com.br We are also grateful to Proof Reading Services (www.proof-reading-services.org) for the English review and corrections and to Paky Produes for the video.
PREFACE
This book presents some of the theoretical and practical advances that have been proposed by our method. Thus, the first part of the book is a brief review of the most pertinent concepts of the fundamentals of the Corrective Biogym. The Corrective Biogym is greater than a series of exercises to be repeated indefinitely: the instructor must keep in mind all the postural physiology and systematic observations of difficulties and limitations in practitioners, and then propose corrections in the posture, way of stepping and so on. This way, we strongly suggest that readers are familiar with the basic textbooks in the fields of the physiology of exercise, musculation, stretching, kinesiology and biomechanics. The benefits of good physical activity are well known and documented. Gyms focus on the amelioration of the locomotor system; however, they continue to develop a theoretical and practical basis and paradigms. Anyway, we recommend the reader consults texts on toga, tai chi chuan, pilates and global posture re-education. Considered as a group, they form the theoretical basis of functional gyms, on which our work finds support and then presents some advances.
Reading and consulting ancient books is also important. In them, there are descriptions of many good and creative exercises, but that for some unknown reason have been lost over time or, at least, not cited in recent texts. In our referenced bibliography, we accessed the Portuguese translations of these cited books. To help the readers, we added the original title and, when possible, the original editor, so these books can be found in other languages. We hope that readers enjoy our ideas. More than that, we want to inspire you to search for advances, for example, the use of weights during circular movements, research with semi-professional athletes or manual labourers and observations about diverse clinical situations. All comments, all criticisms and all suggestions are welcomed: the e-mail of the corresponding author is there. We really want to improve our book in future editions.
10
INTRODUCTION
Since the beginning of time, humans have prepared themselves to reach high levels of ludic and competitive practices. Documents from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia have been uncovered concerning techniques for physical improvement, tips on planning gymnastic programmes and hygienic and nutrition concepts to achieve fitness for the sports events of those times. Since at least 2500 BC, Chinese scholars have said that the body must be continuously exercised to achieve harmonic development. Indeed, the musculature only stays strong and flexible when used. For example, if an adult stays in bed for just a few weeks, they would suffer an atrophy of the leg muscles that would eventually impede walking. Therefore, even after years and years of using leg muscles to walk, in just a short period of time this ability can be lost. Clearly, with exercise the muscles can 'recover their memory' and the person in question could walk again. During daily activities, the solicitation of the musculature is very restrictive and must be worked in an organised and well-guided manner to stay active and retain a large functional reservoir.
The manner of exercising, however, strongly varies according to time, place and culture. In ancient Greece, four types of gymnastics have been described: the Medicinal that had a prophylactic aspect, the Therapeutic that cured specific diseases, the Martial that prepared warriors for battle and the Athletic, which is the origin for modern artistic gymnastics. These basic elements are still valid nowadays, and recently, the aesthetic aspect of gymnastics has been more recently valued by practitioners. The scientific knowledge of physical training has allowed talented professional athletes to reach the maximum (or at least the sub-maximum) performance of the phylogenetic abilities of the human locomotor system. However, for the great mass of people, gymnastics represents a symbolic value, expressed in attitudes, corporal expression, aesthetics and physical and mental well-being. The body, thus, receives and emits information through the motor communication. To be concise and precise body movements need a self-image of the body, perception, ability and ease. In this way, the practice of gymnastics contributes to the selfknowledge of the body and the development of various abilities that influence the corporal expression and participation in games and thereby facilitate social relationships. Functional gyms, also known as corrective gyms, treat people with psychomotor disturbances and morphofunctional disharmonies. In a greater sense, their aim is the full expression of psychomotricity. From the study of the biomechanics of the body levers, exercises are described and executed. The automatisms decurrent from regular and continuous practice are gradually applied to daily gestures. Functional gyms do not only focus on the damaged part(s), but the whole body as well. This explains their prophylactic aspect: the individual is seen as a psychophysical being searching for its own equilibrium.
12
Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym
Musculature malfunctions can be distinguished as psychomotor disturbances (bad habits) or dysmorphisms (structural alterations in musculoskeletal elements). Structural alterations need orthopaedic treatment and in adulthood the exercises are not able to induce permanent structural correction. The exercises promote neuromuscular and motor-sensitive optimisation and can compensate for the deficiencies of the affected parts. So, functional gyms must not create false expectations about a cure or definite correction for people with severe structural injuries and must not delay searching for a qualified orthopaedist. In all cases, however, functional gyms bring about muscular improvements and facilitate orthopaedic treatment. The classic example is the idiopathic scoliosis of teenagers, which is painless and affects girls (80% of cases) more frequently than boys; here, orthopaedic treatment is essential and functional gyms can be used in all cases. Functional gyms are also for the great mass of human population. In principle, any person of any age can undertake a well-guided programme. For that, however, a qualified instructor that supervises and corrects practitioners during classes and the self-respect of the individual's limits are fundamental.
13
THE HUMAN POSTURE
The human posture is characterised by bipedalism with the upper members free and effective for precision movements. Walking is the most usual and simple everyday movement. However, the body structure allows us to run, climb, jump, swim, walk on our hands, jump with one foot and many other variations. In general, the musculoskeletal system is directed to self-locomotion in diverse environments and situations but not to lifting weights: the joints used for lifting and transporting weights are very inefficient, which limits the weight that can be handled without provoking irreversible lesions. Such a posture is recent in the phylogenetic scale and is still in evolution, needing to conciliate antagonistic mechanical functions such as flexibility, weight support and the passage of a baby through the skeleton. In this way, there are as many erect postures as people. The erect posture can be understood as the individual manner of reacting to the continuous stimulus of gravity. In an erect posture, the basis must be large enough for stability. Compared with a quadruped animal, the ratio between the circumference of the thigh and the ankles is around 4.5, whereas in human beings this value is around 3.0.
So, the erect biped posture, in its evolution, really needed a bigger support basis. However, the strongest structures of the locomotor system are not the feet but the pelvis. To explain this, lets record that in each lever there is one point of support and components of tension and resistance. The pelvis is a component of resistance, whereas the feet are points of support. So, the thighs are naturally the most developed region of the legs because they exert more muscular work. The pelvic region is the fundamental structure for the general health of the locomotor system because it supports the spine, the weight of the trunk and the objects handled by the upper members, with the feet as flexible support. Most body movements have a principal muscle, but in general, and especially in the trunk, there are groups of muscles that move in the same way. The coordinated action of these various muscular groups is synergic: the effect of the muscles working together is greater than the mere sum of each isolated muscle. For each movement, there is a neuromuscular coordination that prevents an articular injury. Also, there is an axis and a plane of functioning that allows the best yield of each joint, where the pressions are equally distributed across the contact surfaces, so the friction is processed slowly and evenly. In this sense, a good postural muscular tonus facilitates all motor actions. An equilibrated posture results in more efficient, more precise and less fatiguing movements. The posture undergoes multimodal control depending on the vision, the feet, vestibule and muscular proprioceptors. The proprioception is divided into three components: the static conscience of the body position, the kinaesthetic conscience and the unconscious reflexes of muscular contractions. Thus, educating the posture involves educating the sensations since the muscles act according to the processed information from the sensorial organs.
16
To keep the body equilibrium, any disequilibrium in one region must be compensated by an inverse disequilibrium in other regions in order to keep the gravity centre in a stable position. In an orthostatic position, there is no disequilibrium without compensation. So, misalignments or asymmetries in the muscular tonus in one region of the body create compensations in distant anatomical segments. For example, while lifting a small weight with one hand, the musculature at the opposite side of the hips enhances its tonus. Asymmetries exist when the centre of the resultant force is not the gravity centre of the body. Asymmetries in the muscular tonus result in abnormal patterns of global mobilisation, such as sitting and walking. Limitations in any joints, such as congenital abnormalities, bad postures or external injuries, imply a lack of function in this joint. One region with a lack of function provokes asymmetrical muscular tonus, bringing disequilibrium among the muscular groups and overloading the regions responsible for the compensation of such a deficiency. This process continues in such a way that the whole locomotor system can be seriously damaged and lose the ability to move and support the body's weight. In a limited way, the musculoskeletal system reacts to aggressions and can regenerate some injuries. Cartilages thicken and become more resistant in the regions of higher tension, but faced with excessive stress they can present signs of destruction, degeneration or calcification. Articular ligaments can strengthen when solicited. However, they are unable to regenerate if they are completely sectioned, and even after partial lesion they can take three to six months to heal. The bones continuously remodel, reflecting the higher or lower solicitation on them. They react to abnormal conditions in three manners: local necrosis, modifications in
17
bone deposition and modifications in bone reabsorption. Bone deformities are difficult to correct and include the loss of alignment, abnormal length and bone protuberances. The bones react to exercise with hypertrophy induced by work or disuse atrophy. In children, intermittent pressions related to normal physical activity are good stimuli for normal bone growth, but the epiphysary cartilages react in a limited way against a large number of abnormal conditions. They can accelerate growth, retard growth or generate asymmetrical growth. The capsules reduce the excessive mobility of the joints. There are situations that weaken them such as traumas and genetic disorders that predispose joint lesions and bring about deformities generated from the healing response. A person with musculoskeletal deformities should be analysed not only regarding the affected structures, but also in the sense of the effects of the abnormality over the whole locomotor system. THE FEET The complex made up of the feet and ankles generates a stable basis over a large range of positions for supporting the body weight. It acts as a lever for propulsing the body while walking. It is a region mostly used for stability rather than mobility, but is flexible enough to absorb the impacts of body weight and the rotations of the legs during walking, allowing the feet to adapt to any irregularities while keeping stable. The plantar surface continuously receives stimuli, guiding the responses of muscles, ligaments and tendons through triplane movements. The musculature of the foot is made up of intrinsic and extrinsic muscles that functionally link the feet to the legs and hips. The soles present a lipidic cushion that absorbs the impact of the feet on the floor, but that also suffers
18
inflammation if the load and/or volume of solicitation surpasses the resistance capacity. In an erect posture, the calcaneus takes 53% of the body weight and the metatarsals, 43%. The distribution of the pressures over the feet is dependent on the shape of the plantar arches and the position of the centre of gravity at a given moment. In this way, manners for exercising the feet include walking over irregular fields (grass, sand, pebbles) and positional variations during gym exercises (outwards, inwards, one foot in front of the other). In the case of the Corrective Biogym, the proposal is that classes are taken barefoot to exercise the ability of the foot to adapt to different fields and body postures. The abduction and adduction of the foot are consequences of the medial and lateral rotation of the leg and not the intrinsic movements of the foot. When ankles and feet move, the fibula also moves in a harmonic way. Thus, the torsion of the fibula is a limiting physiological condition that also depends on the internal or external torsion of the hip. In other words, the position of the foot generates forces throughout the inferior member, not only in the ankle. The main musculature for walking is located in the thighs and hips. The legs and feet act as supports, reducing the balance and the impact and making the centre of the mass of the body adjust for smooth changes. The feet make the movement of the body mass a smooth curve instead of intersection arches, allowing the knees to be horizontally positioned. The forces for generating such smooth curves actually originate in the legs. As walking is an activity that requires the coordination of practically all the body parts, we can understand how each person has a peculiar way of walking. It is often possible to recognise someone at a distance through the manner of their walking.
19
Foot pain generates antalgic gaits, resulting in abnormal patterns of movement and alignment in the complex make up of the foot, leg and hip. Such abnormal patterns can result in stress and overload across the locomotor system and can be responsible, for example, for shoulder or elbow pain. During childhood, the growth of the inferior members is not simultaneous, and differences of up to 5 mm in the length of the legs are physiological. Over this value, the differences of length provoke disequilibrium in the whole body. THE KNEES The knee is the biggest and most complex joint of the human body. Like the spine, it conciliates two opposing functions: flexibility and stability. However, whereas the spine is protected and covered by strong and potent muscles, the knee is protected and stabilised only by tendons, capsules and ligaments, and these are all tissues with the reduced ability for regeneration. This explains why, especially for professional athletes, lesions in the knee are prevalent and a major cause for stopping participation in competitive sports. The knee reduces and stabilises the bouncing of the gravity centre, being both under forces originating from the foot towards the pelvis and vice versa. This modulates the impact such that modifications in the neurologic pattern of the patellar reflex can indicate biomechanical dysfunctions of the pelvis. The knee works under the compression of the body weight. The basic movement of the knee is that of flexion and extension. When the knee is flexed, it allows rotation over the longitudinal axis of the leg. In the flexed position, the knee is particularly unstable and exposed to lesions in the meniscus, whereas in extended position the knee is more vulnerable to lesions in the ligaments.
20
Knee ligaments are naturally solicited to counterbalance forces. Like every mechanical structure, they have a utile life, suffering ruptures and signs of fatigue through the excess of misuse. They also have proprioceptors that modulate the contraction of the leg muscles. So, the reflex arches between the ligaments and legs are lost when they are injured, thereby predisposing to momentous discoordination and risking the other ligaments and menisci. However, training muscular coordination can eventually replace good ligaments. Solely strengthening the musculature is not enough to enhance reaction quality and speed, but dynamic training can reduce the response time of the musculature and the lessen the risk of lesions in other knee structures. Corrective exercises for the knees include exercises of equilibrium on just one foot, equilibrium over unstable surfaces such as an elastic bed or tatami, global exercises of coordination, strengthening the legs and gluteus and modifications in the position of the feet. When the axial muscles are weak and unconditioned, the knees start to be solicited not only as a point of support, but as a propulsion spring, which overloads the ligaments, reducing their utile life. THE PELVIS The pelvis is the region of the trunk situated below the abdomen where the trunk and legs are linked. The joints of the pelvis are very stable and strong. The pelvis contains the reproductive organs and inferior parts of the urinary and digestive systems, supports the body weight, is the place for the delivery of a baby and is the point of origin of many muscles. The pelvis is the most important element for posture. Human bipedalism has positioned the gravity centre close to
21
the S2 vertebra, thereby inside the pelvis. The action of the pelvis in sustaining the body explains why the handling of weights in the sitting position is more stressful to the spine than in the standing position. In the standing position, the pelvic structure counterbalances the handled weights, whereas in the sitting position almost all the pressures are supported only by the spine. The pelvis moves to keep the equilibrium between the upper and lower body. The forces originating in the legs are transmitted to the pelvis before reaching the spine. Thus, the pelvis is crucial for the equilibrium of the column. Any malfunction of the pelvis lowers the ability to compensate the forces that reach the spine. The strong muscle groups of the pelvis are responsible for the high muscular tonus during rest periods. Situations where the abdominal pressure increases (such as coughing or sneezing) are counterbalanced by a reflex contraction of the muscles of the pelvic floor. Chronically, all situations where abdominal pressure overloads the musculature of the pelvic floor, which can weaken and become exhausted, result in a loss of function. Bipedalism is a condition of unstable equilibrium that needs continuous control and adaptation. Walking is a controlled fall. In normal walking there is a coordinated flow of muscular activity that begins proximally and then goes into a distal direction. This is the physiological basis of the idea that strengthening the musculature is better started with exercises that work the proximal regions so that the structures are strong enough to sustain more distal muscles that then strengthen. In other words, the distal muscles are not naturally able to get more powerful than the proximal ones. The centre of gravity is continuously moving, even with respiratory movements. Thus, the whole body has the natural tendency to lower the centre of gravity to facilitate the equilibrium: the head is projected towards the floor, the
22
abdomen protrudes because of lumbar hyperlordosis, the knees are projected backwards and the plantar arches are compressed. These compensations alleviate the general muscular work, but overload the ligaments. In this way, the deconditioning of the muscles is a major cause of bad posture and painful symptoms. THE SPINE AND UPPER MEMBERS The spine is submitted and responsive to complex forces, since it not only conciliates contradictory mechanical properties stability and flexibility but also half of the body weight is equilibrated over the lumbar portion. Stability is provided by its strong structure and flexibility is given to the structure of superimposed vertebras. The spine presents three functions: static equilibrium, dynamic equilibrium and spinal cord protection. It also transfers the forces originated by the movements of the head to the pelvis, allowing the coordination of the movements of the head, trunk and legs. The anterior portion of the column is structured in such a way to support the body weight and reduce shocks. The anterior elements vertebral body and vertebral disc sustain the body, whereas the posterior elements joints and neural arches are responsible for mobility. In a static erect posture, the spine presents two flexible curves (cervical and lumbar) and two rigid ones (thoracic and coccyx). In a normal and healthy situation, all the curves are placed at the centre of the medium line of gravity. The spinal curves give the anti-gravitational action of the erector muscles that are developed when learning to stand in childhood. The physiological curves allow the spine to have a higher flexibility and ability to absorb shocks at the same time as keeping the muscular tonus and providing adequate stability for the intervertebral joints.
23
T h e a n t i - g r a v i t a t i o n a l m u s c u l a t u re w o r k s continuously, i.e. during rest, during movement, during sleep and during wakefulness. At each instant, muscular action is started and corrected by proprioceptive stimuli that immediately try to keep the gravity centre in a stable position. However, since bipedalism is still under evolution, physiological weaknesses of the anti-gravitational muscles can be found in the abdominal and neck musculatures, indicating the continuous need to strengthen. The resistance of the spine is grown by the vertebral ligaments. These ligaments are present longitudinally in the spine and reduce the excessive mobility of any vertebra by impeding significant sliding. The physiological flexion of the spine requires from the posterior longitudinal ligament the same degree of resistance as that from the paravertebral muscles. In the spine, there are three lines of forces: the anteroposterior line that originates in the foramen magnum and goes to the coccyx, the posteroanterior line that originates in the foramen magnum, passes the anterior border of L2L3 and is halved in the acetabulum and the medium line of gravity that forms an upper triangle in C3 to C6 and an inferior triangle in L1 to L4. If one triangle moves to one side, the other moves to the opposite side to compensate for the deviation. Then, the gravity centre is kept inside the basis provided by the feet. The whole spine is equilibrated over the sacrum. Thus, a hyperlordosis can only be achieved by movements from the pelvis. The angle of the pelvis is the key for posture. The movements of the spine are a complex of neuromuscular activities over a mechanical structure. Thus, bad postures can result from a structural deviation or a repeated bad habit. In the same way, a good habit can be learned and perfected by well performed exercises and corrections in daily attitudes. The neuromuscular work must be precise and
24
performed together with a perfect mechanical action of the spine. The cervical spine supports and provides movements to the head. This region has the greatest amplitude of movements of the spine. In this way, since an alteration in one of the spine curves results in modifications in the other curves and also since part of the cervical musculature originates in other portions of the spine, there is a clear intrinsic functional relationship between the neck and back. To emphasise, a programme for correcting problems in the cervical spine must include exercises for the back and consequently for the pelvis. Notwithstanding, abnormal kyphoses are hallmarks of weakness of the whole body musculature. The spine, being the support of the body, is frequently exposed to overloads. The lumbar region is particularly an organ of shock and a precocious indicator that the locomotor system is under fatigue and/or overload. Functionally, the vertebral lesion is characterised by the abnormal position or movement of one vertebra over the other. Basically, there might be local or global impediments of extension, flexion and lateral flexion. In cases of slight lesion or fatigue in any structure of the spine, the surrounding musculature enters into a tetanic contraction, which is at the same time painful and protective, acting as a physiological tie. In fact, all the mechanisms of lumbar pain, such as distensions, disc hernias and traumatic bone lesions, result from the tetanic contraction of the paravertebral muscles. The most obvious cause of lesions of the spine is an excess of work. However, inactivity is more prevalent and more dangerous than effort. Inactivity results in muscular atrophy and neuromuscular incoordination. An inactive person is then exposed to the fact that the simple daily use of the spine becomes an excess of work. In other words, the senility of the spine is mostly due to inactivity than to the simple passing of years.
25
The shoulder is the connection zone between the trunk and hands. It allows both the refined gestures of precision and the lifting of weights. It is the articulation with the most diverse amplitude and types of movements. However, it is the most unstable and has the worst mechanical efficiency. The functional unit of the shoulder is a complex made up of suspended articulations, which is related to the description of numerous syndromes of lesions of the surrounding muscles. Generally, the point of support and the point of effort are close to each other, which explains the low mechanical efficiency for lifting weights and the high precision of movements. The movements of the arms generate forces that are transmitted to the spine. The predominance of one arm over the other provokes in the clavicles a tension of torsion that is propagated over the whole locomotor system. In bipedalism, this aspect demands continuous exercises to compensate. The bilateral symmetry of the body demands the predominance of one side over the other to quicken the manipulation reflexes but this also generates asymmetrical forces that overload the system, reducing its utile time. THE MOTRICITY Since the first texts on gymnastics in Ancient Greece, exercises have been classified as a simple combination of preparation and application. Using the correct technique has also been emphasised, which represents at least the beauty of a determined movement. Also, analytical descriptions of exercise amounts and targets have been organised according to the resulting effects (development of shoulders, development of legs, flexibility). The exercises were graduated in terms of difficulty and complexity and divided into series. Summarising, the basis of modern gymnastics has been described since then.
26
Regarding the types of exercises, the development of physics in the 17th century raised a mechanicist vision of the musculoskeletal system: the paradigm that persists nowadays is that the locomotor system is a machine of force with simple levers. This paradigm is reflected when exercises are performed only in straight and simple directions, the progression being essentially the relationship between volume and intensity. In human motricity, five components are inseparable: coordination, flexibility, force, speed and resistance. In each exercise, physical diversification is frequently observed, which is why the 'predominant modes of motor solicitation' are deployed. Each movement is the result of a coordinated interaction among the muscles, local neurological control and brain control. Although motor actions are classified according to the emphasis on force, speed, coordination, the activation of the cardio-respiratory system or the mobilisation of one or more modes of energy for the work, there are no precise limits among the groups of exercises that pertain to more than one group. Coordination is the synergic action of the central and local nervous system and the musculature in a sequence of movements. The better the quality of the coordination, the easier and the more precise is the movement. This lowers energetic consumption, fatigue level and the risk of lesions. Precise coordination is even more important in more complex movements. There is an intramuscular coordination, expressing the neuromuscular activation, inside the muscle and coordination for the whole musculature. Many muscles cover more than one articulation, sometimes exerting antagonistic functions according to the angle, degree of contraction or degree of elongation. Even more localised movements are influenced by the muscles and close articulations. The coordination, thus, is not just a sequence of muscles to be solicited, but a complete whole that must act synergically.
27
When learning and adapting to a gym program, motor and respiratory coordination is increased. The beginner experiences a rapid growth of force soon after the first classes, and this is conditioned exclusively to the amelioration of intramuscular coordination. The hypertrophy induced by the exercise is a slow and continuous process related to the progression of intensity and/or volume. However, exceeding a determined limit causes the exercises to become hurtful and the practitioner experiences signs of fatigue and loss of the previously acquired performance. This is known as overtraining. Muscular fatigue is the reversible reduction in functional ability due to an excess of work. The time interval for the appearance of fatigue varies according to the quality and quantity of muscular solicitation. Characteristic signs of fatigue include a reduction in the ability to exert effort, delayed and insecure motricity, incoordination and an increase in reaction times. Regarding manual labour, the Medicine of Work defines the limit of fatigue as the amount of work that can be completed continuously for eight daily hours. Flexibility is related to the amplitude of articular movement. In general, these articulations allow movements that are much greater than usual daily use. High flexibility reduces the risk of injuring muscular fibres during abrupt movements. Furthermore, women are naturally more flexible than men for the same level of fitness. Higher body temperatures favour this flexibility. A gym that trains only force reduces flexibility because of mechanical reasons. Flexibility must not be mistaken for hypermobility. Hypermobility is the flatness of the ligaments that, although allowing high amplitudes of movements, is inefficient at restricting an excess of mobility, thereby propitiating the chance of injuries.
28
Regarding the speed of exercises, slower movements are safer and this should be indicated to beginners. In fact, independent of the speed of a movement, the search must focus on refined and perfect control. The refined control of a movement is obtained through a continuous and supervised practice and is the best factor for ensuring the safety of physical activity.
29
THE POSTURAL EXAMINATION
Although the human posture varies every second, the terminology 'postural examination' is used to mean a person in a standing position with their feet together. This is a position where body deformities can be evidenced, but in the general practice this does not seem to be a good method. Basically, a perfect posture is imagined and the person is compared to this perfect image. Also, keeping the feet together is not a daily common posture. So, in research about postural deviations using this method, the control group presents an incidence of up to 95% of deviations, and it is not clear if they are real deviations or an adaptation to an unused posture. Even considering that the human posture is still under evolution, to consider that almost the whole population presents deviations from the normality does not suggest any semiological information. Methods for the static postural examination include the square and the automatic step. Dynamic evaluations include computerised analysis that describes the angles of the feet, the knees and so on. In the context of a gym class, the postural examination is undertaken in a dynamic situation. Is the body correctly aligned? Is the practitioner correctly performing the exercise?
By the way, what exactly is the correct execution of an exercise? To answer these questions, two basic concepts of postural physiology must be borne in mind: the integrity of the posture and the compensation of deviations, where asymmetries represent a harmful element to the whole body. We have proposed and published one method for postural analysis, the Method of the Imagined Square. The statistical indexes of concordance point out that this method is useful (as are practically almost all manoeuvres of physical examination) for detecting conspicuous deviations. In the context of functional gymnastics, evident deviations must be corrected. The detection of the details of angles is not reproducible by unarmed eyes. Anyway, there is no correlation between postural deviations and osteomuscular symptoms. For example, idiopathic juvenile scoliosis is a deforming condition that is painless. In the Method of the Imagined Square, the examiner draws, mentally, a square over the examined person (Figure 1). They then look at these principal lines to see whether the movement in the shoulders, hips, knees, ankles and so on is symmetrical. So, not only in a standing position, but also during an exercise, body segments can be observed and evaluated. In particular, running and jumping exercises are simple manoeuvres for highlighting weakness and global muscular asymmetries. The examiner should keep in mind that when a deviation is observed in any region that all the structure is under tension and that it is highly probable that other deviations in other regions will be seen. Body movements occur in a triplane: scoliosis, for example, is accompanied by axial rotations, not only by lateral torsions. Figure 2 illustrates a person who has suffered an acute torticollis or an acute torsion in an ankle. The diagram shows that line by line the body presents deviations to compensate for this problem.
32
This can explain, for example, situations where one knee develops osteoarthritis before the other or one shoulder is weaker than the other. These situations represent individual reactions to postural deviations. The Method of the Imagined Square can be applied to people that present at least one healthy vertical line and an intact nervous system. Figure 2 cannot explain, for example, a person that has fractured both ankles. In the case of severe nervous injuries (generally in automobile accidents), the posture behaves in a different manner from the instantaneous compensation of deviations. In the absence of a nervous system integrating the musculature, the compensation of deviations is lost. In the context of functional gyms, the evaluation of structured lesions should focus on the limitations they provoke. For example, how does this varus interfere with the person's life? What exercises will present more difficulties? In what sense does this disc herniation impede movement? Is there a difficulty flexing the spine? In stretching? Thus, the Imagined Square is useful for detecting asymmetries, and the excess of curves can be highlighted to the practitioner and systematically corrected, especially during static positions. It can also quantify gym progress to correct the functional disturbances of lesions.
Eyes Shoulders
Hips Knees Ankles
Figure 1: Diagram of the Imagined Square. The body is represented by a cylinder to remind that the postural exam is done in three dimensionas. The examiner draws imaginary horizontal lines over
33
eyes, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles. The vertical central line represents the spine and the lateral vertical lines are the lateral limits of the body.
Eyes Shoulders
Hips Knees
Ankles
Figure 2: Diagram showing the compensation of deviations. This diagram can be applied to a person with intact neuronal reflexes and a strong lateral vertical line to support the damaged vertical line. For example, a torticollis, a scoliosis or a torsion of the ankle: the deviations are compensated line by line, in a tridimensional movement.
34
PRINCIPLES OF FUNCTIONAL GYMS
Gyms can methodically and progressively increase the abilities of the locomotor system. The less desenvolved the muscular resistance, the less the time before a given muscle presents signs of fatigue. The absence or inefficiency of a tired muscle overloads other muscular groups, which then also suffer fatigue, producing a cascade effect. Moreover, the less flexible the muscles, the greater the probability of suffering from excessive tension during daily activities. Sedentary persons from the point of view of the cardio-respiratory system are also sedentary from the point of view of the musculature and joints. Persons with better cardio-respiratory conditioning present fewer osteomuscular symptoms. In addition, the greater the variety of movements, the greater the possibility of learning and developing new movements. Besides the preventive aspect, gyms can also be therapeutic. Treatments for acute muscular pain are very old and include massages, heat, cold, cataplasms and rest. However, people suffering from chronic painful syndromes can benefit from functional gymnastics that are therapeutically indispensable and, in many cases, the only possibility for the definite alleviation of the pain. Progression
is personal and continuous. It is not possible to expect perfect results over a short period because functional corrections need a complete rearrangement. A peculiar situation is pregnancy, when lumbar and cervical pain is frequent and follows an individualised pattern, with some pregnant women suffering more symptoms than others. During pregnancy, the analgesic function of physical exercise is ambiguous: some pregnant women show maximal benefits after adhering to a gym programme. In general, a pregnant woman must not be inert but also must not submit to extenuating exercise. The safest exercises are those of low intensity and volume. Professionals that work with pregnant women should keep in mind that if a problem in the pregnancy occurs (bleeding, miscarriage, placental abruption) the vigorous exercise will be pointed out as the causative agent of the event, even if it had nothing to do with it. Pregnant women that exercised in gyms for at least two years before the pregnancy can continue with their programs of exercise, but should avoid any progression in volume and/or intensity. Ideally, pregnant women after the first trimester should go to classes specifically for them. Regarding the musculoskeletal system, the aims of a corrective gym program are analgesia, gain of movement, gain of muscular force, proprioception (self-knowledge of the body), muscular resistance, functional motor learning and body equilibrium. In particular, the Corrective Biogym proposes general physical preparation to develop global motor abilities and a harmonious development of the body movements. Besides harmonising the development of the musculoskeletal system, the effects of the exercises include the enhancement of the glycolipidic profile, cardiovascular resistance, arterial function, venous return and pulmonary function as well as the flexibility of the vestibular system.
36
A child has a great flexibility of the tissues and vestibular system. During childhood, rotation is usually followed by pleasant sensations, whereas for adults rotation is followed by nausea and deeply unpleasant sensations. The less the vestibular system is worked, the faster it will lose its flexibility, until an end point where slight corporal rotations are followed by body disequilibrium, vertigo and nausea. All head movements mobilise and exercise the vestibular system. In this way, proprioception (on which the body equilibrium depends completely) can be worked both in static and dynamic situations. The intensity for challenging the body equilibrium can be varied according a reduction in the surface of support, an application of an external weight or a position that moves the centre of gravity of the body. The sequence of a functional gym is started by warming up, continued by global exercises, followed by specific exercises and ended with relaxing and mental concentration exercises. In gym classes, some exercises are designed for couples or groups, but the safer way to mobilise a painful joint is active movement within the amplitude that a warmed body can allow. The corrective gym program should not focus only on the specific problem of the practitioner, but strengthen and stretch the musculature as a whole, in such a way that the person finds its own axis of equilibrium. Therefore, the following programs are inadequate: programs to correct only the feet without working with the pelvis; to strengthen the arms without strengthening and stretching the shoulders and neck; and to strengthen the upper members without strengthening the pelvis, the inferior members and the spine. In a holistic vision of the locomotor system, the initial force provided by the gyms is concentrated on the pelvis. Then, the force evolves towards the feet and the neck. At the same time, the shoulders get stronger and the force evolves
37
towards the hands. This means that for alleviating painful syndromes in the wrists and hands, sometimes an overall workout is needed. Local treatments might not be enough. The organism weighs and so the muscular work to support this weight must be constant. Body positions represent many diagrams of forces that the musculature must support, such as standing, dorsal decubitus, ventral decubitus, lateral decubitus, sitting, on all fours, and so on. Each of these demands detailed and distinct manners of muscular work. The body can and must be light. A light body means that the body weight represents a light load for a given musculature. The exercises turn the body parts that initially are heavy into the self-musculature, allowing just a few repetitions of movements, into a lighter load, allowing 30, 50 or 100 repetitions of a given movement. Diverse positions can be sustained for seconds, minutes or hours. If a given posture represents the maximal use of muscular force of a given joint, only a few seconds are sustained. As the body becomes lighter, the self-weight represents lighter loads, allowing it to keep a position for minutes or even hours. Resuming, the lightness of the body represents a good resistance to fatigue in situations where the musculature must overcome the force of gravity. Also, this self-lightness must present a symmetrical aspect: equilibrium between right and left, between anterior and posterior, between agonists and antagonists. If this balance is not developed, injuries can arise such as morphological alterations or bad joint positioning, with a higher probability of lesions in tendons and cartilages. Regarding the regimen of muscular work, the exercises can be static (or isometric), where no apparent movement occurs, dynamic (or isotonic), where there is an articular movement or a composition of both. Circular movements, involving semicircles and clockwise and
38
anticlockwise circles, are essential for the body to slowly recover its axis of equilibrium, since the circle is a simple, smooth figure with a well-defined centre. The symbol represents, schematically, the majority of the movements of the joints: backwards and forwards, right and left, semicircles and circles. In this way, each body segment can be exercised. Every musculoskeletal activity is preceded by anticipation and preparation. In appropriate conditions, imminent tension will make the body react with the tonus and form the correct contraction to support it. So, the practitioner must concentrate on the execution of the exercise, especially in the body region being worked. The ambience should favour concentration. Noise, loud music, strong lights, uncomfortable temperatures, dusty floors and badly ventilated rooms do not combine with corrective gymnastics. The mind should be free of externally exaggerated stimuli to obtain the most correct and well-drawn exercises. Anyway, motor exercise can be helped by mental exercise. Previous imagining of the movement improves performance. Good music at a comfortable volume helps gym classes but is not a vital element. The preparation for the exercise involves the following stages: explanation from the teacher (when the most relevant details should be highlighted), demonstration of the correct execution of the exercise and routine correction of the practitioners during the class. When learning a new exercise, attention is focused on the rational execution of each single element of the motor act so that it becomes automatic, light and simple. In our experience, in the first two classes of a new pupil, corrections are made only for very wrong movements. The first classes are an adaptive period. As the practitioner continues with the classes, the corrections tend to be more constant and systematic. Beginners should not be pressed to present the same performance as veteran practitioners.
39
Slight variations in the exercises give dynamism to the muscular work. To the frequent question are closed legs or straight legs the correct position for abs, the answer is both are correct. The wrong way is to work repetitively with only one of them. The least efficient mode for structuring classes is when the same means are applied repetitively in the same way; very quickly an organic adaptation occurs and progression in the results stops. There is not a single exercise that can work the musculature in its complete plenitude. Rigid programs of exercises are inadequate, exactly because the basic need of the human musculature is the one of working in a great variety of exercises. There are an infinite number of possible classes. In a good sequence of exercises, one movement pulls the other. The movements can be slow and smooth or quick and explosive. Beginners should do them slowly and smoothly and, according to the results, start with the quick and explosive ones. Theoretically, corrective gyms use only the body's own weight; however, some external weights can be used after the first period of adaptation to the gym. This might be the weight of another person, especially if the aim of a given exercise is to free force-velocity. In all cases, selfknowledge and self-respect with regard to the limits are critical. In a way that is more evident in the trunk, the musculature presents functional redundancy: more than one muscular group can generate the same type of movement. So, there is a large variability of muscular solicitation among people and, as training evolves, there is also variability within the same person. The concept of the association of movements, which means the musculature as a whole works for a given movement, explains why different pupils perceive the intensity and effect of the same gym class in different ways. According to the general and specific conditioning of each of the practitioners, a given muscular group can be proportionally more solicited than another.
40
The description and development of new exercises follow these steps: 1) analysing the possible movements of a joint; 2) imagining an exercise; 3) applying this exercise to a given program; and 4) evaluating the ease and effect of practitioners. Common variations in a gym program include variations in the intensity and number of repetitions, use of different materials of support (bars, steps) and stimulus to complementary training in other physical modalities. Owing to human behaviour, adherence is greater if classes are taken in groups and led by a teacher. The isolated prescription of exercises is accompanied by abandonment by practically all patients. With a number of repetitions from 20 to 40 movements, the gain of resistance is linear and continuous. Obviously, if the practitioners tolerate 100 to 150 repetitions, there is once more a quicker gain of force and resistance. However, greater volumes than that limit are frequently associated with fatigue and overtraining, showing decreasing effects, becoming similar to the mechanism of lesions from repetitive movements. Each body lever presents a distinct degree of mechanical efficiency. So, 30 repetitions can be enough for a given exercise, excessive for others and insufficient for the rest. The teacher, personal perception, aim of the class and yield of the practitioners should guide the number of repetitions. If the practitioner cannot complete the series, then the repetitions must be done correctly. Doing a few correct movements is much more important and efficient than doing a lot quickly and wrongly. If a practitioner cannot complete a given exercise, then an alternative should be proposed. Generally, more simple movements can prepare a beginner for the desired exercise.
41
LESIONS
A constant preoccupation for whoever is responsible for a group of gym practitioners is the occurrence of lesions derived from the exercises. Apart from accidents, lesions in the musculoskeletal system can derive from, among other things, sudden overload, excessive repetition of movement and insufficient rest. In general, the majority of lesions occur during the simple daily work. A lesion that suddenly appears derives from the accumulation of work undertaken inadequately. All practitioners of physical exercise feel painful symptoms. The physiological response to exercise derives from small lesions, sometimes perceptible only under electronic microscopy. If the human body presents a lesion, an inflammatory response is started, the basic perception of this inflammation is pain and the final result is the formation of a stronger tissue. So, as the exercise starts a reparative response, it makes the locomotor system gain stronger muscles, bones and tendons and stronger and more flexible ligaments. When a process of body correction is started through a gym program, forgotten structures are suddenly mobilised. The organism perceives that something has been injured and
it starts a reparative response. This initial phase is inflammatory and thereby painful. In this way, gym class beginners feel pain in the musculoskeletal system. If the lesions pass a given biological limit, the physical exercise is not beneficial and is malefic, bringing about progressive degeneration. All gym class professionals will have pupils that feel stronger or lighter pain. The question is to know the semiological profile of the pain, including associate symptoms and limitations. In general, veterans know how to differentiate the 'good little pain' of the gym from a more serious lesion, for example a muscular distention. The typical pain of good exercise only starts after an overnight period, lasts for two or three days and then gradually disappears. Signs that the pain indicates a more serious lesion or a process of lesions for repetitive work include continuous and recurring pain in a same region (knees, shoulders, elbows, spine), pain worsened by the execution of a given exercise, pain during or immediately after the gym class and pain that is not alleviated by the initial warm-up period. If a movement or position feels painful during a class, the person must immediately stop. Ignoring the pain significantly enhances the risk and the degree of lesion. The behaviour of the gym teacher should vary according to the expressed pain of the practitioner. As a general principle, the beginner should not ignore the pain, but respect it. If a given movement is painful, then complete only a few repetitions, stop, rest and continue. If a given region starts to show signs of suffering, relative rest can be provided by reducing the intensity and/or volume of exercises in that region. So, a painful region or a painful movement indicates that this region must be worked. But the teacher should think about the volume, intensity and amplitude of movements for that region. A previously painful region can often present a rapid amelioration with the frequency to a
44
corrective gym program. Some weeks later, that region again presents intense pain, as if the original lesion has returned. When this second pain disappears, this finally indicates the end of the reparative process of the lesion. The beginner has not accumulated enough experience to differentiate between physiological pain and a more serious lesion. Some teachers have the habit of stimulating the beginner to ignore such pain, but the safer practice is to respect the pain. Limits exist for our selfexistence. Gym work aims to expand these limits not rupture them. For example, if there were no limits, then the head would easily detach from the neck and the feet would go away from the legs, which means the integrity of the body would be endangered. The rupture of limits is harmful. The enlargement of limits is desirable. Children can heal and recover faster from lesions, but their smaller size and development exposes them to cartilage lesions that could seriously harm the adult corporal structure. Avoiding lesions needs force, resistance and muscular flexibility, such as in adulthood. In preadolescent athletes, the development of the musculature is a factor of protecting it during games. Much is discussed about the ideal time to start building the body musculature of children with external weights. But exercises that involve the child's own body weight are certainly safe. It is very important that the teacher observes carefully the practitioners during the gym class and corrects them one by one. This correction is based on the analysis provided by the Imagined Square Method. In this sense, the participation of the group is important. Practitioners should be stimulated to counter the repetitions of movements, so that the teacher can walk across the room and individually correct the practitioners. Here, we point out again that beginners should not be aiming for perfection but serious mistakes should be corrected.
45
When the teacher observes that a given practitioner cannot complete the exercise in a 100% correct and coordinated manner, then the next class should be used for that practitioner learn the most important aspects of the exercise. Sometimes a practitioner presents a particular difficulty in the execution of certain movements. This is derived from gaps in motor learning, something that has slowly been installed and that will disappear gradually. For example, a practitioner that is not able to jump on alternate feet while moving their arms in a circular direction can be simply a victim of the terrible walkers during the period of the second semester of life. So, continuous practice will develop better motor coordination, if the practice is supervised and corrected. No pressing. Each one evolves in a particular moment. Some authors of books on gymnastics describe the existence of dangerous exercises, which are potentially harmful and therefore forbidden. As a contradiction, many of these exercises are described in yoga, a millenar practice, and many others appear in texts of corrective exercises. However, in principle, there is no posture or movement that is harmful by itself. There are certainly more complex movements that should be performed more carefully and with good concentration. For example, a person can be injured when trying to handle excessive weights without a good ergonomic position. Regarding active movements (those performed spontaneously), the literature has never shown an evident causative nexus between a given stretching exercise and a serious muscular lesion. Practitioners with previous complaints do not present higher risks than asymptomatic persons. However, the appearance of pain in the body regions that are naturally overloaded is common, corresponding to the initial reparative response triggered by gym. The first trimester of a new gym program is the period where pain is more likely to arise, whereas after six months the most common pain is from muscular fatigue. Empirically, six
46
months is a general period of learning and motor adaptation to a new gym. As seen in the biomechanical study, the lumbar spine is the shock point of all the body weight and is the most frequent site of complaint, followed by the knees, ankles and feet. In general, sporadic cases of serious injuries provoked by gyms are more likely to be related to the lesion of repetitive work than the type of exercise. The best way to avoid such a possibility is variety. In general, practitioners dislike similar classes, and this aspect is not just a demand from the market, but a deep theoretical view. Variety serves both for a broader work of the musculature and enhances safety during medium and long-term programs of exercise. Our experience with lesions We will now show some cases of where the Corrective Biogym apparently provoked a lesion. We will also describe manual techniques for overcoming acute torsion in the ankles, wrists and fingers and acute torticollis. The reason for showing these cases is to demystify the taboo exercises and remind that no exercise is always harmful. The danger is incorrect execution with inadequate supervision (or, generally, without any supervision).
Case 1: a 48-year-old man, with cervical disc hernias in C5-C6 and C6-C7, diagnosed 10 years before. Over the past three years, he had not used analgesics and kept to light physical activity (irregular walking). During the Biogym classes, he tolerated well the exercises for neck, including the Bridge and the Meat of Neck series. However, a slight reduction in the mobility of his left thigh was noticed during the series from Light Legs to the Body. After three months of gym, he had developed
47
a bursitis in the hip that, after 20 days, finally receded and did not recrudesce in at least the following four months. Case 2: a 43-year-old woman, practitioner of yoga, runner and member of her local gym. She presented a slight scoliosis (idiopathic juvenile scoliosis) and chronic tendinitis in the right elbow and wrist related to her work with computers. She also had previous tendinitis in the trapezoid muscle and had been plastered on two occasions: one year and six months before beginning the program. After about 60 days of regular frequency to the classes, she developed a chronic torticollis while on holiday. She returned to the Corrective Biogym and was treated with physiotherapy and Global Posture Reeducation. During the classes, she was good at the Series of the Table and at the push-ups, but the Bridge and the flexions in the Bridge triggered needle-like pain in the neck. Subsequent classes planned to prepare her to support the Bridge, including the Inverted Table, the Meat of Neck and the elongations of the bow and of the boat. After two weeks, she did a perfect Bridge and flexions in the Bridge. In the next four months, she presented no more painful limitations during the classes. Case 3: a 57-year-old man, practitioner of yoga and walking. He had his thyroid removed 10 years before and was using thyroxin and had regular medical assistance. After three months of regular practice of the Biogym, he presented suddenly with thoracic pain after the Series of the Locust. The pain was described as a sudden cracking noise in the 12th left rib. He sought no further medical assistance. The pain worsened in the first four days and then gradually disappeared. Four weeks after this
48
episode, he returned to the classes. Three weeks later he went for a bone scintigraphy as part of his medical routine that showed a hypercaptant area compatible with the consolidation of a bone fracture in the region in the rib. In the following year, he presented no similar symptoms, including during classes with the Series of the Locust. Case 4: a 29-year-old man, practitioner of gym and fitness work. After nine months of regular practice, he presented bilateral lumbar pain after a class that had the stretching of opening the hip with the Pose of the Turtle. The pain worsened during the following day, with spastic contraction of the lumbar musculature, a typical presentation of acute muscular distension. He presented a partial recovery after four days and a complete recovery after seven days. He never presented symptoms in subsequent classes with the same exercise. Case 5: a 37-year-old woman, practitioner of walking. She had suffered a fall in her teens and had fractured her right humerus. During the classes, the movements of the arm were preserved, but she had a habit of always keeping her right elbow flexed. She was oriented towards keeping her arms as extended as possible. After nine weeks of regular practice, she woke up with an acute pain close to the right elbow, described as a similar pain to when she suffered the fracture. The pain worsened in the first five days and then gradually disappeared. She noticed that the mobilisation of the right arm enhanced and the habit of keeping the elbow flexed was abandoned. She never presented a similar pain again.
In all of these cases, the Corrective Biogym cured hidden lesions. As seen, all these cases presented a limited
49
clinical course that did not repeat afterwards. The exercises did not provoke a lesion, they rather revealed lesions and underlying weaknesses. The inflammatory response is a painful response that repairs an injury. Since the musculature is not solicited in its complete plenitude, at the beginning of a corrective gym session, a previously forgotten region starts to be recruited. This forgotten injured portion then triggers an inflammatory response, thereby generating a stronger healing and a correction in the structure. Empirically, after a wound, the body develops a protective cover over injured muscles, tendons and joints. With the massage provided by the Corrective Biogym, this cover one day is broken, the lesion returns to its beginning, a new inflammatory process is started and a new cicatrix, stronger and more functional, is formed. In the cases cited, the events occurred mostly within the first six months of practice. The first six months are a period of adaptation to a new routine of exercises. The most common lesions in gyms are torsions of ankles, wrists and fingers. Generally, these torsions do not present a serious rupture of ligaments. Torsions provoked by mild forces (bad stepping, holding a ball at high speed) can be immediately undone in a smooth manner, and for this the symbol must be remembered: delicate passive movements forwards and backwards, side to side and in a circular motion. When this manoeuvre is performed immediately after the accident, it reduces the posterior edema and eases the recovery of the joint. However, it should not be done if the torsion occurred more than half an hour earlier or if there are signs of bone fractures. The CD that comes with this book shows a chiropractic sequence for the acute suppression of torticollis. Acute torticollis is not fully understood, but it is a situation where the local neuronal control activates a titanic contraction of the cervical musculature. According to the postural diagram, not only the neck but all the musculature is
50
under tension. The following manoeuvres relax the musculature within 20 minutes, but the painful sensation can last longer. They can be applied to children over two years old, but the effects are less clear in children because of the high flexibility of their muscular system. a) In ventral decubitus, with the face turned to the side, is the most difficult. The patient inhales and exhales deeply. When exhaling, the therapist presses the thoracic vertebras with their wrists, from bottom to top. Three pressures follow: one in T11, another in T5 and another in T1. A loud cracking sound is generally heard; b) Then, the therapist pulls each leg, kindly and firmly, posteriorly in the direction of the opposite shoulder. Cracking sounds are common; c) With the arms extended and opened laterally, the therapist holds the hands of the patient and kindly tries to make one wrist touch the other. The patient then turns the head to the other side and this manoeuvre is repeated; and d) The sequence ends with the therapist holding the hands of the patient and lifting the trunk. The patient should try to sit on the ankles and then stand up. Acute torticollis occurs idiosyncratically. Those suffering from recurrent acute torticollis will benefit from functional gyms.
51
STRETCHING
Flexibility is a fundamental property of the muscular tissue that allows the execution of movements with ease, optimised coordination and the exploitation of the total amplitude of the joints. A rigid musculature is paradoxically fragile and liable to ruptures because one of the mechanisms of muscular lesion is that the muscle must be forced more than its amplitude and shortened rigid muscles present a reduced ability of distension. Force and flexibility must be exercised together for harmonic muscular development. The amplitude of a stretch exercise can present two aspects: only keeping the existent arch of movement and amplifying the arch. Such a distinction is sometimes found in the literature as a definition of stretching and flexing. The basic movements are the same, only the execution procedures are different. The best stretching schools come from yoga. Yogins believe that youthfulness is a synonym of flexibility, which is fundamental for the body to be light. A baby is born with a high flexibility and the optimal age for starting systematic stretching is around 34 years, when the musculature is very flexible and the child has the maturity to execute simple exercises. According to the biological law of use and rest, if a
flexible ability is not worked, it will be lost. As a consequence, the amplitude of possible movements is reduced. Small amplitudes of movements, repetitive movements and exhausted movements are the basic mechanisms of lesion to the musculoskeletal system. Since daily activities are restrictive, there is a need to continuously stretch in a conscious and well-guided manner. The level of flexibility varies along the day: inferior values are observed in the morning and throughout the day the values are enhanced, reaching their peak at twilight. This is reflected in the habit of practitioners of gyms: approximately 85% of people prefer to exercise at midday or in the afternoon and around 15% like to go to the gym early in the morning. Limits exist and must be respected. Our existence depends on the limits our body imposes. Exercise aims to amplify, to enlarge the limits. If today the limit of stretching of a given joint is X mm, next week the limit will be X + 0.1 mm, so that slowly the musculature acquires great and beautiful flexibility. The tendons are inextensible and are not liable of stretching. In the mechanism of stretching, the generation of myofibrils is done by the synthesis of new sarcomeres close to the junction between the muscle and the tendon. So, from the point of view of a gym exercise, the stretch should be imagined as to elongate the tendon, which means, joints are well extended. Stretching shows four phases: (1) an initial phase of relaxing the muscular tonus that is facilitated by the warming up of the muscle; (2) an elastic phase where the muscle quickly returns to the initial position; (3) a plastic phase, where the muscle is deformed and after some applications this deformation becomes permanent; and (4) the rupture phase (lesion). Experiments with fragments of muscles confirm the ancient teaching of yoga: with a stronger force, the elongation is higher. However, the plastic deformity after the removal of the external force is greater if the traction is of
54
low intensity and long duration. To the gym principles, a strong and sudden stretch exercise can rupture and injure the musculature, whereas a comfortable position sustained for enough time leads to extremes of movements. So, for the plastic action of stretching occurs, a minimum time is needed. In general, a minimum of 15 seconds is indicated, but there are yoga practices that indicate several minutes in each one of the poses. The plastic action of the stretching occurs only from the maximal amplitude of the joint position. The minimum time for stretching is referred to as the time after the practitioner reached the muscular limit. For each muscular chain, the series must include at least two repetitions, ideally three or more. The first repetition of the series serves to relax the muscles. In the following repetitions, practitioners reach the maximum amplitude slowly and continuously. In general, more than four repetitions do not add further elongation. In this case, classes that use a greater number of repetitions are working with other aspects from the gym, such as concentration, resistance or variation of the classes. Only one movement in just one series is frankly inefficient for stretching. Stretching exercises can be in a spontaneous static position, ballistic movements, passive static positions or a sequence of neuromuscular facilitation. The ballistic movements do not induce good elongation, but they serve to prepare for sudden sports movements and for warming up. The passive positions are more frequently related to lesions. The spontaneous static position is efficient and safe. The neuromuscular facilitation is a sequence of positioning in a given amplitude of movement, followed by an external force against the movement for three to five seconds and a rapid removal of this force. This can provoke muscular relaxation and a slightly greater amplitude of elongation.
55
In a stretching position, respiration must be smooth and the practitioner should smile. Stretching is relaxation: if the position is tense and uncomfortable the exercise is doing no good. Signs that the stretching is being performed badly include discomfort, blushing, dyspnea, pain, fatigue and palpitations. The muscle being stretched is under a reduced blood flow. At the beginning of a stretching program the practitioner can feel the muscle pain and burn that are signs of the accumulation of lactic acid. With practice, these signs slowly tend to disappear. It is important to be aware that one side of the body is often more elongated than the other. In this way, the equilibrium is reached with symmetry of amplitude of stretching. Flexibility must not be confused with hypermobility or the lassitude of the ligaments. Good flexibility is associated with strong resistant muscles and ligaments, whereas hypermobility and lassitude are clinical conditions where a person can reach dangerous amplitudes of articular movements. For these persons, stretching exercises should be slower and more conscious. The joints should be mobile to allow the necessary movements but they cannot be so mobile as to induce the instability of the joint. In general, hypermobility is expressed in the shoulders and knees because these are the most unstable joints of the skeleton. Below, we list the principal basic stretching movements of the joints that more frequently tend to shorten. Shoulders The shoulders continuously tend to move and stand onwards and upwards, going with the movement of kyphosis. They should be worked in gym programs in order to be opened backwards and downwards. The main stretching exercises are:
56
a) The pose of the Inverted Prayer; b) The pose of the Horn; c) To cross the shoulders behind the back and hold the hip in the opposite side; d) The pose of the Plough; and e) To hold the hands behind the back, then to bend the trunk forwards and lift the arms. This position can be performed in a straight or diagonal direction. Elbows The stretching exercises for the elbows are similar to those for the shoulders. Using the idea of the centre-toextremities development of the force, an elbow with restricted movements limits both the movements of the shoulders and those of the hands and wrists. Basic exercises: a) To hold the hands behind the back. The wrists can touch or just the fingers can be holding; and b) In the pose of the Plough, the hands hold each other and stay in contact with the floor. Wrists Stretching the wrists is particularly important for people who work with computers or other precise manual jobs. The basic movements are lateral extension, posterior extension and inverted extension. The inverted extension works with the elbows that must be kept as extended as possible.
57
Posterior muscular chain While walking, the posterior muscular chain is kept under tension to maintain the body's equilibrium. The back musculature must be tensioned to avoid falling. The posterior musculature of the legs and the musculature of the spine then tend to progressively shorten. The basic movement for stretching the posterior muscular chain is to bend the trunk forwards as the head touches the extended knees. The feet can stand in plantar flexion or dorsiflexion. The position can be carried out in a standing position or on the floor. If done on the floor, it is important to sit over the ischiums not over the sacrum and to keep the spine erect. A hint for this position is to lift the hips for about 10 seconds, supporting the body with the hands and ankles. This manoeuvre facilitates this exercise. Although the basic movement is simple, this is the most important stretching exercise. This basic position also allows a great variability of movements and positions. Standing up or sitting, drawing an inverted V (the position of the Inverted Dog), standing on just one foot and extending the other leg are just some of the many variations for the elongation of the posterior muscular chain. The description of exercises for this area is vast in the literature, and a good sample can be found in Battista and Vives (1984), Alter (1990), Fernandes (1992), Hermgenes (1995), Anderson (2000), Voigt (2002), Dantas (2005) and Kaminoff (2008) among others. Trunk: lateral rotation The lateral rotation of the trunk is the ability to lean the axil against the opposite side of the flexed knee. The basic exercise is the pose of the Lord of the Fishes. Variations in this exercise can be done in the dorsal decubitus. Combined exercises can be performed for the dynamism of the classes.
58
Extension of the spine The extension of the spine also elongates the abdominal musculature. Basic movements are the pose of the Bow and the pose of the Bridge. This is a particularly beautiful elongation, essential for artistic gymnasts. In a corrective program, it is important for the rehabilitation of the limitations imposed by disc hernias (always within the practitioners limits). Opening of the hips Keeping the hips opened is important for a light and healthy walk. As time goes by, the ligaments and musculature of the hips shorten, which results in a senile pattern of walking based on short ant-like steps and can create difficulties for climbing stairs. The opening of the hips involves: a) The lateral aperture, mainly the pose of the Lotus. Preparation for the Lotus involves the half-lotus pose with one leg extended or the movement of the Moth; b) Lateral aperture of the Cow Face pose; c) The classic aperture of 180: lateral and forwards and backwards; d) Combined exercise with the stretching of the postural muscular chain: sitting with open legs, bend the trunk forwards and touch the floor with the chin; e) Squatting, which is a very important exercise. According to the yogins, the squatting position, also known as the Fetal pose, places all the musculature and pelvic organs in the correct positions; and f) To sit down over the ankles and then bend backwards to lie down.
59
Knees Any restriction of movement in the knees prevents exercises that stretch the hips. The stretching of the posterior muscular chain needs the knees to be extended. The stretching of the anterior musculature of the thighs can be impeded when the knees cannot be totally flexed. Any immobility of the knees must be carefully respected: the continuous practice of a corrective gym will slowly release the movements of the knees. If a given exercise is particularly painful, the practitioner should carry out just a few repetitions, gradually increasing the repetitions according to the therapeutic response. Feet The feet must be stretched in dorsiflexion, plantar flexion and lateral flexion (this one particularly worked in the Lotus pose). The stretching exercises of the feet usually follow those of the legs, and the variations in the positions of the feet give dynamism to the gym classes. The stretching abilities of the feet are important for correct functioning, where the feet need good flexibility in the direction of the triplane movements.
60
EXERCISE CLASSES
We now describe the exercises to show the theoretical proposal of the symbol in the drawings. The video that comes together with the book shows many of the exercises of the Corrective Biogym. However, it is not exhaustive and there are movements that dont appear in the video. Anyway, the idea of applying circular and diagonal movements to the exercises is well documented in the video. To demonstrate our experience and clarify the nature of the classes of the Corrective Biogym, we will then illustrate some sequences. We know that different instructors create different classes and this is the beauty of going to gym classes. The combinations of body movements are infinite; all the textbooks on exercises do not even exhaust all the possibilities. In this sense, we urge the reader to continuously search for the described exercises both in ancient books and recent videos and publications. The principles of the Corrective Biogym can be performed personally. However, our classes are organised in groups. Each day is different, and there are days with greater or fewer practitioners depending on the climate, school vacations, season and so on. Some practitioners really like
our proposal and never miss a class, whereas others are the opposite. However, we believe this happens with all gyms. Performing classes in groups reunites motricity with social participation. Our classes are planned according to the needs of each one of the practitioners. The gym classes work with the whole musculature. However, we emphasise that some exercises could benefit a particular practitioner. In this way, we can attend to any specific demands. Some practitioners of the Corrective Biogym are in a rehabilitation phase, whereas others are still developing coordination and force. Therefore, our experience with group exercises is limited. For more advanced classes, we recommend the cited literature, such as Netto and Beresford (1978), Kos et al. (1979), Battista and Vives (1984), Kucera (1983, 1984), Nespereira (2002) and Foquet and Balcells (2003) among others. Our proposal is basically to work against gravity. We leave here the idea of experimenting by adding external weights to the exercises. In this sense, exercising in doubles can represent an external force to be overcome. In athletic training, exercises are first performed in high volume and with moderate intensity. In the Corrective Biogym, the intensity provided by each person's weight varies. Advanced practitioners might feel that the exercises are less intense than beginners. The volume of repetitions used in our experience characterises the Corrective Biogym as a method for resistance and flexibility training, thereby serving as a basis for more specific training regimens. Since body weight does not change quickly, there are a number of ways to improve muscular training. These include improving of the speed of execution, adopting poses that reduce the mechanical advantage of a given joint, suppressing the support given by one side of the body, improving the number of repetitions and improving the time in isometric contraction.
62
Isometric exercises are a technique to be used, not in exclusivity, but as a useful complement for resistance training to fatigue. Healthy musculature can compensate the loss of one supporting member. For example, there are people that play soccer with just one leg. People born without hands have developed delicate and precise coordination with their feet and are able to write and paint with their toes. This principle is routinely used in the classes of the Corrective Biogym, with the suppression of the support given by one member (e.g. squatting over just one leg, push-ups without one of the hands or feet). Overcoming gravity works with practically all the body musculature. Notorious exceptions are the biceps and the posteriors of the thighs, which are typical levers for the mobilisation of weighs. In the Corrective Biogym, these regions can be worked either by simple flexion with a higher volume of repetitions or by modification in the origin insertion: for biceps, exercises for lifting the body; for the posterior of the thighs, the Series of the Inverted Table. Exercises are classified by the greater movements and only for didactic purposes, since although each one of the muscles presents a particular action of the bone levers, none of them works alone. The given names are presented to make remembering the exercises easier. The symbol represents the diversity of the joint movements. In general, the muscles are prepared in a specific way for the solicited work. So, if a great variety of movement is needed, the musculature becomes prepared for greater motor abilities. Please respect your individual limits. The response to training varies according to age, previous physical condition, quality of sleep and so on. Each practitioner will present a personal rhythm of progression that should be stimulated but not underestimated and never overcome.
63
The classes of the Corrective Biogym take between 60 and 90 minutes and are divided into 11 parts: a) Pre-warming up b) Warming up c) Legs Light to the Body d) Body Light to the Legs e) Hips/shoulders/climbing f) Transition to the exercises on the floor g) Miscellaneous stretching h) Series of the Table i) Abdominals/gluteus/neck j) Final stretching k) Mental relaxation Such divisions are not rigid or unchangeable. They are, as previous stated, a didactic organisation to guide the exercises. In general, each movement is repeated 30 to 50 times. The static positions vary from 20 to 50 seconds. More difficult exercises (for example, push-ups) are repeated fewer times, say 10 to 20. A same movement can be repeated more than once (two repetitions of squatting, for example), but classes tend to work the same region in a distinct way. Only the feet are naturally developed to sustain the body. The hands can also support the body and this requires specific training to develop such ability. So, the Corrective Biogym follows the yoga doctrine by starting a class with exercises in the standing position. However, this idea is, again, not rigid.
64
1) Pre-warming up This first stage is the execution of movements that somehow self-massage the abdominal region, thereby improving the blood flow. The abdominal organs are responsible for at least half of a human's basal metabolism. The improvement in blood flow in this region raises body temperature. The abdominal cavity is moulded like a balloon filled with water, a malleable cavity with liquid. When one extremity is compressed, the other inflates. That is why abdominal self-massages improve blood flow, thereby releasing heat. Five to 10 repetitions are enough for practitioners feel the effects of these exercises. On the floor: Movement of the Beetle. On the floor: pose of the Lotus or straight legs. With hands, suspend the hips away from the floor. movement: holding the feet, circular Babys movements with the whole body. position: inhale deeply, exhale while flexing Standing the knees and touching the floor with the hands. In the middle direction and in the laterals. Releasing the hips: lateral and semicircular movements: side to side or forwards and backwards. Cyclic movement of the Dog Upside Down. one foot in front of the other. Stand up and Sitting with sit again. If this is not possible (and generally it is not), impulse can be taken, making this a continuous from the Movement of the Beetle. 360o: jumping in a complete rotation. Jumping 2) Warming up Exercises for global motor coordination involve the simultaneous mobilisation of upper and inferior members
65
from the same and/or opposite sides. In the Corrective Biogym, the Series of the Table reminds the body of the movement of a baby crawling, that is ontogenetically the first movement to improve global motor coordination. In the warming up series, the simultaneous mobilisation of jumps, shoulders and hands follow this idea of global coordination. Moreover, standing on just one foot is a semiological manoeuvre that can highlight anomalies and postural deficits. Therefore, this series is also an empirical instrument for the evaluation of the progress of the practitioner in the Biogym classes. Yogin choreography of the Saudation of the Sun: one series with eight seconds in each static position or two series one with three, the other with six seconds. twice on each foot, 100 repetitions in total. Jumping Divided into groups of 25 repetitions according to the movements of the arms: arms straight forwards, downwards, upwards and in a lateral position (obviously the amount of repetitions can be varied): a) Blink hands, facing down; b) Blink hands, facing up; c) Adduction and abduction of the fingers; d) Prone/supine wrists; e) Circular movements of the arms; f) Combination of blinking the hands and/or abduction and adduction of the fingers and/or with circular movements of the arms; and g) Posterior stretching of the shoulders: pose of the Inverted Pray or the pose of the Horn. feet in the natural direction of the hips. To do Place the so, start with the feet together. Move them in abduction and keep ankles touching. Then, turn the toes to the
66
frontal position. A total of 25 repetitions in each position of the feet parallel to the frontal position. To the lateral position. To the inside position. Lift the body, stand on the toes and go back. The upper members complement the jumping on one foot. For example, if during jumping the hands were turned down, here the hands are turned up. If during jumping the pose of Inverted Pray was done, here continue with the pose of the Horn. without locomotion. Variations: feet Running touching the gluteus; flexed knees lifted up. Small jumps opening the legs laterally, small jumps with legs to the front or small jumps with legs backwards. jumps of the Frog to finish: squat and then Ten to 15 jump. During the warm up, the posterior muscular chain is relaxed and stretched. The equilibrium, the global motor coordination and the shoulders are all worked. An aerobic component is also present. To improve the classes, the instructor can run in the room if there is enough space. In this case, it is important that the instructor makes movements in a figure of eight for practitioners to run clockwise and anticlockwise. 3) Legs Light to the Body The classes start with a series where one leg is suspended, both in static and dynamic movements. Below is a list of the exercises of the Corrective Biogym. However, it is possible that new exercises have been created. This section demands that practitioners work symmetrically 'from back to front' and 'from front to back', in an ideal of anteriorposterior symmetry in relation to the sagittal plane.
67
with flexed knees: Exercises a) Lift one leg up and down. The static pose consists of standing the leg in the upper position. The supporting foot can stand normally or, for higher intensity, on the toes, b) Diagonal direction: outwards and inwards. Movements or static pose. The foot can vary: side by side or crossed, c) Lateral direction. The foot of the suspending leg points outwards. Care should be taken to not rotate the hip; try to keep the hip parallel to the front plane, d) Superseries: the amplitude of the movement is divided into three parts. The leg stands for three to five seconds in the lowest, the middle and the upper parts, for four or five movements. Ten repetitions for each leg take time. Practitioners generally like this because it seems simple, but it is actually hard, e) Union of frontal and lateral movements. The leg is lifted up. Then, move outwards and then inwards. The other way also: first inwards then outwards. This exercise works the musculature of the hip in an unusual pattern. A frequent comment from practitioners is that this exercise awakens muscles that were never imagined to exist, f) Combination of movements: bend the spine to place the head between the knees, g) Circular movements: semicircles and circles (clockwise and anticlockwise) at the front or side; and h) Flex the leg in the posterior direction. Since this is an easy movement, the way to improve the muscular work is to use a higher number of repetitions and a higher speed of execution. Positions: leg straight, leg outwards, leg inwards and union outwards/inwards.
68
with the legs straight: Exercises a) Exercise of the cow kick. Straight spine, legs straight. Lift to the front. To the side. To the back. Variations: touching the ankle after each movement or continuous movement without feet touching the floor. The initial position of the feet can vary: feet side by side (normal position), crossed feet or one foot in front of the other. b) Scheme : front direction and diagonals. From back to front or front to back. Static positions can be used. This can be complemented by a classic stretching exercise (e.g. holding the legs in the air). A bar in the wall can be used as support and facilitates the exercises in greater amplitudes. Option: half of the series with the bar, the other half without it. b.1) Pendulum: move the leg from back to front continuously without touching the floor; b.2) Complement: lateral movement of the leg. The moving leg crosses the supporting leg at the front or back; b.3) Circular movements. There are two kinds: the Great Wheel, where the semicircular and circular movements are done in great amplitudes, and the Six Wheels, where the movements are to the front, side and back; b.4) Circular movements, but forming a , instead of a circle; and b.5) Combinations of exercises: touch the head to the knees and then lift, bringing the leg up. Because this massages the abdomen it can be used as a pre-warming exercise. c) The movements in the straight directions allow the superseries. Divide the amplitude into three portions. Stand for two to five seconds in the inferior third, then in the middle third and then in the superior third. After, five movements and then stop downward in each third.
69
with hands on the floor. This is similar to the Exercises series of the gluteus, but this position improves the stretching of the lower back and posterior leg: a) Move one leg from back to front. Diagonals. Laterals; and b) Leg extended in the back. Symbol down. : lift and Diagonals, circles and semicircles. Lateral decubitus. This series can be worked either as lateral abs or leg works. Lift and lower one leg. Variations: lift the leg at the front or back. Semicircles. Small circles. Big circles. Two legs at the same time. 4) Body Light to Legs In these series, the basic movement is squatting. Squatting involves a complex mobilisation with a low mechanical efficiency from the knees and hip joints. However, it is a common daily movement, such as using stairs and walking uphill. In a functional gym, training this aspect is important. Squatting: Observations: the practitioner should flex the knees and move the hip backwards as if going to sit in a chair. There is a natural tendency to protrude the knees, but this should be avoided. This natural tendency overloads the knee ligaments, and the gym aims to work with these muscles. As previously said, this is not a taboo, and in some classes practitioners might be asked to protrude the knees. But especially beginners should learn how to do this movement without overloading the knees. At the beginning of the movement,
70
the knees should not pass the line of the ankles. Obviously, as the pelvis approaches the floor, an acute angle between the ankles and knees is formed. The initial position of the feet can vary: feet at the same line as the hips, abducted 45o outwards (this is the simpler and most stable position). Feet at the line of the hips, parallel to each other. Feet more abducted than the hip. Feet close together. When the feet are close together, one tip is to slightly separate the malleolus because touching can be uncomfortable. The series of feet close together have three positions: straight, outwards and inwards. The amplitude of squatting with the feet close together is very low, but can work with the knees in many angles of muscular and ligament recruitment. The upper members act as stabilisation levers. The simpler position is to keep the hands in front of the chest. A greater intensity in the postural correction can be obtained with poses where the arms are not stabilisation levers, for example: the Inverted Pray or arms aligned with the ears. We suggest that at the end of a series of squatting, the series is finished by 20 to 30 seconds in the squatting position. Improvement of squatting can be achieved by touching the hands on the floor, behind the ankles (the Spider pose). During squatting, the ankles must touch the floor. Squatting in only the toes is another kind of exercise. Some beginners are not able to squat, so a bar in the wall can be helpful. The squatting position is important according to the yogins. This is a pose where the abdominal and pelvic organs are located in the most natural and correct position. When standing after squat exercises the pelvic diaphragm must firmly contract to avoid the involuntary loss of urine or faeces. However, it is an exercise that requires a lot from the knees, so individual limits must be respected.
71
Double movement of the calf and squat: the knees are flexed to half of the amplitude of squatting. Straight spine. Lift and down on one ankle, then the other. Squat, stand up, lift and back down onto two ankles, and then back to the middle position. of the pose of the Warriors. Exercises a) The Master Warrior. One foot forwards, abducted legs. The other foot outwards. In this position, the hip tends to turn outwards do not allow that. Try to keep the hip parallel to the front. Flex the knee of the outwards foot. The knee should not pass the line of the ankle. The initial position of the arms is wide open. If the knee passes the ankle, open the legs a little more. After flexing the knee, the elbow touches the thigh. With a flexioned knee, turn the spine back. Then, go back to the initial position. After the repetitions (20, 25, 30, 50, ...), we suggest standing in each static position for 20 or more seconds. Completing the sequence, the stretching exercises of the Triangle or Inverted Triangle are indicated; and b) Junior Warrior. This time the hip moves towards the foot that points outwards. The arms are extended superiorly, holding the ears. The knee is flexed, never passing the vertical line of the ankles in a moving or static position. As a complement, we suggest the horizontal posture over one foot for 20 or more seconds, with the supporting leg well extended. The most difficult squatting exercises are those where the body is supported by only one leg. In general, our double organs can overcome the absence of the other, although they are not as efficient. As stated before, there are many people with just one leg that are able to play soccer. So, exercising the body weight over just one leg turns the body even lighter to itself. Imagine that each leg supports half of the body weight, if through exercise we can make each one support the total
72
weight, then when the two legs are acting together, the body weight will represent only 25% of exigence to each leg. Basic movement: a straight suspended leg. Hold the foot with the hand. Squat on one leg. Observations: this is a difficult exercise that requires lots of practice, but is common among yogins and dancers. In the Biogym, we use the support of a bar. The support is more efficient if done in X: to hold the foot with the opposite hand. After a series of movements, we suggest a stretching pose of 20 to 30 seconds down in each leg. This variation works in a distinct way: instead of suspending the leg straight, flex laterally the knee, supporting the ankle on the opposite thigh. When the body goes down, the joint of the hips is stretched or, in common words, 'opened'. Opening the hips is an important series of yoga stretching. In this position, the exercise can be performed with or without the bar. With the bar, the amplitude of the down movement is greater. Without the bar is a position that works with the body's equilibrium. legs opened, squat on one side and then on With the the other. The ankles must always be in contact with the floor. A frequent error by beginners is removing the ankle from the floor and supporting on the toes. After a series of movements, we suggest a stretching pose of 20 to 30 seconds down in each leg. exercise is common in local gyms. One foot Lunges: this is on the floor, and the opposite leg is extended posteriorly with only the toes on the floor. The knees are flexed and the knee of the extended leg touches the floor. Important: the knee of the side of the supporting foot, when flexed, should not pass the line of the ankle. The movement is down to the pelvis in the direction of the floor, and not protruding the body over the knee.
73
Observations: people with mobility restrictions must respect their limits. A bar can facilitate the movement. A common mistake of the practitioner is to adduct the toes (feet pointing inwards): the instructor must correct the foot extremity so that it is parallel to the sagittal plane. There is clearly a difference between men and women. A womans hip is larger and so her knees tend towards a valgus position. The instructor should differentiate a normal valgus in women from an excessive one. In all the squatting exercises, there are two types of superseries: a) Superseries of three: the amplitude of the movement is divided into three portions. Three to five seconds in the static position in the upper, middle and inferior portion followed by five to 10 movements; and b) Superseries of four: go down to half the amplitude and back to the standing position. Then, go totally down, back to the half of the amplitude, totally down again and back to the standing position. 5) Exercises for the Hips Basic movement: move the trunk from one side to the other. The static position is on each side. Variations: feet in the natural direction of the hip, feet close together, one foot away from the other, feet pointing outwards, feet parallel, feet outwards at an angle of 45o. Regarding the arms: pose of Inverted Pray and pose of the Horn. Wrists behind you. Wrists united behind the back. Arms extended upwards, holding the ears. Arms opened laterally. movements: half rotation of the hip to the Diagonal side, and movement in the diagonal direction. Semicircular movements (bowl and cupule) and small circles. Position: to the front. To the sides. To the back. In
74
the particular case of to the back, kindly flex the knees and move the pelvis forwards. The Great Wheel of the Trunk: circular and semicircular movements. Let the pelvis rotate to the equilibrium. At the end of the series, beginners feel dizzy and sometimes annoyed. Quickly tell them to move the neck to interrupt the lymphatic movement of the vestibule: 10 movements of 'no', 10 of 'yes' and 10 of 'maybe'. This exercise works the labyrinth. Although all movements with the head move the vestibule, the Great Wheel works the whole body. The practice of this exercise also aims to keep the labyrinth flexible, which means ensuring the rotation is not followed by nausea. the Rebolation: feet close together or away. Series of With the hip, make the movements of the symbol . Rebolation Bowl: legs spread. Semiflexioned knees. Move in the bowl: from one side to the other or from backwards to forwards. 6) Exercise for the Shoulders standing position the Shrugs: application of the symbol Series of . Variations: one shoulder each time. The shoulders in different senses of the circular movements. As the shoulders are normally light to the body, the volume of repetitions should be at least 50. Lift the arms in a straight position. Directions: in the middle and diagonal. Series of arms. Arms in with the prone or supine. for the biceps: lift hands up and down as if the Exercises hands were holding weights. In the frontal direction, in the lateral direction and going frontal/lateral. As this is normally light, the exercise should be of great volume (more than 50 repetitions) and at a high speed.
75
exercise. Arms opened laterally. Move the hip The Stick from one side to the other. Do not allow the arms to become close. Keep looking forwards, do not look laterally. The Helicoidal Flight. Complex coordination. Should be repeated in some classes. Repeat decreasingly five to the right, five to the left until the complete movement of 1:1. 7) Scaling a Horizontal Bar If the gym room has a climbing frame, it is interesting to work the inherent ability of the human body to climb steps with the arms. Although our skeletal system allows that, this is an ability that is rarely used and so it gets lost. The body's ability to climb steps using only the force of the arms is the basis of many circus choreographies and competitive gyms. Anyway, we describe here only the basic movements. As the classes become more advanced, new exercises can be found in the literature cited. bar and keep bending for 20 to 50 seconds; Hold the Keep bending in one arm only; hands prone or supine. Lift up and down; Bar: either and Keep bending and turn the hips from one side to the other. Or lift the legs. 8) Transition to the Floor This series is made up by stretching, equilibrium and strength: of the Ocean. Sit with legs crossed. Hold the The Waves feet and raise the ankles off the floor. Rest the elbows on
76
the knees. Move from one side to the other, with a straight spine. Place the right foot in front of the left. Then, change position; Bouncing. Hold the feet and extend the legs The Turtle in the air; and Scissors. Keep the arms and ankles off the Penknife floor. Static or dynamic exercise. Open and close the legs; in this, it is important to touch the flexioned Bicycle: knee with the elbow and ensure the other leg is very straight and as low as possible; Strengthening the toes. Sit on the ankles with the toes supporting the weight. Go down, touch the floor with the hand and go back. Also, go backwards and touch the floor with the hand dorsal; and the wrists for the Series of the Table Preparing 9) Miscellaneous stretching exercises Carry out some stretching on the floor (see section 8 for ideas). Carry out the series for preparing the wrists for the Series of the Table (see section 10): in the crawling position, move forwards, stretching the wrists: forwards, to the sides, backwards and the inverted position with elbows straight. 10) Series of the Table This is one of the most important series of the Corrective Biogym. At least one of the exercises should be present in all classes. This is called Table because the spine must be horizontally straight to support the plates. Look forwards, avoid looking to the floor: a) hand and feet away one from each other Variations: in the diagonal. In this case, ankles touch the floor. b) Hands and feet close together;
77
to the front, to the sides, to back and inside. Hands: Minimum of 50 seconds in each position. In the intervals between positions, a suggestion is to carry out a posterior stretch of the hips or strengthening of the toes; stand on closed wrist. This strengthens the Variation: wrist and the punch; and stand on the fingers. Variation: 10.1) Series of the Inverted Table Dorsal decubitus. Hands and soles on the floor. Lift the hip and keep the abdomen level. Lift up and down. Static position: keep in the higher position; straight: series with each leg: up/down, One leg diagonals, side to side, semicircles and circles. Take care to not allow the hip to fall to the other side; and Dorsal decubitus. Hands dorsal and ankles on the floor. In the diagonal and in the middle. Forcing the floor, try to lift the body. 10.2) Series of the Dismantled Table We call them dismantled because one or more of the supports will be withdrawn: original Table pose. Remove one hand from From the the floor (alternate the hands) and stand in the static position. Remove one foot. End with the four supports on the floor. This series turns the Table lighter to the body: first, the body needs to stand without one support. At the end, with all the supports, the Table becomes lighter; in X: remove one hand and the foot of the Moving opposite side. Movements ending with the static position. The Table can be hands and feet opened in the diagonal or close together in the middle position; and
78
In the position of the Inverted Table, remove one hand, one foot and in X. 11) Body Light to the Arms (on the floor) The basic exercises are the push-ups and the upside down poses: There are at least three types of push-ups: 'of Push-ups. triceps', where the elbows stand close to the trunk, 'of pectorals', where the hands are laterally away from the chest and 'of deltoids', where the hands are positioned in the horizontal line of the eyes. The position of the feet interferes in the mechanical efficiency of the movement. The feet can stand close together with only the toes on the floor or stand apart with the ankles on the floor. If the practitioner presents difficulties in the movement, the knees can give support on the floor. remove one hand or one foot or in X. Variations: the original position and clap the hands. Jump from of the amplitude of the push-up, Symbol : in the half stand still and move forwards and backwards or from one side to the other.
Comment: for an unknown cultural reason, many gym instructors divide the push-ups into 'for men' and 'for women'. Women are guided to always sustain the knees on the floor. The paradigm of the Corrective Biogym is totally contrary to such an idea. The body must be light, no matter if you are a child, and adult, young, old, a man or a woman. Notwithstanding, the musculature worked by the push-ups is requested in the daily activities. In our experience, all the practitioners present a good performance in push-ups after practice.
for upside down: jump and try to turn upside Preparing down. Variations: jump with the feet together or alternate
79
the feet. Head suspended or laying on the floor. Directions: middle, diagonals and from one side to the other. Stand upside down. Flex the elbows, touch the head on the floor and lift. besides the static position, flex the arms. Bridge: Variation: remove one foot from the floor. 12) Abdominals (including dorsal musculature) The abdominals present a great variability of movements. Owing to the intrinsic function of the abdominal and dorsal musculature in stabilising the spine, we consider these exercises to have anterior/posterior symmetry, which means that for each movement when the spine is flexed there is a corresponding movement when the spine is extended (but generally without the same amplitude). In general words, the abdominal and dorsal exercises are a combination of the symbol amplitudes of the movements (total with the or partial), with the position of legs (flexed or extended), with the position of the arms (hands on the chest, hands behind the neck, extended shoulders, etc.) and static or dynamic movements. In particular, the book by Nogueira and Dias (2001) illustrates diverse exercises to enrich classes. Below we describe the basic exercises; combinations should be created by the instructors. The series of dorsal exercises are generally named the Series of the Locust. Abdominal/dorsal superior (works more with the muscles superior to the belly button): lift the head up and down. Symbol spine or only the shoulders. . Lift the Static position. Superseries of three. Superseries of four. Combinations with abdominal/dorsal inferior. In the dorsal exercises, the feet can stand apart or be close
80
together: a nice stretching of opening the hips can be performed at this moment: ankles together and touching the floor. Abdominal/dorsal inferior (works with the muscles inferior to the belly button): in this series, it is important to keep the lumbar spine in contact with the floor. If the pelvic musculature is weak, practitioners should be instructed to flex the knees to not allow the lumbar spine to lose contact. Movements of the symbol . Variations: straight legs. Flexed legs. Legs together. Legs alternating. Legs at 90. Legs starting on the floor. Static positions. Combinations with the abdominal/dorsal superior. There are basically three movements of the abdominal lateral: decubitus. Lift the shoulders away from the Lateral floor. Static or dynamic exercises. A useful hint for beginners is to imagine a cord in the air and pull it up; legs. Positions: straight along the body. 90o Lift the forwards. Backwards. The symbol is applicable; and body. Supported by one hand and the lateral Lift all the portion of the foot. Static or dynamic exercise. To facilitate, support can be given by the elbow on the floor. 13) Meat of the Neck Movements with the neck within the symbol in dorsal, ventral and lateral decubitus. A minimum of 50 repetitions of each movement is suggested, since in general the head is naturally light to the neck. If steps are available, laying on a step allows a greater amplitude of movements.
81
decubitus, with legs extended or flexed, with In dorsal the foot on the floor or just the ankles, force the neck to behind to lift the body from the floor. Dynamic or static exercises. Upside down, but supporting the head on the floor. 14) Group of the Gluteus On all fours: move one leg forwards (touch the head with the knee) and extend behind. Directions straight and diagonals. With extended leg, movements of ; Dorsal decubitus or sitting with hands on the floor. Lift the hip from the floor (moving or static position). Variations: ankles close to the hip, extended leg or half distance between hip and extended leg. Symbol is possible. To improve intensity, take one leg off the floor. The Pose of the Bridge is good as a complement to these exercises; Ventral decubitus. Abduct one leg 90o laterally. Lift up and down. Static position. Abduct and adduct the leg; and over the ischiums. Straight legs or pose of the Sit down Lotus. Support the hands on the floor. Lift the hip up and down. Static position. 15) Final stretching The final stretching acts basically over the posterior muscular chain (legs and trunk). It is very important that all or almost all the classes do this series: the posterior muscular
82
chain continuously tends to shorten. While walking, the posterior chain contracts to avoid falling. So, we finalise the classes with the following series: hands on the knees: 10 to 15 seconds; Touch the for 15 to 20 seconds; Slow pose Happy Baby for 10 seconds; and Pose of the foot and down the other, 15 seconds each side. Hold one This series is repeated three times. 16) Final Mental and Body Relaxation The series for relaxation is performed without music. Our world is too noisy, we dont need more noise, even if it is supposedly harmonic. Practitioners lay down in a comfortable position with their eyes closed. Mental relaxation is a situation where attention is concentrated on one point in a conscious and voluntary manner. Such as the exercises for the musculature, beginners can take some weeks or months to become able to enter into the mental and physical state of being far away, reaching a mental state between alertness and sleep. So, beginners that show defensive reactions must be respected. If an instructor forces them to concentrate, this can cause even more tension and distraction. Some practitioners sleep during the relaxation moment. Advanced practitioners can dominate the mind, keeping their concentration. To guide the relaxation, the instructor says: While we were in this gym class, our muscles obeyed to our desire, within each ones limits. At the same time, our brain coordinated all the vital functions: respiration, heart beating, hormones, and so on. In other words, our mind is naturally able to do many tasks at the same time. However, just as a
83
modern computer, the more tasks performed at the same time, the lower the speed and the lower the precision of processing information. So, modern science confirms what has long been thought: that the tired mind is dispersed, full of thoughts, full of tasks to do and full of preoccupations, whereas the rested and productive mind is concentrated only on one point at a time. This is why practitioners consider adventure sports relaxing, because despite the risk of injury, the mind concentrates only on the task in hand. In fact, the tired mind dominates us with its diffuse aspect, sufferings, afflictions and lack of productivity, whereas the serene mind imposes our wishes on our minds. In the same way, we work with our muscles in this class to impose our wishes onto our muscles. Lets, at this moment, relax our minds by relaxing our muscles. Just as the muscles can obey our wishes and contract they can obey our wishes and relax. When our musculature relaxes, the sensation is either we become as heavy as a rock or as light as air. Talking about air, feel the air. The air you inhale is full of energy, full of vitality. The air you exhale carries out all our toxins, all our tiredness, all we need to throw away from ourselves. Calmly, slowly, become a rock. Your ankles become a rock. Your knees become a rock. Your belly becomes a rock. Your chest becomes a rock. Your arms become a rock. And finally, your neck, your face, your head lose the tonus and become a rock. Now youve turned into a rock, feel all the surrounding sensations: the temperature of the air, of the floor. The texture of your clothes. Listen to the surrounding sounds, feel the surrounding smells. Stand in this state of concentration for 1 minute (the time can be more according to the aim of the class. Mark off the time with a chronometer. Turn off the lights and all electronic equipment. Even low music is not good for this mental relaxation exercise.). One (or two, or n) minute(s) have passed. Your body that is now in a rocky state will dissolve in the air. Just like a bar of dry ice, you dissolve in the air. Slowly, your chest dissolves
84
in the air. Your belly dissolves in the air. Your legs dissolve in the air. Your arms dissolve in the air. Finally, your neck, your face, your head dissolves in the air. While you become air, this external world slowly disappears from your perception. Lets go to a trip to inside, to an always pleasant place, away from this world of pain and suffering we live in. In todays trip, we will : Some options for positive images: To a rainfall. Pay attention to the vegetation, the birds, the fish, the insects, the crystalline water, the people joining you, etc.; To a beach; To a garden; garden; To a kitchen To an orchard; To a flowering field; home. Pay attention to all the details of your To your home: the things you like, the things you want to change but, mostly, to be joyful on how good it is to have a home; workplace: the things you like, the things you To your hate, the things you want to change, but, mostly, to be joyful on having a means of surviving; with the people you know and knew; To a party yourself in front of a mirror. You are immersed Imagine in a fire that burns all you dislike in yourself and you hate in the world. This fire turns all these nasty things into light and warm for your life; yourself involved by a cloud of clear colour. Imagine This cloud has a temperature, a texture, a flavour you like and plays a song you like; for respiration: breathe slowly, feel the air Exercises
85
entering and leaving your ears. Your belly button. Your urethra (these are respiration exercises described by the yoga); and Respiration exercise: close a nostril with the fingers. Inhale for five seconds. Close the two nostrils. Stand for more five seconds. Disclose the other nostril. Breathe for five seconds. Keep without air for more five seconds. Start with this last nostril. After half of the time, improve the exercise for eight (or 10, 12 or 15) seconds. And keep in this for more than two minutes. After this time, say: Two (or n) minutes have passed. Lets come back to the real world. Move your toes and your fingers. Wake up from legs to head. Move your feet from one side to the other. The knees from one side to the other. The hips from one side to the other, the chest from one side to the other. Extend the arms, flex the knees, open your eyes and stand up. At the end of one more of our classes.
86
EXAMPLES OF CLASSES
For illustration purposes, we will now show how four classes were elaborated to work with specific situations. Situation 1: When one practitioner was a woman with chronic swelling of the knees, typically a prepatellar bursitis with some painful limitation to flexing the knees. Class 1: pre-warming up, warming up. Legs Light: flexed legs: forwards, lateral up and down, lateral to the middle, circular. 30 repetitions of each movement. Body Light: series of Master Warrior: 30 repetitions each side, static positions for 20 seconds. Hips: in Inverted Pray, lateral and diagonal movements. 50 repetitions each, with 10 seconds for rest.
Transition to floor: Waves of the Ocean (30 seconds), Turtle Bouncing (20 seconds), Penknife (20 seconds), Scissors (25 movements), bicycle (30 repetitions). Miscellaneous stretching: pelvic stretch with legs open: try to touch elbows on the floor. Three repetitions of 15 seconds. Between the repetitions, suspend the hips for 10 seconds. Series of the Table: hands and feet in the diagonal position, 50 seconds in each position of the hands (to front, to back and outwards). Between the positions, posterior opening of the hips: sit on the ankles, bend the spine backwards and try to touch the head on the floor. 10 s, 15 s, 20 s. Push-ups: two series of 20 repetitions of push-ups of pectorals, 15 seconds interval between the series. Series of gluteus, position on fours. Final stretch, mental relaxation. Class 2: After warming up. Legs Light: flexed knees: semicircles forwards and outwards. 30 repetitions each. Body Light: Junior Warrior, 30 repetitions, followed by static pose of standing on one foot with a straight
88
back. Then, two series of 30 squats, each one followed by 15 seconds down and 15 seconds in the pose of the Spider (touch the wrist behind the ankles). Hip: with extended shoulders upwards, 50 repetitions back/behind. Transition to floor: same as class 1, but substituting bicycle for the circular movements of the legs (30 repetitions in each direction). Miscellaneous stretching: pose of half Lotus. Two repetitions for each leg of 15 seconds (first) and 20 seconds (second). Series of the Table: instead of posterior opening of the hip, strengthening the toes. Push-ups: two series of 20 repetitions. The first, of deltoids. The second, of triceps. Series of gluteus in dorsal decubitus. Final stretch, mental relaxation. Class 3: Initial pre-warming up, warming up. Legs Light: straight legs. From back to front and then from front to back. Middle and diagonal
89
directions. 30 repetitions each. At the end of the forwards movement, hold the foot and stand with a straight leg in the air. 20 seconds (middle and diagonals). At the end of the backwards movement, stand with the leg straight behind. Body Light: simple lunges, 30 repetitions. Simple squatting, 30 repetitions. Hip: Great Wheel, clockwise and anticlockwise. 30 repetitions each. No interval to avoid dizziness. At the end, 10 movements of yes, no and maybe. Transition to floor: same as class 2, but the legs now move circularly together. Miscellaneous stretching: torsion of the spine. Two repetitions of 15 seconds. Series of Table, with posterior opening of the hip. Dorsal exercises: superior and inferior. Directions in the middle and diagonals. 30 repetitions each. The pose of the Bow for 1015 seconds in the intervals. Final stretch, mental relaxation. Situation 2: A man with cervical disc hernia, stable, two years without using analgesics. He also presented a partial restriction of the mobilisation of the left hip.
90
Class 1: in the warm up, hands in Inverted Pray and in the pose of the Horn. Legs Light: Great Wheel, both senses. 30 repetitions each. Body Light: with the help of the bar, leg in half Lotus pose. Squat over one foot, 30 repetitions. 20 seconds static in the end. Afterwards, 30 simple squats, 20 seconds in the Spider pose. Shoulders: straight arms, forwards and diagonals. 50 repetitions each. Transition to Floor: Waves of the Ocean, Turtle Bouncing, Penknife, Scissors. Bicycle with straight legs (30 repetitions). Miscellaneous stretching: torsion of spine followed by the Cow Face pose. Two repetitions of 1520 seconds on each side. Series of the Table, with posterior opening of the hip. Series of Dismantled Table, in the diagonal direction. 30 movements, 20 seconds static in the air. Abdominal superior: straight legs on the floor. To the middle, diagonals, semicircles and circles. 30 repetitions each.
91
Final stretch, mental relaxation. Class 2: first, warming up. Legs Light: the Six Wheels. 30 repetitions. Body Light: with the help of the bar, squatting over one foot. The opposite hand holds the foot in the air. 30 repetitions. 20 seconds static in the down position. Afterwards, 30 simple squats with 20 seconds of Spider pose at the end. Shoulders: complete series of the Shrugs. 50 quick repetitions of each movement. Transition to floor: same as class 1, but at the end, the Great Cupule: legs lifted 90 moving from one side to the other (30 repetitions). The ankles should stand together. The knees can be flexed if the exercise is too heavy. Then, ventral decubitus: movement of cupule with the feet together (30 repetitions). Miscellaneous stretching: posterior stretching of shoulders. Two repetitions of 20 seconds. Bridge with flexion in the bridge: 20 seconds static, 10 flexions. 15 seconds of interval. Between one bridge and the other. Series of the Table: hands and feet together with strengthening the toes in the intervals.
92
Push-ups: two repetitions of pectorals. The first, opened feet with ankles on the floor. The second, feet together with only the toes on the floor. Superior dorsal: straight, diagonals and cupule. 30 repetitions. Final stretching, mental relaxation. Class 3: after warming up. Legs Light: the Kicks of the Cow. 30 repetitions each. Body Light: lunge: three times down, then lift up and kick with flexed knee. 10 repetitions on each side. Shoulders: movement of the Stick. 60 quick repetitions. The Helicoidal flight: initial learning. Transition to floor: same as class 2, but after Scissors, the two legs in opposite circles at the same time. 30 repetitions each direction. Miscellaneous stretching: frontal of pelvis: open legs, touch the floor with the elbows. Three series of 20 seconds. Dorsal decubitus, hands on belly, straight legs. Lift the body, supported by the ankles and the neck. 30 repetitions. Short movements. 15 static in the end.
93
Series of Inverted Table. 30 repetitions each. Series of Meat of Neck: dorsal decubitus. Final stretching, mental relaxation. Situation 3: a woman with unwanted loss of urine. Urodynamic exams normal. The loss occurred when she was distracted and suddenly coughed. The general impression was that she had problems of general motor coordination. Class 1: pre-warming up. In the warming up, circular movements with the arms at the same time to blink the hands. Legs Light: together with gluteus: hands on the floor, legs straight. Bring one leg and go back. Directions straight and diagonal. 30 repetitions, 10 seconds interval between the exercises. Body Light: superseries of three of squatting: three seconds in each third position, four dynamic movements. 10 repetitions. Hip: lateral semicircles, 30 repetitions. Transition to floor: Waves of the Ocean, Turtle Bouncing, Penknife, Scissors. The Great Cupule of the legs. Miscellaneous stretching: pose of Lotus/half lotus: two series.
94
Series of the Table: hands and feet together. 50 seconds in each position of the hands (forwards, outwards and backwards). In the intervals, stretch of fitting in the hip: 15 seconds lay down on ankles. Then, keep one leg behind and the other is flexed, touching the knee with the foot. Lay down backwards. Series of Dismantled Table: with hands and feet together. 30 repetitions. 20 static seconds. Abdominal inferior: bring the knees flexed to the belly and extend up into the air, bring to the belly and extend close to the floor. Directions: straight, diagonals and one diagonal to the other. 30 repetitions each. Final stretch, mental relaxation. Class 2: first, warming-up: rotate the arms at the same time with prone and supine of wrists. Legs Light: superseries of three: extended legs to front and to lateral. Three seconds in each third part, five movements. 10 repetitions. Body Light: double movement of calf and leg. 30 repetitions. Hip: semicircles: front and back. 30 repetitions. Transition to floor: same as class 1.
95
Miscellaneous stretch: Bridge with flexion. Two series of 20 seconds with 10 flexions. Series of the Table: hands and feet diagonal, posterior stretch of hip. Dorsal series: superior and inferior. Straight and diagonals. 30 repetitions. In the interval, 15 seconds in the pose of the Bow. Final stretch, mental relaxation. Class 3: pre-warming up, warming up. Legs Light: pendulum middle and diagonals. 30 repetitions. Body Light: Master Warrior, 30 repetitions. Hip: Series of the Rebolation. 100 quick repetitions each movement. Transition to floor: same as class 2, but instead of Great Cupule, dorsal decubitus: move one leg to 90 laterally, come back and change leg. 30 repetitions for each leg. Miscellaneous stretch: lateral pose of Bow: lateral decubitus, pose of Bow. Two series of 15 seconds on each side. Series of Table with posterior stretch of the hips.
96
Push-ups: two series of 20 repetitions with ankles on the floor: one series of pectorals, one of triceps. Series of lateral abdominal. 30 repetitions each exercise. Final stretch, mental relaxation. Comments: imagine these three persons were classmates. The three gain benefits from all the classes, although each week focused on the specific problem for one of them.
97
References
ANDERS K. 1997. A Fora Fsica da Mulher. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Campus. Original in English: A Womans Book of Strength. New York: TheBerkeley Publishing Group. ANDRADE J, LOPES C. 2005. Atividade fsica na gravidez. Revista da Sociedade de Cardiologia do Estado de So Paulo 15(3): 193196. ALTER M. 1990. Sport Stretch. Champaign (USA): Leisure Press. ALTER M. 1999. Cincia da Flexibilidade. Porto Alegre: Editora Artmed. Original in English: Science of flexibility. Champaign (USA): Human Kinetics. ANDERSON, B. 2000. Stretching. 20th Anniversary. Bolinas (USA): Shelter Publications. ARAJO A, MELLO J, MOREIRA C. 2003. Reeducao neuromuscular e propriocepo em pacientes submetidos reconstruo do ligamento cruzado anterior. Fisioterapia Brasil 4(3): 217-222. ARIYOSHI M, SONODA K, NAGATA K, MASHIMA T, ZENMYO M, PAKU C, TAKAMIYA Y, YOSHIMATSU H, HIRAI Y, YASUNAGA H, AKASHI H, IMAYAMA H, SHIMOKOBE T, INOUE A, MUTOH Y. 1999. Efficacy of aquatic exercises for patients with low back pain. Kurume Medical Journal 46(2): 91-96. ARRIBAS TL. 2002. A Educao Fsica de 3 a 8 Anos. Porto Alegre: Editora Artmed. Original in Spanish: La Educacin Fsica de 3 a 8 Aos. Barcelona: Editorial Paidotribo. AXLER C, McGILL S. 1997. Low back loads over a variety of abdominal exercises: searching for the safest abdominal challenge. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 29(6): 804-811.
BATTISTA E, VIVES J. 1984. Exerccios de Ginstica. So Paulo: Editora Manole. Original in French: Exercices de Gymnastique. Paris: ditions Vigot. BATTISTELLA L, SHINZATO G, KISS H, SANTOMAURO A, YAZBEK, P. 1993. Leses osteomioarticulares no programa de condicionamento fsico. Revista do Hospital de Clnicas da Faculdade de Medicina de So Paulo 48(4): 156-160. BIASOLI M. 2007. Tratamento fisioterpico na terceira idade. Revista Brasileira de Medicina 64 (ed. esp.): 62-68. BOUISSET S, ZATTARA M. 1987. Biomechanical study of the programming of anticipatory postural adjustments associated with voluntary movement. Journal of Biomechanics 20(8): 735-742. BROWN I. 1970. Intensive exercises for the low back. Physical Therapy 50(4): 487-498. CAILLIET, R. 2001. Dor no Joelho. So Paulo: Livraria Manole. Original in English: Knee Pain and Disability. USA: F.A. Davis Company. CAILLIET, R. 2004. Distrbios da Coluna Lombar. Porto Alegre: Artmed Editora. Original in English: Low back disorders a medical enigma. Los Angeles: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. CAILLIET, R. 2003. Dor Cervical e no Brao. So Paulo: Livraria Manole. Original in English: Neck and Arm Pain. USA: F.A. Davis Company. CAMBRA R, ORTIZ R, CORTES N. 1986. Programa para las Areas Terapeuticas de la Cultura Fsica. Cuba: INDER-MINSAP-MINED. CARANDENTE R, MONTARUIL A, ROVEDA E, CALOGIURI G, MICHIELON G, LaTORRE A. 2006. Morning or evening training: effect on heart rate circadian rhythm. Sports Sciences for Health 1: 113-117. CHECHENIN A, VAN L, BOGUSH A, SHMIDT I. 2000. Correlation between changes in patellar reflex and functional biomechanic disorders in the pelvis. Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine 3: 227-229. CONCEIO M, VALE R, BOTTARO M, DANTAS E, NOVAES J. 2008. Efeitos de quatro tempos diferentes de permanncia de flexionamento esttico na flexibilidade de adultos jovens. Fitness & Performance 7(2): 88-92. COTTINGHAM J, MAITLAND J. 1997. A three-paradigm treatment model using soft tissue mobilization and guided movementeawareness techniques for a patient with chronic low back pain. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy 26(3): 155-167.
100
DANTAS E. 2005. Alongamento e Flexionamento. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Shape. DeROSE. 1977. Pronturio de Svsthya Yoga. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Ground. DeVITA P, HONG D, HAMILL J. 1991. Effects of asymmetric load carrying on the biomechanics of walking. Journal of Biomechanics 24(2): 1119-1129. DIECK G, KELSEY J, GOEL V, PANJABI M, TECH D, WALTER S, LAPRADE M. 1985. An epidemiologic study of the relationship between postural asymmetry in the teen years and subsequent back and neck pain. Spine 10(10): 872-877. DIEN J. 1996. Asymmetry of erector spinae muscle activity in twisted postures and consistency of muscle activation patterns across subjects. Spine 21(22): 2651-2661. DRERUP B, HIERHOLZER E. 1987. Movement of the human pelvis and displacement of related anatomical landmarks on the body surface. Journal of Biomechanics 20(10): 971-977. DRID P, DRAPSIN M, TRIVIC T, LUKAC D, OBADOV S, MILOSEVIC Z. 2009. Asymmetry of muscle strength in elite athletes. Biomedical Human Kinetics 1: 3-5. DUMAS G, REID J, WOLFE L, GRIFFIN M, McGRATH M. 1995. Exercise, posture and back pain during pregnancy. Clinical Biomechanics 10(2): 104-109. FERNANDES, N. 1992. Yoga Terapia: o Caminho da Sade Fsica e Mental. Braslia: Nilda Fernandes. FROST H, LAMB S, MOFFETT J, FAIRBANK J, MOSER J. 1998. A fitness programme for patients with chronic low back pain. Pain 75: 273-279. FROST H, MOFFETT J, MOSER J, FAIRBANK J. 1995. Randomised controlled trial for evaluation of fitness programme for patients with chronic low back pain. British Medical Journal 310: 151-154. FOQUET OC, BALCELLS MC. 2003. 1001 Exerccios e Jogos Recreativos. Porto Alegre: Editora Artmed. Original in Spanish:1001 Ejercicios y juegos de recreacin. Barcelona: Editorial Paidotribo GARDNER-MORSE M, STOKES A. 1998. The effect of abdominal muscle coactivation on lumbar spine stability. Spine 23(1): 86-91. GHORAYEB N, BARROS-NETO T. 1999. O Exerccio. So Paulo: Livraria Atheneu. GUEDES A. 1993. Ginstica Localizada: Teoria e Prtica. Rio de Janeiro: Sprint.
101
GUIMARES B. 1992. Ginstica global corretiva. Pediatria Moderna 28(2): 58-59. GOMES M. 2005. Fsica e Esporte. Cincia e Cultura 57(3): 36-39. GROSS J, FETTO J, ROSEN E. 2005. Exame Musculoesqueltico. Porto Alegre: Artmed Editora. Original in English: Musculoskeletal Examination. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. HATZE H. 1977. A complete set of control equations for the human musculoskeletal system. Journal of Biomechanics 10: 799-805. HAY J, REID J. 1985. As Bases Anatmicas e Mecnicas do Movimento Humano. Rio de Janeiro: Prentice Hall do Brasil. Original in English: The Anatomical and Mechanical Basis of Human Motion. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. HERMGENES. 1995. Autoperfeio com Hatha Yoga. Rio de Janeiro: Record. HEYWARD V. 2004. Avaliao Fsica e Prescrio de Exerccios. Porto Alegre: Artmed Editora. Original in English: Advanced Fitness Assessment and Exercise Prescription. Champaign (USA): Human Kinetics Publishers. HOLLMANN W, HETTINGER T. 1989. Medicina do Esporte. So Paulo: Editora Manole. Original in German: Sportmedizin Arbeits und Trainingsgrundlagen. Berlin: F.K. Schattauer Verlag. HUGUET G, TOUITOU Y, REINBERG A. 1997. Morning versus afternoon gymnastic time and diurnal and seasonal changes in psychopathological variables of school children. Chronobiology International 14(4): 371-384. HUNGRIA-FILHO J. 1986. Postura: a primazia da primazia da plvis no seu condicionamento e na correo de seus desvios. Revista Brasileira de Ortopedia 21(4): 144-148; 21(5): 201-206; 21(6): 236242. JRVHOLM U, PALMERUD G, KARLSSON D, HERBERTS P, KADEFORS R. 1991. Intramuscular pressure and electromyography in four shoulder muscles. Journal of Orthopaedic Research 9(Supl.4): 609-619. JAYSON M, SWEZEY R, KNOPLICH J, HUBAULT A. 1989. Back Pain, Painful Syndromes and Muscle Spasms. Carnforth (UK): The Parthenon Publishing Group. KAMINOFF, L. 2008. Anatomia da Ioga.So Paulo: Editora Manole. Original in English: Yoga Anatomy. New York: Human Kinetics. KANTOR E, POUPARD L, BOZEC S, BOUISSET S. 2001. Does body stability depend on postural chain mobility or stability area?
102
Neuroscience Letters 308: 128-132. KAPANDJI I. 1987. Fisiologia Articular Vol 1, 2 e 3. So Paulo: Editora Manole. Original in French: Physiologie Articulaire. Paris: Librairie Maloine. KIM S, CHUNG M. 1995. Effects of posture, weight and frequency on trunk muscular activity and fatigue during repetitive lifting tasks. Ergonomics 38(5): 853-863. KINGMA I, DIEN J, LOOZE M, TOUISSANT H, DOLAN P, BATEN C. 1998. Asymmetric low back loading in asymmetric lifting movements is not prevented by pelvic twist. Journal of Biomechanics 31: 527-534. KNOPLICH J. 1983. Enfermidades da Coluna Vertebral. So Paulo: Panamed Editorial. KOS, TEPL, VOLRAB. 1979. Ginstica: 1200 Exerccios. Rio de Janeiro: Ao Livro Tcnico. Original in German: Gymnastik 1200 bungen. Sportverlag: Berlin. KRAEMER W, KEUNING M, RATAMESS N, VOLEK J, McCORMICK M. 2001. Resistance training combined with bench-step aerobics enhances womens health profile. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 33(2): 259-269. KOHLRAUSCH W, TEIRICH-LEUBE H. 1984. Ginstica Sentada. So Paulo: Editora Manole. Original in German: Hockergymnastik. Stuttgart: Gustav Fischer Verlag. KOLTYN K, UMEDA M. 2006. Exercise, hypoalgesia and blood pressure. Sports Medicine 36(3): 207-214. KUCERA, M. 1983. Exerccios de Ginstica Mdica. So Paulo: Editora Manole. Original in German: Krankengymastische Ubngen Anleitungen mit und ohne Gert. Stuttgart: Gustav Fischer Verlag. KUCERA, M. 1984. Ginstica em Grupo. So Paulo: Editora Manole. Original in German: Gruppengymnastik. Stuttgart: Gustav Fischer Verlag. LACERDA C, VASCONCELLOS H. 1981. Movimentos do p: bases anatmicas. Revista Brasileira de Ortopedia 16(4): 135-139. LEBOEUF-YDE C, LAURITSEN J, LAURITZEN T. 1997. Why has the search for causes of low back pain largerly been nonconclusive? Spine 22(8): 877-881. LEKHEL H, POPOV K, ANASTOPOULOS D, BRONSTEIN A, BHATIA K, MARSDEN C, GRESTY M. 1997. Postural responses to vibration of neck muscles in patients with idiopathic torticollis. Brain 120(4): 583-591.
103
LICHT P. et al. 2000. Is there a role for premanipulative testing before cervical manipulation? Journal of Manipulation and Physiological Therapeutics 23(3): 175-179. LUOTO S, AALTO H, TAIMELA S, HURRI H, PYYKK I, ALARANTA H. 1998. One-footed and externally disturbed two-footed postural control in patients with chronic low back pain and healthy control subjects. Spine 23(19): 2081-2090. MALMIVAARA A, HAKKINEN U, ARO T, HENRICHS M, KOSKENNIEMI L, KUOSMA W, LAPPI S, PALOHEIMO R, SERVO C, VAARANEN V, HERNBERG S. 1995. The treatment of acute low back pain. New England Journal of Medicine 332(6): 352-355. MANNION A, TAIMELA S, MNTENER M, DVORAK J. 2001. Active therapy for chronic low back pain. Spine 26(8): 897-908. McGILL S. 1991. Electromyographic activity of the abdominal and low back musculature during the generation of isometric and dynamic axial trunk torque: implications for lumbar mechanisms. Journal of Orthopeaedic Research 9(1): 91-103. McGILL S. 1998. Low back exercises: evidence for improving exercise regimens. Physical Therapy 78(7): 754-765. MENEZES A. 2004. The Complete Guide to Joseph H. PilatesTechniques of Physical Conditioning. Alameda (USA): Hunter House Publishers. MONTEIRO, A. 2007. Emagrecimento, Exerccio e Nutrio. So Paulo: AG Editora. MOFFAT M, VICKERY, S. 2002. Manual de Manuteno e Reeducao Postural. Porto Alegre: Editora Artmed. Original in English: The American Physical Therapy Association Book of Body Maintenance and Repair. New York: Henry Holt Company. NATVIG B, BRUUSGAARD D, ERIKSEN W. 2001. Localized low back pain and low back pain as part of widespread musculoskeletal pain. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine 33(1): 21-25. NESPEREIRA, AB. 2002. 1000 Exerccios de Preparao Fsica. Porto Alegre: Artmed. Original in Spanish: 1000 Ejercicios de Preparacin Fsica. Barcelona: Editorial Paidotribo. NETO C. 1995. Motricidade e Jogo na Infncia. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Sprint. NETTO F, BERESFORD, E. 1978. Coletnea de Exerccios Fsicos. Porto Alegre: Prodil. NOGUEIRA A. 2009. Manual de Medicina do Esporte. So Paulo: Livraria Atheneu.
104
NOGUEIRA E, DIAS E. 2001. Ginstica Localizada: 1000 exerccios. Rio de Janeiro: Sprint. OLIVEIRA M, NBREGA A. 2003. Tpicos Especiais em Medicina do Esporte. Vol 1 e 2. So Paulo: Livraria Atheneu. PALHARES D, RODRIGUES J, RODRIGUES L. 2001. Modo simplificado de exame postural. Braslia Mdica 38(1-4): 27-32. PALHARES D, RODRIGUES J, RODRIGUES L. 2002. Descrio de exerccios teraputicos para a coluna lombar. Revista de Cincias Mdicas da PUCCamp 11(3): 187-196. PALHARES D, RODRIGUES J, RODRIGUES L. 2008. Theoretical principles for postural corrective gymnastics. Braslia Mdica 45(2): 116-121. PEDERSEN B, SALTIN B. 2006. Evidence for prescribing exercise as therapy in chronic disease. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports 16(suppl 1): 3-63. PINHEIRO F, TRCCOLI B, CARVALHO C. 2002. Validao do questionrio nrdico de sintomas osteomusculares como medida de morbidade. Revista de Sade Pblica 36(3): 307-312. PINTO R, GUERINO C, CONSOLIN D, CUNHA A. 2000. Relao entre lordose lombar e desempenho da musculatura abdominal em alunos de fisioterapia. Acta Fisiatrica 7(3): 95-98. PIVARNIK J, CHAMBLISS H, CLAPP J, DUGAN S, HATCH M, LOVELADY C, MOTTOLA M, WILLIAMS M. 2006. Impact of physical activity during pregnancy and postpartum on chronic disease risk. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 38(5): 989-1006. PLATONOV V, BULATOVA M. 2003. A Preparao Fsica. Rio de Janeiro: Sprint. POPOV K, LEKHEL H, BRONSTEIN A, GRESTY M. 1996. Postural responses to vibration of neck muscles in patients with unilateral vestibular lesions. Neuroscience Letters 214: 202-204. POWERS S, HOWLEY E. 2000. Fisiologia do Exerccio. So Paulo: Editora Manole. Original in English: Exercise Physiology: Theory and Application to Fitness and Performance. New York: McGraw-Hill. PRIFTIS K, HAGER J, VIACHOU M, ANTHRACOPOULOS M. 2003. Effects of bracing on lung function in idiopathic juvenile kyphosis. Pediatric Pulmonology 35(2): 83-86. PREUSS A, GRIMM D, SOUZA M. 1985. Marcha em rotao medial: relao com hbitos posturais. Revista Brasileira de Ortopedia 20(5): 193-199.
105
RAMEY M, YANG A. 1981. A simulation procedure for human motion studies. Journal of Biomechanics 14(4): 203-213. RASCH, P, GRABINER M, GREGOR R, GARHAMMER J. 1991. Cinesiologia e Anatomia Aplicada. Rio de Janeiro: Guanabara Koogan. Original in English: Kinesiology and Applied Anatomy. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger. RHEA M. 2009. Treinamento de Fora para Crianas. So Paulo: Phorte Editora. RICARD F, SALL, J. 1996. Tratado de Osteopatia. So Paulo: Robel Editorial. ROSADAS S. 1991. Educao Fsica Especial para Deficientes. Rio de Janeiro: Livraria Atheneu. ROSE J, GAMBLE J. 1998. Marcha Humana. So Paulo: Editorial Premier. Original in English: Human Walking. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins. SAKATA R, ISSY A. 2003. Leso por esforo repetitivo. Revista Brasileira de Medicina 60(11): 77-83. SALTER R. 1985. Distrbios e Leses do Sistema MsculoEsqueltico. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Medsi. SAVAGLIO S, CARBONE V. 2000. Scaling in athletic world records. Nature 404: 244. SILER, B. 2005. Your Ultimate Pilates Body Challenge. New York: Broadway Books. SILVA A, SILVA J. 2003. A importncia dos msculos do assoalho plvico feminino, sob uma viso anatmica. Fisioterapia Brasil 4(3): 205-211. SILVA OL. 2003. Semiologia do Aparelho Locomotor. Rio de Janeiro: Guanabara Koogan. SOUCHARD PE. 1992. RPG Quid?: Reducation Posturale Globale. Saint Mont:Le Pouso. TAKASHIMA S, SINGH S, HADERSPECK K, SCHULTZ A. 1979. A model for semiquantitative studies of muscle actions. Journal of Biomechanics 12: 929-939. THE PEOPLE SPORTS PUBLISHING HOUSE. 1981. The Chinese Way to Family Health and Fitness. London: Mitchell Beazley Publishers. TRIBASTONE F. 2001. Tratado de Exerccios Corretivos. So Paulo: Editora Manole. Original in Italian: Compendio di Ginnastica Correttiva. Rome: Societ Stampa Sportiva.
106
TOKARS E, MOTTER A, MORO A, GOMES Z. 2003. A influncia do arco plantar na postura e no conforto dos calados ocupacionais. Fisioterapia Brasil 4(3): 158-162. TORRES J, CONCEIO M, SAMPAIO A, DANTAS, E. 2009. Acute effects of static stretching on muscle strength. Biomedical Human Kinetics 1: 52-55. TULDER M, MALMIVAARA A, ESMAIL R, KOES B. 2000. Exercise therapy for low back pain. Spine 25 (21): 2784-2796. VERDERI E. 2001. Programa de Educao Postural. So Paulo: Phorte Editora. VERONESI J, AZATO M. 2003. Alteraes posturais decorrentes da discrepncia dos membros inferiores. Fisioterapia Brasil 4(3): 173180. VOIGT, L. 2002. A Prtica da Flexibilidade. Rio de Janeiro: Sprint. VOIGT L, VALE R, ABDALA D, FREITAS W, NOVAES J, DANTAS E. 2007. Efeitos de uma repetio de dez segundos do estmulo do mtodo esttico para o desenvolvimento da flexibilidade de homens adultos jovens. Fitness & Performance 6(6): 352-356. VOLKOV N. 2002. Teoria e Prtica do Treinamento Intervalado no Esporte. Campinas: Editora Multiesportes. VOLPON J. 1996. Semiologia ortopdica. Medicina 29: 67-79. VOLPON J. 1997. Avaliao e princpios do tratamento ortopdico do paciente com sequela de paralisia cerebral. Acta Ortopedica Brasilica 5(1): 35-42. YLINEN J, TAKALA E, NYKNEN M, HKKINEN A, MLKI E, POHJOLAINEN T, KARPPI S, KAUTIAINEN H, AIRAKSINEN O. 2003. Active neck muscle training in the treatment of chronic neck pain in women. JAMA 289(19): 2509-2516. YOUDAS J, GARRET T, EGAN K, THERNEAU T. 2000. Lumbar lordosis and pelvic inclination in adults with chronic low back pain. Physical Therapy 80(3): 261-275.
107

Elemental Exercises of Gym

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Elemental Exercises of Gym

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Dario Palhares Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Dario Palhares Jos Antnio Rodrigues

NOVEMBRO, 2010 Direitos de Publicao Reservados

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

THE HUMAN POSTURE

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

THE POSTURAL EXAMINATION

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Hips Knees Ankles

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

PRINCIPLES OF FUNCTIONAL GYMS

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues

Elemental Exercises of the Corrective Biogym

Dario Palhares & Jos Antnio Rodrigues