Hey you…

You crazy son-of-a-gun.

I guess you could be a daughter-of-a-gun too…right?

Yep…

If you were born on a gun deck back in the early 1700′s ’cause your mom went with your dad out to sea.

No wonder your knees hurt!

You’re older than dirt.

Anyway….

Back at the ranch…

I just returned from a fairly long but quick road trip.

Lots of miles sitting on my butt.

Guess what happened?

Mmmm hmmm…

You probably already know since it happens to you when you travel by plane or automobile.

I guess the train might do the same thing too.

It definitely happens when you’re sitting in your office chair all day.

So…

Since it’s Friday, thought I’d try something new.

You know…

Out-of-the-box-ish.

So put your kindergarten thinking caps on ’cause it’s time to play the game…

Put Pictures Into Words!!!

And I’ll be your host…

The talented knee pain expert…

from Lose The Knee Pain

Rochelle Gravance

Thanks…

Thanks very much.

OK players…

Are you ready to play

Put Pictures into Words!?!?!?

Here’s what you’re playing for:

Behind curtain #1 iiiiiiis…..

Not One, but TWO Brand New Knees.

That’s right players…

Just by playing the game correctly and following the game guidelines you could win your very own set of …

Brand New Knees.

That’s not all.

Tell them what else they get Johnny!

That’s right along with your two Brand New Knees we’ll throw in a jar full of Body Awareness!

Just rub on Body Awareness each morning when you wake up and stay fully aware of your movements and decisions all day long.

Long lasting Body Awareness won’t wear off like the competitors brands.

It sticks with you all day and keeps you feeling springtime fresh.

(Sorry…wrong commercial)

And now a word from our sponsor:

Blog pictures jumbled after hours of trying to fix them yourself?

Try the new and improved Blog Post Editor.

Cleans your blog posts up and makes you look great.

The new and improved Blog Post Editor can be found anywhere techies hang out.

Thanks, Johnny.

I’ll be getting Blog Post Editor for myself (very soon).

Ok…

It’s time to play…

Put Pictures Into Words!!!

Ready players?

Here’s your first challenge:

plus (+)

plus (+)

equals (=)

OK player #1…

Put Pictures into Words!

What are the correct words to the above images?

Answer:

Too much driving can lead to knee pain?

CORRECT!

Here’s Challenge #2:

plus (+)

plus (+)

plus(+)

equals (=)

Player #1…

Can you Put Pictures into Words?

Answer:

Sitting on a plane all day and at the airport can cause achy knees?

CORRECT!

Are you ready for Challenge #3?

Here it is:

plus (+)

plus (+)

plus (+)

equals (=)

Do you have an answer Player #1?

Answer:

Sitting at my desk all day, commuting and then going home and sitting on the couch all day without moving my body much might make my knees hurt?

You’re on fire, Player #1!

This one’s for all the money.

Here we go:

plus (+)

plus (+)

plus (+)

without adequate

equals (=)

For all the money, two Brand New Knees and a jar of Body Awareness…

What is your answer?

Ummm…

Even if I work out I might be doing repetitive activities and my muscles might be imbalanced and without enough stretching I might still have knee pain?

Couldn’t have said it better myself….

You are absolutely correct!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Well…

There you have it.

The conundrums and resolutions to your knee joint pain problems.

It’s up to you.

Will you take what’s behind curtain #1?

Or will you risk nothing and settle for what you have now?

Time to make a decision.

But first a commercial break.

From the makers of Dare Aspirin comes the newest form of joint pain relief:

Killer Pain Reliever

Guaranteed to kill your joint pain and other things too.

Side effects include (said in a really fast voice):

decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, dizziness, rash, headache, drowsiness, fluid retention, leading to edema. The most serious side effects are kidney failure liver failure, ulcers and prolonged bleeding after an injury or surgery.

Hope you enjoyed my twisted delivery style meant for educational purposes only.

I also want to wish you the best of active weekends.

Talk again next week.

Get strong and stay strong (and take what’s behind curtain #1),

Rochelle Gravance

PS-What did you think of today’s post? Let me here about it in the comments section below.

PPS- This damn format keeps messing up my photos.  Still working on it.

Hey…

What’s the good word?

Did you like Friday’s Favs post?

If so, let me know and it’s quite possible we can make it a regular offering.

That is until I run out of categories.

Might need your help on it though.

So don’t be shy and let me know what you want me to cover by posting a comment with your suggestions.

So…

Busy, busy week.

Didn’t want to leave you hangin’.

And, since I get a lot of questions about workouts and which exercises are the best for battling knee pain, thought I’d give you a workout to try out.

Without further ado…

Here we go.

First things first:

Go over to:

http://kneepainworkout.com

and download the free video and go through the foam rolling, stretching and muscle activation exercises on the video.

If you already have the video saved…

You know what to do.

Now you’re warmed up and ready to hit it.

Workout:

Perform both exercises in each Super Set back to back without rest.

Perform 2-3 rounds of each Super Set before moving on to the next Super Set.

Rest 1:00 after completing each Super Set.

Super Set #1

Dead lift 8-12 reps

Push Ups max reps done with perfect form

Super Set #2

Body Weight Row max reps done

with perfect form

Plank :45 seconds

Super Set #3

Wall Squat 10-15 reps

Push Press 6-10 reps

Finisher:

Perform each exercise back to back without rest.

Rest 2:00 before completing 1-2 more rounds.

Mountain Climber :30 seconds

Single Leg Reaching Dead Lift 8-10 reps each leg

Side Plank :45 seconds each side

DONE!

There you go…

Done for you workout.

If your knee pain is unhappy when you perform the Wall Squat, be sure to push your knees out and keep them out as you descend and ascend into and out of the squat.  Push through the heels of the feet primarily and keep the big toes planted on the ground.

Hope you enjoy the workout…

Let me know about it by posting a comment or question in the comments section below.

Until next time…

Get strong and stay strong (and do your workout),

Rochelle Gravance

PS-More to come this week.  Just a small reprieve from my philosophical posts.  Talk soon…

PPS-Sorry about the photos being jumbled.  Can’t quite figure out the configuration.  I’ll get better with practice.

PPPS- Have you switched your tooth past yet to a natural fluoride free variety after last Friday’s info?

Hey, hey…

What do ya say?

By the way, thanks for all the comments on Friday’s Top 5 List post.

It was really cool to hear from all of you.

There were some interesting Top 5′s in the comments section.

You know where you can find me so don’t be shy to ask questions and comment.

It helps me to get to know you a little better so I can bring you the information you want and need.

This past weekend I logged quite a few miles in the woods.

It felt really great to get out there and move my body.

I got a chance to experience quite a few things on my Top 5 lists.

Chopped a bunch of wood.

Enjoyed a campfire every night.

Watched wildlife. (Had a run in with a black bear which was pretty amazing and a moment I won’t soon forget.)

Enjoyed stimulating conversation.

Dead lifted and hauled a bunch of logs to chop up for fire wood.

Ate beets, spinach, bananas, avocado, onions and mango.

I still feel the effects of living simply.

My body feels great and I’m way more relaxed.

I can’t tell you how important it is to move your body and eat naturally healthy foods.

Just as important is how much my stress levels dropped because I wasn’t worried and thinking about all the things I need to get done.

No noise pollution or over stimulation by the neon advertisements.

Just engaging in the activities that make it on my Top 5 list completely erased the stress for a day or two.

No aches, no pains just pure bliss.

I ate like a horse too.

AND, I didn’t gain an ounce of fat.

Know why?

It’s not because I’m special or have some secret formula that only fitness experts know about and refuse to share with the general public.

Nope.

It’s because I kept my MET’s up.

I guess I should explain to you what a MET is don’t ya think?

MET is an acronym for metabolic equivalent of task.

In other words, how much energy is being expending doing a particular task.

The more energy that is required to accomplish a task the higher the MET rating.

Name of the game is to engage in as many high MET tasks daily as possible.

Why?

Because you have knee pain.

AND, because being overweight made it on last week’s Top 5 Reasons for Knee Pain list.

Taking a load off those knee joints is going to reduce if not eliminate your knee pain.

Being overweight is also the Number #1 controllable factor for knee pain.

You lose the weight and your knees will be very thankful by aching a whole lot less.

So eating natural foods that your body knows how to process and engaging in as many moderate/high rating MET activities as possible every day HAS to be your number one priority.

Here’s a list of activities with their subsequent MET ratings to give you an idea of what to shoot for:

• Light-intensity activities can be considered 1.1 MET to 2.9 MET;
• Moderate-intensity activities can be considered 3.0 to 5.9 METs;
• Vigorous-intensity activities can be considered 6.0 METs or greater.

Physical Activity	MET
Light Intensity Activities	< 3
sleeping	0.9
watching television	1.0
writing, desk work, typing	1.8
walking, less than 2.0 mph (3.2 km/h), level ground, strolling, very slow	2.0
Moderate Intensity Activities	3 to 6
bicycling, stationary, 50 watts, very light effort	3.0
calisthenics, home exercise, light or moderate effort, general	3.5
bicycling, <10 mph (16 km/h), leisure, to work or for pleasure	4.0
bicycling, stationary, 100 watts, light effort	5.5
Vigorous Intensity Activities	> 6
jogging, general	7.0
calisthenics (e.g. pushups, situps, pullups,jumping jacks), heavy, vigorous effort	8.0
running jogging, in place	8.0

This is by no means a complete list.

In addition, depending on the size of your body mass and the level of your physical conditioning, the MET rating may be lower or higher for each of the above activities.

The idea is to include plenty of moderate MET rating activities in your daily routine with one or two vigorous MET rating activities every day or every other day.

Remember, the higher the MET rating of a particular activity the less time spent doing that activity is to be expected.

High or vigorous intensity MET activities require more energy so the duration will decrease.

The reason working out is so popular these days is because we don’t do enough moderate and vigorous MET rated activities like we did when we were kids or in past generations.

Everything seems to revolve around a computer, desk, email, cell phones, television and commute time.

And, if you think a lack of moderate and vigorous rated MET activities is just a matter of losing weight…think again.

When the University of South Carolina researchers measured MET related movement and activities in men, they found men that spent more than 23 hours a week sitting increased their chances of sudden death as a result of heart disease by 60%. 

Ladies, this information applies to you too.

Think about how many hours you spend each day sitting.

Commuting, at work in front of your computer, watching television, eating at a table etc.

The hours accumulate very quickly.

And when you have knee pain, the less you move (even though it may hurt to move initially)…

• The more inflexible you become
• The weaker your muscles become
• The easier it is to gain weight
• The harder it is to lose weight
• The more you struggle with balance and coordination
• The greater the chances of developing a chronic disease
• The more likely you are to develop and maintain chronic inflammation which can and does lead to arthritis
• The greater your frustration and subsequent stress levels

…and the list goes on.

Those realities are every reason to get your body moving as much as possible (make it possible by making it a priority) even if knee pain has a strangle hold on you.

You know what I tell my clients when they complain about their weight plateauing, their energy levels being less than satisfactory or their moods throwing them into self defeating behavior?

MOVE YOUR A$$!

That doesn’t mean workout more.

That means keep up with your workouts and just move more in general.

Have fun.

Go Play.

MOVE!

You know what…

I gotta get up and move before I start feeling the repercussions of sitting for too long.

You have a job to do too.

Get moving and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

Have a wonderfully active day.

Get strong and stay strong (and move your body),

Rochelle Gravance

PS- There’s a place if you scroll down where all the cool kids hang out and talk about really interesting stuff.  That place is called “Comments”.  Meet me there and we’ll chat.

It’s FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Hot dang…

Lets kick off the weekend with some fun.

Not everything has to be so darned serious.

Knee pain this and knee pain that.

How ’bout just throwing something out there and seeing what sticks.

This post is all about Top 5 Lists.

That’s right.

My 5 favs in no particular order.

Here we go…

Top 5 Favorite Veggies:

1. Onions

2. Kale

3. Leeks

4. Beets

5. Spinach

Top 5 Favorite Footwear Choices:

1. NONE!

2. Vibram 5 Fingers

3. Olukai Leather Flip Flops

4. Ariat Crossfire Bloodstone Square Toe Western Boots

5. Meindl Perfekt Hikers

Top 5 Favorite Fruits:

1. Nectarines

2. Berries (all of them)

3. Mango

4. Melon (all of them)

5. Avocado

Runner up: Bananas

Top 5 Favorite Exercises:

1. Dead Lift (no comparison)

2. Push Ups (especially Decline, Around The World and Hindu Push Ups)

3. Kettle Bell Snatch

4. Chin Ups

5. Monster Walk to Side Plank

Runners up: Kettlebell Windmills, Barbell Cleans,Renegade Row, Swimmer’s Lat, 1-Arm Dumbbell Row

Top 5 Favorite Things To Do:

1. Archery (no question)

2. Pack trips into the Rocky Mountain High Country

3. Engage in stimulating conversation

4. Read/Research

5. Work in the yard/Pull weeds/Chop wood (sorry, couldn’t pick just one)

Top 5 Favorite Quotes:

1. “The more I know, the more I realize I don’t know.”

2. “To achieve anything, place attention on the intention.”

3. “Tangibles grab the eyes.  Intangibles grasp the soul.”

4. “Possibility creates emergence.”

5. “Everything is connected.”

Runner up: “I’m just sayin’…”

Top 5 Favorite Things To Watch:

1. Discovery Channel’s Shark Week

2. Northern Exposure

3. Wildlife

4. PBS Specials/Documentaries

5. Campfires

Top 5 Things I Can Do Without:

1. Unconsciousness

2. Complaining

3. Power Trips

4. Passive Agressiveness

5. Unreliability

Runners Up: Inability to acknowledge accomplishment/Self Defeating Behavior/Unwillingness/Too much rain, not enough sun/Sitting too long/Inactivity

Top 5 Favorite Characters:

1. Bugs Bunny

2. Doc Holliday

3. Bart The Bear

4. Chief Joseph

5. Crazy Horse

That was fun.

My apologies to all the favorites I left out and will remember later.

I guess I just can’t help myself sometimes.

I intended this post to be an out of the ordinary reprieve.

And yet, it seems as if a Top 5 knee pain related list should be mentioned.

Take note of the following list.

I bet you’ll find that most knee pain is preventable and curable.

Catch you on the flip side.

THE TOP FIVE REASONS FOR KNEE PAIN

AGE- As we get older we tend to be less active and begin to lose muscle, tendon and ligament strength which places more pressure on the joint causing pain.

OBESITY- Weight gain and inactivity go hand in hand and are a recipe for knee pain.  Getting the weight off will reduce the stress, wear and tear on your knees.

GENDER- Knee pain can often be a bit biased.  Women will sometimes suffer more from knee pain due to various factors including, but not limited to, imbalances in muscle surrounding the joints as well as the angle of the upper leg bone as it descends from the hip.

HEREDITY- If knee pain runs in the family, it’s possible you may be next in line.  Proper exercise is crucial to keep you pain free.

INJURY OR OVERUSE- Taking a hit to, banging or twisting the knee are common reasons for knee pain.  What may not be understood is that knee pain can be caused by improper, overuse movements.  Fortunately, this is one of the easiest causes of knee pain to conquer.

After examining this list, I’ll bet you can find one or more reasons for your knee pain.

Have faith because hope is on the way.

Recent research has suggested that being overweight and inactive produce the majority of knee pain symptoms.

If you are at the age where you and your friends are all complaining of knee pain, you can help prevent your own by taking the following steps:

Lose weight:

One study found that people who are overweight with knee osteoarthritis decreased disability after decreasing their weight by just 5 percent over a period of 120 days.

For some, that can be as little as 10 pounds.
Exercise more:

Strong evidence supports exercise, such as strength training, for knee osteoarthritis.

A recent study showed that exercise reduced knee pain and helped participants move around more easily.

The benefits of exercise were similar to those from non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Dangerous pills…YUCK!

There you go.

Now, what are you going to do about your knee pain?

One thing that must be mentioned before letting this Top 5 List lie, is that you will find very shortly a New Top 5 reason for knee pain.

It’s upon us now but not on the list quite yet.

Why?

Because research takes a while to process and seems to be a bit behind.

Wanna know what the new Top 5 reason for knee pain is?

If you’ve been following this blog you’ve heard me mention it.

Over and over and over again.

New Top 5 Reason For Knee Pain:

Sitting/Inactivity

What’s that tell you?

Get off your butt and move your body.

And I don’t mean just working out.

MOVE!

Walk, mow your lawn (with a push mower), pull weeds, chop wood, volunteer to clean up a forest, public park or roadside, offer to help your elderly neighbor around the house, take up a fun activity, plant a garden, dance, play with your kids (and get their butts moving too), check with the forest service for tree planting opportunities, use your brain and imagination to come up with stimulating options.

It’s up to you.

I am merely a messenger on a mission.

Receive the suggestions and implement the actions.

Now, get out there, move and have fun already.

From me to you…

Have a wonderful weekend.

See you next week.

Get strong and stay strong (and active),

Rochelle Gravance

PS-I’d love to hear from you with your Top 5 lists.  And, any suggestions that you’d like to hear about for future Top 5 lists.

If you read the last post…and why wouldn’t you?…you know all are welcome here, everyone has a story and we can all learn from each other.

Cross dressers, Beyonce’ fans, Bugs Bunny fanatics (who isn’t), chicks in skirts, dudes in kilts, soap opera fans, Three Musketeer playas, wildlife lovers and of course…

Lose The Knee Pain addicts.

OK, addicts…

I asked you to do something in the last post.

What was it?

Besides stretch your thoughts and awareness, what was the one and only thing I asked you to do?

Did you do it?

If you did it, you already know what it was.

Good on ya…

If you didn’t do it, missed the post or are brand new to the LTKP (Lose The Knee Pain) house, go back and review the IMPORTANT information I slaved over a hot stove for hours to bring you.

I’ll just be over here taking off my apron and tidying up around the place until you get back.

Oh, you’re back.

Great.

I whipped up a healthy snack of raw cashews and organic, wild blueberries.  It’s in the kitchen, go get it.

You’re moving, eating healthy and being educated all in a matter minutes.

Nice work.

By the way, if this is your first visit…glad to have you.  Stick around.  Life gets interesting here at LTKP.

Speaking of sticks…

I remember when I was turned loose in the backyard with a stick and all the imagination I could muster up.

Hours went by before I thought of eating, being bored, feeling tired or stressed.

That stick had a purpose.

It was to me whatever I wanted or needed it to be.

Yesterday I gave you a stick.

Your job was to “play with it”.

Experiment until you found some stasis.

Once you find the balance and form, your job is to “work it!”

Practice the movement by feel, make it solid and then make it powerful.

It’s at that point that you find improvements in body awareness, flexibility, coordination, spacial awareness and the foundation that your strength will then be built upon.

Then it’s time to get strong.

Put a couple of dumbbells or a barbell in your paws and turn you loose again.

Practicing great form of course.

The stick dead lift is the precursor movement to the dead lift.

I talk about the dead lift ALLLLLLLLLL the time.

It’s my favorite exercise of all time.

It’s fun to do and I believe it’s one of the most integral movements that any human body needs to practice and perform well.

This single exercise was my salvation from all my knee pain issues.

When I have an arthritis sufferer seeking knee pain relief, guess what they get to do plenty of?

Dead lifts.

Many knee pain sufferers are forced into doing hip dominant movements for a period of time because all knee dominant movements like the squat and lunge cause pain regardless of paying close attention to proper form.

After a few weeks of dead lifting, core strengthening, general conditioning and flexibility work, most are able to perform knee dominant movements pain free.

If you’re one to look for the secret sauce, magic pill or quick fix, this is the closest thing to that.

But, I know you’re not because if you were you wouldn’t stick around long after hearing me spew one of my famous awareness posts.

So go get your stick and go play.

For your convenience, I included part two of the post below which goes into more detail about the stick dead lift movement.

I wanted you to experiment first and struggle with the movement before giving you too much detail.

Not that I want you to struggle, although it can be quite entertaining.

It’s that I want you to feel your way through the movement.

This promotes body awareness.

Feeling instead of doing.

Forcing a movement is fruitless.

I love this line:

“Can’t get no fruit when your tree is poisoned at the root.”

Wish I could claim that one.

In other words, just doing something without feeling it, understanding it and allowing the body and central nervous system to incorporate it will only get you another compensatory pattern.

Trust me…that’s not what you want.

OK, here’s part two:

So, tell me…how’d it go? Did you practice the “stick deadlift” exercise I gave you in the last post?

If you did, I bet it was a little frustrating at first.  Then you kept practicing and it got a little easier.

Maybe you even experienced a little soreness in the muscles in your back, hamstrings and hips.  If you did, congratulations!

By using the stick to put you in ideal postural alignment, your muscles had to work to hold that posture as you performed the exercise.  Not only that, each muscle had the opportunity to perform it’s job instead of compensating for other muscles that can’t do their job when ideal posture isn’t maintained.

Great stuff!

So lets dive into the stick deadlift exercise further.

The reason we use the stick is so that:

1. Your spine is correctly aligned and supported by all the core muscles.
2. Your hamstrings aren’t forced to stabilize the pelvis so they can help to support the knee joint.
3. Your glutes can now begin to stabilize and create proper movement patterns in hip extension and flexion.

What does all this add up to?

Healthier, happier knees!

Not only does the stick deadlift help to strengthen the muscles in the back of your legs and hips, which in itself will begin to reduce the symptoms of knee pain, this exercise also allows the hamstrings to be actively stretched and the core muscles strengthened.  All crucial elements to get the body moving freely and pain free again.

The low down

So I told you we’d dissect the stick deadlift in this post.  Lets get to it.

I want you to perform this exercise again.  This time in front of a mirror.

Get in an angle so you can see your body without moving your head too much.  Remember, your head has to keep in contact with the stick at all times.

What you should see in the mirror is a straight back with the stick touching the back of your head, your back between your shoulder blades and your tail bone.

Your knees should be slightly bent, but not too much.  This isn’t a squat.

Your butt should be pushed back behind your knees and feet.

Your knees should be aligned over your ankles and not in front of your toes.

Your hip joint, shoulder joint and ear should all be in alignment at about a 45 degree angle to the floor.  If you are flexible, this angle may be greater.

At this point, you may feel a stretch in your hamstrings and a contraction in the muscles of your back.  If so, you’re on the right track.

The Ascention

To come back to the starting point, you want to execute one strong, fluid movement starting from your feet.

Here’s how it goes:

1. Keep your posture aligned and tight, especially your anterior core.
2. Push your heels into the ground keeping your big toe in contact with the ground at all times.
3. Your glutes and hamstrings will now contract to begin the forward progression bringing your hips forward.
4. In one fluid motion, your entire body rises back to the starting point while maintaining contact with the stick in all three points.

OK, now it’s your job to practice some more.

I like to do this movement with a visual aid, like the mirror.  It’s also just as important to perform the movement correctly by feeling your way through the movement without help from the mirror.

By performing the movement through feel, the body begins to integrate the pattern and remember it for future referral.  This is the key to all movement patterns.

Bringing the pattern to conscious thought and dissection, then placing it back in the unconscious so that we may move on and tackle more inherent movement patterns.

Good stuff.

Make it a habit to practice the stick dead lift often.

When it becomes inherent again, refer back to it as you perform all of your exercises from here on out.

Keeping your spine aligned, practicing the crocodile breathing pattern and working a movement consciously will provide you with more benefits than blindly exercising in a random fashion.

Lots to do today.

I better get moving.

See you on Friday with more cool stuff to throw your way.

Until then…

Get strong and stay strong (and blinded by the light).

Rochelle Gravance

PS- Thanks for your comments in advance.  Bring on the questions…