Most recent migraines.
Somehow or another, I managed to get migraines 2 out of the last 3 weeks after hockey. I've been stretching regularly, seeing the chiropractor and massage therapist at least once a month. It is frustrating considering the months past I've had no migraines. I haven't changed my diet or exercise habits recently, however, work has been significantly more stressful; working over-nights, increased workload and responsibilities etc.
The first migraine I just dealt with; no meds, no ice, no massage, I just waited it out. The second mirgraine, I tried the same approach as the first, except I massaged and stretched my neck myself. I massaged my neck by folding my hands behind my neck (like I was praying) and used my thumbs to massage both sides of my neck. This significantly helped with the pain. At some point it felt as if the pain went away. Unfortunately I could only massage my own neck for so long. Regardless, the amount of time I was able to spend massaging significantly reduced the overall pain I was feeling.
It seems I keep my stress in my neck and stretching might not cut it for preventing these migraines. Moving forward, I'm going to try and add the self-neck massage into my normal routine to see how that helps.
How long should my jump rope be?
Double unders are one of my favorite agility exercises. There is something very satisfying about doing 25+ double unders in a row; it really gets your heart pounding! One question many people always ask is how long should their jump rope be? According to jumprope.com:
Generally, the proper rope length is determined by your height as follows:
Length Suitable For 7 ft. up to 4'10" 8 ft. 4'11"-5'3" 9 ft. 5'4"-5'10" 10 ft. 5'11"-6'6" 11 ft. over 6'6" To determine the exact length for an individual, stand on the center of the cord.
The handle tips should reach your armpits. When you jump over the rope, the rope should just brush the floor beneath your feet. If the cord doesn't touch the floor, the rope is too short. If the cord hits the floor in front of your feet, the rope is too long and should be shortened.
The size chart and the individual method are general...optimum rope length ideally depends on how high you hold your arms as you turn the rope with your wrist, thus check where it hits the floor and make any minor adjustments.
Remember as you're jumping: the Crossfit gold standard for double unders is 2:00 minutes straight without messing up!
Knee position when squatting
The other day I was sharing the squat rack with this guy at the gym; he was doing front squats. I see him at the gym all the time. He's in his early 20's and he's a competitive powerlifter. Compared to the guys he lifts with, he's got good form on most of his lifts. However, there was one aspect of his front squat I thought he needed to work on: his knee position. At the bottom of his squat, his knees went about 3-4 inches over his toes. As a result, he seemed a bit awkward and unbalanced at the bottom. I didn't say anything about it to him because, well, who am I? He's a powerlifter and I'm just a Joe Schmo off the street. Had he asked me for advice, this is what I would have told him:
- Stop your knees from going over your toes!
- Sit back further into your squat (like you're sitting on a toilet).
- Stretch those hamstrings: tight hammies can keep you from sitting back far enough.
Cool Philly-based primal workout video.
Here's an awesome video that this brother and sister team submitted to MDA as a contest entry. It's them doing their version of a primal workout, in Philly, set to the Eye of the Tiger. I think it's awesome!