USC Trojacn tailback Injury

Has anyone else heard about this? USC running back Stafon Johnson suffered a crushed larynx and neck on Monday after the bench press barbell slipped out of his right hand onto his neck. An immediate tracheotomy had to be done in order for the Trojan to breath. Stafon underwent 7 hours of surgery at a Los Angeles hospital. He's listed as in critical but stable condition. You can read the article at ESPN.com http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4516365.

What confuses me is that he was being spotted and the assistant strength and conditioning coach was only a mere ten feet away. In any case, if he was being properly spotted, the spotters would have been able to catch the bar and prevent it from landing on his throat and at least landing on his chest. "I've seen players have the bar slip and fall onto their chest, but never in my 25 years of coaching have I heard of someone dropping a bar on their throat," said head strength and conditioning coach Chris Carlisle, "We're fortunate he was being spotted." I heard this story on Sportscenter this morning and i figured he wasn't being spotted and was lifting improperly.

From my knowledge when bench pressing, the bar should be firmly on your palm more proximal to the wrist rather than being held by the fingers because this can cause someone to 1.) break there wrist or 2.) drop the weight on them self. So i feel that the strength and conditioning coaches should have done a better job educating the athletes on the proper way to bench press and also, how to spot another athlete. Most likely, there was a single spotter while he was lifting some near 300lbs... This is a lot of weight for one person to be spotting, if anything a two person spot from each end of the barbell is necessary. The article doesn't imply if there was more than one spotter but i can assume that there wasn't or that they weren't paying attention for this to have occurred.

Thankfully, doctor's say that the surgery was successful and Johnson will be able to return to football, yet the timeline isn't quite clear.

What does it mean to be FIT???

Okay, let me ask you a question "Do you consider yourself a Fit individual?" If you answered that question with a "yes" ask yourself this question "What makes me a Fit person?" This question might be hard for some people to answer. A simple response would be, "Well i can run 5 miles" or "I have a six pack" or "I can bench 400lbs". Yet does that qualify you as a fit person? This is a hard question in itself. As I read through this months issue of Men's Health (not the most reliable fitness source), I came upon an article which really sparked my interest and has some credentials to it. The title of the article is "Everything you know about muscle is wrong". What the article is about is in fact the relationship to muscle and the fascia and that even though muscles aren't connected together, they are linked by the fascia which can explain pain in certain areas of the body. Yet, what i found that was most interesting was the segment on fitness. Thomas Myers, a top expert in the field of connective tissue goes onto explain how "for many people, fitness is still about lifting weights to build bulk... but what does that make you fit for?... You are fit if you can adapt to the demands of your environment with ease and imagination". 


That segment got me to thinking about my fitness level. I felt as though i was a fit individual, but it also got me second guessing myself. Personally, my training and exercise routine incorporates all the energy systems, multiplanar exercises and  proper form and technique, so when I put it into context I feel as though i can answer that question with confidence but there are so many training principles that can challenge one's body in ways the average person wouldn't be able to withstand. So take this into consideration, if you feel as though you aren't Fit take time out of your day to get back into shape. Trust me it could save your life in the long run.

The "Do's and Don't's" of Training

When engaging in an exercise bout, proper form and technique is essential. Regardless if it's in sport or at the gym, improper technique can result in overuse injuries, acute injuries or muscular imbalances that effect the whole kinetic chain. What i'm trying to relay to you is that just minor tweaks in your lifting pattern or how your total body is positioned can result in major total body malfunctions. For example, minor sway is a standing bicep curl can put stress on your low back (typically the erector spinae muscle). Repetitive improper technique to a simple exercise can result in low back pain and keep you out of the gym for a while. Here's a list of some "Do's" you should consider while resistance training:


1.) BREATH- holding your breath while forcefully exerting yourself is called the Valsalva Maneuver; thus spiking your blood pressure
2.) Tighten your Core- contraction of your core muscles enables back support thus preventing injury
3.) Lift with your legs, not your back
4.) Good base of support
5.) Proper warm-up; warm the muscles that you will use during activity as well as dynamic flexibility to increase muscle extensibility prior to training


These tips are just a helpful guide to proper resistance training. The things that i see most when i'm in a gym or training are the "don't's". As is stated before, just a minor tweak in your lifting pattern can throw off your whole kinetic chain. For instance,  proper posture is important in everyday activities. Do you know how many hours a day you spend  in a slouched position? Think of it this way, how many hours a day are you behind a desk, driving a car or just sitting in class. The truth is, your connective tissues adapt to your posture and if you have improper posture, lets face it, if you slouch you're going to look like a Neanderthal. The worst part is, improper posture can result in chronic neck and low back pain, which about roughly 70% of American's suffer from.


There are a few simple fixes you can make to prevent slouching: Sit tall, chest up, pull shoulders down and back and tightening your core. This easy fix can help you in the long run.

Health Benefits to Resistance Training

What's good? This is my first blog on resistance training, i hope you learn something! 
Everyone knows (or everyone should know) that exercising is not only crucial to maintaining one's health, yet it's importance is far beyond looking good. A major misconception, especially in the eyes of most women is that if you strength train (resistance training) or in other words lift weight's that you're going to bulk up and look like some freakish body builder.... FALSE. First of all, it's humanly impossible for females to experience the massive muscle hypertrophy that men experience because they don't produce enough testosterone (hormone from the androgen group which promotes protein synthesis and tissue growth) and here's a stat for you, men produce 40-60 times as much testosterone than women do. So ladies, now that getting "big" is out of the picture, lets talk about the benefits of resistance training for both men and women; here's five benefits you might not know...
1.) Major stress management technique and self esteem enhancer
2.) Injury prevention and rehabilitation
3.) Osteoporosis prevention and management
4.) Increased resting metabolism (more muscle, more heat produced= greater resting metabolism)
5.) Maintenance of fat free weight


The overall message i'm trying to get out is that building muscle is a great thing to do. From   a personal perspective, the greatest thing about resistance training besides the health benefits is the feel good aspect of it. I'm not saying get in the gym or grab a pair of weights and start going at it what i am advocating is to take your time and progress. In addition, if you are thinking about starting a resistance training program you should consult an exercise professional or check out my next blog on "common do's and dont's when resistance training", because the last thing you want to do is hurt yourself!