Free Stairmaster for Life!
Just meet me at Stone Steps in Encinitas on Thursday afternoons and Sundays mornings.
Stronger legs, better VO2 max and lower BMI.
So, many of my friends seem to be actually reading my posts on fb about my stair workouts. I’m flattered! One of my good friends and a fellow hard working gym rat (Brian), stopped me today and said, “Hey, isn’t climbing stairs bad for your knees?” He knows I’m a PT and I’m sure was thinking, that I’m supposed to know what’s good and bad for the body, so why do stairs if they are potentially bad for my knees. I have to admit that between sets when my hear trate was recovering, my answer was less than inadequate. I said that actually, since I have been doing my progressive stair workouts, my knees feel better, stronger & less painful than when I was running. Contrary to some news in the press, stairs aren’t necessarily worse or better for you knees than other leg strengthening exercises. They provide a consistent height, low impact & closed chain strengthening exercise, based on body weight and gravity, for the legs. Going up 1 step (rising from an 8 inch squat on 1 leg), requires 3 sets of muscles. The gluts extend your hip, the quads straighten the knee and the soleus plantar flexes the ankle. All this is a functional chain designed to do just that and spread out the force, if you keep your center of gravity over your forefoot. Humans have been climbing stairs since well….a heck of a long time ago….ie Pyramids, Great Wall of China and Machu Picchu. Yes, stair climbing is analogous to hiking a trail that is a constant grade. Same deal! Compared to other leg strengthening exercises, stairs do load the patello-femoral mechanism (knee cap on femur), but when done correctly, there is less shear force on the cartilage than doing a knee extension machine, full squats, lunges or running. That doesn’t mean that if you have knee pain or known arthritis or a torn meniscus, that starting a stair pro
CAF Del Mar Mud Run 2017
Del Mar Mud Run 2017 benefiting Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) & Operation Rebound. Saturday turned out to be a perfect day to get down and dirty at the Del Mar Mud Run. Although I couldn't do the run itself due to my current medical issue, my teammate Colonel Willy of the USMC came through like a champ and did a great job representing PRN GOT PAIN? He was ready for doing the course a second time, but I told him to leave some mud for the other participants. Nico and the CAF/Op Rebound crew was extremely supportive as was Keith from Vavi Sport. We had a great day helping service men & women with disabilities return to sport. PRN Encinitas raised over $5,600 for the cause and was the top fund raiser again this year for this event! I want to send out a huge THANKS to my donors for all their support. Next year I will be ready to get back in the mud and give my Marine Corp teammates more of a challenge! Next year we'll shoot for $8k!
