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The holiday season is a popular time for regular schedules, particularly workouts schedules, to get derailed. Just add in a global pandemic and stress about figuring out a safe way to celebrate and see loved ones! While in the “before COVID times” you might have visited gyms in different cities, that may be particularly challenging this year. Instead, check out this quick but effective workout that you can perform using just a few tools! All you need is a band and a ball!

With everyone spending more time at home, often in make-shift work setups, the prevalence of hip and back pain is increasing. If you start feeling pain, the best place to start is trying to address it yourself at home! Here are my top 5 picks for where to begin if hip and back pain are annoying you: #1 Change your position often . I am a huge proponent of standing desks! Is standing the cure? Not at all. What I like is the ability to change positions frequently- every 30

Injury (n): harm or damage sustained Pain (n): the experience of an unpleasant feeling When you are injured, let’s say a broken leg, it hurts and you experience pain. This is usually true with trauma- there is an event, there is an injury and then there is pain . Here is a different scenario: You have a flare up, or period of increased pain, in your back that you have been dealing with on and off for years. You may think, “What have I done to injure myself now?” But is th

If working out a few times per week is good for you, then working out EVERY day is even better! Right? Maybe not. As the New Year’s Resolutions roll in and many of us are looking to shed a few pounds- summer is coming!- we start to see people increasing their workout days by sometimes double. The more=better mindset makes us think that working out more means burning more calories which means leaning out and being healthier. Then in February and March we start to see burnout

Time is one of the most challenging variables when trying to start or stick to a workout routine. As if it’s not challenging enough throughout the year, time for fitness and self-care in the holiday season can seem impossible. Fortunately, we know that even shorter bouts of exercise are better than none! If you find yourself with short windows to get your heart rate up or limited equipment, we have a few suggestions of where to start! Limited Time Only have 15 minutes befo

Now that we are all taking to more home workouts because of social distancing, you might notice that you are jumping more. Jumping rope, burpees, jumping jacks, box jumps, broad jumps etc tend to be go-to exercises for home programs because they require little to no equipment and they will get your heart rate jacked up! But what you also might notice more is leaking of urine, pressure/heaviness or pain during these movements. All of these symptoms are signals that something

Well this escalated quickly. So if you didn’t have time to rush out and furnish a new home gym, do not fret! It is likely that you have objects around the house that you could use to get a good pump going at home. Here I have photo demonstrations of some easy go-tos for training functional movements. All you need: paint cans, laundry detergent, bag of dog food, tool box, gallon of milk or water, a backpack and whatever you can use while being creative. Trade the kettlebel

Have you ever had pain somewhere, let’s say your shoulder, and you take a few weeks off of any exercises or movements that may irritate it (pull ups or snatches). But when you get back to those movements weeks later, you find that it is still painful? You are not alone. Long gone are the days of R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, elevation). For acute (new, traumatic) injuries there is still an indication for this but past the initial injury, this is not a solid plan. Many

Spring is almost here! Along with blooming flowers, sunny days, there will also be increasing cases of foot pain. Why? As the temperatures rise outside, the amount of activities such as running and tennis increase. Many times, this can leave the athlete hobbling out of bed in the morning wondering “what has happened to my foot?” Any type of pain is a bummer, but foot pain can really hinder your daily activities and favorite pastime. Since the foot is the first part of ou

Cross-training is an important part of a well-rounded program for endurance athletes. It can help you build strength and cut down on the monotony- both physical and mental- of pounding the pavement day after day. Many of the endurance athletes that I work with have some sort of plan in place for cross-training, usually incorporating some body weight lower body exercises, bicep curls and a lot of ab work. While this may aid in some aesthetics, if we want the cross-training pr

When it comes to how we feel, our experience of pain and our performance, it’s about more than muscles and exercise. You have the power to manipulate any variable in the pillars of health to take charge of your energy, decrease your pain and just feel better! What are the pillars of health? Movement & Exercise Nutrition Rest & Recovery Mental Wellbeing If our backs hurt, we might first look at our activity and think, “What caused this?” You might think of a movement at the

Working out alone is already hard, then do it for 6 weeks or more and we are all going crazy! You might also feel like you are in a rut with movement or training. If you keep doing the same few things each week, not only are you probably bored but you are not likely to be stressing the body enough to increase endurance or strength. You don’t have to run out (jk, order online) and purchase more exercise equipment to switch it up! But I also think you would have a hard time

The Western medical model has been set up where your first line of contact for an injury is your Primary Care Doctor who then will likely refer you to the Orthopedic doc or specialist (MD). The doctor is likely to examine the problem area and decide if you need imaging (x ray or MRI). If through clinical tests they decide it is minor, they will likely prescribe a medication to help with pain or inflammation and then maybe refer you to physical therapy. Now with different l

It’s no secret- insurance is not as helpful as it was in the 90s and early 2000s. How it works is less than clear and it only continues to cloud as deductibles and premiums skyrocket. Does it confuse you? You are not alone. Many people blindly go to the doctor that is closest to them and is in-network with their insurance simply because they think they HAVE TO or are just plain confused by the system. So why go out-of-network for healthcare? First, a quick insurance less

Hello and welcome to Spectrum Performance! Thank you to all who have already supported and will support my small business. Spectrum Performance was born from the love of the fitness and the intrigue of solving problems to keep folks happy and healthy. I do not believe that you must simply stop the activity you love because it is causing you pain. My goal with every individual is to keep them as active as possible while delve into the reason you are feeling pain. I help peop

You're an athlete in Avondale Estates, GA. You push your limits, you thrive on progress, but sometimes pain, injury, or a plateau can sideline you.