Moving forward is an admirable goal in most life endeavors, but John Blievernicht is committed to sidetracking his clients.
Blievernicht is a personal trainer and president of Sports Health C.A.R.E., an exercise instruction and rehabilitation service housed in the Athletic Club at Illinois Center. His notion of keeping physically active extends far past the cardiovascular machines so heavily used at his home health club. He is among a growing number of exercise scientists and trainers who are considering cross training in a new light.
“Think about everything that you can do in a cardiovascular room,” said Blievernicht, who is director of an Illinois association of strength coaches and a national certification official for personal trainers. “You get on a treadmill or bike, you go forward. Climbing the stair machine is forward and straight up. Rowing is forward.”
Pursuits such as exercise walking and running are similarly pointed in one direction. Same goes for inline skating and swimming. Blievernicht said a more rounded approach to fitness — the subject of this column space in August — requires a “multi-plane” agenda. Moving forward is not enough, whether you want to improve sports skills, keep playing your favorite game in later years or maintain a sense of independence.
“We see a lot of people who are weekend warrior-type recreational athletes,” Blievernicht said. “They come to us wanting to improve their tennis game or deal with a sore knee. What’s usually missing in their past training programs is lateral movement.”
For example, a typical program to rehabilitate an injured knee prescribes treadmill workouts or maybe some form of water running, plus regular turns at the knee extension weight machine. Stretching is recommended, too. But Blievernicht will add balance work on a 2-by-4 wooden board to the recovery effort. Clients are asked to move from side to side, bringing the inner portion of one foot to meet the inside of the other foot, while remaining on the balls of their feet. Once this basic lateral movement is mastered, clients then work on squatting (bending to a maximum angle of 90 degrees) and touching an imaginary point to the side as if returning a tennis ball or making a catch. Moving diagonally is another facet of agility. So is jumping, leaping and reaching.
The concept of broadening a workout routine extends to anyone desiring to keep fit — and is one reason why national health and fitness organizations have recommended resistance training for older individuals (including light dumbbells, isometric calisthenics that make use of body weight, or elastic bands and tubing).
“It’s great to be strong, but to what end?” asked Teri O’Brien, a personal trainer in LaGrange who is author of a new handbook for other fitness professionals. “I work with my clients to gain functional strength that can approximate the demands of their real life, whether it’s carrying kids, moving things or training for a competition.”
Though weight machines can help beginners protect against injury resulting from poor technique, functional strength is best achieved with free weights. Dumbbells or barbells make the body use a system of muscles called stabilizers, smaller but vital muscles that allow for coordination and range of motion. Blievernicht explained that less conditioned stabilizer muscles are the reason why even an apparently fit person can develop soreness after an uphill hike.
Exercise classes that feature “multi-plane” movements also can improve agility. Martial arts is one likely curriculum, but reviewing your local community center or health club class list can reveal some other pleasant surprises. Be creative. For example, ballroom dancing is one candidate, as is learning a new sport such as tennis or volleyball.
Besides the simple wooden board, Blievernicht uses other props and drills to develop agility. One of his favorite tools is a balance board or agility disc. It is basically a rectangular or round wooden platform atop a roller or half-croquet ball that creates a teeter-totter effect. The participant uses the board to develop balance by keeping it level.
The first level of a balance-board workout is simply standing on the board without movement. Then you can add specific sports moves, such as squatting to set a volleyball or lunging to return a tennis serve. It is an excellent supplementary routine for someone who wants to play a favorite sport in a recreational league but perhaps is prevented from playing more than a few times per week or month because of work and family obligations.
The best way to improve in your sport is to play it frequently. O’Brien noted the “principle of specificity,” which stipulates that the body remembers thousands of muscle movements in the same exact order. Using a balance board — long a staple for elite skiers — can help the athlete approximate his or her sport.
Physical therapists also use the boards and discs to help clients literally get back on their feet. Balancing on this equipment is actually harder than it sounds in the beginning days, then gets easier. Clients also may notice a difference in other parts of their life.
“Somehow that kicking 3-year-old son who won’t get in the car seat is easier to move,” said Blievernicht.
O’Brien said that although some clients are fervently loyal to the usual cardio routine, agility workouts can break up the boredom for others.
Blievernicht often takes his agility message to groups, including high school athletes.
“I always ask young people to pick the strongest player in pro basketball,” Blievernicht said. “The answers are usually Charles Barkley or Karl Malone. Then I ask which player is quickest and get all sorts of answers. Then I ask who is the best player. The answer, of course, is always Michael Jordan. That’s because he has the best body control.”
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Next week: Exercise for the brain.
