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| Inversion - Recover from High Impact Workouts (Part II) |
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BodybuildingPro.com  Training Database Advanced Training Tips Inversion - Recover from High Impact Workouts (Part II)
CLICK HERE to see Part I of this article!
Inversion - Recover from High Impact Workouts (Part II)
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Nearly every activity involves some form of compression of the spine. The compressive effect of gravity is compounded by activities such as running, weightlifting, aerobics, skiing, biking, and golf, which can exact an incredible toll on the spine, discs, and back muscles.
If we perform our daily activities in the wrong way we can create skeletal misalignments. Most often these misalignments are nominal and will readily correct themselves given the opportunity. Inversion with movement (such as side-to-side bends, back arches, and a partial sit-up or two) provides that opportunity.
One-sided activities can be particularly troublesome for the athlete for two reasons: The body will tend to over compensate for the strong-side muscle groups, pulling the spine out of alignment, and one-sided activities usually involve rotation of the spine, often under incredible loads. Examples of these activities are golf, water skiing, tennis, bowling, racquetball, and baseball. Inversion after physical activity may help to realign the spine and keep athletes performing at higher levels for longer periods of time.
Still other physical activities tend to create tension in the muscles due to a contraction of the major muscle groups for long periods of time. In-line skating, swimming, bicycling, windsurfing and rowing are examples of activities which tend to create a great deal of lower back strain. Athletes in these sports can receive a tremendous boost from the relaxing stretch of inversion therapy.
Inversion Reduces Pain in Overworked Muscles
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Athletes prone to stiffness or muscle spasms after a workout can benefit from the lymphatic wash provided by inversion. Intense muscle activities cause muscles to become sore. This is due to the build up of large amounts of lactic acid and cellular debris in the muscles.
Unlike the cardiovascular system, the lymphatic system has no pump. Only the alternate contraction and relaxation of muscles move lymphatic fluid "uphill" through capillaries and one-way valves to the upper chest for cleansing. Inverting the body so that gravity works with, not against, these one-way valves helps to push the lactic fluid up to the chest. The faster the lymphatic system is cleared, the faster the ache and pain of stiff muscles disappears.
Inversion Helps to Strengthen Ligaments
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Ligaments are the fibrous strips that hold your bones together. Ligaments are flexible but not very elastic, and can tear when they are stretched too much. The gentle reverse loading and movement that occurs while you invert strengthens ligaments and connective tissue, and helps to protect the athlete from serious injury. Ligaments that are not moved regularly in the right way become stiff, inelastic and more easily torn.
Inversion Helps to Relieve Stress
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Your body will let you know when you are stressed out - back and neck pain, headaches and muscle tension is your body's way of protesting against stress and forcing you to slow down.
If nothing else, Inversion is a great way to take a break and relax. The full body stretch can be rejuvenating and can also help to reduce muscle tension. A study conducted by physiotherapist LJ Nose found that EMG activity (a measure of muscle tension) declined over 35% within ten seconds of inverting. Inversion, therefore, is helpful in relieving tension and pain in your muscles that may have been caused by stress.
In fact, for centuries yoga practitioners have recognized the concept of turning the body upside down to find relaxation. The head stand position is a form of "postural exchange" (reversing the direction of gravity). Not everyone wants to do headstands, so inversion on Teeter TM equipment creates an easier alternative with the added benefit of joint decompression.
Photograph © Ron Avidan of GetBig.com. Reproduced with permission.
Inversion Helps to Stimulate Circulation
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The cardiovascular system is made up of the heart, veins, arteries, and capillaries. It is your body's transportation system, carrying food and oxygen to your body's cells. Your heart pumps blood through the system: oxygen-rich blood from the lungs goes out through the arteries and waste-filled blood comes back through the veins to be cleansed and recharged with oxygen. The cardiovascular system also retrieves blood from your legs and lower torso, carrying it upwards against the force of gravity. Inversion allows your body to work with gravity to ease the circulation process.
Inversion Provides Balance and Orientation Training
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The performance of inverted activities can be enhanced through inversion training. Inversion helps to develop balance awareness, which occurs when the upper regions of the inner ear are stimulated. Skydivers, gymnasts, springboard divers, and scuba divers find that inversion therapy fine-tunes the body and inner ear to the inverted world. Inversion therapy has also been used to normalize the ear canal as a treatment for motion sickness.
Inversion Helps to Age Gracefully
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VERY INYERESTING=====> Height Maintenance: Most people will lose from 1/2" - 2" (1-5 cm) in height during their lifetime due to thinning discs. As a baby, your discs are 90% water. However, the water content in the discs decreases to 70% by age 70. An active inversion program can help maintain more of your original height. See Care and Feeding for Discs.
"Decongests" Internal Organs: As the body ages, internal organs (kidneys, stomach, intestines) begin to prolapse as a result of the constant downward force of gravity. "Middle-age spread" (that spare tire around the waste), apart from weight gain, is due to the relocation of internal organs. Digestion and waste elimination problems are also common symptoms of organs going south. Inversion helps prolapsed organs resume their normal shape and place in the body.
Increases Oxygen to the Brain: Peter Russell notes in The Brain Book that the deterioration of the brain is not directly linked to age alone. Rather, this deterioration is caused by hardening arteries and high blood pressure, both of which decrease the supply of oxygen to the brain. Thus a major step in reducing mental deterioration (or senility) over time may simply be increasing the oxygen supply to the brain. Keeping the brain active and well supplied with oxygen may help maintain your brain function and mental sharpness throughout your entire life. (NOTE: If you have high blood pressure, consult your physician before starting an inversion program.)
Relieves Varicose Veins: When inverting, you are helping your heart to clear the blood from your feet, legs, and lower body. This allows the blood in your limbs to circulate more easily, which may help to drain blood from varicose veins.
A Final Thought
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The constant pull of gravity is the most powerful force your body will see during your lifetime. Inversion offers a system of stretching and light exercise that helps to slow or reverse the harmful, compression of the body by gravity. Used sensibly, inversion is extremely beneficial, and no more dangerous than many other popular and widely practiced fitness activities. Sometimes there's an explanation for why inversion works and sometimes there isn't.
The experience of thousands of people who invert regularly is that it gives them the relief from back pain they've been looking for. Just as important, they gain the rejuvenating effects of inversion on the entire body, providing health benefits far beyond the relief of back pain.
CLICK HERE to see Part I of this article!
Sincerely,
mike001@operamail.com
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