HPChiro Blog: January 2009 | Health and Performance Chiropractic

Re-useable produce bags

Did you get any interesting gifts over the holidays? I did. My sister Amanda made me some re-useable produce bags. They are made of some sort of mesh cloth and a drawstring. Here is a picture of them after returning from the store with some apples:

No more plastic bags used to simply transport produce home, then directly into the trash...what a waste that was. Here is a close up of the texture of the bags:

I got a nice assortment of bags, some are big and some are small. I asked my sister to make me a bunch of them to hand out to patients...well Sis?

Racing in 2-3 weeks

So racing starts early here in OBRA land, the first race of the season is the Vanport Kermesse February 8th. Cherry Pie is Feb 15th. Seems like it starts earlier every year. Hope everybody's been getting in some good miles...

I drove my car without any oil in it

So, you're sitting in a coffee shop and you overhear somebody say that they drove their car without any oil in it. What is the first thought that goes through your mind? Time for a new engine? Time for a new car? Maybe time to start riding a bike? You would never do this with your car, right?

Lets turn the question around to bikes. Anybody who has been riding for a while knows that the most basic level of bike maintenance involves pumping your tires and lubing your chain. If you skip these vital steps, a flat tire or missed shifts will soon spoil your ride.

Now consider your body for a moment. When was the last time that you did any basic maintenance on your body? Many endurance athletes spend all their time thinking about training without spending enough time thinking about recovery and maintenance of the very body they are trying to improve through training. For many athletes, however, this lack of attention to basic body maintenance gradually decreases functional reserves, eventually leading to injury and burnout.

Most people reading this post intuitively know that they need body maintenance, but are not sure what exactly that means, or how to start. People that do not maintain their body will suffer from aches and pains and reduced performance compared to athletes that take proper care of themselves.

If you are unsure what you should be doing to maintain and improve your musculoskeletal health, or would like assistance with a sports injury, we are here to help. Health & Performance Chiropractic offers:

Sports Injury Diagnosis and Treatment
Yoga
Massage Therapy
Coaching and Strength Training Programs
Medical Bike Fit
and more

If you have a question about your training, injuries, or staying healthy, we are here to help.

Group Ride - The Biker Behind Bike Yoga

From Uma Kleppinger:
As I'm returning to training from my own injuries I'm unable to ride with many team rides at the moment, as their base is better than mine. However, my fitness isn't completely tanked. Still, I want to begin conservatively. And I'd like company. So I'm organizing a bonafide Sunday basemile ride, starting this week. These rides would be great for your riders who like myself are returning from an extended (and probably unintentional) off season, injury, or just making the transition from recreational to racing.

I am an experienced group ride leader, and have participated in leading OBRA's Meet The Team Rides in 2007 and 2008, and helped with organizing and leading both road racing and cyclocross clinics, as well as being a recreational ride leader in the past.

Group riding etiquette and formation will be observed. These will be no drop or regroup rides. All are welcome, male or female. Riders will be expected to carry their own spare tubes, nutrition, etc, although I always bring extra.

First ride meets this Sunday 1/18 at 9am
Location: Tiny's Coffee, SE Hawthorne and 12th
We'll roll out at 9:30, sharp.

This is a ride for people that are comfortable riding at 18-20mph on the flats on their own - this is not a beginners ride.

Labels: base miles, group ride

Favorite stretch you're probably not doing

Cyclists frequently have tight hips. Cyclists frequently do not stretch. Change all that by starting to do this stretch:
standing%20hip%20stretch.pdf

Labels: cycling stretch, stretch, tight hips

As Used by Pro Athletes

"As used by pro athletes" sounds like weak advertisement for a product destined to land in a Salvation Army donation box along with 8-minute abs, the Gazelle by Tony Little, and for some reason, lots and lots of crutches. Sometimes, however, the product ends up being useful. In this case, the product is a Foam Roller, and the ad was from a sneaker/sportswear mag I was looking through:
"New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul put himself in the running for NBA MVP last season...Hornets Strength and Conditioning coach Jack Manson recommends Foam Rollers...to relieve soreness from training and competition, and readies the athlete for the next game. It is a great way to work out the soreness, keep the players loose and fresh, and get them back on the court feeling better".

I have recommended and personally used foam rollers for many years, and was introduced to the foam roller by Mike Boyle, a famous strength and conditioning specialist. At the time I was amazed at how he could roll his IT band with full weight - legs stacked - from hip to knee without apparent discomfort...while the rest of us in the seminar could barely rest our leg on the foam roller, much less actually "roll". This is where the foam roller earned the nickname "Pillar of Pain". I wish I had a picture of the pain faces that people make the first time that they use the foam roller.

Anyway, we use and recommend foam rollers at HPC, and we sell special high-density foam rollers for $35. These rollers last 2-3 times longer than your standard white foam rollers. With each foam roller, we also supply a booklet that describes safe and effective use of the roller, along with photos and description to show you how to use the roller. Let the good times roll.

Labels: foam roller, HPC, myofascial release

Portland Veloswap 2009

The 1st Annual Portland Veloswap was yesterday at Roots Organic Brewery on SE 7th. Vendors of all sorts were there, as well as lots of individuals and racing teams looking to clean out their garages. Many people I talked to ended up buying more than they sold, yours truly included in that group. I am now the proud owner of some Ksyrium SL clinchers, a sweet jacket from Showers Pass, as well as other assorted components.

My table is in this second picture - the picture was taking early in the day as you can tell from the still-full bucket-o-donuts on my table. I went to Voodoo Donuts in the morning and got the jumb0-sized bucket for 8 bucks, and advertised "free donut with any purchase". My offer was met with one of two responses from passers by:

a smile and a laugh
horror, possibly from the sheer grotesqueness of a 5-gallon bucket of sugary, fatty, decadent donuts.

I estimated the total number of attendees to be well over 1000 over the course of the day, and it looked like most people were doing a lot of sales. According to the organizers, the event was a success and "they are already planning the next one". Sweet.

Labels: health performance chiropractic, portland veloswap

Y'all can thank me later

To help make sure that we don't have any more snow and ice, I took one for the team and purchased a pair of Nokian Hakkapeliitta W240 Studded Cross tires from FitWerx in Vermont. Features include:

240 studs per tire
Made in Finland
Environmentally Friendly Non-Toxic Rubber Compound
Powerful House-Permeating Rubber Smell
Cool Tag Line: "Nokian: Deserve them"
Likely weigh close to 1kg each

I guess I felt like after riding bikes most of my life, I "deserved them" seeing as it is primarily ice that stops me from swinging a leg over the bike and going for a ride. The plan is to mount them up on a spare set of wheels so they are ready to go next time the roads are bad.

One thing that I wasn't prepared for, however, is the break-in period. Evidently, you need to ride them for 50km on road surfaces and avoid rapid acceleration and braking as only "careful break-in will ensure that the tyres are optimised". As fun as that sounds, it probably won't be. At least it is only two round-trips to work. But, I am going to do it and make double-sure that we won't have any more snow and ice. Because lets face it, if they aren't ready to go, then we might just have more snow and ice. This way we will all be saved. You can thank me later.

Labels: 'cross, FitWerx, nokian, studded tires

The coffee Experiment

So, I stopped drinking coffee for about a month after Thanksgiving. Yeah, seriously. I still drank tea, but no coffee. Why would I do this? Good question. I'm not sure. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Fast forward to January - coffee is re-introduced 1-2 times per week when needed, primarily to help with riding motivation...before the caffeine hiatus I wasn't getting much of a lift from my AM brew, but now the occasional cup is the perfect match for the long rides in the rain and cold of the Pacific NW. Now, I realize this is a slippery slope...1-2 times per week is a gateway dose for full-on caffeine addiction, we'll see if this lasts. However, sometimes now I like feeling lethargic. The body needs a rest sometimes, we can't always be running at full throttle. So I am hoping by sticking to this limited caffeine routine, I'll get the boost I'm looking for when it is needed, but otherwise keep things mellow. I will miss the daily cup of coffee on my commute in to work though.

Labels: caffeine, coffee, nossa familia, training