Posts Tagged ‘kareem samhouri’

How muscle works and why you get knots

Monday, November 1st, 2010
The other day my buddy Dr. Kareem Samhouri sent out an outstanding
email to his list about the concept of how muscle works and why you
get knots in them sometimes- something that ends up causing muscle
and joint pain.

It was so good that I asked him if I could use the newsletter
verbatim to share with our Workout Muse followers and thankfully he
agreed.

Please take the time to ready this message below for your own good.

Fitness SUCKS when you’ve got pain but it’s a BLAST when you’re
pain-free.

Trust me, Dr, K and I have been there and done that (myself with
debilitating knee pain and Dr. k with crippling shoulder pain) and
that’s why Dr. K and I put the MISSION: UNBREAKABLE (M:U) program
together so you too can experience the powers of all gains and no
pain!

Oh yea… those of you who ready the entire message will notice a
special 27% off sale on M:U to give you a little more incentive to
take action so you can feel better TODAY ;)

Crank it!
BJ

***
Muscles are made up of tons of mini-muscles, or muscle fibers.  Each muscle fiber has individual potential to grow or shrink, depending on how much it is being used, rested, etc.

When a muscle injury takes place, even in an effort to build strength, a small amount of scar tissue is released into the area.  If the injury is small and the scar tissue tries to lay down on a muscle that is moving well, the muscle pulls on the scar tissue and causes it to align with the muscle.  Essentially, you are left with a small amount of restriction from the scar tissue, but nothing too substantial.  Over time, if this is a repetitive cycle, the restriction can build and it can become symptomatic. This is one type of knot.

If the injury is a bit bigger and the muscle can’t be used in this area, the scar tissue has more time to lay down, and a matrix or web of scar tissue forms.  This forms a major restriction in the tissue and can even try to form bone at times, or calcify.  This restriction forms immediately and will continue to build in time if the scar tissue is not ‘broken down’ and absorbed back into your bloodstream through proper massage and exercise.  This is a second type of knot.

In both cases, the area of the muscle that has the knot does not receive good blood supply, because the scar tissue is suffocating it.  Without good blood supply, it’s hard for
anything to heal.

What’s worse?

We have pressure receptors in our scar tissue that cause pain any time you touch them.  Initially, this is meant as a protective mechanism to get you to stop bumping into an area that’s sore.  Over time, the need for these pressure receptors goes away, but the pain remains… and we choose not to make contact with that bodypart subconsciously.

After all, it causes pain.  What are we supposed to do?

Just the opposite, I’m afraid.  The only way to get rid of these pesky pressure receptors is by putting pressure on them.  Simultaneously, break up the scar tissue as a muscle shortens and elongates, pulling on the scar tissue and causing it to realign with the muscle fibers.

Because there’s so much blood flow, the restriction goes away and the area heals.  You restore your body.

This is just one trick included in MISSION: UNBREAKABLE, which, as you can tell, is going to be a great decision even when it’s at full price… but for the next 24 hours, it’s 27% OFF with the following coupon code (enter it prior to checkout):

feelbetter27sale

Fitness Professionals Click HERE —> http://www.workoutmuse.com/music/mission-unbreakable-for-fitness-professionals <— if you want to save 27% in the next 24 hours and help your clients and campers feel better, improve performance, and alleviate/eliminate nagging aches and pains

Fitness Enthusiasts Click HERE —> http://www.workoutmuse.com/music/mission-unbreakable-for-fitness-enthusiasts <— if you want to save 27% in the next 24 hours so you can feel better, improve performance, and alleviate/eliminate nagging aches and pains

This program works, and it works exceptionally well.  If you have old muscle tears, pulls, strains, or aches that you’d like to alleviate, now is the time to act.

You can restore your body, you can prevent injury, and you can move more freely.  Let BJ & I help you:

have a great day,

Kareem

PS – One of our new MU clients wrote BJ with a question, and I was so blown away by his response that I thought I’d just go ahead and share it with you… this is why I have no hesitation in telling you that BJ is a stand-up top fitness professional that went to all extremes to help make this product the best he could for you.  He even uses this exact program with his little brother, who he coaches to be a top football star at his local high school.

Anyway, here’s what BJ had to say when asked “How do you recommend I use MU?” – thought you’d be interested:

Hey M***,

On behalf of Dr. K and WM, thanks for your purchase and I hope the program is of much benefit to you as it has been to our other customers ;)

The provided program design cheat sheets outline the program as a nice reference point.

Here’s how my campers and I use the program and how I recommend you use it too:

1.) Our beginner campers do 3 weeks of M:U before moving into our regular
high-intensity program. We perform the tissue quality circuit, flexibility circuit,
and then the mobility/activation circuit in that order for a 30 minute workout. It’s
a phenomenal way to start off if you are a beginner. It will get you moving and
sweating without being overwhelmed, especially if you are de-conditioned,
overweight, or have any joint/health issues.

2.) M:U makes the perfect active recovery workout on off-days or off-weeks to
help compliment your high-intensity workouts as well. It gets blood flowing and
circulating throughout your body which will help mitigate soreness and prevent
your muscles from tightening up between resistance workouts. It also helps improve
posture and off-set the drawbacks of a sedentary job where one sits rounded at a
desk all day by working on mobilizing the 3 most important areas of the body:
the ankles, hips, and thoracic spine/mid back.

3.) In terms of how to use M:U on a high-intensity workout day, you can use the
pre-workout (warm-up) and post-workout (cool-down) circuits to book-end your
main workout or perform the M:U circuits later in the day to improve recovery
and provide an extra metabolic boost.

4.) Use the self-diagnostic checklists to build your own personal improvement
routine as well. If you find that your thighs are really sore on the foam roller,
then that becomes an exercise that you perform pre-workout and post-workout
to ensure that you don’t get any nagging aches and pains in your knees for example.
We all have certain areas of the body or muscles groups that need more attention,
so when time is tight, focus on these high-priority areas.

5.) What to do if you only have 10 minutes or time for 1 circuit? If you have
joint pain, the tissue quality circuit is your best bet. If you have tight muscles,
the flexibility circuit is your best bet. If you have poor strength, balance, and
stability, the mobility/activation circuit is your best bet. If you want an awesome
warm-up, perform the pre-workout routine. If you want a great cool-down,
perform the post-workout routine.

M***, does this all make sense?

PPS- Remember for the next 24 hours, M:U is 27% OFF without the following coupon code:

feelbetter27sale

Fitness Professionals Click HERE —> http://www.workoutmuse.com/music/mission-unbreakable-for-fitness-professionals <— if you want to save 27% in the next 24 hours and help your clients and campers feel better, improve performance, and alleviate/eliminate nagging aches and pains

Fitness Enthusiasts Click HERE —> http://www.workoutmuse.com/music/mission-unbreakable-for-fitness-enthusiasts <— if you want to save 27% in the next 24 hours so you can feel better, improve performance, and alleviate/eliminate nagging aches and pains

My Favorite Physical Therapist

Friday, October 8th, 2010

One of the smartest guys I know in the fitness industry, and frankly in the world for that matter, is my good buddy Dr. Kareem Samhouri.

Some of you already know that I have teamed up with Dr. K to put together the ground-breaking MISSION: UNBREAKABLE program that features custom pre/post-workout interval training workout music tracks and instructional videos for tissue quality, flexibility, and mobility/activation circuits.

We put together 2 versions, one for fitness enthusiasts and one for fitness professionals. You can learn more and listen to audio samples by clicking one or both of the links below:

MISSION: UNBREAKABLE for Fitness Enthusiasts: “I LOVE to Workout!”

http://www.workoutmuse.com/music/mission-unbreakable-for-fitness-enthusiasts

MISSION: UNBREAKABLE for Fitness Enthusiasts: “I train people for a living!”

http://www.workoutmuse.com/music/mission-unbreakable-for-fitness-professionals

But Dr. K is more than a physical therapist… he is also a cutting-edge fat loss expert who is way ahead of the industry with his new “neuro fat loss” programming.

In essence, Dr. K’s program is all about activating dormant muscles within your body to allow you to work more muscles each and every workout and thus burn more calories and create a larger metabolic disturbance for greater fat-burning and muscle-building results.

It’s called Double-Edged Fat Loss and it’s one of the most complete rapid fat loss programs out there and I definitely recommend you at least check out the web site to learn more and to see if it’s the right fit for you:

http://www.doubleedgedfatloss.com/

BTW- that’s not an affiliate link, but rather an honest endorsement of one of the top minds in the fitness industry.

You can’t go wrong with Dr. K… not only is he brilliant, but he works his a$$ off!

When it comes to getting results, that’s a deadly combo ;)

Crank it!
BJ

PS- Here’s an excerpt from Dr. K’s Double-Edged Fat Loss explaining Neuro Fat Loss Training in greater detail:

What is Neuro Fat Loss Training and why does it work so fast?

Neuro Fat Loss training is the integration of nervous system and fat loss training all in one. Essentially, as a doctor of physical therapy, I created Double Edged Fat Loss 2.0 (based on the principles of Neuro Fat Loss Training) to solve a HUGE problem in the fitness community that literally no one else is addressing:

FACT: If you’re like 99.9% of exercisers, your nervous system is operating a very elementary level, and it’s absolutely holding you back from experiencing the most rapid fat loss results.

How and why?

Bottom line: most people simply do not understand how to properly communicate with their nervous systems, and as such are missing out on at least 60-80% of the metabolic potential of every single exercise they do. In fact, even advanced trainees tend to be “under-achieving” by at least 30-50%.

Can you just imagine how much faster you’d progress if you were able to double or triple the metabolic effectiveness of each and every exercise you do? The answer: A LOT FASTER.

Going back to the problem, inefficient nervous system communication results in:

  • poor signaling leading to decreased force output and sub-par muscular contractions
  • less overall motor units recruited
  • less weight used for every exercise, set, and rep (for a workout requiring 10 sets of 10 reps, that inefficiency is compounded 100 TIMES over)
  • overall less work done in any given session
  • neuro-muscular fatigue occurring before muscles even receive the necessary stimulus to grow and/or strengthen
  • fewer calories burned
  • overall decreased metabolic effect of exercise even when the same effort is put forth (the same effort for 1/4 of the results)
  • dramatically slowed results
  • dramatically less fat loss

On the other hand, an extremely efficient nervous system results in:

  • greater signaling, leading to greater, faster, more intense contractions
  • increased loads used for every single exercise, set, and rep (compound that improvement 100 times over for a workout requiring 10 sets of 10) – and that’s just one workout – imagine the effect this will have over 4 weeks worth of workouts!
  • increased motor unit recruitment
  • more stimulus from the same work
  • greater strength gains
  • greater lean muscle gains
  • greater metabolic cost of every single exercise you do
  • more calories burned (acutely/immediate)
  • exponentially greater fat loss over time

Legitimately, the difference in the rate of fat loss between the above two examples is the difference between getting in incredible shape for summer and being self-conscious all the way through August.

This is also the difference between hitting and maintaining your ideal body weight easily versus struggling for the rest of your life—period.

With Doubled Edged Fat Loss and revolutionary Neuro Fat Loss Training, you’ll find yourself in the latter group, progressing faster than ever before because the foundation of your training is built around strengthening what matters most to your results—your nervous system.

http://www.doubleedgedfatloss.com/

Add Interval Workout Music to Get Michelle Obama Arms

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

Getting sleek, sexy arms used to be tricky.

images

I’m here to tell you it’s not that hard at all.  With the simple addition of WorkoutMuse to the video you see above, you’ll be able to get toned arms you can be proud of in just 10 minutes per day.  I purposely designed this exercise circuit as a 50-10 (50 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest) because of the effectiveness my clients have experienced through 50-10 Workout Muse soundtracks.

Really, all you’re going to have to do is choose your favorite kind of workout music, stop and start the video, and go nuts!  This is all about intensity, though, so don’t be surprised if it doesn’t work if you’re having a conversation while at the gym.  We’re talking about perfect form, but moving with the interval training music.  That’s the key!

You see, most people don’t even have the same heart rate response when listening to workout music – my wife, for example, can tolerate up to 50% more intensity for a given heart rate when listening to techno.  Granted, she loves music, more than most I know… but you can do the same in time.  Start listening to your favorite track, let the music work for you, and let this NBC video be your path to amazingly beautiful arms in no time flat!

CLICK HERE to Check out the Sleek, Sexy Arm Workout Video

Have a great day,

Dr. K
http://LiftHardPlayHard.com

PS- If you want the exact 50-10 interval workout music Dr. K was talking about, please visit www.bootcampdynamite.com for more info!