Are teaming up to give your high school and collegiate athletes a comprehensive muscle and spine movement screen!

massage therapy by Tracey Hamilton-Gray of

Tranquil Therapeutic Massage

Ryan is our young gun personal trainer and will be in the training studio working you out – Don’t worry, Ryan knows exactly what it takes to get stronger and more balanced in your body.  Watch Ryan and his first workout at MIM: RYAN FEELING THE BURN!

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As our new customer service and marketing representative, Alissa will make sure all of our clients get the best care they can ask for – Read about Alissa and her endeavors as and elite track cyclist:

Alissa grew up playing team sports and when that wasn’t available after college realized she needed to find a way to keep in shape. She started cycling for fun and fitness, but was introduced to the idea of racing and quickly her competitive side kicked in. After trying both road and track cycling events, she excelled on the track and turned her focus to the sprint events, qualifying for Elite Nationals in her 2nd year of racing and placing 5th in the team sprint and setting many personal bests. This year Alissa has moved to Portland to be closer to her coach after a week at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA for a developmental training camp with the National Team and has her sights set on the 2012 Olympics.
Working at Muscles in Motion is very exciting for Alissa, not only learning more about the importance of balancing the body through strength training, but so she can share her passion for healthy, fit living at any level with anyone who is interested in making their bodies the best they can be!

Education: University of Melbourne, Australia

Ryan and Alissa look forward to meeting everyone in the MIM family and cheer as you FLEX YOUR GUNS!

As I used this technique it made me think about why some adults, like me, try to analyze the movement of the swing instead of feel it. Seems that as we get older we have a disconnect between our body and our mind. The brain seems to take over and our body doesn’t respond as quickly. Thinking back to when I was a kid and how I played sports, I don’t ever remember ever “thinking” about what I was doing. There was more balance between the body and the brain, I just did it.

So how can we get back to that state of balance? One way is to get out of your comfort zone. Since the invention of the computer, most adults are spending an average of 4-6 hours in front of a computer-daily (that’s work and leisure combined). Now take an average golfer who is out on the golf course once a week for 3 hours. Is that non-stop play? Are you hitting repeatedly for those 3 hours? Probably not, you’re walking, taking turns with your play partners and only striking the ball a limited number of times. Doesn’t quite add up does it? That’s where your golf fitness comes into play. This is where the real work for the brain starts.

When you workout specifically for your golf game you want to isolate each muscle, then batch muscle groups together, and then incorporate that into the whole body. It’s like learning anything new, you have to start by identifying the muscles, see if they are strong or weak, then determine if the brain has the ability to isolate and have movement. Once you’ve done that with all your golf muscles, then you can start putting them to work in groups until you have the whole body functioning with ease. i.e. your swing!

Here is a simple way of getting the brain connected with the body: Locate your shoulder blades and retract them forward and backward, and up and down. Next locate your shoulder (deltoids) muscles and straighten your arms. Lift your arms up and down without your shoulder blades moving. Next get down on all fours (hands and knees) then without bending your arms, retract your shoulder blades forward and backward. This process will get your brain to know where your shoulder blades are and as their strength improves, these muscles will engage easiliy to help with your swing.

Diana Del Garbino is a certified golf fitness instructor through the Titleist Performance Institute and coaches beginner through advanced golfers at Muscles in Motion-Professional training studio in Lake Oswego Oregon. For more information about the program visit www.mymusclesinmotion.com.

Click the above link to see a list of favorite drinks and their sugar equal.

Then think twice when you place that order with your barista!

Keep yourself healthy with a balanced diet and lots of weight-bearing exercises, and your body will not only thank you, but keep you strong so you will have the bones of an 37-year old when you are 80-years old.

Now that we’ve had some good weather and much more time to golf, are you noticing the spots on your body that are beginning to hurt? Some of the pain could be in your lower back, shoulders and neck. You could be experiencing pains in your hips, knees or elbows. This month we are going to address some alternatives to keep those pains from turning into injuries that last longer than the golfing season.

Neck: Let’s start here and work our way down. The neck is often ignored even though it is where a lot of tension can linger.   That tension can work it’s way down the body causing pain in the shoulders, back and hips. So keeping the neck muscles loose and relaxed is key. When working on the computer, be sure the screen is eye level and you are spared having to look down or up too far. Lap tops need to be elevated by a pillow or table and having your elbows supported is a bonus.  Give your neck some relief by lying on the floor with your knees bent, feet flat, and a small towel rolled up and placed under your neck. This will allow your neck muscles to relax, while putting your head and back in better alignment for your golf swing.

Shoulders: The shoulder is such a complex joint that it can get out of balance in many different ways. The most common is slouching or rounded shoulders. Keeping your shoulders back during the day or while sitting, can feel like work. Think of the area between your ribcage and your collarbone as a single unit and lift your ribcage from the bottom front rib, forward and up. This will automatically pull your shoulders down and back and you will train yourself to hold you in this better position. For those with good posture, this will be easy to maintain.  For those of you who do not have good posture, you can practice throughout your day to strengthen the proper muscles and it becomes a good habit! This is very important for maintaining good shoulder plane angle during your swing. It can also help with reverse spine angle.

Low Back: This area can make or break a golfer. As I’ve talked about it before, the lumbar spine region is not meant to rotate-it’s meant to be stable. The areas around it are made for movement: Thoracic spine and hips. So I won’t give you a good stretch for this area because it doesn’t need to be stretched, but I will give one for the upper back. Lie on your back (supine) with your hips on the floor and take a round foam roller or large bath towel, rolled up tightly.  Now place the roller or towel perpendicular (make a t-shape with your body) keeping your glutes on the floor, place your arms to the side or behind your head to support your neck, and let your shoulders and neck relax for 15-20 seconds. Then move the roller or towel up or down one vertebrae and hold for 15-20 seconds. This will help open up the chest and you will gain more movement in your thoracic spine. Keeping your lumbar region stable.

Next month we’ll address the hips, knees and elbows, and what you can do to keep these in top shape. Keep challenging your muscles in the gym, so you can reap the benefits on the golf course!

Diana Del Garbino is a certified golf fitness instructor through the Titleist Performance Institute and coaches beginner through advanced golfers at Muscles in Motion-Professional training studio in Lake Oswego Oregon. For more information about the program visit www.mymusclesinmotion.com.

Do you remember the children’s song about how everything is connected? The neck bone’s connected to the shoulder bone, the shoulder bone’s connected to the chest bone, etc. Well keeping this in mind as you begin the new season of golfing as it may help you prevent injuries along the way.

Let’s start with the golf swing. To avoid golf injuries, it’s important that golfers get their swing technique as solid as possible. Amateur players are at increased risk of injury because their swing will often put excessive stress on the shoulder, arms and the back. Since golf is played at a slower pace a warm up is essential to help prevent injuries. Think about the song at the beginning and work your way down the body.

Warming up the neck. Start slowly and with purpose. Instead of the usual head circles, think about the position you put your neck in from presenting the ball to your backswing and downswing. Your head is in a neutral position. Then pull your arms into your backswing position, now look at the position of your head; it’s still facing forward, however, your shoulders have rotated so your chin is now touching your shoulder. For a warm up, stand facing forward and slowly turn your head to the right, then dip your chin and try to touch your collar-bone. Now repeat the other direction. This will warm up the muscles along the sides and back of the neck.

Let’s move on to the shoulders. This is where a lot of injuries can occur. With the large amount of torque needed on the downswing, it’s critical to warm up all the muscles in the shoulder. Start with small circles and work your way to med and then large.  Make sure your hand positions change.  This ensures you will hit each different muscle that makes up the rotator cuff; Thumbs up, palms down, & thumbs down. Rotate five times each set.

Now the back.  Just saying “the back” doesn’t give you enough information. There are two specific areas that we want to warm up. First is the thoracic spine (upper back area). The thoracic spine starts just under your ribs and stops at your collarbone. This is also where you want the most rotation in your back swing and not in your lower back region. Taking your club and placing it on your shoulders and rotating from right to left is a good warm-up, but take care to lock your hips in place so you’re not rotating in your lower back. Sit down and squeeze your knees together, then place your hands behind your head and spread your elbows out. Now sit up straight and turn to your right, as if you were looking over your shoulder, now drop your right elbow and try to touch your right elbow to your hip. You should feel a stretch on your opposite ribcage (left side). This works the thoracic spine in the two ways it works best, rotating behind you and side-to-side. Complete eight times each side.

The second area of the “back” is the hips.  Again, we don’t want to rotate through the lumbar spine.  It might feel like that is what is happening, however, the hips are made to rotate and have a much better design for it. So stand tall and take your 5-iron or hold onto a pole or rail.  Twist your hips in a circular motion as if you’re trying to take your front hipbones and touch the pole or 5 iron. Make sure you keep the upper body as still as possible. Also, keep your feet flat on the ground to get a bit of internal and external rotation. Rotate each side eight times.

Ok, so you are warmed up in the areas that get the most work in your golf swing.  As you move your static warm up to a more dynamic warm up, a slow start as you hit balls will get you fully warmed up and help keep you from injury.  The more conditioned you are for your golf swing is the best way to keep yourself injury free!

Diana Del Garbino is a certified golf fitness instructor through the Titelist Performance Institute and coaches beginner through advanced golfers at Muscles in Motion-Professional training studio in Lake Oswego Oregon. For more information about the program visit http://www.mymusclesinmotion.com/.