In this issue of the Out-Fit Report, discover the benefits of Dynamic Warm Up's with professional triathlete Jessi Stensland. Jessi's routine will show you how to take "warming up" to another level. Also this month part 2 on hamstring injuries, Rick Katz ,P.T., M.A. shares with us more valuable information on treating hamstring strains.

Get ready for those warm summer night dinners with a delicious healthy recipe from "In The Kitchen" chef Gavan Murphy. With summer right around the corner this recipe is great to share with family and friends. Here's to a great summer!

Best regards,
Team Out-Fit

P.S. Don't miss the inside scoop on the Ragnar Relay.

THE DYNAMIC WARM-UP

By Jessi Stensland
Professional Triathlete // MovementU

A dynamic warm-up is one that challenges every bit of YOU that you use to perform.

Think of your body as a machine, with lots of moving parts. Your cardio system is certainly a driving factor in your performance, but your ability to get the most from your cardio endurance is highly dependent on your body’s ability to transfer your effort efficiently, from head to toe, during each and every swim stroke, running stride and pedal stroke. A dynamic warm up coordinates all of your moving parts – muscles, ligaments, and joints – by challenging your flexibility, mobility, strength, stability and cardio all at once – because that’s what you ask of yourself when you perform, right?! Doing so is pivotal in getting you to the finish line as fun, fast, and pain-free as possible.

THE GOALS OF A DYNAMIC WARM-UP

• INCREASE HEART RATE to get the blood pumping through the body and warming up the muscles.
• OPEN UP YOUR JOINTS especially those within the hips, spine, feet and ankles.
• ACTIVELY STRETCH YOUR MUSCLES to prepare them for what you’ll be asking them for in the run!
• REINFORCE GREAT POSTURE.
• HIT THE GROUND RUNNING WITH ALL SYSTEMS GO when the gun goes off!

THE KEYS TO A DYNAMIC WARM-UP

• Think of it as a part of the race. Do it!
• Set aside time dedicated to it. Whether its 30 minutes or 2 minutes you can do your body good.
• Clear your mind and focus on your body. Save chit chatting with friends for before or after the race.
• Move through the movements purposefully but continuously so that your heart rate increases throughout.

THE KEY ELEMENTS OF A DYNAMIC WARM-UP

• Engage strong powerful posture.
• Activate your glute muscles by doing movements such as a glute bridge or a lateral lunge.
• Open up your joints and stretch the muscles around them. Use a movements like the knee hug, forward lunge with a twist and/or calf stretch.
• Put it all together with some pillar skipping.

Whether you’ve got 2 minutes or 30 minutes to warm up, you can do it properly, efficiently and powerfully.

THE 2 MINUTE VERSION WOULD LOOK LIKE THIS:

• Glute Bridge OR Lateral Lunge
• Forward Lunge with a Twist OR Knee Hug
• Pillar Skipping

You’re committed. Your mind is strong and will only get stronger. Make sure you give your body the best chance you can give it so you can do all that you’d love to do with it. Because you can!

Move well!!

For more information, tips or questions for Jessi please visit www.gojessi.com.
 

Treating a Hamstring Strain or Tear

Rick Katz, P.T., M.A.
Adient Physical Therapy

Hamstring injuries can range in severity from a strain (Grade 1) to a full tear (Grade 3).

• A grade 1 strain results in localized discomfort, some pain with walking but not usually with a sever limp. It may be a little sore to the touch with pain when the muscle is stretched to its’ limit.
• A grade 2 strain/partial tear will have visible swelling and can occur up in the buttock region or lower in the posterior thigh where the muscle transitions into the hamstring tendon. There will most likely be pain with bending and straightening the knee. You will have significant tenderness over the area of injury and will have discomfort with each step.
• A Grade 3 Tear involves significant destruction of the muscle fibers. You will have difficulty walking, have bruising, tenderness and swelling. You will probably require crutches to walk. The diagnosis of the degree of strain should be made by a Health Professional.

Treatment for the acute injury is the same regardless of the severity of the injury. The time to full recovery increases based on the Grade of the strain. The first priority is to control swelling and decrease the load on the muscle to avoid further damage. Ice is the most logical approach and should be utilized generously. If swelling or bruising is present you should combine compression with the ice through commercially available products or simply a properly applied ace bandage. This should be done frequently during the day. Fifteen minutes of ice should be followed by at least 15 minutes of rest before the ice is reapplied. As the tissue heals there is a concern that scar tissue will form. Following the first 48 hours a program of very gentle stretching within the limits of pain should commence 1-2x daily to assist the ability of the muscle to heal with minimal scar tissue. Physical Therapy is recommended to guide you through the type and amount of stretching and to assist the healing through manual techniques and modalities. Another useful modality is Vibration therapy, specifically via the Power Plate. This has shown to significantly improve the blood flow to the tissue without promoting increased swelling. It also allows for the muscle fibers to fire without imposing a damaging workload on the healing tissue.

As the pain diminishes, as demonstrated through pain-free walking, you can return to a lower intensity of your primary sports activities. It is extremely important not to use the elimination of pain as your green light to resume your prior level of activity. Go slowly for the first week or so of having no pain. You are very vulnerable to re-injury during this period. Incorporate a proper warm-up and stretch into your program and avoid sudden bursts of lower extremity force for the next 1-2 months then gradually increase to your prior level.

In The Kitchen

By Chef Gavan Murphy

Oatmeal Crusted Sole wih Homemade Tartar Sauce

One of the best foods you can eat for your heart is oatmeal. Not only is it full of fiber but it helps reduce bad cholesterol, which is what blocks the arteries and leads to heart attacks. I’ve been eating a bowl every morning since I was young, totally true. I love the stuff. Here I decided to crumb some fish with it in place of bread crumbs and bake it. Serve with my homemade tartar sauce and you’re golden…..and heart healthy.

RECIPE:
Serves 4
4 x 4-5 oz Pacific Sole (an eco-OK fish)
2 organic egg whites, beaten (for breadcrumbing fish)
1 cup old fashioned porridge (oatmeal)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp lemon pepper

Tartar Sauce Recipe:
2 egg yolks
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 cup canola oil
1/2 lemon – zested
1 tsp capers – chopped
1 tbsp parsley – chopped
3 gherkins (cornichons) – chopped
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch salt

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat skillet on medium heat for 30 seconds. Add oatmeal and brown oats, tossing occasionally until golden, 7-8 minutes approx. Do not burn.
Once golden brown place in food processor along with paprika and pepper. Pulse to breadcrumb consistency but not too fine.
Now we’re ready to coat the fish. To do this simply dip the sole in the egg whites and let drain over the egg bowl to catch any excess drippings and then coat gently in the oatmeal crust on all sides. Once coated lay on a foiled or parchment paper lined tray until ready to cook.

To Cook Fish:
Preheat oven to 420°F.
Lay fish on foiled oven tray and spray both sides liberally with olive oil spray. Pop in oven for 8-10 minutes until crispy and firm to touch.

To Make Tartare Sauce:
Tartar sauce is a mayo-based sauce. Homemade mayo is one of the easiest condiments to make and is way more healthier and tastier than store bought. When making homemade mayo you’ll notice it’s colour right off the bat–it’s not white, it’s yellow. Crazy isn’t it?
Place the egg yolks in the food processor along with the mustard & zest. With the machine running slowly add the oil to emulsify. If the mayo looks too thick add a drizzle of cold water to smooth it out. Once all the oil has been incorporated add the capers, gherkins, parsley & salt and pulse for 20 seconds. Done. Pop in the fridge until ready to eat.

ABOUT GAVAN MURPHY
Chef Gavan Murphy began his culinary adventure in his native Ireland, graduating from the Ballymaloe Cookery School in 1994. In 2000, his journey took him across the pond to California where his interest in health and nutrition flourished. Gavan was hired as a consulting chef on the Body-for-Life program for EAS, a multi-national sports and nutrition company, as well as personal chef to Cindy Crawford, who was following the BFL program. It was here that Gavan met celebrity trainer Valerie Waters and has since provided healthy recipes and cooking tips for her clients and her fitness programs.
His integrity and enthusiasm for healthy food carries over in his work as a private chef as well as in his catering business, The Healthy Irishman, Inc. His celebrity clientele includes James Cameron and Suzy Amis, Dr. Linda Li, Rachel Nichols, Queens of the Stone Age front man Josh Homme and wife Brody Dalle, Pierce Brosnan and of course Cindy Crawford.
More of Gavan's healthy recipes are featured in Akasha Richmond's "Hollywood Dish", in celebrity fitness guru, Kathy Kaehler's book, "Fit and Sexy for Life", in his very own e-cookbook created especially for Valerie Waters' "Action Hero Babe" program and online at www.gavanmurphy.com
 

Ragnar Recap

Chris Fisher is all about taking things to the next level. Doesn’t matter what he’s doing; if he’s making a friggin’ sandwich…that PB & J is gonna be special, come hell or high water. So when he decided he wanted to do a little “team building,” he skipped right on past Trust Falls and Ropes Courses. No, he’ll leave those for the suits and the cubicle jockeys. This is the Fitness Industry after all, so Chris (who likes a good quote) decided that since “the bonds made strongest are forged in battle,” he needed to find an event that guaranteed his team a healthy dose of “blood, sweat, and tears.” What he found was THE RAGNAR RELAY. A non-stop, 200 mile relay run by a team of 12. Each runner racks up the better part of a marathon broken into three legs over 24 hours. Good times. Who’s in? The Out Fit team of sales reps, clients and extended family that’s who.
So on April 23rd and 24th Team Out-Fit started with one goal in mind; finish without too many blisters or cramps. Of course we’re talking Chris Fisher here so that goal quickly morphed into, “Let’s win this sucker!” Which is exactly what Team Out-Fit did. Yes, it was only their division … and yes, there was only one other team in it. But as Chris’ brother Jeff (head coach of the Titans) likes to say, “A W is a W baby.” Was it a battle? Check. Was there blood – sweat – tears? Check. Check and (off the record) check!
Please visit the official Out-Fit Facebook page where you will see dozens of pictures from our journey. Thanks to all who donated to Donna's Fund and Students Run LA in support of our Team. Look out for future editions of the Out-Fit report as we plan our next Las Vegas Ragnar relay in October.