FITNESS 101: ASK AUDRA
Audra Yocom is a certified personal trainer based out of Los Angeles, who will be answering your fitness questions on a weekly basis (every Monday) and will also bring you monthly fitness tips via her regular column (resuming in April) to help us to disspell those myths we’ve all been subjected to regarding fitness at one point or another in our battle with the bulge. You can also hear Audra with her fitness tips during the early morning (5am – 7am) A.M. Blast block of upbeat tunes geared towards your morning workout and via her new “Fitness and Health” Show the second and fourth Wednesday of every month at 7:30 pm on intraffikradio.com (http://tinyurl.com/intraffikradio) or under Intraffikradio under the eclectic section under iTunes Radio. To learn more about Audra or to inquire about training sessions visit her site http://audrayocom.com.
QUESTION: As a drummer, having full range of motion with my wrists is a big deal. Is there anything I can do to prevent a wrist injury/carpel tunnel or to strengthen my wrists?
ANSWER: Strengthening the muscles of the wrist is a great way to prevent injury. The wrist curl and reverse wrist curl are great wrist strengthening exercises. To do a wrist curl you would rest your forearm on a flat surface with your palm facing up. Place a small dumbbell in the palm of your hand and curl your wrist upward. It’s similar to doing a bicep curl but bending at your wrist instead of at your elbow. For the reverse wrist curl you would turn your hand over so your palm is facing down and then curl your wrist up toward the ceiling.
In addition to wrist strengthening exercises you’ll want to stretch the muscles by rotating the wrist in a circular motion in both directions. Then extend your arm out in front of you and point your fingers to the ceiling. Lace your other hand’s fingers through the extended hand and pull gently toward you. Then point your fingers to the floor and gently pull your palm toward you again. It’s also a good idea to ice your wrists to avoid swelling or inflammation. Be sure if you are playing drums for an extended period of time to take frequent breaks to stretch and relax your muscles.
QUESTION: I’m a night owl and really enjoy going for a run at night. Unfortunately, sometimes the run leaves me a little wired when I should be getting to sleep. I’ve tried switching to running in the morning, but found I don’t enjoy it as much. Is there any type of wind-down exercise/routine that I could do to not have to give up my night runs and also not sacrifice getting a good night’s sleep?
ANSWER: Unfortunately I run into the same problem myself. I, too, am a night owl and would prefer doing my workouts at night, but I’ve always found that I can’t fall asleep when I do this. I’ve tried everything including taking melatonin and Tylenol PM. The only things that I’ve found to help a little is to do my work out early enough in the evening to give my body a chance to wind down. I also do relaxing yoga stretches, meditate, and eat a healthy snack to fill my stomach just before going to bed.
Audra will be answering your fitness questions every Monday. If you have questions you’d like answered you may email her at Audra@intraffik.com or send to info@intraffik.com. To see if your questions have been addressed check out past “Ask Audra” Column Entries here