Injury Prevention

Feb 14 2018

Why Strengthening Your Pelvis Is A Really Good Idea

Imagine your house with a weak, shaky foundation—every room and floor begins to sag and fail. In your body, the pelvic floor is that vital foundation, supporting everything above it. Ignore it, and you invite widespread imbalance and dysfunction.

Pelvic Floor—Your Body’s Hidden Powerhouse

The pelvic floor is a hammock-like group of muscles and ligaments stretching from the pubic bone to the tailbone. Its job is to:

Support and stabilize crucial organs—bladder, bowel, uterus or prostate, and rectum.
Control continence—preventing accidental leaks of urine or feces, especially with coughing, sneezing, or jumping.
Maintain healthy sexual function
Stabilize the pelvis and spine, integrating with your abs, glutes, diaphragm, and other deep core muscles.

When the pelvic floor is weak, prolapse, pain, and dysfunction can occur—organs shift, muscles don’t move right, and serious issues like bladder infections, prolapse, or incontinence can arise.

Why Training Your Pelvic Floor Matters (For Everyone!)

Women: Pregnancy, childbirth, and hormonal changes impact the pelvic floor. Training these muscles can ease birth, speed recovery, prevent incontinence, and improve sexual health.
Men: Prostate health, continence, erectile function, and core stability all depend on pelvic floor health.
Strengthens the “foundation” for better movement, posture, and injury prevention in sports, daily life, and aging.

Beyond Kegels—A Holistic Approach

Kegel exercises (contracting and releasing the pelvic floor) build awareness and basic strength, but true pelvic health requires a more holistic approach:

Integrate other muscle groups: obturator internus, piriformis, adductors, glutes, abs, psoas, and diaphragm work with the pelvic floor and must be trained in harmony.
Stretching and balancing: Proper tension and flexibility ensure each link is doing its job, preventing overload or weakness.
Learn to isolate and coordinate the pelvic floor—sequencing contractions, learning independence, and building synergy with related muscles.

Complexity Made Simple

Yes, pelvic floor health is complex! But don’t let complexity keep you from starting. Begin with Kegels, build body awareness, and expand training as you learn.

Start small, then work up to more advanced, whole-core movements.
The key: Your pelvic floor should act as a “floor,” not open like a “door.”

Read the science and get your personalized pelvic health plan:
OMT: Osteopathic Manual Therapy

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Feb 05 2018

Doing “Just” What Feels Right In An Exercise Program Isn’t the Best Route Exercises Can Hurt You

Hey, Everybody, it’s Ekemba from SolCore Fitness. Not every exercise that feels great is good for your body. Why? Because most of us don’t have total access to or awareness of our bodies—especially in areas impacted by old injuries, tension, or imbalances. We work out to “gain access,” to really feel and balance the full system. But until then, “feeling good” during exercise can be misleading and even risky.

Case Study: Why “Feeling Good” Can Backfire

A member joined us after an accident left her liver inflamed. We developed a targeted approach—balancing her diaphragm, pelvis, and surrounding fascial chains. She made progress. Over the weekend, she did some group stretching that “felt fantastic” at the time, especially side bends. Unfortunately, her liver was still sensitive. That movement, though pleasant, compressed and stressed her liver, triggering pain. What felt good wasn’t actually safe for her physiology.

Many people make a similar mistake in their own fitness routines—picking only exercises that feel good, or only the ones they prefer. Negative consequences might not show up right away, but over years, hidden imbalances can lead to joint wear, pain, or dysfunction.

The Science: True Body Balance and Awareness

Real body wisdom comes from training all structures, knowing what each area needs, and learning to listen to subtle feedback—not just chasing what feels comfortable. Diaphragm, pelvic floor, and fascial connections are especially complex. Their health is linked to proper breathing, mindful movement, and core integration—not just one “feel good” activity.

Balanced programs involve:

Coaching and assessment to identify weaknesses and risks.
Progressions that cultivate both mobility and stability.
Full-body movement routines (not just “favorite” exercises) to align and wake up all structures.

Take Action: Train for Whole-Body Balance

Start simple: build body awareness, learn proper breathing (including diaphragmatic breathing), and work with a professional to develop correct patterns and progressions. Don’t trust just your instincts—trust evidence-based programs and feedback.

Dive deeper into safe, balanced fitness routines and how to truly educate your body:
Segmental Muscle Strengthening

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Jan 29 2018

Sitting At Your Desk Like This Will Help Your Back and Neck Pain

How’s it going? It’s Ekemba from SolCore Fitness again—answering your questions about the best posture for sitting at a desk or in your car.

First, a critical truth: Prolonged sitting is hard on the body. Anything stagnant stresses circulation, muscles, and joints. Standing desks have helped, but trade-offs exist—standing too long shifts the problem to the feet and circulation. Your body wants to move, so break up sitting time by walking, doing jumping jacks, or stretching every hour.

Desk Posture Science: Three Essentials

Monitor Height: Line your eyes with the top third of the screen—too high or low strains the neck, throwing off posture and spinal alignment.
Elbows & Hips: Aim for approximately 90 degrees. This reduces compression in the hips and elbows. Feet should rest flat on the floor, with thighs parallel—a position supported by ergonomic evidence to minimize back and leg strain.
Movement & Breaks: Break sitting every 30–60 minutes. Gentle walks, standing, or desk stretches—like a seated arch or standing back arch—combat the body’s natural tendency to creep into unhealthy positions.

Exercise Tip: Open Up Your Shoulders

Don’t just sit—move, even while seated. Try the “five-part shoulder” exercise to open your shoulder girdle:

Sit forward in your chair, grow tall, reach arms out, push away, lift arms to the ceiling, push forward, do a row, open and close the doors, reach toward your opposite shoulder blade, and repeat.
Do 5–10 rounds periodically throughout the day.
Notice which parts feel hard—these areas often need more stretching and myofascial work.

Why Myofascial Stretching and ELDOA Work

Poor posture rounds the spine and compresses joints. Myofascial stretching and ELDOA target muscle chains and joints, opening the body for better alignment and reducing pain. Targeted stretches support correct sitting position and long-term resilience.

Explore systematic approaches for office posture, stretching, and pain relief:
ELDOA: The Ultimate Spine And Joint Exercises

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Dec 06 2017

Get in Shape to Run, Don’t Run to Get in Shape

Hey, it’s Ekemba from SolCore Fitness again, answering one of the top fitness questions—should you just start running to get in shape? Absolutely not. You want to build a strong, balanced foundation before you go pounding the pavement.

Why Preparation Matters

Let’s start by looking at simple walking. For someone weighing 100 lbs who does 10,000 steps per day—that’s about five tons of cumulative load on the hips and joints. When you run, that force multiplies, sometimes reaching three times your body weight with every stride. Desk jobs, sedentary habits, and old injuries leave most bodies imbalanced—hips, abs, posture, and muscle chains are weak or tight.

Jumping into running, hiking, or even fast walking on an unprepared body is like loading the tilted Golden Gate Bridge with cars. Sooner or later, the structure fails. That’s how people end up with worn cartilage, chronic pain, or joint limitations years down the line.

Science: Running vs. Walking—Impact and Benefits

Running: Builds muscle, boosts cardiovascular fitness, accelerates calorie burn, and supports bone density—but only if joints and connective tissue are ready for those repeated high-impact forces.
Walking: Lower impact, easier on the joints, and far more sustainable for beginners or those with chronic pain. Both deliver excellent health benefits, but walking puts less stress on your frame.

Whether you walk or run, preparation and balance are everything.

How to Prepare Your Body

The solution is simple: get in shape to run, don’t run to get in shape. Before hitting the trail:

Practice myofascial stretching to lengthen and balance muscle chains.
Integrate segmental strengthening to stabilize small, critical muscles holding posture and limbs in place.
Use corrective movement techniques like ELDOA to open joint spaces and restore healthy alignment before high-impact exercise.

These methods prepare your body for loading, keep every joint moving well, and dramatically reduce your risk for overuse injuries, pain, and joint breakdown.

Explore balanced, science-backed movement and injury prevention here:
Global Strengthening (GS): The 7 Primal Movements Exercises

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Sep 26 2017

Why You Should Stop Foam Rolling For Your Fascia

Foam rolling is widely used to “loosen” muscles and relieve tension—but evidence now shows it may actually damage your fascia, the tissue connecting every part of your body.

The Science: How Foam Rolling Impacts Fascia

Fascia is a sensitive, dynamic system that absorbs shock, communicates feedback, maintains posture, and coordinates movement. Forceful rolling—especially with dense foam or PVC—can create microtrauma:

These tiny tears trigger local inflammation and tissue stress, not true repair. Your body thinks it has a minor injury and launches an inflammatory response.
Persistent foam rolling leads to more soreness and dysfunctional compensation—not better movement.

While foam rolling gives short-term flexibility gains, research shows they fade in minutes. The tissue rapidly returns to its baseline state, meaning it does not create lasting change or correct faulty movement patterns.

In at-risk populations (osteoporosis, diabetes), foam rolling can even cause fractures or complications due to excessive load.

Why “Feeling Good” Isn’t Always Healing

Many use foam rolling because it feels good, especially after tough workouts. But relief doesn’t mean restoration—rolling compresses rather than slides or aligns fascia, masking bigger movement dysfunctions and possibly worsening nerve or tissue health in the long run.

Safer, More Effective Alternatives

Myofascial stretching: Specific stretches lengthen and hydrate fascia, opening chains, and restoring true body balance.
ELDOA: Targeted postural stretches decompress joints, improve tissue health, and create long-lasting mobility.
Manual therapy (“pumping”): Trained therapists gently slide fascial layers, restoring gliding and communication—rather than just compressing.

These approaches build true resilience, pain relief, and healthy function for your whole system.

Learn more about safe, restorative techniques for fascia health:
Myofascial Stretching: The Best Total Body Active Stretches

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Jan 19 2017

Personal Training Success Story Santa Fe – Brian DeBenedetti

My name is Brian DeBenedetti, and I teach construction skills to young adults earning their GED along with a construction certification. I’ve always been tall, athletic, and (honestly) sometimes clumsy, working in the trades most of my life. For as long as I can remember, my lower back was always giving me trouble.

I tried every modality I could find—yoga, acupuncture, you name it. Nothing truly helped me consistently maintain my lower back health or let me get out of bed pain-free, enjoy life, and keep teaching. SolCore Fitness has been the best thing I’ve found.

Ekemba is sometimes a little bit like a drill sergeant, but I needed that. He keeps you on task, giving clear, constant directions for every pose, so you actually learn how to multitask and move with precision. He’s consistent, focused, and everyone likes him. Kim was great too. SolCore Fitness has truly worked for me, helping me overcome back issues and improve my daily life.

Why Brian’s Results Matter—Science of Moving Beyond “Quick Fixes” for Back Pain

Chronic lower back pain often stems from years of imbalance, poor posture, and repetitive strain.

Yoga and acupuncture may offer temporary relief, but evidence shows that consistent, structured exercise programs focused on mobility, core strength, and active guidance create long-term improvement and pain prevention.
Expert-led sessions like those at SolCore Fitness use biomechanical cues, real-time corrections, and individualized progressions—helping students learn to move smarter, not just harder.
Regular participation and accountability build habits that last, restoring function and resilience far beyond the gym.

Brian’s story highlights that sustainable results require more than “good intentions.” Knowledgeable coaching, consistent effort, and holistic implementation transform daily movement and lifelong health.

Explore personal training for pain-free movement, core strength, and lasting relief:
Personal Training and Manual Therapy

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Dec 26 2016

The Amazing Benefits of Keeping Fit for People in Santa Fe!

Regular exercise is much more than burning calories. Fitness improves the way your body and mind feel at any age—and research shows it’s even more essential than just losing weight. Check out eight trusted benefits:

Eight Trusted Benefits

Healthy Heart: Exercise strengthens your heart, improves circulation, and lowers your risk of heart disease.
Stronger Muscles and Bones: Workouts build muscle, increase bone density, and prevent injuries—especially for older adults.
Fat Burn and Calorie Boost: Fitness increases metabolism, helping your body burn calories even when you’re resting.
Lower Stress: Movement triggers endorphins, relaxes your mind, and helps you shake off anxiety after a tough day.
Better Sleep: Exercise helps you sleep deeper and recover faster—so you feel refreshed.
Improved Focus: Workouts boost brain circulation, helping you think faster and stay clear-headed.
Lower Blood Pressure: A fit heart pumps blood more efficiently, which naturally lowers blood pressure.
Better Posture: Regular fitness keeps your spine healthy and your posture strong, keeping back pain away.

Fitness for Every Age and Level

Anyone can practice fitness. Whether it’s flexibility, strength, or movement, there’s a program for every age and every body. Consistency brings long-term benefits—inside and out!

Explore group exercise classes and holistic programs in Santa Fe:
Group Exercise Classes

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Dec 05 2016

Personal Training Success Story Santa Fe Janette

Being in the fitness field, it’s impossible not to get attached to the people you work with. Some of my greatest joys come from getting to know each person, hearing their stories, and seeing the progress they make. Janette’s journey especially exemplifies this process—her determination inspires me daily.

Janette, about 40 years old, arrived at SolCore Fitness with the body and spine of someone much older. She was in constant, semi-debilitating pain. Her duty to family and hope for relief kept her going, even through days when just making it home meant collapsing without energy for her loved ones.

She sought help from numerous practitioners—chiropractors, massage therapists, and physical therapists—but her pain only grew worse. Not even routine tasks, like bathing her daughters, were manageable. Unable to take pain meds and unwilling to risk spinal fusion, Janette tried acupuncture and found a measure of relief before she reached out to SolCore.

On her initial visit, the wall stretch brought tears to her eyes as tissue was realigned. This pain was tough, but necessary; healing often requires working through discomfort where tissue has “healed out of order.” Janette showed remarkable commitment, doing every stretch and exercise, even at home. At one point, her husband questioned why she kept going; her answer was simple—“Because this has to work.”

Over time, her pain faded. Janette is now lifting, running, and—most importantly—present and active with her family. Her advice: “Keep going! Take it one class at a time, do your homework, and when you don’t feel like going, go anyway. Even a little bit can make a dramatic difference.”

Q&A With Janette

What made you decide to start a program?
“I was sick and tired of pain. I’d tried everything, but your program spoke to me. I dove in.”
Previous strategies?
“Lifting, running, acupuncture, and PT—none worked. I was told nothing could be done.”
Biggest achievement?
“My pain is almost gone. I can play with my kids, work out, and enjoy life.”
Favorite and least favorite exercise?
“Love lifting. The lower/mid thoracic ELDOA’s are tough but essential.”
Current challenges and goals?
“Continuing posture correction and losing 10–20 lbs gained during inactivity.”
What do you like best about SolCore?
“It works! The personal attention and well-designed program make sense.”
Advice to members?
“Be consistent, do your homework—even just a bit helps.”
Advice to those on the fence?
“Just do it. Commit for at least three months to feel real change. If it can work for me, it can work for anyone.”

Janette’s Extra Thoughts:

As a nurse and lactation consultant, Janette faced degenerative disc disease and repeated injuries. At 39, she was facing cervical fusion. “SolCore was a last desperate search. I didn’t want surgery—I wanted my life back.” After trying everything and feeling depressed, Janette felt blessed to find Ekemba and SolCore. “Ekemba saved my life. I recommend this to everyone—family, co-workers, and friends. ELDOA keeps you strong and prevents disability with age. The aging process shrinks us; fitness rebuilds our bodies and keeps us moving.”

Explore personal training and chronic pain solutions for lasting recovery:
Personal Training and Manual Therapy

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Oct 19 2016

Hey Santa Fe! Get Off Your Tush! Sitting is the New Smoking, but is Standing the Answer?

Is Sitting Really the New Smoking?

It’s no secret that modern life means too little movement. Research shows that sitting more than six hours a day leads to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, disability, and early death. The American Cancer Society’s 18-year study of 123,000 subjects found higher death rates in those who sat longest. It’s why excess sitting is now compared to smoking for its negative health impact.

Are Standing Desks the Best Solution?

Pros and Cons Backed by Science

Standing desks have surged in popularity. Companies like UpDesk report massive sales growth, and studies confirm that breaking up sitting time can reduce musculoskeletal discomfort, boost energy, and improve posture. Interventions with sit-stand desks show improvements for some markers of cardiometabolic and vascular health—especially when combined with overall movement.

Yet, evidence also points out limits: calorie burn from standing is minimal. Long hours of standing can lead to enlarged veins, compressed spine, and even reduced productivity if done excessively. Dr. Jos Verbeek highlights that the research on standing desks is “fashionable and not proven good for your health,” and studies caution against standing all day.

Risks of Prolonged Standing

Spending too much time on your feet can be as problematic as over-sitting. It raises vein risks, can worsen lower back pain, and doesn’t solve underlying inactivity.

What Can Santa Fe Actually Do?

Movement Is the Real Solution

Real progress comes from changing habits—not just switching from sitting to standing. Experts recommend moving every 30 minutes: sit for 20, stand for 8, and use 2 minutes to stretch or walk. Structural tweaks like placing the printer farther away or restricting easy elevator access help encourage movement. In long-lived regions like Okinawa, Japan, people sit on the ground, get up often, and walk as a primary mode of transportation—all proven to support cognitive health and longevity.

Walking is the Ultimate Medicine

Decades of research confirm what Blue Zones like Okinawa show: regular walking directly counters the negative health impact of sedentary life and is tied to extended lifespan and cognitive health.

The Balanced Truth for Santa Fe

While standing desks aren’t the full answer, neither is constant movement. The healthiest approach is intentional activity: reduce sitting, use standing as a tool, and make walking, stretching, and frequent posture changes a normal part of every workday.

Learn more about posture, mobility, and movement with Global Postural Stretching:
Global Postural Stretching

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Sep 06 2016

How To Silence That “Excuse” Voice and Stay Motivated In Your Fitness Routine

Everyone Starts With Excitement—But Staying On Track Is The Real Challenge

Most people kick off a new exercise program in Santa Fe with strong intentions—new gear, a fresh schedule, and high expectations. But it doesn’t take long for that sneaky, negative voice to show up: “You can skip today,” “One treat won’t matter,” or “Sleep in, you’ll work out later.” It’s the queen of rationalization, popping up just when you least need her.

Why That Voice Appears—and How To Beat Her

The best strategy? Get super clear about your goals and more importantly, why you deserve to reach them. Ask yourself: Why now? What changes when you succeed? Having a Big WHY makes it much easier to override excuses when the days get busy or emotions run high.

It’s also realistic to expect that voice after tough days or long stretches. Rather than fighting it, start every morning with a simple affirmation about your direction. “What will I do today for my health?” Keep your WHY front and center as you move through daily routines. Journaling really helps, too—recap wins and set intentions for tomorrow so progress stays visible.

Small Steps Create Big Success

Lasting change is built through small actions repeated daily. Focus on what you can do today, not just the distant goal. That negative voice will try to minimize daily decisions, but you know better—every step counts. If you slip up, just get back on track and continue building the momentum.

Consistency Strengthens Motivation

Eventually, as your routine becomes more solid and those excuses lose power, you’ll find the nagging voice pops up less often. True results aren’t about perfection—they’re about sticking with small moves and showing up for yourself, day after day.

For added support, check out SolCore Fitness personal training and manual therapy—where group encouragement and expert guidance help keep positive habits alive:
https://www.solcorefitness.com/personal-training-and-manual-therapy/

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