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07 Sep 2016

I will never forget June 17, 2011. I fell down on the ground of the house I was living in at the time after I got up from the couch I sat on. I had such a constant sharp pain in my lower back, I could not walk. I crawled to my car, then started it, and I peeled out of the driveway.  The pain increased every moment I was seated, and I was stuck in DC area rush hour traffic on my way to the urgent care on top…

24 Apr 2016

CASS Fitness would like to give a warm welcome to Adrian Nicotra. He is our newest certified personal trainer. Adrian is an NASM Certified Personal Trainer and he is currently working on his NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist certification. Adrian lives in Alexandria, VA. He trains in Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church, Tysons, McLean, and Vienna. He specializes in strength training, corrective exercise, fat loss, weight loss, and bodybuilding. Adrian is an excellent motivator to his clients inside and outside of the sessions. He inspires them to be their very best and…

22 Apr 2016

The Bird Dog or the Alternating Quadruped Opposite Arm/Opposite Leg Raise is an exercise to help strengthen your lower back, abs, and glutes. It is a low impact exercise that frequently is used to help relieve lower back pain and to help prevent it from happening in the first place. Instructions: Place yourself in a prone position with both hands and knees on the ground. Your hands are directly beneath your shoulders and your knees are directly beneath your hips. Keep your core tight and maintain a neutral alignment in…

29 Dec 2015

Stretching your quadriceps is very helpful, no matter what sport you play, what type of exercise you engage in, or if today is your rest day.   The Quadriceps or "Quads" as most of us call the muscle group, consists of the four muscles on the front part of your thigh. Those muscles include the vastus lateralis, the vastus intermedius, the vastus medialis and the rectus femoris.   Quadriceps stretching can benefit you in several ways:   Increase your energy Improve your blood circulation Improve your flexibility Decrease stiffness and…

16 Nov 2015

The Hip Flexor Stretch is one of the most important stretches you can do. Most people have tight hip flexors, stemming from lots of sitting. Imagine if you sit for eight hours at work, sit for 1-3 hours a day for your commute (Yes, that is common in the Washington, DC area.), then sit on the couch when you get home? That is a recipe for not only overly tight hip flexors, but as a result, you could very likely experience low back pain. Also, tight hip flexors could pull…

10 Apr 2015

I want to introduce you to the deep glute stretch. If you run, you may already be familiar with it. Our hamstrings get tight from our everyday activities, especially if we are sitting for a long period of time regularly. Tight hamstrings can result in low back pain. This is an excellent stretch if you have low back pain or have pain in your hamstring (especially in the area that connects to your glutes). This is also a great stretch to help prevent pain in your lower back, hamstrings, and…

07 Apr 2015

The Floor Bridge Hold is one of the top stretches to help stretch and reduce lower back pain. The exercise is low impact on the body. The Floor Bridge Hold also strengthens your glutes and hamstrings. Here is how you do the Floor Bridge Hold: Lay on your back with your hands by your sides, your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Make sure your feet are under your knees. Tighten your abdominal and buttock muscles. Raise your hips up to create a straight line from your knees…

27 Mar 2015

Below is a link to the best self-myofascial tools that we use for muscle recovery not only for our clients, but we use them ourselves! From Foam Rollers for the back, legs, and hips, The Orb (More details to come on its wonderful benefits, including a wonderful self-myofascial release for the glutes), the Theracane for the upper back and shoulders, and basics such as the lacrosse ball and tennis ball.

28 Jun 2014

This article is probably geared more to men, but you or somebody you know can probably relate to this. We want the showoff muscles...the biceps, the abs, the chest, and to a lesser degree, the upper back (Even though it should be just as big of a priority as your chest, but that's a totally different topic.). We figure that cardio exercises are good enough for our legs, and what female really cares about our legs anyways? How many people do you see walking around the gym with a jacked…

24 May 2014

Everyday activities can place a lot of stress and compression on your back. Sitting in office chairs, standing up all day, even laying down on a flat bed puts a little bit of compression on your spine. Your spine needs decompression to keep it from becoming too tight. Excess compression can lead to injury. The most well-known way to decompress your spine is to hang upside down on an Inversion Table. Not everybody has an inversion table. However, there is an alternative that feels just as good and is just…

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