Stupid Pool Games

Another summer-fun warning: Don't horse around in the swimming pool--it could kill you.  Seriously.

Last weekend, while sitting at the pool, I noticed two young girls, probably in their teens or early twenties, playing a strange game of dunking each others heads in the water and holding it down for several seconds.  Although it was probably only ten seconds at a time, I couldn't help but think...how stupid.

It got me thinking of a story I read the week before in the New York Post of two young men in their twenties found floating face-down in a Staten Island public swimming pool.  These guys were playing games too, although theirs was of a different nature.  They were practicing breath-holding as a way to condition themselves for an upcoming entrance exam for the Air Force's elite Battlefield Airmen commandos.

One of the men died at a hospital that day, while the other died five days later.  Both men were twenty-one years old.

These were no out-of-shape poor swimmers, either.  One was a city lifeguard, and heading to the Air Force, the other wanted to be a Navy SEAL.  Making it matters worse, they were only in three feet of water.  Apparently, the men suffered cardiac arrest while holding their breath for an extended period.  Because of the large size of the swimming pool, lifeguards did not see nor respond to the men quickly enough to save them.

The men were regulars at the pool, conducting their conditioning routine by swimming and doing underwater situps (duh!), as well as other aquatic workouts.  A spokesperson for the Air Force stated that the military advises against certain breath-holding exercises or swimming underwater at length to avoid "shallow water blackout," which can lead to drowning.

So that brings me back to my original point: What is with the stupid water games?  Dunking heads?  Listen, if you didn't know before, now you know--you can blackout, even in shallow water, and you can drown.  You can have cardiac arrest like our two young countrymen who were both by all accounts in "excellent-shape."  Don't think it will happen to you?  This tragic story out of New York shows it can happy to anyone, even the most unlikely victims.  Don't be foolish in the water.

West Hollywood Chiropractic: Abdominal Hollow Exercises to Strengthen and Stabilize Core

We hear a lot about the abdominal core (especially since it's been designed by Navy SEALS...just kidding) for good reason, it's nature's support belt--it stabilizes and protects the lower trunk, the pelvis and the spine.  The term "core" is a current buzzword in fitness circles, but it's more than just the abdominals.  It's a group of muscles working together, dynamically to stabilize the body during movements.  It's includes abdominal muscles for sure, but low back, pelvic and spinal muscles contribute to the function of the core.


The video below shows an outstanding exercise--the abdominal hollow--I give to all my West Hollywood chiropractic clients to strengthen their core.  I call it a basic building block because, despite its effectiveness as a solitary movement, it is an integral part of numerous compound exercises that I give my clients as they advance through a sports rehab routine.  Simply put, it's the best fundamental strengthening exercise anybody can benefit from, no matter what shape you are in.

Watch the video below to learn how to do the powerful abdominal hollow exercise, and do it daily.  I guarantee within six weeks of doing this exercise every day, your core will be solid and your low back will have more support, leading to--less injury and less low back pain.  Have fun.

Designed by Navy SEALs

Hey, try my new workout...designed by Navy SEALs.  Oh, and my new supplements...designed by Navy SEALs.  And I've got this great new chiropractic adjustment...yup, you guessed it, designed by Navy SEALs.  In fact, if YOU have anything you'd like to sell, just add the line "designed by Navy SEALs" to the title or label and voilà, instant top seller.

I'm laughing at all the stuff Navy SEALs seem to have time to design--from training programs (two major ones I've found--I guess Navy Seals North and South have competing workouts) to exercise equipment, to diets (swear), fighting two wars hasn't stopped this elite fighting force from providing YOU, the American consumer, a kick-ass fitness routine.

C'mon, anybody can be a Navy SEAL!  Just do the workout...see!

"Designed by Navy SEALs," along with "organic," "all natural," "hormone-free," and other BS labels are a way to market products.  Hey, I'm not knocking it, I'm just enjoying the absurdity of it all.  If you want to believe that your new program is designed by the Navy SEALs (as opposed to some dude who was simply in the Navy SEALs, and is now laughing all the way to the bank), then be my guest.  Just watch out for the Green Berets.

This blog brought to you by UC Berkeley Molecular Biologists.