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Strides Human Performance Institute

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Strides Human Performance Institute

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Strides Human Performance Institute, Gym/Physical Fitness Center, 221 Pine Street, Northampton, MA.

08/11/2021

We are all (staff and clients)
wearing masks again so as to follow Northampton's recent mask mandate. We will keep you posted with any other changes related to Covid and our policies.
Our clients are great and fully understand the need for mask wearing indoors at this point.

03/02/2021

FMS Assessments:

What is FMS?

-FMS stands for the Functional Movement Screen, and it’s an assessment that we frequently use with our clients here at Strides! The FMS evaluation is a series of 7 tests with the purpose of assessing how well we move so that when starting exercise programs, we are putting exercises in the program that will optimize movement potential as well as reduce the risk of injury by identifying imbalances and/or weaknesses that can be worked on through the use of corrective exercises.

What does the assessment specifically evaluate?

-When thinking about our movement, the focus turns to our function at our joints (as Gray Cook says, our body is really a stack of joints). Each joint has a need to either be mobile or stable when it comes to our movement. Starting from the ground up, the joints alternate between needing mobility and stability; for example, the ankle needs mobility, knee needs stability, the hips need mobility, etc. These 7 tests evaluate our ability to be mobile or stable at our joints from the ankles all the way up to the shoulders.

-The tests are scored on a scale of 1-3 (or zero if pain is present during any point of the movement). It’s super important to note that scoring should not and does not mean “good” or “bad”!!! It’s simply a way to evaluate the level of mobility/stability so that accurate and appropriate corrective exercises can be programmed; everyone moves differently!

The Seven Assessments: (Listed in the same order as their corresponding videos)

-Deep Squat (hip & ankle mobility, knee stability, shoulder/thoracic spine mobility)

-Hurdle Step (bilateral hip mobility, knee stability, ankle mobility)

- In-line Lunge (hip/ankle mobility, knee stability, quadriceps flexibility)

-Shoulder mobility (bilateral shoulder range of motion, scapular mobility, t-spine extension)

- Active Straight leg raise (Hamstring/Gastroc/Soleus flexibility, pelvis stability)

-Trunk Stability Push-Up (Trunk/Spine stability)

-Rotary Stability (Multi-Plane Trunk Stability)

Have more questions about FMS and/or getting an assessment done? Don’t hesitate to message us!

02/25/2021

Also Featured on our Instagram page ():

Sandbells!!! Sandbells are a unique type of exercise equipment that are somewhat a cross between a sand bag, dumbbell, and medicine ball. Sandbells are a great type of equipment to use because:

1. Since the sand shifts within the bladder of the sandbell, there are many ways to grip the sandbell during exercises resulting in a more natural and practical grip that you can’t necessarily do with traditional dumbbells or medicine balls

2. As humans we are constantly subjected to load changes and weight distribution on our bodies (and our muscles); think about all those times when you’re carrying multiple grocery bags in each arm and you move one bag to the other arm because it was too heavy on that arm - the load change is when we start picking up all the bags, and the change in weight distribution is when we moved that one bag from one arm to the other! Doing exercises with the sandbell resembles this load change and change in weight distribution because the sand shifts freely within the bladder also requires your body and brain to adapt to the change in weight distribution as you do an exercise, allowing us to train so that we optimize our efficiency when being subjected to those load changes every single day!

3. Safety!!! Using a sandbell for exercises especially ones like overhead weight slams into the ground (video included in post) ensure the equipment will not bounce back up into your face, and if you were to accidentally drop equipment onto your foot it would not crush/injure as likely as if you dropped a piece of metal equipment!

No sandbell? No problem! Here’s a quick easy way to make your own sand bag for when you’re at home!
All you need is:
- whoopee cushion (or thick balloon)
- play sand
- *optional* fabric & sewing tools

All you have to do is fill the whoopee cushion with as much sand that will fit or until you fill to the desired weight for the equipment (as shown in the pictures below), and secure the opening of the cushion (I used a strong adhesive like gorilla glue or flex seal and covered it with tape just to be safe!) and to customize all you have to do is sew two pieces of circular fabric and stitch all around! I put my home made sand bag to the test by doing russian twists, a turkish get-up, and overhead weight slams!

02/17/2021

from our Instagram page ():

One word: ADAPTATION!!! Here at Strides we are always creating ways to make sure our clients are performing the exercises they need to regardless of what life throws at us. Here is one of the ways we think of creative solutions to adapt to certain situations: Here we have one of our awesome athletes named Izzy who recently suffered a foot fracture and as a result was in a boot for recovery. Since she could not do exercises that bare a lot of weight on the feet, we needed to think of a way to make sure she was still able to workout her lower body leg muscles in order to keep muscle balance between the lower and upper body, as well as maintain those lower body muscles while the foot is healing!

Our Solution?

We set up a leg extension exercise using a plyo box, resistance bands, and an anchor point (the squat rack). The band loops around the base of the squat rack, goes under the plyo box, and Izzy sits facing away from the squat rack with the band around her ankle so that when she extends her leg outward, the band creates resistance against the leg, putting a load on her quadriceps muscles – a.k.a the thigh muscles without putting force downward on her foot. However, during the exercise the band kept rolling up the leg during the extension which made the whole exercise a little uncomfortable. To adapt to this, we used a TRX attachment that would safely loop around the boot while hooking onto the band so that the attachment would stay in place despite the movement during the exercise!!

02/09/2021

Meet STRIDES Intern - Lynn Shattuck

Lynn Shattuck is an intern at STRIDES Human Performance Institute in Northampton, MA.
Lynn is currently a senior in her final semester at Westfield State University, where upon
graduation she will obtain her B.S. in Movement Science with a concentration in Exercise
Science. Lynn plans to become a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the
NSCA and work with athletes/athletic teams, as well as with the general population within her
community. In addition to being a four-year member and co-captain of the Westfield State
University volleyball team, Lynn has had experience with assistant coaching sport-specific skills
to middle school and high school aged volleyball players at clinics and camps.

01/13/2021

Here at Strides, we continue to follow Covid-19 protocols to insure a safe environment for our clients. We have chosen not to do large group classes at the present time. However, guidelines do allow us to train two individuals at once, with all wearing masks and practicing social distancing. Why not consider starting a training program for yourself and a friend? Phone us to talk about trainer availability, rates for semi-private training and/or any other questions you may have. We look forward to hearing from you.

12/29/2020

While some in the fitness industry are somewhat skeptical of individuals who make New Year's Resolutions to start an exercise plan, I think it is a good time to set realistic goals and perhaps to get some assistance to actualize those goals. Especially during Covid times, exercise can be a great stress reliever so consider contacting us at Strides to get an exercise plan in place for yourself so that you can make changes to make this upcoming year one that is better than last. Stay safe and healthy.

11/11/2020

Thank you to all the men and women who have served in the military! Your courage, selflessness, physicality, and dedication are never to be forgotten! Thank you from all of us at STRIDES!

11/01/2020

PLAY: 1.) To engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose. 2.) To take part in (a sport).

Play is whatever you make it. In my opinion, no one wants to be limited in what they do for play because of physical limitations. In addition, those who take part in sport probably want to play at their utmost potential.

If you understand the training process, if you maximize your body's potential to move, play is always possible.

STRIDES helps individuals TRAIN smarter, MOVE better, and PLAY longer.

10/30/2020

MOVE: To go in a specified direction or manner; change position.

Move or lose it! Our bodies are meant to move. Joint mobility is crucial in everyday life, not just sport. In many cases it is the crux of pain and discomfort and reduced opportunity to perform active daily tasks. Simple, bodyweight, light intensity stretches and movements can help increase mobility and your ability to MOVE.

We believe in the body's ability to MOVE so much we included it in our tagline.

Address

221 Pine Street
Northampton, MA
01060

Telephone

+14135865000

Website

facebook.com

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