Fitness Contrarian

My house just got hit with an 18-inch snow storm. We lost power for two days, had no heat, had a half a dozen big trees come down and our phone is still not working. It’s seems like the winters are getting longer every year. One thing I have learned when it comes to big snow storms is not to shovel snow anymore. I learned my lesson years ago with numerous (…)

There are many benefits to icing your injuries. Icing is a proven way to decrease inflammation and swelling, and reduce pain. In this video, I will show you how to use a Dixie cup to give yourself an ice massage.

Using a Dixie cup is a great way to ice any part of the body. It works particularly well for tennis elbow and all tendinitis injuries (…)

Most people have no idea the level of risk they are taking while working out in a gym. I’ve been in the fitness industry for over 25 years and have seen way too many injuries and accidents due to inappropriate training.  What many gym members don’t understand is that there is a risk-reward ratio for [...]

For years the standard way to relieve over use tendon injuries was rest, ice and strengthening. But research has shown that how you strengthen a tendon makes a big difference in how quickly you can get relief. If you have a chronic tendonitis that turned into tendinosis and are not getting better you should consider [...]

Quick tips to get rid of tennis elbow:

Loosen the strings in your tennis racket
Consider changing to a more flexible tennis racket
Wear a tennis elbow support
Ice your elbow for 15 minutes right after you play
Consider taking anti-inflammatory medication (ask your doctor)
Rest your elbow

Keep in mind the reason you have tennis elbow is [...]

Tennis Elbow Treatment from Mike Cola on Vimeo.

A herniated disc in your back or neck may not be the cause of your pain. Dr John Sarno states in his book Healing Back Pain that “it has been my experience that herniated disc material is rarely responsible for pain or other neurological symptoms”. If you have back or neck pain and a MRI [...]