Workout Boot Camps in Irvine

Please welcome the newest member of our health team.  Heidi Cohen MS is a Kinesiologist (UC Berkeley/ CSUF) who will offer an array of services to improve the health and quality of life of our patients.  Heidi has 15 years of experience working in the Health and Wellness Industry.  Some of her specialties she will provide include: Pilates, Yoga, and corrective exercise techniques.  In addition, as a Fall ProofÔ Balance and Mobility Specialist Heidi will administer balance and mobility assessments as well as private or small group training. Heidi uses her unique skills to assess and create individualized programs according to each patients needs.  Her work has proven to reduce chronic pain, decrease stress, and prevent injury, in addition to improving strength and flexibility.  For more information about Heidi’s services see descriptions below.  

Corrective Exercise- Corrective exercise training combines various forms of flexibility techniques; Active Isolated Stretching, Proprioceptive Muscular Facilitation and Myofascial Release, and strength training to help patients relieve pain and restore the body to the best working condition.  The benefits of stretching as a component of a corrective exercise program are well documented.  Some of these were recently listed on the Mayo clinic website:

·        Increases flexibility. Flexible muscles can improve your daily performance. Tasks such as lifting packages, bending to tie your shoes or hurrying to catch a bus become easier and less tiring.

·        Improves range of motion of your joints. Good range of motion keeps you in better balance, which will help keep you mobile and less prone to injury from falls — especially as you age.

·        Improves circulation. Stretching increases blood flow to your muscles. Improved circulation can speed recovery after muscle injuries.

·        Promotes better posture. Frequent stretching keeps your muscles from getting tight, allowing you to maintain proper posture and minimize aches and pains.

·        Relieves stress. Stretching relaxes the tense muscles that often accompany stress.

·        Prevents injury. Preparing your muscles and joints for activity can protect you from injury, especially if your muscles or joints are tight.

 © 1998-2008 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. All rights reserved.

Pilates- Pilates is an exercise program that focuses on the core postural muscles that help keep the body balanced and are essential to providing support for the spine. In particular, Pilates exercises teach awareness of neutral alignment of the spine and strengthening the deep postural muscles that support this alignment, which are important to help alleviate and prevent back pain.The Pilates principle of core stabilization addresses posture, muscle performance and motor control – the same concepts that form the basis of most orthopedic rehabilitation and therapy. Pilates successfully treat many common conditions and diseases, including:

• Chronic neck and back pain
• Sciatica
• Shoulder impingement/tendonitis
• Hip bursitis
• Ankle injuries
• Total knee/hip replacements
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Parkinson's Disease
• Fibromyalgia
• Scoliosis

©2001-2007 Balanced Body Inc; © 1999-2008 Spine-health.com; All rights reserved.

Yoga- The physical benefits from yoga are easily experienced, and its practice can also give psychological benefits, such as stress reduction, a sense of well-being, and spiritual benefits.  Certain poses can be done just about anywhere and a yoga program can go for hours or minutes, depending on one’s schedule.  Some documented benefits of Yoga are listed below.

·        reduced stress

·        sound sleep

·        reduced cortisol levels

·        improvement of many medical conditions (see figure)

·        allergy and asthma symptom relief

·        lower blood pressure

·        sense of well-being

·        reduced anxiety and muscle tension

·        increased strength and flexibility

·        slowed aging process

Yoga as a form of therapy has been used for managing high blood pressure, coping with the effects of cancer treatments, or treating symptoms of HIV, depression or anxiety. But lately it’s become especially popular for musculoskeletal issues like lower and upper back pain, sciatica, and shoulder, neck and hip pain.

An underlying principle of both Pilates and Yoga is use of breath.  Proper breathing has profound effects on our health. Over 70% of waste by-products are eliminated through our breathing and our skin. When our blood is heavily oxygenated it becomes very difficult for viruses and bacteria to grow in our body. Good breathing supports most all organ and bodily functions.  Therefore, the practice of Yoga and Pilates not only improve respiratory function and prevent respiratory disease, but also provide therapeutic benefits to almost every living cell of the body.   

Fall ProofÔ - Balance and mobility disorders resulting in falls among the elderly population pose a serious public health problem in the United States. Costs associated with falls among the elderly are estimated to range from $75 billion to $100 billion. Coupling this statistic with the fact that adults over the age of 65 represent the fastest-growing population in the United States suggests an immediate need for activity programs specifically designed to reduce physical frailty and the rising incidence of falls among the older adult population. FallProof! is the first comprehensive and structured balance and mobility training program to address these needs.

Traditionally, exercise programs designed to address physical frailty and falls have adopted one-dimensional approaches of aerobic exercise, resistance training, or flexibility training. However, research has shown that falls occur as a result of multiple risk factors, both internal and external, and the interplay of multiple body systems. FallProof! presents a multidimensional approach that systematically manipulates the individual's internal capabilities, the goals of the task being performed, and the environment in which the task is performed. This approach has been field tested with considerable success by fitness instructors and rehabilitative specialists working in a range of instructional settings.