Weekly Education Review

 Each week our coaches learn about certain topics which we then discuss as a group. This week:

Milenko soft tissue:

Milenko spoke about why using a trigger point combined with movement of the muscle works better to release the tissue you are targeting. This is what Kelly Starrett would call "Smash and Floss".

You apply pressure to an area of painful tissue and move the limb around in all different directions, through as much range as possible. It is like you are trying to perform your own version of Active Release Technique (ART) or trigger point therapy.

The movement is trying to "unglue" the deep mechanical restrictions of the tissue and restore the sliding surfaces.

Sarah sleep:

Sarah gave us a good review of what she learned about sleep.

• You should try to keep your circadian rhythm – this is achieved by waking with the sun and going to bed a couple of hours after it goes down.

• Manage light exposure – get blue light in the morning to wake you up / become alert. Early sun exposure is really good. Block blue light of a night to help prepare for sleep. Light sensors in the eye will be tricked by blue light into thinking it is still daytime. Blue light will suppress melatonin, which is a hormone that helps us fall asleep.

• Sleep improves your memory. If you learn something and then sleep or nap afterwards you will retain more information.

• Sleeping pills can be addictive. You also don’t go through all the sleep stages, so it isn’t quality sleep.

Some other circadian resets are the timing of your meals and exercise.

A good book on circadian rhythm is the circadian code by Sachin Panda https://www.amazon.com.au/Circadian-Code-weight-supercharge-energy/dp/1785042017/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1599944691&sr=8-1

The best book on sleep is Matthew Walker’s Why We Sleep in my opinion. It explains the why’s and links poor sleep to so many health concerns. https://www.amazon.com.au/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501144324/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=matthew+walker&qid=1599944812&sr=8-1

Some articles on sleep we have put on the site:

https://www.totalhealthperformance.com.au/post/2017/01/17/sleep-and-memory

https://www.totalhealthperformance.com.au/post/2017/08/01/sleep-more-to-increase-speed-and-performance

https://www.totalhealthperformance.com.au/post/2017/09/23/keeping-a-regular-sleep-routine-improves-health

https://www.totalhealthperformance.com.au/post/lack-of-sleep-and-it-s-impact-on-hormone-levels

https://www.totalhealthperformance.com.au/post/2018/07/31/sleep-to-lower-your-risk-of-injury

https://www.totalhealthperformance.com.au/post/benefits-of-napping

Toby mechanical advantage technique:

Toby talked about the 1RM front squat straight into the back squat for as many reps as possible.

• This is a way to prolong the time under tension on the muscles.

• It is an accumulation technique for a relative strength phase when done like this. You could use it for relative strength and also functional hypertrophy.

• If you wanted to use it for hypertrophy you could do mechanical advantage drop sets. Basically you take the hardest variation of a lift and then work towards the easiest. An example workout could be:

A1 – Pull Ups – 5 x 6-8, 40X0, 10 seconds rest

A2 – Chin Ups – 5 x max (maybe 1 or 2), 40X0, 10 seconds rest

A3 – Chin Ups Neutral Grip – 5 x Max (maybe 1 or 2), 40X0, 120 rest

If You’re Not Growing, You’re Not Living

August 19, 2018

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Nathan Waters - Total Health Performance

If you're not growing, you'r not living. Now some people might read this and think I have turned into a body builder over night but I am speaking about evolving as a person and learning more. Each day I try to progress in a few key areas of my life whether it be my training, my coaching, or my relationship with loved ones. There are core values that I keep but there are still many things that I continue to question so that I don't get bogged down into the same thought patterns. This way I feel like I can continually evolve as a person and continue to help more people along the way. 

In my reading this morning I was reading some of Benjamin P. Hardy's work and came across the following. He was talking about how you knew if you have really found your passion and purpose.

"In what ways have you positively changed in the past 12 months to more fully live out this purpose?

“Anyone who isn’t embarrassed of who they were last year probably isn’t learning enough.” — Alain de Botton

If you’re not changing, then you’re not committed to something important. Commitment requires transformation. If you’re not being required to change for something greater than yourself, then you don’t know what loves means. You’re still too focused on yourself.

People who are obsessed with themselves don’t believe they need to change. They think the world should form itself around them.

People who are committed and passionate are intense learners. They serve those who are most important to them, and they use their gifts to transform a specific group of people. They don’t need willpower to get to work. They are being pulled forward and can’t be stopped. They are self-actualized because they have transcended themselves. Their life is so rich with purpose they are often humbled to speechlessness.

If you’re not growing, you’re not living. Humans were designed to evolve and grow. Being stuck in a suppressed cycle of addiction to unhealthy emotions is not what you were designed for. You were designed to expand beyond your pain, to be healed of it, and then to use what you’ve learned to help others."

I think the question is important for us to ask ourselves constantly. Training many people and coaching a rugby league team shows me many examples of both sides of this coin. I see guys who do change positively each year and they continue to progress and still have an impact on winning games but then there are others who don't change and they are falling behind or being overtaken by young hungry guys rapidly. 

Its the same with someone who comes in with a goal to improve their health. Some people want to learn and better themselves and they do all the things necessary to achieve their goals. These people grow both physically and mentally as people. They improve their nutrition, they start training, they have more energy, they are more productive, they turn into better people in all areas of their life, and in turn they start to help improve the life of their loved ones. 

Ben goes on to say: 

"In order to change, you have two choices. You can either act above your current environment and emotions, or you can create an environment far above your current self that forces you to rise up.

Both are necessary.

Continually, you need to be acting, thinking, and living above your current circumstances. Also continually, you need to be proactively surrounding yourself with people, projects, and responsibilities that humble you — forcing you to find something within you that you didn’t know was there."

I think this is very good advice. 

 

Tags:

mindset