Different Exercises seen in a Visit to Suria Akhara, Varanasi

Found this video.  Thought it was super interesting to see a whole different way a culture strength trains. Never have seen the type of squat with the big wheel on the bike.  Those were some big Jori Clubs.  I'd like to try out the big steel mace sometime, that looks fun.

Weekend Coffee #5

Get your favorite coffee, sit down and peruse some good readings from the last few weeks.

Understanding pain is a very complex subject and Chronic Pain is even worse.  Sometimes an understanding of what is happening is actually very beneficial to the patient.  This was a nice article.  Teaching the Nervous System to Forget Chronic Pain.

Another Pain article, do you have a tissue problem or a pain problem.  Just framing it this way can lead to greater understanding for both patient and clinician.  Does Your Patient have a Pain Problem or Tissue problem.   Never forget that tissues heal.  

Keeping with the Pain theme, Olympic athletes and pain.  This article tells why pain is good and is needed to for sports performance.   It allows a barometer to effort.  But, the brain tells lies long before the body gives out.  Athletes are more pain tolerant.  Training to live with Pain.

Nothing to do with pain or reading, but I really enjoyed Mike Mahler interview of Tom Furman on this podcast.  As I learn more and more, I think I align my thoughts more and more with someone like Tom Furmans thinking.  Just something I've noticed about myself.  

Obesity, Microbes and Thoughts

I came across this info graphic the other day and was struck by it's clarity.  Obesity in under 20 years has risen dramatically everywhere in the US.

Is it the lack of physical exercise?  Gorging on junk food?  A combination or something else.  Growing up I think I existed on white bread, fried bologna, fruit and Tang.  I don't think my mom could get me to eat anything else.  Not sure I ate anything green until I was out of college.  LOL.  But, we didn't go to fast food and we didn't really snack.  (Perhaps it's not just the quality of the food, but the quantity)  A medium these days would have been like an extra large a few years ago.  Sun up to sun down I was running around though.  Every kid was.  We had gym class.  We rode bikes everywhere.  There was constant motion.

This article will be sure to make you rethink the obesity and food problem as well.  Do our microbes, our gut bacteria, control more then we think.  It may not be just move more and eat less when you ARE obese.  I think it's very different problem to keep obesity from happening then having an obese person reverse it.  Obesity and Gut Flora.

The Real You - Alan Watts

What I Learned Recently: Deltoid as a Damper

Reading though a book last night, the author presented the idea that in Gait, the deltoid acts more as a stabilizer then as a mover.  The Arm swing is more to provide a shock absorbing system almost to allow the neck to be a stable platform.

The deltoid is an interesting muscle with its pennate fiber angle.  It is active in the forward and backward swing of the arm, but is active because of, not to create it.   It absorbs the rotation of the body to help keep the head level.

These ideas are based off research by Pontzer, Holloway, Raichlen and Lieberman.  Control and function of arm swing in human walking. 

I often find that patients have a hard time really engaging the deltoid and want to shrug or flex the biceps.  The Delt is a direct continuation with the trapezius, so it makes sense.  Also, the trapezius contracts just prior to heel strike in the gait cycle.  Another mechanism to help keep the head level and not allow the head to pitch forward.

Cool Stuff.  Reading through Born To Walk, by James Earls.

Ancestral Health and Matt Smith Talk Low Back Pain

I thought this was an excellent talk on low back pain.  How obesity, exercise, physiology can all influence acute and chronic low back pain.  Sometimes just understanding a little of this can help those dealing with lower back pain.  "What exactly is going on?"

There are some awesome points on exercise and why one thing can work for someone and not for someone else.  Definitely worth the time to watch.

American Ninja Warrior Training

In case you have never heard of American Ninja Warrior, it's a show on NBC.  People run through an obstacle course that is intense on Grip and Core Strength.  This year the show has seen the first women and the first 50 year old make it to the finals.  It's a pretty fun watch in my opinion.  There are also a lot of people doing hanging challenges, so I thought I'd put some thoughts to this.

What I've taken away is the type of training that you must do to be successful.  What got me really thinking was a Bobsledder I know competed and while he put up a nice effort, didn't make it very far.   At 220lb I don't care how much you climb your grip isn't lasting that long.  So first thought, no more then 185lbs.  You are just working against yourself if your are heavier.  I'd say 165 is more the ideal.   So weight loss equals instants strength endurance gain.

Must be able to hang in the 1/2 lockout position for 3 minutes.  That would be elbows at 90 degrees.  Simple, but not easy at all.

Must be able to hang in the full lockout position for 3 minutes.  That is arms fully extended.

2 minutes of back and forth on the monkey bars.  Not only does this get used to the pattern of alternating arms, it's dynamic and endurance at the same time.

Be able to swing from a bar and try to reach out and land in front of of you with your feet.  8-10 feet is a good goal.  (I was surprised at actually how hard this was for me when I first tried)  It looks easy on TV.

Not many people will have a warp wall, but if you can run up to a 12 foot wall and propel yourself up, there is a good chance the warp wall won't stop you.

Run quickly over a balance beam or something narrow slightly off the ground.  The cement stand alone curbs work well.

PREVENTATIVE

Your forearm muscles will take abuse.  Make a peanut with some lacrosse balls and tape and roll those muscles for at least 5 minutes each, every day.

Bear Crawls will help to stabilize the shoulder girdle and get those muscles stronger to allow more intense training sessions.  They also act as a dynamic forearm flexor stretch.  Incorporate these into all your training sessions.

Kids parks make great training places.  Pull ups, monkey bars, dips.  Climb trees.  Ledges off buildings will hold new meaning.  Join a rock climbing gym if there is one in your area.

More Random Variety on Your Weekend

I'm starting to think Foundation Training may be more then just simple glorified hip hinge.  Found this video interesting and after doing it feel my body enjoyed it especially after doing a few hours of riding my fat bike the previous day.  I'm going to play around with a variant of pushing my knees out against a resistant band instead of just pulling them in.



Speaking of fat bikes, I made the switch about a month ago.  Talk about fun!  The main reason is I can ride longer without elbow pain as the tire pressure is so low it seems to absorb more then my front shock.  Win.  Also, when it comes to fitness, for me if I can get a better workout more efficiently  (same with less time) that's a big win.  If you are dealing with vibration type pain in any joint and are a mountain biker, you may want to look into trying out a fat bike.

For people that run business out there, I found this article pretty on point.  When I first opened my clinic, I tried to do everything.  Then I started letting people who were around me have more responsibilities and it allowed me to focus more on just doing the stuff I love, Performance Therapy.
Operation Money Suck. 

Assessing Movement DVD Review

I just finished up the 6 part digital download from Movement Lectures called Assessing Movement.  This was the video from the conference that Gray Cook and Stu McGill debated with Craig Liebenson  as moderator that was in Stanford in January.  

Cook and McGill are huge in the therapy and performance world.  What you find in watching through the videos is that they actually have much more in common in approaching patients.  What I appreciate from Cook is his system of analysis and what it means for him.  What I appreciated McGill is his "It depends."  Nothing is cookie cutter.  What is good for Paul may not be good for Peter.  Think!

It's a 2 part download.  1-3 and 4-6.  Each is 45 dollars.  Would you pay 90 dollars to hear 2 of the worlds leaders speak for 5-6 hours?  I would hope so.  I was seriously considering flying to Stanford and seeing this in person.  I'm guessing dropping around 1200 dollars so 90.00 was definitely worth it.

But, If you are on a budget and are familiar with both of these guys work (you have read their books) I'd suggest the 2nd DVD download, 4-6.  I seemed to take more from that.  I think it's huge they give you the pdf and thoughts and reflections in the extras folder.  Some good stuff.

This is a highly recommended product.

Random and Interesting

This is a lecture that Dr. Andreo Spina did with the Chicago Cubs earlier this year.  Functional Range Release.  Great info.



Do you think it is in the realm of performance therapists and strength coaches to pay attention or have knowledge of their female athletes menstrual cycle?  It can be a personal topic, but this paper may make you think its worthwhile information.  Association of Menstrual Cycle and ACL Injuries. 

As an update, I've been doing the Iranian Twisting Push Up every other day.  I'm in amazement at how it's making my beat up surgically repaired (made it worse) elbow is feeling.  For some reason it drives the elbow into a ROM that allows a capsular stretch.  I actually feel like I'm gaining ROM in it.  Pretty amazing.

I always take articles that are primarily designed to sell you a supplement with a grain of salt.  I found this one to be of interest though.  I always wonder what doing more reading on a computer or smart phone is doing.  Supposedly it's depleting certain compounds in our eyes.  The eye is a lipid rich organ and perhaps supplementing with Astaxanthin would help.  Astaxanthin for the eyes.

Change Your Shoes for Low Back Pain

I've been playing around with the concept that most therapy is built around the idea of movement variability.  Restoring variability, restores more motion, restores more freedom and thus pain free movement.

I started thinking yesterday about how I see certain patients and many people wear the same shoes everyday, day in and day out.  Most runners own one pair of shoes till they give out.  Most people that have an office job have one or two pairs of shoes, (usually the same pair in different colors).

I have lost count of how many people have told me they had "this pain" and they decided their shoes were old, bought a new pair of shoes and "this pain" went away.

"It's gotta be the shoes man!"

Most shoes vary dramatically, small heel, big toe box, supportive arch, minimalist shoe, vibram, name your brand, they will have differences.  Perhaps these difference can be used for an advantage.  If you are someone that stands at work all day and gets any sort of pain, but I'm thinking lower back pain mostly, try taking 2-3 pairs of shoes to work and rotating which ones are worn every few hours.

Over the course of an 8 hour day, lets see if you can make 4 changes.  Just like having a pebble in your shoe would eventually change your gait, perhaps the slight variation in shoes will recruit slightly different patterns.  Enough to make some muscles that were working hard to work less and make other muscles that were under working, pick up some slack.  Change the movement variability.

Perhaps the only thing accomplished is there will be a different proprioceptive feedback from the feet to the brain and that is the only thing needed.  Perhaps nothing will happen.  But, it should be a fun experiment and with out any downside.  I've tried it with one person successfully, so lets get a bigger experiment going.

Things I'm Still Dumbfounded About

Every now and then you find yourself repeating several things daily.  Some however, I'm still in amazement that the information hasn't trickled down to the general public.  I was reminded of this yesterday.

Drawing your belly button in doesn't recruit more "abs,"  doesn't create more stability and in fact is counter productive to stability.  Just try to dumbbell curl with belly drawn in vs a brace.  

There is no exercise that will create that 6 pack.  Everyone has the 6 pack under a layer of fat.  Including me!  LOL.  That type of leanness is all diet and some genetics.  (perhaps some youth)

Running is not the only way you can keep the weight off.

If you have been stretching the same muscles for years and yet they still are always tight, guess what, it ain't working, so why do you want another stretch to do.

You have to move if you want to be healthy.  Literally move.  

You don't need to feel sore or like you died to have a good training session.  

Sleep is important.  Very important.  Skimp on sleep and eventually it will catch up with you somehow.  

Deep Squat and Rope Pull

Push the hips forward.  Great for dynamically opening up the hip.

My Thoughts On A Recent Bike Talk

I recently had the opportunity to take a bike seminar.  The topic was varied from bike fit to bikes itself.  The guys name was Jeff Noftz.  I missed some of the intro, but he at one point was a professional biking coach and still is deep in the bike community, especially on the east side of Michigan.  He has a heavy influence in eastern medicine with meridian therapy and I think this has strongly influenced his ideas with the bike.

My take on some of his points I've put in italics.

Some interesting things.  As a bike shop owner he basically said that in order of purchase importance, number one was wheels, 2nd was fork and 3rd was frame.  These are what allow you to bike fast.  The rest is just add ons.  A lot of cost is in components so good info.

He had some very nice points on fitting your shoe and cleat.  Don't look at the heel, line it up with just the forefoot.

Most people sacrifice power/speed at first by going with an unnatural position.  He feels that this holds you back at the end.  Essentially, you start riding and just want to go fast and generate power and do so in a bad postured position.  He thinks taking a better postured position to begin with and be slower allows a greater tail end of speed.  Sometimes this may take 2-5 years.   (Do athletes in their prime have this time? Also, is biking natural to begin with?)

From personal experience I don't think a bike fit should be done until after a minimum of 30 min of biking at a decent effort.  The body conforms.  Muscles stretch.  Blood flow increases flexibility.  What started as a reach becomes a comfortable position.

He basically raised almost everyone off their aerobars (this was all triathletes) by almost 2-4 inches.  He thinks you will be faster with better posture.  (I'm not sure I totally agree with this)

He came back heavily into Tai Chi on many points.  How this can help your biking.  Flow.  Relax.  Speed comes from relaxing.  Just like sprinting.  I do believe a relaxed athlete is a fast athlete.  Will this come from Tai Chi?  I don't know.  I have doubts that one discipline will carryover much to another.  As it never has in other things.  To be good at a sport, you have to do the sport.  He mentioned you don't get good at biking by biking.  (This is highly disagree with as biking is a skill, you get better at skill based sports by practicing skills)

This doesn't mean I don't think that Tai Chi and some other yoga type moves can't help.  It could be a big benefit to learn to move and relax but from a  nervous system angle.  Learning to feel muscles move and relax.  Exploring joint positions.  All this can be great things for recovery.  Recovery is crucial.

He talked about breathing a lot.  How important it is.  I couldn't agree more.  People pretty much suck at breathing.  No one practices when tired.  Learn to breath with the diaphragm when tired.  This is power, this is recovery, this is posture.

One thing we highly agree on was the over training of most athletes.  People want to train.  They think that this is how they get better.  True to a degree.  He came back and stated several times that most people never truly recover and are wasting their efforts.  (This is agree with highly.  I think most people are just spinning their wheels (literally and figuratively)  I believe endurance workouts should be so boring they are painful or so painful they make you nervous for days leading up to them and nothing in between.

People are not comfortable with either.  They love the hard effort the medium hurt.

He gave a few examples of drills to smooth out the cadence.  Mostly single leg drills.  Good things to do on a trainer in the winter.

He gave an example of people able to keep pedaling and bring their nose to the stem.  (While cool, my question is does this really matter?  I don't care about anomalies, I care about the normal of the elite.  Does this equate to such great core/balance that when accomplished equals less back pain or performance increase?  Doubtful).  

I didn't stick around for the individual bike fit so I can't comment on that to much, but I can say he is a very passionate cyclist that I wouldn't hesitate to ask questions about bikes or equipment.

Health and Performance

As I spent time today watching professional bike races in my hometown I can't help but look at how specific the body types become the better the racer.  Part is the old nature vs nurture.  We stay with the things we are good at. 

This applies to any sport.

The more we climb the ladder of athletic success in a specific endeavor,  the more likely we are to find overuse injuries and generally be less robust in life.  

The less robust statement is more of a question in my head lately then anything else. 
There is an epidemic of increase injuries in young people.   Ask any strength coach and performance specialist and they will tell you not to let a kid specialize.  It decreases athleticism and leads to injury.

Obviously at some point we choose a sport and pursue it to the extreme as moderation doesn't lead to success in athletics. 

My question or thoughts would be to integrate a training block in the off season that would be based off everything that isn't being trained.

For example,  I bobsleded as a side pusher for the US team for 2 seasons.  Sagittal work only.  Get big, get strong.  Run 30 meters pushing a sled as fast as you possibly can.  Aerobic work and rotational work amd tri planer work out.

I still feel I'm unglueing my hips from the lack of variety.

Just some thoughts as I watch the best at a specific activity.

Osteoporosis in a New Light

Osteoporosis: A Bone to Pick With Conventional Me…: http://youtu.be/tvP268zDwec

Keep the Glutes as Extensors - Not Hyper Extensors

Several times each month a patient comes in with a mild form of low back or SI joint pain that previously had not been there.  Originally seen for some type of hip pain that had been addressed and is usually starting back to their regular exercise program.

After much probing into history, exact exercises being done,  I've been able to confidently say it usually a form of standing hyper extension. 

They think they are working the gluteal muscles.  In reality, the glute is active from flexion to neutral.  Picture climbing a very, very high step.  That's the butt working.   When we try to make the hip go past neutral,  most (not every) people will slightly arch the back and create a lot of compression in the lumbar spine.

This is generally a way to create low back discomfort.  Often times eliminating the bad stuff is all you need to stay healthy!

Great and Random

Dr Rhonda Patrick brings another awesome study about alpha lipoic acids ability to reset a circadian clock.  Very important for anyone that works the night shift in my opinion or has hectic night schedule.
Lipoic Acid restores Biological Clock.  Looks like 600mg for a 150lb man.  (Hard to get that in a diet alone)

Patrick Ward talks about the importance of recognizing not only stress of workouts but also life stress.  It is underapreciated, but highly important.  Think you are going to hit a PR if you are up with a sick kid, worried about finance or work?  Life Stress and Training.  

Nice interview with Paul Carter.  Powerlifting, rugby and getting strong.  His book is called Base Building.  Interview here. 

The Big Nine for a Long Healthy Life

Today is my birthday.  Another year in the books.  Pretty great year.  As we age, there are numerous things that people and experts will say that we should do to age well.  One list comes from the book about the 95 year old master sprinter Olga, "What Makes Olga Run."  I want to sprint when I'm 95, that sounds awesome.  So here is her list.  Most of them have to to do with attitude.  Attitude is under our control.

1.  Keep Moving.  Move Continually.  Don't stop.  Don't take breaks from activity.  (I'll start again next month is a phrase I hear often)  Find a different activity if you have to.  This wards off the big 5 killers of most people.  It helps a lot with brain health.

2.  Create Routine (But sometimes break them).  Committing to the normal mundane parts of our life frees up energy for other aspects.  The body loves regularity.  But it also needs a small amount of stress to adapt to.

3.  Be Opportunistic.  No your strengths and attack them.  Some meets you will feel good, go for the PR.  Find the 20% that gives the 80% reward.  Spend your energy wisely.

4.  Be a Mensch.  Do good, be kind.  Science back this up.

5.  Believe in Something.  It actually doesn't matter what it is.  Belief is a trait that people with it tend to thrive.  "Have a chip down on the table, instead of in your pocket."

6.  Lighten Up.  Stress management is key.  Exercise helps.  Also, something called the Big Picture shift.  This is simply viewing life from space, things seem small.  The clock is running.  Don't grumble, have gratitude.

7.  Cultivate a Sense of Progress.  Find a way to improve at something!  Cultivate small wins.  This creates satisfaction and human motivation.  Move your expectations as you age, just like masters age athletes.

8.  Don't do it if you Don't Love it.  Find things you love to do, if you hate jogging, DON'T JOG.  Find something that is fun that you can love.  Should doesn't work, Want Works.

9.  Begin Now.  There is never a point that it is to late to start.  The body is an amazing thing.  It will start to respond.  It will surprise you how well it will start to rev back up if you go slowly.

Random Information to Keep The Brain Thinking

Paul Jaminet is the author of Perfect Health Diet.  Here he is talking at Ancestral Health about his "Theory of Obesity."



Every hear of using facial clues to create impressions of people that you meet?  This is becoming a way to chart athletes readiness to train and compete.  Here is the article that some of the algorithm is based on.  Modeling First Impressions.

Here is a short video that sums up the paper.  It's on the website on the website Slate.com.   Best First Impressions.  

Squat Development with Pat Sherwood

Thought this was pretty decent.

A New Movement to Learn: Iranian Push Up

I just recently heard of the Iranian Push Up from a Steve Maxwell podcast.  I think some people call it a half moon push up.  I also just discovered a simple tool called a push up board.  Not really sure it's necessary, but I haven't ever tried the push up board to see if it offers any advantages.

I'm going to play around with these and see how I like them for the next month or so.  New movements are always fun to try to learn and get better at.



Here is a circuit being done with a push up board.

Active and Passive Hang and Grip

There is a 7 minute challenge that has gone out to accumulate 7 minutes of hanging per day.  Brachiation is great for shoulder health.  I time myself each morning.  Part of my measurement of how my bodies nervous system is ready to take on the tasks at hand.  Some days I get 1 minute 15 seconds, some days only 45 seconds.  Take note of head position.  Don't stick your head out in a forward carriage.

ReExamining Your Goals to Keep Stress Away

I've written before about truly figuring out what your health and performance goals are.  Write it down and then work backwards to where you are currently.  This gives you an outline to follow.  Every month reexamine the goal, the outline, the current daily input to said goal.

For example, lets say your goal is to do a Pistol Squat.  You can have a video of it being performed exactly how you want to do it.  Video yourself doing it.  Now break down the steps to get to the pistol.  Perhaps you need help to tell you what to work on.  That would be a step.  Find help.  If you know what to do, lets say increase dorsiflexion,  do you know several exercises to do this?  Do you need help to adjust the ankle mortise?  Find help if needed.  Is it a joint restriction or tissue restriction?  Is your anterior core strong enough?  Find the exercises and work toward it.  Is their daily input?  Checklists work well.

Every month reexamine your goals.  I'm always surprised at myself when the goals that I mentally say I want to do, somehow start to fade as time goes on.  Or weeks go by without any actual work being performed.  It actually becomes a stress to me, so I think others have this issue.  (I can't be the only one like this!)

If my goal is 2x my bodyweight deadlift and I'm not doing something that brings me closer to that, that is failing.  That is a stress to me.  It's like this little itch that I'm not scratching.  It doesn't sit well and that is stress.

Every time you do something that helps towards your goal, you increase your spirit of well being.  Write down small things that can all increase you ability to achieve that goal.  Going back to the deadlift goal, here are some examples.

Hip flexor flexibility. Grip strength.  Posterior chain strength.  Upper back strength.  Form and technique.  Alignment issues.  All of these can have several examples of exercise that can be performed that can have direct carry over to helping your deadlift.

Reexamine your goals every month.  Keep daily inputs high.  Daily inputs don't have to be major things.  Keep your goal your goal and do something every day that moves you closer.  This will not only keep you on track, it will increase the well being that comes with the successfully pursuing your goals.

Volume and Frequency Training Consistently

Awhile back  I was disgusted with my pull up power.  More precisely, my lack of pull up power.  I decided to start a pull up specific program and did a large number a few times a week and a few everyday.  I went from like 3 to like 13 in 4 or 5 weeks.

Earlier this spring I installed a pull up bar in my office.  Mostly, to look at people do pull ups for evaluation purposes.  Then I read a Chad Waterbury article on frequency training.  I took a month and did one single pull up between each patient I saw that day.  So on average I was doing 1 pull up every 20 minutes or so.  Doing about 15-20 pull ups per day, 4 days a week.  I made sure not to do any pull ups in my regular workouts.

One month later, I retested.  I maxed out at 16.  So I increased my max number of pull ups without having done more then 1 rep the whole time.

I credit this with the sheer volume of the pull ups.  Almost 100 a week.  Each rep was strong and powerful.  The neural groove improved.

I'm convinced that it is no longer a moderation thing that improves people.  Improvement in anything.  It's making small frequent inputs.  Every day.  Every day.  Then keep at it.

Frequency and Consistency.

If You Want Change, Then You Change

Everyday that I work seems to go so fast it's crazy.  See one patient and then before you know it, it's almost time to go home.  I guess they call this flow.  My days Flow, except a two hour block on Wednesday.  Even my office manager has noticed.  2-4 on Wednesdays seem to go at a much slower pace.  I've always wondered why.  It sort of bugs me as like I've said, the rest of the week goes by in a blur.

So I've decided to see if I can affect this.  I normally have the same routine I do on Mon and Wed morning.  But, how can you expect something to change without trying to change?

"Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result."  Albert Einstein.

So, last night I go to bed an hour earlier.  Today I woke up an hour earlier.  I went for a nice bike ride around a lake by the house.  Did some farmers walks and push ups.  Ate a different breakfast.  Went to a different coffee shop.

Lets see what this Wednesday brings.  If nothing changes, at least I can say I've tried something.  Make an effort to change, if change is what you're after.

Learn to Hip Hinge, Eat fish and Run (less then you think)

I read the book Foundation Training awhile back and have had several patients ask me about it, so I figured I would post this video.  Nice video.  I think the message is strong and valid, but I also think it's basically learning to hip hinge and breath.  Two powerful and important things, but also simple.  If you can hip hinge and breath with your diaphragm, I think you will solve most back issues.  Most, not all.

Creators: Eric Goodman from The Inertia on Vimeo.

Eat a serving of fish every week.  The more I meet people that are either personally struggling with or dealing with family members with cognitive decline, the more I want to do things that we are potentially finding to help brain health.  This study shows its not so much the omega 3's we need but just eating some baked or broiled fish.  Baked Fish Boost Brain Health.  They think perhaps because the Omega 3's weren't that vital that perhaps the study was more on lifestyle.  Either way, eat some fish.  (Not fried)

Found this little study over at Mark's Daily Apple.  5 or 50 Minutes of Running.  Basically, they took a lifestyle chart of like 50,000 people over 15 years.  What mattered for health was running 5 min a day very consistently over years.  This was for health not performance.  More didn't produce better health outcomes.  Exercise is amazing!

Food, Mobility, Speed and Thoracic Spine

I enjoyed this article by Pat Davidson called Nutritionally Controlling the Autonomic Nervous System.  Basically, he thinks about how what he is ingesting is effecting his nervous system and how that sets up a cascade of events at the autonomic level.

I actually try to follow his basic outline of not eating large quantities of food for breakfast or lunch and having a large amount of food for dinner.  He is an advocate of the "bulletproof coffee," but I'd say only do it if you enjoy the taste.  I think having most of your  food at night provides a better nights sleep and allows the parasympathetic system to digest your food while you sleep and repair the body.

This is my current body project.  Increasing my hip rotation.



I never tire of watching fast guys run fast!  Here Usain Bolt takes the handoff...rest is history.



This was a solid article on the Thoracic Spine.  The Tspine is supposed to move. No accident that the the lumbar spine, scapula thoracic joint and cervical spine are all built more on the stability side.  So when mobility doesn't exist in the mid back, trouble can ensue.  Solving the Middle Man.

Pursue Your Dream

Misty Copeland - I WILL WHAT I WANT: http://youtu.be/ZY0cdXr_1MA

Robbie Bourke Interviews Dan Baker

Dan Baker is a name I'm quickly learning more about.  He is based out of Australia and is a very respected strength coach.  Robbie Bourke has a podcast I'm going to start paying attention to.  This is a great interview.  Enjoy.

Biking and Turkish Get Ups

Felt this was worth sharing for my biking friends.

Turkish Get Up Clinic - How the TGU Applies to Mo…: http://youtu.be/x-sY4ytzjok