Health and Fitness

On: Breathing

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We all do it, 16 times a minute, it’s been written about on here before. But how much attention do you pay to it, as a messenger of your current internal state?

Start by putting your hands on your abdomen, and sniffing. You should feel your diaphragm move. If you have difficulty initiating belly breathing, this is a great technique to find it.

Breathe 10 slow breaths, in through the nose, controlled and slow out through the mouth. Focus on your diaphragm moving smoothly.

If you use this to do a quick body scan, you may find all sorts of areas of tension and holding that you were otherwise oblivious to. You can then note these to work on later, when you have mobility and movement practice.

As you become more adept, you will also notice when your breathing shifts, a cue to your internal stress levels, and a hint that your body is shifting gears for some reason. If you can pause, reflect and assess, it may help you focus on a message your body has been trying to tell you.

If you really want a challenge, pause your normal training for a week, and just focus on breath and mobility work. You may notice a significant improvement in your training when you return, not just from the rest and recovery you have allowed yourself, but in the way you are able to access other underlying systems.

Of course, if you find any areas of restriction or concern, see your general medical practitioner and come to us for further support, education and intervention.

Breathe. Live. Move.

On: The basics

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As practitioners of any form, the more experienced we get, the more tempting it is to forget the basics, and yet, most problems can be resolved with techniques we learned when we were first studying.

Hopefully, we can apply them with more finesse, and refined judgement, but generally, the basics remain true.

  • Structure and function are reciprocal and related
  • We are the product of our environment
  • The body has the capacity to heal itself, given the correct inputs
  • The body wants to maintain a stable state
  • Movement is a hierarchy

If we, as practitioners, reflect and apply these to every patient we see, we can know whether to treat or refer, where to focus our attentions, and if the person is following the recovery path that we would expect, given what we know.

And then, we will have an outcome that, if not what the client expects, is more likely to be what they need at that point.

On: Rehabilitation / Prehabilitation

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The best way to recover from an injury is to not have an injury.

Other than the sort you simply cannot predict, the majority of injuries are caused by poor preparation or the inability to adapt dynamically to the situation.

Rehabilitation goes through three main stages.

  • Pain management
  • Ranging
  • Loading

First, control the pain. This is both passively and actively. Once the pain is a under control, it is a return of function, within that pain free zone. Optimise the range of motion, or activity that is available without causing excessive complaint. Finally, the loading phase, where we return to activity, initially graded and then competition.

This is, of course, a gross simplification of the tasks at hand, offers no insight into the variety of techniques considered, but is offered as a thought guide for the observer.

As stated at the beginning, the best rehab is prevention, through prehab. Prepare better, prevent problems.

Everybody has a weakness, a compromise point, or an area that appears to be less effective, so train those out to become more capable.

Seek professional input if you are prone to niggles, seek professional input for coaching if required and build steadily. Social media is not your coach, a search engine doesn’t replace a doctor.

On: Consistency

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You are what you do.

Not what you think, read, talk about or present online. They all play a role in your self talk, but they are not you.

You are what you do. Just as your body is made up of what you consume, your mind is as well.

Choose your inputs for your desired outputs.

Want to be functionally more effective? Model those who are, with applied thought. Want a different path? Observe, reflect, change and do.

Not everyone has the physiology to be an Olympic athlete, not everyone has the mental capacity to be a theoretical physicist, but you are far more capable than you think.

So find those current boundaries and explore them, supporting yourself with good inputs, solid relationships and measurable outputs.

We are here to help you start that journey, from physical therapies to starter PT concepts.

Upgrade the mind, optimise the body.

On: fitness to survive

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Being fit is a good idea.

The fitter you are, the more likely you are to…. quite frankly be better at everything.

Of course, fitness is defined as suitable to a role or task, but in this case, we are talking about optimal health and well-being, in all areas.

Research shows repeatedly that the fitter you are overall, the greater your capacity and capability, even down to surviving and recovering from major trauma. One study even showed that, of those who experienced whiplash, the fitter people recovered faster and with less negative outcomes 6 months on than those who rated lower on activity scales.

You also are more likely to respond effectively to stress and mental pressure, since the body cannot differentiate easily, and only has a few responses available.

Fitness doesn’t have to be all leggings, crop tops and pouting in the mirror, neither does it have to be muscles, grunting and maximal exertion. It’s about building a base capacity, optimising power to weight ratio and being more capable.

So, if you’re struggling, start by doing something.

We have a starter plan we regularly offer to clients that simply involves:

  • Walking for 10 minutes at a brisk pace
  • Then:
  • Stepping up and down for 20 steps on each leg
  • Touching the floor then reaching for the sky, 10 times on each side
  • 10 Wall pushups
  • 10 Standing rows (squeezing the muscles at the end), no load, just controlling the muscles.
  • Repeat the movements 3-5 times
  • 10 minutes brisk walking

Simply by adding load in, and changing the movements for more dynamic ones, that can be almost infinite in scope. Steps become lunges, wall pushups become burpees, rows become pull-ups, floor to sky becomes a dumbbell snatch, walking becomes running and skipping.

Move. Improve your capacity, capability and resilience. Become more human, upgrade the software, optimise the hardware.

Of course, before beginning any health journey, if you haven’t moved for a while, seek professional medical support first to clear you for takeoff.

Onwards and towards a better healthspan.

On: The cost of entry

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You can do anything you put your mind to. Dream, believe, achieve. Hustle and grind. All of these are worthy motivational statements. And all ignore the cost of entry and the cost of continuation.

This is the effort, time and material required to even start on the path, and maintain momentum. If you want to set up a small business, there is the initial outlay for kit and materials, even if you are working from your kitchen table (often things you don’t expect), as well as the energy required to become proficient and the time required to learn business management. If you want to become a personal trainer, first you need to get qualified then find a stable clientbase. Become an astronaut or surgeon? Start planning from as young as possible because the baseline requirements are so high.

How does this apply to movement and motivation? If you want to start doing something active, the cost of entry doesn’t have to be high. You probably already have a pair of shorts, leggings, trainers and a top that will start and if you find something you enjoy, the cost of continuation will be low, since the cost / benefit equation is biased favourably.

Remove the roadblocks one by one and you will get there, wherever you define there to be.

On: Finishing

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Start with the end in mind. Easily said, not always easily carried out. And sometimes you will never finish.

Putting up a shelf, yes. It may be technically challenging, if you don’t have the requisite skills, but it is specific and attainable.

When it comes to health and longevity, there is no endgame before death.

Instead, flip the problem.

Check in with each decision to see if it will contribute to the desired outcome (not dying early / staying healthy for longer). Smoking / Vaping? No. A third beer? No. A walk during your lunch break? Yes. Salad over chips? Yes. Making art over scrolling mindlessly? Yes.

We cannot change our genes, we can’t avoid the end, but we can influence the small things that add up.

Choose life every day, simplify and allow space for the universe to give you things.

On: Beyond movement

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There are the eight prescribed movement patterns: flex, extend, rotate, push, pull, squat, lunge, walk.

But beyond that is the ability to do them smoothly and under load.

For example, when out walking, without losing step, run your fingers along the ground. That involves walking, flexing, lunging and an element of rotation.

Now repeat the action raising your hand over head to touch a tree leaf. Again, walking, extending, rotation.

The more complex the move, the more we challenge our neuromuscular system, the less spare capacity we have and greater the risk of subtle injury due to compromise.

Therefore, we should train these elements. Not just the standard gymrat moves, but through play.

Look at an object and play with it. A plate carried overhead. A tree branch that can be climbed on or over, or under. A line on the pavement to walk along, skip over, or walk backwards over.

Look at the environment as a playground, and use it to improve the way you move.

Injury proof yourself through play.

On: Delayed Gratification

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There is a relatively well known psychological study where the experimenters place a marshmallow, or other tempting treat, on a plate in front of a child.They then leave the room, promising that, if that item is still there when they return, the child can have more of them. Of course, many of the children cannot resist the sweet and will consume it immediately. Others find ways to distract themselves until the adult returns.

What is particularly interesting is that those who are able to delay gratification and not eat the sweet tend to do better in other areas of life as they grow and develop, as though this skill is transferable.

Almost everyone struggles with weight loss. We all know the benefits of optimising our weight for health, but the reality is that the process is incredibly challenging. At least with a marshmallow you get 2 when the tester returns, in weight loss you simply don’t get negative things a long way down the line. Frankly, its is the ultimate delayed gratification, if we ignore the Abrahmic concepts of Heaven. The true payoff comes at the end of a life hopefully well lived, when you perhaps get to enjoy a longer healthspan.

Assuming that the rest of the body’s homeostatic mechanisms (hormonal balance, neurochemistry, renal function, cardiac function etc) are correct, then for all the diet tea adverts and weight loss pills, weight management really is an energy management equation with no shortcuts. Precisely how that energy is composed and therefore how your body uses it is another matter, but for the purposes of most people’s understanding, if you consume more than you require, if goes in the baggage and you end up carrying it around, leading to pain, dysfunction, and increased risk of disease and early death.

However, don’t eat that nice pizza / pasta / curry / noodle bowl or we may have to chop your leg off in 20 years time doesn’t ring true with the hungry monkey deep inside who thinks that tomorrow might not come either, food is scarce and resources need to be hoarded. We struggle to make the long term interventions that will make a difference because the pay off simply doesn’t exist on most people’s radar.

To manage the monkey, we need to work with it, not try to beat it. Eat a little less (especially energy dense, processed foods) move a little more, use resistance training to optimise muscle mass and reward yourself for the small wins. Just don’t obsess over the scales and remember there are no cheat days.