On: Training

Posted by The Camford Clinic

You’ve been in the gym, in the pool, or on the road. You’re turning up, putting in the hours. And yet, you’re not improving. The weight isn’t shifting, the personal bests are not rolling in, the same old faces as the same competitions still shake your hand, the race finish time is about the same as last year. You can’t actually do more miles, or lift more weight, as other commitments would suffer, and you’re on the cusp of overtraining.

Frustration abounds.

But…. are you training or exercising? We can too often convince ourselves that we are training, simply because we are going through the motions and turning up. The difference? Exercise is exertion, training is progressive overload with rest and retesting points. Fitness posers exercise, gym bros exercise, older people in village halls exercise. Exercise is good, its vital to positive health, but past a certain point it won’t necessarily lead to the changes you’re wanting.

However.

Perhaps there is another way.

Take a break. A few days off, or if that sucks mentally, a few easy days. During that time, define some baseline movements that matter to your discipline. A defined distance for running, swimming or cycling. A set of lifts that matter, a benchmark workout.

Then go for it. Have a test week. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it, and if you can’t manage it, you can’t improve it.

See how good you are, push it and draw a line in the sand. Go far, go fast, go heavy.

Take the results, sit down, with an expert if you can, or yourself and a pad if you have a good training knowledge.

You can always get stronger, improve mobility, hone skill, but then look honestly at what you’re good at, what you need to improve, then broaden the scope. Actively look for the weaknesses. Can you improve your nutritional base line, your sleep, your recovery?

Write a plan, stick to it, record, then in 6 weeks, do it again.

You will get better.

Maybe, finally, your power to weight ratio will improve, your 5K time will crack the that precious mark, your bear complex will get better.

Test, reflect, plan, execute.

If you find mobility is an issue, an injury doesn’t respond to rest, you want some nutritional guidance, or another expert opinion, then come see us. With over 20 years therapeutic experience, 30 years of practical involvement in sport, and a unique perspective on life, we may be able to help.

Onwards.

On: Advocacy

Posted by The Camford Clinic

I don’t have your best interests at heart. Why would I? I have my own stuff to deal with once our interaction is over. The criticism, fear of failure, and self doubt in my mind. Administration, other patients, personal and family concerns, my own health issues, background noise, the passing comment from a colleague that got stuck in my head and keeps rattling around, the alerts and distractions on the screen in front of me. That’s not even counting the 30 or 40 other interactions I will have today, another 8 patient appointments and the meetings related to those.

As a medical professional I try my best to push those aside, to silence them and focus on you. To give you the time and attention you need and deserve, to bring the years of training and experience to bear on your behalf. To know when to treat, when to advise and when to refer. And hopefully at the end of our consultation together, as we conclude our interaction, you will feel listened to, reassured and aware of the next steps.

But I don’t have the time to advocate for you, to have your long term best interests at heart and ensure a life plan is laid out before you. You simply get the time slices I can afford, amongst all the other pressures.

Thats your responsibility. It has to be. This is a 2 way relationship. Come to me for treatment, support, advice and reassurance. Then take control of the other elements yourself, to make sure everyone is working towards the overall goal of longevity and optimal health.

Be your own advocate.

On: Brevity

Posted by The Camford Clinic

If i’m lucky, in my life, i’ll see snowdrops bloom 80 times. If i’m extraordinarily fortunate, i’ll see a hundred.

80 times to watch fragile flowers pop through the cold soil and welcome in a new year.

I’m over half way through that.

And yet I rush forward, always forward, not paying attention to the world around me, except when I need to, not stopping to pause and actually live.

Drawing our focus to now is challenging. There’s always something demanding our attention, another thing requiring energy. However, you only have a finite existence, a given number of trips around the sun, a single pot of energy to draw from. Therefore brevity is necessary.

Why waste it on trivia and noise, distractions and reactions to stimuli you cannot control? Why allow pain defined by others create the motivation for you? Ignore the news cycle, unplug from social media, take control.

Be brief in your interactions if they are not part of your overall goals, and give that extra time to the things that matter to you. Cut your expenses so you can give more to what matters. Cut your inputs to optimise your outputs.

Seek support if there are areas that do require input. A therapist for physical restrictions, a medical professional for clinical concerns, a psychologist for mental wellbeing, a coach for positive input.

From that you can grow, move forward, be better.

Optimise the body, upgrade the mind.

On: Movement

Posted by The Camford Clinic

Note: if you’re a seasoned gym goer, this isn’t going to be for you.

Leggings and trainers on, new t shirt, new attitude.

Old body.

A common problem. You’ve got your new motivation, goals set and defined, but after a couple of days, you’re sore, stiff and tired.

Your body hasn’t had time to learn.

If you haven’t moved and exercised vigorously for a while, then time is needed for your soft tissue to change, to adapt, and begin to grow.

And, if you’re a little older, then you need show your body some love to clear the worst of the scar tissue and old injuries first.

From zero, walk. From walking, move weights, from weights and walking to increased cardiovascular load (running, cycling, swimming, rowing etc) and more frequent / intense weights.

Your overall goal should be 3 -4 sessions a week of decent cardio, with an elevated Heart and Breathing rate, and 2 sessions of Resistance Work. If you do CrossFit in a good box, or circuit training classes, you can get this in one session, but anything is good.

If you find injuries that need addressing, niggles that need support, or want a more individual plan based on your body, experience and goals, then contact us, or a professional near you.

Move, you evolved to.

On: Eat to Move

Posted by The Camford Clinic

Flip the script.

Don’t think what is a good or bad food. Other than chewing asbestos or drinking brake fluid, most things we consume are not intrinsically bad for us.

Your body doesn’t see a burger with added cheese and a plate of chips as unhealthy, it sees it as a huge stack of macro and micronutrients. (Macronutients – Fat, Carbohydrates, Proteins. Micronutrients – vitamins, minerals, other compounds). Neither does it see an avocado and salmon salad as healthy. Again, it rapidly reduces it to things it needs and things it doesn’t.

The difference is that the burger probably contains more things that the body doesn’t need, whilst the salad probably contains more that it does.

And herein lies the crux of the matter. If you consume too much of anything, there are detrimental effects. And if you consume too little, ditto. Both lead to poor health, in different ways.

In a modern western society, for the majority of us, we are fortunate that a lack of macronutrients is not an issue. The quality of those macronutrients become a matter for debate and education, but not one for here. So, we mostly suffer from an excess, with the consequential effects of excess weight, poor health and reduced healthspan.

So flip the script. Concentrate less on what you eat, whether it is a “good or bad” food. Eat to move.

If you want to lose weight, eat a little less and move a little more.

If you want to gain weight, eat a little more and move to stimulate the body.

Simple in principle, challenging in practice.

If in doubt, or if you want a more detailed discussion, please do contact us or another qualified professional.

Make a start, the journey ends at the end, but is worth it every day.

On: Breathing

Posted by The Camford Clinic

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 path to mastery

Posted by The Camford Clinic

First there is apprenticeship. A period of learning the basics, preferably from a master. Often boring, often hard work, apparently pointless if you don’t understand the process.

Eventually, you move on, the masters think that you have learned enough to be safe, to go and independently continue to develop your skills. This is the journeyman phase, and can last many more years.

Eventually, you may achieve mastery of your chosen craft and are a craftsman. This doesn’t mean you can stop learning, merely that you are at an expert level.

However, within this is the fact that there are levels even in the mastery and many do not make it beyond journeyman.

You can see this is almost any domain, from programming to medicine, artist to bricklayer. There are a multitude of journeymen who can do a good job, competent, safe, knowledgeable. These people will provide the backbone, the core of work. They should be working toward mastery, honing, polishing, reflecting.

But you will know when you meet a true craftsman. There is the extra moment, the way they handle themselves and their tools, the way they can see a problem and frame a solution.

Aim to be a craftsman in all you do, and aim to work with as many craftsmen as you can. Find the best and mirror, watch not just what they do but what they don’t do. How they hold their hands, and how they hold their body. Listen to your own body and see if it is allowing you to do the job as efficiently. If you’re studying a more cerebral skill, such as programming or an art, look at the surrounding inputs, their environment and their basic toolset.

And then realise that that final element is a gift, one that they have succeeded in realising. But realise also that few find that final boundary, any hard work is rewarded.

Work hard, explore the boundaries and maximise your skills.

Optimise the body, upgrade the mind.

On: fitness to survive

Posted by The Camford Clinic

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

Posted by The Camford Clinic

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: Beyond movement

Posted by The Camford Clinic

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.