Reflections

On: Toxic Productivity

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Rise and grind.

Hustle harder.

Do this one thing to be 10x more productive.

Entrepreneurs and millionaires do this one thing to be more productive.

This stuff is pushed at us all the time.

The secret trick to getting more done, the subconsious message that we are not being as productive as we could be, that we could do more, get more, have more shiny things.

Why? Why be more productive just for the sake of it? Why push yourself, risk burning the candle too far, neglecting the things that are actually important for the things that we are told are, but are simply marketing mush for someones company.

Step back, slow down, reassess.

Turn the question around. Am I doing enough to be satisfied? Do you need the second job, the productivity hack, the apparent short cut? If you do for financial reasons, then accept that, it sucks, especially if it is out of your control. If you are doing it to keep up with the challenges at where you work, are the pressures on you realistic or are the people above you using you?

Any why are we talking about this at a health clinic? Because that pressure to be “more” can have negative consequences on your mental and physical health. Yes, pushing to complete a specific goal is sometimes worth the expended effort and the recovery time after, but to keep that up endlessly leads to the wheels falling off at some unspecified time in the future, which can make you more of a liability.

Instead, aim for minimal effective dose. The least output required to exceed your needs. This leaves some in the metaphorical tank for situations beyond control, develops stress resilience and still allows you to meet the expectations on you.

Don’t be a liability.

Do that which satisfies you.

Fluid

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We are 60 -70% fluid. It flows in our blood vessels, squeezes round the lymphatic system, cushions our joints, sits between our cells and keeps us moving.

Yet we rarely use fluid movements when we move. We rarely think about it when we stretch, exercise or train. We almost never consider the effect of movement on the fluid flow, how we pump that precious ocean around us.

And most of the time that’s fine, the body will manage itself ok, it has done for years.

But maybe, being present and considering fluid might add an extra dimension.

When stretching, imagine the tissue being squeezed like a sponge, and allow a fluid pump to take place. When mobilising joints, hold that synovial fluid in your mind and feel it cushion, protect and lubricate. Give time in each position for the fluid to flow, in or out.

And be fluid in your movement.

Admin and organisation

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Most truly successful people have one secret.

A very simple one.

Not a ritual, or protocol or supplement.

Its a practice that they have either had thrust upon them or is inately part of who they are.

Good personal administration.

Making sure the correct item is where it needs to be when its needed. Making sure the correct paperwork has been filed.
Making sure they have kept up their contact network efficiently.
Making sure they have prepared to be on time the majority of the time.
Making sure they have the support network they need.

Some of us are better than others, many achieve fantastic things in spite of thier percieved inability to be “organised”.

More of us are discovering that we are neurodiverse and have been fighting an uphill battle against our own unique pyschology.

That feeling that we are pushing water all the time, while others are gliding smoothly ahead.

They are simply swans. Paddling furiously against the current while looking effortless.

For the rest of us, good admin means finding the correct tool. The unique system that allows you to remember where to be, when, and with what.

Not lots of them, as that adds layers of chaos, but one, or maybe two.

For me, it starts with mind maps and spider diagrams. this allows me to get the noise in my head onto a screen. Ideas are recorded in a notebook. Appointments are on a big wall planner. Family information goes on a white board in the kitchen. It all builds constructively and allows for good communication.

I like the pocket notebooks from Kurzgesagt (https://shop-eu.kurzgesagt.org/collections/pocket-notebooks) as I am a supporter of their channel, but you can find lot of others ways.

What has this to do with fitness, health and being a better human?

Everything.

If you find it challenging to exercise, as there is not enough time, find a tool that helps you choose. If you find meals and nutrition a barrier, look for a way of planning ahead and removing those blocks. If you’re under stress due to constant tardiness, take a few moments to look ahead.

For me, I am always slightly late for things as I remember a hundred other things that need to be done just as I’m heading out, underestimate the time taken to complete that task, constantly believe I can time travel, and can never find the kit and keys i need.

I’m working on it, and so can you.

Good admin can save the world, just a tiny bit.

On: Inputs

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You are the sum of your inputs.

Obvious, really. But go deeper. Look in a mirror. What you see is the cumulative effect of your past.

You. Are. The. Sum. Of. Your. Inputs.

Everything you consumed, whether that is food, fluid or information. The external influences surrounding you. The choices you made.

Sometimes we cannot change our external influences. Whatever some 20 something instagram influencer may say, you always don’t get the choice about where you currently work, where you live or the demands placed upon you by life.

But you do get to choose the nutritional quality of what you eat, what you drink, the activity you do and how much time you spend on specific activities.

If you don’t like what you see in the mirror, start to change it.

Look hard. Not at the superficial aesthetics, but at your root health, fitness and attitude and work on those.

Less time idly scrolling through your phone, more time reading real books. Less pizza, more fresh food. Less sitting on your sofa, more activity.

Small positive changes can accumulate.

And of course, if you have any concerns with regards to your fitness, aches and pains and if you would appreciate professional support, we are here to help.

On: Gravity

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We exist in a gravitational field. You may not appreciate it for the most part but it has influenced your evolution for the past few billion years.

What we don’t tend to do it treat clients or patients in the appropriate gravitational plane. We barely even consider it.

And yet we wonder why we sometimes don’t have the success that we want when resolving issues.

We assess and examine while the patient stands or sits, then lie them down for our convenience.

Instead, why not examine and treat them in the plane that leads to dysfunction. This may lead to insights and interventions apparently disconnected from the presentation but linked and required.

Swimming problems? Standing exam is fine, but clarified in prone, sidelying or supine. Running issues? Listen to the body then treat sitting at the very least. Lower back pain? Get the patient to demonstrate relieving and exacerbating positions and listen, then apply your skill.

Want to create a relaxing outcome, then perhaps removing gravity is a good thing, unloading the heart and helping the lymphatic and venour drainage systems work effectively. But for more active therapies, it may be that following the gravitational field is a good idea.

Using gravity may well offer that differnce that can improve your practice.

Using gravity to change the relationship of the patient can pay dividends.

On: Nature

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Take a walk in your head. Out into the countryside. Not the bucolic picture of fields and animals and Sunday afternoon picnics, but the disconnected country. No mobile phone, dark woodlands, no shops or easy takeaways for food and water. Go further. Away from all the signs of humanity. The raw and unfiltered natural world.

Could you thrive there? Could you survive there? The experts will tell you in a temperate environment, you have 3 days without water, three weeks without food although in reality it would almost certainly be faster than that before death caught up and tapped you on the shoulder.

Even people who spend their time in that world, who practice and prepare, would not travel out without caution and care.

Because we are, as humans, pretty rubbish. We are not the apex predator we believe ourselves to be, far too many of us are prey animals with forward facing eyes (apparently the mark of a hunter).

We moved from hunter gathers to agriculture around 12000 years ago. And even before that we worked best in tribes, and carrying tools.

Knowledge weighs nothing, and although you may never need to know how to find and filter water, what plants can be eaten or how to catch and dispatch animals, spending time outside and reconnecting with the real world away from devices and screens, preferably with others is demonstratably good for you in every way. And of course, if you wish to learn those other skills, then find a reputable teacher who can guide you safely. Instagram, as one instructor put it, is not your coach and nature will still win if you fight her.

Even better is to find a tribe to do it with.

Learn to move, to feel earth under your feet and let your eyes settle on a distant horizon.

Your body and brain will thank you.

On: Self, Family, Community

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We are all linked, it is one of the joys and pains of humanity. We are nothing more than mammals that tell stories, and make tools, but far too many of us forget that and think we are above and disconnected from the rest of nature.

Reconnection with what supports and upholds us is vital for all of us, and all of us. No person is an island, or can exist for long as one. Neither should we. As the wheel turns, and peace becomes war, light, dark, the fragile nature of nature is revealed to those who recognise it.

What has this got to do with promoting optimal physical and mental health? Everything.

Unless we take time to listen and reconnect with our body’s requirements, we cannot develop. If we cannot develop, we cannot support ourselves. If we cannot support ourselves, we cannot support our families, our communities and the wider world.

For example, regular mobility work means less risk of injury, which leads to less time off work, or training. Improving your diet means better health and less need for medical support at some point in the future. And, if you are seen to be doing these by others, you might inspire them to try as well, another unintended benefit.

Looking further out, if we can help our family reconnect then we can have a positive influence on them as well.

And so on.

We must reconnect and re-engage with our selves, then our family, then the community, all the time holding onto the natural environment that supports us.

If you feel you need any help working though musculoskeletal issues that could be holding you back from being an asset, please contact us to see how we can work together. And then our skills can be used to help improve you, and the positive changes can roll on.

On: Simple

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Simple is not the same as easy.

In fact, most of us complicate things, because simple is hard work.

If you look at the goals most of us want to achieve, they seem simple, yet we fail so often. Partly through our own weakness, partly through temptation, and mostly because the simple route is the hardest.

Want to get stronger, slimmer, richer, have better relationships? Good. Admirable goals. Now go work at them.

Stronger? Train, not just exercise. Sacrifice something important to get there.

Slimmer? Be careful what you wish for, lets change that to optimise your metabolic health. Now don’t have the take away and exercise regularly.

Richer? Spend less than you earn, clear up your debt burden and be creative with investing.

Better relationships? They take a lot of work, mostly on yourself.

All simple goals, all challenging and resource consuming.

And seek support. We can’t help with the financial or relationship goals, although being healthier and more resilient can have huge positive benefits in all aspects of your life, but we can support you with getting stronger, healthier and more resilient.

Contact us and see how we can help you upgrade.

On: Training

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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: Brevity

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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.