Now What?

The Bar Has Been Raised. Now What?

If you’re the outsider looking in the assumption is more of the same. If you’re the one who just set the bar, it may not be that simple.

I’m of the opinion that we as a society are always expecting something more and something better. The evolution of technology is a great example. To put it a fitness spin on it think personal records, weight lifted, weight lost, distances covered and the list could go on. Based on performance alone the assumption is that every time you toe the line the result will be the same. It’s not wrong to expect the best and train that way but with that assumption one can put unrealistic expectations on others or worse, on themselves.

I’m sure you know the saying, “You know what happens when you assume…” Well, I’m feeling like a bit of an ass these days, and it's all because I’ve made unfair assumptions and expectations of myself. I’ve registered for some significant late spring, early summer races. I assumed that I could just jump right back into training, and my body would respond as it always has at this point in the year. Wrong. I shouldered a personal expectation that I would have to follow up the Ironman World Championships in an equally dramatic & arduous race. As ready as I “felt” when I clicked register, my body and mind have been slow to respond. I do place a good about of blame on Mother Nature and the weather she has subjected us to the last month, but the majority of the blame falls on me. Rather than enjoying training as something I love I’ve felt burdened to reproduce similar efforts and race results as in previous years.

Simply put the Ironman was four months ago, and I’m still not back to 100%, physically or mentally. I’m just now realizing that. So what now? Honestly, it’s doing something that is so easy to write about and so much harder to do.  Coming to terms with what I thought I could do and what will probably happen is OKAY! This year has to be about enjoying a run because I can run, or whatever else I choose to do. This year is about training and racing for me and not for the expectations of others.

I’ve shared my journey and speak of it often in the blogs that I’ve posted. Training and competing in Kona was an unforgettable experience and one that has a way of creeping up on me even now. I know there are others out there that have experienced a life event that on a personal level was just as huge as Kona was for me. While I was training I often offered up advice in my blogs. As I sit at my computer fondly looking at where I was and where I am now I’ll offer you another piece of advice. Listen to your mind and body and don’t rush the process. Train, compete, and LIVE for you and ONLY you! The bar will still be there when you’re ready to go for it.

SK

Running: The Silence of the Glutes

There are some very impressive distance runners within the walls at CPC and for those of you who know me - I’m not one of them. I do have a pulse on the literature and there are a lot of new ideas out there. The new trend is the difference between heel strike, mid-strike, and forefoot strikers and the difference it will produce in running styles. 

Heel strike and mid-strike runners have been around. Forefoot running is a relatively new phenomenon and more companies are developing footwear products that will promote this running style. The benefits to this running style are still up for debate, but the main advantages point to decreased stride length, increased cadence, decreased time on ground, increased efficiency, and increased gluteus maximus activity. All of these changes are BIG biomechanical changes and can greatly alter the body’s musculoskeletal response to running. Most runners tend to be hamstring dominant due to the biomechanics of a heel strike, or mid-strike running style. This new research is indicating that the activity of the gluteus maximus will help prevent more distal injuries. This lends to the proximal stability leads to distal mobility that we have been harping on for so long. You can’t build a strong house if you have a faulty foundation. Focusing on proper muscle activation, especially along the posterior chain, will lead to proper movement and help prevent injuries. 

Why should we care about this? Well, running has always been a sport plagued by injury and is driven by elite athletes. The injury risk has been accredited to shoe wear, running type, volume and changes in volume, environment, and improper or inefficient biomechanics often caused by proximal (trunk) instability. Most chronic injuries have the potential to be prevented or decreased in severity. There are a lot of resources available and there is no sense in waiting until the point of serious injury to seek advice to a problem that could have been prevented. 

If you do not experience any pain or discomfort while running and you are hitting your times with no problem, this may not have any bearing on your style. If you are interested in different styles of running, their roots, and you are interested in making some changes do not take this lightly, then there are many resources available to you and we would be happy to help you meet your goals or point you in the right direction via gait analysis, shoe wear advice, and programming assistance. 

- Tim

When Your Laziness Effects Me

I know there are people who move at a different pace in life than I do and I respect them for it. I'm a person who always need to be moving. I like to be productive and successful. I do have the ability to relax and kick my feet up, but more often than not I'm busy. Don't start being one of those people who tells me I need to relax more or that I don't want to sit still because being busy is a way to escape - fuck off! Stop justifying the fact you didn't do anything with your day by putting me on the defensive. That isn't what this blog is about today. It's about other’s laziness directly screwing with my day and my safety.

It's cold out. Disgustingly cold outside. News flash: we all hate it. The weather channels have told us to dress accordingly and leave additional time but you didn't. You were slow getting started and didn't adequately clean off your snow covered car. Fortunately for me I left enough time to get to where I needed to go. At the intersection I notice your facial expression is telling me that you're either suffering from an insane case of hemorrhoids or you're in a rush to go somewhere and can't see through the glare on the sun. I politely allow you to pull out into traffic and immediately regret my decision. The last 6+ inches of snow that fell from the sky progressively makes its way off your inadequately cleaned car and onto my windshield. I don't love the "fluffy-puff" ones. I prefer it when I know your car has sit in the sun for two days before you drove it so, that one enormous sheet of an snow-ice blend cartwheels its way through the air in an attempt to ninja star my windshield and cause me to shit my pants.

I love when it's more cold outside for you than it is for anyone else. This allows you to justify leaving your shopping cart smack in the MIDDLE of the parking spot that was next to your vehicle. It's ok, we get. It took you longer than it took anyone else to unload your groceries into your car and therefore you shouldn't have to walk it across to the carriage return. Don't worry, I had nothing else to accomplish today. I'll do it for you.

Let's revisit the car for a second. Turn signals or "blinkahs" are a required safety feature in all motorized vehicles. This mandatory safety feature is NOT FOR YOU! This is a safety feature to allow proper advanced notification to those that are in and around your surroundings. Please stop choosing whether or not you could be bothered to use these turn signals. It's un-fucking-safe! Actually, if you reference your driver’s ed manual there are a series of hand signals a person can make out of there drivers side window to mimic the effectiveness of these amazing little lights. I use these hand signals when I ride my bicycle, a non-motored vehicle. Put down your phone and start using your car the way it was designed to be driven.

Honestly the list is endless but has two fundamental themes that run throughout. If you are lazy and selfish than you effect others around you and that's just not cool. You want to know why people are smiling more and excited to see each other? Because somewhere along the way the expression "look out for number one" became "fuck the rest and do what you feel is right, now".

Sully - out

Why EVERYONE should be using the RIP Trainer.

I don't know about you but I have cursed Mother Nature more than I care to admit these last few weeks. It seems like every time I go out to walk my dog I'm slipping on ice or stepping over mounds of snow that my lovely neighbors have left in the middle of the sidewalk. One day last week, Friday to be exact, I was out walking Pepper (my dog) after a rare attendance at Geoff's 9am Fusion. We had spent the hour bouncing back and forth between the RIP Trainer and Suspension Trainers working, well...everything. My core, glutes, and hamstrings were fired up and ready for the day. As Pepper and I were neared the end of our walk I slipped in a hidden patch of ice. My left leg slid forward, my right hand (leash hand) whipped back, my poor dog snapped to attention, but instinctively my body fought the urge to yard sale on the sidewalk and righted itself. Crisis averted. Why you may ask? The answer should be obvious, the RIP Trainer! 

If you are unfamiliar with the RIP Trainer it is a rather simple looking piece of equipment. Created by Peter Holman, former member of the US Taekwondo team as well as a Physical Therapist, he sought a way to train his clients and teammates to create and control rotational forces. The ingenuity of the product is recognized as soon as you place your hands on it. Core muscles are forced to engage to either allow for rotation or to prevent it. Just think "All Core. All The Time."  The RIP allows for 3 dimensional exercises to be completed in all the frontal, sagittal, and transverse planes, while providing an asymmetrical load. If that wasn't enough, balance and stability are challenged as you increase the difficulty of each exercise. With 85% of the body’s core musculature running on a bias, rotational movement is one of the best way to train and the RIP makes it happen.

To put a real life spin on this just think of what your body has to do when you….slip on a patch of ice, step out of the car, shovel, start a snow blower, throw a bag of salt over your shoulder, pick up uneven bags of groceries, or even your kids. You twist. You bend. You even prevent each of these from happening as well. Everyday life requires you to create and control rotational forces! The RIP Trainer prepares you for whatever lies outside the walls of CPC.

Don’t be fooled and think the RIP Trainer is just for athletes. It is a training tool for everyone, and with snow predicted for the end of the week and spring nowhere in sight it’s time you start thinking about training with it too. You’ll be glad you did.

SK

Be Content 2.0

If you have read my last post from a couple weeks ago "Be Content" then you know what I am talking about here in this post.  I don't want to take up a lot of this post with writing because I want the focus to be on the video that I have attached.

Real quick, last time I posted about some genetic characteristics that lend themselves to how we perform in an athletic capacity or in our everyday movements.  I talked about insertion point and limb length.  The video that I have attached here for you to view gets into the details of what I was talking about in my last blog post with regards to explaining what limb length is.  Since last time and this time I don't want to speak to this point (because it would be hard to follow), I thought this video did a great job of showing you what it was that I was talking about.

Enjoy!

Mike

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av3LO2GwpAk