Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Morning Routines

My morning routine usually sets my mood.

Today's agenda so far....

Wake up at 4:50
Take the princess out (doggie)
Bulletproof coffee (double espresso, 1 large tablespoon ghee, 1 teaspoon MCT oil)
Dog park

I find that if I get outdoors early in the day my mood is much more chill and significantly less stressful.

Nothing better than early morning sunshine, birds chirping, playing fetch with the princess, listening to a babbling brook all before jumping into my day
.

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Home Gym Necessities Part 1

Morning fasted cardio to speed up fat burning requires some equipment.

My preference:

Cervelo P2 Tri (Wedding present from the World's Greatest Wife!!) bike on a Wahoo trainer to keep me limber and aero ready!

Johnny Spin Bike (Craigslist steal at $250 for 2!!!)

Dreadmill that I use for intervals, no more than 20 minutes. These days I just run to my car or run to the bathroom.



Monday, February 26, 2018

Feed me


Morning, fasted, post 60 minute trainer (Wahoo) workout...Organic Broccoli, Organic Quinoa, Eggs (pasture raised) with a good portion of pink Himalayan salt.  Every talks about bananas and muscle cramps when you actually lose more salt in sweat not potassium.



Functional Stability

Functional Stability has been quite the popular phrase among athletes and the general public.

What does it mean?

Your brain's only job is to keep itself alive and one of its main objectives is to keep the body stable.  For example, I am 6'4" tall and my brain thinks all day "WOW! its pretty high up here, I better make sure I have enough stability so that I don't face plant with the next step!!"

Same goes for when your looking down from a very tall building, you hesitate, even for a moment because your brain is perceiving instability.

Now lets take things down, like sitting on the floor, your brain feels safe and stable and you feel overall "Chill" because now your brain is only 2 feet off the ground and it feels stable.

Ok, so the brain is looking for stability while standing. Let's say that you lack "Functional Stability," how do you know?....Tight calves, tight hamstrings, tight upper back, tight lower back...  Your pretty much in lock down mode and your brain is firing all the wrong muscles to create stability, not Functional Stability.

So now your a runner and you take your less than functional stable body outside to run and your brain is now like "WTF are you doing!!" The end result is.....injury.  Not injury from spraining an ankle while dodging a rabid squirrel but worse, SABOTAGE!! Your brain has become non-compliant and will not allow your muscle made for locomotion to function properly because they are required for stability. You will also notice a inability to run faster, further and on consecutive days without aches and pains.

So how do you know if you have Functional Stability?

The GOLD standard for functional stability is a Functional Mobility Screen aka FMS. 

The FMS was developed by Gray Cook and is composed of 7 movement tests that are graded and then used to develop an efficient strategy to create functional stability.

Direct from the FMS website:
"FMS uses objective and validated standards to check the movement baseline and build foundations for lifelong movement success. Therefore, certified professionals can discover the best opportunities to improve movement and identify how to train with purpose and precision in order for individuals to achieve their fitness, sports performance or return from injury goals.
The FMS is the screening tool used to identify limitations or asymmetries. It measures seven fundamental movement patterns that are key to functional movement quality in individuals with no current pain or known musculoskeletal injury.
Using FMS scoring results, movement principles are then put into action to make programming decisions and guide purpose-driven exercise selection. The FMS is that ongoing feedback tool that makes the entire training process -- both short-term and long-term -- both effective and efficient."
So if you are looking to improve functional stability, improve movement patterns, prevent injuries and perform at a higher level in you activity, you need to be screened.  
Dr. Jan Kasprowicz, DC
New Jersey Chiropractic & Sports Recovery
eliteperformanceteam.blogspot.com