THE PRIDE: September 2021

SEPTEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 34

#QUOTEOFTHEMONTH

A message from Founder and Owner, Coach Tristan Mitchell:

With fall approaching we are getting some of the best outdoor weather we get all year, not too hot and not cold, and a great time to incorporate some running into your training routine! People often get into running to burn calories and to lose weight. While it may help with that, particularly if combined with the right lifestyle changes outside of running, it has so many other health benefits that go far beyond burning calories! Below are some of the benefits of running that I think are most important.

Consistent running will help create stronger bones, connective, and muscle tissue (although it is important to build mileage slowly if you’re new to running as connective tissue adapts slower to new stress than muscle tissue). This strength gain confers benefits in every aspect of life!
Running builds a stronger and more robust cardiovascular system – it can decrease the likelihood of heart disease and help improve blood flow, blood pressure, and build a more efficient cardiorespiratory system. Simply put, being active will be less strenuous on you when are aerobically fit and running builds this fitness in spades.
Getting outside into the fall sun for your running provides so much benefit for our bodies. We can get increased vitamin D from sun exposure. Our eyes get to flex and exercise by focusing on objects at various distances. The outdoor light exposure helps maintain better circadian rhythm and has been linked to improving our mental and emotional well-being - running can make us happier people!
Running with others builds strong friendships and bonds – as the saying goes, “misery loves company” and while running should not be miserable, it is challenging. Working through challenging workouts with others builds a great sense of camaraderie and achievement together. It is a way for us to tap into our evolutionary capacity to push through physical struggle in a modern world where physical struggle is no longer a prerequisite to survival but is hugely beneficial for our overall health. The sense of community that you can get by doing this with friends is powerful.

These are just SOME of the benefits running provides beyond burning calories and/or losing weight and why the process of running serves us so much benefit! If you are looking to add some running into your fall activities and need help on where to start contact us today!

WELCOME NEW COACHES

Derick Adams is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, in the process of becoming The Ready State 101 certified Movement & Mobility Specialist, and a Certified Animal Flow Specialist. Learn more about Derick.

Alex Casas is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and The Ready State 101 certified Movement & Mobility Specialist. Alex grew up in Orange County, Southern California where his passion for fitness started at a young age. Learn more about Alex.

Lifestyle with Linds!

Where are my ice cream lovers at? This one is for you! (That should be all of you.. because if you don't like ice cream I don't think we're going to be good friends). 😉 But actually, even if you're not a big ice cream fan there's still a good chance you'll like this.

So it was about a month ago that I discovered a beautiful combination of food! I remember the first bite I took I said something along the lines of "I would choose this over ice cream any day!" and that says a lot considering I live just down the street from a really great local ice cream shop here in Greenville, SC.

Unlike every food blog you'll find on the internet that holds the recipe you have to hunt for in the middle of a 5 page backstory.. I'll just cut straight to the point here. But there is at least one thing I want you to take away first -- find healthier alternatives to some of your favorite guilty pleasure snacks! You might be surprised, like I was, that choosing a better option isn't just healthier.. it's sometimes actually BETTER.

So what is it?

It's a bowl of Vanilla Greek yogurt with frozen berries & nuts! It's so simple, so delicious and I'm not afraid to claim that it's better than a bowl of ice cream.

The best part is, you can flavor this combination however you want! Here's all you need:

1 Cup of vanilla Greek yogurt (of your choice)
1 handful of frozen berries (I prefer blueberries & raspberries)
1 small handful of nuts (I prefer pistachios or macadamia nuts)

Get creative. This is a good mix of carbs, fat & protein that makes for a perfect mid day or even night time snack. If you try it.. please reach out us and let us know.. would you choose it over ice cream? ;)

#MOBILITY

Prone Pec Ball Smash by: Coach Joel

Keeping your shoulders in a good position all the time can be challenging. Spending extended periods of time at a desk, in a car, or evening cycling (peloton lovers) escalates the challenge further, leading to lazy shoulder positioning. Lazy shoulders adopt a forwarded position, often referred to as rounded shoulders. Rounded shoulders impact your ability to access end ranges, stabilize, rotate and move properly.

The strategies we adopt to compensate for tight shoulders provoke other issues. One of those strategies includes over extending our lower back in an attempt to find inaccessible range in our shoulders. Another is putting an increased demand on the anterior shoulder musculature to create stability. This can lead to overuse of this musculature - in particular the pec minor. It's a vicious cycle resulting in chronic tightness, movement dysfunction, and possible injury.

The following smash is a way to help restore suppleness and function to the anterior compartments. It's a very versatile mobilization because you utilize all of our favorite techniques at different portions of the smash as well as addressing multiple shoulder positions. Grab a ball and follow along.

Lie Face down placing the ball beneath your collarbone between your shoulder and chest, stretching your arm outwards. Here you have multiple options:

Contract & Relax- Begin with contraction of the muscles to push the ball out, then relax to let the ball sink deeper.

2. Tack & Twist- Grab the ball with your opposite hand and twist it away from your shoulder.

Keeping your arm straight, externally rotate your shoulder (thumb towards the sky) while sliding your arm across the ground toward your head. Play here overhead slightly moving your arm back and forth performing a mini floss

Next, keeping your arm straight, internally rotate it and move it down towards your legs ending with the back of your hand placed as far up on your back as it can go. Here you have other options:

Scrub the tissue with the ball back & forth or up & down
Grab the ball with your other hand and twist the ball away from your shoulder

3. Grab the wrist on your back
with your other hand and pull your
arm further up and/or across your
back

Repetitively move your arm from over head to behind your back (flossing mobilization)

When beginning this smash, looking away from the ball will add a load to the fascial tissue during any of the methods covered above. You can also floss the same fascial tissue by looking away from the ball and then rotating the head facing towards the ground where you began. As always proper breath work is crucial to optimization of this smash for modulation of intensity and parasympathetic recruiting of the nervous system. This means big nasal breaths in, paused breath holds and slow controlled exhalation. Use a 4 count inhale, 4 count hold, 8 count exhale (4-4-8) to help guide this. Test and retest your four shoulder positions before and after this mobilization to assess how well it worked.

Utilizing the Prone Pec Smash is just one great way to take care of your anterior shoulder tissue adding another tool to your self-maintenance tool bag. If you have questions, other mobility issues or would like to further learn about creating a more supple body, please reach out and schedule a personalized private 30 minute session with your friendly neighborhood mobility nerd. Stay Mobile My Friends!

#PODCAST OF THE MONTH

Huberman Lab | How Your Brain Works & Changes | Episode 1

Huberman Lab is Tristan’s new favorite podcast while running. This episode provides an introduction to how the nervous system works to create sensations, perceptions, emotions, thoughts and behaviors, as well as how we can change our nervous system— a phenomenon known as neuroplasticity. The information sets the stage for all Huberman Lab Podcast episodes that follow by covering neurons, synapses, brain chemicals and the rhythms that control our ability to focus, learn and sleep… and more.