FEBRUARY 2021 | ISSUE 27

#QUOTEOFTHEMONTH

A message from Founder and Owner, Coach Tristan Mitchell:

Exercise is a very important aspect of a healthy life, that is unquestionable. But an hour (or even two) of exercise doesn’t undo a day that is otherwise full of sitting. That’s one of the reasons that I think it’s beneficial to have a daily step goal that you are aiming for. My recommendation is a minimum of 8,000 steps (this would be in addition to any steps accumulated in your formal exercise session – going to the gym, running, etc). It’s a number that for many of us takes a bit of effort to get done and that’s a good thing.

Walking is a great low intensity activity that can greatly improve your overall health. It can help build better aerobic function, keep your lymphatic system running, and improve circulation. Walking serves a benefit for all of us – if you’re someone who doesn’t do much exercise it becomes a great way to improve your metabolic health. If you’re already doing a lot of exercise it’s a great addition and can help benefit your recovery by providing greater circulation into repairing tissues from your workouts.

Any time of the day is a great time to walk but I highly recommend getting one in after you’re done eating dinner. It’s a great way to clear your head before getting into bed, providing a great opportunity to reflect on the day and plan for the next. There is also the added benefit of getting under the moon and stars to signal to your mind that it’s time to mobilize the melatonin troops and get ready for some quality sleep. Lastly, we know that a post dinner walk is a great way to control your post meal blood sugar spike and in-turn keep insulin levels in a good place.

So for February try adding a post dinner walk to your routine to help get you to your daily step goal and improve your overall health. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day take your significant other out with you and enjoy a little moonlight walk before you get into bed. I think you’ll find the benefits to be numerous!

LINDSEY’S #FitTip

PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON PAIN & FEAR OF RE-INJURY
by Coach Justin

So, you tweaked your back deadlifting. You dealt with the pain and discomfort for about a week, but you’re feeling better now. You hit dead bugs, bird dogs and side planks every other day for two weeks, but you’re still nervous to pick up a barbell. Why?

The physical effects of an injury are quite obvious. You may experience pain during certain movements, inflammation and/or bruising. The less obvious effects of an injury are psychological. After all, pain is caused by signals sent from our brain in an attempt to tell us that something is not right. However, there are instances where our brain remembers the movements that got us in trouble in the first place and might send out a less intense version of those pain signals when you are doing nothing wrong. This is especially common with back pain. Now I am not telling you to completely ignore pain and just push through workouts regardless of how you feel. What I am telling you is that after you’ve exhausted all of the corrective exercises you can think of and your form on that specific movement is perfect, but you still feel pain - it might be time to take a psychological approach.

Deep breathing exercises have been shown to reduce back pain and anxiety surrounding back pain. One of the best breathing techniques to reduce back pain is called box breathing. This is a simple technique where you would inhale for 4 seconds, hold it for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, hold it for 4 seconds and repeat. Practice this for a few minutes at first and make sure you can do it comfortably. The goal here is to down regulate your nervous system and not to be on the verge of passing out.

Positive visualization can be a powerful technique in exercise that might take some time and energy to master but is well worth it. The basic application of positive visualization when it comes to pain would be to visualize or imagine yourself successfully completing the movement that normally hurts you without any pain. You have to train this technique much like you would train a muscle. You probably will not be able to recreate that scenario in your mind on the first try but with consistent practice positive visualization can be a powerful tool.

For more information on the psychological side of pain and athletic performance please feel free to email me!

#MOBILITY

Valentine Partner Smash by: Coach Joel

What’s up Lions, I hope this year is off to a good start for you! It’s certainly moving along quickly. Here we are in February, the month of love, so it's only fitting to be doing your mobility and maintenance work this month with someone special. What a great time to bond and help enhance the efficacy of certain mobilizations. The mobilization below is one example to do with your partner. As you’ve found, regularly training and playing hard can lead to some sore legs. This can include the inside area of the upper legs that is referred to as the adductor complex. It is made up of muscles which are responsible for both stability and rotation. Tight adductors can also be a contributor to back stiffness. Restoring their function and length greatly improves squat positions. These muscles are very often overlooked during maintenance work and are a great area to mobilize.

Partner Adductor Smash

During both variations your partner can use their foot in a smearing motion to help improve the mobilization. Test and retest your squat position to see how well this has worked. Do this the night of a squat day to restore tissue length or the night before a leg day to prime for better mobility. This is just one of many examples you can do with a partner. Get creative, have fun with them and enjoy! If you have questions, other issues or would like to dive deeper into creating a more supple body, please feel free to reach out to me. Schedule a personalized private 30 minute session with your friendly neighborhood mobility nerd. Stay Mobile My Friends!

#PODCAST OF THE MONTH

Bullet Proof Radio with Dave Asprey Episode #778 | Bad Science and Diet Lies Keep Feeding Obesity: Gary Taubes