DECEMBER 2019 | ISSUE 13

#QUOTEOFTHEMONTH

A message from Founder and Owner, Coach Tristan Mitchell:

“With Thanksgiving just behind us, we want everyone who trains at Lions Den to know how thankful we all are for trusting us to help you in your health and fitness journey. It is truly our pleasure to get the opportunity to work with each of you!

The holidays are officially here and for many of us that means busy schedules, holiday parties, and treats galore. It’s easy to fall into bad habits around the holidays, working out less and indulging more. While I’m all for holiday indulgences let’s not get too carried away. Hold yourself accountable and get in for your workouts, make sure you’ve done your meal prep, and be mindful about not going overboard on unhealthy food choices. Don’t let the holidays become an excuse, give yourself some flexibility but hold yourself to the same expectations you do throughout the year and stay the course. Work hard, eat real food, and close out 2019 strong and healthy!”

THE PRIDE’S PRIDE

Lions Den SMP Run Club

#MOBILITY

Holiday Mobility by Joel Freiboth:

As this year comes to a close many of us begin to reflect on how it’s gone. The things we are grateful for, areas in life we want to improve, our best behavior before Santa comes and of course shopping lists for the holidays. In the spirit of this time of year comes this month’s article. The following is a recap of the last year’s mobility principles and concepts, as well as the shopping lists of mobility.

Principle number one is protecting your spine with consistent postural awareness of good, organized, strong positions. Moving, working, exercising, sitting, and standing are all situations to be mindful of posture, bracing and organizing. Taking responsibility for our own tissue and movement dysfunctions empowers us to become better functioning humans. This is an all day everyday endeavor, and what we do daily, our bodies conform to. Being aware of our positions and movements also helps us recognize what we need to improve or change.

Mobility Improvement Checklist:

1. Improve motor control by having a movement practice in your life to maintain and improve movement skills.

2. Clear joint restrictions before, during and after exercise and during mobility maintenance sessions.

3. Restore sliding surface function after exercise and before bed time.

Programming for Mobility Maintenance:

What movements, positions, joints or soft-tissues need improvement? Make a list, check it twice; you know if your mobility is naughty or nice. If something feels like it's in the wrong spot, put it in the right spot. If something is not moving well, get it moving. Spend no less than two minutes in each position. Focus on the joints and then the tissues. Get control of your nervous system by controlling your breathing and using the 4-4-8 count to guide you during your soft-tissue sessions. Choose two or three mobility techniques to use for your session. As with anything in life, in order to create long-term and permanent change, you must mobilize consistently. This means at least ten minutes a day.

• Target an area to work on.

• Include working upstream and downstream of the target area.

Joints:

• Toe joint mobs - your feet need lots of love daily. Mobilize them while sitting around or in the shower.

• Hip hygiene - healthy hips can lead to the longevity of mobility. 90/90s and hip flows work great to maintain and improve hip health.

• T-spine and shoulders: Watching TV? Grab that foam roller and start mobilizing that thoracic spine. Your shoulders will operate better.

Tissue:

• The Pressure Wave- breaks up knotted tissue, like your quadriceps on a foam roller.

• Contract and Relax- gets deeper into knots to unglue, like your glutes sitting on a lacrosse ball.

• Smash and Floss- restores movement function of the tissue, like straightening your leg when smashing your hamstrings on a yoga tune up ball.

• Restoring length through Muscle Dynamics- improves flexibility and function, like quality stretching.

Other Rules When Mobilizing:

• Test and Retest your positions to confirm or discount response to a mobilization.

• If it feels sketchy, it”s sketchy.

• Mobilize in good positions with proper spinal mechanics.

As you wrap this year up during this busy time, stay aware of your posture, and protect your spine, Keep practicing movement and carve out time daily for body maintenance work. For a refresher of a more detailed explanation of these principles please refer to The Pride #Mobility articles over the last year. Are you on you best movement behavior? If not, a “Mobility Nerd” can bring the gift of knowledge and accountability. Please feel free to reach out to schedule session or ask a question. Happy Holidays and Stay Mobile, my friends!

#ZEALMEALS

The PSL Smoothie

You saw that right... even farm-to-table restaurants can be basic. But you don't have to ingest a king-sized candy bar's amount of added sugar to enjoy one of the most festive flavors of the season. And you also don't even need to eat pumpkin... GASP! We use pumpkin spice seasoning and sweet potatoes in our PSL smoothie to give it that delicious fall spice flavor and smooth texture.

Our PSL smoothie contains walnuts, plant-based vanilla protein powder, sweet potato, banana, cherry, apple, peanut butter, almond milk and pumpkin spice, giving you a well-rounded meal in the restaurant or on the go.

Come into Zeal and try our PSL Smoothie today! Mention #ZealMeals and get 10% off. 

Yours in good eats,
Wayde and Chelsea 

#PODCAST OF THE MONTH

The Joe Rogan Experience Ep 1389 | Chris Kresser