One of my main movement philosophies is: If a movement feels good, satisfying, or pleasurable, then it's probably biomechanically correct and safe.
It shifts the focus away from "how do I stop making this mistake or stop this from hurting?"
to "how do I make this feel even better?"
If I say "don't think about a purple elephant"...
The fact that I said "don't" didn't stop you from thinking about the elephant.
The brain functions in "positives", so make it easier for it to process information and to execute what you actually want it to do.
When you start thinking this way, you start to trust what you feel.
And following and trusting good sensations in your body isn't going to turn you soft, or make you work less hard.
For me, when a movement feels good, I'll work harder and longer on it. I'll go until all of my energy reserves are drained because the intensity of working so hard on something that is biomechanically correct is one of the most pleasurable sensations I've ever experienced.
If we taught more concepts and skills like these athletes, we'd have less burnout, less injuries, and more Self-Aware, confident, and autonomous athletes who could increasingly work WITH their coaches as co-creators.
We'd create a more sustainable and robust athletic "ecosystem" (props to @dr.hayden.l.mitchell for this term).
"No rhythm, no more weight" is one of the guidelines I give my athletes for their independent gym sessions.
Driven athletes love to push hard, and we need to give them better metrics to be able to monitor themselves, so that they develop the ability to know when to push, and when to pull back.
Use rhythm as a reality check for how good you actually are at and exercise.
If you can't repeatedly hit rep in time and develop a groove, you've no business going faster.
When you hit it though...
You KNOW on a whole body & soul level because it's so incredibly satisfying.
It feels pleasurable. And in my experience, when something feels good, especially when I'm moving at high intensity, it's an indication of biomechanical efficiency - and safety within movement.
And as soon as you feel safe doing something that you previously couldn't do, your comfort zone expands, and you're able to break through limitations on a regular basis.
Training becomes even more fun, because you get better faster. And being excellent at things is kind of a blast đ
Concepts like these make training hard really fun, and they help sustain athletes for the long term.
If you want to start more responsibility for your success in sport, comment PEAK and I'll send you the link to the Peak Performance Accelerator Course
People thought I was nuts when I told them I didn't lift anymore đŠđ
The thing is, I realize that lifting taught me to be like a bar: strong, stable, and stiff.
What I didn't understand at a visceral level was the feeling of being elastic.
But why would I? Hadn't trained enough with the texture of elasticity.
I hadn't really interacted with elastic things and adequately paid attention to them and understood it conceptually.
Elasticity teaches you different acceleration patterns, or as I like to call them different textures.
But we often get so focused on "hitting positions", that we gets stuck in them. Language can really limit our understanding of movement if used inappropriately.
A "position" is just a theoretical landmark that we would never actually hold in a throw, we're quite honestly in many movements.
It's just a place that we pass through.
If you feel like you learn a lot from me, know that my Instagram is just a trickle of the knowledge that's in my online course.
Check out my Peak Performance Accelerator course on Skool (link in bio), to learn the many ways to unstick yourself from movements and thought patterns that don't serve you, So you can figure out the ones that do.
#javelin #functionalfitness #
The slippery socks made me do it đ¤Ē
I kind of laugh sometimes thinking about things I have to force myself to do, versus the things that I can do until I'm exhausted because they're so much fun.
Don't get me wrong, isometric planks are great.
But I often find when I'm struggling to hold an isometric, is because I don't understand how to activate into it.
And if instead, I find a way to walk, pulse, bounce, or wave my way into the movement repeatedly, I find the initiation mechanism.
And in finding that Rhythm, I often find the activation that I've been looking for.
And when I hit the beat, I get a nice juicy dopamine reward, and it's satisfying... And then I want to keep going.
I love feeling the burn, and working to capacity, but only when I feel safe and ready.
I build patterns, and then when I feel capable and excited, I build stamina.
It's not what you're doing, it's how you're doing it.
I'm trying something new with this video - If you found it useful, please let me know in the comments!
When I stated doing this, I stopped getting so back tweaks in javelin.
Bracing your spine to stabilize it is great. And an important strength metric.
But if you train it to move in waves, circles and spirals, then you can transfer energy through your body more efficiently... And then you actually don't have to rely on bracing constantly.
Food for thought đ
What environment entices you the most to move your body?
Body Church tomorrow night 730pm at the Kent.
One of the last ones for a looooong time.
DM for class link
Feeling connected from big toe to big toe â¨
I love it when you find a movement that makes you feel an electric connection from one end of your body to the other.
When I first started doing this, I realized I was just trying to stay stable on the bottom foot and then push through the back leg.
Then, I thought about Javelin (shocker, lol) and used the front leg to initiate the motion and coordinate to the back leg.
Every movement you've ever done, can inform and transform any movement you ever want to do.
#gymgirl #javelin
Make it a party đĩđĒŠ
This is how I'm getting fit for #BassCoast
1) Hit rhythms for stamina
Hitting beats in time with your body releases dopamine. Dopamine is an addiction molecule: it says "GIVE ME MORE".
Even though you're tired, you'll keep pushing through more than if you weren't timing it to music.
2) Start with a small range
Range of motion is also great, but working up to distal mobility (strength at end range of motion) It's easier once you have proximal control.
Once you have control of the middle (spine, hips, shoulders), the middle can control the outsides (limbs)
2) Crunching your abs rhythmically allows you to get into a flow with your breath.
It teaches you how to use pressurization as power, and how to coordinate your lungs and your core muscles.
3) Once you're getting fatigued, just change the spinal dance move, but keep the rhythm.
Twist, fist bump, go into a smaller range, an easier movement...
4) EXPRESS on your FACE.
Your facial expression helps you tap into different movement of patterns.
If your face is on airplane mode, it's pretty hard to emote intensity or joy.
Let it shine âī¸
I heard that An old world record for the marathon was set to the song Scatman on repeat.
"When a runner synchronizes their movement (stride frequency) to a consistent beat, they can reduce their oxygen consumption by about 6-7%. This is because the body becomes more efficient when it doesn't have to constantly "re-negotiate" its tempo."
Basically, You can make any move a dance move if you prioritize movements that you can do to a rhythm. I want to focus on making my movement rhythmic and on beat, I enter a flow state. I can go for longer, I can push myself harder, I have more fun, and I get in better shape faster.
I love rope flow for getting back in shape (and honestly getting in great shape) because it teaches me to move fluidly and rhythmically, which are two things that make me move healthily.
Want to find out more? DM me for a link to the class May 11th at 7:30 p.m. in English Bay.
#ropeflow #workout
Throwing is probably one of the things that placed humans higher up predator scale.
(Is that a thing? Sounds like it should be a thing.)
We don't have sharp teeth or claws. We don't have super strength. We don't have venom...
We have throwing.
I miss rocketing objects off my body. It's satisfying. It's powerful. And it taps into something incredibly primal.
Plus, just ripping a ball back and forth at park with my dad is nostalgic đĨ°
