Optimum Performance

10/12/2017

Improvements in strength require adequate doses of stress (exercise) to facilitate an adaptation response.

So, how much stress is enough?

Well, this boils down to two things- load (weight) and volume (sets/reps).

When training for strength- loads must be significant enough to disrupt homeostasis (heavy) but be dosed in a way that allows for adequate recovery and adaptation within 24-48 hours to prevent overtraining.

10/12/2017

Strength training is based on three simple principles: stress, recovery and adaptation.

Stress involves pushing our muscles to their current capacity in order to disrupt homeostasis and create change in the makeup of the muscle fibers.

Recovery is the 24-48 hours between sessions that allows our body to rebuild and regenerate. Among others, adequate recovery is dependent on rest, nutrition and hydration.

Adaptation is what happens as a result of stress and the recovery from that stress.

We don't get stronger at the gym- we get stronger while recovering.

09/28/2017

"Sport Specific Training"

Conventional wisdom tells us that strength and power training for athletes should be programmed specific to the demands of the sport being played.

To some degree this is true, but many coaches and therapists misunderstand the concept and try to mimic sport specific positions and movement patterns in the weight room or perform standard strength activities on unstable surfaces (Myself included 😳)

Although, sometimes these positions are where the strength is demonstrated on the field- they are not the best positions for its development.

It is well cited that strength is developed best under a heavy load with your feet firmly on the ground and in a balanced position. But, a quick google image search for "sport specific strengthening" landed this gem as a #1 hit!

Squat, lunge, push, pull, and carry in the weight room but leave the specifics of the sport on the field.

09/22/2017

When people think about physical therapy, they often visualize fluffy exercise programs with flimsy resistance bands and two pound dumbells. A quick google image search will verify this.

Therapists have rightfully earned this stigma over the years and I'm excited to see research that fights back against the status quo.

Every day, I get a chance to make people move, feel and perform better. Sometimes that means 3x10 and yellow TheraBand but sometimes that means 3x3 squats and deadlifts at 85% 1RM. I promise to know the difference.

"The conventional wisdom is often wrong. And a blithe acceptance of it can lead to sloppy, wasteful or even dangerous outcomes."-Think Like A Freak p8



https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283352891_Current_Concepts_in_Periodization_of_Strength_and_Conditioning_for_the_Sports_Physical_Therapist

09/19/2017

Squat, lunge, hinge, push, pull, carry, locomote.

These movements are foundational and vital for quality of life. If we aren't training these movements in rehab- we're missing the point.

09/12/2017

Unstable surface training is very popular in the rehabilitation setting. As a result, this type of training has transcended into the strength and conditioning field as well.

Although this type of training has shown beneficial in the early stages of rehabilitation- it may be ineffective and/or detrimental to strength gains and athletic development in the later stages.

The strongest, fastest and most powerful athletes in the world are really good at applying force into the ground. We should train that way.

Eric Cressey

08/09/2017

Great stuff!

Injured? Want to recover fast? Hack the healing process with these powerful tips on nutrition for injury recovery. Put the right eating and supplement strategies to work for you or your clients.

08/04/2017

Brian Musselman

08/03/2017

Lingering lower back, hip or knee issues? Fire those glutes!

05/26/2017

[COACHING TIP OF THE WEEK]: Enjoy the "there's yer problem" moment.

Years ago, I had a problem with my washing machine. It wasn't draining, it was making weird noises, it was all screwed up.

I called the repair person. He showed up, rooted around in the machine's guts, and then with a satisfied look on his face, said:

"There's yer problem."

He pulled out a dime.

It had fallen out of a pocket, gotten lodged somewhere in my machine's tummy, and gummed up the works.

I love this kind of moment.

Because now the dime is a known puzzle to solve, rather than a mysterious machine-destroying force.

Now you can wrap your mind around what to do next.

Even if you don't know how to extract that dime, you know that the dime is A Thing.

And quite likely, one or two factors are making a big impact.

You also know the dime didn't mean to be a jerk. It just did what dimes do, which is to slide into tiny crevices and then be a hard flat piece of metal that doesn't budge.

You can be curious and compassionate about the dime. Where did it come from? How did it get there? How could I prevent future dime-age?

If you have your clients do a food journal-- or use any other practice of data gathering, think of it as an exploration into "Where's the problem?" or, even better, "Where are the successes?"

* What noises is my machine making? (In other words, what do the data tell me is happening right now?)

* What COULD those noises mean? (In other words, could my client and I come up with a few working hypotheses about how to explain the results they are getting?)

* Does my machine work for some clothes and not others? (In other words, where is my client doing well consistently, and where do they struggle?)

* Is there a dime or two gumming up the works? (In other words, as we look at my data, are there one or two obvious limiting factors that are blocking them the most from being more consistent?)

* What IS working with my washing machine? In other words, what IS working with clients' food choices?

Remember to be curious and compassionate about the dime.
After all, it's just doing dime things.

Don't hate on the dime. Likewise, don't be mad or judge-y about the conditions that create inconsistency in food decisions.

Instead, think about how to change the dime's path, or change the probability that a pocket with a dime in it might go through your wash.

In other words, think about how to change the underlying conditions that create the data in your client's journal.

-Krista Scott-Dixon

05/18/2017

The Dead Bug is a staple exercise in most rehab facilities. It's a great exercise but often easily mastered.

Here's a simple way to get a little more core activation out of an already awesome motor control drill.

05/11/2017

The term "motor control" has become kind of a buzz word in the rehab and performance world but... what is it?

Motor control is the process in which the brain/central nervous system interacts with the musculoskeletal system to organize contraction and create movement.

Most of the time, this is done without any conscious thought. However, in the event of an injury or pain- timing of contraction is often delayed.

Without proper sequencing- movement quality diminishes.

Here is a simple drill to re-educate the "core" to stabilize the spine and pelvis as the legs move in opposite directions.

This is pretty important, as most functional and athletic activities require this same dissociation of the hips.

Think: running 🏃 cutting ⛹🏻 kicking ⚽️throwing ⚾️

https://youtu.be/Mlz5qroN3ZQ

Fantastic "corrective" exercise to help learn (and engaged) better pelvic control (can you flex one hip as you keep the non-moving hip extended?). The band a...