Any Yoga is NOT good Yoga!

WAY TOO MUCH LUMBAR EXTENSION!!! DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME IF YOU LOVE YOUR BACK!

A few years ago, someone said to me "Any yoga is good yoga" and I reluctantly agreed because I was a budding young teacher and this person had been teaching for a while. To this persons credit, she was (and still is) an AWESOME teacher and must have been comparing her way of instruction to students that resulted in good alignment and form. Unfortunately, not everyone does not have her deep and rich understanding of the mechanics of the poses. Actually, these days, I think its almost the opposite, especially in some of the Power Yoga and Vinyasa classes where getting a workout in is put over proper alignment. 

I have the opportunity to come into contact with hundreds of yoga practitioners per week who may be regular to my class, a drop-in or completely new to yoga. "Open Level" is what we call some of those classes. What I see from some of the non-regular students in their yoga poses forces me to stop class and really instruct on a particulars. Their alignment is all out of sorts but worse off its just plain dangerous and will more than likely lead them to a repetitive stress/strain injury. Some things I see are:

HYPER EXTENDED LUMBAR SPINES
LOCKED ELBOWS
OVERLY TENSE SHOULDERS
OFF BALANCE POSES
OVER ROTATING AT THE LUMBAR SPINE

The list goes on and on. The cause of some of these are structural like tight hamstrings that are compensated for, tight thoracic spine that is compensated for at the Lumbar spine. These can be worked through. But some of these are just from BAD HABITS and what gets me is that these bad habits extremely limit the practitioners progress.

This happens because many yoga teachers do not understand how the body REALLY works. Anatomy is studied but its focused on muscles and not the correct biomechanics of the WHOLE BODY. Understanding how joints and connective tissue all work TOGETHER, based on unifying principles of function, allows the teacher to create an authentic practice.

Simply calling out a pose in class is not teaching. It's reciting lines. Don't get me wrong. I was in that boat once. I am not blameless. However, when I found my way into understanding the body the other parts of my yoga teaching opened significantly and my students really were able to progress physically, mentally and spiritually. If they feel more comfortable in one, they will feel more comfortable in the other two. 

As a teacher and yogi, I am constantly working toward being as authentic as possible. Interestingly, that is where the hard work is. Being fake and artificial takes no work at all.

YOGA TEACHERS: Keep studying the sutras, chanting, inspirational reading, etc up. It's good. Get yourself into biomechanics and functional anatomy. If you want to see your students move with ease, efficiency, grace and power, sink your teeth into the science of movement. Do not be put off by it because it gets technical. GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE AND GET TECHNICAL! Your students will keep coming back and getting better and better every week because they will understand the body more. Help them own their practice.

This may ruffle some feathers. That's okay. My intent is to encourage you to study some of the science of yoga as well as the spiritual and mental. They are not SEPARATE!!!!

I will post some videos detailing certain asana soon. If you have any requests, let me know and I will see what I can do.

Any questions or comments can be sent to will@3doptimalperformance.com

Thanks,

Will

8 ways to maximize your time with your trainer/coach/therapist/teacher

I have mentioned many times that I wear many hats as a coach, teacher, therapist and trainer and they all have their own set of experiences that are particular to that "hat", but there are a lot of similarities that I see as well.  Very often people come in and pay me a good deal of money to help them with their issues of performance enhancement, weight loss, pain elimination, etc but unfortunately, some of  these people are not maximizing their time with me.

Unfortunately, but I have to say this, we are very much in a "DO ME" culture. Now let me clarify that. What I mean is that people think that if they show up, that they've done their part and now its up to us to do the rest and "fix" them. Wow!

First, that is A LOT to put on someone. Yes, we are the ones with the training in the area that you are having an issue with BUT the truth of the matter is that it is VERY DRAINING for us to be the one leading the ship especially when its not our ship.

The real truth is that its a TEAM effort. As therapists/coaches/trainers/teacher/doctors, we are not on some higher level than you and unfortunately that is the way its been taught for many years. If you come in to us, we will do our best to help you; but what usually happens is, we do great work in the session, we give you "homework" to do and then you may do some of it but not all of it. Then you come back the week after or at the next visit and we ask "How's it going? How did you do with the homework?"

Well, what happens is folks tell us "Great! Did all my work" and then we get into the session and we find out you didn't do your work and in fact are at the same place you were last week. Sound familiar?

If you REALLY want results, come in with a TEAM MENTALITY that we will both give it all we have at the session and especially afterwards. That's where the real work comes in. Yes, WORK. Many professionals, would LOVE a client who asks us to draw from our deep resources of knowledge to help you, but this is AFTER you have put your work in. There is nothing more draining that a client who asks a lot but gives very little.

KEY POINTS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR TIME:

1) Come in with a clear purpose that you are willing to state upfront to your professional. If they can help, great. If they cannot, they will pass you on to someone who can.
2) Come to work as team.
3) Ask questions. If you are not clear on something, PLEASE PLEASE ASK US! We want you to be CRYSTAL CLEAR on what needs to be done.
4) Do your homework! We know when you do not so please do not get frustrated with us that you are not improving. Remember, TEAMWORK!
5) Be consistent with your visits. We need to see you so that we can go to the next logical step even if that visit with us is to say, "We are as far as I can take you but here is a great person to see to get you to the next step." Professionals build relationships in our business for that reason. Your improvement benefits everyone.
6) Be honest. If its working, tell us. If it's not working, tell us.
7) If we are awesome, tell others about us!
8) Remember that many of us got into our profession to help people, and we really do appreciate you.


I hope this wasn't too preachy. Believe me, I'm not an innocent party. I am going through it right now with one of my teachers. However, at the end of the day, I know that he has my best interests at heart and wants to see me do well. He just called me out on not being a team player. I respect his honesty and integrity. That's why I'm dedicating this post to ROBERT DURSO of the Golandsky Institute. He is a teacher/trainer/coach/therapist par excellence.

Any questions, comments, feedback can be sent to will@3doptimalperformance.com.

Thanks,

Will

Optimal Performance Quote Series: Nova Knutson

"Hint: The cage is not locked." - Nova Knutson

Are you being 3-D Authentic?

A week or so ago, I was able to go to a Functional Soft Tissue Transformation course by one of my mentors, Lenny Parracino. He is a great teacher and a guy who is really paving the way for functional therapy.

In his workshop, he mentioned that what separates his practice from other practices was that he looked at each of his client-patients as INDIVIDUALS and took through through movements and soft tissue therapy that was AUTHENTIC as possible to their true function. Hmmm....

Lately, authenticity has been popping up a lot for me, and I started to ask myself why do I continue to see this theme. Am I not being authentic in my life? Well, the truth of the matter is that while I sometimes think so, I am probably being "semi-authentic" which is probably an oxymoron. Is it either/or?

However, there are clear moments that I am being authentic. Andrew Cohen, said this about being authentic:

The authentic self is the best part of a human being. It's the part of you that already cares, that is already passionate about evolution. When your authentic self miraculously awakens and becomes stronger than your ego, then you will truly begin to make a difference in this world. You will literally enter into a partnership with the creative principle.

Being authentic doesn't take work. It is already there and it feels comfortable. It's not forced. There is no ego that interjects judgements. The tough thing is that the pull of the ego is so great, we cannot break free from its grasp and feel a sense of anxiety when we try.

W.H. Auden said:

We would rather be ruined than changed.

We would rather die in our dread

Than climb the cross of the present

And let our illusions die

Audenn could refer to so much. In my profession, I am tasked with helping people move better so that they are more efficient in their function. Sometimes that takes soft tissue work, corrective exercise, functional conditioning, nutrition, and even behavioral changes. I can say that I have rarely had a client-patient who was ready to jump into change. There is always a hesitancy because the familiar feels easy. We're accustomed to it. Change is hard and like Auden said, people would rather be ruined than changed. However, it is that movement, that Transformational Zone(TZ), as we say in Applied Functional Science, when we move from one direction into another. The eccentric loading of our mind, body and spirit that got us to one point, is ready to propel us to the unloading or explode concentrically in another direction.

Unfortunately, this Transformational Zone needs to be sequenced appropriately and all known blocks removed so that the sensation of flow can happen. The TZ  could also be seen as a breakdown to a breakthrough. Sometimes its a little more anticipated and sometimes its spontaneous. We have to be ready for both because when that time comes, we have to just let go.

Now what I think many of us do, myself included, is play it safe. Do what we know. Take the path more travelled. It's easier to do what we know or follow in others shadows. For some, that's fine. That's their choice, but I think those reading a blog on optimal performance want more than to just be shadows.

In your life, what are you fearing now? What is keeping you from being great? Can you identify one area and take small steps to change directions for the better. I do not mean side stepping either. I mean turn this around for the better. It may be a HUGE rock but as we do functional soft tissue and training with people, we know its one fiber at a time. Chiseling down the "big rock" to smaller ones that are more manageable. It may take a few days, months or years but there is nothing like the sensation of moving freely.

Are you moving freely in mind/body/spirit? I will tell you now its not easy but boy is it rewarding.

Will

Be your authentic self. Your authentic self is who you are when you have no fear of judgment, or before the world starts pushing you around and telling you who you're supposed to be. Your fictional self is who you are when you have a social mask on to please everyone else. Give yourself permission to be your authentic self.

~ Dr. Phil

How to save your throwing arm from injury

Recently, I have had to deal with a few injuries related to throwing with my athletes that has also been concurrent with a rise of throwing injuries of a few professional athletes like Stephen Strasburg and Brett Favre.

Some of these injuries are not serious and the athlete can continue playing but others, like Strasburg, unfortunately, ended their seasons prematurely.

What do all of these have in common?

The short answer was that there was more than likely a breakdown somewhere in the kinetic chain that caused the body's tissues to be overexerted in a compensation that lead to the injury. That's the easy answer. The bigger question is WHERE in the kinetic chain was there a breakdown?


THROWING BASICS 101

When we look at throwing in any sport, we see a VERY complex skill. It requires the full body to be completely coordinated to achieve a efficient and injury free motion. This means that the from the big toe up to the top of the head, everything must be in working order and orderly working.

Proper joint motion must occur at the right time, place and speed so that the muscles and connective tissue that are attached can ECCENTRICALLY LOAD so that they can create the CONCENTRIC UNLOAD/EXPLODE which results in the throw.

When there a glitch in the process somewhere, we get an overloaded compensation somwhere else in the body that leads to an injury. For Straburg and Favre, it's focusing in on their elbows. For other throwers, it can go into places like the shoulder and lower back. It just depends on the person.

The question is now HOW DO WE TRAIN AND CONDITION FOR THE SKILL OF THROWING FOR POWER AND ACCURACY AS WELL AS FOR INJURY PREVENTION?

The process lies within Applied Functional Athletic Development design. In my other post 5 WAYS TO PREPARE YOUR ATHLETE FOR SUCCESS, I outlined the process focusing on the foot and ankle, but the same process applies for skill of throwing to develop an proficient injury free motion. It is:

1) Functional Prep

2) Fundamental Movement

3) Complex Movement

4) Skill (Throwing, in this case)

A lot of times, people tend to skip the one step or another and when that happens, we can get SOME results but not as comprehensive as is possible using the 4 step process.

In the next blog post, we will go over the Fundamental Preparation that everyone who is starting to throw, throwing or maybe post rehab should do. We'll also do some investigations into some of the elbow injuries that throwers suffer from. There are already posts on Rotator Cuff impingement  and Shoulder Instability.

Please send any questions or comments to Will@3doptimalperformance.com.

Thanks,

Will

A quick and dirty functional circuit for a total body workout

Very often, I get emails from friends asking me about a simple yet functional workout.

As many of my client-patients and athletes know, I am all about exercies being multi-planar to be functional. A while back, I wrote the post "3 exercises every athletes needs to do". They are:

LUNGES

SQUATS

PUSH-UPS

Putting the movements into a nice sequence works very well. Because function is TWEAKABLE, this cicuit can be done many ways.

For instance, you can change the number of reps within the circuit from 1-(whatever).

You can do each movement (lunge, squat, push-up) for time before you move to the next one like 45 seconds for lunges then 45 seconds for squats, etc.

You can speed up or slow down the movmements.

You decrease or increase weight of dumbells.

The number of possibilities is ENDLESS but I wanted to just shoot this video out as a INTRO TO FUNCTIONAL FITNESS.

VIDEO DETAILS

In the video, you will see me:

Do the lunge matrix with:

Both arms reaching to knees back to shoulder (bicep curl)

Both arms reaching to ankles to an overhead press

Do squats and push-ups with the single-plane tweaks of:

XXX - Feet/hands neutral

RXX- Right foot/hand forward

LXX- Left foot/hand forward

XWX- Feet/hands wider than hip distance

XNX- Feet/hands narrowr than hip distance

XXE- Feet/hands turned out

XXI- Feet/hands turned in

This circuit can be progressed into the double-plane and tri-planar tweaks, but I will save that for another day.

If you have any questions or comments please let me know.

Best,

Will

Slowing down to Speed up Development: Secrets of Success series

Faster. Stronger. Bigger.

Thats the tagline of a lot of training and conditioning programs. They LOOOOOVE to get you doing something faster. However, is faster always better?

Recently,  I was coaching our fall conditioning group in "Stances and Starts" which is basically starting in different foot positions like right or left foot foward and then going to small jog with either the same or opposite foot moving first. For some reason, a few of the guys were in good stances and when they started, there was a moment where they rocked back and then rocked forward into the jog. At first, I was puzzled as to why they would do that. It wastes a lot of time and is pretty uncoordinated. Well, I had to stop the whole group for a moment to tell them that when you want to start walking/jogging/sprinting, you simply had to lose your balance forward, the body would react by moving either foot forward. Therefore, rocking back to then go forward was very inefficient. After a few times, some of the boys got it but one did not. He simply wanted to just get started any way that his body could do at the time.  I let another coach work the rest of the drill and coached this young man. I told him to simlply "slow down, feel the weight of your body (which is 6'8", 230lbs) in the balls of the feet, lean forward and just go but DON'T RUSH!" Everytime I saw him start to rock back, I stopped him and had it do it over and slower. Big guys need to have as much finesse, balance and body awareness as anyone else on the court. If not, it makes for a BIG ineffective clumsy player. Well, after a few minutes of really focusing and slowing down, he was finally able to feel the ground under feet and every start and stance after that was perfect.

This young man need to allow himself to slow down and get into his body. So many people, especially athletes, go through their activity with their brains half-on and hoping that they 'get-it'. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't but when they do not get it, the recipe for success is not going to be do it faster. Speed covers up a lot of errors. It's in the slow speed that's when we can see what's going on.

Below is a video of the famous golfer, Ben Hogan, who was meticulous in his practice. You will see him do a few super-slow swings. It's amazing that Ben is taking the time to a) breakdown his swing into parts and b) do it a slow speed so that he is aware of the movements taking place. Notice also who he steps slowly into place. Not only does this take patience, it also takes a tremendous amount of discipline to practice with intent, focus and attention to the most minute detail.

Are you able to slow down to really get a grip on what you doing? It doesn't have to be athletics. It could be anything from work to raising a family. Some moments deserve a slow practice to appreciate the subtleties of the activities as well as the big movements.

Is there something you aren't getting within an activity? Here's a simple solution:

1) Slow down. Breathe.
2) Break the movement down into parts. Taking one big skill in one bite can be too much to deal with but smaller parts, that are then connected together make the task MUCH more approachable and attainable.
3) After practing slowly, start to integrate speed and if there is something still wrong, go back to Step 2 and do it again. Maybe something else in the chain is going wrong. If so, find and fix.

Have a productive day!!!

Will