(Functional Movement + Optimal Nutrition) x Genes = PEAK PERFORMANCE

"You are what you eat!!!" is a phrase my grandmother must have told me hundreds of times. To her credit, she was way ahead of the times with no hard science and only her intuition and God-given intelligence to go on. Well, the science is in.

Amazingly, we are now discovering that Athletic Development is more than just "good genes" as it has been said many times. There are many components that go into world-class performance and one of them is nutrition. Actually, let's call it what it really is--- NUTRIGENOMICS.

We also know that FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION and that the proper movement at the right place in the correct sequence can stimulate incredible physiological changes down to a cellular level.

This post will focus on the amazing changes that can take place when GENES x FUNCTIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNALS equals OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE.

Applied Functional Athletic Development: A New Paradigm for Athletics

Applied Functional Athletic Development: A New Paradigm for Athletics


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In a not too distant past, it would not be uncommon to find an athlete who could compete in multiple sports. Many athletes like Jim Thorpe, Jim Brown, Bo Jackson and Babe Zacharias come to mind in terms of those who were skilled enough to play multiple sports at higher levels. However, an athlete need not follow in their footsteps to be considered an all-around athlete.

Today, the athletic community is finding itself in a different situation. Athletes are specializing much earlier. What we are seeing are better performances but unfortunately, there are more injuries and fewer athletes are able to sustain high performance for an extended career (Gambetta, Athleticsim). Recently, we have seen the rise of performance enhancement drugs like anabolic steroids that have rocked sports like Major League Baseball. Are our athletes finding themselves with their backs against the wall and are willing to risk using known banned substances that have dangerous long-term side effects?

Athletes and spectators realize that many movements in sports are spontaneous. The body must adapt to the demands imposed upon it by the athlete, opponents and the environment. A training system that has athletes go through rigid movements does not allow for the functional fluidity and flexibility of the body.

Applied Functional Athletic Development guides athletes through a process whereby functional movements are introduced, practiced and applied in a global biomechanical sense. Through this process, the athlete increases their overall athleticism as well as their sport specific skills.

Introduction to 3-D Foot/Ankle Complex

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Since I started this blog, I have wanted to write about the miracle of the Foot/Ankle Complex but hesitated every time as it is such a complex part of the body that deserves a lot of attention. I will admit that I spent over a year of intense study on the foot and ankle and still am at the beginning stages of understanding the comnplexity of the foot. However, there is a simplicity to the foot that makes it very understandable and approachable.

In this post, I will go into the SIMPLE SIDE of the 3-D Functional  Anatomy of the Foot and Ankle as well as the Chain Reaction Biomechanics.

3-D Behavioral Science: "The Element of Freedom" and the Driver of Passion

3-D Behavioral Science: "The Element of Freedom" and the Driver of Passion

Once in a while, I deviate from my analysis of the body to go into the mind and spirit. I think as a movement therapist, we have a duty to focus on all three but unfortunately, we can miss the opportunity.

Recently, I was found myself in the Verizon Center in Washington, DC at the concert of Alicia Keys. I have been following Alicia since she debuted many years ago with "Songs in the key of A minor" and went to one of her first concerts. Throughout these many years, I have been able to go to a few of her shows in large and small venues, and I can honestly say that this is an artist who has grown artistically.

Alicia released "The Element of Freedom" in December of 2009. I've had the album for a while, but I had not listened to it. I believe that things come to us when we are ready to receive them. In December, I was not ready to listen to her CD. However, now I found myself feeling grateful for her contribution.

At her concert, it was obvious that she was passionate about this new album. What her passion for music translated to was an amazing album where it seemed she departed from "standard" fare of what albums should be to an ablum where Alicia fully expressed herself. That's a weird place for many people. Personally, I believe that "place" is way outside of their comfort zone, but unfortunately, it's where their MIND/BODY/SPIRIT greatness lie.

What drives us to that "place"? I believe that the driver of PASSION takes us there and this is what this post is about.

3-D Feet/Hip/Core/Arm Connection Case Study: Tim Tebows "new" throwing motion

UPDATE 5/2/10: CONGRATS TO TIM TEBOW FOR BEING RECRUITED IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE NFL DRAFT TO THE DENVER BRONCOS!

There has been a lot of hype regarding Tim Tebow lately. It's a little "Flavor of the Day"-ish so I hesitated to write this post BUT, I think there is a lot to be learned from Tim and his new throwing motion especially regarding Functional Biomechanics as it relates to throwing.

First, I want to just say that I think Tim is a great athlete. MANY MANY MANY folks have been downing him lately and that's their prerogative. If you are going to do this on this blog, STOP. STEP BACK AND ALLOW YOURSELF TO BREATHE.

I am going to say that I will give Tim credit for what he's done. He's gone in and within a few weeks reworked his throwing motion which is not an easy thing to do. However, from most accounts of him, he's a smart athlete which helps when you are unlearning a motion that has taken you through high school to college to winning the 2007 Heisman trophy. If you are interested in learning about the learning process of skills and becoming an expert, I encourage you to check out The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle.

In this post, I will take a look at Tim's "old and his new throwing motions and give a biomechanical analysis of what is allowing him to be more explosive as well as accurate.

Introduction to 3-D Lumbar Spine

"Baby, do you understand me now

Sometimes I feel a little mad

But don't you know that no one alive

Can always be an angel

When things go wrong, I seem to be bad

But I'm just a soul whose intentions are good

Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood"

Those are a few of my favorite lines from "Don't let me be misunderstood" originally performed by The Animals.

As we look at the Lumbar Spine, we see that this area of the body is where we can get a lot of pain. It's been said that over 80+% of people will have Low Back Pain (LBP) sometime in their lives. This is an amazing statistic but unfortunately, its a true. What is more interesting is that the Lumbar Spine, because it is the site of pain, is the most misunderstood. We call it the "Noisemaker" because when it's in pain, it can literally make you scream. However, as we look into the Lumbar Spine with Applied Functional Science, we see that the Lumbar Spine is the part of the body who gets beat up on the most and the actual cause may lie somewhere else in the body like at the Hips or Thoracic Spine.

In this post, we will explore:

• SIMPLE SIDE OF LUMBAR SPINE ANATOMY
• CHAIN REACTION BIOMECHANICS OF THE LUMBAR SPINE

The posts that follow will focus on Probable Suspects for the Lumbar Pain as well as a Movement Focus on preventative measures for Lower Back Pain.

3-D Optimal Performance Blog is BACK AND BETTER!

Greetings!

It has been over a month since I've posted on the blog and I apologize for not doing so sooner. It has been an interesting last few weeks on my end, with the biggest being the completion of a rather intense wrestling season where my team was able to finish 3rd in Washington, DC. The boys worked hard during the season and we definitely saw a lot of improvement from many of the wrestlers.

Interestingly enough, I had somewhat of an epiphany during this time off. The name of the blog is "3-D Optimal Performance" and its something that is near and dear to my body, mind and spirit. Initially, I focused quite a bit on Anatomy, Physiology and Chain Reaction Biomechanics as well as Functional Movement. It was a way to get a lot of the info that was in my head out and hopefully it has been useful to readers. I will still continue with this kind of writing, but I do not want the blog to be limited to this.

Efficient and Effective movement are keys to Optimal Performance in whatever discipline that you are in and maximizing what we have been given internally and externally are going to elevate our performance as much as possible. With this in mind, we will approach various topics geared toward OPTIMIZING PERFORMANCE using an Applied Functional Science thought process.

For instance, I have been training for a triathlon and decided that I just didn't want to just start swimming, cycling and running without doing in the most effective ways possible. Wasting time and energy are not ways to optimize performance, so I decided to set out and find some of the best systems for those 3 disciplines. I found:

Swimming; TOTAL IMMERSION
Cycling: SPINNING
Running: EVOLUTION RUNNING, POSE METHOD AND CHI RUNNING

I will go into more later about each discipline using AFS but I posted the links if you wanted to learn a little more about them.

Look out for a blog post on Total Immersion soon as well as a Anatomy Focus on the Lumbar Spine soon.

Thank you for reading, and please know that I'm very excited to start posting again.

Happy Friday!

Will