Want to learn more about how to adjust your diet to achieve optimum health?  Sign-up for your FREE, private fitness and nutrition consultation here at Athlon.  You’ll get specific-to-you information on the fastest, most-effective way to get optimally fit!

www.SLOPersonalTraining.com/consult

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Then get out to Athlon for our PUSHUPS FOR CHARITY event on MAY 19th and raise some money for our returning men and women of the armed forces!

 Be sure to sign-up for this years Pushups For Charity event happening right here at Athlon on May 19th!  It’s for a great cause…

Get all the details here:

www.SLOPushupsForCharity.com

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Ryan Maxwell

Before                                           After

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Before                                      After

Pretty impressive for just two months, don’t you think?!

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After 9 weeks of:

• following Athlon’s exercise plan,
• meeting with his trainer only once-per-week, and
• using the Meal Movement delivered meals to help with healthy eating,

Ryan lost 4% body fat and lost almost 4 inches off his waist!!  Not too shabby in less than two months.  What did you do this last two months?

Great work Ryan!  Thanks for being a part of Athlon.  See you at the gym soon…

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And by the way, if you’d like to learn more about our training systems and/or the Meal Movement system please don’t hesitate to ask.  We’re here to help.  Just submit the form at:  www.SLOPersonalTraining.com/consult and we’ll contact you right away to discuss exactly how you can get results like this in just two months!

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Get off the ball and move your head!!

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“Next to love, balance is the most important thing.”   – John Wooden

One of the primary goals of modern day “functional training” is to build better balance that you can use in the real world. People with better balance move more gracefully and with greater strength and power than those that don’t.  And they have less injuries. We are with this 100%. One of Athlon’s guiding principles is that “form follows function.”  Train a person to function optimally in the real world and the “good-looks” will come.

Unfortunately, this is one of those places in life where “common sense” often fails…

It is commonly accepted that learning how to balance on something unstable will make us more stable on solid ground. Unfortunately, this is generally not true. I see the same misguided logic in the training that boxers and mixed martial artists often put themselves through.  You can often see them doing sprints on the beach thinking that the “harder to run on” sand will make them stronger when they get into the ring.  (just because it’s harder, doesn’t mean it’s better)  When ever is the ring or octagon full of sand??

Modern physiology and neuroscience both tell us that we improve at EXACTLY what we train for. If you run on the sand, you’ll get better at running on the sand, not fighting in a ring… sit at a desk all day without breaks and you WILL become an excellent sitter… and training on an unstable surface makes you better at standing on unstable surfaces — not a valuable skill for most athletes! (and remember, everyone is an athlete to us at Athlon. If you have to move your body in the real world then you’re an athlete)

Additionally, when you look at how modern, “functional” balance training is typically done there are some major glaring flaws… Think back to the last time you saw someone standing on a “balance device.” They probably looked a lot like this:

If you look closely you will see two vital mistakes:

1. They take on a startle/scared posture the majority of the time — their shoulders are up, head forward, shoulders rounded, spine rounded, flexed at the hip and knee. (how is that a good thing?  Most people come to Athlon to stop living in this rounded, uncomfortable, scared posture, why would I do something that reinforces it??)
2. To “help” their balance — they fix their eyes on the horizon or ground and never move their head.

Why are these two things a problem???

Well, for one, we’ve already said — you get what you train for. Standing and training in a startled, scared position emphasizes and reinforces something you’re already very good at… something God made you good at from birth… being startled and scared. It’s important to our survival. But we’re not intended to live in that posture 24/7…

And two, if you understand how “balance” is created in the body you know that there are three primary systems involved in keeping you upright:

1. Your Visual System (number one sensory system in the body that governs all other systems)
2. Your Vestibular System (often referred to as your “inner ear” that is key for  balance and staying upright)
3. Your Proprioceptive System (the sensory nerves in your joints that tell your brain where your body’s at, where it’s moving to and how fast it’s going there)

Each of these three systems provides input to the brain regarding our body’s positioning and motion. When you stand on a balance device the three systems provide conflicting information, e.g., your vision and vestibular systems are telling your brain, “everything’s normal and upright” because you’ve frozen your head and vision in one position; but your proprioceptive system is sending signals saying something has gone massively wrong, “the ground just turned into Jell-o!!” When this happens, a sensory “mismatch” in our brain is created and your body’s/brain’s response is FEAR… THREAT… and hence a scared/startled posture.  If you train this very often lasting pain and poor performance will be the result.

This means it’s important that all three systems — and the interactions between them — are trained.

So, while training on an unstable surface may stimulate your proprioceptive system a great deal — never moving your eyes or your head leaves you with deficits in your training for two out of the three systems that keep you upright!

How Athlon Train’s Balance

The great news is that there are some very easy exercises to incorporate into your training that will help you take advantage of all three systems.

Here’s a basic training progression we’ve adapted from the folks at Z-Health:

1. Find a firm, solid surface to train on and ensure there is nothing to trip/fall/injure yourself on.
2. Take off your shoes.
3. Standing with both feet on the ground and your eyes open, quickly turn your head to the right and maintain your balance for 15 seconds. Repeat this quick turn and balance turning your head left, looking up, looking down, and tilting your head left and right. This should be incredibly easy.
4. Next, repeat all the same steps in #3 with both feet on the ground and your eyes closed. This should still be very easy.
5. Now, we will make it harder. Stand on one leg with your eyes open and repeat all the movements found in #3. While this may still be easy, by the time you are done training on each leg, you will likely be feeling some significant foot and leg fatigue.
6. Finally, it’s time for the hard version! You will repeat all the movements found in #3 while standing on one leg with your eyes closed. This is much harder than it sounds like it should be. More than 90% of athletes that we test are unable to stay upright for the full 15 seconds in each position when first tested.
7. As you discover your strengths and weaknesses in this series, plug these basic balance training drills into your day. Within 4-6 weeks you should notice tremendous improvements in your stable ground balance. If not, give us a call at 805-546-6070, or request your complimentary fitness consultation at www.SLOPersonalTraining.com/consult, so we can direct you in the appropriate direction for more help.

Balance—everyone needs it. Everyone wants it.
Make sure you’re getting it and not losing it…

Until next time,

Ryan

P.S. what are you wating for?  Click on the link above and come in for a FREE consultation to learn how to improve your balance, and hence gracefulness, strength and power.

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Today’s article starts with a phrase you hear all the time in one form or another: “take care of yourself first…” “gotta look out for #1…” etc., etc.

And there’s a lot of truth in it. The airplane brochure is right… ‘first, put on YOUR oxygen mask, then your children’s.’ You can’t help them if you don’t stay alive yourself!

But too often we let our work (or other lifestyle additictions) get in the way and we stop taking care of ourselves.

Taking Care of Ourselves Defined

1. Making time to eat healthy food,

2. Getting good rest at night,

3. Ensuring you have time and energy to get in GOOD exercise every week (walking from the parking lot into work and back does not count…)

4. Adjusting things as necessary to keep stress levels down (which means adjusting #1, 2 and 3 above)

These four things are necessary to find health, happiness and fulfillment. Your physiology requires it.

Sometimes I wish I could just focus on work or a certain project and not have to worry about these four things but the fact is God didn’t make us that way. These are requirements of the machine that is your body. And through that machine you manifest your life into reality. You must take care of the machine before your work and any other “addictions.”

Too often “work” is the number one reason I hear people say they don’t have time for #’s 1,2,3 and 4 above. But your work is there to serve YOUR purpose of finding health, happiness and fulfillment. It shouldn’t prevent it.

There’s no doubt that keeping these on track while still being a breadwinner is a challenge. But it doesn’t change the fact that you HAVE TO DO #’s 1,2,3 and 4. Your physiology requires it.

Having worked in a hospital for five years I’ve seen many, many people that didn’t give priority to these four things and were now paying a very heavy price. If you’ve spent any time in a hospital you’ve seen just how awful the outcome of that is. I’ve always said that every person should have to work in a hospital for at least one year in order to be a part of society. They’d see first hand the consequences of their lifestyle and have a lot more desire to change it before it was too late.

Why Do We Do It?

So, if NOT giving enough attention to good nutrition, good rest, good exercise and low stress is such a bad thing, why do we do it? Why do we push things so hard in our careers that we forget about these four basic elements?

Well, here’s a few reasons for the addiction:

1. You have a strong desire to “succeed” in growing your career,

2. You desire for a high income so you can do all the things that you “think” you want to do in this world,

3. You enjoy challenging yourself and seeing how much you can grow,

4. You are trying to prove something to yourself or someone else causing you to prioritize incorrectly,

5. You enjoy your work and get lost in it.

This is by no means an exhaustive list but I think it’s some of the “big rocks.” But no matter what the reason, the fact is these are all still peices of an unhealthy addiction.

I define addiction as “a continued involvement with a substance or activity despite the negative consequences associated with it.”  If you’re skipping those four elemts to health, happiness and fulfillment, then you’ve got an addiction.

St. George and the Dragon

I was sent this picture a while ago by a colleague and it really resonated with me. Are you familiar with the story of St. George and the Dragon, painted by Paolo Uccello around 1470? It is on display in the National Gallery in London.

There are a number of legends and versions of the story but as you can see St. George has come to kill the dragon and free the maiden.

And the maiden wants to be free of the dragon. But if you look closely you’ll see she’s holding the leash.  And she’s been holding it the whole time.

What she MUST do is let go of the leash…

This story relates to anyone dealing with addiction, but I thnk it closely relates to people that tell me they’re too busy with work to do the four basic elements of health, happiness and fulfillment. Even though they’re dissatisfied with their bodies, with how they feel in the morning, with how productive they are in their work and family lives, etc.

They have become St. George’s maiden…

Letting Go of the Leash

So how do you let go of the leash and kill the dragon that’s preventing you from manifesting health, happiness and fulfillment?

You must develop a deep understanding and awareness that:

1. There is a dragon,

2. There’s a leash holding the dragon close to you and it’s in your hand

3. ONLY YOU can let go of the leash, and you must do so before you…

4. Kill the dragon.

This is not an easy process and I’ve struggled with it quite a bit myself. But let me start with some fundamental elements…

The Heirarchy of Responsibility & Time Investment

One of the first things you have to realize when you’re in this place (once you’ve acknowledge #1, that there is a dragon), is that your values are out of alignment.

Imagine a pyramid with three levels…   (there are many versions of this example but we’ll keep it to three levels for simplicity’s sake).

The bottom level, the foundation, is ‘YOU.’ Then the next level, a little smaller as you go to the middle of the pyramid, is ‘YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS.’ And finally, at the top, the smallest part of the pyramid is ‘YOUR WORK OR CAREER.’

The key here is that YOU are the foundation and the most important part of the pyramid. Nothing else functions without the foundation, YOU (A HEALTHY YOU)!

If you’ve got these out of order you’ve got a path of suffering… and it’s an unsustainable path at that. It’s going to come crashing down eventually. And you know this…

The second thing you’ve got to realize or start paying more attention to is how you “invest” your time. Time is our most prescious resource and if you’re puting it all into work that’s not a very good investment. In the end, your career is going to matter very little if you didn’t invest time into your health, happiness and fulfillment (which would’ve given you more time in the first place, remember the hospital example?).

You DO HAVE the control to invest your time wisely. It is YOUR time to invest. You simply need to make the choice. You need to decide now to pay attention to the four key elements of health, happiness and fulfillment:

1. Making time to eat healthy food,

2. Getting good rest at night,

3. Ensuring you have time and energy to get in GOOD exercise every week (walking from the parking lot into work and back does not count…)

4. Adjusting things as necessary to keep stress levels down (which means adjusting #1, 2 and 3 above)

If you’re not sure how to invest in these, well, that’s what we’re here for at Athlon. We work with people all the time on this issue and have come up with some pretty smart solutions for them to get a very positive return on their investment of time…

…better health, happiness and fulfillment through a more energetic, productive, pain-free, good-looking body!

But whether we help you with it or you help yourself, you must do it. You must invest your time into these four elements wisely and enjoy this little time we have here.

If you’d like to learn the ways that we can help you achieve that take advantage of your complimentary fitness and nutrition consultation today by clicking here. It’ll be the best 45 minute time investment you’ll ever make with the HIGHEST pay-off.

Until next time,

Ryan

P.S. you should really click on the link above and come in for your no-obligation fitness and nutrition consultation.  We’re here for you and you’ll be surprised at how much you learn about yourself in that consultation.  I hope to see you soon.

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I had a completely different topic started for today’s blog and newsletter but I can’t pass on writing about Wes Welker’s almost-amazing, almost-game-winning miss in Sunday’s Superbowl game and the visual mechanisms involved in it.

Now, what does that have to do with YOUR health and fitness??

Well, actually more than you’d think.  Vision is the dominant sensory system in the human body and it could just be the cause of your lack of progress in fitness.  Read on to learn why, and see a couple amazing success stories at Athlon…

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There’s been a huge uproar of people on the internet blaming the Patriot’s loss last weekend to Welker’s missed catch.  And apparently a bunch of idiots sent Butterfingers to Copley Square to mock him… Come on people!!  Don’t you have anything else to worry about in this world???

However, even Welker put the blame on himself stating,

“It’s one of those plays I made 1,000 times,  the ball is right there. I’ve just got to make the play.”
“It comes to be the biggest moment of my life and I don’t come up with it. It’s discouraging.”

It’s very honorable of Welker to take the blame, but not right.  The complex physiology and neurology that allowed Welker to even get a hand on that ball in that situation is nothing short of amazing… and the topic of today’s article.

Whether you’re catching footballs or walking around your house, the role of vision in the body’s overall abilities, fitness and YES, Weight Loss is crucial.  It is the dominant sensory system in the human body and plays a key role in everything we do.  And Welker’s vision has been shown time and time again to be superior to most other human beings.  Unfortunately, not this last Sunday.  Personally, I feel it was a poorly thrown ball and the quarterback, Tom Brady, is just as much to blame if not more, but you decide for yourself below…

Welker is 5’9″, running at near top speed and the ball is thrown extremely hard and fast, four feet over his head and behind him.  Yet he still manages to leap a couple feet in the air off one leg, spin 180-degrees in mid-air and reach up and put his two hands in the exact location of the path of the ball.  That’s amazing athleticism.

Here’s the problem, he failed to “grasp” at just the right moment (when it hit his hands).  And trust me the way the ball was thrown, his “grasp” would have had to be perfect and defying of our natural human visual instincts explained below… (again much of the blame should be on the quarterback for throwing a ball that was almost uncatchable yet made to look good by an amazing athlete…)

Fact is, it’s very natural and actually instinctive to miss that ball in that situation.  We humans are very good at “predicting” where a projectile is going to be, then taking our eyes off of it and using our “muscle memory” to place our hands in just the right spot to catch it.  That’s how they’re designed to work.

The eyes only quickly look at a projectile to get a snap shot of where it’s going to be then they’re put onto the next task so we can already be predicting what’s going to happen next.  That’s how the human nervous system works.  We are great at prediction and ultimately built to focus on prediction.

You see, human beings aren’t built for performance… we’re built for survival.  And survival means prediction.  After millennia of survival we humans have become amazing “predictors.”  It’s extremely important that we “see” and “predict” what’s going to happen ahead of time (for instance, that we see the Saber-Toothed Tiger long before we “feel” it dragging us away, right?!).

If there is any reason Wes Welker could be blamed for missing that ball it’s simply that in such an awkward and dangerous position his instincts took over to look ahead for the impending danger coming, i.e., the fast approaching hard ground and avoiding being crushed by the two very large defenders that were closing in on him!  Usually he’s a good enough athlete to still “grasp” at the right moment.  Just not that one in a thousandth time on Sunday…

Yes, keeping your eyes on the projectile all the way into the hands and grasping at the perfect moment is very difficult to do, even unnatural, taking years of practice to break the desire of the nervous system to look ahead.  I’ll describe a good drill to work on this skill in a moment but first let’s discuss vision and movement a little more…

The body relies primarily on three sensory systems to program for and create movement.  Without any one of them we’re in a lot of trouble… (in order):

1. VISION (eyesight and its processing in the brain)
2. VESTIBULAR (the inner ear)
3. PROPRIOCEPTION (the sensory system that tells the body where it’s parts are at and how fast they’re moving)

That order is important to understand.   The information coming in through your visual system dominates all other sensory systems for the reasons stated above, it’s key to survival.  And survival is what we’re built for, not performance.  You have a startle reflex, but you don’t have a dunk reflex… or a home run reflex!

Vision, for the point of survival, i.e., “prediction,” is always going to dominate, and based on that hierarchy absolutely key to all movement.

I was just talking to my friend and client, Dave Alles, about his golf swing and he stated that every time he’s having a bad day he discovers that he’s pulling his head (and vision) up off the ball early, which ruins his swing.  When he realizes it and consciously forces his vision to not look ahead his swing improves.   Essentially, he over-rides the natural instinctive movement of the eyes to look ahead and forces them to stay down on the ball.  Hence, performance is improved… but if there are any tigers on the course he’s is big trouble!

This visual dominance is very important to understand.  It could be the culprit when you’re not accomplishing something physically even though you’re working hard at it.  You could be being sabotaged by a visual issue… even in the case of building strength, flexibility or fat loss.  Let me give you an interesting example (and success story):

I recently worked with a high school basketball player that had pretty lousy flexibility.  She was concerned about it and felt it may be hurting her agility on the court (which it probably was).  I had her perform a forward bend (reach for your toes) to test her flexibility and she could barely reach mid-way down her shin bones.  I then did some drills “exercising” her left eye (which I had previously noticed didn’t track objects as smoothly as the right one).  After 45 seconds of left eye “exercises” I had her retest her forward bend.  She put both hands on the floor…

A dramatic improvement in hamstring and back flexibility in 45 seconds with NO stretching… How’s that possible?

Well, as I said above, the visual system is the dominant sensory system in the human body and will take precedence over all others (for survival purposes).  If your brain is not comfortable that the visual system is working optimally (e.g., one eye is sending slightly different signals than the other when tracking objects) it will use the proprioceptive system to “slow your muscles down.”  Or in this case, tighten them up for “safety.”  It wasn’t due to tissue changes in her muscles and joints, it was her visual system “putting the brakes on” for safety.  And you’d be really surprised at how many people are affected by this…

Remember, our bodies are built to survive.  And if there’s any threat, (real or just perceived), we’ll tighten up and put the brakes on for safety.  You can imagine what this will do to your athleticism.  The goal of all athletics (and life for that matter) is to move quickly and efficiently.  This won’t happen if the visual system is even the least bit “unsure” of itself.

Now think about your golf swing, your free throw shooting or just your navigating around the garden… can you see how important your vision is to not only being able to “see” where you’re going but for how well your muscles work and allow you to move when you go there?  Can you see how you could be prevented from expressing as much strength or flexibility or speed as you’d like in the gym and hence not get the progress that you think you should???  Vision is absolutely critical.

Now, at this juncture, there’s an important point that needs to be understood… “eyesight” is not “vision.”  Eyesight merely refers to the ability to see something clearly like the so-called 20/20 or 20/30 eyesight, meaning if you stand 20 feet away from a snellen chart (see above) and can only read a line that “most” other people can read standing 30 feet away, you have “20/30 eyesight.”  This is static visual acuity, and simply refers to your ability to “see” standing still.  But how often in real life are you just standing still?

That’s not “vision.”

Vision involves the ability to take the incoming information, process it and obtain meaning from it.  This involves multiple areas of skill and is absolutely critical in not only sport but all aspects of your life.

Static visual acuity (eyesight) is a very small part of “vision.”  Eye movements, rapidly changing your focus from near to far and back again, converging and diverging on objects, etc. Those are a eye skills that are crucial to what we really do in life:  move, intake information, process it, derive meaning from it and then act accordingly.  That’s what you’re doing at all times of the day, and especially when you’re driving…  Yet, to get a license you just have to stand still and read a non-moving chart 20 feet away.  Something’s not quite right about that I think…

I like to work with my athletes on four other very important visual drills to enhance those life skills above…

(which by the way, ALL my clients are athletes, from my 16 year old basketball players to my 90 year old librarians… everyone is an athlete in my eyes)

One of those four drills is an eye tracking drill where you practice tracking objects with your eye(s) all the way to your hands.  We call it “Letter-ball.”  I toss them a tennis ball with letters painted on it and they call out the letter that is visible just before it hits their hand and they catch it.  This forces the eye(s) to track it right into the hand (rather than the instinctual “glance at it” and then move the vision off of it relying only on muscle memory to place the hands correctly and catch it, which sometimes fails, e.g., Welker’s case).

Here’s a quick video of us doing it:

(By the way, the toughest part of getting this drill is often learning how to “knuckleball” it to your partner so that it doesn’t spin in the air so they can get a read on it.)

 
And here’s a more advanced version…

 
Any athlete that works on this drill 2-3 times per week will really improve in their sport as a result.  But not only is it good for athletes it’s good for everyone!  Who doesn’t need their eyes to improve and work optimally all the time?  (I wish some of the people driving around here did this drill more often that’s for sure!)

It forces your eyes to exercise… yes, it’s weightlifting for the eyes.  And that’s a good thing.

Your eyes are moved and controlled by muscles, six little extra-ocular muscles that surround it.  The more in shape they are the more “clarity” your nervous system will be getting every second.  And, as demonstrated above with the basketball player and the golf example, the more clarity your nervous system is getting about its environment the more it will take the brakes off your muscles and joints and allow you to move as an athlete… no matter what your age!

Don’t believe me?  I have another client that’s been doing his eye exercises that I showed him daily and he just reported to me last week that at his latest optometrist appointment he decreased his eye glasses prescription by two factors and the previous discrepancy between his left and right eye has all but disappeared.  That’s awesome and shows the power of exercise (once again).

Now, guess what else is going to happen soon??

He’s going to get stronger… a LOT stronger… burn more body fat… become more flexible (already has done that)… become more agile and athletic… and more… as a result of having good, quality information coming into his nervous system through his now “strong” eyes!!

Here’s to taking the brakes off,

Ryan

P.S. if you’re not making fitness gains like you think you should come into Athlon and fix that problem.  We’ve got quite a track record for that, whether it be your eyes not working correctly or your exercise program just not the right one for you!  Click here to sign up for your FREE consultation and learn how we can help you get the specific improvements you’re looking for!

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While we can certainly all have a rich inner life mentally and spiritually, ultimately we translate our ideas, thoughts and spirit into reality through the vehicle of our body.

Isn’t it fair then to say that one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is a strong, healthy, coordinated, and pain-free physical structure?

In today’s health and fitness world, new trends come and go. Fads in the fitness world are like negative campaign ads in politics… you just can’t seem to get away from them. And every new fad is trying to set that person or gym apart from the rest… show that they’re somehow special above the others.

However, we mustn’t forget what these fitness facilities are tying to do in the first place; our goal, no-matter what the means, is improved human function through an improved human structure.

Though, many personal trainers forget this, it is still at the heart of what they’re trying to achieve.

Sure, it’s nice to be admired for having a nice looking body, but it’s even nicer to get out of the bed in the morning without pain, and with the boundless energy and vibrancy of childhood, right?!

This is possible despite what you’ve been told…

You see, YOUR BODY came fully equipped with EVERYTHING IT NEEDS to be continually operating at its best… perfectly designed to adapt to the challenges you place on it. This phenomenon, called the S.A.I.D. principle, is a very well understood fact of human physiology. Its an acronym that stands for Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand.

Let me explain…

If you carry 10 pounds of extra weight every day on only your right arm, soon your right arm muscles will adapt (grow larger) to more efficiently carry that weight… If you sit 13 hours a day you’ll fairly quickly adapt to becoming a “good sitter” (forward head, rounded shoulders and back, etc.).

This physiological principle, this adaptability, remains an over-riding phenomenon throughout our entire life. It does not go away with age.

And at ALL ages, the human body (with its ~300 joints and ~639 muscles) is beautifully designed to move in any and all directions fluidly, powerfully, and gracefully. You have these muscles and joints as a child and you still have these muscles and joints when you die. Unfortunately, once our childhood is over we typically stop moving fluidly, powerfully and gracefully and instead begin to develop unique patterns of dysfunction according to our lifestyle.

The SAID principle states that if you fail to periodically challenge your body to move in every direction (like a child at play does), you will lose the ability to do so. In other words, you will adapt to becoming stiff, immobile, and inefficient. There is a great deal of truth in the phrase, “Move it or lose it.” That is the SAID principle in a nutshell. It’s not age that causes the loss in function, it’s our lifestyles.

Here’s a beautiful picture illustrating the SAID principle at all ages. These are MRI images of thigh muscles in various men:

At the top, thighs that have adapted to their “imposed demand” -triathlons. In the middle, thighs that have adapted to their “imposed demand” -sitting. And on the bottom, despite being 70 years old, thighs that have adapted just like the 40 year-old triathletes thighs. Lean and muscular.

From the study (referenced below) the older triathletes had a greater number of motor units compared to their age-matched controls (sedentary older adults) and a similar number compared to the young. The authors concluded that lifelong high-intensity physical activity has the potential to limit the loss of motor units associated with natural aging well into the 7th decade of life.

So what needs to be done? Quit your job and go do triathlons or play like child all day long???

No, probably not the best idea. But, a focused daily exercise session trageting each and every joint, and especially your problem areas, e.g., the areas that don’t move fluidly, powerfully and gracefully, is a great start and just what you need to begin the process of rehabilitating poor posture, poor movement patterns and areas of pain, and get that boundless energy of a child back in your life.

At Athlon we start every session, no matter what your age, with sound mobility training for every joint and muscle, sound movement pattern training for every joint and muscle and then do some good exercise for your specific need.

This is the key, and to date, the only true fountain of youth that has been discovered. So be sure you’re including sound movement training into not only every exercise session but throughout your whole day every chance you get. Your body and life will be much better.

Now, actually DOING what you know you need to do and doing it correctly – well that’s the hard part.

That’s why if you think you need a little help in the “doing” department, I highly suggest you take advantage of your FREE Fitness Consultation (an $85 value).

During this consult, you’ll receive detailed information on how to get fit and trim that’s tailored to YOUR body.

There’s no obligation and it’s totally and completely free. To sign up, click here

Until next time,

Ryan

References:

McCrory JL, Salacinski AJ, Hunt SE, Greenspan SL. Thigh Muscle Strength in Senior Athletes and Healthy Controls. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2009;23(9);2430-2436.

Baker AB, Tang YQ. Aging Performance for Masters Records in Athletics, Swimming, Rowing, Cycling, Triathlon, and Weightlifting. Experimental Aging Research. 2010;36(4):453-477.

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Here at Athlon, we follow the nutritional strategies of the very well respected Dr. John Berardi, creator of Precision Nutrition. One of the latest subjects his team has investigated is intermittent fasting (IF). From his book, here is a cheat sheet outlining two of their favorite protocols:

1. The Trial Fast

What It Is:

Simple, you try it out. The Trial Fast is what we have our own Lean Eating clients do: try going without food for 24 hours.

Why Do It:

To experience hunger intentionally in order to get accustomed to the feeling, and, well… not freak out. The ability to manage hunger is essential to fitness and good health, and this is a great way to get better at it. (Check out more benefits of the trial fast in the Introduction.)

Who It’s For:

The Trial Fast if for anyone who wants to try fasting without committing to it full-time. It’s also an excellent way to see if more advanced forms of fasting will be right for you.

Get a little spacey during your trial fast? A little irritated at people? Well, those are actually common responses. Nothing to worry about. Want to put your head through a wall or yell at everyone who enters the room? That could be a problem. But you’ll never know until you try.

How To Do It:

Essentially, you pick any 24-hour period, and don’t eat during it. But we like to add a few things to make it easier. Here, we’ll assume a Sunday fast:

10 PM Saturday:

• Eat your last meal of the day
• Drink 500 mL (2 cups) of water

10 AM Sunday:

• Drink 1 L (4 cups) of water + 1 serving greens powder
• Drink 250 mL (1 cup) of green tea
• Take 5 grams BCAA (branched chain amino acids) powder (or take 5 capsules)

3 PM Sunday:

• Drink 1 L (4 cups) of water + 1 serving greens powder
• Drink 250 mL (1 cup) green tea
• Take 5 grams BCAA (branched chain amino acids) powder (or take 5 capsules)

10 PM Sunday:

• Eat a small snack before bed
• Drink 500 mL (2 cups) of water

Monday:

• Eat normally

Tips and Strategies for the Trial Fast:

• The tea, greens, and BCAAs aren’t essential to fasting, but in our experience, they make it a lot easier.
• Drinking water in particular helps to mitigate feelings of hunger.
• Be aware of your body cues. Feeling stressed out or “upset” during your fast? Relax. Take a few deep breaths, and pay close attention — this is what hunger can feel like. The more you know about the feeling, the easier it is to manage in the future.
• Have healthy food (lean meats, veggies, etc.) in the house and ready to go when you “break” the fast on Sunday night with a small meal. We suggest a tablespoon of almond butter and some celery. Also, having healthy food in the house is good insurance that you won’t binge on Monday when you return to normal eating.

2. The Periodic Fast

What It Is:

The Periodic Fast is exactly what it sounds like: you fast periodically. So while you should still eat well (high protein, lots of veggies, a balance of fats, and a moderate intake of minimally processed carbohydrates) you’d periodically take a full day to fast (just like the Trial Fast).

You can do this once a year, once a month, once a week — whatever works for you. But we recommend no more frequently than once a week; as you can read in Chapter 5, twice a week proved disastrous. Fair warning.

Why Do It:

To further practice hunger management and experience more of the potential health and fat loss benefits of intermittent fasting.

Who It’s For:

The Periodic Fast is for anyone who responded well to the Trial Fast.

How To Do It:

The Periodic Fast is flexible: you can choose whichever 24 hours you want. Want to fast from breakfast to breakfast? That’s cool. Just eat breakfast on Monday, and don’t eat again until breakfast on Tuesday. Want to fast dinner to dinner? That’s cool too. Eat dinner on Wednesday, and don’t eat again until dinner on Thursday.

To do it, simply follow the rules above from the “Trial Fast”.

Tips and Strategies:

• I like to do the Periodic Fast when traveling. When I’m in and out of airports and good food is hard to come by, I’ll throw in a full-day fast when it makes sense. Other people find that travel stresses them out, and fasting may exacerbate that feeling. You may prefer to pick the least stressful day in your week or month and start with that.

But ultimately, fasting is a “nice-to-have.” It’s unnecessary to get in shape, and alone it’s insufficient.

You know what’s both necessary and sufficient? Things like eating good quality food in the right amounts at the right times. Things like learning to prepare healthy food in the first place. Those things are enough for most people to get in the best shape of their lives. I know, because my team and I have helped thousands of clients get there; none of them did any more than the Trial Fast, but all of them are taught those essentials.

So if you’re looking at all this intermittent fasting stuff and aren’t sure where it fits in for you, what should you do?

Learn the essentials of good nutrition. It’s by far the best thing you can do for your health and fitness.

Let the professionals at Athlon help guide you into superb nutrition and ultimately outstanding mental and physical wellness. All you have to do is CLICK HERE and ask!

‘Til next time!

Haley

P.S. We’re serious about helping people achieve what they want out of their bodies (and lives). We’re here for you. Just click the link above and request a free consultation to learn exactly what we do and how we do it. It could be the best decision you’ve ever made!

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