Poor Posture?

The narrative that there is a good and bad posture needs to go.

Posture can be and should be variable.

Certain postures are so often demonized. Alternative “better” postures are proposed and preached as if these positions are immune to pain or discomfort. Which is absolutely false.

Any position or posture can be problematic if we are not ready for it or spend too much time in that position.

Encourage people to explore movement.
Exploring movement is not sitting in a super rigid position all day.
Exploring movement is changing positions when we feel the need to.

When Should You Give Unsolicited Advice?

It doesn’t matter what experience or education you think you have, just don’t do it.

You don’t have the needed information to ensure that your “advice” will be helpful. Because of this your information could make things worse.

Most people, myself included, do not like making things worse.

If you still feel the need to open your mouth, start by asking questions first. Learn about that person. You might find that they don’t need your help at all.

How To Spot A Scam When You Are In Pain

You’re in pain. You want help.

Here are a few red flags so you can avoid being told incorrect and outdated information.

And to avoid wasting your time and money!

Number 1:

You see an Ad on Facebook or Instagram

The website Address is something like this:

offer.wellness.promo.{insert Clinic Name}.ca

What this means: They are paying some random marketing bro who knows little about the industry to drive people into their clinic. Because they aren’t getting enough referrals.

Number 2:

The ad has any of the following terms:

• Root Cause

• Spinal misalignments

• Postural evaluation

• Holistic

• Central Nervous System

• {insert any big fancy word someone might use to make them sound smart}

What this means: They will probably use these terms to tell you some non-evidence-based cause of your problems; before selling you some super expensive solution.

Number 3:

It’s a “New Patient Special” for some oddly specific price.

It’s probably $47. Or $37. Or $48.39. Or $51.91.

It will be a price that makes you wonder: “How did they come up with this number?”.

It will also sound cheap. They will say it’s worth a value Much higher. Like $200. Or $300. Oddly this is always a nice large even number.

What this means: The price is not the price. The price is there to drag you in; before selling you something much more expensive.

Number 4:

You see the phrase “If Needed”.

“Adjustment if needed”

“X Rays if Needed”

“Acupuncture If needed”

“Orthodics If needed”

“Body Fat Measurements if Needed”

“Supplements if Needed”

What this means: They will tell you need it. Even if you probably don’t. This costs $. Lots more than your initial payment.

Number 5:

There are before and after photos with green and red lines.

Probably Looks like this:

What this means: Nothing. They might have provided different instructions for each photo. Maybe they told them to stand taller... Many factors determine how someone stands.

Number 6:

They have reviews like these:

What this means: Avoid at all costs! Bonus scam points if the business does not reply to the review to address the situation.

Your time and money are valuable.

You deserve quality evidence-informed care.

Be aware of the red Flags.

Client Assessments: How Do I Initially Assess My Clients?

First, it depends on the client.

I used to run all my clients through the same movement screen. I no longer do this.

But something I do with all new clients is gather information about their lifestyles.

To name a few things this includes:

• work

• relationships

• responsibilities

• sleep

• stress

• nutrition

We use this information to improve factors outside of training. Conveniently, improvement in these factors assists in improvements in training.

I still use movement screens and range of motion testing with some clients. This could be clients that have issues accomplishing certain motions or tasks, or who need a certain range of motion for their goals.

For certain clients, I will also evaluate strength levels. This could be for clients with performance goals or chronic pain who would benefit from increasing their capacity.

Something I do not do is assign cause to someone's strength or lack of it. For someone in pain, it is out of my scope to diagnose and say that their strength is the cause of their pain. It also wouldn't make sense unless I had their pre-injury strength levels.

For athletes, I assess based on the needs of their sport. We might look at a few things:

• Range of Motion

• Vertical Jump

• Broad Jump

• Sprint Speed

• Throwing Velocity

• Swing Speed

• Combine testing

Assessments are all about information gathering.

There is no pass/fail.

It’s just a starting point. Helps us prioritize and know where to begin.

This leads to more effective progress.

Minimum Effective Dose How Often Do You Need To Exercise To See Results?

How often do you need to exercise to see results?

Your time, money, and energy is valuable.

You want to improve your health.

How much exercise do you need to do to see progress?

This all depends on where you are starting from.

Like all things in life, exercise does have some risks.

A risk factor for exercise is doing too much too soon.

For a client who has never participated in structured exercise, I would NEVER have them exercise 5 days a week to begin.

For someone already exercising 5 days a week, but not seeing results, sure an additional training day could be added. But that wouldn’t be the first option.

When determining how frequently to exercise, know that you have science on your side.

You can get results training 1 day a week, 2 days a week, 3 days a week, etc

But it’s also important to know that training volume and frequency aren’t the only factors in getting results.

To increase the likelihood of success with exercise, you need to consider these two critical factors:

• Can you do this consistently over a long period?

• Can you recover enough? Can you sleep and eat appropriately to support this lifestyle change?

I’d rather have someone exercise once a week over a long period then try to do every day for a month and then stop.

I’d rather have a sleep-deprived client exercise for 20 minutes instead of an hour while committing to getting an extra 30-60 minutes of sleep each night.

Your Consistency Matters More Than Your Technique

A lot of blame gets assigned to technique regarding pain and injuries.

However “good” technique is hard to objectively measure. It’s very subjective.

And we don’t have the evidence to support that ANY specific technique is dangerous at ANY load or intensity.

There are infinite ways to move your body.

What matters more than being “perfect” with your technique (and everything) is that you find what works for you and your goals and that you are consistent with that approach.

Consistent doesn’t mean that everything is always the same. That’s impossible.

Consistent means that things are similar to a reasonable degree.

Sure you can absolutely run into issues using a certain technique.

But that doesn't make that way of moving the problem.

It simply means that you weren’t ready for it at that moment. That’s it.

You can prepare your body for anything.

Except Taco Bell. That’s always a gamble.

Sit Up Straight?

What’s the best way to sit?

It depends.

Here are three things I would consider:

• Are you comfortable?

• Do you have a task that requires you to sit a certain way?

• Can you switch positions occasionally?

Posture is a popular topic, rarely discussed with nuance.

It’s often viewed as good or bad. Right or wrong.

But we don’t have ANY evidence that a specific sitting position gets rid of pain. Because pain can have many sources.

We do however know that movement is good for us.

Any sitting position can be the right one.

Not comfortable sitting up rigid and straight? Slouch.

Not comfortable slouching? Sit up straighter. Or stand up and move if you can. Or cross your legs. Or extend your knees.

Explore your options!

Your Pain Guide with Exercise

You CAN exercise with pain.

But it’s important to have guidelines and frameworks to help us make decisions.

Guidelines:

• Pain stays less than 3-4/10 during movement.

• Pain stays the same or decreases with movement.

• Range of motion and movement quality stays consistent between reps.

• Pain reduces after finishing exercise.

• Pain returns to baseline within 48 hours.

What if your pain has been higher than a 4/10 for a long period of time?

First. go see a health professional.

If you are cleared to train that painful area, a different framework could be helpful.

What that diagram means is that your training intensity (or RPE) should be adjusted based on your current pain levels.

This can keep you moving so that your body doesn’t become deconditioned.

Notes:

• This is NOT medical advice.

• Pain is subjective and pain tolerances will vary between people.

• These are guidelines not a set of firm rules.

We can learn a lot about stress from Astronauts

On earth gravity provides a physical stress on our bodies.

Our muscles and bones adapt to this stress to maintain their strength.

This is good.

In outer space bones and muscles no longer have the same physical stress.

Our cardiovascular system also no longer has to work as hard to pump blood.

This is bad.

Without the physical stress on earth, an astronauts physical health will deteriorate.

Unless there is the added stress of exercise.

This is why astronauts exercise for 2 hours a day.

While stress often has a negative association, it can be incredibly helpful and protective for our health in the right dosage and with appropriate recovery.

How do we improve from stress?

We Improve In Our Recovery!

There are many forms of stress.

Exercise is a stress.

A stress is anything that disrupts us from our normal state, or homeostasis.

Our Stress Response is an ongoing cycle/

When don’t we Improve from stress?

When the stress is greater than our recovery.

Do sex and gender affect sleep?

Yep!

Gender is a set of societal and cultural roles.

Here’s a few roles that affect sleep:

• In some societies, women are the primary childcare providers. This can mean sleepless nights taking care of children. They might also be responsible for the cleaning and cooking in a household.

• In some societies men are the primary financial earners in the family. this can mean longer work hours.

• Men and Women can also have different beliefs around sleep.

Note: Gender is a social construct and can be redefined. Meaning women can also be the main financial earners in a household and dudes can help with childcare, cooking and cleaning!

Impacts of Sex on Sleep

Note: Sex and Gender are not the same

• Fluctuations in estrogen levels are linked to hot flashes in perimenopausal women that can disrupt sleep

• Transgender people may notice disruptances in sleep as they undergo hormone therapy

• androgens (such as testosterone) may increase the risk of obstructive sleep apnea, while estrogens may reduce it

Are you a Sleep Outlier?

Sure, general recommendations for sleep fall in the 7-9 hour range. But what if you prefer to be outside of the range? What does that mean for you?

There are two types of sleepers who fall outside of the general recommendations for sleep:

Natural Short Sleepers and Long Sleepers

Natural Short Sleepers

• Have a higher sleep drive, but respond to it less.

• function perfectly fine on less than 7 hours of sleep

• can handle being more tired before needing to sleep

• linked to a mutation of the DEC2 gene, as well as high levels or orexin (a hormone that keeps you awake and makes you hungry)

If you sleep less than 7 hours a night, does that make you a natural short sleeper?

No!

Ask yourself, are you actually thriving on the amount of sleep you are getting? Short sleepers are rare. Many people sleeping less than 7 hours will benefit from improving their sleep quantity and quality.

Long Sleepers

• become tired more quickly

• function poorly on low sleep

• need more sleep

• linked to a mutation of the PER3 clock gene

Do you sleep longer than 9 hours a night?

Again, ask yourself if you are truly thriving. For some 9-10+ hours of sleep is needed.

But for others it could be both the Cause and Effect of issues like depression, cardiovascular disease, chronic fatigue, or taking certain medications. Talk to your your healthcare provider if this applies to you.

How Much Sleep do you need?

Maybe you sleep 10 hours a night.
Maybe 6. Maybe 5.
Or maybe you are in that generally recommended range of 7-9 hours.

All could work.

When determining how long you should sleep there are a lot of factors at play.

What is your work schedule? Are you a shift worker?
Do you have a partner or kids?
How do you currently feel with your quantity of sleep?
How do you feel when you wake up?
Are you sleeping through the night?
Are you able to train effectively?

Lots of questions to be asked. General recommendations are exactly that, general.

They can’t apply to everyone.

How to actually do active recovery

Active Recovery doesn’t need to be a workout. It’s actually best done within a workout.

Let’s say you are doing a workout with intervals.

Maybe it Looks like this:

8 Sets: Run 400m. Rest 1 Minute

Or This:

4 Sets:

AMRAP 4 Minutes:

Row 250m

8 Back Squats

12 Pushups

Rest 4 Minutes

What do you during your rest?

Option 2:

• Continue moving at very low intensities.

• Avoid everyone crying on the ground.

• Focus on things within your control, like your breathing

• Incorporate low intensity movements that are beneficial for you, like mobility work

Option 1

• Lay on the ground and cry.

• Soak in your tears

• Complain about the workout

• Contemplate your existence

Option 2 is actually Active recovery. You should probably do that.

Advantages of Active Recovery

• Helps clear blood lactate after bouts of intense exercise

• Can help increase average power input during intervals

• Less tears. Keeps our eyes hydrated.

Now active recovery is only helpful when provided adequate rest periods. When rest is less than 30 seconds, passive recovery is better.

I would still avoid laying down and crying if you can.

Note: This applies to conditioning workouts. Not strength training.

Your 5km run is not active recovery

Goes for a 5km “Active Recovery” run on their day off from the gym.

Proceeds to test their 5km time.

Sure if you’re feeling great and want to do that, go for it. I’m not your mother. I can’t tell you what to do.

But I can tell you that it’s not active recovery.

It’s just another workout.

Exercise is a stress on our bodies. And it can be a great stress. But we also need breaks from that stress to recover.

In order for movement to support our recovery it needs to be at lower intensities. Otherwise it’s just another training stimulus.

The power of yet

I can't run.
I can't pick that up.
I can't play with my kids.
I can't go on that hike.

Add yet to the end of each of those sentences. The outlook will change dramatically.

Suddenly you might feel less stuck.
You might feel more optimistic.
You might start believing in yourself.

Great things aren't accomplished instantaneously.
They take time, effort and consistently.

You can do hard things. And it will take time to accomplish. And that's not.

Say you can't do something and you will be 100% correct.
Say you can't do something yet and you will 100% have a better chance of being successful.

We are all constantly evolving

How quickly you evolve is up to you

So you've got a new goal.

Maybe you want to start exercising regularly. Or whatever goal you currently have.

You need to redefine yourself.
You need to change the way you speak to yourself and about yourself.

You need to start viewing yourself as someone who exercises.

I've heard people say they don't exercise because they are lazy.
Well if you decide that you want to exercise more frequently you are no longer that person.

Start saying to yourself that you are a person that exercises. Take on the new identity.

Part of the reason you took on that goal may be due to you being unhappy in some way about something.

Take on a goal and commit to it. You are now redefining yourself and moving away from your former self that you were unhappy with in whatever way.

What should you prioritize?

So you want to exercise. You want to improve your relationship with food. You want to get better sleep. You want to manage your stress better.

Where do you start?

There can be debates about what will give you the greatest return.
Some will say it's exercise. Some will say it's food. Some will say it's sleep. Some will say it's stress. Some will say do everything all at once.

But the debate is pointless if you aren't ready and willing to start with a specific component of your health.

Maybe you want to start with exercise. Fantastic! Start there. With time you might find yourself more motivated to fuel your body appropriately. Or that you feel more interested in improving your sleep routine to improve your recovery.

Maybe you want to start with improving your sleep. With time you might find that you have the energy to start exercising more frequently. Or that you want to try some stress management strategies to help you get better sleep.

Start with whatever you want. Create the habits in one area and then in time you will feel more ready to layer on more things.

Not everyone has the ability to work on everything all at once. That would be a privilege.

So start with whatever you want. You'll get the biggest returns from the things you are ready to start with.

How you can find time to workout

"I don't have time to workout"

For some people this statement is true.
They might be overwhelmed and overworked. But want to be more physically active. Want to be healthier and happier.

So what do they do?

First. What is a workout? Many view it as something that takes 30-60 minutes. Something that you might need to go to a gym to perform. Something that you need to commit to doing multiple times a week for a long period of time.

But you are busy. You can't commit to that. Because you actually don't have time for that.

So fuck that. Make a new definition of a workout.

Maybe a workout is walking to work or walking the dog.
Maybe a workout is doing some squats while making diner.
Maybe a workout is doing some yoga or stretching before bed to help you relax and get better sleep.
Maybe a workout is a few pushups done a few times sprinkled throughout the day.
Maybe a workout is something you found on Youtube that you can do in your living room.

There are infinite ways to structure things to add more movement and activity into your life to improve your health.

It just might take some creativity. And sometimes you might need help thinking of a starting point. I can help with that. If that's you, let's chat.

Don’t Wait for motivation

Motivation is not a necessity.

Sure it's awesome when it's there but what do you do when it's not?

Do you have to pause on your goals? Or give up on them entirely?

Fuck that.

Think of a task that you don't enjoy doing but that you do it anyways.
Maybe it's doing the dishes? Or taking out the trash.

A model for conceptualizing behaviour is the Fogg Behaviour Model.
Behaviour= motivation + ability + prompt

A prompt is a something that reminds you to do something. For taking out the trash, that would probably be garbage day.

Conveniently taking out the trash does not require a lot of ability. So it can still be accomplished with minimal motivation.

When motivation is low we need simple tasks and strong prompts.
When motivation is high we can manage more challenging tasks.

Maybe you aren't motivated to go to the gym. You don't like the workout that you have programmed.
So what do you do?

Yes you could not go. Maybe you could benefit from some down time and recovery.

Or maybe you ask for someone to go with you. You schedule a time. That's a prompt.
Or maybe you change the task to be more in alignment with your motivation. Maybe you change the order of your workout to do the things you enjoy first. Or maybe you totally go off script and do random things that you feel like doing.

As a coach I look for consistency. Because that is where you will get results. I want to keep the behaviour going. So that means consistently having appropriate prompts and tasks that match motivation in the moment.