CONDITIONING TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE

Participation in something athletic is a great way of keeping active; whether it’s a round of golf with business colleagues, going to the gym to do weights or yoga, jogging along the waterfront, tennis, swimming or biking at the weekend.

Most people think of their sport as a way to get their strength and conditioning. But the more active you are the more you need a proper strength programme to achieve balance.

Examples are golfers or tennis players, who do a lot of flexion (bending forward) and rotation on one side. It is easy to understand this can develop a muscular imbalance. It can also create a lot of niggles or injury.

You may be a seasoned athlete or just a weekend warrior; either way, these pains are no fun at all.

Discomfort may not take you out of the game but constant low-level nagging of neck, shoulder, back or knee, or a strained Achilles tendon, are a warning something is not right.

A lot of these come from lack of base conditioning. Everyone’s body position is different and needs appropriate foundational exercise; this is why an assessment is needed to determine what you need.

Take two different people. One could be loose and floppy in their joints and need a lot of stability and strength to sustain their structure with little need for stretching. The other might need a lot of mobility and stretching before a strengthening programme.

There is a definite order of importance in conditioning: Corrective stretching, mobilisation, stability, strength and then sports-specific training.

Failure to comply with these fundamental rules creates constant troubles such as back and joint pain, hamstring and rotator cuff tears, disc injuries and more.

Quite often a lot of damage has already been done within the spine and joints from many earlier years of sports. But even if you have spine or joint degeneration, getting the body back to a favourable position and stabilising it can prevent further damage and reduce pain.

A conditioning programme

• A specific stretch and mobility programme might involve 15-20 minutes daily to loosen tight musculature. Tight muscles will pull the joints out of their optimal alignment. This is not about stretching for a particular sport but to have optimal resting joint position so they don’t wear out and become painful.

• A stability, strength and functional movement programme might be done 2-4 times a week. Joints need intrinsic stability of the smaller muscles.

• Your strengthening programme should also mimic your sporting patterns and correct imbalances.

• Invest in skilled advice when it comes to your athletic performance. If you need a lawyer or an accountant, you would not hesitate to hire professionals. The body requires similar knowledge and attention. 

THOUGHTS CREATE ENERGY

Wouldn’t it be great to have abundant energy during the day and still have plenty to do what we love after work?

Chek practitioners don’t treat the disease but the person. So we teach those suffering from lack of energy how to embrace the six foundation principles:

 Thought, breath, hydration, nutrition, exercise and sleep. Thoughts are a powerful component of energy – imagine the impact of bad news such as the death of a loved one or the windfall of a million dollars.

An old saying goes, “If you want to know your thoughts of the past six months look at your body today. If you want to change your body in the next six months look at your thoughts today.”

Poor quality thinking pumps out excess stress hormones. 
Over time, this causes hormonal imbalance, leading to decreased energy and disease. Too much stress or poor thoughts will weaken the immune system. We are all given the same amount of life force. When people are sick or tired, they are just channelling their energy differently.

Physical or emotional pain is like the compass of the soul. The more the pain, the more we are out of alignment with who we are. Being stuck or blocked emotionally can be extremely painful.

Sometimes, painful emotion, injury or illness can be one of the most valuable things in life. Perhaps not in the moment but in the learning curve needed to create a new life experience.  This can lead to improved health, vitality, love and appreciation of life. Negative emotions stored for years are a major source of illness and disease.

The subconscious mind records every picture of our past, good or bad. It is so strong that in times of stress and high emotion it can re-stimulate strong negative feelings.  Professional help can clear past traumas and find the path that best suits you. I have tried several styles and continue to do so.

Thoughts trigger emotions and every emotion has a hormonal and energetic reaction. Hence our psychology is our biology; simply put, the body is a manifestation of the mind. 
When we create what we want in life, energy increases. When we create what we don't want, energy decreases. When we are on the right path of creating what we want, we have an abundance of energy.Creating new and positive thought is a powerful way out of poor health. This must be a daily practice or habit – just like training your body.

The human mind is an endlessly complex creation. Imagine it as an iceberg, with 10% above the water being the conscious mind and the remainder the subconscious.
Keep looking to find the right one for you. They are all different roads to the same outcome – cleaning up the mind, rather like debugging a computer. 

YOU MAY NOT BE SICK BUT ARE YOU HEALTHY?

There is a large continuum when it comes to health or illness.

We all have our own picture of where we fit on this scale.

Just because people are not sick that they assume they have health.

We are like a plant that can survive in a bit of dry old soil or a weed pushing through the concrete. However, that is just survival; getting by and not flourishing with radiant health and abundant energy.

Most people are programmed to know their physical and mental health will start declining from about 40 years old.  To me this is nonsense; I am nearly 50 yet I am fitter, stronger, healthier and smarter than in any early years.

So what does real health look like?      

         Physically, mentally and spiritually fit
• ·      No pain
• ·      Emotionally balanced
• ·      Good reproductive health
• ·      Freedom from disease
• ·      Great energy and motivation
• ·      Radiant skin, hair and nails
• ·      No symptoms
• ·      Happy
• ·      Slow ageing
• ·      On a growth path of some sort.

Health is defiantly a three-legged stool of body, mind and soul.

We all need to take responsibility for our futures and have strong daily health routines in place to make this happen.

Most of us have been taught that when something is wrong we go to the doctor, who will give us a pill to make us better.

Of course, there are times when we need the skills of a good doctor – such as for an infection.

But using drugs to treat symptoms may only suppress the underlying problems until bigger ones occur.

Many of these drugs cause other severe health issues, creating more trouble.

Whenever possible, it is best to look at natural alternatives and lifestyle changes. (See below for a comparison of the “allopathic” or remedy-based approach with an holistic one.)

Get educated, motivated and inspired to create optimal health for a happy future.

Check out my other blogs for more information or my website
www.michelleowen.co.nz

Allopathic

• Is done to you
• Happens from the outside in – surgery, injections, pills
• Is passive – laying on a bed or table
• Treats the symptoms
• Singles out a part of you, just the part that hurts.
• Is quick – but short-lived
• May restore you to where you where before
• Focuses on the ailment

Holistic

• Is done by you – changing your thoughts or deep emotional issues or re-correct body structure through skilled exercise
• Happens from the inside out – detoxification, digestion, hydration, healthy food, deep stabilisation of internal musculature
• Is active – you have to do the work
• Addresses the underlying cause
• Encompasses all of you, looks at the big picture.
• Takes time – can be slow to start but lasts for the longer term
• Improves you on many levels to be better than you were
• Focuses on you as a whole

BOOST BLOOD FLOW FOR A BETTER BRAIN

The brain is one of the body’s most important organs.  

Although the skull is hard, the brain’s consistency is soft and custardy. It floats around in cerebral spinal fluid, which acts like the blood of the brain and nervous system.

Although the brain is only about 2% of body weight, it uses about 20% of the body’s blood flow and oxygen supply.

Blood flow is essential for brain health. Blood brings oxygen, glucose or blood sugar, vitamins and other nutrients and gets rid of carbon dioxide and other toxic waste.
Caring for the brain
Limits to blood flow

Anything that limits blood flow is extremely ageing to the brain and to other organs.

The brain needs the same things to be healthy as the rest of the body, such as good clean water, quality nutrition, sleep, movement and deep breathing.

It is made up of 60% fat so good quality fats should be an essential part of the diet.  Walnuts are a great brain food and they even look like a brain hemisphere.

Other good fats for the brain are olive and coconut oil, oily fish and clean lean protein sources.  Lean protein is essential at every meal.  Omega 3 fatty acids help the brain function properly.

Use low glycemic vegetables with lots of fibre. Phytonutrients in highly coloured fruit and vegetables are a must for healthy brain nutrition.

The brain is about 80% water so dehydration makes it a lot harder to think – staying hydrated is a must. Imagine a plump grape versus a dried raisin when you are not hydrated.

Exercise not only increases blood flow but it raises serotonin levels. This is great for the limbic (emotional) part of the brain because it relies on serotonin to function properly.

It is desirable to do exercise that requires right and left brain activity and coordination with both sides of the body working well. Skilled weight training on cable systems is ideal.

The prefrontal cortex is the front part of the brain that helps in judgment, learning and planning. The lack of good sleep lowers the blood flow and can lead to bad decisions.

Smoking is a powerful constrictor of blood flow.

Too much stress – an overflow of adrenalin constricts blood flow to many areas of the body.

Too much caffeine can restrict blood to brain, disrupt sleep and cause dehydration.

Avoid toxic substances whenever possible.

Not enough movement – it is essential to get blood pumping enough to get nourishment to vital organs.

Heart disease and diabetes both limit blood flow and make blood vessels brittle, which prevents healing of tissue.

Learning is good for the brain. Become a life-long learner; just like muscles, if you don’t use it, you lose it.