In my 20+ years in Physical Therapy, I've noticed that there are primarily two types of patients that come in for care. Type 1 is looking to partner up with you and get things taken care of the best they are able to. Type 2 is looking to you to fix the problems.
Type 1 folks tend to be diligent with their home programs and understand that the 2-3 sessions in the week only make up a small piece of the rehab continuum of the week. They tend to see the process as something they are actively involved in.
Type 2 folks usually see the process as one where they come in and you work your magic on them to make things better. Often home programs are hit and miss, whether its exercise, stretching, applying ice, etc....
There was a time in my life where I saw this as a character issue, thinking that some folks are lazy and don't want to take responsibility for their care. I don't so much believe this anymore. While it certainly may be true that some folks are not as helpful as others in the rehab process, I've adopted a different attitude.
Realistically no one wants to hurt or be limited in their function. Some folks just don't have the personality type to go after it the way others do. Some folks are born poor time managers and just never get around to certain things. Or there are a myriad of other reasons why some folks just want you to do it for them versus be more pro-active in the process.
Much of life is like this, some folks have strengths where others are weak. It's not our place to judge harshly as much as it is to try to be creative in helping them in their journey. Remember, given the choice, no one likes pain....
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
Coachability...It's more than you think
Very few athletes achieve greatness without coaching. Coachability is often thought of as, will an athlete listen to improve their game. While that is certainly a part of it, I think that there is far more.
Problem: We all start out in sport as learners. We all are coached at some point. I recall learning fast in my early crossfit training because I would constantly bug people to show me stuff. At some point though there can be a shift in an athlete where they are proficient in things and they stop seeking to learn so vigorously.
Solution: Constantly ask folks to look at your technique/training, etc...don't ever stop trying to master the basics. If the coach is busy, ask someone else.
Problem: You start to think that you can't learn from certain folks because you are further along in your development that they are. This is a BIG mistake. This is the "smartest guy in the room syndrome".
The smartest people understand that they are life long learners and that you can learn from a large variety of sources, even if the resources you are tapping are less experienced than you, behind you in their development or someone that you may even disagree with.
Solution: Ask for feedback and advice from a large variety of folks regardless of their level or experience. If it doesn't make sense, disregard it. But very often a beginner will give you a gem about the fundamentals you've long forgotten or taken for granted.
Problem: The "That won't work for me" or the "I already do that" athlete. Often times we as athlete's are resistant to cues or coaching out of either pride or a lack of understanding.
I have a buddy who is (and I'm not trying to be mean) an annoying coach. He's ALWAYS trying to tell you how to do something even if you aren't asking. Recently he figured something out that helped me with my Muscle ups I've struggled with for literally years. In the process I recall being dismissive and telling him that I already did what he was saying. Well I obviously wasn't. And when I finally got over myself I was able to hit the movement repeatedly with minimal effort. For the 1st time in YEARS.
Solution: Stop with the excuses and assume that the person trying to coach you might be right or there might be a way to do what they're saying that you haven't thought of yet. In other words, drop your ego and excuses.
Problem: We all start out in sport as learners. We all are coached at some point. I recall learning fast in my early crossfit training because I would constantly bug people to show me stuff. At some point though there can be a shift in an athlete where they are proficient in things and they stop seeking to learn so vigorously.
Solution: Constantly ask folks to look at your technique/training, etc...don't ever stop trying to master the basics. If the coach is busy, ask someone else.
Problem: You start to think that you can't learn from certain folks because you are further along in your development that they are. This is a BIG mistake. This is the "smartest guy in the room syndrome".
The smartest people understand that they are life long learners and that you can learn from a large variety of sources, even if the resources you are tapping are less experienced than you, behind you in their development or someone that you may even disagree with.
Solution: Ask for feedback and advice from a large variety of folks regardless of their level or experience. If it doesn't make sense, disregard it. But very often a beginner will give you a gem about the fundamentals you've long forgotten or taken for granted.
Problem: The "That won't work for me" or the "I already do that" athlete. Often times we as athlete's are resistant to cues or coaching out of either pride or a lack of understanding.
I have a buddy who is (and I'm not trying to be mean) an annoying coach. He's ALWAYS trying to tell you how to do something even if you aren't asking. Recently he figured something out that helped me with my Muscle ups I've struggled with for literally years. In the process I recall being dismissive and telling him that I already did what he was saying. Well I obviously wasn't. And when I finally got over myself I was able to hit the movement repeatedly with minimal effort. For the 1st time in YEARS.
Solution: Stop with the excuses and assume that the person trying to coach you might be right or there might be a way to do what they're saying that you haven't thought of yet. In other words, drop your ego and excuses.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Weight loss strategies-updated
It's not as if people don't know what they need to do to eat right and exercise. It's coming up with a system that you can stick with that is the problem. So we came up with some ideas in the form of guidelines or rules.
Rule 1: Don't eat after 7pm. The idea is to engage in a 12 hour fasting period and get all of your eating done by 7pm at night. Teas and coffees are fine after 7pm and before 7am.
Rule 2: Find an amount of weekly cardiovascular exercise you can handle fairly easily. For some it's 15 miles of running a week, for others its 60-90 minutes. The point is find where you are at and then maybe stretch the amount a tiny bit so its still manageable. Now make sure that you get your miles or your time in every week.
Rule 3: Do you have a sweet tooth? Do you love your afternoon cocktail/wine? Find those empty calories you are ingesting and place a limit on them like only 4 of the 7 days a week or only one or the other. But come up with a plan to limit them but not eliminate them (everyone needs a treat from time to time).
Rule 4: Speaking of empty calories....by now I think we all agree that white flour, white rice, and white potatoes are more calorie than nutrients. Breads, pastas, etc....need to be eliminated if possible, and at the very least limited. I prefer to not allow them at all but this may be your hardest rule if you love your carbs, so maybe just limit them to 3-4 days of the week.
Rule 5: Weigh yourself morning and night. Lots of people are 100% against this idea. But I think that it helps you to see where you are at and make choices for the next day as well as see the impact of your day's choices. Usually there is a slight difference in the 1st thing and last thing weights, just start to see that and react accordingly.
Rule 5: Weigh yourself morning and night. Lots of people are 100% against this idea. But I think that it helps you to see where you are at and make choices for the next day as well as see the impact of your day's choices. Usually there is a slight difference in the 1st thing and last thing weights, just start to see that and react accordingly.
This is the key to the entire system-You may break any rule you like, you will just need to add 10 minutes or 1 mile of running to your weekly total. That's per rule broken. If you decide to have a late night snack of bread pudding....there's potentially 3 rules in 1 if you are over the weekly allowance already. So choose wisely!
Try this but one caveat: Don't increase your running mileage to fast!!!
Thursday, April 17, 2014
To kiss or not to kiss...
My 13 year old had his first girl come over to visit yesterday...It made Kathy and I freak out a little. There are a few schools of thought on how to approach things. We've had several "talks" with the kids about "things" over the years, but now its getting real.
The Duggar approach. If you've seen the show 19 kids and counting (they may be up in the 20's by now, who knows...) they had a system for their kids were only allowed to hug side-to-side, they weren't allowed to ever be alone. It's basically a first kiss on the wedding day scenario.
The Jase Robertson approach. If you've seen Duck Dynasty, Jase is the 2nd oldest brother and has 2 teenage sons and a little girl. He says, "Lips on lips, hands on hands". His idea is you've got to give them first base. But hands don't go anywhere else....and neither do lips....
Okay fine, we watch a lot of TV....
The "here's a pack of condoms, be careful" approach. This approach isn't on any of the TV shows I've seen but it for sure is out there. You basically assume that the kid is going to get himself going sexually at some point and you prepare him for it.
I think there are solid points to be made by all 3 of these approaches. Like all decisions and choices there are pros and cons. I plan to sit down today/tonight with my young man and discuss respecting women, future goals, present risks, and see where it goes.
I think that the biggest anxiety is always the fear of the unknown and by communicating, I'm hoping that the anxiety created by talking about such subjects is able to diffuse the anxiety about potential sticky situations he finds himself in down the road....
The Duggar approach. If you've seen the show 19 kids and counting (they may be up in the 20's by now, who knows...) they had a system for their kids were only allowed to hug side-to-side, they weren't allowed to ever be alone. It's basically a first kiss on the wedding day scenario.
The Jase Robertson approach. If you've seen Duck Dynasty, Jase is the 2nd oldest brother and has 2 teenage sons and a little girl. He says, "Lips on lips, hands on hands". His idea is you've got to give them first base. But hands don't go anywhere else....and neither do lips....
Okay fine, we watch a lot of TV....
The "here's a pack of condoms, be careful" approach. This approach isn't on any of the TV shows I've seen but it for sure is out there. You basically assume that the kid is going to get himself going sexually at some point and you prepare him for it.
I think there are solid points to be made by all 3 of these approaches. Like all decisions and choices there are pros and cons. I plan to sit down today/tonight with my young man and discuss respecting women, future goals, present risks, and see where it goes.
I think that the biggest anxiety is always the fear of the unknown and by communicating, I'm hoping that the anxiety created by talking about such subjects is able to diffuse the anxiety about potential sticky situations he finds himself in down the road....
Monday, April 14, 2014
Without faith.....
"Without faith it is impossible to please God", from Hebrews 11:6.
There's a story told about destroying a young boys faith. A man asked "who in here thinks their faith is unshakable?" A boy raised his hand. The man said, "ok son, I have a quarter in my pocket. Do you believe I do? Based on what I've told you, what you know about me, etc...what do you believe?". The boy said, "I believe you do."
At this point, the boy has faith. He does not have answers or proof, only what he believes to be true. The man then shows the boy that indeed there is a quarter in his pocket. He announces, "Son, I've successfully ruined your faith. You no longer have faith, you have the actual proof now, the answer."
So it goes with our faith in God. You do not have the proof or the answers, you only have what you believe to be true. You might be right and you might be wrong. Saying that out loud causes a lot of problems for some people. To me it's rather comforting to not need to have proof.
Are you positive about what you believe to be true? How can you be? Faith leaves room for a different answer by its very definition. This is VERY different from not believing anything though. The boy in the story didn't throw up his hands and say he refused to believe anything. He took what his experience was and made came up with what he thought was true. According to the biblical verse above, throwing up your hands and refusing to believe anything makes it impossible to please God... I would submit that being arrogant about the certainty of your belief is also discounting what it means to have faith and thus to please God...
For many years I was absolutely positive that what I believed was true. I would argue with others about it. My favorite thing to say to people now is, "You might be right". I honestly have no clue what the answer is, I only know what I believe based on my experience. That's all God seems to ask of us. Figure it out for yourself, have faith cuz you'll never truly know.
There's a story told about destroying a young boys faith. A man asked "who in here thinks their faith is unshakable?" A boy raised his hand. The man said, "ok son, I have a quarter in my pocket. Do you believe I do? Based on what I've told you, what you know about me, etc...what do you believe?". The boy said, "I believe you do."
At this point, the boy has faith. He does not have answers or proof, only what he believes to be true. The man then shows the boy that indeed there is a quarter in his pocket. He announces, "Son, I've successfully ruined your faith. You no longer have faith, you have the actual proof now, the answer."
So it goes with our faith in God. You do not have the proof or the answers, you only have what you believe to be true. You might be right and you might be wrong. Saying that out loud causes a lot of problems for some people. To me it's rather comforting to not need to have proof.
Are you positive about what you believe to be true? How can you be? Faith leaves room for a different answer by its very definition. This is VERY different from not believing anything though. The boy in the story didn't throw up his hands and say he refused to believe anything. He took what his experience was and made came up with what he thought was true. According to the biblical verse above, throwing up your hands and refusing to believe anything makes it impossible to please God... I would submit that being arrogant about the certainty of your belief is also discounting what it means to have faith and thus to please God...
For many years I was absolutely positive that what I believed was true. I would argue with others about it. My favorite thing to say to people now is, "You might be right". I honestly have no clue what the answer is, I only know what I believe based on my experience. That's all God seems to ask of us. Figure it out for yourself, have faith cuz you'll never truly know.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Working around and through injuries
It seems like everywhere I look in my Crossfit gym (just like in a normal gym) there are people with injuries or sore spots. The biggest difference is that in a normal gym environment you tend to pick your own exercises and its easy to stay away from the ones that hurt. In Crossfit, you are being programmed exercises that will sooner or later expose your issues.
Here is where smart training comes into play. Smart training is finding things that you can do that don't make your problem worse (and doing them). That's #1. #2 is addressing your problem areas.
Find what you can do. Last Friday I pulled my Teres Major muscle during chest to bar pull ups. I can still feel the area when I pull my shoe on each morning. Guess what I can't do? Pull ups. And I found that there are other things I can't do either since then. So I went in Saturday and squatted. Then I played around with bench press and found that was fine too. This week I've been exposed to pull ups, muscle ups, and toes to bar in the workouts. I used a band on the pull ups. I picked a different exercise to sub in for the muscle ups. And I just lifted my knees to chest (any higher and it was uncomfortable). I have been working hard since the injury last week and haven't made my shoulder any worse.
Address your problem areas. First and foremost my muscle needs some rest. So I haven't been testing it. But I've also been on the lacrosse ball each day, I've done rotator cuff exercises, stretched it out. I am on the "get this thing better" plan. I'm not ignoring it but I'm going after it. The banded pull ups are designed to make the muscle lengthen and shorten in a pain free range. I'm using the muscle to keep it healthy without stressing it. I'm getting some blood flow into it.
Too often I see folks do what I call checking the picture frame. What I mean is imagine that a picture frame falls to the ground and breaks at the corner joint. You glue it together. Now instead of leaving it alone to bind, you anxiously keep checking the connection, pulling it apart to see if its ready to hang on the wall again. Everytime, the glued area comes apart and you have to start over. Well eventually you have a gunky build up of old glue and the frame no longer looks right and its hard to even use anymore. The same thing happens to people with injuries. They can't seem to leave it alone long enough or do the right things for it to let it heal. Instead they keep testing it and setting themselves back.
It's entirely possible to rest an area without resting your entire body. I come home dripping with sweat after each workout but my shoulder is no worse for it. You have to train smart with an injury. And while you may not know the rehab stuff I know, I guarantee that you can get the info. Heck, just ask me if you want!
Here is where smart training comes into play. Smart training is finding things that you can do that don't make your problem worse (and doing them). That's #1. #2 is addressing your problem areas.
Find what you can do. Last Friday I pulled my Teres Major muscle during chest to bar pull ups. I can still feel the area when I pull my shoe on each morning. Guess what I can't do? Pull ups. And I found that there are other things I can't do either since then. So I went in Saturday and squatted. Then I played around with bench press and found that was fine too. This week I've been exposed to pull ups, muscle ups, and toes to bar in the workouts. I used a band on the pull ups. I picked a different exercise to sub in for the muscle ups. And I just lifted my knees to chest (any higher and it was uncomfortable). I have been working hard since the injury last week and haven't made my shoulder any worse.
Address your problem areas. First and foremost my muscle needs some rest. So I haven't been testing it. But I've also been on the lacrosse ball each day, I've done rotator cuff exercises, stretched it out. I am on the "get this thing better" plan. I'm not ignoring it but I'm going after it. The banded pull ups are designed to make the muscle lengthen and shorten in a pain free range. I'm using the muscle to keep it healthy without stressing it. I'm getting some blood flow into it.
Too often I see folks do what I call checking the picture frame. What I mean is imagine that a picture frame falls to the ground and breaks at the corner joint. You glue it together. Now instead of leaving it alone to bind, you anxiously keep checking the connection, pulling it apart to see if its ready to hang on the wall again. Everytime, the glued area comes apart and you have to start over. Well eventually you have a gunky build up of old glue and the frame no longer looks right and its hard to even use anymore. The same thing happens to people with injuries. They can't seem to leave it alone long enough or do the right things for it to let it heal. Instead they keep testing it and setting themselves back.
It's entirely possible to rest an area without resting your entire body. I come home dripping with sweat after each workout but my shoulder is no worse for it. You have to train smart with an injury. And while you may not know the rehab stuff I know, I guarantee that you can get the info. Heck, just ask me if you want!
Monday, April 7, 2014
Plantar Fasciitis and the ice bath
UPDATE!!!
http://www.amazon.com/Cramer-279820-E6-Cryo-Cap-Pair/dp/B0001DK4O8
This will make a WORLD of difference in tolerance!
Ok so here's the deal. Plantar fasciitis sucks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_fasciitis
I was an ultra marathoner for MANY years before finding crossfit. From 1998 ish till 2011 ish. I played around with a few marathons in 2012 and 2013, but mostly my running career was over by then.
In July of what I think was 2012 I upped my miles one week and my foot started to hurt. As you know I own a PT clinic and so I tried it all, massage, ice, taping, ultrasound, time off from running, etc... and nothing helped. I would be miserable when I 1st stood up out of bed and then after activity.
I found that this was the case with 50% of the patients that we saw. half responded to our efforts and the other half did not. The thing that FINALLY helped me was the ice bath.
Not just any ice bath either. You need to put in enough ice that the ice is not going to let you see water, but only ice. And (this is the most important part) you need to get your foot into it past the ankle for 20 minutes.
I've found that many folks can't make it. If you can't make it to 20, you might as well start asking your doctor for injections and give up. You HAVE to make it to 20. After you make it to 20 minutes, you want to do this at least 1x a day and then after activity or being on your feet for longer periods.
Treatment plan:
Ice bath 20 minutes 1-2 x a day for 3 weeks. It was the only thing that fixed me and I've seen it work with others too.
But you have to be TOUGH!
http://www.amazon.com/Cramer-279820-E6-Cryo-Cap-Pair/dp/B0001DK4O8
This will make a WORLD of difference in tolerance!
Ok so here's the deal. Plantar fasciitis sucks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_fasciitis
I was an ultra marathoner for MANY years before finding crossfit. From 1998 ish till 2011 ish. I played around with a few marathons in 2012 and 2013, but mostly my running career was over by then.
In July of what I think was 2012 I upped my miles one week and my foot started to hurt. As you know I own a PT clinic and so I tried it all, massage, ice, taping, ultrasound, time off from running, etc... and nothing helped. I would be miserable when I 1st stood up out of bed and then after activity.
I found that this was the case with 50% of the patients that we saw. half responded to our efforts and the other half did not. The thing that FINALLY helped me was the ice bath.
Not just any ice bath either. You need to put in enough ice that the ice is not going to let you see water, but only ice. And (this is the most important part) you need to get your foot into it past the ankle for 20 minutes.
I've found that many folks can't make it. If you can't make it to 20, you might as well start asking your doctor for injections and give up. You HAVE to make it to 20. After you make it to 20 minutes, you want to do this at least 1x a day and then after activity or being on your feet for longer periods.
Treatment plan:
Ice bath 20 minutes 1-2 x a day for 3 weeks. It was the only thing that fixed me and I've seen it work with others too.
But you have to be TOUGH!
1st post
My buddy Cory made a joke that I should have my own blog since one of my favorite Oly coaches has his and he is a marginal Crossfitter, so since I'm slightly above marginal, it qualifies me.
This blog will likely be random and contain my thoughts on things like crossfit, a little life, and maybe some other stuff (whatever is left).
This blog will likely be random and contain my thoughts on things like crossfit, a little life, and maybe some other stuff (whatever is left).
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