This ‘ONE’ thing is game changing for your fitness

Happy Monday All,

Hope you are all well and had a great weekend and Happy Mothers Day for Sunday to all the Mums out there!

We headed to the Farmers Market on Sunday to stock up on fresh veggies, and some cupboard basics and finished the day with my parents coming over for a Sunday Roast. In between, we enjoyed some walks, catching up with friends, and some more eating 🙂

On to today’s newsletter;

Be the athlete 

I often say you should train like an athlete. It’s not just the workout that you need to consider 

An athlete is highly focused on 

• Getting the right warm up – mobility, activation, prehab, corrective exercises 
• Recovery in the form of massage, physiotherapy, cold baths etc
• Self myofascial release A.K.A hanging out with the foam roller 
• Nutrition to aid performance 
• Supplementation 
• Using the right gear such as the correct shoes and clothes 

 

You see, I truly believe that if we did this ‘ONE’ thing – we treated ourselves a little more like an everyday athlete we would get far greater results with our training. 

Picture the typical runner 

After a poor 6-7 hour sleep the alarm 🚨 goes off and you drag your sorry butt out of bed. It’s cold, dark and you’re tired because you stayed up late watching one more episode on Netflix. You don’t have long because the kids will be up soon and you will have to get them dressed, ready and prepare something for them to take in their lunchbox today. 

But first it’s time to squeeze that run in. You slam back a black coffee and gently shut the door behind you. The first 10 minutes feels like it always does, you feel the niggles in your knees, hips and that plantar fasciitis in your right foot 🦶 that seems to be getting worse and worse by the day. 

The pain eventually simmers down and you knock out the rest of your 7k. You log your time and ks on the app – 35k complete already this week!! 

When you get home you wolf down some toast and a couple of tabs of ibuprofen to keep those pains at bay. Get the kids ready and then it’s your turn to get ready. On go the high heels 👠  and it’s out the door. 

A better day 

You wake up early after a good night sleep 💤  You have already organised the kids lunch boxes the night before so it’s time to do some mobility work. You walk barefoot from the bedroom to the lounge where you start gentle mobility drills on your toes, ankles, hips and thoracic spine. In addition to your coffee you sip your way through a tall glass of water mixed with a pinch of sea salt. 

Dressed and ready you slip on your zero drop, wide toe box minimal shoes which you have gently been increasing the k’s in over the past year or so in order to adapt to a minimal shoe. You start your run with a few drills to improve the skill. You focus on the mechanics of the run and making sure you totally have your foot strike dialled in. No heavy heel striking for you. 

You log a solid 6k knowing more is not better – better is better. 

When you get home you slowly work your way through a green smoothie with added collagen protein and you neck a couple of fish oil tablets. 

You get the kids ready and then it’s your turn, on go the flats 🥿 

When you get to work you set up on your standing desk and set your timer for 35 mins. Yes every 35 mins you take a quick walk around the office to stretch your legs and move. 

That evening at home you spend 20 mins doing some body maintenance drills including some foam rolling, toe stretching and some hip openers. 

 

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I’m not saying you need to train like the ‘elite athlete’ doing some ‘’Secret Russian Squat Cycle’’ those guys have been training their whole life, have genetic advantages and get paid to train. 

You on the other hand have a family, a 9-5 job and plenty of other responsibilities. 

You don’t have time to commit 6 hours a day to your training but with what time you do have, you would benefit from treating yourself better 

• While watching your favourite series on Netflix, get on the ground and do some foam rolling or better yet, get yourself a massage gun 

 

• Instead of the binge watch, turn off the TV and spend 20 minutes prepping the kids food for tomorrow 

 

• Invest in some good shoes that will look after your feet (Best price Vivobarefoot shoes) 

 

• Get a better work set up. Consider a standing desk or a high stool set up. One of the best books I have read on workstation ergonomics is Kelly Starretts Deskbound. Here is a 47 page pdf sample of the book. Do yourself a favour and have a quick read over it this weekend. Your back and knees will thank me later. 

 

• Spend some money on some high quality supplements. You don’t need to buy the whole shop. Simply get yourself a few on the big bang for your buck basics – Magnesium, fish oil and a good multivitamin

 

• Arrive at the gym 5 minutes early and spend an extra 5 minutes on movement preparation and warming up 

 

So, there you have it. Be the everyday athlete   

 

Paul “everyday” and Krystie “heels” Miller