A little Self Assessment
April 23, 2009
Your In! I have got you to commit to a goal, you have challenged a couple of friends to join you in your quest to walk, run or race you way thru a 10K. You have laced up your shoes and hit the road for a couple of runs, and for the first couple of weeks you’ve felt great. You are now about a month into your program and for some reason you are questioning your original intent!!
Your feet hurt, your shins hurt, your knees hurt and bending over to brush your teeth is not much fun. If you believe that this is what training is all about, read on..
Training smarter, not harder isn’t about finding the easiest way to accomplish something, it’s about discovering the most optimal way.
Optimal = efficient. Efficiency leads to increased performance
Take a common door hinge. It is a simple system, with a simple job - to open and close. If this system is performing optimally it will allow you to open and close your door with minimal effort. Straight open, straight shut, smooth and efficient.
The door opens and closes, open and closes, it performs this task thousands of times in its "lifetime." It takes a beating, and overtime the door hangs a little crooked. Initially you feel it takes a little extra effort to open and you have to put a little hip into it to get it to close. Over time you start to hear the squeaks and groans that indicate trouble, and eventually you notice the wear and tear on the hinge
Do you tough thru the sticking point, squirt a little oil on the hinge to quiet it down, or do you wait until the door falls off the hinge to replace the whole thing??
While you ponder that thought lets take a look at another simple system. Your knee joint is a hinge joint that is designed to perform similar to a door hinge. Straight open, straight closed. It is a system asked to perform this task thousands of time every day…
Day in, day out this joint takes a beating and you begin to notice that your knee is getting stiff, it takes a little extra effort to move. You begin to feel little aches and pains, and notice a little puffyness - signs and symptoms that indicate somethings not right.
Do you tough it thru your training program just to get the mileage in? Do you wear a knee brace, apply ice bags and gobble ibuprofen to quiet things down? Do you run until you can’t anymore before you decide to take care of it?
Of course not! My wife would have been telling me to fix the door from the beginning!!
In the video series I explain a process of self assessment. How do you determine if your body is not performing efficiently? How do you know if you are expending much more energy than you need to? How can you perform better or more optimaly?
Perform a little self assesment on yourself. Can you perform a single leg squat effectively or do you notice that you foot is rocking and rolling, does you knee move inwards or outwards, do you shift your hips, twist and turn and wave your arms to maintain balance…
If yes, follow my blog and stay tuned to the video series to learn some tips on how to correct these issues, train optimally to perform at much higher levels than you thought you could while reducing the incidence of chronic injuries.
