MOVE WITH CARL

We are born to move, but why do some people do it so much better? When you think about the way an Olympic sprinter moves across the track in comparison to how you feel when you go for a run, what can we learn from the way athletes train to move each part of their body. What is the key to movement for peak performance?

Carl talks to ex-England Rugby Player Christian Lewis-Pratt about his journey as an imbalanced athlete fighting major injuries, to finding his way to living pain free and becoming an expert movement coach. You’ll pick some great tips on how to move for peak performance in your everyday life.

MEET YOUR MAX

How do you know when you’ve reached your max and how do you truly arrive at peak performance? In the words of Tony Robbins; Masterful athletes understand how to reach peak performance through mindset and lifestyle – lessons we can all apply to reach our full potential.

No matter your fitness fix; boxing, running, weightlifting, swimming, or yoga we discuss the path to peak performance and how you can move towards your max - whether endurance, speed, strength is your poison it comes down to constancy and commitment. Discipline is required to reach any goal in life, to attain peak performance requires no difference. 

You must prioritise your passions and be purpose-driven in achieving your goals at whatever level in fitness, at work, and in life, to perform at your best. A true leader requires a certain flexibility. Being goal-orientated while maintaining self-compassion is the first step to reach your peak performance. Don’t be too hard on yourself and embrace the lows so you can truly value highs.

• PREP WORK
  Prepare for your commitment to be long-standing, not just a quick fix. Sacrifices to your time otherwise spent and a potentially a chunk of your budget allocated to acquiring appropriate gear and training will be made in your pursuit to peak performance which really gets going with 1-2 years of commitment. 
  
  You will encounter experiences that feel like failures, this is learning in its purest form. Embracing the challenges and failures will pave the road to success. 

• TRAIN WITH THE BEST
  The world’s best athletes often have mentors who previously won championships in their sport/profession. For the majority, training with champions is not an easily obtainable option but finding a specialist in the specific area you’re interested in is key to achieving your goals. The best way to learn the method, to chase your goal and go beyond your current level, it’s best to spend time with people who have already been there, done that and got the t-shirt. 
  
  Within your training or life journey, it's inevitable that you’ll hit peaks and plateaus. These are crucial to performance gains. Trust in the process of your training, use the low moments to energise yourself and try not to feel complacent with your successes.  Challenges and consistent repetition sets you up to attain peak athletic performance.  

• STICK WITH THE PROGRAM
  Switching from program to program is not the way forward. Find a program with consistent results from those who have already undertaken it and identify what might be holding you back from reaching your peak performance.  Understanding your weakness is also how you accelerate; empowering the move that you tend to avoid will boost your performance and decrease your chance of injury and/or as a lifestyle example; if you don’t have the willpower to skip dessert or alcohol at dinner during your program you’re best to take a raincheck and avoid it. 
  
  Acknowledging the obstacle is the first step, tackling it is the golden path to success - at work, within your diet and in daily life.

• KEY TIMING
  If strength is the area you're looking for peak performance, choose mid to late afternoon; testosterone levels will be more responsive and rise with your workout, your core temperature will be highest, blood flow will surge to muscles and your nerves fire up faster. Fuelling up with carbs directly after training, incorporating protein and incorporating rest days are vital for the recovery of your body to boost performance at the next training sessions - take the time you need to accelerate your progression. 
  Focus on your personal strengths to build resilience in any aspect of life, these inner resources will propel you into fulfilling your true potential in your training and in daily life.

• EVALUATE
  Retrospect is the only way a true max in peak performance is evident. The longer you commit to your chosen fix the more opportunities you’ll have to evaluate your all-out efforts. What you may have thought was your peak performance may turn out to be better described as a great effort, maybe a personal record, but not your max (although you don’t know this yet). The reverse is also true: What you thought was just a good effort may turn out, in retrospect, to have been your best performance. Therefore you won't really know until you look back and evaluate.

OUR ‘MOVE’ TOPIC 1 RECOMMENDATIONS

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BALANCING TRAINING & RECOVERY 

Overtraining, in its simplest definition, is training too hard for too long which causes negative reactions in the human body. An extended plateau of performance or even a drop in performance can be an indication of overtraining, identifying when you’re at risk of overtraining is a simple matter of how well you feel, sleep and eat. 

To reach your full potential, training: recovery is your most important balancing act. Your recovery can make or break your progress and it comes down to a science, muscles tear while training, in order for them to rebuild and repair as a new improved version of themselves as quickly as possible it's essential that recovery time is respected. Your nervous, endocrine and musculoskeletal systems need a break from the stress of training and recovery enables them the opportunity to carry out the repair work. 

You should take an entire day off from exercising every 3-4 days. If you’re really sore and not entirely recovered before your next workout it's likely you’ve not allowed for proper recovery to occur which can hinder your overall results and performance. Taking rest days is also key for mindset - to come back feeling fitter, happy and strong.

From the mental, the physical and emotional stress of preparation and performance in business, homelife and fitness the body needs time to adapt. Failing to allocate enough time to recovery work can be as catastrophic as not doing enough in order to reach your goals. The real effects of your work are processed and made permanent during its recovery; energy stores are replenished and the damage is repaired with proper rest. All of your physical, mental and emotional systems have the opportunity to recharge, and you come back stronger.

For the majority, a 45-minute workout, 4 to 5 days per week is the sweet spot, regardless of how intense your workouts are you’ll likely not to overtrain. However, if you're someone who works out for 2 hours straight at very high intensity, 6-7 days per week, you could very well be overtraining.

Signs of overtraining include: feeling depressed, decreased performance, injuries, lack of focus, and a general feeling of motivation. It is key to include mental, physical and psychological dimensions into your rest periods to reap the rewards. Here are some tips;

• Be your own best friend and listen to what your body needs.

• Get your zzz’s: 7-8 hours of sleep per night and activities such as meditation, massage, or a nap will contribute significantly to your recovery.

• On a rest day; stretch, walk, swim, dance, or do some gardening to help reduce stress.

• Fresh and protein-rich food (e.g., meat, eggs, fish, beans) is essential for rebuilding muscles and physical endurance. 

• Hydration is key to flush the body and replenish the muscles.

• Do feel good things; spend time with family, read, be in nature - anything that contributes to your physical, mental and emotional well-being should be a part of the recovery plan.

For athletes, their training load is drastically reduced in the last weeks approaching a competition. They call it a ‘taper’ period. At the end of their recovery stint, these are the benefits; improved muscular strength and power, fewer sleep disturbances, reduced stress and fatigue, lower rates of perceived exertion during exercise, lower heartbeats during activity, and brighter overall mood. It takes little imagination to understand why we should incorporate sufficient rest into our routines.

There are many different ways to assess wellbeing, but we found the following ‘quiz’ which takes 1 minute to complete. Simply rate each statement on a 1-5 scale as follows: 1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = neutral; 4 = agree; 5 = strongly agree.

1. I slept really well last night.

2. I am looking forward to today’s workout.

3. I am optimistic about my future performance(s).

4. I feel vigorous and energetic.

5. My appetite is great.

6. I have very little muscle soreness.

Each morning, evaluate yourself. If your total score is 20 or above, you have likely recovered enough to carry out high-quality training as your state of recovery is pretty good. If below 20, it’s probably a good idea to rest or work easier until you increase the score. 

So are you overtraining?
Most likely, not. True overtraining is quite hard to achieve, and the human body is very efficient at trying to make sure it does not happen. Overall, proper recovery will set you on track to achieve new peaks in your performance. Rest up!

OUR ‘MOVE’ TOPIC 2 RECOMMENDATIONS

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