Strength Matters

Today, I speak to Ant Williams a highly experienced keynote speaker and psychologist who has worked with athletes from Olympians to motocross riders. While working with athletes who were involved in dangerous sports, Ant realized that in order to help them he really needed to understand what it was like to compete in a dangerous sport, so he took up freediving.Ant found the importance that the mental state plays in athletic performance fascinating as he studied sports psychology. He started studying in the late 90s and started traveling with a Rugby team that needed some help with team dynamics. Ant was one of the early sports psychologists. He helps athletes with a wide range of issues from fear to performance blocks. In this episode, he shares insights from the psychological aspects of working with top athletes and some of his freediving adventures.Today’s Topics Include: How Ant became involved in sports psychology. The method that Ant uses is really a matter of discovery as he teaches a range of subjects to athletes. How Ant became compelled to understand how extreme athletes could be so calm before competing. Ant wanted a dangerous sport to connect with these athletes. Freediving is a sport that depends on mental state and dealing with the fear. The fear of suffocation and the pitch black darkness of the deep ocean. When Ant started he could hold his breath for 2 minutes, now he can hold it for 8 minutes. Freediving requires a lot of training and practice. How Ant freaked out during his first dive in the ocean. The pressure on your body when diving and how to equalize. By 50 meters all of the air is out of your lungs. To get past that point requires technique and dealing with your body feeling like it is being crushed. How it is amazing with what the body can withstand. How freediving is very safe if you follow all of the rules. When Ant was 30 feet underwater in Hawaii and there was a tiger shark circling Learning autonomous self-control and how to stay calm when things go wrong. The isolation of the darkness especially if the dive is spooking the diver. Training for freediving and swimming on one breath. Training includes power lifting and full-body muscle groups along with functional techniques including the dolphin swim and sprints. The sprints have made his anaerobic oxygen system better, but he has to find the right balance. Ant shares his biggest technical block and equalizing air. How Ant is able to drop his heart rate in preparation to dive. Diaphramic breathing and breathing from your stomach. How challenges come to our beliefs and how we manage them. The best athletes have the conviction that they can cope with whatever happens. How Ant is now getting involved in ice diving.Links and Resources: Ant Williams Ant of Facebook Ant on Twitter @freediveguy The Ice DiverQuotes:“I still find sport’s psychology one of the most fascinating jobs on the planet.” Ant Williams“It’s about finding tiny fears that are blocking performance and starting to remove those.” Ant Williams“What compelled me to want to work with them was seeing how relaxed they were before g

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On today’s bite sized podcast, I have the pleasure of talking with Dr. Debbie Bright and Phil McDougall. We are talking about how Phil used the Everyday Athlete principles that we have talked about to train Dr. Debbie and help her get more fit than ever before. Debbie is a trainer, but she still wanted to train with Phil to up her game. Even though, she looked fit because of her nutrition plan she wasn’t prioritizing movement.Phil has a theory when it comes to the fitness differences between Americans and people from Britain. His broad theory is that Americans walk less because they drive everywhere. Generally, Americans have the strength, but the people from Britain have the cardiovascular strength. Debbie was a good example of this because she was really strong, looked really fit, but would get sick from hard cardio workouts. Listen in as Debbie and Phil share how they trained together.Today’s topics include: Debbie met Phil during a group class and asked him to help train her. Debbie was a sprinter with fast twitch fibers During initial assessments, Phil tried to fine Debbie's weaknesses He used baseline measurements going through joint by joint and testing for any restrictions. Then cardio testing and how well the heart and lungs deliver oxygen. Metronome step test is an example. Resting heart rate should be below 65 for fitness If the person has good running mechanics then a best mile run ideally under 6.5 minutes. Debbie’s cardio was the place that needed work. Phil’s goal is to make people better at everyday movement. Debbie is powerful and fast, but her endurance wasn’t there. Boxing is a great cardio workout because it occupies your mind. Hill runs, and skipping circuit were also used. Debbie feels and looks amazing and is really happy with how things have been going. She has found that being hydrated makes a difference in her performance. She has also been working on flexibility and Phil’s thoracic spine work. Identify your weaknesses and work on those. Phil’s training has completely morphed Debbie’s body composition.Links and resources: Debbie Bright Phil McDougall Henry of Cambridge on Instagram Episode 15 The Everyday Athletes Guide to Gut Health with Dr. Debbie Bright Bent Press Manual by Phil McDougall and John ParkerQuotes:“I’m not one of those trainers that just run beside you. I incorporate intensity training in the running workouts.” Philip McDougall“Phil doesn’t take any excuses. He works me to death, but we have made great progress.” Dr. Debbie Bright“Focusing on weaknesses is hard. Who wants to spend time on a weakness?” Dr. Debbie Bright

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I think that today’s topic is a really important subject that isn’t talked about enough in today’s society. This topic really resonates with me because of my own family experience with some of these issues. In this show, I am talking with Nick Sutherland a psychotherapist who helps men who have reached rock bottom. Nick is passionate about breaking down the stigma regarding mental health. He also has a goal of helping 373 males between the ages of 35 and 45 get off rock bottom. This is the number of guys who commit suicide in Australia each year.Nick is also the creator of MyndFit a mental strength training program for the mind which helps us become less reactive and in better control. With his psychotherapy, he guides businessmen to lead a more balanced life. He counsels guys who are thinking that there has to be more to life than work. Nick also shares real life examples, techniques, and questions to use when taking control of reactions. Listen in to learn how to take control of your responses and life.Today’s topics include: In spite of a rough beginning, Nick learned that his empathy was a positive trait. When Nick’s stepdad passed away, a day before his retirement, Nick decided he wanted to help guys who are overworking. Nick hit rock bottom after a traumatic Army hazing experience. How Nick’s story and experience helped build his understanding of how strong on a non-physical level we can be. As a psychotherapist, Nick has been exploring the aspects of toxic masculinity that presents guys from opening up. How reacting to circumstance is like giving your power away and not accepting the reality of the moment. Phrase to use: “That’s interesting.” To neutralize your response. Exercise: Say cope and experience how it makes you feel. Then say manage and see how it makes you feel. Coping is disempowering, but managing is empowering. Five Basic Human Needs: Power, belonging, freedom, fun, and survival. When basic needs are met we become self-sufficient. Nick shares a story about when lifeguards need to punch back and having a sense of survival. Helping businessmen lead a more balanced life and the crutches they use including attaching their work and hours to their self-worth. The importance of setting boundaries and being healthy. Exercise: Take a pen and paper and draw 3 interlocking circles. Label them mental health, physical health, and nutritional health. Score each circle between 1-10. Make sustaining an 8 out of 10 your goal. Ask is it sustainable, and is it healthy? Making yourself a priority when it comes to all aspects of health. Being emotionally self-sufficient and having the right mindset and knowing what you stand for. The difference between mental health and mental illness. We all have mental health, we don’t all have mental illness. Attachments and emotional trauma and being stuck and toxic and how it affects emotional development. Focusing on what you want to achieve not what you want to avoid. Changing the label we put on pain and changing the sensation. How happiness needs to come from loving yourself unconditionally.Links and resources: MyndFit Ni

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Today’s guest is Dr. Debbie Bright. She is a Chiropractic Physician with a degree in Exercise Science and a Masters in Nutrition and Human Performance. She is also a kettlebell ninja who is SMK Level One qualified. She has also written a couple of great articles for the Strength Matters Magazine. Plus, she is the woman behind the Look Good Naked program which she has developed.We talk about her Look Good Naked program and what exactly is functional medicine. Then we discuss toxins and myths about detoxes along with a discussion of hormones with a bit of stuff for the girls and a bit of stuff for the guys. We also talk about improving gut health, and how Dr. Debbie Bright has helped people from all over the world.Today’s topics include: How Debbie accidentally found her passion for nutrition and functional medicine She creates 21-day challenges for the Look Good Naked program Conventional medicine is symptom suppression Functional medicine looks at the body as a whole How all health starts in the gut. Food and hydrations are a necessity for life Gluten, soy, dairy, eggs, corn, sugar, peanuts, and artificial sweeteners are things that are inflammatory Finding the root cause and making the decision to stop eating it or not How demanding it was to create the Look Good Naked program which includes going off of inflammatory foods and healing the gut with supplementation It tells people exactly what to do and eat. There is no calorie counting and portion control. Debbie shares some of the success stories of her clients. Resetting the body's hormone system through food How we will see a complete shift in medicine and it is starting to happen now The importance of sleep and how it is the number one thing for weight loss How ghrelin is the hormone that tells us we are hungry Leptin tells us that we are full. Having protein, fat, and fiber with each meal and getting proper sleep. Dehydration causes an inflamed gut and you can’t burn body fat. Positives of being hydrated and being forced to get up and use the restroom. How eggs are inflammatory because of the diet of the chickens. Eat pastured eggs. After the 21-day elimination diet, reintroduce the inflammatory food one at a time and guage how you feel Eating high-quality food that benefits your body. Fertility benefits from the Look Good Naked program Detox and pull inflammatory foods and add nutrients Apples and onions release pectin which is great for the gut Repairing a leaky gut so that the body can absorb nutrients from food Get soy out of the diet because it causes hormone deregulation Eating protein and phytonutrients from plants to increase hormone levels naturally How the liver breaks down toxins and binds them for excretion Eating foods to aid the body in detoxing Sleep, get off of the inflammatory foods and get the right nutrients, move your body.Links and resources: Debbie Bright Website Debbie Bright on Instagram Debbie Bright on LinkedIn Debbie Bright on Twitter @drdebbiebright Jeffrey Bland What’s With Wheat The Autoimmune FixQuotes:“We really need to pay attention to what we are eating.” Dr. Debbie Brigh

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Today’s guest is the amazing, awesome and wonderful Dan John. He is a prolific writer, blogger, and author. Along with being a strength and conditioning legend, and he is also an awesome guest to have at your wedding. Dan is the author of several books including his latest book Now What?: The Ongoing Pursuit of Improved Performance. He is a prolific writer and blogger, and you will find his articles all over the Internet including on Breaking Muscle and Men’s Fitness. He is also featured in several podcasts like ours and has a collection of informative YouTube videos.Dan talks to me today about trends and fads in fitness, and how everyone is always looking for the latest and greatest thing. Yet, sound fitness fundamentals always win out and don’t really change much. We also talk about how workouts have evolved over time and how 10% of a workout can be pure genius, but the trick is finding that 10%. Dan combines his work along with historical research to find the best of the basic fundamentals. Dan also talks about specialization, peak performance, and improving top skills through general training, and a lot more.Today’s topics include: Being an adult in the fitness industry and not following every trend How Dan created a DVD about loaded carries without realizing the true potential of this exercise How Dan uses his coaching and experience to find what generally works and the basic fundamentals throughout history How it is important to experiment with as many sports as possible and specialize later in life The value of kettlebell snatches and loaded carries Improving hockey skills by hitting tennis balls How Arnold’s book made weightlifting valid, although the training may not relate to other fields Training smart for athletics and training the way people should How fun it would be to find the heaviest pole vaulter of all time How it takes time to realize that you are working with something magical Assessing gaps in training using the matrix of push, pull, hinge, squat, carry Importance of maintaining a deep squat Listening to what people say and then finding standards and trying to stay within them Getting fatter when muscle declines Olympic lift, then powerlift, and then bodybuild as you go through life. Training like a bodybuilder when you hit a certain age. Hypertrophy and mobility work go best together and add some spring. Working your butt and stretching your hip flexors. The first email Dan ever sent was to Clarence Bass The fountain of youth workout and training according to age Doing kettlebell swings according to time and not reps Dan is trying to get clear on what specifically helps performance The picnic in the park workout approach Intentional community and getting a little smarter 28 kilo kettlebell is what Dan would take to his island One arm press and snatch or swing would be his island exerciseLinks and resources: Dan John Dan John on Facebook Books by Dan John Now What?: The Ongoing Pursuit of Improved Performance Tabata The One Minute Workout The Way To Live: In Health and Physical Fitness Paleo Workouts For Dummies Percy Jackson and the Olympians

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To learn more about Strength Matters and our high-performance training system, download your FREE copy of The Strength Matters System of Athletic Development. Get it at - www.strengthmatters.com/system

Philip McDougall is the Director of Athletic Performance at Strength Matters. He is doing awesome work here at Strength Matters, and our online training clients and those participating in the 21-day challenge will probably testify to that since they have experienced his passion and enthusiasm for all things fitness related. Today, we talk about how to create your own workout, but not any workout. It needs to be a workout that you enjoy. We talk about creating the workout and why it is important.

Philip is going to be a recurring guest on this podcast. Today, we are making a quick show that is packed with as much content as we can squeeze in. If you aren’t familiar with Philip or if you haven’t listened to the first episode of this podcast you can always go back and listen to our first episode What Is the Everyday Athlete where we talk about the 10 components of athleticism and the 7 human movement patterns. Today, we are all about creating your own enjoyment program.

Today’s topics include:

* How having an enjoyment program can help keep people motivated and consistent

* The 7 Patterns of Human Movement are locomotion, squats, hinge, rotate, anti-rotate, push, and pull.

* Locomotion is the master component. It’s what we do our entire lives. Moving our bodies and getting somewhere.

* Classifying the way the body moves so that we don’t miss anything.

* Intentional and nonintentional movement.

* Nonintentional movement is the movement that we do everyday. We should get up and down from the floor and hang on things.

* Intentional exercises are movements we do to make sure that our bodies move the right way to translate into nonintentional exercise.

* An example would be keeping the spine in a neutral plane when throwing items in the trash.

* Locomotion Exercises – Pick one of these – crawl, jump rope, or sprint

* Squat Exercises – Face the wall bodyweight squat, goblet squat holding a weight, or a pistol squat

* Hinge Exercises – Shoulder bridge, suitcase deadlift, single arm kettlebell swing

* Rotate Exercises – Reverse salamander, kettlebell kneeling windmill, TRX rip trainer

* Anti-rotation Exercises – The bird dog, loaded carry, plank with a reach

* Push Exercises – Wall push up, Strength Matters push up, Hindu push up

* Pull Exercises – Suspension cable row, active arm hang, pull ups

* Determine how many times a week that you would like to train

* Pick three of the exercises that you choose from each category and put them together

* Do each one for 45 seconds on and 15 seconds off and repeat 8 to 10 times for 15 to 30 minutes

* Now you have exercises you enjoy combined together

Links and resources:

* Phil McDougall

* What Is the Everyday Athlete

* Henry of Cambridge on Instagram

Quotes:

“The amount of time people sit is probably almost double the amount of time they move.” Philip McDougall

“If we don’t squat or hinge we lose the ability to do those movements.” Philip McDougall

“When we are able to resist movement in the spine the force is transmitted through our feet and hands. ” Philip McDougall

Welcome to episode 12 of the Everyday Athlete. I am your host, Josh Kennedy. Today, I am talking to Scott Olsen from Beyond The Muscle. Scott is a regular presenter on our whiteboard Wednesdays along with Phil Mcdougal. Today we talk about the fascia and its importance in the body. We also talk about Chinese therapy, injury recovery, performance, rehab, correctives, and more. He even helps me with my dodgy Achilles.Scott specializes in injury recovery. He became involved in body work through his martial arts training. He also learned massage and neuromuscular therapy. He worked with triathletes who do incredibly high volume training. This can result in issues with tendons, soft joints, and fascia. For Josh, a pattern of overload or tissue compression could be the issue with his Achilles injury, but his alignment could also be off. Scott uses his knowledge and experience to dive into this and more.Today’s topics include: The great speakers that our featured at the Strength Matters Summit Trying to pinpoint the issue with Josh’s Achilles and how to help him fix it Biomechanics and zeroing in on movements and finding trigger points Stability, mobility, and tissue glide. Using a wall touch to improve mobility The glute bridge and firing stabilizers for people with tight muscles Proper breathe mechanics Using meditation and martial arts to learn advanced breathe techniques How the fascia surrounds our bodies and bones Breathing activates the fascia and tissue that surrounds the body Having a descending diaphragm when breathing or belly breathing Good breathing mechanics makes the body more resilient and strong Dynamic breathing takes a load off of the spine Using the TSS sound to activate the diaphragm muscles Zipping up the pubic symphysis and zipping it towards our ribs The more we move dynamically the better we learn to move Fascial intelligence and practices that engage the fascia more Moving more slowly will help to activate the fascia How gentle movements help to free the body from painLinks and resources: Beyond The Muscle com/StrengthMatters Strength Matters Summit Whiteboard Wednesdays Scott on Instagram @beyond_the_muscleQuotes:“If the alignment of the tissue is off it’s going to turn into microtraumas and tears.” Scott Olsen“Tendonitis can be caused by chronic overload. The goal is to relieve the tension.” Scott Olsen“When we dial in to proper breathing a lot of good things happen in our lives.” Scott Olsen

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Today, I am talking with Dr. Greg Lehman who is a physiotherapist, chiropractor, and coach who specializes in treating musculoskeletal disorders. He teaches a course called Reconciling Biomechanics with Pain Science. He has worked alongside back specialist Dr. Stuart McGill, and he sometimes disagrees with him. I’ll let you decide how controversial that is. Dr. Greg Lehman is a clinician, but prior to that, he was a strength and conditioning coach.He loves research, but he also wanted to work with patients. He was fortunate during school because he was able to work on quite few different research projects. They investigated simple concepts that answered fitness questions. He specializes in biomechanics and the importance of movement and pain science. The course that Dr. Greg Lehman teaches meshes performance and biomechanics and how that applies to pain. He is also is a runner and teaches a running course. It’s his goal to simplify body mechanics and look at the psychological aspects as well.Today’s topics include: How Greg’s running course is for everyone from trainers to doctors Loading makes bones and muscles stronger How the theory of you're going to pay for it later isn’t substantiated Stress is a good thing Running, races, and barefoot running Transition to barefoot running slowly It changes gait style and there is less stress on the knee The role the brain plays in perception of pain The brain takes all of the information it has then makes the decision of how dangerous something is and applies pain accordingly How the brain can limit performance and expectancies Tissue builds up a tolerance over time we can habituate Flexion moments and flexion movements Exploring movement and springfree trampolines Range of motion for hinges and back extensions Running technique and knee injuries and biomechanical flaws There are studies to support opposing theories Making gait changes or running the way that it feels best Getting stronger improves performance Distance runners should run and do squats, lunges, deadlifts or big basic exercises then add more like push-ups Also add in some plyometrics like weighted jumps or jumps After a few months having a coach is importantLinks and resources: Reconciling Biomechanics With Pain Science Greg Lehman on Twitter @GregLehman Back Fit Pro Stuart McGill Is Posture Important YouTube VideoQuotes:“If it hurts, move around and do other things.” Greg Lehman“Posture is very important for performance and less for pain and injuries.” Greg Lehman“We should question the idea of whether stress on the body is bad for us.” Greg Lehman

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Kate Solovieva is a blogger, nutritionist, motivational speaker, endurance race runner, lifestyle coach, and an all around amazing athlete. Today, I am lucky enough to have a conversation with her about training, online business, nutrition, racing, her epic bucket list and more. Kate was born in Siberia and immigrated to Canada when she was a teenager. She has an undergraduate and graduate degree in psychology. She has been a student, a professor, a yoga instructor, a Bootcamp instructor and she is our guest today. Kate goes by “Solo” or Kate and it is great to have her on the show.She grew up in the capital of Siberia and it was a fairly typical Russian childhood. She lived in the Netherlands for a while and lived in three different countries. She prides herself on being able to swim and not sink. She thinks that this life experience has helped her with obstacle course racing and extreme endurance racing. It’s hard for Kate to choose her toughest race because all of the races are tough. She talks about how intense 5K races are and talks about the Spartan Death Race and more.Today’s topics include: How tough obstacle course races are Boredom can be a big factor in long endurance races Developing mental toughness through gradual progression Kate began racing with a 5K road race and moved up from there How Kate loves the idea of a bucket list and accumulated experiences The more experiences she has the more she can relate to others Kate has been injured for as long as 6 to 8 months An injury can change the training focus and make you more creative She started her bucket list in her teens and it is the longest thing she has ever worked on Why Kate shaved part of her head and how it will soon be a short haircut The best training for obstacle course races OCRs Cardiovascular endurance trump's muscular strength for OCRs Mental toughness is also a huge component Consider what obstacles you will encounter and prepare for it Her current training consists of Olympic weightlifting, and preparing for the OCR world championships, and running How OCRs are becoming more popular and competitive She is also an online coach for Precision Nutrition She works with clients for a year with nutrition and workout plans Motivational Interviewing is an approach used for weight management to smoking cessation. It focuses on the client, not the coach. Clients get to choose some habits, but there is a timed curriculum, and the habits build on each other Feeling like a success helps people have more success Making changes smaller makes them more doableLinks and resources: Kate Solovieva Website Precision Nutrition Kate on Facebook Kate on InstagramQuotes:“I need to learn to work with the body I have today, not yesterday or tomorrow.” Kate Solovieva“When you get injured everything changes, but it pushes you in cool new ways.” Kate Solovieva“The more challenges we go through, the more we are able to relate to other people’s challenges.” Kate Solovieva

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Welcome to Everyday Athlete the podcast for the everyday athlete who wants to train smarter and live to be 100 years old. I am your host, Josh Kennedy. Today, I am talking to Dr. Stuart Mcgill, a world renowned back specialist and Professor of Spine Biomechanics at the University of Waterloo. He has a laboratory and clinic that explores lower back mechanics, injury mechanisms, rehabilitation protocols, and performance enhancement.He is the author of numerous journals and papers, and his work has received numerous International awards. As a consultant, he has provided expertise on lower back injury to government agencies, corporations, and professional sports teams. He is the author of several books including Lower Back Disorders, Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance, and Back Mechanic. Dr. McGill shares insight into reasons behind back pain and how to treat back conditions.Today’s Topics Include: McGill has recently left the University and now he is a consultant. There are a lot of athletes and patients who have mysterious back pain. In school, he discovered math and science, and then after visiting a spine biomechanics lab, he decided to get his Ph.D. The scientific approach is different than the basic medical approach. Assess the pain mechanism, then eliminate the precise cause, build a pain-free foundation for movement. Back injuries set themselves up over time. Adaptation - tissue becomes stronger up until the tipping point. Loading is good, but not too much or too little. Build in appropriate rest to allow time for adaptation. Prevention, train in cycles and be sure to have rest periods. Practice better spine hygiene and use lumbar support. Don’t try to progress too quickly during training. Pavel and decompression after each lift. Kettlebells and training only one side of the body. Walking and loaded carries would be a wise progression. Go for a walk and reset disc stress from sitting by going for a walk. Assess the demands of the sport. Assess your abilities compared to those demands. Train to make up the difference. Without the appropriate neural wisdom, injuries can happen. The best athletes have plosive strength. Activated muscle creates muscle force. Faster pulses and faster muscles create relaxation and speed. Hip hinges and pulses in kettlebell swings. Power breathing, spine stability, and athletic performance. Training to stop motion with the core creates core strength and stability. Carries are a great way to build strong obliques. Sit ups can create back pain for soldiers. Planks may be safer core training for the back. Training for mental toughness in the military. Sex and spinal pain. There are motions and pain triggers that clinicians can use to help avoid injuries.Links and resources: BackFitPro Back Mechanic Low Back Disorders Ultimate Back Fitness and PerformanceQuotes:“There is a reason for back pain, it is just a matter of assessing it.” Dr. Stuart McGill“I get to interpret patients through this scientific method and then the work helps my laboratory analysis.” Dr. Stuart McGill“Every patient has something to teach you.” Dr. Stuart McGill 

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To learn more about Strength Matters and our high-performance training system, download your FREE copy of The Strength Matters System of Athletic Development. Get it at - www.strengthmatters.com/system