Day 27 of 365: Try, Try Again

My job as a coach is simple.

(Remember, simple does NOT mean easy!)

I challenge people to be better than they think they are capable of. 

  

This is a never-ending quest, as no one in this world has ever met their full potential.  

In that sense, I am in the right business!  Hahaha.

The reason I am so passionate about what I do is that I get to watch people break through barriers - both physical and mental - on a daily basis.  I get to experience the thrill and excitement of smashing through old limitations with my athletes.

THIS IS WHAT DRIVES ME! 

It creates momentum in my world so that I, too, can continue my quest for self-improvement.  And for that, I am extremely grateful for my athletes and the effort they bring, day in and day out.

You may be asking yourself, "Where is this guy going with all of this?"

Well, have no fear.  I am coming to the end of this rambling.

I want to share a video with you all of my client and friend, Dr. Sam Sneed of Next Level Chiropractic breaking through one of these said barriers.  

And trust me....this one is most definitely a physical AND mental task!

(BTW...You'll hear me doing my JOB when Sam questions himself.  Hahaha.)

Sam was not the only one to blow old PR's out of the water.  Sam's business partner, Dr. Dave Yancey also set a new record box jump along with fellow Strictly Strength'ers, Erik Ditmer(40" @ age 100, as he put it.) and Melissa Bustama who jumped on a 24" box for the very first time, and then continued to stack bumpers on top!!

Great job, crew!!!  

Thanks for relentless work ethic you all bring. 

Mobility = Strength

Recently, the folks for Trigger Point Performance Therapy came by during one of our coaches' STRICTLY STRENGTH SWOD sessions and showed us their new techniques for quickly attacking "sticky" tissue to optimize performance output!  It was an eye-opening experience for sure!  Here's one of the videos...



Often times, people(specifcally CrossFitters) forget just how important staying mobile is.  CrossFit, as we all know, is comprised of all sorts of crazy, technical movements that cannot be performed at the highest potential if there are ROM(Range Of Motion) restrictions.  The great mojority of us have some limitation in some movement that inhibits our performance in that skill, right?  But, what do we do about it?  Nothing!  We simply expect that by doing the movement over and over and over again it will magically turn to perfect movement.  Not the case!  Your ability to perform that skill may improve slightly, but usually that's because you've(your body) has found some way to cover up the weakness and tightness that causes the issue in the first place.

No.  The answer is NOT do more to get better - this only goes so far.  The answer is to dissect the movement, find the root-cause, and attack it with tissue work and mobility.  Then, once the tissue is healthy and supple again, you can start to train that movement with an increased volume.

So, to all of those of you that know you have mobility limitations, I recommend several things:
1. Spend a lot of time on the MobilityWOD blog.  This is hosted my Kelly Starrett(K-Starr), and is jam-packed with awesome information and is always entertaining.
2. Find your local ART(Actice Release Technique) practitioner and schedule some sessions.  I did a BLOG a while ago on our guy, who is simply amazing!  Sam Sneed and his partner Dave Yansey are top-notch, and will have you moving like you've never moved before!
3. Purchase your own personal TriggerPoint kit.  You can take this with you anywhere and it is a great way to keep your tissues healthy without spending a fortune!  Well worth the $$$. 

THE NEXT LEVEL

I've been dealing with some pretty annoying hip pain for quit a while now, and I knew that several of the CrossFit Central coaches(Crystal Nelson, John Del Peral and Crystal McReynolds) had been seeing Sam Sneed, a certified Active Release Techniques(ART) practitioner, for some of the nagging issues that they had.  Each of them had all been very pleased with the diagnosis, information, and treatment of their aches and pains, so I thought that it would be worth a try.  I was blown away with the results of the very first treatment!!!

Sam was awesome about taking the time to ask and understand what it was that was bothering me, and then continued to visually dissect my movements to get a clear picture of what was the root of the problem.  This is what struck me as being completely different from all the other methods of "rehab" that I'd tried before - He was treating the root cause, not just the symptoms.  

The first session took about an hour, and by the end of it the pain in my hip had gone...I had an understanding of what was going on...I had several exercises and stretches to do on my own, and most importantly, we had developed a game plan to get back me to 100% again.  The whole experience was refreshing and gave me hope that I wouldn't have to deal with this issue for the rest of my life.

The thing is that you don't have to be in pain to benefit from Sam's amazing service.  I have already talked to many of my STRICTLY STRENGTH people about getting into see him simply because with more mobility comes more strength.  For example, if you are unable to get your arms back for a good low-bar back squat, or if you have a difficult time finding the proper position for an Overhead Squat, or if you have trouble getting to the true bottom of your squats - you are limiting your potential in that movement.  

A.R.T. is a hugely beneficial tool that you should all experience at least once, and after the first session, you will be motivated to step it up to the next level.  To get started:

Feel free to contact Sam at 281.772.8163 to schedule an appointment at SicFit Austin.

-OR-

CLICK HERE

Be sure to let him know I sent you!!!