April 24, 2020 – Complete Per4mance Coaching

Here at CPC we are laying the foundations. Setting the benchmark and going above and beyond to ensure our athletes not only remain healthy, but reach their athletic potential. We not just COACH but we EDUCATE.

For the Month of May we are focusing on MOBILITY. The key underlying function of our bodies. Mobility underpins all movement. A lot of athletes are familiar with the word, but unfamiliar with its importance to athletic performance and therefore don’t take the time to include mobility work into their daily routines.

So we’re here to try and help educate so you can see the benefits – and you can reap the benefits!

So what is mobility?

Firstly, flexibility and mobility are not the same thing. They are often used interchangeably but are different. Think of flexibility as a component of mobility, with mobility being the key driver.

Mobility – think of it as the active range of movement. It is the ability of a joint to move through its entire range of motion fluidly. Mobility is not just about the muscles, but the joints that allow for movement as well. A good way to vision mobility is like opening a door. The hinge should open and close smoothly and without resistance. Now imagine trying to open the door and it getting stuck half way. That’s a (simplified) way of looking at lack of mobility – and this is all too common for age group athletes.

Flexibility– remember we said is a component of mobility. It is the ability of your soft tissues to stretch when needed. Think of our muscles like a rubber band. If you pull both ends of a rubber band, it will stretch (i.e. it’s flexible). Our muscles are designed with similar elasticity that, when needed for movement, help the muscle to stretch. This is the static range of movement.

Why is Mobility Important?

When we see an athlete with good mobility, they are able to perform functional movements – without limitations – on their range of motion. On the other hand, if an athlete has good flexibility but lacks good mobility, they may not be able to perform the same movements or as effectively. So in order to have good mobility, you need good flexibility. They go hand in hand.

To put it simple – mobility means having strength, control and stability within your flexibility.

Benefits of mobility work

The benefits of including mobility work are proven, not only increasing performance, but also aiding in recovery. Training for endurance sports is hard on the body, and while recovery methods such as saunas, good nutrition, and quality sleep are all critical to help the body rest and repair, adding in mobility work as well can give you a ‘one-up’ on your recovery – so why wouldn’t you?!

By including specific mobility into your regular routine you can:

Decreases the risk of injury
Keeps joints strong and healthy
Improves strength and performance
Helps aid recovery
Through the above, can increase longevity in your chosen sport

How can we introduce / include mobility work?

Introducing mobility into your daily routine doesn’t have to be onerous or time consuming. It can be as little as 10-15min in the morning, pre and/or post session or in the evening and you will see improvements in your physical performance as well as your mental and emotional health. (bonus!)

Complete prior to a session and it will help you prepare for the session ahead. Then include after your session as muscles, tendons and ligaments respond best as they are warm from the proceeding session. As for improving recovery, spend time on foam rolling, mobility and strengthening will help increase the responsiveness of muscles and speed up muscle recovery. Stretching alone is not always enough to release tight muscles, which is where foam rolling and trigger point comes into play. Foam rolling helps to break up these muscle knots, resume normal blood flow, and normal muscle function.

One way we are helping our athletes include mobility into their day is by introducing mobility combined with yoga. Yoga is a great activity for improving one’s mobility, stability and strength and as well as being very therapeutic. I know many athletes tell me it’s difficult to find another hour in their week to do a yoga session, and yoga in itself isn’t targeted specific to everyones individual needs, so by incorporating both specific mobility work into short yet specific yoga flows, we’re reaping the benefits from both worlds! This allows you to have the benefits of targeted mobility exercises specific to your needs, as well as the overarching general benefits of yoga’s movements and relaxation. How good is that!

How can you get involved?

All athletes under our guidance will receive weekly yoga mobility flows targeting specific areas for mobility, flexibility, strength and stability along with incorporating some relaxing flow all aimed at helping to increase mobility and stability, improve strength for performance and aid recovery and improve relaxation and sleep. All even more crucial in the times we find ourselves in at the moment.

These yoga mobility sequences will include:

Warm up routine, mobility flow and activation
Yoga flow with core stability focus
Yoga flow focusing on the hips and glutes – the prime movers!
Yoga flow with a mobility and stability focus
Yoga flow for calming, relaxing, slow stretching, think bedtime / evening routine.

If you want to get involved, and aren’t currently under the guidance of CPC, then get in touch or DM me. I’d love to get you involved! We’ll also be sharing short snippets along with some challenges along the way, so stay tuned…

Meet our Resident Yogi – Jo

Jo is an experienced Naturopath, nutritionist and athlete with an obvious zeal for her craft. She is an energetic vinyasa yoga teacher and a lover of triathlon. Her skills are vast but all wellness lead, her passion for this space is palpable and infectious.

“As triathletes we are often engrossed in the swim, bike and run but I believe incorporating mobility, flexibility and strength training is fundamental to both optimizing your performance today but also your long term sustainability and longevity within the sport”. ~Jo

More about Jo:
I have Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy and Nutrition) and have practiced and supported my clients to reach their health potentials for over 13 years including developing, programming and delivering corporate health solutions and yearly plans to many large corporations over Australia . I am also a 200hr qualified yoga teacher. I believe I am an honest and authentic example of the phrase ‘practice what you preach’. I live a life in which I encourage to see in others.

Since my late teens Yoga has always played a large role in my life. It not only creates balance for me ‘mentally’ but it also enhances my physical performance on and off the triathlon course. I love teaching strong, flowing classes with purpose; integrating strength, flexibility and mobility. Yoga has so much to offer and I feel truly honored to be able to share this with others.

I have an amazing family and love being a mum and mentor to my young children; Matilda and my twins Florence and Charles. I am a competitive age group triathlete and am very proud to have qualified for the 2020 70.3 World Championships in Taupo, NZ. I am a dedicated yogi; my goal of 2 x 20min meditation practices daily mostly always gets done…. The family knows when it doesn’t that is for sure!

I am also the founder of and naturopath consultant for Franjo’s Kitchen; a beautiful brand of functional food for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.

For many people it’s real. It’s here. And it’s right now. Everything can feel that little bit too hard. Too much. You are trying to hold it all together but feeling like everything is falling apart at the same time. Trying to do everything, but feeling like you just can’t get on top.

The work load is overwhelming, the children’s schooling a challenge. Finances may be strained. Relationships challenged. Life in a whole just seems so uncertain. The overwhelm is overwhelming.

You are feeling weary, frustrated, anxious, exhausted and emotional. ‘When will this end‘. ‘How long can this go on for?.‘ ‘Surely it has to let up soon… surely?’ You almost pray to anyone out there that is listening. You know it’s not sustainable, but you don’t know how to make a shift.

If this is you. Know I feel you. Understand that I hear you. Life for some is tough right now. The situation we all find ourselves in is tough. But I know that YOU are strong. And I know that we, as a community will all come through the other side. And I honestly feel we will come out stronger, more resilient, tolerable and able.

But while we are all living in the middle of it, it’s important to remember that your health and your mental and emotional well-being is still being made a priority. YOU are number one. If you don’t have your health, what else do you have? So make time. Learn to say no. And find something to be grateful for….

It’s ok to not be ok. Know that your feelings and emotions are real. Allow yourself to grieve, to let out your frustrations, to cry it out, to be angry, but once you have given yourself that, gather yourself and refocus. Get yourself back on track and keep moving forward.
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Say no. You have the right to say no. It is your life. It is your health. So keep the communication lines open with work, with family, with loved ones. And know that it is ok to say no sometimes.
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Make time. For your own physical and mental health. I can’t stress enough how important this is – especially in high stress situations many of us find ourselves in. Whether that be extra workload. Or no work at all. Home schooling the kids. Or having to close or reposition your business, put off staff. Not knowing how you are going to pay the bills, or pay someone else. It is all stress and you need your own stress relief. For many of us that is in the form of exercise. It doesn’t mean having to spend hours training, it could be as simple as walking around the block. Spending 10min mindfully, reading a book, taking a bath, … you choose. But make it a priority. For your mental, emotional and physical sake. Yes there will be some days that everything else comes first, but if you look at your week as a whole, there HAS to be time in there for you. Whatever form that takes.
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Don’t feel guilty. Don’t ever feel guilty for making your mental, physical or emotional health a priority. So if you need to tell your hubby/wife/partner to watch the kids while you go for a run for you. Then do it. But don’t feel guilty for asking. If you need to set yourself a ‘meeting’ during the day so you can get out and get some fresh air. By all means do it. You have permission to look after yourself. So never feel guilty.
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Find something to be grateful for. Your health. Having a job in these challenging times. Your children. A loving family. Friends… if you look, there is so much to be grateful for. Sometimes we just have to stop and remind ourselves or look a little harder. But there is always something to be grateful for.
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Seek help / support. You don’t HAVE to do it alone. You don’t have to try and do everything. Be everywhere. So don’t try to. If it means your children watch TV for the morning while you work. That’s ok. If it means ordering a meal service, or asking family / friends for some home cooked meals, then do it. Delegate, reposition, or simple let some things go. Know that you can do ANYthing, but not EVERYthing.
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Stay connected. Staying connected now is more important than ever. If you are an athlete who used to love training by yourself as that was your alone time, training solo may make you feel even more isolated right now. So stay connected to your training buddies, to your training squad, to your friends / family. Organise or join in on a virtual training meet up, catch up with your friends and family online. Staying connected is important to keep some reality and some normalcy in such times we find ourselves in.
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Use this as an opportunity. Instead of seeing the situation you are in as a burden, try and shift your thoughts and see this time as an opportunity. An opportunity to become more efficient. To re-plan. To change. To make a shift. If there has been something you have wanted to do, or change, then use this as a driving force. Sometimes the biggest changes can happen during a crisis but it may just be the catalyst needed to make that shift you didn’t even know you needed.

The theme here with all these points is to LOOK AFTER YOURSELF. Get support if you need support, take a moment for yourself, as we all need it and stay connected. It is a trying time for so many, look after yourself, and check in on others. Even those who seem they may have it all together may just be treading water, bobbing between floating and sinking…

Day: April 24, 2020

MOBILITY IN MAY