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Healthy Lifestyle vs. Busy Lifestyle

October 28, 2015 By Garrett

Well hello everyone! It has been awhile. It has been crazy busy around here lately! Like many of you, I have had to make some choices on how to manage time to get through the busyness. I wanted to share some tips that have helped me get through it all:

Prioritize– As much as we don’t like to admit it….we can’t do it all. There simply is not enough time in the day to do everything. We have to learn how to prioritize what is essential to our professional and personal existence. For me my family, friends, clients and fitness took priority. Things like social media, marketing, outreach and some other administrative things went to the back burner. A big reason why it has been so long since my last blog! I picked the things that were necessary for my business, my health and my family first
Control the things you can control- When we get busy we tend to feel like we lose control because there are so many moving parts. Sometimes, there are things that we can’t control. 14 hour work days, busy weekend schedules, family obligations, etc. are things we can’t control. However, a big thing I could control was my nutrition. I would prepare foods for the week on Sunday, I would only buy healthy foods when I grocery shopped, I made smart choices at restaurants. When people get busy they tend to eat poorly and thus gain weight. When there is no time to workout or the workouts aren’t as long or as intense because of our schedule we can combat this with the quantity and quality of the food we consume. Also, making choices through the day to move….. get up from the desk and walk around, parking farther away, taking the dog for a walk, setting aside time (no matter how little) to do purposeful exercise, and making active activities a part of your social gatherings all help.
Sleep– Getting the proper amount of sleep is huge in recovery, rejuvenation, and stress management. This is the time that our body repairs itself. This is the time that the body replenishes itself. Without it, alertness/cognitive function will suffer, energy will be low, fitness progress will be stalled and the risk of getting sick increases drastically. Everybody requires a different amount of sleep. A couple of ways that you can tell if you are not getting enough sleep is if you require an alarm to wake up, you have a hard time getting out of bed when you do wake up, you are sleepy through the day or if you fall right to sleep when you do go to bed. A majority of people do not get enough sleep at night and that is one of the most important aspects of your life where you literally make yourself better without doing anything!
Take your moments- When we get busy we tend not to take time to “smell the roses”. We move from one task to the next, rarely enjoying the process because we have so much to conquer. From a mental, physical and spiritual standpoint it is necessary to take a moment and appreciate the people and things around us. Whether it is in the morning sipping on some coffee or as you lay in bed ready to fall asleep, take time to reflect and appreciate what you are doing. It makes those hectic times worth it!

These tips have helped me in the past and will continue to help me. I hope they do the same for you. Now that I have resumed a more “normal” schedule I look forward to sharing more blogs with you!

Primitive Initiative™ Jumping Progressions

June 30, 2015 By Garrett

Jumping progressions

To jump, or to spring into the air and then absorb impact as the body is brought back to the surface, is a very ballistic and advanced human movement. To explosively leave the ground at a high rate of speed and then to absorb the impact of landing is quite difficult, particularly to those who have not done this activity in a while. Jumping is seen in youth play, sports and some fitness routines. Maximal jumping (jumping as high/far as you can as fast as you can) is really only seen in play and sports. Most fitness routines use jumping as a conditioning modality. So, those that don’t jump must learn how to properly take off and, more importantly, how to land properly (since a majority of non-contact injuries are seen when the body absorbs forces). Those who do jump, must learn how to maximally jump, once again with focus on takeoff and landing. Just like all of human movement, there are many ways to jump. You can jump in any direction imaginable, taking off from varying bases of support and landing on various bases of support. Here is a simple progression of a squat jump.

Box Jumps-

Jumping up on a box is a great way to start the jumping progressions. Jumping up on to something lessens the forces of gravity by landing at your peak, where regular jumps have you jumping to your peak and then falling back to earth. Always choose a box size where you are able to jump and land with solid form. Using a box will put emphasis on a proper take off…drive your hips down and back as you swing your arms back, and quickly explode upward (and forward to land on the box) while swinging the arms upward/forward. Try to get full extension of the lower limbs (triple extension). Always land lightly on top of the box (land like a ninja!). This will help teach your body to absorb impact.

Box Jump Down-

Jumping from the top of the box to the ground would be the second step in the progression. This eliminates the takeoff/force production portion of the jump and emphasizes the force absorption of the land. As mentioned earlier, teaching the body how to land is more important than teaching it how to jump. Someone who can land properly can avoid injury and react better. When jumping down from the box you are basically just stepping off the box. When you land you want to do so as soft as possible (back to being a ninja….no one should hear you land). To do this you should “sink” into the landing and end up in the Crouching/Athletic position.

Squat Jump-

Putting it all together. Jumping from the floor and landing on the floor means applying and absorbing forces. Emphasis is on both the take off and the landing (see above). These should be done as sets of one to emphasize starting from a standing position, driving the hips down/back and then exploding upwards as high as possible, then landing as quietly as possible. Do repetitive squat jumps can cause room for error in all aspects of the jump. As we progress repetitive squat jumps will be more appropriate but in the initial progression phases we want to be strict on form.

Another step in the progressions is to vary the base of support in which one takes off and lands. Here are some progressions:

Double leg take off, double leg land
Single leg take off, double leg land
Double leg take off, single leg land
Single leg take off, Single leg land

Jumping can be a daunting task for many. The farther removed someone has been from jumping the more daunting it becomes. However, with proper progressions of jumping this task will become more manageable.

Primitive Initiative™- Crouching Progressions

June 16, 2015 By Garrett

Crouching, or to lower the body stance by bending at the knee and hip, is a movement not often seen in the regular population. We generally are either sitting, standing or walking. However, this movement is quite popular in the sports arena as seen in the athletic or defensive position. Being able to get into, hold and move out of this position is crucial for athletes. A crouched stance lowers the center of gravity (generally the hips in most people) to the base of support (the feet). This lowered position creates increased stability and balance, and put the athlete in an advantageous position to absorb and apply force. The more efficient a person is at crouching the more effective they are in their movements.

But as I mentioned crouching is not seen regularly in the regular population……..Or is it? (I know, I am contradicting myself, but bear with me here). What happens when we hear a loud noise? We duck, or quickly lower our body stance. What happens when something or someone comes at you? We lower our stance to either take on the forces or run away? In the general population the crouching movement is more seen as a fight or flight mechanism. We innately will lower our stances without thinking about it. However, after all of the adrenaline wears off, there is potential for soreness or injury to remain because we are not used to getting into this position. If we are, we will react better ad perform tasks more efficiently without the residual pain.

Crouching is also seen in the squatting motion and the lunging motion. These are temporary “crouches”, where the body stance is lowered by bending the knee and hips, but the body quickly returns to a stand position. These are valuable in their own right, but to stay in the crouched position is an entirely different animal. Here are the progressions to build up to moving efficiently and effectively in a crouched position. Keep in mind, for the scope of this blog, I will only cover a lateral crouching movement progression. We can move in any direction with a crouch (all of which should be progressed).

Static:

Wall sit- Bracing your back against a wall, sit so that your legs are at 90 degrees. This is good to develop some base strength before progressing to a non-supported stance.

Crouching Position hold- In a standing positon with your feet wider than shoulder width apart, lower your hips by bending your knees and pushing your hips back. Keep your knees over your shoes and back straight. Lower your hips to tolerance, but do not drop the hips below the knees. Hold this for a predetermined amount of time.

Crouching Position- Kick Stand- In crouching position, narrow your stance so that your feet are close together. Extend your left leg out straight to the left. The left leg will act as a “kick stand” for the right leg as the right leg will bare most of the weight. Hold this for a predetermined amount of time on one side and then switch.

Crouching Position- Tap out- In crouching position, narrow your stance so that your feet are close together. Extend your left leg out straight to the left, tap it down to the ground and then bring it back underneath the body. Do not drag the left foot on the ground. Do a predetermined amount of reps and then switch sides.

Crouching Position- Single Leg- Stand on one leg. Lower your hips by bending your knees and pushing your hips backwards. Lower your hips to tolerance, but do not go below the knee. Hold this position for a predetermined amount of time and then repeat with the other leg.

Dynamic:

Shuffle- In a crouching position (see crouching position hold) move in a predetermined direction (can be lateral, forward, backwards, angled, or rotational). Keep the stance wide and feet straight, try not to recover the feet together. Keep the hips at the same level the entire time. Do this for a predetermined distance. Start slowly and then increase the speed as proficiency increases.

Squat Push- In a narrow stance crouching position, forcefully extend your right leg applying force to the right so that your body goes to the left (think speed skater motion). Do not step out with your left leg, but rather lift it up keep it bent underneath the body only for it to land on the ground again. Recover the right leg back to the narrow stance position. Repeat for a predetermined distance and then return.

Squat Step- In a narrow stance crouching position extend your left leg out to the left (same movement as the couching tap out). Once the left foot is on the ground and the left leg is completely straight, move your hips from the right leg to the left, without raising them. Once you’re over your left leg and your right leg is straight, recover your right leg back underneath your hips into the narrow stance crouching position. Continue this for a predetermined amount of distance and then return.

Primitive Initiative™- Getting Up Progressions

May 19, 2015 By Garrett

After we learn to crawl and before we learn to walk, we must learn to get-up off of the ground. This may seem simple to some, but for others this becomes very difficult without the aid of holding onto something. And to certain populations, falling to the ground is quite scary because they are just not strong or mobile enough to get up on their own (queue the cliché “help, I’ve fallen and can’t get-up” commercial). This is a real fear, something that may be inevitable, but can certainly be delayed through training. As always, progressions of getting up off the floor is crucial. There are several ways to “bring the body up off of the ground from a laying position to an upright position”. I will go through the progressions of one of the more common ways of doing this: the Turkish get-up.

Reach Crunch– Lay face up. Feet will be on the ground, knees in the air. Take your right arm and reach it straight to the ceiling. Keep your low back on the ground but lift the right shoulder off of the ground.

Reach and Roll– Lay face up. Keep your left leg straight on the floor and left elbow out on the floor perpendicular to the body. Keep your right foot on the ground with you right knee in the air. With your right arm reach it straight to the ceiling, lifting your entire torso up off the ground by rolling to your left elbow.

Reach and Roll w/Bridge– Do the reach and roll. At the end of the reach and roll, press into the ground with your right foot to lift your hips in the air, while rolling to your left hand. Make sure you are still reaching your right arm straight to the ceiling.

Half Turkish Get-up– Do the reach and roll w/bridge. Pull your left leg underneath your body so that your left knee ends up directly underneath your hips. End in a kneeling lunge stance. Make sure you are still reaching your right arm straight to the ceiling.

Split Squats– In a standing position, place your right foot in front of your hips and you left foot behind your hips. Lower your hips so that your left knee is about an inch away from the ground. Make sure that both knees come to 90 degree angles and you torso remains perpendicular to the ground.

Lunge Kneel to Stand– Kneel on the ground with your right foot in front and your left knee down underneath your hips. Stand up from this position and bring your feet together.

Full Turkish Get-up– Do the half Turkish get-up and then the lunge kneel to stand. Make sure you are still reaching your right arm straight to the ceiling.

Getting Up Video

Keep in mind that all of these progressions are done unloaded. The most important thing is the form and the ability to get up off the floor. Loading will come later, and would have more steps to add in the progression so that the participant will be able to do this safely and effectively. Check out the video on our Facebook page to see the progressions.

Primitive Initiative™- Laying a foundation

April 9, 2015 By Garrett

As we age, as we become more sedentary, and as we become more specialized in our movements we develop restriction patterns. Over our lifetime certain muscles may get tight while others get weak. We start to compensate in our movements and those compensations perpetuate this cycle of tight and weak muscles. Eventually there is break down in the system of movement. When there is break down inefficiencies and injuries occur.

Before entering any program, one should be properly screened. This may be even truer for the Primitive Initiative® because the program is designed around normal human movement patterns. Movement patterns that potentially have not been done since a person was a child. Not only do we have to be concerned with someone’s ability and preparation for such movements, but we must also be concerned of what a person just physically can’t do. If a person is restricted they are unable to move normally. It’s an issue of can’t and not “this is hard because I haven’t done this in a while”.

Because of this we must first eliminate restrictions of movement and teach the Primitive Initiative® training in a progressive manner. I call this the foundation phase, or a more familiar term to most will be the General Prep portion in the Preparatory Phase of a Periodization scheme. Regardless of what we call it the goal is the same: to prepare the body for the work ahead. To lay a solid foundation so that when higher intensity training is added the body will be able to handle it.

To start this we should do a functional assessment. I can’t emphasize enough how important a functional assessment is before beginning a program (see my previous blog “The Value of Functional Assessments). Movement screens will help identify areas of dysfunction. Exercises will then be given to help eliminate such areas. The number of restrictions a person has will dictate the length of time they dedicate to these exercises. The more restrictions the longer this phase of training will last.

While the largest part of eliminating restrictions will take place in the foundation phase, these exercises will always be a part of the training at varying degrees. To have quality movement, one must continually maintain corrective exercises. These can be a part of the warm-up, as their own circuit, or added throughout the workout.

Outside of eliminating restrictions we must prepare the body to move like it hasn’t done in years (because it probably hasn’t). We will work a lot with isometric holds, slow eccentric contractions, and stabilization, balance, mobility and core exercises during this phase. Teaching technique of movements and what the body should be doing will be crucial. Moving slow to fast will help this, as well as knowing/teaching the proper progressions of the 14 fundamental movements.

Without a solid foundation, a million dollar home will collapse. This is true of any training program (cliché I know….but it is pretty much law at this point). The Primitive Initiative® aims to add human movement patterns back into exercise to extend peoples quality of life. If the body isn’t used to human movement patterns and they are introduced too quickly we risk the potential of reducing quality of life. If we don’t prepare the body, then the body will break.

Healthy Lifestyle vs. Busy Lifestyle

Primitive Initiative™ Jumping Progressions

Primitive Initiative™- Crouching Progressions

Primitive Initiative™- Getting Up Progressions

Primitive Initiative™- Laying a foundation

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