Real Simple

Do You Thrive From Competition?
by the Precision Nutrition Coaching Team 
 
“A competitor will find a way to win. Competitors take bad breaks and use them to drive themselves just that much harder. Quitters take bad breaks and use them as reasons to give up. It’s all a matter of pride.”

-Nancy Lopez

Like all things related to health, fitness and performance, there are very few things that are set in absolutes. Though it’s common for people to label things as “healthy or unhealthy” or “good or bad”, there is rarely one right answer to these questions. Too much or too little of anything can be problematic.

For example: 
Is coffee a good source of antioxidants or a hormone damaging drug?

Is soya food for cancer prevention or a potential link to cancer?

Is red winea longevity elixir or premature aging poison?

Is exercisesomething that gives you energy or something that takes it away?

Is competition a great way to reach higher levels of health, happiness and performance or signs of a dangerous and unhealthy addiction?
Just like coffee beans, organic carrots or a glass of water, sometimes the question to answer is not “is this healthy?” but rather, “is this coming from a healthy place?” 
Lance Armstrong partially credits his competitive nature for his 7th Tour de France vitory and athletic comeback after beating cancer. 

COMING FROM A HEALTHY PLACE?

When it comes to competition, one thing to consider is what is steering your competitive drive. Most often the competitive spirit we have in place to reach our goals starts off from a healthy place. Motivation and desire to succeed are high at the beginning when we are excited about our goals, but are apt to lose steam throughout the process. When this happens and sight of the goal is lost, it’s possible for some to venture into unhealthy competition, or competition that is no longer linked to the initial healthy goal.

On the flip side, others may suppress a competitive drive for fear of failure, embarrassment or lack of results. For these people, it’s easier to intentionally avoid competition or situations that may require a degree of competitiveness. They may feel competitive with themselves, but not necessarily with others. Often their degree of competitiveness just requires a little boost.

DOES COMPETITION THRIVE ON YOU?

Perhaps your competitive drive hasn’t gone off course or run out of gas, and you’re in full competition mode. Though you may thrive on competition, one thing to consider is this: 
Is your competitive nature or the actual competition you are preparing for actually producing the desired results? 

FIND YOUR INNER ATHLETE

Whether you are naturally competitive and thrive on it, are merely competitive with yourself and don’t need a formal event to flourish, are neutral to the concept of competition, or you retreat from anything competitive - tap into your Inner Athlete.

Take the time to examine the deeper meaning behind your degree of competitiveness and if there is a need for change.

Is it time to reassess your competitive drive or the competition as an effective tool towards a larger goal or objective?

Have you never been competitive and would like to find a way to be more of a competitor? Maybe a friendly or formal competition is exactly what you need to take your progress, physical and personal, to a new level.

You can make the gym your competitive arena and each workout the event.

If you are not the gym-type, there are competitive opportunities all around - be creative, have fun and push beyond your limits. 
 
Either way, every workout provides you with an opportunity to unleash the inner athlete that exists within all of us!
“…view each workout is a separate athletic event. Every workout is a game. An athletic competition.”

- Gino Arcaro

Real Simple

When I saw there was a nail color called Real Simple, I had to have it.  Real simple.  It’s actually a big deal.  It’s what my training equipment is.  No machines.  No complicated contraptions.  Just the elements — metal, wood, sand, stone — and they all get moved with just total dedication.  I don’t have to wear anything special.  I don’t have to worry about how I look.  Most of the exercises can be done barefoot. 

Real simple is my sanctuary.  It’s what strongman training is.  When I do heavy presses, I have to thoroughly focus.  I have to be completely involved in the task.  If I’m not, the weight won’t get moved, and frustration and disappointment will become distractions.    It’s a kind of meditation.  I have to be entirely aware and in the moment, physically and mentally.  That means focusing all my attention on my breath and what I’m doing — thinking, not about how hard it is, or how much weight is it, or even how many repetitions, but rather just about doing it. 

To be so focused is truly “real simple.”  It’s a purity of purpose, an ideal.  My goal when I’m training, is for there to be nothing else going on — no possessions, no distractions.  All the noise of life is quiet.  Everything is set aside for the moment.  It’s a feeling of total freedom.  That’s real simple.   

Having lost sight of our goals, we redouble our efforts.  -Mark Twain

Stefanie Tropea is the co-owner and head trainer of Punch Kettlebell Gym in Norwalk, CT.  She can be reached at stef@punchgym.com.  Visit her blog at kettlebellstef.wordpress.com.  Her website is www.punchgym.com/norwalk.

SPECIAL LETTER

Quite frequently we receive emails from at home kettlebell enthusiasts, personal trainers, and military servicemen and women.  Today we’d like to share an email that was sent our way from Mike Fritz, Physical Therapist and Professor.  Mike has recently incorporating kettlebell training into his classroom as a teaching tool for preventing and rehabilitating injuries.  Read what he has to say - it’s something we can all learn from.

Anthony,

I got my ropes today and cannot wait to get started with my clients!! In addition to doing personal training I am a full time faculty member at North Shore Community College in Danvers, MA in the Physical Therapy Assistant program. I am telling you this because I wanted to pass along some thoughts I had on kettlebell swings and how I am working them into my courses in therapeutic exercise. As you know, most physical therapy programs teach in the joint by joint approach, which to learn makes sense, but I am also trying to get my students to look at the big picture of the functional approach made famous by Vladmir Janda. I know you are familiar with his work because of your freqeunt mentioning of the Crossed Syndromes. I keep telling them if they want to be great therapists that they cannot chase pain, but instead find the cause, which might be located in another joint and is often caused by muscle imbalances. This leads me to my bringing the swing into my classroom and lab. We have been breaking down the Crossed Syndromes the past few weeks and using some of Mike Clark’s and Grey Cook’s principles to find the cause of many of the common overuse syndromes such as low back pain and patello-femoral pain. I know you have gotten great results with decreasing your low back issues using kettlebells, but I wanted to bring up its use in the fight against patello-femoral problems, especially in females. As we know, females are more likely to fall victim to miserable malalignment/pronation distortion syndrome, thus leading to patellofemoral problems. They tend to have excessive femoral internal rotation (knock knees), tight hip flexor complex, tight IT bands, foot prnation, and are quad dominant. than males. Not only does this lead to patellofemoral issues, but non-contact ACL tears, which is a huge issue amongst female athletes. Just watch a womens b-ball game and they are all running around with knee braces on!!! Their big issue is lack of glute strength (max and post fibers of medius), weak hammies, and misfiring of all the muscles of the lumbo pelvic hip complex upon running and landing. The problem is they go to the doctor and get diagnosed with PFS and the PT’s give them isolated quad exercises and ball squeezes in hopes of shifting their patella back medially. This is the problem with the joint by joint approach, it never looks at the other joints and the ball squeezes might be the worst exercise to give them as it promotes the dysfunctional motor pattern. Most of these PFS cases are not patella problems, but hip issues and too much internal femoral rotation. The same thing happens with the non-cantact ACL tear as the firing pattern upon landing is off and they go into a valgus position and the glutes and hammies cannot fire in time to save the ACL….season over!!! As my students and I started to break this down they all wanted to know how we could reverse these muscle imbalances and it was then that I brought out the kettlebell swing. I believe it is the perfect exercise to address these issues so common to many. We are breaking down the anatomy of the swing this week and, as you know, the glute and hammy activation is awesome and it provides perfect external rotation to the femur during the hip snap, which also cause recipricol inhibition to the tight hip flexors and ITB. The other great thing is because the bell is swung between the legs they can’t adduct the femurs either. It just sets up the exact motor pattern we are looking for that is functional and not isolated. The students are seeing the light and keep asking what text book they can find this in as all of our PT text books just show the isolated quad and adductor exercises. I know you know all of this, but function is a topic I really get passionate about. Sorry for the novel, but I just wanted you to know that I am spreading the word not only in the gym, but in my classroom as well. My students have commented on how the last few weeks seems like bonus information, and they are right. Keep up all of your great work.

Sincerely,

Mike Fritz

Michael Fritz, MS, ATC, LPTA, CES, PES
Assistant Professor 
Physical Therapist Assistant Program
North Shore Community College

FIT TIP

Ladies, the weather is nice which means only one thing - it’s time to Flip Out!  This week I’ll be taking my circuit classes outside and adding in a sorely missed old friend - our tractor tire.  Flipping this beast is not only great for your entire body it’s also incredibly empowering.  Get your hands on one of these tools of strength, free at most junk yards, and add it to your workout…it’s a must for the summer.

STACI PICK

Barefoot training has never looked so good.  George Tune, a participant in our March certification class, sent these our way c/o Staci who he said would never train again without them.  Barefoot training is a preferred means when it comes to kettlebell training, nothing offers the stability needed more than the naked foot, unfortunately this would mean standing barefoot (sweat and all) where someone else might later be doing push-ups or even banana rolls.  So the next best thing…Vibram Five Fingers.

FOOD

Looking for a great post workout shake but HATE the taste of most proteins?  Stefanie Tropea, who holds a Master’s Degree in nutrition, says drink chocolate milk.  Chocolate milk made with skim milk has exactly the right amount of carbs to protein ratio ideal for muscle repair.  .