New blog post below that I reposted here from Mike T Nelson Training blog. I have every session I've done back to about Feb of 2007 logged there. It started as just a way for me to log what I was doing in a searchable format. I am also in an informal study looking at the effects of the Earth Pulse unit and wanted a way to track my results.
The earth pulse unit puts out pulsed magnetic waves to facilitate sleep and recovery. So far it really seems to help my cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) but not too much of a change on strength (although others have reported great strength changes). I also normally don't have any problem sleeping at night either (getting enough sleep is an issue at times though). The unit is currently having some buttons fixed on it, so it will be interesting to compare the times of use and no use to see what changes occur.
I will keep you all updated and check out their link above for more information or click HERE for a coupon code to get $50 off of a unit (full disclosure, I do not get paid any money for any purchase of an earth pulse unit).
Training Goals
My main goal for training is to IMPROVE my life overall and I place movement quality as the highest priority that I want to improve. If a lift makes my movement worse, I simple don't do it since it is not meeting my current goals. The current cylce I am doing has the following goals after movement quality
1) increase deadlift (max single)
2) increase bench press (max single)
3) maintain CRF (cardiorespiratory fitness)
So keep that in mind when viewing, as what I do is customized for myself and my current goals; so it may or may not be best for you and your goals. I am happy to answer any questions on it though and as you can see I do eat my own dog food in respect to movement training.
Z Health Session
Went to see Brad "No Relation" Nelson for some Z work on myself this past Thursday
Wanted him to check my scar. In short, I have a midline scar on my chest that is about a foot long from when I have open heart surgery to fix and ASD (atrial septal defect) when I was 4.5 years old.
For background, see this link . In no way am I am complaining about this in any form, since without the surgery then I would have probably only made it to age 20 at best, so I am EXTREMELY thankful.
I am also doing some visual work since I currently have major suppression of my right eye. In essence, it would be the same for someone to do everything with only 1 eye (I don't have binocular vision currently), but I will get it figured out. I had a "lazy eye" when I was a kid and they patched my good eye so that my eyes would track normally.
Visual work background HERE.
Thursday's Work
So I wanted Brad to do some Z Health level 4 work around my scar. He found some big restrictions and quite a few released around the left side of my rib cage. At the end, the lower part of the scar was pretty good. Feels like the left side is twisted around from front to back. Makes sense since I had scoliosis growing up too. Brad was amazed that my upper back (outside of some sticky thoracic spots) is basically normally now. Before my scaps were quite twisted and stuck up funny like a stegosaurus!
Did some Z Health Cranial/Cervical Spine work. Homework drills are
Posterior glide, hold and lateral tilt to the right
Posterior glide, hold, move jaw right, hold, then lateral tilt to the right
Left feeling great! Thoracic felt awesome! Did some Brock string work and not a huge change, by my right eye stays on now for a few seconds and flashes off and on withOUT hold my scar or having it taped. Still a ways to go, but overall movment felt great. Had more energy, did a DL session in the afternoon that felt better than it has prett much ever (with a straight bar) and bench session that night went great. Had training partner check my thoracic spine at the end and it was the best he has ever seen so far. Felt great, had more energy although my face became quite flush/red during the day and after doing the exercises, but went away by the next day.
Why Am I Telling You This?
The whole point is that EVERYONE NEEDS A COACH! While it is true that I should know my body better than anyone else, I can't watch my movement all the time.
Having feedback about your movement and asking for help is NOT a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. There are many that are willing to help you reach your goals, so reach out to them NOW! It is NEVER the right time, so if it is important to take the first step TODAY.
Thanks again to Brad "No Relation" Nelson again. Be sure to check out his services and Kettlebell Classes here at Kinetic Edge Performance. I am extremely picky about who I work with and who I allow to do work on myself, and I highly recommend Brad.
Rock on
Mike N
