Broken or fractured bones? Tears? Sprains? Lacerations?

Really? When did it occur?

If your injury happened at anytime other than JUST NOW, you are no longer injured – you are healing.

Many people come to see me because they have an injury; or they tell me they cannot perform something because they have an injury.

Many times I end up laughing at them, because they typically tell me about something that happened months or even years ago. I laugh, not to make light of their pain, their discomfort, or their fear of moving. I simply laugh because it is really not possible to have an injury.

What I mean is: injury is not a thing that you can have; it is an event that occurs. It is like murder, you cannot have murder; but if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, murder can happen to you, get it??

Injury is an event. As soon as tissue damage occurs, your body immediately begins the healing process. The healing process can take months, even years, but once it begins (and it begins immediately after injury), the injury event is over and you are now no longer injured, you are healing.

This may seem like a small semantic change; but words are very powerful, and they influence our actions, and our thought process…

In the unfortunate event that at injury occurs to you, please realize that healing begins immediately. My friend Theresa Nesbitt, a.k.a The Movement Doctor encourages her clients to activate their “self-healing mechanism”. After an injury event, your self-healing mechanism activates “automatically”. Your job is to actively assist in the self healing process (or at least get out of your own way). My job as your Z-Health Performance Coach is help your body, brain and nervous system heal in the most efficient and effective manner.

Their are many ways I can help you, help your “self-healing mechanism”; but it must begin with the understanding that you are not “broken”, you are simply healing.

If you would like to discuss and injury event, and how I can assist you in the healing process, please drop me a line or give me a call; It would be my pleasure to assist you.

“A recent study shows… how often do you hear that: ‘a recent study shows…’. You know as soon as you hear that line you are about to be told a bunch of bull.”

It’s funny ’cause it’s true…

I have been speaking with a lot of my colleagues in the “fitness industry” recently, and their biggest frustrations about fitness are around the fact that so much of the “research” is contradictory and / or misrepresented.

I suppose we need to figure out how to cut through all the BS to figure out what works for us individually. Part of my mission is to cut through the junk to help myself and my athletes identify strategies that work.

If you are fed up with the BS, drop me a line. I am offering FREE CONSULTATIONS to help athletes identify the path that works best for them in the place they are at…

As I traversed my neighborhood last week I was struck by an absence that I had not felt in the past. As I looked around, the streets were devoid of kids; no stickball, no wall-ball, no full court basketball, no pick-up soccer in the “cages”.

I was reminded of this documentary I recently watched called Pond Hockey by Neil Broton.

It follows a few teams of adult men who get together annually to compete in an outdoor, pond hockey tournament in Minnesota. The real message of the film however is that Pond Hockey is disappearing; that kids are no longer free to go out and skate, unsupervised. No longer free to work on their skills, work on their shot, create new moves, push themselves and their friends in a “wide-open” environment. Today’s youth hockey players are confined to organized practices, with limited ice time, under the watchful eye of adult supervision.

In the words of legendary coach Herb Brooks, coach of the 1980 U.S. Men’s Olympic “Miracle on Ice” Hockey Team, today’s youth hockey program is “creating 20 minute robots”.

In his opinion, the key to improving hockey was through hours of unstructured practice. Regardless of whether not you play hockey, there is an important lesson here. It is that too much organization can stifle your practice; the goals of practice change from spontaneous enjoyment of play to something…else…

I fell in love with athletics as a kids was through unstructured play. I have been blessed to have my athletic career lead me to San Diego; where my love of unstructured play and the playfulness of the Pacific Ocean combine to grant me countless hours of spontaneous play on my surf board. Each morning I watch men and women of all ages, shapes and sizes venture out into the surf with one thing on there mind – having a blast. They are playing, recreating; no rules, no standards, just seeking a smile.

When they walk out of the surf, I see a familiar glow surrounding them; the same glow I witnessed each and every day as a kid on the streets and playgrounds of Philadelphia.

In that glow, I feel at home…

What brings you that glow? Please share your stories below…

In the post “Z-Health Does Not Work. Part 1”. I suggested having a framework for your practice. A lot of people have written me and asked:

What do you mean?

I was  working with a client yesterday that characterizes the framework idea. My client  is a Z-Health R-Phase trainer who has been practicing for about 6 months or so. His focus during the last 6 months has been on rehabbing and relearning control and coordination of all his moving pieces a la R-Phase (I assume most of my readers are familiar with Z-Health R-Phase, if not please contact me).

Anyhow, he said to: “So I have been practicing diligently, and I’ve gotten to the point where my previous high payoffs do not have the effect they did in the past. Also, I think I began to put on a little weight in the past few weeks, since instead of training as I did in the past – running, lifting, sprinting, calisthenics, etc., Instead I’ve been spending so much time “fixing” my R-Phase practice”.

He found himself in a spot a lot of athletes I talk to seem to find themselves in at some point in there training; he had hit a plateau and their training has become inefficient.

I said to him: “R-Phase is the ABC’s of Athletic Movement, right?”. “Right”, he replied. “Imagine you were learning how to read or spell; first you learn the ABC’s. You sing the song until you know it cold. Then you begin looking at each letter, ‘sounding them out’ phonetically. Then you begin putting them together to make words; you learn rules like ‘ph’ sounds like ‘f’ and in some words certain letters are ‘silent’. Later you learn the rules of grammar and how to put words together to convey feelings and ideas. Right?”

“Right” he replied, giving me one of those looks where I knew ‘a lightbulb just went off’.

I said to him, “Imagine how great a communicator you would be if all you could do was sing the ABC’s song. What would have happened to you if you stopped there? How much would it help you to continue practicing that song over and over, without proceeding further.”

Now I was piling on. I knew it because he said: “I shouldn’t have spent so much time perfecting the ABC’s”

WRONG!!!

The time he had spent is NECESSARY. It provides the foundation for all of your movement fluency moving forward. Had you rushed through it, had you not reached this point on your own, your chances for success as you proceed would be limited (imagine you proceeded to practice writing poetry while missing some of your ABC’s).

I recognized this guy was prepared to proceed because he created a framework for himself. He said: “I want to do a pistol”. A pistol is a one-legged squat.

Great! He gave himself a framework – A pistol.

He could have chose anything. What he chose does not really matter. The important thing is that he chose something.

No longer will he practice R-Phase without thinking of it as a small chunk, of a larger movement; a small plank, in the framework of a complete athletic skill or event.

He spent 21 weeks investing in R-Phase. The first 8 weeks as prescribed in the 8-week training program from his R-Phase manual, the last 12 weeks practicing the 12-week training program and incorporating all the training speeds and the neural warmup drills.

After 21 weeks he had mastered the ABC song. He was ready to put the ABC’s into use.

In the end, he still needed to improve control and coordination of his levers (particularly legs), improve the rhythm between his hips and his feet & ankles to create the structural strength to allow the pistol to occur, and utilize his eye muscle reflexes to his advantage;  that is he still needs to practice. But now he has a framework to drive and deepen his practice.

Where would you be best served, in practicing mastering your movement alphabet song, or in practicing within a framework?

If you have been practicing for at least 21 weeks, send me some of the frameworks you use, or would like to use- reply below or email me directly. I can help you identify and clarify your framework; or provide some clues to proceed effectively.

While this path is simple, it is occasionally confused. The wiring in our brains allows for an (almost) infinite number of connections between neurons; while this is idea of infinite possibilities is exciting, it may also lead to difficulty in practically applying some of Z-Health’s lessons.

I have experienced and witnessed many of these difficulties; I would like to share with you some of the reasons (in no particular order) why Z-Health doesn’t work:

Reason # 3: Z-Health does not work if you blame your plateaus on the system.

To me, the most exciting things about human neurology, and human physiology, is that we have the capacity to change or remodel, at any point in our lives. We are, quite literally, learning machines; and our bodies and minds are always adapting the the stimuli and environments that we present to them.

Our ability to change and adapt is absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, at times, our “wiring” can also be a bit frustrating. Why? Because the things we do often become habit and begin to happen automatically. Once we’ve learned something, and done it enough, we go on autopilot.

“First we make our habits, then they create us.” – John Dryden

Neuroplasticity can be frustrating, because it means YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR CURRENT SITUATION.

Neuroplasticity is a “scientific buzzword” at the moment. Brain imaging machines show that our brains react to everything we encounter, every movement, thought & feeling, has a representation in our brains. Each of us react slightly differently based on our learned experiences and automatic patterns, and the patterns we utilize most get strengthened. Z-Health is founded on Neuroplasticity. What you do most, becomes habit and happens pre-cognitively (without conscious thought), as you continually practice these patterns they become strengthened in the brain, take up more brain real estate, and your body changes to encouraged the continual practice of those patterns.

Z-Health has a saying that sums up Neuroplasticity nicely:

“The body you currently have, is the one you’ve EARNED, by the way that you move”

Sometimes accountability stings…

But it is also extremely empowering, because you also have the capacity to change. You have the capacity to learn and cultivate the skills you desire, and destroy those you do not. That is what Z-Health is really all about.

Freedom is possible… If you stay committed to your practice.

If you get injured, if you get defeated, if you fall, if you fail…

If you have pain, weakness, stiffness…

If you do not look they way you want, or have the habits to support the lifestyle you want…

That problem stems from a gap in your training. You missed something.

If you have arrived at a plateau, or feel like you’ve had a setback, be thankful; you are lucky. You are at a spot where you can re-examine your practice; you have an opportunity to fill in a gap, an opportunity to learn and deepen your practice.

Plateaus are not to be avoided, but to be embraced.

At its very essence, Z-Health is a users manual, for YOUR nervous system. If it is not working, YOU are missing something, it was in the manual.

How do you deal with plateaus?

Do you get discouraged?

How does that affect your learning and performance?

Who or what do you rely on to help you endure plateaus, or break through to the next summit?

While this path is simple, it is occasionally confused. The wiring in our brains allows for an (almost) infinite number of connections between neurons; while this is idea of infinite possibilities is exciting, it may also lead to difficulty in practically applying some of Z-Health’s lessons.

I have experienced and witnessed many of these difficulties; I would like to share with you some of the reasons (in no particular order) why Z-Health doesn’t work:

Reason #2: Z-Health does not work if you do not “load” your new skills (into your unconscious movement patterns).

When you read my recent post about Freedom, it is likely you began thinking: “You know, there are an awful lot of movements I make during my day that happen automatically.”. You may have had a similar experience of getting in your car, starting it, and driving to work, basically on autopilot.

We have all had similar experiences. Most of what we do, we do on autopilot.

This is beneficial since it allows us to do more than one thing at once; our brains do not become occupied with things that we’ve done thousands of times.

You probably also recall the definition of Freedom – using the conscious mind to direct your unconscious activity; and you recall from Z-Health Does Not Work. Part 1, the suggestion of having a framework – a fully integrated movement pattern,  on which “build” your practice.

Most of us can walk on autopilot; walking is the one fully integrated movement skill that all of us can do unconsciously. If our aim is freedom (freedom of movement, freedom from pain, freedom to reach our goals, etc.), and we achieve freedom by consciously directing out unconscious movements, the most effective unconscious movement pattern to use as a framework to gain freedom is walking.

This means, after you perform your Z-Health drills, it is a good idea to go for a walk – to “load” them (both metaphorically and literally – you transfer hundreds of pounds of force with each step).

I think in associations and analogies; in regard to loading, here is one I like:

When you want to put some new software into your computer, you go to the store and buy the software disk. Once you get home, you open the box and take out the disk, you open the CD ROM tray on the computer, put the disk in the tray, and close the tray. At this point, you have done a lot of the work, but you still do not have the software in your computer; you still have to download it – and it typically takes a few moments.

Doing the drill without walking after, is like doing all the work to get the software disk into your computer, and never hitting Ok and downloading the program.

You have to walk to “load” the program (There are other ways of loading – but since walking is typically the most utilized unconscious program, it is often most effective).

Examine your practice.

How are you consciously directing your unconscious activity?

How are you “loading” your programs?

Upon being asked this question, my immediate thought was FREEDOM. I want to have complete freedom in life, and I want to help others find that same freedom.

Then he asked me: “What do you mean by freedom?”

Wow. I could not answer him precisely. I had a difficult time precisely defining what freedom meant to me.

Recently, while reading a book by Richard Bandler,  I came across this passage:

“To me the definition of freedom is being able to use your conscious mind to direct unconscious activity. The unconscious mind is hugely powerful, but needs direction… Freedom can only start when we restore information to an impoverished map.”

I really like the way this is put. There are so many things in my life that happen automatically (or unconsciously), so many habits, so many attitudes, that I carry around without cognitive control.

I recognize this is partly due to my wiring. I, like each of you, am wired to get good at the things I do repeated. So good, in fact, that I do them without really thinking.

Just this morning, I made tea, grabbed my keys, walked to the garage, got it the car, put the key in the ignition, started the car, opened the garage, put the car in reverse and backed out, all without having to really give any thought to what I was doing! Actually, I was on the phone confirming an appointment with a client while doing all of that other stuff. If I had never driven before, I probably could not have accomplished so many tasks at once; but I have been driving the same way each day for years… So I have a map (or a program) in my brain for it.

Practicing Z-Health forces me to examine my “maps” in regards to movement (specifically athletic movement). What I have learned through my practice, is that I have not always gotten to consciously choose what goes into my maps. I have maps for running, kicking, throwing, catching, jumping, cutting, and walking, that have been in place for longer than I can remember. I do not remember learning how to walk, or run. I did not get to choose how well that map (or program) was drawn.

Do you have automatic “maps” in place? Of course you do; have you chosen all the components of these maps? Or are they there by accident? If they are, you may be lacking FREEDOM…

Be inspired, be intelligent, and most importantly, be persistent,

Lou

While this path is simple, it is occasionally confused. The wiring in our brains allows for an (almost) infinite number of connections between neurons; while this is idea of infinite possibilities is exciting, it may also lead to difficulty in practically applying some of Z-Health’s lessons.

I have experienced and witnessed many of these difficulties; I would like to share with you some of the reasons (in no particular order) why Z-Health doesn’t work:

Reason #1 – Your aim is to perform perfect dynamic joint mobility (without having a framework for your practice).

Z-Health publishes R-Phase, I-Phase, S-Phase, and Neural Warmup books and DVDs; within this material is sequence of movement patterns beginning with single joint movements and moving towards more complicated, and more integrated patterns.

The R-Phase product, where athletes are directed to start is akin to the movement ABC’s; just as words are built from 26 letters (in English), all athletic movement skills are built from the combination of many movement letters. R-Phase is designed to ensure each athlete owns every letter. Once you have all the letters, you are encouraged to practice making a variety of “common athletic” words by combining “letters”.

This type of practice fits inline with the Deep Practice Model defined by Daniel Coyle in his excellent book: The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born, It’s Grown. Here’s How. Coyle identifies Deep Practice as being capable of enhancing motor learning and improving skill mastery.

So far this should all sound pretty good.

Right now, you are probably asking yourself: “If perfecting the ABC’s, will help me deepen my practice, and therefore increase my motor learning capacity, why would I not aim to perform perfect R,I,S-Phase?”

Good question.

The answer is you should aim to perfect your control and coordination, but it helps to have a framework. By a framework, I mean a complete skill. Without a framework, without an intentional reason for practicing, the dynamic joint mobility drills become (what some have referred to them as) a bunch of finger and ankle wiggles. It does not make much sense to practice these small joint movements if you cannot create a relevant framework in which they can exist.

Referring back to the Deep Practice Model, Coyle identifies a step-wise progression.

1. Create a vision of what the successful skill performance looks like: you may choose to watch someone who performs it very well. This vision is the framework for the skill.
2. Practice the skill in chunks: this is where your R,I,S-Phase practice fits in; most athletic movements can be broken down into R,I,S, drills. For some skills, the R,I,S, drills may need to be modified to fit the parameters of your “sport”; this is okay and encouraged.
3. Practice, practice, practice: repetition is still required in order to perform automatically. This means practice each chunk, over & over, and practice the entire skill, over & over. Z-Health trainers have a saying: “Do the drill, forget the drill”; what they mean is practice a chunk to improve it, then perform the entire skill with the newly enhanced chunk. When you are ready, pick a new chunk and repeat.
4. Learn to “feel” mistakes: sometimes this means doing things “wrong” on purpose. If you  do things wrong on purpose (under a light load), it helps to “feel” your way through what is required to perform exquisitely.

If Z-Health is not working for you, examine your practice. What is the framework in which your practice exists? What are the skill requirements of your sport? How can you take that framework to your practice?

Be inspired, be intelligent, and most importantly, be persistent,

Lou

I think my friend Joey said it best: “Lifting weights hurts…”

His meaning was two-fold; but, I’ll get to that is a moment. First, allow me to describe the circumstances around which he made that statement.

It was a bitter cold December day circa 1993. Joey was a few years older than I. He was the older brother of my best friend, Danny. Joey had recently returned from Denver and we were down the playground playing soccer in the cage, just as we had virtually every day since we were little kids.

We all looked up to Joey because he was what we dreamed about being, a professional soccer player. At that time he was playing with the Denver franchise in the Professional Indoor Soccer League (NPISL or whatever it was called at the time). He had served stints in Europe, playing on First Division reserve sides in England, Bundesliga sides in Germany; and now he was back home and playing in, at that time, the only  American professional soccer league.

(Note** The American professional soccer landscape in the early 90’s was still maturing: the United States had yet to host a World Cup, The North American Soccer League had folded almost 10 years previous, less than a handful of Americans had ever suited up for a top-flight European Club, The MLS was a few years away from its inaugural season, and professional indoor soccer was the best thing we had.)

Being (not exactly big) kids hopeful of making our high school varsity teams, Danny and I asked Joey what kind of lifting program they were doing out in Denver. He replied that they had a weight training facility but he never used it. Why? “Because lifting hurts”.

We knew what he meant, lifting made him sore and tight; being sore and tight made him play worse. It made him slower, it made him fatigue quicker, and for a guy who hated losing, it was generally unhelpful. Spending time in the gym also limited his time working with a ball; refining his touch, working on new moves. What Joey realized was, he was already strong enough to hold off defenders, to win loose balls, to work himself out of corners; he understood that if he worked on his touch (with the ball), instead of spending time lifting, he could create more space for himself, wrong-foot defenders, beat people with his moves, or draw fouls and set up free kicks. His strength did not come from a barbell; it came from being a great athlete, and from his love for the game.

The reason I am bringing this up is not to condemn weightlifting. I realize that some folks love weightlifting; for some of you, lifting is your absolute passion. That is awesome. Please do what you are passionate about, and do it well.

I bring this up because as I look around the fitness & training worlds, and I see them teeming with weightlifters; some that are passionate about lifting. Others are in search of health and simply do not see an alternative. To me, health grows out of doing exactly what you are passionate about.

Although I am not passionate about lifting, I have always been passionate about playing. Which is why I put such a value on the Z-Health Performance System.

I’ve been witnessing an awful lot of misinterpretation and misrepresentation of the Z-Health Performance System, and my intuition tells me its because our lens has had too narrow of a scope.

The way that I understand this system, its was designed by examining elite athletes, deconstructing their skill-sets, and modeling them. The diversity of athletic pursuits dictates that an overwhelming majority of athletes studied while designing this system were not weightlifters; yet I continually witness the system being applied only to this extremely small speck of the athletic universe – the “pick up heavy stuff” star… or the “help my (whatever) not hurt so I can pick up heavy stuff” meteor… or the “just gotta get through my workout” moon…

It pains me to see so many people “work out”. When I was a kid I never worked out; Danny and Joey never worked out. We Played. we played our tails off; even when we were down the playground perfecting our step-overs or practicing driving corner kicks.

Am I alone in my belief that the true value of the system is that it (virtually) forces us out of the weight room; that is encourages us to get out and play? To get out and recreate? To go out and compete, without being confined to chasing a PR? That mastering the art of playing most any sport well can be refined to mastering it’s R’s, I’s, and S’s? It’s rhythm, timing, and flow?

Am I the only one that believes the greatest joy in life comes from mastering one’s passions?

Why are we only applying Z-Health to pain relief? Why do I so often hear, “I have to go do my Z, to warm up for lifting”. In the book: Kettlebells for Dummies it says: “Z-Health exercises are great for warm-up and cool down”. Sure, they are, but if that is how you use Z-Health, you are missing so much. So much mastery… So much joy.

Again, if lifting gets you absolutely jazzed, have at it. In all honesty, I don’t mind picking stuff up every now and again; I simply need a lot more variety in my diet.

I know I cannot be alone in my agreement with Joey that lifting (for the most part) hurts. I want to practice playing. Playing ball. Playing in the ocean. Playing in the mountains. Playing in the parks and playgrounds. Playing music. I have too much playing to master to worry about lifting…

And need some of you to play with me…

<br /> scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″<br /> style=”border:none; width:450px; height:80px”>

I get the sense there is a lot of misunderstanding and misapplication of Z-Health Performance System’s principles.

My intent is to help practitioners improve their athletic practice by identifying common misunderstandings, errors in application, or misrepresentations. I believe the principles of the Z-Health Performance System can provide a great benefit to the athleticism of our entire community; and would like to see us all achieve our goals through intelligent application of those principle.

Please check back often for updates, or sign up above for the newsletter to receive updates to this blog in you email inbox.

Be inspired, be intelligent, and most importantly, be persistent,

Lou