Hey bloggers! As I mentioned in the last post, practices have been pretty tough the past month or so. Not to say that I have been doing bad, quite the contrary, but recovery after them is of definite importance. Today I'm not working so I get to catch up on some of my writing. :) yeay!
Starting back in mid November I've was back to struggling with the strenuous track workouts of a 400m hurdler. The workouts are very long, build lactic acid quickly, and require a lot of heart to say the least. Since then though I've made ground breaking progress towards handling them much better. The past two weeks especially have been great and have caused me to learn more about mentally preparing for tough practices.
I've learned these great techniques in a few different places including church, my coach, my teammates and others around me, and my business too. I've learned that when you have to do something difficult it doesn't help to worry yourself about it especially if you HAVE to do it (like really challenging practices). Worrying about it and trying to avoid it isn't going to help me when my coach says "Ready, GO!" Its not something that will change so I have realized that I might as well put in all my effort to do the workouts and earn the benefit from them rather than being scared and happenstancedly (don't try to look that word up, haha) get some type of benefit from it.
It doesn't help to worry or fear for things that are inevitable. Most of the issues I had with my training last year were due to a lack of confidence in my own ability to physically do what was being asked of me. I am now believing that I can do the workouts coach has for me and that he wouldn't give me something just to watch me struggle and fail. He genuinely wants me to get better. Besides, he also reaps a benefit from me doing well when I get that sponsorship or prize money. That being said, I realized that he wants me to get better, EVEN THOUGH he doesn't always say it or express it in the smallest manner, lol. The first thing to do is accept the fact that yes, this will be tough. Secondly, you have to adjust your attitude toward your task and cast out any thoughts of doubt or fear regarding it. You have to think positive and be stronger even though you're hurting, sore, in pain, or whatever the case may be. The last thing to do is enjoy the challenge or with respect to religion thank God for the moment.
Training has been tough, but Im getting more out of it and I've allowed or forced my body to react positively to the pain and challenge of finishing workouts. Personally, I feel like I've made a huge leap toward my dreams and I will continue to keep this attitude and mindset. There are no limits. This is the life of...a champion!!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Importance of Care The Reward Thereof
Hey bloggers hope all is well and your Thanksgiving was filled with great food, good fellowship, and a lot of realizing how blessed you are. Thank You GOD! I know this post is much overdue, but please bear with me. Practice has been really working my body out and I've been completely exhausted the past few weeks straight. It doesn't help that now we have had several days where we can't get much work in on the track due to frigid temps (FL frigid, lol). Anyways, this post ties in with the last one, so I'll give you all a practice update after this post.
We last left off talking about the importance of actually getting your body worked on for everyday people and for athletes alike. Hopefully you enjoyed that one. This post is primarily going to be about the chiropractic care, and my awesome opportunity that I was able to take advantage.
Maybe you've heard good or bad things about chiropractors, but I'll give you a bit more information about my experiences with chiropractors that will hopefully give you insight to make a better informed decision about your own care. The first thing you need to know about chiropractors is that there are a few different types of care. There are everyday chiropractors that adjust your body and you continue to come back, then there are corrective care practitioners. I have experienced both, and they are similar, but there is a stark difference between them.
Regular chiropractors have the knowledge to relieve pressure in your joints, nerves, and align your bones if they are out of place, but the disconnect I've experienced is that they don't teach you about what is happening to your body. Maybe you don't care if the teach you anything, but I feel if Im paying my hard earned money to someone to "fix" an issues I have with my body I want to know why I need it, how it will help, length of time I should expect, and so forth. I have to be in the KNOW, you heard me! Not only to they just allow you to walk through their offices day in and out without explaining what is going on with your body, why it is or isn't helping, etc., but they don't make attempts to permenantly correct the issue either. I don't believe that if you start going to a chiropractor you will become dependent on them. If you go to the right ones you can get the care you need and train your body to correct itself.
My corrective care chiropractor has educated me on the main area of focus for a healthier body and ultimately, life. That thing is the spinal cord, which I'll talk about next. I get my hips, spine, and neck adjusted each week and do the exercises that have been helping to strengthen my bones and muscles around those bones in order to hold position after adjustments. What I get done each week (down from 3 times a wk) is an adjustment for my hips, which are out of alignment by less than 5 degrees. This actually used to cause a lot of tension in my low back and would often affect my hamstrings while running, and since I've started my care I haven't had nearly as much strain in those areas. Imagine running around a track with one leg a little longer than the other ok? lol. It takes it's toll after a while.
The next thing I get taken care of is my spinal cord. Every person has a spine and it is like a hollowed shell that protects your spinal cord. This cord is THE ONE thing, aside from your heart that keeps you living long and strong. It sends all the signals from the brain to the rest of your body including limbs and organs. Imagine what would happen if one of those nerves was pinched because your spine was out of alignment. Maybe this issue occurred in your lower back where the nerve that controls you kidney is housed. The bone on that particular nervewould be clamping on your nerve like a rubberband wrapped tightly around your finger. After a while you finger goes numb and it starts to turn colors due to lack of circulation right? The same thing happens with our nerves. That pinched nerve tries to tell the kidney to clean out the blood system when you eat some bad food, but since you aren't getting 100% power trhough that nerve the signal is blocked and the kidney doesn't get all the instructions. This can cause kidney failure or more damage in your body since it is unable to do its job.
That scenario could go for any of your other organs including the heart. I hope that you can see the importance of having your spine adjusted regularly. I would highly recommend you at least go check out a corrective care chiropractor and get the interim x-rays to find out the facts on your body. From there you can decide what to do.
We last left off talking about the importance of actually getting your body worked on for everyday people and for athletes alike. Hopefully you enjoyed that one. This post is primarily going to be about the chiropractic care, and my awesome opportunity that I was able to take advantage.
Maybe you've heard good or bad things about chiropractors, but I'll give you a bit more information about my experiences with chiropractors that will hopefully give you insight to make a better informed decision about your own care. The first thing you need to know about chiropractors is that there are a few different types of care. There are everyday chiropractors that adjust your body and you continue to come back, then there are corrective care practitioners. I have experienced both, and they are similar, but there is a stark difference between them.
Regular chiropractors have the knowledge to relieve pressure in your joints, nerves, and align your bones if they are out of place, but the disconnect I've experienced is that they don't teach you about what is happening to your body. Maybe you don't care if the teach you anything, but I feel if Im paying my hard earned money to someone to "fix" an issues I have with my body I want to know why I need it, how it will help, length of time I should expect, and so forth. I have to be in the KNOW, you heard me! Not only to they just allow you to walk through their offices day in and out without explaining what is going on with your body, why it is or isn't helping, etc., but they don't make attempts to permenantly correct the issue either. I don't believe that if you start going to a chiropractor you will become dependent on them. If you go to the right ones you can get the care you need and train your body to correct itself.
My corrective care chiropractor has educated me on the main area of focus for a healthier body and ultimately, life. That thing is the spinal cord, which I'll talk about next. I get my hips, spine, and neck adjusted each week and do the exercises that have been helping to strengthen my bones and muscles around those bones in order to hold position after adjustments. What I get done each week (down from 3 times a wk) is an adjustment for my hips, which are out of alignment by less than 5 degrees. This actually used to cause a lot of tension in my low back and would often affect my hamstrings while running, and since I've started my care I haven't had nearly as much strain in those areas. Imagine running around a track with one leg a little longer than the other ok? lol. It takes it's toll after a while.
The next thing I get taken care of is my spinal cord. Every person has a spine and it is like a hollowed shell that protects your spinal cord. This cord is THE ONE thing, aside from your heart that keeps you living long and strong. It sends all the signals from the brain to the rest of your body including limbs and organs. Imagine what would happen if one of those nerves was pinched because your spine was out of alignment. Maybe this issue occurred in your lower back where the nerve that controls you kidney is housed. The bone on that particular nervewould be clamping on your nerve like a rubberband wrapped tightly around your finger. After a while you finger goes numb and it starts to turn colors due to lack of circulation right? The same thing happens with our nerves. That pinched nerve tries to tell the kidney to clean out the blood system when you eat some bad food, but since you aren't getting 100% power trhough that nerve the signal is blocked and the kidney doesn't get all the instructions. This can cause kidney failure or more damage in your body since it is unable to do its job.
That scenario could go for any of your other organs including the heart. I hope that you can see the importance of having your spine adjusted regularly. I would highly recommend you at least go check out a corrective care chiropractor and get the interim x-rays to find out the facts on your body. From there you can decide what to do.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Importance of Care
That is one thing that will always resonnate within me: "Take Care of your body!!!" Something Coach reminds of at least once a week, but the occasional 3/4 times doesn't surprise anyone either, lol.
Hey bloggerz! Sorry for the delay in posting this one, but I've been under the gun to get a few things done. Well, I guess my own gun with a slow trigger and possibly rubber bullets. Ok, ok I was taking my time and just didn't feel like writing the past few weeks, even though this is something I am pretty eager to get out to you. There is just something about a tough day's work on the track that makes everything else seem so unimportant compared to the amount of sleep and recovery your body wants to slouch about in.
Back to the topic at hand. The quote above is from my coach reminding us to continue to take care of our body as athletes. Now you may be thinking that he is talking about eating right and drinking water and such, which he is, but not entirely. The main point he makes with that statement is to make sure we are getting our bodies "worked on" as we call it. This only means that we are making appointments to see any specialists that will aid in our recovery and allow us to keep our bodies in optimal shape from all the mileage (literal, lol) and strength and mental confidence we command of them.
For me this usually means that in a week I'll get an ice bath, a torturous deep tissue massage (hey don't give me that, there is no calming music and sounds of waterfalls in the background, lots of moments of pain comes from them), a epsom salt bath, maybe some accupuncture, an adjustment from the Chiro, icing my knees down several times a week, and stretching each night. It might sound like a lot, but the routine works for me and when Im consistent I usually have really good practices because my recovery is much better or faster.
Taking care of your body is no different for sports athletes than for regular everyday people. Perhaps you could take out a full ice bath and get away with that bruised ankle of yours. I probably wouldn't recommend a deep tissue to anyone who doesn't need it either, unless of course you're just curious, I would applaud you for trying one. These things are what helps our bodies recover and get back into working shape. Icing for example helps to numb the area of pain or inflamation so that when you have endured anywhere from 8-15 minutes and allow your body temp or restore itself blood will flow to the injured area more rapidly. This rapid blood flow creates new blood to come and repair damaged tissue and muscles which will speed up the healing process.
Epsom salt baths are usually done when you are extremely sore, but not bruised or muscles inflamed. The hot bath mixed with salt (to pull out toxins and overload the body with one of the electrolytes that it needs) will not only relax you, but allow your muscles to drain themselves of unwanted material through your pours as you sweat. It is similar to a detox, but not as inclusive. Usually you want to do hot baths or hot packs on affected areas prior to activities to help the stiff areas loosen up some or before bed for ultimate comfort. With epsom salt, I've noticed that my soreness lasts for much less than usual, I can be back running on a sore appendage sooner, and that my muscles have a chance to relax and loosen themselves which can help save you from a muscle pull. Of course you don't want to forget to drink LOTS of water while doing an epsom salt because if will dehydrate you and you will feel those affects the next day for sure.
Now Chiropractic care is something that I've heard several physical therapists and trainers look down upon. One reason is because a chiro has the knowledge or lack thereof to rearrange and adjust your bone structure. Now this is good if your spinal cord or low back or hips are out of alignment, but if you get worked on by someone who knows not what they're doing, they could really mess some stuff up. Honestly and personally though, I like Chiropractors. They not only adjust your body and any bones that have subluxation (misalignment), but also help in the corrective care area to release tension on your nerves. This technique is primarily focused on the spinal cord adjustments that allow nerve relief which can help your body function and operate better or optimally. I'll discuss more about Chiropractors in detail next post.
As you can see taking care of your body is pretty important. These things to take care of your body during aches, pains, and healthy living. Along with these things you can help to improve your health, while living long and strong! Some keys to this are drinking LOTS of water. Think of a lot of water and how much that is to you, then drink more than that, lol. Try to decrease or eliminate stress if possible, detoxify your body when necessary, get plenty of sleep, and eat healthy and supplement your food with those important vitamins and minerals that your body needs. This has been another service announcement from the life of...DK Research.truth. (Not a real website, lol)
Hey bloggerz! Sorry for the delay in posting this one, but I've been under the gun to get a few things done. Well, I guess my own gun with a slow trigger and possibly rubber bullets. Ok, ok I was taking my time and just didn't feel like writing the past few weeks, even though this is something I am pretty eager to get out to you. There is just something about a tough day's work on the track that makes everything else seem so unimportant compared to the amount of sleep and recovery your body wants to slouch about in.
Back to the topic at hand. The quote above is from my coach reminding us to continue to take care of our body as athletes. Now you may be thinking that he is talking about eating right and drinking water and such, which he is, but not entirely. The main point he makes with that statement is to make sure we are getting our bodies "worked on" as we call it. This only means that we are making appointments to see any specialists that will aid in our recovery and allow us to keep our bodies in optimal shape from all the mileage (literal, lol) and strength and mental confidence we command of them.
For me this usually means that in a week I'll get an ice bath, a torturous deep tissue massage (hey don't give me that, there is no calming music and sounds of waterfalls in the background, lots of moments of pain comes from them), a epsom salt bath, maybe some accupuncture, an adjustment from the Chiro, icing my knees down several times a week, and stretching each night. It might sound like a lot, but the routine works for me and when Im consistent I usually have really good practices because my recovery is much better or faster.
Taking care of your body is no different for sports athletes than for regular everyday people. Perhaps you could take out a full ice bath and get away with that bruised ankle of yours. I probably wouldn't recommend a deep tissue to anyone who doesn't need it either, unless of course you're just curious, I would applaud you for trying one. These things are what helps our bodies recover and get back into working shape. Icing for example helps to numb the area of pain or inflamation so that when you have endured anywhere from 8-15 minutes and allow your body temp or restore itself blood will flow to the injured area more rapidly. This rapid blood flow creates new blood to come and repair damaged tissue and muscles which will speed up the healing process.
Epsom salt baths are usually done when you are extremely sore, but not bruised or muscles inflamed. The hot bath mixed with salt (to pull out toxins and overload the body with one of the electrolytes that it needs) will not only relax you, but allow your muscles to drain themselves of unwanted material through your pours as you sweat. It is similar to a detox, but not as inclusive. Usually you want to do hot baths or hot packs on affected areas prior to activities to help the stiff areas loosen up some or before bed for ultimate comfort. With epsom salt, I've noticed that my soreness lasts for much less than usual, I can be back running on a sore appendage sooner, and that my muscles have a chance to relax and loosen themselves which can help save you from a muscle pull. Of course you don't want to forget to drink LOTS of water while doing an epsom salt because if will dehydrate you and you will feel those affects the next day for sure.
Now Chiropractic care is something that I've heard several physical therapists and trainers look down upon. One reason is because a chiro has the knowledge or lack thereof to rearrange and adjust your bone structure. Now this is good if your spinal cord or low back or hips are out of alignment, but if you get worked on by someone who knows not what they're doing, they could really mess some stuff up. Honestly and personally though, I like Chiropractors. They not only adjust your body and any bones that have subluxation (misalignment), but also help in the corrective care area to release tension on your nerves. This technique is primarily focused on the spinal cord adjustments that allow nerve relief which can help your body function and operate better or optimally. I'll discuss more about Chiropractors in detail next post.
As you can see taking care of your body is pretty important. These things to take care of your body during aches, pains, and healthy living. Along with these things you can help to improve your health, while living long and strong! Some keys to this are drinking LOTS of water. Think of a lot of water and how much that is to you, then drink more than that, lol. Try to decrease or eliminate stress if possible, detoxify your body when necessary, get plenty of sleep, and eat healthy and supplement your food with those important vitamins and minerals that your body needs. This has been another service announcement from the life of...DK Research.truth. (Not a real website, lol)
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