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Writer's pictureRJ Training

All the small things

When you read the title, what do you immediately think of? We will get along well if it is the punk rock band Blink-182. This week's training blog is all about health and longevity. Everyone has ideas about attaining good health, especially considering there is no shortage of information on the subject. Whether those ideas are acted out is a whole different story. We are what we repeatedly do, and the reality is one's overall health is a direct reflection of that. There is not a single person who went to bed in shape and then woke up out of shape. Whatever state your body is in as you read this has been created over time. What impacts health more than anything is all the small things. When it comes to health, you will work at maintaining your health for the rest of your life, and you will get what you deserve. That statement falls flat in the world of 8 days to abs, 21 days to a full transformation, and 8 weeks to be the strongest you, etc. Your health will not be quick and easy like an Amazon order, so if you are in it for the long haul and want to feel empowered in your body regardless of age, keep reading.


In no particular order, here are ten small things that are FREE and have a BIG impact on health.


Sleep


I won't get into the science on this topic, but if you want to scare yourself into sleeping more, read the book "Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker. I say scare because it unpacks the dangers of chronically under-sleeping. Sleep is one of those areas we all have a unique relationship with. We all sleep, but we all go about it uniquely, so finding a routine that results in the highest sleep quality is important. Some common pre-sleep practices are removing screens an hour before bedtime, no food a few hours before sleep, a calming breath practice, reading a book that is not too stimulating or exciting, and so on. My favourite is going on a night walk, but I understand that can be challenging depending on location and how comfortable you are being out at night. Anything that calms your system will set you up for high-quality sleep. So watching Fast and Furious 99 or checking your bank statements a few hours before bed will probably not be the path to sleeping optimally.


Lastly, it is important to drive home this point. It does not matter how hard you train and diet; if your sleep is not restful for your body, you will have to work twice as hard to feel good, and chances are, a lot of your hard work will be a waste of time because recovery is where the gains happen. It feels good to feel good; sleep is the lowest-hanging fruit when it comes to feeling good.


Sleep Action Item: Try to go to bed within 2 hours of the same time every night and wake up within 2 hours of the same time every morning. So if you go to bed at 10:00 pm most nights, you want to ideally go to bed before midnight or, at the earliest, 8:00 pm. There will be nights when you stay up later or struggle to fall asleep, and no need to beat yourself up about it. The key is having a plan in place and designated times for sleep. If done consistently over time, the body's physiological rhythms, like when to start repairing damaged tissue from that killer workout, will adapt to the natural rhythms you create daily.


Walking



The closest thing to a magic pill is walking. On countless occasions, I have had pain in my body, went for a walk and afterwards, my perceived pain levels decreased significantly. Walking has also helped me manage stress and anxiety, especially before starting a busy day with important deadlines. A walk after a meal can be great for anyone struggling with insulin sensitivity or sporadic blood glucose levels. Here is more convincing for walking and why it can help in several areas related to healthy living. The brain is always taking in information, and what lights up the circuitry of the brain is movement. When we are in motion, the brain constantly takes in information and asks, "Am I safe"? Movement stimulates and feeds the brain. A well-fed brain from frequent movement is capable of rational thought, learning, creativity and emotional balance. Without frequent movement, the brain will start to prune away neural connections no longer needed to maintain energy conservation.


Walking Action Item: Look at your walking frequency before taking on the next training program or diet plan. Walking at least once daily for ten minutes is the perfect exercise routine to build upon. The effectiveness of any training program or diet plan can instantly improve with consistent walks. Bonus action item: walk first thing in the morning before your morning beverage or meal to help boost energy and mood while getting exposure to the early morning vitamin D from the sun.


Eye Movement


This one can be partnered with those morning walks I just touched on. Lateral eye movement or looking from side to side helps suppress the amygdala's fear response and signals the feel-good hormone dopamine. Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing is a trauma recovery therapy developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro. By using eye movement, recalling a traumatic experience or memory can make it easier to process and unpack the emotions involved. Blood flow to the brain and tightness in the neck can be improved by adding some eye movement while moving the head. The classic head movement I try to do daily is looking over both shoulders as far as possible. Looking up and down is also useful for keeping the little muscles in the neck from getting too stiff, especially for those who sit at a computer day in and day out.


Eye Movement Action Item: Try the neck reset. As you look up and down, allow your eyes to look up as high as you can and do the same thing when you look down. As you look over your shoulder, try to find both heels.


Stop and Breathe


This one can instantly change the state you are in. Breathing affects everything about us, and oftentimes, within modern culture, we breathe as the Texas chainsaw serial killer is chasing us around town. Our breath is a message to the body, and we are often unaware of what our breath is communicating. Short, shallow breaths communicate that it is action time, which is great if we need to chase the kids into the car, get them to school and then get ourselves to work on time. Even amid a busy life, so much can improve with one simple action that will take less than 10 seconds - stop and breathe. What a conscious breath can do is truly magical, and if there were a pill that mimics what the breath can do for the body, everyone would be taking it.


Breathing action item: There are many breath techniques, and one technique I like to utilize is trying to breathe no more than 6 times in a minute. Six or fewer breaths in a minute is great after a long day as it can help shift your body into the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps the body rest and digest. Ideally, put the tongue to the roof of the mouth and breathe through the nose to inhale and exhale when practicing this technique. In Tim Anderson's book "Be Naked", he recommends breathing with a smile on your face.


Try New Things


I remember when I first became a personal trainer and was fresh off a 5-year collegiate football career (The Canadian version). At this time, I knew how to be strong and powerful in the sport of football, but as I started to study human physiology and the like, I realized I had developed many compensations from all the years of football. One such compensation was tight ankles and hips because I was geared to change direction fast, and my body decided to make those areas tight to serve better the function of chasing wide receivers all over the field. The new thing I tried was bodyweight movement. Not bodyweight exercise but bodyweight movement. I would go into a studio with no equipment and do various crawls and rolling sequences utilizing the hardwood floor as my playground. This time in my life was all about movement exploration and rediscovering parts of myself I had neglected for many years. Bodyweight movement was foreign territory for me, and for a long time, I looked like the guy with no rhythm on the dance floor.


Try something new action item: Go to a class where an instructor or coach is leading the class. I did this recently with Brazilian Jujitsu, and I am forever grateful for the people I met and the things I learned about myself after getting choked out numerous times. Now, Brazilian Jujitsu is something I try to practice a few times a week, and I view it as a practice that allows me to break out of the same old routine I do every day. Finding something new and sticking with it for a few months can help give a moment of pause and presence in life. Not only that, you are bound to meet a few people who are super enthusiastic about the new thing you are trying, and enthusiastic people are fun to be around.


Get On The Ground


The ground gives us a lot of information, and remember what I said earlier? The brain is always searching for information and thrives when it is fed often. Getting on the ground is a great way to feed the brain. Getting on the ground will reveal any tightness in the body and can be great information if you are dealing with any injuries or pain points. The other thing is that we are all aging, and nobody can escape getting older. As we age, the ground becomes scarier than it was when we were young, so it's all the more reason to keep getting down on the ground so that your brain doesn't prune away that skill.


Get on the ground action item: Get up and down with this series. This practice alone can significantly reduce the chances of falling and getting injured. An added benefit is that getting up and down from the floor requires several joints to go through an active range of motion, like the feet, knees, hips and back. Many people experience pain in the body, and something as simple as getting up and down from the floor can go a long way in staying supple and pain-free.


Drink Quality Water


Depending on where you are, this one can cost a little money. I remember investing in a Santevia Alkaline water system and thinking, "damn, that is a lot of money for a water filter". Many years later, I think that is one of the best health investments I have made for myself. Every process of the body requires water, so for me, it is necessary not to settle for low-quality water as I want the processes of my body set up for success and to function on all cylinders. We all have an engine that thrives on active water, and if you filter your water with a Brita filter, you are losing out on the essential minerals and active contents we can get from our water.


Drink quality water action item: Invest in a Santevia Alkaline water system


Always Start Small


I remind myself and all of my clients of this, especially when it comes to training. Whenever starting a new workout program or routine for improving health, it is important to start small. If reading a book a month is the goal, don't do like we all did in school and try to cram reading a whole book into one night. Start by reading a page every day. Some days, you might have time for two or ten pages, but no matter what, you will read one page daily. The same goes for our health. Feeling healthy and empowered in your body does not happen overnight and will require constant work. Remember, all the small things make a world of difference regarding health.


Always start small action item: Do the small things consistently, and don't fall for the quick fix gimmicks. You know what it takes to be healthy and whole. Embrace the process of what it takes to live a quality life, and recognize that the finish line is when your days are done on this earth.


Bounce Everyday


Cooking food? Time to bounce. Waiting in a line? Time to bounce. Are your kids playing on the playground? Time to bounce. As a kid, I loved to skip around the neighbourhood, and recently enough, I thought, "When did I stop skipping?" As that thought entered my awareness, I have since started skipping around. I have a dog, and we go on walks every day, and that is where I sometimes sneak in some skips. It is hard to skip and not smile, and it feels good to smile. Bouncing does a lot for moving fluids in our body, especially blood. The calves are seen as the second heart in the body, and when you start bouncing for any length of time, you will start to feel those calves pump up. This is great for managing inflammation in the lower leg and promoting better blood flow throughout the body.


Bounce everyday action item: Try this rebounding exercise.


Gratitude Practice


Remember when I mentioned the brain's threat detector, the amygdala? A gratitude practice can alter the brain's negativity bias and can change the amygdala's filter. Essentially, we can train our brains to find more positive information. Our brain will never stop telling us when there is a threat or something to look out for, but when we are staring our loved ones in the eyes, I think that is a great time to have all the positivity flowing through. I know for myself I am never operating on all cylinders when I am thinking negatively. I am not saying everything needs to be rainbows and butterflies, but I also recognize that when tuned to the negative, I miss out on the novelty and beauty life offers.


Gratitude practice action item: At the end of the day, say or write one thing you are grateful for. You can supercharge this practice by really sitting with that thought and reflecting on what about that thing you wrote makes you grateful.


Wrap Up


What small things do you do daily to make you happy, healthy and whole? I look forward to reviewing this blog in a few years and seeing what I might change or add.


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