I don't know Lebron James but he probably takes Omega 3's

In my personal pursuit of nutrition for best possible performance I kept on coming across inflammation and how disruptive it is to the body’s ability to recover. Wether you are a full time athlete or full time at a desk job, your body is trying to combat different forms of inflammation at all times. Nearly every modern day disease is caused or affected by it so I soon realized that not only reducing inflammation would impact my performance but also my health and wellbeing. 

Every time you exercise you are causing structural inflammation by breaking down muscle tissue, causing micro damage in tissues and by impacting joints. If you are going hard on a daily basis then you will have a constant build up of inflammation which may be the cause of some acute or even chronic injuries. Outside of the fitness realm, your nutrition has a MASSIVE impact on inflammation. One major component of this battle is your essential fatty acid intake ratio. Ever heard of Omega 6‘s VS Omega 3‘s? To keep it simple, Omega 6’s (processed vegetable oils, processed grains/sugars) cause inflammation and Omega 3’s (cold water fish oils) reduce inflammation. Back when we hunted and gathered our food, Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratios hovered around 1:1 which is why they were free of heart diseases, cancers and diabetes to name a few. Now, with the majority of our population eating processed foods loaded with terribly unhealthy vegetable oils, the current ratio is around 15:1 to 20:1 and sometimes as high as 25:1!!!! THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM!   

Taking in the above information, I realized that every day is a balancing act between inflammation and anti-inflammation. With this in mind I set out to reduce my intake of inflammatory agents while providing my body with anti-inflammatory supplements. 

Here are the first 5 steps I took to increase my performance and thus quality of life by addressing inflammation. 

Step 1 - Supplement Omega 3’s. I did my research and found that Ascenta NutraSea Oil is the best product on the market. Each bottle is independently tested and certified for the highest quality and purity.

Step 2 - Eliminate or reduce packaged foods and snacks. If it is in a bag or a plastic package then it is processed and will be packed with unhealthy vegetable oils and packed with sugar or unhealthy sugar replacements. If anything shop in the natural/organic section of your local market for pre-packaged goods.

Step 3 - Reduce sugar consumption. Much the same as step 2 only more directed at refined grains, pop, sweets and chocolate. Think about using Stevia leaf extract or agave nectar as sweeteners and consider sipping on green tea over processed fruit drinks as well as munching on fruit or veggies and hummus over crackers and refined sugary things. Try organic 65% cacao chocolate in desperate times of need. ;) 

Step 4 - Cook with Coconut Oil. Vegetable oils have a low smoke point and can turn toxic when used for cooking. Coconut oil is AMAZING for cooking anything and has a very high smoke point. Save extra virgin Olive oil for salad dressing not stir-fries.

Step 5 -  Drink less Alcohol. We have all wasted a day on the couch after a big night. Our livers can detoxify a certain amount but after that Alcohol is certainly not a performance enhancer! Take it easy on the sauce folks or hit it early and start drinking lots of water when the clock strikes midnight.

Give these 5 steps a try, I definitely began noticing all kinds of amazing benefits! I had more energy, my skin and hair were healthier, my thoughts were clearer, I awake with a clear mind, my joints felt better and it took me less time time to recover from my workouts. 

Keep Striving,

Martin

Better posture will change your life

I was watching an enlightening TED talk (video at bottom) the other day about how body language has a massive impact on presence. I found it very interesting that non verbals have a very powerful relationship with not only the way people see us but also on our thoughts, feelings and physiology! I have noticed for years that posture is a great indicator of confidence and physical preparedness (in my competitors) therefore building a powerful posture is one of my main principles within Strive Conditioning.

A large part of North Americans lives are spent sitting down at desks, in cars and in front of computer’s/ TV’s. This is causing us to chronically get shorter and tighter in the anterior side of our bodies while our posterior muscles lengthen and weaken. We are actually reversing the process of bipedal human evolution whereby the hip hinge muscles that powered us up off all four limbs a million years ago are now losing their strength and neurological connections. Due to insufficient overhead activities (upper body posterior control), minimal heavy lifting (instrumental in teaching body how to use legs and hips) and no max speed running (hunting/chasing our meals and not playing sports), North Americans in general are losing their ability to properly engage heel to neck posterior muscles. All this is due to people spending over seven hours a day slumped forward in front of the computer with minimal amounts of physical engagement. This is such a scary thought because not only is a third of the population obese but around 80% of these people suffer from lower back problems and I’m sure high percentages of them also suffer from depression as well. 

What does that mean physically? 

• Constantly sitting and leaning forwards forces the shoulders to cave inwards, causes a loss in scapular stability, reduces the strength of the mid and upper back, pulls spine forward, shortens the front abs, tightens chest inwards and internally rotates arms within the shoulder joints. (related to neck pain and causes many shoulder problems).
• Sitting back all day tightens the front hips which stops/limits full hip extension (a cause of lower back pain).
• Sitting weakens neurological connection of posterior muscles and lengthens the muscles in a negative way (reduces ability to hinge properly at the hip).
• Time under tension at the desk forces our skeletal system to start adapting permanently to this constant forward position. 
• Core becomes weak and the pelvis winds up tilting down in the front due to the tight hip flexors which lengthens and weakens the hamstrings and puts the lower back in a compromised extended position (lordosis)

All of the above means we are getting shorter and tighter in our front sides and as a result our backsides are stretching and elongating (not in a good way). As a population we are slowly getting smaller, losing posterior muscle tone/recruitment, suffering from chronic back injuries and becoming less athletic. This is not good!  

Why is this important?

Not only does this decrease our potential for physical performance, it has a terrible emotional impact. Degraded posture decreases your ability to naturally stand tall which in turn negatively impacts your energy and the vibe you resonate. In a job interview study people were selected to do either a big power pose or a small weak pose for 2 minutes before entering an interview. They undoubtedly found that holding an “alpha” power posture changed hormonal profile with an increase in testosterone (power) and a decrease in cortisol (stress) levels and the opposite found with the weak posers! It was also unquestionably clear that those people who assumed power postures were recommended to be hired based on their PRESENCE where as those who took weaker postures were overlooked. Think about this, adopting a power posture for a short period of time can impact the way people perceive you and thus your opportunity to succeed. Now flip that around and think how energy, joie de vivre and overall calibration are negatively impacted by living/working full time by an ever degrading poor posture. We need to not only aspire to improve posture to elevate long term wellbeing but to also shape who we are and the energy we give off in a more positive way!

What to do? 

1. Set a re-occurring alarm to bring awareness to your posture. Every 60 minutes take 2 minutes to assume a power posture to reset your physical and hormonal profile. Breathe deeply while expanding your chest and retracting your shoulders. Do this while repeating positive affirmations/mantra’s.
2. Strengthen your hamstrings and glutes as well as the T-spine and shoulder blades (scapula). 
3. Build your core and posterior chain connection. Foundation Training on a daily basis is a great way to do so.
4. Stretch your hip flexors and quads and chest (pec major and minor). 
5. Limit the time you spend sitting down! If you are watching TV try stretching at the same time. 
6. See a Chiropractor (preferrably my beach volleyball partner Dr.Josh Binstock at Vaughn Chiropractic!)

It is my goal with Strive Conditioning to help you through these issues and build a strong and confident foundation for optimal physical performance and emotional composure. Please message me for more details on how I can help rebuild your posture while elevating your fitness.  

Martin

Strive, you are as strong as your Drive.