How do you know your fitness has improved? What criteria do your use to evaluate your results? How, specifically, do you know when to continue with your current method of training versus trying something different?
Many coaches fail to correctly train the aerobic energy systems as they tell their clients to move faster, keep going, work harder…. or they have clients lifting heavy loads or performing complex movements in a fatigues state.
People generally have positive intentions but often fail to act on them. We all know that we should be making healthy lifestyle choices; like eating a well-balanced diet, exercising, getting plenty of rest, not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and drinking moderately—or not at all. Information is not enough motivation for us to take action; only 6% of adults adhere to the top five chronic disease-preventing health behaviours [1]. The question is how to ensure that the set goal intentions will reliably lead to the desired goal-directed behaviours and subsequent attainment of those goals. Most people lack the strategies and support required to change their behaviours, even if their life depends on it.
We often rely on motivation, willpower and desire to move us closer to our goal intentions, but none of these can guarantee success. Achieving one's goals requires that certain goal-directed behaviours are built, but people are often unsuccessful in either initiating or maintaining the behaviours behind the goals. Many of us feel like we lack motivation when what we require is clarity. The good news, there is a simple strategy that we can use to double, if not triple our chances for success.
Over the last decade, the incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases(IBD) has increased worldwide [1]. Symptoms are often painful and can include diarrhea, bleeding ulcers and anemia.
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is a very restrictive, unconventional diet plan that severely limits carbohydrates. By eliminating most carbohydrates (primarily grains, starches, dairy, and sugars) and allowing only specific carbohydrates that require minimal digestion, we can reduce inflammation and make eating enjoyable for people with gastrointestinal (GI) disorders.
Back in 2006, the UN Food and Agriculture Association published that livestock produces more greenhouse gases than all the world’s transportation combined or 18% of all greenhouse gases [1]. This statistic has since been cited frequently in the media as a way to stop us from eating red meat. It turns out that the research was quite biased in its calculations, resulting in some very bad calculations. One of the researchers admitted [7] that the study was not a fair comparison. A more accurate analysis of the data resulted in livestock contributes less than 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions [2].
At TSTMethod we’re a big fan of eating a high protein breakfast, and we recommend this to all of our clients, no matter their health and wellness goals. Amino acids (protein) are the key building blocks to health and lean muscle mass. As we age, we need to eat more protein as our ability to grown and maintain lean muscle starts to decline. Our ability to absorb high levels of amino acids begins also starts to slow down, and this impacts our hormones and therefore, our recovery. There are certain populations that need more protein than others, and you can read more about that here.
This recipe can be modified in many ways; this is just one example. You can use any meat such as chicken, pork, lamb, beef, or a mix. You can substitute the type of herbs, and you can use different flours. We recommend avoiding gluten and using tapioca flours, buckwheat flour, or even potatoes starch to hold the ingredients together.
High performers who struggle with stress and anxiety, or even depression, are frequently perfectionists. They want things to be a certain way, and they have high expectations. Living up to these expectations can increase their stress and anxiety. They have what is referred to as a ‘high histamine type personality’.
There are some apparent traits or personality types observed in high histamine type personality:
Every day your body is under a constant battle between the accumulation and breakdown of tissue, which is facilitated by your daily movement behaviours. With sustainable movement training, we can model our tissue to improve movement function and maintain joint integrity. If our regular movement is restricted (sedentary lifestyle), our joints will not explore the outer ranges of motion. If we fail to use our full movement potential, over time, we will allow the tissues to become short, tight, and immobile. The old saying goes: “if you don’t use it, you lose it."
Medical science is currently spending more time and money on gut research than any other field of medicine. The EU has already funded 216 projects over €498million to promote metagenomics and to advance our knowledge of microbes [4]. Why? Because the medical fields are starting to understand the role the gut health play in all aspect of our health. "It is increasingly recognised that the microbiome can change our mind and health status, or switch on a wide range of diseases including cancer, cardio-metabolic diseases, allergies, and obesity” [4]. We are seeing more and more businesses, coaches and “gut specialists” promoting goods and services to “help fix your gut.”
“The people who I see being successful, the doers. They get shit done” ~ Sir Dave Brailsford
I'm not too fond of bio-hacking as I don’t believe we can shortcut high-level performance and optimal health. Our daily routine must be structured to support our health and our environment. Only by nourishing the 5-Pillars of Sustainable Health can we start to create habits that improve our quality of life, focus and productivity. Consistency is the key to success and far more rewarding than any bio-hack. It's not the success that determines your lifestyle but your lifestyle that determines your success. For high performers, every 1% adds up.
For those that have been following my (@stretch_rayner) Instagram story this week, you would have seen me posting about the potatoes diet. What is the potato diet? What are the benefits? How does it work? Why did I do it?
