Staying injury free

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I recently listened to a great podcast the other day talking about the work that goes into staying injury free as that is the ultimate goal. We want to stay injury free so we can further progress our fitness.

As you all have heard me say over and over again I want to make sure you all move safely, form first then we can increase load and/or intensity.

One of the key things to helping us stay injury free is how we warmup and within the podcast they described a great acronym to better help illustrate why I have you guys do the warmups and warmup sets that we do.

P.R.E.P

Prepare for the movement

Rehearse the movement

Elevate our muscles, heart rate, blood flow

Prime our muscles and energy systems for work

If we do not allow ourselves to warmup properly or don’t take care of little muscle aches or imbalances we are just asking for higher risk of injury.

I know some warmups seem like a workout in themselves or you feel like you do a “million” warmup reps before you start your working sets but this is all part of the plan to help you P.R.E.P for movement and exercise.

If you are interested in this podcast it’s a good listen with lots to offer from one of my favourite Kettlebell and strength coaches Scott Lardella.

Podcast link below:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/rdella-training-the-strength-performance-podcast/id399483129?mt=2&i=1000421753547

Uninterrupted Sleep

Sleep, it’s something many of us very much enjoy and very much look forward to. When we are as active and busy in our lives sometimes the importance of a good nights rest can be overlooked and our recovery can take a hit.

When I was playing international rugby, traveling a lot and sleeping in hotels we had a coach that would go over the importance of getting a good nights rest. Sounds simple I know but they had a list of other things besides a comfy pillow and blanket to assist us in sleeping well. Things like:

turn your phone off or keep it in another room

turn your television off

draw your shades and blinds so the windows block out as much artificial light from the outside

drink plenty of water before bed

and finally take many deep belly breaths in your nose and out your mouth as you first get comfortable in bed

Now, I can honestly say I don’t do all these things, I tend to fall asleep with some noise and usually leave the television on. However, every once in a while we will turn the television off and fall asleep to the quiet and the more natural darkness. I can notice a more refreshed feeling in the morning and I much more calm. It’s a simple change up but I can feel it’s benfits. Like waking up when camping and sleeping in a more natural environment.

I challenge you to try to do one or a few of the above mentioned tactics and see if you notice a difference in your sleep. There is a lot more to those fun and handy electronic devices we are always grasping for and some things are unseen and not always beneficial for us. If some of these things aren’t your style, then try to make sure you get a solid 8 hours of sleep as regularly as you can. Your body and mind will thank you and you will recover and perform that much better in the gym and everyday life.

Sleep well and see you in the gym fresh and ready to go!

Beyond Four walls

You may have noticed on the main page of our website or on my business card we have a hashtag that we used to use a lot.

#beyondfour

We developed this idea and term as a way to motivate people not just to work out inside a gym but to get out to nature and move around in our most natural environment. With winter here and rain keeping us cooped Up inside, we forget how refreshing and healing taking a walk in the woods, neighbourhood or along the waterfront can be. Even with the rain we shouldn’t make excuses, even more so if we have a furry family friend that needs some walking and activity too.

Every week I talk about recovery and work to put in outside of our regular gym sessions and that can be as simple as walking around your neighborhood. Or you can ramp it up with a run, or even a hike! I know after I have a tougher session in the gym I will try to get Bruno (you all know Bruno) out for a good 45-60min walk. Not only does he get some exercise, but I get more blood moving through my recently worked muscles and recover much faster for my sessions over the next few days.

We love hiking and it has huge benefits to help you recover, strengthen your joints and help build those aerobic engines with some lower level aerobic capacity. We have so many beautiful hiking spots right here in Victoria at our finger tips so no excuses to get out and fill those lungs with some fresh air.

So next time you know you need to get out of the house and do something and the gym just doesn’t sound appealing. Get outside go beyond four walls and move around outside at whatever intensity suits you on the day.

See you in the gym and on the mountain….

#beyondfour

One of our first hikes with Bruno at beautiful Mt Work

One of our first hikes with Bruno at beautiful Mt Work

2019 Blue Strength Goals

Hello to the Blue Strength Family and Visitors,

It has been sometime since I have made or even tried to do a blog on my website, but in the spirit of the new year and the subject of this post, I have set a goal for myself to write a post once a week for you all to read and hopefully take something away from it. So here we go…

As 2019 begins I want to give you some food for thought on your goals. I know you all have been drilled by me to set 5 goals for the first 6 months of 2019, and not only to have better quality of sessions but to try and instill better habits for you all outside the gym walls. That can be in regard to nutrition, sleep, mindset, etc, but really trying to just better yourself mind and body.

Once we nail down your 5 goals, make sure you put them in a place you will see them everyday. On your phone, post it note on the mirror in the bathroom, your desk at work, your car, wherever. works for you! These goals can be gym related or not, and the more exposure you have to them the more you condition yourself to keep moving towards them and do all the little things now to see gains later.

Thank you for your continued hard-work and let’s start this fresh new year off right. So write those goals down, print them off, or type them in. I can’t wait to see what 2019 has in store for you all.

See you in the gym,

Graham.

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