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I Am A Healer – There, I Said It.
Years ago I had a client who had torn his rotator cuff during a simple movement. The funny thing was, he didn’t even know it until he got an MRI on the area. He had come to me with some shoulder pain and I did what I do and strengthened the area, thinking he had simple tendonitis and it resolved in a few months and he went back to regular lifting.
The “holy crap” moment came when he got the results of his MRI, and his orthopedic surgeon said that he actually had a full tear in part of his rotator cuff. What the surgeon also said was that his shoulder was so perfectly strengthened to within millimeters of the tear that his shoulder could function without a problem even though he had an injury that should have required surgery.
Over the years I’ve had many examples of this type of thing within my practice. Hip replacement? Golfing within four months. Achilles tendonitis? Took four weeks. Massive spinal trauma due to getting hit by a truck twenty years prior? Resolved issues and can perform at work and home without issue. Four herniated discs? Skating and lifting things again within six months. Powerlifter with a chronic hip issue that wouldn’t allow her past parallel? Competed in provincials several months later. I had a woman come in with a diagnosed tennis elbow she had for over a year and resolved that in 40 minutes by popping it back into place. She’s still good months later. Bodybuilders who have shoulder issues? Retrained and fine after a couple of weeks.
I actually got an email a few months ago from a client with two knees that were essentially destroyed due to lack of cartilage I worked with three years ago – who said she is still walking 20 miles a week and her knees are totally fine.
Here’s the funny thing – sometimes I still feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. I know a lot about the body and how it responds to force and how to strengthen things really effectively. This is simply a confidence issue stemming from years of bullying and neglect at home where I had to fight to prove that I was good at anything and even then got ignored so gave up a lot.
Recently though I’ve had a bit of a mind shift. I’ve taken a look at the success I have had over the years with clients of many shapes, sizes and ability levels and realized that while sometimes I keep putting myself down, I have actually affected and helped a ton of people in a very positive way when it comes to “fixing” injuries and getting people moving without a problem again. I’ve also encountered some incredibly rare conditions that I have had the luck to be able to work on and gain experience with. My brain just seems to work in line with movement and force so that I can make logical sense of things and actually get to the root of the issue.
So what’s the point of this? I guess it is a simple statement that I’ve realized that I can embrace this skill. It is something that I was meant to do. Something I’m really good at and can help people with.
Last year in a course they asked us to generate something called a “sankalpa” which is a yoga word for a simple statement that you use to focus yourself and discover your inner being. The first thing that popped into my head after thinking about it was “I am a healer”. My other inner voice pushes that away and tells me I’m not good enough, but recently I’ve been able to shift into another way of thinking finally.
So there is is: I am a healer.
The exciting thing about it is that there are still many avenues I can explore, directions I can take and methodologies I can learn in order to increase the level of skill I already have. I’ve gone down a couple of those paths, but now it is time to make it a direct focus and really get into the practice (not that I wasn’t already). It feels good to have that type of mind shift, even though it has taken a long time.
We are all on the Earth for a reason, and as much as I tried to push it away and ignore it, this is simply my calling. I’ve known it for many years but now I’m just declaring that it is time to stop that and embrace it instead. Expect to see some changes to the practice in the near future.
Got a problem? Injury? Strange condition that you want to improve? Come at me bro. Want to feel better, move better? Tried everything and nothing seems to work? Try this. And the great thing is that it can be applied to many communities from heavy lifters who tweak something to the elderly who have been living with problems for years.
With the support of my amazing family and community and clients I know that I can make some changes that will only enhance my ability to help people and make them well physically again. And with any luck help more people that recently thought that there was no help for them. Wish me luck and of course, if you know of anyone that might need help please just let me know.
What’s Your Excuse?
Recently on social media I got called out for telling a woman feeding her child TimBits (for those of you not in Canada, this is sugared donut holes) and chocolate milk at 7am in the morning for breakfast to not feed her kid garbage. Apparently I’m not an empathetic trainer since I don’t know the background and I’m just judging a mother for feeding her kid garbage for breakfast and I should lay off. This bothers me for so many reasons.
Here’s the thing. There’s a whole lot of overweight people out there and they aren’t getting any thinner. In fact, obesity continues to climb, and along with it degenerative disease and drains on our health care system. Now the problem is that kids are growing up overweight because of terrible parenting – yes, I said it – if you feed your child garbage and they grow up fat and unhealthy, that’s your fault as a parent. You ultimately have control over what your child eats and whether or not they get any type of physical activity. Making the excuse that you don’t have time because you work too much or you’re just being a lazy parent isn’t an excuse in my world. My two year old has literally never had sugar (unless it is from fruit), and she eats a ton of vegetables that we prepare for her, so she doesn’t even know what she’s missing and hopefully never does. The lack of responsibility in today’s parents is a topic for a whole other rant, but you can imagine how little patience I have when I see an obese child.
Recently I read about an FDA approved device that is surgically implanted into obese people in order to allow them to control hunger signals from their stomach and make them feel not hungry. This takes gastric bypass to a whole new level. Now people don’t have to actually cut off part of their stomachs because they have no self control, they can use a remote to help them out. I’m quite sure that surgically implanting electrodes into your stomach and throat is much better for you long term. My immediate thought was why not just implant something right into your brain to prevent the pleasure response from food, that way all of the emotional eaters can have their feelings removed and lose weight that way. It would be much more effective.
Why is it so difficult for people to prepare meals themselves, buy groceries from the vegetable section of the grocery store, and not overconsume regularly? Or get in 15 minutes of physical activity every day?
Well, I’m way too busy at work.
Well, my kids are a handful.
Well, House of Cards was uploaded last night and I have to watch it.
Well, eating healthy is too expensive.
Well, my partner didn’t do the dishes and I have to cry about it.
Well, it’s only one time.
Well, I’ll do it tomorrow.
Well, it’s none of your business. Lay off and stop judging me.
Well, I could look like that but they’re just obsessed. I’m not like that.
Well, I’m embracing my curves. You’re fat shaming you horrible person.
Well, it takes too much time to cook that.
Do any of these sound familiar? Guess what they are? Excuses. That’s all. When you really break it down, people will justify whatever they need to in order to feel okay about their decisions. And if something isn’t going the way that they want? It isn’t their fault. It’s definitely someone else causing me to behave that way.
It’s way too easy to not do anything about it. And that’s the problem. Something that is actually quite easy to do is also quite easy not to do.
If you feel like crap, if you’re overweight, if you’re unhealthy and you actually want to change it then you don’t need a surgical device implanted in you, and you certainly don’t need to embrace it. What you really have to do is realize that ultimately you’re happy being that way otherwise you would probably change it the easy way, which is by taking really simple steps. If you want to own being unhealthy and unhappy then that’s fine, but don’t have the audacity to complain about it or say that it is someone else’s fault. It’s not. It’s yours. Nobody held a gun to your head and told you to go through the drive through instead of buying something else. Nobody lit the cigarette in your hand. And your poor child has no idea what you’re doing to them because they don’t have a choice – you do.
Where I want to come from with these harsh words is that I know people can change. I’ve helped people do it many times over the years, but really when it comes down to it as a society in general we need far, far more personal responsibility for our choices and to stop blaming others for our issues, whether it is obesity or anything else. You have the power to change and it’s right inside you right now. Just go do it. Start by making a choice to do something different if that is truly what you want to be.
And don’t feed your kids garbage. They deserve better.
A Concept of The Ageless Person
When I was getting into fitness and health I read a lot of books. One of the most interesting ones I ever read (and have ever read to this day) was one called Ageless Body, Timeless Mind by Deepak Chopra. Now, whether or not you believe in metaphysics or not, one of the principles of his anti-aging formula was the fact that your mind ultimately controls your body. I tend to believe in this, so about twelve years ago I decided that age was just a number and that I was going to do my best to simply stop aging.
There is a confirmed difference between chronological age (the age on your birthday cards) and your biological age. Your body tissues can either age faster or slower based on what they receive in terms of nutrients and stress. Obviously things like smoking, eating unhealthy foods or having a high level of stress is going to age you faster. That’s why your friend in the cubicle behind you who might be a year or two younger can look like they are about to keel over and have to retire while you remain relatively the same.
I’m now going to reveal something that some of my readers may not know. I just turned 40 years old. Not a massive milestone in terms of age, but I also know a lot of forty year olds with hair loss, wrinkles around their eyes and who can barely climb up a flight of stairs without gasping for breath.
So I’m going to show some interesting pictures that I have – note these were taken over 10 years apart:
Taken over ten years ago at a birthday party
Taken last week.
I’m not doing this to brag, and if you looked closely at those pictures you would see the streaks of grey in my hair (although I still have all my hair unlike many of my 40 year old compatriots). But the point I’m trying to make is that I think we are all capable of arresting time and our physical well being if we are smart about it.
By the way, in terms of fitness level, I’m about the same as I was in 2005 – maybe even a bit better in some respects only because I have gotten away from heavy lifting and severe long distance training. I can still pick up 200 pounds without throwing out my back and squat and do pullups and bench press the same I could ten years ago. I can jump on the highest plyo box I can find several times. I can run a 22 minute 5k even though I had a heart problem that seems to have resolved itself over the past year. My clothes are the same size and so is my scale weight. As long as I keep an eye on it, my body fat is relatively the same as well. I am injury free. Some people would say it means that I haven’t improved, but our bodies after 30 are always in a constant state of decline, so 10 years later to be able to do the same or more than I could is actually quite ahead of the game.
My grandmother turned 101 about a month ago. Before you jump on the genetics bandwagon, however, my grandfather from the same side died of a heart attack when he was in his 50’s and both of my other grandparents passed away in their 70’s. I often wonder how my Grammie managed to live so long, and I can only pinpoint one specific thing – she lived a relatively stress free lifestyle. I try my best to do that as well.
So can we reverse the aging process or arrest it? More evidence is coming into light that the answer is yes – as recently as November 2014 scientists reversed the aging process in mice and it has shown potential for human trials as well by gene manipulation. However, gaining technology towards reversing your age isn’t going to happen any time soon. We can all take responsibility for our lifestyles and how they impact the again process.
My take on it is that we should all strive to lead a lifestyle that allows us to live with as minimal stress as possible, and this means even things that are considered positive activities like over exercising, dieting to extremes and working until our bodies start to break down. There is a fine balance to all things in life. Also remember, adding things into your daily routine like extra sleep, meditation and just doing things that you enjoy or get good feelings from (an example for me would be music) can also help with staying young.
Feel free to throw in your two cents on the topic, and who knows – maybe I’ll post another picture in ten years and see how things are coming along!
How To Set Your Year Up Right
On my recent podcast with Dan T and Canadian Minds on Health I spoke about resolutions, and how 88% of people fail at them. There are some simple strategies you can use in order to be more successful in your fitness and nutrition life this year, however. This article is all about the big things that you can change and some strategies that you can use in order to get your year off to a good start and keep it that way – until NEXT Christmas.
#1: Think Long Term
When we set goals the problem is that we don’t think about things in a long term sense most of the time. We want immediate gratification like everything else in society today. The problem with that is not only are you not really setting a well defined goal, it isn’t long enough to have lasting impact if it is only in place for a few weeks.
All of my athletes have their yearly goals typically planned by February, and successful fitness people do this all of the time as well. It allows you to then break up the year into smaller chunks and makes it more manageable. You can then set short term goals to move towards, and then even shorter ones. In athletic vernacular this is called periodization, but for the average person it just means that you always know what you’re going to be working on from start to finish in 2015.
You also need to factor in changes to things like weather, vacations, any major family events and think ahead to manage these things. If you set it up long term then you’re much more likely to succeed.
#2: Make Small Changes, Not Big Ones
Big changes like trying to work out five times a week and completely overhaul your diet also just sets you up for failure – because it isn’t realistic. Lots of people think they need to throw out everything in their pantry and suddenly find an extra 5 hours a week to spend at the gym, which isn’t totally necessary.
If you’re going to cut something out of your diet – make it one thing. And that thing should be fairly easy to do. An example would be processed sugar – easy to cut out and easy to maintain once you get over the withdrawl and taste of your coffee. Another good one might be a processed carb like pasta. Tell yourself no pasta for 30 days, then after 30 days pick something else and remove that too – by the end of 6 months you can remove pretty much everything major that might cause a problem.
When it comes to exercise, start simple. 20 minutes is my general recommendation. Whether it be walking, cycling, weightlifting (which would be my number one choice), yoga at home in front of YouTube, set your timer for 20 minutes – you can even get away with doing one exercise if it is the right one (see my article on deadlifts for this). Will this turn you into an Adonis overnight? No. But it will start a good pattern. Find that 20 minutes isn’t a problem? Bump it to 30 – then 40 if you can or add another day if your time allows.
#3: Find Something You Really Want To Do
We are all motivated by different things, but for many people at this time of year it comes down to vanity and looking better. In my opinion as I always say, health first – looks second.
So what’s a good example? I want to run a 10k in the spring. I want to fit into my dress for that upcoming wedding. I want to climb a mountain in the fall. I want to rock that bathing suit at the resort I go to next year.
Or how about I want to get off my medication? I want to stop thinking that I’m awful looking every time I look in the mirror? I want to be a positive example for my kids? I’m single and I really want to have sex with someone? These are more emotionally motivated but you get my point.
Bottom line is if you don’t really want to do it you’re not likely to – so find out what that thing is, make it stick for a long period of time and set the goal for the long term.
#4: Put Together a Team
This can be your family, friends, or experts in the field like myself or Dan – or even starting to blog online and getting support through that. Ongoing support is vital towards success in any stage of the game.
Women are 20% more likely to achieve a goal if they tell their friends about it – so do that. Guys prefer to do things solo generally but they like to learn, so hire a good trainer and sit down with a dietician and go over everything, with a way set up for support and constant feedback. Some of my clients are completely virtual (I’ve never met them in person), but we correspond through email and I track them online. Dan meets with people via Skype and with modern technology there is no excuse for not reaching out and finding someone you can trust with your goals.
Are you a group person? Join a meetup workout group or a running group or a sports team locally if you can manage the time. Not into groups? There are tons of tracking apps and anonymous ways to support yourself with whatever physical thing you are doing.
Family is typically really important for these things – my wife and I trade off care of our daughter and you can too. We also plan ahead for meals and make sure that even if things go off a bit they come back quickly. But even telling your family about what you want to do can be enough for them to support you at meals and with your activity outside of the home.
So before you set a resolution, take the time to plan ahead and set things up properly. If you need help with anything feel free to contact or email me. Good luck and before you know it, 2016 will be here, and a whole new you as well!
Therapy and Exercise Refined 