Let’s call them reactive ability and power. Reactive ability refers to how well one utilizes stored kinetic energy in their tissues to increase power on the subsequent concentric contraction. This is also called “Fast SSC power” and is indicative of very fast athletes who appear very springy and quick off the ground. You know these athletes when you see them. They may not be the strongest or most powerful athletes, but they have an uncanny ability to get off the ground as quickly as possible because they do such a great job of storing elastic energy in their tissues.​

Power refers to how much force one can generate in a short amount of time. There are certainly many different classifications and sub-categories of power along the force-velocity curve, but let’s keep it simple and call it what it is; force divided by time. Powerful athletes are usually much stronger than reactive athletes but they do not necessarily do a great job of storing energy and springing off the ground. Instead they have to rely on purely mechanical energy produced by their muscles to create high levels of power.

Coaches and athletes alike all know that being more powerful can lead to improved sporting performances, but it is important to train in a way that is tailored for the athlete instead of just taking a one size fits all approach to power development. Many coaches and athletes see various power exercises and blindly fit them into an athlete’s program with no consideration of what sporting qualities they are impacting. Instead of starting with the exercises and randomly compiling them into an athlete’s program, we as physical preparation coaches should follow a more intelligent and scientific approach to prescribing plyometric and power training programs for our athletes. This should be one that addresses the specific qualities we feel need to be developed to help the athlete achieve his/her goals.
Here I introduce a 6 step process that we use to help write programs, check our work, and hold ourselves accountable:

Step 1: Identify

• Sport/ Sporting Demands
• Position/Position Demands

We need to start with identifying the sport and sporting demands. For example, a football player’s power needs vary widely from a golfer’s. Additionally, a defensive lineman has very different needs than a cornerback in the context of speed and power demands. Training for a quality that is not needed can at best be an inefficient use of the athlete’s precious training time, and at worst can actually hinder sports performance by interfering with coordination.

Step 2: Assess

• Power
• Different qualities I.e. reactive power vs accelerative power

The next and possibly most important step is to assess your athlete’s power-producing abilities. I do not want to list too many specific tests because there are many options depending on available time and budget. Instead, I will give the principles behind the testing and will give several options that I have used.

The overall theme is that coaches need to be able to distinguish an athlete’s reactive abilities versus their power abilities by comparing a power test (non-continuous jump test) to a reactive test (continuous jump test).

There are many ways to do this. Several middle of the road budget options are the Just Jump Mat and the Push Strength Bands. On the Just Jump mat, you can have an athlete perform a vertical jump test and a 4 jump test to compare one’s power-producing capabilities to their reactive abilities. There are more options available with Push Bands, including three variations of vertical jumps and two measurements of the Reactive Strength Index of the athlete. I highly recommend both options if one has the budget for them.

Both of these options are great, but what can coaches do if they do not have access to such tools? Do they just have to assume an athlete’s results based on what they look like?

Not so fast.

We can still perform the assessments we need without any fancy equipment. A really simple way to do this is to compare an athlete’s triple jump test to their non-continuous jump results. Simply have an athlete perform a standing broad jump. First, see if they can jump their height in inches, and then multiply it by three. Next, have them then perform three continuous broad jumps for distance. If they cannot jump their height in inches, they are not very powerful. If their continuous jumps are very close to their broad jump multiplied by three, then they do not do a very good job of utilizing stored kinetic energy during the SSC and therefore are not very reactive. If their continuous triple jump is much further than their broad jumps with a stick, then reactivity is not a problem for this athlete.

Speed

• Acceleration vs Maximum Velocity

Different components of speed are actually very important to test to determine which plyometric or power exercises to prescribe to athletes. Jumps or plyos can and will improve power production, but perhaps their most important benefit comes from their ability to transfer to certain speed qualities.

Exercises that transfer to the acceleration phase in a sprint will look very different from exercises that will lead to increases in maximum velocity sprinting speed. In the acceleration phase, we want as much force produced as possible during a longer period of time in a more horizontal orientation. During top-end speed, we still want high force but it must be performed as rapidly as possible because ground contact times are much quicker in maximum velocity sprinting.

If technology allows it, you can use a breakdown of splits of a 30 or 40-yard dash to assess an athlete’s speed profile. If their 10 is slow in comparison to their 30 or 40, then they might be more reactive and thus need more acceleration/power specific jumps whereas if their 10 is very good but their 40 time is not where you want it, they might need more reactive plyometric training.

Below are some guidelines for Acceleration power exercises versus maximum velocity exercises:

Acceleration

• Longer eccentric phase or a possible pause
• Greater hip, knee, and ankle displacement
• Non-continuous nature
• Can be performed with load
• More horizontal nature
• Longer ground contact times

Maximum Velocity

• Quick eccentric and amortization phase
• Lesser hip, knee, and ankle displacement
• Stiff ankle
• Continuous nature
• More vertical orientation
• Shorter ground contact times

Step 3: Decide

• Which qualities you want to improve

This part should be simple, but there are several important considerations. The first thing is that power and reactive ability are not mutually exclusive. They are different qualities, so some athletes that are very powerful might not be very reactive and vice versa.

Also, do not just rely on what the testing data tells you your athletes are weak at without considering it in context. For example, a lineman’s reactive ability might be very low when compared to their power, but here is where it’s important to consider both their needs/weaknesses AND the demands of the sport. How often is a lineman reaching maximum velocity in a game? Instead, we should compare our athletes to the norms of their position to see where they fall into place. I expect a marathon runner to have very different power measures than a linebacker, so it would be foolish to decide that a marathoner needs more power if we compared him to strength and power athletes.

I do think power is important for a marathoner, however, we need to compare our athletes to the norms in their sports and positions rather than in totality. The marathoner could look like he needs much more power if we compare him to all athletes, but he could be above average compared to other marathoners and if we just went off the overall data, we would be wasting precious training time that could be spent on more specific training.

Step 4: Prescribe

• The correct progression of exercises
• The correct progression of volume and intensity

It is important to have a systematic way of progressing athletes through various plyometric and jumping exercises. It is essential to build quality jumping and landing mechanics before transitioning to higher level power or plyometric exercises.

Toe drops, box jumps, and hurdle jump with a stick are all excellent options to train jumping proficiency. If power is the goal, these can be progressed to various weighted jumps such as KB Squat Jumps, Med Ball Hug Vertical Jumps, etc. Low-level extensive plyometrics are excellent options to build a base and prepare the tissues for higher levels of reactive drills. Skipping and jump rope are great places to start, but I also love aerobic plyometrics. Often I will start an athlete with one day of hurdle jump with a stick to train landing proficiency and one day of aerobic plyometric hurdle hops to build some low-level elasticity and then slowly blend the two. The first day takes care of the intensity and quality of movement, and the second day prepares the athlete to handle increasingly progressing levels of volume and intensity. The second month could be hurdle jumps with one bounce and some higher volume or intensity aerobic plyos, then the third-month true continuous hurdle jumps on one or both days.

Some coaches shy away from the necessary volumes of plyometric drills because they fear repeated ground contacts can lead to increased risk of injury, but I would argue that shying away from landings can lead to unprepared athletes when they take the field. Also, if we truly want to create the reactive adaptations we desire then we need to build up sufficient levels of volume. 2 days of plyometrics or jumps is a sufficient frequency, and athletes should be built up to around 50-60 contacts per session to improve the qualities we wish to improve.

Step 5: Train and Monitor

• Adjust the program on the fly if needed

One of the best ways to consistently track and measure progress with jumps is to build it into the athlete’s programs.

Training to increase vertical jump and have access to a Jump Mat? Great, just build in Vertical Jumps on the Jump Mat as part of the program and track progress over time. Building the testing into the program kills three birds with one stone.

We get a training effect, we can measure trends in progress over time to make sure we are trending in the right direction, and it gives us an easy way to auto-regulate our athletes. If you’re training to improve power and their vertical jump numbers are way down on one particular day, this may be indicative of an athlete that is highly fatigued and may be unprepared to execute high-intensity or high volumes of training on that day. In this case, consider dropping volume to allow them to recover. I would probably cut volume to about 60% of the planned volume if they were a little run down, or make it an aerobic recovery session if they were way down.

You can also auto-regulate if you’re using the Reactive Strength Index testing to improve reactive abilities. The RSI stiffness test with Push Bands can be used to assess the athlete’s readiness for the day and make modifications as needed just as you would with a vertical jump test.

Step 6: Re-test

• Did the athlete get better in their tests that you were seeking to improve?
• Was there a spillover effect into other tests?
• Did the athlete decrease in other tests?

Re-testing is obvious, but not everyone does it. We need to make sure the program we wrote worked. We should obviously re-rest the specific tests or adaptations that we sought to improve, but we should also re-test other tests to see if there was a spillover effect on other outcomes. Lastly, we should check to make sure we didn’t’ decrease performance in other categories. We can never be too sure.

When should we re-rest? There is no hard and fast rule and logistics will come into play here, but we should give enough time to actually create adaptations. In a perfect world, I would perform a battery of tests every three months. But remember that we can test every session if we build it into the program.

Summary

• Understand power versus reactive ability
• Follow a systematic process to determine if an athlete has greater power or reactive ability
• Write a darn good program to improve either power or reactive ability
• Execute and monitor the program to make sure things are trending in the right direction
• Re-test whatever adaptations you sought to improve to check your own work and make sure the program achieved the desired results!

For more information on training review our blog on our website, or, if you’re interested in being one of our athletes, check out our page on performance training.

The post 6 Steps to Designing Big Power Programs​ appeared first on Parabolic Performance & Rehabilition.

First, let’s start with some functional anatomy so we are all on the same page:

Functional Anatomy of The Lats

Attachments:

• Spinous process of the 7th to 12th thoracic vertebrae, – -Thoracolumbar fascia
• Illiac crest
• 9th to 12 ribs
• Inferior angle of the scapula
• Lesser tubercle of the humerus

Functions:
• Internal rotation of the humerus
• Adduction of the humerus
• Extension of the humerus
• Extension of the spine

As you can see, the lats are a pretty big muscle with a very strong pull on the system due to its attachments spanning from the iliac crest all the way to the humerus. Many people know of the lats functions on the shoulder, but it must be noted that the lats are also a very powerful extensor of the spine. In fact, it could be argued that the lats are a hip flexor. Although they do not directly attach to the “hip”, they extend the spine and therefore flex or anteriorly tilt the pelvis. This can be thought of as acetabulum on femur hip flexion, which is contrasted with the femur moving in the acetabulum. So the lats as an indirect hip flexor can be indirectly wreaking havoc on your squat mobility.
In addition to the lats contributions to the movements of the shoulder, spine, and hip, they can also drastically affect how well a person can relax and recover from training. In the posterior mediastinum lies the sympathetic trunk of the autonomic nervous system. This is a bundle of nerves that send information to our brain about the status of the safety of our system in our environment. If the lats pull our thorax into extension, we will impinge on the nerves of the sympathetic trunk and be chronically in a fight or flight state. Therefore, we need the ability to resist unwanted extension to be able to shut off and recover from training or else our system will perceive that we are always training.

Serratus Anterior

Attachments:

• Outer surface of upper 8 ribs
• Medial angle, vertebral border and inferior angle of scapula

Functions:
• Protracts the scapula
• Retracts the thorax under the scapula
• Externally rotates scapula
• Upwardly rotates scapula

The serratus is essentially the anti-lat. Many people know of its functions on the scapula into protraction, but perhaps the most important function of the serratus anterior is its ability to retract the thorax. Just like a femur can move in an acetabulum or an acetabulum can move on a femur, the scapula can move on the thorax or the thorax can move on a stable scapula. So when the shoulder blades move forwards, we get protraction. When the scapula stays fixed and we move the thorax backward with the serratus anterior, we get thorax or ribcage retraction. The protraction is what most people think of when they think serratus, but the retraction of the thorax component is actually much more important. Many extended individuals have actually shifted their thorax forwards, so they need the serratus anterior to act on the thorax to move the thorax backward. This gets the ribs down into internal rotation and restores the natural resting kyphosis of the ribcage. This secures the scaps on the ribcage, which gives them a nice congruent surface to fit on. As we have already written about, the scapula is round. The ribcage should be round. If we flatten out the ribcage too much, our scaps will not sit well and we will lose the leverage of the muscles that control our scapula. By restoring this natural kyphosis with the serratus, we can give our scapula a stable base to sit on so they can effectively move overhead during a pull-up or chin-up without resorting to extension at the lumbar spine.

Lower Traps

Attachments:

• Spinous processes of T4-T12 vertebrae
• Spine of the scapula

Functions:

• Flexes thoracic spine from T8-T12
• External rotation of the scapula
• Depression of the scapula
• Adduction of the scapula
• Posterior tilt of the scapula
• Upward rotation of the scapula
• Ipsilateral thorax rotation (S on T)
• Contralateral spinal rotation (T on S)

Once again we realize that the muscles of the thorax and scapula have far greater roles than what most anatomy textbooks give them. Most people know the low traps depress and upwardly rotate the scapula, but few know about their other roles. I don’t want to get too far into the thorax and spinal rotation components just yet (that will be another article!), but I did want to list many of the functions to highlight how important the low traps are in thorax position and function, not just scapular movement. This is not to discount the importance of scapular movement and control, but to highlight the importance of the thorax position on everything else.  When the low traps contract unilaterally in a T on S fashion (moving the thorax on a stable scapula), they cause contralateral spinal rotation by pulling the spinous processes closer to the spine of the scapula on that side. As a result of the low traps attachments on the spinous process of the lower thoracic spine, they actually pull the spinous processes up*towards the spine of the scapula when the low traps contract bilaterally. This is thoracic spinal flexion, which we have already highlighted the importance of. In many ways, the low traps function together with the serratus anterior to control S on T and T on S movement.

Resets Now that we’ve got the functional anatomy out of the way, its time to go to work. The first step in the process is getting into a position to move from. This can be accomplished with breathing drills from the Postural Restoration Institute. Here are some good options for improving the position of the pelvis and thorax while reducing tone in the lats. Note: This is not an exhaustive list of options. Any breathing drill that has previously been on Darkside will work. I just wanted to show some new possibilities.

• Lat Hang Breathing
• Wall Supported Squat w/ Reach Standing
• Serratus Squat
• Short Seated Reach
• Long Seated Pressdown

Warm Up
Now that we are repositioned, it is time to train and develop stability and control in our new positions. We now need to learn to move our arms overhead while controlling our thorax and pelvic position without resorting to extension. Here are several good options:

Supine Band PNF

• Low Trap

Half Kneeling Band PNF

• Low Trap

TRX Serratus Slides

• Serratus

KB Pullover

• Serratus/ Abdominals/ Lat Inhibition

Wall Slides

• Serratus and Low Trap

After establishing proximal stability with distal mobility, it is time to train. But we might not have the proximal stability and control to be able to tackle pull-ups and chin-ups just yet. An athlete or lifter should be able to master each of the following exercises before moving to control their body weight in a chin-up or pull-up. They can also serve as assistance exercises to keep proper scapulothoracic movement while still training pull-ups.

Regressions
Half Kneeling Single Arm Pulldown

Short Seated Alternating Pulldown

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve probably established pretty good control of the vertical pulling pattern while controlling ribcage and pelvis position in some of the regressions. Now it’s time to progress them to more difficult exercises. I like to start people with isometric chin-ups and then progress to isometric + slow eccentric variations and will often go no further with some people. I often use these variations even with people who can do full chin-ups because these variations train the low traps and anterior core much more than pull-ups do because most people will struggle with keeping a neutral position on full pull-ups. Most people will do the full movements with a very lat dominant extended strategy without abdominal opposition. This is clearly not what we want for long term thorax and scapula health and function. The iso holds and slow eccentrics force the athlete to use their abdominals to keep the ribs down, in, and back while getting the low traps to truly retract the scapula on a stable and neutral thorax instead of using the lats to drive the entire thorax into system extension
.

Reaching is important, but proper retraction and depression are important too. We need to learn to retract the scapula on a stable thorax during pulling variations if we want to maintain a well-balanced system that can easily shut off and maintain movement variability. We must first get full rib internal rotation and then must learn how to move a scapula through a FULL range of motion of retraction, depression, and downward rotation as well as protraction, elevation, and upward rotation for full function of the thorax and scapula. This requires abdominal control to keep the ribs down with serratus and low traps to move the scapula on a stable thorax. Coaching athletes to pull down aggressively and use a “big back” strategy is probably doing more harm than good. We need to first get into a more neutral position without pelvis and ribcage and then must learn how to move our scaps through a full range of motion of retraction and protraction instead of just locking them down for optimal shoulder function and health.

For more information on training review our blog on our website, or, if you’re interested in being one of our athletes, check out our page on performance training.

The post How To Do Pull – Ups​ appeared first on Parabolic Performance & Rehabilition.

Learn The Intricacies of The Pushup Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ajqMFfWT78

Admittedly, there comes a time where the basic pushup alone is no longer a significant challenge to many of our clients. Despite the fact that many people come to us and have to essentially relearn the pushup with proper mechanics, most active, healthy clients can perform pushups to our standard within a short time after learning the position and control we emphasize.

Once an individual is proficient in the skill of the basic pushup without excessive compensation — and once we have challenged their ability by adding volume — we need to find ways to challenge the pattern further to drive the person to continue to adapt.

Some might add weight in the form of a vest or chains. Some might add a power component and perform plyometric or explosive pushups. Others might even discard the pushup altogether and move permanently to some sort of externally loaded pressing or reaching exercises like a floor press or bench press.

While these are all viable options, there is another route—keep the pushup in the program, but challenge the individual’s stability and control. This requires no extra equipment, and in most cases involves very simple alterations to the basic pushup that make it exponentially more challenging.

The goal of these pushup variations is to maintain respiration, a neutral alignment of the pelvis and ribcage, and full protraction of the scapula on a flexed ribcage in more complex and unstable positions — as well as under conditions of fatigue.

When many people think of increasing the difficulty of an exercise, they consider only variables like weight, volume, velocity, etc. Adding complexity once a basic pattern has been mastered is just as valuable a way to increase the difficulty of an exercise while continuing to develop the basic ability to control and sense the position of one’s own body in space.

These variations are a great way to challenge core and shoulder stability and can be added to any workout where pushups would be performed. However, my favorite place to use them is as accessory work after heavy lifting to get in some additional upper body volume with a focus on movement quality.

Push-Up + Breathing

The pushup + breathing is often the first exercise I’ll go to after a client has shown the ability to execute the fundamental pushup for relatively high volumes without a breakdown in technique. It involves performing a normal pushup, but instead of flowing continuously from one rep to the next, the top position is held for a full breath cycle.

This accomplishes two things: First, it increases the time the individual is under tension by a large margin. Spending longer at the top of each rep while holding an isometric reach will make it much more fatiguing than a regular pushup.

Second, it forces the individual to own the top position of his or her pushup and find an optimal position in which to breathe. It just so happens that to get a good breath – breath that expands the ribcage 360 degrees — we need to align the pelvis and ribcage and inhale from a position of a full exhalation. The top of a pushup is a phenomenal place to do that.

By holding the top position of each rep, we are creating an environment where the individual has to focus on protracting the scapula, a full exhale to draw the ribs down, in, and back, and then an inhale with active abdominals to try to expand the upper back.

This is a deceptively hard exercise and challenges shoulder and anterior core stability to a far greater degree than a typical pushup. In order to focus on achieving a quality breath on each rep — and because time under tension is greatly increased — we usually start people with 3-4 sets of 5-8 reps performed as a secondary or accessory exercise for the day.

Push-Up To Single Arm Support

This is a personal favorite of mine. The pushup to single-arm support is a great way to add a unilateral component to the pushup, challenge reflexive shoulder stability, and train triplanar gait of the thorax.

Perform a pushup as usual finishing with an exhale and a full reach. Then, holding the reach throughout, lift one arm off the ground and reach across the body and touch the opposite ribcage. Imagine the shoulders are headlights and keep both headlights facing directly towards the floor. More importantly, keep the pants’ zipper line facing directly towards the floor. Pause in this position and resist the tendency to want to rotate away from the down arm for 2-3 seconds, then place the hand back on the ground, perform another pushup, and then repeat with the other arm.

By removing one hand from the floor we can greatly increase the challenge to the individual’s ability to reflexively stabilize the shoulder of the arm that remains in contact with the ground, as well as the ability to control the pelvis and the ribcage in all three planes of motion.

The goal of the exercise should be to keep the pelvis as neutral as possible, minimizing rotation. This can be accomplished by trying to imagine keeping the belt buckle facing straight towards the floor. While the pelvis remains neutral, by reaching through a single arm and exhaling, we are creating rotation through the thorax.

This is created primarily by the serratus anterior on the side of the arm we are reaching through, which abducts the thorax to the opposite side in the frontal plane and creates rib internal rotation on that side with rib external rotation on the other. To use a concrete example: reaching with the right arm abducts the thorax to the left, creates left rib internal rotation, and right rib external rotation.

Here is where the ability to keep the pelvis neutral and not let it rotate along with the thorax becomes critical.

Many sports, especially rotational sports, require the ability to disassociate movement of the thorax from the movement of the pelvis in all three planes of motion in order to optimize biomechanical efficiency. By keeping the pelvis neutral and driving rotation through the thorax via a unilateral reach, we are training this disassociation with active abdominals and control of both of these structures in three planes of motion. This is the real function of the so-called “core” and makes this pushup variation an all-star for any athlete whose sport demands rotation.

If, however, we allow the pelvis to rotate along with the trunk, we are no longer rotating the trunk. We are just rotating the entire body. The inability to disassociate the movement of these two key structures is at the root of many movement dysfunctions and mechanical inefficiencies in sport.

To truly be a beast, try to hold the reach with a neutral pelvis and take a full breath cycle. By inhaling with rib internal rotation opposite the side of the reaching arm, we create trunk rotation to the same side as the reaching arm. In essence, we are training the mechanics of the torso during normal human walking. Again, to employ a concrete example: after reaching and exhaling with the right arm, inhaling with the left ribs internally rotated will drive trunk rotation to the right.

While this all sounds very complex, this exercise is great because it allows an individual to feel exactly what he’s doing improperly. Most people will try it the first time and find themselves rotating away from the down arm uncontrollably while also shifting their center of mass too far towards that same arm. The individual will then have to find a way to stabilize in order to avoid losing control of the position. My advice — continue to exhale until the tank is empty and reach further.

Performing this variation demands and develops triplanar core control, reflexive shoulder stability, and the ability to inhibit posterior chain muscles like lats and paraspinal’s, all while building muscle mass and localized endurance. In my experience, it’s one of the most effective and time-efficient upper body accessory exercises we have at our disposal.

Begin with 3-4 sets of 4-6 reps on each side. This may seem conservative, but if the movement is performed properly with a focus on quality over quantity, this will be more than enough.

Push-Up With Mountain Climber Breathing

There is one commonality that all field and court sports share—locomotion, often in the form of sprinting. Even on ice in the game of hockey, the mechanics of skating fast are not as different from sprinting on land as many people think. In all of these cases, locomotion involves the ability to “split the hips” or rapidly move one hip into the extension to put force into the ground while the other hip moves into flexion.

While this action occurs at the hips, the abs work to help control the pelvis and ribcage in three planes of motion. The ability to achieve proper sprint mechanics for optimal efficiency and speed demands that athletes not just be able to produce a great deal of force into the ground and do it quickly, but that they are able to get into and maintain an alignment that affords them the ability to express full ranges of motion at distal joints like the hips and shoulders and produce force in the right direction to propel themselves forward.

This is why physical preparation practitioners like Ty Tyrrell and Mike Robertson of IFAST preach the importance of training core stability in positions of hip extension and where the pelvis is “split.” The ability to control the trunk and pelvis in a position where one hip is extended and one is flexed is essential to executing proper acceleration mechanics, which has application to every team-based sport imaginable. If we hope to teach athletes proper sprint mechanics, we need to give them context and stability in positions associated with sprinting.

Enter the pushup with mountain climber breathing. This is an advanced pushup variation that involves moving one hip into flexion while the other stays in extension as the individual presses himself up from the floor. As the knee is driven forward into a position of hip flexion, exhale and reach through the floor, blowing out as much air as possible and drawing the ribs down, in, and back. Hold the position and inhale, maintaining active abdominals so that the air fills and expands the upper back. Fully exhale once again, then bring the flexed hip back into extension and repeat the process on the other side.

Not only does this variation involve a ton of time under tension and is, therefore, brutal on the upper body, it also trains the anterior core in a position that is similar to the posture seen in the acceleration phase of sprinting.

By flexing one hip, we increase abdominal activity, which, coupled with a full reach and exhale on each rep, will allow us to inhale and drive air into the posterior ribcage, which sets the foundation for scapular and shoulder stability.

While it is very beneficial for athletes to learn to control their bodies while holding a position that resembles the lower body mechanics of gait, this is also just a great way to train core stability for anyone who has mastered the basic pushup and is looking for a very challenging variation.

Once again, quality is more important than quantity, and we usually start with 3-4 sets of 4-6 reps each.

Too often, we cast aside the basics, believing that once we’ve reached a certain level they can no longer offer us benefit. This is the furthest thing from the truth, as mastery of fundamental movement can benefit us at any level.

Even if the pushup alone is no longer a challenge, simple additions that require no equipment at all can continue to develop quality mechanics while building strength, hypertrophy, and muscular endurance, making the pushup a highly adaptable and valuable tool in any athlete or fitness enthusiast’s arsenal. These three variations enhance the effectiveness of the pushup and create an awesome full-body training effect that also fosters movement quality for those who are ready for the next step.

For more information on training review our blog on our website, or, if you’re interested in being one of our athletes, check out our page on performance training.

The post 3 Ways To Make Pushups More Challenging With No Equipment​ appeared first on Parabolic Performance & Rehabilition.

These qualities are vital to any number of sport movements, such as sprinting, cutting, jumping, landing, and driving into an opponent to make a block or tackle.

Additionally, when loaded, the squat is one of the best exercises there is for developing power, strength, and muscle mass in the quads, glutes, and hamstrings as well as stability throughout the entire body.

The problem is that many people struggle with the squat pattern. They may feel “tight” or restricted, their depth may be limited, or they may be unable to control their joints during the lowering portion of the movement. Often, the person’s first reaction is to blame a lack of mobility…

Not so fast. Often, we can make improvements in a person’s squat pattern simply by altering the individual’s center of mass using an offset load, effectively giving them more control of their trunk and pelvis.

The ability to maintain a “neutral” relationship between the trunk and pelvis throughout the squat is critical to not only expressing a full range of motion, but to loading and driving the movement with the legs as opposed to the back

Enter the offset plate squat.

Why It Works

Reaching a plate out in front of your body allows you to practice or relearn a more upright squat pattern through a full range of motion without sitting back excessively, pitching forward at the trunk, or feeling like your going to fall over backward By shifting your center of mass forward, the plate gives you the ability to sit straight down with more control of the trunk and pelvis Reaching activates the abs and moves the ribcage back, which aligns the torso over the pelvis while helping to turn off overactive back muscles that may limit our ability to express a full range of motion.

How To Do It

Begin by holding a light plate (5-15 lbs) at chest level. Exhale fully and tuck your belt buckle to your nose. You should feel your abs turn on. Bend your knees slightly and push your entire foot flat into the floor. Reach the plate out in front of you and squat by sitting your hips down and back as you simultaneously push your knees forward. Your knees should track straight ahead over the middle of your foot, not inward towards your big toe or out by your pinkie toes. Be sure that your entire foot (big toe, little toe, and heel) remains in contact with the ground throughout. Push the ground away from you with your entire foot and stand up as you exhale and bring the plate back into your body. Finish each rep with your ribs down and your belt buckle tucked to your nose. Repeat for 1-2 sets of 8-10 reps. The offset plate squat is a great warm-up activity to use before a squat training session because it rehearses a quality squat pattern while specifically preparing and activating the tissues we are going to need for higher intensity squatting.

Whether your goal is to improve athletic performance, get bigger and stronger, or just to move well and feel good, the offset plate squat can help you improve your squat pattern and get more out of your training! For more information on how to breath correctly during heavy lifting sessions, check out this blog article on breathing and bracing.

The post The Best Squat You’re Not Doing​ appeared first on Parabolic Performance & Rehabilition.

The strength aerobic method is used to induce type 1, or slow-twitch muscle fibers hypertrophy. This takes place due to the creation of local hypoxia in the muscle fibers, which results in mitochondrial biogenesis.

Mitochondrial biogenesis is essentially the formation of new mitochondria in the cell. This is important because mitochondria house the production of energy during aerobic metabolism.

Therefore, a muscle fiber with more mitochondria will have a more robust engine and will be able to perform greater amounts of work while also improving recovery better between bouts of higher intensity activity.

Since type 1 muscle fibers are primarily powered by oxygenated means, this means they are most effectively stimulated and trained during aerobic metabolism. As such, enter the strength aerobic method.

The Benefits of the Strength Aerobic Method

1. IMPROVED AEROBIC CAPACITY
By improving the aerobic capacity of local slow switch twitch muscle fibers, it spares the fast-twitch muscles.
If we only train using the fast-twitch fibers, we will immediately tap into them early into a game or match. By training the slow-twitch fibers, we prioritize our efforts better and use the slower twitch oxygenated fibers for longer, so we can save our fast-twitch explosive efforts for when we really need them.

For example, I used this method with my NFL Combine and Pro Day athletes when preparing for their 225lb bench press test.
The goal is to do as many reps as possible under aerobic conditions so that the higher intensity fibers are saved for when they are needed to produce more force under fatigue.

The 225lb bench press test is essentially a local muscular anaerobic threshold test, and we use the strength aerobic method to “widen their aerobic window,” so that they can do more work at a lower relative intensity.

In a normal field sport setting, this method can allow athletes to perform more work at lower relative intensities, which again allows them to save their explosive efforts for when they need them later in the game.

Having power is great, but if you tap into your high-intensity efforts too quickly and deplete those resources, you will not last. You need a proper mix of power and capacity, and this method is excellent for training the capacity of specific local muscle fibers to tolerate high volumes of work.

2. IMPROVED MOTOR LEARNING VIA THE RELEASE OF BRAIN DERIVED NEUROTROPIC FACTOR (BDNF)
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor is a powerful protein of the neurotrophin family that is responsible for neuroprotection, neurogenesis, and neuroplasticity.
This protein is released at any time our brain creates new neurons or is tasked with protecting already existing neurons. BDNF is released during low to moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and is the primary agent responsible for aerobic exercise’s powerful benefits on improving cognition and motor learning.

For years scientists found a link between exercise and brain health but were unsure as to why. Considerable new research suggests that BDNF is the agent responsible for many exercises powerful effects on the brain.

This research suggests that due to the release of BDNF, aerobic exercise can positively affect the motor learning process and create a suitable environment for learning new skills.

BDNF levels can stay elevated for days post aerobic exercise, but they are acutely peaked several minutes post aerobic activity. This means that during and immediately after aerobic training is a perfect time to learn new skills due to the release of BDNF.

3. A LESS THREATENING ENVIRONMENT DUE TO AEROBIC METABOLISM
Aerobic pathways are primarily correlated to parasympathetic tone, while higher intensity lactic anaerobic efforts are more sympathetically dominant and create a more threatening environment.

In a lactic environment, there is a greater onset of fatigue and threat. Essentially when this happens, the brain becomes primarily concerned with finishing the task in any way possible, while finding alternative respiratory strategies to remain living.

In other words, we lose control of our pelvis and ribcage under fatigue because we resort to any compensation strategies possible to get air in and remain to breathe.

As a result, we lose proper positioning of our hip extensors and abdominals and often end up with more extensor tone during highly fatiguing bouts of activity.

Attempting to work on position and movement quality is great, but it is often too late during higher intensity efforts. We must build the patterns in a lower threshold environment, which is what the strength aerobic method provides to individuals.

4. A SLOW CONTROLLED TEMPO HELPS ATHLETES FIND AND FEEL CERTAIN POSITIONS
Slow tempos are great for increasing proprioceptive feedback and improving the position of an athlete’s joints to optimize the muscles being used.
For example, try doing RDLs with a moderate load for 60 seconds with a 303 tempo and a focus on creating a flexion moment with the hamstrings and anterior core and tell me if you feel your hamstrings or not.

The combination of the production of BDNF, a reduced threat from aerobic metabolism, and a slow and controlled tempo is an excellent combination to improve stability and motor learning of specific motor patterns while also improving local muscular endurance.

How To Perform The Strength Aerobic Method
There are several ways to incorporate the strength aerobic method into a strength and conditioning program. They are as follows:

1. AS AN ACCESSORY EXERCISE DURING A NORMAL RESISTANCE TRAINING SESSION
You can reap the benefits of the strength aerobic method without having to add in any additional exercises into your athletes’ program. Simply replace an existing rep scheme with the strength aerobic method during one of their assistance exercises.

For example, if an athlete is performing rows or Bulgarian split squats near the tail end of their resistance training session, you can have them perform these exercises as strength aerobic exercise without having to change much. Just slow down the tempo and drop the intensity to about 30-40% of 1RM.

2. AS A FINISHER, WHICH REPLICATES THE MAIN MOVEMENT OF THE DAY
If an athlete squats as their main exercise of the day, you can have them perform the strength aerobic method as their conditioning.
For example, if the front squat as their main lift of the day, they will goblet squat or hip belt squat using a slower cadence and lightweights after all of their other strength work has been completed.

3. AS A CIRCUIT DURING AN ACTIVE RECOVERY DAY
This is originally one of the ways that Verkhoshansky wrote about using the strength aerobic method.

Pick several different exercises for non-consecutive body parts and perform them in a circuit fashion with light weights and a slow cadence. In his book, he recommends 8-10 exercises, but I usually prescribe 4-5.

An example would be goblet squat, trx row, kettlebell or barbell RDL, push-up, and sometimes I throw in a core exercise or a carry in there. Make sure to stay below 150 BPM during this circuit.

4. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING YOUR MAX EFFORT LIFT OF THE DAY
This is the other way Verkhoshansky wrote about this method.

This method is very similar to the complex or contrast methods, but instead of following the max effort method with a set of plyos or the dynamic method, you will follow it up with a lighter set using the strength aerobic method.

The goal is to stimulate the maximum amount of muscle fibers possibly. It starts with a near-maximum effort set at around 80-90% of 1RM for a few reps to stimulate the fast-twitch fibers and immediately goes into a much lighter set of 10-15 reps done at a slow and controlled tempo to stimulate the slow-twitch fibers.

Regardless of how you choose to implement this method, here are some guidelines:

• Low to moderate intensities (30-40% 1RM)
• Slow controlled tempo with no pauses at the top or bottom (202 or 303 tempo)
  10-15 reps
• 3-5 sets; add series if needed

The goal is to stimulate the slow twitch fibers to grow by creating a hypoxic environment, resulting in mitochondrial biogenesis. To do so, you need constant tension on the muscle, which is where the 202 and 303 tempos come in. There must be no pause at the top or the bottom during a rep.

Here is a sample of how I would program this method using all of the variations listed above:
1. AS AN ACCESSORY EXERCISE DURING A NORMAL RESISTANCE TRAINING SESSION
A1, Front Squat
A2. KB Pullover
B1. Barbell Single-Leg RDL
B2. Half-Kneeling Landmine Press
C1. TRX Row (Strength Aerobic Method)

2. AS A FINISHER, WHICH REPLICATES THE MAIN MOVEMENT OF THE DAY
A1. Front Squat: 5 X 3 @ RPE 8
D1. Goblet Squat: 4 X 50 seconds (303 tempo)

3. AS A CIRCUIT DURING AN ACTIVE RECOVERY DAY
A1, Goblet Squat
A2. TRX Row
A3. KB Deadlift
A4. Push-Up
A5. KB Pullover
3-5 rounds of 40-60 seconds on/60 seconds off at a 303 tempo

4. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING YOUR MAX EFFORT LIFT OF THE DAY
A1. Barbell Back Squat: 3 x 3 @ 85%
A2. Goblet Squat: 3 X 10-15 (303 tempo)

Final Thoughts
When it comes down to building a large aerobic base, many individuals think of traditional cardio. Hopefully, this gives you some additional options to develop aerobic capacity and slow-twitch hypertrophy in local muscular fibers.
In addition and possibly, more importantly, this is an excellent method to incorporate into your program to help drive proper motor patterns.
Always training at a high intensity will generate a lot of fatigue and create high threshold sympathetic strategies, which can result in a lack of movement variability. Training these same patterns in a less fatigued state and less threatening environment can do wonders in improving movement variability and therefore movement quality.

For tips on how to increase your speed, or if you’d like to maximize your training efforts, contact us!

The post Building A Larger Engine Using The Strength Aerobic Method​ appeared first on Parabolic Performance & Rehabilition.

 First, some definitions as they are relevant to this discussion:

 Breathing: Mostly focusing on a long and relaxing exhale and proper inhale to use breathing to set the position of our ribcage and pelvis. This is a lower threshold activity,

 Bracing: A forceful holding of breath that uses a higher threshold strategy to stabilize the thorax and pelvis. This is often the Valsalva maneuver.

 The important thing to consider here is that there is no right or wrong strategy. There are only appropriate ones for the task at hand. If all you can do are high threshold strategies, then that is a problem. If you can never brace properly and create an appropriate high threshold stabilization strategy, you are probably not going to be petty strong. But you better be able to shut that strategy down after the lift is completed. You also want to make sure you are doing this correctly.

So now the question is, when do we want to use each strategy? And how do we most effectively perform each one to get the appropriate amount of stability?

 Breathing

We want to be casually breathing to stabilize our spine during any activities that are not true high intensity efforts. This starts at positional breathing drills and goes all the way up through core activities, assistance work, and also lighter squatting and deadlifting for most clients.

We want to breathe properly to stabilize our spine and thorax by putting our major joints in proper positions. This usually requires a full exhale to get rib internal rotation and posterior pelvic tilt. This puts our abdominals and true hip extensors in a position to work properly to stabilize and propel movement. Here we are not holding our breath at all. We can think of inhalation as a position of extension of the entire system. An inhalation is also a sympathetic event. On the contrary, exhalation creates flexion and a parasympathetic tone.

 If we always create a forceful inhale and hold when we lift, we will probably present with much more extensor tone than necessary. In addition, we might never be able to shut off the sympathetic tone. Our blood pressure will be much higher, and we will tire our much easier. Therefore, it will be much more effective to stabilize ourselves with a lower threshold breathing strategy that allows for a long full exhale.

 Bracing

However, there are times where we really need to brace and hold a powerful inhale to stabilize ourselves. Usually, this will happen under really heavy loads for higher-level athletes. When we brace, we can create a large amount of air pressure to keep us stable, but this comes with a cost. This is a strategy that only needs to be used for higher level athletes under heavier loads, but for these circumstances, it is a must. I am a believer that no-one needs to be cued to brace. They should be shown how to do it properly, and after that, it should be reflexive. If the proper steps are not taken through a proper exhale and an inhale from an exhaled position, no amount of cueing brace help them brace.

 How to Correctly Perform Each One

 Breathing

Breathing during lifting activities that do not require a brace is very similar to how we breathe during our positional resets. Most people present with an extension pattern, so the most important thing is usually to get a long full exhale to internally rotate the ribs. This is especially important any time the arms or legs are moving away from the periphery. As a general rule of thumb, I tell my clients and athletes to get a long and full exhale any time their arms move overhead or their legs move away from them. I only allow them to go through a range of motion that they can exhale through. For example, I have them exhale as their arms go overhead in a kettlebell pullover. As soon as they stop exhaling and start holding their breath, I know they have gone too far and I instruct them to cut the range of motion a little shorter.

After the full exhale, there are certain times where we require an inhale to expand a posterior mediastinum.This opens up the upper back and allows the scapula to have a congruent surface to sit on. We do this by asking for an inhale that expands the upper back and ribcage but it is important that this inhale is coming from a fully exhaled position.

 We need a long full exhale to set our ribs down, and then when we inhale we must do it from that position of full exhalation and rib internal rotation. If we inhale from a position of inhalation, we will only end up extending our spine further which will put us in in a suboptimal position to create true active stability from. Instead we will rely on passive stability from bony and ligamentous structures, which is not what we want to be doing.

 Bracing

When we do brace, we hold a forceful inhale which as we already discussed is a sympathetic event and drives some amount of extension. However, there is a right and a wrong way to go about this. As we also mentioned, an inhale must come from a position of full exhalation if we want to truly stabilize our thorax. If we inhale from an already inhaled position as most of us do, we actually just end up jacking ourselves further into extension. Inhalation is a position of extension, and if we inhale from extension we will have a whole lot of extension. If we do this, we will present with much more extensor tone during lifting, we will not truly have intra-abdominal and intra-thoracic pressure, and we will probably jack ourselves up long term.

 So when lifting requires a brace using the Valsalva maneuver, we MUST first get a long and FULL exhale with rib internal rotation and some degree of posterior pelvic tilt. After that exhale, we should pause for a second or two and then inhale. But here is the kicker; when we inhale we must keep our abs on to eccentrically internally rotate our ribs. In other words, they have to prevent our ribs from flying up when we inhale. If that happens, we just extend our back and will not have the abdominals and hip extensors in proper positions to stabilize our thorax and extend our hip. The air can go to two places when we inhale, and the position that we start from is the determining factor. It can go in the front of our ribcage as we extend our back, or we can keep the ribs down and have it go in the back of our upper back. We want the latter to drive stability by using air pressure and correct biomechanics instead of relying on extensor tone and passive constraints to stabilize ourselves.

 Conclusion

We are going to get sympathetic extensor tone when we lift. That is a given, but we can stabilize ourselves in a way that will not create any unneeded tone. This is done by using the appropriate AND correct breathing strategy for the task at hand. We shouldn’t be bracing when we don’t need to be. On most exercises, we should use a relaxed breathing strategy utilizing a full exhale to maintain the proper position of our joints which will in turn place the correct muscles in position to propel the movement and stabilize. We shouldn’t be using a high threshold bracing strategy on low lever exercises like rolling, dead bugs, planks, and even non-maximal strength training like goblet squats and trx rows. However, there are times when we do need to brace. When we do, we must do so properly to most effectively stabilize our thorax and not place ourselves in more extension and sympathetic tone than which is necessary.

 Shown below are specific exercises with a good inhalation after a state exhalation before beginning the exercise itself…And then there’s the bad.  You will also see exercises with inhalation from a state of inhalation and how little you will get out of the exercise.

The post Breathing And Bracing: Choosing the Right Strategy for Your Lift appeared first on Parabolic Performance & Rehabilition.

The event announced a formidable new twosome on the tennis scene.

“Our partnership with Parabolic gives Murray Hill Tennis & Fitness the unique opportunity for vertical integration,” said Briana King and Sara Reeder, who are co-owners of Murray Hill Tennis & Fitness along with Michael Romeo, Director of Tennis. “Many of our athletes… will benefit from the cutting-edge training and physical therapy techniques that Parabolic uses on an individualized basis.”

Parabolic Founder and CEO Steven Frohlich also expressed his excitement about the partnership. “Parabolic’s secret sauce is the collaboration between our performance coaches and our physical therapists. Each learn from one another and in turn, make the other better every day. Not only is Murray Hill the ideal space for us, but we have great chemistry with the Murray Hill Tennis & Fitness team.”

Parabolic Performance & Rehabilitation offers a unique combination of sports physical therapy and performance training to nurture the strength and wellness of high-level athletes, as well as those recovering from injuries or surgery. And on a beautiful summer evening in June, they offered food, drink, music, and a festive gathering at Murray Hill Tennis!

The post Parabolic Performance and Rehab and Murray Hill Tennis and Fitness celebrated their partnership appeared first on Parabolic Performance & Rehabilition.

First and most, it’s important to mention when a licensed physical therapist performs dry needling they are by no means performing acupuncture, unless they also have a license in acupuncture with additional schooling and a separate license or degree. It may look the same from the outside view as similar needles are used in both practices. Nevertheless dry needling and acupuncture are two separate treatment approaches.

Personally, I think one of the biggest differences between dry needling and acupuncture is the intention and the thought process behind the needling technique and needle placement. When a physical therapist performs dry needling, they are aiming to release a trigger point in a muscle, create a lesion in the tissue to improve blood flow, and promote healing. Dry needling can be very effective for releasing a deep trigger point where traditional manual therapy has trouble getting without causing discomfort to the patient. It is very beneficial for musculoskeletal problems, including tendonitis, myalgia and nerve pain. Dry needling targets the muscle, nerve, or tissue level and does not go beyond that. Acupuncture on the other hand is looking at the bigger picture in your body, deeper than the superficial muscle layer.

Acupuncture is looking at the body through a much different lens. The intention of the acupuncturist is to address the meridians of the body to influence your Qi or “energy flow”, blood, and fluids. However, that is just the tip of the iceberg and there really is so much more to acupuncture than that. Acupuncture is just one part of Eastern medicine that has been around for thousands of years. Acupuncture has been known to treat a wide variety of ailments. It is not only useful for musculoskeletal problems, similar to dry needling, but can also help with digestive problems, infertility, allergies, and on the list goes. Acupuncturists also address trigger points that occur in what are called “tendinomuscular channels” that are separate from traditional meridians lines. In essence, a licensed acupuncturist can address trigger points for musculoskeletal pain, like the PT does with dry needling, in addition to also addressing other problems in the body.

In short, when comparing dry needling to acupuncture it is helpful to think about dry needling addressing your local muscular layer whereas acupuncture is addressing you systemically. Both are very beneficial treatments and complement each other greatly during the rehabilitation process. A prescription is not required to receive acupuncture and it is covered under some insurance policies. New Jersey is a direct access state for physical therapy, meaning a prescription from an MD is not required. A prescription from an MD however is required for Medicare patients. It is under the discretion of your physical therapist to determine if dry needling would be beneficial for your condition.

The post Dry Needling and Acupuncture: What’s the Difference?​ appeared first on Parabolic Performance & Rehabilition.

In addition to his work at the Giants’ facility, Kennard visited 1-2 times per week during the season for massage therapy and physical therapy sessions.

“It’s part of the game plan I created for myself to make sure I was healthy and feeling my best throughout the whole year,” Kennard said in an interview with NJ Advance Media on Monday after instructing some local Draft hopefuls that are training at Parabolic. “I really believe in what they’re doing in some of their PT stuff.”

The plan worked, as Kennard appeared in all 17 games this season. The only time the 2014 fifth-round pick even appeared on the injury report was Week 6 . The visits to Parabolic were part of a proactive approach to treating his body.
“In the past, something might linger and if it wasn’t really hurting I’d just leave it alone or maybe I’d get a little treatment here or there,” Kennard said. “But I learned to listen to my body. It’s my third year and if anything was bothering me even the tiniest bit, let me get a little treatment on it. What’s wrong with icing it down, getting it rubbed on, getting it acupunctured? I got a lot more aggressive about listening to my body and hearing what it was telling me.”

Most of Kennard’s training took place at the Giants’ facility. First-year head coach Ben McAdoo and successfully revamped the team’s training program.

The Giants transformed from one of the most injured teams to one of its healthiest under the new regime.

“I think that was a huge impact for our entire team, but me specifically as well,” Kennard said. “The program that McAdoo had, the schedule that he created was awesome. I think that was a huge contributor to why our team and myself was healthy.”

The work in the weight room was significantly different under Wellman.

“I loved the program,” Kennard said. “It sucked sometimes because we were really getting after it in the weight room even late in the season. It’s December going into January and we’re still getting after it 2-3 times a week lifting pretty heavily. But I think it was good because it’s not just lifting heavy for no reason. It’s functional movement, it’s putting your body in positions that it needs to be in to remain powerful. I know I maintained my strength throughout the year. That’s thanks to the program we had at the Giants. I think that’s a huge contributor to why guys were healthy.”
​
Kennard, who also missed the 2012 season at USC with a torn pectoral muscle, believes he put to rest any questions about his durability this season.

“Anybody who actually knows me knows how hard I work and knows how much I love this game. They wouldn’t question that,” Kennard said. “I want to be out there every single time with my team helping them win. Anyone who really knows me knows that that’s not the case. It was just unfortunate what happened in the past, but that was the past. You see what I did this year. I want to take that and run with it.”

A week removed from , Kennard is healthy and ready to build on his third season.

“This is the first offseason where I’m not getting some type of surgery or trying to recover from something,” Kennard said. “I’ve got little nicks and bruises like everybody does at this point when the season’s over, but I could play a game tomorrow if I needed to. I wish I was.”

Kennard played 48 percent of the defensive snaps this season, which ranked third among the Giants’ linebackers. He started at strong side linebacker in the base 4-3 defense and as the season progressed.

“It was a good year for me,” Kennard said. “There’s more clarity with how they want to use me. This year was uncertain. They decided to just use me at Sam, but later in the year they started putting me in rushing situations. What was different about that is I wasn’t really practicing it at all … I did a good job, but I want to take the next step. Now I think I’ll be used similarly moving forward and I know that and I get to prepare for that.”

The post How Giants’ LB Devon Kennard shed injury-prone label in 3rd season​ appeared first on Parabolic Performance & Rehabilition.

Now is a great time to think about and understand your personal values. What are your dreams? What is your personal mission statement? What type of person do you want to be? What do you think is realistic in achieving this week, month and year?

To help sidestep deserting your stamina and to focus on not allowing goal setting fatigue to set in, here are some quick tips to turn your curiosity in improving yourself into your 2017 actually improved self.​

• Identify the type of person you want to be and perform the behaviors and responsibilities of that identity.
• Choose the right goals that are important to you and add value to your life.
• Create a compelling vision of what that life may look like and how you’ll perceive yourself moving forward.
• Devise a plan that will help you navigate your destination point through a series of checks and balances that are challenging
  yet manageable.
• Stick to your plan, but stay focused on the behaviors of that identity and overall achievement outcome.
• Celebrate all types of wins—especially the small wins when you’re starting out—so you feel connected with your goals and desire to change.
• Regularly reassess your current mood, strengths, talents and abilities to help keep you motivated and in support of yourself to reach your goals.

If you take the time to define the type of person you want to be, your goals will be more identity-based through behaviors of that identity rather than performance-based or appearance-based goals. For example, if you want to be a person who becomes stronger or faster, then you have to never miss a workout. Someone who never misses a workout and trains consistently for strength or speed will become stronger or faster eventually due to the nature of the process.

More often than not, people write a list of the most important things they want to achieve within a year. Rather than that approach, I would recommend writing down that list and then crossing off the most important statement or goal, for the time being. This seems counterintuitive, but if you can complete the least emotionally driven task or goal, you build your own confidence and self-efficacy into your identity. Once you prove to yourself you can complete one of your goals and continue with it as it becomes a part of your character, you can then feel more armed to move onto your more emotionally charged goals.

Take your personal values and personal mission statement and live it and breathe it daily. Become the type of person who you want to be and believe you are that person. Build those habits today and if you continue daily the results will come later.

The post AIM SMALL, MISS SMALL: HOW TO FOCUS YOUR IDENTITY TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS​ appeared first on Parabolic Performance & Rehabilition.