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http://www.kchealthandsports.com/

KC Health & Sports, 51 President Avenue, Kogarah (2025)

15/10/2022

Sometimes you have to slow down to go faster.

Don’t underestimate how important technical proficiency is - particularly when panic and discomfort set in.

Regardless whether you’re running or on a bike, row or ski erg - your efficiency plays a huge role in your overall performance.

Unnecessary movements like throwing yourself all over a stationary bike offers minimal to no benefit, as does racing back to the catch on the rower before you’ve completed the stroke, or jumping all over the place on the ski with flailing arms…

Although each erg has its own technical requirements - they also all place emphasis on different muscle groups, require different tempo/cadences depending on whether the erg offers a “recovery”, offer the opportunity to ‘power share’ (shift where we focus our power) and all require a calm & controlled head… even when generating Power. These are just a fraction of the considerations that could improve your performance.

If you need support on improving your economy, time trial performances or would like to develop your conditioning - please reach out.

Face to face and online appointments available - link in bio

14/10/2022

If you were to look in to your future… how would you like to see yourself.

Before I hear -

“but we should live for today!” …

Sure, take time and enjoy the present… just understand your decisions today impact your health today, tomorrow and if it becomes habitual… for a long time ahead.

There’s only a few certainties in life… every year I will add a number to my age, every year (particularly as we progress beyond our 30s) our bodies ability to express speedy adaptations to the stress we place on it becomes increasingly challenged.

Every decade components of our health and fitness won’t be what they were - such as our VO2 (aerobic capacity)… it’s not a problem, it’s just the natural process of ageing.

What I find incredible, is the illusion we will one day get around to making better decisions regarding our health… unfortunately that one day for most is so far done the track, the foundation you could have built is no more than a memory.

My commitment to myself & the support of others to make health conscious choices (most of the time), so if we are lucky enough to enjoy many more decades, knowing that every year we will naturally lose some ability… We continue to smile because of the decisions We made for ourselves and loved ones today.

Stop saying I’ll start tomorrow… your future self will thank you.

Let’s build capacity now…

10/10/2022

More then ever we are bombarded with absolutely ridiculous claims selling health or performance miracles… so before you look at the success stories, just know even a broken clock is right twice a day!

Before you consider investing time and money into products or services - always start your problem solving with a defining question, something that offers context…

So for context, I’m not saying the following are absurd questions… just an example of contextual considerations.

“Should I buy lifting shoes to help me squat?”

“Should I eat less and train more?”

…

In order to know whether something is right for you we must first know what it is you want to achieve out of it.

If you want lifters to improve your squat, please explain to me what a better squat looks like to you, why you want to squat this way, are there any other confounding factors, what are your other alternatives….

What about recovery strategies… should I ice bath or sauna? Should I stretch more because I’m stiff? Should I take magnesium to relax my muscles? Should I foam roll? Are massage guns good?🤯…. Without context the answer should be - 🤷🏼‍♀️

Without any context or deeper understanding as to what you want to achieve, you may as well be throwing darts blindfolded … with enough time invested, eventually something will stick.

It’s impossible not to come across erroneous claims on socials, or listening to an “expert” speaking in absolutes… just please proceed with caution ⚠️ and look for credible support with a specific question in mind.

05/10/2022

Quick fix - quickly disappointed.

Don’t underestimate the strength in dedication & work ethic

Sorry to take away your teddy bears or comfort towel but this needs to be heard… if someone offers you a unicorn - chances are your dreaming or you believe a donkey with a party hat 🥳 is close enough.

There are no quick fixes, no way to “bulletproof” your from injury… nor predict injury as much as we can predict being involved in a car accident or being wished well by a bird overhead.

With specific attention to health & performance, everything takes time, patience and commitment. As a beautifully complex organism there are processes we must respect, adaptations which need to occur to get you to where you want to be. Even then, there are so many variables to consider there will always be challenges on the way.

Imagine if it was as simple as do this program to “fix” your back or “bulletproof” your knees or “follow diet x” - be careful of the capitalist nature of such claims.

Sometimes the answer isn’t black and white, however what we need to be doing is supporting those in need to adopt behavioural changes and developing life long habits to support their goals.

Through education, support, commitment & dedication - developing lifestyle changes to benefit your goals will not be a chore, but a choice.

They’re are incredible people & communities out there with no hidden agenda - just to support you.

📸

04/10/2022

“Recovery” or just taking time for yourself tends to be sacrificed due to time restraints with more time being focused on the sexier aspects of health - training hard and often - wearing it as a badge of honour, as a sign of how committed you are to your health.

It’s easy to get caught up in the camaraderie of training alongside incredible humans, it’s in our nature as social creatures. This drive however can also be detrimental -

when dedication becomes an addiction.

2 qualities - dedication and determination - are required for success in all aspects of life. These are beneficial for physical, mental and social aspects of life. We must be careful at the tipping point at which dedication becomes addiction.

In an article in the British Medical Journal (Addiction to Exercise - BMJ April 2017) described exercise addiction as the inability to stop or reduce training in the presence of injury.

2 categories of exercise addiction have been described:

Primary exercise addiction -

Compulsion to follow an excessive training schedule without considering balance of energy requirements.

Secondary exercise addiction -

The situation is compounded by a desire specifically to control body weight, consciously limiting energy intake resulting in energy deficits (energy crisis).

The focus on recovery is essential for adaptation. This requires control around your frequency of training, appropriate fuelling & refuelling, adequate rest & recovery, & above all a healthy relationship with all components important to your health.

If you are struggling with this balance, please reach out if you need support… there are so many incredible support avenues out there .

04/10/2022

Sounds like a bloody cliché - but performance starts before you turn up.

A word my boys are sick of hearing from me is “detail”

Regardless of what we set out to do, complete it with commitment to detail.

We approach our health & performance goals the same way - commit to executing your task with detail.

When designing a program, a lack of detail from my part is disrespectful to the individual completing it. When executing a program, it’s a lack of respect for yourself not to complete it to the best of your ability.

The way you approach training is often a reflection of the way you approach life - dedicate yourself to detail!

29/09/2022

Time is limited, train with intent - what is the desired outcome & are you creating adaptations which will promote that change?

We don’t just get “fit”, we create specific adaptations based on a few variables.

Central adaptations can include cardiovascular 🫀& respiratory 🫁 changes. Improving efficiency of your heart and lungs.

Peripheral adaptations are changes to our muscular tissues to improve our energy metabolism to be able to complete specific tasks.

And often forgotten, Perception - whether prior to - or - during training, how we perceive our own state often is the limiting factor to perform.

I can sit in a sauna and drive my heart rate & breathing frequency high enough to create central adaptations similar to that if I completed zone 2 training, however I won’t develop the peripheral adaptations in my muscles to manage the specific demands of running or riding.

What’s interesting though is I know the sauna is going to be hot, with a perception the hotter it is the better (not an accurate statement) - so I’m prepared for the heat and relish in the achievement of sitting in a pool of sweat.

Imagine if we approached a session which we know there will be some level of suffering, in the same way.

It’s important we train our perception as it’s most commonly what limits your performance - perceptual fatigue.

The point is that we need to approach training with intent of developing particular adaptations to support us toward our goal.

Next time you approach a session, ask yourself what the session is aiming to achieve, will it help me achieve my goal & remember- Perception plays a significant role in both preparing for & executing a great session.

29/09/2022

The word Sacrifice gets thrown around a lot in regards to training, reaching a level of performance or just taking care of your health.

To give up (something valued) for the sake of other considerations is Sacrifice - soldiers placing themselves in harms with the risk of loss of life to protect others is sacrifice.

Choosing not to drink 🍺 Or party or sleeping in to train, performance or improve your health is not sacrifice… it’s making a decision that benefits what’s most valuable to you.

If you struggle to make behavioural changing decisions… consider what’s most valuable to you.

In the same regard, consider the difference between dedication & addiction to “healthy” habits.

Being committed to achieving your health or performance goals is important. However when your psychological health becomes implicated aiming to reach a physical goal… this also becomes extremely problematic.

We hear about balance all the time, but how many people actually practice it?

Keep smiling people & enjoy all aspects of life.

If you need support in your health & performance goals… I’m but a message away.

26/09/2022

Continued on from my last post… I’d love to hear thoughts around this topic… or any examples you can think of or have experienced yourself.

24/09/2022

Ever been in a relationship not knowing what you wanted out of it? Frustrating?

Why would it be any different when building a relationship with yourself to commit to your health & performance goals.

“I train to be fit & healthy!”…. What does that mean. Be very specific in what you perceive this statement to mean to you. Break It down into specific & measurable pieces.

“I want to put on muscle, loss fat and tone up!”…. Another vague statement we often here without specific definition of what this means to you & most importantly why it’s important to you.

When we don’t know what we want, it can be pretty frustrating when you don’t have any measure of achievement or satisfaction you have committed to your set task.

This often leads to frustration and reduces your adherence to reach your desired goals.

Sure this might not be for everyone,
And that’s ok… but please don’t be frustrated when you commit so much of your valuable time toward a vague perception of what society portrays as fit & healthy.

Caveat: please please please… always seek advice from reputable & qualified folk who have your best interests at heart.

21/09/2022

If you really want it… then just commit to it.

If it’s easy to make excuses, it doesn’t mean enough to you… and that’s fine, just expect a result reflective of the effort put in.

“I’ll get up early and train before work…” morning comes, your ability to execute your plan from the previous evening is challenged… your commitment to achieving your goal is questioned.

If it’s easier to stay in bed, or find a reason not to commit to your plan, then it isn’t important enough.

If you really want it, what’s perceived as a sacrifice is anything but… it’s an opportunity to be great.

So define what success is to you, plan out your goal, understand why it’s important to you … then get after it.

The smallest action is more powerful then the greatest intent.

18/09/2022

Stress as defined by the father of stress research, Hans Selye described stress as the “nonspecific response of the body to any demand”.

You may also consider stress as any response requiring energy to restore equilibrium. Stress itself is neither good or bad, rather the way we perceive and process the stimuli will dictate the outcome, whether opportunistic or threatening to our health.

We need stress to grow.

Hans Selye explained that to be totally without stress is to be dead.

To understand our capacity to adapt we must first understand Hormesis. This occurs when a low dose of a stressful stimulus activates an adaptive response that increases the resistance of the cell or organism to higher stress levels.

Exercise is a simple example of this mechanism, however we can also consider this mechanism when considering strategies we may utilise to improve our bodies capacity to adapt to whatever we choose to challenge it with.

Please understand you’re ability to adapt to stress is only as good as your ability to respond and recover to what you have asked of your body and mind.

If you require support with your health &/or performance goals - please reach out.

16/09/2022

This is so important to understand.

Just because you adopt a behaviour to improve your health doesn’t mean it will improve performance and vice versa.

Whether it’s nutrition behaviours, recovery strategies, exercise choices … the decisions you make must be specific to your desired outcome.

14/09/2022

Do you look at a workout and predict the outcome? Assume your success or failure, predetermine the level of suffering?

Stop consuming energy with overthinking or unnecessary thought. It’s not going to be comfortable - accept it when it comes, your character will be tested.

The more we expose ourselves to this discomfort the more resilient we become.

Having a plan to succeed isn’t the same as overthinking uncertainty.

A strategy I often suggest when approaching a session such as a sub threshold intervals is to ask yourself:

If when ______, then_______

By having a plan in place, it offers the opportunity to refocus your efforts to maximise your performance. It provides certainty in knowing your next steps if needed, it reduces the threat of panic and poor performance.

If your prescribed pace drops, what’s your next move?

Some will panic, some will give in and others will dig deep to find another gear.

Having a plan B for some isn’t an option and that in itself is the plan. Others may need a plan B or C.

Regardless of your approach, strategic and tactical preparation are critical for optimal performance.

11/09/2022

The relationship between you and your equipment (whether bike, ski or row) is essential - your erg should feel like an extension of you, not something you’re fighting against.

An often overlooked component of performance is technical proficiency. From the set up of your bike erg, an understanding of the breakdown of a rowing stroke or the most efficient arm pull for you on a ski erg can create the quickest improvements.

Consider the following:

When fatigue (whether physiological or perceptual) sets in, learning to power share (which means learning to distribute load through different parts of your body through simple shifts in body movement).

An example on the bike erg would be if you sit in an upright posture loading up your quads and need some reprieve, shift your butt back on the seat and place your hands on the drops to ask more of your hip muscles in combination with the muscles that cross your knee.

Considering your power output on a bike is 40% hip, 40% knee, 15% ankle and 5% upper body - don’t forget about the intricate function of your ankle joint (wiping dog poo off the bottom of your shoe as your pedal is pushed down).

Hold strength in your upper body to create a stable foundation for your lower body to drive off. Don’t be a sloppy mess - it’s hard to generate force when the base isn’t solid.

What about your damper setting (this requires a post on its own) - this is a personal choice, you need to discover what works for you - by learning how to hold different paces, over different time durations and intensities - you’ll develop an understanding of what setting is right for you.

A shift in mindset to think about driving your opposite knee up creating a sense of lightness in the leg (you might just find your cadence will also increase effortlessly from this mindset shift).

Physical capacity (physiological change) is our goal, along the way - like any relationship, create a connection with your equipment. It’s the strength of this relationship which allows you to perform.

If you have questions regarding improving your technical proficiency- chat with your coaches, or send me a DM and we can organise a post for each erg.

09/09/2022

Below this post is a guide to improve your performance - it’s all to do with breathing 🫁

We consider cadence from a mechanical point of view to improve our efficiency when running or performing on an erg, however have you considered your cadence of breathing?

We all understand the importance of oxygen for survival and performance, however we often consider it’s counterpart (carbon dioxide) as a negative component to respiration.

What if we told you that without CO2, the oxygen (O2) you have circulating around your body attached to your red blood cells (RBC) won’t be signalled to enter these tissues in need. Well that’s exactly what happens… when we panic and over breathe, we offset too much CO2 creating an environment in our bodies in which O2 will not be signalled to be released from our RBCs leading to a lack of oxygen perfusion to our muscles - which ultimately leads to decreased fuel and decreased performance.

We need to become comfortable in not over breathing and build a tolerance to rising CO2 levels in our system.

We can do this whilst training by setting ourselves a guide based on how often to breathe and how to breathe:

Breathing Frequency (breathes per minute) & gears

Gear 1
Relaxed Nasal In, Relaxed Nasal Out
Breathing frequency 18-22
Zone 1: Recovery

Gear 2
Power Nasal In, Relaxed Nasal Out
Breathing frequency 22-28
Zone 2: Aerobic

Gear 3
Power Nasal In, Power Nasal Out
Breathing frequency 26-32
Zone 3: Tempo

Gear 4
Relaxed Mouth In, Relaxed Out
Breathing frequency 32-40
Zone 4: SubThreshold

Gear 5
Power Mouth In, Power Mouth Out
Breathing frequency 40-55
Zone 5: Super Threshold

Shout out if you have questions, is my go to guy for all things breathe control & performance.

09/09/2022

Whilst hitting the friday Capacity session with my mate Donny Haydon Skinner] at HQ, I couldn’t help but to consider the effects of music and the environment on performance.

Whether it’s loud noises, music, thoughts or emotion, they all have the ability to stimulate an endogenous (hormonal) release of norepinephrine (adrenaline) via the locus coeruleus (brainstem) which has projections to decision making centres (forebrain), areas of complex coordination patterning (cerebellum) and to the spinal cord.

The use of music, particularly loud music will have a greater effect on this part of the brainstem, increasing levels of physiological arousal.

As emotion and thought also regulate this region of the brain, calming music may offer down regulation of arousal, whilst heavier/angrier type music may up-regulate arousal levels depending on what the desired effect of the athlete may be.

The overall level of arousal is governed by the autonomic nervous system (ANS) with an inter-play between sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.

Consider an up-regulation of sympathetic arousal prior to a game will increase heart rate, respiratory rate, spindle sensitivity increasing muscular tone and potential power output etc.

For athletes experiencing heightened levels of arousal or performance anxiety, similar to the use of breathing techniques, the use of calming music may offer up-regulation of the PNS.

Your arousal levels are an important factor in performance… today, I held a speed quicker then the plan - I blame Haydon Skinner] for my heightened levels of arousal 🤌🏼🤣

📸

KC Health & Sports

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