Athletic Performance and Chiropractors

Impact Chiropractic sponsors MMA fighter, Jesse O’Rullian. Jesse took some time to write a guest blog post about his top “Health and Wellness” tips from an athlete’s perspective.  He is a coach at Trials Martial Arts & Fitness and is also starting a blog of his own.  He has been a patient of ours since March and has already seen great

results in his training and performance, not to mention his overall health and well-being.  He has wonderful insight on how to get the most out of your workouts and keep your body healthy while you’re doing it. Enjoy!

We have all found ourselves at some point in our lives on an elliptical at the gym telling ourselves “This is good, I’m exercising, I’m being healthy.” The reality is we would rather be in our underwear eating cheetos. It’s easier and more comfortable to live a sedentary lifestyle. However, we need discomfort in order to grow and live a healthy lifestyle.

1. WHERE IS THE LOVE?

The first thing I would tell someone trying to improve their health and wellness is to find something that they love to do. When you really love what you are doing it becomes less of a task and more of a joy. By enjoying what you are participating in it becomes easier to turn that activity into a habit. Yeah, I could give you a miserable diet and exercises, but those aren’t sustainable. True, lasting health and wellness can only be achieved through a lifestyle change. “But Jesse, there is nothing I have really found yet that I really love to do.” That’s okay! I am a firm believer in trying new things. You’ll never know unless you try and allow yourself to change.

Trying new things can be overwhelming. It feels like puberty all over again whenever I try new activities. I feel awkward and think everyone is watching. “What if I’m terrible? I might fart. I have no idea what I’m doing.” Maybe you’ve fared better than I have in which case I congratulate you and secretly resent you.

I’ve found that the best success has come from setting daily micro goals for each session. Maybe it’s to focus on my breathing or to keep my chin down. If I got my butt kicked but worked on my daily goal then the day was a success.  Some of the best advice I have been given by a coach is to ensure I am having fun. Whenever I am able to do this time flies by and I rarely realize how hard I am working.

Getting burned out? Get outside! Another way to love your training is to shake up the routine with some cross training, Athletes frequently cross train to get out of the gym, break a sweat, and clear the mind. If you’re feeling burnt out, try dedicating just one day a week to train both your body and mind while outside.

2. STABILIZERS, SYMMETRY, AND BALANCE

Strength training is imperative to health and wellness. However, few people focus on symmetry. Whether you are starting a new training regime or maintaining one, it is imperative that you start with a good foundation. Structurally, we must be sound and one of the easiest ways to ensure this is to get some x-rays done. Know what is going on with your spine and your overall alignment. This will help mitigate injuries and give you an initial blueprint of how to structure your training. A few snap, crackle and pops later and you will be amazed by the results.

I have seen a lot of injuries happen on the mats. I have also seen a lot of people re-injure themselves (myself included). The more I train the more I have learned that we are only as strong as our weakest links. Having symmetrical movement in our shoulders, knees, hips, ankles, and spine is paramount. If one area of our body becomes out of alignment over time it can offset the entire body. All of these joints have so many accessory muscles, tendons, and ligaments. By having an unsymmetrical body it places the burden on the other areas of the body. Over time this can really progress the unsymmetrical alignment and lead to injury. What does that mean for your training? Lose the ego and lose the weight. Try using lower weight and work on more on balance and stability. Foam rollers are your friend and post-training stretching should be mandatory but I’m not your real dad, so do what you want.

Tim Grover, coach of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Dwayne Wade has worked with professional athletes for well over a decade. Over the years he and his team have found that one of the most common injuries for professional athletes is a rolled ankle. Due to this fact, his training sessions regularly included band work with an emphasis on their feet and ankles. So much of our power and balance starts and ends with our feet. There are a lot of exercises and habits you can do to invest in yourself. Something as simple as drawing the alphabet with your big toes while you watch T.V. can really pay long-term dividends.

3. PERFORMANCE GOALS OVER BODY IMAGE GOALS

Making healthy lifestyle choices is a lot easier when you have a goal that isn’t just to look good. Train for performance rather than appearance. As a professional athlete, I have seen fighters with different body types. I have also seen people walk into the gym who at first glance appear to be absolute monsters but once tested they are unable to bridge the gap between fitness and athleticism. Looking good in the mirror and being able to fight are two different things. We’ve all heard the timeless adage of how we should never judge a book by its cover.

The Boxer Butter Bean was a great example of this.

I know that it is easy to get caught up with body image goals. Don’t get me wrong–it’s important to feel good about yourself and like who you see in the mirror. Deep down however, I think we all know there is more to it than that. What we seek is a moment. A moment to be truly present. A moment where it is just you and nothing else. A moment where you aren’t thinking about bills, people, or any other of things. You are just there being the best you can be. It is this moment that causes us to train for these performances. Whether you fight, run, do yoga, or whatever it is you need to do and use it as a means to be present. Life gets messy and so do we. We will have our share of both victories and defeats. What we can control is to be present and to do our very best.

4. BE A DOER

“ A non-doer is very often a critic-that is, someone who sits back and watches doers, and then waxes philosophically about how the doers are doing. It’s easy to be a critic, but being a doer requires effort, risk, and change.”–Wayne Dyer

One thing that will help you become a doer is to keep a journal and write down your goals.

Keeping a training journal of your diet, training, thoughts, and goals is one of the easiest ways to help quantify your results. Go to the gym with your workout planned and written out. Then write down your results and how you felt. Collecting data is one of the best ways to ensure that your regiment is efficient. Each individual’s journey for health and wellness is unique to them. What works for me may not work for you. While there may be some universal maxims with health and wellness, don’t be afraid to try something new. In essence, fake it till you make it.

“I’ve never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.”, Daniel Boone.

Another reason keeping a journal is beneficial is that it will help you create a routine and accountability. It has been said that creating a habit takes 21 days. Having goals written down has really helped me stick to my guns and hold myself accountable.

 In summation, Abraham Maslow the father of self-actualization noted that our suffering often reveals our “greater strengths”. Everyone has unique capabilities and potential. Each person’s journey towards health and wellness will be unique to them alone.

Without the love of what you are doing, fitness and wellness will be a task rather than a joy. By loving what you do, having strong stabilizers, symmetry, and balance it will be easier to map a training regime and prevent injury. Lastly, by focusing on functionality over aesthetics it will allow for individuals to experience more serenity.

“Necessity of discipline, deprivation, frustration, pain, and tragedy. To the extent that these experiences reveal and foster and fulfill our inner nature, to that extent they are desirable experiences…The person who hasn’t conquered, withstood and overcome continues to feel doubtful tha he could.” (p.4)