Health and Performance at Any Age Starts with Your Foundation
The metaphors are endless: the square area of the base of a pyramid dictates it’s ultimate height, a solid foundation is needed for a sturdy home, the taller a tree the deeper it’s roots must grow to stay alive and thrive.
In today’s fast paced technology driven world, people are increasingly pulled in so many directions regarding health, wellness, training, sports performance, and supplements, that they feel unsure what to do. They ask themselves “What will actually make a difference?”
SIMPLE FACT: without a solid foundation to build upon, none of the fancy, flashy, hyped up stuff will be beneficial for obtaining the end goal. It’s like trying to capture water being poured through a sieve.
Foundations. What are foundational practices? I’ll touch on a few of the most vital aspects. The foundational practices list can vary from person to person and may involve more than the one’s listed here. For now, it’s a place to begin and very likely everyone can improve in one or more of the following areas.
AND: Why this email now? Spring is here! A change in seasons and in sport/outdoor activity is a perfect time to set some goals and focus on YOUR foundation.
1) Mobility – the functional range of motion of a joint protects us from injury. This allows us to be active and engage in more of the sports we love. This is the basis of strength, and the practice of which can help regulate the nervous system and improve sleep if done regularly.
Goal: Improve Mobility – target one or two areas to get into a routine. Hips and Hamstrings, Chest and Shoulders. Once you’ve begun your new mobility routine, you can add another layer or area. For guidance, you can request to speak to one of our instructors for suggestions, take an appropriate yoga class, or jump in deep with a mobility program from The Ready State.
2) Balance – a vital piece to avoiding falls and injury, being adept enough to react to unexpected forces, build confidence as we age, vital to participation in activities that keep us social and thriving.
Goal: Improve balance – practice for five minutes a day or more. Stand on one leg. Time how long you can stay there without tapping your other foot. Try and increase that time. Stand heel to toe like on a balance beam. Time how long you can do this without loosing your balance (it’s harder than it sounds). Then try the above with your eyes closed (do this next to a wall if concerned about a falling risk). Then try with eyes open but rotate torso and head. For more ideas get in touch with the Ripple Team.
3) Strength Training – loading our musculoskeletal system regularly builds and maintains strength; creating movement economy, making us more efficient at sports, daily life tasks, and protecting us from injury in the event of a fall or impact. Strength training also increases muscle mass thus increasing our metabolic needs helping to maintain a healthy BMI, which promotes healthy aging, and helps increase or maintain bone density thru life.
Goal: Re-start or Begin a Strength Training Program – Look for a place to strength train where you feel comfortable, supported, safe, and can resource quality instruction as needed. Find your community. If you have a home gym, set a goal to strength train once a week as this may lead to the motivation for a second. Join a class one day a week and train on your own one day a week. Reach out to a friend as an accountability buddy to meet you to work out. Strength and Mobility are critically intertwined. We statistically loose 10% of both every decade after the age of 35, if we do nothing about it. Come see us at Ripple to help create the space for this in your life.
4) Sleep – Sleep is paramount. Without enough sleep one creates a huge stressor to the system. This can cause inflammation, decreased recovery, spikes in cortisol levels (causing weight gain), brain fog, the inability to focus, and potentially lead to harmful disease states or accidents.
Goal: Improve Sleep Hygiene – Set a goal for 8 hours of sleep. No screens in bed. Wind down from work a couple of hours before bedtime. Don’t check that last minute email or text, instead go for a walk, read a book, chat with a friend, or spend time with your pets. Try wearing an eye shield, utilizing white noise if your neighborhood is loud, black out curtains, or a weighted blanket. Further reduce stress and improve sleep by planning to leave your phone behind, don’t take it everywhere with you. Get some quality off the grid time.
5) Hydration – The human body needs water. Coffee, juice, sodas, milk, protein drinks, alcohol, etc are not a replacement…the body needs water to support all of it’s metabolic processes. There may be a need for electrolyte replenishment in your water if training hard, especially in warmer temperatures. However, many people if not most need to hydrate with water first.
Goal: Increase Water intake. Have a dedicated water bottle to carry with you. Have one in your pack, your car, even on your desk. If you only drink a couple of glasses of water a day, set a goal to consume one full 32oz bottle of water daily. If you exercise a fair amount, bump this to two 32 oz bottles. You will feel better. And may find it creates other health benefits like weight loss and increased energy.
6) Nutrition – The food you eat is the fuel for all your activities. Additionally, it’s your body’s tool for sustaining life. It helps rebuild muscle mass, it replenishes glycogen stores, aids in fending off colds and flus, battles inflammation, fights disease, and so much more.
Goal: This is a super individualized arena. We all need something a bit different.
Eg: Maybe it’s increasing healthy protein intake, understanding how to fuel for activity, reduction of sugars in your diet, making time for weekly meal planning and meal prep. Whatever the goal is, it is personal. Let’s make a shift happen. If you are unsure where to start, speak with a qualified dietician or sports nutritionist and we are happy to make recommendations.
This list could go on: recovery, periodization, training plans, breath work, supplementation where needed… there are many more potential topics to discuss and those remaining topics are the next layer in your pyramid of health and performance.
For now let’s build your Base Foundation. Prioritize your personal Foundation building goals for eight weeks through the spring and beyond to reap the benefits for summer and fall objectives.
What about: all the “hip workouts” touted by influencers, “get fit” podcasts or super supplements being the “latest thing” …some will potentially have a positive impact if it’s the right thing for you…if sprinkled on top of your solid foundation.
And always be wary of someone touting something miraculous if they are making money off you. Do your homework and research.
The ethos of the Ripple Effect began nearly 40 years ago and continues to Ripple forward from Carolyn Parker to her world class team. All of whom have decades of combined experience, incredible depth of knowledge, positive attitudes, and a willingness to support and share with our community.
We are flexible. We can be reached by a simple call/text 970-773-3317 or by emailing info@rippleffectraining.com. Let us know how to best support you.
~Happy Spring from the team at Ripple Effect.
Previous educational emails that more deeply cover some of the above topics can be accessed here.