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Archive for Mobility – Page 2

Meet Our Trainers: Zack Kraft-Shinn, Our Yoga Dragon

By Coach Al Lyman, CSCS, FRCms · Comments (0)

Monday, November 17th, 2014

Pursuit Athletic Performance trainer and teacher, Zack Kraft-Shinn

Here at Pursuit Athletic Performance, we are really proud of the awesome staff of trainers and coaches we have to help YOU improve!

Today we introduce our own "Yoga Dragon," Zack Kraft-Shinn. Zack teaches our very popular kid's bootcamp and kid's yoga, adult yoga and martial arts, and is also a personal trainer. To learn more about Zack, check out his bio on our site here.

Zack is an amazing teacher who is passionate about teaching and sharing his gifts with young and old alike. Zack says, "I believe that knowledge is food for your brain, and as a member of Team Pursuit, my hope is to share weekly motivational and educational thoughts." To that end, enjoy!

I wanted to start off strong with something “neurologically nutritious”, so I present this for your consideration: Life's a battle. It's like a daily knife fight. An ever present struggle of balancing will and choice on a hairline edge.

I always ask myself, "How can I bring forth all of my energy to give my genetic gift and serve; while also making sure I take care of myself and my basic needs?” Every day is different. Some days I train more, so on those days I make sure to give myself a little extra time to stretch so my body doesn't break. I eat larger portions those days so my body can stay fueled rather than feed on itself. I make sure to drink extra water those days to aid in the recovery of my torn muscles so that they can repair themselves more efficiently. And I make sure I get adequate rest, which involves much more than just the time I lay my head down. Just as important is the environment I rest in. Are the lights on? If so I shut them off as that will affect the quality of my rest. I do little things to make sure that when I wake up the following morning at 4am....I jump outta bed healed and ready to attack the day. Ready to read, train my yoga then head off to my first job…to make the morning muffins. (And in case you were wondering...YES…I am the muffin master as well!)

I know that if I don’t take care of myself, is I start to slip...It's much like taking that cut in the “daily life” knife fight. Yeah, it may not be a big deal right now, but man, I'm gonna feel that later. Say, for instance, I get home at 12:30 am and I’m starving because I forgot to pack a cliff bar or a banana. I open the fridge to see what my options are. There's some lasagna my mom made, a delicious piece of chocolate cake and some leftovers of the mouth-watering sub I got from JAMSS. (Kidding on the last one, I never have any leftovers from JAMSS! The plate is usually licked clean to be perfectly honest!) So I heat up the lasagna and eat it, then wash it down with the cake. Tastes great! BUT, because I ate right before bed, my body can't heal itself! Instead of focusing on healing, it's using those essential calories to break down all that food. Plus, because my body is so used to breaking down food while in a standing position, it’s now working almost twice as hard to do so lying down. What did I do? I set myself up for failure. When I wake up, I feel it instantly. Instead of jumping out of bed, it's a slow zombie crawl approach to the day! So instead I make a better choice…understanding that I'm placing want over need, I close the fridge and chug some water.

Making good choices is one thing, but there is another kind of blade that life can use to cut me. The stuff that I have no control over. The unexpected. The variables I never saw. The family tragedy. The loss of a loved one or a career. The relationships that leave scars or weren’t destined to be a part of my path. But the experienced knife fighter understands that almost always in a knife fight, you’re gonna have to take a minor cut to give a better one. Sometimes losing the opportunity for a new job or some love fantasy we feel would make our lives better or enrich it in some way, is actually a blessing in disguise. From my experience, I know a lot of good is lost looking for something better. By thinking of all I've lost, I miss out on the present. My mind is caught in an endless cycle of despair and should've, would’ve, could’ve scenarios. Because my mind is in pain my body follows. My negative thoughts manifest themselves through discomfort in the body, starting with bad posture. Because I'm hunched over, looking down, putting unwanted pressure on my neck and lower back...my breathing is then changed. I've created less space in my body for air, my lungs aren't working as cohesively with my heart to pump all those much needed hard working, freshly oxygenated blood cells to the vital organs, muscles etc.

Luckily, at some point in this process I’ll realize what’s happening. I understand that I'm not present, and I will find my focus by saying a mantra of some kind. (Mantra's are words or groups of words we can say verbally or in our heads to promote clarity.) My favorite is from the Bhagavad Gita. Arjuna is being counselled on the cusp of a battle that will tear the very fabric of reality. Krishna says to Arjuna, "If you bring forth what lies in your inner most self, what you bring forth will save you and it will save a piece of the world. If you do not bring forth what lies in your inner most self, what you do not bring forth will destroy you and it will destroy a piece of the world."

Cool, huh?? But hey, no pressure! J However, I challenge you! Ask yourself not “HOW can I change the world”, but instead “how AM I changing the world today?" Cause every thought you have manifests itself into reality. Not only actions, every thought you have changes the world! Choose to be non- judgmental to a passerby. Give a smile, high five or a hug to someone you feel could really use it. (It will usually be met with a rather contagious case of the giggles that in turn leads to an outbreak!) OR GO BIG! Get involved with your local community! Pick up trash, offer help to those in need, sign up for a walk that has a cause that doesn't affect you or anyone you know... It's all good! So please, I encourage you to take care of yourself, because you have to change the world today.... Love, light and happiness, The Yoga Dragon, OSS

Also, special shout out to my two new good friends for helping me in my Pursuit of perfection. Sensei Doc and Shifu Coach. Love you guys!

~Zack
P.s. Special shout out to Mark and Ange at J.A.M.S.S. catering in Old Saybrook, Ct for hooking me up with the sponsorship! I can't thank you enough for all the culinary masterpieces you both make for me daily! Love you guys!

Ps.s. Also huge shout out to my friend and brother Tim Seabre for helping me with my new Yoga Dragon Tukano Gi's! I can’t wait to rock those on a daily basis! Many tribes, one root!

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Categories : Authentic Movement, Breathing, Classes and Clinics for Athletes, Core Stability and Strength, Functional Wellbeing, Mobility, Pursuit Athletic Performance Announcements, Yoga, yoga

Tags : Pursuit Training Center, Zack Kraft-Shinn

Meet Our Trainers: Christine Kopcha

By Coach Al Lyman, CSCS, FRCms · Comments (0)

Monday, October 27th, 2014

Pursuit Athletic Performance personal trainer, Chris Kopcha

Here at Pursuit Athletic Performance, we are really proud of the awesome staff of trainers and coaches we have to help YOU improve!

Today we introduce Chris Kopcha, who teaches yoga, bootcamp, and fitness classes at our new space in Chester, Connecticut: the Pursuit Training Center. To learn more about Chris, check out her bio on our site here.

Chris is passionate about teaching and helping others to get stronger and improve. She hopes YOU will come out and take some of her classes and learn what she and we have to offer first hand.

To that end, Chris shares her thoughts on yoga including TEN REASONS why YOU should join her in her "tree house" for class.

Our "tree house" yoga room at the Pursuit Training Center.

One of the misconceptions of yoga is that it is only for skinny 20-something girls in spandex who can twist themselves into a pretzel. Or vegan hippies that sit around chanting and meditating. While you do find some of these scenarios in yoga studios, yoga is for everyone and the benefits go much farther than being able to tie yourself in a very uncomfortable knot.
1. CORE: We all know that a stable, strong core is important in keeping you injury free. But your core consists of more than just your abs. It includes everything other than your head, arms and legs and incorporates almost every movement in the human body. Yoga works your core in 360 degrees! Flexibility and balance stem from your core.

2. FLEXIBILITY: Who doesn't want to increase their comfortable range of motion? How many people do you know can't reach down to tie their shoes or have a hard time reaching for their seat belt? Flexibility is one attribute we associate with being and feeling younger.

3. BODY BALANCE: As we move into our later years this is important in keeping us active. Even tasks as simple as walking.....the ability to stand on one foot at a time while propelling yourself forward requires a great deal of balance.

4. TRAINING BALANCE: Every good exercise program needs to include aerobic training, strength work, and stretching! Many athletes tend to hit two out of three of these genres, keeping them from reaching their full potential!

5. SPEED: By learning about your body and how it moves, you can work with what you've got allowing you to become faster.

6. LOW IMPACT: Yoga is it! Which means it's great for seniors and anyone who has joint trouble.

7. LOWERS STRESS: By encouraging relaxation, focusing on your body and breathing, it reduces the effects of stress by lowering blood pressure, heart rate, and improving digestion.

8. THE BREATH: Yoga practice teaches us to take slower, deeper, healthier breaths, improving lung function and increasing the amount of oxygen available to the body.

9. CLEARS THE MIND: Yoga helps us un-clutter our mind. It allows us to be still in a world full of chaos.

10. JUMPSTART A HEALHTHIER YOU: Yoga can be the jump start you need toward a healthier lifestyle. It can be your first step on a path away from unhealthy stress and poor eating habits, toward healthier habits that lead to long term health and happiness.

11. BONUS: And if you are interested, you can ALSO learn some really cool party tricks like headstands, handstands, splits, and arm balances.

These work for me – what about YOU?

Hope to see you in the tree house AND on the mat soon!

~Chris

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Categories : Authentic Movement, Breathing, Classes and Clinics for Athletes, Core Stability and Strength, Functional Wellbeing, Mobility, Pursuit Athletic Performance Announcements, Yoga, yoga

Variety Is Greatly Overrated. Here’s Why! (Including TIPS On How To Progress!)

By Coach Al Lyman, CSCS, FRCms · Comments (0)

Thursday, May 1st, 2014

Despite what some believe, strength is NOT the goal with the movement training we do. Strength is a symptom ....a symptom of moving well. In a similar vein, speed training is not the optimal path toward improving our fitness. Improved fitness leads to improved speed potential. Speed is a product of moving well and improved fitness.

~Coach Al

Strength isn't the goal! Strength is only a symptom of moving well!

Here at Pursuit Athletic Performance, Kurt and I believe the true value and benefit to movement based strength training resides in digging DEEPER into the basic skill and integration of a movement.

In this day and age, with athletes becoming bored so easily and instant gratification being so prevalent in every phase of our life and culture, digging deeper into a movement vs. moving "on" from the movement is often difficult (and even frustrating) for the individual athlete to fully embrace. We seem to frequently fall victim to the mindset of always looking for the next "great" exercise, the next great "tip," or how we can blast on to the more "advanced" stuff, thinking its a magic bullet to the success we seek.

Whether or not you like it, the truth is that the devil is in the details and the magic to optimal progression and exploding your potential is in true mastery of the basics and fundamentals. This single concept, while easy to read, might be the most challenging for the average person to accept and embrace, but it IS the key to long term, meaningful success.

So, yes, variety is greatly overrated. To reiterate, once the shiny newness of an exercise wears off and you’re “bored” with it because it's not “new” anymore, you’re forced to get deeper into it, or bail out and just move on to something else “new” and “exciting.” I’d argue the best choice is the former, not the latter.

Of course, that being said, there are a great many ways to enhance the quality (and thus results) of the training you are doing, rather than to change exercises. For example:

1. Use a slower rep speed.

It’s common for folks to move in and out of movements quickly.
It’s common to see folks come out of the bottom of a movement quickly, rather than “owning” that bottom portion.
Use a count of 4 – 1 - 3 seconds: 4 seconds lowering – 1 second pause at the bottom – 3 seconds raising.
Removing the ‘elastic’ or rebound component to better own each phase of the movement.

2. Decrease your leverage.

Think about the HUGE difference in difficulty between a double arm push-up with a wide arm position, and a single arm push-up! Huge difference in leverage.
On the topic of stability, a tiny difference in how wide your arms or knees are really changes how difficult the exercise is to do well!

3. Improve your focus and tension!

Where’s the hard in your exercise coming from?

From inside of you? Posture, breathing, focus?
Or is it coming from OUTside of you? Are you thinking a different exercise, or more weight (outside of you) will automatically make you stronger? Not going to happen.
We need to consciously PRODUCE that tension, even when moving a relatively small amount of weight.
Focus, tension management, radiation of tension throughout!
“Intensity” and “strength” isn’t just about moving more weight. Its about bringing a certain level of whole-body tension and focus into every movement.
In RKC/HKC circles as well as in power lifting circles, there’s a saying: “If you make your lighter weights feel heavier, your heavier weights will feel lighter.” Practice the focus and tension skills with lighter resistance, you’ll get more benefit from every movement you do!

Happy Trails!

~Coach Al

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Categories : Ask Coach Al, Core Stability and Strength, Elastic Return, Functional Strength Training, Gait Analysis, Injury, Ironman, Mobility, Mobility, Pursuit Athletic Performance Announcements, Racing, Run Form, Running, Running Injury, Stability, Triathlon, Triathlon Team, ultrarunning, Virtual Online Gait Analysis

Tags : coach al, core stability, functional movement screen, functional strength training, gait analysis, gait analysis lab, gait lab, goal setting, Ironman, runner, running, stability, triathlon, ultrarunning

We Are All An Experiment of One: Find Out What YOU Need The Most and Then Get It Done!

By Coach Al Lyman, CSCS, FRCms · Comments (0)

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2014

TEAM Pursuit Athletes at the 2013 Timberman Half Ironman triathlon!

In order to be able to run as fast and as long as you would like to and remain injury-free while doing it, your running body must be BOTH strong and flexible. Think about this fact: approximately 50% of the energy that propels you forward during the running stride comes from elastic and reactive “energy-return” of your muscles! While you’re taking that in, think about this: at the same time that certain muscles are required to be elastic and reactive, others need to be very stiff and strong, to prevent your body turning into a wet-noodle as your feet hit the ground!

Muscles tense and lengthen and release and stretch (helping to facilitate rotation around your joints while doing all of that!) as they prepare to store energy and absorb outside impact forces and turn that stored energy into forward propulsion. There’s a lot more going on during the stride than you could ever imagine!

And while all of these things are happen within each of our bodies while we run, they happen at different rates of speed and relaxation and ease for each of us. We are, at once the same, and yet very different.

Some of us need more STRENGTH and STIFFNESS in our “chain,” while others need more FLEXIBILITY and ELASTICITY and MOBILITY. We each have our own “limiters” and weaknesses which may be making us either more prone to injury, or limiting our speed and endurance potential.

So given all of that, do YOU know what your weakness is?

For example...

Are you prone to calf injuries because your calves are forced to absorb impact forces due to “too tight” hips?
Do you lean back on downhills and “hurt,” suffering from painful quadriceps during those downhills because your quads are too weak to absorb those impact forces and prevent your body from collapsing against the forces of gravity?
Are you still landing out in front of your center of mass, even though you know you shouldn’t, because your hams and glutes are not “reactive” enough (too slow) and weak to contract quickly, getting your feet UNDER your hips as you touch down?
Does your low back hurt during the late stages of your longer runs or rides because its trying to do the work your butt should be doing?
Is your stride short and choppy because your hip flexors are so tight they can’t release to allow your pelvis to rotate forward so that your legs can extend behind you as you drive horizontally forward with each stride?

These are the questions and issues we ALL need to consider, and for each of us, it is different. If you take the time to listen to your body and consider what YOUR weakness or limiters are, then you’ll be able to address it and as a result, improve and run to your true potential!

The answers you are seeking are not always found through “harder” training. Sometimes the answers come when we listen within. Sometimes things like YOGA or revisiting the BASICS and FUNDAMENTALS, are the path to exploding our true potential, rather than another hard track session.

Our unique Pursuit Athletic Performance “Gait Analysis” system was designed to help us help YOU, learn what it is that YOU need the most! To learn more, go here to learn more about our analysis packages.

Check out our testimonials page here to learn more about the success stories of so many athletes who learned what THEY needed to do to truly explode their potential!

Happy Trails!

~Coach Al

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Yoga For Endurance Athletes With Ultrarunning Champion Debbie Livingston

By Coach Al Lyman, CSCS, FRCms · Comments (1)

Thursday, April 18th, 2013

Hello Everyone!

Coach Al here with Pursuit athlete and ultrarunner champion Debbie Livingston.

Debbie is fresh off her WIN at the Traprock 50K ultrarun on April 13!

Traprock organizers call the race a true "test of the runner’s fitness and mental stamina." Fitness and stamina? Yeah, Deb's got that! And her season is just going to get better. Huge congratulations to her!

Debbie is also a long-time, accomplished yoga instructor. In our post today, she talks about the benefits of yoga for endurance athletes. Yoga not only keeps her physical body in balance, but also helps Deb hone the mindfulness she needs when training for and competing in ultra-endurance events. At Pursuit Athletic Performance, we work on those same tenets with athletes every day:

Integration of mind and body

Balance in the body of muscular strength and length

For certain runners and triathletes ("certain athletes" being the caveat here), yoga can be is the perfect way to increase much needed mobility and flexibility. Some key elements regarding yoga practice for runners and athletes include:

1. Those who tend to enjoy it the most, need it the least!

2. Those who "hate it" likely need it most!

What I mean is...for those of you who are already very mobile and flexible, yoga can lead you down a path where you end up improving—and in some cases, over doing—movement elements you already "own" to some degree. For those (like me) who aren't very flexible or mobile, the practice can be very helpful in improving on that limitation.

As is always the case, a good yoga class—where each person only goes to their limits and learns their body while focusing on their own unique limiters—is the ideal approach.

In this video, Debbie demonstrates "Melting Heart." The pose is TREMENDOUS for flexibility and mobility of the mid- and upper back (lats) and thoracic spine. It feels great, especially if you're tight through this region.

Get down on the floor and do some yoga! Aaaahhh.....

More yoga videos with Debbie coming soon! Until then...be great!

Coach Al

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Categories : Mobility, Yoga

Tags : debbie livingston, ultra running, yoga

Stretching with the Pursuit Team [Video]

By Linda Patch · Comments (0)

Wednesday, October 10th, 2012

Hi Everyone!

Our little cartoon here says it all. You know you should be stretching!

Dr. Kurt Strecker and Coach Al Lyman take you through the stretches they most commonly prescribe for athletes. Take the 10 minutes to try them out, and--ahhhh--see how much better you feel at the end. Work at these stretches a little bit, and the results will absolutely be there for you!

Questions? Fire away!

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Categories : Ask Coach Al, Dr. Kurt Strecker, Mobility

Tags : stretching

Mobility First! You Need It To ‘Train for Real’

By Linda Patch · Comments (0)

Wednesday, June 13th, 2012

We have been having some fun this week presenting connections between our training philosophies here at Pursuit Athletic Performance and the holistic viewpoints espoused and practiced in the Russian Kettlebell world (RKC). (For the record, when an athlete is ready, kettlebells are one of our favorite training tools.) A key principle of the RKC System is that the body is a linked, interconnected unit and should be trained as such. We could not agree more, and that is how we approach training with every athlete from elite to novice, young to senior.

We and the RKC also agree that the the issue of MOBILITY is the starting point for all athletes.

"Mobility? Huh? What does that have to do with my running or triathlon training?" Athletes ask us this all the time.

Our video here explains why the seemingly elusive concept of mobility, unfamiliar to many, is an essential element you need to possess. In fact, mobility is the FIRST topic addressed with RKC trainees. In his article, Five Reasons the RKC Isn't Just About Kettlebells, " Andrew Read, RKC Team Leader, says, "Stiff and poorly moving rookies must get ready to TRAIN FOR REAL. Without adequate mobility to perform the essential movements, the quick result will be injury."

We explain here why mobility is so important to you, the endurance athlete. You too need it in order to be able to "train for real."