“Avoid the afternoon energy crash!”

“Keeps your energy level high all the time!”

In this capitalist treadmill where productivity and quantity of output is valued above everything else it’s almost a sin admit you’re tired. Foods and diets are advertised to keep your energy level steady, and it’s deemed a bad sign if a food causes your energy level to “crash” after eating it.

But hang on a second let’s examine that.

Physiologically we are designed to swing between sympathetic and para-sympathetic states. Fight and flight or rest and digest.

All the literal and figurative bells and whistles of modern life are constantly driving our sympathetic states throughout the day from the moment you wake up to your screeching alarm to before you close your eyes when you check your social media notifications one last time.

I don’t know too many people who are overly para-sympathetic or resting and digesting too much.

So, in thinking about it that way, would you still consider it a bad thing that a food makes your energy crash? Maybe instead of being an indication that the food isn’t good for you it’s an indication that it is exactly the right food for your body to trigger rest and recovery.

Sure, it’s not compatible with a 3pm meeting. But who said that shit was compatible with our physiology to begin with?

Do you think there might be a reason MOST cultures have an afternoon nap tradition?

Maybe a little reframing of “bad” and “good” might be in order.

Just some food for thought.

(Puns always intended.)

One of the things I have written about in the past is how un-targeted and un-specific a lot of mobility work is. Just like your primary exercises, mobility work needs to have a specific intention with a clear outcome. As much as I can respect different interests and pursuits, I am not interested in crawling along the floor like a lizard. I want to lift heavy! And my mobility work needs to support that goal.

A couple days ago I filmed a video that I know will be very helpful to you next time you run into a pain or movement issue that is bothering you. Recently one of my hips started giving me signals that I needed to pay attention to it, which isn’t surprising given that my training has been very consistently the same for the past couple years. Probably time for a big change of direction, which I’ll do after my upcoming meet at the end of May.

This video gives you a very simple, very effective method to work out your own movement issues.

Whether it’s your hip, shoulder, back, ankle, knee it doesn’t matter the principles outlined in this video apply the same. The fundamental concept is to figure out how you’re moving so that you can figure out how you’re not moving and then do that.

A few quick bullet points to keep in mind:

– Don’t forget about load. Mobility movements are not special, they’re just movements. You can and should load them as appropriate to achieve the desired stimulus.

– Where you *feel* something isn’t always the source of the issue, but especially in new issues that haven’t been ongoing for a long time it’s probably a very good place to start. Remember that it’s all connected. If your elbow is bugging you, but unbeknownst to you the problem is really in your hand, focusing on the bigger picture functions of the whole arm is probably succesfully address the issue. Think bigger, and only go as small as you have to.

– For long-term ongoing chronic pain issues it’s definitely good to see a doctor to rule out anything serious that needs to be addressed. However, for those mystery issues that have been given the “not sure” by a qualified physician it’s very likely that YOU are the most qualified person to tune in, figure out what you need to be doing, and then address it yourself. The more you become attuned to paying attention to signals and then acting on them the more quickly you will be able to resolve issues and the less likely they will be to become chronic.

As always, ping me with any questions you might have.