Being our Best Selves: The Physical Movement 2020 Health Edition.
The model emerging in our health and fitness is empowerment. Knowledge is power. We all need to be advocates of our own health in building ourselves up.
Every Sunday I publish and deliver to our subscribers an email on leadership, health and fitness called The Physical Movement. While the intent was to create a resource for coaches and parents, it has generated interest from all walks of life.
You can subscribe to be first in line every Sunday here:
Good morning friends.
1 more Sunday in 2020 after this one.
Hope you and yours have a safe, healthy and wonderful holiday season.
While 2020 will be a year to remember, and many of us will gladly nudge it out the door with the hope that 2021 can bring back the full-time joy of play and sports to our youth, there have been some silver linings.
One silver lining is the reminder on the importance of our health.
As coaches and parents, caring for ourselves has not always been priority 1.
We are wired to care for others, often at the expense of our own well being.
That is in a coach’s DNA. No one chooses to coach without a commitment to serving others.
In the 29 editions in 2020, The Physical Movement has put together some different perspectives to support proactive care for ourselves. We brought in some of the top coaches and spoke with them about their journey and their take on health and fitness. Including their own care.
By bringing some of these resources together, we have created the 2020 Health Edition of The Physical Movement.
Let’s dig in:
The interview with Coach Lee Taft published June 7 set the bar high. Lee’s professional career has been committed to health and performance in young athletes. He himself is athletic as ever after 30 years in the field and a great example of how care for self is fundamental to coaching and guiding others.
Lee has done a fascinating job breaking down movement in teaching his athletes how to move better. Often referred to as the speed guy, his teachings are applicable to any movement or skill. I call Lee the movement engineer because of his unique skillset.
From Coach Lee’s interview, we got a great perspective on:
· The resiliency required in transitioning coaching skills to the world of running your own business.
· How the world of physical education in our youth years ago has transitioned to a world of sport education.
· Insight into how studying movement led him to create his own model of developing physical skills in athletes.
· How a coach must guide the learning process and not take it over if we want our athletes to develop and reach their full potential.
More on Coach Lee Taft and his perspective on coaching here.
Our interview with Erica Suter was equally enlightening from a different perspective. Also known as the “fitsoccerqueen” , Erica brings a great insight into the world of training girls. Her teaching remind us of the unique characteristics we need to consider in coaching young women.
One of the key takeaways from our interview with Erica was her 7 step audit and inventory for her athletes. These steps are checked regularly around the components that will affect performance. This is educational as much as it is performance driven. By heightening awareness, young athletes become more in tune in controlling the factors around performance, and building a lifelong foundation for good health.
Here they are:
· The physical self.
· Relationships and friendships
· Stress
· Nutrition
· Sleep
· Community and contribution.
· Why : why are you participating.
The full interview with Erica Suter is here.
On July 4th , we published an interview with Coach Wayne Burke. Wayne and his business partner Adam Martin train athletes of all levels and abilities at Pursuit Athletic Center in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. We don’t always get a perspective from someone with a client base ranging from professional athletes to those over 60 and 70 years old. From kids to busy moms. Wayne’s perspective is etched with the backdrop of experience. Of being on the front lines and practicing his coaching skills to the point where he can adapt to the client he is coaching.
Some great takeaways from Wayne’s journey & perspective include:
· The importance of the influential coach to a young athlete.
· The importance of ongoing learning in continued development as a coach.
· Where kids need the most help in their physical development (hint: it includes having fun!)
· The important perspective around working with professional athletes
The full report of our discussion with Coach Wayne Burke is here.
In addition to these great coaching perspectives around human movement and development, The Physical Movement also created a library for coaches & parents, athletes to support their care. Everything from choosing a strength and conditioning coach to the impact of sugary drinks on performance.
Here is a snapshot:
In our workout section for coaches (includes parents and athletes):
How to work on coaching skills, get in best shape of your life and connect with your son? Easy, just go through a pandemic.
Coaches:
Some basic steps to prioritize your self care.
Be your best self by keeping your legs strong: an anywhere routine to do just that.
Test what you know about push ups & build upper body strength regardless of where you are starting from.
9 secrets to being fit over 50.
Knowledge is Power:
The importance of strength & conditioning for young athletes. A guideline to help choose the right one.
Sugary sports drinks: Why Their Taking Over Our Sports Fields is Concern and What to do About It.
Science tells us exercise makes us better leaders.
The brain changing effects of exercise.
A research snapshot research around exercise, mood and anxiety
More on health and fitness from a sporting perspective in The Physical Movement archives here.
The Physical Movement:
PLAY. LEAD. BE STRONG.
Additional features December 20, 2020.
Thoughts on COVID 19: I published this in April 2020. 45 thoughts on the COVID19. Interesting to consider some of these points 8 months later. What thoughts would you add?
Vitamin D: the topic that brings 2 opposite views together.
Ever want to spark a conversation that will take on a life of its own ? Throw out the concept of traditional western medicine vs naturopathic medicine. The science of traditional vs the holistic.
It is one of those topics where people will rarely not have an opinion. They are 2 different approaches to one’s health.
The point of this note is to favor one side over the other, as both have their pros and cons, but that I have recently found a topic where both seem to agree.
A topic where both agree on , and have a similar public stance is not easy to find.
Here it is.
ready.
The importance of vitamin D in building your immune system and fighting off virus.
(Slightly relevant in 2020!) .
On a recent check up , when asked about my supplement intake, my general practitioner was very curious what I was taking and how much vitamin D I was getting.
Ironically, my annual naturopath visit also has had a vitamin D focus for many years.
When looking into the role of Vitamin D, we can certainly see the case.
Knowledge is power. Use for good and not evil ! LOL.
Enjoy.
Low levels of vitamin D can increase risk and severity of COVID19
Vitamin D and depression: (review courtesy of examine.com)
Despite a lack of correlation between blood vitamin D levels and depression ratings at baseline, the improvements in depression scores and quality of life were greater in the vitamin D group at 12 weeks. Thus, one dose of vitamin D was an effective adjunct in the treatment of major depression in patients with concurrent vitamin D deficiency.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32823218/
Thanks for the FitSoccerQueen for this share on the connection of Vitamin D and covid19