www.MichaelReid.ca

Better Health in 3 Weeks

I have had it, I cannot take it anymore.

I need to do something drastic and do it ASAP, no not "as soon..." but NOW!

What the heck am I talking about?

It's all about my health.

Ever since moving to Copenhagen, Denmark this past August (2009) I have been stricken with fatigue. Not all the time but more time then I would like. There have been times when I have had a low grade cold for 2 weeks before being able to shake it.

That is just nonsense.

So to get back on top of my health for the next 3 weeks starting Dec 1, 2009 (yes, that was yesterday) I will be on a very strict elimination diet. I believe many of my "problems" are gastrointestinal (GI) related and after all 70-80% of your immune system is located in your GI so if it is not functioning optimally then it is no wonder I have fatigue and illness.

Here is what I am eliminating from my diet, although some of the items have been out for a long time.

My Elimination Diet with some short notes

• Gluten (bread, pasta, ...) - I have been avoiding this for several years now, no big deal.

• Soy

• All Dairy - I say all dairy because the only dairy I have been using regularly is butter which is now eliminated. By the way, I love butter!

• Corn - non issue, don't eat it much anyway.

• Citrus - I like it but can go with out.

• Nightshade Vegetables (Onions, Peppers, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Beets) - I am taking these out because of their association with Arthritis and general joint pain. My elbow joints are constantly cracking and often lock up, my shoulders make crunching sounds all the time and I am incredibly stiff in the morning which kind of sucks because this would be a great time to train but I can barely move so I must wait for till at least late morning or later.

• Pork - my family eats lots of pork; this will only be an issue of convenience since sausages is one of the only processed foods I eat regularly.

• Eggs - Convenience, easy and quick to make is what I will miss about eggs.

• Peanuts - I love peanut butter but will substitute with other nut butters like almond or cashew.

• Coffee - probably the biggest challenge of all the foods. I have a serious caffeine addiction but i have gone off coffee before. I am allowing my self to drink green and black teas which is a small consolation.

My goal is to completely avoid all these foods for the next 3 weeks (Dec 1 - Dec 21, 2009). The dates actually work out perfectly because on Dec 21 my family and I are going to Hungary for holidays. When in Hungary, you eat pork, tomatoes and peppers (paprika) every day.

During this 3 week experiment, I am particularly interested in my bodies response to no nightshade vegetables and pork.

I will check back in every few days to give updates on how I am doing.

Be Well,

Mike Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net

"The most important thing about goals is... having one." -- Geoffry F. Abert

Seeing for the Blind

My 6-day long R-Phase course is now over and it is time to start digesting the information. My brain and body is a little bit saturated from all the information I received this past week through lecture and movement.

One of the things that came up early in the course was the plasticity of the human nervous system, which is one of the important concepts to understand with Z-Health. Plasticity simple means that the nervous system can be molded and remodeled through training, but basically what ever you do.

Below is a video demonstrating how plastic the nervous system really is.

Seeing with your tongue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNkw28fz9u0

Just simply really cool. The human body is an amazing machine at adaptation.

You also can read about neuroscientist Dr. Paul Bach-y-Rita who invented this device in this article run in Discovery magazine:

http://discovermagazine.com/2003/jun/feattongue

My understanding is that he founded this company, http://wicab.ca/index.php, which is making devices like this for general public use.

Be Well,

Mike Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net

KISS Principle

In a previous post I mentioned the KISS Principle and strength coach Dan John. I have never actually known the origin of the principle until now.

The principle has nothing to do with this KISS but in many ways the band uses the "KISS principle" to influence their music. I remember once hearing an interview with Gene Simmons, the bass player, and he talked about the importance of him playing extremely simple in order to make the music work. There are many other examples like this from the music world and please do not confuse simple with easy.

Many musicians if not all will tell you that sometimes the most difficult pieces of music to play are actually theoretically very simple. One example would be 12 bar blues; theoretically very simple to play and easily understood and is usually something a beginner learns in the first few months of picking up an instrument but ...

... there is a big difference between a well seasoned pro and a beginner, even if they are playing the same music. Most people, including non-musicians will be able to tell the difference between the two even though they may not be able to explain why.

The origin of the KISS Principle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_principle

The acronym was first coined by Kelly Johnson, lead engineer at the Lockheed Skunk Works (creators of the Lockheed U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird spy planes, among many others).

While popular usage translates is as 'Keep it simple, stupid', Mr. Johnson translated it as 'Keep it simple and stupid'. There was no implicit meaning that an engineer was stupid; just the opposite.

The principle is best exemplified by the story of Mr. Johnson handing a team of design engineers a handful of tools, with the challenge that the jet aircraft they were designing must be repairable by an average mechanic in the field under combat conditions with only these tools. Hence, the 'stupid' refers to the relationship between the way things break and the sophistication available to fix them.

The principle most likely finds its origins in similar concepts, such as Occam's razor, and Albert Einstein's maxim that "everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler".^[3] Leonardo Da Vinci's "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication", or Antoine de Saint Exupéry's "It seems that perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away".

Very interesting.

Be Well,

Mike Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net

R-Phase this week

I am off to R-Phase this week which is a 6 day long course offered by Z-Health. I am expecting it to be a very intense learning experience.

What is R-Phase? The short and simple explanation of R-Phase is that it is a series of fairly isolated joint mobility exercises to improve your health and performance.

It is actually much more then this and I will write about my experience with this course another time.

This is from the Z-Health website describing R-Phase.

"With R-Phase, we focus on the basics: precise, dynamic joint mobility training through a neurologic lens. Additionally, we introduce and study functional anatomy, kinesiology, and fundamental neuroscience — to lay the foundation for the "whys" of the system. R-Phase, as the foundational Z-Health certification, often brings dramatic changes in people, and provides trainers with a set of assessment tools and protocols to bring immediate results to their clients."

read more here: http://www.zhealth.net/r-phase-certification

Back in July 2009, I wrote about my initial experience with an introductory Z-Health workshop entitled, "What is Z-Health".

Be Well,

Mike Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net

Hørsholm 79ers Basketball - update

In my last post I mentioned that I was going to do a physical training session with the Hørsholm 79ers Women's Basketball team.

This is a quick recap of what I did with the team for the 45 minutes I had with them.

But first, please let me try to explain the a bit of the thought process that I go through when doing something like this. What I mean by "this" is that I am only going out for one 45 minute session; I am the guest coach for the day.

Now, "this" may turn into a regular training session with this team but for now it is only a one time thing.

One of the things I have learned as a coach is to keep it simple. I have seen to many high level professional athletes fail miserably at what many would call basic or simple exercises.

Strength Coach Dan John from Utah, USA calls this the KISS principle (keep it simple stupid).

You can watch a short clip of Dan John here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn1NUoLi0Hg

I have learned this lesson the hard way many times, but maybe just maybe I have it figured out now. The KISS principle ends up being the driving force behind this session. It is also important to keep it simple when not knowing anything about these players other then they play Basketball in the highest division in Denmark.

Here is a summary of the training session I did with the Hørsholm 79ers with some other bits of my thought process about coaching this kind of training session.

- I start by giving the girls a bit of a shocker as I tell them "no shoes, no socks". They all kind of give me a weird look but comply with my instructions. If you are wondering why no shoes, then you can read some of my earlier posts:

Barefoot Training

Olympic Weightlifting Barefoot

Barefoot Running Improves Running Performance

- Brief introduction of myself and some of the things we will be doing. After talking to the coach a few days before, we decided that I should focus on body weight exercises with a focus on the trunk and lower body. Considering these are basketball players, where the knee is one of the most injured joints this is certainly not a bad idea. Learning some proper movement mechanics of the lower body is always good and is usually lacking in many athletes.

- During the introduction I give them my 1st rule; "if hurts you must stop and let me know". I have no idea what the current medical history is of any of these players. The last thing I want to do is hurt someone by pushing them into a drill or exercise that is not appropriate for that individual at this time.

- With introduction over we get down on the floor on our stomachs, resting on our forearms for a minute or so then go directly into side-lying rotations which is thoracic spine mobility drill.

- Z-Health drills from R-Phase; lateral & medial ankle tilts, closed chain knee circles and hip pendulums.

- Split Squats (2 x 5 reps/side) & Body Weight Squats (3 x 5 reps) emphasizing movement quality.

- Now since I have had a chance to observe them move a bit we go into what I believe may very well be one of the best exercises, when performed properly, for knee health ... the single leg squat.

- I decided to teach them the Single Leg Box Squat, which is going up and down from a chair, box or bench.

- This is a much harder exercises then you think but these girls really pulled it off quite nicely.

- I also demonstrated the Single Leg Squat from standing on a bench. See video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdWX_In2A1U

- Next I coached them through 2 exercises that really focus on the back side, mainly Hamstrings & Glutes.

- Research has shown that in people with knee pain, the Hamstrings are relatively much weaker then the quadriceps (muscles on the front of the thigh). So, to prevent knee pain and also aid in performance doing lots of work on the back side is very important.

- The 2 exercises I taught were the Single Leg Deadlift and Sliding Leg Curls on the floor.

Single Leg Deadlift

Sliding Leg Curls video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmsTFCQ3Qig

- At this point I was out of time and we had to stop. I didn't get a chance to really talk about programming so I will include a sample program in my next post.

Be Well,

Michael Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net

Hørsholm 79ers Basketball

Today I will be heading out to Hørsholm, Denmark (~20-30 minutes by train from Copenhagen) to work with the Hørsholm 79ers Women's Basketball team.

They play in the "Dameligaen" which is the highest league in Denmark.

The head coach is actually from Sweden (Johan Embon) and he knows some of the coaches I worked with in Sweden at Hogsbo Basket and Gothia Basket.

I will write a post of what we did in the next couple of days.

Be Well,

Mike Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net

Our New Family Vehicle

Above pictures are from http://www.christianiabikes.dk

My family actually doesn't have one of these bikes but it is something that is very unique to Denmark and maybe even just Copenhagen (or at least that is what I think is the case, I could be wrong). I certainly did not see them in Sweden where I lived for the past 3 years.

It is not unusual to see a whole family on (or in) one of these bikes. It appears that many families have these style of bikes instead of owning a car.

Another interesting Danish bicycle is the cargo bike. http://www.larryvsharry.com

They are ~2.5m long (over 7 feet) and you can also get a box that is secured on the flat bed to put your stuff or kids in.

I have ridden one of these before. It is a really weird feeling driving such a long bike especially when turning.

Very expensive to buy new, around 2000 Euros. Not as common as the 3 wheeler, might be the price?

Anyone ever see these bikes in my home country of Canada?

Be Well,

Mike Reid

www.michaelreid.ca

www.WaterPoloTraining.net

Elite Athletics & Classic Rock ...."These Eyes ..."

What does the classic rock song "These Eyes" by the Guess Who have to do with elite athletics?

Nothing really, other then it is a good song and they are also from my home town of Winnipeg, Manitoba among other great musicians like Neil Young ...

Or maybe there is a connection, here is a little story ...

This past summer (2009) I attended a Z-Health seminar in the USA. One thing I took away from the course was the importance of the eyes in sporting excellence. Eye sight as measured by how well you read an eye chart is only one aspect of using your eyes and doesn't take into effect the other functions (e.g. convergence or peripheral vision).

By the way, my eyes were not to good which may explain some of my athletic incompetence.

Then, this past week I was meeting with an international Water Polo coach who was in Copenhagen (my current place of residence) for the LEN Conference. We were talking training for Water Polo since he has heard I am fairly on top of the research in this field (see www.waterpolotraining.net).

One of the things he wanted to know was how do you train athletes to react quicker. As an example, you see something happen, process it, make a decision and act. How can you make this whole process quicker?

My great answer to him was "... Uhhh ...Uhhh ... good question"

But after a few more seconds of thought, I told him about the eyes and just this past few days I also came across this article.

http://www.livescience.com/culture/090910-top-tennis-players-science.html

For any sport that involves a moving object, athletes must learn the three levels of response for interceptive timing tasks. 

• First, there is a basic reaction, also known as optometric reaction (in other words, see it and get out of the way).

• Next, there is a perceptual reaction, meaning you actually can identify the object coming at you and can put it in some context (for example: That is a tennis ball coming at you and not a bird swooping out of the sky).

• Finally, there is a cognitive reaction, meaning you know what is coming at you and you have a plan of what to do with it (return the ball with top-spin down the right line).

This is very interesting information and could be the missing link in athletic development.

How many athletes have you coached or played with who just did not seem to meet their potential?

Maybe one of the road blocks were their eyes.

I will talk about more of this in future post and even show some simple eye exercises you can do.

Be Well,

Michael Reid
www.michaelreid.ca
www.waterpolotraining.net

VIDEO LINK - "These Eyes" as performed by my boys "The Farrell Bros".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AWvrCVwnvg

Music, Listening & Communication

Image via Wikipedia

I just watched this video of Evelyn Glennie talking about communication.

If you have never heard of her before she is a world renowned percussionist who just happens to be deaf (note: she is not deaf from playing the drums!).

One of my teachers, Paul Chek, says very often regarding communication "you have 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason!" (i.e. you should listen twice as much as you talk, now there is a challenge for some people).

In the video below, Evelyn Glennie talks about how you listen with your whole body and not just the ears.

Maybe it should be you should listen 100+ times as much as you talk.

She is a very intelligent lady and great musician and demonstrates in this video an uncanny ability of explaining the art of listening and communication through drums and other percussive instruments.

She teaches even more than this ... like never giving up, perseverance, having no limitations and just the power of music which is really sound which is really vibrations which you do not need the ability of hearing to sense.

Very cool.

Be Well,

Michael Reid
www.michaelreid.ca

www.waterpolotraining.net

VIDEO LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU3V6zNER4g

RE: "Choose your Parents Wisely"

I forgot to put this into my last post.

In the book "Essentials of Exercise Physiology, 3rd edition" by McArdle et al. on page 438 they state that it was back in the 1960's when a Swedish physiologist named Dr. Astrand said "to be an Olympic-caliber performer, you must choose your parents wisely."

Be Well,

Michael Reid
www.michaelreid.ca
www.waterpolotraining.net