In secret success strategy #1 we looked at

• What is your goal or resolution and what is your WHY?  What is your connection to that goal?
• How do your goals relate to a wider vision or dream or fears?
• What are the impacts of achieving or missing the goal?
• How important is your goal? Is it the right one for you

We also looked at decisions – what an OPTIMAL decision is and also SUB OPTIMAL .

Lastly we looked at writing down your goals, vision and fears or creating a vision board.

Click here for a reminder…..

Let’s talk core values

Do you have clarity around what your core values are? If not you are not alone.

Think of your core values as the foundations to your choices and life.  When we are clear on our values, we are more likely to  make optimal decisions.  Your ability to achieve your goals /vision is directly related to whether you make decisions that align with your core values.

When our lives are guided by our core values we feel happy, fulfilled and a deep sense of connection to yourself and others. If your actions are in conflict with them you will likely feel tension, guilt, shame, dissatisfaction even depression.

Binning the Booze

I re-visited this exercise 2 years ago when I wanted to stop drinking.  Now a glass of wine every now and then may not be a problem but for me personally,  it was not moving me towards my vision.

But I found it hard.  I was using a glass of red to deal with stress in my day job. Gaining clarity on my core values, and the values of a successful health coach helped me stop reaching for a glass of red and use the tools I know to manage my stress. This has been instrumental in me developing the business further but also as a side achievement was key to me completing my first ultra last year.

5 steps to identify your core values

Step 1

Take a look at the list of possible values and tick any that feel important to you, go with your instinct you can refine the list later. There may be others that are not on this list that you want to add. Don’t add ones that you think you should have or want to have, just ones that feel important or true to you.

Step 2

Think about people or situations that annoy, offend or anger you.  Think about co-workers, movie or tv stars, news stories, public figures or even family.  Situations might be things that happen when you are driving or waiting in a queue.  Think about which of your core values was compromised in this situation.  Make a note of these.

Often things that we find annoying will highlight the values we are most likely to violate ourselves.  Consider your own actions here and how things you do may compromise your values.

Step 3

Consider people you admire (dead / alive/ famous or those you know) and what values you admire in them. Write those down.

Step 4

Refine your original list in the light of the information you have gathered. Maybe pick 10 key ones – you may have others, but these are the most important for now.

Step 5

Consider how these relate to your vision and goal, how you have compromised on these and how that has moved you away from your goal. Consider how working with your values can help you shape your decisions.

Vision board and mantra

Remember that visual representation of your vision and goals? Whether a collage of images or simply writing them down. Add your key values into this. Keep it somewhere you will see it everyday. Use it to reflect and review after good days and after those that don’t go so well.

Saying your vision and goal out loud and to yourself daily will help create momentum.  I will show you how to create a compelling version next week.

This is really important for working with these tools in the mid and long term to create consistency.  Edgar Dale’s cone of learning states after 2 weeks we remember only 10% of what we read but 70% of what we SAY and WRITE.

We will explore more detail on goal setting and more tactics to help integrate your values into day to day life.  e will also look at  how to enjoy the process as much as the achievement of your goal.

Need help with setting goals or motivation and goal achievement ?

Drop us a line to see how we can help you succeed in 2020.

Health and fitness are frequently used as one term but they are different things.  It is very common to be FIT but at the same time not all that healthy!  Lets define the terms:

Fitness – your ability to complete a specific exercise task

Heath – your overall well-being a person’s state of well-being, where all the bodily systems – like digestion, muscles and bones, hormones and immunity – are working as they should.

Here are 5 common signs that your fitness regime is compromising your health.

Sign 1 – Injuries!

You have the kind of injuries that seem to just spring from nowhere.  So there has been no trauma,but you start with discomfort then pain which gets worse.  Often you can have one after another. It is a sign that your musculoskeletal system (muscles, bones, tissues) are not working efficiently. They are not healthy!  This is not a normal part of getting older.

Sign #2 – Quantity over quality

You are more concerned with how often and how hard you exercise, rather than considering the quality of your movement.  How you move, so your posture, movement patterns and techniques are key to ensuring a healthy body.  Repeating exercises with poor form does matter as it is wearing down your joints and straining your tissues.  It is setting poor movement patterns as the norm so you will repeat these in everyday movement increasing the problems.  It will lead to discomfort, pain and injury. So more fit but unhealthy!

Sign #5 Breathing

You can hear your breath through the day. Or you get breathless walking, yawn frequently, or breathe with your mouth.  Did you know its very common to have a breathing dysfunction?!  All your bodily systems  cannot work efficiently without functional breathing.  The way you breathe also changes the mobility, stability and health of your spine, the central structure of your body.  Breath is also crucial for optimal fitness – without proper breathing your oxygen cannot be efficiently be transmitted to your muscles, causing more fatigue, lactic acid. The heart has to pump harder increasing the intensity of the training and stress response.

Sign #3 – Not enough recovery

You don’t understand different types of recovery which is a fair sign that you are not building adequate rest into your schedule. Rest is absolutely key to health as well as exercise performance.  The body is broken down during exercise and actually strengthens in periods of rest.  You will perform better when you schedule recovery activity in.  Inadequate rest causes stress response in the body which leads to inflammation which is bad news for health.

Sign #4 – Hydration

You don’t drink enough water. 0.033l for every KG of body weight. More with exercise.

Our body is over 70% water and all our cells and bodily processes need water to be efficient. Caffeine is a diuretic – so you lose water.  Also drink other than plain water has to go through digestion before its able to be used by the body.  Water can be absorbed quicker.  If you feel thirsty this is a sign that your body is already dehydrated to some degree.

Why health and fitness

Paying attention to these points will help you find more balance in your health and fitness.  It will change how you feel everyday.  With great health you will have energy everyday, without caffeine, you will sleep well and wake feeling truly rested.  Your body will not ache everyday, it will move with ease and when niggles do arise you will be able to address them before they turn into a bigger problem.  Your immunity will thrive so you rarely get ill with coughs, colds or infections.  This will be evident in your fitness as you achieve more with less effort.

Small changes – BIG impact

Change is best made in small chunks, so make 1 or 2 small changes and let them bed in before you add more.  That way it is easier to sustain and those small changes, each small decision you make everyday they compound up in time to make BIG impacts.

Your Peak Potential are an injury rehab, running & sports performance specialist.

• Say goodbye to injuries. 
• Transform sports performance
• Run injury free

Tip#1 Start the day well

Working at home or otherwise, I know the days I start with a great morning routine are the days I feel great and achieve the most.  Having a morning routine will set you up for the rest of the day.  Start the day positively and finish it the same. Start with negativity and it’s likely to cloud your whole day.  Look out for a future blog on this topic.

Tip #2 Move regularly

Move throughout the day.  Don’t just think about movement being 1 session of exercise.  Take regular movement breaks (set an alarm) through the day.  A short walk, some stretches, having a dance or some push ups and squats… anything. We were made to move, being still in one position is not great for the body or the mind.  A change of view can help refresh your thoughts as well as ease tight muscles.   Click the image for desk stretch video.

Tip #3 Have a schedule

Plan your working at home schedule.  Have a defined start time and finish time, even if these need to flex with work loads.  Plan in a lunch and short breaks in the day.    Enter your lunch break in your calendar, set an out of office.  These things will allow your mind to leave behind work rather than leaving your desk only to find your mind is on the job the whole time.

Tip #4 Keep hydrated

Our body is over 70% water and all our cells and bodily processes need water to be efficient. So stay hydrated to keep focused and ward off lethargy. Keep a refillable bottle of water on your desk to make it easy… Limit caffeine to the morning.  Caffeine works on the body for 12 hours.  Even if you can sleep after heavy doses it does not mean that you are  doing your body any favours…

Tip #5 Don’t just talk about work to colleagues

Check in, engage in some conversation away from work topics. It will help reduce stress and anxiety and hep you feel more connected.  Create fun chat groups on instant messenger.  There is down time in the work place, make sure you create that at home. Feeling isolated and serious all day is not good for effectiveness, productivity or happiness!

Tip #6 Limit distractions

Avoid watching / listening to the news on a loop.  If you feel you need to be up to date with the current situation once a day is adequate.  You will only hear the same stories over and over and this definitely does not help you reduce fear and anxiety.  You can be aware but at the same time we cannot change what is happening, we can only change our own reaction.

Also whilst sometimes having some low background music or noise can help productivity if you have specific tasks to focus on being in front of the TV is not going to help.  Working from bed is a terrible idea.  Bed is for relaxing.

Tip #7 Consider your work space and set up

On the same theme of distraction, have a work space. Whether the kitchen table or the sofa take time to set up your working at home area.  Have a plan of how to clear things away when you need the space.  Packing away is key for your mental rest. Look after your body.  Feet on the floor, screen at eye level (you can always prop up on books).  Not having the arms reaching out ahead of you will reduce tension in the shoulders and wrists neutral ie not lower than your fingers to prevent wrist and arm pain.

Tip #8 Use video calls

I know its easy (maybe a woman thing!) to switch the camera off and slob out.  But video is great for complicated tasks and building relationships. It’s also good for your mental well being – it helps us feel connected and we benefit from non-verbal communications. Being on video means we make more effort with appearance. The odd day of slobbing out is all good but longer term it is not good for self esteem or productivity.

Tip #9 End of day closing ritual

Having a little routine that signifies the end of the working day is so helpful to leaving work behind mentally at the end of the day.  Finding this gem has really changed my day.

For me, tidying the desk, writing down the wins of the day and the top 3  tasks for the next day.  The to do list never ends so if you identify 3 key things to focus on doing it will help you feel a sense of achievement.

Tip #10 Posture and breathing

I prefer a standing desk, it helps me ensure I regularly move and keep feeling energised.  But sitting or standing posture is important to how you feel in body and mind. Set an alarm, perhaps every other hour and check in. Lift through the chest, align the head over the shoulders, think straight line from ear shoulder and hip. Bent arms neutral wrists.

Breathing can change your mood, energy levels and thoughts. Efficient breathing is via the nose and deep into the torso rather than into the chest. Check back for more on this!

Secret Success Strategy #2 – Uncovering your core values.

In secret success strategy #1 we looked at

• What is your goal or resolution and what is your WHY?  What is your connection to that goal?
• How do your goals relate to a wider vision or dream or fears?
• What are the impacts of achieving or missing the goal?
• How important is your goal? Is it the right one for you

We also looked at decisions – what an OPTIMAL decision is and also SUB OPTIMAL .

Lastly we looked at writing down your goals, vision and fears or creating a vision board.

Click here for a reminder…..

[/tm_pb_text][/tm_pb_column][/tm_pb_row][tm_pb_row admin_label=”row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” use_grid_padding=”on” width_unit=”on” custom_padding=”30px|||” padding_mobile=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” vertical_alligment_1=”start” responsive_laptop_1=”inherit” responsive_tablet_1=”inherit” responsive_phone_1=”inherit” order_laptop_1=”1″ order_tablet_1=”1″ order_phone_1=”1″ parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” vertical_alligment_2=”start” responsive_laptop_2=”inherit” responsive_tablet_2=”inherit” responsive_phone_2=”inherit” order_laptop_2=”2″ order_tablet_2=”2″ order_phone_2=”2″ column_padding_mobile=”on”][tm_pb_column type=”1_2″][tm_pb_text admin_label=”his week i want to talk core values ” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

Let’s talk core values

Do you have clarity around what your core values are? If not you are not alone.

Think of your core values as the foundations to your choices and life.  When we are clear on our values, we are more likely to  make optimal decisions.  Your ability to achieve your goals /vision is directly related to whether you make decisions that align with your core values.

When our lives are guided by our core values we feel happy, fulfilled and a deep sense of connection to yourself and others. If your actions are in conflict with them you will likely feel tension, guilt, shame, dissatisfaction even depression.

[/tm_pb_text][tm_pb_text admin_label=”binning the booze” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_margin=”20px|||”]

Binning the Booze

I re-visited this exercise 2 years ago when I wanted to stop drinking.  Now a glass of wine every now and then may not be a problem but for me personally,  it was not moving me towards my vision.

But I found it hard.  I was using a glass of red to deal with stress in my day job. Gaining clarity on my core values, and the values of a successful health coach helped me stop reaching for a glass of red and use the tools I know to manage my stress. This has been instrumental in me developing the business further but also as a side achievement was key to me completing my first ultra last year.

[/tm_pb_text][/tm_pb_column][tm_pb_column type=”1_2″][tm_pb_image admin_label=”Image” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” src=”https://yourparinama.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/core-values.png” alt=”core values are your foundations”] [/tm_pb_image][tm_pb_image admin_label=”Image” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” src=”https://yourparinama.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/red-wine.jpeg” alt=”core values help you make optimal decisions” custom_margin=”70px|||”] [/tm_pb_image][/tm_pb_column][/tm_pb_row][tm_pb_row admin_label=”row”][tm_pb_column type=”1_2″][tm_pb_image admin_label=”Image” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” src=”https://yourparinama.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/value-list.jpg” custom_margin=”80px|||”] [/tm_pb_image][tm_pb_image admin_label=”Image” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” src=”https://yourparinama.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/trump-v-obama.jpg” alt=”whose core values do you admire” custom_margin=”80px|||”] [/tm_pb_image][/tm_pb_column][tm_pb_column type=”1_2″][tm_pb_text admin_label=”5 steps to identifying your values ” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

5 steps to identify your core values

Step 1

Take a look at the list of possible values and tick any that feel important to you, go with your instinct you can refine the list later. There may be others that are not on this list that you want to add. Don’t add ones that you think you should have or want to have, just ones that feel important or true to you.

Step 2

Think about people or situations that annoy, offend or anger you.  Think about co-workers, movie or tv stars, news stories, public figures or even family.  Situations might be things that happen when you are driving or waiting in a queue.  Think about which of your core values was compromised in this situation.  Make a note of these.

Often things that we find annoying will highlight the values we are most likely to violate ourselves.  Consider your own actions here and how things you do may compromise your values.

[/tm_pb_text][tm_pb_text admin_label=”step 3 ” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

Step 3

Consider people you admire (dead / alive/ famous or those you know) and what values you admire in them. Write those down.

[/tm_pb_text][/tm_pb_column][/tm_pb_row][tm_pb_row admin_label=”row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” use_grid_padding=”on” width_unit=”on” padding_mobile=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” vertical_alligment_1=”start” responsive_laptop_1=”inherit” responsive_tablet_1=”inherit” responsive_phone_1=”inherit” order_laptop_1=”1″ order_tablet_1=”1″ order_phone_1=”1″ column_padding_mobile=”on”][tm_pb_column type=”4_4″][tm_pb_text admin_label=”step 4″ text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_padding=”20px|||”]

Step 4

Refine your original list in the light of the information you have gathered. Maybe pick 10 key ones – you may have others, but these are the most important for now.

Step 5

Consider how these relate to your vision and goal, how you have compromised on these and how that has moved you away from your goal. Consider how working with your values can help you shape your decisions.

[/tm_pb_text][/tm_pb_column][/tm_pb_row][tm_pb_row admin_label=”row”][tm_pb_column type=”1_2″][tm_pb_text admin_label=”need help setting goals” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_padding=”20px|||” custom_margin=”30px|||”]

Vision board and mantra

Remember that visual representation of your vision and goals? Whether a collage of images or simply writing them down. Add your key values into this. Keep it somewhere you will see it everyday. Use it to reflect and review after good days and after those that don’t go so well.

Saying your vision and goal out loud and to yourself daily will help create momentum.  I will show you how to create a compelling version next week.

This is really important for working with these tools in the mid and long term to create consistency.  Edgar Dale’s cone of learning states after 2 weeks we remember only 10% of what we read but 70% of what we SAY and WRITE.

[/tm_pb_text][tm_pb_text admin_label=”need help setting goals” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_padding=”20px|||” custom_margin=”20px||20px|”]

We will explore more detail on goal setting and more tactics to help integrate your values into day to day life.  e will also look at  how to enjoy the process as much as the achievement of your goal.

Need help with setting goals or motivation and goal achievement ?

Drop us a line to see how we can help you succeed in 2020.

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Without fully exploring your why and establishing a strong motive, you will have no real reason to stick with change once your will power declines.

Let’s use an example to make this easier….

You started a regular stretch, recovery and conditioning program,  to complement your running.  You know it’s good for you but you just don’t stick to it. The pain that is the impetus to start the program is your tight aching muscles, fatigue and regular injuries that at times prevent you running.

This is a good illustration of one way willpower fails us. (there are others!). After some weeks on your program of recovery and strengthening your muscle aches ease, recovery improves, you have more energy and can run more comfortably. As you feel better you get distanced from the reasons that you started.  Your need for them has dimmed in your mind along with your discomfort.  You feel frustrated that these other activities are taking time away from running when you have limited free time. So the balance of pleasure / pain starts to change. Your willpower dips.

Short term gain, instant gratification instead of long term success

Without addressing your thoughts, beliefs and values you will continue to swing between these pedestals of pleasure vs pain.  Choosing short term pleasure over long term success. This only changes again once you face pain and injury once more. Leaving you frustrated as you flip flop seemingly helplessly against your challenges,

Really getting to grips with your why is the first step to overcoming this challenge.  Relating your why to a VISION and what you love or fear will help your goal become more achievable.

Change takes energy, commitment and discipline.  A labour of love will always be easier to manage than a labour without love.

How to explore your WHY.

So for our example:-  The goal is to consistently achieve conditioning and recovery work …. but WHY is it important?

Questions to consider: What impact does it create in your life and the life of those close to you?  What qualities does it bring to your life?  What is your dream?  Is there a particular achievement that means a lot?  Whatever the goal why is this important to you?  How important is it on a scale of 1 to 10?

In our example, achieving the goal is important in relation to the achieving the DREAM of being able to run,  consistently into old age without pain and injury. There may be races that you specifically want to finish.  You feel this DREAM is important and registers as an 9 out of 10.  If your dream was below 7 then potentially it is the wrong DREAM for your energy to be focused on.  You don’t want to spend your life climbing the ladder only to find your ladder was against the wrong wall the whole time.

Your goal needs to connect to the WHY of your DREAM.

Without meeting the GOAL of doing the recovery and conditioning, the DREAM of running into old age will not be achievable.  So next you need to explore the WHY of your running.

The WHY could be…

Running provides a sense of achievement and  self-pride, a sense of purpose and meaning to life that does not come from work or other interests.  Time for self-reflection, quiet time in the outdoors or a sense of belonging with running friends and groups. It improves mental wellness bringing, a sense of calm and happiness, helping you deal with lives ups and downs, carry out your responsibilities to your dream team (partner / children / relatives / friends etc).

What is your FEAR?

What is the worst that could happen, if you don’t meet the GOAL?

At best you would continue to feel fatigued and sore. But how does this impact your wider life?  If you are in pain and tired, how do you perform at work? How do you feel emotionally each day – are you really living a full life or just getting through the day? Or how do you relate to your dream team – are you giving them your best or what they deserve?

At worst, it will end your DREAM.  You could sustain more injuries and even get to the stage where you have to give up running and may even struggle to walk any great distance.  How would this make you feel?  That sense of purpose would be gone.  It could cause regret if it was gone and you could of done something about it.  It could create unhappiness or a sense of unease. You may feel older than your age or out of control of life. It could lead to weight gain, low self esteem, put pressure on relationships due to low mood.

Create a VISION and display it where you will see it

This is your VISION and the start point for your plan.  Spend some time considering it, building it and feeling the emotions it brings up.  Create a vision board – doesn’t have to be a creative masterpiece but some words on paper, some colour, pictures and quotes.   Display it somewhere you will see it or carry a small reminder with you.

Decisions. decisions

Having a plan will  make it easier to make choices that take you towards your goal.   We all face a multitude of choices each day and your decisions in the moment will either keep you still, move you towards or away from your dream. Your will power will waiver in the day so having clarity of your vision  will help you make the best decisions for your success.

A little about decisions….

Every choice you make takes you in a direction….

OPTIMAL – this is the choice that will support your DREAM / VISION.  Eg. the choice to do 10 minutes of stretches post run or get to a conditioning session.

INDIFFERENT – not moving, this is ether apathy, or a chance for time out before making a real choice.

SUB-OPTIMAL – choice based on short term gain or  instant gratification. This actually moves you away from our long term goal.  E.g. Not stretching after a run or not bothering with conditioning in favour of another run.

Understanding your WHY fully will help you make the OPTIMAL choice more often.

But that’s just one part of the picture… next week we will explore how your understanding your values can help get you closer to your goals and dream.

Need help with setting goals or motivation and goal achievement ?

Drop us a line to see how we can help you succeed in 2020.

In just one foot, you have 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments.

When you walk or run, every one of these structures plays a vital role. Most foot injuries are not only a result of dysfunction at the foot but are related to imbalance and weakness further up the kinetic chain. Injuries occur when the foot has to work too hard to compensate because the neuromuscular signals from the brain have been dulled or have lost their connection.

Your feet spend in an average week approximately 40 hours in a pair of shoes or boots, unable to move properly or breathe all day and then you expect them to hold you up when you get home, when you walk, run or play sports.

Feet are pretty durable little beasties, but they will eventually begin to break down, hurt and even deform if you don’t give them a chance to work properly with the rest of your body.

Your feet are your body’s foundation and it’s suspension, they act as both shock absorbers and rigid levers to help propel you when walking and running.  Losing awareness of your feet leads to poor movement patterns, poor posture and inevitably pain somewhere in the kinetic chain.

The pain may not be in the feet themselves but appear in the knees, hips or even lower back but eventually at some point the pain will hit home, right at your feet no pun intended.

Runners need foot strength and propriception for performance and effeciency, but the average person needs exactly the same in day to day life.  Taking away the role of your foot’s intrinsic muscles leads to over activity of your hip muscles, more pressure on your back and overall worse posture and balance leading to injury or precious time off work or from our sports or outdoor hobbies.

Your awareness of where you are in space largely comes from the feedback your brain gets from your feet, if you dampen that system by wearing confining or cushioned footware you will be doing your posture and your feet a dis-service.

“Our feet have already served us rather well for the last few million years”

The foot is the most successful architectural structure known to man, it is a complex network of bones, ligaments and muscles that create a strong arch. No architect or structural engineer worth their salt would ever put a support directly under an arch, as they are strongest when loaded from the top so why do we feel the need to do so.

Natural Motions of the Feet

Toes are designed to have as much dexterity as fingers. Each toe joint can flex and extend, abduct and adduct.
These are all primal basic motions, but if you try it yourself, you will likely find that lifting one toe without the others is extremely difficult!

Check these feet!!!

You’ll either going to say disgusting or you’re like me be completely fascinated.
These are the feet of an Ashaninka Indian who lives in a rainforest in the upper Amazon Basin of Peru.

His feet look like this because he doesn’t wear shoes! He walks all over the treacherous rainforest in bare feet all the time.
This is what most people’s feet should look like; hard, tough, BIG, ugly, muscular. But our feet are soft, weak.
If I gave this guy a 6cm massage ball he could quite comfortably stand on the ball without wincing, try it all your body weight on one foot in the centre of your foot and balance on the ball, if you can, well done.

This is one of the reasons why so many people get so many injuries and continually have physical pains and aches, (not the ball balancing) their foundations are weak so the rest of the structure (their body) has to take on more stress than it’s designed too.

It’s never too late to train your proprioceptive system

Movement in general is a set of skills that we acquire through trial and error from our infant development patterns and then practice throughout our life.  Walking and running are fundamental movement skills that we develop from a young age, but the most important thing that most people don’t understand is that just because you can walk and run, doesn’t mean you are doing it very well. The most important tools our bodies have that gives us the unique ability to balance, walk and run upright, is our feet.

Yet we love covering them up with heavy, clunky, cushioned footwear most of our life that will almost guarantee that we walk and run poorly and inevitably develop pain and deformity in not only our feet, but other parts of the body.

You need to walk before you can run and stand before you can walk.  What you choose to put on your feet will affect all three of these skills. We are by no means saying go to work barefoot but encourage you to spend more time barefoot at home or in minimalist shoes (zero drop, no heal or minimum cushioning). We love VIVOBAREFOOT shoes and trainers but there are many more appearing on the market.

So what can we do:

Take our shoes off, often and start trying to move our feet and toes in every imaginable way, have some fun with them.

Wear a variety of different types of shoes throughout the week to keep your feet adaptable and consider buying a pair of minimalist shoes for walking and give your feet the chance to flex around.

Have a closer look at your posture because how you hold yourself in the mid back area will very much effect how you load weight on your feet.

Gradual progression is key for your body to learn
Trusting the process…. it’s much easier to say than to practically follow through, but it’s essential to your long-term development and progression.

Too often we want the results far too quickly and give up on the process before we’ve given it enough time to even know if it was going to work. It takes time to create lasting bio-mechanical movement changes for your body. Equally, it takes time to build neuromuscular control when learning new movements and skills required for walking and running.

Still not sure, why not join us on one of our Intelligent Movement Workshops or join a ChiRunning workshop.

Photo Credit Frans Lanting – National geographic