Free Rein Athletics

Hi everyone!
Facebook has been telling me about new people liking the Free Rein Athletics page. That's great! BUT....at the moment, we are focusing on the larger brand of Free Rein Performance. Please join us there to follow along!

https://www.facebook.com/FreeReinPerformance/

Free Rein Performance Free Rein Performance is a Louisville, CO, based company specializing in optimizing human performanc

Hi everyone!

We have some exciting news ahead, and a slight change in focus.

In April, we will be moving to our larger concept: Free Rein Performance. We will still maintain the fitness and athletic pieces, but will focus more heavily on the other things that go in to being better humans. This includes not only how we move and train, and nourish and hydrate, but also what might be the most important component of all; addressing the operating system that we use, consciously or unconsciously, every moment of our lives.

So stay tuned for a new website and social media pages. And most of all, get ready to upgrade your human operating system.

When most people hear the word Hyperwear they immediately picture the Hyper Vest PRO. And it’s easy to see why. Its sleek, form-fitting style makes it not only one of the most comfortable weight vests on the market, but also one of the most functional.

The way it contours and holds close to the body allows you to wear it during exercises that would be cumbersome to do wearing other brands of weight vests; from plyometrics to climbing/swinging exercises to ground-based movements, like bear crawls.

Regardless of how you use it, the Hyper Vest PRO stands out as a winner; and the fitness industry is starting to understand why.

What many people might not know, however, is that Hypewear also makes a number of other training products that can greatly enhance your functional fitness and performance.

Hyperwear’s SandBells and SteelBells have a prominent place in our daily workout arsenal. There are so many reasons why we love using them.

When you first come across a SandBell or SteelBell your first inclination might be to use them the same way you would use dumbbells and kettlebells. They can be great alternatives to use for many dumbbell and kettlebell exercises; with the additional benefit of working your grip in an entirely different way.

The constantly shifting sand or steel shot requires a dynamic grip strength that you can not develop using just bar-based devices. We find that using SandBells and SteelBells as occasional replacements for some of our dumbbell and kettlebell work allows us to keep our workouts fresh, and to develop more well-rounded grip strength, while still training our primary movement patterns.

A bonus that is not often considered when using SandBells or SteelBells is that you can drop them on the floor, or on your foot, without doing much damage. Not something you can say about dumbbells and kettlebells! This makes them a great option for at-home use, and for children and senior use, as potential injuries from accidental drops is greatly minimized.

Despite their most obvious uses, however, I think it’s important to not limit yourself to just using SandBells and SteelBells as dumbbell and kettlebell replacements, as there are a host of other things you can use them for.

One quick and easy example is using them for OCR training. Take a five gallon bucket and a few bells out to a steep hill and you have a whole OCR routine just waiting for you. Use your heavy bell as a sandbag carry (changing up where you carry it - left shoulder, right shoulder, behind the neck, in a bear hug - to get different training effects), use medium or smaller bells for Farmer’s carries, and toss the bells in the bucket for a heavy bucket carry. Throw in some fast hikes or runs up the hill in between your different carries and you have all you need to get some good OCR-specific training in.

Another way I like to use the lighter SandBells is what I call “toss and grabs.” Toss the SandBell in to the air, about shoulder to head height, and then reach out and grab the edge of the bell with a tight squeeze. You can even use a front or lateral delt raise motion to make your toss and add some dynamic shoulder work in with your grip training. It’s good stuff; trust me!

Personally, I love to keep my Hyperwear gear in my van, along with a five gallon bucket. The Hyper Vest PRO, some SandBells, a SandRope, and a bucket, gives me a mobile gym that is with me everywhere I go. And unlike dumbbells and kettlebells, they don’t roll around every time I come to a stop or make a turn. If you drive around as much as I do, that is a serious bonus!

So as you can see, Hyperwear’s fitness and performance products are everything they claim to be. That’s why we have found a way to incorporate them in to our routine every week. If you give them a try, you will see why we love them so much.

If you are trying to find a holiday gift for someone who spends most of their time working out (or wishing that they could spend more of their time working out) check out the Hyperwear website for some unique ideas!

hyperwear.com

Another great examination of the effects of "total stress load." It's definitely not just your sets, reps, and exercise selection that determines your adaptation.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/296060661_Essay_A_New_Understanding_of_Stress_and_the_Implications_for_Our_Cultural_Training_Paradigm

Essay: A New Understanding of Stress and the Implications for Our Cultural Training Paradigm Official Full-Text Publication: Essay: A New Understanding of Stress and the Implications for Our Cultural Training Paradigm on ResearchGate, the professional network for scientists.

Taking a break from sabbatical to post this. Use the science as a framework, and then free your mind!

"A human is a bunch of bones and water in a chewy membrane called skin. Inside this membrane are other membranes stringing it all together. This water is mixed with various chemicals and compounds. All of this amounts to nothing but a chunky blob of mush. When this body is at 98 degrees and has an electrical charge running through it, it suddenly organizes into a cool shape! But without awareness of space and a dynamic imagination, this body will just lay on the ground shaking. "

http://www.northstarmartialarts.com/blog1/2015/10/19/bio-mechanics-of-martial-arts.html

Martial Arts • Daoism • Classes • Internal Arts • Health • Shaolin • Tai Chi • Bagua Zhang -... I live in Boulder, Colorado. If you get into trouble socially in Boulder, all you have to say is ...

We have been on sabbatical, training in the mountains of Colorado, but we will be back soon!

A well-balanced article on body fat % and performance. There are more variables at play than "lighter is better."

"At the end of the day, the bigger picture is important. Athletes should be lean enough to compete well, without chasing excessive leanness at the cost of performance and recovery."

http://www.freelapusa.com/fat-doesnt-fly/

Fat Doesn't Fly? - Freelap USA Low levels of body fat, while important, aren’t the be-all and end-all of athletic performance. You certainly don’t want to lug around unnecessary pounds, but deliberately undereating can lead to serious social and physiological issues. High-intensity competition requires food-generated energy, and…

Training Thoughts from a 48 year old athlete. See what wisdom Will Gadd brings to the table.

http://willgadd.com/ten-training-thoughts/

Ten Training Thoughts Ten Training Tips to be a Lifelong Athlete I'm 48. I just had the best 12 months of my athletic career. Crazed months of travel, flying, climbing, kids, speaking, guiding, writing, repe...

Looking for little nuggets of wisdom to improve your performance? This is a nice collection of things to think about and to implement. I have read a number of the books that are referenced. For more detail, give them a read. They are worth it...

http://time.com/3704914/improving-performance/

The Science of Improving Your Performance at Almost Anything Avoid multi-tasking and rather work in chunks

People, in general, have antagonistic, if not combative, relationships with their bodies. This seems to be exponentially more true for athletes.

We could argue about the origins of this idea that the body is lazy and weak (and inherently sinful and unworthy?), but few would deny that these thoughts cross our mind.

The hows and whys of whether it is our minds or our bodies that become "lazy" and need to be managed can be discussed later. For now, what I want you to recognize is how these thoughts play out.

You may know the phrase "your body hears every thought you have." Even if you believe that your body is inherently lazy and needs to be whipped in to shape, like an undisciplined child, how do you imagine it responds to a constant barrage of thoughts like:

"You're not strong enough."
"You're not fast enough."
"You're not flexible enough."
"Damn it! C'mon!"
"You suck!"
"You're not good enough."

I'm sure we all know people who grew up with their parents telling them those things. Ask those people how that affected them.

Likewise, what do you think your body's reaction is to those things? If you use negative language and reprimands to push your body, do you also provide your body with words of appreciation and understanding? How do you think it would respond if you did?

I've learned many many amazing things from yoga, but one of my favorite parts of the practice was the brief moment I took at the end to thank my body for allowing me the opportunity to do the practice. It stood in stark contrast to my years of athletic training; which was always about pushing and improving; about never settling with where I was.

It's a balance. It takes practice. But try it. Can you push hard and then when you're finished give a silent thanks to your body for the effort? Can you let it know that it has value and worth just as it is, but also that you aspire for more?

It would be a mistake to underestimate the destructive power of negative self-talk. Substitute motivational talk and a deep appreciation for your body (and your life) and see how your body responds.

Facebook friend Dave Hedges post this earlier and I thought it was pretty interesting. To me, the question is what language, and guidelines, lead to the most positive behavioral changes? What do you think?

http://www.vox.com/2015/2/20/8076961/brazil-food-guide

Brazil has the best nutritional guidelines in the world Why the US needs to follow Brazil's lead when it comes to food.

OCR training...or, at least how it is presented in people's Facebook posts and done via the organizations I know that do it...is perplexing.

If you are training for a marathon (or a 5k or whatever) your training does not consist of going out and running a marathon every time you train. In fact, it's quite possible that in your training you will never even run 26.2 miles.

Instead, you work on the components that lead to running a successful marathon. This might include development of an aerobic base, anaerobic threshold work, leg turnover drills, tempo runs, flexibility, strength, etc... And then yes, you might have a few workouts where you are out there running at your marathon pace for a longer distance, although typically still well short of 26 miles.

In football, or basketball, or pretty much any other sport, the same thing holds true. You don't just scrimmage, all-out, every practice to get ready for a game. There is technique and skill development, strategy, conditioning, strength training, and lots of lots of repetition of drills. And then yes, some short scrimmaging, where you work to put it all together.

People training for OCR tend to, by and large, duplicate an OCR, each and every workout; in exercise selection, in intensity, and in some cases, even in duration. This is akin to running your fastest 5k every day in training to get ready for a 5k, or to only scrimmaging at 100% effort to get ready for a game. The result is that you get decent at handling intensity, but you actually lose getting better at the sport.

Much of this has trickled down from the "boot camp" mentality, where the goal was to beat yourself to a pulp each and every workout. (Now we like to call it "beast mode.") It also came from those early days of CrossFit, where seemingly random exercises were thrown together in a high-intensity sh*t-storm called a WOD, all under the assumption that work-capacity was the only valid way to define fitness, and that it was measured by doing the same thing faster than you did it before. [Editor's note: I love that CrossFit has evolved from those days. Much better stuff happening there now. So no hate, please.]

If this type of training is what you ENJOY doing, then by all means, do it. I think we should all seek out and do what we enjoy. However, if you want to get BETTER at something, you have to realize that each component needs to be developed. Assembling all of the pieces is a part of the process...not the whole process. Deep practice is frequently necessary, and that involves slowing down and working things through.

Train smart. Get better, with less burnout and fewer injuries. And if you're not sure how to do that, hire someone to help you out.

What are your self-limiting beliefs? And how might they be affecting you? Check out this interesting 20 minute talk on Mindfulness vs Mindlessness, and learn how important being mindful can be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XQUJR4uIGM&feature=youtu.be

Ellen Langer: Mindfulness over matter Ellen Langer is an artist and Harvard psychology professor who authored 11 books on the illusion of control, perceived control, successful aging and decision...

A really good article on fear:
"In the deepest clutches of fear, our primitive brain stem overrides our problem-solving neocortex, and we become stupid. Our fine motor skills deteriorate, and our field of vision narrows. Sports psychologists know that fear can choke us, distract us, and impair our judgment. If you’ve ever tried to talk someone (or yourself) down from a cliff, or experienced sewing-machine leg on a narrow ledge, or moved in slow motion from a hazard when you should have been on fast-forward, you know that fear doesn’t always save your ass. Sometimes it dishes it up on a platter."

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/science/The-Science-of-Conquering-Your-Greatest-Fears.html

The Science of Conquering Your Greatest Fears It may be the oldest emotion. Before happiness, before sorrow, before exhilaration, and way, way before the urge to climb mountains and bomb down steeps, there was fear. Now scientists are finding new ways to help us conquer our deepest anxieties—and use them to perform even better.

Free Rein OCR is just getting started! Follow Rose Wetzel-Sinnett, John Yatsko, Glenn Racz, and Chad Trammell as they chase after victory in the world of OCR! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Rein-OCR/485594934884309 #

Love this. It reminds me of the book The Talent Code (which you should read). Free Rein Athletics is partly based on this idea as well; development. Our goal is to assist individuals in not only creating greater physical capacity and freedom in the present, but laying the foundation for future goals.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/27827569

How Belgium built their golden generation From World Cup no-hopers to tournament dark horses within 12 years - where did it all go so right for Belgium?

Training is funny these days. It used to be that people would train to excel at a sport or activity. These days, training has BECOME people's sport or activity. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, but it presents a particular challenge: planning and programming.

If you are a marathoner, you don't run a hard marathon 3-4 days a week to prepare for a marathon. If you are a football player, you don't play full contact games 3-4 days a week to get ready for a game. You would break down way too fast, and your performance would be extremely poor (if you could perform at all).

Training allows you to work on all of the variables you need to excel at a game or an event. But what if your "event" is the training itself? It appears that people go out 3-5 times a week and push as if they are competing every single training session.

How long can you keep this up before things start to break down?

To really complicate things, what happens when you use that "go hard every day" philosophy to actually train for a specific game or event? Sure, your volume and intensity might be aimed towards a high level of fitness, but it comes with an increasing level of fatigue and breakdown.

If you have a goal of being optimal and hard-core on Saturday, your Sunday-Friday training should be designed to allow that to happen. It should not be optimal and hard-core on Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Thursday, etc.. All that will give you is a less than optimal Saturday.

Maybe instead of asking yourself, "how much volume and intensity can I handle before I break down", ask yourself, "what is the least amount I need to do to be my very best"?

I know, it's a tough reframe, isn't it? Because we are conditioned to believe that more is always better.

But is it?

That is the short post. A longer blog is coming soon. :)