Kelly Starrett on Lifestyle’s Role in Performance

This is the first post of what I call “Training and Coaching Wisdom”

What Prompted Me Start The Series?

Sadly and quite unfortunately “Motivation, good coaching and sensible training” have all become synonymous with “No Pain, No Gain/Glory/etc.” The coach has been painted like a vicious drill sergeant while the athletes are quite often described as weak if they are not breaking down and suffering in a media constructed image of performance. These short extremely shallow, short sighted  and quite damaging “methods” has claimed many an (aspiring) athletes, myself included. Fortunately, there are some remarkable individuals that go down to the fundamentals of human performance and come with truly amazing methods. Unsurprisingly these same people in just a few words can put what I have come to think of as cornerstones on the way of becoming a better athlete.

Ultimately the time spent training is only miniscule on the greater scale and it is unreasonable to believe that only then it is when we make progress.  Becoming a better person is intertwined with high performance, as such personal (athletic) improvement is a constant daily process.

This is how the “Coaching and Training Wisdom” was born.

It serves  to break through the fake slogans, get to the fundamentals and share some of the true gems out there to help everybody on their way to improvement.

The first instalment in the “Coaching and Training Wisdom Wisdom” comes from Kelly Starrett in his absolutely amazing book: [amazon text=Becoming a Supple Leopard&asin=1628600837]

Kelly Starrett on Lifestyle’s Role in Performance

Seeing what is right in front of very noses is usually the toughest.  Unfortunately what most fellow athletes and coaches seem to constantly ignore –  we are humans first and everything else follows from there.

You cannot make basic lifestyle errors and expect your body to be able to absorb the consequences when you are working in a performance-biased paradigm.

The most commonly overlooked aspects include:

• No warm-up or cool-down
• Sleep deprivation
• Dehydration
• Poor nutrition
• Prolonged sitting
• Stress

Furthermore, Kelly Starrett goes on the explain that top performance does not always always mean good technique. Or something that is a recurring them in this blog – “Fit, But Unhealthy”

Underlying all this beautifully complex technology [that is the human body] is a simple truth: Your body has an amazing capacity to deal with poor mechanics. Again, your body can generate huge amounts of force and endure a ton of punishment in spite of your bad technique and tissue restrictions. You can move fast, lift heavy, and sit all day with poor technique and still perform well.

While short-lived results might provide some satisfaction, ultimately injuries develop.

But eventually your body will tell you that you’re doing something wrong. And it doesn’t just whisper in your ear; it rams the message down your throat by zapping your ability to generate force and opening the floodgates to pain.

Again, we need to move away from the practice-makes-perfect paradigm and realize that practice makes permanent.

For more “Coaching and Training Wisdom Wisdom” you can Follow me on Facebook and Instagram.

Kelly Starrett

Kelly Starrett – [amazon text=Becoming a Supple Leopard&asin=1628600837]

[amazon template=thumbnail&asin=1628600837]

Kelly Starrett – [amazon text=Ready to Run&asin=1628600098]

[amazon template=thumbnail&asin=1628600098]
Like TheTallCyclist on Facebook and Subscribe via RSS or Email for future updates.

For further information check the ever-increasing Reading List

I welcome comments, however, before asking a question please visit the Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) page.