Jessi Stensland - Adventures in Endurance Performance

Q + A // Shin Pain, a Bike + Body Awareness

I received an email from an athlete who had been experiencing chronic pain in a particular body part for two weeks.  She looked at the issue from a number of angles and attempted to deduce the cause of the problem.  She ultimately settled on what she thought had caused her problem in the first place. Her question to me then had to do with what she should do now, since the pain has persisted.  As you'll see below, her question to me wasn't so much whether I agreed with her deduction as to what caused the problem or specifically how I might advise her to help heal the painful area.  It simply asked what I thought she should do now, now that (I gathered) she decided not do the activity that was causing the problem and now that she has chronic pain she needs to heal and/or let subside, while still wanting to train.

What's HOT:  She's asking questions.

What's NOT:  Her ultimate goal.

From her POV:

1) She accepted that she got hurt. 

2) She blamed something.

3) She attempts to master how to deal with the hurt. 

4) She asks what she should do NOW that she's hurt.

From a Performance POV:

1) Never accept the hurt. Use it's onset as a clue that something is not right - immediately.

2) Blame yourself. Take responsibility - a necessary component of creating change.

3) Aim to master never hurting yourself.

4) Ask about what to do in order to NEVER experience chronic pain or injury.

Note: The answer below is not any more or less important than the info she's already gathered on her own.  It is simply is something for her to add to her own equation along the journey of realizing her own body's max performance potential.  Below is just a few words and takes the angle I know I'm best at offering information about, using the limited information given. She is the one who must create the action, her reality, from all that she knows...and what she knows is always better than what any other single resource alone can offer along the journey.

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QUESTION:

Hey Jessi! I am a triathlete and I have recently been experiencing bad shin pain in my left leg. I have not been running a lot - just biking, swimming, and strength lately - so I know it's not due to running. I have also been training for a couple of years now so I don't think it's an overuse thing.  I surmise that it is due to the bike on the gym that I am using. SInce it has been raining so much in the last week in Socal I have been riding on this bike in the gym for about two weeks and the pain definitely began about a week ago. I read that it might be due to my feet not being flat -essentially just bad form.  Since the pain has persisted, what should I do? I am thinking maybe just swim and do non-weight bearing exercises like the elliptical and core training for the next couple of weeks...what do you think? Also, I have been pretty good about icing it and taking anti-inflammatories. Thanks so much!  LB

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ANSWER:

Hi LB!  Let’s see...

Where exactly is the shin pain?  On the medial or lateral aspect of your Tibia (inside or outside aspect of your shin bone)?

I’d say you’re right that your mechanics as you rode on that particular bike may not have been ideal, but I’d wonder whether its your body (you mention your feet) or simply the position/motion that the bike has you in, which I imagine is not the most adjustable.  I’m wondering a few things.  Does it have toe straps? Are you having to pull up more with your shin muscles than you’re used to on your own bike or making some compensation in the pedal stroke due to something else.  Where is the pedal placed in relation to your footbed? I found myself moving my foot around on a stationary bike pedal the other way to be able to connect my glute to the pedal better than it would’ve otherwise had me if I shoved my foot in to the cradle as it seemed to be designed to be.

The Big Picture...Better Body Awareness...

Better body awareness will always allow you to avoid any piece of equipment “doing” anything to you.  The goal would be to head it off at the pass before it got to be painful and certainly chronically painful.  For example, by now, I’m like the Princess and the pea when it comes to movement.  Put me on something and if I can’t move the way my body likes/needs to move, I quickly feel like something is off – and adjust accordingly - or avoid it completely. Body awareness is not rocket science but takes a few things, most importantly the mind.  A couple basic questions I often ask myself when sitting, standing, swimming, biking, running, etc:

First, can I keep my spine/hips in a neutral position and stablize my spine from my shoulders to my hips IN this position (that a machine or other equipment or position might be putting you in) -- if not – no good.

Second, can I move my limbs, including my joints, where and how needed to do the movement as efficiently as possible.  One great example of this is shoes.  Often, shoes limit the muscles and joints of the foot from moving as they were designed to move in order to allow for most efficient total body movements.  Other muscles in the body compensate for this, increasing the potential for chronic pain and injury and minimizing movement efficiency.  Often the pain shows up in an area(s) of the body removed from the foot, and we attempt to treat that area without understand the underlying antagonist - many times an untrained nervous system (the body's communication system.) Must use it or you'll lose it. True. Typically it's not the weak parts that feel the pain, it is the areas that compensate for the weak parts that are screaming out.

Third, can I engage, move and transfer power with my glutes (when required - as in cycling and running.)  If I can’t something’s wrong – with my body OR the position OR the equipment.  Again, not good.

Getting more aware of what each of those positions/activations should feel like is key, because if those components are in control – and your focus is on them – they are a huge indicator of anything not quite right.  They can and will help you avoid any motion that’s not proper.   By now I know enough about my body, have enough body awareness, to know that my muscles/movement are stronger than any bike equipment or bike position you put me in at this point, meaning, for example, I will move the way I must move, regardless of whether my bike seat is turned a 1/4 inch off of center.  I’ll feel that and it will be annoying, sooner than my body not being aware and inadvertenly making a compensation, that ends up in my hip, and shows up as knee pain, etc etc.  That’s just one example of course, but...I can’t help but mention all that to help you keep your mind working – as you already are – to ask why and get to root of it.  The key is there aren’t a million answers for every type of pain producing scenario such as the one you presented.  Rather it's important to use the checklist above of how things “should” look and feel and if any one of them is not being adhered to in movement, you can attack or avoid it immediatly versus trying to figure the problem out from the outside in.

You are doing the right things to recover from whatever damage is done right now...active recovery and rehab.  As the pain subsides, then revisit your training program.  Until then there is always something to work on, and core strength/stability and any cardio is great, as you mentioned.  If I were you, I’d hop back on that bike for a few min, quiet your mind, look at your alignment, feel the pedal stroke and where you might be working muscles that you normal aren’t (or shouldn’t be.)  Could be any number of things – that you might see or feel.  Use it as much of a learning experience as you can.  It's not about the bike in this instance, it's about you.  So even if you never get on that particular equipment again, figuring out that feeling so you can avoid it down the road, is important.  Nothing is insignificant. 

Functional Training's role in the ultimate goal...

Don't just do it to get through it, use it.  Yes, it will make you stronger, more powerful and more efficient, but most importantly it can play a huge role in getting to know your body and getting to know the feeling that you should feel when everything is moving/connecting through your body’s movement as it is meant to. One effect will be – that anything else – anything that takes you out of a proper movement pattern or muscle activation sequence within a dynamic motion such as cycling, running or swimming -- will feel more foreign and less powerful and you’ll start to make adjustments toward max efficiency quicker and more reflexively than before.  

Remember, the more aware you are the more you are.  Move well!

Q + A // Thoughts on Running Barefoot

An "Ask Jessi" email exchange:

Lisa P writes...

I see on the MovementU videos that you do many of your drills and training barefoot. What are your thoughts on barefoot running?

PERFORMANCE POV answer...

Thanks for the inquiry!  Great question.

I don’t work within the confines of a label such as barefoot running.  What I like to focus on is making  sure that the foot, specifically the muscles of the foot/ankle, are trained properly, allowing them to do the job they are designed to do.  I do all of my movement sessions and as much of my running drills as possible without shoes (given ground temps and other inhibitors), so I can have a better feel for my contact with the ground, and be more in tune to the movement/strength of my foot contact to the ground.  I want to be confident in my body, including my foot/ankle which is part of the total body movement that is running.  Our muscles and movement, have so much more power than any shoe.  Therefore, for about 7 years now, after being the athlete that thought there was only one shoe that worked for my feet, it hasn’t mattered what minimal shoe I put on, I am confident in my mechanics as my full body hits the ground.  As for actually running barefoot, if the surface is natural enough, awesome.  If I haven’t spent enough time running around on rocks like the Tarahumara in Born to Run and my own footbed can’t handle it, I’m not going to suffer, I’m going to wear a shoe, but a minimal one that I’m confident won’t inhibit my mechanics at all.  Thoughts?

THE REPLY...

Makes sense. Great advice that I will incorporate into my training. Unfortunately some bad choices in my barefoot running experience may or may not have contributed to a 2nd metatarsal fracture that I am currently recovering from.  Lesson learned and train smarter is all I can do.
 

I do however want to thank you for your inspiration and much needed voice in the world of endurance sports (aka LIFE!).  Focusing on form, technique and the body as a whole is key and from the other side of the fence for the first time in my life I am learning the wisdom of the old song:   "the shin bones connected to the leg bone the leg bones connected to the hip bone..."

After "finding you" via TRX (which I LOVE!) I explored MovementU and Core Performance to see whats up with this?  All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you.  After cancelling my last two events of the year I plan to spend the fall/winter TAKING CARE OF MY BODY VIA TRAINING INSTEAD OF BEATING IT UP!   Already 2 weeks into core performance and focusing on what I can do I feel like I finally found what my body needs and will benefit from so that I can enjoy training, racing and most important living. Thanks again!

MY REPLY...

YOU GO GIRL!!!  Smile on...

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NOTE:  It seems a blog on just how to prepare the body to run confidently is in order.  Keep an eye out for it.

Q + A // What do I look for in a coach?

It was in 1998 when I was finishing up my swimming career and was about to dive into the sport of triathlon that I thought to myself, I wonder if I had had different coaches whether I'd have been as successful or even more successful as an athlete up to that point.  When you're a kid more often than not you 'fall into' coaches due to proximity and other logistics.  I wasn't giving my coaching situations all the responsibility for my results nor did I need to draw a line in the sand as to how much of it was me and how much of it was my coaches and the training programs I'd participated in.  Not knowing was enough for me to be inspired to make the following statement as I set to begin on a whole new sport:

When I'm standing in this same position, at the end of another great journey in sport whatever and whenever that might be, I want to be sure that I gave myself every opportunity in my power and under my control so that I know exactly how and why I arrived there, successful or not. 

Since then I've been my own coach and that was before I knew a thing about triathlon!

I took my life into my own hands.  Certainly I have gotten guidance along the way, but I've taken responsibility for it all.  In its simplest terms my successes and failures came down to what questions I continued to ask and seek answers for, where I chose to get my guidance and every other day-to-day, minute-to-minute decision I've made since then for my performance in life and for sport.

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This post was inspired by an email I got today from Thomas F:

QUESTION:  As I consider becoming a USAT cert Level 1 coach (especially after I finished my first IM), I am interested in knowing what some of the better pro\'s look for in a coach. May I ask: What do you look for in a coach? What are some of the better characteristics for a tri coach? 

ANSWER:  Awesome you're being inspired and great question. I can tell you're already off to a great start.   Simply seeking new information is key.

I think above all things, the desire to learn, to 'know what you don't know" and to continually seek new info is huge.

Secondly, to understand performance as a dynamic system involving life and sport, the body and the equipment, the quantity AND quality of the effort is key.  Integrate many solutions instead of trying to be THE solution for people's performance, is something I love to see in a coach.  For example:  Just as a good bike fitter will first put an athlete on the table and look at their body mechanics before getting to the bike fit...so might a tri coach, but few do. I suggest either, committing to get to know enough about the body or seeking out someone who does, in your area, someone who can do a postural assessment and give corrective exercises for example.  This is also similar to knowing just enough about the bike to either make a small change or know enough to know when an 'expert' is needed.

Same with ART, massage, and functional strength, etc. Choose what your strength as a coach will be and then team up with others for the total performance package.

Be in the business of empowering athletes to know themselves, instead of just following a plan.

Check out www.solisperformance.com if you get a chance. This coach brought a group of athletes to my MovementU workshop in NJ last week.  I LOVED the way the coach and athletes were learning together...you  can tell from his website this is how he does this a lot. 

One of my goals of MovementU is to educate individuals so that they are more capable of choosing the BEST performance solutions out there, including coaches.

That said, the better a coach understands the role the body plays in performance, over and above time, distance and intensity for swim bike run, the better.  If a coach, for example, never says anything about posture during a workout, or has group swim bike and or run workouts with his athletes and there is not a group functional training or movement prep or regen/recovery workout(s) as well offered in a week or at least organized and outsourced and made a part of the group culture and not just an optional 'something good to do if you can fit it in'...that would be a red flag, since not any one of those is any less important when it comes to the body's ability to perform, injury-free and powerfully, in training and racing.

I asked a group the other day: how many of you have set a performance goal for next year whether it be just to finish or go fast/qualify/place? Everyone raised their hand.  Then I asked, how many of you have made it a goal not to be injured next year? Very few people raised their hand.  I then said, you know it's hard to accomplish performance goals when youre injured. The good news is that the same training elements that go into creating injury resistance are the same as those that make you most efficient and powerful.  And finally I said, I can prove to you that it takes no MORE time to do this. It's simply spending the time you do spend in life and sport, more efficiently. At that point I proceeded to cue everyone into great posture.  I do believe much of the responsibility lies in the hands of the athlete as to how well they know their own body and and their ability to seek out out solutions, including coaches that foster healthy performance.  That said, if a coach could offer that kind of knowledge and guidance that would set them apart from the rest.

No matter what you do, coming up with your own mojo and skill set is key.  Above all, move well.

GO COACH!!

Q + A // What would I gain by attending MovementU?

Got a question yesterday from someone and I thought I'd share my answer.  I realize that what is covered in MovementU's first class is very unique to some and I'd like to do all I can to help people understand the relevance and significance of what it offers.  

NOTE: If you have a similar question with regards to MovementU Swim Bike Run 101 and your own goals in life or in sport...please email me...I'd love to tell you how MovementU is relevant to you!

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QUESTION:   I am a 60 yr old male. I have run Half Marathons and enjoy cycling but dont' like the swimming part. I'm not about to win any type of races but would like to improve my body which at times slows down and I do gain weight. What would I gain by attending this class?

ANSWER:   Hi! Great question!

This is a unique class – that is for anyone of any level with any goal. It’s about learning all the ways in which the body would like to be challenged so that you can get the most out of it with the time and effort you spend in life and in your sports.

For you it might be gaining an understanding of how to maintain injury resistance as well as being stronger and leaner.  If you like numbers, it will also shed light on how to increase wattage on the bike and decrease time per mile in the swim and run, by learning how to get the body moving more efficiently and therefore powerfully.

I've experienced first hand that when the body gets what it needs to perform, it looks better, feels better, and every sport becomes way more fun because the body is way less stressed during activities.  I've also learned that it takes no more time, and usually less time, to do this.

What does the body need?  Well think about something as simple as a running step. When you land everything matters:  what did you eat that day (do you even have energy to BE putting one foot in front of the other); how much mobility do you have in your hip (is it mobile enough to lift your knee enough for the proper running mechanics to set you up to place the foot back down underneath you and create the most force for your effort?) Then there is the strength in your muscles, but how much you get out of that also depends on how much stability you have when you land, and also the elasticity of the muscles (how coordinated and effortlessly can you ‘change the direction of force’ once it hits the ground.)  So you’ll learn how all of these work together, and how you can challenge them, in anywhere from a one-minute movement preparation before your workouts, to a full workout session.   By tapping into everything your body has to offer, properly, you’ll feel better and be leaner.  You'll gain a better understanding coupled with solutions to get it all done. Part of the class will be about HOW you integrate that into the time you have to spend on your training.

Even better, we’ll be reviewing proper running, biking, swimming mechanics in terms of movement efficiency.  Here you'll find out out how you can be a better swim, bike, and runner, before you even get to your swim, bike, run training.

So that said, it goes back to the basic mission of MovementU:  You’ll enhance your understanding of the body, and understand better how to have it live/work to its full potential – which means injury resistant, more efficient, and way more FUN!!!

It really does open eyes and change lives – It did for me – and I’ve seen it over these years that I’ve worked with people whether it be for 5 minutes or hours.

Hope that helps...and hope you’ll join us!  : )

Q + A // My Thoughts On "Methods" Of Running

Thanks Howie Stein, The Triathlon Optimist, for the question.  It was in response to the Performance POV // Running Efficiently Downhill.

QUESTION: Hi Jessi. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Are you familiar with Chi Running? Any thoughts on those principles? I still struggle with proper stretching and elasticity, thanks for the reminder!

ANSWER:  Hi Howie. Great question and one I get a lot.  The answer is:  I am familiar with Chi Running and other 'types' of running though I do not have much experience with them.  The way I have learned from my mentors has been with a focus on the physics and biomechanics of efficient force production in running.  Through this understanding, I've come to the opinion that although particular 'methods' of running often give a decent framework that can elicit good running form, they often fall short of maximizing movement efficiency for performance.  I believe that nothing empowers people to understand their body and acheive the most efficient, injury resistant and powerful running mechanics better than teaching some simple foundations of good old physics and biomechanics and the running form cues and drills that directly relate to them.