April 20th 2015, It is a new day. I am still coaching Triathlon and this year I have a record number doing Ironman Whistler. I thought I would venture into my bucket list this year and attempt a physique competition in October. This was something I wanted to do when I was 18. I am now 48 so 30 years later it hasn't gone away. I am acutely aware that my skins elasticity has, so I do not want to put this off any longer. I approached a coach today and will be working with him to get me ready. Coach is about to get coached. I love this because I know how hard it is to have my athletes do exactly what I say, they morph it into something they think will work just as good. I understand the importance of doing it all as it is laid out, so I am going to trust him and do what he says. I will blog about this experience as I know I am probably the worst person to coach, ha ha, poor him.
New beginnings of unfinished business. My first mission is to take a starting picture and measurements and send them to him. Whatever I send him, I will post, so if you have questions let me know and I can ask him the questions as well. I realize it is great to brainstorm. I do also have to add alot of cardio so my issue will be gaining weight at a time when mentally I need to lose it for Ironman. I am going to be going through some mental struggles, but in the end it should all end up great if I can just do it all.
On the coaching side, I have an amazing group of people going to Whistler. I have a few repeat Ironman people and then I have quite a few Iron Newbies. This is going to be exciting. We have 2 months of build ahead of us and after that it is race season. I have 10 weeks of building with weights before the diet begins. This should be interesting.
Stay tuned for the meat sweat monologues.
Racing
breaking away....
Monday, April 20, 2015
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
In the Moment
Statistics are a fun thing for a lot of triathletes, they love the lap button on their Garmin, they can't wait to download and unveil the training session they have just completed. Why? So they can see how well they performed. That approach is a little too late. How will that information help your performance. It is historical. It is a good bench mark to see how you improve over time, but how does it help you improve now, at this moment, while you are training.
Treat each practice as an opportunity to do better, to challenge yourself to improve in the moment. I love the garmin alarm for this, it is immediate feedback. It tells you what you are doing in the moment, it allows you to change the course of your practice and allow you to meet the end goal of that practice.
In the swim, I use a tempo trainer and recently introduced the finis heart rate monitor to the other side of my swim cap. I look quite goofy and I am seriously creating more drag with gizmo's. What was I expecting to find out, I wanted to approach my training from a learning mode of being in the moment. The Finis heart rate monitor tells you at specific intervals what your heart rate is, no watch to look at, it speaks to you. That little feature is perfect because the second it tells you your heart rate, if the results are going up, or down you should understand why. If you don't you should be trying to understand why.
My goal this year is to be training at my Maximum Aerobic Function, a number calculated from Maffetone's equation for MAF. This number is supposed to be used for the swim bike and run. I thought that was an interesting change from the previous suggestions of scaling back by 10 percent from the run, to the bike, to the swim. I looked at it and decided I wanted to give it a try. After all I have had issues with aerobic threshold in the water and the run due to sports asthma. Maybe a little training up there would give me a little bit better ability to push it during a race. I was going where I didn't want to go before.
The Finis heart rate monitor woke me up in a hurry. You can't change what you do not acknowledge. I pushed off for my warm up. I was swimming between 100 to 110 bpm. That seemed hard to believe. I could be walking and doing the same. I got into a pace that I thought would be working, and the results were in the mid 120's. Okay so now I had to kick it into overdrive, turn that tempo trainer up, I was really starting to wonder if I could get my heart rate up, it got there, but I also knew that was not my racing stroke rate.
I removed the tempo trainer and tested my pace without a tempo and just through my natural rhythm. I was getting into the 130's but it was low. I then decided to test the components of my practice to see what my heart rate would do. I am a very lazy swimmer. My heart rate didn't come into the 120's for kick, I just don't like going fast I guess. On my back during back stroke it reached the high 120's while I was relaxed, apparently I am not as relaxed on my back, too many air holes pointing up I guess.
My next set proved the theory of how it all relates. Although I kick during my swim apparently it is a gentle movement. When my next set of practicing one flick kick per stroke, I achieved my heart rate goal. My kick is what was missing to get my heart rate up. That makes sense, as I was reducing it to keep my heart rate low. What was very good to learn was that it only takes 1 kick per stroke to get there and that is what I am striving for. Does that one kick per stroke affect my speed compared to my gentle kick per stroke? I wouldn't want to apply something to jack up my heart rate if the return was seriously just heart rate with no speed result. The one kick per stroke effectively reduced my stroke count by one. How do I know that? Because I am not using a gizmo that counts my strokes for me, I count my strokes every length. I do not rely on historical data to answer my questions, I am training in the moment. I am learning with every stroke. With every pushoff I am trying to solve some question on how can I do this better. I am not generally just hoping that with enough repeats of the same thing that I will intuitively learn something that profoundly affects my swim, I am actually planning ways to test ideas on what would help and changing my workout as I go through my practice based on the results from the previous set. How do I know this made me faster? I am using a tempo trainer, how much faster? 1.28 seconds faster on 25 meters. I swam 100 meters, so I improved my speed by over 5 seconds on 100 meters. In a race I would take that in a heart beat! actually about 8 heart beats.
On the bike. I use cadence as my measure, I have a certain cadence that I feel is better suited for my limited lung capacity and my rather stronger legs. I stay within 82 to 96 rpms. I find it difficult to stay near 96 but I keep training there. My race results are usually in the 82 rpm where it is easier to breath. I also watch terrain and try to predict a change in resistance. If there is a cross wind coming from the front, I am watching for tree breaks and gearing at the time I predict the resistance changes rather that wait to respond to an increase in cadence. This saves me many seconds on a bike leg. I use the same strategy for hills and head winds. My whole race strategy is built around the wind and its direction, starting with a tail wind spells disaster to someone who likes to take advantage of a tail wind, they push too hard to get their highest overall speed with a tailwind forgetting the upcoming headwind to the finish line. Then I hear them complaining about leg cramps on the run.
On the run, you have heart rate and cadence as well. If you keep to a 90 cadence you will save your legs and probably avoid some of the leg issues that come from over striding. Keeping a tighter gait will keep the foot turn over high, which limits the time in support and avoids getting high impact from long reaching strides. This is all done in the moment. It changes the outcome.
Your strategy for your race should be as detailed as possible. If you train in the moment you will have a better time during your race as you will have practiced a very special skill that you need when you race. Be in the Moment, be in what you are doing, what you are experiencing and what your body is asking for. This is the way you will race your best and train your best. Use historical data for that, history, use what is happening now to shape the very next thing you do, do not leave it to chance.
Happy training and practicing.
Treat each practice as an opportunity to do better, to challenge yourself to improve in the moment. I love the garmin alarm for this, it is immediate feedback. It tells you what you are doing in the moment, it allows you to change the course of your practice and allow you to meet the end goal of that practice.
In the swim, I use a tempo trainer and recently introduced the finis heart rate monitor to the other side of my swim cap. I look quite goofy and I am seriously creating more drag with gizmo's. What was I expecting to find out, I wanted to approach my training from a learning mode of being in the moment. The Finis heart rate monitor tells you at specific intervals what your heart rate is, no watch to look at, it speaks to you. That little feature is perfect because the second it tells you your heart rate, if the results are going up, or down you should understand why. If you don't you should be trying to understand why.
My goal this year is to be training at my Maximum Aerobic Function, a number calculated from Maffetone's equation for MAF. This number is supposed to be used for the swim bike and run. I thought that was an interesting change from the previous suggestions of scaling back by 10 percent from the run, to the bike, to the swim. I looked at it and decided I wanted to give it a try. After all I have had issues with aerobic threshold in the water and the run due to sports asthma. Maybe a little training up there would give me a little bit better ability to push it during a race. I was going where I didn't want to go before.
The Finis heart rate monitor woke me up in a hurry. You can't change what you do not acknowledge. I pushed off for my warm up. I was swimming between 100 to 110 bpm. That seemed hard to believe. I could be walking and doing the same. I got into a pace that I thought would be working, and the results were in the mid 120's. Okay so now I had to kick it into overdrive, turn that tempo trainer up, I was really starting to wonder if I could get my heart rate up, it got there, but I also knew that was not my racing stroke rate.
I removed the tempo trainer and tested my pace without a tempo and just through my natural rhythm. I was getting into the 130's but it was low. I then decided to test the components of my practice to see what my heart rate would do. I am a very lazy swimmer. My heart rate didn't come into the 120's for kick, I just don't like going fast I guess. On my back during back stroke it reached the high 120's while I was relaxed, apparently I am not as relaxed on my back, too many air holes pointing up I guess.
My next set proved the theory of how it all relates. Although I kick during my swim apparently it is a gentle movement. When my next set of practicing one flick kick per stroke, I achieved my heart rate goal. My kick is what was missing to get my heart rate up. That makes sense, as I was reducing it to keep my heart rate low. What was very good to learn was that it only takes 1 kick per stroke to get there and that is what I am striving for. Does that one kick per stroke affect my speed compared to my gentle kick per stroke? I wouldn't want to apply something to jack up my heart rate if the return was seriously just heart rate with no speed result. The one kick per stroke effectively reduced my stroke count by one. How do I know that? Because I am not using a gizmo that counts my strokes for me, I count my strokes every length. I do not rely on historical data to answer my questions, I am training in the moment. I am learning with every stroke. With every pushoff I am trying to solve some question on how can I do this better. I am not generally just hoping that with enough repeats of the same thing that I will intuitively learn something that profoundly affects my swim, I am actually planning ways to test ideas on what would help and changing my workout as I go through my practice based on the results from the previous set. How do I know this made me faster? I am using a tempo trainer, how much faster? 1.28 seconds faster on 25 meters. I swam 100 meters, so I improved my speed by over 5 seconds on 100 meters. In a race I would take that in a heart beat! actually about 8 heart beats.
On the bike. I use cadence as my measure, I have a certain cadence that I feel is better suited for my limited lung capacity and my rather stronger legs. I stay within 82 to 96 rpms. I find it difficult to stay near 96 but I keep training there. My race results are usually in the 82 rpm where it is easier to breath. I also watch terrain and try to predict a change in resistance. If there is a cross wind coming from the front, I am watching for tree breaks and gearing at the time I predict the resistance changes rather that wait to respond to an increase in cadence. This saves me many seconds on a bike leg. I use the same strategy for hills and head winds. My whole race strategy is built around the wind and its direction, starting with a tail wind spells disaster to someone who likes to take advantage of a tail wind, they push too hard to get their highest overall speed with a tailwind forgetting the upcoming headwind to the finish line. Then I hear them complaining about leg cramps on the run.
On the run, you have heart rate and cadence as well. If you keep to a 90 cadence you will save your legs and probably avoid some of the leg issues that come from over striding. Keeping a tighter gait will keep the foot turn over high, which limits the time in support and avoids getting high impact from long reaching strides. This is all done in the moment. It changes the outcome.
Your strategy for your race should be as detailed as possible. If you train in the moment you will have a better time during your race as you will have practiced a very special skill that you need when you race. Be in the Moment, be in what you are doing, what you are experiencing and what your body is asking for. This is the way you will race your best and train your best. Use historical data for that, history, use what is happening now to shape the very next thing you do, do not leave it to chance.
Happy training and practicing.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Heart Rate Training
The purpose of training by heart rate is to establish the intensity of a specific workout. Most people may go by speeds, or perceived exertion, so why get so specific. The heart rate is a measurement of what is going on in your body during the test. It is specific to the individual. You can have a high maximum heart rate, or a lower maximum heart rate, this is not an indication of your ability, it is a specific measurement of your heart rate, the number of beats your heart takes in a minute.
My goal in writing this article is to make clear why you would use heart rate training and how do you establish your training zones and implement them.
If you understand the need for different types of workouts, then understanding heart rate zones is easy.
Heart Rate Training Zones:
First you should establish your resting heart rate. To accomplish this, first thing in the morning before you get up, you should put on your heart monitor and record your heart rate. It will usually stay close to the same. If it is up 3 or more beats per minute over the norm it could mean you are fighting a bug or are overtraining.
Resting Heart Rate: ___________
Zone 1: Active Recovery 65 – 75 % of Lactate Threshold. Training in this zone: is used for Active Recovery Workouts for the day following high intensity workouts; uses stored fat for energy.
How do you establish your training zones? Go to a lab for testing. Use the calculated zones for your specific training.
Be aware that in the warm up phase of training your body is slow to respond to the bodies call for oxygen. You may experience heart rate spikes during warm up, another reason to start slow and gently warm up, I suggest walking before you begin your runs, this is enough for your body to already start to increase the heart rate and supply the body with the oxygen it needs.
Your heart rate is a measure of how many times your heart beats per minute. Stroke volume is the amount of blood pumped with each heartbeat. With increased conditioning a person’s heart will start to pump more blood volume per beat. This increase provides more oxygen rich blood to the body per beat, this eventually is evident by a lowering of the resting heart rate, and increased ability at the same heart rate. Why does this matter? If you have been training by speed alone a decrease in heart rate at the same speed means you are working at a lower level, you may eventually be under training for the purpose of a specific workout. If you want to make sure your training is quality training and not junk miles, strap on a heart rate monitor and begin to train with purpose and a clear goal for each workout.
First you should establish your resting heart rate. To accomplish this, first thing in the morning before you get up, you should put on your heart monitor and record your heart rate. It will usually stay close to the same. If it is up 3 or more beats per minute over the norm it could mean you are fighting a bug or are overtraining.
Resting Heart Rate: ___________
Zone 1: Active Recovery 65 – 75 % of Lactate Threshold. Training in this zone: is used for Active Recovery Workouts for the day following high intensity workouts; uses stored fat for energy.
Zone 2: Aerobic 75 – 85 % of Lactate Threshold. Training in this Zone: burns a mix of fat and glycogen for energy; will improve your ability to transport oxygen. Endurance intensity.
Zone 3: Threshold 85 – 95 % of Lactate Threshold. Training in this Zone: burns mainly glycogen for energy; is the best zone to climb hills in as it takes less recovery than higher zones; will improve your ability to burn carbohydrates.
Zone 4: Lactate 95 – 105% of Lactate Threshold. Training in this Zone: burns glycogen for energy but without enough oxygen, therefore it is anaerobic; builds speed and a tolerance for lactate acid; raises your lactate threshold; is hard on the body and takes a couple days to recover.
Zone 5: VO2 Max > 105% of Lactate Threshold Training in this zone: is done without oxygen it is completely anaerobic; Short efforts in this zone will increase your VO2 max, the ability of your body to transport oxygen to the working muscles.
Max Heart Rate: ______________
In a Triathlon training season you will be focusing on many different styles of workout, but the most important one would be your aerobic workouts, you want to increase the ability to burn fat for energy. You want to create a training program that doesn’t leave you overtrained and depleted.
How to implement heart rate training in your plan. Heart rate monitors are effective in measuring the body’s response to an increase in workload, but where an increase in speed on a treadmill is immediate, the heart rate response has a lag. It may take a full minute to reach the level it needs to do that work level. For this reason it is valuable to use your heart rate as a target for your long distance runs, keep your heart rate for top of zone 2 your ceiling, you do not want to cross this. For shorter harder intervals, the lag in response makes the heart rate a poor choice for setting your speed. For this reason I use a run test which maps heart rate to speed. This allows me to see what speed gets an athlete into their zone 4 effort. This is helpful as it allows me to retest often to make sure this is still a zone 4 effort and that they are still working hard enough. For zone 4 workouts I give speed targets, not heart rate targets, I can assume the heart rate from the test.
What happens when the results are not showing what we had hoped, an increase in heart rate can be an indication that the body is under stress. Stress can be from training, work, home life, nutrition, or illness coming on. Keeping a diary of resting heart rate can show you when there is an increase in resting heart rate, and what happened in the days leading up to this as far as workouts and life stress. Respect your heart rate on those days and maybe substitute that planned interval run for a recovery run or complete rest. If your heart rate is telling you what is going on inside it is important to learn from this.
In conclusion you can benefit from heart rate training as it gives you a window into what is going on inside. You will know if you are working easy enough, or hard enough depending on the goal of the workout. You will also be able to run tests to show a change in conditioning which can signal a need to change your program up. This is key, training with a purpose will get you to your goals.
Monday, January 2, 2012
New Year and New Goals
I am currently working on a heart rate training article to put up later this week, and realize that with the New Year, I got to see quite a few people I haven't seen since Ironman taking their first dip in the pool. I am happy they were able to break from the routine for a good break so that they were ready to come back in the New Year. Some people never do take that break, it is essential to have a beginning and end to the training plan. You need a break from the constant focus on goals. Now that that break is over for most, I am here to remind people to go back slowly.
Exercise patience and know that with patience you can build it back up without injury. You can get that personal best without trashing your body. You can focus on one thing at a time with absolute clarity and make that change happen. Focus on the few things this year that haunted you last year. Was it your technique, now is a good time to make that a priority, with focused practice. Was it shoulder and breathing problems, go to yoga and work on breathing and mobility. Look for the most benefit you can get from the low heart rate training that will have the most lasting effect on your sport. Your best bet is anything that is knowledge and habit based, it takes a long time to create change. Begin today with a goal and work towards that goal.
You can't change what you don't acknowledge, so give yourself time to analyze what one thing could you change that would have a lasting effect, make that your goal.
Happy New Years, I anticipate great things this year, as I sit in a Canadian winter that seems to be the eternal fall or spring, this gives me hope our summer will be warm and of course produce some fast, fast races.
Exercise patience and know that with patience you can build it back up without injury. You can get that personal best without trashing your body. You can focus on one thing at a time with absolute clarity and make that change happen. Focus on the few things this year that haunted you last year. Was it your technique, now is a good time to make that a priority, with focused practice. Was it shoulder and breathing problems, go to yoga and work on breathing and mobility. Look for the most benefit you can get from the low heart rate training that will have the most lasting effect on your sport. Your best bet is anything that is knowledge and habit based, it takes a long time to create change. Begin today with a goal and work towards that goal.
You can't change what you don't acknowledge, so give yourself time to analyze what one thing could you change that would have a lasting effect, make that your goal.
Happy New Years, I anticipate great things this year, as I sit in a Canadian winter that seems to be the eternal fall or spring, this gives me hope our summer will be warm and of course produce some fast, fast races.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Inner Strength the Key to Success in Life and Racing
Inner Strength can be the defining moment between you deciding greatness or giving up and settling. I have to say I have been put in positions in my life where people say you were so strong, I said where was my choice. I guess that is it, you have those moments in life where you feel you are just going to have to keep going regardless as there isn't another option. "If your walking through hell....keep walking." Winston Churchill. However, there are those moments where the couch may look more inviting than that cold pool on a late winter night. The difference it makes is your ability to have the integrity to follow through and know that each decision leads you to your goals. You need the inner strength to keep your focus.
Where does this inner strength come from, it comes from making a decision that you will live up to the definition you hold of yourself. If you expect more, you will do more to get it. If you are prepared to be status quo, you can't make a change. You will keep repeating yourself and your results won't change. You must put your goals on paper and you must live up to your goals if you are going to make a change.
Physically you can go through the motions and become fitter and that will carry you through. At some point that will plateau, unless you make a change in how you prepare there is no way for you to make that change to get better. Identify your limiter, this is hard because most people do not want to acknowledge their own weaknesses, they hate swim because they aren't any good, they aren't gifted runners as they are always injured. These are excuses. When you can identify that you are always getting injured running, stop doing the same thing over and over, look for alternative things that may cause an issue with your running, look for solutions instead of excuses.
Inner strength comes from acknowledging a weakness and putting your focus on removing it from your definition of who you are. Some people it is simply a fear of commitment, a fear of never completing anything that is written so clearly on their identity that they fail to commit to make the change. They want to settle for where they are, because to acknowledge they could improve means they would have to expect more from themselves.
We all know Inner Strength as Will Power. You need will power to make change, you need focus to make change, you need determination to make change. When you start to look at these qualities we need, we all have them. Courage to make a change and accept that you could accomplish anything you put your mind to. This is something that is life changing, we expect more from ourselves and we stand up and do more.
Where does this spark to make change come from....inspiration, motivation, these are things that may be exterior to ourselves. We may see someone we admire and want to do something they have done. We may get inspired by a group of people that we wish to be like and to fit in we begin to take on some of their qualities, even if it goes against our natural tendencies. Whatever your motivation or inspiration, look for ways to keep the inspiration and motivation feeding your will power. Keep looking for ways to stay strong in your focus to achieve that goal you have set.
For some it is enrolling in a run class because they don't like to run on our own. Others it may be the gym by work, it is easier to go there at lunch for a quick workout than to try to do something at home on our own. Take the time to evaluate what would contribute to your success and make it a priority to make those things happen.
There is no feeling better than to create a dream or goal, to put your energy and focus on that goal and to achieve that goal. That goal for some is to swim a length without stopping, for some it is a Try a Tri, because to be able to achieve that means that I have learned to swim, I have asked myself to do something outside my comfort zone, I have conquered a fear. Whatever you do to rewrite your own personal definition to make it a list of achievement instead of a list of limitations, the power of positive thinking will be contagious.
Every morning begin your day for being thankful you have goals, you have your health, you have this day, there may never be another one. If you could choose to do anything on this one day let it be a day of adverture finding out what else you can do, what other accomplishments are out there you can claim as your own. Treat every day as an opportunity, life will change, you will be eager to try new things to ask more of yourself, dare to live each day to its fullest, make your life one of adventure and achievment. Take this attitue into your job, your relationship and your sport and you will live a fuller life. Inner Strength is the foundation we build our physical strength on. With a strong foundation, we will be prepared for anything.
Now go out and conquer your day!
Where does this inner strength come from, it comes from making a decision that you will live up to the definition you hold of yourself. If you expect more, you will do more to get it. If you are prepared to be status quo, you can't make a change. You will keep repeating yourself and your results won't change. You must put your goals on paper and you must live up to your goals if you are going to make a change.
Physically you can go through the motions and become fitter and that will carry you through. At some point that will plateau, unless you make a change in how you prepare there is no way for you to make that change to get better. Identify your limiter, this is hard because most people do not want to acknowledge their own weaknesses, they hate swim because they aren't any good, they aren't gifted runners as they are always injured. These are excuses. When you can identify that you are always getting injured running, stop doing the same thing over and over, look for alternative things that may cause an issue with your running, look for solutions instead of excuses.
Inner strength comes from acknowledging a weakness and putting your focus on removing it from your definition of who you are. Some people it is simply a fear of commitment, a fear of never completing anything that is written so clearly on their identity that they fail to commit to make the change. They want to settle for where they are, because to acknowledge they could improve means they would have to expect more from themselves.
We all know Inner Strength as Will Power. You need will power to make change, you need focus to make change, you need determination to make change. When you start to look at these qualities we need, we all have them. Courage to make a change and accept that you could accomplish anything you put your mind to. This is something that is life changing, we expect more from ourselves and we stand up and do more.
Where does this spark to make change come from....inspiration, motivation, these are things that may be exterior to ourselves. We may see someone we admire and want to do something they have done. We may get inspired by a group of people that we wish to be like and to fit in we begin to take on some of their qualities, even if it goes against our natural tendencies. Whatever your motivation or inspiration, look for ways to keep the inspiration and motivation feeding your will power. Keep looking for ways to stay strong in your focus to achieve that goal you have set.
For some it is enrolling in a run class because they don't like to run on our own. Others it may be the gym by work, it is easier to go there at lunch for a quick workout than to try to do something at home on our own. Take the time to evaluate what would contribute to your success and make it a priority to make those things happen.
There is no feeling better than to create a dream or goal, to put your energy and focus on that goal and to achieve that goal. That goal for some is to swim a length without stopping, for some it is a Try a Tri, because to be able to achieve that means that I have learned to swim, I have asked myself to do something outside my comfort zone, I have conquered a fear. Whatever you do to rewrite your own personal definition to make it a list of achievement instead of a list of limitations, the power of positive thinking will be contagious.
Every morning begin your day for being thankful you have goals, you have your health, you have this day, there may never be another one. If you could choose to do anything on this one day let it be a day of adverture finding out what else you can do, what other accomplishments are out there you can claim as your own. Treat every day as an opportunity, life will change, you will be eager to try new things to ask more of yourself, dare to live each day to its fullest, make your life one of adventure and achievment. Take this attitue into your job, your relationship and your sport and you will live a fuller life. Inner Strength is the foundation we build our physical strength on. With a strong foundation, we will be prepared for anything.
Now go out and conquer your day!
Friday, October 14, 2011
The Ketogenic Diet cured my daughter's seizures
My first child was born healthy and very happy, we had everything we had hoped for, after her second set of immunizations Amanda developed infantile spasms, a type of seizure that is linked to West Syndrome. She was misdiagnosed with West Syndrome which is where one hemisphere of the brain develops slower than the other. Most likely her problem was a vaccine reaction. Amanda was born in 1996 and developed seizures when she was 5 months old. She would have a set of 12 to 15 every 4 hours to begin with. They looked like a full body crunch with an eye roll, brief, but the repetition made them very difficult for Amanda.
She was initially treated with massive doses of prednisone, which removed the happy go lucky girl we knew and loved. She gained a lot of weight and at first we saw a decline in seizures, then it turned around, she started having sets of 200 spasms which took over 1 hour to happen, life was becoming unbearable.
Once the prednisone failed the next drug suggested was Depekane. I was not interested. I was caught in a tough spot, her life had gotten more difficult by introducing the last drug. I looked into possible side effects and saw liver failure. Amanda was more of a Murphy's law kid, if it could go wrong it usually would go wrong. I tried one dose of the drug she threw up immediately and I threw it out.
I had been checking on-line at the time for drugs and solutions to what Amanda had and how to possibly fix it. My dad mentioned the movie "First do no Harm". Someone told him about it. I just kept searching and didn't give much weight to my Dad's suggestion. I still found my way back to that suggestions, my own way, the longer way. I found a website that discussed West Syndrome and everyone was really depressed. I found a website that discussed drug therapy and from the parent's perspective what the good, bad of each treatment was. That website was eye opening, many drugs per kid over many years and no solutions.
I then found the website on the Ketogenic Diet, people were optomistic and chatty, happy, struggling but with purpose. I found the group I wanted to belong to, the happy ones. I ordered the video and the book and did my reading. I was thinking we would have to travel to the United States to John's Hopkins to get the diet done, I was prepared to do anything. I was discussing my choice with an early intervention worker. She mentioned an upcoming Epilepsy seminar that had a local Doctor in Edmonton and a Ketogenic Diet Coaches that were local. They were going to be there and it was the upcoming weekend. I couldn't believe how luck could be so close to us. I went to the seminar and met with the Doctor and Team. I needed a referral, and it was suggested I get a referral to the Glenrose as well for her assessment.
I was happy to be leaving my other Doctor, he was prescribing Prednisone, going on holidays and doing absolutely no testing of her blood to make sure she wasn't suffering from the treatment. I met a family who had nearly lost their daughter to Prednisone at the Epilepsy Seminar. I was starting to feel like every opportunity of treatment that involved drugs had a shady side the doctor's weren't willing to discuss or acknowledge, they kept placing the blame and the focus on what they were treating instead of possible side effects of the treatment.
I made it, Amanda began the diet close to the University Hospital, it couldn't be done in the hospital as they didn't approve of the treatment, but we needed to be close in case she had issues during the fasting process. Amanda had no problems fasting, she quit eating period. I had been breast feeding and she had never wanted to take a bottle, now she wouldn't eat or drink. She was allergic to cow's milk a big portion of the diet is usually milk. I was hunting for alternatives, it was becoming difficult. Finally I found a formula just for this, it had protein and fat, it was soy based and I could order it in locally.
After dropping 10 pounds in a very short time, Amanda was put on a Nose tube. She then quit swallowing. You see the Murphy's law yes, if it could go wrong it did. After being on the nose tube and no longer swallowing she was headed for a g-tube. Once the g-tube was in I thought my problems were over, not. She now had reflux, what when in, came right back out and with a child that doesn't swallow, the other option is to choke constantly. We started her on zantac and prepulsid (this drug is no longer on the market due to heart problems it caused). Once the food stayed in, the seizures slowly went away.
We were nervous to do a count, we recorded seizures every day in a book, we were recording less and less, then it was no longer daily, then we crossed our fingers and hoped we wouldn't have to open the book again. The only time Amanda had seizures was if she got sick and threw up her meal. For the next 3 years Amanda was on the diet. I researched more and more and discovered her other issues were Autistic in nature, they could also be linked to prednisone as a possible cause. She didn't talk anymore, she had irrational fears and couldn't walk independently. She had issues with balance, she could only walk with her fisher price walker, she screamed in any other room than the room we were in for most of the day, to lay her in the bath was torture. It was all proprioceptive. We began substituting some of her oil for yeast free oil and added Nystatin to her regime. I was pregnant with my second child and Amanda still needed to be carried everywhere at 4 years old. I couldn't possibly carry two kids.
Within days Amanda let go of her fisher price walker and stood in the middle of the living room, something she had never done before. Although this is what I had researched should be the outcome, my Murphy's law little girl hid behind this glowing girl free standing in my living room. Within weeks she started taking a few steps, then walking along the wall. She lost her fear of the other rooms, the upstairs and soon I began to understand some of her fears. She would duck down when she came into my bedroom where there was a ceiling fan going. She had no idea how far away it was, it scared her. Two weeks before the birth of my son and 4 months after beginning the Nystatin, Amanda walked down the middle of the hallway without holding onto the walls. My life was starting to get some sunshine back in it, the happy girl was returning, life was something we were beginning to live again.
One of the things that prevent people from taking drastic steps towards holistic treatment is usually it is not the advice of their treating Doctor. I do not think people should just choose to do this treatment unless they have researched it and understand that your life becomes the diet, the diet is first and foremost the only thing that matters. We had a 13 hour schedule, she was on a g-tube from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. with short breaks. I purchased a Pet pump to allow us the freedom to go into town and buy groceries or go for a meal. This was after being on the g-tube for 2 years already before hand. I was anal and had complete control of everything in her life, this is a very stressful position to be in. If there was a mistake, a seizure it was my fault, I took very few risks without researching them. Any change to her diet could bring on a seizure, so adding Nystatin was a risk that had to be worth while.
I believed in the diet and the exactness of it. I experimented with why there were problems, you couldn't put the oil into the meal or it stuck to her bag and tube leaving behind important grams of oil that would drastically change the ratio of the diet. I used a syringe for the oil, I also understood that she could throw up during a meal, which again would change the ratio, so I would divide the oil, first 1/2 before her first 1/2 of the meal the other 1/2 before the second half of her meal. I used Ross Carbohydrate formula for her main ingredient, I added baby food that had protein and veggies in it, usually a chicken and broccoli from heinz, or a carrots and beef from heinz, either way the GI index of the vegetable plays a big roll, not all carbs should be used as the higher the GI the more likely of seizure activity. I added the oil at the end to the tenth of a gram I used safflower oil once we went on Nystatin.
My daughter is 15, she hasn't had a seizure since she was 2 or 3 years old. She speaks, she walks, runs a bit. She still suffers developmental delays and although she looks normal she has typical autistic behaviours except, she is sociable, loves to be hugged, kissed, she likes eye contact, but has a very short attention span and still has a lot of sensitivities to sound. She loves music, she is a growing teenager with a sweet tooth. I let her eat whatever she wants. I control the sugar as it gives her most of her behaviours. Do I believe that keeping her on a controlled diet would help, yes, it may help her cope a lot better. Right now we are trying to live with less control and enjoy the time we have. We are living every day to its fullest and in time I may find ways to improve her situation further, but for now I am so very thankful for her health, her ability to be who she is and to always be positive and happy.
She was initially treated with massive doses of prednisone, which removed the happy go lucky girl we knew and loved. She gained a lot of weight and at first we saw a decline in seizures, then it turned around, she started having sets of 200 spasms which took over 1 hour to happen, life was becoming unbearable.
Once the prednisone failed the next drug suggested was Depekane. I was not interested. I was caught in a tough spot, her life had gotten more difficult by introducing the last drug. I looked into possible side effects and saw liver failure. Amanda was more of a Murphy's law kid, if it could go wrong it usually would go wrong. I tried one dose of the drug she threw up immediately and I threw it out.
I had been checking on-line at the time for drugs and solutions to what Amanda had and how to possibly fix it. My dad mentioned the movie "First do no Harm". Someone told him about it. I just kept searching and didn't give much weight to my Dad's suggestion. I still found my way back to that suggestions, my own way, the longer way. I found a website that discussed West Syndrome and everyone was really depressed. I found a website that discussed drug therapy and from the parent's perspective what the good, bad of each treatment was. That website was eye opening, many drugs per kid over many years and no solutions.
I then found the website on the Ketogenic Diet, people were optomistic and chatty, happy, struggling but with purpose. I found the group I wanted to belong to, the happy ones. I ordered the video and the book and did my reading. I was thinking we would have to travel to the United States to John's Hopkins to get the diet done, I was prepared to do anything. I was discussing my choice with an early intervention worker. She mentioned an upcoming Epilepsy seminar that had a local Doctor in Edmonton and a Ketogenic Diet Coaches that were local. They were going to be there and it was the upcoming weekend. I couldn't believe how luck could be so close to us. I went to the seminar and met with the Doctor and Team. I needed a referral, and it was suggested I get a referral to the Glenrose as well for her assessment.
I was happy to be leaving my other Doctor, he was prescribing Prednisone, going on holidays and doing absolutely no testing of her blood to make sure she wasn't suffering from the treatment. I met a family who had nearly lost their daughter to Prednisone at the Epilepsy Seminar. I was starting to feel like every opportunity of treatment that involved drugs had a shady side the doctor's weren't willing to discuss or acknowledge, they kept placing the blame and the focus on what they were treating instead of possible side effects of the treatment.
I made it, Amanda began the diet close to the University Hospital, it couldn't be done in the hospital as they didn't approve of the treatment, but we needed to be close in case she had issues during the fasting process. Amanda had no problems fasting, she quit eating period. I had been breast feeding and she had never wanted to take a bottle, now she wouldn't eat or drink. She was allergic to cow's milk a big portion of the diet is usually milk. I was hunting for alternatives, it was becoming difficult. Finally I found a formula just for this, it had protein and fat, it was soy based and I could order it in locally.
After dropping 10 pounds in a very short time, Amanda was put on a Nose tube. She then quit swallowing. You see the Murphy's law yes, if it could go wrong it did. After being on the nose tube and no longer swallowing she was headed for a g-tube. Once the g-tube was in I thought my problems were over, not. She now had reflux, what when in, came right back out and with a child that doesn't swallow, the other option is to choke constantly. We started her on zantac and prepulsid (this drug is no longer on the market due to heart problems it caused). Once the food stayed in, the seizures slowly went away.
We were nervous to do a count, we recorded seizures every day in a book, we were recording less and less, then it was no longer daily, then we crossed our fingers and hoped we wouldn't have to open the book again. The only time Amanda had seizures was if she got sick and threw up her meal. For the next 3 years Amanda was on the diet. I researched more and more and discovered her other issues were Autistic in nature, they could also be linked to prednisone as a possible cause. She didn't talk anymore, she had irrational fears and couldn't walk independently. She had issues with balance, she could only walk with her fisher price walker, she screamed in any other room than the room we were in for most of the day, to lay her in the bath was torture. It was all proprioceptive. We began substituting some of her oil for yeast free oil and added Nystatin to her regime. I was pregnant with my second child and Amanda still needed to be carried everywhere at 4 years old. I couldn't possibly carry two kids.
Within days Amanda let go of her fisher price walker and stood in the middle of the living room, something she had never done before. Although this is what I had researched should be the outcome, my Murphy's law little girl hid behind this glowing girl free standing in my living room. Within weeks she started taking a few steps, then walking along the wall. She lost her fear of the other rooms, the upstairs and soon I began to understand some of her fears. She would duck down when she came into my bedroom where there was a ceiling fan going. She had no idea how far away it was, it scared her. Two weeks before the birth of my son and 4 months after beginning the Nystatin, Amanda walked down the middle of the hallway without holding onto the walls. My life was starting to get some sunshine back in it, the happy girl was returning, life was something we were beginning to live again.
One of the things that prevent people from taking drastic steps towards holistic treatment is usually it is not the advice of their treating Doctor. I do not think people should just choose to do this treatment unless they have researched it and understand that your life becomes the diet, the diet is first and foremost the only thing that matters. We had a 13 hour schedule, she was on a g-tube from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. with short breaks. I purchased a Pet pump to allow us the freedom to go into town and buy groceries or go for a meal. This was after being on the g-tube for 2 years already before hand. I was anal and had complete control of everything in her life, this is a very stressful position to be in. If there was a mistake, a seizure it was my fault, I took very few risks without researching them. Any change to her diet could bring on a seizure, so adding Nystatin was a risk that had to be worth while.
I believed in the diet and the exactness of it. I experimented with why there were problems, you couldn't put the oil into the meal or it stuck to her bag and tube leaving behind important grams of oil that would drastically change the ratio of the diet. I used a syringe for the oil, I also understood that she could throw up during a meal, which again would change the ratio, so I would divide the oil, first 1/2 before her first 1/2 of the meal the other 1/2 before the second half of her meal. I used Ross Carbohydrate formula for her main ingredient, I added baby food that had protein and veggies in it, usually a chicken and broccoli from heinz, or a carrots and beef from heinz, either way the GI index of the vegetable plays a big roll, not all carbs should be used as the higher the GI the more likely of seizure activity. I added the oil at the end to the tenth of a gram I used safflower oil once we went on Nystatin.
My daughter is 15, she hasn't had a seizure since she was 2 or 3 years old. She speaks, she walks, runs a bit. She still suffers developmental delays and although she looks normal she has typical autistic behaviours except, she is sociable, loves to be hugged, kissed, she likes eye contact, but has a very short attention span and still has a lot of sensitivities to sound. She loves music, she is a growing teenager with a sweet tooth. I let her eat whatever she wants. I control the sugar as it gives her most of her behaviours. Do I believe that keeping her on a controlled diet would help, yes, it may help her cope a lot better. Right now we are trying to live with less control and enjoy the time we have. We are living every day to its fullest and in time I may find ways to improve her situation further, but for now I am so very thankful for her health, her ability to be who she is and to always be positive and happy.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Balance in the water
Every once in a while things click, you may have worked on them for months or years and finally it is just clear. I had a moment in Minneapolis where the whole issue of head position just clicked. I have been studying posture and been focusing a lot on its impact of other things we do especially as it applies to Triathlon. During a backstroke session with Terry he kept telling me to pull my chin in. This kept my body in a straight plane and not the bent stick I was becoming on my back.
The Why's
Why on my front when I relax my head and let the water take it does it not translate into backstroke?
Why am I physically activating my neck extensors to fix my body line on my back?
If it isn't working for me in the back stroke can I assume it isn't working in Freestyle?
My posture assessment shows a forward head position, to be in a horizonal line in the water I would have to pull my head back to line it up, this is not the same as weightless head. It falls into laser lead and lengthen your vessel, neither of which give you a relaxed head position, so is relaxing the head for me a mistake as my shortened neck extensors and lengthened neck flexors leave me with a forward head position. This is something that was revealed in my physical assessment.
I took my questions to the pool and did up a workout, to my amazement, my head position is now pulled back, it allows me easy air on both sides without actually tricking myself to go for air early on the opposite side I naturally breath on. I need to engage the muscles in my neck to get my head in line.
How should it feel, if you stand against a wall and pretend you are being measured you lengthen your neck by pushing up and back through the top of your had, the back is where your chin is going, if you were to stand at attention, same thing, the chin would come in.
How it works. Get on your back in skate position with one arm at the side hugging your inner thigh and the other out in skate position in a 45 degree angle float, just off your back and allow your lead hand to reach, but fingers come to just below the surface of the water. Keep kicking on your back adjusting your chin position. Do not allow the chin to tuck so that your head tilts, you want a straight line from top of the head to your toes.
Once you establish your balance on your back, go back to skate on your front and try and get the same head position. Yes it is different, when you do an interrupted breath, you should return to balance on your back, if you are again out of balance you head has changed postion, keep practicing skate 45 degrees on your front, going to an interrupted breath at 45 degrees on your back until you feel you are holding your head in the same position for both. You should be able to roll without moving up and down in the water, make sure it comes from the hips.
Once you have your head in control go to swim. Try to keep the focus on your head position, you are now going to bilateral breath. Before each breath recheck your head position and correct if you have lost it, roll for air, it is right there, no matter which side you go to the air is always there, your head is in the position it needs to be to reach air. There is no change in the body line in the water, the rotation is around your axis with no distortions.
In summary, if you are suffering posture problems and practicing swim, you must use posture correction even in the water to avoid your posture becoming responsible for your next injury. If your posture is in balance, you are in balance in the water, any deviation of your posture will be magnified in the water. If you have kyphosis, or a large upper back curve, this is something you will have to work on all the time trying to get your head back, that large curve sets your head down at one and and your legs down at the other end, some people reach too far forward with their arms which puts a huge stress on the lower back, make sure you are reaching in front to a slightly lower target, this will allow you to get your legs up higher. It will relieve a lot of the lower back issues you may be getting from swimming.
Work on the posture and see all of your sports improve. The body is a beautiful thing, work wonders with yours and see what it can achieve.
The Why's
Why on my front when I relax my head and let the water take it does it not translate into backstroke?
Why am I physically activating my neck extensors to fix my body line on my back?
If it isn't working for me in the back stroke can I assume it isn't working in Freestyle?
My posture assessment shows a forward head position, to be in a horizonal line in the water I would have to pull my head back to line it up, this is not the same as weightless head. It falls into laser lead and lengthen your vessel, neither of which give you a relaxed head position, so is relaxing the head for me a mistake as my shortened neck extensors and lengthened neck flexors leave me with a forward head position. This is something that was revealed in my physical assessment.
I took my questions to the pool and did up a workout, to my amazement, my head position is now pulled back, it allows me easy air on both sides without actually tricking myself to go for air early on the opposite side I naturally breath on. I need to engage the muscles in my neck to get my head in line.
How should it feel, if you stand against a wall and pretend you are being measured you lengthen your neck by pushing up and back through the top of your had, the back is where your chin is going, if you were to stand at attention, same thing, the chin would come in.
How it works. Get on your back in skate position with one arm at the side hugging your inner thigh and the other out in skate position in a 45 degree angle float, just off your back and allow your lead hand to reach, but fingers come to just below the surface of the water. Keep kicking on your back adjusting your chin position. Do not allow the chin to tuck so that your head tilts, you want a straight line from top of the head to your toes.
Once you establish your balance on your back, go back to skate on your front and try and get the same head position. Yes it is different, when you do an interrupted breath, you should return to balance on your back, if you are again out of balance you head has changed postion, keep practicing skate 45 degrees on your front, going to an interrupted breath at 45 degrees on your back until you feel you are holding your head in the same position for both. You should be able to roll without moving up and down in the water, make sure it comes from the hips.
Once you have your head in control go to swim. Try to keep the focus on your head position, you are now going to bilateral breath. Before each breath recheck your head position and correct if you have lost it, roll for air, it is right there, no matter which side you go to the air is always there, your head is in the position it needs to be to reach air. There is no change in the body line in the water, the rotation is around your axis with no distortions.
In summary, if you are suffering posture problems and practicing swim, you must use posture correction even in the water to avoid your posture becoming responsible for your next injury. If your posture is in balance, you are in balance in the water, any deviation of your posture will be magnified in the water. If you have kyphosis, or a large upper back curve, this is something you will have to work on all the time trying to get your head back, that large curve sets your head down at one and and your legs down at the other end, some people reach too far forward with their arms which puts a huge stress on the lower back, make sure you are reaching in front to a slightly lower target, this will allow you to get your legs up higher. It will relieve a lot of the lower back issues you may be getting from swimming.
Work on the posture and see all of your sports improve. The body is a beautiful thing, work wonders with yours and see what it can achieve.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)