BioSPORT

I’ve never read so much as I have these holidays. Accordingly one of my goals for the year is to keep some good consistency up - fiction, non-fiction and ‘continued-ed’.

Even after 20+ years as a clinician I’m still loving the process of upskilling. So with the online programming this year I’m going to be adding more strength/resistance training to the content. The evidence around lifting heavy weights w low rep counts for the endurance athlete is very powerful. So by mid-Feb all existing Efficient Athlete programmes will have an S&C component.

More updates coming soon.

‘Leaping/Bounding/Propelling’ myself into ‘24. Judging the tide slightly wrong this morning doing the yearly Lighthouse Walk by Tutukaka w/ meant leaping the fast rising surge.

But, in true GP fashion, it’s a metaphor for the year ahead. So what can you expect from me in the upcoming 12months?

✍️ Content: A load of new content on a regular basis. In the form of blog posts and a tonne of social media video content. Constantly striving to break down barriers to entry of movement health, but also bringing clarity to a lot of subjects that overwhelm the athlete only causing confusion and frustration.

📲Online Courses: at least two new courses landing in the next two months. PLUS a heap of exciting updates to the existing Core Stability 101 and Efficient Runner/Cyclist programmes.

🏃Running: I grew up as a sailor and mountain biker in Hawkes Bay, and accordingly I’ve never found the love of road running. Admittedly I do love trail running, but the practicality (especially during the week) of finding good trails is hard, so I have set the task of running the Auckland Half Marathon this year, hoping for a sub-140 time. Will document (with honesty) the training right here.

📔Diary: I have been running a 110% over-booked diary for the last few months. It’s unsustainable. And I got close to burnout towards the end of the year. So as of Jan 8 I am putting my diary into lockdown. All bookings will still be via - not me, but that’s all I will have on offer. I need my diary to work for me and if I want/need to get all the previous points ✅ed then this is what I have to do.

➕other side projects that will keep me dialled in:
👉 Bringing corporate movement health solutions to the market with great friend
👉 Representing with more consistent racing at the events
👉 Doing cool s**t with cool people: as the top of the pile…….

So that’s a start. I hope you come along for the ride w me!

Happy 2024 bioSPORTers!

To say that I am beyond excited for the year ahead is a gross understatement. My team and I have some huge plans, so I’d like to thank you for your continued support.

2023 was my biggest year ever. In so many ways. 2024 will be a doubling down.
Keep your 👀‘s peeled.

When on holiday: HAVE FUN! It’s the easiest and fastest way to get consistency in exercise without it being a ‘chore’.

For the record, and you may be surprised to hear this, I’m sh at tennis. Yet playing for 90min w and this afternoon was the most fun I’ve had all holiday.

Let the sponsorship offers roll in…..

Epic Boxing Day blowout on the new board. Truly a ground breaker in light wind . Thanks .

From us, the bioSPORT team, to you and your loved ones: MEERRRRRRY CHRISTMAS!

May your day be filled with festive frolicking, rollicking laughter, and pav!

Holiday Mode: ✅

BioSPORT on : The Christmas Edition w/ .

Absolutely love these opportunities to talk movement health live in the radio. Breaking down a few myths,having a good laugh, taking challenging calls live to air. It’s all in a Sun-days work.

As posted by , the UCI is banning internally rotated brake levers in road racing next year.

By all accounts the rationale seems to be around ‘excessive modification’. But I have never been a fan.

I think mechanically they put the wrist/elbow alignment in a poor relationship. In order to stay ‘aero’ the elbows should stay inline (at a minimum) w/ the wrist/shoulder line. An internally rotated hood sends the elbow outside this line by default, and by therefore this will have a negative effect on Lats (your chicken wings) activation: a major trunk stabiliser.

But also, in close quarters racing, does it now increase the likelihood of brake levers getting caught up? An elite rider I tested this week says no? 🤔

I have always said, with your hoods vertical, you can still get super aero, you still have full and easy access to shifting gears and brake access. AND you’re still able stabilise your trunk perfectly.

Thoughts welcome.

New content dump today and tomorrow for The Efficient Cyclist programme.

Infographics on accurate pedalling technique (to unload the lower back!), how to get more aero videos, and a HEAP of new exercises specific to riding efficiency.

Link in bio for more deets.

There is ambiguity around doing core exercises, for the athlete, in isolation. But if you want your higher level movement patterns - running, cycling, swimming etc - to be efficient, then you MUST be stable first.

I work with athletes of all levels. From absolute beginners to Olympic and World Champions. The process is the same: get stable first so the complexity of your sport is where you want it to be.

My free Core Stability 101 course, which is live now, goes through all the processes I go through with my elites. So why wouldn’t you get free access and build confidence and efficiency into the way you move.

Link here to access this free offer: https://www.biosport.co.nz/core-stability-101-free

Ready to race at the marathon race at . Will be full gas on the new 685DW foil and XPS 5.3. 🤞🤞🤞

Needing a great physio in Hamilton.

Northern Hamilton (Flagstaff-ish).

Please GO.

Thanks.

I’ll admit, my competitive running days have been behind me for a while. And I do miss it - trail running especially.

But over the past few years I’ve done a number of walking events w my mum () and I simply LOVE it. I love the fact that we’re walking together. I love the ‘good chat’. And I love the fact that at 70ish mum is still full gas walking.

So we’re off to do the in .

And this year we have joining us, except she’s the athlete running the full distance.

Burgers and beer to finish.

Live today on Newstalk ZB from 4-5 on the Health Hub, with Tim Beverege.

Talking do’s and don’ts re. strength exercises and stretching for runners, learn to run protocols as we enter summer and what corporate wellness should look like specifically around movement health and it’s affects on business health.

On Sunday I had an epic days Wingfoil racing at the Manly Yacht Club, run by .

It was the first time I had raced in months, the first time on the water in 3 weeks (sickness and Auckland harbour 💩 issues….🤢), so I was a little nervous.

Factor in riding my new gear which I’m close to, but not fully dialled in to, AND the anxiety of watching the v Ireland that morning, it was a huge relief to sail really well (mostly). The Armstrong gear is super quick - FYI.

So after all that nervousness, I’m still fizzing with excitement 3 days later and cannot wait to race again.

Take home tip: get out there and just do it. Don’t overthink the situation. Make fun the priority. Your body and mental health will thank you for days to come!

📸

Cadence, as shown in the previous post, is high and locked in for the world’s best distance runners. It’s a metronome.

So if you feel your cadence is a little low, how do you safely get it higher and keep it there? (For this post, we’re assuming you’re running tempo, not race pace as that would be a little higher).

Firstly, understand your cadence ‘window’ (a guide, not a fixed template) as your height and body composition will effect your ‘ideal’ cadence:

152cm/5'0" - 167cm/5'5": 92-96
167cm/5'5" - 182cm/6'0": 88-94
182cm/6'0" - up: 82-88

Then, when running flats make note of your current cadence and HR. Let’s say 170 @ 135bpm. Calculate +/- 3% of 170 (5) and add: 175. That’s your new target until you can sustain it at the (+/-) precious heart rate. It will take time, but within a few weeks, assuming regular running during the week, it will stabilise.

I have also found a very strong correlation in getting the runner to be more upright and how this, by default, will increase the cadence - without specific cueing. So if you do have a tendency of leaning forward, which is associated with a reduced running efficiency, then start by pushing the pelvis forward a little and using the deep core to maintain a more upright (ie: not anterior/forward) pelvic position.

Notice what happens with fatigue. Over the length of the run, does your cadence start to drop. Being conscious of this will allow you to manage it better when you’re actually fatigued. As I always say, make sure, you keep ‘Cadence’ as a visible field on your watch.

I’m interested to hear from you. How tall are you, what’s your cadence, and how well can you sustain said cadence.

How interesting is this? In a 2023 study by Gamex-Paya et al (Footstrike Pattern and Cadence of the Marathon Athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games) they found this:

The eight finalists in the marathon exhibited an average cadence of 185.5 ± 5.1 steps per minute, with a coefficient of variation of 2.7%. Interestingly, there were no significant differences in cadence among the different race segments, indicating a consistent and stable cadence maintained by the athletes throughout the 10 km to 40 km distance. When focusing on the three medalists, their mean cadence was 188.6 ± 2.3 steps per minute, with a coefficient of variation of 1.2%.

The technique is so bedded in, that not even fatigue will change the cadence of the runner. And yes, I get it, they’re the world’s best, but clearly they are all conscious of the negative effects of a lower cadence, so (I’d guess) even in training they work to their optimum cadence level (which when in L2 will be lower than this I’d assume, as cadence is speed sensitive) all the time.

What is interesting, when compared to long distance trained athletes (but not elite) and recreational runners, the elites were consistently higher.

There are a huge number of variables that affects a runners cadence, but to see this consistency, and level of cadence in the elites confirms that it is something that all runners should be conscious of.

As we say in the industry “fatigue is a bitch”. For the athlete, it’s everything we’re trying to delay the on-site of - for a multitude of reasons.

New blog post link in bio.

I’m not going to say this is always easy work. Some athletes want the quick fix. The silver bullet. And as much as a lot can be done in a single session/assessment, it’s hard to get good traction.

So when you work w athletes and it’s a collaborative environment, exciting things can happen.

Emails like this it makes all the hard sessions and clients worth while. Because you make a difference. You work as a team.

Huge thanks to both these guys for reaching out and making my day.

Landing 1st November, I am giving away, in perpetuity, my Core Stability 101 course.

Why? Because I’m tired of treating athletes (and tbh non-athletes as well) with inefficiencies and movement-specific injuries they needn’t have had to contend with, if they were just more aware of what being stable meant to their movement health.

No gimmicks. Just free access to the why, the what and the how of core stability.

THE OUTCOME: a detailed understanding of foundational strength and how it affects your higher level movement patterns (eg: running, swimming etc)
THE LIKELIHOOD OF ACHIEVEMENT: guaranteed. Or your money back (😂). No but really, if it’s good enough and applicable enough for my elite and Olympic athletes, it’s got everything you need to be stable. This is why they come to me.
THE EFFORT: minimal. Understanding the why will set you up for far greater success when going through the exercise programming.

Full disclosure: what do I expect of you? Nothing except signing up for my fortnightly emails (which in themselves have loads of good content). That’s it.

Let’s go!

Personal disclosure moment: I had low back surgery about 10 years ago. It was necessary and unavoidable. It was not a success. I still get acute pain, pain so bad I can’t stand up straight without a side shift. I have neural tension in my left leg which means I can’t even get close to touching my toes.

But I never let that stop me from doing something, anything.

Bare minimum: go for a short walk. Ideally: lift weights. Heavy weights preferably. Always: move in a 3-dimensional plane.

I try and wingoil 2-3x/week. And when I do, as I have for the last few weeks, I don’t even realise I have a back issue. I feel strong, I feel appropriately mobile, and I feel physically capable.

So don’t let pain stop you from doing SOMETHING! Move. Build confidence. Stick with it. And most of all, don’t catastrophise the situation. Pain isn’t fun, but it doesn’t mean you can still enjoy an active healthy life.

Be active. For life.

Early starts means you get to appreciate the serenity of a foggy, quiet Grey Lynn street.

I’m just going to leave this here.

Utterly thrilled for the whole team. I’ve actually shed a tear watching the post-K4 reaction of the girls. It means so much more than just the medal for the girls, and support team.

But the medal(s) are so well deserved.

Feet up time whahine toa. Feet up.

The Efficient Cyclist - An Exercise Library is LIVE now.

A programme based around movement health and efficiency. Evidence-based.

Including:
- An app based programme.
- Detailed breakdown on Core Stability and Breathing mechanics
- What the Key Fundamentals of cycling efficiency looks like, and how to self assess
- What it means to get aero. The pros, the cons and the how
- What mobility looks like, with the 5 key drills for cyclists
- An ever growing library of running-specific exercises: from the basics all the way through to whole body patterning and plyometrics.

Link in BIO.

The Efficient Runner: An Exercise Library is LIVE.

A programme based around movement health and efficiency. Evidence-based.

Including:
- An app based programme.
- Detailed breakdown on Core Stability and Breathing mechanics
- What the Key Fundamentals of running efficiency looks like, and how to self assess
- Walking mechanics 101
- What mobility looks like, with the 5 key drills for runners
- An ever growing library of running-specific exercises: from the basics all the way through to whole body patterning and plyometrics.

Link in BIO.

Women’s sport: if you can’t appreciate the differences from the men’s version, then you don’t love sport.

Incredible football here at the .

New blog post is live.

We look into the research around ‘lifting heavy’ in the aged population.

The results may surprise you. I hope they’ll also motivate you.

Link in bio.

The power of the words we use.

Something to think about when talking to athletes/clients/patients/kids.

www.linkedin.com