BACKGROUND
Rachel has been racing full-time as a professional triathlete since 2011. She is a two-time 70.3 Champion and has numerous podium and course record results across several distances in the sport.
What most people don't know about Rachel is that she was not always the 'fit' type. Through personal discovery Rachel has made a huge journey and transition into physical freedom and fitness. From coming into the sport of triathlon with very little experience and not feeling particularly fit, Rachel -in a short amount of time- podiumed and triumphed again and again.
Known as the “Purple Tiger,” she is one of the strongest cyclists on the world circuit. She leads from the front of the race always and is consistently first-off-the-bike having logged eight Ironman 70.3 fastest bike splits and is currently a two-time Ironman bike course record holder. Rachel is a three-time course record holder, including Canadian National Championships.
She is also a board-certified Genetic Counsellor with two graduate degrees in genetics. She is an accomplished cellist and works in sexual health education, counselling, and advocacy.
This human has a fighting spirit and laser focus, which explains her success in endurance racing. However, these amazing feats come at a huge cost to the body, which then dictates that the investment in restorative practices need also be at a high level. Doing work on both ends of this high-intensity/recovery spectrum is an important element of sustainable performance and health.
That's what we're all about at Restore Human, maximizing our training time with clients to not just work hard, but to work smart: building a complete set of muscles, body and mind that are strong, graceful and resilient. Rachel kindly let us document some of her experience with our team (Physiotherapist Charla, Senior Coach Pax and Master Coach K).
Restore Human Insights:
Our detailed initial assessment of Rachel’s muscle activation patterns and positional awareness showed us what limiting factors we were working with.
We discussed how some of these movement sequences are simply built on habit, whereas others are due to restrictions in mobility or imbalances in strength.
After testing ranges of motion we designed a strategy to improve the mobility in the primary joints involved in Rachel’s main sport disciplines, namely running, biking, and swimming.
We found asymmetries in strength movements and implemented modifications to these exercises so the training stimulus works towards balancing the discrepancies.
By using the Restore Human Method, we increased the attributes of movement intelligence in strengthening the mind-body connection to improve muscle activation and movement sequencing, leading to less compensatory movement.
We implemented strength and mobility training specifically designed to target her imbalances.
We designed a reference document that she could use to help shape her cross-training sessions and movement snacking throughout her day.
With follow up sessions we provided accountability and progressions on previous movements (strength/balance/agility and mobility related).
"My work with the team at Restore Human helps me develop a more resilient body in order to tackle my daily training, as well as set up a solid, healthy platform for later in life."
-Rachel McBride
Rachel McBride was a pleasure to work with, she has a confident mindset and is receptive to looking at health and fitness from a different approach. Rachel is a professional athlete but make no mistake, the issues that could limit her performance aren't too dissimilar to what most of us are going through. We all like to do what we're good at, it's human nature, but with our busy lifestyles that means we miss out on a lot of the other movement 'nutrition' that our body needs to keep running well.
At Restore Human, we train you with balanced and movement-centric fitness to keep you strong, graceful and resilient. Whether you're a weekend warrior, or a high level athlete, we've got you covered.