JOHN’S JOURNEY OF RESTORATION
By Coach Lacey
Approximate Reading Time: 4-6 min
John came to Restore Human in May of 2020 on a recommendation from a friend. He hoped to significantly reduce pain in his right shoulder and get back to playing his favourite sport, golf. John came from an athletic background participating in baseball and golf, manifesting in him a general love for movement and physicality. Despite this motivation, he felt as though certain aspects of his life were becoming limited due to his persistent shoulder pain.
The debate about the inevitability of aging and the decrease in physical attributes has raged since time immemorial. Different cultures connect to different aspects of the aging process and typically in the West we have adopted a sense of resignation about getting older. At Restore Human we assist our clients in creating a new narrative as the evidence is mounting that age need not prevent your efforts in becoming strong, graceful and resilient!
For John, and many Restore Human clients, shifting the focal point of training away from pain prevention toward movement literacy champions different priorities other than simply being ‘pain-free’. If being pain-free is seen as the only outcome for a successful program we might miss worthy goals such as:
A rich array of balancing tasks. Falls, of the most insidious age-related issues, lead to further complications in regard to physical mobility, independence and overall quality of life.
Maintaining bone density through appropriate strength training. Osteoporosis can be problematic for women and men as they age.
Coordination exercises which stimulate brain activity. There’s abundant literature on Parkinsons and Alzheimers showing the necessity of posing movement challenges to the brain to delay or ward off these threats.
Aerobic capacity for a healthy heart.
At Restore Human we use the same method for all age demographics and adjust the appropriate stress level. There aren’t any exercises that suddenly become ‘bad’ just because we are older. The intensity levels just might need to be different for someone in their 70s and 80s than someone in their 20s and 30s. John has demonstrated that we can be a lot more robust and resilient in our later years than we might think is possible.
FOUNDATIONS
John’s first few months at Restore Human began with foundational training with Coach K. The primary focus was on mobility and pain management. With age and lack of nutritious movement, the spine can stiffen up, so an integral part of restoring John’s healthy spinal movement involved a regular movement routine.
As Restore Human Coaches, it is important for us to prioritize building our clients ‘ trust and patience in the process and combating the unrealistic idea of ‘quick fixes’ portrayed in modern media and literature. This can be a hard sell for many, and John has had his moments of skepticism!
Enter Coach Lacey to add some extra frequency to John’s training. John’s ‘mainstream fitness’ perspective began to shift with the increase in the frequency of his training and finding freedom and joy in the movement he currently had claim over.
With Coach Lacey and the creation of good habits, he was able to dive deeper into a healthier range of motion, increased spinal freedom, right shoulder rehab, balance, and the rebuilding of his mind-body connection. All of this opened up his ability to explore a greater variety of movements. He could start creating healthy tension by progressively loading more force into muscle tissue. For example, John was recently able to perform a Swiss Ball Squat holding an 80Ib sandbag!
With John’s healthier range of motion and better body awareness, his ability to pull, push and carry has transferred into his ability to perform more activities of day-to-day life. John was then able to start playing golf again. As movement possibilities increase, more playful possibilities emerge!
As schedules shifted Coach Kesh also entered John’s weekly training regime. His foundations were in place, so John was now able to dream of things such as setting specific goals. He and Coach Kesh playfully talked about his previous personal best for push ups in the past and John recalled it was about 20. Kesh suggested they try and beat it!
John was now doing less rehab/mobility sessions and incorporating more strength and play into his movement repertoire. We started tracking his progress using our Big 5 Base Movements.
We included grip strength training through Farmer’s Walks and additional pinch grip holds. Grip strength is a great representation of overall joint and nervous system health, especially as we age. Research suggests that it is not only a representation of overall strength but longevity (i.e. decreased mortality rates). John was able to perform a Farmer’s Carry holding onto two 40Ib sandbags for 45 seconds. This transfers directly into daily life by greatly improving the ability to carry heavy shopping bags, suitcases, and so on.
John started to perform deadlifts, lunges, step-ups, and also, weighted push-ups. With all of his foundational training and strength work, John’s was able to do 24 push-ups, beating his all time personal best. He went on to beat that again with 25 pushups done with an added 10 lbs on his back!
SET-BACKS
John working on his spinal articulations to restore and improve his back flexibility, strength and mobility
As we moved into winter John was at a consistent, steady pace. However, he was hit with a few set-backs. With new tools in his belt, his ability to move through these injuries the second time around was significantly improved. Due to a shoveling incident, John had put his back out. Then his shoulder started to have a flare up. On top of it, he was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. Emotionally, this was taxing and a bit tough for John as he was starting to make significant progress. There were 3 weeks of heavy rehab to get him back, but since those pathways had already been formed previously, John was improving at a steady rate. The most important thing was that John did not stop moving all together, but simply changed the type of movement he could do. He got stronger in other ways, and the additional mobility, low back, and core work made him a stronger athlete. By incorporating his rehab homework into his own daily schedule, John started to prioritize his after care routine. He took full autonomy over his healing process which accelerated the rate significantly.
TRIUMPH
When the injuries healed up, John was able to explore a lot of interesting movements such as boxing, play, and heavy strength work. He began to find freedom and flow within his movements again and fully embodied more intricate concepts such as task appropriate tension and core to extremity. John has healed his plantar fasciitis and significantly improved overall pain management in his body. He is now back in full swing enjoying early fall golfing and training with us at Restore Human.
John is an inspiration at Restore Human. Many clients sharing the space will often watch him in awe saying things like “I wish I could do that” or “ I hope I can move like that at his age”. The resiliency John has shown throughout his journey due to the numerous injuries he has endured and persistence throughout them was critical. He is an exemplar of our motto of Strength, Grace, and Resiliency. Today John has the freedom to play golf with his friends, connect with his family and play with his grandkids.
By Coach Lacey
