I’ve gone from being forced to settle and give up all sport, to running an untrained marathon in barefoot shoes 3 years later.
I learned so many things from this journey like:
- How amazingly adaptable the human body & brain are
(we are the most adaptable species on the planet) - The amazing power of small gains
And the topic of today’s newsletter: How to build a resilient body.
I was told my body wasn’t able to do the things I love anymore. The best ‘experts’ tried, but there is nothing | can do. Take up swimming I was told.
If I can go from A-Z with the knowledge of how to build a resilient body, you know that you can go from A-D. Or however far you want to take your Physical Freedom.
Misinformation In The Mainstream
Those who we place on pedestals and look up to, usually don’t even have the level of competence in the thing they preach about.
Misinformation is spread like fertiliser.
In all areas of my life it’s been people with real-life experience & results who finally showed me the way.
The ones with skin in the game who earned this wisdom & insight through the battlefield of life, not the illusion of it through the classroom.
I go on the hunt for results in a chosen field without the limitations of dogma, and I put in the work to reach a high level of competence in that area.
Then I distill my experience down into what actually works.
I attempt to part the sea of mainstream bullshit like Moses, so that others like younger Marcus can see the real path forward now.
How To Build A Resilient Body
1) Mobility
Mobility is the range of motion that you currently have.
I say ‘currently’ because you can train to change it.
You had the mobility of a gymnast as a baby, you just lost it over decades as your body adapted to this modern life.
You didn’t ‘use it’ so you ‘lost it’. You lost it through small gains, so you can get it back through small gains.
Based on a movement assessment and questionnaire on your injury history, I can see what movements your body is currently missing.
The human body only has 3 planes of motion that it can move in.
Once you understand this in detail, you can map out EVERY possible movement of the human body.
Now I can identify the movements people are missing.
After the assessment, I program mobility exercises for clients to regain the ranges of motion that they have lost.
Clients are always shocked to see how much range of motion they have lost without realising. How they have been compensating their way through sport & life.
They can’t do the most basic movements in a controlled environment at home, and yet they think they can go play on a pitch at full intensity and be fine?!
Their eyes are opened to the truth. They have a lot of mobility limitations that need to be addressed.
When they understand what pain is & how to manage it through the education hub too, it all fits together and finally starts to make sense why they are tight, stiff & in chronic pain.
Now they can see the route forward to Physical Freedom.
2) Strength
Strength is our ability to produce & absorb force.
Producing more force will help with performance, and being able to absorb more force will help with injury mitigation.
Clients who are athletes usually have some form of S&C training with their clubs. So they have decent strength.
The majority of clients who come to me don’t need help with strength. It’s mobility & coordination that are the glaring limitations holding them back.
A great example here is Harry Purcell: an Irish sprinter.
He was strong as an ox as you would imagine. He had his own physio, S&C coach & full team around him.
He was training towards the Tokyo Olympics at the time. So am I really going to help him with his basic strength?! No.
But I did identify limitations in his mobility and coordination, and he worked on those.
It really did open my eyes to the poor level of care in this industry.
He’s a national-level sprinter, an elite athlete who you think would be fully prepared for his sport, and yet he couldn’t do basic hip mobility movements a child could easily do. His eyes were opened too.
Once he worked on the mobility & coordination limitations, he could finally get through an intense training phase before competition without injury.
The results? He won his first men’s national title. You can read his story by clicking here.
The takeaway:
Strength is important, but adding 10kg onto your squat or deadlift isn’t going to solve your chronic pain & injury holding you back from your full potential.
What else is there to take into account? Coordination. The dark horse nobody really knows about.
3) Coordination
Coordination is upgrading your software to use your range of motion more optimally.
We all develop movement patterns when we learn how to walk and run etc as a child.
Our movement patterns will be different based on our anatomy, the length of our limbs etc.
We develop our own ‘coordination’ as we grow and move through life. Your personal movement pattern is like your fingerprint: it’s unique to you.
But when you get injured, your coordination changes.
The problem is that your coordination doesn’t just ‘reset’ to optimal after your injury is healed. It stays the same.
This lack of optimal coordination is what can lead to issues over time that you can’t seem to explain.
Your Body Is An Instrument Not An Ornament
Are you going to internalise the self-limiting beliefs spread like fertiliser in the mainstream making people settle?
Or get on the small gain train towards a resilient body? Towards your Physical Freedom?
I write these newsletters because I’ve walked both paths.
One left me a broken man physically and mentally, filled with regret. The other has set me free.
If you had a son or daughter in the same position as you, what would you tell them to do?
Realise that answer is what you really want for yourself.
Don’t settle, and go after what you want in this one life you have.
Physical Freedom is an integral part of everyone’s path, because it’s your vehicle for life no matter what you do.
Don’t Settle,
Mark
Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:
- Physical Freedom Program
(Overcome chronic pain & injury.
Reach your athletic potential) - Mental Freedom Course
(Stop looping & suffering.
Skillfully navigate your own mind) - Lifestyle Design University
(Avoid the biggest regret of humanity.
Design the life true to yourself)