by Dan Williams | Aug 16, 2018 | Biomechanics, Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
There’s no denying the squat is an absolutely foundational movement, whether we’re chasing health or performance. But the range of exercises that fall under the category of this movement is huge. Subtle variations in technique and execution lead to subtle...
by Dan Williams | Aug 5, 2018 | Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Nutrition, Psychology
Ever get a dry mouth before a big event? Maybe it’s a job interview. Maybe it’s the CrossFit Open. Maybe you’re about to ask someone out on a date. Why do we get a dry mouth? And what can we learn from this experience to improve our performance?...
by Dan Williams | Jul 21, 2018 | Blogs, Health, Nutrition, Psychology
The key to breaking bad habits is to understand the cues that are driving your behaviours. In Charles Duhigg’s book, The Power of Habit, he talks about the habit loop: A cue triggers your brain to crave the response from a certain action. A routine is undertaken...
by Dan Williams | Jul 20, 2018 | Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation, Programming, Psychology
We talk a lot about the benefits of injury. The advantages we can find if we choose to perceive injury as an opportunity, not an invitation to stop training. In our eBook series, ‘Exercising with an Injury’ we talk more about injury as an opportunity:...
by Dan Williams | Jul 13, 2018 | Biomechanics, Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
The use of a lifting belt divides coaches and athletes. The easiest response is often given. ‘Wear it sometimes but not always’. And although this may be technically correct, it doesn’t really help us. So to explore this issue further, we review the research, and then...
by Dan Williams | Jul 3, 2018 | Blogs, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Nutrition, Psychology, Weight Loss
Habits drive our behaviours. 45% of everything you do in life is a habit. These are behaviours that require no conscious thought. No decision making. No choice. These are the behaviours that operate on autopilot. Habits save energy for the brain by removing the need...
by Dan Williams | Jun 21, 2018 | Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Nutrition, Programming, Psychology
Short-term lazy is when you look for the easy way to do things in the present, today. If faced with an immediate decision of whether to take the easy option or the hard option, the ‘short-term lazy’ person takes the easy option every time. And, in the...
by Dan Williams | May 24, 2018 | Blogs, Health, Nutrition, Psychology
Have you always fought the scales? Has your health journey been defined by alternating chapters of weight loss and weight gain? Well, there’s a reason for it. And it’s not a problem with you. It’s not an indication of your lack of willpower or...
by Dan Williams | Apr 27, 2018 | Blogs, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Nutrition, Psychology, Weight Loss
The 80/20 rule (or the Pareto Principle) can be seen everywhere. 20% of your customers take up 80% of your time. 80% of a business’ income comes from 20% of a business’ products. 80% of a country’s wealth is in the hands of 20% of the people. 20% of...
by Dan Williams | Apr 10, 2018 | Blogs, Chronic Conditions, Health, Nutrition, Psychology, Weight Loss
‘Diet’ has such negative connotations. It smacks of sacrifice and discomfort and exclusion and difficulty and inconvenience. For the ‘western world’, the ‘set point’ of nutrition is characterised by highly processed carbohydrates...