Category: Wellness & Lifestyle

The Fall and Winter Seasons are now upon us, leaving behind the heat and humidity of this past summer. With that comes that offseason for triathletes, runners, and many other athletes. While this can be a time that drives one to become stir crazy with the lack of racing and training, it is actually the perfect time to work on multiple facets of the your sport, while still getting the much needed rest and recovery from a hard year of racing.

Tweaking a running stride, pedal stroke, or swim stroke during the peak of the season can be a risky endeavour. There is the chance it can lead to temporary soreness, slower times, and less efficiency during the transitional period. However, when there is no race on the line, the transition can be done effectively without worrying how it will impact an upcoming race.

Transition takes time, so make this offseason the offseason where you make all the necessary adjustments you’ve been putting off all year. Schedule a Run Right or Bike Right at Rausch Physical Therapy and get ready for your best year yet! A year with fewer injuries, faster times, and more efficiency. What is a better gift than that? Treat yourself this holiday season.

Questions? email jack@rauschpt.net Jack McPheron, Performance Lab Director

“I saw the sign, but didn’t open up my eyes”! We hear it all the time. Your body tried to warn you. Your Check Engine light came on. It told you an injury was coming, but you decided to push through pain. It told you to get more rest, or you will get sick. We get it. Pushing ourselves is a true way to make progress toward improving our fitness and life goals. But we can’t achieve our personal best if we choose not to LISTEN TO OUR BODY!

Tune in to hear the alarms our bodies are sounding and know what to listen for. Stop popping ibuprofen just to make it through your next workout. You will run yourself right into an injury. Know how to identify if you have signs of overtraining. Listen to your body to solve sleep problems you may be facing.

Learn how to pay extra close attention to your body and it’s “check engine” light to improve your overall health, increase your vitality and enhance your performance.

Interested in learning more? READ ON!

We are still enjoying the last few weeks of summer and the Huffington Post has already forecasted the fitness trends for 2015. Many of you have the latest and greatest gadgets, tech toys and wearable devices the sync up with apps to track your runs, rides, steps and sleep patterns.

What are we stoked about? Many of the fitness trends that we as a leading PT clinic and self-care experts (Dynamic Massage & ABC Pilates) have been saying for years is considered the top fitness trends for 2015:

• Restorative Care

• Recovery

• Foam Roller

The new slogan to consider, Train Hard, Recover Harder! It used to be “No Pain, No Gain! Times have changed. Thankfully.

What’s really exciting? We are ahead of the curve!

Read the article in The Huffington Post and see if you are a fitness trendsetter:

2015 Forecasted Fitness Trends

View the NEW Restorative classes offered at ABC Pilates

View the Recovery massages offered at Dynamic Touch

#rauschpt #trendsetters #abcpilates #dynamictouch

Lucky us! We had the chance to treat the real Caveman, Conrad Stoltz a true legend in the world of off-road Triathlon. He’s still leading the pack and racing Pro at 40! Conrad is an all-round nice guy who gave us a glimpse into his background, race highlights, memorable moments and much more…

Name:
Conrad Stoltz “Caveman”

Where you are from?
Stellenbosch South Africa

Years in Sport:
Started 1988 age 14. Turned Pro after High School

Why did you get into this sport?
Turns out it’s more fun and adventurous than running round and round a 400m track

Favorite things outside of sport
Going cool places with with Princes Hotstuff (aka my wife, Liezel) coffee & cake, adventure, eating, fly fishing, dirt bikes & outdoors

Major Accomplishments:

• 4x XTERRA World Champion
• 3x ITU Cross Tri World Champion
• 10x XTERRA USA Series Champion
• 2x Olympian
• 5x African triathlon Champion
• 5x South African triathlon Champion
• Winner Mrs Ts Chicago

The perfect ride and or race:
XTERRA Italy is pretty amazing: http://www.conradstoltz.com/index.php/caveman-wins-in-mountains-at-xterra-italy/

What you love about the sport:
XTERRA is a mix adrenaline with your lactic acid. To do well you need to be technically skilled, brave and robust- on top of being super fit and well trained. There’s tire and shoe choices to be made – according to the terrain. And its constantly changing according to the weather or the location:
You could be speeding through wooded single track with rocks, roots, mud- typically East Coast or Europe. Or you could be racing on a volcano in Hawaii, or running on a sandy beach in Brazil, riding the Flume trail overlooking Lake Tahoe, or bombing down crowd lined stairs and narrow alleys of a medieval Italian mountain village.
The destinations are phenomenal. Each with its own challenges and culture- this is what keeps it fresh and fun- and is the reason I’m still racing Pro at 40.

Race Aspirations or Inspiration:
I like the adventure, the adrenaline, the exotic locations, stunning natural beauty and of course the people are great- friendly and laid back. I also like going fast!

Favorite gear:
Hoka Mafate trail shoes. Specialized Sworks Stumpjumper trail bike. Oakley Radar XL. Clif Bar’s BuilderBar Cookies and Cream

Most memorable race moment:
Winning my 4th XTERRA Worlds title in 2010. I raced for my dad – who was fighting cancer. It was the 1st World title won on a 29er and I just had a perfect day: http://www.conradstoltz.com/index.php/xterra-world-champs-2010-race-report/

Blog: www.conradstoltz.com
Twitter: @ConradStoltz

They have some pretty dark secrets!

Most of us could guess the majority of the worst foods on the planet, but bet you don’t know why they’re so bad for us. Where do you think “movie theatre popcorn” ranks? How about farmed salmon or milk?

Find out what are the 15 Unhealthiest Foods on the Planet.

Once you get the low down on the real reasons they are a lousy choice for your health, you’ll think twice before reaching for that afternoon snack.

Read the article and let us know if you learned anything new: http://inspiyr.com/unhealthiest-foods/

 

Do you ever get that nagging soreness in your low back as climb hills? Or have a new leg pain as you increased your bike mileage from 20 miles to 75 mile rides? It happens to just about every cyclist. In fact, the data says that roughly 60% of all cyclists will have some sort of soft tissue injury on a yearly basis. Which really isn’t a bad percentage at all. Running injuries happen to 87% of all runners, and almost 65% of all Crossfitter’s are injured yearly. So cycling isn’t all that bad afterall!

But who wants to be hurt? It slows down training, makes us cranky, and prevents us from having fun racing. Luckily, there are quite a few steps you can take to prevent injuries or head them off as they come about. And of course, they will come about. So here’s what you can do:

• Get regular soft tissue work (ART, Massage, Foam Roll, Lacrosse ball, etc)
• Cross Train (Yoga, Pilates, Crossfit, P90X)
• Get an EXPERT Bike Fit
• and of course, buy everything carbon Di2 aero you can… 🙂

But let’s visit the idea of Bike Fit for a bit. This is a highly keyed in area in the world of cycling. Most fitter suggest that you have an Expert Bike Fit yearly, to which I have to agree. Cycling is unique amongst endurance sports, as it uses another piece of equipment (the bike) during the sport. Therefore, the mechanics of the bike can directly effect your body. And these effects go up exponentially as your mileage per week increases. The more you ride, the more mechanics matter.

I’d like to make further suggestion – Especially to those of you who are riding distances greater than 30 miles at a time. YOU MATTER! In fact, you matter a lot (pat yourself on the back here). Let’s take a quick look at a race car. Not just any race car but a Formula One… 2 + million dollar race car. That car is perfect. Light, quick, sleek, and ready to race. Now take that car and put great grandma in the drivers seat. How does the car work? If great grandma could get it in gear, it wouldn’t live up to its abilities. I’m not hating on great grandma’s here. I loved my great grandma, she brought me the best German cookies at every visit, but I definitely can’t imagine her driving an Formula One car.

So why do we (the cycling & triathlon community) allow great grandma to ride our super high performance, carbon framed, Di2 shifting rocket ship of a bike? This is where Bike RIGHT comes in…

• cycling mechanics
• knee position
• posture
• saddle position and fit
• head position
• pedaling form
• muscular and flexibility imbalances

Bike Right is how you take great grandma out of the driver seat and put Jeff Gordon (YOU) in it. We will analyze your form with biomechanical video software, check your body for imbalances and issues, and teach you how to sit, pedal, and move better on your bike. This Bike RIGHT is all about YOU.

Call the office (949) 276-5401 and schedule your Bike Right session (with Jeff Gordon.. wink-wink).

I watched a rad show this week on Netflix. But if you know me, you know my TV watching is a bit eclectic. Yes, I watch the Kardashians, Real Housewives of the OC, Wicked Tuna, Deadliest Catch, Brad Brad World, and my new favorite Ladies of London! (Caroline Rules). Judge if you must… But I’ve found a new line of shows on Netflix called TED Talks. You may know some TED Talks from web searches or youtube. If you don’t know TED Talks- you should. They are a non-profit organization devoted to “spreading ideas”. Usually in the form of short but powerful talks. Started in the mid 80’s; Technology, Entertainment, and Design. But think science, business, and global issues talked through by really entertaining people in a short enough time span to keep you tuned in.

One episode caught my attention, titled “Optimism Bias” by Tali Sharot. This episode by Tali Sharot gives some great… Not only do “Optimist’s” get sick less, have better psychological health, stronger immune systems, are more attractive, heal faster, can handle stress better, the list goes on and on… But as Dr. Sharot points out, optimism has its challenges as well. Most optimists can be lead astray while making tough decisions because they only see the “bright side”.

I know this to be true in my own decision making models. I literally have to force myself to look at the other side of the coin, while making tough decisions. My default is to see the positive opportunity first, but that doesn’t make a good or well thought decision. By forcing myself to think or plan for the what if’s, the best decision can be made. But being an optimist, makes me do one thing really well. It makes me work harder. Because I know my optimism can be achieved. Not by sitting back and letting “everything take its course”, but by pushing through, over, and above to make the positive stuff happen.

Optimism and Positivity should stimulate you to make the optimistically, positive stuff happen! So look on the bright side today, but do it actively.

Dr. Tali Sharot’s Lecture

You’ve heard it called the “Orange Curtain” the “South County Bubble,” but I’m here to say, “I like my bubble!”. I love the local scene and our community. I’m a huge fan of local restaurants like Avila’s El Ranchito and Dublin 4, and I’m really into local racing too – like Thursday Night Crit @ Great Park. AWESOME!!

Since I can remember, I’ve been a fan of small, local businesses. After all I grew up in my parent’s restaurant. They had some sweet ones like Acacia, The Rausch’s, and Hungry Hombre. My mom tells a rad story of me, at about 3 years old, acting as the host at the Hungry Hombre. Apparently, I would sit everyone at the same table and just tell them “scoot over!”

We live in such a big place with so many things to do, busy schedules to keep, deadlines to make that it’s really nice to connect with what’s around you. So strive to connect and utilize the great things, businesses, opportunities, and events. These businesses are working their tails off to provide great experiences, great food and great fun.

 

So relax and enjoy the great stuff that’s right in our “bubble”. In fact, we put together a collective list of local events at the bottom of each newsletter just for you. Check ‘em out. We’ll see you there!

If the Fire Dept asks, we did NOT have 150+ people in the office for the Lesley Paterson/OC Tri Club event this month. Ok fine, we did. And what an awesome event it was! Lesley brought along her Hugh Grant looking, husband/Sport Psychologist Professor along with her. The energy of these two was just contagious! They shared such great information about how to deal with the mind game of training and racing. I was so struck by the fact, that its not just me that think about junk food and sleeping in. And that even pro’s have to deal with mental distractions, hard times, and more… The duo put on a great show and told our audience how to get over the metal hurdles of sport and how to bring out their inner “Paddy Murphy”.

Moving on..

my boy started Tee Ball this month. It is so fun (so far). This newsletter is all about youth baseball and features our own youth baseball expert Jonathan Meltzer, DPT. Jonathan has been with our office for 2 years and was hired specifically to take on all of the injuries that come with baseball. Jonathan’s expertise in the office has been a great addition to our environment of healing, and I am personally really excited to see how many kids he is helping on the baseball field.

Remember if anyone is injured and needs immediate attention, we offer #FastPassPT, which allows injured folks to come directly into PT and start healing right away. No waiting, no two weeks rest, just getting better FASTER. Just like the Big Leagues get immediate treatment and get back on the field quicker… Thanks to #FastPassPT we are able to make this happen for YOU!

On a final note, you may see a Rausch PT vehicle on the road near you. I can’t tell you much about it yet, but be prepared to have your mind blown… First person to take a picture of it on the road and post it to our FaceBook page wins a Rausch PT sweatshirt.

 

 

 

 

Image of spring flowers in email courtesy of Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net