Diary of a Mad Man

Greetings!  I have survived!   It has been an absolute crazy past couple of weeks here.

I had the title of “Diary of a Mad Man” pop into my head when I was writing this up, so I thought I would include a live version of this Ozzy classic for your listening pleasure.

I remember seeing Ozzy on his “No More Tours Tour” in like 8th grade. It was awesome other than the treble was so high I think I had hearing damage for years after that.    I’ve seen him many times since on Ozzfest also. So much for retirement!

As you know, I am getting married this coming Saturday (yes, like in a 2 days) and I am very excited.

PhD Update

I have also been working on my dissertation paper regarding HRV (heart rate variability -  a way to measure biofeedback) and I handed in the latest revision to my advisor at about 2:30am today.   I already have more work to do on it as I got the revisions back already, but getting closer to submitting if for peer review and publication.

Once that is taken care of, I will then work on finishing up my paper on the effects of Energy Drinks (Monster Energy Drink) regarding heart rate, HRV, exercise performance (like, do the darn things even work?) effects on fat burning (via RER- respiratory exchange ratio) among other things.   I collected the data last year and have it analyzed already, so hopefully I won’t need to get any more subjects.  All the studies were fasted, so nothing like getting up at 4:45am sometimes to be in the lab (or sleeping there overnight—shhhhhh, don’t tell anyone though).   I still carry a pillow in my car to catch a quick cat nap for a few minutes wherever I can.

Once that is completed, I have my third paper to work on regarding Metabolic Flexibility as I am looking at a potential new way to measure metabolic flexibility without sticking someone with needles.   I will combine those 3 studies plus a literature review and conclusion into my final dissertation.  Lots and lots more work to go, but progress one step at a time is good.

Ever Wonder What It Looks Like?

I shot this short video, just for you!

Top Secret Location

I have only seen Jodie about 2 times in the past week, but we will get to spend a whole week in Mexico (top secret location) after the wedding, so we are super excited about the honeymoon!  It will be sooooo nice to finally spend some time together and then I get to see her for the rest of my life every day—yeah!!

Jodie and I

Perhaps I will have an re-enactment of this photo from our La Ventana trip.
Viva La Mexico

And lots of this!
Although I do have a hard time sitting still for long.

A huge thanks to Jodie also for all the wedding planning and to our friend Dana and Nicole too for all their wedding planning help.  I had no idea that planning a wedding was so much work, but it will be great!   Neither one of us do much that is considered “normal” so we are even getting married in a cave!

Project 86

For those that missed the engagement story, see this link below.

Mike and Jodie Are Getting Married- Caught on Video

We got engaged at a Project 86 show in Arizona (huge thanks to the lead singer Andrew,the Rev, and the P86 Tour Manager).    My wonderful colleges at work (I still work part time at a medical device company as an engineer for over 10 years now), bought me a Project 86 cake and had a nice celebration, wonderful card and gits too!  Thanks everyone!!!

Myself, Jodie and Andrew from Project 86

The Project 86 cake

Lifting

Of course I am still lifting myself and it is going well, despite crazy levels of stress and enough caffeine at times to approach the LD 50 for small fury animals.   Last night I came within 1 lb of breaking my all time bench personal record (PR) and pulled 8 singles at or over 365 lbs on deadlifts the day before.   Yeah for biofeedback training.  Keep your eyes open for the Grip n Rip DVD soon and it shows you the break down on how to custom your training to you!

I gave 435 a run, but no dice.   I will get it though and will pull 450 lbs by the end of this year.   My buddy Maximillian Barry (Nu_Fit on twitter) and a few others have a deadlift race.

We will celebrate once we both pull 500 lbs, raw.

I will get this deadlift very soon!

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Plus, once my schedule frees up a bit post PhD later this year (fingers crossed) I plan to hang out and lift  more with those nuts Adam T Glass and Brad Nelson.   Doing the Tactical Strength Challenge Elite style 10 days after coming back from my honeymoon is going to be brutal though!  I will be traveling with trusty TRX suspension trainer though.  Maybe the professor will show up in a future video from Mexico, who knows!

The Blog Marches On!

I am hoping to crank out some updates for you tomorrow AM yet,   I will probably not have computer access in Mexico, so comment replies may be very slow.

Summary

That is the update on all the crazy updates from here.  What is new in your life?  Any good wedding stories that you wan to share? Post away in the comments

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

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Trainer Mike T Nelson Testimonial: Shoulder Pain While Doing A Bench Press Gone!

The Night I “Couldn’t” Bench Press By Dave “The Athlete Creator” Sandel

Just like every other Tuesday, it was bench press night with Mike. However, this Tuesday was different. I sent him an email earlier in the day stating:

“Tonight might be prehab/rehab for me. I was feeling just a touch of shoulder pain in my left shoulder after last week, and it was worse after training last night. This is, unless, your voodoo works again.”

So, I showed up at the usual time, did my usual Z-health CNS warm-up, and did some push-ups to test my shoulder. Push-ups tested fine and without pain. I thought, “Hmm, maybe everything will be alright tonight.”

Then it was my turn to warm-up with the empty bar. After a few slow, pain-free, concentrated reps I decided to try exploding a rep off my chest. That nearly caused my left arm to collapse because of the shooting pain in my left shoulder, just as I had felt before.

After a brief description of the previous night’s workout, Mike put his head down and started mumbling something to himself. Something about external rotation, abduction, sagittal planes, and some other stuff I didn’t quite recognize (eventhough I’m studying for my CSCS certification).

After a minute or so he finally had his answer. We started with some z-health mobility work directly on the shoulder, and then tested it out on the bench. It was better, but still not pain-free.

This is where it got a little weird…

He had me lie on my back, internally rotate my right leg (remember, my left shoulder is what was hurting), and perform cross-body leg circles. After a few tests doing band pull-aparts, we decided to try it out on the bench.

Lo and behold, I was virtually pain-free!

He explained what the drill was doing and why it works. I understood all of that, and it made perfect sense.

Now, I know there is a direct connection between opposite-side joints, but I still can’t wrap my head around why a “trauma” to my right hip is causing pain in my left shoulder. Oh well, I’ll leave that for another visit.

In the end, you’re probably wondering how my bench press session went.

Well, as I stated in the beginning, I walked in thinking I was going to be doing some mobility and prehab/rehab work all night. As it turns out, I actually ended up bench pressing 5 more pounds in a max effort lift than the previous week!

Not only that, but I added more volume on my accessory lifts as well! All in all, I’d say it was a pretty good night.

Thanks, Mike!

Dave Sandel
www.athletecreator.com

Bench 45 lbs with Pain To Bench 270 lbs Without Pain In One Session?

How?

I know this seems insane that someone could literally go from barely being able to press the bar without pain to benching around 260 lbs without pain, so that is the reason I had him write it up in his own words above.

If you are interested in how the heck this can work and look into the methods behind the madness, drop a comment below and if I get 10 comments by 1pm tomorrow (Thurs March 11, CST) I will have a post about how it works.

If you are in pain, you are limiting your performance!

This also saved Dave about 4-8 weeks of “standard” rehab type exercise work, during which he would be told not to bench (and for good reason since benching was painful).

Add to that time period 4 weeks at least to get back to where he was before and we probably saved him about 3 months in one session!

How much would you pay to get 3 months of training time back?

I know I would pay a lot for that.

Now It Is Your Turn!

A Huge thanks to Dustin for taking the time to write that up and taking action to look for an answer to his pain and movement issues.

• If you are interested in a phone consult, for a limited time they are only $90 per session (normal rate is $110) and are 100% guaranteed.  If you are not happy for ANY reason, there is NO charge, email me by clicking HERE
• If you are in the St. Paul, MN area, you can see me in person for $110 per session (normal is $125) and it is 100% guaranteed also, email me by clicking HERE

Drop me an email by clicking HERE to move better with less pain today!

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

PS

If you are still not sure, see all the other testimonials below

Mike T Nelson and Extreme Human Performance Testimonials

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PPS

10 comments below by 1pm tomorrow Thurs March 11 for the secret to how this is done!  Post a comment below now.

Testimonial for Mike T Nelson: Hip Flexor and Groin Tight and Painful on Squats

Mike T. Nelson single handedly took me out of pain in 10 minutes.

I had been doing many months of heavy front squats when my right hip flexor and groin area became extremely tight and painful. No matter what method I used, it just simply would not let up. After suffering for weeks, I decided to call on Mike.

During his consultation he showed my some joint mobility/ Z-Health type drills and I was doing squats about 3/4 of the way to rock-bottom in 10 Minutes!

My pain was a solid 8 out of 10 at its worst before the consultation. 5 days after the consultation with Mike T. Nelson I was at Grip N Rip 2.0 (a workshop in Woodbury, MN) hitting Personal Records on the Deadlift, PAIN-FREE.

Stop wasting time at your local doctors office and get out of pain and start moving BETTER with Mr. Nelson.

-Dustin Williams, Owner of Wrought Iron Strength and Conditioning, Hugo, MN.

If you are in pain, you are limiting your performance.

If this can be done for pain, imagine what we can do for your performance!

Now It Is Your Turn!

A Huge thanks to Dustin for taking the time to write that up and taking action to look for an answer to his pain and movement issues.

• If you are interested in a phone consult, for a limited time they are only $90 per session (normal rate is $110) and are 100% guaranteed.  If you are not happy for ANY reason, there is NO charge, email me by clicking HERE
• If you are in the St. Paul, MN area, you can see me in person for $110 per session (normal is $125) and it is 100% guaranteed also, email me by clicking HERE

Drop me an email by clicking HERE to move better with less pain today!

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

PS

If you are still not sure, see all the other testimonials below

Mike T Nelson and Extreme Human Performance Testimonials

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Shoulder Issue with Kettlebell Pressing: Video Testimonial for Mike T Nelson

I have owed Mike T Nelson this video for about three months now. My Name is George Samuelson from New Jersey. This session with Mike T Nelson was at the end of 2009 last year to address some of my present press patterning issues on my left side and also work on some kettlebell military press

Basically why this video (below) took so long is for the past lets say month or two months of a hideous viral infection like many other people, just kind of  affected with low energy levels so I was trained and whatever I have to do.

However my training sessions are still included good amount of Z Health mobility work to improve my movement.   Specifically some of the drills Mike had given me. Also during the past while doing lifts or exercises, my body has given me good feed back on going ahead and what to do for that day.

I am very happy to be able to say with even with all this stuff going on I have been able to still maintain my standard 32 kilo and 36 kilo press pretty easily.

Also during this time frame, I have put on about 5 pounds of muscle and have actually going down some body fat as well.

Doctor has asked me if I have been taking anything and I just basically told some pressing and drills, they just don’t really get it.

So if you get chance, I recommend you schedule session with Mike, whether its at a workshop by going and seeing him.

If you can’t make it out to him, make sure that you do read his blog, make sure you also sign up for his newsletter.  Its a great resource to have and thanks.

—George Samuelson, RKC II, CK-FMS, NASM-CPT, Z Health

Video Testimonial for Mike T Nelson

A huge thanks to George for the great testimonial and it was a pleasure to work with him when he was here in Minnesota.  If you are in the NJ area, be sure to contact him at his website  This Feels Good.

What are you waiting for?  Email Mike T Nelson by clicking HERE today to get started on moving, feeling and performing better!  Click HERE now!

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

PS

If you are still skeptical, be sure to check out all the other testimonial at the link below.

Mike T Nelson and Extreme Human Performance Testimonials

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I Am Pissed!  A Trip Inside My Head

I am really pissed off right now and I can’t focus on anything else, so you will get an inside look into my brain. Caution, you have been warned.

As readers of this blog know, I do training and nutrition work to get professional and every day athletes of all types performance increases. I’ve been doing it for several years now and I’ve spent well over $200,000 over the years on getting better at my craft via college, seminars, certifications, books, etc. This is not meant to impress you, but if you are serious about something you have to pay to play. I know many others that have paid very large sums to practice their craft, so this is no different.

Why I am Pissed

I am pissed off to no end now because I could not get the result I wanted from an athlete I worked with this morning. Note, this has absolutely nothing to do with the athlete and everything to do with me. I feel like I failed him because I did not have a solution to his pain issue. We spent 1.5 hours trying all sorts of things, with very little change. My agreement is that if I can’t get a performance increases or a large change in your pain, the session is free. The athletes satisfaction is my primary concern and I fully believe that if I don’t deliver, I should NOT be compensated. End of story.

The System Is Broke

This is the direct opposite to most professions. Take physical therapy (not to pick on them, but….) if you (not anyone who reads this blog, way too bright for that) are an average PT and you take 12 sessions to get a result and you charge $50 per session, you made $600. If you are a stellar PT and you get the result in 3 sessions, at the same price, you get $150. You were clearly better (got the same result in LESS time), but you made about 1/4 as much. How much incentive is there for you to get better? Not much!

True, that it is different when you own your own business, since if you suck, hopefully you will go out of business. If you suck, I don’t want you around to drag everyone else down and please go away and the sooner the better. I won’t get into the whole fitness business and how anyone can take a weekend cert by mail and be a fitness trainer. It makes me vomit in my mouth a bit each time I read it. Ugh. I need some mouth wash. Ok, I am back now. Where was I? I know business is very complicated and there are times where the most knowledgeable are also piss broke, but if you work for a large company, there is normally very little incentive to get better.

You’re Insane

I have many great friends in the field who are doctors, physical therapist, other trainers, consultants etc and almost all of them tell me I am completely out of my tree, coo coo insane, have a melon where my head should be because this is my expectation below

I expect that 99% of the people that walk through my door that I can get a dramatic performance increase (also many times equalling a decrease in pain) in ONE session that last 1-2 hours.

I’ve had many long discussions with many of them arguing that IF this is even physiologically possible. They say no and I say it is possible. If pain and performance are primarily (not entirely of course) controlled by the brain, we know that you can make changes in the brain extremely fast (as I have learned in Z-Health).

Yes, there are times that there will be a biomechanical and/or biochemical issue, but even then you should still be able to see a large change in one session.

I’ve seen athletes with missing rotators via MRI have no limitations on shoulder function and no pain.

Is this the norm? No, but it can happen. My point is that I feel the brain and nervous system are the most plastic systems in the body and are also open to the greatest change at the fastest speed (this is supported by research on brain neuroplasticity).

Does this mean we ONLY need to focus on the nervous system–no, of course not; but if pain reduction and performance are your goals, you have to address the nervous system.

Victory Destroys Knowledge

That was a great quote from Dan John. While I do remember many of the “successes” I’ve had, my failures stick in my brain like a canary in a coal mine. You notices I put “successes” in quotes since I did not do ANY of the darn work, the athlete did all the work and hence they should get the credit. I just helped point them in a better direction. They had the discipline to do the work!

I’ve been very fortunate to work with athletes to get them out of pain, avoid surgeries, compete in the Olympics pain free, bend over to pick up their kids without pain, take a ski trip vacation and ski 5 days in a row for the first time ever, etc. These are all great and completed by highly motivated athletes.

What I remember more are the cases where I could not do anything. We tried for 2-3 sessions or more with no change. Granted, these athletes usually had been everywhere and done everything, but I still feel like I should have had a solution.

I know that their pain is not my issue and that it takes many reps to over ride the lifetime of poor reps they have accumulated and that nobody has a 100% solution for chronic pain. Look no further than research on the success of various low back pain treatments and many of them are acute, no chronic pain issues. Yet somehow I feel I should have all the answers. They come to me as their last hope and if I can’t help them in a very short period of time I feel like I let them down and have failed them. Completely unrealistic I know, but I still feel pissed when I can’t get a result. I know there is a solution and when it evades me I can’t stand it. Yes I am neurotic too.

What To Do

To keep myself sane, I don’t work primarily with chronic pain clients. The toll on my psyche is more than I can handle and the logical conclusion is that the better you get, the harder the cases you get and at the end you will only be left with your failures. I know I can’t handle that. I do, however, take on “hard cases” to force myself to learn. I learn more from the difficult ones than from any others. Fear of failure will drive you much farther than success, but you need to be aware of the cost.

Performance increases are relatively easy for me now. I know that sounds like a super arrogant statement, but it is true. Most athletes have just a slight (or major) movement issue that is impairing their current performance. Remove that (which could be mobility, visual, vestibular or soft tissue) and performances goes up. Think of it as removing the king pin from a log jam. Once you do that, the whole river flows again just by that one minor change.

Your Trip Is Complete

There you have it. A trip inside my brain to see what drives me. I did warn you that it is a bit of a scary place. I’ve been told by multiple well meaning people that I need more knowledge like I need a hole in the head and I should spend more time on marketing. My business model of primarily seeing athletes for single sessions once a month or even less is the worst possible thing to do. What you realize very fast is that once someone is out of pain, they forget they ever had pain extremely fast, so your time for referrals is very short. Getting new clients routinely is much harder than working with them routinely. I do have some reoccurring clients, but most come for an acute change and that is what I deliver.

While I am spending more time learning marketing and business now (and they are no evil and truly needed), my true passion is bridging the chasm between research land and practice. We can learn a ton from both and in the process and I move step by step closer to that 99%. I may never get there, but if you aim high and miss by a bit, you are still much higher than if you aimed low. Don’t tell this to my psyche if you see it lying on the road somewhere trying to hitch hike!

A HUGE Thank You!

Thanks to all for their support and reading this blog. It truly means a ton to me and I promise I will do everything I can to help as many athletes of all types destroy their old personal records. I feel incredibly fortunate that I know exactly why I was put on this earth and exactly what I want/need to do. Many spend their lifetimes looking and wandering, so I am truly blessed and grateful.

I need to send a very special shout out to my soon to be wife Jodie too for all of her endless support and to my family. Thank you!!

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

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Phone Consultation Testimonial for Mike T Nelson: Low Back and Hip Pain

Another testimonial from a recent phone consult I did

I had been experiencing low back, hip and leg pain as well are forearm pain for several months. After going to my chiropractor and back doctor several times with no relief, I decided that I wanted to work with a Z-Health practitioner. However, there were none in my immediate area. I also wanted to work with a Z-Health Master Trainer. I contacted Mike regarding a phone consultation.

During our consultation Mike asked me multiple questions about my health and the pain I was experiencing. He had me doing different movements while on the phone and spent as much time with me as needed.

Mike had me to do arm circles, foot work and eye drills as well as recommending some changes to my diet.

He has continued to correspond with me via e-mail to provide additional suggestions to reduce and manage my pain including breathing exercises.

My pain is now greatly reduced and I am sure it will further diminish overtime as I continue to do all that Mike as recommended.

I would highly recommend Mike to anyone who is in pain.

—Brett Williamson

Now It Is Your Turn!

A Huge thanks to Brett for taking the time to write that up and taking the bull by the horns to look for an answer to his pain and movement issues.

If you are interested in a phone consult, for a limited time they are only $90 per session (normal rate is $110) and are 100% guaranteed.  If you are not happy for ANY reason, there is NO charge.

Drop me an email by clicking HERE to move better with less pain today!

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

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Mike T Nelson on Iron Radio this Friday!

Just a heads up that I will be on Iron Radio this coming Friday with Charles Staley, Phil, Fortress, Dr Lowery and the gang to discuss the impact of blogs and fitness and other random fitness topics.

Be sure to tune in this coming Friday 2-3pm EST and submit your questions at the site too

http://ironradio.org/

If you have not checked out the back issues of Iron Radio, I would encourage you to give them a listen and best of all they are totally FREE!

Talk to you all then!

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

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Exercise Program Design by Biofeedback Parts 1-7

Give Traditional Program Design the Finger and Destroy Your Old PRs!

So I was probably not supposed to deadlift tonight, but I like deadlifts and I wanted to try some B-Stance Deadlifts and Kettlebell Get Ups (formerly known as the Turkish Get Up, but I guess the Turks are not the only ones doing them).

I did a 2.5 hours bench-a-thon on Tuesday night with Dave “The Athlete Creator” and I hit an all time PR (personal record) on the bench at 240 lbs.  Not my end goal by any means, but moving forward and hitting all time PRs is great. To be fair we also did some neutral ring rows and kettlebell presses and kettlebell swings too. I was starting to have flashbacks for awhile there to pretty much any commercial gym on a Monday, which as you know is national bench and bicep curl day.

Squats and More Fun!

Wed night I hit up a lighter session of bottom pause squats (to an 8 inch box) for about 4 doubles, wide grip rope pull ups for singles and feet up push ups, which all tested well via biofeedback (as featured on the upcoming Gym Movements DVD).

I had not done any trap bar work in about 2 weeks so I hit up a nasty routine I’ve been working on. In short it is 10 x 10 but work to decrease the time. So Wed night I hit 265 x 10 for 10 in 21 minutes and 30 seconds for a total volume of 26,500 lbs. If you want the full details, leave a comment below and more than 12 comments and I will have a whole post with all the details.

More Deadlifts!

I did not sleep very well last night, had to work during the day, and decided to hit up some B-Stance deadlifts tonight as mentioned.

While the temp is never warm in the winter at the Extreme Human Performance Center (tonight it was 34 F, but the windchill was zero), the music on the stereo system is always amazing. Tonight was no exception and was provided by those Swedish death-medlers Soilwork.

Here is a great song by them (watch out, there are few bad words so if you are offended put on some ear muffs)

B-Stance deadlifts tested fine for awhile and worked up to 315 x 3 for 2 sets and the switched to regular deadlifts for a few singles (pronated, both palms down, for grip work) at 315.

Movement tested well, so I added 70 lbs of chains, went great! Whoo ha.  No problem at lockout either with all the chains off the floor.

Talking Weights

I had to head off to work, so I figured I would end on that high note and as I was cleaning up I saw a 25 lb plate that was just begging to be added to the bar (am I the only nut that thinks the weights talk to them?) I threw those on the end and after a long session on Tuesday, 2 sessions yesterday with a deadlift movement of 26,500 lbs and sore hams and glutes, 365 for a single was easy.  Very easy actually.

Summary

In the past I would have not even thought of doing deadlifts again and heck I probably would have opted to skip that day due to DOMS (muscle soreness). Now I have a tool to check it and test would is best.

Quality movement + volume = bigger muscles

If you are recovered, your body HAS to respond by increased strength and muscle hypertrophy (bigger muscles).

If you missed many of the biofeedback videos, I have posted them below here. This is a series that Adam T Glass did, so a huge shout out to Adam.

I feel so good I will probably hit up some kettlebells snatches yet tonight.    Whooo hahahahhaha.

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

PS

If you are interested in the routine from hell details of GVT meets EDT, leave a comment below and if I get 12 comments by this Sat night I will post it for you!  Spread the word.  You can help by signing up to my RSS feeds below and hit the button —>

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Biofeedback Videos

Quoted in Muscle and Fitness, Nick Tumminello and More Randomness

If you pick up the latest issue of Muscle and Fitness Hers, look for my quote in there regarding caffeine and fat loss.

Dave Barr wrote a great article on supplements for fat loss, so a huge shout out to him for quoting me in the article and pick up a copy today.  Thanks Dave!

Nick Tumminello

I have the honor of having a guest article over at Nick’s site.  Head on over there and learn

• Are people training the gym without their heads?
• How to fire up those glutes and hip
• Why should you bother with joint mobility work
• Do you need optimal joint mobility in ALL your joints?

Go to

Z Health Ichabod Training with Mike T Nelson

Super Bowl Throwback

The Super Bowl is coming soon and it is NFL playoff time, so I thought I would throw up this classic video.

I am not saying I can dance well (other than the white boy shuffle, which I rock at), but it looks like they are trying to shake a squirrel out of their pants.

Rock on!
Mike T Nelson

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The Top 15 things I learned in 2009: A Year In Review

Greetings and hard to believe 2009 is done and gone! Wow, time is just flying by at an insane rate.
I wanted to share with you some things I have learned and did in 2009. I know this sounds like a me, me, me, pumping sunshine up my butt post, but (ooooh, poor word choice) I hope you learn some new stuff along the way. I also want your comments at the end as to what I can do to help YOU!

I also need to thank you again for all the great questions, comments and feedback.  Without it I would be at the exact same place I was in early 2009.

Thank you!!!!

Strap in and here we go. I get more than a bit ranty in places too; so you have been warned.

1) Nerve Flossing

I am not sure how much of what we currently see if from scar tissue. Maybe the body is shutting down function to protect the nerves? Maybe it is fascia? Hard to say really, but many times nerve flossing can have profound effects

Nerve Flossing Z Health Style: I can rotate my neck /

2) Can we erase fear?

Should we? Is that a good idea?
I’ve been interested this past year in how good of a motivator is fear?

At what cost?

How do memories get imprinted and what physiological costs or benefits are associated with it?

Erasing Human Fear Response New Study

Fear and Learning

3) Does endurance training help strength training?

I am thinking yes! Even powerlifters at Westside are rumored to do 7-8 seesions at minium a week. It seems that low intensity work helps promote more parasympathetic response which can aid recovery

Endurance Training Vs Strength Training

4) Five Finger Death Punch rule!!

Five Finger Death Punch is now officially one of my favorite bands of all times. I got to see them live twice and they are amazing.

5) A day in the life

My life is still insane, but I am not complaining.  I also realized writing up studies takes a lot longer than I thought. Hopefully (fingers crossed) the experimental work is all done. I have to admit I don’t miss getting up at 5am most of those days to get to the lab to test subjects.

I am extremely grateful to those that volunteered for the study. I don’t miss sleeping in the lab either (yes I did that on occasion shhhhhh).  I can guarantee one hell of a party once I graduate!  I have a 1994 Late Bottled Vintage of Warre’s port that I have been saving in my wine fridge for over 4 years that I am going to open.  Yes, I am a wine and beer snob!

Metabolic Flexibility Research and An Average Day

6) Deeply honored

I felt very honored and privileged to be featured in many different areas from

Super Human Radio, to XL Athlete (thanks Cal), presenting at the NSCA state conference, Mark Young Training Systems, Vertical Jumping .com, Adam T Glass’s blog, NickTumminello.com, DieselCrew.com, presented at the Z-Health Advanced Nutrition  Course (9s)  in AZ on Metabolic Flexibility, 2 presentations at the Z Health Master Trainer Certification in San Diego in early Jan, helped teach at the RKC and Z-Heatlh certs and met many many great people along the way.

Super Human Radio Mike T Nelson Visual Aspect of Performance
XL Athlete: How to Cue Exercises Correctly
Neuroplasticity and Opposite Joints Mobility via the Nervous System
Vertical Jumping Interview with Mike T Nelson: How To Increase Your Vertical Jump

7) This video makes me laugh every time!

hahahaha

8 )  Brain neuroplasticity is the future of all athletic training.

Performance is dictated primarily by the brain via a combination of
Eyes (visual) + inner ear (vestibular) + joints (proprioception)

I am very excited to see where this is at in 2010

Brain Neuroplasticity in Athletic Development

The concept of working on opposite joints is still amazing to me. Why this has not been picked up by others I have zero idea. I first learned of it in the Z Health R Phase and I Phase. Left knee pain? Check the RIGHT elbow. Right ankle pain, check the LEFT wrist. Seriously, try it out (yeah I know I am really flogging the dead horse by now, but this is seriously wicked cool stuff)

Neuroplasticity and Opposite Joints Mobility via the Nervous System

Neuroplastciticy: My elbow hurts and you want me to check my knee?

9) Treadmills still suck

Stay the heck off them.  Go get a TRX or kettlebell instead.  Plus that will save you some cash too!

Cardio bunnies and a stick to the hornets nest

Need I say more?  Heck, this is my blog so I will say what I want.

10) More Music!

I got to see one of my favorite bands of all time release a killer new CD and see them live here in Minnesota. I am talking about the band Hatebreed of course!

11) A New Home

I switched over to a completely new platform with a new design to help serve all of you better. I will admit that I was pulling my hair out during the transition time, but I really love it now and hopefully you do too!

12) Static Stretching Suck Large Moose Balls

Static stretching is worthless and overrated.

Do you want to spend doing time on something that

1) you don’t like to do

2) makes you weaker? Bueler? Anyone?

I think the only reason it is still around is that people don’t think there is another option. Do active joint mobility (I like Z -Health) instead and if done CORRECTLY you can get ALL the benefit and zero of the bad stuff.

The Death of Static Stretching

While I am ranting away, long duration (10-20 minute) holds of a static stretch is probably the worst thing I have heard.

Again 1) who is really going to do it (a few people) 2) now you are really making the muscles weaker.

Yeah, I understand the whole argument of
“my hip flexors are tight and my glutes are weak, so stretch the hip flexors and activate the glutes”
Perhaps, but in almost every case where an athlete complains of that, I test their hip flexors (psoas actually), it almost always tests weak via a manual muscle test and their hip function is hosed up big time.
A little mobility work on the ankle (navicular area) and boom–psoas tests fine, gait is much better, hips are moving better.

More people are getting into mobile shoes like Vibrams, Nike Frees, etc.  The Nike SFB boot for the military based is based on the flexible sole concept (which is awesome for my military, police and SWAT athletes)

Along those lines, Born to Run is the best book I read this whole year. Seriously, for any fitness person this is a MUST read. Highly entertaining too.

13) Lumbar spine (low back) flexion will kill you.

Ok, maybe not

Flexion of the lumbar spine will kill you.

14) Walk the Walk

I realized I was not listening to my own advice about setting goals with deadlines. Crap. So I signed up for a meet on about 4 days notice. Oddly enough I got 2 PRs (personal records) and realized what I had been mssing in my training
1) fun

2) purpose

EVERYONE NEEDS a coach! Period. And I happen to know somone that has a few openings in 2010 wink wink

USAPL Mike T Nelson Results and Lessons Learned

Saturday Strongman Training White Bear Lake Minnesota

15) Time is Precious

Time is the MOST precious commodity that we “own.” I am fortunate that I was able to learn that the hard way early in life.

Take action towards your goals NOW!

The Time is Now

Bonus item!  16)  Dream It and Do it

As you know, I proposed to my soon to be wife this past July.   We had dated for 2.5 years at that point and once I knew she was the one (about 6 months in), I had it in my head that I would propos to her on stage at a Project 86 concert since that was our first official date and I am a big fan of the band.  I had no idea how I would make it happen, but fast forward 2 years later and we were in Arizona to see the band I was still frantically talking to the lead singer minutes before walking into the venue.  See the link below for how it turned out, complete with video!

Mike and Jodie are getting married (caught on video)

Special thanks to Jodie for a wonderful year and cheers to many more–I love you!

Coming in 2010

Biofeedback will revolutionize training as we know it now and make it accessible for everyone. Yeah that is a shameless plug for a product coming soon, but I’ve spent the last 2 years using it, researching different forms of biofeedback both in my lab (the Extreme Human Performance Center) and a real physiology lab (HRV studies on Monster Energy drink in college students) even longer than that.

The Future of Exercise Training- Programming with Biofeedback Videos

I need YOUR help

What do you want to see from me in 2010? How can I help YOU? When else do you get to pick my brain for free. Place a comment below and let me know help YOU reach YOUR goals.

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

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