One of the really cool things I love about my job is that I get to work with some amazing athletes doing some extreme performances.   If you want to skip the writing, scroll down to see the super short video testimonial.

One such athlete is Chris.  He is currently down at a many day long (think weeks) try out to be an Army Ranger.

I’ve had the privilege of working with him a few times on some pain and movement issues.  The first session involved primarily foot and ankle work to get the muscles around his hips (glutes aka butt muscle and psoas) back to working at 100%.   His gait (walking movement) improved dramatically also.

On his second visit, he developed some slight foot pain and we soon found that his left pinky toe would not move at all, despite how hard he tried to move it.  We went to his RIGHT hand little finger and that combined with some hands on work on a scar on his leg (just holding the tissue in a specific direction while he did the mobility work) allowed his left pinky toe to start moving again.

The great part was when he came in this past time, he had full control of his left pinky toe and no foot pain as he was very diligent about doing his homework exercises for just a few minutes each day for 4 weeks.

He is also a fitness/ personal trainer, runs a bootcamp here in Minnesota, and has been training very hard for Ranger school.   His right hip started to act up a bit, so we took a look at it to get him up to 100% for Ranger school.

This time the same foot/ankle work had no effect.  It seemed like his right psoas was very tight and angry (I’m probably the only one with this mental picture of a psoas muscle with a mad face on it), causing pain when he lifted his right knee up in a marching like motion.

I tested his eye reflexes and found they were “positive” in the up position.  I repeated the same foot/ankle work on the right side, but this time I had him hold his eyes in the up position.   Viola -  the muscles fired well, psoas released (aka a happy psoas now),  hip movement was great, gait was great and no pain.

This is a pretty typical progression that I see.  Standard Z-Health R Phase mobility work for 2-5 sessions and then most need some specific eye work (taught in the Z-Health I Phase cert) to get the muscles working again, thus restoring optimal pain free movement.

Don’t just take my word for it though, here from Chris himself in the video below

Let me hear your comments!

Rock on!

Mike T Nelson

PS

If you are interested in a Z-Health session for yourself or a friend, email me at michaelTnelson@yahoo.com today.  Sessions are booked ona first come, first serve basis and are 100% guaranteed.   The risk is on ME to PROVE to you that it works.

Z-Health Athletic Performance System

Since I’ve received sooo many questions about what is Z-Health, I’ve decided to provide you a brief review of Z-Health R Phase (level 1) certification.    I am reaching a point that with my current schedule I can’t answer every one of the emails that I get about what is covered in the Z-Health certification, but I want to help as many people as possible.  

My solution is to refer incoming emails to this multi part system and if people still have questions I am more than happy to answer them at that point as  I really love the interactions. 

Common questions

Are you doing this just to make money?

My main reason is to help people since I feel there is lots of bad information in the fitness area and my goal is do my small part to help clear up the confusion.   This does not mean that I have all the answers, but try some out the information here and judge for yourself .

The short answer is that yes that if you sign up for a Z-Health certification and mention my name I do make a few clams.   Keep in mind that I would never recommend anything to you that I do not 100% believe in.  I’ve spent over 3 years now doing Z-Health and have completed levels 1-4 and the Advanced Nutrition Course and on one of only 7 Z-Health Master Trainers currently.    I am always looking to learn more, but I have a good idea of what is involved in the system. 

If you don’t want to sign up for the Z-Health certification, that is perfectly fine and you may still learn a TON of amazing information here complete FREE.

Are you an employee of Z-Health?

No, I am not an employee of Z-Health.  I have done lectures at their training (level 1 and level 2) and presented information on Metabolic Flexibility at the
Z-Health 9S Advanced Nutrition course.  I work as an independent consultant and if I found a better system, Iwould be recommending that one!

After this series, will I know everything that is covered in the Z-Health R Phase?

Nope.  Keep in mind that I am trying to distill down 6 days of information into a series of written word.   It would be impossible to fully convey everything that goes on during the certification.  I did not believe that at first either until I drank the Kool Aid and went off the short plank in the pool for R Phase training.  

Dynamic Joint Mobility Drills

A key component of Z-Health R Phase is the actual dynamic joint mobility drill themselves.  The certification spends a HUGE amount of time on how to do these drills with PRECISION. You can ask anyone that has gone through the certification if they were doing the drills correctly before (or before working with a Z-Health trainer), and  almost everyone will say “no”.  This is not your grandma’s mobility program and PRECISION is a HUGE component of the system.   Virtually every other system does not use the same level of precision, so it is common to just go through the motions.    I know that is what I did when I first got the DVD a few years ago.  I was flapping my arms around to it like a Dodo bird trying to take flight.

Here we go!

What is Z-Health?

Z-Health at a base level is a system to obtain elite athletic performance.  Sounds good to me!  A side benefit of this is that many times you can get out of pain!   Better movement is the KEY to less pain and improved performance.  Sounds simple, right?

Key Z-Health R Phase
Concept #1: Proprioception

Simply stated, proprioception is the body’s 3D map of itself.   In your brain, there is actually a little 3D map of you!  I think of it as this holographic map of yourself hanging out in your brain.

Example Time. If you get pulled over by the Smokey as you are driving and you have to stand with your eyes closed and your head still and extend your
arms and touch your nose.  Without a 3D map of your body, you would not get close and may poke your eye out.

How does the body do this?

There are many small sensors in the body including:

1)      Mechanoreceptors (sense movement)

2)      Nociceptors (sense noxious “things”)

3)      Thermo (sense temperature)

4)      Baro (sense pressure)

5)      Chemo (sense chemical)

6)      E/M (sense electromagnetic)

The example Dr. Cobb uses that if you want to design a really smart robot, would you pt most of the motion sensors in the joints (bendy parts) or in the straight parts that don’t move?  The bendy parts of course!  The human body does the same thing, so it puts a ton of mechanoreceptors at the joints.

Nociceptors

Nociceptors are designed to sense noxious things that are “bad.”   If you touch a hot stove, the increased heat will be sensed as noxious.    If you hang out and inhale car fumes from your tailpipe, you know this is “not good” (noxious) (again, don’t try this at home, just imagine).  A noxious stimulus is NOT always the same thing as pain though (more on that later).

Interpretation

The brain is where all the signals are interpreted  (just like proprioception). You will see that the brain and nervous system are a huge part of Z-Health.   A noxious stimulus may not be perceived as pain because of the complex function of the brain.

Mechanoreceptor Focus

Since the mechanoreceptors are for sensing movement, and the movement is interpreted in the brain; the fastest way to dramatically improve your movement map (and thus performance) is with precise joint mobility.    

Better mobility = a better movement map = increased athletic
performance.

Stay tuned here next Monday for Key Concept #2.  It is HUGE and very few people even talk about it. 

Rock on

Mike T Nelson