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Balancing your Demands and Capacity

Balancing your Demands and Capacity

July 1, 2017 Blog

Given the information that exists through courses, the Internet, books, etc., we can easily lose sight of our reasons to be physically active. But when we step back and reflect on the reasons why we exercise, it likely boils down the picture below. Ultimately, we train, exercise, become educated, etc. to ensure that we have sufficient capacity to meet the demands of our lives.

Your demands reflect the activities that you need, love or want to do. For a physical active population such as firefighters, they reflect the skills necessary to safely fight a live fire and effectively assist at the scene of an accident, but also encompass those activities performed at the end of the day such as going for a run, doing chores around the house, or playing with their kids. Every one of these activities imposes demands (physical, psychological and emotional).

Your capacity can be viewed as your ability, (e.g. strength, endurance, flexibility), desire (e.g. motivation) and awareness (e.g. perception of risk) to perform, safely and effectively. The DEMANDS – CAPACITY framework can be used as a foundation to make your exercise matter!

What would you do if you had the ability and motivation to perform every activity you’ve ever wanted to try?

In the unfortunate situation that an individual’s demands exceed their capacity, their risk of injury and cardiac or respiratory distress will go up, their performance will go down, and quality of life will suffer. In these situations, we can reduce life’s demands (e.g. no more golf, no more lifting…and yes, this also applies to playing with your kids), but this is no way to live!

How you would feel if you were told that you could not participate in an activity that you really enjoy?

Most of us want to be active today, tomorrow and 10 years from now, and therefore we need to look for opportunities to build our capacity to meet the demands of our lives. This approach also offers an excellent strategy to enhance motivation and adherence to exercise in the long-term.

To gain a better appreciation for the demands of your life (i.e. your reasons to exercise), begin by asking three simple questions.

  1. What activities do I need to perform, love to perform, or want to perform? Consider work, life and play?
  2. In general, what frequencies (how often), intensities (how hard), and times (how long) are the activities that I need, love or want to perform?
  3. In general, what movement patterns are associated with the activities I need, love or want to perform? In general, each of us should exhibit the control and coordination to squat, lunge, hinge push and pull.

While your demands can offer insight into how “fit” you need to be, your capacity highlights where you are now. As a first step towards establishing your capacity, pose the same three questions from above, albeit in the opposite order.

  1. In general, what movement patterns are associated with the activities I need, love or want to perform? This question will help to establish the types of exercises or activities that could be used during an assessment.
  2. In general, what frequencies, intensities, and times are associated with the activities that I need, love or want to perform? This question will help to establish the frequency, intensity and duration of the exercises or activities that will be used during an assessment. However, as a rule of thumb, start low!
  3. What activities or exercises will provide me with an opportunity to assess the movement patterns, frequencies, intensities and times listed above?

Using this framework, your exercise programs can be created to progressively build your capacity to meet or exceed the demands of your life!

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Although there are countless benefits to simply be Although there are countless benefits to simply being physically active, there are also many other benefits that are unique to the demands imposed and/or the performer’s execution.

Whether attempting to prompt a specific cardiorespiratory response, impose a unique demand on the musculoskeletal system, or facilitate motor learning, there will be times when HOW we exercise matters.

Reduce your risk of future low back injury by learning to control specific spine motions within a range of contexts. In other words, challenge yourself in many ways!

Circuit 1
Right leg back lunge w/ left arm load x 40s
Right arm plank to left arm hang x 40s
Left leg back lunge w/ right arm load x 40s
Left arm plank to right arm hang x 40s
3 Rounds

Circuit 2
Right leg back lunge w/ left arm load x 5s hold at bottom for 40s
Left arm hang with rotation x 40s
Left leg back lunge w/ right arm load x 5s hold at bottom for 40s
Right arm hang with rotation x 40s
2 Rounds

#makeexercisematter #injuryprevention #exerciseprinciples #movementhygiene #physicalliteracy #movementmatters #iaffwfi #iaffpeerfitness #performanceredefined #5minutesoffun #fittothrive
Incredible week in NYC with the IAFF at their Redm Incredible week in NYC with the IAFF at their Redmond Health and Safety Symposium / Barbera EMS Conference. 

From the oustanding speakers to the Fire Within 5k organized in collaboration with the American Cancer Society, the IAFF continues to lead through 'Excellence in Action'. 

It was an honour to be part of such a wonderful event. A big thank you to the IAFF for the opportunity to share new ideas on fire fighter wellness, program implementation, fitness testing, self care and more!

#RedmondBarbera23 #iaff #iaffwfi #iaffpeerfitness #firefighter #firefighterwellness #performanceredefined #fittothrive
Be active with whatever you have wherever you happ Be active with whatever you have wherever you happen to be.

There are endless opportunities to challenge yourself in every environment as long as you are willing to find them.

Tree climb to push-up x 3
Air squat x 20
5 rounds

#fitnessanywhere #exerciseeverywhere #beactive #moreactivemoreoften #movementhygiene #physicalliteracy #performanceredefined #exercisewithatree #iaffwfi #iaffpeerfitness #5minutesoffun #fittothrive
A prospective study recently published in JAMA Onc A prospective study recently published in JAMA Oncology found that 1-2 minute bouts of vigorous physical activity such housework, carrying groceries, and playing with kids lowered participants' cancer risk by up to 32%.

The researchers from the University of Sydney followed the more than 22000 non-exercisers for 7 years and tracked their activity habits with wrist worn accelerometers.

Just 4.5 minutes of daily vigorous activity accumulated primarily in bouts lasting less than 1 minute was associated with an 18% reduction in total incident cancer risk and a 32% reduction in 13 cancers that have been linked to physical activity.

While exercise has been linked with additional benefits and further reductions in risk, these findings are extremely promising for cancer prevention efforts amongst individuals who are unable or unmotivated to exercise.

Every little bit counts!

#physicalactivityandcancer #beatcancer #fightcancer #beactive #moreactivemoreoften #smallstepsbigchange #everylittlebitcounts #movementmatters #5minutesoffun #iaffwfi #iaffpeerfitness #fittothrive
Try new things to build new habits. Learning to Try new things to build new habits. 

Learning to move in different ways and in different environments requires that we challenge ourselves to move in different ways and in different environments. 

Embed more opportunities to 'play' into your weekly routine. 

One arm snatch x 5 
Bearcrawl w/ dumbbell x 10 ( back + forward)
One squat to press x 5
Repeat on opposite side
3 rounds

#performanceredefined #learntomove #play #movementhygiene #physicalliteracy #exercisehabits #iaffwfi #iaffpeerfitness #fittothrive
Physical activity. Diet. Sleep. Mindfulness. Relat Physical activity. Diet. Sleep. Mindfulness. Relationships. The behaviors we adopt to support each of these areas will collectively influence our health and fitness outcomes. 

Prioritizing the things we want to accomplish without considering the path to get there (and to keep us there) will create limited opportunity for success. 

Build the habits that will allow you to chase the outcomes that are most important.

#habits #health #physicalactivity #movebetter #eatbetter #sleepbetter #breathebetter #connectbetter #bemoreactive #performanceredefined #iaffwfi #iaffpeerfitness #fittothrive
There is so much good that can be done in 5 minute There is so much good that can be done in 5 minutes. 

Don't let 'lack of time' be the reason why you weren't active today. 

Consistency is critical to building habits. 

High plank to pike (downward dog) x 5s hold; emphasize active shoulder and hip flexion

High plank to hip extension (upward dog) x 5s hold; emphasize active hip extension

High plank with overhead reach x 1 each arm; emphasize active shoulder extension

High plank with leg raise x 1 each leg; emphasize active hip extension

10 reps

#beactive #activeeverywhere #activeeveryday #noexcuses #overcomebarriers #performanceredefined #iaffwfi #iaffpeerfitness #5minutesoffun #fittothrive
All exercise can be good.  But all exercise is no All exercise can be good.  But all exercise is not good for all reasons. 

For example... 

Aerobic exercise is recommended post concussion to facilitate the recovery process.  And while there are many ways to prompt the physiological response(s) that contribute to supporting brain health, each does not impose the same demands on the body (running, cycling and jumping rope can each impose an aerobic demand but are associated with different head accelerations) and thus each would be not provide the same benefit. 

Let your WHY inform your WHAT to make your exercise truly matter!

#makeexercisematter #exerciseworks #exerciseeveryday #findyourwhy #criticalthinking #exerciseforlife #worklifeplay #fordutyforlife #iaffwfi #iaffpeerfitness #performanceredefined #fittothrive
Spending more time in specific positions will give Spending more time in specific positions will give you access to and control of these positions when it matters most.

If end range hip flexion or a neutral spine curvature are important, spend time trying to actively control these positions.

This can clbe done by using exercises that involve no motion (e.g. isometric squat) and others that aim to restrict specific motions while performing something more dynamic (e.g. push-up with no low back motion).

Controlling positions is a precursor to controlling motions.

One arm row x 8/arm (control hip position)
Air squat x 30s (control hip and ankle position)
One leg push-up x 8/leg (control hip position)
Air squat x 30s (control hip and ankle position)
5 rounds

#makeexercisematter #movementmatters #strengthmatters #mobilitymatters #mobility #activemobility #fordutyforlife #performanceredefined #iaffwfi #iaffpeerfitness 
#fittothrive

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Although there are countless benefits to simply be Although there are countless benefits to simply being physically active, there are also many other benefits that are unique to the demands imposed and/or the performer’s execution.

Whether attempting to prompt a specific cardiorespiratory response, impose a unique demand on the musculoskeletal system, or facilitate motor learning, there will be times when HOW we exercise matters.

Reduce your risk of future low back injury by learning to control specific spine motions within a range of contexts. In other words, challenge yourself in many ways!

Circuit 1
Right leg back lunge w/ left arm load x 40s
Right arm plank to left arm hang x 40s
Left leg back lunge w/ right arm load x 40s
Left arm plank to right arm hang x 40s
3 Rounds

Circuit 2
Right leg back lunge w/ left arm load x 5s hold at bottom for 40s
Left arm hang with rotation x 40s
Left leg back lunge w/ right arm load x 5s hold at bottom for 40s
Right arm hang with rotation x 40s
2 Rounds

#makeexercisematter #injuryprevention #exerciseprinciples #movementhygiene #physicalliteracy #movementmatters #iaffwfi #iaffpeerfitness #performanceredefined #5minutesoffun #fittothrive
Incredible week in NYC with the IAFF at their Redm Incredible week in NYC with the IAFF at their Redmond Health and Safety Symposium / Barbera EMS Conference. 

From the oustanding speakers to the Fire Within 5k organized in collaboration with the American Cancer Society, the IAFF continues to lead through 'Excellence in Action'. 

It was an honour to be part of such a wonderful event. A big thank you to the IAFF for the opportunity to share new ideas on fire fighter wellness, program implementation, fitness testing, self care and more!

#RedmondBarbera23 #iaff #iaffwfi #iaffpeerfitness #firefighter #firefighterwellness #performanceredefined #fittothrive
Be active with whatever you have wherever you happ Be active with whatever you have wherever you happen to be.

There are endless opportunities to challenge yourself in every environment as long as you are willing to find them.

Tree climb to push-up x 3
Air squat x 20
5 rounds

#fitnessanywhere #exerciseeverywhere #beactive #moreactivemoreoften #movementhygiene #physicalliteracy #performanceredefined #exercisewithatree #iaffwfi #iaffpeerfitness #5minutesoffun #fittothrive

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  • Build a growth mindset to be active for life!
  • The pros and cons of CrossFit…

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