Welcome to Everyday Athlete the podcast for the everyday athlete who wants to train smarter and live to be 100 years old. I am your host, Josh Kennedy. Today, I am talking to Philip McDougall, Director of Athletic Performance at Strength Matters. In our conversation, we explore who or what is the everyday athlete.
Philip is a kettlebell Jedi, former Marine Commando, sports massage therapist, an Olympic Ski Racer, and a great friend. He lives in San Diego with Henry of Cambridge who is one of the coolest dogs in the world. According to Philip, everyone possesses a level of athleticism, but only a small percentage exercise an adequate amount. The small percentage of the population that regularly exercise are the everyday athletes. Stay tuned while we discuss the how and why of being a true everyday athlete.
Today’s topics include:
- How approximately 60% of the adult population age between 18 and 64 lead sedentary lifestyles.
- The impact of being a sedentary “couch commando” is that you can lose your flexibility as your body morphs into a chair shape.
- How just the act of standing up can help improve the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle.
- Proper breathing technique that engages your core as you breathe from your diaphragm.
- Why the word athlete is not just for the elite. The definition of the word athlete is the ability to perform tasks at a high level.
- The everyday athlete performs an exercise with efficiency, good movement, and effectiveness.
- Why working on your weaknesses and upping your game will improve your overall athletic performance
- The 10 Components of Athleticism
- Flexibility
- Stability
- Balance and Coordination
- Strength
- Power
- Speed
- Agility
- Endurance
- Mental Toughness
- Cardiovascular Capacity
- The 7 Human Movement Patterns
- Hinge
- Squat
- Push
- Pull
- Anti-Rotate
- Rotate
- Locomotion
Action Step or Takeaway
- Go through the list of Components of Athleticism, score yourself using a 1-10 score, 10 being the best, then take the ones that you scored the least in and focus on training those areas for the next 3 months.
Links and resources:
Quotes:
“The greatest successes I’ve had in helping people who sit all day is to get them to stand up.” Philip McDougall
“If you want to lose weight, stand up, learn to breathe properly and start walking.” Philip McDougall
“Everyday athleticism is the ability to carry out your everyday life in an effective manner” Philip McDougall
Please explain rotation anti rotation and locomotion
Rotation is rotating through movement… such as a kettlebell windmill. Anti-rotation is resiting rotation… example is a single arm farmers carry. Locomotion is moving whilst doing an exercise… such as walking lunges. Hope that helps!