Good Performance Starts with Wellness
One of my favorite mantras is “Good performance starts with wellness.”
I say this to myself to support taking actions of self care and breaking the cycle of go-go-go. I also assess horses and riders with this paradigm. In this blog, I want to show you the lens I look through when evaluating a horse or rider's performance levels.
Performance is at the top of the pyramid. Lots of other basics need to be in place before you, or your horse, can learn new things and push new boundaries. It’s not sexy, but very true.
Have you ever heard the expression “you can’t out train a bad diet?” This is like that, but bigger. You can’t out train a bad diet, bad sleep cycle, bad anxiety, bad discomfort, bad movement . . . . I think a paradigm like this, although not perfect, helps you look at the big picture and double check that the base layers are in place. When sticking points develop, you can go through a checklist of sorts to make sure you, or your horse, are ready for the pressure of training and performing.
The Pyramids
For the horse:
Layer 1: Good general health needs to be in place. This means quality nutrition, turnout, socialization, rest, and sleep (yes, your horse needs quality sleep just like you).
Layer 2: Comfort and mental health live here. Does your horse feel safe? Is his/her anxiety well managed? Can they cope with stress effectively? Do they have a desire to work with you?
Layer 3: Movement and strength sit here. Does your horse move well? Does your horse have a quality strength and conditioning program? Is their body responding well to your strengthening program? Are their muscle groups well balanced?
Layer 4: Here’s where performance lives. Your horse learns new skills and does hard things with success.
For the rider:
Layer 1: The foundation of performance is safety. Do you feel safe riding your horse, in your relationships, in your career, etc? Do you have a sense of control over your life? Do you feel organized?
Layer 2: This layer is about health. Do you have good sleep, nutrition, and mental health skills?
Layer 3: Movement and strength sit here. Do you move well? Are you strong enough to ride? Do you have enough endurance? Can you stay in your body when under stress? Can you feel what’s happening in your body, or do you dissociate? Can you breathe well?
Layer 4: Here’s where performance lives. You learn new skills and do hard things with success.
Patterns I See with Clients
With horses, I often help riders solve problems in all the layers. There isn’t one pattern that I’ve seen consistently, except that as a general rule we expect to reach the performance layer too quickly. Building the base layers takes time, usually longer than you think.
With riders, I find people often struggle with consistently following a fitness program to be fit to ride. However, the real issue sits in Layer 2. Most people struggling with consistency are actually struggling with energy because their sleep and nutrition patterns aren’t great. We live in a fast paced society, but the body gets burned out when systems are always on-the-go. My advice is often to put your fitness program on hold and instead shift to a movement program (lots of walking, mobility drills, fascial release work) while you work on improving your nutrition and sleep. When those pieces are in place, come back to your fitness program and focus on being consistent in order to get stronger.
Take a look at your horse, and yourself, through this lens? How does it feel? Any weaknesses? What are your strengths? This view can help you dial in a plan to improve performance, in the long term. It’s that idea of go slow, to go fast. Good performance starts with wellness.
Need help? You can reach Shelley at info@shelleythomasphysio.com with questions and to set up a free consultation. Thank you!
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