👋 Hey. We're well and truly into the nervous 90s... Welcome to issue #96 of The Everyday Athlete Newsletter.
Here are my 3 favourite ideas, learns and resources to help you improve your performance this week (4 min read):
🔓 Unlocking tight hammies
If you’ve got tight hamstrings — and no amount of stretching and triggering release them — the next 30 seconds might just help unlock those tight bastards for good...
See our muscles rarely work in isolation.
They work together.
And some smart human mapped the different ways our muscles connect throughout the body, for different movements.
They're called myofascial meridians.
And one of them is the superficial back line.
It runs from our feet, up the back of our body to our forehead.
And because it's all connected, tightness in one area can tighten another.
The foot, for example...
We've got over 100 muscles, ligaments and tendons in each.
And they can get super tight from restrictive shoes and hard surfaces.
So tight feet can tighten all the muscles along the superficial back line (often most noticeable in the hammies).
But what's cool is releasing it works in the same way.
So if you’ve got tight hammies, get into the soles of your feet.
Try this:
- 🤸 Bend down and do the classic hammy stretch
- ⚾️ Then roll each foot on a golf ball for a minute
- 🎉 Retest
But watch your head doesn’t smack the floor with your new ultra-flex hamstrings.
🎙️ Podcast: Perform
I guess you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself start a podcast.
And one of the great sports science weapons — Andy Galpin — has done just that.
But we're glad.
Because it's class.
Two eps so far — one on cardio fitness, one on strength and muscle.
He’s like the sports performance version of Huberman.
But be warned, there is some fairly dense science awaiting you... Enjoy the pain.
Listen here.
🏄 John Florence's World Title recipe
Last month, Hawaiian surfer John Florence took the silverware at the Tahiti Pro.
Jumping him to the top of the overall leaderboard.
Somewhere he hasn’t been since 2017 (when he won back-to-back World Titles, a Triple Crown and the Eddie Aikau Memorial in just over 12 months).
But a lesser-known stat from the recent Tahiti Pro...
It was his 16th consecutive champion tour event.
Some rare consistency we haven’t seen from him since — yep — 2017.
The recipe for that hot bit of form 7 years ago?
A string of 22 consecutive events.
(And then a 5-year run of endless injuries)...
It shows the power of consistency.
The power of staying on the field. Staying healthy. Injury free.
So what does that look like for the everyday athlete?
- ➗ The stay-on-the-field equation: sleep duration (7+ hours) and consistent sleep/wake times (+/- 30 mins most of the time)
- ✔️ Ticking the recovery checklist after training: rehydrate, refuel, sleep, and a blood flow activity
- 📅 The never-miss-twice rule: Life happens. We miss bedtimes, training sessions, and other habits we're building. But when we do, don’t miss the next one — keep the momentum going
Stay on the field. Harness momentum. Keep it moving.
That's it!
Have a great weekend 🤙
Matt
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The Everyday Athlete Newsletter is not a licensed health service and is not a substitute for professional health advice, treatment or assessment. The information given in this email is general in nature, written for a specific audience. If you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional.
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