The Athlete Development Journal🥇

Train your mind. Build your body. Fuel your soul.

Mind: You are what you say you are.

Imagine two people who have smoked for the past 10 years. Now, they’re both trying to get rid of the cigarettes.

• Person 1: “I’m trying to quit smoking.”
• Person 2: “I’m not a smoker.”

With all other factors identical, who would you bet money on being a more successful quitter?

James Clear uses this example in his book, Atomic Habits, to demonstrate how our identity shapes our habits (and vice versa).

You can use this as a cheat code.

I want to write a book and I want to write a newsletter that gets read by tens of thousands of sports parents and athletes each week.

But, I’m not trying to write. I’m a writer.

• You’re not trying to get more sleep each week, you’re an athlete who prioritizes recovery.
• You’re not trying to make it to the gym after practice, you’re an athlete who trains in-season, out-of-season, year-round, for years on end.
• You’re not trying to make time for your own personal health, you’re a parent who models for their kids what lifelong health looks like.

Writers write books. I’m a writer, so my book will get written.

Athletes who prioritize recovery find a way to get more sleep. You’re an athlete who prioritizes recovery, so you’ll get more sleep.

Parents who model lifelong health for their kids find time to exercise and eat healthy each week. You’re a parent who models life-long health for your kids, so you’ll exercise and eat healthy this week.

Decide who you want to be, then become that person.

Body. One reason why low back pain sucks

Low back pain sucks. For everyone.

One of the biggest reasons why it sucks so bad is that it’s so dang complicated.

If you hurt your ankle, I can press on the spot where it hurts, do a few quick tests, and say with a high degree of certainty what ligament, muscle, or bone you injured.

Backs don’t work like that.

One reason for that is the complex nerve structure in that area.

In your ankle, there’s a very specific, isolated nerve distribution. One nerve is responsible for sensing pain in a specific area, so it can send a very clear signal to the brain about what’s going on.

In your back, all of the nerves from all over your body converge together.

Your ankle is like a direct phone call. You have a private line to one person. The connection is clear, there’s no static, and you know exactly who you’re talking to and what they’re saying.

Your back is like a massive, chaotic group phone call with 100 people. Voices are coming in from everyone at once, people are talking over each other, and people are replying to different things. Trying to pinpoint the source of one specific piece of information in that flood of data is nearly impossible. The brain gets a jumbled, “loud” signal and has to guess what’s important.

The spot where you feel your back pain might be different than where the actual injury is.

This is only one reason why back pain is so complex. There’s a high density of tissues (bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, etc.) that overlap each other. You use your back for pretty much everything, all day long. Psychological, social, and emotional factors can amplify back pain experience ten-fold, or even perpetuate it once the injury is gone.

The moral of the story here? If you have back pain, give yourself some grace. It can take time. It is complex, but it’s not unsolvable.

So instead of getting lost in the noise, let it guide your next step: seek a solution that respects the complexity of the problem.

Soul. Love your neighbor.

I had something else planned for this section this week, but in light of recent events, I decided to scrap it for a few simple messages:

1. Love your neighbor.
2. Most people are good. Don’t let social media and the national news let you think otherwise. Their algorithms are designed to reward controversy. People saying stupid things will always fill up your newsfeed, even if they’re the vast minority.
3. Get off your phones and be present with your tribe.

Last week’s podcast AMA ⬇️

Topics: Zach’s starting a school?, how to build mental toughness, differentiating between soreness and injury, how to recover when you can’t sleep 8 hours per night, and more.

You can also listen on ​Spotify​ or ​Apple Podcasts​.

We’re recording another “Ask Me Anything” episode this week. If you have any athlete development, sports performance, rehab, or life questions for me, send them ​here!​ (Or just email me back if you find that easier.)

A couple of important things…

1. This newsletter is completely free. I spend many hours each week researching, writing, and illustrating. The best way you can support it and allow it to continue is to share it with people you know. You can just send them to​gtperformance.co/newsletter​ and they can subscribe there!
2. Everything in these newsletters and on our website is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice for you or your athlete. Consult directly with a healthcare professional.

Thanks so much for your help in spreading the word about athlete development!

Be >,

Zach

Dr. Zach Guiser, PT, DPT, CSCS