HNL Movement Podcast

Now that we are in the holiday season, this episode is all about holiday nutrition.  For those who have a hard time placing those two words together, Andrew describes in this episode that there is actually no better time than the holiday season to focus on nutrition.  How could this be?  The holiday season is the best time to become aware of how nutrition fits into your lifestyle.  It’s the best time to bring awareness to your habits and look at how these habits are working for you.  Also, it helps to reflect on the habits that you practiced consistently most of the year before this season.  The holidays does not have to be a time where we throw all our nutrition habits out the window.  Even if that happens, what we do in months prior to this season will have a greater impact on our overall health than those few nights when we indulge more than usual.  If we focus on nutrition habits most of the year, our bodies will be more resilient to the few situations of overindulging on these celebratory meals and gatherings during the holiday season.  Andrew brings up some great points that will help you to relax and enjoy this holiday season. Reduce the pressure that a lot of people place on themselves this time of year regarding their nutrition habits.  Listen in on this episode so that you can determine what balance is right for you this holiday season.  Better yet, learn how can you observe your habits and make next year even better?  Enjoy this episode and happy holidays!Check out Episode 45: Holiday Nutrition Tips To Stay On Course With Health, Fitness, And Performancehttps://hnlmovement.com/podcast/holiday-nutrition-tips-to-stay-on-course-with-health-fitness-and-performance/Did you enjoy this episode?Please subscribe and leave a review on:AppleSpotifyGooglePandoraiHeartRadio

In this episode, Andrew welcomes Micah Christenson, arguably the best setter in the world, to the podcast!  Micah is a two-time Olympian volleyball player, earning an Olympic Bronze medal in the 2016 games in Rio.  Micah grew up in Hawaii and decided that he wanted to pursue volleyball as a career at age 16.  In college at USC, Micah became more serious about continuing volleyball when he realized it could be a legitimate career.  This is a great episode for anyone pursuing their passions, as Micah shares a lot about how he persevered and followed his dream, until it became a reality.  Micah played volleyball with many great athletes throughout his career at Punahou, USC, and during his professional career. He has experienced remarkable athletic success in his career, but at the same he emphasizes the importance of academics and having an education to fall back on. He chose to major in and received his degree in human biology from USC. He reiterates you never know how long sports will be there, injuries could happen or even losing your passion to continue to play.He has a wealth of knowledge to share in this episode from all his experiences, trials and tribulations, and unique athletic experiences that very few athletes go through. He describes the importance of pursuing your passion and not doing something else because someone else thinks you should.  Micah encourages everyone to find their “why” and the fire that drives and motivates you to continue to improve.  Your “why” is that important piece that will lead you far.  Tune in to this episode to hear more!  You can also find Micah on Instagram and Twitter:  @mchristenson11Did you enjoy this episode?Please subscribe and leave a review on:AppleSpotifyGooglePandoraiHeartRadio

In this episode, Andrew dives into the subject of muscle elasticity.  He illustrates this with the analogy of a rubber band.  We simply want our tissues to be long and strong and not short and stiff.  When our muscles are long and strong, our bodies can move fluidly, and the risk of injury is reduced.  When we start to feel more mobile and our tissues are able tolerate more things, it creates a significant difference for reducing injury risk and improving the efficiency of our movements.When stiff, our muscles cannot withstand as much.  Stiffness isn’t just about flexibility, but multiple factors lead to stiff muscles.  Poor hydration, muscle imbalances/weakness, and overtraining or lack of recovery can all contribute to excessive stiffness.  When our muscles are in this stiff state, we cannot perform optimally.  Our capabilities will be limited, and we will be at higher risk for injury.  How do we make our muscles long and strong?  Andrew provides some basic concepts in this episode, diving into detail about how we can best take care of our muscles to alleviate stiffness, create elasticity, and move fluidly in sports and in our lives.  These basic concepts go way beyond stretching and conditioning, so listen in, and expand your knowledge to help prioritize recovery, learn about the importance of myofascial release, and how to train the speed of movements to enhance neuromuscular connection.  Enjoy this episode and remember to stay tuned as we approach episode 100!  Did you enjoy this episode?Please subscribe and leave a review on:AppleSpotifyGooglePandoraiHeartRadio

This week’s episode is all about training smart and looking at the ways we can become our absolute best while continuing to get better.  Andrew provides 12 key points in this episode for training smart and achieving higher levels of performance through efficiency.  This is a great episode for anyone wanting to learn about building their training sessions for absolute and optimal results.  Training smart is all about efficiency.  Especially when we’re playing at higher levels, efficiency is key.  Andrew lays out the ways we can structure our training so we spend our time efficiently, leading to exceptional results. How can we train smart to be our absolute best?  Listen in on this episode as Andrew takes us through these 12 key points for success:FundamentalsWhat are you training for?Assessment and reassessment PlanningOverall training volumeIntensityEfficiency and time managementTraining with intentConsistencyRecovery Continuing to learnLearning everything about what you’re doingThis episode is here to help you tailor your workouts and training sessions for optimal results without any burnout or underachievement.  Enjoy listening as we learn how to further level up human performance!  Did you enjoy this episode?Please subscribe and leave a review on:AppleSpotifyGooglePandoraiHeartRadio

This week’s episode contains many gems, including a plethora of information from expert strength and conditioning coach/bodyworker, Chris Kidawski.  Chris, a multi-sport athlete, found his niche in college after retiring from football and deciding to help the players instead.  It wasn’t long after stepping off the field and entering the weight room to help athletes that Chris discovered his passion for learning about the body and helping people get strong, fast, and healthy.  Chris talks a lot about the fascial system in this episode, and the information that he shares here is highly in-depth and eye-opening.  Chris and Andrew both have a lot to share in regard to this system, which they both agree is the greatest and misunderstood portion of the body.  Chris shares about the memory of fascia and how pain that may arise somewhere in the body may be stemming from something years ago, based on the memory of our fascial system.  Once Chris began working with the fascial system and learning more about it, this became his gold when working with athletes and injuries.  The information he shares here will expand anyone’s perspective and knowledge of the human body and the ways that our systems work and communicate.  Chris operates in his coaching with a broadened perspective of the human system, using methods that are mechanistically true to the body when it comes to eliminating pain.  He also is an author, and you can find his books on Amazon.  Check out these books by Chris Kidawski:The Back Pain BibleThe Head, Neck, and Shoulder Pain BibleThe Foot Pain BibleThe Knee Pain BibleNot Your Average Paleo CookbookNot Your Average Keto DietYou can also find him on Instagram, @ribylt, or check out his website:  www.influentialhealthsolutions.com Enjoy this episode, and stay tuned for more! 

This episode is all about the fascial system.  In recent years, new research has continued to investigate the fascial system, but there is still so much to learn and discover about it.  The fascial system is much more complex than most people know and is highly integrated into human movement.  In this episode, Andrew covers the importance of the fascial system and how it works to support our movement and elevate our performance when it’s healthy.  On the other hand, what happens when our fascia is not healthy?  In this episode, Andrew dives deeply into the details about fascia and explains what it is.  Most of us know that fascia is a form of connective tissue that encases everything in the body.  However, fascia has so many roles that many of us are unaware of.  In fact, a lot of research is still being done to uncover information that has yet to be discovered about fascia.  For example, there are many unknowns about the biomechanical properties of fascia and its associated relationship with movement.  This episode touches the tip of the iceberg on what we need to know about fascia, but the tip of the iceberg includes a lot of information.  This continuous sheath of connective tissue affects so many areas and functions of the body.  Andrew lays it all out in this episode so that we can gain more knowledge of this system and take better care of it for better performance.  Listen in, and enjoy this episode on the fascial tissues and restoring the alignment of the body!   

With football season in full swing, it’s time to talk about brachial plexus injuries.  In this episode, Andrew provides full detail about the brachial plexus, the functions it serves, and the risks involved with ignoring these injuries when they occur.  Not all of these injuries get reported, and due to the importance of this nerve network, Andrew provides some key information in this episode that any active person should listen to.  Otherwise known as a “stinger,” an injury to the brachial plexus typically occurs when your head is forced away from your shoulder, which stretches this nerve network.  Football players are at higher risk for this injury, but everyone can benefit from knowing this information.  The brachial plexus is an important nerve network that supplies innervation to all of your upper extremities.  It helps to control motor function and allows us to perceive sensation.  Repetitive trauma to this nerve network can affect someone at the neural level, which is why it is so important to take the time to fully recover afterward.  This episode is packed full of useful, detailed information, including the anatomy of the brachial plexus, how it serves us, and what to do in the case of a brachial plexus injury.  Tune into this episode, expand your knowledge, and stay tuned for more great episodes! 

This episode welcomes a UH volleyball great, Kanani Danielson!  Andrew worked with Kanani at UH, where she had a successful and storied college career there.  Kanani went on to become a professional volleyball player in Japan, and in this episode, she has a lot to share from her background and her journey becoming a professional athlete.  This is a great episode for anyone who wants to know about the college recruiting process and what it takes to be a college student athlete.  Kanani talks a lot about her experience at UH and the challenges of balancing school and athletics.  She shares about the opportunity to play in Japan and the cultural differences between the US versus Japan.Kanani has not gone through her journey without challenges, including a problem she has dealt with around getting overheated.  She shares a lot about the ways that she has navigated this issue, received support from her athletic trainers, and help her stay in the game and perform while dealing with this condition.  Andrew understands how this affects Kanani’s performance not only from an athletic trainer’s standpoint, but also assisting first-hand as an athletic training student while she was playing at UH.This episode contains many gems and take-aways from Kanani, as she shares from all the way back to her childhood and into her current life in which she is now a proud mom.  The message she has for everyone is to believe beyond what you originally thought you could do.  Tune into this episode to hear about Kanani’s inspiring journey! Did you enjoy this episode?Please subscribe and leave a review on:AppleSpotifyGooglePandoraiHeartRadio

This week’s episode is great for athletes or anyone looking to improve their metabolic function for increased energy or weight loss.  This week, Andrew talks about energy availability and how we can work towards feeling more energized and maintaining energy balance.  If you’re looking for ways to optimize your energy levels or lose weight in a healthy way, listen in on this episode.  Energy balance and energy availability are two very basic concepts, but these key concepts have often been simplified too much with all the information available to us out there.  All of our systems are working together to bring our energy levels into balance, and this differs depending on what we’re doing.  It also depends on many intricate factors, such as sleep and exercise, hormornal and chemical processes, immune and endocrine function, to even psychological influences.  It’s a big misconception that we’re going to be burning the same amount of calories each time we do the same workout, activity, or each day.  It’s important to take into account all of the energy we need to function, not just for exercise.  We need energy availability for our overall health, not just for movement and activity.  If we’re short on energy availability, this can affect other areas such as cardiovascular health, bone health, and brain function, just to name a few.  This is a highly important subject to tap into and keep in mind while going about your day and planning your meals for the week.  Check out this episode and learn how to apply this concept of energy availability.  Also, listen into episode 63, “The Truth About Calories” for more practical nutrition tips!  Enjoy this episode!Did you enjoy this episode?Please subscribe and leave a review on:AppleSpotifyGooglePandoraiHeartRadio

The episode this week is all about hydration.  This is an important topic, as hydration has a positive effect on every system in the body.  Andrew states that changing hydration habits can be difficult for some people, which is why he doesn’t make it the first thing to focus on in his nutrition coaching.  However, listening to this episode will help build an understanding of the reasons why we should focus on staying hydrated and never let it slip to the wayside.  Hydration affects every system in the body. Our hydration state affects:ThermoregulationCardiovascular functionCognition Movement and motor functionNervous system functionSo how much water should we be drinking?  The recommended daily amount of water per day depends on many factors.  Andrew not only dives into the importance of hydration, but he explains how everybody’s hydration needs are different.  To gauge how much water you should be drinking, take into consideration:Body typeBody sizeHealthFitness levelActivitiesAndrew also goes over how we can measure our hydration status and know if we’ve had enough or if we need to consume more.  Another factor to consider is the type of water you’re drinking.  Filtered water is best, depending on your area, but it doesn’t have to be anything fancy.  And what about those who don’t like water?  Listen in on this episode for some key tips that Andrew provides on ways to stay hydrated even for those who have a hard time with drinking that much water.  It’s time to get motivated on increasing your water intake, which will help you to feel more energetic and improve your overall performance.  Enjoy, and stay tuned for more episodes!Did you enjoy this episode?Please subscribe and leave a review on:AppleSpotifyGooglePandoraiHeartRadio