Freedom Philosophy

This post is part of a larger health change project to build in more flexibility training into my fitness regime. The problem is that I basically hate stretching but am starting to see a real need for it now. Here is step 2 of building intent.

Outcome expectancies assignment details. As part of the process of developing intentions people are believed to benefit from identifying the positive outcomes that will accompany the new behavior in contrast to the negative outcomes that accompany the current behaviors (Schwarzer, 2008). An example of a positive outcome expectancy of increasing my flexibility would be that I would be able to ride my bike with a slightly higher, more efficient saddle position. An example of a negative outcome expectancy of not increasing my flexibility would be narrower cross-training options as I would become increasingly more wary of pick up games of soccer or other sports that I have not specifically trained for.

Assignment. Brainstorm a list of as many positive outcomes of increasing flexibility.

I wanted to go old school analog with this assignment but I couldn’t help doing a quick search just to get the ideas flowing. In the process of doing that I came across a pros and cons template by Amanda Hawkins. It seemed just the right tool to use when doing this assignment so I printed one off, got an old stubby #2 pencil and started to list the advantages and disadvantages I expected to encounter with this soon to be implemented flexibility program. Like maybe many people the negatives were easiest to dive into but were fairly slow in coming once I got past the initial few. The positives in contrast weren’t maybe as easy to approach but were faster coming once I got rolling with them. Here is what this assignment yielded.

Scoring

After completing each side of the list I went through it fairly quickly and wrote down the significance of each pro and con on a scale from 0-10. Rather than tally the scores at the end I felt an average score might give me a score that would accommodate the different numbers in each list. As this tool was really just another way to reflect on my expectancies with regard to the pending program, the scoring was more for fun than anything.

Results

The results of this inventory were useful for me in that I discovered two new motivators in the form of “long term mobility gains” and a “long term reduction of stress”. Rather than think of this as a purely stress management benefit I saw it through this process as a long term advantage to not carrying so much tension with me as I move through the world. That alone seems like reason enough to get rolling with this.

Next Step

Tomorrow I am going to complete the self-efficacy inventory and then set about designing my initial flexibility assessment. I did 85k on the bike yesterday and did my normal amount of stretching during and following the ride. With a day to harden up I should be up to my normal standards by tomorrow when I hope to take my indirect flexibility measurements.

Hawkins, A. (2010). Pros and Cons. Retrieved February 06, 2010 from Ahhh-design: http://ahhh-design.com/​pros-and-cons/.

Counselling Study, Health, Wellness, & Nutrition

This post is part of a larger health change project. I am not moaning on-line about a relatively minor pain but am participating in a project to start building in more flexibility training into my fitness regime. The problem is that I basically hate stretching but am starting to see a real need for it now. Here is step 1 of me building intention.

Assignment Details: Write a stream of consciousness recount of the recent debilitating calf pain on the bike and 3 of the risk possibilities that came to mind while dealing with that injury. The incident that this reflection is based on occurred on a night ride recently. It started as a nice spin out in the cold winter air.

Stream of consciousness reflection on http://artpad.art.com

3 Risks

The most immediate risk that came to mind was slowing down and being late to meet a friend at the sento following the bike ride. His mobile phone wasn’t working and with his kids in bed calling the house wouldn’t have been a good option. I wanted to get back on time so he wouldn’t be left outside waiting.

Interesting that the risks came to mind in terms of temporal immediacy. My second fear was just annoyance that this cycling season is off to such a slow start. My weekly totals are still much lower than I’d like. I am pretty sure I am not maintaining my foundation and now I am in the deficit game. I feel like I am at risk of having a crap season.

The last risk is one that I imagine haunts a lot of athletes my age, “Don’t get hurt or you’ll miss so much time that you’ll get fat, slow, and never be able to get it back.” Maybe it’s less widespread than I think but I’ve always been in just different forms of fit. With training time so precious these days, there is real fear that a serious injury could be the end of that state of being that makes life so vivid.

Click here for the project main page

Counselling Study, Health, Wellness, & Nutrition

Slightly Less Than Flexible

Until several days ago when I was confronted with a debilitating pain in my left calf on a short 30k night ride, I had not considered implementing any meaningful changes with regard to my flexibility training. Before that event I could have been in what DiClemente, Schlundt, and Gemmell (2004) identified in the stages of change as the pre-contemplation stage. Currently I am aware of the link between my performance issues and a possible remedy through a new training program but haven’t committed to action.

Thinking it through further I have experienced a recent series of soft-tissue injuries to my calves, hamstrings, and middle and lower back resulting in frustration and frequent visits to the acupuncturist and message therapist. They make sustaining my habitual level of fitness difficult. There is strong evidence indicating a correlation between my current neglect of flexibility training and my age with muscle injury (McHugh et al., 1999; Orchard, 2001). In spite of that knowledge and past attempts at incorporating flexibility training into my exercise program, I have not been able to implement and sustain one.

Then along came an opportunity to complete a self-change project as part of a health psychology course I am in for graduate school. I wish I could say I jumped at the chance to address flexibility but I didn’t. I was more interested in using the assignment as an explanation for my wife, Asako, as to why I needed more time on the bike. I had drafted a rough plan of an improved training program that would get the 2010 cycling season started with the strongest possible foundation all in the name of academia.

After careful consideration, however, I recognized that a previous friend turned foe, flexibility, could be a hidden opportunity to address my current weaknesses on the bike and also the stressors from work and school. I completed the literature review and took some time to think through a plan. I have come up with a 4 week model based on Schwarzer’s (2008) health action process approach (HAPA). Part of my thinking is that a little social network accountability is going to help me see this project through to the greatest degree. I’ll be posting updates right here and on the project page for the next four weeks so follow along and if you feel like joining me…well, misery loves company. No I’m kidding but I can tell you, stretching is one of those things I avoid so it will be a bit of work for me to get it rolling.

Click for the Main Project Page

DiClemente, C., Schlundt, D., & Gemmell, L. (2004). Readiness and Stages of Change in Addiction Treatment. American Journal on Addictions, 13(2), 103-119. Retrieved January 22, 2010 from Academic Search Complete database.

McHugh, M., Connolly, D., & Esten, R. (1999). The role of passive muscle stiffness in symptoms of exercise-induced muscle damage. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 27, 594-599. Retrieved January 20, 2010 from EBSCOHost database.

Orchard, J. (2001). Intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors for muscle strains in Australian football. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 29, 300-303. Retrieved January 20, 2010 from EBSCOHost database.

Schwarzer, R. (2008). Modeling Health Behavior Change: How to Predict and Modify the Adoption and Maintenance of Health Behaviors. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 57(1), 1-29. doi:10.1111/j.1464-0597.2007.00325.x.

Counselling Study, Health, Wellness, & Nutrition