FOUNDATIONS
Universal Health Care Support System
J4 Performance is many things. We intend to be generalists in a world that gravitates towards specialization. We intend to provide free information about basic human health care in hope that it reaches as many people as possible. We do not intend to be mainstream or "reinvent the wheel". In some ways, we intend to do the opposite. It is not our message that we are conveying, but rather, a message. A message that has been shared with us once upon a time, and it is because of the many benefits experienced that we wish to share such value with you, your family, closest friends, and all humans who desire better health. The message has been shared before, but perhaps, has not been embraced. Understandably so, as the message conveys ideas that are not often promoted by mainstream media.
​
Below are 9 foundations that many have experienced to be life changing when practiced as skills. Like any skill, perfection is not the goal. A willingness to improve and trend upwards is the goal. It does not matter what your current position in life is, or what your current state of health is. You can greatly benefit from practicing even just one of these foundations. Although we recognize there are likely more, we believe that this is a great place to begin. Start simple. Take small steps. Notice the ripple effect.
May all the benefits flow directly to you, us and all.
AIR
A Universal Life Force
Natural medicine is the best kind of health care. The breath is a life force; a super human power that we are just beginning to understand its potential. Humans have evolved to become shallow breathers who use only a small fraction of total lung capacity. In our current world, a compromised respiratory system may prove lethal. Even prior to COVID-19, many humans were shallow breathers, and are now regularly exposed to more mental and physical stress than ever before. There are many reasons for this, but we know that practicing deep breathing can help us reduce overall perceived stress in addition to numerous mental, emotional, social and physical health benefits. In his book, Just Breathe: Mastering Breathwork, Dan Brulé defines breathwork as "the use of breath awareness and conscious breathing for healing and growth, personal awakening, and transformation in spirit, mind and body". (2017). In as little as 5-minutes of deep breathing, you will feel amazing benefits. Lengthen your inhale, and lengthen your exhale. Do this often throughout the day. Breathwork is a form of truthful health care.
​
We teach a variety of breathing techniques to help improve concentration, manage stress and enhance life in one of the simplest way possibles. Breathing techniques include, but are not limited to, box breathing for focus, hard-style breathing for kettlebell training, active recovery breathing to manage fatigue between exercises, and relaxation breathing to calm down the nervous system to conclude a training session. The breathing technique is just part of the bigger picture.....
​
What is the quality of the air that you are inhaling? At home? At school? At work? At the gym? Your physical environment is very relevant to your overall health, which is why J4 Performance training sessions are outdoors during the Spring and Summer months. The air quality is too good not to take in. During the Fall and Winter months, we train in a clean, safe and distraction-free environment.
​
WATER
Our World's Most Valuable Resource
Water is the purest thing in our world. Win first thing in the morning by drinking a glass of water. There are millions of cells in your body that act as sponges; they love and bathe in water. Every morning, you wake up in a dehydrated state, which means there is less fluid to lubricate your organs, joints and muscles that enable your body to function efficiently. For these reasons and many more that are rarely talked about in mainstream media, it is one of J4's foundations.
​
Upon waking, fill up a glass of water. Take 2 sips and count them. Repeat this process until all the water is gone. Do this frequently throughout the day and do it one more time prior to going to bed. If needed, add a pinch of salt or hint of lemon to make the water more palatable.
​
Don't count fruits, tea, or beer as a source of your water intake. Continue to enjoy these with good judgment, of course, but let's keep it simple and commit to pure H20 to earn our daily water intake.
SLEEP
#1 in Recovery
Restorative sleep is essential to making good decisions, managing our emotions, repairing and building our muscles, and delaying the aging process. In terms of athletic performance, sleep could be your greatest advantage over your opponents.
​
During the final semester of my graduate program, I researched the integral well-being of collegiate student-athletes, which focused mainly on sleep. The purpose of my study was to determine if the sample population of collegiate student-athletes were meeting the recommendations for restorative sleep, which is a combination of sleep quantity and sleep quality. The findings of my research were quite concerning, with only 4 of 134 student-athletes meeting the minimum recommendation, and over half of the sample population were far from meeting the recommendations. I wasn't necessarily surprised, as I was a former student-athlete myself and had experienced a similar post-secondary experience, but the habits that students at any age create in school can last a lifetime, and perhaps, become worse if students choose to prioritize "making a living". You deserve to be well rested so that you can perform best in what you do throughout the day and enjoy life longer.
DIGESTION
Universal Principles for Better Nutrition
Eating real, whole foods that come from the Earth is very important to live a healthy life, of course, but it would be in our best interests to first address some of the basics of nutrition, which begins with digestion. Diets will differ among individuals, but ALL humans must consume and digest. The human system is remarkably adaptive, and if you have a variety of foods, including green vegetables, you will not have great difficulty if you observe some very simple guidelines:
​
Never Eat When You Are Mentally Disturbed And The Negative Emotions Are Aroused
Ohhh comfort food, we have all definitely been there! I also know what it feels like to eat so much that I don't feel like eating until the following evening. I hope I don't have to explain further as to how this negatively affects your overall nutrition.
​
Reduce Your Food To Almost Liquid Form By The Chewing Process
Mastication refers to the mechanical breakdown of food into smaller particles by teeth in preparation for digestion. In simpler terms, chewing. When you "inhale" your food, the rest of the digestive system has to work overtime to break down food particles that should have been broken down in the mouth. Perhaps most appealing to you is that you will taste and enjoy your food more AND likely begin to eat smaller portions because you will feel full sooner. If weight loss is your goal, it comes down to calories in versus calories out. Chew your food, eat less calories and lose the unwanted weight.
Always Stop When You Feel You Could Eat More
If I had to provide a number as a guideline, the 80/20 rule is reliable. Conclude your meal when you feel 80% full. Leftovers for later never disappointed anyone, right? If you have a tight feeling in your stomach, that's your indicator for knowing you have eaten too much for that sitting.
Wait At Least 30-min After Eating Before Engaging in Physical Activity​
To be more specific, I'm referring to light physical activity. If you are going to engage in high-intensity physical activity such as heavy weight lifting or some sort of sport​
MOVEMENT
Crawl, Walk, Run
Life occurs in 3 planes of motion, most commonly in the forms of crawling, walking and running. All 3 of these examples are classified as gait, which is the most common human movement pattern. The other main human movement patterns include squatting, lunging, hinging (bending), pushing, pulling and twisting (rotating). The tasks we perform in our daily routine are usually a combination of these movement patterns, with gait being the most complex of all of them. Based on this, does it make sense to sit on machines or attempt to isolate a muscle? Not so much.
​
In fact, we aren't training muscles, but rather, we are training the nervous system which sends a signal to the muscles to produce movement. More specific to the muscles themselves, every muscle in your body is covered with fascia, which is a connective tissue that enables us to produce complex motions, like walking. These are some of many reasons why we have selected the equipment that we use in our training sessions. Kettlebells, Ultimate Sandbags, and complementary tools such as mini bands and sliders provide a better solution to overall physical health because we can connect the kinetic chains of muscles to produce more efficient movement. Efficient movement can reduce and even eliminate common aches and pains. Efficient movement will allow athletes to better express their athleticism in whatever sport they enjoy playing. ALL humans can greatly benefit from efficient movement, and our system is designed with that goal in mind.
At J4 Performance system, we approach the body as a whole system and educate people how to move better by emphasizing the importance of the hands and feet. Together, your hands and feet make up MORE THAN HALF of the bones in your body and are the primary connection to the physical world. By learning how to engage your hands and feet more effectively in training, we are able to connect the links in the body to produce better mobility, stability, strength, and power to make you more resilient to potential injury. When we are able to move efficiently, we are best able to express strength and power in anything that we do.
SILENCE
A Process of Self-Discovery
Of all foundations, silence may be one of the most valuable to embrace.
"Who am I?". Are you satisfied with the answer?
​
Our approach to interior development begins with moments of silence, which allows one to observe, feel, and hear things that otherwise cannot be noticed, felt, or heard. A process of practicing observation, concentration, meditation, and integration, is what sets J4 Performance apart from 98% or more of the fitness population.
GRATITUDE
The Greatest Thing, Bar None, In All The World, Is Love
Taking care of one's self begins with positive thoughts, words, and ideas, all of which are a form of love directed inwards. I think everyone can agree that we deserve more credit than we give ourselves. We work so hard every day, why not thank ourselves for everything that we do? If you are a parent, thank yourself for making the time to take care of yourself. If you are a student, thank yourself for investing your time and effort towards an education. If you are a shift worker, thank yourself for the long days that you put in. If you are a human, thank yourself for everything that you do, every night before you retire for sleep.
In order for the truest form of love to be expressed towards others, we must first express love towards ourselves. Egocentric, ethnocentric and world-centric.
Spread as much love into the world as you can, starting with yourself.
​
​
COMMUNICATION
An Opportunity For Greater Understanding
The most efficient way for humans to truthfully understand one another is through effective communication. Perhaps the most important part of effective communication is listening with the attempt to understand, rather than listening to respond. By intentionally listening to understand what an individual means by what they say, productive conversations become most possible. If you think and feel that this is too elementary, perhaps we should consider the question, "What is the opposite of effective communication?" A partial answer to perhaps, an odd question, is evident in every day life.
Not often do humans engage in deep, meaningful conversation more than we communicate via technology. Even our communication via technology has evolved from words into emojis. Overall, the lack of communication has led to people not being able to trust one another and making misguided assumptions. Everyone is guilty of this, myself included. It is what it is for now, but can we improve our communication? Can we learn to understand one another better? Yes, and absolutely!
​
As Bell mobile would promote, "Let's Talk!" so that we can avoid the unnecessary potential conflict that drives us apart. In light of the recent increase in mental health issues across the world, effective communication becomes even more important to our survival. Why not lend an ear to one another? Why not reach out to a friend you haven't heard from in a while just to check in, whether you know they are in good spirits or not. Why not have the deep, difficult conversations that most people tend to shy away from? My thoughts and feelings lead me to believe that engaging in deeper, productive conversations could lead us to improving our closest relationships, healing older relationships, and ultimately, to solve some of the greatest conflicts and problems that we will experience in our lifetime.
NATURE
Reconnecting With Our Roots
We have been told to stay at home indoors, but some of us interpreted the message as a restraint from going outside.
​
Getting enough sun light is an essential aspect to your overall health due to the benefits gained from vitamin D. Rain or shine, summer or winter, embrace the weather for what it is. Even on the darker days, there is still sun light to be bathed in. Go for a walk, bike ride, or simply take off your shoes and enjoy how the grass feels between your toes.
​
J4 Performance embraces nature as part of the training process by hosting training sessions outside whenever the weather permits. Regardless of the training area, I attempt to create a clean and team-oriented environment that is conducive to life-long learning, which can be applied to your training session, personal goals and all other aspects of your daily life.