Welcome to the inaugural blog from Move Human Performance Center! We’ll cover a variety of topics in the Health, Fitness, Sports Performance and Corrective Exercise fields. We will give helpful information to those looking to invest in themselves from a perspective that makes sense. Throughout these topics you will find one common theme and – Human Performance. Before I explain what Human Performance is and why it’s so important, let me introduce myself…
My name is Chad Dunn and I am a co-owner of Move Human Performance Center in Chandler, Arizona with my wife Jackie. I am a certified personal trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, certified in fascial abrasion/soft tissue work from the F.I.T Institute and a corrective exercise specialist. Before opening Move Human Performance Center, I worked at the top orthopedic physical therapy and sports performance clinic in Phoenix for 23 years. I decided it was time to expand my connection with others due to the incredible success I had working with people recovering from injuries or enhancing their sports performance. I had some challenging cases such as a spinal cord injuries, a gunshot injury and I also assisted with two major burn clients. They all made remarkable recoveries from the injuries they sustained.
I am so passionate and positive, I know helping others is my calling. I pride myself on my work ethic, knowledge of the human body, and my responsibility to do my job well. I want to help people achieve success and to lead people, no matter their situation, in the right direction. Results show as more people Move!
Having a passion for biomechanics along with a great knowledge of the human body, I offer information differently than others during our sessions. I give the reason each exercise is important and how it affects the rest of the body, helping you learn the mechanics of your movement and body. And analogies. I love giving analogies to help piece it all together and turn on the light bulb. Now that you know a little bit about me and my background, let’s jump into the important stuff.
So what is Human Performance? Human Performance is the way your body performs in life, during sport or after injury. The person that Moves the longest, wins in life! What does that mean exactly? Can you walk around all day or do daily activities without getting hurt, out of breath or falling off balance? If you can, your Human Performance is on point! Human Performance in life means you’re able to do your daily activities with the best intentions without any difficulties.
How about Human Performance in sports? Do you always win and beat your school or states’ records? If you’re winning in sports, you’re achieving a level of Human Performance. What about training? Do you want to be an athlete or specialist? Training for only one sport makes you a specialist. You can increase your Human Performance by training to do more than one sport. Many players play multiple sports making them great athletes. I teach and develop my sports clients to be athletes and be the best. Some examples of famous athletes (not specialists) are Russell Wilson, Steve Nash, & Deion Sanders. Can you name any other athletes?
Last, but not least, Human Performance in post rehab. This is the ability to return to function after sustaining an injury. Most people are happy just to walk or regain function after physical therapy. Human Performance wants more. Want to run a 5k or be able to go dancing again? You give me a goal and I will help get you there. I have had clients with knee replacements return to full function and go back to running and skiing. Don’t think a spinal cord injury can walk again? I have assisted with 2 spinal cord injury clients and they’re up and walking today. The greater the recovery is from an injury the higher the level of Human Performance will be after! If you have any difficulties with health, sport or post rehab Human Performance, stop by Move Human Performance and we can help you out!
The question is, do you really know your body? In an age where everyone knows how to use their phones, tablets and computers they have no real idea how to use their bodies properly nor what their body really does and how it works. Phones and electronics get outdated quickly but your body never does. That’s why Human Performance in your life is so important. The fundamentals of optimum Human Performance starts with good posture and footing.
We need to be conscious of our deteriorating posture in this modern age. With all the screen time – whether it be your computer or cell phone – and time we spend sitting, we are hanging our heads and slouching more than ever. This creates bad posture which leads to pain and injures. 90% of all pain and injuries can be cured with good posture. The human body adapts to its environment so undoing our poor daily habits is crucial, we need to be stretching nightly to lengthen the muscles and release tension. Remember, it takes 66 days to form a new habit. Make today the day you start the change.
An exercise to try today to begin working on fixing your posture is to stand with your back to the wall. Make sure your heals, hips, shoulder blades and head are touching the wall as you look straight ahead. This is a great position to be in to test your posture or lack thereof. Hold this position for 30 seconds and repeat 3 times. Do this every morning and night to have improved posture in no time!
We all know the kids song, “The foot bone is connected to the…neck bone.” I may have skipped some bones in between but the core of the song is what’s so important and true. Did you know that ¼ of our bodies bones are in the feet? If your feet are off so is the rest of your body. This leads to structural imbalances and/or injuries. Remember your head is a flag while your spine is the flag pole (your posture). Make sure your pole sits on top of a solid foundation (your feet). I was once told that a person with weak or bad feet is like a structure with poor engineering. Everything starts from the bottom.
A simple exercise to try today to see how strong and stable your feet are you can do while brushing your teeth. When brushing your teeth, stand on your right foot. Try to hold it strong and stable for 30 seconds. Now switch to your left foot and do the same. Repeat this 3 times on each leg. I know this sounds simple but simple works! You have to master the basics before you can move on. Not as easy as it seems? Focus on using your foot and hip as stabilizers, this will help you keep your balance.
Your performance is our passion, we build people not just muscles. That’s why Human Performance is the platform for our mission at Move. It will all come together one piece at a time in each of the blogs as we talk about health, fitness and sport!
Stay tuned and subscribe to our blog as we get this party started. Just remember it all starts with good posture, good feet and keep on Moving!
Comment below to let us know what topics you’d like to read about and what you think!
Stay Moving,
Chad Dunn