Alvin Yuen

02/12/2024

SCM 2024 Half Marathon Reflections

Completed it in 2 hrs 38mins - pretty far from my initial goal of 2 hrs 15 mins. My training didn't catch up to the goal, so I had to modify my race plan accordingly.

Still happy as we managed to follow the plan, and completed the race without any injuries.

Some thoughts on the first race I did since my last full marathon in 2017.

1. Races have gotten a lot more expensive
2. Age makes a huge difference
3. Training makes a bigger difference
4. Consistency is king
5. Pacing is key to an enjoyable race
6. Running with friends makes running better
7. People love their carbon plate shoes
8. It's never too late to start (or restart) anything

31/10/2024

Stretch

Ah... I'm too bad at this influencer s**t. Can't think of any inspiring quotes grand enough to match the majestic views

Anyway, it's OK to not stretch or if you miss a workout or 2.

I did a grand total of ONE stretch, captured in this pic during my holidays.

I'll be fine 😬

22/11/2022

Kimi knows.

I posted this many months ago, and this is worth a repost because:

1) it's important to do the right work, that gives you the results you want.

2) Kimi unfortunately left us in Mar this year, and I miss her grumpy face.

Miss ya, Kimi.

You wouldn't be complaining of that shoulder pinch, or that knee pain, if you did the work.

You wouldn't need a full minute to roll yourself out of bed every morning, just to avoid your back acting up, if you worked on your weak spots.

You wouldn't need to have stopped your favourite sports and activities.

Because the truth is, with the right work your body can get stronger and more flexible. You just have to start.

So have you done your work?

If you aren't sure what you can do, drop me a DM and we'll figure something out.

In the meantime... Kimi will stare right down into the depths of your soul from across the rainbow bridge. Judging you.

17/10/2022

Am I ready?

Since my right shoulder injury, I've been doing a ton of these as part of my rehab process.

My rehab goal is to not only make it pain free, but to get my shoulder stronger and more flexible than what it was when I got injured.

After all, the injury happened because it wasn't strong enough to handle what I wanted to do with it.

The process has been going well, and today felt... Good.

Maybe...it's time to up the weights?

Grabbed an additional 1kg weight, and I watched my form and my arm plummet down without much control.

Oops.

At least I tried (do I get a participation medal?) and now I know that I have more work to do at the current weight. After all, the goal is to stress the joint and get stronger, not to ego lift and post for the sake of... Who again?

Too often people take on on too much too soon, and wonder why the injury does a Bruce Willis and comes back with a vengeance.

27/09/2022

Doing the work

Bit by bit, cm by cm.

Quite liking these assisted mid split holds - there's a certain element of strength and control required to not topple over.

Is this the most efficient way to get the splits? Probably not, but it's the drill I like the most so I'm gonna have fun with it.

Is there a best exercise for everyone? There is. The best exercise is the exercise you'll bother to do regularly.

Consistency > Efficacy

06/09/2022

Spine extension stretch

You've probably tried this stretch before at some part of your life.

Maybe your spine felt compressed and crunched rather than stretched, and it just didn't feel good, or right. Heck, maybe you felt worse after trying it.

If you stopped the stretch because it feels unsafe, good on ya. That's the smart thing to do. No exercise or stretch should ever harm, injure, or make you feel pain.

If all we're doing is smashing our joints together instead of lengthening and stretching them, it's no wonder that the stretch feels "wrong".

I know, because that was me 6 years ago, when my mobility practice consisted of random stuff I found on YouTube. Thankfully I'm way more knowledgeable (and as a result more flexible) now 😂

Intent is everything, and knowing how to control our movements to create stretch in the body is critical.

Specific inputs, for specific improvements.

Length needs to occur for any stretch, so actively create that length by pinning the hips to the floor, and using the hands to drag the spine forwards and up.

You could even pin the stomach down, and focus on lengthening the middle to upper spine.

I love this setup because it's super versatile, and the floor gives great feedback to those who bother to look out for the signals.

Give it a try! Need help? I'm but a DM away.

02/08/2022

17/11/2020

Just doing the work.

Some people have watched my training videos and mentioned "that's nothing special, I can do this too"

Guess what?

I totally agree, it's nothing special 🙂

Getting a strong and healthy spine that flexes, extends, and rotates segmentally shouldn't be seen as special, it should instead be the norm.

But! What is more common is people forcing their not so strong and mobile spines into shapes which require a strong and mobile spine... now do you see where the problem lies? 🤔

5 years ago I would never had thought that it was possible for my spine to move this way.

I was a stiff dude whose idea of a good workout was random exercises thrown together done as quickly as possible. I rejected all mobility work because I felt no need for it, well that is until I got multiple injuries.

Now here we are 5 years later where I've not only proven myself wrong, but where we've helped many others get their joints strong and move confidently with classes at .

Somehow the world has been conditioned to think that the "normal" involves quick fixes, decreased activity with aging, living with pain and discomfort, and stopping activities because "it isn't safe"

That makes me sad. Don't we all deserve better?

If we can't find the joy and freedom in moving the way we want, that takes away such an important part of being living - our physical freedom.

Good changes can happen with consistent, dedicated effort. We just need to take that first step.

If you have been struggling and need help with your mobility, my free 5 step process will help you get started. Give it a shot, what's there to lose?

22/10/2020

Humans are incredibly tolerant.

We put up with so much in our lives, until we hit a breaking point, give up hope and decide to endure for the rest of our lives.

I put up with groin pain for almost a year. It hurt so bad everytime I did a squat that I gave up on all lower body exercise. (no more leg days)

It was depressing to have to avoid all leg exercises in the group classes. I so desperately wanted to workout together with my friends. It's no fun to sit on the sidelines and feel excluded. IT SUCKED.

Eventually I was so depressed that I had to choose: either quit group classes (which I loved) because it was making me depressed, or put in the work to rehab my injury. This story has a happy ending (no, not that sort) - I took the latter option and my legs now feel awesome, and I move without pain.

Pain can be temporary, if we take up the responsibility to improve joint health and performance.

Life's too short to spend it wallowing in pain and pity.

Take the steps to seek help for your pain, do the work to improve your joint health, and enjoy the activities that you love ❤️