I've had a busy week in my therapy room.

My client base has been really varied; fitness models and physique athletes to tradesmen and GP's.

I have a different and holistic approach to managing injuries, looking at all aspects of the person in front of me not just the issue that they come in with.

Something that has come up at lot this week has been about getting the basics of total health right to support repair and manage the injuries.

Here are my top 3 things to get right.

1.  Breathing - if you are not breathing correctly and fully it will affect every aspect of your health.  You are designed to breathe in to your belly and lower ribs, your chest should really only get involved in the final 3rd.

Sitting hunched at a desk makes it uncomfortable to breathe in to your belly, improving your breathing improves your posture.

Unfortunately to appeal to the opposite sex we suck our bellies in and push our chests / breasts out.  Again encouraging a dysfunctional breathing pattern.

2.  Sleeping - we recover when we sleep.  It is generally accepted that physical repair happens between 10pm and 2am, with psychological repair taking place between 2am and 6am.

Poor quality sleep affects your hormonal balance and in turn your ability to repair.

In addition, if your goal is weight loss, good quality sleep should be a priority.

My clients that are aiming at the physique side of things, my advice has for them to be in bed before 10pm no matter how much they feel they have left to do.  If they haven't finished there work, they should get up earlier rather than miss time from physical repair.

3.  Hydration - I very rarely meet somebody that is correctly hydrated.  If you are dehydrated, any pains you have will feel worse.  

Your body just doesn't really function very well when it is dry, in the same way that a car will work without oil but it will soon break.

It doesn't matter if you don't like water, your body needs it.  If you don't drink it you get ill, so just drink it.

The quality is important, if you drink a glass and rush straight to the loo, you need to add a pinch of sea salt to help your body absorb it.

Get the above three things right and you are less likely to get injured as your body will be functioning well.  

Get the above three things right and you can even slip on your diet more often.

You will be functioning at a higher level, that is a very good thing for your health and well being.

Darren '3 is the magic number' Checkley