At a minimum I hope you are stretching everyday. I upped the ante and got a certification in Hatha yoga and put flexibility higher in my priorities. There are a variety of tools and classes available to increase your flexibility, mobility, and range of motion.
My foam roller and I are myofascia buddies and I started incorporating massage last season. Rolling is a form of myofascial release that realigns the muscle fibers from a bundled position(knot) into a straighter alignment, using pressure in a back and forth movement for 30-60 seconds. I roll and/or stretch every night and every morning during heavy training. The rolling has made huge improvements in my recovery time from session to session. The massage is heavenly especially in the harder to stretch muscles of the upper and lower back. But what about my skeletal system, the framework that supports all these luscious muscles?
This weekend I had my 1st mini chiropractic adjustment. My body is not just muscles. I am loading all of that weight on my spinal column, neck, and shoulders. Those nerve endings radiating out of my spinal column are sending the signals to my muscles. If any of those signals are blocked or impaired can I really achieve optimal performance? This was my internal pep talk before I got my adjustment. It was painless! A little pressure and some popping and I stood up from the table feeling lighter, like my posture was better and my walking was lighter.
Adjustments and massage can be expensive, but a foam roller is pretty cheap and stretching at home is free!
At Crossfit ATC we start with mobility, or active stretches, then end our sessions with static stretches that we hold for 15 to 60 seconds and we have the opportunity for foam rolling. Our box motto "Extending our bodies warranty one workout at a time".
How are you extending your body's warranty?
Start putting together a maintenance plan in as little as 10 minutes every morning and night. Your body will thank you later!
Health and Happiness
L
