Monday, February 25, 2013

What's Your Body Maintenance Plan?



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

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Fitness Confessional: So What's Your Excuse?


Being the "fitness person" in my department opens me up for all kinds of confessions. Perhaps I should post "Fitness Confessional" on my cube ;-)

Today a co-worker came to me feeling down because she did not go to the gym.

1st excuse - weather was crappy

2nd excuse - I have a headache

Now for me the 2nd reason was valid. I suffer from debilitating migraines. So if I have a headache I don't workout... ok I shouldn't workout. I usually will and then the little headache turns into a full blown migraine, one day I might learn. Back to my co-worker; The fact that the headache was her secondary reason makes me believe she was just creating barriers to her own success (excuses).

1st excuse: Weather was crappy. Yes, it was 48' at lunch and yes, it was raining. I place a high value on my health and fitness so I put on my hat and jacket and walked to the gym. Do I wish I had packed an umbrella, YES! But, that was not a big enough barrier to keep me from the gym. I happily offered her my services as a walk buddy to the gym the next time she wasn't feeling motivated, and we can conquer the crappy weather together.

Barrier, CONQUERED!

Your turn, Confess! What was your excuse for not working out today? No time for excuses, how did you overcome a barrier?

  Health and Happiness
Larissa