Myofascial release as a warm-up tool

When preparing for your next workout, take 5-10mins to warm up using myofascial release tools such as a foam roller or Franklin Balls. Why? If we start a workout with short tight muscles or ‘long’ tight muscles then we won’t get the full strength or power from the opposing muscle groups. An example would be starting a workout with short hip flexors and therefore not getting the full strength or power from our glutes. 

Here are a few examples of what you can try…

Chest release to get the most from your back muscles.

1. Lay on your front and place the ball on your sternum (rest your forehead on your hands) Move your rib cages side to side staying heavy on the ball. We suggest doing this along the sternum in three places, just below where the collarbones meet, in the middle of the sternum and just above where the ribs meet.

And/Or

1. Laying on your front, leaning toward the side of the chest you are going to release, place the ball or a foam roller just inside the shoulder. You can relax down once you’ve found your ‘sweet spot’ or move at a slight angle down from the shoulder towards the sternum.

Lat release to get the most from your chest.

1. In a side-lying position place the foam roller or a ball just in behind the armpit. Relax down onto it with as much pressure as feels right for you and roll back about 2-3 inches at a slight angle down towards the spine.

Quad opening to get the most from your hamstrings.

1. Lay on your front with a ball in the middle of your quad (approximately halfway between your knee and hip). Relax your hips and upper body down on mat. Flex and extend at your knee as if kicking your glutes with your heel.

Hip opening to get the most from your glutes.

1. Lay on your front with a ball just inside your hip bone, relax your upper body down and engage your glute on the same side lifting the same leg slightly off the ground. This feels like a slight burning sensation as the fascia from the iliacus (one of your hip flexors) opens up.

And/Or

1. Lay on your front with a softish ball between your belly button and the boney bit at the front of your hip. This is for releasing your Psoas muscle, but as you are near organs you want to go gently into this one and only do if it feels safe. (This is one you may want a physio or experienced trainer to help you find.) You are going to relax down and just breath for 5-10 belly breaths. To know you are on the muscle, on the same side, lightly push your knee into the ground to feel a contraction under the ball.

There is heaps you can do before a workout to help get the most from your workouts.

If you would like to get ideas specific to your body, book into see one of us at the studio soon.

Free your feet! Breathe/Feel/Play Session

How does it go? Free your feet and your spine will follow..?

Here we’re going to have a look at ways to influence the arches of the feet by massaging with a ball and doing some simple movements to release and mobilise. Because I like to work this way, you’ll get a chance to feel the difference in movement capability through the whole body. We’ll also look at how the breath can make a big impact on how we move and how we can reset our nervous system. For more on this, have a look at these blogs on my website.

We can make real changes with stress levels, deal with pain and boost performance, ourselves, for free! Once we’ve learnt some basics, why not start to play with our movement, ever danced in your kitchen? Make today your day!!!

Tom Myers conceptualized human anatomy as consisting of interconnected lines of muscles and connective tissue which support and communicate with each other, rather like a suspension bridge. This lattice gains its strength and available movement from the interplay of the whole structure. The arches of the feet have a huge influence on the rest of the body and how we can react to the ground we stand on. Here we’re going to think about how the body produces extension and rotation, specifically 2 of Tom’s ‘Anatomy Trains,’ the Superficial Back Line and Spiral Line. Check out the links to see his vision.

We’re going to have two measures that you do first and then keep checking on as we make some changes through breath, massage and movement. Forward bend and rotating. Go slow and gentle to start with, this is not a competition, it’s a chance to explore and build awareness. There’s no need to push into painful movement here. See where you get to…

With time, I like the idea of the ‘work zone’ – sitting somewhere between the ‘comfortable’ and the ‘too difficult’ boxes. This is where we can get some real change, without either stagnating or forcing our body too hard. If you need the relaxing and the gentle on any given day, listen to your body, the work can come later…

Have a small firm ball and a tightly rolled-up face-cloth or tea towel handy.

We’ll add a couple of our most important functional movements into our ‘play’ section.

Firstly, the squat/hip thrust – fold at the hips then come up tall and squeeze your glutes – a great tactile connection into their partners the hip flexors.

Secondly, we’ll look at flexion and extension, rotating into the different quadrants, here we can really work with those long lines and go full body! If you find any of these are painful, stay to smaller, gentler movements: remember where they are, work around their edges and don’t stay there for too long – do what feels right, keep exploring!

Music: I love loads of different styles and rhythms; suiting my mood, challenging my mood. Find what works for you, along with your own pace and range of movement: calm and classical or funky and energizing, order or chaos! Maybe no music at all, just move – go with your instinct and what allows you to feel more.

Move into pleasure, not pain. A nice beginner’s dosage would be one track, 3 to 5 minutes or so – if you want to work more, great but just let it settle in first and see how it feels afterwards and the next day. Stiff areas might have a grumble to start with but if we build gently and repeat the message of movement, the body adapts and strengthens.

As your confidence increases try the challenging stuff: lower stance and more powerful, harder balance, more complex spiral and figure 8 movements. Make it a habit, make it fun – enjoy!!

Look out for workshops at The Well Studios, Gap Filler’s Dance-O-Mat and Diamond Harbour.

Pilates and the Pelvic Floor

Lisa Mason, Physiotherapist and Pilates Teacher

Recently there has been some debate on what is the most effective way to activate the pelvic floor. Current research has indicated that functional exercises which activate the pelvic floor can be more effective than voluntary activation or “squeeze and release” as these muscles do not work in isolation. The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that form a diamond shaped sling in our pelvis supporting our pelvic organs. It forms the lower part of our “cylinder of support” which is made up of the diaphragm above, transverse abdominis in the front (deep abdominal muscle) and multifidus at the back (deep back muscle). These muscles work together to maintain our intra-abdominal pressure. So it’s important to train them in a way which relates to real life movements. Pilates exercises that are useful to enable activation are dead bugs, bent knee opening, bridging, clams and cat/cow in 4 point kneeling. These should be done daily as part of your exercise routine. As a musculoskeletal physio we can asses your breathwork, posture, deep abdominal activation and muscle balance around your pelvis as these can have an influence on the activation of your pelvic floor. If there is any concern regarding dysfunction it is important to have a referral to or consult with a woman’s health physio who is able to identify the dysfunction and prescribe appropriate exercises and strategies which are indicated. Maree Frost who will be coming to The Well in September is one of Christchurch’s leading Physiotherapists in pelvic health. She will be providing information on the pelvic floor and I will be demonstrating the core stability exercises above.