Recovery

We just finished a workshop with Kelly Starrett of CF San Fransisco. Kelly is a physical therapist

who teaches strength and conditioning and also teaches other coaches how to help their athletes become mobile and pain free.This workshop was outstanding. Kelly uses language we understand and can immediately put to use in our own gyms. Starrett organizes the stretches and techniques based on real movements. This means we can correct and help alleviate pain and discomfort by foam rolling, correcting movement form and with the aid of bands to assist in pulling and stretching the muscle with movement rather than the old school approach of the static method which should be done after a workout. This workshop was and is meant to educate us that most injuries can be corrected if we put the time into all the mentioned tools and approaches that only take minutes a day if we do some type of Mobility work everyday. The only way we can do this, is if we tie it into having a better squat, deadlift, clean and jerk and or a better Big Ben time. If it means better performance than we will do what it takes to make our bodies better and healthier.

Kelly discussed ways to help the body move better and more powerfully. Most injuries can be prevented by just analyzing a movement, which we as coaches do daily. Now we will make it a point to stress the importance of combining all aspects of training and just being healthy people. It starts with learning to brace the body so it activates the correct muscle function. It’s what we teach at the gym every workout, chest up which engages the the shoulders and tightens the upper back so that we can use the the glutes and hamstrings which are very powerful. When we use the glutes and hamstrings we keep from shearing the knees like in the squat ie, keep from being on your toes and not utilizing the hammies to move your body or the bar. Now with the back ached we are now in an athletic position to create force for movements like jumping, deadlifting and snatching, while back on your heels then squeeze the butt to create lots of force for moving big weights or just getting out of the car with a bag full of groceries. Remember we work and train movements not muscles. Training to move the body is slot more fun than trying to train one particular muscle in hopes to be healthy and good looking to the opposite sex. That’s all great if you want to become a competitive bodybuilder who actually has the discipline to implement a meal plan that is below maintenance to create low body fat levels. My main point is that we all have bodies that are made to move. So when not enough movement created we then set ourselves up for muscle dysfunctions and movement disorders. We as coaches work on programs that helps keep the movement we have now plus free up any imbalances that we might have currently. That’s why we incorporate full body lifts, bodyweight only movements so that we can move the body as one well oiled machine that has strength, conditioning, mental toughness, flexibility, mobility, endurance and work capacity. It takes time to develop these qualities, but with consistent workouts, the right nutrition program, goals and the right recovery methods. The body can get better! We as trainers and coaches hope to pass on what will work best for you and your training so that you can live to be 110 years of age as Kelly Starrett mentioned to us. Kelly believes that our methods on training,nutrition, recovery and performance have come along way. Our bodies are the best machines ever and now we have so many tools to help ourselves become better that there really is no excuse to live healthier. So let’s all spend more time on the foam rollers, lacrosse balls and utilize the bands more oh and drink more water! Harder workouts means harder nutrition, harder sleep and harder mobility methods to get more from ourselves and ultimately

Great performances from our lives. Have a great weekend and stay focused on what’s important, which means let’s work at taking a little more care of our tough and talented bodies.