Foam Rolling…

Foam rolling is a popular form of self-myofascial (myo-muscle, fascia-soft connecting tissue) release, using a tool(foam roller, ball). The initial benefits are short term(10min)with use of 2 weeks or greater the benefits will be longer term

• Break up scar tissue
• Improve your range of motion (ROM)
• Save money on massages
• Improve circulation remove toxins
• Improve your performance and speed results
• Speed recovery
• Increase your gains

When doing self-myofascial release the foam roller or a ball, the choice of tool should be firm enough it doesn’t cave into itself. There are many ranges of firmness in the tools, you need to decide what is best for you. The foam rollers come in a variety of lengths as well, again this is personal and can depend on the space you have

3 Common Mistakes:

1. Rolling to quickly – Roll slowly listening to your muscle and connective tissue, notice and pay attention to the sensations in them.
2. Not holding at tense areas- STOP and hold at those painful (trigger) points.
3. Not rolling long enough – You need to roll until you have decreased the pain or discomfort by 50%, this can take form :30 to 5:00 per muscle group(area. upper leg, thoracic, gluteal).

Where to purchase a roller?

Online: http://www.clinicsuppliescanada.com price range: $12.95-92.90

Locally: Fitness Depot – 1422 Kensington Rd NW price range: $9.88-$24.88

Need a friend to help you pick the right roller.

Sources: http://www.anatomytrains.com ; http://www.mindbodygreen.com ; http://www.strengthandconditioningresearch.com

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The Dreaded Warm Up

It’s a lunch hour class(45-50 minutes), run or swim workout you arrive just in time you need to be back at your desk 5-10 minutes after the class or workout ends. The instructor has you doing some easy shoulder opening with a light weight band. You are annoyed you are on a timeline you need to burn off some frustrations from the office. Let’s just get right to the workout — is what you are saying.

Why Warm Up?

A proper warm up will will prepare your muscles for the upcoming workload, get the fluid lubricating your joints. Without a proper intensity warm up your muscles can experience a build of of lactate  and acid in the muscles during the workout . The right warm up will depend on the workload or type of workout.

What’s Happening Physiologically?

In -20C would you start your car up and drive away immediately. You need to allow the engine to warm up to help clear the frost off the windows and get the oil and other engine fluids circulate. This is what a warm up for your workout does for your body. A warm up will turn on your aerobic system, it will help your body utilize energy more efficiently. The warm up will prime your system for the level of effort to come.

When you spend time properly warming up , a few minutes of lower intensity and progressing into harder effort levels. increasing the heart rate helps to deliver more oxygen to the muscles via the circulation of the blood. increasing your body temperature, and increasing the range of motion in your joints. It will also prepare your heart to work more efficiently during the workout.

Psychologically How Does the Warm Up Help

Planning your warm up (if you are training independently) will help you mentally prepare for the workload to come. This is a good time to get focused and relax, letting go of the stresses outside of this 1 hour for your workout. Utilizing music in your warm up can help with the motivation, focus and relaxation.

What’s the Right Warm Up?

The right warm up depends on the purpose of your workout. If you are in a group fitness class or working with a training the instructor will take care of planning your warm up for the workout they have planned for you.You will just need to focus on your breathing and follow their plan. for shorter more explosive workouts or high intensity shorter distances you will need to have a longer warm up 20-40 minutes, an easy start with a build up with high explosive spurts of about 6 seconds. For an endurance or long workout the warm up will be shorter, without high intensity bursts.

 

 

 

 

Your Place Your Pace

Getting Motivated

The first step is getting going, up from the computer or T.V., make it part of your routine. For some people starting with a workout in the early morning, roll outta bed before your mind realizes what your body is doing. The early morning is a great time for some to to a cardio workout, running, biking, swimming or maybe rowing. Maybe it’s a strength workout that you want to get in, weights, TRX or just body weight.

Early morning is what you are thinking you want to try, start your day with some energy and not have to find motivation at the end of a long work day. Stepping out the door for an early run or bike ride, lay your clothes out the night before, place them in you top drawer or right beside the bed. When I was first building a more regular fitness routine and the gym wasn’t handy, my workout clothes went into my underwear drawer, this way I couldn’t forget about getting my workout in. I would walk my kids to the bus stop ready to go for my run as soon as the bus pulled away.

Make your workout day routine,  Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday, same time each day. You may have to play around with the time of day that works best for you. Early morning 5:30 -6:00am is not for everyone. Depending on your responsibilities, mid morning may work or stepping out from work for a lunch hour workout. Your local trails and gyms have similar busy times, you may want to avoid these times or you may love these times. It is typical busy at the lunch hour 11:30-1:00pm and after work 5:00-7:00pm.

Write it in your daytimer, save it on your phone calendar. If you are so inclined and have time record workouts you did. Keeping track can be motivating and help you figure out if the time of day you’ve chosen is working for you. It will also help if you can note how each workout felt, things like the frustrated, waited forever, cut workout short and why. You do not have to write full sentences, point form or emojis will work.

As always these days “there is an App for that”, for runners and cyclists a favourite is Strava, follow others compare your pace and ride times to others in the area, who been on the same path, there are dozens of apps available for logging your strength workouts. Maybe you have some stickers around use those reward chart stickers for you and your little ones. Maybe you have a friend to meet up with or friend who has a similar goal and you can help each other with accountability, a text, a call, or as big as a closed FB page for a small group of friends.

When you’ve been routine for a few weeks, treat yourself with a new pair of socks, a cool top from your favourite store, online or box store. There are a lot of fun fashion choices for workout gear. Remember to keep it fun, this will be key in keeping yourself motivated to continue.