"STRETCH MY ...WHAT"???

Hello folks,

After a long week of running in the amazing setting of the French Alps, I could most certainly do with a stretch! As I was training with an amazing group of athletes, it was very difficult not to dig in and offer to stretch away any aches and pains after one of many difficult running sessions. However, I did acknowledge that I too, was on my holidays and deserved a break. To be truthful though, there have been times over the last 2 weeks when I just couldn't help myself. The title of the blog may seem a little odd - but this is how most people respond when I suggest that a particular area might need some attention.

For instance, one of the runners in my 12 week exercise programme, keeps waking up with a stiff neck and back and she feels like it takes her at least 30 minutes in the mornings to be able to lift her arms. I suggested that she stretch her chest and the response I got was "my what?....you are joking aren't you?"
However, after a quick assisted stretch of her pecs before our running session, this lovely lady said she couldn't believe how much relief this simple stretch had given her. As an accountant (lets call this lady Marie) Marie spends a lot of time at a desk and working on a computer resulting in a slightly slouched posture and a tight chest. So, relaxing the various fibres of her pectoral muscles allowed Marie to relax her shoulders and regain better posture.

Another runner with calf tightness was surprised when I suggested some more effective stretches for his hamstrings. I'm sure that sometimes people think I don't know my anatomy from my elbow.......
but anyway, after promising that he would spend the week doing both dynamic and static stretching on his legs, our very capable runner was greatly surprised at the results. In his words "while I can still feel my achilles, it doesn't feel like it is going to 'twang' and my legs feel lighter".

My point today is that any discomfort that you feel, any twinge or tightness, may be caused by tight tissue elsewhere in the body. Remember that the fascia is like a web that travels through and surrounds all soft tissue in the body, so if you pull one strand somewhere, it will tighten somewhere else. When you are stretching, even if you don't feel a stretch at the exact location of your tight hamstring/calf/pec, you should aim to feel a stretch anywhere along that line. A classic example is trying to stretch the IT Band - well, we call it stretching the ITB, but we are really targeting the soft tissue around this area. Try this stretch - standing tall, cross your right foot in front of your left - reach with both arms towards the ceiling then allow your body to lean towards the left while stretching your arms upwards towards the left . You may feel this stretch in the side of your thigh, just above your waist in the QL's or even in your lats...but wherever you feel the stretch, stay with it for a few breaths and let the tissue slowly relax.

If you want to really feel the results and benefits of an assisted fascial stretch, book into the Ballincollig or Clonakilty Clinics for July - mention this blog and get 20% off - offer ends this Friday 6th July.
Happy Stretching :)

KILDARE MARATHON - QUICK FIXES

Oh I love this time of year, not just because the sun is shining (occasionally), but because marathon season is gathering speed.....you must excuse the pun....there will be many more. So as training regimes escalate from speed work and hill work to getting out on those long race pace runs, so too does my waiting list. I have, by far, more long distance runners on my books than I do martial artists, boxers and gym bunnies all put together - but let's face it, that's not surprising.
So, as the Kildare Marathon takes off tomorrow (there's another one), I have had lots of requests for last minute stretches. Most requests feature ..."a quick 5 minute ITB stretch please".....or a modest...."2 mins on the hamstrings..."
Now, if all I did was stretch a hamstring, I would be out of a job. What I must keep reminding people is that they must stretch through the whole limb. You know it's a good stretch if you feel right up in the gluts, at the backs of your knees, all the way down to the sole of your foot. This means that you are not only stretching the belly of the muscle, but also the fascia throughout the length of the limb.
In terms of ITB tightness or syndrome - which can ofter cause major knee pain and indeed hip pain in runners, it's not so much the IT band we are trying to target as much as all the tissue surrounding it. So once again, lateral stretches that target everything from the side of your waist all the way down to the outside of your foot will offer relief to those suffering from ITB tightness. An excellent stretch is to put your heel up on a low step (bottom step of stairs), allow the toe to fall outwards externally rotating the femur and then slowly bend at the waist as you would for a hamstring stretch. To deepen that stretch, rotate the torso towards the leg you are stretching. It's deep!
So folks, remember, prevention is actually better than cure. Frequent maintenance can minimise these common injuries. As a runner, I'm guilty of it myself....I mind my runners, I keep my water and juice bottles clean, I make sure my running gear is clean.....and the machine always come last! YOU MUST KEEP THE ENGINE WELL OILED OR ELSE IT WON'T RUN!
With that said, all bookings made before May 20th are now 10% off. Get yourself  good service! ;)