UK Strongest Athlete Event

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The competitors and the organisers

Well.
What a fantastic day, and what a fantastic event.

Sean and Zoran from Strength and Performance in Stockport have been planning this one for a good couple of months now. In short, it was well executed, slick, well attended and really good fun to be at. And, all the proceeds went to charity. What more could you possibly want!?

We were invited over to the event pretty much last minute after treating Sean and Z on Thursday - in order to provide massage cover for the event. As it was for charity, we followed our script for every charity event that we do and there was no charge to anyone that wanted a massage. Any and all monies were donated direct to the charity box. The charity in question was Francis House Children's Hospice.

Tyre fip and sprint

The general format of the competition was relatively simple. It was a competition based on an American format, open to athletes rather than to specific "strongmen", and was an amateur only event. There were 5 events in total, each one tested a different part of the athlete's power.
Tyre flip/ sprint
Farmers Carry
Log Press
Sled Pull
Medley (sprint, carry, pull)

The competition was put on over two indoor 5-aside pitches, and when we arrived, there was all manner of lifting, pulling and flipping paraphernalia being transported in and around the area.The competitors were arriving right from 8am - even though the contest didn't start until 10am. There was an awful lot of eyeing up of the weights and ropes and tyres - working out the best way to heft, pull and press the various bits of kit. Apparently the tyre wasn't as big as expected, though it certainly seemed big enough considering the effort it took for some of the competitors to flip it. At the beginning there wasn't all that much call for massage therapy as everyone got on with their own warm ups.

Pre-event warm up massage

We did have a couple of guys who had low back issues - which were duly sorted. We did not treat any issues as this was very much a pre- and mid- session event. Warming, maintenance, getting the blood flowing, and generally keeping the athletes in as prepared-a-state as possible for the events was the order of the day. Working an event like this is interesting because you see so much that you WANT to treat. You see things that could use a bit of loosening, an imbalance that needs correcting, but you know that the competitors are used to their bodies being like this, and are in the right shape and state of mind to compete. As a massage therapist, the only thing you can do at this stage is assist them in whatever they need, without causing any structural change to the way they are put together. Even some over-enthusiastic STR might adversely affect their performance, so it needs to be kept very vanilla, but still very effective. Quite an ask.

Just as a quick aside, there were a variety of warm ups going on at the beginning. It seemed that each "gym tribe" seemed to have their own idea as to a good warm up. That's fine, but what interested me, was that within each gym, all the athletes, no matter what their size or shape seemed to be doing exactly the same thing - there were no specific warm ups for specific people... In the same way, during these warm ups, although some of the exercises were being done "mindfully", there were an awful lot that were being done almost "just for show" as if to fool the body into thinking it was being warmed up - whereas in fact, it wasn't. It drew me to think how I warm up for runs and lifts and rides etc, and that I do much the same thing. Warm ups aren't really taken all that seriously as it isn't the "proper thing". However, I think that we would all benefit from being as serious about warming up as we are about the rest of the sport.

Sorting out Hip flexors

A final aside on the warm ups - it would seem that during the warm up it is an excellent time to see and assess muscle shortness, tightness and asymmetry in athletes, and how it affects the tissues. There were more than a few imbalances across the floor which could be sorted out quite quickly, and I suspect which would help generate more power in a number of the competitors... But I digress...

The events soon began, and the over 90kg guys went first. There were some real beasts who took part - but the variation in body size and shape was enormous across both weight categories.

A big shout out has to go to Z. Every time the tyre was flipped by the contestants, and they had sprinted to the end, he had to come out and flip the tyre back up and roll it back into place... That's about 25 flips more than any of the contestants had to do. I suppose at least everyone had the opportunity to see how to do it with correct form...

Throughout the rest of the day treatments were sporadic, but frequent. Not just competitors, but spectators came for treatments as well - which was excellent.
As time went on we saw a lot of backs to be warmed up, a whiplash victim (not from the competition, I must hasten to add), tight hamstrings, tight hip flexors (psoas and Rec fem), sore shoulders, arms, and a couple of injuries which kept some people out of the competition.

Liam stamping his authoriry on the medley

I have to say that those who were injured and made the sensible decision not to compete were most sensible, and I'm impressed by their level-headed-ness. Just because you can push yourself through injury to compete, doesn't mean it's a good idea, especially if it means a long lay off afterward.

The PA for the event was certainly getting up to speed as the events gathered momentum - ably provided by Ross from My Protein, all the wit and humour you would expect from someone given free reign on a microphone!

As the day progressed, the over 90kg cat was generally being dominated by S&P goer Liam McCrea - proving just how strong he was with 14 reps on the log press - and from that point on never really looked like losing the lead.

Joe showing good form on the sled pull

The under 90kg was turning out to be quite a battle between Joe Lightfoot, and a gent (Bryan McMahon) from Spartan Performance Gym in Newcastle. A battle that continued head to head right up to the last event.

As the time went on, more and more spectators gathered, and there was an excellent atmosphere for the final medley, especially the under 90kg, which was won by another S&P faithful- Joe Lightfoot, a man, it has to be said, that has a LOT of power without actually looking "stacked". A most impressive athlete and a very worthy winner.

It was great to catch up with Joel Snape from Mens Fitness, with whom I did the Gym Jones workshop with at the end of last year. He travelled up from London to compete, and was perhaps one of the furthest travelled athletes of the day. There were another couple from London, and a few, as I mentioned, from Newcastle.

The lunch and cakes provided, and were consumed with much gusto. I noticed that the malteser bars had gone with in a matter of minutes of turning up. All proceeds from donations for the cakes went to charity, and they were excellent cakes as well. I must apologise for not knowing who made them, but whoever you are, thank you! It was also great to meet Stellios from Soma Fitness- based over in Altrincham, and Mark at Mens Health. (Good to see Paralympian Mark Churm cheering on the competitors as well - a real inspiration.

A Youtube vid has also popped up of the event (I'm not going to embed it as it would take a long time to load on some computers- including mine)- and there is a brief moment where you can see Lynne treating a competitor in the top left of the screen. The video gives a good general impression of the day- Enjoy.

Overall a good turnout for an excellent event. Thanks guys.

Sorting out a spectators neck issues. Oh- just because Lynne isn't in any photos doesn't mean she wasn't there. She was the one behind the camera, and must have hidden it when she was treating...

Rock Over and Strength and Performance Gym

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We were over at Rock Over Climbing last night, climbing and treating a couple of climbers who had a few aches and pains. We had one client who had a full hour treatment, and a couple who were content with just a 15 min maintenance massage - a great way in which to keep on top of any potential injuries, catching them before they become damaging, and generally getting a brief MOT check on the arms and shoulders.

We also went around at the end giving out a couple of freebie arm de-pumps and shoulder stretches to anyone who asked for it, and as long as we have time next week, that will be the course of action as well. So if you see us around next week at Rock Over, we will be there on Wednesday evening, please do come and say hi, and ask for an arm de-pump if you want one. (you won't get 15 mins, but you will have get a brief taster treatment)!  With any luck our new t-shirts might be printed by then as well, which will be very cool.

This morning we went on over to Strength and Performance Gym based in Stockport. Sean and Z have just got back from Vegas where they were helping out with filming for The Ultimate Fighter 14 - at considerably short notice. Happily they are back in the country and have just about got over their jet lag and are very very busy finalising plans for the first UKSA competition which is going on this weekend.

As they are working so damn hard at the moment, with not so much as a tiny break, we thought we'd give them a little enforced down time - but not for relaxation.

Sean and Z are hard working athletes and regularly need a decent maintenance massage, working out the kinks in the muscles, and keeping their bodies in as good a shape as possible. As owners of the gym, and being on the floor everyday, they simply cannot afford to get injured.

A bit of a different setting to normal...

As it's been a while since they had any kind of massage treatment, today was going to be mainly about looking at various imbalances that they have been carrying around in their bodies, and giving the body a quick MOT and kickstart.

It's always a pleasure to treat someone that respects their body, and realises what they need to do to keep in condition. It is also always good to point out small imbalances that have built up over time, and to help them recognise what needs to be stretched and maintained on a daily or weekly basis in order to keep the body healthy and balanced.

Through the whole treatment we were talking with the guys about their training habits, how they could incorporate more recovery practices into their lifestyle, why various muscles were aching, and how we can help make them biomechanically more efficient, which will, in turn, enable them to become better at what they already do best. Work in functional fitness.

I have to say that I'm really very impressed with the set up that they have in Stockport. Anyone who is seriously interested in functional fitness and actually training (as opposed to "working out") should definitely check them out.

We are also teaming up with them for this weekends UKSA event, which will see 30 athletes battling it out to be the UKs Strongest Athlete. All proceeds go to charity, and it looks like being a great Comp. As I say, Global Therapies are going to be there providing massage support for the day, so if you are a competitor or a supporter, come on over, say hi, get a massage, and give some cash to charity.

When should I change my running shoes?

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I was pondering this one the other day.
With so many people constantly pounding the streets/fells/treadmills, there is a massive market for running shoes. However, they are rather expensive, so when you have a pair of shoes you naturally want them to last for as long as feasably possible. Once their running days are over, you may use them as a pair of slippers, a trophy or something to keep handy in order to throw at next doors cat.

The question is when is a good time to buy a new pair? How long can I continue wearing these bashed up old shoes- they feel comfortable, so therefore they can't be too bad, right?

It has been said by some people, (and a lot of shoe companies, who stand to make a fair old whack from it), that you should have a general rotation of 3 pairs of shoes, an old pair, which are beginning to wear out, a middling pair which have been broken in, and a pretty much brand new pair, which you are in the process of breaking in. The advantage of this is you don't continually trash one pair into the ground, gradually destroying any semblance of support it might once have had and then buy a brand new pair of trainers which have a level of support/cushioning etc. which you then have to get used to all over again. Instead, you have a constant rotation of old and new shoes so that you never have a massive step from one type of shoe to another.

This is really good if
a) you always use the same shoes and
b) you have a lot of money

I don't think I've ever actually bought the same shoes time and again, mainly because I never used to run enough to wear out a pair before some snazzy new thing came out that I wanted to try- and by the time I wore them out, again, there was some brand new "tech" that was innovative, and again, I'd buy those shoes.

Notice that I have just been talking about "cushioning" and "support". A lot of Barefoot runners will be sitting there sneering saying, well, my shoes don't have any cushioning OR support. That all comes from my foot and the way in which I run.
Well. inov8 X-talons are pretty close to minimalist shoes, and when they look like this....
its about time to replace them.



Lets have a closer look at those shoes.

I asked the runner to stand evenly with both feet shoulder width apart. Obviously the left foot is a bit worse than the right- the grip isn't being utilised fully, and the inov8 symbol certainly isnt pointing straight up and down the shoe. You might also notice all the wrinkles (in the shoe, not the legs), where long term, some might say excessive use has slowly deformed the shoe into its current state.
I'm not saying this runner shouldn't use Inov8s because they don't correct his gait issues, I'm simply drawing attention to the fact that even "barefoot" or "low profile" shoes, also have a life span and need to be replaced and that isn't necessarily to do with when the grip wears out.

Take a quick look at a non-destroyed pair of inov8s look- (they've been worn, but not worn out)

Take note of the way an inov8 shoe looks from the back when it isn't completely destroyed. The foot symbol on the back of the shoe points straight up. The grips are all touching the floor. It is a stable platform on which your foot sits. The platform is flexible and your foot controls it in an intuitive way- which makes it more like barefoot running than "shod" running, however, as you run in them, be aware that if you have bad biomechanics, you will wear the shoe out faster.

Have a look at your shoes and ask yourself if they are still providing a decent platform for your feet. Yes, new shoes are expensive, but so is a knee/ankle op when things go wrong and you get an overuse injury from bad biomechanics... and if you say- ah well- I can wait for the op on the NHS, think about the long months during which you won't be able to run because you've screwed up your knee. Surely thats worth looking at how good/bad your shoes are, and forking out for a replacement if necessary.

Injuries Part 1

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There is nothing more annoying than being injured. I know. Currently I'm suffering from an ITB issue - excruciating pain on the outside of my knee when I try (try being a very poignant word) to run down hill. Frustration at not being able to run in the hills seems even more frustrating as I've only been living in Derbyshire for the past 3 months. Seeing the hills so close is mighty tempting.

And that is where I went wrong. Too much, way too soon. The excitement of having hills on my doorstep overrode the common principle of increasing mileage slowly (10% per week is a good guide). So for me coming from running not that far, maybe 8km at best in London on the roads mostly, 10km in the fells was a bit optimistic. I for one should have known better. Now I pay the price with a slow recovery. I think this was the same over-excitedness that takes over common sense of others when they set off on a new challenge.

Now I'm one for being overly cautious about returning to running too soon, though I think I'm in the minority - most people preferring to return to training too soon and doing more damage than they had originally - and a subsequently longer period of inactivity. Given this, it always jumps out and surprises me when the pain kicks in again after what seems a remarkably long rest period. So where am I going wrong. It is slowly dawning on me that rest alone is not sufficient to get me back to fitness. I need to focus my recovery on not only rest, but also strengthening my glutes and my left psoas (hip flexor) which was considerably weaker than on the right.

So what are the possible factors that can contribute to or lead to an injury? We can break that down into two parts: internal and external factors. Internal factors, or intrinsic, are all things that are within us, inside our body or the stuff that is our natural make up. We can change some of these, and some we can't. In this category we have fitness, technique, body composition, anatomical variants, gender, age, past injuries, and finally psychology. The factors that may contribute to whether we get injured which are external, or extrinsic are those which come from outside of us: the environment, equipment we may use and the training and competition we undertake. It's safe to say we have a much greater degree of control over the extrinsic factors - but equally they're all interlinked.

I've given you an introduction the issues surrounding injuries, with some insight into the experience I've been through recently. I did my first rehab running session yesterday, going out for 30 minutes but with 5 mins warm up, then 1 min walk/1 min run for 9 sets, and the remainder of the time walking to cool down. I'm pleased to report that there was no pain in my knee and with the exception of it being a hot and humid evening the run was very pleasant. There's been plenty of foam rollering and sports massage too, which both contribute to a good rehab strategy. For those of you who are interested, I'll write more about the extrinsic and intrinsic factors soon.

Lynne

calf stretches

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One of the most common questions I ask is "do you stretch", and more often than you think, the answer is "yes". Quickly followed by, "but only my calves".

This is fine, (well, its not, but at least they are making the effort), but the way people stretch out the lower leg muscle group is woefully inefficient and makes them THINK they are stretching them out all ready for a run, and off they bound, thinking they have warmed up their muscles... however, they have stretched ONE of the muscles. The other one, the (in some peoples opinion, the more important one) hasn't even been touched, and is being used to a massive capacity without any warning whatsoever.

yikes
running on cold muscles is not the greatest thing in the world, but running on cold muscles when you THINK they have been warmed up is probably a whole lot worse. That goes the same for warming down. Imagine thinking you had warmed down and stretched out your muscles after exercise, but in fact you hadn't. You'd start thinking why do my muscles hurt even though I've done everything I'm meant to have done?!

Ah, I think I see the problem. Inefficient stretching. Stretching of muscle groups which are missing out important specific muscles, which either are not being warmed up well enough, or not being cooled down/ flushed through with blood at the end of a session to get rid of all the waste products built up during the workout/run/cycle.

Quick physiology lesson. (you can also check this out on the plantar fasciitis post as its quite relevant to that subject as well).
Muscles of the posterior (back) distal (bottom) chain
There are a number of smaller muscles deep inside the leg, but we are going to concentrate on the Triceps surii. The Gastrocnemius and the Soleus.
Everyone should know what the Gastrocnemius looks like. Its the one you always see on skinny-ass runners and cyclists as they strain their way up a hill. We're just coming into Tour de France season- watch the lower leg muscles of the riders- they will have ridiculously well developed Gastrocnemius.

Showing the Triceps Surii. The muscle coloured Black is the Gastrocnemus. Note how it attaches above the knee joint. You can just about see the Soleus (in red), but there is a better pic of that below. I'm pointing out the Gastrocnemius on our leg model. (TdF athletes MAY have a slightly more well developed musculature)

The Gastrocnemius muscle attaches to the foot via the calcaneal tendon (achillies tendon), and to the leg at the top, ABOVE the knee on the femur. This is quite an important distinction as opposed to the soleus. The muscle itself is actually quite a thin muscle and does not run all that deep into the leg. However, it does look pretty impressive when it is tensed.
The Gastrocnemius is the muscle everyone knows about and the muscle everyone thinks is stretched when they do the calf stretch. (and they're right).

Soleus is the muscle that is always forgotten.
Soleus is deep to the Gastrocnemius and is actually a thicker muscle. You can't see it from the back because the Gastrocnemius is so showy that it completely covers it over. You can access it from the side though. The Soleus is sometimes referred to as the "second heart". This is because when it contracts, it plays an important role in sending blood back from the extremities to the heart. It is a very important muscle involved in your circulation, as well as in the gait cycle.

The Soleus attaches to the foot at the bottom on the same tendon as the gastrocnemius. They blend together into the Calcaneal (achilles) tendon. At the top is a very different story. The Soleus attaches to the top of the Tibia and Fibula- BELOW the knee. That is one of the most important distinctions between the muscles.

Soleus, the second Heart. As you can see, it blends with the Calcaneal (achilles) tendon, and attaches BELOW the knee, on the top of the Tibia and Fibula.

What difference does it make?
Well, when the leg is straight, it stretches out the Gastrocnemius beautifully- blood goes through it and all is good and nice. However, when the leg is straight, because all that is going on, the Soleus doesn't actually get a look in as it attaches below the knee. The blood can stagnate, waste products don't get flushed through, the muscle becomes hypertonic and tight, and this causes DOMS and might contribute to you getting Plantar fasciitis.
Even though you SWEAR that you always stretch out your calves.

So how do you stretch Soleus and stop all these horrible things happening to you?
When you stretch out in a "calf-stretch" the back leg is straight- right? Right. For half the time. This is the classic stretch that everyone does, and its brilliant.

Stretch 1- the one you always do. Stretches out the Gastrocnemius

Once you have stretched that, rock back on to the back leg so that it is BENT. You will feel the muscle stretch/ache in a slightly different place.
That is the Soleus.

Stretch 2- notice how the back leg is bent- that is stretching the Soleus.

Stretch that one as well.
And on the other leg.
NOW you have a slightly better set of legs. Go Play.

Just as a bonus- an extra stretch for the soleus, the rear heel isn't touching the ground, but it is being pushed down toward it. Be sensible and don't hurt yourself stretching. Its meant to do you good, not break you.

15 trigs epic

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Tim went off and ran quite a long way yesterday, 55 miles, 8500ft of ascent.
Have a read of his blog here.

Rockover

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Went to Rockover last night for a bit of an indoor session. Although it was only a day after my humbling efforts over at Burbage South, it was good to get some time in on plastic as well, training movement patterns without the risk of cheese-gratering more skin off my ankles before this weekends massive bog-bash through the Peak.

We took a table over to the wall in case any of the climbers wanted a massage, I know that its only really a couple of weeks since we started going there, and we still haven't officially launched, but its good to keep up appearances as well, just in case.

We had a little more interest in the massage, and may have a couple of bookings for next week as well, which should be good.
Had a quick chat with Little Tom about the design for our t-shirts, which looks pretty cool, I have to say- look out for them in a couple of weeks when they are finished and being worn around the wall. We also had a quick chat to him about places to go outdoors as well- Tom is ridiculously enthusiastic about anything to do with bouldering, and a fountain of knowledge about what is good to play on in this area of the Peak at any number of different levels. If in doubt, have a chat with him.

So now my fingertips are quite sensitive from being bashed about on gritstone and plastic. The indoor session was good, testing out the new Purple routes set up by Tom- some of them were a lot harder than others, I have to say- and I've been sitting around healing them up nicely with Climb On- excellent stuff.

Yes, look out for us over at Rockover, and if you're in Manchester and don't want to travel to Glossop for a treatment, drop us a line, we'd be most happy to treat you there instead- we'll be there next Wednesday, 6th July 2011.