It’s safe to say that since I began working in the fitness industry I’ve come across a few crocks!

I’ve had some people come to me with less flexibility than a piece of wood! As you probably know I do sports massage so the other string to my bow is easing muscular tension and injury prevention. Tight legs, hips, lower back, shoulders and across the chest I see daily.

Shamefully I have a few problems myself (bloody running!) which I have to manage.

It’s rare for people to have no problems at all, it’s about managing them. Some can successfully manage their ailments and train as they like where as others are halted by their problems and don’t exercise = problems!

SIDE NOTE: I see more office workers than athlete for sports massage, being at that desk for 8 hours a day is really no good for us! If you look around you see how bad people’s posture is, it really ages us!

Many of us will spend 70-80% of our days sitting or lying down, worrying stuff!

As well as the negatives of inactivity it does lead to increased problems with muscular tension, imbalances, poor posture too. 

What can you do if this is you?

Get a sports massage every couple of months – it’s relatively inexpensive www.sportsmassagellanelli.co.uk

Or an even cheaper alternative:

The Foam Roller

Foam rollers come in a few different shapes and sizes. You can get one for under a tenner just look on ebay or Amazon or pick one up from a sports shop. You can get softer rollers and harder ones, if you’re new to this start on a softer one and then get a harder one later if needed.

Just to warn you that you will feel a little bit of pain and discomfort when using a foam roller especially when you go over some tender spots. But it is a good kind of pain if there’s such a thing.

Basically the foam roller mimics the hands of a sports massage therapist. It rolls up and down the muscles under you control smoothing out the myofascial tissue and looking for knows or adhesions to work on.

So whether you are a football player, a regular gym goer or an office worker you can all benefit from improved posture and better functioning and looser muscles. You know what to do.

The main areas to start with to work on with the foam roller would be upper back, between the shoulder blades, hamstrings, glutes, quads and calves. If you’re a runner then you should work on your IT band, you’ll feel that one!

So to find out how just pop into youtube for example hamstring foam roller stretch and take it from there.

Take care,

Jamie Stedman

PS 2 new spaces opened up in my small group sessions. 1 space on a Monday morning at 7:30am and also 2 spaces on a wednesday evening at 5:30pm. You need to fill out this form if you want to start/get more info https://bit.ly/2Jl4Kvb