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“I just don’t have the time” is the number one reason I hear in response to why people aren’t exercising. Even 4 minutes four times a week will produce benefits. High intensity interval training, or HIIT has become a common method of working out. As the name suggests it involves alternating between periods of very intense work (0:10 – 2:00mins) and short periods of low intensity or rest (0:10-1:00min) often repeated for several rounds. HIIT is not a new concept by any means.

If you’ve spent anytime in a gym you’ve probably heard the term “functional training”. It refers to the use of exercises that mimic everyday movement/activity and have application to your structural health, strength, balance, range of motion or athletic demands. Ask someone to name a functional exercise and more often than not they’ll probably say: “a squat” or “a deadlift” or “one of the Olympic lifts” and they’d be absolutely correct. Not many people would respond with a si

Recovery, in my opinion, is where progress is made and I believe it to be the most important aspect of any exercise program. It doesn’t matter how much and/or how hard you train if you’re recovery is lacking, eventually you’re going to run out of steam, performance is going to suffer and your risk of injury increases. Two extremely important aspects of recovery are: sleep and hydration. Sleep : Arguably the most important element of recovery. If nothing else, make sure you g

“White (wo)men can’t jump!” or at least this white woman can’t jump. I missed the box again today, I’m thinking about entering a competition for world’s most bruised shins! This got me thinking though, why do I keep trying to jump on top of a box that clearly seems too high for me? What am I trying to prove? And really, what’s the rush? I think it’s quite a common thing in CrossFit (and in life) that we get ahead of ourselves too much, especially when there is some form of co

Do you feel like no matter how much you stretch you still feel tight? You could have restricted fascia. Fascia consists of tough sheets of connective fibres, creating a 3-dimentional web that encases and weaves through every muscle, nerve, and organ in the body – it ties your whole body together. Healthy fascia is supple and has an elastic quality to it. It supports the maintenance of correct posture, prevents injury – such as muscle tears, secures tendons to bone and provide

“Knees out”, “Keep your heels down”, “Chest up”. These are just a few of the cues you would have heard from your coach while squatting. We all know we should be doing these things and I believe it’s important to also know why?! It’s not your coach being pedantic, there is good reason behind it. In fact, how you move and the positions you adopt throughout the day have a direct impact on your health. Squats are one of the most primitive, fundamental and functional components o

Did You Know the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) is considered to be the most mobile and least stable joint in the body? The shoulder joint is made up of a complex interplay of bones, muscles and ligaments. Dysfunction in any one of these structures can affect the function of the shoulder joint resulting in ongoing pain, weakness or instability. Injuries within the shoulder are not always mutually exclusive. Rotator cuff injuries, bicep tendonitis and labrum tears are ju

Posture is the make-up of the joint and muscle positions within the body. Ideal posture is when the body is aligned properly and evenly balanced. In this situation, the muscles should be working as little as possible as they don’t have to over compensate for bad habits. Things such as wearing high heels, poor diet and lack of exercise can contribute to unhealthy muscles thus creating misalignment so the pressure is supported by the wrong areas. This can contribute to an over

The transversus abdominus (TA) muscle is the deepest layer of the abdominal wall. It wraps around you similar to a brace or corset and attaches at the back to your spine. When it contracts it “stiffens” and supports the spine and is therefore vital to spinal stability and control. Core stability refers to the sub-conscious use of TA and other muscles, such as the gluteal (bottom) muscles, to provide an effective stable base for activity and exercise and to support the lower b

Stretching not only prevents injury but it also relieves stress, increases circulation and promotes flexibility. Many people overlook stretching as being an important step in promoting a healthy body however it is a crucial component in injury management and postural alignment. If joints are inflamed and/ or injured, you can be doing permanent damage to them by exercising further without being treated properly. Warm- Up It is important to warm up the temperature of the muscle

PROPER REHABILITATION OF INJURED SOFT TISSUES It is important to understand that when rehabilitating injured soft tissues, certain steps should be followed to ensure the fastest possible recovery without re- injury. 1. Eliminate spasm and hyper contraction in the tissues (therapy) 2. Restore proper biomechanics 3. Restore flexibility to the tissues (stretching) 4. Rebuild the strength of the injured tissues (exercise) 5. Build endurance (conditio

Massage strokes are influenced by: · Intention · Speed · Pressure A variance in one or all of the above changes the way a ‘routine’ massage will feel. This means that by variance of pressure and speed, we can make a forearm stroke relaxing or very therapeutic. Ultimately this gives us a repertoire of strokes that is almost endless in possibilities as to the outcome. The only requirement is that you think about the desired outcome and employ stroke

Fibromyalgia is a type of muscular rheumatism. The defining features as described by the 1990 American College of Rheumatology classification criteria include pain (from light pressure) in at least 11 of 18 specified tender points. The tender points coincide with prominent tendon attachment points. Pain in fibromyalgia is in all four quadrants of the body. Joint inflammation is generally not observable in fibromyalgia and blood tests for inflammatory changes are usually n