GRIP

I love food don't get me wrong, but even I think it can seem more hastle than it's worth. We're all busy; work, exercise, kids, friends, family so finding the time to prepare something healthy (& edible) can be tough. It's all too easy to grab a ready made sandwich or microwave meal. Sure there's nothing wrong with that on the odd occasion, it's not going to affect your progress to any noticeable degree. But make it a habit and it probably will.  So what's the answer? Meals that you can prepare in bulk, divide up for the week, pop it into a tupperware and have it ready for whenever you need. Simple right? In theory yes, but you're still going to need to do a bit of preparation, unless you're ok with eating that chilli for every meal this week.  Running our own training studio means that we're there from 6am to 9pm with little more than a mini fridge, microwave and a kettle. Not exactly restaurant quality facilities. But we prepare around...

The muscles responsible for scapula movement and control (known as the rotator cuff and serratus anterior) are often overlooked in favour of the bigger, superficial muscles we see in the mirror: pectorals, deltoids and latissimus dorsi. While these large muscles are responsible for developing the power in the overall movements, the smaller muscles deep within the shoulder stabilise the head of the humerus within the glenoid fossa (shoulder socket). If these are weak it can lead to imbalances, weakness, pain and even injury. Last summer, I thought I had injured my anterior deltoid, because of pain in my shoulder which also ran down the top of my arm. The pain became worse during pressing movements in my workouts and even began to effect my everyday life, causing extreme discomfort during driving. This went on for a few months, just thinking I'd pulled a muscle and it would fix itself eventually. However, this wasn't the case and finally enough was enough, so I got it checke...

Firstly, let’s get the basics down of what sports massage is; It is a form of deep tissue massage that is mostly focused on releasing tension and breaking down muscular adhesions brought about by physical activity. Muscle adhesions, also known as ‘knots’ commonly occur where there is greater demand or stress on that part of the muscle. During exercise, minor injuries (tears) occur due to overuse. The body then heals, producing stronger and additional muscle fibres. It is during this healing process that the fibres 'stick' together forming a tight bundle. This leads to an in-efficient muscle as the individual fibres are unable to fully contract or stretch out. Furthermore, blood flow to the area becomes restricted, reducing oxygen and nutrient delivery and removal of waste products. The primary purpose of post-event sports massage is RECOVERY. The massage usually takes place 0-24 hours after vigorous exercise. Immediately after a race light massage is very helpful, if you ...