My idea of a lucky person is someone, who, after half a
lifetime of being physically active, can spring out of bed
without a bit of muscular soreness; no moaning, creaking or
limping. It is a truly lucky athlete that can work their
muscle vigorously for years and not feel the effects of
aging, as in inflexibility and tightness. Most of the rest
of us get to a point where we just cannot keep up the pace.
We cannot keep running the miles we are used to running
without a price to pay when the morning alarm goes off.
Some of this sensation is typical muscle soreness, just the
usual buildup of lactic acid that accumulates a byproduct
of exercise. Every jock recognizes the familiar feeling
when you hustle up a flight of stairs and you feel that
brief burn in your thighs that could kindle a campfire. But
I am talking about a different kind of ache; something
beyond the brief aching of a little extra activity. If
sprinting up a flight of stairs was the only time I ached,
I'd be a happy camper.I've even been known to keep on
working out, even through this quad burn. But I am talking
about a different, more pervasive kind of tightness. The
inflexibility to which I refer still lingers at noon. It is
felt sometimes when you pivot to fasten your seatbelt or
reach down to tie your sneakers. In my case, I tolerated
this limitation in my bodily movement for about six months,
trying all types of stretching, Pilates and tons of yoga
classes. Still, I was limited. I felt flexible, yet tight.
I started to do some research on the Internet by Googling a
few words that described my symptoms. I discovered a new
word. The culprit in my bodily rigidity was something
called FASCIA. Fascia is a type of connective tissue that
surrounds and usually protects the muscles; bones, joints
and even the organs, helping us maintain our upright
posture. All people have fascia. Think of it like a wetsuit
that surrounds our inner body, just below the surface of
the skin. Some people have thicker "wetsuits " than others.
The more physically active you are, the thicker your facial
"wetsuit" will be. This is a response that your body makes
to help support itself during more activity Those lucky
jocks that I enviously spoke of earlier feel minimal
tightness because their fascia deposits are not thick or
layered. Some people just have a tendency to develop more
fascia than others. Many experts believe that this heavier
layering of fascia is related to dehydration, not the type
of" I'm thirsty" dehydration, but a lack of fluid and
therefore fluidity in the connective tissues that no amount
of daily water drinking can quench. In other words, those
lucky, pain-free jocks have more hydration in their
connective tissue.
Us unlucky "stiffs" have the opposite tendency. Our body's
inclination is to manufacture more fascia because of less
hydration in the connective tissues, especially in the
areas of powerful workhorse muscle groups, like the lower
back and the thighs and buttocks. Also consider that as we
age, bodies naturally lose their capacity to maintain
hydration. Think of how many middle-aged men that you hear
of who have torn their Achilles tendon while jumping for a
lay-up in basketball. This type of injury rarely happens in
kids and is due in a big way to lack of fluidity in the
connective tissue.
So this is where the morning stiffness begins. If you keep
exercising the way I did, this facial tightness can become
very limiting to your fitness regime. This is where I
discovered the wisdom in the phrase "Stop, Drop & Roll",
but not just when you are on fire! I got myself a foam
roller based on the fitness advice of New York City expert,
Susan Hitzmann, owner of Longevity Fitness, Inc in New
Yourk City and creator of the M.E.L.T. Method. M.E.L.T. is
an acronym for Myofascial Energetic Length Technique. Some
experts also refer to this foam roller technique as
Myofascial Release. She explained to me that deep
compression of these areas of fascial tightness could
actually rehydrate these stiff body parts and give an
immediate sensation of relief to my aching yet athletic
body. Not only was Ms. Hitzmann right about the foam
roller. She also lives up to her promise of immediate
relief from stiff muscles. She explains that the foam
roller rehydrate connective tissues by first compressing
the area, which decompresses the tissue, allowing hydration
of that area to occur. It is similar to trigger point
therapy, only this technique is superior. This is only my
opinion but having tried both MFR and trigger point
therapy, I believe that the foam roller can and does cover
more anatomical territory, so the release is more profound.
For more information of foam rolling to relieve your aches
and pains, check out Sue Hitzmann at www.bodylanguagenyc.com
----------------------------------------------------
Penny Love Hoff, 20 year fitness professional . is the
author of the revolutionary CD workout program"Does My
Marriage Make Me Look Fat?", an eight week fitness program
for couples to radically change your body and reawaken your
relationship.You can find her at
http://www.pennyhoff.com
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