What up CAMPers!
Have you ever been sore? Considering that most of the complaining that goes on in our gym sounds like “I can’t feel my arms” or “My legs don’t have the strength to get up”, I’m guessing you have. Did you know that there are ways to reduce the pain when you try to get out of bed the next day? It’s called Myofascial Release.
First, a little word breakdown. (We sometimes explain words for Andrew because he speaks fluent German and gets confused on occasion, so this is mostly for him.)
Myo: a prefix meaning muscle. (Not a cyclops from Star Wars episode IV.)
Fascia: a part of the connective tissue in your body that is continuous with your muscles and other tissues. To put it simply, it protects, supports, and keeps things together.
So far, we’ve got the muscle and the tissue connecting it to your body. Got it?
There are two types of Myofascial Release: Direct and Indirect.
If you’ve followed our warm ups word for word like I know all of you have, then you’ve already performed Direct Myofascial Release yourself! You just know it as ‘rolling out’. It’s true, you can reduce the day-after-a-killer-session soreness just by rolling out before and after you workout. The pressure put on the muscle by the foam and the gentle massage that the rolling provides allows the muscle to warm up and release the tension within the fascia, leaving you relaxed, more flexible, and less likely to send Sean hate texts when you can’t walk up the stairs tomorrow.
Indirect Myofascial Release involves less pressure and gentle twisting to allow the muscle to unwind itself as it warms up and blood flow increases. This type requires another person, such as a certified therapist or our man Andrew, who knows how to get the ‘just right’ amount of twisting for maximum results. If you feel like your roller isn’t doing enough, go ahead and ask (in either German or English) for some special treatment. Don’t try it on your own, we don’t want you hurting yourselves.
So the next time you head down to CAMP, make sure you roll out before you start your warm up. You’ll thank me later.
Jane Campbell
Performance Specialist/Trainer
CAMP, Building Better Athletes LLC