When should I change my running shoes?

I was pondering this one the other day. With so many people constantly pounding the streets/fells/treadmills, there is a massive market for running shoes. However, they are rather expensive, so when you have a pair of shoes you naturally want them to last for as long as feasably possible. Once their running days are over, you may use them as a pair of slippers, a trophy or something to keep handy in order to throw at next doors cat. The question is when is a good time to buy a new pair? How long can I continue wearing these bashed … Continue reading

I’m a cyclist. What good is Sports Massage for me?

As a cyclist, you know about spending money on getting a better bike, lighter components and more aerodynamic wheels. It all makes you go faster. That’s all defined by materials and mechanics, if someone else buys the same thing as you, they can go just as fast. What if you could get something unique that could make you go faster and be a more efficient and less injury prone cyclist? No, I’m not talking about EPO, I’m talking about Sports Massage. We know that the pro’s use it on a day to day basis – and they know the performance … Continue reading

Desk Jockeys

By this I mean a desk-bound employee pushing papers and typing at keyboards all day long. Low exercise levels (just on the job, we’re not saying you’re lazy), restricted movements and repeated actions, none of which are all that good for your posture. So what does poor posture mean for our bodies? Well, muscles can become weak and elongated, short and overly tense, switch off completely because others have taken over their role or just generally dysfunctional. You might experience muscular pain, joint stiffness, headaches, a sense of not being quite right, or suffer from RSI (repetitive strain injury). Whatever … Continue reading

By request – Recovery Techniques – addendum

I’ve mentioned the FITT principle before, Frequency Intensity Type Time This comes into avoiding DOMS in quite a significant way, and I can’t quite believe I missed it off the first post – it deserves its own little addendum as it’s fairly important. If you look at your training schedule – those 4 things are fairly key in working it out. If you go ahead and change any one of those 4 things significantly in any given workout, (small increments are fine, I’m talking about quantum shifts), or if you change to a higher level on more than one of … Continue reading

By request – Recovery Techniques

So. I ache. I was out flipping tyres and throwing medicine balls around yesterday, and although I warmed down a bit, I didn’t really do any recovery – hence, I ache. Generally at the end of a session it’s common to think that you can’t be bothered to do a cool down, or you don’t have time – you shoot off and do something else, and it’s not until the next day that you curse yourself for a fool as you wander around the house trying to make a coffee with what feels like battery acid coursing around your veins. … Continue reading

Pain under the foot? Plantar Fasciitis.

Ever got out of bed, put your foot on the ground and felt like you were standing on a pin? Then after ascertaining you AREN’T actually standing on a pin, trying it again, and having to go through an excrutiating few minutes as you wander around with this horrific shooting pain right underneath your heel? Welcome to the world of plantar fasciitis, or, policemans heel. I’ve been a victim of it, and have treated a good number of people for it, from footballers to people who haven’t been able to get fitted for ski boots because of the pain. What … Continue reading