CrossFit Athletes Prefer a Stiffer Stick

On May 30th, 2010 in Okotoks, Alberta, Canada (my home town) I attended the National CrossFit Championships.  For those of you who don’t know what CrossFit is – “The editors of PureHealthMD writing for Discovery Health Channel found CrossFit “equals better fitness and stronger muscles in a more reasonable amount of time” compared to trying to “build muscle and get in shape by spending 60 minutes or more in the gym several days a week…” Their conclusion was that the program “is a different type of exercise routine …a well-rounded and very efficient way to achieve a higher level of fitness …that does not need a whole lot of fancy equipment, but does offer a nice variety to keep the interest level up and provide the challenge needed to keep the exercise fun.”  For more information on what CrossFit is you can go here.  I was super impressed with the competition as a whole.  The weekend long event culminated with a tire flipping, power lifts and lapping a hockey arena display of power, speed and endurance.  This picture shows just a glimpse of the ladies finals.

I had a small booth spreading the good word about The Stick.  I spoke with athletes about their training, recovery, nutrition and soft – tissue manipulation.  Most of the athletes I spoke with knew how important it was to perform at the highest level they could.  Of course, they were…..they were competing at the National Finals!!

What most people don’t know about these competitions or CrossFit in general is that these athletes work their bodies to exhaustion all the time.  The top athletes  actually training like Olympic Athletes and Professional Athletes.  The training routines are extremely rigorous and often very hard to even finish.  Athletes were actually waiting for me to get there as I arrived a little late from supporting my wife running her 9th half marathon in Calgary, Alberta.  Many of the athletes came over and said how much they loved “The Stick”.  The loved how The Stick helped them with their sore muscles, trigger points and recovery.

These CrossFit athletes were unique in that they were after a Stick that would penetrate deep into their muscles.  Most of the athletes had very thick and well-developed muscles.  As a result, I distributed more Stiff Sticks and Sprinter Sticks than I have at any other event.  I can safely say that Crossfit athletes love The Stick!  In fact, I sold out of all the Stiff Sticks that I had on hand.

The difference between a Stiff Stick and a Sprinter Stick is that the Stiff Stick is longer and more Stiff than the Sprinter Stick.  The Stiff Stick would suite people who are taller who want to get at their back and shoulders as well as their legs and arms.  It is for thick, heavy muscles.  The Sprinter Stick is the stiffest Stick in the short models of Sticks.

For more information about the types of Sticks, you can visit our website. We have a video and a table that explains which Stick is correct for a given body type.

Swimmers Love The Stick

   

Last weekend, I helped a local massage therapist (Monique Klein of Just What You Knead Massage Therapy)  offer support to the Alberta Masters Provincial Swim Meet.  The event was hosted in Okotoks, Alberta and showcased the top masters swimmers in the province.  In fact, I spent much of the day speaking with a past Olympian and swim coach.  I learned a lot about swimming and more about coaching!   

Basically, I set up on the side of the pool and offered people some soft tissue relief and advice.  I worked on some people, while I gave others tips on nutrition, hydration and most importantly recovery.  The Stick is an excellent tool for recovery because you can use it to roll out your muscles while stretching them at the same time.   

My set-up at the pool

 

 Many athletes came by to use The Stick as a warm-up and cool-down tool for their races.  Since most of the athletes had multiple races, The Stick was a great tool for them to stay warm and ready to race without expending a lot of energy in an extended warm-up.  They simply could roll out their muscles to maintain their preferred level of readiness.   

Needless to say most swimmers were after some advice and relief for shoulder related stresses and injuries.  Specifically, many had rotator cuff issues.  Sometimes the head of the biceps tendon can be bothersome to people who have shoulder problems.  That is where  the TriggerWheel came in.  I used the TriggerWheel to roll over the insertion point of the biceps tendon to help break down scar tissue, offer increased blood flow and consequently “made their shoulders feel better”.  The TriggerWheel offers pinpoint accuracy.   The best compliment I got was “now I can take care of this on my own”.  That is just it…..with this simple to use massage tool, people can manage their soft tissue issues on their own.  This is not to say that they should stop seeing a trained professional, it just means that they can get some relief by working on themselves.  

TriggerWheel

 

  Other swimmers were needing help with their upper back and shoulder area, so I showed them how to use The Stick on their backs.  First, I rolled them out, then I demonstrated on myself, then I let them roll out their own sore muscles.  Here are a few simple photos:  

  

  I know these pictures don’t look like they are taken on the side of a pool, but they represent how you can use The Stick on your upper back and trapezius areas.  

    

    

All and all, I had a great day hanging out with swimmers!!

Explaining Trigger Points and How They Work

Trigger points can really inhibit the daily performance of your muscles.  Watch this excellent video to understand more about Trigger Points, muscles and tendons.

 

The Stick is excellent for identifying and working on Trigger Points!!

How Speed Skaters Might Use “The Stick”

During the Edmonton Marathon, I met two high end speed skaters!  The first was a young up and comer who has been training at the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta.  Her family has been involved in speed skating for quite a number of years.  Her dad happens to be a coach as well.  They ended up picking up a Sprinter Stick.

This made sense to me because speed skaters have large, dense muscles.  The Sprinter Stick was the perfect stick for her because it is stiff and short enough to fit it into her training bag.

The other speed skater I met was Crystal Phillips.  If her name sounds familiar it is because she is competing against the very best in the world.  Crystal is a Canadian speed skater who is not only training for Canada, but she also has Multiple Sclerosis (MS).  I did not know that she was dealing with MS until I met her for coffee.  She is a remarkable young women.  Here is a little exert from an article written about her efforts with the MS Bike Tour a couple of years ago:

“After successfully organizing a team for the MS Bike Tour for the first time last year, Crystal Phillips is looking forward to making this year’s team an even bigger success. Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis herself only a little over a year ago, the 21-year-old speed skater is determined to not let the disease get her down and hopes this Bike Tour, which is a two-day 180-km trip from Airdrie to Olds and back, will help build more awareness of MS and will help raise as much money as possible for MS research.”

To read the most up to date information on Crystal click the title - Canadian speed skaters support upcoming MS Bike Tour

Crystal is still team captain for her team called ‘Team Tazza’  for the MS Bike Tour. 

Interestingly enough, she stopped by my booth and said she uses The Stick all the time.  She told me she mainly uses it for warm-up.  Being that she is an amazing athlete, I assumed she would be using the Sprinter Stick as well.  I was wrong.

Crystal showed up the next day to compete in her race and she again stopped by my booth and showed her Travel Stick.  I was shocked to hear that she only uses the Travel Stick.  I though for sure she would be using a stiffer stick like the Sprinter Stick, Body Stick or even the Stiff Stick.  She explained to me that she and other speed skaters love to use the stick to warm-up and stimulate their muscles before they trained or raced.  So, the Travel Stick was perfect for the job.  She was not looking to do any deep soft tissue release because she would see a therapist for that. 

I think this makes a lot of sense for a person in her position.  She has access to physiotherapists and massage therapists, so she uses The Stick as a warm-up tool.  I suggested she she also use it as a cool-down tool and a tool for soft tissue work in between visits to her therapists.

Crystal is a great example of how speed skaters or other athletes can use The Stick! 

 Go Crystal Go.

 

I should also mention that Crystal is part of Clean Air Champions where their mission is to improve air quality by working with respected athletes to motivate and educate Canadians to adopt practices and lifestyles that enhance both environmental and personal health.

 

 

The Stick As A Recovery Tool – Part 1

There are many ways to think about “The Stick”. 

A Recovery Tool!

I am planning to expand on this subject of recovery in the very near future, but I first would like to direct you to another blog that offers a non-bias look at recovery methods.  Your body needs to recover in order to regenerate itself!

The title of the blog is  The Restoration Solution – Practical Recovery Methods For a Busy Lifestyle.  The author covers topics such as:

• Contrast Methods – Hot and Cold Modalities
• Stretching – Primarily Yoga
• Soft Tissue Methods – FSM, MAT, PNF, AIS
• Salt Baths – Epsom salts, Celtic or tropical sea bath salts
• Electronic Muscle Stimulation (EMS)
• Massage – Mentions The Stick and Lance Armstrong!
• Aerobics
• Nutrition
• Sleep
• References

It really is a great article, so go visit the website – HERE -

An Article About Knee Pain

Knee pain can be debilitating for anyone, never mind athletes!

Getting the correct diagnosis can help you reach recovery faster.  I recommend seeing a number of people or experts.  A second opinion is always great just to confirm what you may already know or what someone suspects may be the problem.  Always take the opinion of an expert/professional!!

Once you have been diagnosed (by a professional) you can start on your rehabilitation.  I have included a great article I found about treating knee pain through resistance training exercises.  The title is:

A Strength Coach’s Guide to Dealing with Pain: Part 2, Knee Pain

By Andrew Paul

Basically, Mr. Paul provides advice and exercises on the following topics:

1. Pain is right down the middle of the patella
2. Pain is on the upper, medial portion of the patella
3. Nagging pain on the lateral side of the knee

I think he does a wonderful job explaining and illustrating strengthening exercises.  To see the whole article click – HERE -

 

So how does The Stick relate to this article?  Massage sticks are mentioned in one of the opening paragraphs as a means to loosen up the quadriceps to help prevent knee pain.  Mr. Paul also writes about trigger points, knots, and managing soft tissue.  In addition, he mentions the TFL and IT band.