In The MoreThanLifting Podcast Episode 14, we talk about foam rolling and ways to use a tennis ball or hardball to release muscle tension in your upper body. We also talk about training in front of the TV and how Chris has managed to injure his back!
- Yo yo yo, Rhys here on the MoreThanLifting Podcast with Co-Host Chris Thatcher!
- We had quite a serious episode last time so let’s lay back this week
- It will still be super insightful so don’t go already!
- We’re doing a webinar!
- morethanlifting.com/live
- We will cover the basic movements
- Then we are going into programming once you pass that threshold because that is where it starts getting interesting and really fun
- Enough about that
- Chris has been doing home refurbishments
- That has impacted on his training a bit because he is lazy
- He has done his back in! Silly moose
- He has found himself in some very weird positions in the process
- Man Stuff!
- Wrapped around furniture like a game of twister
- His back is not happy
- He has had to be smart about his training this week to accommodate the work h has done
- Leave the back work the deadlifts the cleans etc
- You really need to listen to your body, pay attention to what is going on
- Sometimes you need to drop an exercise from the program to suit your body
- I have been training
- Planche is there which I am happy about
- Christmas goals FTW
- I have been working on handstand skills
- Down to planche and 90 degrees
- I want them in the 100 push up challenge so i want o be able to do a set of20 by the end of the year
- I have been training it on the floor though not parallettes
- I haven’t ever really done handstand work on my knuckles
- Chris like to do them to challenge stability and give his wrists a break
- It would mean you couldn’t use your wrists to grip the ground for stability so t would make the hold itself more difficult
- Chris was doing them against the wall
- He has always been encouraged to do pushes with his knuckles because of martial arts training
- His wrists are fine in a handstand but he definitely notices with press ups
- It adds about 2 inches of depth really
- I didn’t realize the difference between
- If anyone knows any hand slimming exercises . . .
- Lean mitts. Com
- Boobs bums and tums
- People do mad skills on their fingers
- Like a 2 finger planche or something
- For me it’s overkill although super impressive
- There must be a trade off somewhere
- Its a very single minded goal that would require very specific training
- So you would have to compensate other aspects of your training for that kind of focus
- In terms of your macro goals, is it a good use of your time.
- We are impressed by people who find that much time training … because fair play!
- For a lot of people that is beyond them, not because they are incapable, but because of the time it takes
- I find time to do different work at different times to fit it all in
- I have been well into foam rolling since that podcast
- My calves are hurting today
- I was doing lots of mountain climbers and all sorts yesterday
- Looking forward to foaming it later
- One mistake people make is going straight to the hard ball
- Whereas it is better to foam roll the larger surfaces first to ease into it
- Going straight into hard ball could put you off for life
- I was going to get a hard ball off amazon, i don’t have a good excuse why I don’t already
- There isn’t any reason not t have these low cost prehab rehab tools at home
- As a continuation from the last episode, it goes without saying that these items would be on your home gym list
- Foam roller, hard ball, acupressure mat haha
- Stability pads are great
- I have a small one with a tiny little half ball in the middle, and it makes it easier to do single leg balances than 2 legs
- These are all really cheap now because of the availability
- Its a great time to be a consumer
- So get these items because they will help you have a much better life
- Regardless of any other training things
- And you can do them in front of the TV
- It takes quite a while to do foam rolling, so being able to do it where you generally spend time is good
- You’re basically grinding out muscle against your bone
- You can d press ups while watching EastEnders
- Its such an indication of where we are at culturally isn’t it
- It’s to make it seem so much more relaxing to say you can do it in front of the TV
- If i said to you do 20 press ups now you probably could wind yourself up
- But you say it to someone at home in their dressing gowns they will be like – nah
- But with foam rolling, it becomes a great gateway into more exercise
- You start light next thing you are doing some handstands, some push ups
- Thats why i recommend acupressure, it is great for relaxing the fascia in your body
- Ok so its like lying on an iron maiden for 15 minutes but it makes you feel great and it starts you off
- Its just funny that that is the barrier for us though, doing it in front of the TV
- Its become a big part of Chris’ coaching process
- Easing them into it slowly by meeting them where they are
- Trying to help people build up their practice based on their real life and integrate health and movement
- Something he has noticed recently in podcasts is spiritual teachers not talking about being soft on ourselves
- We shouldn’t let them accept endless boxsets as their life, because they know in themselves that it isn’t the best way to spend their time and energy
- Their most valuable resources
- It was funny to hear spiritual people calling them out rather than being gentle
- They were being a bit more fierce
- It is a shift in general mindset and the collective that has been emerging but we hadn’t noticed coming until then when it hit like a wave
- But we still need to ease people into it especially with clients who are struggling to get started
- Plus sometimes it is nice to watch the news hey Chris, just have it on in the background
- Right now in this exact moment, my chest and shoulders are killing me, so what can i do with a ball for those areas of my body?
- With legs and arms its kind of obvious with the foam roller but with your shoulders it is really hard
- It is better to use a ball for the upper body
- Coming up the spine either side for the Erector Spinae is great
- Leaning more into the thoracic spine too
- Although it isn’t doing much directly it helps open up the joints and the muscles
- Then you have your lat’s working up the rib cage and the upper arm, particularly around the shoulder joint
- Where all the muscles cross
- The traps and rhomboids, this is really where the hard ball and tennis ball are going to help
- The best thing is to put the ball between the wall
- It is best to sit into it rather than have your legs straight, just for ease for motion
- Finding the points of tension and working in circles, crosses and chasing the knots around
- Remember to ease into it s you don’t trigger spasms and create more trigger points and tensions
- Get a sports massage
- The truth is it takes a bit of practice
- Try and think which direction the muscle fibers are going and try to follow the fibers rather than go against them
- Chris catches Rhys drinking
- Your traps go pretty far down your back, they create a big diamond
- Activating your lower and mid traps is essential for relieving tension in your upper traps which is the standard for most people at the moment
- There was a time when PT’s were almost obsessively focused on retraction and depression of the shoulders but that can create problems too
- But back to rolling it can be quite frustrating chasing the knots around but it is good work as it still hits big surfaces in the process
- Use your body at different angles to hit high muscles like upper traps
- Just play around with it, Chris still drops the ball, pops it over his shoulder, so don’t get stressed about it just take your time
- Or position your opposite hand over the shoulder you’re rolling
- A nice bit of homework for everyone
- Chris kinda fancies a roll now
- We should do an episode on the rollers
- A video one of us screaming as we roll out
- Never say never, Chris is open to everything, at least once
- Rhys loses his words
- Chris was expecting me to do more of the talking today but he feels he has dominated the conversation today
- But it has given us a lot of actionable work to do with a tennis ball
- Chris loves that this is really about the graft
- There is no hack for it really, it is the hack
- Chris has found that in life, business, health
- It really is quite simple, its just about putting the work in, maybe suffering a little
- There is always someone saying if you do this you never need to roll or stretch, but even the yogis will benefit from rolling
- But there is no one size fits all,
- Find what works
- That is the easy way to deal with muscle soreness
- Get the roller and roll at home
- Chris often thinks about everyone else who is doing this kind of podcast or blog and thinks is it worth it?
- But we really are all standing on the shoulders of giants
- What he has realized is that there is a necessity for people to put out this information more to help more and more people who can build on similar ideas and re affirming what is the best information
- If 20 people are telling you something is good, thats probably because it is.
- And if there is something else you want us to talk about ask us a question, get in touch!
- We will talk about loads of stuff: Coffee, . . . er . . .
- Gardening, there is nothing Chris wouldn’t happily discuss, he is a bit of a knowledge addict
- Whether it is about mobility strength stuff rehab nutrition, or even museums and libraries
- I wish i had a good museum story
- Chris’s one regret about New York is not going to the museum
- Living in and around London you do get the urge to go out and do stuff all he time
- We should do a live in the museum episode
- Wrapping it up
- Rock Paper Scissors for the finish
- Orion vs NutriBullet
- Rhys went for a constellation this week
- If you like what you’ve heard, subscribe tell your mates
- Leave us an honest 5 star rating and review
- Catch us on the socials
- If you have a question send it over
- Quora, twiter, instagram DM, carrier pigeon
- Check out the 28 Day Transformation Program to get started with Calisthenics Today
- The 100 Push Up Challenge . . .
- Check Chris Out On ChristopherThatcher.com
- If you’re a girl add me on snapchat
- Until next week we will find something insightful and entertaining to talk about
- Keep in touch with yourself, we will see you then
