Geoff Pritchard – Tony Gentilcore

Today’s guest post comes from certified personal trainer and massage therapist, Geoff Pritchard. Geoff actually wrote a fantastic guest post for me last year around this time (link below), and when he extended the offer to write a follow-up I accepted without any hesitation.

I know for some, the topic of recovery is about as exciting as watching NASCAR or an episode of Downton Abbey.

Ironically, it’s a topic that most people could benefit from reading more on, as it’s generally the one thing that people tend to gloss over on day-to-day basis.

That said, READ IT!!!!!!

A year ago I posted on Tony’s blog about some ideas and people who were shaping the fitness industry in terms of recovery and regeneration. I wrote that article to inspire you to spend more time working on tight muscle tissue. But I realized in my massage business that my athletes were still coming in broken from lack of focused recovery work. So, what advice did I give them? Let’s take a step back in time, revisit what I said before and continue the dialogue with some new action steps to save your soft tissue from harm!

My objectives (as stated in my previous post):

Review the foundational items you should do to achieve better performance
Evaluate the research and evidence based practice of fitness and bodywork professionals, and
Incorporate simple changes into your schedule

These objectives are the key components of what I tell my clients to do for maximum results.

The foundational items are still nutrition and sleep. The body can only recover from the daily demands of stress from appropriate nutrient intake and adequate amounts of rest. If this foundation isn’t solid, then no matter how hard you try, your recovery steps will be severely compromised … and crumble quicker than the #1 ranked teams in men’s college basketball!

Research and Evidence Based Strategies

Last year I mentioned the names of Nick Grantham and Sue Hitzmann for their recovery strategies and products. Nick is continuing to mentor athletes and fitness professionals in England, while in recent weeks, Sue has published her book, The MELT Method (currently #3 on the New York Times bestseller list) and appeared on Dr Oz to describe the structure of fascia and how it relates to mobility and optimal movement.

Sue was even able to convince NBC to show Gil Hedley’s video of dissection on national TV. If you want a true “inside look” at our muscle and fascia – and have a few hours to be amazed – Gil has made these videos absolutely FREE on his YouTube channel. In my opinion, you need to check it out – it’s pretty freakin’ remarkable!

My 2013 Recommendations

So, which experts are making a huge impact on resolving soft tissue dysfunction and therefore helping to eliminate the long-term consequences of poor movement – chronic pain and muscle damage? My list comes from two sources:

Kelly Starrett

Ok, so this won’t be a new name to most people, but his recent two-day seminar hosted by creativeLive was probably the best all-encompassing workshop I’ve attended.

He spoke for over 12 hours on the mobility paradigm and methods he uses with all clients – and how it all relates to athletes and the general population. In addition, he enlisted the help of his friends … Carl Paoli (GymnasticsWOD), Brian Mackenzie (CrossFit Endurance), Jim Kean (WellnessFX) and Jill Miller (Yoga TuneUp). This workshop should go right alongside your collection of Assess and Correct, Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper and Lower Body, and Training = Rehab, Rehab = Training.

While full access to the videos at creativeLive will cost you $99, most of the content can be filtered out through his blog and videos at MobilityWOD (which contains over 400 posts). Just search and go!

My Peers –Bringin’ It in Baltimore.

Fifteen months ago I moved away from one of the major hubs of fitness – Boston, MA – and home of Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning, Cressey Performance, and the kids of Harvard (where the Ancestral Health Symposium was held) to be living near family in Baltimore. It was a big transition for my family and my uprooted business – as well as my physical health – would be dependent on meeting great trainers and great bodyworkers.

[On a side note… it eases the transition when your Super Bowl success in New England (2002, 2004, 2005) follows you south and you watch the Ravens bring the trophy to Charm City … which I credit my son for doing, since only days before a Wild Card game with Indianapolis he got his first sports jersey J]

Fortunately for me, the local Baltimore community is outstanding. I have access to a wonderful network of people:

Joe Sansalone – Optimum Performance Training Institute
Alli McKee and Neghar Fonooni – Girls Gone Strong
Karen Dubs – Flexible Warrior
Emily Socolinsky – Fivex3 Training

Not too shabby!! (And we even get to enjoy the local clothing scene from Under Armour, who just opened their first storefront)

So, how does this relate to recovery and restoration? What changes should you incorporate into your program? My suggestion is anything you HAVEN’T been doing. We get stuck in our ways pretty frequently – think Groundhog Day with Bill Murray – and forget to challenge our soft tissue in areas that need assistance.

One way to do this is to get an outside opinion. Here’s your A-ha moment … Contact someone from your network of local experts (who’s not your regular gym buddy) and ask them to assess and find your weak links! By fixing these areas of dysfunction and stagnant tissue, we restore better resting muscle length, alleviate unwanted fascial restrictions and improve our chances for optimum performance.

You can even utilize online coaching – it’s easy to access the best movement specialists around the world with an Internet connection and webcam. If you have the funds to pay for a couple sessions, then utilize those experts to get you moving, literally and figuratively, in the right direction.

After you know what to do (trigger point, soft-tissue work, and/or active stretching – AIS or PNF), then these restorative changes should be incorporated into your schedule for 15 minutes a day, every day until the change is permanent and integrated (this could mean between two and five trouble areas). And, don’t forget to move! If we don’t integrate the new patterns with movement, then we haven’t fully reset our neuromuscular motor control.

Be vigilant to complete those 15 minutes EVERY DAY! And be aggressive and focused – constantly remind yourself of the agonist / antagonist relationships and go deeper as long as you can control your breathing.

Need Any Help? Free Skype Consultation?

If you want suggestions on movements, leave a comment about what’s hampering your performance or recovery and I’ll reply with a couple ideas to get you started. Whether it’s “gliding surfaces”, “hydration”, “breathing patterns”, “joint centration”, or “wow… how do Bikram Yoga teachers have such crazy mobility?”, search your favorite blogs and YouTube channels for ways to achieve better movement patterns.

I also want you to comment about local experts in YOUR city that are making a difference – and pushing the envelope against the barrage of magazine and TV mis-information – to educate and influence our understanding of recovery and regeneration.

BONUS… to show my love for Tony and his loyal audience – I’m offering a FREE Skype consultation to one person – chosen randomly – who posts a comment and/or question over the next two weeks.

Now, I’m off to practice my recovery and mobility routine: trunk rotation and extension using active isolated stretching and a couple internal hip rotation mobility exercises from Evan Osar.

Author’s Bio

Geoff Pritchard is an NSCA certified personal trainer and a licensed massage therapist. He has eight years of training experience at gyms, health clubs, and corporate wellness centers. He is passionate about using bodywork and exercise to help people move better. He recently relocated to Maryland and opened up Charm City Massage – Therapeutic Bodywork for Optimum Performance – in Lutherville-Timonium. If you want to contact him, please connect with Geoff on Facebook.

Today, because I’m currently on a blogcation (in Florida) and most likely lying poolside in a state of food coma rocking the world’s greatest farmer’s tan, we have a guest post from Geoff Pritchard. Geoff is a personal trainer and massage therapist located in Maryland I had the pleasure of meeting a few months ago when he stopped by Cressey Performance to check us out.

He’s a very bright guy and obviously has a passion for what he does, so I hope you enjoy his contribution!

As readers of Tony’s blog, I know that you’re familiar with the best exercises and programs to use when you get to the gym. You may internally debate about whether today’s routine should include goblet squats or Pallof press squats (Tony’s invention?!), but you’re anxious to get there and put in your best effort. But, once you leave the gym sweaty and exhausted, what effort do you put into your recovery and regeneration strategy?

Regener-WHAT?

There have always been ways to handle your post-battle aches and pains. The ancient gladiators of Greece and Rome soaked in salt baths and received “rubbing” (massage) as forms of healing. The warriors and women may not have looked as glamorous as on STARZ Spartacus, but the concept of intense fighting/strength training followed by recovery is not new.

Fortunately, your strategy doesn’t need anything expensive or time consuming to be effective. It really comes down to a few key things:

Review the foundational things you should do to achieve better performance
Evaluate the research and methods of other fitness and bodywork professionals, and
Incorporate simple changes into your schedule

Build a Solid Foundation

I have spent the last seven years engaged in personal training and massage therapy and recently operated my own massage business in Boston. As a certified bodyworker, I am constantly listening to complaints of muscular pain… followed by crickets chirping when I ask about what the client does to rest and refuel each day. Too often I end up being the 1-hour of downtime per week that the person gives himself or herself to heal. Without the therapeutic massage I provide, the client has nothing to report that they intentionally do to balance the scales. Missing from their response are ways to actively take a break and recharge. The two easiest things to conquer are:

1 – Eating Well (Enough) – For the majority of people, the goal is to maintain a balanced diet and avoid the nasty ingredients (high fructose corn syrup, excessive sugar, etc) and increase protein, water and vegetable consumption. If you haven’t tackled your diet, make some immediate changes to get your food and caloric intake under control. Remember, food = fuel. You can even refer to the inside of Tony’s fridge for some assistance.

2 – Get 8-Hours of Sleep – We can argue the amount of sleep necessary for each person to “function” during the day. But, the level of your performance – physical and mental – is directly proportional to the amount of sleep you get at night. I’m certain I could give Tiger a run for his money on the golf course if we kept him without sleeping the night before!

Determine Your Recovery Path

Advice from Fitness Professional Nick Grantham

One of the best models for improved performance comes from the research of Nick Grantham of England. I first heard Nick speak on the Strength Coach Podcast in April of 2011 (episode 78). He and his team have spent a lot of time formulating a Recovery and Regeneration pyramid to help us achieve better results. The Level 1 and 2 strategies are where most of us should concentrate our work.

The Level 1 ideas we just covered, but the Level 2 strategies should also be analyzed. Their pyramid shows that ongoing monitoring is essential for performance. Therefore, they have their athletes report back to them about their sleep, nutrition, and daily habits away from the field. What trends do you see in performance as it relates to everyday habits? Monitor yourself and see the impact that proper recovery and regeneration can have in practice or competition.

If you’re a member at StrengthCoach.com, you can reference the remainder of Nick’s research in a 22-page PDF. Log in and search ‘Grantham’.

Advice from Bodywork Professional Sue Hitzmann

If you want something more specific, you should consider progressing your self-myofascial techniques by following the work of Sue Hitzmann. I recently had the opportunity to attend her M.E.L.T. method workshop and appreciated how she took a tedious activity (foam rolling) and re-invented it as a routine with more specificity. And, after class, I asked her how it relates to the general weight lifting audience. Here’s her response:

“As for weight lifting, MELT isn’t myofascial release. I know I use a roller and balls but the technique is what’s compelling. It’s a very specific treatment and the ball sizes and the roller density is specific to the treatment. For weight lifting, MELT offers a reduction in stress injuries and improves grip, muscle timing and sustainability through their high movement demands.”

If you live in New York City, you can have direct access to Sue herself, but otherwise you can search her website for one of the over 300 therapists she has trained in the M.E.L.T. Method.

However, if you really can’t decide on the recovery option that’s best for you, find some bolsters and/or blankets and use this yoga pose – appropriately called Restorative Bridge.

Follow the directions for proper setup here. If this doesn’t put you immediately into a state of relaxation and meditation, nothing will!

Schedule Your Daily, Weekly, and Yearly R&R

I’ve had the privilege of sharing this information because Tony is on vacation. My theory is that he’s actually doing a photo shoot on South Beach for the website…complete with sun hat, Speedo, and SPF-90.

Note from TG: ^^^^ Busted! The man speaks truth!

I know however that Tony is an uber-trainer and realizes the importance of spending time outside the gym and recharging, so he can achieve his training goals and personal goals for 2012. Find what ideas work for you and schedule it into your routine.

For me, every moment I can spend enjoying time with my wife and 2-year-old son is awesome. I enjoy the gym –always have and always will – but the recovery and regeneration is for my family. If I get injured, then I lose the quality time I love spending with them.

So…

Go hydrate… Get some sleep… And give your recovery strategy more attention!

Author Bio

Geoff Pritchard is an NSCA certified personal trainer and a licensed massage therapist. He has seven years of training experience at gyms, health clubs, and corporate wellness centers. His passion to help people build their lives around healthy habits led him to create Move Free Massage and Fitness in 2008. He recently moved with his family to Baltimore, MD and is excited about the dynamic fitness community in the Timonium and Towson areas. If you want to contact him, please connect with Geoff on Facebook.

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