#lukechiswell

So I'm on the train on a Friday night to meet the boys with no internet and only 2 songs that I managed to stream on SoundCloud before the dongle died. So here goes- I hate being idly unproductive so time for another blog.... 

Oh and by the way I'm stuck at Burton-on-Trent due to a train hitting some cows on the line. I wonder who's more livid right now, me at the delay or the farmer who just lost his cattle.  

Anyway, I digress. Sports massage should be offered as a two part service. Pre and Post-Event. 

Pre-Event 

The objective being to increase blood circulation, warm the muscles, lengthen and loosen the muscle fibres, increasing muscle elasticity to allow for stretching and full contraction. Finally, rid the muscles of any waste already in the muscle fibre. This is achieved through a range of techniques previously mentioned. 

Post-Event 

The objective being to assist the recovery process of the competitor, reducing the risk of lactic acid waste build up- as we know to be the root cause of pain, stiffness, lack of mobility, and more importantly prolonged recovery time. 

People's preconceptions of sports massage are that they are 'painful'. When administered correctly yes- they are, but all to good avail. 

To quote the cliche- 'no pain, no gain' I guess! 

James (J) always cries when I hit his ilio-tibial (IT) band, but hey he's about to become a world record holder.....so it's acceptable 

My jobs also made slightly easier by the fact J has no calves, take a 9 year old pre-pubescent boy and picture his calves- yeah that's J. Half the work for me!

All joking aside though, we have found it essential to open up his hip flexors, and deep tissue massage the quads, which are knotted through stress and excursion, especially the IT band.

Lastly, a theory of mine...

With adequate recovery, which he is receiving through the hands of yours truly, and his pre and post ride nutrition nailed down to a tee. I fully believe that with the physiological adaptions of training J will get quicker and quicker towards the end of this record. Who knows where his limit is? Who knows how fast he can set this record? We don't. And that's the beauty of it - we are still exploring. It's one hell of a learning curve for us all. 

Peace and set records