A few years ago when Cliff did his initial assessment with me, the first thing he desperately wanted was to wake up without back pains. If anyone out there is living with any kind of daily nagging aches, you know exactly how Cliff was feeling. The main point I stressed was stretching. Many times aches and dull pains are caused by tightness of muscles from our regular daily routines. So you may be asking, what is rolling and how does rolling help with pain relief?
Rolling is exactly what it sounds like, using rounded objects (foam roller, rolling pins, tennis balls, golf balls, etc.)
to roll along fascia lines to break down adhesions. Another way to put it is, finding the really tight knots in your body and putting pressure on those trigger points. Similar to the experience of a deep tissue massage from a registered massage therapist.
Getting back to Cliff’s rolling experience. The irony of this whole method is rolling isn’t a pleasant feeling at all. It causes initial discomfort and might I say, pain. But rolling working in tandem with stretching and strengthening has shown to alleviate chronic pains and prevent it from appearing again. Your body becomes acclimated from the discomfort over just a few days of rolling. After months of rolling and stretching and strengthening, Cliff’s nagging lower and upper back aches have virtually disappeared. He now wakes up to mostly a pain free morning. If you’re still waking up to mornings of aches and pains, imagine a pain free morning without the use of meds!
Cliff is a firm believer that sometimes you just have to start from the beginning, get rid of all the quick fixes and build up a solid foundation. It’s not a quick process but Cliff went through the SFA Group Coaching and put all the blocks together to build his solid foundation. He has increased his range of motion and flexibility. All his hard work is in preparation for his upcoming challenge, hiking the Grouse Grind in 60 minutes! And of course, keeping healthy and fit for years to come.
Cliff’s mini challenge will be to keep himself on this path to healthy living during his trip to Shanghai, China. How will he manage to get all his training in? I’ve got the solution, the SFA Group Coaching. Way to go Cliff!
Joe Cheng – Personal Online Wellness Coach
joe.cheng@stayfitanywhere.com