The Second installment. I promise this one will not be as long!

3 weeks have passed and I have had some more interesting Physio…….It turns out my back may have more to do with the problem than was initially thought.  As most of you will know your back is connected to EVERYTHING so a problem left untreated here will undoubtedly have some knock on effects.

I was diagnosed as having an iliotibial band syndrome/maltracking patello-femoral joint.  Ultimately this was probably brought on by the fall I had which affected the alignment in my pelvis and spine (3 vertibraes were twisted!).   My Physio EMMA STEENSON at ah said “Treatment was aimed at restoring mobility and flexibility to the iliotibial band, improving function in your vastus medialis oblique muscle (which is the major stability muscle for the patello-femoral joint) and restoring alignment to your pelvis and spine”.

And after 4  45min sessions and lots of stretching in between I can tell you I feel a whole lot better. Walking down stairs or steep hills was my ‘control’ to test if things were improving. Having come back from London and walking down the long elcalators on the tube I felt great. This means I can now step things up in the gym and add some weight to squats, dead lifts and other Olympic lifts that I do.

I do put a lot of my recovery down to using the foam/hard plastic roller regularly.  Remember I said it was probably like giving birth well that pain soon went away after 7-8 days of using it for 10-15 mins each day on my upper and lower legs.  I can’t say I have yet got to the point of ‘enjoying’ it but I can just about stop the skreaking while I roll!!  I have also been using the tennis ball up against the wall while I squat against it on my back.  I do this in the mornings when I feel by back is most stiff.  This really helps and only takes 2 mins of rolling/squatting against the wall.

For the last few weeks I have been in the gym 2-3 times a week.  I always start with a 500 -1000m row trying to keep to about 2mins per 500 m (1.40 secs per 500m is really good!) then I use a foamroller for about 5 mins on my calfs, shins, quads, hamstrings and my IT band.

I then do some squats with a 5kg weighted bar and some abdominal twists to loosen myself up and get ready for adding some weight.  I normally always keep my heels lifted on a pair of weights while I squat (most Olympic weight lifters where high sole heels when they lift) I find it slightly more comfortable and easier to keep form .

Before I squat with weight I do some ‘box jumps’ using a bench. I place one foot on the floor and the other on the bench that I spring from to jump over the bench/box and place my other foot on top of it.  The higher the bench the harder this is. The aim is to put your legs through a full range of movement using a burst of energy. Its a basic plyometric exercise that works each leg independently and will really warm you up for some squats, dead lifting and lunging.  Really spring off your toes as hard as you can. Aim to leave the gound swapping feet about 30 times. Then maybe 25 for your second set, the faster the better…..I love it!

Squatting:  I have only got back into this a week or so ago using a light load and concentrating on my form and breathing.  I am currently free lifting 30Kg using the clean and jerk and placing the bar behind my head to begin (as opposed to using a rack to pick the bar up from underneath….You will need to do this once we’re up to speed lifting your body weight and more!!!)

3 sets of 12 finishing each one with an overhead press to get the bar back in front of you (this became increasingly and surprisingly difficult at the end of the sets!!) The top of my back hurt for a few days where the bar had been resting. Be careful to find a comfortable position but not at the sacrifice of how your hold your overall posture. If you cant find one then use a towel or a bar with foam cushioning.

I intend to do this for 4 sessions before increasing the weight by 10kg every 4th session until I get to about 60kg when I will reduce the reps to 7-8 and increase the sets to 4.  The objective once I feel ready is to turn the squat from an endurance building mobility exercise into a power and strength building exercise and to do this you should be working to failure with around 5 sets of 5 repetitions. I would like to be doing this with around 1.5 times my body weight of 80kg…..GULP…..120kg!! Que Fernando with “you’re a girl if you cant squat TWICE your body weight“!!

The same applies to the dead lift although there is no harm is starting off a little heavier with this if you are sure of your technique.  Like wise the clean and jerk with some pressing is also on the cards now but I am happy to keep the weight down on these exercises for a while. They are great for overall mobility and to help tone things up a little. Of course if you pile the weight you can change these into real power and strength builders

I am working on all of these but with a real focus on getting into the squatting!!  See the video below for some great advice and tips on lifting.

OK, welcome to the first Synergy blog. How very exciting! The 2009/10 season is fast approaching and it’s at this time of year that I start thinking about winter and everything I need to do to prepare for it.  Of course this year has been somewhat crazier in the build up to December as it is Synergy’s first official season working under its own steam as a UK ltd company.  But despite the big response we have had from clients booking and re-booking with us this year and keeping us busy I am in the process of putting together a physical conditioning programme to prepare myself for life back on the hill.

As some of you will remember, I broke my ankle last year on day 6 of the season which, given the embarrassingly sedate nature of the accident, probably came about as a result of doing too much too soon with a body that simply was not conditioned (strong enough) to the forces of snowboarding again. Towards the end of the season at the British champs I also damaged my LCL in my left knee (it was my left ankle that I broke as well by the way) and did ‘something’ to my middle back.  As such I will be revisiting a physiotherapist (as opposed to a physio-terrorist…..be warned there are good and bad ones!) to get some help targeting these weak spots to avoid any further problems and get them prepared for some strength work (squatting!!!)

Over my years as a professional instructor and (part time) competitor I have had my fare share of injury and encounters with medical personnel as well as contact with personal trainers and strength and conditioning experts. I intend to blog with this gained knowledge and add to it a healthy mix of Mens health/fitness magazine advice and a few other bits and pieces from online sites.  Furthermore, I will be asking questions of a gym in Manchester called “Primal Fitness” that is run by a close friend and fellow snowboarder of mine called Fernando (follow the monkey link in the footer of the page)

I am going to assume that those of you who are reading this either Ski or Snowboard and have some understanding of the movements we make in each of these sports and would like to know more about preparing for time spent ‘clipped in’ on the hill. Saying that I am sure there will be lots of stuff here that will be useful for all sorts of activities (except blading as the only preparation suitable for the activity of blading is death!)

Our posture when riding is critical for us to get the most out of our muscles allowing us to flex and extend sufficiently to maintain balance and apply varying forces to the bits of wood beneath our feet.  Therefore, right from the get go I don’t intend to spend much time talking about or acting to isolate muscle groups.  Riding is very dynamic and demands great agility and speed of reflex throughout a wide range of movements.  Often the biggest thing holding a rider back is a lack of movement and lack of strength throughout what movement they do have.  You can be a technical wizard but if you aint got some muscle there’s only so far you’ll go.  Loads of injuries in snowsports come from accidents at high speeds and from long drops back to earth that put your limbs through movements that you can’t handle and result in sprains and pulls that put you out of action relatively easily.  So becoming strong throughout full ranges of movement is as much about injury prevention as it is about getting any better at something.

So first things first;  STRETCHING. This is an area of soo much contention and some people swear by it and defend it with their lives while others can take it or leave it.  Here’s my opinion so whatever yours is remember it’s always good to try something new.  Firstly, stretching can be done statically or dynamically.  Each has their benefits but they also have their place and most people mis underdstand that.  Static stretching as part of a ‘warm up’ should be banned!!  Stretching a cold muscle (group) will actually lead to a reduced range of movement (in the short term) therefore immediately increasing the risk of injury to that particular muscle (group). Without going into the science (we could start a whole other blog if you fancy?) just take my word for it and give some dynamic stretching ago the next time you hit the gym or the track or before you clip into your bindings.  Take your time warming up with a slow jog and begin rolling your shoulders and rotating your arms in small circular motions to get the blood flowing and the joints lubricated.  Then begin with larger movements ‘stretching’ the muscles as a result of the movement without ever holding the muscle in the stretched position.  Try some low level plyometric exercises (leaps and bounds) bringing your knee gradually higher and higher to your chest while jumping.  The ministry of funny walks is another, rather strange, set of movements designed to put your legs through full ranges of flex and extension putting muscles through their paces without ever holding a static stretch.  I swear by this method of ‘warming up’ and feel 100 % better about setting off down a run having done it. Yes I get some queer looks doing the birdie dance and some squats before I set off but hey ho!  I have recently been (re)introduced to the hula-hoop by my disconcertingly overzealous girlfriend who recently bought one having witnessed a nine year old girl in the park with one making her, I quote “feel very jelous”!  Anyway if you can find a better example of a dynamic warm-up then please tell me.

All of this however, doesn’t mean you can’t stretch old school!  If you’re a girl who loves yoga (yes thats right, a girl) then wicked, please continue and impress your partner with all of your knew found flexiness, if it makes you happy then do it. But bear in mind there is little point in being flexible if you’re not strong throughout the (new) range of movement that you have.  If you are a man however, and indulge in this yoga thing then you need to have a quiet word with yourself before hitting the squat rack and learning the error of your ways!  I am going to say this only to keep certain people from defiling the cover of your Geri Haliwell DVD…..if yoga really makes you happy and you really feel it releases stress and the breathing techniques cleanse your soul then fine, do it, but please please become familiar with an Olympic bar sooner rather than later!

I will say that the emphasis put on breathing in Yoga is very good and whenever stretching (statically or dynamically) always concentrate on your breathing.  So you’ll notice I said static just above! That’s right, it’s not been outlawed just put in the bottom drawer for use when it’s really needed, like when dealing with or recovering from injury.  I am currently receiving physio for a really interesting condition that means I am doing a lot of stretching.  Said hula-hooper even got me watching Geri for a session last week as she thought parts of the ‘sun worshiper’ move would help….reluctantly I see her point but know that as soon as I can lift a weight again Geri may find herself with a big curly moustache!

So what’s my problem? My hips have all but completely seized up! I had no idea either!  During most seasons my legs become strong, strong as in biomechanically super sized and extremely capable!  Most of this strength however, comes from my riding and a mix of styles, some that demand a great deal from the legs (try extending at the bottom of your arc in a turn instead of sitting).  One style that I don’t tend to change though is my sort of lazy back posture that looks good (and gives me some impact absorbtion high in my spine) but means I don’t engage my gluts an awful lot and my hips as a result don’t get the same pasting that my legs do.  So after 5 months off and not dealing properly with my injured knee and back i.e. sitting around getting stiff, my hip and hamstrings have given up on me! I will not forget the sound of astonishment from my physio when she began to flex me! Needless to say I needed some help here.

It turns out my IT band is to blame and not my untreated LCL in my knee.  A damaged ligament (soft tissue) usually takes about 6 weeks to heal.  It’s been 5 months now and I still have knee pain, especially walking down stairs. So her diagnosis has blown me away (a physio-terrorist could get this really wrong…this is your second waring) I need to treat the stiffness in my hips and the tension in my IT band to sort my knee out.  My It-band is so tight that it has begun to go numb in places…seriously… It’s not the sort of thing that I prod regularly enough to detect! Its tightness means it is touching the outside ligaments of my knee and causing the pain and swelling of the sack that holds the fluid around the outside of the knee cap (bursa).  It is the pain from this, right over the LCL, that made me think the problem was still my LCL…….wrong!

The solution to all this, that will allow me to get on and back into the gym, is a fairly simple one. Stretching! And yes you guessed it…..static stretching…….aghhhhhhh! 3 times a day I need to do some pretty hefty stretching moves to help my flexibility as follows.

Quads: Think classic quad stretch. Remember to keep you pelvis tilted forward like you were engaging your gluts. Try and keep straight in the back and avoid the typical ‘banana’ posture creating by pulling your foot too high (past the point needed to stretch) forcing you to break at the waist slightly. This stretch should pull your hip abductors as well as your quads when done right,

IT –band: I am not sure I have ever knowingly stretched this! Standing side on to a wall, about a foot and a half away, place your outside foot over your inside one to make it the one closest to the wall. Then push your hip into the wall and lean your head away from the wall. Staying upright will stretch the band and bending forward slightly will then stretch the glut as well…excellent!

I am also stretching my hamstrings and my calf muscles.  Fernando tells me that I should get into the habit of rolling a ball under my bare foot first. Give this ago, its amazing!  Bend down and try to touch your toes with minimal effort gradually putting some effort into it. Then role a hard ball (a tennis ball will do but Fernado says use a harder dog ball!!) and roll it under your foot getting it right into the arch. This kills me but bear with it and really push into it for about a minute before swapping foot. Now slowly bend down to your toes again and see if it’s any easier to touch your toes or get any further for that matter.  By rolling the ball under your foot it realises lots of tension up the back of your leg and allows you to stretch further!!! WOW! Let me know if you get the same results. Any reflexologists out there should feel free to shed some light on this.

Another thing that he’s got me to do is build my own foam roller to roll around on top of. You need to see the pics but if you can take the pain (there will be pain) this is a great way to release tension in any muscle group you chose to use it on. Rolling over my IT band is probably worse than child birth and may result in random shrieks but it’s worth it.  While I am on this subject take your ball (tennis or otherwise) and sandwich it between your back and a wall and go for your life….. circling and squatting to push it into all the sore areas of your back…..I can do this for hours!

I stretch 3 times a day and I normally always start with a few full depth squats, breathing slowly exhaling on the way up, to get the blood flowing a bit. I hold these static stretches for about 15-20 seconds not being too I shy push for some burn but not at the loss of form and concentrating on what I am stretching.  I also do my best to ‘lock’ my legs once an hour for 15 secs tensing my quads as tight as I possibly can. This helps to build muscle around the knee and realign the patella (very important, particularly if you suffer from flat or over suprinated feet)

Ok, im stopping now! This first instalment was way too long! I promise other entries will be more to the point. All comments and questions welcome, just remember I am not an expert nor qualified in anyway, this is just a bit of wisdom sharing to get you all thinking about ways to approach training so you have the best possible time on the slopes or anywhere else where you want to avoid potential injury.

Next: more physio chat and more about some basic strength conditioning in the gym and at home.  Cue Fernando!