Following on from last weeks post, week 2 of cupping with Kev from Compound Fitness Ireland. We went for the gold and hit my legs 😖
If you want to know more about cupping, refer back to last weeks post HERE
My legs always feel tight and I am the first to admit I don't foam roll as much as I should. I also have to admit I was naive enough to think yoga every day would balance out any tightness hence the lack of foam rolling or proper muscle care. (I know I am an eejit).
So lets go through each muscle group and how I got on.
Calves (back of lower leg)
The first point of call was starting with my calves. These always feel tight but to my surprise they were not as bad as I thought in my head. Also my achilles were good too (Bren is always jealous of them - I was a sprinter before he was 😉)
When I arrived I was worried about having my calves done because they were so sore from YIN YOGA on Monday night, yes YIN! Our beautiful teacher Jenny had us hold a toe sit for about 10 to 15 minutes.... OUCH. If you have any tightness in your feet or achilles then you will definitely feel this a few days later!
(a toe sit)
But although I had muscle pain from that, the knots were actually on the medial (inside) and the lateral (outside) of my calf. Kev did his work here by massaging the area first, doing a cupping massage technique and then leaving the cups on the tight areas while he moved on.
Hamstrings
Hamstrings are an area in which I always feel tightness. But to my surprise, Kev said they are fine.
No unusual knots. So I am starting to become aware that some of the restriction in my flexibility does not come from my hamstrings but could actually be related to my glutes (bum) both glute max and med. If they are tight I won't have my full range of motion and of course I'll feel a tightness in my hamstrings. We didn't tough on the glutes this week, that's next weeks exciting adventure!!!!
But for example in wide leg forward fold (in the picture below), if my glute max and glute med are tight, it will restrict a correct forward bend from the pelvis because the muscle will be too tight to stretch into it.
As he did with my calves, Kev worked on both hamstrings and cupped them with not a huge amount of bruising at all.... GOOD SIGN 😃
Then we hit the money shot.....
IT Band (Iliotibial band)
Kev warned me about this.... I felt the odd twinge when he was massaging and cupping my hamstrings so I knew what was to come.
As painful as it was, it as exactly what I needed. This was definitely the part that needed a good seeing to the most 😋
If the IT band is tight, it can cause pain in the knee joint and even in the hip.It can reduce your range of motion in your hip too.
Its a band of fibrous tissue that runs along the lateral (outside) part of your leg.
I used to run A LOT back when I first began my fitness journey. After about a year or so I developed really bad knees. I wasn't sure why. Every time I ran my right knee swelled. So I went to a physio and he said my legs were tighter than any legs he has seen in a while, even athletes! 😂 He did acupuncture on them and it helped a bit. But it wasn't until I really paid attention to foam rolling more and warming up my leg muscles BEFORE a run that I started to see improvements.
I guess not enough has been done because they are still in bits haha. No amount of yoga and stretching will help it. I need deep massage to work out the tension and knots in the muscle fibers of my legs and the rest of my body.
MAKE STRETCHING & FOAM ROLLING A PRIORITY! My new goal!
Other ways to help with tight muscles:
- Hydrate
- Take magnesium tablets
- Have epsom salt baths (magnesium salts)
- Sleep
Lastly we touched on (not sure that's a great term to use 😂) the....
Quads
Another extremely sensitive area for me. Anytime I am entering into a Warrior pose or even a low lunge, I feel such a pull on my quads and hip flexor! I would consider myself flexible as opposed to an average gym goer but they seriously hold me back. And again, my fault for not releasing the tension myself with a foam roller or ball.
It is ALWAYS my quads that give out when we are holding a quad dominant posture.
For example:
Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle)
My quads always die in the posture after a minute or two especially if it's combined in a Warrior dancing sequence holding the postures for a few minutes each.
And Parivrtta Baddha Parsvakonasana (Revolved bound side angle pose)
Anything where my front leg is bent at a 90 degree angle is pretty much torture for me after a minute and during my cupping session I found out why.
My quads are tight AF.
I knew this. I shy away like a little baby from foam rolling out knots.
But it is keeping me from progressing in my practice!
Kev also felt tightness on my inner thigh/abductor muscle which also explains a lot.
It's clearly the reason I can't do the splits. DUH.
So basically I am an uptight yogi who needs to get her shiz together 😂
Regarding the pain of this session, it was hard but I tapped into my breath again this week. I squirmed and wriggled but got it done! And it is worth every niggle if it means I will progress and give my body the care it needs.
This Friday will be interesting....
THE GLUTES!! 🙈
Competition!!!!
We are running the same competition as last week where one lucky person will win a free session with Kev worth €60!
All you have to do is follow us on the below social media platforms and enter by tagging a friend who would also like to win 🙌 Your tag is your entry and you can enter on all 4 platforms 😊 The more times you enter with a different friend tagged, the more chance you have of winning. Wooooooo!
Winner announced Friday evening the 20th of October.
Good Luck!
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ps: This competition is only for those who can travel to Kev's office/gym in North Dublin.
Elisa x
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