"Just because it feels right, doesn't mean it is right, and just because it feels wrong, doesn't mean it is wrong." FitOldDog learned this from Feldenkrais. Hi folks, This is a short post to remind you to take the slightest of symptoms seriously until you work out what is going on and can fix whatever it is. Sometimes the signs of potentially serious trouble will come in the form of fate knocking ... Read more
Further Thoughts By FitOldDog On The Role of Posture In Forearm And Wrist Strain
Hi folks, Your forearms, wrists and hands are key tools, without which life can be extremely difficult. It is easy to strain your wrist, being a common problem for tennis players and those who work for extended hours on computer keyboards. In fact, mousing injury can be a real pain, literally, locking up your hand when typing or mousing. Furthermore, I have found that excessive tension in your hands ... Read more
Art, Horses, And How My Friend Cured His Tennis-Induced Wrist Strain
Hi folks, The brain and body are all one machine, so if one is tired both are tired. I have had some pretty challenging swims, rides and runs lately, one on top of the other, day after day. I find that my energy level varies like the three chairs by Wayne Vaughn, of The Sculpture Farm, in the photo opposite (love this art). Sometimes high! Sometimes low! Sometimes in between! After seeing the chairs, ... Read more
How To Zero In On Perfect Biomechanics To Minimize Injury And Optimize Performance
Hi folks, After years of training, plenty of injuries, and extensive (but always incomplete) study of the way my body works with respect to locomotion, I think I finally get it. Unless you are one of those rare people who naturally have perfect biomechanics, if such a person exists, which I doubt, you will struggle with tight muscles, sore tendons and ligaments, and repetitive injuries from training (or ... Read more
Advice For Triathlete Dionne On Persistent ITBS?
See my more recent thoughts, on ITBS, at this link! Hi folks, A friend of mine, Dionne, is continuing to suffer real problems with symptoms of ileo-tibial band syndrome (ITBS). I know that endurance sports come with these kinds of problems and that we have to learn to work through them somehow. Having undergone two knee surgeries, and a bunch of physiotherapy, for generally self-induced training injuries I ... Read more
Long Hill Climbs On The Bike Provide Excellent Physical And Mental Conditioning
Hi folks, The last day of Chez Ollie in Tucson, Arizona, included a long climb up Mount Lemmon, with a 2.5-hour cutoff time before descending back to SagMonkey, and the ride home. This is a beautiful climb, with cacti everywhere, and breath taking views, whilst the climb goes on and on and on at a 3-8% grade all the time. Great training! As one climbs for a long time like this there is a lot of ... Read more
Thinking About Knee Injuries And Norwegian Carrot Cake
Hi folks, It is funny the stuff that we have to think about during an average day. It started this morning with a question from Meg, owner of Studio Xanadeux Photography, about knee weakness in relation to running, and proceeded to Norwegian Carrot Cake late this afternoon. Meg mentioned that I do not have knee injuries in my tags or categories on this blog, and that is true. Maybe this is a critical ... Read more
It’s Worth The Trouble To Get To Know Your Psoas Muscles
Hi folks, Another great dance lesson today, in which no dancing was done or music heard. It was all about exploring and activating my core, whilst working to keep other muscle groups quiescent, and thus allowing my core to do what it does best. Rebecca, my dance and Continuum teacher, informed me that the psoas muscles are central to dance. In the past, I got to know my major hip flexors, the psoas ... Read more
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