8 May 2015

Body Maintenance!

Riding 4 to 5 times and covering anywhere from 250 – 400kms, plus doing an advanced spin class, every week certainly takes its toll on the body.  Not only is a good night’s sleep imperative, which sees me in bed around 9.30pm most nights (and up at 5.45am on ride mornings), but I also need to make sure that I don’t get injuries that keep me off the bike.  Some things I do to maintain good health are below:
 
              Stretching


I find that stretching really works for me, but it isn’t until I stop doing it that I notice how much benefit it actually gives me!  This is my number one must do to keep me injury free.  I have a stretching routine that I do after each ride which takes me about one hour to complete!

 
Yoga

Every Monday evening I do a Yoga Class for Men (and boys as I do it with my son Oliver too!)  It is run by Samantha from Abundant Health and Yoga http://www.abundanthealth.net.au/

Sam is an excellent teacher who is very patient with us men/boys, and really concentrates on giving us a workout that really works on the flexibility for our legs and lower backs where we need it most!

 
           
 Massage

Allan Borman is my masseuse who I have been going to for over 10 years now and his business is Remedial Therapies with Allan Borman http://remedialtherapy.com.au

I get a Remedial Massage combined with a Sports Injury massage (depending on what little niggles I have at the time) every three weeks. 

 Allan will make a special donation to my 2016 Beat Cancer Tour fundraising effort for every hour massage booked so do yourself a favour and give him a call on 0419 862 188 and book in a Beat Cancer Tour massage!

           Physiotherapy

Whenever I have an injury that I know needs further attention I see Vanessa at PhysioFirst  SA http://www.aussieweb.com.au/business/physiofirst+sa/1590339/

Vanessa seems to have Mr Myagi hands (from the Karate Kid) as she is able to fix my injuries up very quickly giving me minimal, if any, downtime off the bike. 

I have had a host of problems over the years from ITB issues, calf issues, quad muscle issues, achilles tendon issues plus others, and Vanessa seems to be able to clear them all up each in a very short time frame!          
            
It must be said that each of these issues have been self-inflicted by me going too hard on the bike and riding up hills in too big a gear, and generally just overdoing it!
 

            Chiropractic
 
I will be the first to admit that I have a stuffed back and have had so for many years (since I was 26 to be precise (and I’m 42 now!)).  If I don’t do my stretching after riding then after a couple of days my hips will get out of alignment and I look like the elephant man!  It is not just the lack of stretching though, I could sleep on a crappy bed, do some sort of manual labour I am not used to, even jump over a fence the wrong way, and the same result will occur!

I see Adam from Bayside Chiropratic http://www.bschiro.com.au who manages to keep me in alignment until I do something stupid again – like manual labour!

 
So overall I have quite a team that I rely on to help me with my off the bike health, all of whom contribute to keeping me on the bike!

I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge Thank You to Samantha, Allan, Vanessa, and Adam for all the work they have put into me and keeping me on track (or should I say ‘on the bike’)  to being able to complete the 2016 Beat Cancer Tour!



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