Network Fitness

Pictured above are a couple different collections of SMR tools. Each collection is good, but one of them is more suitable for the gym environment. Be sure you get the right tools for your people and for yourself.

The top picture features (from left to right) the orange grid roller made by Trigger Point Performance, a black yoga block, a white marble hand stone, a black basalt neck pillow stone, and two yellow lacrosse balls. The Rumble Roller is a great substitute for the grid roller since it has an antimicrobial additive that prevents bacteria & fungus growth and the bumps are like having a ball, block, & roller all in one!

The bottom picture features (from left to right) two massage balls, the orange grid roller, baller block, footballer, and quadballer made by Trigger Point Performance.

The main differences between the two kits is that the balls, footballer, and quadballer made by Trigger Point are covered in cloth which can soak up sweat and other fluids at the gym. This makes them difficult to disinfect and breaks them down more quickly.

The lacrosse balls, stones, grid roller & Rumble Roller do not soak up sweat and other fluids. They are very easy to disinfect. They will all last almost indefinitely unless you drop the stones onto concrete or another hard surface or use the rollers on a very rough surface like asphalt or unsmoothed concrete.

You should be doing SMR everyday, regardless of the tools you choose to use. If you need to get some, just click here.

Train hard, and take care of those muscle aches before they become joint aches or actual joint injuries…3-2-1-GO!

For a printout of the tools collections, click here.

Our SMR Clinic on November 6th and 7th was a small group of knowledgeable and committed participants. We utilized the theatre on site at Main Street Village in Irvine, California. The palm trees around the pool were calming during our breaks from the intense rolling out we did.

2 days, 60+ SMR exercises, and a certificate of completion later and we now have 5 more SMR coaches ready to help others take care of those nagging aches and pains caused by muscular adhesions, trigger points, scar tissue, and contraction knots.

It was a pleasure working with you. Remember that I am here to support your efforts with the downloads, videos, or an email/phone call to help you get the most out of your tools.

Good luck guys!

–Jeff

After more than 1 year in development, we FINALLY have memberships offering different levels of tools and resources based on your needs and interests. The membership levels are:

• Weekend Warrior (FREE)
• Athlete 
• Fire-Breather
• Coach

All registered members get inclusion on our mailing list and access to our downloadable SMR Fundamentals PDFs and videos. PDFs and videos of the extended SMR movements are included in the paid memberships. In addition, paid memberships get access to printable PDFs of stretches that work well with specific SMR movements, and videos of the same stretches for the higher 2 levels of membership. We’re even working on an online scoreboard that will allow all of the paying members to track their WODs and compare with other members. Currently only the ‘Weekend Warrior’ (FREE) and the ‘Athlete’ memberships are live, with the ‘Fire-Breather’ and the ‘Coach’ memberships coming soon. We are hard at work making each level better, so check back often to see what’s new. Be sure and tell us what you think. We want to provide the best tools and education to help you train harder and longer.

We’ve added to our inventory some of the more than 80 different basalt and marble stones used in hot or cold stone massage therapy. The stones we’ve selected we use on our own bodies and we have determined them to be the best fit for working on yourself. Some of the stones are best used by a licensed stone massage practitioner, and you will not see them available on our site. We will be adding a practitioners section to our site in the coming months, based on the feedback we get from individual’s positive experiences working with exceptional therapists. If you have a great masseuse or masseur, let us know! We’re looking for high-quality deep tissue, sports massage, ART, or sport-related stone massage therapists. There are a lot of “fru-fru” spas out there and the types of massages they offer are typically not the approach we’re looking for. We want you to get the best recovery possible so you can get back to training HARD! Toward that end, you will need a therapist that understands the sometimes masochistic punishment that you sometimes put yourself through to reach new athletic goals. We’ll guide you through how to work on yourself. You will need the assistance of a professional on certain occasions, and we want to help you find that professional.

When working on yourself, remember that your body will tend to go numb after exposure to the stones (especially the cold stones). You need to be VERY aware of your reaction to the temperature of the stones. The last thing you want to do is freezer burn or properly burn your skin! It is typically best to have a barrier between your skin and the stone such as a cloth, shirt, pants, towel, etc. Once you get familiar with the application of hot or cold, the same SMR techniques you’ve learned using the balls and rollers will apply to the stones. In many cases, all you need to do is lie on the stone and let the hot or cold do the work for you. Your SMR efforts can be cut from more than 30 minutes to less than 5 minutes when done correctly!

Click here to go to the stones section of our site. We will add more stones to our inventory as we determine the safe and practical application with each one.

“When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot become manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied.”

~ Herophilus of Chalcedon, 335 – 280 BC, Physician to Alexander the Great

Here is some raw footage from a SMR Coaches Clinic at CrossFit One World.

When I first came to you with my tendonitis issues I couldn’t do anything active; my doctor was contemplating surgery!!

On day one you introduced me to SMR and had me rolling out in our first session. I was thinking to myself: “Is this Cajun crazy? Rolling around on …some foam and a ball is going to save me from surgery?” Needless to say, I was so wrong! After only a few months I’m at about 90% – running and being active again! My gut also thanks you. Soon enough I’ll be doing 1,000 burpies and 300 over-head squats!

Thanks for all your Help Jeff & Carolyn!

Learn New Techniques and Get Great Stuff, too!

Starting this week, we are taking requests for what YOU want to see described in words and shown in video. Take your pick from whatever area of the body most interests you…do you have pain following workouts in your IT Bands? Does your knee dip inwards when you squat deep (with or without pain)? Do you have trouble reaching all the way overhead without tilting your hips or arching your back?

Pick the area of the body that troubles you, and Jeff will setup a sample program of SMR and corrective functional exercise strategies in keeping with the CrossFit method. We want to hear from you, so leave your comments below.

Here is a fascinating and easy-to-read over view of human tissue, Davis’s Law, plyometrics, elasticity of tissues and plasticity: http://www.begin2dig.com/2009/06/plastic-vs-elastic-when-talking-about.html

Continue working on your “trouble area.” What differences do you notice? Post comments regarding your progress.