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"THE THINK TANK" - A Unique Perspective into the Mental and Physical Aspects of our S

Mini Truck

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"THE THINK TANK" - A Unique Perspective into the Mental and Physical Aspects of our S

:welcome: :lightbulb: :headbang: :yeahthat: :sleeping- :welcome:

A Special Thanks to Big A, Jello, Aussiebulldog, Ironraider, Hellbilly, Mountaindog1 and everyone else who supported the idea of this thread.

A warm welcome to everyone,

I have thought a great deal about starting this thread and with the encouragement and support of many, have decided to do so. The intention of this thread is to scratch the surface of traditional thinking, to be open minded, to inspire others from our personal stories and challenges, and to think "outside the box".

Bodybuilding, included in that is powerlifting, strength athletes, strongman, fitness people, but not limited to just competitors, but their input is certainly welcome. I will refer to all of us as bodybuilders.
I view bodybuilding as a giant oak tree. It has many branches as do our own personal journeys. There are many ways to get to the top, and getting to the top might not be everyone's goal, that's OK. We all share a common denominator, a passion and a drive to be better than we are. We all share this. That's a pretty cool concept in itself.

We can discuss anything fitness related on this site. Training techniques, nutritional strategies, recuperation and recovery, injury prevention, injury recovery, health issues, share our own stories, really anything. I only ask that we are respectful towards one another, realize that we may disagree, but keep an open mind as we unravel some topics that are not often discussed.

One of the branches on our tree is the "gear branch". We can discuss that as well. Most of us have taken some risks, that's part of the journey.
But it is a SMALL part. It is not the MAIN TRUNK.
An example would be if you are a rookie to the sport. In my eyes a rookie is someone with less than 3 years of intense training, proper nutrition, proper rest and recovery (I was tempted to say 5 years). So for anyone who falls into this category, regardless if you've competed and are an advocate of excessive amounts of gear use, GH, slin, SEO and taking other drugs trying to eliminate some side effects and looking for advice, you've come to the wrong thread. You will sooner or later slip into a dark place and vanish from the sport. I have seen this happen far too many times in my 30+ years, so I know this to be a "truth". This is a sport of longevity, having wisdom, and being smart. Enough said.

Of the several people I've discussed this thread with before posting it, none of us are newbies to this sport, many of us with 20+ years in the trenches, doing things with an abundance of knowledge. We have made it this far by realizing these truths and have a clear picture of our boundaries and limitations. None of us are Mr Olympia's and truthfully probably no one on this site will ever be. Some of us have competed on the National level.
Certainly there are many who are clearly better than I was or will be. That doesn't mean we use this as an excuse for failure or not to push ourselves day in and day out.

Learning to be at peace with yourself, despite your perceived flaws, is truly what will make you persevere in this sport. Excell......but be real.
That's the underlying message of this thread. I believe we can all learn from each other.

Peace,

Mack

Everything from the foam roller thread and some great dialoge from another OP's thread will be transfered into this new thread. Thanks to Jello! So here we go.......


Hey Everyone,

I've recently been receiving lots of questions about this technique,
so I'm hoping this will shed some light on this form of deep tissue
massage. We've probably all seen videos of Jay Cutler on the message
table getting work done on his quads. This massage technique is called
Myofascial Release. He spends probably thousands a year on this, and could do a better job on his own.

Understand first that fascia is a specialized system of the body that has the appearance of a spider's web. Fascia is very densley woven covering and interpenetrating every muscle in the body. Intense, heavy and frequent training create myofascial restrictions, I call them "hot spots" or muscle adhesions.

I've read lots of people with questions on overtraining. Overtraining, simply put, is training a muscle before it is adequately recovered from a previous workout. If many people's quads are still sore from their last workout, often they will take another day of rest. That concept is as "old school" as it gets.
The major reason many take days to recover is because they are not spending any proactive time on the recovery phase, just using rest as their recovery. As an example, I could do the craziest, intense and insane quad workout, barely able to make it to the car and take the usual 3-4 days for the soreness to disapate. I now do the same workout, incorporate the rolling and experience little to a small amount of pain lasting no more than one day.

So what does this mean. If you increase the recovery time, you can hit that bodypart more often and thus put on some added muscle. Sounds like a good idea to me. If you log onto fitnesswholesale.com, you can buy a single roller, a double roller and even a triple roller. I just ordered a triple but I will limit this discussion to a single roller which is what I've used for the past few years. A single 3' x 6" diameter is what I recommend and it costs around $30.

The roller is made of a very dense foam rubber material. I do my rolling on a tile floor, but would recommend doing it on carpet to reduce the pressure.
First and very honestly, I realize that we all have above average pain threholds, but until you get used to it, get ready. It will feel like someone is stabbing you with a screwdriver. If you feel this, please do not stop. I would recommend doing it every day for as long as you can handle. Within 1-2 weeks most people can roll on it pain free. You will always have some hot spots to deal with. When you run unto one, stay on it using tiny short rolls until you feel that adhesion break apart. For most their IT band is what hurts the most.

The reason it's both so difficult and effective is because you are using your own bodyweight as the applied pressure. There is no massage therapist I've ever used that can come close to the pressure necessary to do this correctly.

So let's begin. Give yourself plenty of floor space, you will be lying down facing the floor. Lift your quads off the floor so you can place the roller just above your knee caps. Letting your feet drag along the floor will lession the pressure, so start that way. Slowly, begin to pull your upper torso forward using your elbows, keeping your upper body as paralel to the floor as possible. You may not be able to do it the first time but try to roll from above your knee caps to your upper thigh. Slowly build up so you can roll up and back with minimal pain. Next step, lift your feet off the ground. This will increase the pressure and do that for a few days until that becomes tolerable. The next increment would to rest one foot on the other so all your bodyweight is working only one side, then reverse and do the other side.
Hit the IT bands. Turn onto one side, starting with the roller just above your knee cap and roll all the way up to your glute. Repeat on other side.

You will find overtime that you can roll on each head of the quad by slightly adjusting how you position your body on the roller. The reason we do this is to massage the area all the way down to the fascia level. This will dissapate
the lactic acid, increase blood flow, and improve circulation in the area. What all this means is recovering much more quickly. I have noticed more thigh sweep as well as more separation even though I'm in off season mode.

I do this 5-6 days a week, mostly because it feels so good. I would advice doing this almost every day if possible. Do it immediately after quads and repeat a few hours later. I roll for about 20 minutes and have this little routine I do. Every other day I do it just once while watching TV. I have given myself a 12 month prep period getting ready for the 2012 Master's Nats and you can bet this will give me a noticable advantage.

I have played around a lot with the roller. You can do calfs, lats, back and delts. I personally can never seem to get my body into the correct position to focus my weight on these areas. But play around, you may find an easier way.

I also use an Astym Tool on a regular basis. I use this on quads as well, bis, delts and forearms. It fairly wide so my wife helps me with delts, traps and back when I can talk her into it. Actually she's very good and hits those hard to reach areas a couple times a week.

Although I've been in the trenches for 30+ years, I am careful to offer advice.
This advice I am comfortable giving because I know for certain of it's value. All I ask is you keep an open mind, spend the $30 and give it a try.
Prove me wrong, I'd like that :yeahthat:

ps. I checked out some rollers at Walmart. Don't waste your money, they're junk and you'll be disappointed with the results.

Shout out with any questions or feedback. I'm always willing to help.

Peace,

Mack
 
Last edited by a moderator:
This is gonna be fun!

I just ordered my roller from your recommended site! I know it will be painful starting out, but what the hell isn't in this game? I'm after results, and this can help with any flexibility, so much the better.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a detailed process etc. Greatly appreciated!!

(Interested in finding out what other doors we can open from your library of experience ;) )
 
Great post Mack. I've been rolling for several months now and the results are just as you say. Faster recovery and it breaks up all the muscle knots and adhesion's we accumulate from lifting.

As for rollers, I've purchased them from tptherapy.com. They are a little more expensive but seem to be more effective than regular foam.

Thanks!
 
Cool!

I'll be the first to admit I'm on the downside of the ladder. Even if I win my class at the Master's, so what? I know who's out there and I imagine I'll hold my own. I just go about my business, doing the best I can putting all the things I've learned over the last 30+ years in the trenches into practise.

I get satisfaction helping others who are on their way up the ladder.
I just always have approached everything in bodybuilding with an open mind and try to offer a different perspective. Being an NPC Judge makes me look at a body as an inanimate object and I judge accordingly. I do this with my own physique. If I believed my wife, I could stand toe-to-toe against Phil Heath :) :cool:

I think I mentioned this, but I would only offer advice that I know has merit and works. Not just based on my personal results, but in 30+ years, I've helped many along the way.

So even if you use me as a sounding board, shout out. I will always try to help.

Peace, my friends

Mack Truck
 
I have one that I have been using for a while.
it is a PVC pipe and a towel rolled on it. feels harder , better for me.
 
Probably just cheaper....:)

really , when I first did them , they were harder to get , and expensive , so
when I heard the possibility of using PVC , I .... did.
 
Great advice Mack. I picked one up fron walmart just to get started but will be ordering a different one shortly.
 
WalMart has some cheap ones for $10....when I use it my quads feel great and separated year round....ive been kind of lazy lately with it. This post remotivated me to start rolling them again.
 
love my roller

Got one of those for my wife a few months ago....but I spend more time rolling around on it then her...it's great.
 
My physical therapist had me start doing those on my legs, glutes and lower back after a recent procedure. Hurts at first but feels kind of good after a few minutes.
 
rollers

Used them for quads, back, and kinda sides and lats. I get some one to use a rolling pin on my hams. but I have not figure out how to use a foam roller myself on the hammies? Any ideas/advice?
 
Been doing this for my IT band, and my knees haven't felt this pain free in years.
 
Once you've been doing this for a while I suggest the rumble roller. I have a fullsize extra firm one and it better simulates a sports message than a regular roller. It's extremely painful on some spots so I wouldn't suggest starting off with this.

**broken link removed**
 
Once you've been doing this for a while I suggest the rumble roller. I have a fullsize extra firm one and it better simulates a sports message than a regular roller. It's extremely painful on some spots so I wouldn't suggest starting off with this.

**broken link removed**

Mike,

I like that. What company did you purchase it from?

Thanks,

Mack
 
Used them for quads, back, and kinda sides and lats. I get some one to use a rolling pin on my hams. but I have not figure out how to use a foam roller myself on the hammies? Any ideas/advice?

GC,

Mike is right.
I also have a tough time getting deep into the separations of the hamstring complex using the foam roller.
I've used the rolling pin also. Try using the end of the handle, not the roller part, to get deep into the tissue. Use some oil.
Lately my wife has been using the astym tool I mentioned and it works well.
I made my astym tool from a 3/4" thick, 4" piece of very firm plastic. If you go to astymtool.com, there is a picture of one. I just used a grinder and a dremmel tool to shape it. It was a lot cheaper than spending $130 which is what one costs. Same thing use oil to reduce friction.

Good luck,

Mack
 
Probably just cheaper....:)

really , when I first did them , they were harder to get , and expensive , so
when I heard the possibility of using PVC , I .... did.

Thanks Aussie,

Next trip to Home Depot, I'm gonna pick up a piece of PVC and give it a try.
It sounds like it hurts more, I like that :yeahthat:

Mack
 
My physical therapist had me start doing those on my legs, glutes and lower back after a recent procedure. Hurts at first but feels kind of good after a few minutes.

Jello,

It works wonders. I first learned of it's value several years ago when I went to a seminar on recuperation and recovery techniques.
Keep it going!

Mack
 

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