CrossFit London (UK) » Articles

FREE! Massage!

Kate — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:33:51 +0000

Andrew and I are currently studying for our Sports and Remedial Massage diplomas. As part of our coursework, we need to get hands-on with as many bodies as possible. So we’re offering free massages to any and all of our lovely Crossfit London UK crew. If you have a nagging pain somewhere (so long it’s not on the list of contraindications listed below) so much the better – we’ll try to ease your agony. All we ask is for you to sign a form to say you’ve had a treatment from us.

You can choose to be treated fully clothed, or in underwear with modesty covered by towels. You can have a full body (about an hour) upper or lower halves (about 30 mins) or a specific problem area (15 + mins)

While Andrew is away doing his Crossfit Kids certification, I thought I’d make a start on

Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 August between 1.30pm and 3.30pm.

If you want a massage, please email me
kate@crossfitlondonuk.com

We’ll try to work out a proper schedule for the future, with both of us available.
But in the meantime, don’t be shy to just come up and ask, and we’ll try to give you a treatment there and then if there’s time.

Thanks!

Kate

Massage has been practiced for millions of years!

The uses and benefits of sports and remedial massage

For those people recovering from an injury, massage can break down scar tissue and adhesions, release excessive muscle tension, promotes circulation, reducing symptomatic pain, prevents secondary problems and improve the rate of healing.
Helps a full and speedy recovery

Improved self awareness, by fine tuning training, postural improvement>Improves flexibility, better technique.

Promotes relaxation with physical and psychological benefits, leading to enhanced performance and greater physical enjoyment of one’s sport and active lifestyle.

Uses and benefits with injuries:

Remedial massage offers a complimentary part to play in the remedy for the soft tissue component of musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction caused by life’s stresses. These include:

Increased local circulation removing muscle waste (like squeezing out a dirty sponge) and restoring nutrition. Improved quality and quantity of training, as well as improved recovery. Early identification of potential problems, feeling for changes in the muscle leading to injury prevention advice (posture/training adjustments)

CONTRAINDICATIONS -
Don’t have a massage if you are experiencing any of the below:

Acute inflammation: Indicated by redness, heat, swelling, pain or dysfunction. The subject may mention their discomfort in a particular area. One may test an area of inflammation by applying constant pressure for 10 seconds. If pain increases rather than decreases in the duration, then further massage is contraindicated.

Open wounds: Any break in the skin, including scratches.

Bone fractures: Be especially cautious with fingers and toes.

Joint dislocations: It is vital that a joint is correctly realigned before massage treatment is allowed.

Deep vein thrombosis: DVT is a blood clot which usually occurs in the calf muscles, though it may occur in other places. It is frequently seen in the elderly, or women taking the contraceptive pill. The area must not be massaged as this may cause the clot to dislodge and travel to the heart, causing myocardial infarction. DVT symptoms may include pain in the calf without obvious cause. The skin may be red, shiny, painful and exquisitely tender. The subject may also feel generally unwell.

Varicose veins: This is caused when a valve breaks down, and the vein bulges under the pressure of blood. The vein becomes visible under the skin as blue. Massage may include the area around the varicose vein, but not over the vein itself.

Infectious skin diseases:

Bacterial and fungal infections:

Colds and fever:

Melanoma:

Bleeding disorders eg: haemaphilia:

Diabetes: Massage may have the same effect on the subject’s blood sugar level as excercise.

Pregnancy: Mainly contraindicated because of litigation. With the exception of the abdominal area, massage may resume after the first trimester.

Hypertension – check with doctor first

Farewell, Rita!

Steven — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:17:17 +0000

It is with a heavy heart that CrossFit London’s favourite Philadelphian, Rita is leaving us to return to that strange place on the other side of the Atlantic.

Rita has been with us for seven glorious months, and has been an inspiration and a joy to have around the Blackboard Gym. Whether it is her incredible ability to chat through even the toughest workouts, or her capacity to crank out kipping pull-ups, it’s never a dull moment with her around!

She’s off for a brief trip to Australia before returning for a couple of workouts at the end of August, and then…away.

Rita during Friday's Fight Gone Bad

Farewell, Rita! Come visit again!

Vibram Five Fingers: The almost barefoot truth

Andrew — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 18:31:41 +0000

The fact that I have for some time worn Vibram Five Fingers occasionally, and that I’m one of the few genuine barefoot runners in London means, apparently, that I ought to have a “position” on Vibrams.

For what they are worth, here are my personal Vibrams views.

They are not universally cool (yet) and as Graham discovered it’s quite possible to parade up and down in front of your girlfriend and be greeted by the words “gawd, I can taste sick in my mouth.”

There is a little way to go before be-gloved toes gain public acceptance.

Apparantly, according to Ken, if the police pull you over while driving and notice you are wearing them, they’ll caution you. I’ll have to check this. But I’ve trained with Ken for a while and I’m sure he would not lie to me about something so trivial. So don’t wear them to drive. My most recent pair of Vibrams still have a cycle incident tear in them’ from when I caught my foot between the pavement edge and the pedal. Steven managed to break three toes while doing a gymnastic-ey bar thing while wearing them: so we should caution against driving, cycling and gymnastic-ey things while wearing them.

But we can , of’course, recommend them for going barefoot.

Urm, no not really.

Most people heel strike, with their foot out in front of them. Sure barefoot and Vibrams quickly stop you doing that, but most people convert to a ball of the foot “in front of you” strike that will screw your calf muscles very quickly. So I have to recommend that you learn a natural way of running be it POSE or Crossfit Endurance first (actually a plug opportunity: I’m qualified in both of those things) before you start running in Vibrams.

If you fancy strollling about in them as an alternative to flip flops, oh why not. You can get in on all that “back to nature” stuff… you will feel the Chi flowing

They are easy to clean (bung them in the washing machine) which is just as well, as they quickly stink (it’s that rubber sweat combo).

It’s a pain getting the right size. Vibrams are mainly an internet phenominan so you need to know your own shoe size, and check up with the supplying company what their return terms are. I own two pairs of Vibrams. Both are too small. Couldn’t be bothered to return them (What? Repack them, queue up in the post office, wait in for couriers….but some people love this sort of thing).

There is much sizing advise around that includes one size less then your “normal” shoe size, foot diagrams and charts…do a mix and guess.

If you intend to lift in them, you had better have excellent ankle flexibility.

The biggest draw back is this: unless they fit perfectly, the chances are they will tug on your big toe. Not too awful you may say. But, if you go to our adult gymnastic classes (gosh, another plug) Amelia will, if she see you struggling with an arabesque, tell you to lift your big toe up. This makes you supinate, which means, among other stuff, you get more stability. The problem is that most natural running styles rely on you harvesting ground reaction forces (among other stuff). If your feet are forced to supinate because your big toe is being pulled in/up, the opportunity to get ground reaction is very diminished. This is a bad thing.

So are they the best thing since sliced bread, No. Will you probably buy a pair? Probably yes, especially as prices are coming down, and alternatives are appearing.

Is An Ability To Violently Open Your Hips Necessary For Sporting Excellence

Colin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 13:57:00 +0000

I recently attended the Highland Games at Inveraray, Scotland. A fantastic day full of tradition bringing together the local community celebrating their culture. Originally believed to have started back in the 16^th century it died off only to be brought back and formalised in the 19^th Century. It has become an event attended by international strength athletes. The title of world Caber Tossing Champion is highly coveted.

There are other sports in the program including running and cycling! Watching cycles race on a wet grass running track with fixed gears was interesting to say the least, no mean feat. The races are handicapped so all sexes ages and abilities compete in the same race this further adds to the community spirit. The strength athletes compete in not only the Caber, but the Hammer and the Weight among others. It was when watching these I noticed how necessary it was to have a violent opening of the hips. It soon became very apparent those not achieving an aggressive full extension were soon left behind.

Crossfit continually works our core but the hip extension and mastering it is incredibly vital to improving our Olympic lifts and cycle rates for movements such as box jumps, burpees, broad jumps and wall balls, to name but a few.

Some examples of closed and open hips:

So next time you see box jumps or the hang cleans in a WOD give it some thought that mastering a controlled violent opening of your hips can only add to your quest to continually achieve PB’s.

Don’t believe everything you read in the papers [Nutrition & dodgy science]

Steven — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:02:21 +0000

Chances are, if you passed by a newspaper stand over the last couple of days or perused the news on TV or online, you may have seen headlines like this:

‘Cut down on meat to lose weight’

‘Meat causes weight gain’

‘Sorry Dr Atkins, eating less meat is the way to lose weight…’ (classic Daily Fail…)

And there is CrossFit London promoting a Paleo/Zone diet rich in meat and saying that it will improve your body composition…

Are we wrong?

Probably not.

Dr John Briffa has posted a fairly detailed rebuttal of this research on his blog this morning which I highly suggest you go and read. In short, the study has a number of holes, some more glaring than others. From Dr Briffa:

You are at liberty, of course, to make of this study what you will. I’ll tell you what I make of it though: it’s not worth the paper it’s written on. Actually, worse than that, it appears to be wholly misleading.

His post is worth reading on two counts:

It provides a credible view on the science used (misused?) for this research
It encourages a useful form of critical thinking and analysis which can (should?) be used to evaluate all research with

Nonsense study being used to claim that meat causes weight gain Dr John Briffa

Barefoot: some pathways

Andrew — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:53:44 +0000

If you have time, read Michael Warburtons article “Barefoot Running”. It is one of the more interesting articles about barefoot running, although it is not without its flaws. There are interesting observations about injury rates in running, and how throwing away your clumpy trainers can reduce injury rates in runners.

But as a warning, even though the skin on your feet toughens up, it is no defence against stones, glass, nails or needles or extremes in temperature . I found running in Vibram’s to be a challenge over these last few winter months. My feet were bloody cold! ( I mean really)

I thought this warning was worthwhile repeating

Runners with poor sensation in their feet are particularly vulnerable to damage or infection when barefoot. Peripheral neuropathy is a common complication of diabetes mellitus. if you have diabeties, dont go barefoot Actually, make diabetics wear shoes/trainers (ACSM/ADA, 1999; ACSM, 2000).

Over all the proposition is this, feet quite like the feedback they were built to receive. The more you cut this feedback off, the more chance of injury you have.

It has an ok-ish reference list which is a useful start to your barefoot journey

American College of Sports Medicine and American Diabetes Association (1997). Diabetes mellitus and exercise: joint position statement. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 29(12), i-vi

American College of Sports Medicine (2000). ACSM position stand on exercise and Type 2 diabetes. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 32, 1345-1360

Anthony RJ (1987). The functional anatomy of the running training shoe. Chiropodist, December, 451-459

Bergmann G, Kniggendorf H, Graichen F, Rohlmann A (1995). Influence of shoes and heel strike on the loading of the hip joint. Journal of Biomechanics 28, 817-827

Burkett LN, Kohrt M, Buchbinder R (1985). Effects of shoes and foot orthotics on VO2 and selected frontal plane kinematics. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 17, 158-163

Clarke TE, Frederick EC, Cooper LB (1983). Effects of shoe cushioning upon ground reaction forces in running. International Journal of Sports Medicine 4, 247-251.

Flaherty RF (1994). Running economy and kinematic differences among running with the foot shod, with the foot bare, and with the bare foot equated for weight. Microform Publications, International Institute for Sport and Human Performance, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon

Frederick EC (1986). Kinematically mediated effects of sports shoe design: a review. Journal of Sports Sciences 4, 169-184

Hafner J, Burg G (1999). Dermatological aspects in prevention and treatment of the diabetic foot syndrome. Schweizerische Rundschau fur Medizin Praxis 88, 1170-1177

Robbins SE, Gouw GJ (1990). Athletic footwear and chronic overloading: a brief review. Sports Medicine 9, 76-85

Robbins SE, Gouw GJ (1991). Athletic footwear: unsafe due to perceptual illusions. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 23, 217-224

Robbins S, Gouw G, McClaran J, Waked E (1993). Protective sensation of the plantar aspect of the foot. Foot and Ankle 14, 347-352

Robbins SE, Gouw GJ, Hanna AM (1989). Running-related injury prevention through innate impact-moderating behavior. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 21, 130-139

Robbins SE, Hanna AM (1987). Running-related injury prevention through barefoot adaptations. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 19, 148-156

Robbins SE, Waked E, Rappel R (1995). Ankle taping improves proprioception before and after exercise in young men. British Journal of Sports Medicine 29, 242-247

Robbins S, Waked E (1997). Hazards of deceptive advertising of athletic footwear. British Journal of Sports Medicine 31, 299-303

Siff MC, Verkhoshansky YV (1999). Supertraining (4th ed.). Denver, Colorado. Supertraining International

Stacoff A, Steger J, Stussi E, Reinschmidt C (1996). Lateral stability in sideward cutting movements. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 28, 350-358

Stefanyshyn DJ, Nigg BM (2000). Influence of midsole bending stiffness on joint energy and jump height performance. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 32, 471-476

Webb P, Saris WH, Schoffelen PF, Van Ingen Schenau GJ, Ten Hoor F (1988). The work of walking: A calorimetric study. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 20, 331-337

Yessis M (2000). Explosive running. Illinois, USA. Contemporary Book

Andrew Stemler is a barefoot runner

Wednesdays and Fridays with Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:53:38 +0000

On Wednesdays and Fridays, I’m on a back-to-basics campaign. Good old fashioned, world beating, Crossfit benchmark workouts, so you can compare your performance against other crossfitters world wide.

Make a note of your time and post it up. Every workout is a benchmark!

I will also be (re-introducing) the “official” CrossFit Warm-up, as found in the April 2003 CrossFit Journal.

Three rounds of 10-15 reps of:

Samson Stretch (do the Samson Stretch once each round for 15-30 seconds)
Overhead Squat with broomstick
Sit-up (in pairs, holding feet over box)
Back-extension (in pairs, holding feet over box)
Pull-up
Dips

Note: For a workout that’s dip or pull-up centric, I will suggest some substitutions for the warmup.

Carlos is cycling a stage of the Tour de France

Steven — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:04:26 +0000

As if to prove that CrossFit helps you prepare for the unknown and the unknowable, CrossFit Londoner Carlos is off to ride a stage of ‘Le Tour’ (for charity). Pretty bad-ass.

Etape du Tour route

The Etape du Tour rides through a stage of the Tour de France. This year the Etape is going through Stage 17 which goes from the town of Pau, over 3 mountain tops ,and finishes on the monumental Col du Tourmalet, the highest road in the Central Pyrenees. It’s a mere 181km, with the last 41km being an up-hill ride to the top of the mountain. So no biggie…

Carlos is one of the brave band of early morning CrossFit Londoners; dragging himself out of bed at an ungodly hour to train at 0630!

Carlos

He’s going to be raising money for the National Autistic Society. If you are interested in sponsoring Carlos, his JustGiving page is here.

The ‘old’ chocolate debate

Andrew — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 21:28:39 +0000

One of my personal interests is blood pressure, especially high blood pressure. It stalks my families genetic profile and allows my father to claim that he really did give me something. Thanks Dad. Hypertension….MF.

Apparently, dark chocolate may have some effect on reducing high blood pressure. For the hormonally challenged, emotional vulnerable members of Crossfit London…hurrah!

But the Blood Pressure Association is not advising people with high blood pressure to rush out to buy giant bars of dark chocolate just yet….on behalf of the hormonally challenged, emotional vulnerable members of Crossfit London…boooo!

Some studies, have shown chocoalte good, others bad. So, researchers from the University of Adelaide, Australia (who knew they had a university!!) , led by Dr Karin Ried, combined the results of 15 studies which had been conducted into the effects of flavanols, (compounds in chocolate which cause dilation of blood vessels), on blood pressure.

The amount of chocolate consumed in the studies varied from just one chunk (6g) to a whole bar (100g) a day. The results were published in the journal BMC Medicine. Obviously a study not short of volunteers.

What they found

The researchers found that pressure reduction seen in the combined results for people with hypertension was up to 5mm Hg systolic (top number). In theory, this is a similar reduction to the known effects of 30 daily minutes of physical activity (4-9mm Hg). However, the researchers are cautious as to whether dark chocolate has long term benefits for people with high blood pressure and say more research is needed.

Dr Ried said: “We’ve found that consumption can modestly reduce blood pressure for people with high blood pressure but not for people with normal blood pressure”.

However, she added: “The practicability of chocolate or cocoa drinks as long-term treatment is questionable. Additional trials of hypertensive populations are needed to elucidate whether local dietary habits or genetic factors influence the blood pressure-lowering effect of cocoa.”

What does the Blood Pressure Association think?

Mike Rich, Executive Director of UK charity the Blood Pressure Association, said: “This is interesting research, which seems to indicate that eating dark chocolate can have a moderate blood pressure lowering-effect on those who already have high blood pressure. But more research is needed to see if this is anything more than a short-term effect.

“Of course, there’s nothing wrong with the occasional sweet treat, but eating too much chocolate may cause weight gain, which in turn raises blood pressure, so we wouldn’t recommend that people rush out to get giant bars of dark chocolate just yet.

“If you want to make changes to your diet to help your blood pressure and your waistline, it’s best to cut down on salt and increase the amount of fruit and veg you eat. It’s proven that these dietary changes not only lower the blood pressure of people who are already hypertensive, but can help to prevent others developing high blood pressure in the first place.”

To see the full research paper click here.

The website is a little broken [Public Announcement]

Steven — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 14:06:00 +0000

The website is a little broken at the moment, and running even more slowly than before.

This is in part due a recent upgrade to the latest version of the WordPress software (3.0) and also due to the convergence of factors technical, physical, philosophical and spiritual i.e. I haven’t a clue why this is happening.

So consider this advanced warning that as I open up the bonnet and start tugging at stray wires (SQL), hitting things with a hammer (PHP), and generally using a spanner (HTML) instead of a screwdriver (CSS), things may get a little worse before they get better. If, indeed, they ever get better…

Needless to say our online booking and scheduling system will continue to run just fine, as it is looked after by technical experts who actually know what they are doing…

Even so, it may be useful just to bookmark that particular page…you know…just in case.

Online booking and scheduling: http://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ws.asp?studioid=7779&stype=-7

Also: I know lolcats are sooo 2008, but they’re just adorable. Just look at his wittle face…awww…look at it!