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Fitness Massage Pain Remedial Massage

DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) and how to beat it

Recent research in the last few years[1] [2] suggests that a large component of DOMS is not from damage to the muscle fibres (as is commonly thought), but more from an over-activation of your central nervous system (CNS) when it is not used to so much activity. It basically gets upset at you for making […]

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Experience Manual therapy Massage Posture Stress

Why I almost never put you face-down first for your massage treatment

There’s a conventional wisdom in massage therapy: “rub where it hurts.” This is wrong.

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Body-Mind Experience Fitness Nutrition

My fitness goals, and the improvement mindset

Having an improvement mindset means enjoying that idea that there is always more to improve. To illustrate this, I’ll talk mainly about my health goals. It has been said that “if you’ve got your health, you’ve got everything.” Plus what we know from research is that when people become more fit and healthy it tends […]

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Remedial Massage

Why you should never stretch your rhomboids (unless you’re in the army)

  Reciprocal inhibition is a muscle reflex that sends an inhibitory motor nerve signal to the muscles opposite those contracting. So, if your chest muscles are short (as they are when your shoulders are rolled around to the front, which is guaranteed if you drive a desk every day), then your upper back muscles (rhomboids, middle […]

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Anatomy and Physiology Body-Mind Fitness Nutrition Remedial Massage

Why Coordination Is More Important Than Strength

I love working with bodies. They’re amazing. We are evolved to be as efficient as possible at all times, and strength, power and endurance are no different. That’s me, three days ago, on my fourth set of three 50 kg close-grip bench press. It was only on the fifth and final set that I struggled. Up until […]