As I was walking through Interbike in September, I chatted with the people in the Trigger Point Therapy booth. Cassidy Phillips, the founder, said he thought some of my back muscle stiffness actually came from my calves--specifically the soleus. I laughed. He said, "Sit down." He put my calf on the footballer and I almost screamed. While not sore in every day life...I had a sharp pain in my calf deep within. Cassidy said this soleus issue leads to foot immobility that starts in the calf. That effect works it's way up the quads, hamstrings, IT band, hip flexors and low back muscles. I already had the stuff...why not give it a try. Besides, my run times were sucking even more than normal lately.
After two weeks of pretty regular use, I did a 5k time trial just to see if there was any noticeable effect. As I ran I also paid close attention to "foot mobility." The first thing I noticed, was more fluid movement of the foot/ankle. When the TT was finished I was shocked. Instead of the horribly sluggish 11 minute miles I slogged out 4 weeks before, I averaged 9:30's. AND I felt fabulous when I was done.
Hip & Lower Back Kit
The calf roller is great, but the system used more comprehensively is awesome. I especially like the balls to attack my hip flexors (psoas) which is helpful for those of us who have chair sitting jobs which tend to shorten those muscles...making it more difficult to run and cycle.
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