So I've been back training at Devon for a day short of 3 weeks now. We had an easier morning with a lot of steady state after a hard day yesterday and another hard day planned for tomorrow. After practice this morning, we had an AM 2 session (lecture, not work out thank goodness...my body is tired!) with the physical therapist. He talked a lot about how you need to wake up your nervous system before going out for a row or working out. Most PTs talk about waking up your muscles rather than your nervous system. This PT was all about priming your body to row and preventing injury and visits to the doctor. We learned that foam rolling should be done with a relaxed spine, not a tight one. My teammate Katie actually showed me the relaxed technique soon after I arrived, so I've been doing that before and after every practice and it has really helped with my thoracic spine issues. We also learned to do active planks where you pass a weight back and forth in front of you over your arms while keeping your hips stable and flat. We also learned how to do toe taps with an elastic band to help stretch our hamstrings and IT bands and get our brains tingling. My favorite stretch though was putting a block under our hips with a band around our foot over our neck to stretch out our hamstrings and hip flexors.
After the session, we were given the opportunity to see the PT individually. I discussed my previous thoracic spine/ rhomboid/rotator cuff issues and he told me I'm a little lopsided. He said it's especially important to always be focused on my form. He also suggested strengthening my lower lat on my left side and a muscle in my neck that I cannot remember the name of. Then I told him I sometimes get pain that runs from my inner right groin down my leg. He then said that my hip hyper extends a little bit in front, so I shouldn't do pigeon stretch and should work on gaining flexibility in my legs the other way. After the PT visit, we went over race plans for club nationals individually and in groups. I love Reilly's race plan worksheets because she has us plan from the night before all the way though the cool down and recovery. It really makes you think about how you want to feel physically and mentally during every part of the regatta. Good day of training and patiently trying to get faster. But as almost everyone knows, I'm not a patient person.
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I just finished day 3 of training (and excessive grocery shopping), and I'm SORE. I'm used to the volume from Spain, but I'm not used to the intensity. I did a lot of lower heart rate work in Spain for long stretches of time. Here in OKC, we are doing long sessions with high intensity. It's rough, but I feel really happy. Not that I wasn't happy in Spain. Just excessively elated that I'm here and was given this opportunity to improve, but equally frustrated with my strength and erg times. It's a very validating feeling to be here and be so happy while also being this frustrated. I take it as a sign that I'm doing the right thing.
Also. Yesterday we lifted. I did box jumps. I fell. My ever so kind teammate sent me this vid reminding her of me. |
AuthorI'm Emma. I love food more than anyone will ever understand - specifically cheese, chocolate, bread and pretty much every fat & carb combo you can think of - apple cider donuts, ice cream, the list goes on. Fats and carbs just go so well together. Don't you think? Why is it that when I'm tasked to describe myself, I always talk about food? Anywho, I'm a rower training in OKC. Here I hope to document my struggles, successes, thoughts, and emotions, as I embark on a summer full of soreness. ArchivesCategories |