With the arrival of winter many of our athletes are now getting serious about upcoming fitness competitions and a crucial component of this is of course posing! Now for everyone who doesn’t compete posing is believe it or not hard work. Those who choose to compete on stage after a gruelling diet down process have to then pull it all together and maintain prolonged muscle contractions through a range of different positions or more commonly known as flexing their goods. This process is extremely taxing especially when on a calorie deficit as it requires a lot of stamina.

What can make this posing routine more difficult especially with the style of training and possible increase in inflammatory markers from dieting is decreased mobility from prolonged resistance training. In competitions where symmetry is essential mobility of all joints and being able to extend all muscle to their full range of motion is crucial to placing. At Elite Health and Performance we work alongside athletes and their coaches to help them achieve these positions.

One of the most common movement faults found restricting bodybuilders is core and thoracic rotation limiting their turns. Our practitioners have developed and implemented processes specific to this sport to assist perfecting these rotations.

What can you expect from your practitioner when assessing posing and developing a treatment plan?

Initially our staff will look at your poses and where they are restricted. Following this we will take a thorough history as old injuries may play a role in how your body is moving. Next we will look at why the tissues have become hypertonic. This is often due to core instability in rotational or sagittal planes or may be due to hip instability such as glute med weakness or delayed glute max firing. Once this is identified exercises can be prescribed so that treatment will hold and training can become more efficient.

Following diagnosis of cause of restricted tissues our practitioners will identify which tissue is exactly in lesion. To do this you will be put through rotational tests to assess whether it is joint, ligament or muscle. Common muscles restricted may include the the iliopsoas, quadratus lumborum and adductors. These are generally overlying symptomatic muscle spasm and many people will miss smaller muscles such as the rotatores or lower intercostal muscles that can also limit progress. Ligaments that can restrict the movement may be intertransverse or supraspinous ligaments. Occasionally joint manipulation will also be required either through the lumbar or thoracic spine as well.

To release the muscles and ligaments found to be restricting movement will depend on each individual athlete. A common soft tissue technique used at Elite Health and Performance is active release technique which is a fascial release technique. This can be used alongside remedial massage and dry needling.

Book in now for any help on correcting your bodies mobility, treating injury and increasing your performance.