People who choose to live in the mountains tend to have a few things in common. In particular they tend to enjoy the outdoors, work hard, and they often play harder than the average person. As a result of how hard we play, it’s not uncommon to experience muscle soreness, tightness or injury. For many, it is simply a matter of where you are on the scale of either uninjured, or recovering from any number – or severity – of damaged joints.

 

Many people seek professional help when they’ve experienced prolonged muscle tightness or have had an injury. In some cases, certain injuries can be related to tight muscles limiting the range of motion of a joint.

 

Chiropractors, massage therapists and physical therapists are very helpful when it comes to preventing or recovering from this sort of experience, and can play a very important role in our continued well being.

 

That said, it is also important to recognize that there is more we can do for ourselves in order to keep our mobility intact, and our range of motion complete.

 

Owners of Tahoe Vista-based CrossFit Avalanche, and Truckee’s CrossFit Blizzard, Myles Lewis and Travis Weaver stress the importance of stretching, mobility and functional movement in all of their class-based and personal training sessions.

 

“We train people from all walks of life – not only those who are athletes by trade, but those who may sit at a desk all day,” said Weaver. “Some of the most common things we see are related to injuries or lack of mobility in the back, knees, hips and shoulders. The stretching and mobility work we have incorporated into our workouts has had a dramatic impact on our clients’ overall health.”

 

Lewis has a CrossFit specific certification in Mobility; Weaver has multiple certifications in Egoscue, a revolutionary posture therapy method for stopping chronic pain and returning the body to proper alignment, function and balance.

 

The two also incorporate methods promoted in physical therapist and owner of San Francisco CrossFit, Kelly Starrett’s Mobility WOD blog. Starrett founded his physical therapy practice on the idea that “all human beings should be able to perform basic maintenance on themselves.”

 

What Lewis and Weaver do is try to share with clients exactly how to put that into practice – whether following a workout or at home on their own.

 

Prior to the start of each workout, Avalanche and Blizzard coaches lead class participants in a series of dynamic stretches that promote active movement to take joints through their full range of motion.

 

Following the workout of the day, classes are guided through a series of static stretches where positions are held for at least 60 seconds at a time. These movements are in some cases inspired by yoga, and often times followed by stretches that require the use of rubber bands, foam rollers or lacrosse balls that provide precise pressure and help to open joints.

 

“Our goal is to provide our members with an all encompassing, well-rounded workout that not only challenges them and helps them get stronger, but helps restore proper movement of the body in order to increase sports performance, reduce injury and overcome existing pain due to lack of mobility,” said Weaver.

 

Many of CrossFit Avalanche and Blizzard’s members have had success restoring their range of motion, and have regained the ability to move their joints without pain, resulting in an improvement in their physical performance.