Tissue Quality and Warm up

What the heck does tissue quality have to do with a gym? Let’s answer that and then let you decide which type of warm up is best for you.

We are all busy. We are flying around getting things done and we have our workout sessions on our calendar too. We sat all day, we drove all day, we stood all day but now it is time to workout. We want to get in the gym, get out of the gym and onto our next task of the day/evening. However, what we are not thinking about is the time before and after our workouts. Time and time again, people have walked into the gym and warmed up with a bar or dumbbells going through a series of exercises. While this is definitely something we did, science has changed and found a better way.

The body will always take the easiest route to accomplish a task. Therefore, is working though tightness going to allow you quality reps? What could the tightness be? It’s an adhesion, a knot, in the tissue. These adhesions are a response to some sort of injury. The knotted portions of muscle results in reduced muscle length which can result in larger injuries once placed under more intense loads. Maybe you are thinking that one should just stretch before a workout? However, stretching a muscle before releasing it is like pulling on an elastic band with a knot in it; it just draws the knot tighter.

The question then remains, how can I improve my tissue quality and be ready for the gym? Easy, trigger point massage. You use a foam roller or the trigger point balls to find the tightest muscles in your calves, piriformis (glutes), lats and pectorals and allow gravity for 30 seconds to 2 minutes to do its job releasing the adhesions. Trigger point massage is an effective way to improve your range of motion. It is also found that regular trigger point therapy can maintain healthy muscle and connective tissues working as a preventative measure to reduce the chances of injury. Trigger point therapy, stretching and activations are a great way to warm up your body before you place it under high demands.