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luzulaBecoming a Supple Leopard: the ultimate guide to resolving pain, preventing injury and optimizing athletic performance by Kelly Starrett (2015)
This book has changed my life. I know I sound like I'm doing a paid promotion or like someone who's joined some weird cult, and I know the book has kind of a silly title, but it's true. My mind is blown.
The thing is, I've had problems with stiffness and muscle ache for years. I've been trying to deal with it by exercise and stretching, but while exercise is obviously good for a whole host of reasons, it doesn't solve the problem of stiffness/muscle ache. And stretching doesn't do much, either. I've also gone to a massage therapist, which does partly help, but it's temporary and also costs a lot of money. And while the guy is much better in the practical application of massage than others I've gone to, and I like him, still I'm reluctant to keep going to him because he does do some things with a large application of force and I doubt his medical judgment (to say the least). In the last few years he has begun to spout conspiracy theories about vaccines and only drinks warm water because, as a man, he needs the yang energy.
Anyway, I figured the stiffness and muscle ache was just middle age and at bottom I just had to suck it up. Turns out THERE ARE EFFECTIVE TOOLS TO ADDRESS THIS THAT I NEVER KNEW ABOUT! Also they're cheap and I can apply them myself! I honestly feel like someone prone to headaches who has just, at the age of 46, discovered the existence of painkillers. But better, because this isn't a drug.
I would never have come across this book if not for a friend, because it's mainly aimed at the crossfit and weightlifting communities and assumes that you know the meaning of terms like clean, snatch, and dip (which I do not), though it's clear that the author does intend it to have broad application. The first parts are about body mechanics and the proper way to perform various movements such as lifting something, doing a pushup, etc, so as to maximize the application of force and not injure yourself. This was enough of a revelation, as you can see in this post. But it was the next part, what he calls "mobilization", that really blew my mind. How did I not know this stuff before?? I think I am in general a fairly smart person, who reads widely and am curious to learn things, but I had never come across this. I guess it makes sense--I have zero overlap with the community where this came from, but I do wonder why none of the physical therapists I've gone to have mentioned it?
So what are these techniques? Well, the author calls it things like "smash and floss", but I would describe most of it as a sort of deep, targeted self-massage using tools like balls and cylinder-shaped objects. You dwell for a prolonged period of time on one spot with a fairly strong pressure while rocking back and forth perpendicularly to the fiber of the muscle, while flexing the muscle and then relaxing, or moving the limb such that the layers of muscle slide over each other. Then when you feel a change, you move on to the next spot. There are detailed instructions, with pictures, about how to access each muscle and which tools are best, and also which kinds of problems and pain are associated with stiffness in which muscle, and what kind of mobility and working positions you will improve by working on it. Besides the self-massage, other techniques involves wrapping a flat rubber band around a limb or joint to compress it, and then moving the limb/joint through its range of motion (weirdly, this is called "voodoo flossing"; I have still not tried it), and setting joints in their proper position (not in a violent way, but by for example tying a rubber band high on your leg under the hip and pulling against it).
Starrett has a Ph D in physical therapy, so he does have formal education in the area. But because this is far from my area of knowledge, I did spend some time researching whether there was criticism against his methods. I found no criticism against the "smash and floss" stuff, though of course it's possible that it exists and I just didn't find it. I dived a bit deeper into the "voodoo flossing", and read the abstracts of the scientific articles I could find on it, including several review articles. Seems it has good effects on joint pain and rehabilitation, and I couldn't find anything on adverse effects (with the caveat that you shouldn't wrap the band too tightly and be sure to remove it after two minutes). I did find criticism against one thing in the body mechanics section, which is that Starrett claims that squats should be done by keeping your feet parallell and pointed forward, while your knees go out towards the sides. Whereas other people claim that this can cause injury and you should angle your feet out a bit. I'll be careful with that, then. And do tell me if you know more about criticism on Starrett's methods.
So what are my experiences so far, after about a month of working on this? I was very stiff due to some minor injuries and strains, partly because of bad decisions in farm work. So I've spent a lot of time on this, going through my whole body. The first day I worked on my butt, my trapezius and my neck, and there was immediate relief in those areas. My neck was entirely relaxed afterwards, whereas stretching does absolutely nothing for it! My butt muscles, which had been really tight, were also much more relaxed, and as Starrett said, the muscle also felt much stronger afterwards. It was a weird feeling to walk around with parts of your body relaxed and supple, and others still brutally tight.
Usually after I "smashed and flossed" a muscle, it would be much more relaxed, but also sore. It would be warmer than the surrounding areas for hours, I suppose due to increased blood flow. But many muscles did eventually "normalize", as he calls it, meaning that after a few repetitions of the smashing (with a few days' break in between), it didn't hurt any more when I smashed it, or at least it hurt much less. It was also cool to do the stuff which loosened your ribs and your shoulder blades, and I was surprised at how much more mobility I got.
Starrett talks about mobilization as something painful and uncomfortable which you've just got to do because it's good for you (he recommends 15 minutes a day for maintenance). I actually find it mostly pleasurable, even though I don't in general take pleasure in pain (because yes, it can be painful). Part of it is that I control it myself, and part of it is that I can feel such immediate good results, but also it's a good source of endorphins.
Obviously if the root causes of stiffness are still there (poor posture, computer work, etc) then the stiffness will come creeping back after a few days. But removing it for a while gives you a window to exercise, and then you get so much more out of the exercise than if you're doing it when you're stiff and achy.
I can't express how much this means to me. I've walked around in a state of low-level ache and tension for years, which I usually don't complain about because that just feels like the norm, and then to be released from that--it feels incredible. And I love that it's something I can do myself at home with simple tools. It also impacts my life in that I'd been feeling like, oh, maybe I was too old to get a farm and I'm just not cut out for farm work because I get so stiff. But now I have a tool to address that, which will also make me better equipped to work out and gain strength.
And if you, too, are stiff and your muscles ache, do try this! I mean, unless you have underlying medical conditions that would make it a bad idea. (Also, did everybody else already know about this??)
This book has changed my life. I know I sound like I'm doing a paid promotion or like someone who's joined some weird cult, and I know the book has kind of a silly title, but it's true. My mind is blown.
The thing is, I've had problems with stiffness and muscle ache for years. I've been trying to deal with it by exercise and stretching, but while exercise is obviously good for a whole host of reasons, it doesn't solve the problem of stiffness/muscle ache. And stretching doesn't do much, either. I've also gone to a massage therapist, which does partly help, but it's temporary and also costs a lot of money. And while the guy is much better in the practical application of massage than others I've gone to, and I like him, still I'm reluctant to keep going to him because he does do some things with a large application of force and I doubt his medical judgment (to say the least). In the last few years he has begun to spout conspiracy theories about vaccines and only drinks warm water because, as a man, he needs the yang energy.
Anyway, I figured the stiffness and muscle ache was just middle age and at bottom I just had to suck it up. Turns out THERE ARE EFFECTIVE TOOLS TO ADDRESS THIS THAT I NEVER KNEW ABOUT! Also they're cheap and I can apply them myself! I honestly feel like someone prone to headaches who has just, at the age of 46, discovered the existence of painkillers. But better, because this isn't a drug.
I would never have come across this book if not for a friend, because it's mainly aimed at the crossfit and weightlifting communities and assumes that you know the meaning of terms like clean, snatch, and dip (which I do not), though it's clear that the author does intend it to have broad application. The first parts are about body mechanics and the proper way to perform various movements such as lifting something, doing a pushup, etc, so as to maximize the application of force and not injure yourself. This was enough of a revelation, as you can see in this post. But it was the next part, what he calls "mobilization", that really blew my mind. How did I not know this stuff before?? I think I am in general a fairly smart person, who reads widely and am curious to learn things, but I had never come across this. I guess it makes sense--I have zero overlap with the community where this came from, but I do wonder why none of the physical therapists I've gone to have mentioned it?
So what are these techniques? Well, the author calls it things like "smash and floss", but I would describe most of it as a sort of deep, targeted self-massage using tools like balls and cylinder-shaped objects. You dwell for a prolonged period of time on one spot with a fairly strong pressure while rocking back and forth perpendicularly to the fiber of the muscle, while flexing the muscle and then relaxing, or moving the limb such that the layers of muscle slide over each other. Then when you feel a change, you move on to the next spot. There are detailed instructions, with pictures, about how to access each muscle and which tools are best, and also which kinds of problems and pain are associated with stiffness in which muscle, and what kind of mobility and working positions you will improve by working on it. Besides the self-massage, other techniques involves wrapping a flat rubber band around a limb or joint to compress it, and then moving the limb/joint through its range of motion (weirdly, this is called "voodoo flossing"; I have still not tried it), and setting joints in their proper position (not in a violent way, but by for example tying a rubber band high on your leg under the hip and pulling against it).
Starrett has a Ph D in physical therapy, so he does have formal education in the area. But because this is far from my area of knowledge, I did spend some time researching whether there was criticism against his methods. I found no criticism against the "smash and floss" stuff, though of course it's possible that it exists and I just didn't find it. I dived a bit deeper into the "voodoo flossing", and read the abstracts of the scientific articles I could find on it, including several review articles. Seems it has good effects on joint pain and rehabilitation, and I couldn't find anything on adverse effects (with the caveat that you shouldn't wrap the band too tightly and be sure to remove it after two minutes). I did find criticism against one thing in the body mechanics section, which is that Starrett claims that squats should be done by keeping your feet parallell and pointed forward, while your knees go out towards the sides. Whereas other people claim that this can cause injury and you should angle your feet out a bit. I'll be careful with that, then. And do tell me if you know more about criticism on Starrett's methods.
So what are my experiences so far, after about a month of working on this? I was very stiff due to some minor injuries and strains, partly because of bad decisions in farm work. So I've spent a lot of time on this, going through my whole body. The first day I worked on my butt, my trapezius and my neck, and there was immediate relief in those areas. My neck was entirely relaxed afterwards, whereas stretching does absolutely nothing for it! My butt muscles, which had been really tight, were also much more relaxed, and as Starrett said, the muscle also felt much stronger afterwards. It was a weird feeling to walk around with parts of your body relaxed and supple, and others still brutally tight.
Usually after I "smashed and flossed" a muscle, it would be much more relaxed, but also sore. It would be warmer than the surrounding areas for hours, I suppose due to increased blood flow. But many muscles did eventually "normalize", as he calls it, meaning that after a few repetitions of the smashing (with a few days' break in between), it didn't hurt any more when I smashed it, or at least it hurt much less. It was also cool to do the stuff which loosened your ribs and your shoulder blades, and I was surprised at how much more mobility I got.
Starrett talks about mobilization as something painful and uncomfortable which you've just got to do because it's good for you (he recommends 15 minutes a day for maintenance). I actually find it mostly pleasurable, even though I don't in general take pleasure in pain (because yes, it can be painful). Part of it is that I control it myself, and part of it is that I can feel such immediate good results, but also it's a good source of endorphins.
Obviously if the root causes of stiffness are still there (poor posture, computer work, etc) then the stiffness will come creeping back after a few days. But removing it for a while gives you a window to exercise, and then you get so much more out of the exercise than if you're doing it when you're stiff and achy.
I can't express how much this means to me. I've walked around in a state of low-level ache and tension for years, which I usually don't complain about because that just feels like the norm, and then to be released from that--it feels incredible. And I love that it's something I can do myself at home with simple tools. It also impacts my life in that I'd been feeling like, oh, maybe I was too old to get a farm and I'm just not cut out for farm work because I get so stiff. But now I have a tool to address that, which will also make me better equipped to work out and gain strength.
And if you, too, are stiff and your muscles ache, do try this! I mean, unless you have underlying medical conditions that would make it a bad idea. (Also, did everybody else already know about this??)
