Germany 2014, Blog – 2.

Now that I am back in Melbourne and have had a chance to defrost, I thought I would take the time to write a wrap-up of my last week in Germany.

The last week had a bit more happening than the first two weeks, with a few more athletes arriving in Cologne. So I was now working with a good spread of athletes, including 110m hurdles, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, long jump, triple jump, and pole vault.

The good thing with working with these athletes is how well they know the ins and outs of their bodies and what is required for them to continue pushing their bodies to the limit and ensure continuous improvement.

At this level of sport, it does not take much for someone to overdo it or under recover and be in trouble.

For full-time elite athletes, the following list is a brief insight into just a couple of the things they do weekly to recover from training and competition and remain injury-free and on track.

• Manual therapy (e.g. Myotherapy, Physio, Sports Massage) 2-3 x week.
• Ice baths – after most track sessions
• Self-treatment – (e.g. Foam roller, self trigger point work or using other treatment tools)
• Active recovery – additional low-intensity sessions in the afternoon with the focus of assisting the body to recover.

The above recovery strategies are typical for most athletes at an elite level; however, these athletes tend to use the ice baths more than athletes like road cyclists at the elite level who might do more active recovery following long stages on tour.

I managed to get out and see most of the local tourist sites on a couple of the mornings in the last week, which was good, so I definitely felt like I was starting to know my way around the place by the time I left.

Looking back on the three weeks away now and trying to think of the trip’s highlights, it is a little hard to pinpoint it to one specific event or day as the whole lot was an enjoyable experience. I was fortunate enough to work with some great athletes and coaches that I will be taking a lot from and implementing at the clinic at SportsMyo now that I am back. Still, I think watching Jeff Riseley take a new Australian record while racing in the Czech Republic while I was eating tea with his coach and training partners was up the top of the list. His time over the 1km was 2.16.09!!!

Hopefully, there could be another Australian record on the cards in the coming month from the Cologne group, with Alex Rowe going close overnight in Belgium missing out by .34 of a second in the 800m but recording a cracking PB and getting closer to the current record set at the 1968 Olympics!

It is good to be back home now, apart from the weather, which has been pure filth. Still, I am looking forward to the upcoming month getting back into it at the clinic again. A full month of action-packed sports viewing with the world cup final, Tour de France and then seeing some cracking performances from the Cologne crew in Glasgow at the Commonwealth Games!

Toby