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Tag: Germany

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By admin Blog, News, Tour Support , , , ,

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

By admin Blog, News, Tour Support , , , ,

Germany 2014, Blog – 1.

I thought I would take some time out and do up a quick blog post about my work trip to Cologne with the Australia Athletics team to date.

I am at the end of my second week here now and feel the last week will go very quickly. However, I think the workload will ramp up a bit more as a few of the athletes here will be upping their training loads as they go through some high volume weeks and need additional soft tissue management, and the number of athletes is due to increase.

The first two weeks had gone relatively smoothly with a slowish start with only a couple of athletes here when I arrived and gradually building by the end of the first week. I mostly treated runners during the first week ranging from specialists in the 400m up to the 1500m. I always enjoy learning on the job. The different training backgrounds and rehab protocols from previous injuries etc., that these athletes have completed made for some good conversation in the treatment room (or hotel room in this case). I will definitely be heading home with some new corrective exercise progressions to implement at the clinic with my patients.

The treatments haven’t varied too much from the typical treatment sessions back home at the clinic at SportsMyo, but I would have to say that there has been a bit more focussed work on treatment through the abdominals and obliques than usual. This is because these muscles play such a huge role for the runners while stabilising their torso when running at speed and can cop a beating at the track, so management and controlling the muscle tone through this area is critical in preventing a couple of running specific injuries.

I have also managed to get out and look around the town here in Cologne on a few different morning’s. There are some very impressive buildings around, including the main cathedral in the city ‘The Dom’, which stands out from a long way away. I am yet to have a look inside, but I will definitely try to get back and have a look inside before I leave next Sunday. I also had the opportunity to have a short river cruise down the Rhine river and look through the Ludwig museum and Olympic museum. I have also been over the track for a few training sessions, seeing what the athletes are putting themselves through.

The second week was good, with a few more athletes and their coaches arriving in town. Mostly jumpers, so good to get some different body types and issues to work with on the treatment table. The good thing about working within athletics is that you get so many different sports within the ‘athletics’ umbrella and many different personalities. Most of the athletes will train in the morning’s at the local university nearby, so the treatments will usually start around 12ish and go through till dinner.

The soccer world cup is huge over here, so I managed to head into town last night with the rest of the Aussie’s to check out the 2nd Germany game. There was people everywhere and plenty of atmosphere. With most athletes completing training sessions the following day, we headed back to the hotel to watch the second half from the lobby downstairs. It was a crazy second half, with the game ending 2 – 2. Hopefully, not too booked up tomorrow night so we can watch the Aus vs Spain match.

For my last week here, I will be primarily treating from the hotel room and, hopefully, get out a couple of mornings where I can have a bit more of a look around at the remainder of the tourist sites and try to get to a few more training sessions.

I will leave my next post for once I touch back down in Australia.

Toby