Fascia training
What is fascia?
Under our skin there is a thin, but super strong and elastic connective tissue membrane. This is the deep fascia, a kind of wetsuit under our skin. Almost all our muscles attach to this membrane and ensure that this membrane can become taut. In this way, the membrane provides stability throughout the body. The membrane is also elastic, which allows us to move freely, resiliently and very efficiently. You can feel this elasticity when you walk briskly with long steps and a good arm swing and walking this way costs you much less energy than strolling. Below are some basic training courses, for more specific training please contact one fysio therapist. To stay in good condition, fascia needs (a lot of) exercise and preferably with as much variation as possible. Sitting still makes it weak and dries out, making it stiff. The latter is sometimes attributed to old age, but probably has more to do with insufficient exercise. Qualities of healthy fascia are: supple, hydrated, strong and resilient. To clean the fascia To keep your body supple and hydrated, exercises with foam rollers and rubber ('fascia') balls are very suitable. You can find them via this page: fascia exercises. General strength exercises are suitable to strengthen the fascia. It is good to remember that the adaptation of the muscles is faster than that of fascia. A gentle build-up is therefore necessary to prevent overload. Exercises to promote resilience are listed below.
Training resilience is probably more important than training muscle strength.
With more resilience you move more efficiently, easier and more pleasantly and it reduces the risk of injuries and overload. Good shock absorption is also more important for a car than the number of horsepower.
You can train resilience!
Characteristic of fascia training is that you do not train locally, but always the entire body and that you focus on resilience.
Three very effective forms of fascia training are:
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power walking
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jumping rope
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clubbell training
Gradually the structure of fascia will change, but this positive adjustment takes time, the effect is expected in months, not weeks. But pleasure in exercise can immediately increase ;-)!
1. Power walking
Do power walking (also known as 'fascia walking'): walk very briskly (the pace you cannot increase without running) with a good arm swing (no bag or cell phone in your hand!) with maximum resilience. Lengthen your spine by making yourself 1 cm longer. Walking like this for 10 minutes can make you feel more energetic and relaxed. Small problems in your musculoskeletal system can now also come to light. If you build up slowly, this will probably improve through adjustment of the fascia. If not:see a fascia therapist.
Fascia walking
2. Jump rope
Jumping rope is perhaps the best way to improve your fitness in a short time. It also promotes the elasticity of your tendons and fascia. Jumping without a rope is also good, but with a rope is better! The tension on the fascia is slightly more, which ensures better stability. And at the same time the 'core-dination' also improves. Build it up slowly, every other day for the first few weeks so that there is sufficient time for recovery. Once your tendons become more resilient again, you can do it every day.
3. Clubbell training
Probably the best way to train the deep fascia is with clubbells. When you start doing this, you will immediately feel the effect. A clubbell is top heavy: the end is heavier than the handle. When you exercise, you become slightly out of balance, which optimally activates your posture and balance system. This ensures maximum training effect.
Below you will find a number of exercises. You can also do the exercises with a hammer or a large bottle partly filled with water.
Clubbells are available via the internet. We recommend the clubbells with a red button or the rubber clubbells. If you are not (yet) that strong, it is best to start with a 2.5 kg clubbell, otherwise a 5 kg clubbell is recommended. And there are also clubbells of 20 kg for the real enthusiast. Lighter clubbells are suitable for fast movements, heavier ones for slower ones. With fast movement the emphasis is on making connective tissue more elastic, with slow movements on making it stronger. Both make sense!
Jumping rope
Clubbell light
"It's not so much about core stability as core dination"
Club bell medium
Clubbell heavy
Club bell extra
Clubbell extra 2
Practical tips and links:
If you want to maintain a good basic FITness, you could do the following 5 exercises:
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jump rope every day
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20 minutes of power walking 3 times a week
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Do exercises with a clubbell twice a week, 5 minutes is enough to improve your fascia: see High Intensity Training
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mini yoga and/or full fluid exercise every day.
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dance to at least 1 song every day
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Fun challenge: try to jump 10 times in one day for 10 days in a row