Being a personal trainer in NYC, I’m used to traveling short distances all around Manhattan but currently I’m writing on a train from Milan to Rome. I don’t normally get to travel long distances so this was my first “red eye” flight (7.5hrs) in over 7 years (last was to Japan a grueling 14 hour flight).
This is my second day here in Italy and my body is slowly adjusting. For me the difficulty has been trying to drink enough water, I’ve been having to limit myself because the amount of site seeing and the fear of not knowing where the closest location to a bathroom is…
The lack of sleep, sitting down for a long flight, walking around for hours at time, eating nothing but carbs, on carbs, on carbs, topped with oil and fatty meats :p and lack of water has really taken a toll on body.
Luckily I remembered to bring a lacrosse ball!
As soon as we got back to apartment I was rolling and stretching out nonstop! My main concern was my lower and upper back tightening up due to the change in time and diet. However a little diligence in stretching and rolling goes a long way. Even as I’m writing this on the train from Milan to Rome I have the ball out and using it on my hamstrings, hips, and back (upper and lower).
Writing on the Trenitalia
Pretty nice views on this ride.
With that said, I thought I’d share some quick tips on how to use the lacrosse ball while you’re traveling.
Calf
I’m used to walking around NYC and hopping from train to train but Milan was a different story. There were so many cobble stone streets and tiny little side walks with tourist everywhere I felt like I was playing frogger. Clearly rolling out your calf would be a good idea, especially if you plan on hitting the gym later.
How To:
Place the ball underneath your calf and press down or roll around.
If you this is difficult for you, another option would be to be seated, then place the ball behind your knee, and then bring your heel to your glute. This will enclose the ball between your calf and hamstring and gives you a great release!
Foot
The foot is always in contact with the ground, so it’s important to take care of it. I’m sure most of you guys know this but I wanted to emphasize it especially since it’s connected to so many muscles via “Superficial Backline”
As you can see the foot is connected to the calf, hamstring, back, and all the way to the upper brow region. Simply rolling out your foot can help release tension through the calves, hamstring, and maybe all the way to the lower back. The concept of tensegrity plays a big role here, we briefly talked about it HERE.
And if you’re on a long plane or train ride, it’s super simple to do too!
Upper Back
If you don’t have an empty wall to use, simply placing the ball underneath your traps and laying down on it is a great way to really smash the tension out. Remember once you find a sticky point, press down on it, hold, then move your arm through a range of motion- side to side, up and down, diagonal etc..
Hamstring Seated Mobility
The picture says it all, place the ball underneath the hamstring and then go at it. I like to shift my weight side to side and front to back. Once I feel that I’ve loosened it a good bit then I’ll find another sticky point and repeat. I’m doing this right now as I’m typing 🙂
Upperback Seated Mobility
This is the same thing it’s a bit more awkward but it’s simple. Place the ball around the muscles of the upper back and/or lower then press down. It’s super simple and no one will notice, if you’re a bit more daring you can add in some range of motion and adjust side to side but that’s on you…just have your headphones on and ignore the other patrons. :p.
That’s it for today, so if you’re traveling for Thanksgiving I hope that this will be helpful!
Stay limber,
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