Stretching is the most effective self-recovery technique you can do to make a very significant contribution to the adaptive process you seek in training: increased fitness. Because your physiology adapts to training, a disciplined active recovery program is essential. No one ever became stronger during a workout, it is in the recovery period when we become fitter. Following periods of hard work, fatigue and an initial decrease in performance occur before the body becomes stronger or more efficient. However, this occurs only if time for recovery is provided. Focusing on the recovery of the structural systems is critical. In runners, limitations of the structural system (tendons, bone, fascia) to withstand the rigors of the training load necessary to peak the metabolic systems (energy production) is often their demise. Stretching sessions before and particularly after light recovery workouts are more productive when unencumbered by the tightness that would otherwise occur following hard workouts. In this way your stretching efforts go further toward elongating connective tissue and helping tendons and ligaments heal and grow stronger. A good indication of when your structural system is recovered and ready for another hard workout is when the stiffness from the last hard workout is absent. Stretching before and after every workout is critical to joint stability and structural integrity. Stretching prepares the body for exercise and minimizes the damage created during workouts. Stretching after workouts wrings the waste products out of the muscles and returns muscles to their normal resting length therefore avoiding maladaptive muscle and tendon shortening. The metabolic system can be overtaxed and weakened not strengthened with inappropriate balance of stress and recovery. Over the last thirty five years in the results driven world of elite athletics, and every day with clients just like you, we know that the essential foundation of the Forster prescription for exercise is the Forster Structure Program© Stretching for Recovery: the key component of healthy resilient joints and muscles. Discover the safest and most effective stretching techniques to help you perform better, prevent injury, improve your range of motion, and aid in your recovery from exercise.

Using your own self massage tools is like having a physical therapist in your home. A healthy athlete must learn to adapt to the stress of activities which cause inflammation, scarring and matting down muscle fibers. Without proper massage techniques, you will experience overuse injuries. These injuries caused by areas on the body that bind up, so focus on the recovery of the structural systems is critical. With self massage tools, you can break down adhesions and milk the waste products out of your muscles. In endurance athlete’s, limitations of the structural system (tendons, bone, fascia) must withstand the rigors of the training load necessary to peak the metabolic systems (energy production.) Additionally, the metabolic system can be overtaxed and weakened, not strengthened, with an imbalance of stress and recovery time. PHASE IV has brings you the best self massage and recovery tools in the marketplace!

The critical importance of recovery to your fitness cannot be overstated. It is difficult for some competitive athletes to grasp that all exercise, even the most intense speed and strength work, is futile if time for recovery is not observed. You may feel like you’re training hard, but unless you are actively recovering, you are not improving. It is during recovery that your fitness evolves. In fact, you may be over-training and fatiguing your body to the point where your fitness is stalled or regressing. We will support and counsel you through your recovery periods, just as we’ve done for Olympians and dozens of professional athletes. Recovery is accomplished though many techniques and therapies at PHASE IV, including: Advanced Therapeutic Massage, Assisted Stretching, Rehabilitation, Icing, and Nutritional Counseling