Balance is delighted to announce that we now have a Computrainer. Bring your bike down to Balance hook it up to the trainer and ride up the Alpe d’Huez!

The Ford Ironman World Championships in Hawaii provided fantastic results for CompuTrainer pro riders. For the second year in a row 8 of computrainer trained athletes made it into the top 10 (5 women and 3 men). Even more exciting was the fact that 3 of those ladies made it into the Top 4 – Mirinda Carfrae (2nd), Leanda Cave (3rd) and Rachel Joyce (4th).
Pete Jacobs from Austaralia is quoted to say:

“On the Computrainer, Your legs don’t get a break. It’s not like doing four hours on the road. You are not getting a break and you are doing constant wattage and when I feel good I pop the wattage up and when I feel lousy I just cruise but I’m still getting really good cadence and muscle memory. Much more than on the road. ”

Take your indoor bike training to a new level with the CompuTrainer – a state-of-the-art indoor bicycle training technology that improves cycling performance while keeping the indoor rider challenged and happy. The CompuTrainer is the leading electronic bicycle ergometer for maximum performance improvement, testing, and enjoyable indoor training.

Benefits of the CompuTrainer:

Increases your cycling power by 20 to 30% and your speed by 2 to 4 MPH. Whatever your starting point, you’ll improve significantly.

It sets the industry standard for accuracy (± 2.5%), power (1500 watts), quality, and service lifetime (10+ years).
Exclusive performance features like SpinScan™ electronic pedal stroke analysis and Adjustable Aerodynamic Drag Factor are unique to CompuTrainer.

Call Balance on 020 7627 2308 to inquire about using the Computrainer.

Sports injury and orthopaedic rehab at Balance Performance Physiotherapy

If you’re unfortunate enough to suffer an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) rupture as Lucas Leiva did last week – the Brazil international will miss the rest of the season having injured his left knee during Tuesday’s Carling Cup quarter-final victory at Chelsea – as a professional footballer reconstructive surgery is essential to return to the game.

If you’re not a pro but the injury results in your knee continuing to irregularly give way, an operation to reconstruct the ACL is really your only option, especially if you aspire to have an active lifestyle. At Balance of course we actively encourage you to ask for more and expect more from yourself. However whether pro athlete or not the operation is only effective if followed with quality rehabilitation executed with discipline and patience. Ensure your rehab guides you far enough down the road for you to achieve a complete recovery, give you absolute confidence to return to your sport and has provided you with resilience to future injury (either to the same knee or another structure that becomes vulnerable due to inadequate rehab). Of course there is no such thing as invulnerability in a human but to reiterate – you should be asking more of yourself and more of your physio or sports therapist. Do not pull up short!

Hamstring grafts are the grafts of choice these days but patella tendon grafts can also be used and do well.

Here’s the kind of schedule you’d expect going into rehab post operatively, which is initially quite straightforward:

Weeks 1-4 focussed on range of movement.

Return to sport at 5-6 months and contact sport soon afterwards.

This timeline is dependant on the quality of rehab, the individuals discipline and motivation, their unique circumstances and complications.

Most surgeons would like to see their work relatively protected for 9 months post op.

Balance got world class judo player Winnie Gordon competing in European champs at 5.5 months but that is rare. He went in to surgery on with a good level of preinjury knee strength which gave him a useful functional reserve.

Like every injury ones success is dependent on quality of training, movement, control and motivation.

At Balance we use tools that provide results, consequently we have a vast array of “toys” to work on specific weaknesses identified in our clients. There are some tools that we use over and over again, equipment that makes rehab more effective for a variety of reasons. one such reason is the ability to introduce something as early within the rehab process as possible to familiarise a client with the tool and also because we use equipment that is scalable – it can be used with more or less intensity depending on the stage of development a client has achieved.

For example Trigger Point Performance Therapy (TPT) and Alter-G partial weight bearing treadmill are used at very early stages in ACL rehab, CrossCore180 and kettlebells arent far behind. We make use of all of our available space: in Clapham and Fulham we have 1,000s of square feet of space to utilise and matted areas for essential ground work.

When an individual has focussed on prevention (prehab) prior to their current injury (remember there is no such thing as invulnerable) their subsequent recovery is much faster. Such prehab involves a mindful approach to movement skills, joint mobility, intelligent recovery following practice/training/competition: sports massage, self massage (Trigger Point Performance Therapy), hydration and nutrition, good quality sleep, stress management (mental and emotional).

As for Lucas, he and Liverpool are now considering when last season’s player of the year should undergo surgery.

The Balance team are very proud to have been working with Claire for a while now and have helped her come back from several problems. But don’t let us tell you about it, hear it straight from Claire. Follow the link to read the whole article on Famously Fit’s website.

<a href="http://www.famouslyfit.com/celebrity-fitness/claire-bennett-no-2-great-britain-fencer-injury-rehab-and-balance-performance"

Graham and Jonathan are both working all week at the ATP Tennis Finals at the O2 this week. Both Graham and Jonathan have been working in professional tennis for over a decade now. Yet their passion and commitment to working with high level athletes continues.

While Graham works all year on the ATP travelling the world, he continues to maintain a part time clinical list at Balance where he is able to share his knowledge with the team as Clinical Director and clients can benefit from his expertise when they see him in his capacity as a Consultant Physiotherapist. We wish Jonathan and Graham and all the players the best for the last tournament of the season.

In an enduring partnership that has lasted longer than most marriages Graham Anderson and Jonathan Lewis are at it again for the eleveth year in a row to ensure the stars of Wimbledon are ready to perform at their best.

The expertise gained through working with elite sportsmen over such a long period of time is invaluable and that knowledge and experience floods into Balance where the whole team benefits. The team approach to working that encapsulates what Balance is about is also evident at Wimbledon where our expert bio-mechanical podiatrist Mick Habgood has been called into service to see one of the players that Graham was treating.

We wish Graham and Jonathan and the players all the best for the final week

This fascinating course is aimed at anyone who wants to use Trigger Point Therapy in their professional capacity. You might be a Physiotherapist, Osteopath, Chiropractor, Sports Therapist, Massage Therapist, Personal Trainer, Sports Coach or even an Athlete. If you work with people who want to perform better, recover faster and prevent injuries from occuring then this course should be on your radar.

It is being taken by Jonathan Lewis (above) who is not only the Uk’s sole Trigger Point Therapy Master Trainer but also a formidable knowledge on rehabilitation and training methods to ensure that individuals develop not only agility, speed or strength but resilience which is key to the concept of Trigger Point Therapy, so you are guaranteed an afternoon of the highest quality teaching

It comprises of 4.5 hours of CPD and runs from 1pm-6pm on Friday the 17th of June. Places are obviously limited so book soon to avoid disappointment, course fees are £145. To book and reserve your place call Balance on 020 76272308

POSE Running workshop on Sunday May 22 at Balance.

Balance Performance Physiotherapy is delighted to announce that Naeem Akram the “Running Engineer” is going to be back at Balance next Sunday to host another of his exceptional POSE running workshops. POSE is the only method in the world scientifically proven to reduce knee impact by 50%, used worldwide by CrossFit. Naeem is not only a well respected authority on this technique but also a great speaker and teacher, we would thoroughly recommend this course to anyone who enjoys running but wants to train in confidence and reduce the stress on their body and reduce injuries.

To book and pay please follow the link directly to Naeem’s website http://runningengineer.com/

I risk going on a bit too much about the WarMachine or Crosscore 180. But it represents so much of what Balance Performance is about. Practicing movement to achieve functional movement that is fluid, flowing, accurate, precise, full of intent and purpose. Functional movement is dynamic, rotational, variable in speed and intensity: we recommend use of bodyweight, dynamic resistance (kettlebells), and bodyweight plus eg. the WarMachine.

I was asked by a journalist from Health Club Management about the difference between the WarMachine and CrossCore 180. For some WarMachine seems a bit too confrontational so prefer the name CrossCore 180. The military, MMA, combat sport and strength/conditioning coach community have few issues with the WarMachine. Schools and colleges, sports teams, commercial fitness gyms, physiotherapists, rehab facilities and pilates studios feel CrossCore 180 “Turn your Game Around” is more appropriate for their clients. At Balance Performance where we have a mix of clients following a path of rehabilitation and those focussed on improving sports/functional performance right from the outset we quickly educate them that the WarMachine that hangs in our centre is accessible to all!

Whatever label you choose the challenge of “pulling the pin” remains. Rotational movement is available once control of simple symmetrical movement has been achieved – rotation/spin/twist and turn is what the human animal does and needs to maintain and improve.

The Lissom Technique is the truly innovative creation of two exceptionally gifted specialists in human movment and part of the Balance strength and conditioning team Julien Diaz & Jason Prog.

Lissom is a free flowing movement technique that encompasses a combination of simple but challenging moves and stretches to build core strength, flexibility, balance and endurance.  The movmements used in Lissom stem from movments which have been in use for centuries through dance, martial arts and most importantly play. Lissom takes technicaly difficult moves and breaks them down into managable and enjoyable routines.

The Lissom technique  has been born out of the need to challenge both the physical and mental elements of our bodies.  Our bodies are designed to move in a free flowing and dynamic way, yet in todays society we have become very rigid in our movements as a result of the computer generation.  

Using body resisted exercises is both physically and mentally challenging.   It is this type of movement which really challenges the body’s stability and coordination and strength.  Using precise techniques to achieve good alignment through movement brings fluidity, stability, flexibility and strength.  Overall, there is a feeling of body empowerment, liberating your body and mind. 

There are two Lissom classes at Balance at 7am and at 7pm every monday, please call to book or for more information.

Race walking is the only discipline of athletics in which consistency of movement quality determines the overall result - you may be disqualified until you cross the finish line

Balance Performance Physiotherapy Sports Physiotherapist Raphael Rinaldi was invited by the Australian Institute of Sport to support a group of 29 world class race walkers during a warm weather training camp in Canberra, Australia.

The group included Olympic medallists, England’s Commonwealth Champion Johanna Jackson, IAAF World Cup winners and world-c…lass race walkers joining the IAAF Race Challenge circuit that takes place around the world from March to September each year.

A former italian national champion Raph merged his knowledge on race walking technical demands with his extensive physiotherapy background in order to optimally manage athlete’s presenting problems throughout the camp and offer long term performance enhancement plans by working alongside coaching, medical and sport science staff.