WOW what a great weekend eh! How did you spend yours?

Were you learning?

Relaxing in the sun?

Seeing family?

Doing some crazy obstacle racing event?

One of the important lessons I have learned like most of us, from getting it wrong sometimes, is to get a balance of all of the above by remembering these 2 things I would like to share with you;

<strong>The 4 Legs of Life</strong>

The ‘quantity’ of each of these may differ for each of us but we should all be mindful to consider how happy we are in each of these areas and maybe what we could do to improve the ones we neglect;

1.Family

2. Healthy nutrition

3. Exercise/recovery

4. A job you love

<strong>The 3 x R’s</strong>

Have you ever considered that ‘recovery’ comes in different forms and we actually may need a balance of each?

<em>Rest</em> - Take a minute - this could be sitting down for a moment or stretching your legs if you work at a desk.

<em>Relax</em> - Socialise, chill with friends or family or a bit of tv, something that takes your mind away from work.

<em>Recuperation</em> - Sleep - plenty of it where possible!

For me this weekend was for enjoying my job and so after 2 days teaching knee &amp; foot biomechanics in London, I spent Saturday with 7 fantastically passionate and knowledgeable professionals discussing iMoveFreely® techniques for preparing or participants for our group exercise classes.

All thanks to Jayne Nicholls, GXTraining Ltd who is our partner for this workshop.

Then the awesomely sunny Sunday was another IBA Discover Day workshop with the members and we had a guest with us too, since all professionals are welcome!

Thought I would share our IBA Discover Day workshop day with you so you might see how much there is to take way from these mini workshops - including CPD’s from both REPS and STA.

10:00-10:10am - Welcome &amp; plan of the day - attendees were asked to write down what they wanted to gain from the workshop as part of registration as usual .

10:10-10:20am - Introductions - finding out who we are networking with.

10:20-10:30am - Up Dates on partnerships &amp; collaborations this year that offer IBA members special rates.

We also discussed the list of new one day workshops Biomechanics Eduction is hoping to put together to expand their portfolio.

Advanced Movement Analysis

Tennis Biomechanics

Swimming Biomechanics

Running Biomechanics

Cycling Biomechanics

Olympic Lifting Biomechanics

Band workshop for equipment specialised function drills

10:30-10:35am - We discussed all the benefits of being an IBA member including;

IBA Discovery Day workshops (Aug 20th Lboro Uni, Nov 12th Scotland)

Mentor support

*£150 voucher towards your education (*upon purchase of a 2 day pelvic biomechanics workshop)

Our cool branded T shirt - one for every year of your membership!

Discounted rate &amp; priority access to TMC

Priority access to events, with opportunities to shadow present &amp; demo screens

Discounts on partner courses, products &amp; equipment

10:35-11:00 - Business section - This is where we discuss questions relating to business, stern up, marketing, selling and promoting what we do. We considered 3 questions put to us by our marketing specialist, Chris Wright of www.Level10Living.co.uk;

Do you want to take your business to the next level?

Do you want to earn more?

Do you struggle to get new clients?

Chris has become an invaluable asset to Biomechanics Education ltd, to support our learners beyond their technical skill training. Many of our learners are (or are looking to become) self employed and feel in need of more evidence based ideas and techniques on exactly how to market their new skills, how to stand out in their area, charge more, be happier, an increased confidence in what they are doing and, the much coveted, MORE FREE TIME!

The techniques Chris teaches have done that for me and he is now also offering to our academy learners.

11:00-11:10am - This was our technical section were we discuss theoretical anatomy and technical issues with clients.

Question 1:  “Can clients get worse before they get better?”.

In response we talked about the fact that if someones intrinsic biomechanics have been out of alignment, they have had a twisted or rotate pelvis due to compensations from their lifestyle for example their brain may have become familiar with this asymmetry and so not sensed a problem as such.

Thus when the pelvis is de-rotated, or function is corrected the brain senses a change and alteration in loading through the joints and tissue this can potentially mean the client feels different, off centre, or even a little more uncomfortable temporarily. With close monitoring and re-assessments confidence should be restored for both practitioner and client as measurements improve. If not refer onto GP or a therapist who can offer further tests.

The other consideration might be that while you may have prescribed an exercise, and particularly when its a very low grade one, the client might perceive this as the cause of their discomfort. However upon further questioning it become obvious they didn’t account for other things that are more likely influence our biomechanics like;

new shoes

an event the day before

carrying heavy shopping

sleeping funny or in a strange bed

a day of gardening

a heavy night out

So we should always set up an appropriate level of expectation for our clients from our consultation and then our continuous re-assessing, questioning and evaluating of all the things they do that can influence how they feel.

Question 2: “what direction should our feet point during the squat?”.

While we did discuss this, there is a Juicemail on its way that explores this very point. However I also suggested that individuals might be able to form an idea for this during the next section as we look at foot and ankle biomechanics.

11:10-12:00pm - This was our practical section and of this workshop the emphasis was on foot biomechanics.

We began by looking at the main bones and joints:

Calcaneous - heel bone

Talus - sits onto of the calcaneous and underneath the fibula and tibia.

Subtalar joint - the joint surface between the talus and the calcaneous.

We discussed the tri- planar motions of pronation and supination and the fact we NEED BOTH to happen:

Pronation = dorsiflexion, eversion, abduction is for shock absorbtion

Supination = plantarflexion, inversion, adduction is for propulsion.

Also the potentially misguiding phrase 'OVER pronation' might be more accurately described as 'LATE supination'.

We practiced the Jack’s test of the windlass mechanism which demonstrates whether your clients foot has the CAPACITY to re-supinate.

12:00-12:30pm LUNCH BREAK

12:30-1:20pm - Back to the foot and we looked at the alignment test. This uses the 2 talus ‘heads’ to locate a neutral position on the client while weight bearing. Once we find that ‘neutral’ position, we ask the client to relax and see what movement occurs at the foot and ankle.

We also discussed what could be done (if anything) by an exercise professional to contribute to improving foot/ankle function. With clini-bands we tried some simply but very challenging exercises which one of the attendees found virtually impossible due to his limitations so we adapted it into something he should be able to manage and to improve his foots ability to pronate - since he is a ‘supinator foot type’ and lacking an ability to dissipate shock (pronation) during the gait cycle.

1:20-1:35pm - We shared some of our best case studies/client experiences and looked at some 'before and after' shots of some athletes who have been through the iMoveFreely® programme with a qualified Biomechanics Coach™.

1:35-1:50pm - At this point we put 2 very important dates in our diaries - Friday 7th Oct Biomechanics Coach™ training camp 1-5pm &amp; Saturday 8th Oct The Movement Convention 9-6pm both held at Loughborough University.

1:50-2:00pm - The shop opened and orders were placed for branded clothing and quadrant mats.

This workshop ended way too soon again even though the sun was still shining outside!

Would you like to join us for our next IBA Discovery Day workshop Sat 20th August at Loughborough University for free?

<a href="https://www.www.biomechanicseducation.com/membership/intrinsic-biomechanics-association-membership/">FIND OUT MORE</a>