Accidental Athletes Sore Legs

Environmentally Friendly Leg Recovery-Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist

Accidental Athletes and Aching Legs Leg recovery using an environmentally friendly recovery system What is an ‘accidental athlete’? An ‘accidental athlete’ is someone who suffers fatigued legs caused by an occupation or hobby-those with them have had no training or recovery plan to deal with their short or long term effects See www.hazards.org/standing What is an intentional athlete? Someone who deliberately sets out to be a competitive athlete-they are motivated to train and compete in a sport-they usually know their bodies quite well and have recovery plans in place A group of ‘intentional athletes’ that suffer from similar problems as ‘accidental athletes’ are ultra marathon runner and walkers

These are 2 people who have just been running for 3 days around a running track in all weathers They suffer from sore feet, sore legs, swollen ankles, stiffness, wasted muscles, muscle cramps, tiredness, mental fatigue, restless legs, sore skin, night pains, muscle spasm, muscle wastage, swollen ankles, hyperthermia, hypothermia, temper tantrums, vomiting, food sensitivity, allergies, rashes, loss of judgement Recovery of leg fatigue Non-medically related aching legs, are caused by too much standing, sitting, walking, can be a health danger and while they can’t be fixed because they are usually an occupational related cause, and this is ongoing They may be relieved on a temporary basis but can’ be cured because like the ultra competitor the person with them has to get up and do the same thing on an ongoing daily basis www.hazards.org/standing Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan 1 http://www.aching-legs.org/accidental_athletes.html

Environmentally Friendly Leg Recovery-Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist Aching legs fatigued muscles and recovery However the aching fatigued legs and muscles are developed whether you are a non-athlete working at a job that causes them on a daily basis or an athlete who runs around the world, or someone with poor leg circulation from any of these-everyone has the same thing in common and that is how to recover from these The secret to leg recovery

The calf muscle pump The calf muscles act as the motor for a pump to take it from the feet back to the body against gravity through the venous system where it is re-nourished and recirculated-but to be working they have to move.

The active way to help the legs recover is to learn how to work with the muscles If you can use your hands you have the tools to do the job of recovery

Recovery from leg fatigue or ongoing leg maintenance Conventional massage systems Conventional massage systems are both user, patient and problem specific-they can be divided into basic groups-sports massage-relaxation massage-remedial massage and many sub groups and sub sub groups-ways of approaching what they are designed for are dependent on the teacher, where and how they are developed and taught. They come under different names and have different themes with different ways of using the hands to work on the muscles and all need quite specialized teaching to learn and use This makes them difficult for the average person to use easily and it is this that makes them difficult to use in ultra marathon where time and space are limited Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan 2 http://www.aching-legs.org/accidental_athletes.html

Environmentally Friendly Leg Recovery-Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist They need massage oils, towels, massage tables and associated equipment to be carried and used-all this takes up time, and room and washing and cleaning because the conditions out at an event or running for many days in all weathers are not usually very hygienic On top of this, at the events I go to there is just only me and to work for days straight, even just at a 24 hour run and looking after 40 odd competitors using conventional methods means I would not last too long before I died of exhaustion

My working area at this 24 hour event consisted of the chair next to the bottles-I looked after the team and worked and slept on it-the airline had lost all my clothes and other stuff-if I used conventional methods that would have been impossible to do

Here I am giving a demonstration of leg recovery in Denmark using Light Manual Muscle Relaxation More details and references on ultra marathon can be found on my websites Everyone needs recovery after a tough day-and the fact that to get it blood to the muscles in the legs needs refreshing But to get that old depleted blood in the lower legs needs pumping out of them so that new fresh blood can be pumped in-simple really

How much training and theory does it need to do this? Very little because it is not specific How did I discover Light Manual muscle Relaxation?

Because for my first 2 years in ultra marathon I used conventional recovery systems and they really did not work-nothing changed, nothing improved-it was not until I accidentally changed my approach from working on the muscles to working with them did things improve for both myself and the ultra entrants The difference in approach is illustrated below Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan 3 http://www.aching-legs.org/accidental_athletes.html

Environmentally Friendly Leg Recovery-Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist

Results from 1995 Coburg 6 day footrace Name A Krouglikov

Day 1 237.2 539

Day 2 113.6 284

Day 3 130 325

Day 4 106 365

Day 5 126 315

Day 6 108 Kilometers 270 Laps

T Rusek

215.2 538

98.8 247

98 245

139.6 349

138.4 346

122.4 Kilometers 306 Laps

M T aylor

174.4 436

128.8 322

143.6 359

123.6 309

138.4 302

122.4 Kilometers 223 Laps

B Beauchamp

180.4 451

133.2 333

124 310

117.6 294

110 275

93.2 Kilometers 233 Laps

150 375

134 335

105.2 263

94.8 237

111.6 279

106 Kilometers 265 Laps

138.4 346

108.4 271

106.8 267

116.4 274

106 265

107.2 Kilometers 268 Laps

168 420

119.2 298

90 225

116.4 291

106 180

107.2 Kilometers 247 Laps

G Watts

132.2 328

96.4 241

99.2 248

104.4 261

92.8 232

133.6 Kilometers 334 Laps

C Young

142 355

91.2 228

90 225

97.6 244

88 220

92 Kilometers 230 Laps

D Kettle

138.2 332

86.8 217

90.8 227

95.2 238

94.4 236

84.4 Kilometers 212 Laps

R H ill

128 320

80.8 202

99.2 248

70 175

95.6 239

96.6 Kilometers 241 Laps

K Fisher

164 410

91.6 229

50 125

115.2 288

49.6 124

81.2 Kilometers 203 Laps

P Gray

D Parri s

I Davis

G Pollard

T Rafferty

120 74.8 73.6 68.4 69.6 61.2 Kilometers 300 187 184 171 174 153 Laps The above group came in for Light Manual Muscle Rel axation The below group did not or had their own recovery people 141.6 112.8 104.8 101.6 98 96.4 Kilometers 354 282 262 254 245 241 Laps

G McConnel

145.6 363

110.8 277

126.4 287

113.6 284

108.4 271

106 ki lometers 265 Laps

G Audley

152.8

110.8

126.4

113.6

114.8

95.2 ki lometers

S Scanlon

140.8 352

82 205

84 210

J Timms

127.2

98.4

74.8

Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan 4 http://www.aching-legs.org/accidental_athletes.html

34 0 85 pulled out-bli sters 0

0

0 Kilometers Laps 0 ki lometers

Environmentally Friendly Leg Recovery-Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist Using an environmentally friendly pro-active leg recovery system is easier than you think when you learn how to use the muscles to work on themselves

Look at the photo above-how many towels and bottles of oil do you see? None because the latest in non-polluting, non-technical method of leg recovery techniques is being used There are 2 main ways of relieving them of soreness-passive and active

This is the passive way-waiting for the legs to recover themselves

Try using the Active way to relieve those aching legs

Quickly-easily and in an environmentally friendly way! Stop being a victim of aching legs and stop being an ‘accidental athlete’-do as the ‘intentional athletes’ do and make the best of the knowledge available and try to relieve them

If you want more details go to my website at http://www.aching-legs.org/accidental_athletes.html

Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan 5 http://www.aching-legs.org/accidental_athletes.html

Environmentally Friendly Leg Recovery-Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist Aching legs should always be checked out by a medical professional before doing anything to and with them because there are many medical reasons why they may be aching-see a physician first

Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan 6 http://www.aching-legs.org/accidental_athletes.html