Social Walking Recovery Michael Gillan-ultra marathon recovery specialist

Baby Boomer Community Walking Group Recovery

More baby boomers and people in the senior age set are staying younger and fitter and
want to stay that way as long as possible because it means mobility and independence

Mobility and independence are the best assets you can have as you get older, and most of us at this
stage have friends or relatives who have lost or in the process of losing theirs; and it is not a nice
thing to see or experience
To help prevent or minimize the chances of joining them, many boomers take up walking either on
their own-or if they can’t motivate themselves, or prefer or need contact with others, they may join
a group of community walkers where they all meet up so many times a week and just walk for the
pleasure of it
After the walk, they may finish up back at a café or back at someone’s place for refreshments and
continuation of the social aspect of the group
For some, this is can be part of the recovery process after the walk, the post event phase in the
sporting area, which many of the baby boomers may have been involved in during their earlier
years and let us be clear here, all us baby boomers are in a race, and in sport whether we like it or
not
We are in a race against time and health and we want to compete against them as long as possible
before we reach the final finish line
Like our younger sports people who do their own thing, football, cricket, running, or whatever they
do, our competitive spirit drives us on only we are competing against our selves-it is an individual
sport that we are in, and realizing this, we do make a conscious decision to get out and walk
Recovery
Recovery is as important to the baby boomer walker as it is to the younger athlete-only more so
because if you come back from the walk exhausted and just sit down to recover, it is harder to get
moving again because the legs and muscles set-they become stiff as they cool down
There is also the danger that any existing medical condition may be irritated or worsened when
movement is forced during the attempted movement with muscle stiffness present-there is also the
risk of developing new problems while trying to move
Pre-movement
There may be a way to overcome the stiffness after walking without putting the legs and muscles at
risk of injuring them or irritating other conditions that may be present-and that is to use a simple
pre-movement method

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copyright 2008 Michael Gillan ultra marathon recovery specialist
Social Walking Recovery Michael Gillan-ultra marathon recovery specialist
Combining Recovery with Pre-Movement
Working in the area of ultra marathon runners and walkers I have to provide both services
simultaneously

And I do this by using gentle work with the muscles-not on them

Gently assisting the muscles to get rid of by-products and wastes that have formed-as the by-
products are removed, fresh blood can enter the tissues and enhance healing-allowing the walker to
get back to their normal lifestyle without the inconvenience they would normally associate with
after-effects of intensive walking.

the muscles being enlisted to assist in their own recovery

Light Manual muscle Relaxation
Offers an alternative way of assisting the body to recover without interfering with the healing
processes that are already occurring-and it does this without putting the muscles at risk of being
injured by too much pressure generated by the ends of the fingers working into the tissues
The system works by using the bodies own mechanics of bones, joints, and muscles to push used
blood and toxins from the lower legs-these can then be replaced by fresh blood-oxygen filled blood
which will enhance recovery time and speed up recovery
It is also offering pre-movement to the legs which helps overcome stiffness

Enhancing recovery and using pre-movement quickly and easily using the principles of

• Simplicity

• Predictability

• Consistency

Using these 3 principles it is possible to not only enhance recovery times, but to do it without the
inconvenience of disrobing or using oils or equipment such as massage table towels or needing the
handskills or techniques of modern massage practises.

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copyright 2008 Michael Gillan ultra marathon recovery specialist
Social Walking Recovery Michael Gillan-ultra marathon recovery specialist
My only equipment for 24 hour run consisted of a chair next to the bottles to maintain the leg
recovery of 20 people when I looked after the Danish team at the world championships in 2007
It gives the social walker freedom to start their own recovery straight after walking in the privacy of
their own home
After walking there is nothing wrong with the legs, so they is basically nothing to fix on there is no
point getting in using complicated recovery systems that
• Will cost a great deal of money
• Will take a lot end of study
• Will need equipment
• Will need SOMEONE to use it
Many social walkers do not have an understanding partner who will help them to recover from sa
walking session so they need something that will be easy to do, and will be effective when it is
used-so just using a strap, the seated version can be used.
Light Manual muscle Relaxation has been tested by many runners and walkers around the world
( www.worldrun.org)
The social walker may not be wanting to run around the world, just wanting to maintain
fitness-but they are in competition with their own body- they can compete by getting the
edge over soreness and stiffness

*References and citations

PubMed-Manual massage and recovery of muscle function following exercise: a literature review.

PMID: 9007768 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

The mechanisms of massage and effects on performance, muscle recovery and injury prevention.

PMID: 15730338 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/92/101950.htm

SOURCES: Hinds, T. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, August 2004; vol 36: pp 1308-1313.

Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan ultra marathon recovery specialist

Michael has worked many years at ultra marathon events both in Australia and overseas-he
developed a system of recovery called the World Run Recovery System which he used on world
run 1

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copyright 2008 Michael Gillan ultra marathon recovery specialist
Social Walking Recovery Michael Gillan-ultra marathon recovery specialist
Aching legs fatigued muscles and recovery
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

Below is the pro-active result sheet from a 6 day event using Light Manual Muscle Relaxation
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 them selves
But an especially good way to recover from aching legs is to simply work the calf muscle pump by
hand to break the cycle of inactivity caused through muscle fatigue and get rid of some of the
depleted fluid so that fresh blood can enter the muscle tissues

The secret to leg recovery

Make the calf muscle pump work
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.

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

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

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copyright 2008 Michael Gillan ultra marathon recovery specialist
Social Walking Recovery Michael Gillan-ultra marathon recovery specialist

Recovery from leg fatigue or ongoing leg maintenance

Light Manual Muscle Relaxation

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

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copyright 2008 Michael Gillan ultra marathon recovery specialist
Social Walking Recovery Michael Gillan-ultra marathon recovery specialist
Below is a chart from when I discovered working with the muscles rather than on
them shows how much things did improve for the runners and walkers
The difference in approach is illustrated below
Results from 1995 Coburg 6 day footrace

N ame Day 1 Day 2 D ay 3 D ay 4 Day 5 Day 6

A Krouglikov 237.2 113.6 130 106 126 108 Kil ometers
539 284 325 365 315 270 Laps

T R usek 215.2 98.8 98 139.6 138.4 122.4 Kil ometers

538 247 245 349 346 306 Laps

M T aylor 174.4 128.8 143.6 123.6 138.4 122.4 Kil ometers

436 322 359 309 302 223 Laps

B Beauchamp 180.4 133.2 124 117.6 110 93.2 Kil ometers

451 333 310 294 275 233 Laps

P Gray 150 134 105.2 94.8 111.6 106 Kil ometers

375 335 263 237 279 265 Laps

D Parris 138.4 108.4 106.8 116.4 106 107.2 Kil ometers

346 271 267 274 265 268 Laps

I Davis 168 119.2 90 116.4 106 107.2 Kil ometers

420 298 225 291 180 247 Laps

G Watts 132.2 96.4 99.2 104.4 92.8 133.6 Kil ometers

328 241 248 261 232 334 Laps

C Young 142 91.2 90 97.6 88 92 Kil ometers

355 228 225 244 220 230 Laps

D Kettle 138.2 86.8 90.8 95.2 94.4 84.4 Kil ometers

332 217 227 238 236 212 Laps

R H ill 128 80.8 99.2 70 95.6 96.6 Kil ometers

320 202 248 175 239 241 Laps

K Fisher 164 91.6 50 115.2 49.6 81.2 Kil ometers

410 229 125 288 124 203 Laps

G Pol lard 120 74.8 73.6 68.4 69.6 61.2 Kil ometers
300 187 184 171 174 153 Laps
The above group came in for Light Manual Muscle Relaxation
The below group did not or had their own recovery people
T R afferty 141.6 112.8 104.8 101.6 98 96.4 Kil ometers
354 282 262 254 245 241 Laps

G McConnel 145.6 110.8 126.4 113.6 108.4 106 ki lometers

363 277 287 284 271 265 Laps

G Audley 152.8 110.8 126.4 113.6 114.8 95.2 ki lometers

S Scanlon 140.8 82 84 34 0 0 Kil ometers

352 205 210 85 pulled out-bli sters Laps

J Timms 127.2 98.4 74.8 0 0 0 ki lometers

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copyright 2008 Michael Gillan ultra marathon recovery specialist
Social Walking Recovery Michael Gillan-ultra marathon recovery specialist
Quickly-easily and in an environmentally friendly way!

If you want more details go to my website at

http://seniors.aching-legs-relief.com/community_walking_recovery.html

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

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copyright 2008 Michael Gillan ultra marathon recovery specialist