I waited so long to use this gift, but it came at such a great time. My body was looking to relieve some tightness and I needed the relaxation going into my appointment.

The salon is beautiful and the employees were warm and welcoming. They gave me a super comfy bathrobe and some slippers and I headed into my 3pm appointment so excited.

In the ladies locker room lounge they had orange infused water, some trail mix and cookies. I poured myself a glass of the orange water and it was so delicious and refreshing.

When I first met my massage therapist Dalia she greeted me with a smile and asked me if there was anything in particular I needed to focus on. As you know I have had a previous hip & shoulder injury so those areas tend to flair up with muscle tightness so I mentioned those areas to her.

During the massage I chatted with Dalia and eventually was so relaxed I zoned out. She relieved a ton of the pain and knots that I had in my upper back and I’m so grateful for this experience.

When I left the salon, my body was so relaxed but I was surprised at how clear my thoughts were. It was such a positive experience and I knew this massage would help both physically and mentally.

Besides the beach, massage might be the second on my list for relaxation (wink wink) I don’t know how many of them I can line up because they aren’t cheap but they are definitely worth every penny.

Over the past few weeks I have been focusing on my body and treating it healthy in numerous ways. Sometimes I push my body to its limits and exhaust my brain and muscles until they are completely drained but I’ve decided to focus on my over all wellness not just in the gym but outside as well.

Have you ever had a massage before?

What other ways do you keep your body healthy besides the gym?

]]> http://thefitskool.com/?feed=rss2&p=7714 0 http://thefitskool.com/?p=6947 http://thefitskool.com/?p=6947#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2015 13:10:11 +0000 http://thefitskool.com/?p=6947 Continue reading →]]> Here we are again on a Monday morning and back to are weekly routine of work. While some weekends fly by, this one actually felt like a full weekend and we filled it with plenty of fun activities as well as productive things around the house. It was a great balance.

After work Friday, Ava was quite fussy for me. I never know if it’s her teeth or she’s not feeling well but since she had her fingers shoved in her mouth most of the day I’m guessing it was her teeth. Anyways, she was pretty unhappy most of the day!

Thank goodness for playgrounds.

Ava was smiling from ear to ear and it was the perfect late afternoon distraction! I had some fun myself too. I swear one of these days I am going to get stuck going down the kiddie slides.

At 6:15pm we went to Marc’s softball game at Bruce Park. I was able to see Marc make some pretty awesome catches in the outfield before Ava started getting fussy again and was ready for bed. I was ready for some relaxation myself so I was totally cool with her getting to bed at a normal bed time

Saturday morning I got up at my usual 6am. There’s no sleeping in anymore in our house! We made a delicious breakfast of eggs & toast and then I decided to do a quick stretching Pulse dvd from the Insanity Max 30 program.

It felt good to get some stretching in because my legs were pretty tight from all my workouts last week.

Ava pretty much got in the way of my workout so I used her as my equipment to keep her occupied!

After I finished I showered and headed to the YMCA for a Massage from our Massage Therapist Susan Horstman! If you have never had a massage before I highly recommend it. Not only did my muscles thank me but I felt so relaxed and rejuvenated after I left that I decided I need to make Massage therapy part of my wellness routine.

I am so highly active that sometimes stretching doesn’t seem to do the job. With previous hip & shoulder injuries, my muscles tighten up in those areas a lot quicker then the rest of my body. The massage relieved my soreness as well as my minor aching that I had been feeling over the past few weeks.

Susan was so informative and really educated in massage. I’m not sure if you are supposed to talk during your session but I was asking millions of questions. I felt like Susan’s knowledge about massage helped me learn more about my muscles and why certain areas were more tight then others.

I will definitely be back for another one in the near future!

Now its time for me to get to work, have a great day

Do you ever find it challenging to workout at home?

What’s a highlight from your weekend?

The stick became my best friend 3 1/2 years ago after I had my hip surgery. I needed it to roll out my IT Band, my quadriceps muscles, and my hip adductors. I received The Stick as a gift from Marc because he knew that during my time at physical therapy it helped me tremendously with my recovery. I gained more flexibility and strength using the stick and it eased SO much of my tightness. Luckily Marc was there to help me out on most days during my surgery recovery when my movement was limited, but you can do it on your own!  I would highly recommend this to anyone that works out on a regular basis.

This morning I spent close to 30 minutes rolling out my hip area including the quads, IT Band, Adductor (inner thigh area) etc. It was torturous while I did it, and you can feel all the knots in the muscles as you roll out your leg… but TRUST me you will feel 100 times better after.

I focused on my upper legs and rolled out the entire area. I even broke a sweat with all the rolling! I found that if one specific area is tight it helps to roll out all around that spot. My legs are feeling better and although I am a tiny bit sore from the roller, I don’t have the tightness in my hip/groin area that I had before!

How do you use it? Click on this link for instructional videos

Do you use a foam roller or “the stick” to optimize your performance? 

HAPPY FRIDAY!