MELT and More – The Story of the Ugly Duckling

As the connective tissue, aka fascia, which until recently was treated like the ugly duckling is morphing into a beautiful swan, it has been attracting more and more interest from practitioners of different modalities.

MELT has been at the forefront of this movement, and it still forms a foundation stone of my training. But there are others now, and as a trainer, it is important to evaluate its effectiveness and even integrate it into practice where it is of benefit to the clients and students.

Two of those modalities stand out in my mind. The first is called ‘Yoga Tune Up’ and is by Jill Miller who wrote the book ‘The Roll Model’ which is very extensive and gives a lot of options. Maybe too many for my taste. It requires special balls, and some of the techniques are very intense. But is very well worth checking out.

The other is called ‘Relief through Rolling’ and is by Kevin Lucas. He is just using a roller (hear, hear) in different, yet similar patterns. It is a modality which is very compatible with MELT, and which I intend to integrate into classes and workshops and my personal training.

What is better? Treadmill or the Outdoors?

I love to walk. And I love to walk outdoors, even when the weather is less than inviting. I own a treadmill, but to me it’s not the same.

And indeed it is not. While the movement seems to be the same, there are many significant differences which make walking outdoors the better option if all else is equal.

The biggest difference is that walking on a treadmill requires less force production to push yourself forward against the ground. The band keeps moving, and that creates a bit the effect as if somebody is standing behind you, pushing you forward as your walk. This has an impact on the development of the muscles of the entire posterior chain of the body, namely glutes, hamstrings and calves. Treadmill walking also means that you are on an entire even flat surface which places no demands on your foot and ankle muscles for stabilization to compensate for the unevenness of a pavement.

Having said that, I understand that a treadmill may be the only good option for some. The safety of the environment can be a concern and the outdoor air quality.

Bottom line: Go outside if you can. But if that’s not a good option, a treadmill is still a viable alternative.