MELT Method vs The BioMechanics Method

I love to study and to learn. Recently, I have focused more and more on corrective exercises in the quest to restore ideal alignment and posture and to help people get out of chronic pain as a result of those misalignments.

The MELT Method is a great tool to accomplish this. I love the fact that it based on the concept of self-treatment thus empowering people to do something for themselves and not having to depend on others to administer treatment to them. I also like the concept of self-assessment in MELT because people can learn about imbalances in their bodies because they can feel them.

I have recently studied another method, called The BioMechanics Method by Justin Price who is also a well-known name in the fitness industry. He also starts with an assessment which initially is conducted by the specialist in his method but is almost immediately taught to the client with the goal that they client can understand their imbalances and can feel the changes of the program. The corrective exercises in his method are a systematic approach of myofascial release, followed by stretching and then strengthening.

As an advanced MELT practitioner of 5 years and a newly-minted BioMechanics Method Corrective Exercise Specialist, I will be able to use them both in the shared goal of helping people get out of the chronic pain which is caused by muscle imbalances.

They both have their strong suits. I love the foam roller length techniques in MELT but I also like the myofascial release approach with tennis balls which makes this more portable when people travel. I find the TBMM process more systematic and love the stretching components. The strength components of both methods are great. Some of the individual techniques are better in one, some in the other method.

Bottom line: two great methods with equal value in both of them.

Added bonus: one person (me J) who knows them both.

I’ve been ‘SPARK’ed

Lately, I have been using my treadmill and elliptical trainer with a renewed sense of enthusiasm. The reason? I just finished reading the book “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” by John J. Ratey, MD

I had seen enough statistics over the years that demonstrate how helpful exercise is for just about any condition known to man, be it hypertension, diabetes, heart disease ….. you name it. I had also seen data on the effects of exercise on some mental disorders such as depression and ADHD. But I have never seen all the evidence combined in one place on the profound positive effects that exercise, mainly aerobic exercise, has on brain function.

I grew up with the belief that every cell on our body renews itself except for the brain cells. You are born with so many, and it only goes downhill from there. This has been soundly disproven. The brain can grow new cells and make new connections but it needs some MIRACLE GRO fertilizer, and that fertilizer is EXERCISE.

I cannot recommend this book more. There are some on the Amazon book review who consider this book “really, really boring” since it reads like a textbook. Well …. I could not put it down. There is a line in this book that just struck me:

“If you are not busy living, your body is busy dying.”