Starting position

• Stand tall against a flat wall – walk your feet forward until the length of your spine (at least from tips of the shoulder blades to tail bone) is in contact with the wall. Heels are pressed together toes turned out.
• Draw the hips up and back into the wall, draws the abs into your back and feel the spine lengthen.

 
Pilates Hundred

• From your starting position wrap the shoulders down into your back and pump the arms breathing in for 5 pumps and out for 5 pumps until you have completed 100 pumps. 

Roll Down

• From your starting position begin peeling away from the wall. Drop the chin towards the chest and then start to peel away the shoulders. The arms hang loosely at your sides. Continue to pull the wast up and feel your low back pushing the wall away.
• Continue to roll down using the drawing in and up of the abs to allow just one vertebrae at a time to lose contact with the wall. Continue until you reach a point where it is difficult to do this. The belly continues to pull your mid – low back into the wall while the arms hang loose and free.
• Replace each vertebrae back against the wall as you rebuild your spine. Try to lengthen the spine as you carefully roll back up.
• Repeat this 2-3 times and on your final roll down circle your arms 4-8 times in each direction before rolling back  up. 

Arm Circles

• From your starting position, float your arms upwards and circle them around and down. Keep the arms within your peripheral vision, draw the hips up and back into the wall and keep the shoulders down throughout. Circle 3 times and then reverse the direction moving from the fronts of your thighs, out wide, up overhead and down.
• When you have completed your circles pull the shoulders back allowing the back of the neck to lengthen and feeling the back of the arms pressing into the wall. Hold this position for 15-30 seconds breathing naturally.

 
Squats

• From your starting position move your feet to hip width, toes and knees facing forward. Focus on pushing the hips up and back into the wall drawing the abs into the wall too. Start to bend the knees sliding your back down the wall until your hips are no lower than your knees. Push your feet into the floor as you slide back to your starting position keeping the hips pushing up and back into the wall.
• Repeat 3 times then a further 3 times adding arm raises.

​To leave the wall walk the feet back in, push the palms of your hands back against the wall and walk forwards. 

It is a busy time of year for running and cycling enthusiasts, building up to end of year events and Recovery is an essential but often overlooked part of race preparation and ongoing training.
 
Foam rolling provides a form of self-manual therapy which can be used as an effective alternative to expensive sports massages. Try it after training on warm muscles, to reduce muscle soreness and promote quicker recovery. Furthermore, evidence suggests that if performed regularly, foam rolling can help increase long term muscle flexibility.
 
The following exercises using the foam roller are particularly beneficial to runners and cyclists but also feel great after a gym session or class.
 
For each exercise, slowly roll back and forth as described for 20 to 30 seconds, keeping the roller under the muscles at all times (avoid rolling onto your joints). As you roll, take deep, slow breaths to help your muscles relax. If you hit a particularly tight or tender spot stop rolling and apply direct pressure for 30 seconds, or until the pain reduces.  Always foam roll on warm muscles and keep your core engaged to support the rolling.