Regular floatation offers so many positives for an athlete it is hard to know where to start. The most important thing is to say that it your performance will get better! Your recovery time will be reduced. Injuries will be mostly avoided and the ones you pick up you will recover from quickly. Spending time floating you notice areas of tension and pain before they become an injury.
Scientists at the Chicago Medical School and University of Health Services, Lawrence University and The Medical College Ohio have all tested muscular tension on volunteer subjects, and in every case have found dramatic decreases in muscular tension. As Dr. Mel Thrash of New York University states “the majority of these (sporting) injuries are related to tension”. Most sports injuries are not contact injuries but are a result of inappropriate muscular tension, most of these injuries could be prevented by relaxation of the muscles. The best defence against injuries is looseness. There is abundant evidence, that floating causes a major and across the board reduction of muscular tension.
So floating aids your performance by:
- Increased physical relaxation, which leads to improved performance, greater stamina, speed strength and coordination.
- Reduction of injuries due to over training, muscular tension and imbalance.
- Alleviating the pain of injuries.
- Enhancing the body’s ability to recover from injuries and the normal stress of intensive exercise.
- Speeding recovery from the stress of peak output (races, competition) and eliminating post competition come down.
- Improved coordination and performance skills due to floatation room visualization.
- Elevating the athlete’s mental state through increased confidence, concentration, calmness and poise
Sports medicine authority Dr. Mel Thrash says; “floating can speed up the recovery process enormously. What normally takes a great long period of time – days, usually to recover from a marathon – is compressed into a number of hours. You are giving your muscles total rest, they do not have to do anything. Then there are the biochemical changes: All those biochemical amines that rev you up are apparently being decreased in an accelerated manner whilst floating, so you are speeding up your recovery from prolonged and vigorous effort. Floating offers a wonderful opportunity for the body to heal itself.”
Much post game pain and stress is in one way or another relates to gravity: gravity pulling the weight of the body downward on to sprains, strains, stressed joints and bruised muscles; gravity restricting the circulation of the body’s healing fluid systems the blood and lymph; gravity’s constant pull causing our exhausted muscles to work to keep us upright. By relieving most of the stresses of gravity, even for short periods, floating takes the weight of strained bones, joint and muscles and increases the efficiency of the blood and lymph circulating through the body, carrying away waste and toxins (lactic acid) and bringing healing materials to damaged cells.”
It is advised to take a float approximately 30 to 40 hours after high intensity training or competition, or at least once a week to become part of your training practice.
Recent Articles
