Functional Range Conditioning with Commonwealth Games medalist
When I was younger, I always liked Gymnastics. I used to go 3 times a week from the age of 4 till about 12/13, so flexibility has never really been an issue for me. Well until I started cycling at the age of 19. It all started off well, apparently, I had a nice smooth pedaling technique and fast legs. Cutting a long story short, I was strong, well I had good raw strength probably due to genetics and the masses of sports I took part in growing up. A year into my cycling competing I started lifting weights, this is where I soon realised that I had no shoulder stability. Holding a heavy weight above my head was a no go, my shoulders were “too” flexible from all the gymnastics and perhaps genetics. I had to stop performing overhead press and pull ups because I kept injuring my shoulders. Little did I know the real reason for all of my shoulder issues was that I was WEAK. I hate to say it but I was. As well as being flexible and weak in my shoulders, my hips were tightening up from being hunched over a bike all day. It wasn’t until after I had a bad cycling accident in January 2014 that I started looking into the more restorative, recovery part of training your body in depth. With the help of an incredible medical team, I managed to get back on the bike and compete at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, 6 months after my crash. After the Commonwealth Games, I started to stretch religiously and started to dabble in yoga with some Youtube classes. I then signed up for an online mobility class which was the real hook for me. I did the 20min online classes every day, throwing one 45min class in a week. My body felt so great, I was riding better than ever so I kept this up during my final few years of racing. When I stopped cycling in 2016, I immediately joined a yoga studio. I had found my new happy place and soon undertook my yoga teacher training under the wonderful Steph Wall.
Since becoming a yoga teacher, I have been taking professional sports teams for yoga, including the Glasgow Ice Hockey Clan and the Scottish Rugby Team. The way I teach yoga has been a journey, it has developed and evolved. From speaking to the athletes and the medical staff around them I have realised that more flexibility was needed from the athletes however I knew from personal experiences that too much flexibility was not good. This is when I found Functional Range Conditioning (FRC). A way of gaining more range in the joints by strengthening the surrounding tissue. It was perfect! After researching FRC for a while I went on the course and became a practitioner. It is the more eye-opening course that I have ever been on and I really can’t wait to share even just a fraction of what I learn there with you. Since discovering FRC it is very rare that I perform a yoga class without incorporating it into my class plan. Whether you are a stiff office worker, stiff cyclist, bendy yogi, hypermobile dancer this weekend would benefit you all. The beauty of FRC is that anyone can give it a go!
Come along to Charlie Jones’ FRC workshop on January 18th 2020 to explore Functional Range Conditioning, how it can help you move better & find the right balance between strength & flexibilty.
Move Better FRC Workshop with Charline Jones - More info here.