by rocktapeuk | Jun 19, 2017 | Interviews, Rocktape Kinesiology Tape
Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Hi I’m Ricardo, I’m a psychology lecturer at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, which is in Scotland, UK. I was a former international triple jumper, till a severe knee injury last year. How did your track & field career begin? When/how did you get into jumping? Originally I was a basketball player, I used to do extra sessions with our speed, agility, quickness coach, Dr. Nikolai Böhlke, who also worked in Talent ID. Dr Böhlke noticed I had an aptitude for jumping events and coached me in high, long and triple jump. With some guidance from Nick Dakin I was lucky enough to work with some of the best jumps coaches in the world including Dr. Filipe Conceição, Terry Lomax, Emily Parker and finally Tom Crick. I practiced everyday (and sometimes twice a day) with all my coaches, and value their effort in getting me from never having tried a jump event, to an international standard. What do most people not realize about training for competitive jumping? People probably don’t realize that we rarely jump in training. I took part in a study led by Dr. Sam Allen, where he modeled my triple jump technique and calculated that in the landing of the hop phase I had to deal with forces of up to 22 times my bodyweight. That kind of impact means full approach triple jump is sparingly practiced in training. Though we often practice short approach triple jump, sprinting and plyometrics. What are your greatest achievements? I’ve won the British University Championships several times, thanks to excellent support from Loughborough University....
by rocktapeuk | Apr 18, 2017 | Rocktape Kinesiology Tape, Running
Sunday 9th April was an exceptionally sunny and warm day for the runners of the Brighton Marathon which included 80 NSPCC fund raisers who raised over £50,000 for the charity. A major part of the NSPCC fundraisers post-race reception is the very welcome sight of the row of massage tables with soft tissue therapists waiting to soothe the aching limbs of the runners and for the past 4 years Rocktape have been donating rolls of tape to help support the NSPCC runners after this and a number of other events which include the London Marathon and the Gherkin Challenge. I have been using RockTape in my private clinic since working at the London Olympics, and even though I have not found a better tape, this year RockTape donated rolls of their H2O tape which has twice as much adhesive on it. Last Sunday we found it invaluable when treating runners who have just spent 3-7 hours in the sun, coming in with aching and very sweaty legs! The day consisted of runners hobbling in with sore ankles where we used RockTape to help support the lateral stabilisers of the ankles, as well as plantar fascia and for achilles pain where treatment this soon post event would not have been advisable. However, the support from the H2O tape made it invaluable to assist the runner in getting mobile again. Knee pain was the other main area where RockTape came into its own. As the Brighton Marathon was quite hilly, their knees took quite a load especially for some runners who were running their first marathon. Applying the H2O tape to...
by rocktapeuk | Apr 7, 2017 | Rocktape Kinesiology Tape
Keith Gladstone set up Athletic Health; A company that provides sports injury and performance management for TV / media and professional sports teams. Most recently Keith Gladstone has been in Austria on set for channel 4’s TV show The Jump. With his team of therapists, Keith Gladstone worked to help the celebrity contestants get through the intense and physically challenging training and performing schedule for the show. What is your back ground and how did you end up working on The Jump? I’m an osteopath and sport scientist with special interest in sports injuries. I worked at Lord’s cricket ground with Middlesex CCC and the MCC for 7 seasons. Cricket was full time during the summer months but over the winter in 2011 I was asked to work on a television show looking after the celebrity contestants who were taking part in physically challenging and potentially risky activities in a show called Famous and Fearless. With more and more reality shows being produced with contestants taking part in physically challenging tasks, I found myself working on ever more shows. Tell us about the Jump, for those that don’t already know? The jump is a celebrity reality TV show in which contestants compete in various winter sports, including slalom skiing, skeleton, ski-cross and ultimately ski jumping. We spend 8 weeks in a ski resort in Austria while the contestants train and compete. It’s fun gig. What sorts of injuries did you and your team have to deal with? With 16 people skiing 4 hours a day for 8 weeks you are bound to pick up knocks. We had to deal...
by rocktapeuk | Oct 12, 2016 | Rocktape Kinesiology Tape, Studies
Don’t let aches and pains be an excuse. Tape up and get to work. Because of the way RockTape stimulates nerve receptors in your skin and deeper tissues, it also can downregulate pain and improve both mobility and stability. With plenty of upsides, here are picks for the top five best CrossFit applications for RockTape: Hands Every CrossFit athlete knows how easy it is to beat up your hands while training. RockTape can effectively protect your palms and those calluses you’ve worked so hard on, especially when your training involves lots of metal spinning in your hands. (Think kipping pull-ups and kettlebell snatches, for example.) This application requires some scissors work, but once you’ve done it a couple of times, you’ll feel like a pro! Adhere two strips down the palms of your hands and a strip around your wrist to lock them down. All your calluses should be covered and your palms virtually encased in armor. RockTape takes chalk nicely — and unlike most gloves — the layers of tape are so thin you’ll barely notice there’s anything between you and the work you’re doing. Shoulders Just about everything in CrossFit requires both shoulder mobility and stability. Whether you’re upside down on your hands, pressing overhead, or doing pull-ups or Olympic lifts, the demand on your shoulders is exceptional. We recommend taping in a way that basically surrounds the deltoid muscle while hitting the upper traps and AC joint (the point of your shoulder). Make sure you use enough tape on one of the strips to extend back onto your shoulder blade. Most of the mobility and stability...
by rocktapeuk | Jul 14, 2016 | CrossFit, Rocktape Kinesiology Tape
CrossFitters around the world have been competing all year long, vying for a chance to make it to the 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games taking place July 19-24, 2016, at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. RockTape, a leader in sports medicine products and education, is proud to announce its seventh year of support of the annual CrossFit Games, which will be commemorating its 10th year of competition in July. This year, 323,000 athletes from 175 countries signed up to participate in the CrossFit Games Open––a five week competition and the qualifying round for the CrossFit Games Regionals, where the top men, women and teams from seventeen regions competed at seven regional events in the U.S., Europe and Australia for a chance at the finals. Now 40 men, 40 women, 40 teams, 40 teenagers, and 200 Masters athletes will battle it out for the podium at the Games. RockTape will be supporting Airrosti, the official athlete care provider of the CrossFit Games, to help keep the Games athletes going throughout the multi-day, multi-event competition. “We’re happy to have RockTape’s support for the 2016 season,” said Justin Bergh, General Manager of the CrossFit Games. “RockTape’s focus on sports performance aligns with our search to find the fittest on earth and we’re glad to have their support again this year.” The Games is not only a display of strength but also of endurance and other physical skills such as flexibility, agility, power, speed and coordination. “Athletes are subjected to unknown workouts and challenges during the week while competing against the fittest people on earth,” says RockTape CEO Greg van den Dries....
by rocktapeuk | Apr 26, 2016 | CrossFit, Rock Stars, Rocktape Kinesiology Tape
Steph “the Hammer†Hammerman recently visited us up at RockTape HQ, so naturally we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to watch her train with Neal Maddox and Chris Hinshaw at CrossFit X-treme Athletics. For those of you who haven’t heard of Steph’s story, check out this CNN interview. We weren’t sure what would happen—filming without a script, a plan, or expectations—when we joined her at CrossFit X-treme Athletics with Coach and CrossFit Games Competitor Neal Maddox and famed endurance coach Chris Hinshaw. We arrived a bit late so we thought we missed the magic. A TrueForm™ Treadmill was already set up under a pull-up rig with a Ring Thing® hoisted above. Just as we were about to pack it up and cut our losses, Steph casually walks over to the rig and Neal helped her in—using the rings to anchor the harness. We were skeptical about this entire setup. It looked fragile, awkward… we definitely weren’t prepared for this. With a huge smile on her face, she started running. Typically, Steph uses her crutches to support herself while running. It’s inspiring, but you can see the struggle. This puts a lot of pressure on her arms and less on her legs. In this moment, she is still supporting herself with the railings, but the power output from her legs is obviously increasing—Chris gives updates on her speed and confirms her mile time has improved. Interestingly, one of the most inspiring moments was watching Steph ask Neal for a little more assistance. With just that bit of extra support from Neal, she was able to let go of the railings and experience something entirely new. She walked...
