How Much Time is Ideal to Hold a Stretch to Achieve Long-term Flexibility Gains?
How Time is Ideal to Hold a Stretch to Achieve Long-term Flexibility Gains? Update July 2026: This post is being expanded and updated over the next few weeks. Bookmark it to stay current with the latest version.Understanding the optimal time to hold a stretch is important to gain lasting changes in your flexibility. Increasing your […]
A Powerful Stretching Ratio to Boost Energy
Our bodies become unbalanced and stuck due to chronic work habits, repetitive movements, single directional sports and/or injuries. This myofascial tension drains our energy and creates pain. We end up tighter on one side or in one direction. Try this powerful ratio to stop feeling cramped.
How to Release Trigger Points for Myofascial Pain Relief
Trigger points contribute to muscle and fascia pain (myofascial pain). Learning how to release trigger points therapy techniques will help you quickly relieve myofascial pain, improve your range of motion, increase strength, and reduce muscle fatigue.
Kinesiologist-Led Yoga for Neck and Back Pain Relief
Last Updated: June 23, 2023 In 2009, a client came to us with injuries they sustained in a car crash. They tried to continue their regular Yoga practice which continued to worsen their pain. Our challenge was to develop a Yoga practice for neck and back pain relief that they could do at home. This […]
Quick 5-Minute Golf Warmup to Add More Yards
Golfers will benefit from a quick 5-minute warmup for golf, even if they are short on time. Many amateur golfers get too excited about their tee time so they arrive on the golf course without doing a golf warmup. It will add more yards to your and make it more enjoyable too.
Easy Half-Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch for the Office
Some people develop lower-back and hip pain because of poor office set-up or sitting too long. Take five minutes out of your day to try this stretch.
8 Ways to Stop Trigger Points from Developing
Limiting trigger point development will help you move more freely due to greater flexibility and range of motion. how do we prevent myofascial trigger points from developing in the first place? There are several perpetuating factors, some that we can influence and others are ones that we can’t.
Ultimate Side Line Stretch to Relieve Back Pain
There has been a lot of emphasis on stretching the hamstrings to reduce back pain, however doing only this misses part of the solution.
Honour Yourself: Get Moving for Life™
I recently began to read Live a Life You Love by Vancouver wellness expert, life coach, author, media presenter, flamenco dancer and medical doctor, Dr. Susan Biali. One thing that really struck me was that we need to learn to honour ourselves more. We both agree that our lifestyles greatly impact our health and well […]
3 Ways Kinesiologists Help Relieve Chronic Pain with Exercise
Chronic pain is a complex process that has lasted more than 6 months and this is after tissues involved in the original injury or surgery have healed. Kinesiologists help relieve chronic pain with exercise therapy.
Keys to Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Exercise Therapy
Back pain can be a difficult condition to manage. One cause of lower-back is lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Anyone with LSS would agree that it is a painful and debilitating condition with limited treatment options: surgery or more conservative measures such as exercise, physiotherapy or pain relieving injections. Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is defined as […]
Alfred Published in Impact Magazine
(image by Todd Duncan) Impact, a multi-sport magazine published in Vancouver and Calgary recruits local health and fitness experts to write articles for their bi-monthly magazine. I am honoured to be able to now say “as seen in Impact Magazine.” This article took awhile to get published. I first noticed Impact a couple of years […]
Fascial Stretch Therapy Helps Figure Skater Liam Firus Succeed
Liam Firus is a Canadian Olympian who calls North Vancouver home. He is also an individual who has received and benefitted from Fascial Stretch Therapy performed by Alfred Ball a Level 2 Fascial stretch Therapist. Firus first rose to national success when he took home the Canadian Junior Title in 2010. The following year he began […]
Restore Ease of Movement With This Easy Trick
The fuzz is the sliding surface between the muscles. We feel stiff in the morning because the fuzz becomes solidified. Stretching in the morning helps melt the fuzz the same as when you move. If we have an injury, we tend to hold our bodies in a position that keeps us out of pain; fear […]
Raz Chan Wins Big at Las Vegas IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship
Raz Chan recently participated in the IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Las Vegas. Raz contacted Alfred in April 2009 for Fascial Stretch Therapy. Raz’s sessions have improved his hip flexibility, which enables him to get in and out of tight positions without injury, as well as speeding up his recovery from intense Jiu-Jitsu training. He […]
Can A Mouthguard Improve Athletic Performance?
Can a Mouth Guard Improve Athletic Performance?Our body is an interconnected and reactive system. Poor alignment in one joint, such as the left shoulder, will create an opposite and equal reaction, usually in the right hip, so that we remain balanced – even though this is not optimal alignment for proper function. How can we […]
Improve Your Stretches By Varying Your Angle
Have you tried a stretch and not felt it? You can get more of a stretch and more from the stretch by changing the angle. Take a look at any anatomy picture, and you will see that our muscles have fibers that go in different directions, which enable us to move throughout our surroundings in multiple […]
How to Stretch Your Calf to Ease Knee Pain During Squats
Have you ever tried to do a squat, but have knee pain? A lack of ankle mobility limits the forward motion of the lower leg; to compensate the knees travel forward more or even start to move in front first instead of the hips. Stretching the calves often eliminates this pain and enables them do the exercise properly.
Stretch Tip – Optimal Length of Time to Hold a Stretch
Poll Results of “How Much Time Should We Hold a Stretch”In a quick poll in 2021, we asked, “How long is the optimal amount of time to hold a stretch?” Not surprisingly, over 50% of people thought it was between 30 seconds and 1 minute. It actually depends on your own body and previous flexibility training. […]
Sven Winter Captures Third Overall in North American Cup
Lifemoves sponsored athlete Sven Winter’s dedication and hard work this season paid off with a third place finish overall in the North American Cup tour for Skicross. This season he also competed in his first World Cup and moved up to 66th in world rankings. This phenomenal athlete has great potential, and we are proud […]
Learning to Relieve Trigger Points in the Neck and Shoulders
Through education and years of experience Alfred has learned how to alleviate trigger points in the neck, shoulders and upper-back to reduce pain associated with soft tissue. William Nunh’s on Trigger Point and techniques for Migraines and Shoulder Pain course was a follow up to two course that he took last September. The class was small enough […]
BC Athlete Wins 2010 BMO Skate Canada Junior Nationals
Nearly two years ago Skate BC Figure Skating Coach Lorna Bauer referred one of her top male skaters to Lifemoves to improve his flexibility, aid his recovery and prevent injuries. Fascial Stretch Therapy has been an integral part of Liam Firus’ Figure Skating training program for nearly two years. Firus says, “Alfred has helped me […]
An Engaging Exploration of Upper Body Flexibility
In August 2008, Alfred attended the Fascial Stretch Therapy (FST) Level II Lower Body workshop in Arizona. Using the techniques he learned there he helped his clients reduce hip, knee and ankle pain, move more freely, perform better in sports and walk better. Since then, he felt there was something missing. By focusing mostly on […]
