Dara Torres Rocks!

August 11, 2008 at 11:50 pm (In the News, Massage, What is)

Wow!

The Olympics are so much fun to watch. I’m especially interested in the career of Dara Torres as she and I are the same age. The difference is that she has an exquisitely sculpted body. While I don’t. NBC aired a feature of Dara Torres receiving a massage and stretching routine from two trainers. It was waayyy different from a relaxation massage and different from the corrective massage that I do. Perhaps I will have to add a fourth category to my list of massage types.

Would the new category be Sports Massage? I just taught a class on Sports Massage and it didn’t include anything like what I saw being demonstrated. The trainers were literally mashing Dara’s muscles with their feet before some stretching. I did some research and discovered it actually is called “mashing” (!) and “resistance stretching.”

Currently, the type of corrective massage that I do is best suited for athletes who have chronic issues with old injuries. I do my share of mashing and it’s good stuff.  I sent an email to the trainer who developed the protocol, Bob Cooley, asking about training and certification in this method. I can’t wait to hear from him!

Here are some links and articles about this type of massage/stretching:

I did a quick search on YouTube.com for Bob Cooley and also for Dara Torres.  Both searches resulted in a few good videos.

Are you an athlete undergoing intensive training in the Minneapolis area?  Would you be willing to let me practice this technique on you?  Send me an email!

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5 Comments

  1. » Four Types of Therapeutic Massage The Massage Geek ® Blog said,

    August 12, 2008 at 11:51 am

    [...] the three overall categories of therapeutic massage based on desired outcome.  Well, after seeing Dara Torres with her trainers I had to create a new [...]

  2. rachel said,

    August 12, 2008 at 6:48 pm

    Dara’s secret revealed by Dara.
    Great blog! Tremendous links. Here’s one you missed – a fascinating video that takes viewers back to the very moment the world first learned how Torres has been defying aging for the past 8 years. This is not a commercial or an ad. It’s a very revealing news story.

    http://growingbolder.com/media/sports/water-sports/41-and-still-smokin-181865.html

    Rachel
    Growing Bolder Media Group

  3. Massage Geek said,

    August 12, 2008 at 6:58 pm

    Great video, Rachel! Thanks for writing.

  4. Terry said,

    August 18, 2008 at 12:43 pm

    The video that Rachel provided is mindblowing! I think that it gives an indication of what makes Dara Torres special. She is an innovator and has the discipline to fully engage with new techniques.

    I hope that you get some takers on your offer to try this technique on some serious athletes. Love to see you post about process and results.

  5. Massage Geek said,

    August 18, 2008 at 1:10 pm

    Hi, Terry.

    Thanks for your comment. I just received an email from someone who is training for a local race and is interested in volunteering. Yea!

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