Fascia Training: A Whole-System Approach by Johnathon Allen & Bill Parisi

Author:Johnathon Allen & Bill Parisi [Allen, Johnathon]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Parisi Media Productions
Published: 2020-10-09T00:00:00+00:00

This is why I invited him to the PFSCA conference in Las Vegas to present to the strength and conditioning coaches of the NFL alongside Stu and a panel of other experts on the subject of improving injury resilience and recovery. When I saw Dan enjoying the scenic morning view from the same deck where Stu and I had had our conversation the night before, I grabbed my mug of coffee and wandered over to get his take on the subject of fascia training and how it applies in the real world.

Sunrise at Red Rock Resort in Nevada.

Credit: Johnathon Allen.

“Well, at the end of the day, training is a matter of introducing mechanical factors into the body,” Dan replies from under a somewhat less bushy, less grey mustache. “But what's happening in the body involves a spectrum of factors. So, if you use a heavy load and go slowly, that's creating certain responses. If you use a light load and go really fast, that's creating other responses. It's the same thing with energy systems. You can't really train energy systems in an isolated sequential manner, because the moment you start moving, all the energy systems are at play. It's a matter of which one’s predominating in the activity. That applies to muscle systems, fascia systems, and so on. Any movement, just being alive, is creating a training effect. It’s how we manipulate and shift the stressor of that information—that’s when you get into the specifics of training. But I think it would be a misnomer to say that we're just training fascia, because that's impossible.”

Man, what a bull’s-eye. The thing is, we live in a culture where people like to think in terms of absolutes. We want to simplify things and reduce them to the “one way” or the “best way.” But the reality is that you're never just training the aerobic system, or the ATP-PC system, or the muscle system, or the fascia system. They’re all being trained all the time. It's a question of what level each system is being trained at. That said, our understanding of how the body’s fascia system adapts, tunes, and remodels itself is still a young science with tremendous potential. So, I asked Dan to explain a little bit about his understanding of fascia tissue, fibroblast activity, and how they factor into training programs for different kinds of athletes.

“Fibroblasts are part of a communication system within the collagen matrix that's independent but runs in parallel with the central nervous system. A lot of the proprioceptive research that’s been done is just looking at a central nervous system-only communication system. Where, in fact, it's deeply embedded and entwined into this collagen matrix communication system in which fibroblasts serve as a major antenna, receiver, and speaker.

“The fundamental principal in all of this is a term called mechanotransduction. So, whether you're doing movement exercises or rehab therapies or what have you, it all circles back to introducing mechanotransduction factors into the system to create change.”

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