When Randall Cooper created Premax, he was interested about small things that make a big difference in athletic performance. It’s one of the foundations of Premax - the small act of looking after your skin can make a big difference. In the athletic world, through trial and error and learning from others you can pick up many others. Once you know them and do them well they can all make a big difference.
Recently Randall sat down with Professional Australian triathlete Ellie Salthouse to discuss both of their top 3 marginal gains. Ellie is no stranger to elite sport being a 17 x Half Distance Champ and most recently being crowned 2021 Australian Long Course Champion. Her insight into the marginal gains, is partnered with Randall’s expertise in the Physio world and gives a great insight into some small things you can do in your sport that can make a real difference.
Ellie Salthouse’s Top 3 Marginal Gains:
1. MASSAGE
I think the biggest thing that I found has consistently helped throughout my career has been massage. I get a weekly massage and I think that's really, really important. I know a lot of people have different recovery techniques that they like, but for me, massage works great. I get it religiously and it keeps my body moving, recovered and ready for the next week of training.
2. NUTRITION
Another big thing would definitely be nutrition and fuelling adequately. I've done a lot of trial and error over the years with this, but I think over-fueling is better than under-fueling. That’s something that I’ve learned and I think there are huge gains that can be made from that.
Something very small like adding in an extra gel or bar in your sessions or before the sessions, can make a huge difference. Not only just during the session, but for recovery purposes as well.
3. BLUE LIGHT
Another thing I’ve recently added, has been wearing blue light blocking glasses. Probably from about 5pm every night until right before I go to bed and it really helps me get a nice deep sleep.
I feel it makes me able to really switch off and I just go straight to sleep, whereas I used to just lie there looking at the ceiling. It’s probably one of the biggest things that I’ve done for my recovery and it’s made a huge difference.
I definitely make a point of putting them on when I'm looking at screens, but otherwise they're fine to just leave on doing regular activities as well. I really hope it catches on because it’s honestly a game changer.
Randall Cooper's Top 3 Marginal Gains
1. VISUALISATION
We all like to train and to train hard, but sometimes the body just doesn’t let us.
Sometimes when it comes to technical things, as athletes, you often talk about visualization, like when’s the next ironman or when you’re going to win the Olympic games. However, as a physio I like when people visualize smooth and efficient movement.
If you think about a really fast runner you think how fluid they are and the mechanics that you're looking for, these things can make a big difference because you can actually start to program your brain and your motor cortex to change the way you move.
2. NEUROMUSCULAR EXERCISES
We always talk about training being aerobic, you’re either just pushing your limit or if you're going into the gym, you're just trying to get strong.
But I think it's really important that people do technical exercises, exercises that help control and help with stability as well. They don’t necessarily have to be done hard, I think that having exercises that improve people's quality of movement is really important as well.
3. NIGGLES MATTER
A colleague of mine, Matt Whalan, is a physio with a PhD and he's been looking into professional soccer players, when people have niggles - i.e. sorenesses and problems that don't go away overnight. He’s found that they're 4 to 7 times more likely to be debilitated by an injury down the track.
If you're not feeling right, if you've got small little areas that are sore and problematic and are not going away, you need to get them seen too. If you jump onto these things earlier it usually makes a big difference.
Continue the conversation and let us know what is your best little thing that makes a big difference @premax.co #PremaxESbundle
1. VISUALISATION
We all like to train and to train hard, but sometimes the body just doesn’t let us.
Sometimes when it comes to technical things, as athletes, you often talk about visualization, like when’s the next ironman or when you’re going to win the Olympic games. However, as a physio I like when people visualize smooth and efficient movement.
If you think about a really fast runner you think how fluid they are and the mechanics that you're looking for, these things can make a big difference because you can actually start to program your brain and your motor cortex to change the way you move.
2. NEUROMUSCULAR EXERCISES
We always talk about training being aerobic, you’re either just pushing your limit or if you're going into the gym, you're just trying to get strong.
But I think it's really important that people do technical exercises, exercises that help control and help with stability as well. They don’t necessarily have to be done hard, I think that having exercises that improve people's quality of movement is really important as well.
3. NIGGLES MATTER
A colleague of mine, Matt Whalan, is a physio with a PhD and he's been looking into professional soccer players, when people have niggles - i.e. sorenesses and problems that don't go away overnight. He’s found that they're 4 to 7 times more likely to be debilitated by an injury down the track.
If you're not feeling right, if you've got small little areas that are sore and problematic and are not going away, you need to get them seen too. If you jump onto these things earlier it usually makes a big difference.
Continue the conversation and let us know what is your best little thing that makes a big difference @premax.co #PremaxESbundle
BRINGING YOU THE ELLIE SALTHOUSE TRIATHLON BUNDLE!
We’re incredibly excited here at Premax to announce the limited edition Ellie Salthouse Triathlon Bundle. Randall spoke about our collaboration with Ellie, how the bundle came about and why Ellie picked each of the products:
In the bundle are a selection of my 4 favourite Premax products:
The Sports Sunscreen SPF50+ is obviously super important, and the Premax one is ideal in all sporting conditions. It doesn’t run into your eyes which is so important when riding and running. Also, it’s light and non-greasy - you need to be able to use your fingers and hands when you’re riding and you don’t want something that’s really oily.
The Chamois Cream For Women is perfect for us long distance triathletes and spending bulk hours in the saddle can be very uncomfortable if you don’t have a good Chamois Cream. The Premax Chamois Cream, it’s really nice and thick and it stays in place, and most importantly it’s pH balanced.
The Anti Friction Balm for Women is the third product in the bundle and is perfect for wetsuit rash or any chafing. That’s the go to, staple all round year.
The Recovery Cream, recovery is super important for any professional athlete. We spend a lot of hours training and when we come home we need some great recovery. I notice a huge difference the next day, when I go out to train again
“Thanks for allowing me to share my 4 favourite products, I hope they’re enjoyed as much as I enjoy them”
Check out our limited edition Ellie Salthouse bundle, perfect for Female Triathletes. Let us know what you think #PremaxESbundle
Want to see the whole interview with Randall and Ellie - WATCH HERE
