There was a great blog post today on the Orange Coast CrossFit website about rest and recovery. Check it out below:
The alarm clock goes off and those first movements of the day are always the
worst. The aftermath of the previous day or days WOD’s are apparent…everything
hurts! Does this ever go away? I would love to tell you yes but that has not
been my experience. On the other hand your body fat % is dropping, your work
capacity is increasing, and regardless if the aches and pains you are
continually transforming your body into a well oiled machine capable of
achieving things either not thought possible or not reached in a very long time.
I was talking with Coach Fisher and he said, “Every morning I tell myself I am
quitting CrossFit. Then I start moving around and my knees start to warm up and
my body begins the process of loosing up.” I laugh being able to emphasize with
his pain. But after hobbling to the coffee pot or hot shower my body start to
come back alive and the aches and pains subside.
We put our bodies to the physical limitations each and everyday and for this we are punished and rewarded. Awkwardly enough if I go to long without experiencing these feelings, meaning I haven’t caught a WOD in a few days I don’t feel right. It’s a sadistic game of pain and suffering for physical results that until now have been unattainable.
So here are some tips to rejuvenate the beat up body:
1. Sometimes we simply need an extra day of rest. CrossFit prescribes a 3 day on 1 day off routine. Take an extra day off or only do 2 days on 1 day of. For the beginner I recommend an every other day approach for your first month before stringing series of WOD’s together.
2. We live by the ocean. Use it! There is something about that majestic mass of water that promotes healing of torn hands to rejuvenation of joints and muscles.
3. Buy 10lbs of ice and fill up your bathtub with cold water and the ice. Sit in it for 15-20 mins unbroken. Instant relief. Before football games in college I would always sit in the ice bath the night before the game to get my legs back from the weeks worth of practice. It works!
4. STRETCH! The re elongating of the muscles will break up lactate acid (the soreness you feel) and increase the blood circulation to promote faster recovery. Yoga falls in this category.
5. COOL DOWN! The intense workouts leaves our bodies with deposits of lactate acid and a simple slow 400m jog will help break those deposits up. Follow with some static stretching and those joints won’t be so inflamed in the morning.
6. Make sure you are giving your muscles what they need to repair theirselves. That could be a post-recovery drink or simply eating the appropriate foods after your WOD. Your body has around a 20 min window to replace certain nutrients and other items that are used during the WOD. While not exactly paleo the post-workout shake has numerous benefits such as convenience and proper balance of these crucial nutrients the body needs. Coach Joe has posted a couple excellent blogs on supplementation over the last few weeks.
7. SLEEP! It is hard to get 8+ hrs of sleep in today’s fast pace always on the go environment, trust me I know. As I’m writing this blog I only got about 5 hours of sleep last night and I can feel the effects it has on my recovery. When we sleep is where we repair our torn muscles. Do your best to get enough rest.
8. We all like to have fun and you have to have a life outside of CrossFit. But if you stay out to 2-3am partying then you are depriving yourself of much needed rest. It is not my place to tell you how to spend your time outside of the box. But partying past moderation and achieving even mediocre results to not go hand and hand. Plus think of the savings of skipping a couple $300 bar tabs a month.
9. ART (Active Release Treatment) or a sports massage goes a long way on relaxing the muscles and tension that builds up over time. We have a ART specialist that is willing to give discounts to OCCF members and there are numerous $20/hr massage parlors in Westminster, Garden Grove, and even HB. While these are not sports massages they are well worth the $20 and do loosen some of the knots up. If you can afford a real sports massage usually $100+\hr they are amazing and you usually can have an ideal where a certain problem is stemming from.
10. Anti-Inflammatories. Taking a Motrin or Aleve will help temporary with the ache and pains.
Such a great blog post! Thanks OCCF! :)
For an additional resource on recovery check out the book called, Lights Out.
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