5 ways to improve tissue recovery

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Mobility/Prehab:

2 rounds, 10 reps each:
GHD Hip extensions

Standing wall extensions
Wall squats
PVC dislocates in prone

Strength:

3X10 Deadlift @70%

Conditioning:

“Team Jackie:”
1000 Meter Row
50 Thrusters 45#
30 Pull-ups

Notes: This will be performed “conga-line” style, when one partner starts the Thrusters, the next can start the row and so on. You may not move on to the next movement until your partner has finished that movement. Score is total time.

Cool Down:

Posterior chain flossing
Foam roll Thoracic spine/posterior chain (hamstrings/calves/glutes)
Super Rack with Band

Untitled
Getting ready for Femme Royale!

How are you stacking up with our regional athletes during these workouts so far? On paper these workouts look challenging but you have no idea until you get thrown into the middle of 50 HSPU’s with isometric holds. Holy muscle failure! And holy soreness! Going off Hynes’s last post regarding durability, I wanted to touch on how you should be dealing with your muscle soreness in order to recover faster.

 

  1. Fish Oil: Nature’s best anti-inflammatory. I’m always amazed how my body feels on days that I forget to take my fish oil the morning of or night before. I feel generally slower, my joints ache, my muscles feel weak..no bueno. With that being said, be careful because you can take too much. The FDA says it is safe to take up to 3000 mg of omega-3 per day.(This is not the same as 3000 mg of fish oil. A 1000 mg pill typically has only 300 mg of omega-3; 10 such pills would equal 3000 mg of omega-3. Excessive intake can lead to reduced blood clotting so if you happen to notice blood in your stools, cool it on the fish oil and notify your doc.

  2. Ice is Nice (for pain). If you truly are in a lot of discomfort, ice is an excellent analgesic. Its localized to the painful area and it doesn’t affect the liver like NSAID’s do. (Advil, Aleve) Its recommended that ice be used within the first 72 hrs of trauma and depending on the thickness of the tissue involved (wrist vs glutes) the duration should be15-20 minutes. Please note that in order to get the full benefits of ice, the tissue MUST go through CBAN (Cold -> burning -> aching -> numbess). Coolness will not provide you with any significant physiological benefit. There has been some controversy lately about the negative effects of ice and swelling so for this post, lets just focus on ice as a pain modulator

  3. Sleep. The recommended uninterrupted sleep duration for the normal adult is 7-9 hours. However, crossfitters are not normal humans. We need extra amounts of sleep to heal our muscles from vigorous excise and strength training. Decreased sleep leads to a sharp decline in growth hormone secretion, which is a hormone that stimulates tissue growth and repair. So if you want extra HGH, just catch some extra Zzzz’s. Also, no booze before bed! Seriously impairs your body’s ability to go through all 4 stages of REM and non-REM sleep.

  4. EAT. Especially after one of these regional WOD’s. If you want your body running like a well oiled machine, it needs fuel! Restricting calories to lose weight will impact your muscle recovery and growth.

  5. AVOID pain killers for soreness! There is a lot of new research that suggests that taking NSAID’s can decrease tissue growth and recovery by decreasing the protein synthesis that must occur with the healing process. Inflammation is part of the recovery process so inhibiting inflammation may actually inhibit recovery and repair. Many new school MD’s aren’t even prescribing pain meds for their patients who have sustained a recent fracture for fear of blunted healing.

 

 

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