Over the weekend, one of the biggest stories in the sports world circled around the surprise retirement of NFL quarterback, Andrew Luck. He cited frustration dealing with his injuries as the reason for his decision. He felt that he was stuck in a constant state of rehab from injuries over the past few years. I can’t imagine how bad it got for him to walk away at 29 years of age from a game that brought him money, fame, and enjoyment. My reason for bringing this up is that many people find themselves in similar situations working around injuries from doing something they love- working out. Back pain, muscle strains, tendinitis, and the list goes on. A colleague of mine once made a post on Instagram that summed it up perfectly.
Since many of the readers of my blog are people north of 35 years of age, comments like that probably resonate. Let’s pick up where we left off a couple of weeks ago on recovery and regeneration.
Stretching- Many of us talk about how important it is and how we need to do it. The bad news is that it’s the first thing that is ditched if we show up late for a workout. I frequently get into discussions with my members about their need for improved mobility. Here’s the facts. If you don’t work on maintaining the quality of your movement, you will lose it. Here’s worse news. Your parents were probably more flexible than you, when they were your age. This is because they didn’t experience many of the things our current society now offers. People drive more and walk less. We sit more at work and while at home. Manual labor in the workplace is almost non-existent. I don’t think your parents ever spent a weekend on the couch binge watching Downton Abbey. Now here’s the good news. Mobility is the part of fitness (strength, cardiopulmonary, power, mobility) not affected by the aging process. This translates into age will not diminish your ability to improve. This explains why many people gravitate to Yoga and Tai Chi over traditional strength training as they age. Here’s my tip: Focus on maintaining mobility at the ankle, hips, and upper back (thoracic) spine. Spending 10 minutes 3-4 times a week, working on these areas will provide a big return. Traveling is also a good time to focus on mobility drills, for the simple fact that you don’t need to rely on having access to any equipment.
Manual therapy and massage- Massage will always remain one of the best ways to recover from training and your workouts. It does require time and cost can become a barrier. Businesses like Massage Envy have used a membership as a method to make it more cost effective for people. I recommend that if you opt to hire a massage therapist, shop around. Get referrals or references from friends. To maximize your investment, prioritize the areas needing work.
Foam rolling and trigger point therapy- The foam roller is the next best thing to having a therapist. It was once referenced as “the poor man’s massage therapist”. I’m a big fan of rolling and have everyone that trains at the studio, perform 3-5 minutes, at a minimum. I started foam rolling as part of my warm-up protocol years ago. The improvements I observed were almost instant. The technology and improvements in rollers in recent years has been substantial. I would include trigger point balls in this category. Research has proven that foam rolling can increase range of motion (range of motion of the knee is cited in this study) immediately afterwards. What I underestimated was the benefit it can provide after a workout. Anyone who trains at the studio is introduced to rolling during their 1st visit and workout. I do want to state this disclaimer that if you have never performed rolling before it may provide slight discomfort initially. I use the flossing analogy. If you have never flossed your teeth and start, you may experience bleeding gums. The gum tissue quickly adjusts and responds becoming less sensitive. This is like your fascia tissue with foam rolling. Fascia is the shrink wrap for your muscles. It’s this tissue you can alter during foam rolling.
Cryo Chambers- These chambers expose the body for a couple of minutes to vapor that has been supercooled to somewhere between minus 200 and minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit. It was once confined mostly to elite athletes, but now centers have cropped up across the country asserting that the practice can lead to any number of health benefits. This is a service that is prospering because of convenience. Many tanning salons have jumped into the market and are adding cryo-chambers to their menu of services. It’s the same sell as sitting in a tanning bed for 15 minutes as opposed to 2-3 hours of natural sunlight. There have been accidents related to this method. The vapor can make you faint, so you must maintain your head above the gas. If you decide to give this a try, make sure you use a facility that keeps an operator in the room while you’re in the chamber. Compared to 10-15 minutes in an ice-bath, I personally opt for the 3-minute exposure of the cyro-chamber.
Hopefully you can adopt a few of the techniques discussed in these blog posts. That’s all for now, see you at the studio.