This posting is designed to help a group athletes out of Crossfit West Seattle in their upcoming Caliber Cycle.  These recommendations are general and are applicable to supporting recovery from any high intensity training cycle. This is the 4th Cycle that Zach at CFWS has run this year and we’ve learned a lot about how to get the most out of our efforts.  Most importantly:  Recover rapidly, Don’t get hurt, and Don’t get sick.

Everyone will have their own goals for the end of this cycle but the key is recovery and the path there is the same:

1. Fuel Recovery
2. Control Inflammation
3. Prevent Injury
4. Don’t Get Sick

Whether you hope to gain or lose weight in this cycle it is important that you increase your caloric intake.  If you wish to lose weight then you are in the right program.  Adding a few pounds of skeletal muscle over the following 6 weeks will increase your metabolism.  Remember that calories are a measurement of energy.  You are planning on expending a lot of energy and you plan to recover quickly, so it is wise to plan on consuming a lot of quality calories.  The calories you consume will not cause you to grow.  They will pass through the following hierarchy:

1. Fuel Your Efforts in the Gym
2. Fuel the Recovery From Your Efforts
3. Fuel Adaptation/ Strength Gains
4. Fuel Growth

Many people who are afraid of “getting too big” only satisfy the first requirement and risk injury because they lack sufficient energy to recover and continue training without injury.  A simple way to increase your calories is to add something with a high caloric density such as nuts, avocados, olive oil, or a post-workout concoction of milk and protein powder.  For those of you who wish to add an alarming amount of volume to your stature, it won’t be easy.  You’ll have to eat in a way that is extreme and uncomfortable.  A wise man named Scotty once told me “The meals should be harder than the wods.”

2- Control Inflammation/ Advil is not a vitamin.
Inflammation is not the enemy.  Inflammation is the initial step in the healing process.  It would be a mistake to rely on NSAIDs to suppress the pain of inflammation.  NSAIDs weaken your joints leaving you susceptible to injury.   Chronic consumption of NSAIDs often leads to serious gastric and kidney problems.

Instead relying on NSAIDs, control inflammation with:

Fish oil– That’s right.  Lots of it too.  The guidelines in this link are extreme but if you are ever in your life going to take a high volume of fish oil, now is the time.  Buy it.  Then drink it.
 
Contrast Therapy-  Several minutes in barely tolerable heat and going right into shockingly cold water.  The occasional rest day at Banya 5 or the Y are easy ways to get this done.  After a series of particularly heavy training days make your tub into an Ice Bath and submerge your whole body to your chin for 5 minutes.  This constricts your capillaries and hastens recovery.  Its also strong immune support.  For a convenient alternative simply alternate your shower hot 2 min/cold 2min for three cycles.

NSAID alternatives-  When you’re looking from the relief that you typically get from NSAIDs, try proteolytic and digestive enzymes.  They speed the inflammation and healing process instead of suppress it.

Don’t Get Sick and While You’re Up, Don’t Get Hurt

It is well documented that the immune system can be suppressed during periods of high stress and intense training.  There is evidence that supplementing Vitamin C with bioflavinoids during periods of intense training decreases the frequency of upper respiratory tract infection.  A gram/ day of Vit C is enough to keep you well.  Make sure a that your supplement contains at least 500 mg bioflavinoids though.  Without this important co-factor, your vitamin C levels may actually drop due to poor binding and competitive inhibition of your food based Vitamin C intake.

There is some evidence to support the claim that supplementing the minerals Zinc and Magnesium during intense training cycles prevents hormonal imbalances and the resultant over training symptoms of fatigue and malaise.  The dose used in this study was 3mg/kg body weight/day.  Zinc is an excellent supplement for preventing and fighting upper respiratory infections anyway which makes it a quality supplement to use anytime you feel you may be close to your training threshold.  Just be sure to have something to eat first.  Zinc supplements on an empty stomach deliver a “rowdy tequila bender” level of nausea.

4- Prevent Injury
Everyone will experience some physical discomfort during this cycle.  It is normal for muscles to get sore after a hard workout.  It’s not always necessary to “listen to your body” because your brain will often misinterpret terrible and glorious things like Fran and 400m sprints. “Help.  Stop.  Take a break.  You are killing me.”    It is an important skill to filter these false alarms and recognize true warnings of impending injury.

Now is the time to get proactive about the weak links in your kinetic chain.  You know your spots:  shoulder, elbow, wrist, back, hip, knee, ankle- address your weaknesses.  Mobility issues in any of these joints will be exposed in the basic olympic lifts.  Make it a priority to get to class early and spend 5-10 minutes improving your range of motion.  The MWOD has dozens of quality mobilities for the major movements that we’ll be implementing.  Supplemental therapies such as ART and Graston are sometimes necessary to make progress in areas with a history of injury.

Summary:  There you have it.  It is easy to thrive under pressure:  Recover quickly, don’t get hurt, and don’t get sick.  Contact me with any specific questions regarding recovery and supplementation.  Have a great cycle.