So I turned 30 this Monday, and with that age comes the assumption that I’m now in it for the long haul.
That being said, I, like many of you, abuse my body regularly with weights and boxing and running and manual labor, so I thought we could use a thread about recovery techniques and tips.
I find that as I age and shit that never hurt before starts to hurt chronically, I am becoming more focused on how to maintain myself and help eliminate those issues before they start.
Fighters use a lot of old-school things to help them along - ice baths and cold showers to fight inflammation, rub downs/massages to loosen beat up muscles, etc., but the new-school maintains that things like foam rolling, ART, and dynamic warmups are where its at.
What do you guys do to make sure you’re keeping yourself where you want to be?
I’m only 23 and not currently training in a combat sport, so I’m not sure how interesting you’ll find my point of view, but this is what I do when I feel rough:
Swimming (breast stroke style) to stretch/get blood flowing particularly for my hips
Foam roll (triceps, lats and legs)
High rep DB side bends (when my lower back is giving me grief - pumps blood into my erectors)
I also try to always do goblet squats, hip thrusts and KB haloes before every training session (just 3x5).
[quote]furo wrote:
Great thread idea, and happy birthday!
I’m only 23 and not currently training in a combat sport, so I’m not sure how interesting you’ll find my point of view, but this is what I do when I feel rough:
Swimming (breast stroke style) to stretch/get blood flowing particularly for my hips.
[/quote]
That’s actually a great idea. I’m going to have access to a pool this summer, I think, so I am going to try that out.
Agreed. I do this constantly. Also using a golf ball on my shoulders and the bottom of my feet.
This helps you out? It’s a novel idea for the lower back, I had not heard of it helping that particular affliction before.
Very funny that you say that - I do the same thing. Goblet squats are in my warmup (thanks to Robert A), and I do hip thrusts every morning (at least 20, sometimes more). KB Halos I will have to look in to.
Yeah I’ve never heard of anyone else doing the side bends thing, but I sort of made it up myself and it really works for me. I do them with a slight forward lean, to make sure it hits my lower back rather than my abs, and I usually do sets of 30 with a 10kg kettlebell. I just find it pumps blood in there really well.
I’m sure an equivalent high rep lower back exercise like back extensions would probably work as well, but I train at home and don’t have a back extension bench. Having said that, maybe the fact that side bends are unilateral also adds to their effectiveness. Honestly I’m not really sure, it’s just something I’ve stumbled upon and it works really well for me.
Yeah I really like that warm-up, I got it from one of Pavel Tsatsouline’s books. I’m not actually convinced by the haloes, and sometimes miss them - I definitely feel that the goblet squats and hip thrusts are the most valuable.
Also interested in seeing where this thread goes & if I’ll pick up any ideas.
I’m 27 and also not currently training in a combat sport, but I played football from age 9 through college graduation, wrestled through high school, and currently do a whole slew of “stuff” (lifting, running, biking, rock climbing, and yoga).
My one “useful” contribution to this thread: I do Bikram yoga, which is a series of 26 yoga poses done over 90 minutes in a room heated to 105 degrees. I was a skeptic at first, and I still think they make a few claims that are a bit outlandish, but I do believe that it’s a really great “restorative” workout that always leaves me feeling “pleasantly exhausted” if you will. Everything feels loose, open, fresh. It’s a good sweat session and getting in 2-3 yoga classes a week gives me a bit more zip on my “hard” training days in the weight room and biking/running. YMMV.
I always have hated ice baths and thus am not qualified to comment on their effectiveness.
I love a hot tub and sauna when they’re available, but can’t say whether they really reduce chronic soreness because I can’t use either regularly.
I foam roll occasionally before/after endurance workouts such as running/biking, but I don’t think that does much to prevent chronic muscle soreness for me; this is more to keep my IT bands happy.
I am a BIG fan of
ice
ice baths
epsom salt baths
saunas
band work
and I am a heavy user of PVC LX balls
some things I have found over the year that help
staying hydrated
not drinking alcohol
naps
proper sleep
spending a SHIT load of time on warming up and doing drills
specific to spots that need help
Im 42 and while I cant roll basically at all and have not competed in some time
I still squat at least 2-3 times a week and do some kind of strength training
multiple times a week
that all being said I am still guilty of
tape it
ice it
keep going.
Things that I feel have/do helped my recovery:
-mobility work, not passive flexibility work (which is ok and I’ll do it occasionally), but active flexibility work. I personally like dynamic active stuff in my warm-up and will do static active/PNF stuff at the end to gain actual flexibility. I have found I can easily do the dynamic active stuff every day, that it leaves me feeling limber (for lack of a better word), but also warm and not unstable (like some of the passive flexibility stuff can do) when I begin my workouts (be they Martial Arts or GPP related).
-nutrition, specifically protein
-sleep (which has been less easy to come by as of Sento’s Jr.'s arrival)
-contrast baths (best of both heat and ice and IME more effective than either in isolation; I also will sometimes use ice massage in conjunction with this concept)
-l-glutamine (best supplement for decreasing muscle soreness IME)
-fish oil/Omega 3 Fatty Acids (I’ve found that you need way more than what is recommended on the bottle to really notice any effects though)
-addressing weaknesses/imbalances in strength and mobility
That’s what I can of right now, hope someone can find something helpful.
Some excellent advise here from all. I will just add some of my personal habits, since all of us train and have adopted our own routines.
no matter how tiring a day, either from work or training, I do at least 20 minutes of stretching at the end of the day. I have found no matter where you are, you can usually find a quiet corner to run through a routine. I basically follow my old TKD moves and if have access to a Korean BO or even a broomstick, I will run through some simple Katas, same with some Kali moves with some training blades. You can substitute pencils or pens in a hotel room. I am a very firm believer in keeping my body mobile and flexibile, since speed of movement is on the top of my list for keeping alive.
My supplement routine has been the same for years:
A high performance sports muti-vitamin
2000 Vitamin C, which I believe helps in reducing soreness
Fish oil
Alpa Male and ZMA from Biotest
2 plain aspirins daily. I started this treatment several years ago after helping teach a MT class 4 nights a week, around the 4th day, my elbow joints would be sore as hell from holding pads, almost like tendonitis. Since I started the aspirin routine, I have no problems.
(note: take aspirins at your own risk in a combat zone, according to general information from medics, they will hinder blood clotting–Robert could weigh in on this one)
Like ActivitiesGuy, I hate ice baths, but a hot shower seems to work for me. Besides, I dont have access to ice baths.
I have done foam rolling, but, for me, the Katas work better, I will roll around on a medicine ball if one is available.
I really wish I could try yoga, just to see for myself if it has any effects.
Great thread. Looking forward to learning on this one.
I’ll be 31 next month, and it’s a high mileage 31. I agree with Sento that static stretching is good but dynamic mobility is better, and I do them in the same order he does. That seems to help, I’ve found that as I get older it’s almost like I have to warm up for my warm ups so to speak lol Hydration and SLEEP are the two major ones for me. And good sleep, not falling asleep on the couch watching a movie, like dark room comfortable position good sleep. Sleeping wrong seems to mess me up worse than a hard workout even, especially my neck. Foam rolling helps a ton, I don’t know why I don’t do more.
I’ve learned the hard way (and still seem to forget sometimes), you’re best bet at this age is to try not to get hurt rather than recover afterwards. I’m not saying don’t train hard, but make sure your body is prepared for hard training. Remember when we were teenagers and we could show up 1 minute before training started and go straight from the parking lot to the ring? Not anymore haha
[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
Fighters use a lot of old-school things to help them along - ice baths and cold showers to fight inflammation, rub downs/massages to loosen beat up muscles, etc., but the new-school maintains that things like foam rolling, ART, and dynamic warmups are where its at.
What do you guys do to make sure you’re keeping yourself where you want to be?[/quote]
I don’t think there is that big a difference between old school rub downs and fascial release/ART/NMR/Graston in terms of methodology or effect. Terms differ. The later have something for “proposed mechanism”, but really does it matter if I am applying pressure/tension in order to “release” “adhesions” or some old guy rubs you until your “knots” “loosen up”. Other than he is older, and smells like winter green rubbing alcohol and I am a bit younger and smell like coffee, CLP, and Old Spice.
I think the take home should be do something for “soft tissue”.
Also the real old timers did a bunch of “tumbling” and “floor work”. That is about a cunt hair away from a “dynamic warm up” anyway. Now perhaps they were not methodically activating their glutes/posterior chain or doing the whole Parisi Speed School thing for a warm up but they were doing range of motion exercises, actively, and getting warm. So perhaps the take away should be to do whatever goofy/“easy” shit supports you getting a better workout before the “real” shit starts and not bird dog vs fire hydrant vs bear crawl vs…
Also, happy birth day. Raise one and remember “May we all be in Heaven half an hour before the Devil know we’re dead.”
Irish already has my “High Mileage Warm Up” treatment in his log. Google should pull it up if you search High Mileage Warm Up Log O’ the Irish T-Nation. Doing it right (Circumstantial, General, Specific) at least 80 percent of the time makes a huge, huge difference for me. Lately I have been doing a bunch of TRX rows in my General warm up, and I like them better than pullups/chin ups.
Folks have mentioned fish oil and dosage. I always recommend it based on the amount of EPA and DHA not just total grams of fish oil. I use 1.5-3 grams per day(total of EPA and DHA combined) as may standard. Patients and friends, family, the public usually notice something at that dosage. That works out to about half to a full dose of Flameout so about .70-1.37 USD per day. I mention Flameout specifically because when you start pricing based on the actives it is a very good deal.
[quote]Furo wrote:
3) High rep DB side bends (when my lower back is giving me grief - pumps blood into my erectors)
[/quote]
This helps you out? It’s a novel idea for the lower back, I had not heard of it helping that particular affliction before.
[/quote]
The thing to remember is that “back pain” isn’t a diagnosis. It is a symptom, just like head pain. Causes are so varied that appropriate management can run from “Nothing, pour a drink” to “nothing, you will be dead before the doctors can do anything for you. Getting them involved is just heaping liability on them. Don’t be so self centered.” Ok, the last one means I need to drink some coffee.
Still, side bends work for Furo. That makes them both desirable, and a clue as to what his issue is. You or me might be different so we are left with “Pay your money, take your chance”.
Fun back pain quote from a good friend/colleague of mine (The fact I, a foul mouthed internet gun chimp has colleagues should terrify all of you.)
[quote]
Oh yeah smart guy. That’s how it starts. Pretty soon those Viagra commercials on TV aren’t going to be funny anymore. Your going to be happy there is a number you can call.
-Said to me after the first time I hurt myself doing “nothing”.[/quote]
[quote]idaho wrote:
2 plain aspirins daily. I started this treatment several years ago after helping teach a MT class 4 nights a week, around the 4th day, my elbow joints would be sore as hell from holding pads, almost like tendonitis. Since I started the aspirin routine, I have no problems.
(note: take aspirins at your own risk in a combat zone, according to general information from medics, they will hinder blood clotting–Robert could weigh in on this one)
[/quote]
The mechanism of aspirin has me siding with the medics. Additionally there are some known issues with suddenly d/c’ing aspirin and having a “rebound” increase in both pain and platelet aggregation.
How big a deal the risk of reduced clotting post trauma works out to be is out of my lane, so I reached out to a friend of mine who is in a far better position to know. He should be calling me back after he sleeps. I will have more on this later. My initial attempts at research pulled up a bunch of data for seniors.
[quote]Melvin Smiley wrote:
I’ll be 31 next month, and it’s a high mileage 31. I agree with Sento that static stretching is good but dynamic mobility is better, and I do them in the same order he does. That seems to help, I’ve found that as I get older it’s almost like I have to warm up for my warm ups so to speak lol Hydration and SLEEP are the two major ones for me. And good sleep, not falling asleep on the couch watching a movie, like dark room comfortable position good sleep. Sleeping wrong seems to mess me up worse than a hard workout even, especially my neck. Foam rolling helps a ton, I don’t know why I don’t do more.
I’ve learned the hard way (and still seem to forget sometimes), you’re best bet at this age is to try not to get hurt rather than recover afterwards. I’m not saying don’t train hard, but make sure your body is prepared for hard training. Remember when we were teenagers and we could show up 1 minute before training started and go straight from the parking lot to the ring? Not anymore haha[/quote]
[quote]Furo wrote:
3) High rep DB side bends (when my lower back is giving me grief - pumps blood into my erectors)
[/quote]
This helps you out? It’s a novel idea for the lower back, I had not heard of it helping that particular affliction before.
[/quote]
The thing to remember is that “back pain” isn’t a diagnosis. It is a symptom, just like head pain. Causes are so varied that appropriate management can run from “Nothing, pour a drink” to “nothing, you will be dead before the doctors can do anything for you. Getting them involved is just heaping liability on them. Don’t be so self centered.” Ok, the last one means I need to drink some coffee.
Still, side bends work for Furo. That makes them both desirable, and a clue as to what his issue is. You or me might be different so we are left with “Pay your money, take your chance”.[/quote]
Sorry if I wasn’t clear enough - these are just what work for me. I don’t mean to advise others what to do, I’m just commenting on what I’ve done.
[quote]Furo wrote:
3) High rep DB side bends (when my lower back is giving me grief - pumps blood into my erectors)
[/quote]
This helps you out? It’s a novel idea for the lower back, I had not heard of it helping that particular affliction before.
[/quote]
The thing to remember is that “back pain” isn’t a diagnosis. It is a symptom, just like head pain. Causes are so varied that appropriate management can run from “Nothing, pour a drink” to “nothing, you will be dead before the doctors can do anything for you. Getting them involved is just heaping liability on them. Don’t be so self centered.” Ok, the last one means I need to drink some coffee.
Still, side bends work for Furo. That makes them both desirable, and a clue as to what his issue is. You or me might be different so we are left with “Pay your money, take your chance”.[/quote]
Sorry if I wasn’t clear enough - these are just what work for me. I don’t mean to advise others what to do, I’m just commenting on what I’ve done.
[/quote]
I thought you were clear and completely appropriate. I was just giving what is more or less a PSA on jumping to treatment without evaluation in case anyone reading decided to do so. It isn’t even that “giving it a shot” is a horrible thing, just that people need to make informed choices.
As an aside I know “pump”/high rep workouts are popular in certain circles for dealing with sore/strained muscles so you doing side bends isn’t outlandish at all. There are plenty of guys who swear by higher reps on a reverse hyper for erector pain as well. I really was coffee deprived when I typed up those responses, so I am sure any issues with clarity were on my end.
Great idea for a thread fightingirish! What has worked for me. I’m early twenties and have boxed in the past but have been focusing on other things lately.
-Anti Inflammatory’s
-Ice packs.
-Foam rolling-I use a lax ball and a rolling pin .Glutes,hips and front of quads are what get really tight so that’s what I focus on.
-Yoga and static stretching every morning
-focusing on building up my abs and posterior chain to prevent back pain.
-Contrast showers-
-Tens Machine- I usually only hook this up when I do something silly and tweak something bad.
I’m very interested hearing from late 30’s an on guys who are still hitting it hard. There seems to be a big drop around that age with people doing combat sports/ strength training ,working in a physical job etc. I really hope to still be going hard at that age!
[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
Also interested in seeing where this thread goes & if I’ll pick up any ideas.
I’m 27 and also not currently training in a combat sport, but I played football from age 9 through college graduation, wrestled through high school, and currently do a whole slew of “stuff” (lifting, running, biking, rock climbing, and yoga).
My one “useful” contribution to this thread: I do Bikram yoga, which is a series of 26 yoga poses done over 90 minutes in a room heated to 105 degrees. I was a skeptic at first, and I still think they make a few claims that are a bit outlandish, but I do believe that it’s a really great “restorative” workout that always leaves me feeling “pleasantly exhausted” if you will. Everything feels loose, open, fresh. It’s a good sweat session and getting in 2-3 yoga classes a week gives me a bit more zip on my “hard” training days in the weight room and biking/running. YMMV.
I always have hated ice baths and thus am not qualified to comment on their effectiveness.
I love a hot tub and sauna when they’re available, but can’t say whether they really reduce chronic soreness because I can’t use either regularly.
I foam roll occasionally before/after endurance workouts such as running/biking, but I don’t think that does much to prevent chronic muscle soreness for me; this is more to keep my IT bands happy.[/quote]
Very interesting. I won’t really do yoga ever, but I have begun meditating to be able to clear my mind a little more. I think many of the things I do are overly aggressive - weightlifting, boxing, etc. - and a little of that might be good for me.
I also have to put more of an emphasis on stretching. Not too much because I box, but at least some on my hamstrings and calves.
