CrossFit Asheville » Rest Day

100916 Thursday To Stretch — Part III

Corey — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 10:23:01 +0000

Strength/Skill Work Overhead squat: Work towards a new 5 rep max. If you missed your attempt at a new 5 rep last time. See your coach for the first set of work-sets.

WOD

5 Rounds of:

30 seconds max double unders

30 seconds Rest

30 seconds max knees-to-elbows

30 seconds Rest

This is part three of an educational series about active and passive connective tissues and their ability to move: your flexibility. In Part I we addressed WHY flexibility was important, and the two factors limiting your flexibility. In Part II, we discussed neurological restriction and a few basics ways to keep it at bay. Today we will discuss WHEN to address neurological tension.

What do I stretch for an overhead squat? I get this question more than “how much does this bar weigh?” Here’s my answer: Whatever is tight.

Your body is an interconnected system that gives you options for certain movements. Some of those options are better and less damaging than others. An overhead squat requires the greatest range of motion of both hips and shoulders of any movement we have. You’ve got to be strong, mobile, and co-ordinated. So what do you stretch?

You stretch what’s tight. Some of you have your problem areas and you MUST work those. Others have an American range of motion… shoulders tied down, tight hips, and a stiff ribcage. When you no longer have a “problem area” you then a “training area” and have to deal with training stiffness. This is the increased muscular tension after a tough workout, defined as one aspect of neurological tension from the previous post.

Sometimes, it’s more beneficial to stretch what’s been worked, not what’s ABOUT to work. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a phenomenon of the immune and nervous systems that causes tension and tenderness of a worked muscle. When we work out, we damage muscle tissue. The immune system sends in an inflammatory response to repair the damage. This inflammation creates the tenderness we notice. With the small damage, there is a small decrease in the strength of the muscle, thus your nervous system shortens the muscles to protect them from being damaged again. Commonly, DOMS is most significant in the 24-72 hour range with a peak at 48 hours.

Tuesday had a load of deadlifts and kettlebell swings. Both are POTENT exercises to strengthen the hips/hamstrings/low back (aka posterior chain). As a result, that area will likely have the greatest DOMS today (two days later). Increased tension in the hip/hamstring/low back region will limit hip flexion and thus limit depth of the squat. As well, the lats cross the low back and tie into the gluteus maximus (butt muscle) on the opposite side (aka posterior functional sling). When the gluteus gets DOMS from some deadlifts it can pull on the latissimus as you enter the squat and pull the shoulders down resulting in a drop of the bar forward.

This video explains the posterior functional sling, it’s ability to limit the overhead squat, and some foam rolling work to help mobilize this area.

*Disclaimer: Flexion and rotation are acceptable movements for foam rolling in a healthy spine. You should feel more free and mobile after a brief foam rolling session like this. If you feel tighter or more uncomfortable after foam rolling, you may have an unhealthy or symptomatic spine and need some professional assistance. Be sure to let your coach know.

In conclusion, mobilize what is tight. When you have problem areas, work them. When you’re generally fit and healthy, you’re going to have training areas that are undergoing DOMS from earlier workouts in the week. Focus your mobilization on your DOMS areas with some foam rolling/lax ball work. It’ll be a little uncomfortable, but you’ll survive.

100822 Inspiration vs. Motivation

Corey — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 12:36:08 +0000

Hats off to Tayler, Elin and Tara for some great efforts in their first CF competition!

Inspire – to produce or arouse a feeling or thought.

Motivate – to give incentive to.

Inspiration is showing your progress despite your downfalls so that others can see their own downfalls as workable. Every CrossFit competition I go to I am inspired. I see top notch athletes work until they falter and then work again. None of them come up to me and say, “you need to CrossFit for such and such reasons, you need to work hard for that reason, etc.” I know that to make progress in their direction, whether or not I ever achieve their level, I must work until I falter, and then work again.

I never motivate a single one of my members. There is no point because motivation comes from within. I cannot tell you what is important to you. I cannot give you motive. What I can do is show you the progress that I make and how I do it. What I can do is show you others who do the same things day in and day out.

I feel all of you should look to inspire others as well. Don’t tell them why they need to be healthier. Don’t tell them why they need to eat better, or be more active. Inspire them by your own progress. Inspire them by living a lifestyle that you enjoy and is attainable to everyone who finds their own motivation.

Giving someone a motive measn they can deny their urge to even have the motive. It is a forceful action that has a timeline. You want results of your motivation immediately. But inspiring them simply by being is undeniable. You exist, as you are, day in and day out, simply explaining YOUR path, and what YOU have done. Others can draw their own conclusions about whether it is for them or not.

Who inspires you? What fiber of your being is inspirational?

To Stretch — Part II

Corey — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 09:24:09 +0000

This is part two of an educational series about active and passive connective tissues and their ability to move: your flexibility. In Part I we addressed WHY flexibility was important, and the two factors limiting your flexibility. Today we will address one of those limits in depth, how it occurs, why it occurs, and how to deal with it.

Neurological restriction is a term given to the amount of tension in the muscle that can be released reflexively and immediately. The way a muscle creates tension (in essence, shortens) is by a signal from your brain telling it to shorten or lengthen. This can be something controlled by the conscious mind or can be automatic like a reflex. When this tension limits your range of motion, it is termed neurological restriction.

“I’m so stiff from those squats on Friday.” Ever notice that after a good workout you feel stiff and maybe a bit sore? That is neurological tension and it is an example of your nervous system’s limit to your flexibility. In a workout your body creates a small amount of damage to the muscle tissue. In order to deal with this, your nervous system tightens down the surrounding muscles to aid the healing process and prevent further damage. This increase in tension “protects” the muscles, and as such neurological tension can be termed protective tension.

The stiffness and soreness of your muscles after a workout is termed delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). However, DOMS is only one mechanism of protective tension. There are actually three methods to develop protective tension:

1) Protecting weakened muscles – Not only does the tension that occurs in the days following your workout protect your muscles, it can do so DURING a workout. Ever feel like you’re unable to squat any deeper and the coach is saying “ALL THE WAY DOWN”? That is because your muscles are tiring and neurological tension is stopping your range. At this point, you must rest the tired muscles, if even for a brief moment, and then return to the activity. Continuing exercise through a shorter range will not improve your strength through the full range.

2) Protecting damaged joints – Either when a joint is not sitting properly at the center of its axis of rotation, or part of the joint is injured, your body will tighten the muscles to limit joint range of motion. This is also termed “splinting”. This is less applicable to your daily training, but if you ever notice an injury to a joint, you will also notice the increase in tension of the muscles around the joint. Now you can be aware.

3) Protect nerve tissue – Nerves need to slide between muscles throughout a movement. Sometimes they can become adhered or scarred to the surrounding connective tissue and do not slide. As such, when the movement creates a pull on the nerve your muscles will contract to limit the movement and therefore limit the pull. If you continue to pull on the nerve it can result in neurological symptoms like numbness, tingling, weakness, or sharp/burning pain. This can also be the cause of injuries like sciatica and carpal tunnel syndrome.

These are the ways that protective tension develops. Now you need to know how to deal with it on a daily basis.

1) Warm-ups are a way to reduce some of that neurological tension. Especially with day to day training, a warm-up is imperative to alleviate a lot of tension and soreness. By warming up you increase blood flow and reduce a small amount of the protective tension and your body is able to get into certain positions easier and without compensation. If the warm-up for your workout does NOT alleviate the tension, you either need another day to recover or you have more serious joint/nerve damage and should consult a professional.

2) You should not “get tight” in the middle of a workout. This is a serious warning sign that more serious damage is about to occur. If an area is tight during a workout, be sure to seek help from a professional. If you are a CrossFit Asheville member, this is a definite time to inform the coach of the situation and then set up a CFA Triage appointment with the Stay Active Clinic.

3) Decreases in ANY stress will decrease overall tension. If you’re not eating/sleeping/thinking well you will increase and prolong daily protective tension from training. This means you need to eat/sleep/think better.

4) Hold yourself to functional Range Of Motion standards. We, as coaches at CFA, spend much of our time ensuring you reach full ranges and you must do the same. Muscles only get strong through the range they are used. A more shallow squat does not strengthen that deeper squat.

5) Foam rolling, lacrosse ball work, and mobility drills (as done in many of our warm-ups) are excellent at reducing protective tension on a daily basis. Use these as tools for recovery. Basically, a tangential force (pushing into the muscle from outside) will cause a reflexive relaxation of that muscle… this is the function of the foam rollers and lacrosse balls. A relaxing spa massage will do the same thing, but that is far more expensive and difficult to fit into your schedule.

You will battle the first type of protective tension on a daily basis when training. This is simply a physiological fact and must be obeyed to achieve optimal success. Doing so will limit your acquisition of certain mechanical tensions (adhesions, scarring). A more in depth look at mechanical tensions and the relationship to protective tensions is to come.

Post questions to comments.

-Coach Corey

100314 Sunday Discussion

Corey — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:00:23 +0000

In my years of coaching I’ve encountered many personalities, paradigms, and belief systems. I consider myself an open, honest person; one who works to comprehend and accept many view points. The only attitude that I despise is one that uses others’ success as their failure.

This selfish attitude looks at the accomplishment of others as a fault in themselves. ”That person got a raise before I did.” ”So and so ruined the curve on the physics test.” ”Mrs. Smith has a heavier deadlift than me and she started AFTER I did!?!” When looking at the accomplishment of others they see nothing more than their own failures. How could one be selfish enough to detract from someone’s success as a reason for pity?

An elite attitude is one who can feel good for someone else succeeding. I believe we must first be able to celebrate the success of others, only then can we honestly celebrate our own success. Elite is the person who sees someone successful and says “I can do that”.

The mom who wakes up before dawn bettering herself to be strong for her family is elite. The man who battles a lifetime of negativity to finally get himself healthy is elite. The 60 yr old who was “never an athlete” who develops a jump-rope skill and can jump on a 12 inch box is f-ing Elite.

They saw someone’s success and said, “Me, too”.

Elite is you.

100214 Valentine’s Day “What’d you get your sweetie?”

Corey — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:42:08 +0000

Diabetes?

Osteoporosis?

Heart disease?

Ulcerative colitis?

For over 87 years Russell Stover has been helping Americans increase the risk of chronic disease in loved ones. Thanks Russell.

Why is it that a staple of what you get someone for Valentine’s Day is candy? Sugar is the most potent food source for producing sympathetic activity in our nervous system. Chronic sympathetic activity leads to chronic diseases. A stressful physiology increases insulin resistance leading to diabetes. Stress physiology increases blood clotting which leads to heart disease; it decreases bone producing cells that leads to osteoporosis; it also decreases production of digestive enzymes leading to ulcerative colitis.

“Here sweetie, nothing says ‘I Love You’ like a little chronic disease”.

This year, for your loved one, tell them you’ll be around. Make a renewed effort in YOUR health for them. THAT’S what you give someone. Your health, vitality, and generally good nature. Make a small step to improve your nutrition. Work a little more consistently at your physical prowess. Decide to improve your mind and mental capacity by learning something new or practicing some meditation.

Don’t fall victim to the “Because I love you, I’ll kill you slowly” attitude. Love is growing together. Improve yourself and that motivates your loved ones to improve with you.

Questions?

-Corey

100103 The Pit of Despair

Corey — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:00:27 +0000

The aftermath of the New Year's Day work-out. (Photo credit: Betsy Fedder)

First a note from our Head Coach:

***REMINDER that CFA’s class schedule has been significantly modified and will begin Monday, January 4th. If you have not emailed or discussed your preferred times with one of the coaches please email your preferences to Shanna (ShannaDuvall@gmail.com). Otherwise check your email this weekend for your days and times. If you have not heard from me by Sunday afternoon then please contact me! Thanks, Shanna (I can presently be reached at one of the following cell phone numbers as well 315-244-5571 or 828-707-2316.)

________________________________________________

We had a FANTASTIC turn-out for our New Years WOD/Paleo Pot-Luck/Lecture Series. Many thanks to those who came out to show support. There were multiple requests to get a message board for new recipes and conversation regarding Paleo. Here it is: CFAFood.proboards.com Use this as you would like. If you want more categories, please let me know.

_______________________________________________

My post today is regarding how many will approach a paradigm shift. When we learn that our choices are directly impacting our lives, especially when those choices in the past were less than optimal, it is a daunting task to take on the responsibility of freedom. It is far easier to say “that’s bogus” and go back to our old lifestyle.

I’ve encountered the Pit of Despair on a few occasions in my life. As a lecturer was speaking, or I was reading something, or merely development of my own thoughts, I’ve had to account for my own shortcomings and experienced a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. The feeling that I could throw up. “How could I have been so wrong? How could I have missed this? What do I do now?”

In my lecture I laid out the physiological mechanisms that relate how our choices in food impact our health and vitality. The balancing of stress and rest will determine your genetic expression: will you be lean or obese, risk heart disease or stroke, develop cancer or attention deficit disorder? Stress physiology relates directly to many of today’s societal ailments.

How do we deal when faced with the possibility of having been wrong in the past and set ourselves up in a poor situation? Guilt, anger, and worry are NOT the answer. In fact, those will only INCREASE your stress physiology and limit your recovery and acceleration of capacity. Frankly, your mental state influences your stress as well. Acknowledge an increase in your breathing rate, in your heart rate, in the pulse pounding in your head. THESE are signs that you are “stressed” and that your anger over this realization will only increase it further.

My approach to this situation has always been to understand the past, orient to the future, but focus on the present. You cannot change the past, but only realize that you made decisions based upon your level of knowledge. If your level of knowledge is now increased or changed, make decisions based on that. Orient to the future and what you hope to become. Do you want increased capacity, health and vitality? Make your decisions that will allow for that. Focus on the present by making decisions that will move you to that future situation. Anger about the past will NOT move you towards health but further into stress and the physiology it creates.

I beg all of you, embrace the change. Don’t concern yourself with what you KNEW. Integrate what you KNOW and evolve.

Post thoughts to comments.

-Corey