Recovery specifics for CrossFit Masters Athletes

By: Kevin Bowles

 “Know yourself, understand the workouts by walking through them first so that your body can adjust to the movements.”

-Gord Mackinnon

Working with CrossFit Masters Competitors presents itself with obvious challenges without obvious solutions, it’s a mixture of new school approach with old school bodies and minds. Programming and coaching for the master is kind of like cement mixing, where equal doses of recovery and training volume must apply, and just like any competitor each individual Master’s Competitor presents many differences. This extra dynamic makes it an exciting adventure to embark upon as a coach. We have found over the years of working with these incredibly impressive athletes that even though each master comes with a unique set of limitations, strengths, weaknesses, and aversions, there are some universal principles that apply which mainly encompass recovery. 

The Importance of Recovery 

It’s not a glamorous topic, but we don’t write things for click bait, we are attempting to discover truths within the fitness industry. And the truth is, in this world, if you can recover better than your competitors it has a compounding effect over years, months, even a week-end competition. Providing us with the greatest return on our training investment. This is true for all competitors, however, for masters it becomes amplified because of the nature of the athletes that make up the field. One of the masters athletes I have been privileged to coach but more so learn from is veteran CrossFit Games competitor and international Canadian Rugby player Gord Mackinnon. He is a person that when speaking, the entire room stops to listen, because there is an overwhelming sense that you will learn a wise truth:

“The big difference is that 100% of masters CrossFit athletes are dealing with either current injuries, old injuries that have resurfaced, or general pains like arthritis to some degree. Everybody trains more effectively these days, because the science behind exercise and biomechanics is so sound now, technology has advanced. We didn’t have any of that, what we were told in our day was all wrong and these things are catching up with us now.”

-Gord Mackinnon, 3 time CrossFit Games Masters Champion

Masters deal with a lifetime of sports injuries and old war wounds that individuals don’t necessarily have to deal with, that’s why the masters athletes who crush it in competition are also some of the smartest when it comes to recovery. So much so that it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that given the scope of recovery and what it means, it could be the most important aspect within a masters athletes training program. In other words, If there’s a secret to becoming a successful masters competitor, the answer lies in recovery.

Recovery is more than method

Despite common knowledge, recovery doesn’t begin post workout, it doesn’t ever begin because it never ends. Recovery is best thought of simply as response, how does the body respond to training stimulus? And when we respond do we respond to the stimulus with positive results or negative ones? Our job is to find ways to recover positively. Thus, recovery must be a determining factor in all aspects of training, from the warm-ups, through the actual training, the cool downs, the post training recovery, sleep, in a cyclical fashion. Because if we isolate recovery to post training methods like ice baths and massage we could be shooting ourselves in the foot without realizing it during training, rendering recovery as attempts at just preventing bleeding or injury management.

Hormones

 As we naturally age, hormone receptors become less sensitive, leading us to a decline in endocrine function. Meaning, the ability for our bodies to grow and metabolize becomes more irregular, making the body slower to adapt to training methods. Given this fact, for a masters athlete, it is a good idea to keep training slightly less varied than the individual competitor which will afford the master the opportunity to adapt to the training stimulus. Masters athletes tend to react very well to a structured routine approach to their training. Seeing as recovery starts within our training methods, this is a good principle to include to ensure we are setting our athletes up to recover productively. 

Warm ups

These are typically viewed as a way to prepare for the workout, but sometimes it’s also beneficial to view a warm-up as a way to flush the previous days damage, an extended active recovery. A masters warm-up must be longer and less demanding, a masters athlete is always ready to throw down, what we must realize is that they don’t necessarily require as much activation or central nervous system priming, but would benefit more from a long general active recovery style warm-up. Something that Gord and I used heavily at the games was tracking resting heart rate and heart rate elevation rate during his warm-ups. We wanted to ensure that his heart rate was not spiking drastically but gradually increasing to a manageable rate. This is much different than an individual young gun who can hop onto an assault bike, crush a quick 15 cals and be ready to rock! Masters need time, remember everything is metabolizing slower, relative to an individual competitor, we should see the master’s warm-up as more gradual and encompassing more volume. More is more in the warm-up.

Less Is So Much More

A Masters athlete must be proactive in their training to give themselves a chance to recover, including: decreasing intensity and volume from the individual competitors, we would be best to practice movements more often than to train for stimulus. When we want to do more, we do more practicing, because a truth for any competitor is that consistency will always beat overtraining, and as a master we are walking on a balance beam when it comes to training volume. Where an individual athlete might be held more accountable to sticking to a program, the masters athlete must take their program with a grain of salt. Nobody knows your body better than you do, this is one of the advantages to being a masters athlete, the experience. If we can influence the athlete to be confident enough to listen to their body and attempt to master it, it will allow us to see more effective training over time. This is a difficult concept for a competitor to digest, no true competitor wants to do less training, but if there is buy in between coach and athlete it will be known that the program is smart and empathetic, creating an environment where it is not simply okay to alter the program on the fly but it is necessary to see athletic growth.

Central Nervous System

As we age our CNS will begin to atrophy, like the endocrine system, this system will slow down the messages from our brain to our body. Meaning, the CNS will be taxed more aggressively for a masters athlete making power style training much less effective. A masters athlete will benefit more from endurance style training, but continuing to allow for varied training methods, such as: Muscular endurance training, speed play training, lower demanding gymnastics for longer sets, movements that require less demand per repetition. We rarely ever go to complete failure, our pacing must be dialed in, masters athletes should break up repetitions more often but the time between those reps needs to be limited for more consistent efforts over the workout. Being smart about our approach and finding ways to rest in the workout are of enormous benefit, for example, resting with a bar on the back rather than dropping it to the floor if possible so you don’t have to clean it back up over multiple reps can drastically reduce the load on our CNS, and cut down on a major work load.

Because the CNS responds more slowly it doesn’t mean we can’t expose a masters athlete to heavy lifts, power training, and extreme intensities, we will need to manage the exposure over smaller doses. 

Active recovery 

For full recovery methods for the general high performing athlete, my previous article can be referred here: recovery 101. Active recovery for a master must become a daily ritual in order to have any lasting effects. A masters active recovery is also going to incorporate more than the average active recovery session, we are going to include longer tempo endurance, mobility, “injury management” such as physio therapy, massage, and chiropractic care, as well as specific accessory work. The truth is, when Gord was in his 20’s he proclaims he could play two rugby games in one day and his body felt great (but he also proclaimed he had to his games up hill both ways and in the snow. Kidding). But fast forward to his 30’s, after one game he would be stiff and sore for a full week until the next game. Now in his 60’s he opens up each day with active recovery, doing 150 air squats to move and maintain in order to keep consistency in his body.

Recovering during the qualifier

This article is timely with the CrossFit Games Age Group Online Qualifier quickly approaching. So I will leave you with some specific words from Gord on the topic:

“know yourself, understand the workouts by walking through them first so that your body can adjust to the movements. Do your strengths first coupled with shorter workouts, If there is a glaring beast wod save that one for last. 

Make your physio appointments ahead of time, plan for pains.

Don’t be afraid to gear up!” 

“Discipline is choosing between what you want now, and what you want most.”

-Abraham Lincoln

People usually reach out to us when their fitness and their goals are looking a bit shaky, we have seen this time and time again and they are simply just stuck in a wheel of “the grind.” We are fed, through social media, how the grind is all we need, that it’s all about that grind. We have seen over the years that, yes grinding is better than sitting on our asses, but after a while grinding just to grind has no direction, no purpose, and it leaves us feeling paralyzed in our current situation, often leaving us feeling stagnant, anxious, or simply just bored. When the reason we are grinding in the first place is to better our current situation. 

Couple this paralysis with the fitness & mentality trends displayed on social media and the sum of the two equal a perspective problem. The challenge with reacting to such events is that the external circumstances rarely have anything to do with your specific situation and plan. We are left to rely on continual motivation to fuel our desires. Motivation is a tool that we can use, it is not bad, but when we become dependant on motivation that’s when we get stuck or see marginal gains. We’ve all been there, we watched the latest CrossFit Games documentary, an athletes youtube channel, or an instagram page and we become motivated to get ourselves to the gym for the week, then after 10-14 days our attendance resembles that of the Toronto Maple Leaf 2006-2016 playoff schedule.

Adrenal Fatigue

We tell ourselves we have a motivation problem and we start the cycle over again. Even if we continually motivate ourselves and we are consistent, this mindset is never sustainable. It is very mentally taxing and can be physically daunting to the point where the stubborn ones might experience what we’ve seen as adrenal fatigue.  We can see that adrenal fatigue is an extreme version of overtraining and it does happen, that’s why it’s a good idea to keep track of things like sudden behaviour changes when we are training, as our hormones are drastically effected by physical exertion. 

Athlete Psychology

You’re not alone with this motivation problem, it presents itself in many different ways and we have routinely seen athletes of all skill levels struggle with this on some level. From individuals who struggle to get off the couch and haven’t even tapped into the athlete contained within themselves yet, to athletes that are finding that they are training so much and intensely that it’s hard for them to manage the next days session, therefore experiencing symptoms of overtraining and in some cases adrenal fatigue. 

Scientifically, this is why we include variance coupled with waves of weightlifting percentages and metcon intensities to ensure that we control for adaptations, but individuals who struggle with this are usually mistaking motivation for discipline. Motivation is like a spark, it’s great for starting a fire within us, motivation charges us up and gives us some short term energy. However, it is terrible for keeping that fire going and burning hot! Hopefully we can develop that spark, seeing motivation turn into habits, then habits into routine, and finally we have discipline. 

Habits

Habits are just motivations that become automatic responses, that can be good or bad. Think about a habit you have, we are usually triggered (or motivated) toward this habit. Knowing this allows us to control the trigger. We simply attempt to motivate athletes toward turning their goals into habits. The best example is a smoker, smokers are not drawn to pull out a cigarette until they are triggered. It could be that they couple smoking with drinking coffee and that sip of coffee triggers the response to crave a cigarette, or getting in their car to commute home, ect. If we learn the trigger, we can control the response or the trigger itself. When used with good habits like a fitness routine, we already have so much power.

Routine

Once our habits are formed, the conscious application and recurrence of our habits form a routine on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis. When we put that habit in a schedule we have solidified the routine. 

Discipline

Holding ourselves accountable is discipline, when motivation has started the fire and it becomes burning hot through habits and routine, discipline is keeping that fire going. There are not many things worth doing in life that are “set it and forget it.” Athletes of all levels struggle with discipline in one way or another, the discipline to understand movement and keep learning, the discipline to stick to a certain type of programming and not let our minds get carried away with ‘grass is greener’ thoughts, or the discipline to keep our routines fun and engaging. 

Discipline is difficult to implement, the word even has an eye rolling reputation. But becoming truly disciplined is generally a game changer to those who take the time to learn and develop the behaviour. 

You can book a call with us here for more information on better steps to becoming disciplined with your training in order to actively pursue your goals.

“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.”

-Zen Proverb

Recovery is a widely covered topic in the fitness industry, like nutrition there are many versions of implementation towards specific goals causing a massive sea of information that can be hard to differentiate. Also, like nutrition, recovery implements are not as beneficial in a general setting, they should more effectively be tailored to individual and specific demands. 

Adaptation

Everything we do relies heavily on the human body’s response to adaptation. Because we adapt we develop, but it is also this same phenomenon that forces plateau, which is why training programs must be thoughtful. The methodology of variance has been one way that we have overcome adaptation in training. Variance has become a widely known method to disrupt adaptation and expedite progression in most training programs. We must recognize that one of the things human beings are best at is adaptation, and just like in training, we adapt to methods of recovery as well. So as a general rule of thumb, your recovery should mirror your training in the sense of variance, but also in intensity and volume. For instance, when the training is at its peak recovery methods should be most intense during this time and less intense when training is not as rigorous. 

Supercompensation

The ultimate goal of our recovery is to illicit supercompensation by the next training session. Supercompensation is a response to a given stimulus, where we see an elevation in the athlete’s performance following the recovery period. When we train we are exposing our bodies to damage; this is why our performance declines during and immediately post training. But with properly executed recovery, we gradually get back to homeostasis and, in a well thought out training/recovery program, we can routinely achieve supercompensation.

Means of Recovery

Sleep

It is commonly known that human beings optimally require 7-9 hours of sleep per night at a minimum, But concerning recovery the quantity of sleep is just step one, the quality of sleep is something we can dissect further into how we are sleeping. 

There are four stages of sleep preceding each other in a cyclical manner in a 90-120min frame:

Stage 1- Transition- drowsiness and relaxation begin

Stage 2- Stable sleep- Chemically reduced senses

Stage 3- Deep sleep- Growth Hormone is produced

Stage 4- Rapid Eye Movement (REM)- Brain is very active, body is immobilized 

Lack of sleep or sleep disturbance that inhibits REM sleep has shown to drastically increase cortisol which is our stress hormone and decrease growth hormone which stimulates the rebuilding of tissue. In athletic recovery we are very concerned with the bodies ability to decrease cortisol and increase growth hormone. 

The goal of our sleep is to spend more time in deep sleep. Some methods that allow us to do so are all centered around non-disturbance and relaxation. An athlete should not eat a few hours before going to bed, immediately beforehand a glass of warm water is beneficial. Any stimulants like caffeine and alcohol interfere with getting to deeper stages of sleep as their effects are felt long after consumption. So we might even be aided in falling asleep by these stimulants, but our quality is reduced. A higher carbohydrate meal before sleep tends to provide us a more restful sleep than a lower carbohydrate meal, but it increases REM and decreases Deep sleep, as do spicy condiments. 

A hot bath at any point in the evening can induce sleep faster and cause greater relaxation allowing the body and mind to progress through the first two stages more quickly. 

The atmosphere of the bedroom should be as dark as possible with fresh air circulation and a cool temperature (17-19 C). The head remains cool while the feet are warmed with an even and firm mattress in order to maintain the curve of the spine.

Contrast Recovery

We can even think about our recovery in the shower. Using contrasting temperatures of water as not only recovery but as a means of physical well being has been used for centuries. A 5 min shower, alternating 1min of hot water and 10s of cold water, post workout can speed up recovery by 15%.

A warm bath can be used after strength or speed workouts to flush muscular tension and fatigue pains. An endurance athlete would require the opposite, a cool bath followed by a fresh shower. As overheating the body is a great means of recovery, an endurance athlete requires a cooling of their core temperature to aid in recovery.

A sauna can help to relax muscle increase elasticity of joints and ligaments, and even increase metabolism. However, saunas do increase blood flow at a superficial level at the expense of internal organs, so a sauna should only be used during intense training and no more than twice per week. A sauna should not be used during menstruation or with an elevated core body temperature. 

When using a sauna athletes should enter for 5-7min followed by a cooling period of either fresh, cool air or a cold bath for 10-15 seconds, with a 7-10min rest for 4 total rounds.

An athlete who lost more than 2% of total body weight during a workout is dehydrated and should not elevate their core temperature for more than 24 hours.

Active Recovery

When we increase the heart rate to 50%, around 90-110bpm, for prolonged periods the body decreases cortisol and increases blood flow through the muscles which allows for increased metabolism and a reduction in lactate.

Active recovery between sets, for speed training, a 1:1 work:rest ratio is recommended; and for endurance training, it can be as little as 9:1 to see a benefit.

Active recovery in place of a workout should last 40-60mins with a heart rate between 90-110bpm. Using a method that is enjoyable to the athlete has shown to elicit an even better response. Aggressive hiking, light jogging, physical labour, cycling, swimming, cross country skiing are all great methods of active recovery. Following the session with joint mobility will allow for increased blood flow.

Post Training Recovery 

We live in a world where convenience tends to take precedence over long term value, and although it is convenient to practice our recovery at the tail end of a training session, pairing the two together, it is less than beneficial. Specific recovery methods used inside a 3 hour window post training session leave athlete’s performance in worse shape the following day. However, athletes that use the same recovery methods after that 3 hour window see performance benefit. Further, athletes that recover 6-12 hours after a training session experience supercompensation the following day. 

We can effectively use recovery sessions to not only see elevated performance results but to also foster healthier lifestyles. Recovery is beneficial on a cellular and hormonal level even without accompaniment by a training program. Recovery is the platform for growth in the human body whether we are attempting to become the next greatest of all time or we are simply looking to get more out of our lives.