Prehabilitation

In my last Post I covered a number of topics that pertain to your ability to recover from our training program. I promised a more in depth coverage of some of those topics, each one has plenty of research into them and to cover each of them going in depth into the different aspect of the research and how it can apply to different areas of your CrossFit training would be an article longer than most would care to read so I will cover this one briefly using generalities and common sense. This needed to be said up front because I will not be dealing with specifics or citing much research in this article.

I would like to deal with the topic I have discussed the least in other blog posts which is the Idea of
Pre-habilitation.

Prehabilitation is the area(s) of  training designed to prevent injury before it actually happens.

This typically involves doing the boring stuff, and being consistent about doing those boring things. Prehab is extra tough because there is not apparent reason to be doing these exercises.

There are a few major area to consider when thinking about PreHab work. Primarily though we have to consider the general health of the muscle tissue, Connective tissue, and the joint capsule.

There are many things that go into this out side the gym including Hydration, nutrition, and supplementation. Sleep and rest also plays a role in the state of readiness of the tissues and nervous system ( I will cover these in another article. ) Out side of these there are specific things that we can do that will go a long way to improving our performance and preventing injury.

Work that can be done in the gym ( and out side too)
Proper Warm Ups
Proper Cool Downs 
Specific Mobility work 

Work that needs be done outside the gym 
Massage 
Chiropractic work

I will touch on each of these areas as quickly as possible in such a way that you will hopefully grasp its importance. 

Proper Warm up: In keeping with my previous car analogies a proper warm up is like the Onramp on the the a fast moving free way. If you reach the end of the Onramp going 25MPH you are much more likely to get in an accident. From the Science the benefits of warming up are 

• Increased movement of blood through your tissues, making the muscles more pliable.
• Increased delivery of oxygen and nutrients to your muscles. This prevents you from getting out of breath early or too easily.
• Prepares your muscles for stretching
• Prepares your heart for an increase in activity, preventing a rapid increase in blood pressure
• Prepares you mentally for the upcoming exercise
• Primes your nerve-to-muscle pathways to be ready for exercise
• Improved coordination and reaction time

A how to on  warm ups is a topic for another article ( I seem to say that a lot) however the point here is to take our daily warm ups seriously, apply your self you should finish the warm up sweaty and maybe a little out of breath. If you don't you did not apply yourself properly to the warm up.

Proper cool down: Again with a car/ driving analogy. Ending a work out with out a cool down is like stopping at a red light by slamming on your breaks instead of decelerating slowly. Can you do it with out wrecking, sure most of the time, but your maintenance costs for breaks and other things will likely be much higher and they may give out sooner than you think causing and accident ( injury)

The primary benefit of a proper cool down is aiding recovery so that we are prepared for the next session.

Specific Mobility work : Every ones needs here will be different but each of us has our own anatomy and our own athletic history full of injuries or imbalances. This plus the recent damage we have done to our bodies by our current training plan means that our muscle tissue, connective tissue, and joint capsules are not functioning at 100%. Mobility work is simply taking care of these issues to ensure that we are as close to 100% as possible. it includes Flexibility work, Foam rolling, and other exercises that help use move appropriately. 

The primary benefits here are injury prevention, you will be less prone to injury if you can make a noticeable change in your tissue on a daily basis to ensure you are able to move properly. It will also improve your immediate performance by allowing a more efficient movement pattern. 

Massage : This requires an investment of money as well as time and probably some research to find a good massage therapist, and also a willingness to be active in your massage. The type of massage you need to get to really help with recovery should hurt and you should be actively forcing yourself to relax during it. It is not supposed to be something that you can fall asleep during. 

The primary benefits of Deep Tissue massage are:

Improved Circulation
Improved Range of Motions 

Improved recovery time

Less stiffness in the muscle.

Chiropractic Care: Usually thought of as a rehabilitation technique it can serve also as preventive care for your joints and spine, It also can improve the function of the nervous system and even the digestive system. While this is the area I have researched the least, and there fore one i talk the least about, I do believe it can be a powerful tool for serious athletes. 

These are the things that need to be done ( especially the first 3) in order to minimize the risk of hard and serious training, it is time to start taking it seriously.