The Magic of Massage, and Tennis Balls

One great thing about CF is how it encourages us to push beyond our limits and feel incredible benefits afterward. But every so often I over-do it and get minor injuries, knots or stresses that nag at the body and eventually interfere with progress. I'm sure I'm not alone.

When injuries arise, it's hard to figure out which exercises cause the pain. In one week a CrossFitter performs an extraordinary variety of movements.

When pain strikes, I often flee to a masseuse and chiropractor first, hoping the two will compliment one another and provide a complete solution. But it's hard to find a good masseuse, someone who is both skilled and a good listener, and best of all, familiar with athletic injuries. My last masseuse was a women who responded to my worries over injuries with "mmm hmmm" and kept lubing me up with bio-freeze and giving me a light once-over.

Recently, I've had persistent back pain that has kept me up at night. I began looking at our bed as if it were a torture devise. I woke up four or five times every night stretching and trying to rub my own back. No position was comfortable.

I stubbornly kept doing CF everyday and just hoped it would go away, but after two weeks the pain remained. I called another masseuse, crossing my fingers for someone who would be more in touch with their customer. I was given a very decent 30 minute "express massage" which focused exclusively on my back pains. The guy was good, he listened to my comments, focused on the problem, and gave me exercises to practice. When he was rolling around on the floor in his socks, trying to demonstrate exercises I could try, I knew he was someone I could trust.

I was told not to lift weights for two days in order to allow the massage to make its full effect, and to not confuse the muscles with mixed messages (relax! now contract!). I don't like taking time off, but I actually listened this time. I was desperate for a good night of rest.

But the best advice he gave me was to go home and find two tennis balls and lay on top of them. The balls work under the body's weight and breath which helps them nudge the muscles just like a well-meaning hand. The trick is to get them to hit the right spot and then gently roll around and breathe deeply. Try putting them into a tube sock and tying the end with a knot to help keep them in place (one on each side of your spine, but NEVER ON the spine).

This feels amazing! It puts you in control of where and how you receive pressure, it relieves your boyfriend or girlfriend of masseuse duty, it keeps you you from dislocating your shoulder while trying to massage your own back, AND it's practically free! (I'm terribly horribly embarrassingly awful at tennis, so it was no problem for me to find a canister of balls that aren't going to be used for their true intention).

Of course, there are products out there that mimic the effect of the tennis balls. These are conveniently designed for easy use. Most of all, tools like these are essential for those of us who work out regularly and like to push. Sore muscles are a rewarding sign of progress but they deserve therapy and attention. It's the only way to get your ass back in the gym a little faster.

Adjustable Thoracic Shiatsu Roller

Adjustable Body Shiatsu Roller

http://www.shiatsubag.com/main/page_shiatsumd.html

Modifying WODs

WOD stands for Workout of the Day. It's a fun acronym used to describe the anti-routine, the daily pain and torture posted on CF's website or delegated at your local CF gym.

Read one description of a WOD and you'll probably laugh until you have tears in your eyes, or slowly back out of the room on your tip-toes.

But stay calm because WODs can be scaled, i.e. made easier, for real people like us!

Enter Brand X, an embedded link on CF's website that provides different versions of the WOD based on their clever scaling. Think dogs, because you're going to be working like one: pack, porch, puppies, and the (non-doggish) buttercups. There's no shame in any of these levels!

It will take a few workouts to find out just how weak, er, strong you are. I find that the puppies workouts fit pretty well, although not always. Sometimes they're waaaay harder than you thought they'd be, or they're a bit easy because, you know, you're not nauseous or dizzy enough afterward.

Anyway, this entry is about allowing yourself to change WODs and even change the Brand X workouts so they fit your abilities. Below is the workout from 9/9/09. I had to modify this a good deal, and in doing so, had the perfect workout.

Wednesday 9/9/09

Four rounds for time of:
100 ft Walking lunge, carrying 30 pound dumbbells
24 inch Box Jump, 30 reps
30 pound Weighted pull-ups, 20 reps

Post time to comments.

Okee! Let's see how we can scale this one down. Below is what Brand X recommends for the porch and the pack.

The Porch:
Four rounds for time of:
100 ft Walking lunge, carrying 20-25 pound dumbbells (Yikes, a bit too heavy maybe. But I'll try it).
24 inch Box Jump, 20 reps (Ok).
20-25 pound Weighted pull-ups, 10 reps (What? No way).

Pack:
Three rounds for time of:
100 ft Walking lunge, carrying 15 pound dumbbells (I don't have 15lb dumbbells).
20 inch Box Jump, 20 reps (Ok).
15 pound Weighted pull-ups, 10 reps or 35 reps no weight (35 reps no weight assisted is doable, BUT because of the rough nature of my pull-up bar, I'll most likely get a blister).

So what's a CrossFit girl to do? Mix and match, and get creative. Just keep it diverse and challenging.

Three rounds for time of:

100 ft Walking lunge, carrying 10 pound dumbbells (I did the first round with 25lbs and quickly substituted the 10lb dumbbells. I'm still hurting.)

20 inch Box Jump, 20 reps (I used the bench I have, which is not 20 inches.)

15 pound Weighted pull-ups, 10 reps or 35 reps no weight (Neither. Instead I did 10 pull- ups, no weight, no assistance. And no blisters!).

I don't think there's anything wrong with adjusting an already adjusted workout, as long as you're not going too easy. If you work out at a home gym you might not have the equipment needed to do every WOD. That's also ok! Recreate movements with a similar exercise. Either way don't compromise your workout for comfort. Keep it diverse and challenging, diverse, and challenging.

New Shoes: The Nike Free

The other day a large box came in the mail. It weighed almost nothing, maybe 2 pounds if I had to guess. Who sent this box of air? Although my fiance and I were expecting new pairs of Nike Frees, I thought this must be something else. There's no way two pairs of shoes could be inside...

The Nike Free seeks to simulate barefoot running. Wikipedia describes the scaling, "The Nike shoe scale goes from 10.0 to 3.0 with a '10' being a fully supportive shoe, and '0' being completely barefoot."

It takes a strong foot to endure barefoot running or even the simulation of barefoot running, so it's recommended you start with a thicker sole and work your way to thin. I have a 5.0 and they are just right. My feet are adjusting, but I'm not uncomfortable.

The sensation of these shoes compared to a fat-tastic bubbly running shoe is surprisingly pleasant. I feel as I've been taken back to the basics with a shoe that allows my foot to roll gently from heel to toe. The rolling is smooth and uncomplicated, the shoe light and airy, the fit is snug, and there's little room for rubbing or blistering.


Be prepared to feel the ground you are running on, rather than feeling protected from it by inches of gel, nodes, and padding. There's something refreshing and literally grounding about this as it reconnects the runner to the earth.

A short article about the creation of the Nike Free. http://www.fazeteen.com/winter2004/nikefree.htm

Did I mention they come in some kick-ass colors? You can even design your own color scheme. Sassy!