DMGNotes from Today's Massage
I woke up this morning with my neck in a bind. Knots between my shoulder blades, pain when I try to look down. Typical of me when I get stressed.
Why am I stressed? In a nutshell, because my weekly routine was already pretty packed, and my commute now eats another hour out of each day. I have to make every minute count. I multitask whenever possible. When I'm really rolling, I have three or four things going at once.
So I booked a massage for my lunch hour today. The therapist was very good, and had some interesting comments that I want to act on. I'm putting them here so they don't fall through the cracks.
First, she said that I'm too young to have the kind of tightness and knotting that she sees. She guessed correctly that I'm riding the edge of overtraining. She told me to spend some time researching recovery-related dietary supplements, and avail myself of some more opportunities to do some yoga or other restorative activity.
In the past three things have been central to keeping healthy and energized. They are: sleep, stretching, supplements. I will rededicate myself to all three.
I also found recently that staying fueled during my workouts made a huge difference in recovery speed, and benefits gained. So I'm going to invest in some sports drink powder and gel packs, and make sure to keep them handy during Krav/BJJ workouts.
She also mentioned that I have an unusually flat upper back. Nothing dramatic, but she mentioned that I'll have to do a little extra work to keep tension from building up in my shoulders and neck. That jibes with my experience, so I'll be researching some stretches or exercises that will help clear that area. (I remember standing and sitting rows being great for this. One more reason to get back to the gym...)
So, the complete to-do list to get my workout recovery up and my stress levels down:
- Sleep 8+ hours every night. Get up at the same time every morning.
- Stretch after every workout. Concentrate on back and neck flexibility.
- Take my vitamins every night.
- Stay fueled through every workout.
- Start doing yoga at least once a week.
And, of course, I've scheduled a follow-up massage for next week, and the place I went offers some great rates on five-massage packages.