I train for climbing six days a week. It鈥檚 tough on my body. Traveling constantly takes a toll, too. In order to progress athletically, one of the most important pieces of聽the puzzle is staying healthy and injury-free.
There are a lot of different recovery practices out there, but these are the six things that have worked best for me.
Cryotherapy
I first found out about cryotherapy at the in Santa Monica, California. (Full disclosure: Red Bull is one of my sponsors.) The technique is sort of like a concentrated, intense ice bath. Essentially you stand in a deep-freezing chamber filled with liquid nitrogen for three to five minutes. The tank reaches temperatures as low as minus 200 degrees. During this process, your blood vessels constrict, which alleviates inflammation and pain throughout the body. I do this before or after every workout.
I live in Boulder, Colorado, so I聽go to 聽for this therapy.聽
Graston
I see my physical therapist, , once a week when I'm home. He鈥檒l use tools like Graston鈥攁 manual soft-tissue release technique that鈥檚 sort of like a massage鈥攐n my forearms. I鈥檝e always felt that if a massage doesn鈥檛 feel painful, it鈥檚 not really productive for recovery. The body works like聽a chain:聽if there is tension in one point of your body, it鈥檚 probably related to an issue elsewhere.
Dry Needling
Dry needling is a specific聽localized treatment that uses鈥攜ou guessed it鈥攏eedles to relieve pain. Unlike acupuncture, dry needling pinpoints inflamed problem areas in your body. Charlie inserts the needle into trigger-point areas of my muscles to treat myofascial pain. He will also hook these needles up to an electromagnetic stimulator to enhance blood flow. I do dry needling when I have a specific muscle inflammation or tension, usually in my lats, upper back, and neck.
Infrared Sauna
The infrared sauna doesn鈥檛 have much solid research to back it up as a recovery tool, but I like it after a hard workout. I鈥檝e also found it to be a good remedy to combat a cold or post-travel jet lat. These saunas heat the body from the inside out via infrared light waves, instead of warming through surface heat聽like a traditional sauna. Typically聽I鈥檒l spend about 30 minutes in one. Most high-end gyms or recovery physio centers have these.
Foam Rolling
Foam rolling is a really easy form of recovery. I bring my foam roller when I travel and use it in my hotel room after long flights, after climbing outside all day, and sometimes before climbing. My back gets really stiff, and聽I find that when I roll my spine it releases a lot of the pressure. Using a foam roller can be effective if used for just for a few minutes intermittently, but it is a healthy and easy habit to develop. I use the from Pro-Tec Athletics, another one of my sponsors.
Rest
Climbing is a year-round sport. If you can travel, there鈥檚 always a place to climb that鈥檚 in season. But you can鈥檛 expect peak performance out of your body year-round. You need rest. Typically, I take the month of December off. This isn鈥檛 to say that you won鈥檛 find聽me in the climbing gym, but more than likely聽I鈥檒l be on the ski hill or with ice axes, mixing it up. Time off from training is important to enable your body and mind聽to recharge. When I鈥檓 in season, I typically go through two-to-three-month training blocks with a goal in mind. At the end of this concentrated period of training, I set off for my project. Afterward聽it鈥檚 important to take time to appreciate what you have put your body and mind through.