Badass Fitness

A Halloween WOD to Make Your Muscles Scream, with Playlist!

Happy Halloween Eve!

Just for you all, I created a scary-but-don't-fear-it WOD and playlist to celebrate the goulish occasion! 

It's super challenging, as Badass Fitness workouts tend to be! But if it's easy, why bother? This also happens to be super-satisfying as you push through and feel those legs and glutes almost literally catch on fire -- like they've been hit by lightning and other scary supernatural forces!

So give this a try, along with the playlist below! I promise you this will make you feel better than raiding your kids' trick or treat stash;) So go ahead and #getafterit.

Badass Halloween 2012 Playlist 

1. Halloween Theme ( John Carpenter / MCA Music ), Halloween Scream Themes
2. Ghostbusters Dance Remix, The Hit Crew
3. The Beautiful People, Marilyn Manson
4. Scream, Usher
5. Everyday Is Halloween (Leather Strip Remix), Ministry
6. Thriller, Michael Jackson
7. Maneater, Nelly Furtado
8. Bad to the Bone, George Thorogood & The Destroyers
9. Bring Me to Life, Evanescence
10. E.T., Katy Perry
11. Maniac Mummy Move (Halloween Party Mix), Halloween #1 Hit Makers
12. The Boogie Monster, Gnarls Barkley
13. Bela Lugosi’s Dead, Godhead
14. Bloodletting (The Vampire Song), Concrete Blonde
15. Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites, Skrillex
16. Thriller (Tronix DJ Remix Edit), RagDollz 
17. Black Cat, Janet Jackson
18. Phantom of the Opera (Remix), Joe Burgess
19. Halloween (Halloween Club Remix), DiscoPhantom

Coming up: Chicken "fried rice" you can - and will want to - shovel in, forget the chopsticks!

FEAR NOTHING: A Badass Playlist

A few hours later, I am still riding a wave of endorphins from this morning's cycle class. I had a new playlist, a tough ride profile, and a big class of students ready to #getafterit before dawn. #Badass!

I call this the "Fear Nothing" mix, because it's all about believing you CAN -- no matter how high the mountain gets, how heavy the weights feel, or how many miles you have left to run. For those of you teaching cycling, I have also posted the ride profile below. But this mix is just as good in the gym, in the CrossFit "box," or on a great run.

Enjoy it, and remember: The voice in your head telling you "can't" is a LIAR.

 

The Fear Nothing Ride:

Song 1: warmup (easy level)

Song 2: Moderate level and resistance w sprints on the chorus. Remember: you could have "piunded the alarm this morning, but you didn't! So #getafterit

Song 3: 30-20-10s, 4 loops. Take the last 30 seconds of the song to recover. Challenge: Go fastest and hardest on the last loop when your legs want to quit. YES you can.

Song 4: Tabata drills at moderate level of resistance.

Song 5: Straight uphill! Start at moderate, keep adding on resistance while maintaining pace every 30 seconds to end at breathless/anaerobic. On the "wobble" chorus, out of the saddle. If your legs feel "wobbly," you are right where you need to be! Working it!

Song 6: Take the first minute to recover at easy level from song 5. Then 30-20-10s, 4 loops, then another 45 seconds of recovery at the end of the song. Challenge: Take each section a little steeper than the first 30-20-10 song. The finish is in sight!

Song 7: Tabata drills at moderate level of resistance. The team behind you wants to win. Show them who's boss.

Song 8: This is our steepest, hardest push today! Start at the heavy side of "moderate" and every 30 seconds, add resistance. Do not let your pace wane. We are in this to win this.

Song 9: Take the first minute to recover at easy. We are in the valley, and the finish line is up at the top of this small mountain. Go from moderate to hard to anaerobic during the final 3 minutes.

Song 10: Cool down victory lap!

Badass VP Guest Blog: Diary of a Skinny Kid

Note from the Badass CEO: Recruits, there are many awesome things about Chris Turner, our "Army VP" who shared via this blog his awesome #360to30 journey beginning last year. He is funny, honest, smart, committed, and did I mention honest? Yes, Chris is great at bringing up for debate the topics we don't always like to discuss - a nod to his political junkie side. Today, he tackles an issue that he knows will elicit some "I am not sympathetic" eye rolls or outright "talk to the hand" face palms. But he raises very good points about the ways we tend to assume things about others based solely on appearance...including his "skinny legs." His guest blog is a reminder that being supportive of others on their fitness journeys is a must, regardless of size and body type. Read on, and I encourage you to read to the finish.... 

From Chris: In all the talk about fitness and eating healthy, people tend to push the discussion toward weight loss, or losing inches around our stomach, thighs, and arms. 

But I'd like to address the dark horse of the community, the thing we don’t see discussed much.  I’m going to say something that will probably have my tires slashed; tripwire and claymores placed in front of my door; and possible hits put out on my life: being skinny is tough, and not that great. 

OK, wait, wait. Before you organize the mob to come after me, please read on: 

Here are few things that we skinny-but-trying-not-to-be people want others to understand:

1. Listen, we know we are skinny. We know how small our legs are. We get it. 
2. Yes. That meal replacement shake is for me. No, I am not trying to make you look bad.  It’s because I burned 600 calories this morning in a spin class, or have a 30 mile bike ride this afternoon and I would rather not pass out while on it, and also I am trying NOT to lose any weight.
3. Yes, I know I know. I am lucky to be this small “naturally.” Can we leave the condescension at the door please? 
4. Some of us do try to put on weight. Peanut butter protein smoothies twice a day.  Heavy lifting three times a week. Nothing works. And when we do get that increase in weight, after a couple of bike rides or runs, it’s gone. This is not fun. It is frustrating. I may be skinny, but I want strong.

People see skinny as a goal.  But why?  Skinny isn't the same as "fit."  When students or friends talk to me about their fitness goals, I always try to steer them toward focusing on fit, not skinny.  When it comes to fitness, strong trumps skinny.  Look at the pictures of the recent Augusta Half-Ironman. 

Yeah, some of those people running around may not be the smallest people in the world, but they just swam 1.2 miles, biked 56 miles, and ran a half-marathon. They are strong, and beautiful, and they have worked for it. Some people are born a certain way, some bigger than others, some smaller than others. But everyone can accomplish a goal.

So how about we embrace all people of all shapes and sizes?  There is too much to love and enjoy about life without being concerned with how someone else looks in comparison to you, and yes I have accepted I will never have the “V” of Nathan Adrian.  So let’s all turn off the judgment for a little bit (me included, I have been just as guilty of looking at someone and making assumptions), and just be happy. 

If you see someone at Starbucks who, in your mind, is overweight and is ordering a sugary glass of sweet, don’t judge.  And when you see me walking by you, don’t offer me a milkshake.  Odds are, I have already had one for the day.

Coming up: Pumpkin cake bread that will make you want a second slice...and another; and a circuit routine to make your 'junk in the trunk' stronger!

BOOO! Freaky Friday TRX #NoFear #ZombiesNeverGetSore

The TRX RIP and Suspension Trainer are a little bit like zombies. They look harmless enough just laying there. Then you start to mess around with them, and things get heated! Someone might walk away limping, and it isn't necessarily the zombie.

By the end of a really good TRX workout, what looked like "just a little strap" or "just some bar attached to a little cord" becomes something much more fierce. Your muscles that will feel like they're being put through hellish fire - but in a really good, #getafterit and "that was awesome" kind of way! The RIP trainer especially kicks my #Badass every time, as evidenced by a heart rate close to what I experience in cycling class on uphill sprint intervals. And by adding plyometric cardio bursts in between the Suspension Trainer moves, you keep the heart rate elevated for maximum metabolic burn.  

So as we usher in a new fall weekend, and the kids start picking out their scary Halloween costumes, scare up some endorphins and lactic acid with this full-body, Freaky Friday TRX routine! I guarantee it will make you feel anything BUT dead, and it's better for you than eating the Halloween candy, right?

If you are new to TRX and aren't sure about all of these exercises, the team at TRX has an awesome library of how-to videos here. 

The #BadassBurpeesChallenge: Get In It to #getafterit!!!

Burpees are like vitamins. We don't always want them, but we feel better for having made them a part of our daily routine. They can be tough to swallow, but in the end they make us stronger.

Let's be real, people: Of all the exercises we love to hate and hate to love, burpees are right up there among the top three - if not king of the mountain at No. 1! Because burpees are no joke, right? They require maximum effort. They test our determination and, depending on how many are in the WOD, our endurance.

Yep, burpees kick badass. But if we keep at them, they also help US kick some major badass. #FACT.

The best part? They can be done in a very short window of our precious time. This efficiency of time spent vs. results is HUGE during the holidays that, basically, start right now as we prepare for Halloween. Before the kids' trick or treat baskets are even emptied, it will be Thanksgiving...then Christmas and Hanukkah...and before we know it, New Year's Eve is here.

Crapsticks! So we have to #getAFTERit, and pronto!!! Fear not - I have the perfect solution: The 2012 BadassBurpeesChallenge. (Don't all release a sigh of relief at once, now! We GOT this.)

Here's the skinny: Every day, at least once a day but up to four times a day, we stop and do one minute of burpees. We count how many we do in a minute. We log it every time. Maybe you set a goal at the start, like "I did 20 but my goal is 30 in one minute." At the end of six weeks, ending on Nov. 22 (Thanksgiving Day!), we each do one final minute to see just how much faster, stronger and more Badass we have gotten at those burpees. You send me your video #proof, and the winner (based on greatest gains, most fun and creative video), gets a prize pack of some awesome swag!

THIS is what one minute of burpees looks like:

 

You've GOT that! So tell me, are you in? Are you in to #getafterit? Can you spare just one minute a day to show yourself how awesome you are? Maybe you even add some "oomph" by doing a burpee with a Bosu, like this:

 

This challenge is simple. Doable. Measurable. It requires the smallest fraction of our busy days. And at the end, we will no doubt surprise ourselves at how much strength we have gained!

Burpees are badass like that. Little wonder that the U.S. Army, amid WWII, adopted burpees as a way to assess recruits' agility, coordination, strength and overall fitness levels!

The BadassBurpeesChallenge starts today. I will post video #proof of myself and others along the way (send me yours and join the Badass Fitness Facebook group for a steady stream of updates, encouragement and fist bumps. Share this post, spread the love! The more, the merrier. That is how the Badass Army rolls!

I will leave you with a Burpee Fun Fact:

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the exercise was named in the 1930s for American physiologist Royal H. Burpee, who developed the Burpee test. He earned a PhD in Applied Physiology from Columbia University in 1940 and created the "Burpee" exercise for his PhD thesis as a quick and simple way to assess fitness.

Thank you, Dr. Burpee, for keeping us on our toes...and hands...and jump-ups!

Coming next week: Paleo Pumpkin Bread with muscle-building "frosting," a guest blog from the Badass Fitness VP, and a Freaky Friday TRX workout to scare off those candy zombies!

 

The Barre Bar Story: Real Food for Real Performers, Athletes

Winter, early 2010. Julia Erickson, a Principal Dancer for the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, is rehearsing for the defining role of her career: Odette/Odile in Swan Lake. Now more than ever, she needs her body to perform at 110 percent. She needs it well-fueled, strong and full of graceful endurance. Her future as a ballerina depends on it.

But she had long been frustrated with the protein and energy bars on the market, most of them too full of Franken-gredients and sugar alcohols to effectively nourish and fuel her body through all-day rehearsals with very few breaks for meals.

So she goes to her own kitchen. A longtime "foodie" who loves to experiment with healthy foods, Julia plays around with the ingredients in her cupboard and came up with a nutty, fruity energy bar that also happens to be delicious. Barre Bar is born. And with the help of her partner and fellow ballet pro, Tallahassee, Florida native Aaron Ingley, Barre Bar today is a growing success.

Badass CEO side note: I would have loved to be a dancer like Julia and Aaron. My childhood was unstable, with too many relocations, custody exchanges and adults in charge making really poor choices.

So to this day, I am fascinated with dancers, gymnasts and others who use their bodies with such grace and coordination. My early years shaped me and made me stronger, yet I regret that I was never able to enroll in dance, gymnastics, ballet, etc. -- areas where I suspect my petite frame would have excelled.

All of this makes me respect and admire dancers and gymnasts all the more. And now that I use my body every day for fitness, we are kindred spirits in at least one way: We need the right fuel to fuel our "performance." Theirs is more swan-like. Mine is more gritty bootcamp-like. But the clean calories we need for muscular endurance and overall energy are very much the same.

Which brings me back to Barre Bar, the first energy bar developed and marketed specifically for the dance community. In just two years, the bars have grown from being a favorite among Julia's and Aaron's circle of fellow ballerinas to being sold in 170 dance studios and 30 Whole Foods markets nationwide.  It's also available in small health food stores like HoneyTree Natural Foods here in Tallahassee, just a few miles from where Aaron grew up performing in the Young Actors Theater. Whole Foods loves and endorses the product so much, the organic healthy foods chain recently asked Barre Bar to develop a new flavor in conjunction with the opening of a new Whole Foods in a Pittsburgh suburb.

"Once we realized that there really wasn't a food product on the market for the professional dance world, and when we saw there was a need for a healthy, nutritious snack for young dancers, our scope of business grew pretty quickly," says Aaron, 34, who runs Barre Bar day to day while Julia continues to dance full time. He spent a few minutes chatting with me Sunday afternoon, as he drove to a Whole Foods event in D.C.

It's no surprise Whole Foods loves Barre Bar. Combine the crunchy, chewy and sweet taste of KIND and Lara bars, add in a few "superfood" ingredients, and you get Barre Bar. I tried the 2 original flavors (my favorite in Pirouette Cinnamon Pecan) and the new one, Spirulina Ballerina, and I love them all.

"Yeah, we describe it as a souped-up Lara Bar," Aaron says.

Consider the Black Swan Chocolate Berry: Dates, agave nectar, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seed butter (sunflower kernels, sunflower oil, molasses, salt, citric acid), cranberries, cocoa powder, hemp seed, hemp protein, oats, ground flax seed, brown rice protein, sea salt, peanuts. Simple. The result? A very healthy 210 calories, with 22 grams of carbs, 7 grams of protein, and 12 grams (all healthy fats). The sugar it does contain is completely natural, derived from the agave nectar, fruit and molasses.

This is exactly what the body needs before, during or after endurance activities - whether it is a long bike ride, a triathlon, or ballet practice that runs several hours long.

"In the Pittsburgh Ballet, we would have six hours of rehearsal, and that was after a ballet class in the morning," Aaron says. "We would only get 5 minute breaks every hour. There just isn't time to do much eating, and that's where the energy bars are necessary. Julia and I aren't vegan or vegetarian or any one food practice; we just care about what we put into our bodies. And while we aren't nutritionists, we know from our own experience as performers what works for our bodies."

What works is real food. And that is what Barre Bar is, through and through. So yes, I'll have another!

Coming up: Why being a Foodie Pen Pal rocks, and a do-anywhere Tabata cross-training butt-kicker!

All-Tabata Bootcamp: Burn it Out

Tabata. You know it burns. But you also know it works - torching calories and working lots of muscles. And if you alternate cardio Tabata drills with strength Tabata and even core Tabata drills, it can become the format for an entire bootcamp class or solo sweat session. Each Tabata circuit is 4 minutes long and consists of 20-second working intervals followed by 10 seconds of rest, for a total of 8 rounds. This method is one of the most efficient methods of exercise. You get a full workout that works you head to toe, yet doesn't require 90 minutes or two hours of your time.

A couple dozen students and I proved it last week with the bootcamp routine below. This one uses little equipment - just dumbbells - and even that can be swapped out for resistance bands. So give this a whirl, knowing that at the end of the 45 minutes or so you will have pushed your Badass to the limit - and conquered!

All-Tabata Badass Bootcamp 

Warmup

30 seconds each of:

• pogo hops
• jacks
• high knees running in place
• skaters
• mountain climbers

Tabata #1: Cardio

• Burpees x2
• Skaters x2
• Jump Squats x2
• Side kick squats x2 (kick out to the right, squat in the center, kick out to the left, and keep going)

Tabata #2: Strength, Pushups

• Regular Pushups x2
• Tricep Pushups x2
• Decline Pushups x2
• Incline Pushups x2

Tabata #3: Cardio

• Skaters x2
• Jump Lunges Right Side x2
• Jump Lunges Left Side x2
• Burpees x2 

Tabata #3: Strength, Legs

• Weighted Regular Squats x2 (holding dumbbells at side)
• Weighted Sumo, aka Plie, Squats x2
• Weighted Right Side Lunges x2
• Weighted Left Side Lunges x2

Tabata #4: Cardio

• Mountain Climbers x2
• Plank Hops x2
• Leg Thrusts x2
• Dead Man Crawls x2 (with dumbbells)

Tabata #5: Strength, Bi's and Tri's

• Side Biceps Curls x2
• Tricep Kickbacks x2
• Regular Biceps Curls x2
• Tricep Kickbacks (or floor/bench dips) x2

Tabata #6: Core

• Plank x2
• Ab Sprawls x2
• Side Plank Right with Crunch x2
• Side Plank Left with Crunch x2


Coming up: All-Tabata cycling profile, and Chris reaches #360to60!!

Five habits that could be blocking your fitness goals

You want to lose those last five pounds. You want to shave that pesky minute off your half-marathon or 5K PR. You want to have more energy every day without needing a candy bar sugar rush at 4 pm. You want it, and you're putting in the fitness hours. Yet it's not happening. Which is really frustrating - maddening, even.

So what's the culprit? What's keeping you from the finish line of your goal, whatever it may be? The following five habits could be your roadblocks:

1. Lack of cross training: If you're a runner and all you do is steady run all the time, your speed gains aren't likely to come as you want them to. Cross training with speed intervals at the track, plyometrics like burpees and squat jumps, light weight training, even running stadiums and cycling -- those are the keys to making you faster on race day. Try adding in at least one cross training workout a week and see how much better your time gets.

2. A constant diet of "diet" foods: Frozen low-calorie meals, sugar-free this, low-calorie that. Blech. Most of these diet foods marketed as "healthy" are overprocessed Franken-food that our caveman bodies (yes, from a metabolism and anatomy/physiology standpoint we are all still cave dwellers) don't know how to process. Fiber One bars, Healthy Choice and all that other stuff are not the key to a leaner, healthier you. They are filled with ingredients we don't recognize, and way too many ingredients. Eat REAL food. Fill up on vegetables, fresh fruit, whole grains, lean protein and healthy fats - these are high-volume, naturally low-calorie foods that will keep you feeling full all day. Side benefit: You will feel better, and your skin will probably even look better.

3. Skipping the first meal of the day: Note I didn't call it breakfast, and I didn't note a time for eating this meal. Some people aren't interested in food as soon as they wake up, or even for an hour or so after. Fine. But by mid-morning, it is best to eat something to fire up the metabolism. Skipping altogether and waiting until you're so hungry at lunch that you want to eat the plate and the waitress who serves it, will only set you up for overeating. Multiple studies have found that people who eat in the morning end up consuming fewer calories over the course of the day than those who skipped.

4. Eating just three big meals: More than a few co-workers over the years have noted I am "always eating." Yes, actually. Every two to three hours, to be exact. Breakfast one, then another small breakfast mid-morning, then lunch, then something mid-afternoon, and then dinner. These five to six "mini-meals" throughout the day ensure a steady blood sugar and never getting to that point of "I am starving, I will eat anything in sight." Your snack meals aren't supposed to be big feasts, just something (150-200 calories is a good target) to keep your metabolism firing and prevent your blood sugar/hunger levels from getting off the charts.

5. Being an Exercise Sleepwalker: We've all seen Gym Sleepwalkers. They arrive like clockwork every morning or evening and sleep walk through the exact same routine they did when you first joined a few years back. In some cases, if they weren't at the gym you might not know they are gym rats. The body, cave dweller that it is, is impressively adaptable. Muscles and metabolism respond best to "shock and awe," not steady drumbeats. To see results, it is vital to change up your exercise at least every few months, if not more often. This doesn't mean totally altering everything - it could be as simple as changing your morning elliptical routine from a steady pace for 30 minutes to 1 minute higher-intensity intervals followed by 30 seconds of "recovery" intensity. Or changing the weights from 15 reps at the current weight to 6-8 reps at a heavier weight.

 Coming up: A 20-minute Power Core routine with lasting results...

Clean Eating: A Day in the Life

When I tweeted this week that I was two days into a no-sugar, nothing processed clean eating regimen (call it Spring Cleaning for the Badass), a few followers asked to see a daily menu of what that looks like.

The aim of this blog is to help, encourage and inform the Badass Army as you all go about your fitness and health journeys, so I am happy to share.

Notice a few things as you check out the 2-day food log below:

1. I am basically eating all day - specifically, every few hours. This keeps blood sugar levels stable, keeps the metabolism firing and helps prevent any feelings of 'deprivation.'

2. Fats, the good kind, are totally OK: I am not avoiding olive oil or cheese or nuts. These are the good fats our bodies need to absorb the nutrients in all those awesome fruits and veggies.

3. I manage to find a dessert substitute: That casein protein smoothie at night not only helps muscles recover and metabolism remain stoked during the night - it also happens to give me a chocolate 'fix' that is sugar and white flour-free. That no-bake protein bar also has a cake-like quality that feels decadent even though it is completely unprocessed and packed with nutrition.

4. Clean eating isn't accidental: It requires planning and food prep - in my case on Sundays, when I shopped for roasted chicken and veggies and then did some cooking ahead. If you want it bad enough, the hour or two this takes is a small investment that will yield big results. 

5. I am not going low-calorie: Eating well is not eating 1,000 calories a day. That is called starving yourself. Don't do it.

Clean Eating Food Log

DAY 1

Meal 1, 5:30 a.m. (in the car, enroute to The Powermill for TRX Rip Trainer session): 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt with 1/2 cup raspberries and 1/3 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal, 1 packet Stevia. Coffee sweetened with nonfat soy creamer and 1 packet Stevia.

Meal 2, 8:30 a.m.: 2 hardboiled egg whites, 1 hardboiled whole egg. Lemon ginger tea.

Meal 3, 10 a.m.: 20 almonds, roasted. 1 black plum.

Meal 4, 12:15 p.m.: 4 ounces roasted chicken breast mixed in with a big salad consisting of 1.5 cups shredded cabbage, 1.5 cups romaine lettuce, 1 tomato, 1/2 cucumber, 1/2 green pepper, 1.5 Tbsp. Bolthouse Farms blue cheese dressing (all natural, made with Greek yogurt). 1 slice Organic Valley Monterey Jack reduced fat cheese.

Meal 5, 2 p.m.: 10 olive oil-roasted asparagus spears, 2 egg whites. Drank coffee afterward, w skim milk and 1 packet Stevia.

Meal 6, 5 p.m. (before teaching bootcamp at Kinetix): 1 no-bake peanut butter protein bar.

Meal 7, 8:30 p.m.: 5 ounces leftover grilled skinless Beer Can Chicken, 1.5 cups roasted broccoli. 1 "dessert" smoothie of 1 scoop casein protein blended with water and ice.

Calories: 1,800. Sugars: 31 grams (from fruit, veggies, nothing processed or refined. A Grande Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks, by comparison, has 35 grams from mostly processed sugar...and that's just one thing you might eat all day).

DAY 2

Meal 1, 5:15 a.m. (before teaching 6 a.m. cycle at Kinetix): 1 No-bake peanut butter protein bar, Coffee sweetened with nonfat soy creamer and 1 packet Stevia.

Meal 2, 8 a.m.: 1 scoop whey protein powder blended with water and ice.

Meal 3, 10:30 a.m.: 1 hardboiled egg, 2 hardboiled egg whites, 10 carrots. Lemon ginger tea.

Meal 4, 12 p.m.: 4 ounces roasted chicken breast mixed in with a big salad consisting of 1.5 cups shredded cabbage, 1.5 cups romaine lettuce, 1 tomato, 1/2 cucumber, 1/2 green pepper, 1.5 Tbsp. Bolthouse Farms blue cheese dressing (all natural, made with Greek yogurt).

Meal 5, 2 p.m.: 10 olive oil-roasted asparagus spears, 2 egg whites. Lemon ginger tea.

Meal 6, 5:30 p.m. (before teaching 7 p.m. cycle at Kinetix): 15 almonds, 1 medium organic Fuji apple

Meal 7, 8 p.m.: 4-ounce Trident Seafood Wild Alaskan Salmon burger patty, 1.5 cups roasted broccoli. Dessert smoothie of 1 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk, 1 scoop casein protein powder, 1/2 cup blackberries, 1 Tbsp. flax seed and crushed ice.

Calories: 1,800. Sugars: 40 grams (from fruit, veggies, nothing processed or refined).

CryoSauna: A brief body freeze for lasting recovery, energy

 

Europeans have been doing it for years. The Dallas Mavericks used it to power players through the NBA playoffs to a championship win. Dr. Oz swears by it.

And now, full-body cryotherapy is catching on in the United States - from Nike and other athletic training centers to a small but growing number of doctors' offices and medical spas. Think of whole-body cryotherapy as the old-school ice bath on steroids - faster, more effective at reducing inflammation and speeding muscle recovery, and without the discomfort of sitting in cold, wet ice for 30 minutes or more.

Developed in the late 70s in Japan, it has been popular in Europe for years among those with muscle and joint inflammation disorders including fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis. It also helps reduce skin inflammatory disorders like eczema and psoriasis. For athletes, the quick full-body freeze speeds up muscle recovery and metabolism.

Said Dennis Mitchell, former Olympic sprinter and coach, whose athletes use the CryoSauna machine: "Our athletes are training harder, recovering faster and increasing speed and performance after just a few sessions."

So when Whitfield Chiropractic clinic here in Tallahassee invited me to come try the CryoSauna, one of just a few in Florida and only 20 or so in the United States, I was all in. Two days later, my muscles aren't as sore as they typically are by this time in the week, when I have taught multiple classes. My energy level is higher (which, if you know me, is already pretty high). And the day of the CryoSauna visit, I literally felt like I could have done 100 burpees without stopping. All of that after less than 3 minutes inside the CryoSauna booth. Amazing.

I am going back for more today and have recommended it to a few clients, fellow fitness devotees, and friends with arthitis and other conditions that I think will be eased with a few sessions. ($59 each or $39 each for a 10-session package) 

Dr. Ron Whitfield has been getting into the CryoSauna twice a week since December. He also reports higher energy levels, and he lost 10 pounds without trying - thanks to the 500- to 800-calorie burn that comes in the few hours after a session as the body works to warm itself back up.

"I've always been a pretty lean guy, so I was actually surprised by the weight loss effect," he told me." The video below features Dr.Whitfield explaining the CryoSauna a bit more.

Also, here is a brief "CryoSauna 101":

What to expect: The CryoSauna looks like a stand-up tanning booth. You undress, put on a robe and socks step inside. The doctor will have you close the door and remove the robe while placing your hands at the top. A liquid nitrogen tank attached to the back pumps the cold air in. You stand in there for 2 to 3 minutes.

How it works: Our bodies remain, in so many ways, stuck in primitive times. When we don't feed them, our metabolism slows down to protect us from starvation. And when we subject them to Ice Age temperatures, our bodies go into a fight-or-flight response that is meant to keep us from freezing to death. As the CryoSauna exposes the skin to super-cold temps, our bodies go into "I am freezing, must survive" mode and the blood rushes to our core to keep our organs going. There, it is enriched with oxygen and nutrients as our body works in super-amped survival mode. Blood pressure goes up slightly (not enough to feel anything, in my experience). As soon as we step out into the warm air, the oxygenated blood rushes back out, flooding the peripheral tissues and flushing out toxins.

How this helps the body, skin, muscles: The brief "freeze" activates collagen in the skin similar to laser treatments, improving skin elasticity and tone and reducing cellulite. The constriction of blood vessels followed by the post-CryoSauna flushing also flushes out toxins and helps with conditions like psoriasis and rosacea. The procedure also boosts endorphins and speeds up metabolism, pushing the body to burn 500 to 800 calories in the few hours after the procedure (and more over time with regular sessions). The anti-inflammatory and analgesic affect also helps with joint disorders and muscle soreness. Overall, immunity is boosted.

Why it's better than an ice bath: Ice baths an be painful, and even after 30 minutes or so submerged the skin temperature doesn't go below about 41 degrees or so. And by that time, the muscles are literally frozen and pretty immobile. For athletes, this means downtime they can't afford. With CryoSauna, the skin is exposed to dry cold of minus 220 degrees Fahrenheir, dropping the skin temperature rapidly to about 30 degrees. But as soon as you step out of the CryoSauna, blood rushes back out from your core and you feel a rush of endorphins and energy - making for a quick and high-octane return to physical activity. It's like 5-Hour Energy with none of the fake jittery feeling.

 

Coming up: A guide to getting nutty...