The toes to bar movement seems simple enough. But coordinating the body, keeping a good rhythm, and building enough strength for multiple reps is harder than it looks. Crossfit Games athlete and head coach at Crossfit Terminus, Emily Bridgers, shares what she recommends to achieve the toes to bar movement.

How to Scale Toes to Bar

If you’re not quite at the point where you can string together multiple reps of toes to bar, toes to rings is a great skill for scaling. This alternative can help build your toes to bar movement so you can connect reps and find your rhythm.

One of the advantages of doing toes to rings come from working with a moving object. This allows you to not have to close your lats quite as much as, but still develop and strengthen the movement. Using the rings, your body can get a bigger forward swing and be able to kip out of the movement, making it slightly easier.

Steps for Toes to Ring

Do a light back swing while opening up your chest. Swing forward and close your shoulders together in the front while bringing your toes up to the bar. Once toes go through the rings bring them back down and go into the next rep. Work towards maintaining a smooth rhythm from one rep to the next.

Even though toes to rings are a scaled movement, they will still be very difficult. Once you master these, doing toes to bar will be an easy transition.

Recovery from Toes to Bar

The toe to bar is a challenging movement that works many muscle groups such as your shoulders, abs, lats, and biceps. It’s important to recover these areas after working out to ensure your body stays healthy and injury free. By improving your recovery, you can also get the most gains from the work you just did and be able to give your best at the next workout. Over 100 pro teams, countless elite athletes, and thousands of everyday people choose Marc Pro for recovery and pain relief. Discover what makes Marc Pro so effective and sets it apart from other techniques and modalities.

Food has such a huge impact on the body. It can affect mental health, physical health, and as athletes it can greatly affect athletic performance. Food is about more than just satisfying hunger, it’s fuel for our bodies. What you put into your body, you get out. You can’t put in junk food and expect your body to perform at its best. An athlete’s diet plays a big role in performance, recovery, and stamina.

Even though calories play a role in an athlete’s diet, it’s also important to make sure those calories come from clean food sources. Eating a 200 calorie cookie won’t do the same thing for your body as eating 200 calories worth of almonds. Crossfit Games athlete Ben Smith tries to eat as clean as he possibly can every day. While it may seem like a small increase, if Ben’s diet allows him to perform 1-2% better, he says it’s worth sticking with.

Athlete Diet | Ben Smith

Ben Smith eats about 3-5 times a day and tries to keep all meals clean and simple. While traveling can make it hard to eat clean, Ben still tries to look for healthy options and follows his diet as much as possible.

Ben Smith’s Typical Meals

Breakfast

• Oatmeal, peanut butter, and fruit- all mixed together
• Eggs with avocado

Lunch

• Chicken, steak, or fish
• Rice
• Vegetables

Dinner

• Chicken, steak, or fish
• Rice
• Vegetables

Everyone is different. A diet that works for one athlete may not work as well for another. Also, the diet of a Crossfit athlete may look much different than the diet of a triathlete. Choosing the right diet for your athletic needs is important. Ben Smith has tried many diets over the course of his career, but has found this one to be the most beneficial for him at the moment.

You may also like:

Noah Ohlsen’s Diet | How Does the CrossFit Games Athlete Fuel His Body?

Heather Jackson | What Does a Triathlete’s Diet Look Like?

Two-Ingredient Protein Pancake Recipe

Want to add more power to your golf swing? The key may be as simple as improving your rotation. The bottom line is if you can’t rotate and turn your body to wind up, then you can’t create power. As a consequence you start to use other parts of your body, primarily your arms and hands, to compensate. This is where swing errors can start to creep in. World renowned golf instructor David Leadbetter shares his golf swing tips to help you increase rotation and thus increase power.

Increase Rotation -> Increase Power

One of the aspects of rotation that people often neglect is the tension in their traps. Activities like working at a desk or driving can cause tension to build up, leading to a restricted rotation. The ability to move freely is so important for golf. If you look at the golfers today who play on the Champions Tour, you’ll see that they still move great. They move as well as they did in their 20s and 30s- that’s the whole key. Keep yourself moving, especially as you get older. If you can keep your body in motion, even if you don’t have any aches or pains, you will be able to stay active and keep your body moving effectively.

By improving your rotation, you can coil, turn, and wind up better, all which create power in the swing. Plus, your body can then use proper swing mechanics to prevent any errors and injuries. Perfecting your swing can be as simple as loosening up your body so you can rotate efficiently.

Golf Swing Tips | How to Increase Rotation

David Leadbetter uses Marc Pro to recover his muscles and loosen up his body. The simple task of putting Marc Pro on your shoulders allows the tension to dissipate by relaxing those muscle areas. Marc Pro can help you to sustain and even increase your power. David has found that using Marc Pro can actually increase torso rotation by about 10-15 degrees. If pain is a part of your game, the Marc Pro Plus can also provide significant and lasting pain relief.

The most competitive time of the year for Crossfitters is here. For the next five weeks, a new workout will be announced on Thursday night and participants will have until Monday night to submit their best score. The Open workouts are a time for the elite Crossfitters to qualify for the Regional events and for all athletes to see how they rank and try to improve their standing year over year.

Kelly Starrett, founder of MobilityWOD, understands that these workouts require athletes to push their limits and are very demanding on the body. It’s important to recover before re-attempting a workout over the four day window or before completing the next workout in line. Recovering properly will not only help you give your best performance, it will also help prevent injuries.

Recovering from CrossFit Open Workouts

Want to learn how to survive and thrive in the Crossfit Open? Below are Kelly’s specific strategies to help you recover more effectively so you can be more successful during workout 18.1.

1. Cool down: Try to spend 10-15 minutes cooling down. This can be an easy conversational pace row or assault bike. You can even just walk around. The goal is to make sure you keep moving.
2. Nutrition: Consume 20-30 grams of easily digested protein in 18-20oz of water within 20/40 minutes post WOD. Women have a shorter window where they can pull in water so they will be closer to the 20 minutes post WOD mark. This isn’t about muscle synthesis, it’s about rehydration. A little bit of easily digested protein can suck water right back into your cells so you can begin the recovery and rehydration process.
3. Address tightness: After you cool down, spend 10 minutes addressing specific & localized tightness. You can use any type soft tissue technique.
4. Take a walk: After dinner, take a 15-20 minute walk. This will help with circulation and remove congestion from the body. Walking will help you sleep better and address stiffness from max effort workouts.
5. Targeted tissue work pre-bed: Spend 10 minutes before bed doing targeted soft tissue work. By this point, you will have been able to absorb the workout and know which areas feel tight or where issues might be arising. Focus on these areas.
6. Go to bed early: Be in bed 30 minutes earlier than usual. If you can get 30 minutes of additional sleep a night during this period, that’s an additional whole night’s sleep worth of time after two weeks. During intense efforts it’s important to sleep a little bit more.
7. Limit your alcohol consumption: If you’re feeling the need for a beer, go with a non-alcoholic option. Alcohol can impact your heart and quality of sleep. Kelly recommends spending that drink credit as far away from these training efforts as you can.

Open Workout 18.1: Areas of Interest to Focus Recovery Efforts On

• Forearms– Voodoo floss
• Low back– Take your ball of choice and clean up the erectors and QL between the bottom of the ribs and the top of the pelvis. Spend a few minutes here working side to side.
• Ab Recovery– Gut smash on volleyball/slam ball
• Marc Pro– For this open workout, the low back protocol is recommended. Kelly suggests using Marc Pro for 1-2 hours before you go to sleep.

One of the great aspects of the Open is to try to figure out how to train and how to compete.  Almost everyone can be good at it one day, but not everyone can be good five weeks in a row. Follow Kelly’s protocol and you’ll have no problem recovering from Crossfit open workout 18.1. Good luck!

Two of the most frequent questions we get are, “How are the Marc Pro and Marc Pro Plus different?” and “Which one should I get?” Both devices use our patented technology to deliver the most effective results. However, there are a few key differences between the two.

What is the Marc Pro?

Recovery, Conditioning, and Performance

The Marc Pro creates non-fatiguing muscle contractions, meaning you can use the device for as long as you need to ensure a full recovery. By improving the recovery process, you can prevent overuse injuries, perform better, maintain proper biomechanics, reduce soreness/fatigue, train or play more often, maximize training results, and operate at your full potential. Marc Pro can also be used as a warm-up tool to loosen up muscles. Plus, using Marc Pro consistently is shown to improve vascular capacity (conditioning), so your muscles can do more and last longer before they break down again. The Marc Pro achieves all of these benefits in one comfortable, easy-to-use setting and is set at 2Hz.

Where can I use it? Marc Pro can be used to target any muscle group.

What is the Marc Pro Plus?

Recovery, Conditioning, Performance & Pain Relief

The Marc Pro Plus offers all the benefits of the standard Marc Pro on the LOW setting (2Hz). The main difference is that this device also offers an additional HIGH setting (60Hz) which is used to provide very significant and lasting pain relief. The HIGH setting will make you feel substantially better but does not have the rehabilitative benefit of the LOW setting. This setting is designed for more intense nerve-related pain, as opposed to muscle soreness which can be addressed with the LOW setting. Also, the HIGH setting feels much different from the LOW setting. Users will feel a strong, yet comfortable buzzing sensation instead of muscle contractions.

Where can I use it? The LOW setting on Marc Pro Plus can be used to target any muscle group. The HIGH setting can be used to target pain in the knees, ankles, shoulders, back, neck, hips, elbows, and wrists.

*The Marc Pro Plus can also be put into manual mode allowing users to select their own frequency between 1-70Hz.

Which is Right for Me?

Marc Pro: If your goal is to enhance recovery, elevate performance, eliminate soreness/fatigue, prevent overuse injuries, and improve conditioning.

Marc Pro Plus: If you are dealing with pain that is beyond muscle soreness or if you like to experiment with new protocols and applications (for example, Brian Mackenzie shows how to use the Marc Pro Plus to release tight, locked up muscles). If you want the ability to shut down pain as well as enhance recovery, elevate performance, eliminate soreness/fatigue, prevent overuse injuries, and improve conditioning.

Have any more questions? We would be happy to answer them. Please email us at contact@marcpro.com

You made it through Crossfit open workout 18.1 and are now ready to take on 18.2. Before you do, make sure to read these tips from Kelly Starrett so you can learn some strategies that will enable you to train and thrive under sustained stress.

Crossfit Open Workout 18.2: Lifestyle/Environmental Goals

1. Don’t take a day off right before a competition, keep the engine idling. If you need a day off, take it two days before the competition and avoid being sedentary.

Kelly recommends getting your heart rate up and practicing technique the day before a competition. Try doing something aerobic to keep your body moving. If your body needs a day off, by all means do so, but just make sure it’s not the day right before a competition. Also, on your day off don’t be sedentary. Many athletes think that taking it easy and resting means you should just lay on the couch all day. However, athletes should really stay active even if it’s light to keep the engine idling. If you’re in shape, Kelly assures that using a barbell to snatch 20-30 times or work on your clean isn’t going to diminish your capacities.

2. Post 18.2: The day after a competition should be dedicated for active recovery

A rest day after an exhausting competition sounds like a great idea, but Kelly recommends light exercise the following day to encourage the removal of waste from the body and restoration of the nervous system. After a big physical and psychological effort, it’s important to engage in active recovery. You can dial down the intensity for this, but don’t be afraid to train if you’re sore. The goal for this is to be able to train hard two days after the competition. If needed, take off the third day post competition.

Recovery and Adaptation Goals

1. Cool down

Allocate at least 10 minutes to cooling down after the competition. This is a high intensity open workout so make sure to engage in a longer cool down.

2. Flush quads with Voodoo BFR

If you have a chance at the gym, do a quad flush with some Voodoo bands. On each quad, wrap a third of your leg, wrapping up high right into the groin. Create a 8 out of 10 discomfort level with the band. Next perform the following routine. The reps can include air squats, step ups, rows, etc.

• 30 reps/30 seconds rest
• 15 reps/ 30 seconds rest
• 15 reps/30 seconds rest
• 15 reps/30 seconds rest

The idea behind this routine is to wrap both legs and then exhaust the substrates. This will help force blood flow to come back in to the area and make the vasculature and local tissues work really hard. You will feel a high blood flow kick from this.

3. Go for a walk before going to bed

This will help keep things moving a little bit more.

4. Quad smash/roll & adductor smash/roll

Pre-sleep is the perfect time to do some classic quad and adductor smashing. Do a little bit of soft tissue work focusing on the quads and adductors for 10 minutes before going to bed. This will make a big difference the next day.

5. Marc Pro: Quad set up

After crossift open workout 18.2, use the Marc Pro quad protocol. Place one pad on the VMO and one up high on the thigh. Make sure you’re getting a good, solid quad contraction. One hour is the goal, but Kelly recommends seeing if you can get in 2 hours or overnight. Marc Pro can be used for as long as needed to continue to flush, normalize, and keep tissues from adhering to one another.

6. Quad pump on bike

The day after the competition, spin on the bike for 20 minutes. Add in some heavy 10 second intervals if possible. This will help tissues get moving and slide and glide as they should.

The sooner you can restore tissue function, the sooner you can get back to working hard again. Follow some of these guidelines from Kelly Starrett so you can be ready to train two days after.

Pain and fatigue often prevents golfers from playing as much or as well as they would like. For recreational golfers, the majority of aches and pains are not directly related to golf, but rather by work and social habits. Poor posture, poor sitting, poor standing, and poor eating patterns throughout the day put strain on the body. On top of that, golf puts a lot of stress on the lower back, wrists, knees, and shoulders. The aches and pains continue to get worse unless something is done.

Golf Tips: What to Use to Eliminate Fatigue and Pain

David Leadbetter suggests using Marc Pro to get rid of aches and pains from work and social habits. Whether it’s on the range, after work, post workout, or even after travel, the Marc Pro can help. You can use Marc Pro as a warm up tool to loosen up your body or to recover after playing a round of golf. Utilizing the Marc Pro will help increase blood flow and evacuate waste products from your body. Also, the Marc Pro Plus is able to provide significant and lasting relief to nerve-related pain. By using Marc Pro after a long day at work or play, you can easily get rid your aches and pains.

Play your Best Golf Game

Aches and pains no longer have to be a part of your game. With Marc Pro you can feel and play at your best. Marc Pro also allows you to play as often as you would like. It’s simple, easy to use, and is a tool that can be utilized on a daily basis.  If you want to get rid of your soreness, tightness, aches, and pains, put Marc Pro to the test today.

 “It really has helped a lot of people and it is amazing the results that we’ve seen using the Marc Pro.”

The Crossfit Open is a great time to polish up some of our behaviors that we can typically get away with during training. When the competition starts, we quickly see how well our systems are working and how robust our practice really is. Competitions can help us gauge the effectiveness of our training. The 2018 Crossfit Open has done exactly that for us. This week, 18.3 threw us a high skill workout that is testing even the most elite Crossfit athletes.

Crossfit Open 2018: Lifestyle/Environmental Goals for 18.3

Before completing 18.3, there are a couple ways we can prep our body.

• Prep at Home

Warming up is a big part of competing in the Crossfit Open. However, what often happens is we get to the gym and don’t take the time to properly warm up. Kelly Starrett’s solution to ameliorate some of this is to do some prep at home. Before you leave the house, try to do 10 minutes of prep. For open workout 18.3, this can be groundwork, basic MobilityWod shoulder swing prep, or basic squat prep. By doing a warm up at home, you will be able to focus on the task at hand once you get to the competition and not have to worry about getting your body warmed up. If you don’t have time to prep at home right before the competition, you can still benefit from prepping at home in the morning before 18.3.

Another strategy you can use to help prepare involves breathing mechanics. Kelly has found that 10 minutes of mechanical ventilation practices can help make it a lot easier to shake off the cobwebs and go into the competition hard.

• Meal Timing

Food is our fuel for the Crossfit Open. We need to make sure we are adequately nourished and not running a caloric deficit. Kelly recommends eating your last meal three hours before the competition. This will give enough time to eat some whole foods and digest them. An hour before the competition, have a small snack such as a piece of fruit and nuts or a banana with some peanut butter. Make sure the snack is something that’s easy to digest and will help top off those glycogen tanks.

Recovery and Adaptation

After the workout is over, we can now start focusing on how to recover and adapt.

1. Cool down

After finishing this week’s workout, make sure you allow the engine to cool down.

2. Pre-Sleep Routine

Before going to sleep, smash your calves and feet and spend about 10 minutes or so mobilizing the tissue of the lower legs and the back of the shoulders.

3. Marc Pro

The Marc Pro calf placement is a good place to start. However, Kelly shares some guidance around pad placement so you can find which one benefits you the most. One alternative Kelly uses is placing one pad on the instep of the foot and the other pad right behind the knee. Using alternative pad placements can make a difference, as can positioning. Ideally, while calves are pumping, bend your leg and place something soft underneath so the calf can contract without pressure on it.

4. Next Day

Go for at least a 20 minute walk the day after a competition. Your feet are probably going to be a little bit sore but going for a walk can help.

All of these strategies from Kelly Starrett can help you prepare and recover from crossfit open workout 18.3 so you can give your best and be ready to go for 18.4!

When learning kipping ring dips, our technique can make or break the movement. Anytime our technique is off the movement becomes less efficient and we increase our chance of injury. Crossfit Games Athlete Emily Bridgers shares her tip for learning the kipping ring dip so you can master the movement.

One benefit of kipping ring dips is that they are easier to perform than the strict movement. Kipping uses more of the body and can allow us to do more reps. However, before attempting a kipping ring dip, make sure you’re able to complete strict ring dips. Attempting to do kipping ring dips before learning the strict movement can drastically increase our chance of injury.

Technique Tip from Emily Bridgers

Often times while trying to kip the ring dip, in the bottom position people will scrunch themselves up and then kick their legs towards the floor to shoot back up into the top position. Unfortunately, this strategy isn’t very effective. There is actually a much better way to kip and string together multiple kipping ring dips.

Emily suggests using an alternative technique. From the top position, lower your body down with straight legs. Once you get to the bottom position shoot your knees up into your chest. This movement is what will propel you up to the top position. It’s an easy adjustment that can make a huge difference in your kipping ring dips.

Recovery from Kipping Ring Dips

After kipping some ring dips, your chest, shoulders, and triceps will probably need some recovery. To remedy this, use the Marc Pro Upper Arms & Shoulders pad placement (specified in user manual). This will help flush out the entire area so you can prevent overuse injuries and get back to training at your full potential faster.

The CrossFit Open season gives us a chance to test our abilities and see how well we perform under pressure. With training, it’s easy to get into a routine and not question it. With competitions like the Open, it makes us think about how we can be better athletes and work on having better fitness, shapes, and mechanics. Kelly Starrett thinks that now is a great time in the Open series to reflect on our strategies and understand where we can make improvements. Kelly shares his tips for how to be a more integrated athlete and recover from CrossFit Open workout 18.4.

Post CrossFit Open 18.4: After Action Error Analysis

If you haven’t done the latest CrossFit open workout yet or if you’re going to attempt it again, Kelly Starrett highly suggests recording yourself completing the workout. Then, take a step back and look critically at your performance. The goal is to be able to evaluate your performance extrinsically and intrinsically.

Variability between Reps:

How much variability is there between your reps? Does your first rep look like the next? Ideally, your first and 45^th rep should look the same. You want to be able to limit variability and keep the same movement patterns for all reps. It is expected that athletes will make movement errors, but if your intrinsic feedback mechanism is trained you can get right back on track. It’s important to realize when your movement pattern is off and be able to reclaim the ideal position so that variability can be reduced.

Effects of Fatigue:

How does fatigue affect your shapes? When fatigue sets in for most people, their body’s initial reaction is to default to a position that is easier to maintain but mechanically less desirable.  Take note of changes in your own body when fatigue sets in. Does the pressure on your feet change? Do your elbows flair? Do the angles of your knees change? Practicing to maintain form through conditions like fatigue will help you become a better athlete. The most stable and capable athletes look the same under any condition. Even when fatigue sets in, they are able to maintain their shape and power output. Practicing this during training will help make it more permanent so your body doesn’t default to poor shape during fatigue.

Outward Affect:

Take a look at your face when you’re competing. Were you neutral? Or did you grimace? Your outward affect influences your experience of suffering. Think about softening your face and being more neutral.

Recreate Self Talk:

This one is a big deal. Research shows that self-talk is one of the most important variables in performance. Limit negative self-talk and practice positive self-talk, this is a learned skill.

Coach Cues:

If you have a coach during competition, listen to their cues. Many times people will have a coach on site and then not listen to their advice. This may take some practice but make it a point to listen to your coach’s cues.

Performance Changes:

Within your control, what are three things that you could’ve changed during the competition? For example, do you wish you warmed up more or moved more efficiently? Make a list and write it down so you don’t make the same mistakes every time.

Recovery & Adaptation Goals

• Cool down for at least 10 minutes after the competition
• Pre-sleep: Complete some soft tissue work on your posterior shoulder, QL, and low back. This will help create wonders to get your rotation back, which will improve stability.
  • ELODA: Get your butt up against the wall and put your feet up. Then, try to flex your quads and breathe. Spend some time in that position with legs straight up.
• Marc Pro: Use the shoulder and low back flush. If you can’t get a good pumping cause you’re too tight, try using the high frequency setting for 20 minutes and then default back to the low frequency setting.
• Next Day: Do some shoulder and torso friendly training the day after the CrossFit Open workout. Kelly recommends the bike, prowler, or drags.

Training for an Ironman requires a lot of time and dedication to bring your body and mind to a place that can maintain a high level of performance. Andy Potts has been training for Ironman races for about 15 years now. He’s completed more than 200 triathlons, has been an Ironman Champion 7 times, and Ironman 70.3 Champion 28 times. Over the years, he’s learned a thing or two about Ironman events and now wants to share his knowledge with you. Here are two quick tips on Ironman training from Andy Potts.

Ironman Training Tips

Tip 1: 70.3 Ironman to a 140.6 Ironman

Transitioning from a half Ironman to a full Ironman is going to be taxing on both your body and mind. Jumping from 70.3 to 140.6 is going to be tough, especially the further into it you get. But, the biggest challenge on race day is going to be mental. Andy Potts recommends staying mentally engaged and letting yourself know that you put in the work and you’ve got this. Be aware of potential obstacles and know how to overcome them. Focus on your breathing techniques and eliminate negative self-talk. Studies have shown that your mental strategy has a huge effect on your athletic performance.

Tip 2: Open Water Swimming

Your first time in the open water can be very disorienting and it takes some time to get accustomed to the environment change. One of the biggest differences between swimming in a pool and swimming in the open water is tempo. Tempo is your stroke rate or how fast you’re turning over your stroke. For example, Andy Potts aims for a right fingertip entry to right fingertip entry of 1.5 seconds. Andy does have long arms though so yours might be faster or slower depending on your size and technique. Training your tempo in a pool will translate over into the open water. However, because the ocean is constantly moving, know that you have to keep a higher tempo in the open water to achieve the same results you would be able to achieve in a pool.

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How do I Recover after an Ironman? | Brian Mackenzie shares his Ironman Recovery Tips

Heather Jackson Triathlon Tip: How to Maintain Energy Throughout a Race

Why Recovery is Essential for Triathletes

As elite CrossFit athletes, Ben Smith and Scott Panchik run into tweaks, strains, bumps, and bruises a lot. They are constantly pushing the boundaries of what overtraining is. If you aren’t pushing your body at least occasionally then you will never know what your body is capable of doing. Ben and Scott believe that it’s all about the trial and error process.

During the difficult times, Ben and Scott like to discuss their training with each other and see what they are doing differently and what is working best. Sharing this knowledge helps them grow as athletes. Every little bit helps and if there’s something out there that can allow them to recover faster and perform longer then you can pretty much guarantee that they will have it in their gym bag and be using it every day.

Stay Healthy with the Right Recovery

One of the best ways to keep your body healthy as an athlete is proper recovery. During workouts our bodies break down. During the recovery process, they rebuild and get stronger. Proper recovery also helps prevent of overuse injuries and maintain proper body mechanics.

You’ve got to do everything right. From your nutrition to your sleep to your recovery tools, there are a lot of various components that allow your body to work as hard as it does. CrossFit Games Athletes don’t just wake up and work out at their peak every day, there’s a lot of little things that happen along the way.

“What separates some of the good people from the great people is their ability to recover.”

Favorite Tool for CrossFit Recovery

Ben Smith and Scott Panchik choose Marc Pro as their recovery tool of choice. Marc Pro’s unique patented technology allow for results that can’t be achieved with any other method. Discover why over 100 pro teams and countless elite athletes choose Marc Pro.

Did you know that your body positioning while using Marc Pro can affect your results? Anytime you use the device you will see benefits, but in order to get the best results, users should make sure that the muscle group being targeted is in a relaxed position. When muscles are able to freely move and contract, more muscle fibers can be recruited. This leads to more benefit and faster results.

Ideal Body Positions for Common Pad Placements

The goal with all body positions is to take pressure off the muscle group being targeted and reduce any resistance to the muscle contraction. Allow yourself to relax while using Marc Pro.

Quad Placement

Pad placements for the quads or global leg flush will benefit from this position. Lay on a comfy couch with your feet out in front of you. Place a pillow or something soft underneath your knees and slightly externally rotate legs.

Calf/Lower Leg

While targeting the calves or any lower leg issue such as the foot, ankle, or heel, elevate your leg with two pillows. One under the lower hamstring and another supporting your ankles.

Back/Hamstrings Placement

If you’re targeting your back, hamstrings, or glutes, this position will help provide maximum benefit to your posterior chain. While lying on your stomach, place a pillow underneath your pelvic area to slightly lift the low back. Then, place something soft like a pillow underneath your feet.

Arm/Trap Placement

When using Marc Pro on your forearms, biceps, global arm flush, or traps, use this position to take pressure off the upper body. Place a pillow or towel between your arm and the side of the body. Then, lay your arm across your lab. You can also hug a pillow to get both arms in a relaxed position.

Have some questions on body positioning? Contact us by email at contact@marcpro.com or by phone at 855-627-2776.

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How Do I Recover after an Ironman?

April is synonymous with rain showers and the first hints of spring for many people, but it is also Stress Awareness Month. Since 1992, April has been designated as a time where health professionals would raise awareness around the causes and cures of the stress problem in America. Stress and anxiety have been shown to negatively impact both body and mind and are a major contributor to poor overall health. Stress management techniques are a growing trend in today’s society, with one major tool being personal fitness. Not only does physical training help to make the body stronger, it has also been shown to boost moods and halt symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression.

Recognize The Signs

The first step in stress recovery is to recognize the symptoms of stress on the body and on our moods. Certain physical symptoms include (but certainly are not limited to) headaches, muscle tension or pain, chest pain, and fatigue. Psychological symptoms include anxiety, restlessness, lack of motivation, feeling overwhelmed, irritability, mood swings, sadness, and depression.

Focus on the Heart

The AHA states that stress exacerbates factors that increase risk of heart disease, and that practicing stress management is beneficial to overall health. Stress management is a balancing act between keeping yourself at a healthy level of stimulation and finding productive ways to recover to avoid burnout.

Recover in Healthy Ways

Exercise doesn’t just improve physical health, it is a proven mood booster, lowering symptoms associated with mild depression and anxiety. It can also help you get better sleep, which is another contributing factor to stress. Workout apps like Aaptiv help provide the structure and guidance of trainer-led workouts for those who might not have the foundational knowledge of a more trained athlete. While fitness is a great stress management tool, injuring yourself during a workout or training session is a quick way to slide back into the same situation, especially for someone new to the fitness world.

Most often, people who train regularly don’t allow their bodies to properly recover in between activity. This can lead to soreness, fatigue, increased risk of overuse injury, decreased performance, improper body mechanics, and pain – making it difficult to maintain a fitness regimen. Using a tool like Marc Pro can help offset these issues and keep you on track with your fitness goals. Marc Pro is a recovery and pain relief tool used by pro teams, elite athletes, and everyday people.

In short, while physical fitness is a great stress management tool, it’s important to make sure you’re listening to your mind and body and seeking additional help where necessary. Look for stress management classes at community colleges, rehab programs, in hospitals, or by calling a therapist in your community.

One of the things that is problematic with training today is that athletes train hard and don’t rest as much as they should. MobilityWOD works with many elite and recreational athletes on a daily basis and has seen the effects of overtraining first-hand. To support the desire to train hard and train consistently, MobilityWOD recommends using Marc Pro for quad/leg recovery. With Marc Pro, athletes are able to accelerate the recovery process when they are relaxing at the end of the day.

“If you’re not using a Marc Pro, you’re not going to be able to handle the kinds of volume that your coaches are programming and stay ahead of that volume.”

Quadriceps

MobilityWOD sees a lot of cyclists and runners blowing out their quads. With high training volumes and little downtime, it’s easy for athletes to push to the point of overuse. Using the quadriceps pad placement is an easy recovery remedy to get your legs feeling better for the next day’s training.

First, take one of the lead wires and place one pad right inside your VMO and the other on your vastus lateralis. Repeat the same setup on your other leg with the second lead wire. Turn up the intensity until you get good, solid contractions.

Global Leg Flush | MobilityWOD Alternate Placement

If your entire legs are feeling worked, try using MobilityWOD’s global leg flush alternative. Place one pad on the arch of the foot and the other on the VMO. Do the same setup on the other leg. Dial up the intensity to a strong but relaxing level.

“There’s no more effective system in the body than the musculature contracting to move fluid up the lymphatics and to bring blood and nutrients back in to worked tissues.”

Quadriceps vs. Global Leg Flush

Choosing which pad placement option is going to work best depends on you. For those who are dealing with specific quad issues or just did a workout that was heavy on the quads, the quad pad placement would be the one to choose. For those who are in need of general leg recovery and aren’t dealing with any specific issue or weak link, the global leg flush is the recommended setup to recover muscles and prevent overuse injuries.

Baseball pitchers are throwing faster, training harder, and pushing the limits more now than ever before. With that comes the question: When the pressure to perform consistently is on, how do you keep up without falling victim to overuse injury?

MUCL injuries and rotator cuff tears are some of the most common overuse injuries in baseball. Repetitive motions and excessive strain on the same muscles, tendons, and ligaments can lead to an increased risk for overuse injuries.  The good news is that there are measures that can be taken to avoid overuse injuries and stay in the game.

“A MUCL injury results in an average of 17.2 months out of competition at the professional level.”¹

Injury Prevention Tips for Baseball Pitchers

1. Warm Up

Warming up before throwing is an important step in injury prevention. During a warm up, blood flow increases in your body, increasing the temperature of your muscles. When muscles are warmed, their elasticity increases which reduces muscle tension and allows the muscles to contract efficiently. Including a warm up prior to pitching can also help improve your range of motion. Decreased rotation and flexion can lead to an increased risk for elbow injuries, especially at the pro level.

“Overuse is the predominant mechanism of injury in youth baseball players.”¹

2. Strengthen

During offseason especially, make sure you continue to strengthen and condition your muscles. Going from 0 to 100 once the season starts up again is almost a sure fire way to get an injury. At the pro and college level, many players get injured during the progression from off season to in season training. While taking a break is essential, it’s recommended to maintain strength and gradually increase workload while transitioning into training. This will help prevent overuse injuries. When muscles, tendons, and ligaments are strong, they can take on more activity and won’t be as likely to break down.

3. Recover

Because overuse is so strongly related to baseball pitching injuries, recovery has to be an essential part of every pitcher’s training routine. From youth athletes to pro pitchers, every level of players are at risk for overuse injuries. Recovery techniques should be used after every game or throwing session. Most importantly, athletes should make sure they are fully recovered before pitching again. Over 200 professional pitchers and all 30 MLB teams use Marc Pro to recover and prevent injuries. One of the advantages of Marc Pro is that you can recover faster and get back to pitching the next day fully recovered.

¹Melugin, Heath P. et al. “Injury Prevention in Baseball: From Youth to the Pros.” Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine 11.1 (2018): 26–34. PMC. Web. 26 Apr. 2018.

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Nutrition can be the fuel or downfall of your progress. The thought in many people’s head is that they can eat whatever they want after a workout. But, there are certain foods that will propel your progress and other foods that will come between you and your goals. Here are the 5 best and the 5 worst foods for muscle recovery.

Best Foods for Muscle Recovery

Below are the best foods to assist in post workout muscle recovery. The key is to make sure you have a combination of protein, healthy fats, and quality carbs for the best results.

1. Eggs: Protein has one of the biggest effects on muscle repair. This nutrient helps rebuild damaged muscle fibers so muscles can grow stronger and be ready to go for the next workout. Eggs are a great choice for muscle recovery because of their high protein content. Their yolks also contain healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals that support muscle growth.
2. Sweet Potatoes: Workouts can deplete glycogen stores so it’s important to consume carbs afterwards to rebuild those stores. Sweet potatoes are a quality carb that are full of potassium. They also provide nutrients that help boost immunity post workout. Other quality carbs include oatmeal and fruit.
3. Salmon: Not only is salmon one of the best foods for muscle recovery because of its high protein content, but its Omega 3 fats and potassium also make it a top pick. Studies have shown that Omega 3 fats can increase muscle protein synthesis and reduce inflammation in the body. Salmon’s high levels of potassium help to replace electrolytes that are lost during your workout.
4. Blueberries: Fruit is a fast-acting carb that is able to quickly replace diminished glycogen levels and create an insulin spike. Blueberries are full of antioxidants which will help prevent free radical damage in your body.
5. Spinach: Heavy sweating and dehydration causes a decrease in your body’s electrolytes. Spinach is rich in potassium and magnesium, which are key electrolytes that the body needs to recover. Keeping your potassium levels at a healthy level will help to prevent muscle cramps.

Worst Foods for Muscle Recovery

After a workout, the goal is to repair damaged muscle, rebuild energy stores, and reduce the amount of fat your body stores. The foods below have the opposite effect and should be avoided.

1. Fast food: Fast food tends to be high in calories, fat, and sodium and deficient in essential recovery nutrients. This can cancel out gains made during your workouts and slow down your digestion.
2. Donuts: These breakfast treats seriously lack key nutrients needed for muscle recovery. They have no protein and are high in refined sugar and carbs. The fat they do have is not the beneficial kind you would get from eggs or nuts.
3. Sugary Drinks: Drinking too much sugar after a workout will actually decrease your metabolism. While some sugar after a workout will help quickly restore your energy levels, you don’t want to consume too much. Anything that your body doesn’t use will turn into fat. Be sure to limit refined sugar and instead consume unrefined sugar from sources like fruit.
4. Salty Snacks: Even though we lose electrolytes while working out, minerals like potassium and magnesium are the more important electrolytes the body needs to recover. Sodium lowers potassium levels and we tend to get enough salt already in the American diet.
5. Alcohol: Having one drink may not seem like a big deal, but drinking right after a workout will dehydrate you and reduce protein synthesis. Plus, alcohol is full of empty calories that can sabotage your progress.

Muscle recovery is a key component of working out. If your body isn’t able to repair itself from workout damage it will start to break down and your chance of injury increases. Performance is another factor that’s negatively affected. You won’t be able to give your best or feel very good when your body isn’t able to recover. Using active recovery techniques, like the Marc Pro, are proven to be the most effective technique to get your body back to homeostasis. Nutrition is an important piece of the puzzle, but most people who train regularly need additional recovery strategies as well.

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What’s the difference between Marc Pro and other e-stim devices? To start, Marc Pro is focused on speeding your body’s recovery process. It’s not trying to replace your workout or make your training more difficult so you can get stronger. Marc Pro rebuilds your broken and fatigued muscles so you can be ready for the next workout, feel at the top of your game, and sustain activity while keeping your body healthy. Marc Pro doesn’t “workout” your muscles, but that’s what makes it an effective tool for recovery.

Your body doesn’t need any more stress.

The main difference between Marc Pro and other e-stim devices is in the technology. Marc Pro is able to produce non-fatiguing muscle contractions. This means that the device can be used indefinitely to ensure a full recovery. Sometimes, you need more than just 20-30 minutes of recovery. For really intense efforts you may need to recover for an hour. Each workout and person are different, so in many cases other devices’ pre-programmed recovery settings that last for 30 minutes at most, aren’t going to cut it. Marc Pro delivers a unique current to the body that is capable of being used for sustained periods of time, without causing additional stress and fatigue.

When you’re trying to facilitate active recovery, it’s vital to understand that you don’t want to cause fatigue. You don’t want to put in inputs that are toxic, noxious, or irritating. By applying Marc Pro, you’re performing active recovery without the stress and fatigue that traditional active recovery or other e-stim devices cause.

Why you would want to recover better…

Why does Marc Pro put such a big emphasis on recovery? The benefits of muscle recovery are astounding. When your body is able to recover, you’re not only prepared to take on the next workout and give your best effort, you also get the most from the training you already did. During the recovery process, muscle fibers rebuild, making you stronger. By improving your body’s recovery process, you can maximize your gains and progress.

Injury prevention is another great reason to put more of an emphasis on recovery. Overuse injuries are not uncommon for athletes in all types of sports. However, overuse is a problem that can be avoided by allowing your body ample recovery between activities. Most importantly, recovery keeps your body in a healthy state so you can do the activities you love for a lifetime.

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The CrossFit Open season gives us a chance to test our abilities and see how well we perform under pressure. With training, it’s easy to get into a routine and not question it. With competitions like the Open, it makes us think about how we can be better athletes and work on having better fitness, shapes, and mechanics. Kelly Starrett thinks that now is a great time in the Open series to reflect on our strategies and understand where we can make improvements. Kelly shares his tips for how to be a more integrated athlete and recover from CrossFit Open workout 18.4.

Post CrossFit Open 18.4: After Action Error Analysis

If you haven’t done the latest CrossFit open workout yet or if you’re going to attempt it again, Kelly Starrett highly suggests recording yourself completing the workout. Then, take a step back and look critically at your performance. The goal is to be able to evaluate your performance extrinsically and intrinsically.

Variability between Reps:

How much variability is there between your reps? Does your first rep look like the next? Ideally, your first and 45^th rep should look the same. You want to be able to limit variability and keep the same movement patterns for all reps. It is expected that athletes will make movement errors, but if your intrinsic feedback mechanism is trained you can get right back on track. It’s important to realize when your movement pattern is off and be able to reclaim the ideal position so that variability can be reduced.

Effects of Fatigue:

How does fatigue affect your shapes? When fatigue sets in for most people, their body’s initial reaction is to default to a position that is easier to maintain but mechanically less desirable.  Take note of changes in your own body when fatigue sets in. Does the pressure on your feet change? Do your elbows flair? Do the angles of your knees change? Practicing to maintain form through conditions like fatigue will help you become a better athlete. The most stable and capable athletes look the same under any condition. Even when fatigue sets in, they are able to maintain their shape and power output. Practicing this during training will help make it more permanent so your body doesn’t default to poor shape during fatigue.

Outward Affect:

Take a look at your face when you’re competing. Were you neutral? Or did you grimace? Your outward affect influences your experience of suffering. Think about softening your face and being more neutral.

Recreate Self Talk:

This one is a big deal. Research shows that self-talk is one of the most important variables in performance. Limit negative self-talk and practice positive self-talk, this is a learned skill.

Coach Cues:

If you have a coach during competition, listen to their cues. Many times people will have a coach on site and then not listen to their advice. This may take some practice but make it a point to listen to your coach’s cues.

Performance Changes:

Within your control, what are three things that you could’ve changed during the competition? For example, do you wish you warmed up more or moved more efficiently? Make a list and write it down so you don’t make the same mistakes every time.

Recovery & Adaptation Goals

• Cool down for at least 10 minutes after the competition
• Pre-sleep: Complete some soft tissue work on your posterior shoulder, QL, and low back. This will help create wonders to get your rotation back, which will improve stability.
  • ELODA: Get your butt up against the wall and put your feet up. Then, try to flex your quads and breathe. Spend some time in that position with legs straight up.
• Marc Pro: Use the shoulder and low back flush. If you can’t get a good pumping cause you’re too tight, try using the high frequency setting for 20 minutes and then default back to the low frequency setting.
• Next Day: Do some shoulder and torso friendly training the day after the CrossFit Open workout. Kelly recommends the bike, prowler, or drags.

Training for an Ironman requires a lot of time and dedication to bring your body and mind to a place that can maintain a high level of performance. Andy Potts has been training for Ironman races for about 15 years now. He’s completed more than 200 triathlons, has been an Ironman Champion 7 times, and Ironman 70.3 Champion 28 times. Over the years, he’s learned a thing or two about Ironman events and now wants to share his knowledge with you. Here are two quick tips on Ironman training from Andy Potts.

Ironman Training Tips

Tip 1: 70.3 Ironman to a 140.6 Ironman

Transitioning from a half Ironman to a full Ironman is going to be taxing on both your body and mind. Jumping from 70.3 to 140.6 is going to be tough, especially the further into it you get. But, the biggest challenge on race day is going to be mental. Andy Potts recommends staying mentally engaged and letting yourself know that you put in the work and you’ve got this. Be aware of potential obstacles and know how to overcome them. Focus on your breathing techniques and eliminate negative self-talk. Studies have shown that your mental strategy has a huge effect on your athletic performance.

Tip 2: Open Water Swimming

Your first time in the open water can be very disorienting and it takes some time to get accustomed to the environment change. One of the biggest differences between swimming in a pool and swimming in the open water is tempo. Tempo is your stroke rate or how fast you’re turning over your stroke. For example, Andy Potts aims for a right fingertip entry to right fingertip entry of 1.5 seconds. Andy does have long arms though so yours might be faster or slower depending on your size and technique. Training your tempo in a pool will translate over into the open water. However, because the ocean is constantly moving, know that you have to keep a higher tempo in the open water to achieve the same results you would be able to achieve in a pool.

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