07/25/2023
Fellas, let's talk about recovery workouts.
Are you an armwrestler looking to optimize your performance and minimize the risk of injuries? If so, it's crucial to pay attention to your recovery routine. Recovery workouts play a vital role in maintaining your strength, minimizing the likelihood for injuries, and ensuring long-term success in this challenging sport. Let's dive into some essential tips and techniques for effective recovery workouts:
1️⃣ Elbow flexors and extensors. Training the extensors with movements like JM presses, close grip bench press, triceps cable extensions, and triceps pushdowns are super crucial considering how we create an imbalance with mostly pulling motions. Then with the flexors, movements like reverse grip Ez bar curls, hammer curls, concentration curls, and drag curls for higher rep ranges with lighter weight seem to together get ALL the blood into the right areas.
2️⃣ Mobility and Flexibility: Armwrestling demands a great deal of wrist, forearm, and bicep strength, so maintaining optimal mobility and flexibility is crucial. Incorporate stretching exercises that target these areas to help keep your range of motion and prevent muscle stiffness.
3️⃣ Foam Rolling: Invest in a foam roller and use it regularly to release muscle knots and tension. We use some very weird posture at times at the table, sometimes for long amounts of time at these bigger practices and these can make my back sore at times for sure, Foam rolling for me has been an excellent self-massage technique that aids in reducing soreness and keeps me loosened up enough to train like I need to in order to keep progressing.
4️⃣ Hydration and Nutrition: Proper recovery starts from within. Stay hydrated and maintain a well-balanced diet rich in protein, healthy fats, and essential nutrients. Try and stay away from as many processed sugars, fried foods, and other obvious stuff you know you shouldn't be eating as well, those foods only add to inflammation. Proper nutrition helps your body repair and rebuild muscles after intense armwrestling sessions.
5️⃣ Sleep: Never underestimate the power of a good night's sleep! Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night to allow your body and mind to recover fully. During deep sleep, your body releases growth hormones, aiding in muscle repair and overall recovery.
6️⃣ Light Resistance Training: On recovery days, consider incorporating light resistance exercises that target the muscles used in armwrestling at a super low intensity, my suggestion would be workouts with a RPE of 2.5-3.5. Use lighter weights and focus on higher reps to promote blood flow without causing any damage, only stimulation.
7️⃣ Ice and Heat Therapy: After particularly intense armwrestling sessions, consider using ice packs on sore areas to reduce inflammation. Conversely, heat therapy, like warm compresses, can help relax and soothe tired muscles.
8️⃣ Listen to Your Body: Most importantly, pay attention to your body's signals. If you're feeling overly fatigued or experiencing pain, take a break and give yourself enough time to recover before hitting the table again.
Remember, recovery workouts are an essential part of your armwrestling journey. They not only help you come back stronger but also reduce the risk of overuse injuries. Incorporate these recovery practices into your training routine, and watch your armwrestling performance soar to new heights! 💥🔝
