Unless you’re brand new, you remember our old friend Vivian Simmons from her coaching days here at Recursive. Her next endeavor has taken her out to Boston, where over the last few months she’s been involved in some really cool work at the USARIEM (United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine).

They’re a seriously badass research lab. From their website “USARIEM is internationally recognized as the DoD’s premier laboratory for Warfighter health and performance research and focuses on environmental medicine, physiology, physical and cognitive performance, and nutrition research.”

A lot of her time has been spent analyzing research papers related to physical performance, and I recently got a chance to catch up with her and talk about what she’s learned. Still being an avid CrossFitter herself, the conversation naturally moved towards its application to CrossFit and I thought you all would appreciate hearing it too.

Although she isn’t always allowed to elaborate on the details of the research, there are some general principles that she’s noticed that transfer over to training and life. I attempted to organize our yammering into some useful takeaways below (her words/ideas are in bold). Enjoy!

On reaching goals:
“If you know you want a goal, you have to set yourself up a little like a science experiment.” None of the cool research being done would be possible if subjects didn’t stick to the plan. If the Army’s goal is to test how your blood reacts to exercise in high altitude, they make sure everything else is controlled and doesn’t interfere with the testing.

“Same thing with Crossfit — to get to those high goals of PRs and muscle ups you need to make sure nothing you are doing outside of the gym throws a wrench in those plans.” The habits you begin making to achieve those PRs are the real keys to living longer and healthier — not how much weight you can squat. “Your max back squat doesn’t dictate your potential lifespan (I looked it up — there are no studies linking higher maxes to longer life).”

On consistency:
“CONSISTENCY!!!!” The best outcomes almost always go to those who are consistent, whether that outcome is muscle strength, bone density, flexibility, neurologic adaptation, or life expectancy. You don’t make or break your results in one day — it has to happen over the long haul.

“Don’t beat yourself up for giving into Ben and Jerry sometimes, but don’t just justify eating that limited edition flavor because you work out.” There is plenty of research indicating that folks who consistently exercise for a longer period of time can adapt better to stimuli and have better functioning physiologic systems than folks who never start or who “yo-yo” back and forth.

On recovery:
Most of us aren’t working out because we love working out — we’re doing it so we can enjoy an active lifestyle. We spend an hour breaking our bodies down with barbells and running, and spend the next 23 hours rebuilding and recovering — hopefully a little stronger. The choices we make in those 23 hours can have a big impact on our recovery.

WARNING: Cool Viv analogy coming in hot — “Your muscles and the nerves they listen to  are kind of like a car — you cannot go from park to 60 mph in two seconds (that’s why we warm up for WODs).”

Think of your decisions outside the gym as shifting gears throughout the day. Picking stuff up off the ground, taking your dog for a walk, running to catch the bus, and walking up the stairs instead of standing on the escalator at Target can all be seen as low gear activities that enhance recovery, or keep the car running smoothly.

Netflix binging on the couch for 4 hours is like leaving your car parked in the cold. Which car do you think will handle the Autobahn better?

That’s not to say you should be moving all the time. Being in park (sleeping, sitting between lifts, etc.) is necessary just like active recovery, but the ratio is what’s important. If you never park your car, you’ll eventually run out of gas. If your car is always parked, it probably won’t perform when you actually need it.

On supplements:

Be careful if you default to supplements and pills to fix aches and pains. “Try stretching or modifying the movement before you just pop that advil and carry on.”

A huge part of the budget for USARIEM studies goes to figuring out how to lower injury rates, and most of them show that proper mobility work and natural vitamins are a better long term solution. It’s also possible that common, over-the-counter drugs like ibuprofen can negate some of the positive effects of exercise (especially resistance training).

One study done here indicates NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, aka ibuprofen) might block important hormone receptors that tell your bones to become stronger after exercise. “So while temporary muscle relief may be provided, think about the long term impact!” Good old fashioned stretching and proper nutrition never goes out of style — it’s pretty simple.

– Xoxo Vivian
– Xoxo Aaron

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