Tools For The Recovery Trade

Big hours call for big recovery, but that doesn’t just mean time away from the roller-skis or running trails. Fewer training hours during a recovery week leave extra time each day for active recovery. Dedicating adequate time to active recovery during an easier week helps both muscles and mind absorb the load from a few big weeks of training and prep the body for the next block. Like most things in the world of fitness these days, companies have commercialized recovery, offering everything from cryo-therapy, to vitamin B injections to good old-fashioned sports massage. However with a few at-home tools, recovery can be as simple as watching the latest episode of Big Little Lies. Below are a few of my favorite tools for recovery, ranked from “occasionally used” to “go buy one of these tomorrow if you don’t already have one.”

Uses: Pre-hab - think of this as your go-to tool for muscle maintenance and balance. Use a light stretchy band to strengthen the smaller stabilizing muscles around your shoulders and prevent over-development of the bigger muscles (e.g. biceps, deltoids, trapezoids) that can lead to impingement and limited mobility of the shoulder joint down the road

Especially Good For:ankle mobility, flexibility and strength, rotator cuff and shoulder injuries

Favorite Exercise: Holding the band in your right hand, wrap it around your right foot and cross your right foot over the left. Use the left foot to push the band taught. Rotate your right foot away from the left and then, slowly and controlled, bring it back to neutral. Complete 10-20 rotations and then switch feet. This exercise helps prevent shin splints and ankle injuries down the road while improving your balance on one leg.

Uses: Assisted stretching - although this is a great tool I didn’t rank it very high on the list because a towel, old tee-shirt or computer cord works nearly as well

Especially Good For:the inflexible (generally) and hamstrings, IT band, quadriceps (specifically)

Favorite Exercise: Lie on your back, wrap the strap around your right foot and extend your left leg flat on the ground. Bend your right leg and pull your knee towards your chest. Slowly extend your right leg, with the goal of (eventually) extending it completely straight. You should feel a deep stretch in your upper hamstring. From an extended position pivot your right leg across your left and towards the ground, keeping your left leg flat on the floor. Moving your foot just a few degrees to the left should generate a deep hip and IT band stretch. Use the strap to increase tension for a deeper stretch or ease the intensity of the stretch (for those of us who are less flexible). Switch legs.

Uses: Myofascial release for particularly tight soft tissue

Especially Good For:shoulders and lats, upper hamstring and glutes

Favorite Exercise: Sit on a box that allows your feet to hang roughly at 90 degrees and place ball under upper right hamstring. Slowly extend your right leg, leaving your left leg on the ground. You should feel a deep stretch of the upper hamstring. Slowly lower your right leg and repeat 10X. Switch legs.If this is too easy, try with a lacrosse ball or larger foam ball (see below).

Uses: Myofascial release, especially along the spine, neck, glutes, legs and feet

Especially Good For:tight backs and glutes

Favorite Exercise: stand against a wall and wedge the tennis balls between your back and the wall (the gap between the balls should align with your spine.)  Roll the balls up and down your spine, spending extra time in the most sensitive spots. Lean into the wall or move to the floor to increase the pressure as needed. 

Uses: Myofascial release of bigger muscle groups. The stick is less intense than some other foam rollers but helps generate blood flow to tight muscles to help aid in recovery

Especially Good For:Shins, really sore muscles, lazy Sundays where the thought of rolling around on a foam roller sounds exhausting

Favorite Exercise: I don’t use the stick much as it seems less intense/effective than the other foam roller options. However I have found it particularly useful for loosening tight shins and preventing shin splints. Roll the stick up and down your shins, varying pressure based on the tightness of the muscle. 

Uses: Upper thoracic spine mobility aka one of the most common xc skier mobility problems

Especially Good For:Opening up the chest and thoracic spine

Favorite Exercise: Sit on the ground and hold a light (10lbs or less) medicine ball in your arms. Lay back on a second (SOFT!) medicine ball, placing the soft medicine ball between your shoulder blades or just below. Bend your knees and keep your butt on the ground. Raise the lighter medicine ball above your head and slowly lower it overhead to the ground, keeping your arms straight with a soft bend in the elbows. Hold for 10-20 seconds overhead and repeat 3-5 times. Feel free to adjust the placement of the lower squishy ball as needed to deepen or adjust the stretch.

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Uses: Myofascial release of bigger muscle groups, maintenance of muscle mobility

Especially Good For:spine, lats, quadriceps

Favorite Exercise: Place the foam roller under your spine the long way (aka parallel to the direction of your spine). Bring your hands together directly overhead and then slowly open them to your sides, (perpendicular to the direction of the foam roller). You should feel a deep stretch in your pecs and the front of your chest. Allow your arms to hang by your sides for 15-30 seconds and repeat 3-5X.

Uses: Deep myofascial release

Especially Good For:Feet, glutes, hamstring

Favorite Exercise: Roll the lacrosse ball around under your foot, pausing or spending a few extra moments rolling the particularly sensitive spots.

Uses: Deep myofascial release

Especially Good For:If I could only have one recovery tool, this would be it. It’s easy to travel with and can be used to loosen small pain points as well as larger muscle groups. I particularly love it for upper hamstring, hip flexors, glutes, and chest/pecs.

Favorite Exercise: Place the ball under your right glute and cross your right foot over your left knee (as if you were sitting cross legged but just with the right side.) Roll around until you find a particularly sticky or sensitive spot and hang out there for a few seconds, breathing into the area to loosen and release. Continue to move around the glute muscle as needed. Switch legs.