Rest day

My goodness I am sore. Seriously, it hurts to laugh or cough, and my pecs are sore to the touch, my lats are starting to feel it as well. Good thing I had planned for today to be a rest day. Also slept for about 11 hours, so I know I got adequate rest. I also plan on getting a massage this week to help with soreness.

One thing I know not to do is to take ibuprofen. I just read a fantastic article from Crossfit Milford, originally posted by crossfit San Francisco, about the effect taking vitamin I. Basically, how Ibuprofen works is that it interferes with inflammation, which is how the body heals itself. As in, repairing muscle tissue you worked so hard to destroy so that it may repair itself to become stronger. So after a long workout if you take some Advil, you will negate any gain you would've made, and probably end up even weaker then before. So whatever you do, DO NOT TAKE IBUPROFEN FOR SORE MUSCLES. Of course, I'm no doctor, so if he/she tells you different obviously do so.

Crossfit = Soreness = Getting Stronger

[UPDATE: I've found that foam rolling, stretching, and doing mobility wods to be very, very helpful in treating soreness. Whatever you do, don't take ibuprofen! Shit will leave you weaker than when you started.]

[UPDATE #2: If you're experiencing extreme soreness, you may have Rhabdomyolysis, where your muscle fibers have been broken down and have entered the bloodstream. If it seems like you're experiencing symptoms of rhabdo as mentioned in the wiki link, go get checked out immediately because may cause kidney damage, which can be fatal.]

Monday Chris made the comment that doing crossfit means being sore. We laughed and I didn't give it much thought. Today I woke up and was surprised I didn't feel any soreness.

That changed as the day progressed.

My legs and abs are fine, it's my freaking chest, back, and triceps (told you push ups were horrible for me). It got me to thinking about what Chris had said, and I've come to realize that since I've gotten back into crossfit, I don't think I've really had a day where I haven't felt sore. But the great thing about being sore is that it means that you're getting stronger, and I like getting stronger.

Did a little research on the soreness, and I found this little excerpt on medicinenet.com:

"Don't Get in a Rut

It's also a process of muscle conditioning. Torgan says delayed onset muscle soreness also has a "repeated bouts" effect.

"If someone does an activity, they will be inoculated for a few weeks to a few months -- the next time they do the activity, there will be less muscle tissue damage, less soreness, and a faster strength recovery."

This is why athletes often cross-train and vary their routines to continue to challenge and develop their muscle strength."

Sounds pretty much like crossfit, huh? Always fun to find reports that back up the principals of crossfit.

I also tried to find ways to help relieve the soreness, and according to about.com yoga might help, and there was a CNN report that vitamin E may help as well. Think I might try out the vitamin E, but I'm not sure I'll find the time for yoga. I even found a patent for a piece of cloth that helps treat soreness (remember I'm a patent examiner after all).

I'm also wondering when I should start doing crossfit more than three days a week. Seems like everyone else in the 5pm class is also in the martial arts classes, but I'm not and have nothing else. I've thought about running, especially since it seems the rest of my body is catching up to the strength of my legs. Any suggestions?