RECOVERY AND WELLNESS

Yoga for Runners, Foam Rolling and Stretching Classes

While you may not see a lion stretch before it hunts a gazelle, we strongly recommend a variety of yoga, foam rolling and stretching to help proactively keep muscles healthy and happy. These recovery elements may be simple compared to others, however, athletes incorporating them into workout routines will become less prone to injury. Some of the other benefits of yoga, foam rolling and stretching include:

• Increased flexibility (especially when done overtime)
• Strengthening and toning of muscles
• Increased range of motion in the joints
• Improved metabolism and energy levels
• Weight loss
• Improved circulation
• Stress relief
• Reducing muscle fatigue

Yoga For Runners Class

Our yoga for runners class is a perfect addition to the complete training experience for runners. These classes are designed to assist with recovery and injury prevention. The focus of our yoga classes is flexibility, range of motion and core strength. Yoga is also great for providing a sense of calmness and concentration to allow members to properly recover both mentally and physically.

Foam Rolling and Stretching Class

Our foam rolling and stretching class is a 45-50 minute class focusing on full-body stretches and exercises to promote faster recovery and injury prevention by reducing muscle fatigue, improving flexibility and range of motion and educating proper technique. FRC provides foam rollers, straps and mats, but feel free to bring your own stretching equipment as well!

 Whole Body Cryotherapy

Running and endurance sports put considerable stress on your muscles and joints, which, if not properly addressed, could lead to injury. Runners and endurance athletes that do not properly recover are prevented from training at a level that will produce optimal performance results. Utilizing whole body cryotherapy as a part of your training formula may help accelerate your recovery process allowing you to get back on the tread faster and stronger and in a better position to crush your performance goals!  

Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC) is the use of extreme cold temperatures to help heal the body in under 3 minutes. Temperatures can range from -130˚F to -184˚F. The WBC unit uses a gaseous form of nitrogen to lower skin surface temperature during a two-three minute session. The exposed skin reacts to the extreme temperature by sending messages to the brain that causes the body to go into a defensive (fight or flight) mode, transporting blood and nutrients to the organs in the core. During this process your body starts oxygenating your blood, flushing it of toxins and lactic acid. Your body begins to return to its normal state immediately after exiting the cryotherapy chamber, dilating the blood vessels to distribute heat and thereby increasing the blood flow to extremities. The dilated blood vessels allow you to more effectively distribute this newly oxygenated blood to your limbs and your body starts absorbing this blood which is now enriched with oxygen, collagen and other nutrients and enzymes. Research and clinical studies have shown that WBC can be used to relieve:

• Muscle pain and soreness
• Sprains
• Swelling and inflammation
• Joint pain and stiffness

WBC has also been shown to improve mental health due to the release of endorphins during the cryotherapy session. To find out more about the benefits of using WBC, please click here.  

Our WBC unit has its own dedicated room at our facility that allows you to easily access the benefits of WBC without the hassle of hiking back and forth to another facility. While WBC is an important portion of recovery, make sure you speak with your medical professional before using our WBC unit.

The WBC unit is not a medical device as defined by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The information about WBC above is based on research studies conducted by third parties unaffiliated with FRC and has not been evaluated by the FDA. In addition, FRC has not verified the accuracy of such research studies.

Compression Sleeves

Post workout fatigue and soreness are a constant reminder of the routine stress we put on our system during training. While these symptoms are expected, you can use our NormaTec compression sleeves to expedite recovery. They are the same make and model as those used by professional athletes, Olympians and sports teams – all aimed at helping athletes recover faster after a workout. In fact, these sleeves help improve circulation so much that some athletes even use them to warm-up before a workout.  

Instead of using static compression (squeezing) to transport fluid out of the limbs, NormaTec Pulse Technology uses dynamic compression (pulsing). NormaTec’s patented pulsing action more effectively mimics the muscle pump of the legs and arms, greatly enhancing the movement of fluid and metabolites out of the limbs after an intense workout.

In addition, veins and lymphatic vessels have one-way valves that prevent fluid backflow. Similarly, NormaTec Pulse Technology uses hold pressures to keep fluids from being forced in the wrong direction. Because of this enhancement, instead of tapering pressure off, the NormaTec’s can deliver maximum pressure in every zone.

Finally, because extended static pressure can be detrimental to the body’s normal circulatory flow, Sequential Pulse Technology releases the hold pressures once they are no longer needed to prevent backflow. By releasing the hold pressure in each zone as soon as possible, each portion of the limb gains maximal rest time without a significant pause between compression cycles.

Some of the benefits of using the NormaTec compression sleeves include:

• Boosts circulation to the limbs and reduces pain and soreness
• Increases range of motion
• Decreases inflammation

For additional information regarding the benefits of using the NormaTec compression sleeves, please go here. Most runners and endurance athletes use these sleeves after an intense workout to help alleviate soreness and expedite recovery. At FRC we have 2 sets waiting for you to give them a try and see how much better you feel after your next workout!

full spectrum Infrared Sauna

While most athletes don’t aim to look for something else to make themselves sweat after a workout, our full spectrum infrared sauna is another layer of recovery our members utilize. Unlike traditional saunas that heat the air and therefore can only heat the surface of the skin, the infrared light used by infrared saunas penetrates human tissue, muscles and cells, raising the body’s core temperature, resulting in a more effective detoxifying sweat. Due to their use of infrared light, infrared saunas are seven times more effective than traditional saunas at detoxifying the body and may produce a sweat composed of approximately 20% toxins vs. only about 3% toxins with traditional saunas. Infrared is a naturally occurring output of the sun, but does not contain the harmful UV rays, and is therefore completely safe and healthy if used properly (it can be used for hours without the risk of burning).

Our full spectrum infrared sauna is unique in that it uses near, mid and far infrared light resulting in the full spectrum of benefits that infrared light can provide.  

Near Infrared is the shortest infrared wavelength and research shows it promotes skin renewal, cell health, wound healing and tissue growth.

Mid Infrared is a longer wavelength that can penetrate deeper into the body’s soft tissue where inflammation occurs and helps to speed up the healing process.

Far Infrared is the longest wavelength and reaches deep into the body where toxins are stored to help more effectively eliminate them from the body.

Due to the 3 levels of infrared technology, research has shown that there are a broad scope of benefits that can be obtained from utilizing our full-spectrum infrared sauna, including:

• Detoxification
• Pain relief
• Weight loss
• Lower blood pressure
• Improved circulation
• Wound healing
• Anti-Aging
• Improvement to cell health, muscle recovery and immunity defense
• Relaxation 

For additional information regarding the benefits of using a full spectrum infrared sauna, please go here. Our full spectrum infrared sauna has its own private room located inside our Recovery Room so that you can relax in peace as you reap these great benefits. We recommend a 40 min session to receive the maximum benefits from our full spectrum infrared sauna. Those trying the infrared sauna for  the first time, may need to work up to a 40 minutes session. While we believe our full spectrum infrared sauna will be a great benefit to you, please consult with your medical professional prior to use.

Cold Water Soaking Tub

Directly after a training session your muscles are fatigued and need to recover in order to be prepared for the next training session. As a part of the recovery process, your blood vessels bring oxygen to your muscle tissue while removing the waste products from exercise, primarily lactate acid. Using cold water immersion through our cold water soaking tub can help to immediately reduce swelling and remove lactate acid from the body. When you sit in a cold bath the cold causes your blood vessels to tighten. This helps flush the lactic acid out of your tired muscles. When you get out of the bath, your muscle tissue warms back up, causing a return of oxygenated blood, speeding circulation to help your muscles recover. Jump into our cold water soaking tub after your training session to experience the following benefits:

• Decreased muscle fatigue and inflammation
• Quicker muscle recovery
• Increased blood flow to the muscles
• Improved performance
• Quicker injury recovery time

For additional information regarding the benefits of using a cold water soaking tub, please go here. Our cold water soaking tub is kept precisely cooled without ice so that you don’t get any variation in temperature. We recommend you stay in for up to 10 minutes, however, if you are not accustomed to soaking in cold water, limit your sessions to 6-8 minutes and build up to longer periods of time. While our founders are big fans of cold water therapy and feel its an important part of recovery, you should make sure to consult with your medical professional prior to use.

Sports Massage Therapy

Sport massage targets specific issues in the body such as structural imbalance and inefficient compensation patterns.

Our Sports Massage Therapist uses a functional postural assessment to assess ineffective compensation patterns to help you create functional and efficient movement so you can run better. This is achieved by combining myofascial work, trigger point therapy, neuromuscular re-education and myofascial decompression (MFD) (loosely called cupping therapy) to decrease fascial restrictions that cause pain and increase overall movement and function with faster recovery time.