Here are a few impactful restorative options that require very little time or skill. These movements align, decompress, de-stress and restore, offering both long-term health benefits and more immediate performance/ energy boosts.
1. Poliquin’s Waiting Room
Charles Poliquin would have his athletes perform these in the waiting room before lifting. It would add 2-3% to their lifts by opening up intervertebral disk spaces along the spine and allowing for optimal nerve conduction. I ‘think’ these are actually called waiting rooms (though I am not sure on that title as it has been many years since discovering these and there is not much mention of them on the web).
This is a big savior for kyphotic (shoulders hunched forward) postures and for those of us who are slumped over a computer all day. It decompresses the spine and gives a nice release to the pectorals. It also does good things for hip alignment and the sacroiliac joint.
You will need a long foam roller. Firm works best.
How To Do It
- Lie lengthwise on the roller. Your head and tailbone should both be supported.
- Keep the knees bent.
- Let your arms hang down at your sides.
- To get some extra pec stretching in – after a minute or so, slide your arms up the floor several inches, like you are going to make a snow angel.
- Relax in this position.
- After another minute or so, slide your hands up a little further, and relax again.
- Keep going until you get close to an overhead position, then repeat the process on the way back down.
No need to be a slave as to where to place your arms, or how long to keep them at each position. Do what feels good to you.
If you don’t even want to move your arms, you can just keep them at your sides and enjoy the spinal decompression.
Poliquin would have his lifters lie on the roller for 15 minutes. If you only have 2-3 minutes, that will work, too. You probably wouldn’t want to stay there for extended periods as it can be pretty awkward getting off the roller. Likewise, if you have a bad back, or think that you might struggle getting off the floor for any reason, then skip this movement.
When To Do This
You can do this while watching tv at night, first thing in the morning, before bed, or use it to break up an extended session of sitting in front of a computer. So basically, do it whenever you want to.
You can also do this before training, as Poliquin did with his lifters. If you do that, it might be a good idea to keep it to a time limit that keeps you from slipping into deep relaxation mode before lifting.
This is also glorious as a post-workout cool down, especially when paired with deep breathing.
2. Constructive Rest Position (CRP)
If you can muster up the energy to lie on the floor, then you can take advantage of CRP. Gravity does the work.
In an effort to manage my snapping hip syndrome, I fell into a two year-long rabbit hole of researching the psoas. The most valuable thing I took out of that was the Constructive Rest Position, which I learned from the teachings of somatic educator, Liz Koch. I will link some of her works below.
Looking at the above image, you can visualize how an unhappy psoas might pull on many structures in the body. It can be related to back pain, tight hips, left-right imbalances, lateral shifting in the squat, pelvic tilt issues, the feeling of one limb being shorter than the other, twisting, sacroiliac pain, poor posture, cranky knees – the list goes on. The psoas ties to everything in the body. Relaxing in the constructive rest pose is the best way for the psoas to release its grip so that the body can align.
How To Do It
- Lie down on the floor or a hard surface (not a bed).
- You can either have your knees bent (with or without a pillow between them) or elevated on a chair.
- Notice any area of your body that should be touching the floor, but isn’t. Do not force these areas to the floor, but allow your body to gradually sink and release.
- Think of your thighs as waterfalls, the waves crashing at the hips, creating openness at the front of the hip sockets. (I cringed while writing that, but just go with it).
- Allow the bones to get heavy.
- Breathe down the back of your spine (inhale) and up the front of your body (exhale).
You might notice after some time, that your lower back can rest heavily on the ground (if it wasn’t already). It is ok to adjust your position slightly if your alignment changes as you are lying.
Some sources recommend that you allow 20 minutes for CRP. For those of us with kids driving Hot Wheels cars over our heads as we are trying to restore ourselves, 20 minutes is a big ask. Do what you can. The benefits are cumulative. You can still benefit from a few minutes at a time if that is all you have to work with.
When To Do This
This one works best before bed, post-workout, or anytime you have some time to relax.
I wouldn’t suggest a long CRP session before lifting – though I find that simply getting into the position and noting if the pelvis sinks to the ground can be a pretty good indicator as to what sort of day you are going to have.
3. Contrast Shower
This one is pretty simple – just switch between hot and cold water. It might suck during the cold blasts, but you’ll feel reborn when you are done.
Widening of the blood vessels occurs with hot water (vasodilation), increasing blood flow to the tissues. Blood vessels tighten with cold water (vasoconstriction), reducing the blood flow and sending it toward the internal organs. Put the two together, and circulation is improved.
Some reported benefits include:
- Soreness alleviation
- Mental clarity and alertness
- Energy (many feel that it gives a happy buzz that is even better than coffee)
- Positivity and happiness
- Immune system benefits
As far as a performance boost, many people feel that it helps. I wasn’t able to find a ton of research to back this up (if that factors into your decision making process). However, just about all sources report a great psychological benefit.
If you were going to take a shower anyway, why not take advantage.
How To Do It
- Start with a hot shower for 2-3 minutes.
- Switch to cold water for 30s-1 minute.
- Switch back to hot water for 2-or-so minutes.
- Repeat several times, or as many as you have time for.
The greater the contrast in temperature, the greater the effect.
Overall, you should spend more time in hot water than cold (thank goodness). Don’t worry about being precise on the timing. Somewhere around a 3:1 or 4:1 hot-to-cold ratio is great.
When To Do This
Do it after a workout, or any time.
Insider tip: When you turn the water to cold, that probably isn’t the best time to gargle, shampoo your hair and wiggle around. It can be much more tolerable if you don’t move around too much during the cold blasts.
Also, cold therapy (ice baths, etc.) has been shown to reduce inflammation – which can be nice if you do need to feel fresher for a competition or event, but might not be what you want if you are trying to build up some muscle. Anything that blunts the inflammation response (ice, ibuprofen, etc.) can also blunt the muscle building effect.
Bonus Add-On : Breathing
If you are able to mentally relax along with these activities (aka no kids driving Hot Wheels over your head), then these pair perfectly with breathing exercises.
Enjoy some guided breathing like this one with Wim Hof and I’d say you have yourself a pretty sweet recovery protocol.
Conclusion
I came across these techniques when I was working long hours as a web developer, being hunched over my computer for much of the day and up with waking babies through the night. I was competing in powerlifting at the same time, was constantly slacking on recovery and was too tired to do anything about it.
For the record, I am not into fancy treatments that take a lot of time. I like immediately usable, simple protocols that can make a big improvement without a big investment. Rolling onto the floor or taking a shower are quick and realistic ways to get some meaningful restorative work in.
I can’t think of anything that can offer as much of a benefit for just lying there…except for maybe sleep.
More Reading
The effect of contrast water therapy on symptoms of delayed onset muscle soreness
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17685683/
Water immersion recovery for athletes: effect on exercise performance and practical recommendations