Fridays with Celia
Week 7 of my 60 Day Body Composition Journey: Supercharge your recovery with stretching, sauna and Sermorelin to win at the gym
Welcome to Fridays with Celia!
My body (re)composition experiment is coming to a close. We are wrapping up week 7 and it’s an understatement to say that I have been powering through. The final DEXA scan to measure my progress in fat loss and muscle gain is around the corner. Any bets on how I’ll do?
Kolton (my trainer): “You are crushing it. How many more reps could you have done?”
Me: “I feel like this is a trick question,” as I put down two 26 lb kettlebells.
Kolton: “I’ve enrolled you in a bodybuilding swimsuit competition,” as he reaches for the 35 lbs kettlebells.
Me: (deadpan) “You are hilarious.”
I have a great relationship with my trainer. He finally figured out that I only stop talking when he makes it really hard.
I complain but actually I’ve loved pushing myself to see what I can accomplish.
Committing to this intense training program is one thing but sharing it with all of you means I’m accountable on a whole new level.
This week’s update discusses what I learned about patience and recovery—two things I’ve never been very good at.
xCelia
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“My foot is on fire,” I declared to Kevin, the physical therapist at Hume. Like a slow intense cramp on my left arch whenever I flexed for longer than 30 seconds.
Even though I consistently train in Nike Free shoes with a flexible outsole that adapt to movement, my feet were cramping a lot.
Apparently holding a static stretch like a split squat puts a lot of pressure on your big toe. Warming up helps activate the rest of your toes needed for balance.
“Warming up my feet?” Clearly I have no patience.
Stretching triggers the growth of capillaries to deliver more oxygen and nutrients which stimulates changes in metabolism inside the muscle.
Before training, I now do this 5-minute exercise: place a block between my feet, squeeze it, rise slowly onto my toes, hold for 2 seconds (if possible), then lower slowly. And, repeat.
Week 7 Learnings
I miss Pilates.
I’ve been focusing on heavy weights and progressive load but now my muscles feel really tight. In Pilates you do more dynamic stretches (vs static holds) which feel great and elongate the muscles. I never thought I’d say that I miss doing plank pikes! It might be time to diversify my workouts.
You recover better with heat.
On my heaviest lifting days, I go into the sauna afterwards for 15 minutes. The heat increases blood flow to the muscles, delivering more oxygen to repair and rebuild muscle fibers. It’s a little hack to getting more out of your workout.
Rehydrate slowly for gains.
After the sauna, I’m mildly dehydrated which is also beneficial for muscle adaptation. I’m told that it can help with increased insulin sensitivity, which means my muscles use glucose more efficiently. To rehydrate after sweating, I slowly drink 16oz of room temperature water with electrolytes.
Sermorelin makes sleep even more productive.
Muscle repair and growth (hypertrophy) occur when you are asleep. You release growth hormone during deep sleep which is critical for fat loss and muscle gain. I take Sermorelin peptides before bed to encourage this process. I credit my high energy days to getting the rest I need at night.
Since next Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, I’ve decided to combine Week 8 and the Final Reveal of my DEXA scan results into one final update. See you on Friday, Dec 6 for the conclusion of this riveting series. 😉
Leave questions in the comments or share with someone who might benefit from this information. Thank you for reading!
All writing is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Love this journey! Is the sauna benefit only AFTER working out, or can you can get the same benefit be any time of day?