140: All Things Recovery and Protocols I Use

33:47And I sometimes, more frequently than I'd like to admit,

33:52Nick Bare:will sacrifice my sleep in order to get these other things done. With that being said, after this Ironman prep is over, I am committing to sleeping in until 6 a.m. So I can get eight hours of sleep a night. Now there will of course be nights where this doesn't happen. Our youngest, our son Nico, who like I said is one year old right now. The last two, three weeks, he's been going through a sleep regression where he wakes up at like 1.30 a.m. And we give him a bottle and he tosses and he turns until sometimes 3, 3.30 a.m. Crying and screaming and we're trying to get him back down. So either Steph or I or both of us are up for a few hours in the middle of the night.

34:43And that is just the season and chapter of life that we're in right now.

34:47Nick Bare:But hopefully when Nico is out of this sleep regression and this Ironman prep is over, we're in bed by 9.30, 10 p.m. and then waking up together at 6 a.m. That is the goal. That is where I'm trying to get to. It's baby steps to get there. What I've also found after years of waking up at 4, 4.30 a.m. your body becomes accustomed to a certain sleep routine. sleep and wake cycle, your circadian rhythm. And after waking up at 4, 4.30 AM for years, for the last couple of years, I would set an alarm and I set an alarm every night, but I would usually wake up right before that alarm clock went off because my body was so routined and that circadian rhythm was so just synced up that I didn't need the alarm clock to wake me up.

35:54Nick Bare:So deciding to sleep till 6 a.m., my body is still on that time clock. It is still accustomed to that sleep and wake cycle. So I know it's going to take actually more time than I anticipated to actually break that cycle and build a new routine in where my body naturally then wakes up at six, but it's not there yet.

36:24Nick Bare:But like I said, post Ironman, that is the goal. That's what we're working towards. Nego, let's get through this sleep regression and give mom and dad some more sleep. that'd be much, much appreciated. I love you, man. I love you. All right, sleep. When I think about sleep and I look at my data from the night prior, like I said, I'll open up the next day, my Aura Ring app. I'll check the Eight Sleep app and I'll also check the Garmin app and I'll compare the data from my sleep scores. So I'll look at total sleep, the hours of sleep that I get. Each one of these devices gives a different sleep score analysis.

37:15Nick Bare:And I'll look at REM sleep, deep sleep, and awake time. And I just look for trends over time. And I'm also looking at heart rate variability, like I've talked about earlier. The reason I look at it at wake time,

37:36Nick Bare:because sometimes when one of the kids wakes up in the middle of the night and we put them back down, sometimes it's hard to fall back asleep. I'll lay there for a significant time trying to fall back asleep. And if I have a lot of awake time where I have a hard time I'm falling back to sleep afterwards in the middle of the night. I like to track that because I like to look at trends and reasons of what I did the previous day of why that might've happened. Was it a big training day? Was there a lot of stress? Did I eat a meal too late? Did I not eat enough that day prior? I just like to look at the trends of the data and then try to use that data to make better informed decisions to keep improving my sleep, my performance, my recovery, the way that I feel.

38:33Nick Bare:I'm not necessarily trying to hit certain metric points, but I like to use the data just to reflect and learn from and make more informed decisions in the future. So I've talked about a few different wearables in tech and devices so far. The Oura Ring I've only been wearing for a few weeks. I'm still getting used to it. It's still calibrating a lot of the metrics within the app because I haven't been wearing it long enough yet to provide me all the data. I've been wearing a Garmin for years now and I'm very used to that data that it provides me. I'd say they're all pretty comparable. But I wanted to highlight one device that Steph and I both love.

39:26And for all the things that I talk about here, all the products, all the recommendations, the tech, the wearables, the devices, I'm not paid to promote any of these things.

39:42Nick Bare:These are items. These are tools. These are resources that we actually buy, use our friends with the company is like I'm talking about these devices or products because I believe they are actually beneficial 8 sleep is one that I highly recommend to everyone this is a game changer so the 8 sleep is essentially think of it as a mattress pad topper that cools your bed temperature. So there's this water tank you put next to your bed. It connects these tubes onto this mattress cover. You put the mattress cover over your bed. And within the app, I can control my side of the bed and Steph can control her side of the bed.

40:39So we can set different temperatures of our bed based off of our sleep preferences. we know that the human body sleeps better, more efficiently in a cold environment. So if you don't want to buy a device like this, just crank your AC down at night and make your room cold and you actually sleep better. You will sleep better in a colder environment. But the Eight Sleep is this device where it cools your bed temperature down and it will actually auto-regulate the temperature throughout the night based off of your sleep performance. I think it's called like autopilot. So I put mine on autopilot and it will adjust the temperature of my bed based off of how well I'm sleeping.

41:30And then it provides really good sleep data and analysis the next morning. I don't know how exactly it does it. It's pretty wild. It measures HRV, heart rate, all of these things. all the things that my aura ring in my Garmin give me based off of this pad that I'm sleeping on.

41:51Nick Bare:It's quite wild. But we have found that both Steph and I, we sleep much better with the eight sleep, but we also just like sleep better in a cooler environment. Minimal clothing, cooler environment. That's part of our sleep hygiene or sleep practices. if you will. Some other things that I do to promote better sleep, I wear blue light blocking glasses at night because I don't want the blue light to be disturbing my sleep performance and sleep quality. So I will wear blue light blocking glasses. I wear a sleep mask now. This is only as of the last couple of weeks, but I'm a big fan of the sleep mask.

42:43I make sure I'm not on my phone. Within that last hour of going to bed,

42:48Nick Bare:I will lay in bed, really try to just relax, digest, stimulate that parasympathetic state. I'll read a book for the last 30 minutes to an hour while laying in bed with my blue light blocking glasses. I want to try to reduce high energy and or high cortisol producing activity. And this is one of the reasons I stay off my phone. And I'm reading a book. I'm just relaxing, winding down, getting ready to go to sleep. And this is obviously after taking peak sleep. Peak sleep is our being BPN's sleep supplement. It's a gummy formula. no melatonin. So it's non-habit forming. And I take a serving of peak sleep about 45 minutes before I go to sleep every single night.

43:49Nick Bare:Helps me just wind down very gently, wind down, relax, fall into a more restful just feeling. And it helps me fall asleep faster. my sleep data and performance is stronger and I wake up feeling more refreshed. So I take a serving of peak sleep every single night. And I don't actually even like to talk about peak sleep in terms of being a sleep supplement. I like to talk about peak sleep in terms of being a recovery supplement. One of the reasons we didn't add melatonin to it, some people I found have positive reactions to melatonin. Some people have negative experiences with melatonin. I personally have negative experiences with melatonin.

44:43Nick Bare:I just get extremely groggy. And it's been a few years actually since I've used melatonin. But two weeks ago, it was a Saturday night. It was after a long run. I decided to experiment with three milligrams of melatonin. I was like, let me just, it's been a few years since I've tried it. Let me add some melatonin to my nighttime routine. And I will say it hit me like a bag of bricks. I fell asleep so hard and so fast, but the next day I felt horrible, horrible. I was so groggy. I was so fatigued the entire day. It was a waste of a day. Like that whole Sunday, I was, nothing could bring me back to life.

45:30No amount of caffeine, no workout. Like I felt horrible. So that will be my last time trying melatonin ever again. It made me feel absolutely horrible. So I'm not personally a fan of melatonin. You might be, you might not be, but I've found that it just makes me extremely groggy the next day. And that's why we haven't and didn't incorporate it

45:55Nick Bare:into the peak sleep formula. And then second to sleep, we have to talk about nutrition. If your nutrition is not dialed in and prioritized, then this doesn't go just for athletes or someone in a prep or preparing for an Ironman triathlon. This is applicable to everyone. In order for your body to respond well to stress, physical, mental, emotional, for it to be able to adapt and grow and develop and improve and respond, our diet, our nutrition, the foods that we are consuming on a regular basis, they will make the biggest difference and it can be a make or break it situation. So total calories.

46:56Nick Bare:If we are in a caloric deficit, that puts us at a disadvantage to recover well. So having calories at maintenance or in surplus are going to ensure that we are recovering effectively. If you're trying to lose weight, obviously you're going to be in a caloric deficit. so that's even more reason to be hyper aware of the stressors that you're putting on your body because a caloric deficit is a stressor on the body so if we're now loading on physical stress and emotional stress and mental stress that are cortisol producing it could put you in a compromised position. So I'm not saying caloric deficits are bad by any means.

47:46Nick Bare:You need to be in a caloric deficit to lose weight, to lose body fat, but that is a stressor on the body. So when you go into a big fitness prep, for example, and you're going after a large goal, it's really important to be monitoring calories and making sure you're at maintenance or in a surplus. And it's looking at your macronutrient breakdown of, are you consuming enough high quality protein that helps and assists in the rebuild and repair of muscle breakdown? Are we consuming enough of dietary fat? Dietary fat is involved in many bodily processes, primarily and especially hormone production and regulation.

48:32Nick Bare:And then carbohydrates, Are we consuming enough carbohydrates to fuel our performance, but also replenish the glycogen that we're burning through during exercise, training, and life? Glycogen replenishment is absolutely critical when you're in a big training block. Like me being in a Ironman triathlon training block right now, I'm consuming at the minimum 700 grams of carbs a day. On some of these days, it's over a thousand grams a day. And that's to fuel my training, but also to replenish glycogen. And glycogen is the way that the body stores carbohydrates in the muscles and the liver. more of a long-term or longer-term carbohydrate storage compartment or capacity.

49:35Nick Bare:Keeping glycogen replenished is extremely important. And then just some supplements that I've listed here that we offer here at BPN that I believe are essential for maximizing recovery is our multivitamin. strong multivitamin, ensuring that you have all of your vitamins and minerals covered for a daily basis where you might have gaps in your diet. Prioritizing micronutrients, not just macronutrients. Strong joints is a great product that we have that helps maintain and build joint health. Beneficial for not just endurance athletes and runners, but strength athletes as well. Strong joints is honestly probably one of my favorite products that we have to offer.

50:30Nick Bare:More of a low-key sleeper of a product that isn't as sexy, if you will, as GOM Sport Plus or the GoGels or GoBar, but strong joints is one you don't want to sleep on. Protein powder, just to help ensure that you get enough protein in your diet outside of having to consume whole natural food sources. Creatine. And then we have an essential amino acid product called Recover, which is very applicable for what we're talking about today. Recover is EAAs, essential amino acids, and BCAAs, branched chain amino acids, with some other ingredients in there to benefit and optimize your recovery. The last thing I want to talk about in terms of nutrition, which isn't necessarily something to add, but potentially remove or limit and subtract, is alcohol.

51:34Now, alcohol could be considered the fourth macronutrient.

51:39Nick Bare:It provides 70, not 70, sorry, seven calories per gram. Protein is four calories per gram. Fat is nine calories per gram. Carbohydrates, four calories per gram. Alcohol is seven calories per gram. alcohol has an effect on the body that can delay or inhibit your body's ability to recover primarily from impacting negatively your sleep so if you're consuming alcohol even in a moderate amount, I have at least found that it does negatively, significantly affect recovery. So like right now in this Ironman prep, I'm not consuming any alcohol, if at all, it's, you know, a small glass of wine every two to three weeks.

52:42Nick Bare:We're not big drinkers in our family anyways. It is maybe a drink or two with dinner or with friends a week of a glass of red or even white wine. But for me in a big prep where there's a lot of demands and stress in my body, it just has no positive. It's only going to inhibit and hurt my body's ability to recover. Okay, now the fun stuff. Let's talk about sauna and cold plunge. Now, I do the sauna and cold plunge daily. I like to do it either midday or the evening. And the way that I do it, I'll get in the sauna for 15 minutes at about 200 degrees Fahrenheit. And I'll go directly into the cold plunge for three minutes at about 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

53:42Nick Bare:Now I've been doing this consistently throughout this entire prep so far. I'm actually finding that in the beginning of this prep, before that, I've never been really consistent with the cold plunge. I've been consistent with Asana for a few years now, but I always hated the cold plunge. now I'm addicted to the cold plunge sauna for 15 minutes and then cold plunge for three minutes that is my daily ritual that is my go-to and in the beginning of the prep getting in the cold plunge was mentally and physically challenging now I I itch for it I can't wait to get in and the initial shock of getting in that water isn't nearly as bad as it was eight weeks ago.

54:40Nick Bare:And I actually can relax really well within 15, 20 seconds. And the three minutes goes by so fast. And I think that I could actually start to lower the temperature if I wanted because getting in, especially after the sauna at 45 degrees Fahrenheit is not hard for me. any longer. My body has adapted to the stress that I was providing it. But I love the sauna cold plunge combination and I do it daily. I try not to do it too close to workouts. I'll do it when I leave work some days before heading home. But I really like doing it at night. you know after we eat dinner we put the kids down and the night's winding down sauna and then plunge initially I was afraid the cold plunge would wake me up too much and stimulate the the sympathetic nervous system but I've actually found that it does the opposite I was listening to a Huberman podcast all about sauna and cold plunging a few days ago.

56:00Nick Bare:And the guest that he had on the podcast was talking about how cold water immersion, cold plunging actually activates both the sympathetic and then the parasympathetic nervous systems. And I found that by bringing my body temperature down at night before getting to bed, I actually fall into a deeper sleep much faster. it doesn't keep me up I'm definitely cold when I get out and I still get into bed I'm still cold but I fall asleep so easily when I cold plunge in the evening so that has been my go-to as of recently that's how I use the sauna in cold plunge often daily once a day and the way that the sauna in cold plunge they both help with recovery is by reducing inflammation.

57:01Nick Bare:And really the blood flow benefits you get from hot and cold contrast therapy. Contrast therapy is hot and cold. It's sauna, cold plunge. With a sauna, there's similar effects on the body as a light cardiovascular workout. your heart rate is elevated breathing is elevated you start sweating I mean you can get your heart rate up to when I look at my watch sometimes at the peak of that session it might be 100, 110, sometimes 120 beats per minute depending on how hot it gets when you're in the sauna and it starts getting warm your blood vessels widen, your heart rate increases, and blood circulates more efficiently.

57:57Nick Bare:That blood flow is going to help promote recovery. You'll see a common denominator and theme with a lot of these recovery devices and protocols that I'm recommending and that I incorporate. It's all about blood flow and circulation. Now, the cold plunge obviously does the opposite. it. It's vasoconstriction, but it also increases circulation. So when I go from getting in the sauna, it's hot, blood vessels open up, blood starts pumping. Then I jump right into the cold and the blood vessels tighten up. They constrict and they're not pumping as much. And then when I get out of the cold and they open back up, there's more circulation going around.

58:49Nick Bare:Cold plunge can actually help reduce DOMS too. DOMS is delayed onset muscle soreness. I experienced this often. I experienced it this morning and you might be able to relate. So after a big workout, Now, the day afterwards, I oftentimes don't feel that trashed or fatigued. But two days afterwards, I feel worse than the previous day. That's delayed onset muscle soreness. So Monday, I had a five-hour workout. Tuesday, which was yesterday, I actually didn't feel that bad. Central nervous system-wise, I felt taxed, but muscles felt okay. Like my run felt great in the morning. Today being Wednesday, two days post big workout, central nervous system felt pretty good.

59:42Nick Bare:Muscles felt more fatigued. But cold plunging can help reduce DOMS. There's also an enhanced mental recovery aspect that comes with cold plunging. And something that I want to point out that I heard on that same Andrew Huberman podcast in regards to the cold plunge that I found very interesting that I wanted to share. There's this thing called the after drop when you get out of the cold plunge, which I found extremely interesting. And after hearing this, I then went and cold plunged and witnessed what they were describing. I experienced it. The after drop is when your core body temperature continues to drop even after getting out of the cold water because blood flow starts to recirculate.

1:00:38Nick Bare:So the way that Huberman and his guest described the after drop on their episode is that when you get into cold water, all of your blood vessels, they constrict. And then when you get out and your body starts naturally warming up on its own again because you always want to end on the cold when you're doing contrast therapy. So if you start with the sauna, you can go sauna, cold plunge, sauna, cold plunge. You want to end with the cold plunge. You don't want to end with the sauna. Allow your body temperature to come back to baseline on its own. When you get out of the cold and your blood vessels were constricted, as they start to warm up again and open up, that blood starts recirculating and it goes to your extremities that are colder.

1:01:33Nick Bare:And then when it recirculates, it's bringing cold blood back in, which can cause your core body temperature to decrease more than it was while you were in the water, which I found very interesting. But overall, contrast therapy, the sauna and the cold plunge, they both have great benefits on their own, but together really powerful in terms of blood circulation and optimizing the recovery by getting more movement, more circulation, more blood flow, more oxygen, going to the damaged muscles that need recovered, that need repaired. So it's part of my daily recovery protocol right now. the next thing that I want to talk about is red light therapy

1:02:28Nick Bare:a few years ago I had a red light panel at my house and I would use it but I used it

1:02:38Nick Bare:infrequently and I would only ever do it at night but what I found by using a red light for for recovery purposes. I remember a few years ago when I was doing it, I would do 10 to 15 minute sessions before going to bed. And I could always tell it helped me fall asleep faster and better. And then I stopped using the panels for a while, ended up getting rid of them. And about two weeks ago, as I was doing more research, I decided to invest in a red light panel again. So we have a big full-size body panel in our closet. We went with this brand called Mito Red Light. Red light therapy, also known as photobiomodulation, it's not just red light bulbs.

1:03:36Nick Bare:It is specific light wavelengths that benefit the body in very unique and specific ways. Now, we know that light plays a vital role in our health. And in today's day and age, we get less of it than we ever had before. We are, for most people, working indoors under fluorescent artificial light. We're not outdoors. And it significantly influences so many aspects of our life, our energy, our mood, our sleep, our circadian rhythm. so you don't have to by any means invest in red light therapy you can get all this for free by spending more time outdoors in the sun you can get all these benefits by just being in the sun you know one of the things that everyone always tells you is one of the best ways to wake up Wake up, go outside right away.

1:04:53Nick Bare:Let that sunlight just hit your body. Stand in your grass barefoot, ground yourself, and then you soak in some natural sunlight. And that will do exactly what this red light therapy can do. Now for me, most days I wake up before the sun rises. And when I get to the point where I'm sleeping consistently until 6 a.m., most likely my kids are waking up shortly after me and the day gets started. So I've invested in red light therapy because it is a convenience for me, in all honesty. It can be used for increased cellular energy and the way it does this by stimulating mitochondrial energy production.

1:05:50Nick Bare:So energy at the cellular level, increased blood flow, reduced inflammation, better sleep, which I can attest to. And the way it helps with better sleep is it actually produces naturally melatonin that has a positive effect on your circadian rhythm. Now this red light therapy, I said it's not just red light bulbs. So if you've never seen red light panels, our panel at home, it's probably five feet tall, two feet wide. It's on the stand. And I do it right now, 10 to 20 minute sessions as soon as I wake up. And I'll do about a 10 minute session before I go to sleep. So what I get from it personally so far, and it's only been a few weeks, I have found that right when I wake up, I go into my closet and I do a 10 to 20 minute session.

1:06:53Nick Bare:I just stand butt naked in front of the red light panel. I can feel myself waking up significantly faster while I'm standing in front of this red light panel. I'm Dead serious. I can feel myself waking up And then during my morning run I feel more natural energy and throughout the day I feel since using the red light panel in the morning Significantly better. My mood is better. My energy is better. I'm not grabbing for coffee or caffeine or an energy drink No lie I have experienced significant benefits from using it right when I wake up. And then I will do another 10 minute session at night right before getting into bed.

1:07:48Nick Bare:And I found that it really helps me fall into that sleep a whole lot faster and easier. So I do it in the morning right now and at night. There's some days where it just doesn't work out, but I'm trying to do it every morning, every night. Now, as I said, these red light panels are not just red light bulbs. It's two specific types of light. It is red light and it is near infrared light. And what makes these two lights very unique is the wavelength and it's measured in nanometers. so red light is six to seven hundred nanometers based off this panel that i have near infrared light is seven hundred to twelve hundred nanometers and it's the then the the wavelength of these lights that allow it to penetrate beyond the skin to activate energy at the cellular level.

1:08:54Nick Bare:Also to help naturally produce melatonin. What makes it different from the sunlight, for example, is with the sun, you're also getting UV light, which is why you get a sunburn and you have to wear sunscreen when you're in the light for extended periods of time. There's no UV light primarily coming from these red light panels. It is red light and near infrared light. And what makes a difference, like I said, is the wavelength of the light. Now, if you do it in the morning, as I've already mentioned, immediately after waking up, it simulates natural light. It helps you wake up by regulating your circadian rhythm, signaling that it's time to be alert and supports your body's internal clock for a productive day.

1:09:43Nick Bare:In the evening, right before bed, it produces a warm, calming effect from the wavelengths that signal to your brain that it's nighttime, promoting the production of melatonin, which is the sleep hormone. You can't stand in front of a red light, one of these red light panels with clothes on because it won't go past your clothes. So it has to go directly onto the skin, which is one of the reasons I'm naked in front of this full length, full body panel. But I'm a big fan of red light therapy for as long as I've been doing it. And as I've mentioned, if you don't want to invest in a red light panel, you can just spend more time in the sun.

1:10:35Nick Bare:And that also will help regulate your circadian rhythm. It'll help you wake up and also help you sleep better. And then some of the other devices that we keep in our house, these are from Hyperice. We have the Normatec compression boots and then the Hyperice massage gun. So I use the compression boots when I'm laying in bed at night. I do a 30-minute session. It's like, I just want to paint a picture for what my night looks like. typically it's like get the kids down to sleep get everything prepped for the next day do my sauna and cold plunge session get a shower stand in front of the red light panel get into bed i have my blue light blocking glasses on i'm reading my bible i have the compression boots on and i'm preparing to just wind down after taking my peak sleep and then once the The compression boot session is done.

1:11:35Put my book down, put my sleep mask on.

1:11:41Nick Bare:My eight sleep is rocking and rolling and I'm falling asleep. Compression boots enhance muscle recovery by using rhythmic air pressure control to improve circulation, flush metabolic waste like lactic acid for muscles and reduce swelling and inflammation. the blood and lymphatic fluid flow from the compression boots delivers more oxygen and nutrients to damaged tissue speeding up the repair process and alleviating soreness like i said i like to do it at night as i'm laying in bed while i'm reading before calling it a night and then the hyper ice massage gun it works similar to compression boots but the percussive pulses allow for a more targeted application to specific muscles.

1:12:37Nick Bare:So I use a massage gun specifically in the morning before I go run. So when I go into the garage, put my running shoes on, I do some stretches, and then I hit my quads, my hamstrings and my calves with the massage gun. And I can tell a big difference from when I use a massage gun versus when I don't. Just from the first quarter mile, I feel fresher. my legs feel better, not as just cinder blocky, tight, heavy. That's when I use a massage gun. It's primarily on my lower body, quads, hamstrings, and calves every morning before my run.

1:13:34Nick Bare:And the last thing I want to talk about, which is certainly not the least important, but might be harder for some people to build in and access. Now, I am very grateful. Here at BPN, every Tuesday, we have Dr. Jordan Tittle from Helix Sports Medicine, who's at BPN all day Tuesday working on our team. and he provides soft tissue work, cupping, scraping, chiropractic, dry needling. This brings our team back to life. And especially for me, when I'm in a big prep, it brings me back to life. I have a one hour session with him once a week. He's a PT. And things that are either bothering me will do some preventative maintenance, but then we'll be more proactive working on things that are bothering me.

1:14:42Nick Bare:Like a few weeks ago, I had a calf strain that was bothering me and he did a lot of work on my calf. He did some scraping, he did some cupping, some soft tissue work. And after a few sessions, it felt significantly better. This might be one of the bigger investments in times of financial resources and time, but I believe has the maybe greatest return. Working with a PT, I do it once a week and it makes the biggest difference. And my performance in my recovery, especially staying on top of injuries that I'm experiencing or working through, but I would put that maybe at the top of my list even though I listed it last physical therapy work

1:15:40Nick Bare:man sometimes I'm like I don't know what I'd do without Dr. Jordan Tittle because he keeps me alive and well especially when training volume is 20 to 20 plus hours per week but I love some PT work. I love it and highly recommend it. So those are my recovery practices and protocols that I'm incorporating regularly, not necessarily every day. A lot of these things, most of these things are every day built into my routine to stay on top of recovery and promote prevention, but also being proactive on things that hurt, things that don't feel right, really balancing out that sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.

1:16:40Nick Bare:So I hope this was beneficial. Really hope you guys enjoyed this episode. But as I'm getting older, I take recovery more serious. not necessarily because I want to, but because I have to. And this is what I do. So thank you guys. I appreciate you. I love you. And we'll see you in the next episode.