Therapeutic Modalities on Exercise Performance and Post-exercise Recovery of CrossFit® Athletes

Overview

Crossfit® is a training modality that consists in functional movements, constantly varied and executed at high intensity. Both training sessions and competitions involve physically demanding activities, which in addition to being performed at very high intensity also involves the aerobic metabolism pathway. These characteristics led to very high metabolic and muscular stress, as well as decrease in physical performance immediately after competitions and training sessions. The cumulative effects of the metabolic and muscular stress can be a precursor of injuries. Studies using different therapeutic modalities aiming to improve post-exercise recovery are needed in order to tackle this issue. However, to the date there are no studies investigating the effects of different therapeutic modalities in an exercise modality such as Crossfit®. Therefore, the aim of this project is to assess the effects of different therapeutic modalities on performance and muscle recovery of Crossfit® athletes.

It will be carried out a randomized, crossover, controlled trial. Volunteers will be allocated to four interventions, and the order of the interventions will be randomized. The outcomes will be obtained at baseline (prior to the Workout of the Day - WOD), and in different timepoints after that. The WOD will be consisted in finishing as quickly as possible a sequence of three exercises (Calories in Assault AirBike®, Hang Squat Clean and Box Jump Over), in a well-known series model for the athletes, without rest. The investigators will analyze: the maximum number of free squats performed in 1 minute; the activity of creatine kinase (CK); the levels of Interleukin-6 (IL-6); the ratings of perceived exertion; and the volunteers satisfaction with the interventions. All data will be analyzed both in their absolute values and in relation to their percentage variation from the values obtained in the pre-WOD (baseline) assessments.