PRs, Sleep Brackets, and the Kitchen Sink of Recovery

Hola from Reston, VA—where your favorite nerd has been swimming in two straight days of Mastermind brain-melting sessions with Coach Kav.

My synapses are fried in the best way, and I’ve been surrounded by friends, caffeine, and enough whiteboard scribbles to make Einstein dizzy.

But before I left, I smashed a PR I’ve been hunting for three darn years. Not my white whale (that 175 lb Thomas Inch DB still taunts me like an iron siren)… but one of those “yeah, it would be super cool to check off” goals.

Mission accomplished: 5 clean, respectable reps on the flat bench with 100 lb dumbbells. Boom.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit—this has zero carryover to picking up the Inch DB or to landing bigger kiteboarding jumps, this was pure ego-lift indulgence and its my training so I get to to do what I want.

So how did I finally cross this bastard off my list?

Five tweaks. And Part 1 is all about the unsung hero: recovery. Strap in as we are going hard down the nerd chute.
And at the end I have my top tip from this list that you can easily apply to your training right away too.

EAAs & Carbs During Training

Training days looked mostly the same, except I armed myself with ~10–15 g of EAAs (shoutout to Kion, high in leucine, tastes good, affiliate link if you want to save a few bucks: getkion.com/drmike). Tossed in 75 g of carbs too, because carbZ are dat rocket fuel Bro!

Note- I only did this on my long chest/ back dooo Bro sessions that typically clock in over 2 hours.

Now, will sipping EAAs during training change your life?

Probably not.

Will it hurt? Heck no.

At worst, it’s neutral. At best, you’re nudging recovery in the right direction.

Downreg: Killing the Lazy Post-Workout Drift

I realized I was half-assing my post-training downregulation. Rookie move. So I fixed it.

After chest/back carnage, I hit the sauna—eyes closed, breathing like Darth Vader with a yoga certification (3s inhale, 6s exhale). Ten minutes of this and I walked out calmer than a monk on Valium.

Don’t have a sauna? Close your eyes, extend your exhales for 2–5 minutes. It’s cheap, fast, and lights-out effective. I dig into the geeky details in the Phys Flex Cert (back open this October).

Sleep: The Godfather of Recovery

I’m a sleep zealot. I will get some heat for this, but when I am at home I average ~9.5 hours in bed per night.. Yes, I know that’s insane. But I’ve lived through crap sleep, and the difference is night and day.

And here’s the kicker:

“While a single night of poor sleep may have only a modest immediate effect, repeated nights of poor sleep or chronic sleep restriction can significantly impair long-term performance, learning, and adaptation to training.”
(Cunha et al., 2023; Thun et al., 2015; Fullagar et al., 2015; Kirschen et al., 2018; Fox et al., 2019; Fullagar et al., 2023).

To stack the deck, I added Killswitch Sleep via SBM - Sleep Bracketing Method - where you get solid sleep the night before and after your top priority lifting session of the week.

The Killswitch Sleep did really move my sleep scores on Oura. My wife tested it and now harasses me if we run out.

Affiliate link here: switchsupplements.com/DRMIKE.

Legit one of the best sleep aids I’ve tested in decades.

Carbs: Post-Training Carb Dump

After chest/back, I dumped 130 g of carbs into my body like it was an F1 pit stop. Bananas, cream of rice, honey, frozen blueberries, plus protein shake. Was it overkill? Maybe. Did I care? Not a bit.

Math nerds:

130 g = 520 kcal.
Even if all of it turned into fat (it didn’t), that’s 1 lb of fat after 7 weeks.
In reality, my bodyweight only ticked up ~3.5 lbs, some water, some glycogen, maybe a bit of fat—worth it to smash the goal.

The Big Rock: Sleep Bracket Method

I threw the whole kitchen sink at this—EAAs, carbs, sauna, sleep supplements—but if I had to pick one?

Sleep wins. Always.

Test out the SBM: Sleep Bracket Method. Get your best possible sleep the night before AND the night after your top-priority training day. Double-bracket it with recovery. If sleep is an issue, test out the Killswitch Sleep supplement on those nights.

Simple. Brutal. Effective.

Summary

Recovery isn’t sexy. It doesn’t get clicks. But it wins PRs. Without it, you’re just grinding your gears.

With it? Inch by inch, rep by rep, you check goals off your list.

That’s Part 1. Training tweaks coming next.

Much love and violent consistency,
– Dr. Mike

References

Cunha, L., Costa, J., Marques, E., Brito, J., Lastella, M., & Figueiredo, P. (2023). The Impact of Sleep Interventions on Athletic Performance: A Systematic Review. Sports Medicine - Open, 9.

Thun, E., Bjorvatn, B., Flo, E., Harris, A., & Pallesen, S. (2015). Sleep, circadian rhythms, and athletic performance. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 23, 1–9.

Fullagar, H., Skorski, S., Duffield, R., Hammes, D., Coutts, A., & Meyer, T. (2015). Sleep and Athletic Performance: The Effects of Sleep Loss on Exercise Performance, and Physiological and Cognitive Responses to Exercise. Sports Medicine, 45, 161–186.

Kirschen, G., Jones, J., & Hale, L. (2018). The Impact of Sleep Duration on Performance Among Competitive Athletes: A Systematic Literature Review. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine: Official Journal of the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine.

Fox, J., Scanlan, A., Stanton, R., & Sargent, C. (2019). Insufficient Sleep in Young Athletes? Causes, Consequences, and Potential Treatments. Sports Medicine, 50, 461–470.

Fullagar, H., Vincent, G., McCullough, M., Halson, S., & Fowler, P. (2023). Sleep and Sport Performance. Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology, 40, 408–416.

PS - the SBM is free and you can can, add Killswitch Sleep if you are having a hard time sleeping.

Cheers to your next PR!

>>Affiliate link here: switchsupplements.com/DRMIKE.

_____________________

Mike T Nelson CISSN, CSCS, MSME, PhD
Associate Professor, Carrick Institute
Owner, Extreme Human Performance, LLC
Editorial Board Member, STRONG Fitness Mag

Mike T Nelson is a PhD and not a physician or registered dietitian. The contents of this email should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem - nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health.

Dr Mike T Nelson