Bound Newsletter 6.30.2025
How to Minimize Muscle Soreness from Your CrossFit Workouts
Train Smart. Recover Hard.
If you've ever struggled to walk down stairs after a tough workout, you're not alone. Muscle soreness—especially Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)—is a natural response to training hard, but there are ways to minimize its intensity without compromising progress.
At CrossFitBound, we believe soreness shouldn't derail your week. Here's how you can reduce post-workout soreness and recover faster to stay consistent in the gym.
1. Stay Hydrated and Fuel Right
Hydration and nutrition are the first lines of defense against muscle soreness. When your body is properly fueled and hydrated, it can better flush out toxins, deliver nutrients to your muscles, and repair tissue efficiently.
Hydrate Before, During, and After: Dehydration leads to cramping, slower recovery, and heightened soreness. Aim to drink water consistently throughout the day—especially around your workouts.
Eat to Recover: Focus on protein to support muscle repair and include anti-inflammatory foods like berries, leafy greens, and omega-3 fats (salmon, walnuts). Carbs help replenish glycogen stores after training, so don’t skip them either—especially after long or intense sessions.
2. Control Intensity with Load and Effort
One of the biggest contributors to soreness is doing too much too soon. Just because a movement is in your wheelhouse doesn’t mean you need to hit it at 100% every time.
Scale Smart: Adjust weights and reps based on how your body feels that day—not based on ego or comparison.
Respect the Volume: If it's a high-rep workout or involves unfamiliar movements (hello, GHDs and lunges!), be conservative with your pace and load.
Quality Over Quantity: Moving well with control will always beat moving sloppy with speed when it comes to long-term health and reduced soreness.
3. Prioritize Post-Workout Recovery
What you do after the workout is just as important as what you do during it. Recovery doesn’t have to be complicated—just consistent.
Cool Down with Purpose: Don’t skip the cool down! A short walk, light bike, or row can help flush out lactic acid and improve circulation.
Stretch & Foam Roll: Spend at least 10 minutes after class working on tight muscles, especially the areas you just trained. Foam rolling can improve blood flow and break up muscle knots.
Sleep Like an Athlete: Your best recovery tool is sleep. Aim for 7–9 hours per night to allow your body to truly repair.
Final Thoughts
Soreness may be a sign that you worked hard—but excessive soreness is a sign to adjust. Training consistently and intelligently with the right recovery strategy means you’ll feel better, perform better, and stay on track with your goals.
Remember: You don’t grow stronger during your workouts—you grow stronger while recovering from them.
New Members:
-Micheal Rivera has returned - welcome back buddy
-Jack Peteerse Brittanys ‘better half’ :) has joined our classes for some cardio
Upcoming Birthdays & Anniversaries
Anniversaries
1-year
Kyle Sullkowski - July 9
3-year
Casey Linch - July 25
Birthdays
Jessica Phillips - July 1
Kyle Sullkowski - July 6
Paulette Colon - July 7
Jamie Spratlin - July 7
Sydney Hightower - July 9
Steven Shaw - July 12
Brandon Brooks - July 12
Jon Woodman - July 14
Shep Porter - July 15
Chris Franklin - July 22
Bill Gilliam - July 24
Rob Morgan - July 30
Upcoming Schedule for July 4th & Events
July 4th - we will host one class at 8 am
Melanie Venable has put together a ‘team’ for the upcoming Savage Race. The team is called ‘FRIENDS BOUND’
Need a training plan to get ready Bound Endurance is implementing a 5K program for this summer. 2 Days a week of running.
Helen Holiday Half & 10K Race - December 13, 2025
discount code ‘Helen10’. *thank you Jen Wells!
CrossFit Journal Article of the Week: SQUAT SMARTER: HOW BIOMECHANICS REVEAL YOUR HIDDEN WEAKNESSES
By Zachary Long, DPT, CF-L1
When it comes to building lower body strength, muscle mass, athletic performance, joint resiliency, and bone density, few movement patterns rival the squat. In CrossFit, we regularly train a variety of squat variations — each with unique movement demands and benefits. Understanding the biomechanical differences between the back squat, front squat, and overhead squat enables athletes to refine their technique, target weaknesses more effectively, and train with a reduced risk of pain or injury.
Let’s break down each variation and the movement demands they place on the body.
BACK SQUAT: LOAD BEHIND THE CENTER OF MASS
Where the barbell sits significantly impacts how the body must move when performing a squat. In the back squat, the load is placed behind the athlete’s center of mass — either high on the traps (high-bar) or lower across the scapula (low-bar). Because of this, athletes must lean the torso forward more than in other squat variations to keep the barbell centered over the midfoot.
That forward trunk lean increases the demand on hip mobilityand reduces the need for ankle dorsiflexion compared to other squat styles. The back squat tends to allow for the heaviest loads to be lifted, with most athletes squatting 20–25% more than their front squat max. This variation also tends to emphasize the hips slightly more than others, though the overall muscle activation across the lower body remains similar between all squat types.
Hawkins at CrossFit NHPST | Photo courtesy of Hawkins
FRONT SQUAT: UPRIGHT TORSO, DEMANDING FRONT RACK
The front squat shifts the barbell forward, resting it across the fingers, collarbone, and shoulders. To keep the bar secure, athletes must maintain a strong front rack with high elbows, which introduces mobility demands at the wrists, shoulders, and thoracic spine.
Because the load is now in front of the body, the torso remains more upright during the movement. This upright posture reduces hip flexion needs but increases ankle mobility demands, as the knees must track further forward to maintain balance.
As a result of this more vertical posture, the front squat often places slightly more emphasis on the quadriceps and slightly less on the hips and posterior chain compared to the back squat. However, these differences are frequently overstated. All squat variations train the same major muscle groups, just with subtle differences in emphasis depending on bar placement and joint angles.
A common limiter in the front squat is not leg strength, but thoracic spine extensor strength. It’s not uncommon for athletes to miss heavy front squats due to upper back rounding and elbows dropping, even as their legs continue to drive upward.
OVERHEAD SQUAT: THE ULTIMATE MOBILITY AND STABILITY CHALLENGE
The overhead squat is a technical beast. With the barbell positioned overhead and farther from the body’s center of mass, this variation introduces the highest demands for mobility, balance, and stability.
Grip width is a critical factor; most athletes will use their snatch grip, found by placing the bar in the hip crease with straight arms while one hip is flexed to 90 degrees. A wider grip provides mobility, but too wide a grip can compromise shoulder stability. Minor adjustments in stance width and toe-out angle can make a significant difference; therefore, athletes should explore the positions that allow for optimal depth and balance.
Because the goal is to stack the bar directly over the midfoot with an upright torso, athletes with limited ankle dorsiflexion or longer femurs may struggle. Olympic weightlifting shoes or heel elevation can help. The overhead squat also reveals limitations in thoracic spine mobility, core strength, and shoulder flexibility, particularly when squatting deeply with arms locked out overhead.
Often, athletes will find that their overhead squat is limited more by their ability to stabilize the load than by leg strength alone. This is why even relatively light weights can feel extremely challenging overhead.
CONCLUSION: SQUAT SMARTER, NOT JUST HARDER
Understanding the unique biomechanical demands of each squat variation empowers athletes to train with greater precision. Whether it’s poor thoracic mobility limiting your front squat, tight ankles holding back your overhead squat, or hip restrictions affecting your back squat depth, pinpointing the root cause is the first step to better performance and fewer injuries.
Want to know precisely where your mobility is holding you back? Check out the Ultimate Mobility Checklist to assess your movement and discover where to focus your efforts for the most significant return in strength, comfort, and efficiency under the barbell.
