My buddy, Robb, asked me what was the fastest way to get fit to compete in an unanticipated event that just came up. "Hmmm," I thought. I know what he was thinking. He wants to do a few months of work in a week to catch up and be ready. This is recipe for disaster if there ever was one.

I’ve seen it a million times. Sure, people can get away with a few days or maybe a week of extra push, but, they’re still going to have to pay that debt back at some point. There’s no way the can outrun the overload. It’s got to be paid back before the effects of the debt manifest.

Common signs of debt included poor sleep, irritability, increased hunger, dehydration, low-grade increase in body temperature, night sweats, and inability to relax. These symptoms are signs of a body under acute stress. The person may still have a lot of energy and feel great but the effects of the stress haven’t caught up with them yet.

So, it’s common to neglect the signs. And, predictably when they catch up the body crashes. At the first signs of these symptoms immediately discontinue activity and put all attention on calming the body down so it can discharge the stress and get back to baseline. Here as some key things to do to facilitate that:

1. 15-20 minutes at 135-150 degrees will do full body fluid flush that drops tension and places the body in a nervous system state that prompts recovery called parasympathetic dominance.
2. Drink alkalized water. Water is the body’s solvent to remove cell metabolism waste and get nutrients into the cell to repair tissue and create energy.
3. Diaphragmatic breathing: Doing 5 minutes of deep breathing as practiced in classic meditation stills the mind and drops tension.
4. Supplements: minimum supplemental nutrients for a body under performance stress are protein and a multivitamin/mineral. I personally take 4 Complete Multi + Liver Detox Support in the morning and 10 Perfect Amino tablets twice a day and if I’m under significant load I do 10, 3-times a day.
5. Suspend training until your body cools off and tension drops so you’re back to your normal baseline. And, then give yourself another day off to make sure the process is complete.

When the body shows signs of exertional stress that doesn’t abate within a few hours after training or competing, a period of imposed rest is required.

By following a few key protocols the body can be restored back to its biologic baseline easily.