Catching Up With Health & Fitness Expert Ben Greenfield
Marc Pro Athlete Spotlight: Ben Greenfield
To some triathletes, progress is almost as important as finishing at the top of your division. Just ask Ben Greenfield, who made huge strides from his first few years competing in Ironman events to having several subsequent fantastic years. He finished 21st at the Ochsner Ironman 70.3 New Orleans in 2000 and came in Second Place at the 2010 Wildflower Triathlons. Then, in 2011, Ben placed in the Top 10 at both the Rohto Ironman 70.3 Hawaii and Revolution3 Portland Half Rev Triathlon. He capped off that fantastic year by taking home First Place awards in 2011’s ITU Long Course World Triathlon Championships and the Troika Triathlon – Individual.
So what has Ben been up to since then? Plenty. He’s the founder of Greenfield Fitness Systems, conveying an approach to fitness that combines strength, cardio and healthy eating to get athletes to the next level – whether that means losing a few pounds or gearing up for Ironman events. Ben also has several guides and publications under his belt, including “26 Top Ways to Recover from Workouts and Injuries at Lightning Speed.” This eBook chronicles how Ben went from light stretching and foam rollers to fully engaging with muscle recovery. He talks about the benefits of everything from compression and magnets to stem cell therapy and cold lasers.
We wanted to know more about Ben’s philosophy for muscle recovery, as he’s got a lot of advice to offer for athletes of all sports.
Q&A with Ben
1. What techniques do you use to recover after a strenuous workout?
I have a lot… I’ve found the occasional acupuncture session to be an incredibly useful method for everything from nagging aches and pains to full-blown adrenal fatigue. Some of my [other] favorite forms of recovery include compression, kinesio tape, foam rolling, and electro-stimulation – the Marc Pro.
2. Do you have any little-known tips about using the Marc Pro?
One of my favorite things to do to really suck a lot of inflammation out of a [sore] muscle or injured area is [to] combine the electrical stimulation of the Marc Pro with compression. So what I do is I put the electrodes around the injured area, turn the [Marc Pro] on – low intensity, sometimes high intensity, sometimes I’ll vary back and forth. Then, I put some kind of compression over that. It is really effective.
3. How did you first hear about Marc Pro?
Actually, [it was] Eli at SMACK! Media who told me about this amazing device. I had a try, and I interviewed Marc Pro President Ryan Heaney on my podcast. [We] talked about the unique aspects of it for recovery…
4. What do you like about Marc Pro?
I like that it is simple, intuitive. I like that the actual waveform it uses recruits my muscles in a way that is very therapeutic for recovery and for inflammation and injuries. It is just simply a very simple, portable process that is quite easy to use. There is no complicated programming, setup or uncomfortable electrical signals, making this an ideal option if you’re just getting started with EMS, or want something simple.
5. Would you recommend the Marc Pro to other athletes? Why?
Yes. Because athletes know that every extra day they have injury-free, and every extra minute they can get recovering is going to give them a big advantage over the competition when it really comes down to it.
Coming from Ben as a well-known health guru, fitness expert and the guy who wrote the eBook on muscle recovery, you can see why so many athletes are turning to electro-stimulation devices like Marc Pro after workouts.