Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS

Director of Sport Science: @UMichWrestling
PhD Student: Human & Sport Performance
🔙 Co-Founder: @DoYouRumble
#TrainHardScienceHard

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

Sleep is the mother of all recovery strategies.

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

Rehab is periodized training with constraints.

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

Michigan men through and through.
5x All-Americans.
Bright days ahead in Ann Arbor.

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

Why Should Wrestlers Measure RSI mod?

For wrestlers and combat athletes, RSI mod is particularly valuable because it provides insight into their explosive power, fatigue resistance, & readiness to generate force in a short time frame, all of which play to account in our sport.

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

It is calculated using a Countermovement Jump (CMJ) as follows: RSI mod = Jump Height (m) / Time to Takeoff (s)

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

Stop asking when it gets easier. #SufferResponsibly

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

This really resonates @Alan_Couzens.

Coming from wrestling, discomfort was never a bug in the system…it WAS the system. Early mornings, weight management, brutal practices…then doing it all again tomorrow. None of that was efficient or optimized, but it forged a particular relationship with effort: you stop asking whether something feels good and start asking whether it’s worth doing.

What I worry about now is how often we frame training success around avoiding sensation - hunger, fatigue, monotony, boredom - it’s as if the goal is to adapt without any effort. Even when the metrics look good, something gets lost if the process never asks anything of you psychologically.

There’s a confidence that comes from choosing the hard path when an easier one exists. Not performative toughness, just knowing that you didn’t flinch, that you stayed the course. Wrestling taught me that doing hard things on purpose changes your relationship with difficulty. It stops being something to avoid and becomes something you know how to move through.

Discomfort isn’t something to eliminate. It’s a skill to practice.

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

Sunday's contrast bathing (sauna + cold plunge) produced a clean heart-rate pattern:
three smooth climbs to ~120 bpm, followed by rapid drops into the mid-40s.

From an exercise physiology standpoint, heat drives HR up through thermoregulation (skin blood flow, reduced venous return, cardiac output doing its job). The sharp drops that follow reflect a strong parasympathetic rebound, triggered by CWI. Think of it as the nervous system slamming the brakes after revving the engine.

It’s not exactly cardio, although the comparison is common. It’s better understood as autonomic stress and release.

Important to note:
this is not exercise HR recovery and shouldn’t be compared to HRR norms. Different stimulus, different rules.

What it does highlight is autonomic flexibility - the ability to move quickly between stress and recovery. That’s a useful trait, just not one you PR.

Heat and cold don’t replace training, but they’re a good reminder that recovery is a physiological skill.

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

From our little family to yours…may your holidays be merry and your Krebs cycle fully operational.

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

Next level warm up.

[FOX Sports: NFL @NFLonFOX]

A little pre-game wrestling in the snow? 😂🤼 @BuffaloBills

[Michigan Wrestling @umichwrestling]

Wolverines claimed second place this weekend with five placewinners, including four in the top four at their weights. Our highest #CKLV Invitational in eight seasons.

#GoBlue

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

When in doubt, choose the harder thing.

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

Corporate America should normalize eating at your desk but taking a daily workout break. The hours balance out, but the benefits for health and productivity are a clear net positive.

[Michigan Wrestling @umichwrestling]

Toughest tailgate in Ann Arbor. 🤼‍♂️🏈

#GoBlue

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”

- Buddhist teaching (popularized by Haruki Murakami in What I Talk About When I Talk About Running)

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

@umichwrestling Josh K. be like, "I'm not scared. I'll race you guys in the outside lane."

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

The sooner you realize a truly joyful life requires periods of extreme challenge, the better off you’ll be.

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

For the best athletes, taking time off from training should feel harder than NOT taking time off from training.

Recovery matters, no doubt. But if you’re built for this, you find joy in the grind.

[Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, CPSS @_Rob_Sulaver]

Watt ever it takes. #EngineeringPerformance

[Michigan Wrestling @umichwrestling]

Running some numbers. 📈

#GoBlue