Most people wait until it hurts. By then, a training day is already gone. Treat it right after the WOD, while the muscle is still warm. Red and near-infrared light reaches about 2 inches deep. That's where real repair happens. Not just the surface a foam roller ever touches.

Every WOD hits something different. Heavy pulls load the back. Wall balls load the quads. Rope climbs load the grip. Treating the same spot out of habit misses the muscle actually carrying the damage. Treat whatever the workout hit hardest. Every time.

Soreness shows up late. Legs take the load quietly. Shoulders and grip complain first. If you favor the loud one, the quiet one falls behind. Until it gives out on a heavy day. Treat both consistently, 20 minutes per session.

A rest day isn't a day off from recovery. It's when the body does most of it. Skipping the session because nothing hurts breaks the one habit that's supposed to be daily. Cellular repair doesn't take days off. Neither should the routine.

Recovery matters most during competition week, exactly when routines usually break down. Travel, a hotel room, no home setup. Skip the device because it feels like one more thing to pack, and the body pays for it at the next event. It's 0.6 lbs and fits in any gym bag. There's no real excuse to leave it behind.

A lot of athletes train twice a day. The WOD, then a skill session later. Treating only the first half is treating half the damage. A hands-free remote means a session can run during a phone call. A second treatment window costs nothing extra.