R&R: The Most Important Part of Your Training Program?

We have all experienced muscle soreness after a tough workout or maybe even after an unexpected layoff at one time or another. It is simply part of the deal to building a strong, healthy and well shaped body. Kind of cool when you think about it...we have to break it down to build it stronger. Man, the human body is just an incredible creation. In exercise science this soreness is more specifically described as Delayed Onset Muscular Soreness and is thought to be caused by the overloaded eccentric phase (lengthening) on tissue and has implications at both the cellular and subcellular levels. The symptoms associated with delayed-onset muscle soreness include an increase in plasma enzymes (e.g., creatine kinase), myoglobin and protein metabolites from injured muscles; structural damage to subcellular components of muscle fibers, as seen with light and electron microscopy; and temporary increase in muscle weakness (Armstrong, 1990).

Why does muscle soreness occur most frequently with the eccentric phase of contractions? There is evidence that when an active muscle is lengthened under a load torque that is greater than the force that muscle can produce, an altered detachment phase at the crossbridge cycling level (the active binding of subcellular actin and myosin ) is produced and the acto-myosin bond is broken mechanically (Morgan, 1990), along with the possible selective activation then of the larger motor units, Type II fibers (Nardone, 1989)

Basically, any physical activity especially strenuous exercise, has been proposed to activate both the metabolic and mechanical events mentioned above that may damage muscle and lead to soreness. The metabolic factors include high temperatures which can disrupt protein structures; insufficient cellular respiration that can reduce ATP levels; lowered pH and increase in lactic acid; free O2 radical production that may initiate muscle injury. Because eccentric contractions are associated with relatively high forces involved with high intensity training, the mechanical factor that is most commonly thought to elicit muscle soreness is high stress (Warren, Hayes, Lowe & Armstrong, 1993).

This all sounds cool to the exercise science geek, but what does it all mean? First, exercise that produces any soreness no matter what the stressor e.g. a heavy deadlift day; a mountain bike ride with some tough hill climbs; an intense boot camp class...all have one thing in common. They require adequate rest and recovery so that we can assume the positive results from that workout. Think of it this way: We use exercise as the required stressor so that our body can adapt to and respond with some kind of desired effect. For most of us that desired effect can be anything from better athletic performance to a stronger, healthier and more aesthetically pleasing body. All great goals, but if we prematurely jump back into a workout or take inadequate rest and recovery periods after a phase of intense training and before our body is 'healed' and ready to go again, we will most likely be dissappointed with our fitness results. And beyond that we most certainly open up the opportunity for the dreaded overuse and over reaching syndromes that put us on a Mandatory Layoff Status for who knows how long!

So, to understand the consequences of intense workouts we need to quickly go over the body's time course of the response following exercise. From 4 hr to 4 days after the exercise, there is an increase in phagocytic activity, which marks the presence of an inflammatory response. Because of this association in time, it has been suggested that delayed onset muscle soreness is a consequence of the inflammatory response (Stauber, 1989). However,the consequences of strenuous exercise, especially eccentric contractions, are not confined to a few days after exercise; MRI studies have indicated marked swelling of injured muscles for up to 10 days and increased signal intensity for upto 60 days after exercise (Fleckenstein& Shellock, 1991; Shellock, Fukunaga, Mink, & Edgerton, 1991b). The muscle fibers that seem to be most effected and damaged by intense exercise are the Type IIb fibers. These are the muscle fiber types that are preferential during any exercise that brings on Momentary Muscular Fatigue during a :30-:60 second period.

I know what you are thinking: "Should we consider taking 10 days off between workouts or even training phases?" No... not necessarily. It is important to note that the MRI studies mentioned above showed what would be considered a "normal" adaptative flux continuum that is assumed after strenuous muscular stress. This would include the stress and those relative qualities produced during and after exercise that would provide the essential neuromuscular signalling causing a protein synthesis event. What this means is that the exercise used would be sufficient enough to potentiate lean tissue synthesis. That is a good thing because, whether you are a man or woman you want more muscle. Why? Muscle is necessary for better performance and great for ramping up metabolism and fat loss!
That being said, as astute practitioners of sound and results driven, muscle building training (ha ha... now your talkin'), it is important that we understand how truely taxing exercise can be on our bodies and therefore show prudence for building in adequate rest and recovery periods in all phases of our training program. And for those of us who have supervised programs it is very likely that your trainer/coach is already very familiar with and qualified to design training programs using the concept of periodization cycles. These cycles include but, are not limited to: the acutecycle (workout to workout), the microcycle (upto 7 days) and the mesocycle (2 weeks to a few months). These phases or cycles make up an overall goal focused training blueprint that is designed to progress your training with proper loading and exercise modalities, as well as adjust in the necessary rest and recovery periods that will most likely guide you to your desired fitness goals.

Remember, if you adhere to the fundamental concepts of a well designed fitness program and remember how essential R&R is to achieving your overall fitness goals, you will better guarantee your road to fitness greatness...and then some!

Rest & Recovery...It's In Our DNA

It is the final week of a 4-6 week progressive training phase in both our semi-private and boot camp programs. The groups have worked consistently hard in the trenches motivating,inspiring and pushing each other to take on the challenges of their tough, results driven workouts. They are all very different people, yet they share a common goal ...To be better than they were just 4-6 weeks earlier. It is an awesome experience for us as fitness coaches to create the environment and deliver an exercise experience that helps so many become better. It is an experience that juices up our DNA ... and drives us to be better and share more of what is our life's passion.

One of the great challenges that trainers encounter during the end of such a tough phase of training and the upcoming scheduled week off for rest and recovery is how we should respond to the few clients who want to know what they should do during their week off. This query used to bother me until one day I realized why they were asking the question. The reasons I found that some people were reluctant to accept the week off were: "If I don't train I will gain weight." Another concern was that "If I take a week off I will lose everything I worked so hard for." These are reasonable concerns for sure. As a former national bodybuilding champion I understand why some may have such a difficult time wrapping their head around the concept that they need time off from training. I remember that I would rarely take time off from training and was convinced that "more training meant better results". Most bodybuilders thought the same way. Maybe the onus of more is better in the exercise world should lie on the shoulders of the bodybuilding community as they are notorious for their seemingly"heroic" and incessant training schedules that would be commonly formulated out of thin air into a six day per week, dumbell heaving, 2 hour long training marathon. (Two thirds of those hours are usually sitting at the edge of a flat bench holding court about someone elses workout routine). Modern bodybuilders have a rather defiant attitude in acknowledging the need to take any time off from training and somehow that idea has transcended into and hard wired the minds of fitness enthusiasts across the spectrum.

Rest & recovery should not be considered an option, but rather an integral and necessary component to any successful strength and conditioning or fitness program. To understand this concept from a different mind set, we have to go back to a time when man's exercise was not so much with the goal to look and feel great but simply a fundamental practice in survival.

Early man... caveman, paleo man, our ancestors... lived in a very hostile environment. Their mere need for survival would cast them into scenarios where they would have to track and hunt down wild game such as a wildebeest or zebra to exhaustion; kill it on site; skin and separate the animal into manageable sections (sorry about the grizzly description) so that it could be carried back to camp with the help of other hunter tribe members. Hunting for our most earliest ancestors was an incredibly gruelling , dangerous and often times a deadly reality. These expeditions would sometimes take weeks and it would make sense that they would not want to be in these situations of having to hunt very often. They would make sure the hunt (their intense training) was worth while and would enjoy the fact that they would not have to 'train' that hard again for a period of time. They would instead stay active in gathering the necessary brush to provide the comforts of bedding, top cover and warmth (fire) at their camp site as well as procure the valuable sustenance of eggs, grasses, flowers, fruits and vegetables that would be nourishing sources found more conveniently near camp. Our ancestral tribes would walk in groups and dance at camp for enjoyment and fun. These activities also assisted digestion. All of this stuff, the lifestyle, was just a simple existence that expressed a perfect ratio of exercise (hunt):rest & recovery(activity) that would most certainly ensure their readiness for their next hunt (our workout phase).

I know the idea of this hunter/gatherer stuff sounds strange and maybe even a bit disconnected to us. But, we need to understand that our society as we know it, has established conditions that are mismatched between the world we live in today and the DNA that we still truely share with our earliest ancestors. We evolved to eat different diets, to 'exercise' differently and live differently from the ways we do today. If we take a minute and look around us we have to be in agreement that most people today do sit too much; don't stay active enough;eat way too much; and try like hell to "out train" some poor lifestyle choices. This viscious cycle very often causes the reality of chronic injuries that keep so many from the ultimate goal...To be better! We all desire to live optimally...with strength and vigor in how we think and perform. We can't do this by just playing catch up with intense bouts of exercise and negating the power of rest and recovery. When it comes right down to it...it is proper training, solid nutrition and sufficient rest and recovery that are the pillars that support a healthy and vigorous lifestyle. Take any one of these pillars out and that lifestyle crashes...

Sunday Morning 'Goof Off' Breakfast (Re-load)

I have always recommended to our members and athletes at MJBC that Mondays through Fridays be nutritionally loaded and set up for fat burning, high performance eating practices. Basically, following a hunter/gatherer approach to eating is more than anything the most sound, congruent and effective approach to proper nutrition out there. I personnally would not follow or consider any other nutrition program as they are ALL, in my opinion, suboptimal for true health,performance driven results and wellbeing. The members in our program who have enjoyed champion results with performance and weightloss have basically adhered to the tenets of a hunter/gatherer diet with the allowance to break away and "goof off" a bit during one day out of each week. There is science to back up why someone may want or need to ease up on a meal or two during the week. This would be described as a replete or rebounding opportunity to effectively reload or overcompensate depleted glycogen stores in muscle to help juice subsequent workout performance and enhance protein synthesis mechanics. That day usually falls on a 'convenient' Saturday or Sunday and is immediately followed with getting right back on track before the goof off turns into a runaway binge that will quickly stymie most anyone's progress to fatloss and performance results. Here is my sample of a goof off Sunday morning breakfast that will be, in this case, the ONLY meal out of this past week where I breakaway from my normal practice from daily optimal nutrition.

Sunday Morning Breakfast (family style): I made just enough to satisfy our family of five.

-Grilled Veggie Omelet
Last night's left over grilled onion, green, orange, yellow and red pepper,portabello mushroom, eggplant in heated plate and sprayed with PAM. Beat up 8 whole free range eggs and add to pan. (No milk added to omelet)
-8 slices of uncured Nature's Promise bacon (Applegate Farms is another uncured bacon we use)
-MJBC RE-LOAD Pancakes (These are the "goof off " part of today's breakfast)
2 cups Bob's Red Mill (gluten and dairy free) Pancake Mix
3 whole eggs
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1 1/2 cups SO DELICIOUS unsweetened and organic Coconut Milk
4 scoops Whey protein
Mix batter and portion out on a heated PAM sprayed pan. Makes 14 x 3"-4" cakes.
Note:These cakes do not need any kind of syrup. They taste awesome! Limit yourself to 3 or 4.

Remember this breakfast was divied up between my wife, myself and our three young boys ages 8-13 yrs.

To follow a whole week of my single digit body fat, high performance nutrition go to my facebook link:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Matt-Jennings-Boot-Camps/181116185236268

Copy and paste link and get a glimpse into just one week of my nutrition plan that helps keep me at a super lean and strong 8% BF(and my wife at 14% BF) all year long! P.S. She is 45 and I am 46 yrs old. P.P.S. Our secret? Get out of your own way...You just have to want it bad enough!