For years I have been advising my clients to limit the use of NAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as ibuprophen for the treatment of tendonitis-type and other soft-tissue ailments, not to mentions DOMS a natural side -effect from unaccustomed exercise bouts that include eccentric muscle action.  I want to share, with you,  the rationale behind my advice.

 

Some history first…..In 2003 and 2004, during my time in graduate school, I spent months reviewing the research in the area of muscle damage.  Recovery and more specifically, ‘regeneration’ was of great interest to me as a practicing strength coach.  I wanted to know every trick in the book to facilitate the best training protocols and schedules and monitor the adaptation process for each athlete under my supervision.  I was working with elite level basketball players at the time.  The gym was my lab.  I have always been committed to making sure my clients work hard, but are also well-‘regenerated.’  I examined, and even did some pilot work of my own, on adaptation markers such a creatine kinase (CK) to measure the severity of insult to the tissues after heavy eccentric work.  I assessed, just as the researchers I was following did, the timelines of healing and the series of events following a training bout.  During my research, I had a chance to also look at the influence on NSAIDS, specifically ibuprophen, in the healing process.

Today, I own and operate a busy Strength Training company in Vancouver called Human Motion and see athlete-clients as well as fitness enthusiasts on a weekly basis.  As an aside, I will see anyone who is enthusiastic about fitness; they do not have to be a high performance athlete.  I simply love sharing my knowledge with those who I have the privilege to coach.  I also play flag football in a competitive women’s league and teach an Active Health class here in Vancouver, so I am exposed to many active people who have many fitness-related questions.  One question I get often is whether or not it is OK to take ibuprophen after training, or competition to reduce muscle and joint pain. 

NSAID’s work by blocking an enzyme called cyclooxygenase (COX).  This enzyme catalyzes the production of various protanoids that play a role in inflammation and algesia.  Algesia is the sensitivity to pain.  In theory, by reducing prostanoids, we can alleviate the muscle and joint pain response.  Using CK as a marker of muscle damage and comparing those who take the NSAIDS and those who did not, there is no scientific difference between the two, possibly concluding that NSAIDS have little effect on treating what actually causes the pain.  The majority of studies actually show no differences in pain scale ratings (using visual analogue scores) between those who take the NSAIDS and those who do not. 

 

Now, let me explain the implications for my clients….the hard core exercisers!

Scientists also know that prostaglandins regulate protein metabolism and they specifically aid in the stimulation of protein synthesis.  Protein synthesis is what allows muscles to grow stronger and allows muscles to repairs themselves from the training bout(s). Studies have shown that muscle protein synthesis in completely impaired following the ingestion of a NSAID (ibuprophen).  So, if your goal is to see muscular development and strength gains through that development….even with rehabilitative protocols, then flush those bad boys down the toilet.

It is important for my clients to understand the damage, inflammation and repair process as a normal and necessary part of a positive training adaptation.  The inflammatory response and soreness following an intense training session is actually part of the healing process and when recovery days are instituted within the training week, then supercompensation will result.  If there is soreness after training, the best thing to do is to keep moving.  Begin your day with 20 minutes of joint mobility work, move onto a lighter, more metabolic circuit for training with lots of extension movement to open up the tissue and allow nourishment via blood flow.  The key is to move and move often.  Once movement begins, the pain will subside and just like a New Year’s Day hangover the pain will eventually subside!

 

Happy training!

Coach Bott

I think I can safely assume that if you love to mountain bike ; you equally love two

things in life: The outdoors and the unpredictable. It has always interested me; the

psychology that is, of what attracts each athlete to their chosen sport. Out of this interest

and beyond the walls of my “laboratory,” I have begun to cultivate my attraction to the

anti-gym-rat as I too, share the same distaste for the mundane.

 

Let’s be honest, strength training for your sport is a lot like flossing your teeth.

You neglect it and you could get injured, or you do it haphazardly and you may not reach

your power potential and be able to maximize your investment on t he trails. So let’s cut

to the chase and dissect what is absolutely critical to performance in your sport – and

answer the why, the what and the how when it comes down to gym work. To begin, let

me share a short story . . .

 

One of my world-cup downhillers came into the lab this past week for her training

session. I hadn’t seen her in a few months and of course assumed she was busy training

on her own with the program I had prepared for the upcoming summer race season.

When I asked her how things were go ing she began her training update with a tangential

explanation of her “new life” – she just recently moved from the city onto a farm. She

then hesitantly confessed she had not been as diligent as she had in the past with her pre -

season strength training. I listened intently as she described the past few week’s activities

of shoveling dirt, pulling out fence posts, tearing down walls of her new home and

pouring concrete. “I just haven’t had any time to train,” she said, with an expression of

guilt. “I go to bed every night exhausted only to get up again the next day t o countless

hours of more work!” Once she finished her tale I smiled and asked her one only

question: Did you get a chance to operate a jackhammer? She looked at me as if I asked

her to go to Mars on a blind date. So I repeated my question and she replied with a

questioning “No?”

I then, began to explain to her that what she had been doing for the past four weeks

was PERFECT conditioning for her sport (minus the quantification of her training load,

which I will get into another day) . She was able to accomplish all 4 of my essentials for

effective off-bike MTB training!

 

They are summarized as follows:

1. Train in all three planes of human motion : Frontal, transverse and saggital –

Mountain biking is multi-planar. Even though you are directing power in the

saggital plane, you are stabilizing in the other two at all times. Thus, pick

exercises that challenge you to bend, twist, and stabilize side -to-side.

2. Use full-body, multi-joint lifts and exercises. In order to initiate a jump, or

power up a steep incline your entire body is used. When my client pulled 10

fence posts out of the ground she was training in this exact fashion . She used her

legs and hips to drive, her upper back to pu ll and steer and her forearms to grip

and manipulate. Do not isolate one muscle group at a time while you are training.

This is bodybuilding, not sport -training!

3. Train with uneven loads. (Those two buckets of concrete mix she was carrying

were not exactly the same weight)  that when you perform an exercise in the gym, you MUST load both sides of your body

evenly, i.e.: hold a 20 kg dumbbell in each hand? NONE of my MTB athletes

train this way. Instead, I may load a 2 0 kg in one hand and a 30 kg in the other,

have them perform a lunge and ask them to maintain a neutral spine and a strong

posture throughout. Trust me, it’s fun. Or have two athletes go to battle with a

towel tug-o’-war, with one long towel and one shor t one. The possibilities are

endless and the benefits are obvious. Isn’t this more congruent with the demands

placed on your body as you grind through the mud and snake around the tree

stumps?

4. Integrate your core – Face it folks – sit-ups are OUT. Leave those isolation

exercises to the beach babes. Digging a ditch will force you to activate your

entire abdominal wall, and so will using that jackhammer I mentioned earlier. If

you don’t keep your mid-section tight you will have a more difficult time

absorbing the “shock” and vibration of the hammer, just as you would absorbing

the impact of a downhill race on a 20 kg bike at 50km/hr.

 

Some of the strength and conditioning gurus in the world lump the cyclists all

together, into the same physical category . Roadies and mountain bikers are about as

vastly different physically and mentally as synchronized swimmers and freestyle

wrestlers. It is important to note, that although the scientific research on the sport of

mountain biking is few and far between, the exercise prescription for both is often the

same. However, mountain biking requires greater relative and absolute strength levels.

The bikes are heavier and gravity plays a larger role, thus the need to be able to stabilize and

produce a higher percentage of maximum power is greater.

 

Now, if you do not dwell on a farm, or own a jackhammer, you can still reap the benefits

of this methodology of training, simply by following a program that focuses on the 4

training essentials as listed above. It is not necessary to even belong to a fitness center if

you have the following equipment: a stability ball, a heavy exercise tube or cable

machine, 2 sets of dumbbells or kettlebells and some space.

 

As far as an exact prescription is concerned, I am recommending that you go to my

Website: http://www.humanmotion.com. We offer online, individualized digital program design. Please contact us at info@humanmotion.ca.

Enjoy the season!

There are many ways to change the training stimulus of a strength program. One of the most overlooked variables to manipulate is the rest periods within the sets themselves. Quite often, athletes and fitness participants will complete a set, rep to rep in a continuous manner. Depending on the number of reps and the exercise chosen, the set might take 30 seconds to 90 seconds. Now, there is nothing wrong with this methodology for certain exercises and for those with specific goals but I want to draw your attention away from this traditional approach to an approach we use at Human Motion to improve strength in our advanced clients.

The method is called Cluster Training

In this type of training set, a rest interval is prescribed between the reps. The rest interval can be anywhere from 10 seconds to 30 seconds. It can be prescribed after a few reps when levels of fatigue are reached, or between each and every rep, almost like the rest a basketball player would take between free throws. The load can be increased after the rest between each rep then decreased between the reps over a set to capitalize on postactivation potentiation. Or, perhaps, in the case of a relative strength exercise, the lever arm can be changed during the rest period to alter the biomechanics of the exercise and reduce or increase its intensity between each rep. There are a few different approaches one can use to employ this method of strength training. It is up to the skilled practicitioner to decide which approach he/she uses.

The physiology behind cluster training

The goal with cluster training is to improve the QUALITY of the client’s performance. The rest allows the client to produce force at a higher rate and may be beneficial in the development of “power-generating capacity” due to the decrease in repetition-induced fatigue (Haff et al, 2008).

It is known that Adenosinetriphosphate (ATP) and Creatine Phosphate (CP) are substrates, which provide energy for short-term exercise. ATP supports muscle contraction and CP is used under anaerobic conditions to rebuild ATP as it is needed and to replenish the body’s stores (Brooks et al, 1996). Creatine Kinase is a catalysing enzyme, which functions rapidly to re-establish the muscle concentration of ATP. Quantities of ATP and CP in a resting muscle are quite small therefore any utilization must be immediately replaced with an equivalent replenishment. If the ATP and CP utilization rate exceeds the restoration rate, exercise cannot continue very long. As CP stores are depleted, the body’s ability to quickly replace the spent ATP is seriously impaired. Fatigue is the result and the inability to produce a maximal muscular contraction.

In an exercising subject, the drop in ATP and CP appear to be related to the relative work intensity (Brooks, 1996). If the workload is more intense, there is greater the CP depletion, which leads to muscle fatigue (Brooks, 1996). ATP, however, will maintain its level until CP is greatly reduced. Thus, it is clear that CP depletion a significant factor leading to muscle fatigue at maximal effort.

Increases in blood lactate levels are also partially responsible for the fatigue-induced performance alterations (Haff, 2008). During short-term, high intensity exercise, a metabolite called lactate accumulates in the blood as result of lactic acid production exceeding its removal. The lactic acid dissociates, converting to hydrogen ions, causing a decrease in the pH. The hydrogen ions accumulate as a result of lactic acid production and can have several negative effects on the exerciser. Muscle contraction and energy production are adversely affected because of the subsequent decrease in ATP production. Hydrogen ions also displace calcium in the muscle fibre inferring with the coupling action of the actin-myosin cross-bridges making muscle contraction difficult.

Hypothetically, by incorporating a 20-30 second rest interval BETWEEN repetitions will result in some replenishment of CP, thus diminishing the stimulus for lactic acid and lactate production.

If strength and power gains are at the top of our client’s goal list, then cluster training can be a very useful method of training. In the research, it appears that cluster training has the potential to positively alter the strength training stimulus (Haff, 2008). It is most effective with pulling exercises like the deadlift, the clean pull, the power clean, the power snatch and variations of these lifts, where the client is most often working above 80% of their 1RM and where quality individual repetition power output is more important than total power output. Isn’t our goal as strength coaches to foster a training environment whereby our clients can perform work of high quality? Cluster training also work very well with ballistic-type exercises that have an accelerative profile such as box jumps.

The timely implementation of cluster training into a training program is key. If a client lacks muscle tone (hypertrophy), has a low work capacity (is deconditioned), lacks adequate hip mobility and trunk stability, then a more traditional approach to their physical development must be taken. And this might be taken for years! Cluster training should be used for the more advanced strength client as a means to reach new levels of performance. However, having said that, clusters work well when subjects are learning new skills (Bott, 2010). They provide, not only a means of physiological restoration, but a means of mental recovery to allow the newbie to focus on the task and facilitate learning.

For more information on cluster training protocols, email the coaching staff at Human Motion for a program: info@humanmotion.com

Works cited

Brooks, George, Thomas Fahey and Timothy White. Exercise Physiology: Human Bioenergetics and Its Applications. Mayfield Publishing: 1996.

Haff G. Cluster Training: A Novel Method for Introducing Training Program Variation. Strength and Conditioning Journal. Vol 30 N. 1, 2008.

First of all, I would like to begin by defining the word ‘coach.”  Wikipedia states: Coaching is a method of directing, instructing and training a person or group of people, with the aim to achieve some goal or develop specific skills. Other definitions found on the web include:  (sports) someone in charge of training an athlete or a team, a person who gives private instruction (as in singing, acting, etc.), teach and supervise (someone); act as a trainer or coach (to), as in sports; “He is training our Olympic team”; “She is coaching the crew”   Each definition is pretty close in that coaching requires instruction and direction and the element of teaching.

 

When we examine the process of learning, it is defined by acquiring new knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, preferences or understanding, and may involve synthesizing different types of information. Human learning may occur as part of education or personal development. The study of how learning occurs is part of neuropsychology, educational psychology, learning theory, and pedagogy.

 

Coaching and learning go hand in hand and those who are the best coaches have several tricks up there sleeve to assess and monitor learning.  Back in my undergraduate career I made a decision to switch universities.  I was attending Simon Fraser University, known for its excellent labs and ergonomic experts and crossed town to attend the University of British Columbia, where I was able to concentrate on physical education versus chemistry and physics to get my bachelor’s degree.  I knew from a very young age (21) that I wanted to be a strength coach and I already had two years of experience working as a personal fitness trainer, but found that the continuing education courses in the area of fitness taught you the basics of joint mechanics, applied physiology and safety but did a terrible job of actually teaching me how to instruct (anything).  One of the first coaching courses I took at UBC was Foundations of Coaching.  Barry Legh was my instructor and I could tell how passionate he was about coaching and helping our youth athletes reach their potential.  I will never forget the advice he gave:  “As a coach, you have power; never abuse that power.”  Students taking this class were mocked by the chemistry geeks, saying that coaching wasn’t at all ‘academic.’ Well, for you chemistry geeks, the definition of academic is:  hypothetical or theoretical and not expected to produce an immediate or practical result.  Anyways, it doesn’t matter.  I fell in love with the academic side of coaching and proceeded to take all my electives in performance courses such as gymnastics, dance, basketball, soccer, field hockey and more.

 

After my undergraduate degree, I had a base, ‘academic’ understanding of all of these sports, which little did I know at the time, proved to be more valuable for my job as a strength coach, than any chemistry class ever was.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I took all my levels of exercise physiology, biomechanics and motor learning – without those as a foundation, it would be difficult to dissect and analyse a sport, skill, or movement I like to study.  My point is that, if you want to coach, do not waste your time learning to count reps – learn how to teach. And if you want to be a strength coach and earn the respect of your athletes, well you also better have an understanding of the rules and regulations of the sport they are involved in.  You won’t impress them for the long term with impressive feats of balance and agility.

 

If I were to line up 3 people:

1. a hockey goalie coach with no formal education

2. A  4^th year HKIN student with top marks and no work experience  and

3. A personal fitness trainer with over 10 years in the industry of fitness and wellness

….and I asked each one of them to teach a brand new client how to do a bodyweight squat, I will bet my last dollar that hockey goalie coach will take the cake.

 

This is one of the biggest problems I see with the current post-secondary education system.

 

Those students taking Physical Education streams as electives ARE learning how to teach and coach – these people should be the future of this industry.  But, they are often not.  They choose the career path of teaching school and don’t always have time for a side gig, of strength & conditioning coaching.   Instead, we have the exercise science and kinesiology students wanting to pursue careers in health, fitness, and strength coaching and they graduate without a clue on how to analyse a skill, dissect it, instruct it and modify it.   They may understand the ‘theory’ of the 3 stages of motor learning, but they have never been asked in a lab to break it down practically.  Instead, the lab experiences, boil down to metabolic carts and lactate samples, which is all fine and good if one was going to work in a lab setting, but in the real world, the real coaching setting, where I have to manage a group of 10, 16yr-old baseball players, full of piss and vinegar, the last thing I want to do is hook them up to a machine and measure their VO2 max.  Instead, I will get my hands dirty, right away, making sure they all MASTER the skills of hip hinging, shoulder packing, lunging, squatting, pulling and pressing.  Even with a group was 4 adult women, in their mid-forties, I am still going to teach them the skills of safe lifting before I load them up, before I increase their velocity, before I increase their volume/training density.

 

At Human Motion, sometimes people call us Personal Trainers, when in fact we are not.  We are actually closer, in profession to your high school football coach, or your community hockey coach.  We are teachers:  We teach movement.  We teach strength.  We evaluate the learning process every minute we are on the floor with a client.  We hold back students who are having more trouble mastering a skill.  We advance students who are excelling and ready for more complexity.  Our ‘exercises’ are drills; our ‘workouts’ are a series of development sessions.  It is our job to ensure learning.  It is our job to use every strategy and tactic to deliver a message.  It is our job to appreciate different learning styles and learning blocks.  It is not our job to gloss over the important things to ensure our clients – GET A ‘WORKOUT.’

 

Just like any skilled practitioner, the true craftsman always chooses the best tool for the job… not his favourite tool.

 

 

~ a book review

 

Whether we like it or not, we are all living in modern times where our days are filled with minute by minute decisions versus personal reflections, a high rate of production versus a careful analysis and of course, the day-planners, the Blackberries, the outlook calendars, the meetings, and endless to-do lists and piles of paper.  Faced with demands both professionally and personally, many of us likely feel like we are being carried away with life’s currents.  We characterize our day to day schedules as ‘insane,’  ‘out-of-control’ and feel hungrier and hungrier by the minute for down time and peace.  We, as a society, in this modern age need to stop the juggling act.

 

And did you know that managing our time efficiently is no guarantee in today’s world that we will wake up each morning feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the day.  Just because we have mastered the act of answering 100 emails a day, taking the kids to school, making dinner for the family and getting our daily workout in doesn’t mean that we are on track, or even less insane than those people who miss appointments, forget to take out the trash and only get half-way through their inbox before falling asleep at their desk at 9pm in the evening.  Just because we made it through the to-do list and are ahead of the game for tomorrow and even stocked the fridge with fresh veggies for the next two days of who-knows-what, doesn’t mean we are present.  It doesn’t mean we are not distracted by the events of the day when we to lie down to have pillow talk with our spouse.  It doesn’t mean the wheels of the mental engine are taking a break.  Contrary to popular belief, multitasking is not an effective tactic to become an enduring human being of extraordinary talent.

 

Pretty soon, we are headed, whether we like it or not for burnout.  For feelings of apathy and listlessness, when the things that once ignited a spark inside our soul, now barely scratches the surface.  We feel like each day is just running into the next, like water spilling over the edge of a swimming pool.  The lines are blurred, our energy is gone and we feel tired, depressed, defeated.  What happened?  We were so good at managing our time? 

 

Let’s throw way the concept of managing time.  I want to introduce you to the concept of ‘managing energy.’  I learned of this concept after reading a fantastic book, by one of my favourite sports psychologist’s:  Jim Loehr.  In his book, The Power of Full Engagement, Jim speaks of a whole new concept, an insight, if you will, into what really drives human endurance and high performance.  I am not taking about marathon runners here.  I am talking about leading the high performance life where we are aware, connected and present.  Jim talks about energy, not time, as being the fundamental currency of high performance (4).  As blatently obvious as this seems, we do not always take this concept into account.  We are often unaware of how much energy we spend on our thoughts, our actions and our emotions.  Each one of those has a cost and some costs are far greater than others.  This, is the first step.  We need to be aware of this and honour those costs.

 

The only way we can become fully present and enjoy the life we are meant to live is if we learn to manage our energy.  According to Jim, we must be physically energized, emotionally connected, mentally focused and spiritually aligned with a purpose beyond our immediate self-interest (5).

 

Life is not a marathon folks.  It should be viewed (just like proper fat loss training) as a series of intervals.  We should intersperse periods where we work very ‘smart,’ where we are hyper-focused, building our mental capacity and periods of complete passive rest, where we are on vacation, regenerating and reaping the benefits of our hard earned work.  But, too many North Americans live with a constant minimal focus on the wrong things.  They are focused on rewards, rather than the process, or the purpose.  They are always living two steps ahead of themselves and not allowing themselves to view downtime as equally productive time.  It is just like training.  Without the downtime, without the recovery, we are unable to attain the highest levels of performance.  We are unable to reach the most intense intervals.  We are unable to manage our energy. And thus, we are unable to reach the highest level of performance.

 

And stress is not the enemy either.  Ironically, it is the cornerstone of improvement, of growth (13).  When we train, we are stressing the body, breaking it down.  With recovery, it will repair and rebuild even stronger each time.  The other dimensions of wellness: emotional, spiritual, mental, are no different here.  If we go through a period of stress, we also need a period of recovery.  We grow by expending energy beyond what we are currently capable of.  But, if we do this all the time, without recovery; we burn out.  It is that simple.

 

The last point I’d like to address is something Jim advises.  Instead of having a personal constitution of self-discipline, replace it with a set of personal rituals that are fuelled by deeply held personal values.   Jim describes it this way:  Discipline pushes you towards a behaviour or action, whereas a ritual draws you to it.  Brushing your teeth is an example of a ritual.  And the power of a ritual is that they require very little conscious effort and energy, leaving you free to focus your energy reserves on more important things.

 

For more information on how to manage your energy, go to www.fullengagement.com

Reference:  The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz

 

 

Last week I was having a few chats with some of my students at Langara College, who are doing some continuing education in the field of Personal Fitness Training.  I am always interested in what my students are doing outside of the confines of the academic world and how they might be learning to bridge the gap between the theory they are learning at school and its application in the coursework provided by, (for-profit), organizations like Can Fit Pro and BCRPA, plus others into the USA as well.

The general consensus is that they are learning a great deal about program design, or rather, the manipulation of the acute and chronic training variables, such as sets, reps, loads and rest periods.  Well, I am happy to see they are reviewing their grade 5 math skills. But learning that sets of 8-12 are optimal for hypertrophy and  if we want muscle endurance, then it HAS to be 12-15 reps, with, of course, shorter rest periods just doesn’t cut it with my standards.  Hmmmmm, try the turkish get-up with 16kg-24kg for 12-15 reps/side and your workout might take well over 30 minutes just to do that one exercise properly and slowly enough to engrain the stabilization and joint position sense the exercise is fundamentally based upon.   You wouldn’t have time to do anything else, plus you would have lost concentration (something that is require for the TGU) at about the 10 minute mark.  What I am trying to say is that, some exercises do not belong in the high rep category, no matter what the ‘goals’ of the program might be.  Why are students learning these contraints, when if they actually experienced the exercises themselves, they would know what it feels like and what adaptation might occur?

Here is another program design pointer my students have claimed they have learned:  With respect to exercise strength prescription for beginners, only do one to two sets of the exercise.  Why is this?  Beginners are at the cognitive stage of learning and NEED more sets and reps to hone their skills and practice.  What they don’t need is high loads and rapid tempos.  Even veteran lifters with bad habits might want to try more sets to ‘grease the groove’ and work on the technical aspects of an exercise before progressing into heavier loads.  Strength is a skill right?  Why is this mantra not taught in the continuing education system?  

Continuing education bodies should really focus their energies and curriculum on aspects such as:

1.  Teaching and evaluating students free weight exercise technique and the 5 pillars of movement. (Paul Chek)

2.  Evaluation of a student’s ability to teach the exercise to a client and test whether learning has taken place within the client

3.  Teaching students how to correct common faulty movement patterns with creative coaching cues – versus statements like “keep your knees over your toes” – if someone just isn’t getting it, the student must use other means to elicit the response they want.  Hands on cueing and tactile stimulation is often the best strategy and is not emphasized enough.

 

The biggest problem I see in the industry today is that too many personal fitness trainers do not know how to coach proper technique.  They, themselves often have poor skills on the 5 pillars of movement.  They may have all the theoretical skills and book-smarts, but they cannot put it all together.  And it isn’t their fault, because they were never educated in this manner, nor were they evaluated in this manner. 

Imagine a hair stylist that passes hair styling school, having only written a theory exam on ‘how to cut and style hair’ yet never touching a client.  Imagine a massage therapist getting through their education system without actually giving someone a massage?  I know it sounds absolutely ridiculous, but currently there are only TWO certifying agencies that evaluate a practitioner’s ability to perform the exercises and teach them as well.  These are the RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge) and Human Motion’s BSF Cert Course.  Both of these education systems encourage the execution of correct technique and the ability to coach correct technique.  The sets, reps and rest periods – well that is actually the easy part.

At Human Motion, our coaches go through a year of mentorship with myself (MSc. CSCS, RKC) , Cliff Harvey, who is a world champ in weightlifting and a naturopath and Jim Talo, my husband, who is an RKC Level 2.  I have decided that I need to be part of the solution and offer this opportunity to the right people who, if they choose to stay with Human Motion, they can offer an excellent service, or if they choose to leave and do their own thing, well at least I can sleep at night  knowing I have released a bird that can fly.

 

Please post your comments on this blog.

Or perhaps re-post it – you have my permission to do so.

 

Yours in strength & health,

Coach bott

Last April my husband and I were surfing the net after dinner planning our professional development and my speaking schedule for the next 6 months.  For those of you who don’t know Jim, he is a Kettlebell coach and has been since his first ‘RKC’ (Russian Kettlebell Challenge) in 2004.  Jim and I met in 2007, at a  fitness facility where we co-lease space to train our clients and I asked him to show me what he knew about Kettlebells.  I was instantly impressed with his attention to detail and meticulous dissection of each movement with the bells.  I soon traded in my Olympic Lifts for more forgiving double-bell cleans and swapped my 5-10km runs for a series of kettlbell drills that conditioned me more adequately for the two sports I love to play:  basketball and flag football. 

Our summer schedule filled up quite quickly with a trip to Hawaii to meet with some coaches and train at the University, which was followed by a whirlwind excursion to Las Vegas, where I spoke, for the second year in a row, at the prestigious N.S.C.A. conference.  I was also finishing up a contract with EA Sports at the end of July and planning to take some much needed down-time in August, so Jim and I thought the RKC Certification Course in San Diego couldn’t be a more perfect time of year for us to finish our summer of learning.

We booked the course right after Jim found out he would be allowed to come with me as an assistant RKC.  This would allow Jim to re-cert and keep his status as a level 1 RKC Instructor (Jim is also a level 2).    However, at this point, I was right in the middle of my flag football season, which often leaves me with sore legs for 2 days after games and practices.  Plus we also found out the rules for the RKC snatch test also had changed, where a woman of my weight class (over 123 lbs) has to snatch a 16kg kettlebell 100 times in under 5 minutes.  I knew I had some work to do! Check out the: Snatch Test requirements

I began my physical preparation for the RKC on June 22nd, giving me just over 8 weeks to polish my technique, prepare my hands for 3 days of heavy abrasion and improve my efficiency on the snatch to make the required time.  I was excited!  I made sure I booked a massage once or twice per week to keep things loose and mobile and speed up my recovery; I finally had a goal for me, which was really fun as I have been training athletes to peak for so many years, that I finally made the time for myself.  I also had a wee bit of pressure – I am Jim’s wife and he was coming as an assistant.  It was a priority for me to stay healthy, fit and strong for the RKC.

We arrived in San Diego on the Wednesday evening before the RKC Cert.  Jim had to go through all of his competency tests on the Thursday afternoon and my testing began on Friday morning.  We had a bit of free time on Thursday morning, so we took a cab into La Jolla by the beach to have a look around and do some shopping.  The weather decided to heat up as soon as we arrived and it was around 90 degrees by midday.  Then, we headed back to the hotel and Jim went to do his testing and I ended up poolside where I met Wendy, a mother of 7, who flew from Connecticut to do her RKC as a personal goal.  I was instantly impressed!  She told me about her training and how she has already lost 4 dress sizes since working with the bells.  Wendy the Warrior…. I thought to myself.

That evening, Jim and I went down to the meet and greet where we received nametags and appys and mingled around with other RKC participants.  Everyone was really friendly and everyone was also really nervous about their snatch test the next morning.  I wasn’t nervous until this point….after all, I prepared myself and tested my 100 reps at 4:10 on the Monday of that week without any trouble and with good technique.  But, all the energy in the room did get to me a bit.  It felt like final exam-time in university where everyone is chatting about what will be on the test at the last minute.  I was never one of those people.  Usually, I got a solid 8 hrs of zzzz’s the night before and was listening to my Jay-Z to get myself pumped up to spit out all my knowledge.  So, I ducked out and off to bed to get some zzzz’s.

Ok, I admit, I did have ’snatch-test dreams’ and woke at 6:30 am with a small flutter in my chest, but I was also excited to put my skills to the test.  I hit the shower, went down for breakfast, then made my way over to the facility where we were to meet with our team leaders.  I was excited when I found out I was in Yoana Snideman’s group.  I had watched her on utube a few times and was astonished how she buried reps at 5 foot ???, and pregnant! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLx0GcWi2-I)   I also had the pleasure of meeting Dustin Rippetoe, Fran Mason & Steve Bellanger, who were Yoana’s assistant instructors.   There were 107 people at this RKC event – the biggest ever I heard, which meant we would be training outside, in the heat for the next three days.  So, I grabbed my test weight bell and outside I went.  Jim neglected to mention to me that the paint on the handles was about as supple as sandpaper…oh well, what could I do at this point? 

I did my snatch test with caution.  I knew I could do the time, so I just paced myself and tried not to overgrip the bell, so my hands wouldn’t rip.  I finished it in 4:25 and breathed a sigh of relief with that being over (little did I know what was in store for the next 3 days!).  The rest of Friday was all about the swing and the turkish get-up, plus making sure people were safe with their techniques and on time.  We were punished for being late, not asking enough questions, for not lying face down when asked and so on.  I loved it.  And for those of you who know me, know how much I love order and the RKC was very orderly.  By the end of the day I think we did over 600 swings and I had drank about 6 litres of fluids.  All in all, a blast and my hands were holding up fine.  Unfortunately, some others were not so fortunate. 

The next day, Saturday, proved to be the most gruelling, where we pounded out several sets of cleans, pressed as much as we could and performed a modified VO2 max protocol for 15 minutes continuously.  The VO2 max protocol was simple and based on the next weight down from your snatch weight, so in my case, 12 kg.  We had to snatch the bell as many times as we could in 15 sec (6-9 reps was the goal), put it down for 15 sec, then go again with the other arm for 10 minutes straight.  At first, I did not find this to be a challenge and I was easily pumping out 8 reps on each set, so after the 10 minutes, I grabbed the 16kg bell and gave that a go.  Now, I found my heart rate to begin to rise.    I will have to try this again at home with the 16kg and aim for 6 reps in 15 sec for 10min+, or do the full 40 minutes with the 12kg bell and see if my heart rate changes.  In my opinion, as an exercise physiologist, this protocol should be called a training method and it needs some work, but from what I have heard, there is standardization, so I will look into that before I make any more comments or give feedback.  VO2 is not the determiner of elite performance in endurance events, work economy is.

Yoana, my team leader also managed to crush most of the crowd with a brutal superset of goblet squats.  I heard a lot of whimpering during this routine.  It was so tough, I cannot recall what she combined it with.  I think it was strict military presses. That was one of the more challenging aspects of the weekend…well until the grad workout Sunday…..I also managed to tear a small hole in my left hand on saturday afternoon, of which I slammed shut with a few drops of crazy glue (until my tape ripped the skin AND the glue off the next day!)

Saturday evening Jim and I went to the dinner for all the RKC participants.  it was nice to chat with some of the instructors outside of the day and great to see everyone with clean faces and hands!  Pavel and Jim chatted briefly and I got to know some of the great women in my group.  I had trouble sleeping that night as I was a bit wound up from all the action the two days prior and my impending technique test to come, plus the infamous grad workout they were planning to put us through to see if we could persevere for one more day in 102F heat….

Sunday morning arrived and we all went down to a marketing lecture put on by John DuCane, the founder of Dragon Door Publications.  I found it to be both enlightening and useful and was glad it was part of the weekend.  Even with an established business, you can still learn more.  Afterwards, we headed outside to practice our technique before we were tested, one by one on all the following skills:  the swing, the clean, the double press, the turkish get-up and the snatch.  The RKC is a pass/fail.  Jim’s group had a substantial failure rate.  I am not sure what mine had, but the instructors were tough and so they should be.  After 15 years in the business of strength coaching, I have seen more bad than good when it comes to practitioners and their ability to teach and ensure correct technique.  I love that the RKC standards are high.  I love what they charge for this certification course.  It separates the Pros from the Joe’s.  Come prepared is the advice I will give.

After the technique testing, we were sent for lunch and to prepare for our coaching test.  This is where ‘civilians’ come to the cert and become potential clients.  We must walk them through the swing and the turkish get-up, or part therof, if the client is not able to perform those exercises.  I wasn’t as worried about this aspect of the RKC as I have been coaching for years and do pride myself in my assessment and teaching skills.  However, it wasn’t and isn’t a cake walk.  The team leaders are looking for very specific elements and your ability to pinpoint key details, versus blurting out everything you know to your poor client.   I will leave it at that.

So, are you wondering if i passed yet?   One more hurdle folks:  The grad workout. Here is a small clip of the tail end : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puij7NWeW_U  Strong ladies were advised to get 8kg bells.  StrongER ladies, 12 kg bells.  I knew Yoana and Dustin would tan my hide if I grabbed the 8’s, plus I also wouldn’t be able to come home to my team and say I made it through the grad workout, if I pressed and cleaned barbie weights, so I opted for the 12’s.  The men had the option of 16’s and 20’s – can you believe some of these dudes, tried to get away with the 12’s??? Well, that didn’t go over well and coach Brett Jones made them go through another workout altogether after the fact.  Hmmmmm, character is revealed, not built right?

Anyways, that is my RKC story, in a nutshell.  I arrived home on the monday and slept quite a bit that week following.  In fact, it has taken me a whole week to sit down and finally write this blog as I am now reflecting more objectively and possibly ready for more in the future!

Today I practiced my arm bar and my turkish get-up, of which I felt was sub-par on my technique test and I will continue to practice, daily, never thinking I have gotten it exactly.  This is the beauty of kettlbells.  The sport, like all others, lies in the process, not the reward.  I have more work to do.

On an aside, I received an email from my team leader today and she informed me I have been recommended as a future RKC Assistant coach.  I am honoured by this as I have so much respect for Pavel and what he has done with his knowledge and resources.

 

Power to you!

 

By Carmen Bott  MSc. CSCS  carmen@humanmotion.com

 

Over the years, people have come to see me for a variety of reasons, whether it is to gain strength and power for sport, to improve conditioning levels, to lose body fat and/or  to get back into shape.  Whatever, their goals might be; and the exercise prescription to follow, two elements must be present for results to take place: 

 
Consistency and Intensity

Consistency is the easy one.  Be committed, follow the program “x” number of days per week, keep on keeping on. . . It’s really quite simple.  Intensity, however, is not so simple.  It is the factor that requires the most gumption, the right frame of mind and the willingness to push oneself past what is comfortable.  This factor is more critical and of course, it is the one that most individuals need help and more importantly, candid clarification on.

I have met many clients that have told me they are ‘hard workers.’   Too be perfectly honest, hard workers are not a dime a dozen.  They are much, much, more rare than you think.  And being a great athlete does not mean someone is a hard worker either.  So, based on this fact, I am going to make an assumption:

YOU are not training as intensely as you can.

I will let you in on one of my biggest coaching secrets:  Intensity can be learned.   And I am going to provide you with 5 coaching points to help you be the intense trainee you are meant to be. 
 
Foundation First
As Gray Cook, a world leader in physical therapy and corrective exercise states:  “You cannot build fitness on dysfunction.“  So, it is imperative that you make sure you have taken care of old injuries and muscular imbalances before you begin an intense strength & conditioning program.  The secret to success in physical performance lies in systematic development, through a process called Periodization.  Periodization is a fancy term for yearly planning, which means you must plan your training and your physical development, not just jump in with both feet, like many of the fitness programs you see out there suggest.  Bootcamps are NOT a recipe for quick fitness, nor do they employ methods of planning.  Conversely, they are often a recipe for injury.  And injuries result in lost training time.  Lost training time means zero consistency. 

 
I want you to think of intensity this way:  The application of maximal physical effort, systematically applied to a movement or lifting skill you already possess.  Meaning, if you do not possess the skill to squat, you may not squat heavy and thus work intensely.  You must build your foundation first.

If you are new to training, a suggestion might be to register for a  ‘Building a Strong Foundation’ class this Fall.
 
Fatigue versus Failure
Before you can reach your true physical potential, you must also learn to be comfortable being very uncomfortable.  You must develop the mental tolerance to push yourself outside and above your current fitness and comfort zone.  Elite power athletes and endurance athletes are all too familiar with pushing the limits, both physically and mentally. It is often those who can suffer the most, and recover the fastest that makes them elite.  You can certainly take some valuable lessons from this mindset and apply it to your own training environment.  But, you must use caution.  Pushing oneself does not mean the use of sloppy technique or maximal efforts at any cost.  With respect to exercise and training, pushing oneself means using skilled movements, repeatedly, to cause high levels of muscle fatigue, not failure.  Failure can lead to injury or poor motor patterns.  Instead, you must practice this fine line of pushing and backing off just enough so you have good form.  AND, here’s the kicker:  It takes a great deal of effort to practice perfectly under high levels of fatigue. . .to squat perfectly while your thighs are burning or pull perfectly (with your shoulders packed and spine straight) rep after rep after rep.  I challenge you to be ‘perfect’ in every rep you do, even when you feel like quitting.
 
Defining ‘Pain’
If you are still having problems overcoming barriers to intensity, perhaps you need to examine your ability to focus and differentiate between ‘good pain’ and ‘bad pain.’  First of all, let me clarify.  Yes, there is such a thing as good pain.  It comes in the form of burning muscles, high heart rates and sometimes a bit of nausea.  And I hate to break it to you, but it isn’t really pain – it is discomfort.  Today, we are bombarded with media and the avoidance of pain – take this pill for this pain, this one for that pain and so on.  Put the pills away and take Lance Armstrong’s advice:  “Pain is temporary; Quitting is forever.“  If you think I am encouraging that you work through injuries (pain) and push yourself so hard that you have soreness for weeks, you are missing the point.  Please go back and read the first two paragraphs again.  Science has proven that if we expose ourselves to a certain level of intensity, that is ‘painful’ (uncomfortable), and then we expose ourselves to that same level again within a few days (consistency), we will be able to tolerate it much more handily on the second go around.  The human body is an amazing, adaptive machine.  It must, however, be overloaded in order to adapt to a higher level.  Thus, if we overload it, we will need a higher level to elicit the same uncomfortable response.   Another tip is to expect and welcome some pain/discomfort.  Then, shift your mind away from it.  Take your mind to the technical aspect of the lift.  This is a ‘disassociation’ technique sports psychologists have been using for years.  And it can be learned if you practice it.
 
No Fear, No Frustration
Some of the biggest differences I encounter between training teenagers and training adults, is the level of fear.  Adults, being more set in their ways, have preconceived notions of what they think they can handle and what they are comfortable trying.  Meaning, adults, in general have more fear.  And that becomes an obstacle for me, as a S&C Coach, to work around.  Although there is no substitute for good judgement, adults do need to be reminded that part of ramping up intensity is trying an exercise that is new and more complex.  Training intensely begins with the right attitude and the right attitude includes a clean slate – a willingness to try something new, possibly fail and to not become frustrated with the experience.  Think of how many levels of swimming kids must go through before they are left to their own devices – usually a few summers worth right?  Well, put that into perspective and know that learning takes time and patience.  But it is worth it because learning something new is also another effective way to boost up the intensity of your training.  Shaking muscles on a new lift is a GREAT sign.  It means you are paving a new neuromuscular highway and thus improving coordination.  Take some advice from the kids out there:  No fear, no frustration OK?  Approach your workouts with a willingness to learn.  Training is a beautiful opportunity if you view it that way.
 
Actions Must Match Vision
This may sound a bit blunt, but you must sacrifice laziness, unwarranted training habits, crap technique, pain avoidance and pleasure seeking to develop the physical and mental capacity to tolerate hard work.  It is fine to have goals, to have a vision of where you want to be.  This is where it all begins, but if that vision is clouded baggage and stubbornness, then you will be stuck right where you are.  It is only through a willingness to make this sacrifice and hard work, and nothing short that will lead you to achieve your strength and conditioning goals.  You must take responsibility for where you are right now.  Your actions must match your goals directly.  I challenge you to do just that!  Defeat your fears, leave frustration at the door and face the road ahead with daily conviction.  What translates intense physical conditioning into bliss is the victory you will have over YOURSELF. 

 

by Tiffany D. Johnson.  Originally published in 2007

 

In the process of researching professionals in the sports and fitness industries, I

came across several owners, fitness instructors, wellness coaches, but none were as

professional, inspirational, and responsive as Carmen Bott of Human Motion Inc in

Vancouver, British Columbia. In her busy schedule she found the time to answer several

questions regarding how she got interested in fitness, her business, and the fitness

industry as whole. She also provided some great advice to those aspiring to get into

fitness and/or owning a business in the industry. This paper is a summary of that online

conversation. My perspective of the industry has changed as a result of this interview.

 

 

My first question to Carmen was how she got interested in the fitness industry.

As it turns out being involved in athletics is generational. Her grandfather was a

Canadian Olympic ski jumper. Her parents were also really active in sports. Growing up

she was an athlete herself, playing basketball, soccer, softball and running track. It seems

Carmen had no choice when it came to fitness, it was in her blood. However, when

selecting a major in college she did not lean towards Exercise Science or something

similar. Instead she decided to study Criminal Psychology. This was a far cry from

exercise or sports. It’s funny how destiny finds us even when we’re going in a different

direction. As an elective Carmen decided to take Kinesiology. I’m sure she figured it

would be an easy class for her since she grew up in such an athletic environment. It

would also give her a chance to expand her knowledge in this area. Needless to say, she

got bit by the “kinesiology bug”. Her interest was so strong she decided to change her

major and transfer schools. Carmen has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Kinetics and a

Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of British Columbia. That

was 15 years ago. In 2004, Carmen founded Human Motion Inc.

 

Today Carmen is the president and founder of Human Motion, Inc. “Human

Motion is a consulting company offering research-based exercise prescription and

education services” (www.humanmotion.com). They offer personal training and small

group training. Seeing the need to increase wellness and health in the corporate sector,

they offer health and wellness programs for corporations interested in having optimal

employees. Aside from training and coaching, Human Motion Inc. provides services in

injury rehabilitation as well as participating in research opportunities. The company also

facilitates presentations on health and fitness, educates future trainers and is considered

experts in fitness technology development.

 

Being an aspiring fitness business owner myself, I wanted to know the challenges

and surprises Carmen faced when starting her business. What she found most

challenging was the many hats she had to wear because starting out she could not afford

to pay people to help. Initially she was doing the accounting, data entry, marketing, in

addition to being a trainer and coach. She best described it as being “a finder, a minder

and a grinder rolled into one.” This is where most mistakes are made for small business

owners. While they may be the best at what the do, they may find it too much of a

challenge to be everything required to run a new business. A good trainer does not

necessarily make for a great marketing person or data entry person for example. Today

Carmen has a team of people working with her to ensure every aspect of the business is

run properly and smoothly. In addition, to owning the business Carmen is also a writer,

coach, teacher, and lecturer. She also serves as a consultant for both national and

international athlete performance projects.

 

On the day I spoke to Carmen she only trained morning clients and took one of

her clients hiking for the afternoon. Carmen describes herself as a “work-a-frolic” and

loves every minute of what she does. She enjoys meeting with clients, teaching 2-3 classes per semester and spending the remaining time on her business. In addition, she also travels once or twice a month to lecture at various conferences and clinics. This gives her opportunity to meet new people and learn new

things. Monday thru Friday she puts the “pedal to the medal” and reserves weekends for

friends and family. Although Carmen is a busy woman she does maintain a good

work/life balance.

 

So what advice does she have to offer to others who are seeking to get into the

fitness industry?

(1) If you can, shadow the best in the industry

(2) Volunteer your

services in any way, shape or form

(3) Practice what you preach, be fit and healthy

(4) Play to your strengths

(5) Get a good education

(6) Decide after a few years, where you

would like to specialize.

I also wanted to know what advice she had for those interested

in starting a fitness business. Carmen says, “Hire a good business lawyer and find three

mentors outside of your trade (for example, someone in marketing, human resources, and

accounting or bookkeeping).” My personal favorite, she suggests reading E-Myth by

Michael E. Gerber three times. Carmen also says, “To be prepared to work twice as

hard.” One final, yet important piece of advice, she says “do not offer free sessions or

sessions for trade with other professionals; it undermines your value.”

 

The fitness industry is one Carmen loves and enjoys. However, because it is

neither standardized in Canada nor the US, there are no minimum requirements to

becoming a trainer. She stresses that she is actually not a personal trainer. She says, “I

am a strength and conditioning specialist with a master’s in exercise physiology.”

Carmen strives to differentiate herself from those who are less skilled. It is important for

her to spend time cultivating her reputation and position in the fitness market. With so

many false advertisements and quick fixes on TV and in magazines, it’s easy for

consumers to become confused as to what is true. This is not an issue for those seeking

services from Human Motion, Inc. Carmen says, “People know the quality of service

they are getting when they hire my company.” With challenges also come rewards in the

fitness industry.

 

Overall, Carmen deals with generally motivated, enthusiastic, and kind people.

She finds it to be a massive reward when she can impact someone’s health status or sport

performance. Her client base ranges from Olympic and aspiring professional athletes to

new Moms, those who are injured, and so on. Initially some clients are a little misguided

when it comes to fitness. A large misconception is that fitness comes quick. While the

athletic clients understand fitness to be a development process, her general clients have to

be guided when it comes to their expectations and timeframe. Carmen ensures they

understand to become healthy and fit is not only about exercise. When it comes to health

and wellness and optimal performance it’s all about nutrition, rest, recovery, and training.

All units work together to produce healthy, fit results. She strives to help her clients set

realistic goals as well as an action plan to get them using a very holistic approach. Over

the years Carmen has been impacted by the difference she has made in her clients’ lives.

She has also witness the changes in the fitness industry since starting in 1995.

 

There are more trainers than ever before in Vancouver alone. In 1995, there may

have been approximately 500 certified trainers in her area. Today, there are well over

10,000. With the increase in numbers, respect for the industry has turned to be come

more of a trend. Lots of people are seeking the newest exercise, the newest type of class.

This is why Carmen and her company are sure to stick to what works and not what is

hottest or newest. They do lots of research and collaborate with some the of the best

sport scientists in the world. I really like what she says about trends, “We save the trends

for our staff uniforms! Adidas provides us with cool-looking gear.” It seems Carmen has

used the industries downfall as fuel for her business.

 

When asked what she would like to see changed in the industry, she says she

would like to see a governing body or website where the potential client can go to review

a trainer’s background. This would help potential clients to make an educated decision

about who they hire to take care of their bodies. Carmen believes “fitness is a

preventative medicine and should be viewed as such”. As you can see in this brief

interview Carmen Bott is an inspiration and motivator. She holds a wealth of knowledge

and her willingness to share and give advice set her far above the rest. I’m sure we’ll

hear even more about her in years to come.

By Carmen Bott

The leading cause of muscle damage related to exercise stems from mechanical factors. Muscle tension and active strain on lengthened fibers during eccentric contractions produce direct trauma to the muscle tissue. This differs greatly from the proposed oxidative stress placed on muscle tissue with pro-longed, intense endurance exercise. As it is known, dynamic muscle function in acyclical, impact sport occurs as a sequence of active eccentric muscle actions followed by active concentric muscle actions known as the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC). Since eccentric contractions contribute to the SSC, it is not a surprising phenomenon that muscle damage occurs during prolonged or intense exercise such as distance running, plyometrics and resistance training. These activities are commonplace in training programs for most athletes.

The hypothesis that attempts to explain the physiology behind eccentric-based mechanical muscle damage is that fewer motor units are recruited to handle the same load and force per cross-sectional area of muscle. This demonstrates that eccentric work requires fewer muscle fibers to do the same amount of concentric work and that less energy is required to perform the eccentric work. Tension per unit of active muscle mass is also greater, which results in more damage to the muscle. At the cellular level, Z-line streaming, which is explained as “disorganization of the area that joins the repeating contractile elements of the myofibrils together” and myofibrillar disruption are direct manifestations that muscle damage has occurred. Furthermore, calcium homeostasis and excitation-contraction coupling are impaired, and examination of eccentrically damaged muscle shows damage to the sarcolemma, T-tubules, myofibrils and the cyoskeleton. All of these structural changes to the muscle fiber are actually present as soon as five to 15 minutes post exercise.

The Impact of Muscle Damage on Performance

It is common and normal to experience pain and muscle stiffness with a new training program. This phenomenon, as we all know, is known as delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) and is associated with muscle fiber injury. DOMS is most prevalent at the beginning of the sporting season or a new training program when athletes are returning to training following a period of reduced or varied activity.

For approximately eight hours following exercise, muscles are generally pain free. DOMS begins the first 24 to 48 hours after exercise and peaks between 24 and 72 hours. All discomfort usually subsides within 96 hours. Along with the soreness comes other related symptoms such as prolonged muscle weakness, a decreased range of motion and muscle protein leakage into the blood plasma.

There is evidence that neuromuscular functions can be impaired by muscle soreness. Kinematic analysis of gait mechanics following DOMS has revealed reductions in range of motion about the ankle, knee and hip joints. These changes could be due to a reduced range of motion in the quadriceps muscle group and a subsequent reduction of shock absorption capability of the lower body. Since eccentric contractions are vital for shock absorption or braking in the direction of gravity, altered gait patterns can have negative effects on shock absorption abilities of the lower extremities. Muscle injury may also lead to altered recruitment patterns or changes in the temporal sequencing of muscle activation. Findings of altered neuromuscular control such as time to peak EMG and time to peak contraction velocity have been researched and were found to persist for up to five days.

Absolute reductions in strength and power have also been documented by numerous researchers. The duration of strength reduction, most notable after eccentric contractions, was found to be eight to 10 days following the training session. Conversely, concentric strength recovered more rapidly, only taking four days. Many researchers have unfortunately failed to collect repeated strength data on back to back days, which has important implications for athletes who may be at risk for injury as they suffer through a deficit in a muscle group while they continue to train.

DOMS is certainly a “subclinical” injury. However, sometimes athletes are required to practice and train during periods of intense muscle soreness. These effects can raise questions about whether or not to work through the pain or rest and recover. The following risk factors should be noted during the DOMS time:

1. >DOMS can reduce the cushioning effect during landings and running. To compensate, increased shock absorption will occur at other joints, causing unaccustomed strain.
2. Changes in co-ordination may also lead to unaccustomed strain to be placed on muscles, ligaments and tendons during functional activity. Motor unit recruitment patterns may be altered and in this vulnerable state, training may worsen present damage.
3. A decrease in force output in a muscle group or to fibers of a muscle may lead to compensatory recruitment from uninjured areas leading to altered agonist/antagonist ratios and increased stress on compensating muscle groups. Reductions in jumping performance, after exercise-induced muscle damage, lasted up to four days.
4. An inaccurate perception of impairment or a reduction in DOMS may also cause an individual to return to high intensity activity before the muscle has adequately recovered.
5. An elevated physiological response to endurance exercise has been reported after muscle damaging exercise where breathing frequency, respiratory exchange ratio, heart rate and RPE were all significantly higher two days after eccentric exercise when compared with concentric exercise.

Managing Muscle Damage

Pain serves a critical purpose. It acts as a reminder to the athlete that impairment to the muscle still exists. The sensation of soreness comprises muscle tenderness, pain on palpation and mechanical stiffness that results in pain when the muscle is stretched or activated. The tenderness often is described as localized in the distal portion of the muscle in the region of the musculotendinous junction. Tenderness within this region could be due to the fact that muscle pain receptors are most concentrated in the region of the tendon and connective tissue in the muscle. Angles of the fibers to the long axis of the muscle are greatest in the region of musculotendinous junction, increasing the susceptibility of the fibers to mechanical trauma. In severe DOMS, the pain is generalized throughout most of the muscle belly.

It has been suggested that three training sessions per muscle group per week is a minimum frequency for gaining muscle size and strength. Therefore, if this training frequency is followed, some training sessions may be performed when the muscles are still experiencing delayed onset of muscle soreness from the previous session. Generally speaking, if exercise-induced muscle damage occurs, it can be harmful for the tissue to receive another damaging stressor again early in the recovery process. However, if the initial damage is induced via eccentric-based activity like plyometric training this may not be the case. Previous studies have shown that performing repeated bouts of eccentric exercise three and six days (72 to 144 hours) after the initial bout did not result in further damage or retard the recovery process.

Currently no studies have examined muscle damage and soreness induced in a practical situation where more than three training sessions are adhered to per week, with some separated by less than 24 hours of recovery. Also, no studies have used highly trained subjects when measuring repeated bouts of eccentric exercise and the effects on DOMS.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen and flurbiprofen have long been considered as a treatment for alleviating the symptoms of DOMS. Theoretically, NSAIDs have a strong case for helping to combat the inflammation and swelling that occurs with exercise-induced muscle damage. A parallel review of NSAIDs basically concludes that they are simply not warranted. This review also reported that the use of such drugs may hinder the healing process and affect long-term muscle adaptation, so important to athletes in their development. Furthermore, unwanted physiological side effects may also occur including gastrointestinal and renal complications. The athlete and the strength and conditioning coach should be aware of the potential implications of exercise-induced muscle damage on sport performance and the time course for recovery between training sessions. Periodization plans must account for the days following eccentrically biased training, which results in mechanical muscle damage. Prevention has been identified as the most appropriate approach to overtraining, thus emphasizing the role of thoughtful planning of training and recovery is critical. According to Byrne, Twist and Eston, “of particular concern is the approach to optimizing recovery following muscle damaging exercise, allowing an immediate return to training and further competition, as is commonly associated with intermittent, high-intensity activities.”

The main conclusion is that adapting the body more effectively to eccentric stresses can reduce the impact of DOMS. In addition to warming up, Szymanski introduces the repeated-bout effect as a meaningful means of reducing DOMS. It has been reported that repeated bouts of lower intensity eccentric exercise performed one to six weeks before the initial higher intensity eccentric bouts have been shown to consistently reduce DOMS and exercise-induced muscle damage. Thus, a gradual introduction of eccentric exercise, over a period of weeks, is encouraged. Szymanski states that the repeated bout effect is proposed to allow for a faster recovery of strength and range of motion in effected muscles, providing for increased resistance to damage after the first bout. It is also thought that muscle and connective tissue gradually adapt to increasing intensities of eccentric exercise, minimizing incidence and severity of DOMS.

Further examinations expand on this and enforce the need to allow one to two days of reduced intensity training following activities likely to invoke DOMS – in other words, better, more appropriate and specific training including resistance loading and progressive time-based training more in keeping with the capability of the body to adapt to the overload applied and to allow adequate recovery rather than continue to produce the DOMS effect in training or competition. Finally, in this review, another set of authors looked at the effect of chronic muscle damage from repeated exercise bouts and the effect this has on the ability of the body to continuously remodel skeletal muscle. Ultimate limitations do exist, and there appears to be a point at which the capacity for repair and adaptation is exhausted.

References:

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