Don't flame out. A practical guide to Recovery.

How do you feel after your workouts? Do you feel refreshed? Are you losing leanness in spite of increased exercise? Do you lift heavy or running hard every day? Ok let me guess you feel restless, in the mornings your heart is beating fast than normal, your joints hurt and you keep getting sick. You have won the overtraining lottery! The topic today is recovery; we will look at what happens when you work out, and proper recovery protocols. This topic came about due to a conversation with a friend who does many boot camp classes. She was asking what happens when you work out physiologically. I asked what is your plan for post workout recovery? No answer was forthcoming. If your into fitness you want results, if your are a trainer or physio or a chiro your living depends upon results. You will get the most bang for your buck in results with a proper nutrition and recovery plan. The recovery plan needs to be tailored to work in line with your workouts and goals. If this is not the case your banging your head against the wall, lets avoid the headaches and blood in your eyes. I read somewhere that people should spend more time to plan the perfect meal plan not the perfect workout. Recovery is multifaceted it include nutrition, adequate sleep, supplementation and scheduled days off. 

So what happens when we workout, practice or train? Muscle growth occurs whenever the rate of muscle protein synthesis is greater than the rate of muscle protein. Both the synthesis and breakdown of proteins are controlled by complimentary cellular mechanisms. Resistance exercise can profoundly stimulate muscle cell hypertrophy and the gain in strength. A single bout of exercise stimulates protein synthesis within the 2-4 hours after the workout, which may remain elevated for up to 24 hours. The studies show that men and women respond to resistance training similarly. Due to gender differences in body size, body composition and hormone levels, gender will have varying effects on the extent of hypertrophy on can attain. It is of note that individuals  with more muscle mass will have greater changes in muscle mass. Resistance exercise improves the connective tissue surrounding the muscle being beneficial for injury prevention and in physical rehab therapy. We have two different muscle fiber types, Type 1 are slow twitch or slow oxidative fibers or red fibers. The type 2 muscle fibers are white and are called the fast twitch or fast glycolytic fibers. In this fiber is a subdivision type 2 a fast-oxidative glycolytic and the 2 b fast-glycolitic fibers. The soleus a calf muscle involved in posture and gait contains 25-40% more type 1 fibers, the triceps has 10-30% more type 2 fibers than the other arm muscles. The proportions and types of muscle fibers varies between adults. The energy from all physical activity comes from the conversion of high energy phosphates ADP to lower energy phosphates ATP. We produce ATP through three metabolic pathways, which pathway we uses to produce ATP is dependent on the amount of energy needed and how quickly we need it. The three pathways are:

ATP-CP  Anaerobic System indicated to be high intensity short duration work consisting of 10 seconds of activity like heavy weight lifting. Fuels used creatine phosphate and stored ATP.

Glycolysis  Anaerobic System indicated to be moderate to high intensity moderate duration activities lasting 30-50 seconds of activity such as a set of 8-12 repetitions. Fuels used blood glucose, muscle and liver glycogen.

Oxidative Aerobic System lower intensity longer duration activities greater than 2 minutes. Walking on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes.  Fuels used blood glucose, muscle and liver glycogen, adipose and intramuscular fat.

I brought up the different energy systems as they have different caloric needs for post workout recovery.Anaerobic and Aerobic exercise affect protein and carbohydrate requirements in different ways. Exercise increases the oxidation of amino acids as well as the rate of protein turnover in lean body mass recovery. Because different types of exercise had specific effects, an individual participating in both types of exercise may need protein greater than someone involved in only one.  The rule of thumb is that within 30 minutes of finishing your training you have a protein/carbohydrate shake. The optimal breakdown is activity specific it goes as follows weight training sessions you would use a ratio of 2 to 1 carbohydrate to protein ratio, for team sports a ratio of 3 to 1, and for an endurance training session the ratio is 4 to 1. A guideline for the carbohydrates is to use organic when you can, following the fresh 15. Regarding the protein you can use whey protein. It is a high quality, complete protein with all the essential amino acids.  Whey is also the richest known source of naturally occurring branch chain amino acids, it also has the highest biological value scale for protein. It strengthens antioxidant defenses and aids in recovery from eccentric exercise faster. 

The keys for optimal recovery are rest, proper nutrition, periodization of your training program, as well as nutrition and workout logs. The problem is you lose track of your workouts and meals and days bleed together. This is the quickest route to overtraining and injury. If you feel you are overtraining start taking your pulse upon waking, take a baseline when you are not training at all for comparison. If its faster when you wake up, take a day off.  Get better sleep quality and just about everything else in your life will improve. The benefits of proper rest cannot overstated you need approximately 8-10 hours a night. I know it seems like unattainable, but it can be done with naps. One of the underrated pieces of the puzzle is periodization of your training program so that you can reach your goals. You should plan out for 3 months, 6 months and a year. Program design at that level is an art form and you should really consult a professional.

Who will you be a champion? Or a person who makes excuses?

The next article will be up on Thursday it will be a book review. The Friday list is a mystery this week so stay tuned. Please read and share this blog.