A Blog detailing my comeback from Ground Zero To Greatness. A little Bit of Life, A Little Bit of Exercise, A little Bit of Gear, with some science mixed in.
Good Afternoon Folks! - The title of today's post happens to be from one of my favorite bands. "Journey". It best expresses the content I am planning to deliver today, simply because when you actually get your workout timed correctly down to the second, in specific energy systems, with appropriate rest periods, it will feel like the first time.... you've ever worked out.
In my previous post about Bio-energetic conditioning, I discussed the main systems (aerobic and anaerobic), along with a 10000 foot view of the subsystems... Today, I am going to dive into each subsystem.. Apply a little science, and then tell you how to actually address each system.
As I had mentioned previously, we have 3 overhead energy systems.
1. Phosphagen
2. Glycolytic
3. Oxidative
ALL energy systems are active at anytime, regardless of being under workload, or at rest. There is no OFF switch for an energy system, your body elects which energy system to use dependant on the duration of the workload.
Phosphagen System:
The primary function of the phosphagen system is to provide ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) high intensity activities usually lasting in duration from 0-6 seconds, but can remain for as long as 20 seconds.
It is active at the start of all exercise, regardless of intensity.
Glycolytic System:
The primary function of the Glycolytic System is carbohydrate (CHO) breakdown to produce ATP in the cytoplasm (sarcoplasm of a muscle cell)
Provides energy primarily for moderate to high intensity activities: for 30 seconds up to 2-3 minutes of activity in a hypoxic (low oxygen) cellular environment.
Through a series of reactions, creates an energy pyruvate (glycolysis) which may proceed in 1 of 2 directions.
A: Fast glycolysis (anaerobic glycolysis): pyruvate is reduced to lactic acid, providing ATP at a fast rate
B: Slow glycolysis (aerobic glycolysis): pyruvate is transported to the mitochondria (to the Krebs Cycle) for use in the oxidative system
Oxidative System:
The primary function of the oxidative system is to provide ATP for activities ranging longer than 3 minutes.
Think of it as the garbage disposal in your sink. It does not discriminate on where its energy sources come from. It consumes carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
For individuals with larger fat stores, the oxidative system prefers to utilize fat(s) in its reaction phase, rather than protein(s) stored within the muscle.. For leaner athletes the oxidative system will consume protein from within the muscle.
Energy Production & Training:
There is an inverse relationship between the rate and the capacity of the phosphagen, glycolytic, and oxidative systems to supply ATP.
The extent to which the energy systems contribute to the energy being produced is primarily determined by the intensity and secondarily by the duration of the exercise.
In order to become better conditioned, we need to stress each of these systems, several times a week. This will make the systems become stronger, and more readily available to adapt and change to your needs.
Below are a few tables I put together, detailing the Time / Intensity relationship with each energy system, and the guidelines for time under work, work/rest ratio and intensity to train each energy system.
Conclusion: We've taken a deep dive into energy production. From an exercise perspective, there is no silver bullet for this when programming.. You can program any type of exercise within the duration of the work cycles recommended above.. Using the Work : Rest Ratios, make sure you build upon each energy system by increasing the number of work cycles within a specific area every time you program this into your workouts.
In a follow up post, I will give you a multi-week conditioning cycle that I use when training athletes.. This will give you guidance on how to build or taper your conditioning.
Hope this was helpful, and feel free to ask any questions in the comments tab!
Hello there. Today's post title has been burned in my head since the time this actually had occurred last night. The actual statement is courtesy of s*** that people say when exercising...
Last night, 1/2 way to 3/4 of the way complete my Friday night lift (because what else do people do on a Friday night?). My gaze wanders over to the shoulder press rack, where I find a pair of people (1 male, 1 Female), working out. Instinctively, my training form radar has a blip on it.. I'm watching two out of shape people, perform the shoulder press, with an range of motion that you can measure on a ruler. That's right, 12" or less, which for something(s) can be appreciated, however range of motion in an exercise is not one of them. So watching the show, consumes all my attention, and I find some time in there to perform a correctly executed lift myself.
A few minutes later, our dynamic duo, transitions from the shoulder press rack, to a bench. where the same exercise, range of motion and all, is executed with dumbbells. Then, to top it off, somewhere in between listening to me doing a dumbbell set, and making noises that would probably set off the effort, lunk alarm at planet fitness, (intensity has a price), I hear the before mentioned duo discussing about how the only muscle that they actually feel getting stronger (IE. Sore) is their traps.
Come on..... your traps? Well lets take a look at the mechanics of it. If you lift a bar off at full overhead extension, then lower it 12" or less, do you think that any other muscle would actually get used?.. At this point in time, I'm internalizing both a scowl, and a laugh. My only comment to the root of the issue is, when there's smoke (pain) there is fire (damage). Every injury is a mistake in your training program, every time you come in and say my traps are sore! You have to take accountability that you did something wrong.. Is what I am doing appropriate for me?
I could get so much further into this, but ill leave it at surface level for the moment. Just remember folks..
Do NO harm, and be as aggressive as possible while doing no harm.
In a previous post - I discuss energy systems, give them definition, and meaning. Soon ill begin to talk about how to actually increase each energy system, however I need to discuss one thing prior to doing so.
Exercise Telemetry - Ever try driving a car without a working speedometer? Try covering it up sometime. You will find that your sensory experience increases.. You will try to "feel the road" , "listen to the engine rpms", "visualize your rate of travel in comparison to other cars", so on and so forth. This will work, it will get you from Point A to Point B, but not in the safest, or most time efficient manner.
The same goes for exercising without any telemetry. Doing your lunges, box jumps, squats, bench press. You will see, hear and feel things. You will get results, but are you doing them in the safest and most time efficient manner?
A few years ago, I used to road race motorcycles in the CCS & WERA leagues, and telemetry was everything. It would make, or break you.. Below are a few images from the cockpit of my A Series Race Bike.
In the first photo you can see that I have black duct tape over allot of the gauges. This is extremely important when racing. Ideally if you have TOO MUCH telemetry in front of you, you become over-whelmed with data, and don't make effective decisions. As you can see what I needed in front of me at the time was my RPM's from 9500 to 17500 (where all my power is generated from), and I needed data from the tower, Lap Times, Track Temperature (that was one HOT may day), and not displayed was my engine temperature in the display on the upper right hand side. This gave me all the data I need to make an accurate decision on either hitting the throttle, or slowing it down.
Lets bring this back to the exercise world.. When you are on your elliptical or treadmill, and you see all that data, Mets, HR, Incline, Pace, Watts, etc. How much does that all mean to you? Do you change your workout as a result of it?
What we have here is an exercise world filled with either too little, or too much telemetry, and as a result, you the exerciser suffers. Well there is a solution.
Stick with the one metric that you know best.. Your heart rate.. When I sit down with someone and discuss their track forward in fitness, one of the first things I mention is purchasing a heart rate monitor, and with most things in life, the more you spend on it, the better of an item you get..
Personally I own a Polar FT80 monitor. It gives me both real time views on my watch, and also lets me download my data and analyze it later via Polar Personal Trainer (Free Web Service for Polar Monitor owners that have the flow link device)
I have a friend who owns the Polar RCX5 monitor . Yet another solid monitor with both real time, and down loadable data functions.
There are many different models out there, with lots of gadgets and gizmo's to attach (Cadence Sensors, GPS Pods, and alike), but just remember the one metric you REALLY need to get results (heart rate).
In the image below, I'm going to give you the telemetry data from a workout I had last night... It was an assistance lift workout, so it wasn't terribly intense, however it will give you a good idea what to look at when examining heart rate guidance.
The above image is my heart rate over time, as you can see I know exactly when I am "Warmed Up" and ready to begin lift (0min-6:30min). My Heart rate climbs over time in a curve, then I let it come down and normalize, for when I begin my lift.
Looking at the data over time, each "spike" represents a specific activity I am doing. Understanding how high that spike goes lets me know how much effort I am exerting into a particular movement.. From there I can tweak reps, weight, or even form, to bring it to the desired intensity level.
Taking a look at the 45 minute mark.. You will notice a HUGE extended spike. This particular spike was attributed to a movement called "The Shoulder - Complex".. The Shoulder - Complex is a 40 rep No rest lift that contains 8 High Pulls, 8 Clean & Jerks, 8 Jerks, 8 Clean & Jerks, 8 Bent Over Rows, all without putting the bar on the ground..
The spike and length of duration lets me know that hey my weight is set correctly on this, and I need to spend a few more attempts at this before I bring the weight even higher.
This graph also lets me know that some of the movements I do lack overall intensity. I need to analyze the moves, and determine what it will take to get the desired intensity spikes.
In future posts, once I get into developing the energy systems, the heart rate guidance will come into play more frequently.
As of right now, regardless if you are a gym rookie, or warrior, get yourself a HR monitor, and let it provide you guidance to get you to your end result.
One last thing, remember folks, your ego is as accurate of a speedometer, as sticking a wet finger into the wind to determine how fast its blowing. :)
I want to switch gears a moment, and discuss a topic amongst many that I feel doesn't get enough air time.
Bio energetic Conditioning: I have friends in various sectors of the "sport" of fitness.. Some Military, Some Crossfit Metcon Monsters, Some Sport Specific, Some "Mud Run Junkies", Go Ruck Challenge mongers, so on and so forth. All of these different angles of fitness have one thing in common.. "Bio energetic Conditioning", yet its often the most overlooked piece of the puzzle.
For Example: When you think of Cardio. you think its x amount of time at X intensity. Or Weight Lifting is x amount of weight for X amount of reps.
There is so much more to it than that.. Of Which I will explain below.
Bio energetic Conditioning - When a trainer develops a conditioning program there are many factors he or she must consider. Each sport and every position within that sport (including mud runs, cross fit, go ruck, co ed soccer, etc) operates primarily out of a specific bio energetic system: Oxidative, Slow Glycosis, Fast Glycosis, and the Phosphagensystem. The goal of a conditioning program must be to train an athlete to meet the specific bio energetic needs of their sport. The trainer when developing a program, must realize that at any given point of conditioning all systems are working to create energy and oxygen.. One system MAY dominate percentage-wise but all systems are supplying oxygen at one time. When designing a training protocol it is important to encompass all bio energetic systems that correlate to each other.
Aerobic Conditioning - The aerobic systems (Oxidative, Slow Glycosis) are important to train because it increases the ability of the working muscle to utilize oxygen for energy production during activities of low to medium intensity for a long period of time. Aerobic training also increases VO2 max, which allows more oxygen to be distributed to the muscles. This is a critical component to develop because it allows the body to recover quicker in between sets of maximal exercise. In other words it allows an athlete's speed to be able to last longer on the playing field. Training the aerobic systems sets a base for future demands of intense training, as well as increasing overall conditioning. Some of the physiological training effects from this type of conditioning include: increased cardiac output, decreased resting heart rate, increased stroke volume (heart), increased hemoglobin saturation, increased ejection fraction, increased venous return, decreased sympathetic nervous stimulation, and the size of mitochondria.
Anaerobic Conditioning - The anaerobic systems (Fast Glycosis, Phosphagen) are important to train because it allows an athlete to maintain repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise with minimal fatigue. Training at or around the anaerobic threshold allows the body to buffer lactic acid at a quicker pace this, letting the body continue to work at a high intensity without experiencing the "burn" of activity. Once the heart rate reaches 80% of the maximum heart rate, the activity has turned anaerobic in nature. Some of the benefits of training the anaerobic systems include: increased levels of phospho-creatine, increased levels of glyolytic enzymes, increased glycogen levels, and increased capability to withstand the buildup of lactic acid.
Program Design Considerations for HS Athletes: These are my typical grade of client, so I'm going to speak around program design for this populous, but the reality is it works the same with "any" type of athlete.
When trying to decide how to design a training cycle to improve conditioning levels for the general population of athletes, it is important to always start out with the aerobic conditioning first. During the off-season aerobic conditioning can dominate throughout the cycle because there is no competition the athlete must peak for. Developing an aerobic base first prepares the body for the higher intensity sprints that will occur later in the training phase. The shift to anaerobic training will usually occur when the athlete is a month and a half away from competition. by the time the season begins the athlete should possess the physical qualities of the types of energy systems they will experience during their games.
In a follow up post, I will detail some specific conditioning drills you an incorporate into your workout programs, specifically addressing each bio energetic system, with defined work/rest periods, which are critical to get the intended effect as my friends on Saturday know all too well!
As someone who deals in the area of Human Performance & Public Health, on a daily basis I am presented with some interesting scenarios & challenges. Today is no exception. Upon settling into my daily routine, I get a message from an individual under my "guidance" (I am told its unbecoming to correct a lady), so by providing "guidance", its not necessarily correcting them, rather, filling in the blanks.
The Message contains content related to the fact that after an intense bout of strength training exercise (key word here is strength, Not Yoga, Zumba, Spin, or other time consuming adult play time activities). Said individual decided to partake in several alcoholic beverages, and became sick soon there after..
Lesson learned here right?, we could simply end this post with " I told you so, and dont do it again" However, I have several other friends who thankfully due to the time(s) they elect to workout, dont have the opportunity to conduct Post-Workout drinking, if the stars aligned however, I could see this occuring. With that being, lets take the time to address this head on with some science.
Over the last few years, I've spent quite a bit of time trying to unscramble
the post-workout puzzle in my own mind. And as a result of my research, I've
discovered that immediately after a single bout of exercise, three main
physiological events must be manipulated for enhanced recovery. These changes
can only be described as "destructive" in terms of both training performance and
muscle protein balance.
Before I go on, I want you to keep in mind that by exercise I mean either
strength and power training or endurance training.. These three factors are as follows:
1. Glycogen Stores are low 2. Protein Breakdown is increased 3. Muscle Protein Balance is negative
It should be noted here that in addition to the above that Protein Synthesis also goes down after an endurance training session. And Protein Synthesis either goes up or remains unchanged after a strength training session. But either way, Protein Breakdown still predominates.
For those not well versed in physiological jargon, here's a little explanation of each:
Glycogen
Glycogen is muscle energy. Low glycogen stores mean that there's less cellular energy for daily life and certainly less energy for subsequent workouts. In this situation, training and performance suffer.
Protein Breakdown Protein Breakdown indicates that body tissues (which are made of protein) are being degraded. Increases in protein breakdown can lead to losses of muscle mass.
Muscle Protein Balance
Muscle Protein Balance is regulated by the balance between Protein Synthesis and Protein Breakdown in the following way:
Muscle Protein Balance
= Protein Synthesis - Protein Breakdown
Immediately after an endurance workout, protein synthesis (building) goes
down and protein breakdown goes up. This leads to a negative Muscle Protein
Balance and a loss of muscle.
And immediately after a strength workout, protein building either stays the
same or slightly goes up but protein breakdown goes way up. This also leads to a
negative Muscle Protein Balance and a loss of muscle.
As a result of these three post workout phenomena, a failure to rapidly bring
the body back into recovery mode (i.e., to increase glycogen stores, to
increase protein synthesis, and to prevent protein breakdown), has severeal
potential consequences:
Prolonged muscle soreness and fatigue.Poor subsequent performances on the track,
field, and/or in the gym. Symptoms of and or full-flegged staleness andovertraining. Minimal gains in muscle mass despite a
well-designed training program. Losses of muscle mass and a secondary
lowering of metabolic rate can occur if volume and intensity get high enough
Where Does Alcohol Fit into all of this?:
Alcohol is a toxin—a toxin that travels through your bloodstream to every organ and tissue in your body, thus slowing your body’s ability to heal itself.
Starting with sleep, alcohol causes your endocrine system to be
robbed of a precious chemical called “human growth hormone” or HGH. HGH is part of the normal muscle-building and repair process and the body’s way of telling itself your muscle needs to grow bigger and stronger. Alcohol, however, can decrease the secretion of HGH by as much as 70 percent! Also, when alcohol is in your body, the production of a substance in your liver is triggered that is directly toxic to testosterone, a hormone essential to the development and recovery of your muscles. Additionally, once alcohol is absorbed through your stomach and small intestine and finally into your cells, it can disrupt the water balance in muscle cells, thus altering their ability to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is your muscles’ source of energy. ATP provides the fuel necessary for your muscles to contract.
Conclusion:
I am NOT here to say you shouldnt drink. I drink on the weekends, I workout on the weekends too! However my main point here is to discuss nutrient timing.. Post any strength training event, you need to replace your body with proteins and high glycemic items, going from the gym to the bar, probably ranks high up there in the list of bad decisions, as alcohol has the ability to attach to the carbohydrate receptors, that should be recieving those high glycemic items as I had previously mentioned. Ill get more into nutrient timing in a subsequent post, but for now, Post-Workout, Ditch the alcohol, and have a protein shake, gatorade, after-glow, core-fuel, have a small meal, then par-take in your evening activities.
Hello again! In my initial posting, I briefly mentioned the injury which provided my initial set back. Below I am actually going to explain what it is, attach some diagrams, some pictures, and maybe a video if I can get you tube working right.
By definition - Microfracture surgery is an articular cartilage repair surgical technique that works by creating tiny fractures in the underlying bone. This causes new cartilage to develop from a so-called super-clot. Microfracture surgery has gained popularity in sports in recent years; numerous professional athletes elected to have the procedure done.
The surgery was developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s by Dr. Richard Steadman of the Steadman-Hawkins clinic in Vail, Colorado. Steadman slowly refined the procedure through research (including tests on horses).The surgery was soon called "controversial" by many sportswriters , due to a lack of studies on the long-term effects and the fact that an unsuccessful surgery could end an athlete's career. Dr. Steadman has also adapted the surgery into a treatment to help reattach torn ligaments (a technique he calls the "healing response")
The surgery is performed by arthroscopy, after the joint is cleaned of calcified cartilage. Through use of an awl, the surgeon creates tiny fractures in the subchondral bone plate.Blood and bone marrow (which contains stem cells) seep out of the fractures, creating a blood clot that releases cartilage-building cells. The microfractures are treated as an injury by the body, which is why the surgery results in new, replacement cartilage. The procedure is less effective in treating older patients, overweight patients, or a cartilage lesion larger than 2.5 cm.
Further on, chances are high that after only 1 or 2 years of the surgery symptoms start to return as the fibrocartilage wears away, forcing the patient to reengage in articular cartilage repair.
The effectiveness of cartilage growth after microfracture surgery is thought to be dependent on the patient's bone marrow stem cell population and some think increasing the number of stem cells increases the chances of success. A couple of physicians are promoting an alternative treatment implanting autologous mesenchymal stem cells directly into the cartilage defect, without having to penetrate the subchondral bone
There have been many notable professional athletes who have undergone the procedure. Partially because of the high level of stress placed on the knees by these athletes, the surgery is not a panacea and results have been mixed. Many players' careers effectively end despite the surgery. However, some players such as Jason Kidd, Steve Yzerman, John Stockton, Kenyon Martin and Zach Randolph have been able to return at or near their pre-surgery form while players Ron Harper, Brian Grant, Chris Webber, Allan Houston, Penny Hardaway, and the late Derek Smith never regained their old form. Others such as Jamal Mashburn and Terrell Brandon never recovered and retired.
Portland Trail Blazers rookie Greg Oden underwent the procedure on his right knee in early September 2007 and missed the entire 2007-2008 NBA season. At only 19 at the time of the surgery, doctors were confident that he would return to at or near full strength by the 2008-2009 season; he had a second microfracture surgery, this time on his left knee, in November 2010. Oden is once again expected to miss most of the 2011-2012 season after missing the previous season due to knee issues. The Atlanta Hawks player, Tracy McGrady also underwent microfracture surgery, doctors were confident that the 2 time scoring champion will return to full strength. As of 2012 he has not had the same speed and jumping ability as he formerly did.
In October 2005, young star Amar'e Stoudemire of the NBA's Phoenix Suns underwent one of the highest-profile microfracture surgeries to date. He returned to the court in March 2006 and initially appeared to have made a full recovery, but subsequently started feeling stiffness in both knees (his right knee had been overcompensating for the injured left knee). He and the team doctor decided he needed more time to rehab and he did not return until the 2006-2007 NBA season .During the 2006-2007 season, Stoudemire returned to form, averaging 20.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game while playing in all 82 regular-season games and the 2007 NBA All-Star Game. His recent success has brought positive publicity to the procedure, further distancing it from a previous reputation as a possible "career death sentence" in the sports world, though he was one of the youngest of the aforementioned players to undergo the surgery.
In June 2010, Grady Sizemore of the Cleveland Indians underwent microfracture surgery after injuring his left knee while diving back to first base earlier in the season. Sizemore was re-activated as the Indians center fielder in April 2011, ending an 11-month stretch of being disabled due to his injury. In his first game back on April 17, 2011 Sizemore showed no signs of slowing down as he had 2 hits in 4 AB which included a double and Home Run. Currently, Sizemore is the only player in MLB history to come back from knee microfracture surgery and play centerfield.
One study has shown a success rate of 75 to 80 percent among patients 45 years of age or younger.[ It is an outpatient procedure and causes only small discomfort. The harder part is the restrictions that are placed on the patient during the post-operative recovery period. This can be a major challenge for many patients. For optimal re-growth of joint surface, the patients need to be very patient and also extremely cooperative. They usually need to be on crutches for four to six weeks (sometimes longer). Sometimes a brace is needed. This all depends on the size and/or location of the joint surface defect that is being repaired or regenerated. The patients are encouraged to spend approximately 6–8 hours a day on a CPM (Continuous Passive Motion) machine that helps with optimal re-growth of joint surface. The procedure is so painless that some patients avoid these critically important steps and expose the knee to physical activity before the joint fully heals.
Steadman cites the significance of a patient's natural joint alignment in addition to disciplined rehabilitation in recovery from the procedure.
Below is a photo detailing what actually was wrong, which caused me to have to undergo the procedure.
What you are looking at in the above photo is an image during the surgery of my Lateral Femoral Condyle . As you can see there, it basically looks like someone took a golf club to the cartilage in this particular area.. This is considered Grade 4 Osteo-Arthritis (where the bone is showing).
The Left Image details the "hanging cartilage" which was causing all the pain and swelling in my knee in the events leading up to the surgery.
Above is a video detailing the actual process involved in performing the actual procedure. It is difficult to watch, especially when you are on an operating room table, seeing it live time.
Post Microfracture Surgery : Rehabilitation & Coping
Getting the actual procedure done was 1/10th of the battle, literally..... From Day 0 until 6 weeks out, I was on crutches with no ground contact. Your knee is strapped into a Continuous Passive Motion Machine (CPM) at least 8 hours a day... I elected to do this during my sleeping hours (it would annoy me from time to time), but otherwise I was ok... The actual CPM process was not elective, you had to get it done, otherwise the knee would lock up due to scar tissue.
0 hour - Post OP.. Put my GRT patch on my knee to remind myself why I do what I do.
36 Hours POST OP - Couch Ridden, and knee in the actual CPM unit. Swelling and all.
Post Op recovery was probably the largest test of mental fortitude that I have displayed to date.. I can honestly say I wouldn't have made it as far as I did without some support from some unexpected people.
The First Week Post Op I layed on the couch, and occasionally drove places (with my opposing good leg acting as gas/brake), regretting the decision to have the procedure done.. I was absolutely miserable. Below you will see a photo of my 800meter run time the day before surgery.
Yep 2 minutes and 50 seconds for a 1/2 mile, with an injured leg.
Days progressed into weeks, and weeks progressed into regrets.. I was hemorrhaging muscle mass & strength, barely able to perform upper body maintenance workouts.
It wasn't until graduation day (as my sports med doc called it), when I shed the crutches, I made tracks for the gym, slowly but I did, I think I spent 3 hours at the local ymca that night... pedaling a bike, 26 minutes for a mile, at Level 1 intensity... The elderly man, with extensive arthritis was passing me by, but you know what.. It was a small victory.
In the weeks pursuant to getting rid of the crutches, rehab continued, CPM use continued, Daily Bicycling continued, and any possible rehab was done.... Rehab Rehab Rehab, if you are as unfortunate as I was in this procedure, please follow the rehab, its made the world of difference... You may not think it at the time, as trust me, I was as disgruntled as any, but it worked out in the end. Its mid January, and with my Bledsoe brace on, I am able to do just about everything up to a run... Squatting is pathetic right now for me, but the weight will come... I check my Ego at the door to the gym, and today I give thanks for what I have... Not what I've lost. Thank you..
