Building Muscle... No Pain, No Gain?

We have been accused of interfering with our Warrior's ability to go up and down stairs, of making it necessary to choose the handicap bathroom stall for need of a handrail, and of interfering with other activities that we won't mention in the blog.  But all joking aside, is post-workout muscle soreness, also know as delayed onset muscle soreness ( DOMS) necessary to build muscle and strength?  The answer, as always, is not a straight forward yes or no.

DOMS, which is usually at its strongest 24 to 72 hours after activity, is caused when exercise is intense enough to cause damage to the muscle components.  Our bodies respond to this damage with inflammation and we feel pain and stiffness.  All of that can sound very detrimental but inflammation is how the body heals the muscle tissue and promotes muscle growth.

As a part of the muscle repair process our bodies release inflammatory chemicals called cytokines.  The presence of these chemicals in muscle tissue stimulates the free nerve endings in the area which in turn causes pain.  But the cytokines are a necessary part of muscle repair as they help to activate satellite cells which grow into healthy new muscle tissue.  This is how we attain hypertrophy or muscle growth.  Without this inflammatory process our muscles will not adapt to an exercise and will not undergo increases in size and strength.

So now you have worked your quads hard enough that you are not wanting to drink as many fluids so you won't have to visit the handicap stall as frequently.  It seems like now is a good time to take an anti-inflammatory to speed up the healing.  Not so fast!  True, the anti-inflammatory medication will block the production of cytokines in your body and decrease your pain, but blocking the release of these chemicals will also prevent the activation of satellite cells.  Remember those satellite cells?  They are responsible for muscle repair and growth.  If you block their activation, there will be no increases in muscular growth and strength.

Muscle soreness after an intense workout is normal and should be allowed to run its course.  But are there things you can do to decrease the intensity and duration of DOMS without negating the benefits of your hard work?  An easy walk or gentle stretching will help promote blood flow and can aid in the healing process.  Proper nutrition is also important.  Soon after an intense workout be sure to consume a snack or meal containing both carbohydrates and proteins.  Post workout is the best time to consume simple carbs as they will be put to work immediately in your body's repair process.

So does every workout need to produce muscle soreness to be effective?  Absolutely not!  In fact, working to the point of significant muscle soreness on a consistent basis could be counter-productive and lead to injury.  And while a small to moderate amount of soreness will stimulate muscle growth, working to the point of extreme soreness will prevent further exercise until healing takes place and can also result in rhabdomyolysis.  Rhabdomyolysis is the breakdown of muscle tissue that leads to the release of muscle fiber contents into the blood. These substances are harmful to the kidneys and often cause kidney damage.  Uncle Rhabdo, as the condition has been termed, has a reputation for being linked to CrossFit. 

There are many ways that our bodies become stronger and muscle hypertrophy is only one of them.  With consistent training our bodies also adapt to feeling no pain with low levels of inflammation post-workout.  We also see improvement in strength through neuromuscular adaptations.  As always, balance and variety in training is important.

Bio of a Warrior: Scott E.

Perhaps you recognize this Metabolic Warrior? Many of our superheros have gone on to successful careers doing what they love...flying around in spandex, climbing buildings in spandex, moving at lightening speed in spandex and oh yeah, there is the one guy who chose to wear 'cutoffs' instead, he has a little anger management problem but generally does okay by the general public.  Some of you are already wearing spandex, you are well on your way.

Scott E. became a Metabolic Warrior 4 years ago this month.  He is an original member.   Scott's dedication to his health and fitness makes him our next bio highlight. Our interview with him follows...

-Scott Etchberger, Human Resource Aficionado and former Hershey's Manager (yes as in chocolate). Still loves Hershey's chocolate...psst...he still visits there too so you might want to buddy up to him.:)

Age-53 years old 

Fitness History- High School Sports. Continued to use gyms wherever I worked or lived.

Why did you choose Metabolic SMART FITNESS? I wanted more structure and guidance in my fitness routine. 

What benefits have you gained? I have increased my strength, stamina and lost weight. Annual medical checkups have gone from borderline problems to great health. Good cholesterol counts and blood pressure are just a couple. I have also met great people and formed new friendships (Jackie rocks!). I have the power of a healthy mindset. I believe I am a Metabolic Warrior and it has helped me push through health scares.

What keeps you going with your Metabolic Fitness? My trainers' overwhelming knowledge and expertise regarding a healthy lifestyle. Also, the variety of exercises you come up with all of the time in all aspects of my fitness routine-metabolic, RIP training, and specialized workouts in the gym.

What hurdles have you had to overcome to succeed in your fitness? Reminding myself that results do not happen overnight but they will happen with steady and consistent dedication.

Outside of Metabolic you do gym workouts, some running, obstacle course workouts and dog walking. What keeps you motivated to stay so active? I remind myself of what can happen if I don't make it a priority.

What message would you like to share with our readers? I like the person I have become (psst...does he mean Superman?) because of Smart Fitness. They have helped me change the way I look and feel about myself, it doesn't get better than that! Don't just think outside the box when it comes to your health and fitness lifestyle.  Get rid of the box and Smart Fitness will help you do that!

Thank you Scott for your words of encouragement and more so for your stellar example of an active lifestyle!

Creatures of Habit

 

Every gym has them.  They are the members who have been going consistently, five days a week, month after month, year after year.  And you easily recognize them because they look the same, day after day, month after month,  year after year.  And by the same, I mean they still haven't lost the weight they set out to lose or achieved the muscle definition they wanted.  I'll bet you even know what they are going to do for their workout; walk on the treadmill at a steady state for 30 minutes, do the ab cruncher, stretch their calf muscles and hit the shower.  They look the same because their routine is the same.

As Metabolic Warriors you know the importance of variety in your workout routine in order to get results.  As your Trainers we certainly know the importance of changing up your workouts, and yet when we go to do our own workouts we sometimes have to fight the tendency to be creatures of habit and settle into the same old exercises.  It takes some planning and thought to change things up and it often just feels easier to keep on doing what we have been doing.  But if you want to achieve something different, you have to do something different.

The good news is that if you are one of our Warriors you are getting a varied strength and cardio workout when you attend training.  But if you are supplementing your Metabolic Training with other cardio or strength training make sure you get the most out of it by changing things up on a regular basis. 

Some simple ideas for changing up your workouts:
Increase the ramp incline and resistance on the elliptical for a steady climb workout
Decrease the ramp incline on the elliptical and do intervals
Shorten your treadmill workout and go faster
Add speed walk intervals when walking your dog
Power hike the hills on your hike and recover on the flats and downhills
Do dumbbell presses instead of barbell presses
Do diamond or offset push ups instead of regular push ups
Do slow motion or negative emphasis reps in full range of motion instead of regular speed reps
Vary the number of reps and sets for your exercises

Our bodies very quickly adapt to the exercises or activities that we do by becoming stronger and more efficient with the movement.  That is good news when we are training for an athletic event where the goal is to become stronger and/or faster.  But as we become stronger and more efficient with an activity our bodies don't have to work as hard and they burn fewer calories.  This is when we hit those dreaded plateaus.  If our goal is to progress beyond where we currently are, we need to change the way we are working our body.  Even small changes challenge our bodies in different ways.  A perfect example is the 10 minute strength sequence we are doing in our workouts this month.  We have done countless push ups, rows, bicep curls, and triceps extensions.  Yet, when we do them in a different format we find them very challenging and our bodies respond by becoming stronger.  Remember one of our favorite sayings, "If it doesn't challenge you it doesn't change you."