Activating the Right Muscles….

Recently I read a post addressing how to work the rotator cuff muscles.  The Author stated, with much confidence and authority, that when you are performing standing horizontal external rotation, in hopes of training the teres minor muscle group, you are in fact NOT training them.  You are likely training the rear deltoids, as they have a greater mechanical advantage in that position and in fact are designed to move the shoulder in that manner.  The teres minor (one of the four rotator cuff muscles) cannot be trained (according to the author), they are there for support, and you can’t make them stronger.  I am not going to comment on the accuracy or wisdom of that post but I will admit I did “like” it and thank the author for bringing up a rarely addressed point.  That is, we are not in charge of exactly which muscles are active in any given motion.  The part of the brain that says “I am working my rotator cuff muscles” IS NOT the same part of the brain that is in charge of actually getting those muscles to move (the cerebellum, motor cortex, and others).  In fact, much of the time, what we picture as “the brain”, isn’t directly involved in activating muscles at all.  Sometimes, a sensory nerve, (one in your foot), is stimulated by an external factor (perhaps you are stepping on a tack) and sends a direct signal to the motor nerves.  Said motor nerves immediately send a signal down to the leg muscles (Abort! Abort! Pull back!!), causing you to pull your foot back to avoid putting full bodyweight onto that tack.  Simultaneously, other parts of this “reflex arc”, called interneurons, also send a signal (like a memo) up to the brain, letting it know what happened (yes, this really happens).  Hence, even though the foot pulled away, the tack still partially stuck and pain occurred, the movement was not initiated consciously.   The brain will file that “memo”, which will influence how we behave around tacks going forward.

Different parts of the nervous system, depending on what the task at hand is, the external environment, and the internal wiring of our bodies all play a role in activating muscle.  That’s why, strength coaches, when working with athletes, often prescribe exercises based on planes of movement, or by important movements identified in that athlete’s sport.  Take a forehand ground stroke in tennis.  To get into position, I will have to shuffle to one side (lateral movement, frontal plane), get my racquet back and then accelerate the racquet head through the ball (transverse plane).  If the ball comes in low, I will crouch down in a quasi lunge (sagital plane) as I swing to make sure my return clears the net.  I am not consciously thinking about which muscles to activate as I perform, I’m thinking about getting the ball back, preferably where my opponent isn’t.  I am using practiced motions to do that.  If I want to strengthen the muscles involved in these motions (whichever ones they are), my training program needs to include exercises in all three of these planes, similar to the forehand motion.  My program shouldn’t attempt to pick out a few muscles that I happen to know the names of (ooh, my rhomboids) and do exercises that I think are working them (multi-retro scaption).

Now, before anyone flies off the handle in contention, we ARE in charge of which exercise we are performing.  We can choose an exercise that involves a certain muscle group.  We also can adjust the angle of the resistance, our body position, the load, rest period, and volume.  Some folks even like to consciously “squeeze” muscle groups at certain points as they move through the exercise to help bring about a specific effect.  I am not validating the practice of “conscious squeezing” during exercise, just saying we can do it.

So, in summary, muscle groups simply do not work in isolation.  It doesn’t matter what muscle group we want to work, all of the ones that are necessary for the movement will work (in healthy people).  Laboratory tools such as magnetic resonance imaging and techniques such as (electromyography) have been aiding sports scientists in learning exactly what muscles are being used in a given action.  This remains an active area of research in sports science.  Current publications continue to address exactly which muscles are firing and to what degree in common exercises, such as the sit up.

For now, I leave you with the following points:

1. The muscle(s) being worked in a given action are determined by multiple factors, none of which include what we are vocalizing.
2. Analyzing the specific actions of a sport and prescribing exercises that mimic these actions are a useful way to assure the right muscles are getting stimulated.
3. Muscles do not work in isolation; they work synergistically and antagonistically with other muscle groups.
4. Keep an open mind, there is still more to learn about even the most common exercises.

Hope this helps and thanks for reading!

P.S. As far as I know, I made up the term “multi-retro scaption”

Maximal Aerobic Capacity vs Anaerobic Threshold, Which is Most Important for an Endurance Athlete?

Maximal oxygen uptake, often abbreviated as VO2max (there is supposed to be a dot over the V, signifying volume-rate), the O2 is the chemical symbol for oxygen, so we have the maximal amount of oxygen the body can use during physical exertion.  At a chemical level, what is actually happening during physical exertion, the O2, along with high energy phosphates, generates adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, the fuel for all cellular activity, and what cells require in abundance during exercise.  ATP can be generated without O2 as well but must incur a chemical “debt” to do so.  The debt is repaid later, with O2.  Oxidative generation of ATP predominates during activities of continuous, long duration exercise activity, such as cycling and running.  Hence VO2max is an important and useful measure of performance for endurance athletes.  Improving VO2max, in general, translates to performance improvements.  This is not necessarily true for “anaerobic sports”, where the exertion varies between light, moderate, and vigorous, such as soccer, or baseball.

Anaerobic threshold (AT) represents the point of metabolic acidosis, the point where aerobic metabolism no longer sustains the level of exertion.  Lactate threshold, though not exactly the same thing as AT, is often used interchangeably with AT.  For the purpose of this post, I will use AT.  Physical exertion at or above the AT cannot be maintained for long (<3 minutes).  Endurance athletes generally want to limit work at these levels because they cannot be sustained, alternatively saving them for that final “kick” when approaching the finish line.  So for maximum performance an endurance athlete would like to pace him or herself just below their AT.  For this reason many coaches and athletes argue AT is the most important variable to train.  AT typically occurs at 55% of an individual’s VO2max, in highly trained athletes, AT can “shift” up to 80% or higher of the athlete’s VO2max.

Both VO2max and AT can be improved with training, though the type of training differs.  So, now the $64,000 question, as an endurance athlete, which of the two is most important to focus on?  The answer (drum roll) is… it depends.  Below is a fun chart showing norms for VO2max by age and sex.

Maximal oxygen uptake norms for men (ml/kg/min)

Age (years)

rating                           18-25   26-35   36-45   46-55   56-65   65+

excellent                      > 60     > 56     > 51     > 45     > 41     > 37

good                            52-60   49-56   43-51   39-45   36-41   33-37

above average             47-51   43-48   39-42   36-38   32-35   29-32

average                        42-46   40-42   35-38   32-35   30-31   26-28

below average             37-41   35-39   31-34   29-31   26-29   22-25

poor                             30-36   30-34   26-30   25-28   22-25   20-21

very poor                     < 30     < 30     < 26     < 25     < 22     < 20

Maximal oxygen uptake norms for women (ml/kg/min)

Age (years)

rating                           18-25   26-35   36-45   46-55   56-65   65+

excellent                      > 56     > 52     > 45     > 40     > 37     > 32

good                            47-56   45-52   38-45   34-40   32-37   28-32

above average             42-46   39-44   34-37   31-33   28-31   25-27

average                        38-41   35-38   31-33   28-30   25-27   22-24

below average             33-37   31-34   27-30   25-27   22-24   19-21

poor                             28-32   26-30   22-26   20-24   18-21   17-18

very poor                     < 28     < 26     < 22     < 20     < 18     < 17

If you are an endurance athlete and your VO2max is less than excellent, then I would focus my training on improving it.  It is not unusual to see a 15% increase in less than 3 months.  If you are an elite endurance athlete, you can expect slow, minute gains.  If your VO2max is at least in the excellent category, farther increases will be small.  In that case, I recommend a focus on improving AT.

Without access to an exercise lab, VO2max and AT are tough to determine.  VO2max can be estimated with a variety of different submaximal tests, many can be administered at a fitness/wellness facility.  AT is estimated through multiple finger pricks taken while exercising at a high level, not usually administered at a fitness facility, though an athletic performance facility may do this, and there are portable devices that provide reasonable accuracy as well.  Rough estimates of AT can also be gained while monitoring heart rate during a vigorous exercise session.  A topic for a later post.

Hope this helps and thanks for reading!

The Updated Definition of Agility

We once defined the term “agility” as the ability to change direction quickly.  So if I were agile, I would be noted for my ability to stop abruptly, shift my center of gravity, and continue in a different direction, which is useful in many sports.  When we test agility in athletes, we have them run a pre-planned route, usually around some cones, and/or between lines, while being timed.  The faster the athlete runs the course, properly touching the cones, or lines, the more agile, and presumably, more successful they will be in competition.  The problem is when playing or competing, the athlete generally does not know exactly what pattern he or she will be pursuing.  This is generally dictated by the opponent, or the ball.  For example, its useful for basketball players to be change directly laterally, quickly, as that is what happens when defending against a player dribbling or passing the ball.  However, the dribbling player will not be moving in a predictable pattern (hopefully), so in order to play proper defense, the defender will need to process what he or she sees, then react to the dribbler.  This differs from simply moving quickly without having to react.  Another example, the baseball infielder, depending on where the ball is hit, must also process then react to field the ball.  So during competition the athlete must be aware, process what they see, then react accordingly.  Thus a cognitive component is present and serves as the indicator or impulse to the actual movement to change direction.  This concenpt has stimulated an update to the traditional definition of agility.

Agility is now defined as the ability to repaidly change direction in response to a stimulus.  Indeed it has now become a priority in many human performance labs and sports facilities (such as here and here) to test what is called reactive agility.  The traditional agility testing, now termed change of direction, or COD, has been demoted to a test of less importance, some eschewing COD testing completely in favor of reactive agility (such as here).  Reactive agility is assessed in athletes via coaches giving directional signals to an athlete while they are running, to blinking light devices that dictate when to move, to having athletes respond to mock opponents shown on a large screen mimicking a competitive situation.   With more exercise labs examining reactive agility, evidence that reactive agility can be improved through training is still sparse.  Physical tests that use reactive agility to differentiate between “A” players from “B” players however, is emerging.  I admit, I am bothered by the demotion of COD, and in turn, agility testing.  Even if reactive agility turns out to be trainable, it is still only half of the equation.  Regardless of how long it takes the athlete to process and form an impulse, they still then must execute the actual COD, which can be trained, improved, and properly assessed.

Eschewing traditional tests such as the 20 yard shuttle and the T-test, in favor of blinking lights may be “impulsive” (no pun intended).  Additonally, whenever we add a cognitive component, we increase complexity of training and testing exponentially. As a coach, I can observe an athlete moving, and assess their gait, posture, form, and help them improve but it is more difficult to see what is going on inside his or her head prior to the impulse.  Thus, difficult to apply specificity to the training regimen, as well as overload, cornerstones of a progressive training program.  If we cannot properly apply the principles of training to improve reactive agility, it is certainly not worth having athletes spend significant amounts of time on, in spite of how fashionable it is.

To summarize, agility is now broken down into two components, a cognitive component, termed reactive agility and COD ability.  COD is the traditional component, we have valid assessments and ways to apply training principles (specificity, overload, etc) to help athletes improve it.  Reactive agility is currently more fashionable and though some recent assessments do show utility, the ability to program for improvement is questionable.  I recommend caution in putting significant time and resources into reactive agility assessment, in place of that for COD in athletes who compete in environments that demand quick changes of direction.

Hope this helps and thanks for reading!

Five exercises to include in your baseball specific exercise training plan

Baseball requires athletes to go from a “ready” position, whether in the batter’s box, the pitcher’s mound, infield, or outfield, to full on explosive movement.   Which means quickly generating maximal power in all three planes of movement (transverse, frontal, sagittal), for example twisting (swinging a bat, throwing), moving laterally, (getting in front of a ground ball), and sprinting (running the bases).  Baseball players must also be agile in order to position themselves to field the ball as well as stay alive when on base.  The shoulders, elbows, lower back, and knees of a baseball player must be able to withstand frequent throwing, swinging, running, and squatting (catchers), respectively.  For a baseball athlete to prepare for competition, and/or even improve baseball-specific athletic performance, a baseball-specific exercise training plan is pretty much mandatory.  That goes for baseball athletes of all levels, not just college and pro, after all, even the once-a-week recreational league player must be able to swing, run, and field at full speed.  Because the specific needs of each athlete varies based on training experience, injury history, age, and ability, I always recommend a customized exercise program, however, below are five exercises helpful for nearly all healthy baseball athletes.

Multi-direction barbell lunge – Here we are talking about lunging, not only forward but also diagonally, laterally, backward (aka reverse lunge), as well as the reverse cross-over lunge.  These movements support and strengthen the muscles involved in running, swinging, throwing.  Additionally, the “push off” movement of the lunge (moving back to the start position) partially mimics the stop and change of direction of a baserunner who after rounding a base, must quickly stop and get back.  Include these in your preparation for spring training (think December through early March).  Multi-directional lunges are also good for maintenance of lower body strength, so for baseball players playing/practicing less than 3x per week, these can be included in an in-season maintenance plan.

Wood chop –  Great exercise to strengthen muscles used in swinging the bat, as well as throwing.  Some variations to consider, high to low, low to high, or kneeling.  As with the lunges (above) these are best in preparation for spring training, and during the season if you are playing/practicing less than 3 times per week.  If you are playing 3 or more times per week, consider keeping them in once or twice a week, but opposite of your normal swing (so for a right handed batter, wood chops from left to right).

Lateral jump(s) – these are plyometric exercises, they require a quick jump to the side from a ready position.  We often see this one performed in succession using barriers to hop over.  However, they also work well one at a time, jumping maximally, returning to the ready position and repeating after a 10 second rest.  The idea is to develop that quick first step, good for base runners and infielders.  Additionally, helping generate additional force from the lower body when throwing.  Once again, these are best for that pre-season prep.  This is an intermediate level exercise, so be sure you have been strength training for at least six months before including these.  No need to do these too frequently, including them once or twice a week is probably enough.

Forearms – Okay, “forearms” isn’t an exercise, but wrist extension, wrist flexion, ulnar deviation, radial deviation, forearm pronation, and supination are all valid forearm strengtheners.  Why include these?  Two reasons, the first, some research has shown an association with forearm strength and improved bat speed and/or hitting power.  The second reason, well developed (strong!) forearms protect the elbow joint.  Pick two or three from above, or rotate between all of them,  include in the off season, you can do them in season but keep it to once a week.

Single arm chest press – These can be performed on a standard bench with a dumbbell, or standing with a cable pulley (harder to limit torso rotation but more functional).  This exercise strengthens arm and chest but also involves muscles in the torso and back much in the same way as when we are throwing, and, to a lesser extent,  swinging a bat.  Like the wood chops, these are best in preseason prep, but also can be used in season once, maybe twice a week focusing more on the non-dominant side (non-throwing).

There are many more great baseball-specific exercises, I chose these because of their ease of use, small requirement for equipment, and balance of upper body, trunk, and lower body.

Hope this helps and thanks for reading!

7 ways to increase the chances acquiring an injury in sports

There are generally 7 major contributors to non-contact injuries acquired performing sporting like activities.   They are, in no particular order:  Age, injury history, improper warm-up, poor flexibility, posture, muscle strength imbalance and fatigue.  Two are these contributors (age and injury history) are non-modifiable, meaning, nothing can be done to change or alter them.  We cannot change our age, we can only get older; we cannot change our injury history, if I pulled my hamstring muscles during soccer practice last season, nothing can undo that now.

1. So how does age contribute to injury?  The older the athlete, the greater change of incurring a soft tissue injury.  The cut-off appears to lie somewhere around 23-25 years old (Yeah I know, that’s not old).  So once an athlete hits their mid twenties, regardless of how fit or conditioned they are, all things being equal, their injury risk will be higher then that of their younger counterparts.

2. Secondly, injury-history, previous injury to a joint or muscle automatically increases chances of re-injury.  That hypothetical hamstring injury I mentioned earlier, regardless of how diligently I rehabilitate it, my chances of re-injuring my hamstring muscles are higher than if I had never injured them.  Same story with ankle sprains, those with previous sprains are at higher risk of recurrence. The other aforementioned contributors to injury (improper warm-up, poor flexibility, posture, muscle/strength imbalance and fatigue,) are modifiable, meaning if addressed properly, their contribution to injury can be lessened or possibly eliminated.

3.  I can choose to warm-up properly prior to engaging in sporting activity, or I can ignore it, my choice.  Warming up improperly (which includes NOT warming up at all) increases chances of acquiring an injury.  Briefly, here’s the recommendation from the American College of Sports Medicine:  5-10 minutes of walking, slow jogging, or stationary cycling, followed by dynamic stretches that mimic the movements the athlete will be doing during the workout or competition.  Static stretching may be an option for some, power oriented sports participants beware (see my previous blog on this topic here).

4.  Posture, poor lumbar posture contributes to hamstring injury,  postural defects in the knees and feet have been found to contribute to overuse injuries in the lower extremities. 

5.  Poor flexibility can contribute to poor movement patterns, limited range of motion which contributes to injury.  For example, tight hip flexors can contribute to spinal injury during a bench press, as well as hamstring injury during sprinting.  

6.  Muscle imbalance, or a the inability of a muscle to absorb or withstand the forces generated by an opposing muscle at the same joint.  The agonist muscle generates force at a joint, while the antagonist muscle must contract eccentrically to slow down or “brake” the moving limb to prevent damage to the joint.  Examples include – sprinting, hamstrings must be able to withstand forces generated by the quadriceps and hip flexors, throwing, elbow flexors (antagonist) must withstand forces generated by elbow extensors (the agonist).  If the antagonist muscle cannot slow the movement down at the end of the action, injury ensues.  So muscles working in opposition must achieve a specific balance of strength and flexibility.  An imbalance is also used to describe a difference (usually >10%) in flexibility or strength among bilateral muscle groups (for example, muscles in the left leg compared to the same ones in the right leg).  When a single limb is considerably stronger than the contralateral (the other side), then risk for injury in the weaker limb increases.   

7.  Finally, fatigue.  Studies looking at leg injuries in soccer players find increased occurrences of muscle strains in lower extremities in the second half of a soccer match compared to the first half. This implicates fatigue is a contributor to these injuries.  Additionally, proper form, technique and mental focus can all be negatively affected by fatigued muscles.  A sport specific athletic performance assessment and/or a general fitness assessment can often identify asymmetry between opposing muscle groups, as well as postural deficits in hips, knees, and ankles. 

Now for the take home lessons:

• Always, always perform a proper warm up prior to sporting activity.
• Consider an appropriate physical assessment to identify muscle/strength imbalances, prior to training and competing.
• Be sure flexibility and core strength are getting attention in your training plan.
• Finally, the importance of proper training and conditioning before participation in competitive sports cannot be overstated.  While, for some a sport specific exercise training plan can mean training for weeks or months before participation in an actual competition, it is well worth it in the long run.

Hope this helps and thanks for reading!

When is it okay to perform static stretching?

Static stretching is when an individual muscle is stretched to its end point and held for 15-60 seconds.  There is a long list of different stretches, many for each muscle group.  Static stretching can increase muscle flexibility and joint range of motion.

Few debate that maintaining, in some cases improving flexibility is beneficial to athletic performance.  Fewer still would argue that static stretching is a good way to accomplish it.  The debate begins when we direct people to stretch prior to a workout or competition.  Muscles stretched statically will remain “slack” where stiffness (or more accurately, muscle “recoil”) is reduced for up to an hour or more after an acute increase in flexibility.  Purportedly, this negatively affects the muscles force producing ability, as moments during contraction are wasted “taking up slack” before contributing to force production.  There is an abundance of support in the scientific literature for this belief.  Additionally, this muscle may also be more susceptible to soft tissue injury; primarily in “explosive” sports (i.e. those requiring high amounts of speed or strength quickly, as in sprinting, jumping, and striking).

Other theories on why or how force production from stretched muscles is impaired included tissue damage from the stretching and neural inhibition.  We won’t get into the details of these here but understand that these are viable theories with support in the scientific literature, though the exact reason for diminished force production is not fully understood.  Nonetheless, even at the professional level, we still see athletes performing elaborate static stretching routines prior to practice and competition.  The longstanding belief is that the stretching will help reduce the risk of a “pulled” muscle.  However, evidence is mounting that the opposite may occur.  For example:  An athlete, in order to reduce injury and loosen up before a game, performs a stretch for his hamstrings 3x for 30s on each leg.  According to the aforementioned theory, this athlete’s hamstrings will be “slack” for the next hour or so encompassing the competition where inevitability, this athlete will be called up to run or sprint at maximal speed.  The braking effect of the hamstrings (a necessary and normal effect which occurs during sprinting), heavily dependent upon the stiffness of the hamstrings, will be diminished.  With this decrease in force generation the hamstrings must also withstand high velocity forces from quadriceps and hip flexors.  With impaired stiffness, this athlete is asking a lot, perhaps too much, from his hamstrings.  Chances the hamstrings will fail and an injury will occur are actually greater in this example.

To muddy the water a bit more, some research has shown that the detriment to muscle stiffness following acute static stretching can be ameliorated if it is immediately followed by 10 minutes or more of dynamic activity, such as running.  If farther research confirms this, it may not be helpful as many athletes simply do not have the time to warm-up, static stretch, and then do an additional session of dynamic activity, perhaps making this intervention unrealistic.  It does however, add more ammunition to the debate.  In addition to that, we have not addressed sporting activity that does not require high velocity or explosive actions.  In endurance sports, such as running, where most of the muscle force production is submaximal and occurs in mid-range of the joint (not extremes) static stretching immediately before competition appears to have little effect on performance or injury reduction.

Of course, after static stretching, muscles will return to their normal length, the time for this varies but can range from 15 minutes to over and hour.  With repeated stretching over time the length of the muscle increases.  In this case we observe the more desirable chronic adaptation, where the length is increased yet the decrements in force production do not occur.

So, with all that said, when should an athlete include static stretching in his or her routine?

1. For sports requiring large amounts of power and explosiveness, as most team sports (soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, football, hockey), save the static stretching for after the workout or competition.  Instead, simply focus on getting the muscles warm, including dynamic movements such as marching, jogging, hopping, running, twisting, and swinging or others that mimic game play.
2. For athletes performing strength workouts, it’s probably a good idea to do the same, limit static stretching until after the workout.  For a warm-up, some walking or jogging to get warm, then perform multi-joint strength exercises at a reduced intensity.
3. For endurance athletes, such as runners, static stretching before a race or practice does not appear detrimental to performance.  So if you are one of “those” athletes who go through a static stretching routine before a run, it seems you have nothing to fear, so continuing is probably fine.

Thanks for reading!

Is a general fitness battery useful for competitive athletes?

My answer: Definitely!  A general fitness battery usually consists of five physical assessments.  Each test assess, one of the five components of fitness, which are: body composition, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, muscle strength and muscle endurance.  One may also see assessments of balance and/or posture as well.

Examples of tests that assess the five major components of fitness are:

Cardiovascular endurance – King’s College step test, Rockport walk test, YMCA Submaximal bike test

Muscle strength – Grip strength test, 1RM leg press, 1RM chest press (each of these are generally estimated from a 3-5RM)

Muscle endurance – Push-up test, Canadian Trunk test, curl-up test, YMCA bench press test

Flexibility – Sit and reach, specific joint passive ROM assessment

Body composition – Skinfold measurement, Bioimpedence analysis (BIA)

These assessments are low-risk and appropriate for all healthy individuals.  I also like them because they have a lot of support in the scientific literature, meaning they have been tested on various populations and are valid (they test what they say they are testing) and reliable (repeated tests will provide similar scores).  I recommend assessing these components once a year, ideally following a training phase of active rest, prior to beginning a new preparation or pre-season training phase.  A general fitness assessment can provide useful insight into what the initial training phase should focus on.

Should an athlete do this instead of a more sport specific athletic testing battery?  The answer to that, it depends.  This is especially important if you are an athlete returning to competitive play after a long layoff.  Tests for power, agility, and speed, as well as exercises and drills to improve these attributes are often done at high velocity, and thus can be risky for the unprepared athlete.  Hence, athletes should be fit before taking on more advanced training.  For athletes who have been consistently training, many of the above mentioned tests are easily integrated into a sport-specific athletic testing battery (which, as mentioned in an earlier post, should be happening 3-4 times per year).  So once per year, the athlete could do an integrated test battery, and the other times stick with the sport specific athletic testing.

Depending on the training phase the athlete is entering, he/she should select tests that reflect the goals of that training phase. In the early training phase, weeks prior to the competition, the athlete should be focusing on general fitness components, which could be strength, cardiovascular endurance, or body composition.  In later training phases, still well prior to competition, transition into a more sport specific focus.  Thus it makes sense to do the general fitness testing initially, then use a more sport specific athletic testing battery to assess progress the later training phases.  Remember, the athlete should be relatively fit before undertaking a sport-specific training phase, which typically entails more complex and advanced routines.

In summary, a general fitness assessment can:

1. Assessing overall fitness can illuminate “holes” in the athlete’s training foundation.
2. Provide focus for early training phases
3. Allow for appropriate goal setting, especially in the early phases of the training program
4. Provide motivation
5. Serve as a stepping stone to more advanced testing and training

Thanks for reading

When do I eat that post workout snack?

Just how important is that post workout snack?  Is it necessary to eat it right after my workout, even before I shower?

Evidence shows us that during and following a workout, our bodies crank up the number of amino acid transporters (little taxis for small pieces of protein) on the surface of muscle cells, secondly, insulin sensitivity is increased, so muscles take in sugar and fat from the blood stream more readily, and finally, an increase in circulating anabolic (muscle building) hormones occurs.  Thus we have an environment favoring protein accretion and presumably muscle growth.  Ingesting dietary protein at this time is optimal as our bodies will preferably utilize recently ingested nutrients before taking from the free floating amino acid pool, or if that is exhausted, from storage.  Taking from “storage” of course is generally not preferable because it requires taking things apart to get at the necessary amino acids, or breaking down muscle, as that is one place amino acids are in abundance.  There is no consensus on exactly how much protein (the supplier of amino acids in our diet) is optimal following a resistance training workout but literature suggests .25g/kg bodyweight might work the best.

Of course protein is NOT nearly as important as refueling muscle glycogen (stored sugar, used by muscles), which, again, the literature varies but generally 1-2g/kg bodyweight as soon as possible following the workout (any type of workout, not just resistance training).  Additionally, ingesting carbohydrates with protein appears to aid with amino acid absorption.  Ideal carbohydrate to protein ratio in a post workout snack is 3-4:1.  Done deal right?  Everyone should have a post workout snack within an hour of the workout to optimize recovery, and muscle growth. Hold on, while all this is well supported in the scientific literature and appears to be true, there is another side to it.

Evidence also shows us that this “window” of opportunity, the hour following the workout, doesn’t just disappear after an hour.  The window gradually closes, remaining open to some degree up to six hours following the workout, in some cases, scientists find it remains open, though not as “wide” up to 24 hours.  Furthermore, athletes who fail to eat during the 1 hour “window” of opportunity but still consume enough calories to support their needs over a 24 hour period appear to make similar gains in muscle mass and performance to those athletes who consume protein and carbohydrates in the recommended amount during the “window” following their workout

Of course more work needs to be done to determine exactly what we ought to be doing but likely what we’ll find is some athletes, elite athletes perhaps, who pay close attention to nutrient timing will indeed gain that extra fraction of a benefit that is important at their level.  The rest of us are probably not going to suffer performance decrements so long as we are getting the right foods in the right amounts in the long run.  There is more to this picture, as the “speed” of absorption of the protein matters, the “quality” matters as well.  Ideally high quality (contains all amino acids in appropriate amounts, generally animal products, meat, dairy, eggs, fish, poultry), though adequate amounts can be taken from the right combinations of plant based foods as well, however, the speed of absorption may not be optimal.  I will talk more on this in a future post.  For now, the main messages are as follows:

For elite athletes, who are training more than once per day, have a snack immediately following your training session consisting of carbohydrates at 1g/kg bodyweight, and an amount of high quality fast digesting protein (whey is a good example of this) equal to .25g/kg bodyweight, then repeat in another hour.  This should be adequate to replenish muscle glycogen, and presumably stave off protein degradation, which will be necessary for performing the second training session.

For athletes who are trying to lose weight, or do not train multiple times per day, nutrient timing is not as important.  Simply make sure that you eat a regularly scheduled meal, such as lunch or dinner within a couple hours of the workout.  A normal meal, such as a turkey sub, salad, and juice will cover your nutritional needs from the workout just fine.  Your goal is to make sure that you are getting the calories you need over the whole day.

If you are not trying to lose weight, and are training hard, in fact, if you are trying to gain muscle mass, its probably a good idea to have a post workout snack, BUT adjust the rest of your meals accordingly, for gaining muscle mass, you only need an additional 300 kcal per day, anymore than that and the mass gained will not be muscle.

Hope this helps, thanks for reading!

RPE for Tracking Workout Intensity

Earlier, I spoke about stress management as an important concept to integrate to avoid overtraining.  Another way to make sure your energy well is full (or at least mostly full) is with a detailed training log.

If you keep a training log (you should, if you want to maximize your training), you likely jot down sets, reps, intensity, and/or time, among other things.  A training log can be a helpful tool because improvements, as well as performance decrements, can be identified over time.  In addition to these variables, I recommend adding rate of perceived exertion, or RPE to each set or interval in your routine.  RPE, of course, in its most understood and familiar version, the BORG RPE scale.  This version is strongly correlated with heart rate and is a well supported tool for gauging exercise intensity during steady state exercise.  Lately research has been growing in support of RPE as a way to gauge exercise intensity for intermittent activity, such as between sets when resistance training. The idea is, upon finishing a set, the individual gives a rating on a scale from 1-10.  That number represents the amount of effort it took to execute that set or interval.  Here’s the scale:

10 – maximal, nothing left

9 – Near maximal, maybe 1 rep left

8 – Hard, maybe 2 reps left

7 — Moderately hard

6 – Moderate, second warm up set, technique

1-5 – Technique practice

Mind you, this is a modified scale, the original BORG RPE scale, mentioned above, and in the link is a bit different.  You could use that one if you want to, for this post; we’ll stick with the one above.  Ideally, for resistance training, you want interset RPE to be 7, 8, or 9.  An RPE of 10 is too high, and an RPE below 7 is more appropriate for warm up or technique practice.  Here is an example of how RPE may be used in a resistance training session.  Below is an excerpt from my training log.  You can see the particular exercise (back squat), the prescribed volume (3 sets of 8 repetitions), how hard I should be working (RPE 7-8), and how much time to take between sets (3-4 minutes).  Then to the right there are boxes, each divided in half by a diagonal line, for each of the three sets.  In the top half of each box I recorded the weight, in pounds that I lifted, then in the bottom half I entered a number from the modified RPE scale, representing how hard the set was to complete;

Training log with RPE

So that 7, 7.5, and 8.5 in the bottom segment of the box under each set is my rating of the effort it took to complete the first, second, and third set, respectively.  It is not the amount of repetitions.  I don’t necessarily need to write that, I already know I am doing 8.  Now let’s have a look at an identical excerpt a week later:

Training log with RPE

I rated my effort at 8, 9, and 9 for the first, second, and third set, respectively.  The RPE I entered during this session are higher than the previous one, yet the weight I lifted was the same.  It’s evident that it I felt like it took more effort the second time to lift the same weight.  This revelation can be useful.  If my RPE continues to be high I may need to adjust my intensity or training volume.  I want RPE to be at a 7 or 8, as prescribed, pushing too hard could put me in a state of underperformance, one that wouldn’t be detected until I found myself days or weeks later lowering the amount of weight, which would be flagged as a performance decrement, or worse, a failure to adapt.  Thus tracking RPE is more telling; had I simply tracked repetitions (which likely wouldn’t have changed much from session to session), instead of RPE in my training log, I may not have questioned anything until it was too late.

Once I am done, I can also use RPE to rate the entire workout session.  This is called “session RPE” and it is useful, not only for monitoring effort but estimating workload.  I will get into that in more detail in a future post.

To summarize, if I am pushing to hard, I want to know before my performance suffers.  If I catch myself early, I can make adjustments to allow for recovery, if I do not, I run the risk of falling into a state of chronic underperformance, or worse, injury.  From there I could be looking at weeks or even months to get back to my original performance capacity.  Adding RPE to my training log is a simple and easy change that allows me to fine tune my training intensity and volume and thus have a positive impact on my performance.

Thanks for reading!

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An Athletic Performance Testing Battery Primer

An athletic performance test battery is a series of valid and reliable physical tests that assess important physiological components which are necessary to meet the demands of the sport.  For instance, the sport of basketball demands lower body explosive power (for jumping and accelerating),  ability to change direction rapidly, upper body strength (pulling down rebounds, shooting, passing), speed (fast break, getting back on defense), and anaerobic endurance (running/sprinting up and down the court repeatedly).  Thus a basketball-specific athletic test should include a specific test for each of these components.  Each specific test should be valid (it test what is designed to test) and reliable (repeated tests result in similar scores).  The order that each test is administered matters, the least fatiguing tests are performed early, saving the more fatiguing tests for last.   Adequate rest between trials and tests is important as well.  Test selection may also be influenced by availability of equipment and facilities, as well as the number of athletes being tested.  For example, a maximum bench press test is wonderful for assessing upper body strength and is appropriate for basketball players however; it is time intensive and requires specific equipment that is not portable, so testing an entire team would not be easy.  Grip strength can be measured quickly and easily with a hand-grip dynamometer, granted it’s not as sexy as a 1RM bench press test but it is a valid measure of upper body strength.  Since both the bench press and hand-grip dynamometer test strength, including both tests in one battery would be redundant, so pick one.  Finally, a proper warm up is a necessary component of an athletic testing battery, for both safety, as well as accurate results.

So to summarize an athletic performance test battery:

• includes a warm-up
• has specific tests appropriate for the athlete,
• avoids redundancy,
• has a specific test order, and
• allows adequate recovery between trials.

I also recommend a cessation of intense physical activity 48 hours prior to the test battery, once again for both safety and accuracy of testing data.

With that, here is a sample basketball specific test battery:

Grip strength assessment
Standing broad jump
Vertical jump
Medicine ball put
Hexagon test
Sprint test
T-test
Line drill (suicide drill)

Mind you, this is a sample test battery meant to reinforce the tenets discussed above; there are other possible and effective permutations.  Having said that, with this sample test battery we can see the test order goes from least fatiguing to most fatiguing and all the components are addressed (upper body strength, upper and lower body power, agility, speed, and anaerobic endurance).  Each of these tests has been validated in athletic populations and deemed reliable.  As a bonus, each test requires minimal equipment and can be easily administered to large or small groups.

An athletic performance test battery performed once, is minimally useful.  Experienced athletes should consider a sport specific test battery, at minimum, 10-12 weeks prior to opening day.  Then undergo a second one after 7-8 weeks to allow time for adjustments in the training program before the season begins.  A third could happen at mid season, once again, this is to assure that training benefits are being maintained, and if not, you want to know sooner, to make adjustments.  For an endurance athlete, you must decide when your “season” is; perhaps building your training/testing schedule around the most important competitions or races would make the most sense.  I’ll talk more about endurance athletic testing in a future post.

Here are some additional examples of sport specific athletic testing batteries we use:

Consequently, former athletes planning a return after a long layoff, or novice athletes who haven’t been training or competing regularly, should first consider a general fitness battery.  They are suitable for nearly all healthy people, carry very low risk of injury or episode, and provide useful information for building a foundation for training, or putting together the early stages of a comprehensive training program.  I’ll address this scenario in more detail next week but take note athletic performance test batteries should only be undertaken by individuals who are fit and have been training for several weeks or longer.

Have you performed a testing battery before?  Did you find it helpful?  If you didn’t, or need help interpreting the results, or how to best use them to your advantage please reach out.  We offer athletic performance testing and consulting to teams and individuals.

Thanks for reading.

Matt