I had to do two 20 minute presentations---really short, and fairly basic. I touched on a lot of the same topics I always do; whole foods vs processed, how food affects hormones, the "whys" and "whats" of Paleo/Primal eating, hydration, etc etc. Both presentations were well received, with about 80 folks in attendance for each session. There were some great questions afterward, and I tried to spend as much time answering questions after as possible. While I was nervous at the start of the first presentation, I absolutely love talking nutrition, and I had a blast!
Check this next video out; it's been posted around a fair bit, but it's one of THEE best visual demonstrations of the importance of functional range of motion/foam rolling/stretching/massage therapy.
If you don't jump all over your foam roller on your days off after watching that, well, you'll end up like the atrophic, sarcopenia-stricken shuffling geriatrics I see in nursing homes. That ain't no way for a mammal at the top of the food chain to go. Kill fuzz. Kill it dead.
More Mustard!
I posted about the awesome properties of mustard a short time ago, here.; I came across another tidbit on mustard from Mark Verstegen's Core Performance website. Some soundbites from the article on the world's best condiment:
- Cramps can be caused by a deficiency in acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter that stimulates muscles to work. Mustard contains acetic acid, which helps the body produce more acetylcholine. (The mustard is consumed, not applied topically.)
- There’s about 200 mg of sodium in one tablespoon of mustard, which is the same as eight ounces of Gatorade Endurance, so a couple packets of mustard would provide some good sodium and prevent or help with cramping.
The whole dealio can be read here.
Assorted Training Entries
April 29th, U of L
Indoor rock climbing x2 hours.
Did a shwack of hard, hard inverted bouldering problems; forearms were fried bad. There's absolutely no way I WON'T be getting better as a climber, because the guy I climb with continues to make the hardest routes look easy. I feel my technique is getting better everytime.
May 4th, CFLA, 1PM
1RM Squat Clean
95#x1,1,1,1,1
135#x1,1,1
165#x1, 185#x1,205#x1, 215#x1, 220#x0
Awesome, awesome PR day! I came in with the mindset of NOT hitting a PR, as my 3RM last week felt brutally heavy. Used the accelerated warmup like I did with my deadlift, and lo and behold, a PR appears. I videoed the 205#/215#/220#, and I had to laugh watching the 220#---I pulled it basically to my clavicles. In the wise words of Coach Fyfe "You could have powercleaned that you idiot!" Well said.
75 KBS, 24kg (53#), 2:19. Didn't go for speed, just a steady pace, and didn't put it down.
May 5th, CFLA, 1PM
1RM PP
A highly disappointing 170#. This makes no sense to me, as my 3RM is 165#. I tried numerous times at 175#, with various grips, shoes, and no shoes. Was going to do some 1000m sprint intervals after, but got talking to a buddy, and just decided to call it a day.
U of L, 7PM
More climbing; still getting owned on the 5.10d/5.11 routes, but feeling really good on the 5.9. Mastered some of the bouldering problems I couldn't get last week. Gotta start lead climbing inside if I want to get any quality outdoor climbing done this summer.
May 6th, Firehall #1, 4PM
Stupid busy day, so all I got in was 22 minutes on the treadmill, 2% grade, at 7.5mph.
May 7th, Firehall #1, 12PM
Did a modified circuit of what we've done in the past with the guys:
30sec on/30sec off, 5 round MetCon
- Goblet squats (65#DB)
- Push Up Rows(45#DB)
- Plyometric Lunge Jumps
- Curl-to-Press (35#DB)
- Double Unders
May 8th, CFLA, 2PM
Brutal shitty weather lately, but was finally able to get on my bike.
22KM round trip bike to-and-from CFLA
OverHeadPress
95#/105#/115# x5, 120#x4 (almost)PushPress
135#/140#/145#x5, 150#x2Split Jerk
150#/155#x5, 165#x3I feel, after my 1RM pushpress disappointment, that I need to address my overhead strength weakness. Therefore, today was a sub-max volume day; I wanted to get in a larger number of sets than I usually do.
Weighted Static Planks, 60second hold
42#, 90#, 90#.I strapped on the two weight vests we have at CFLA (20# each), and jumped on the scale to get an exact weight; for the 90lbs of weight, I threw Heather's beautiful Rogue sandbag on my back, which weighs in at 48lbs. For the second 90# set, I tried to set it lower on my upper back---which made that 60 seconds a HELLUVA lot harder than the first.
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Posts
Elle · 777 weeks ago
Mike 58p · 777 weeks ago
cefiroluxury 22p · 777 weeks ago
Mike 58p · 777 weeks ago
Ron · 777 weeks ago
Mike 58p · 777 weeks ago
Very well thought out and researched topic; I'd have to agree, for many years, I didn't find the merit in massage therapy other than "It's relaxing". I didn't find enhanced recovery (in fact, the opposite), nor did it seem to do anything for injury prevention.
As for modalities like ART, well, the proof is in the pudding, so to speak, albeit anecdotal for myself and many other athletes; specific areas of soft tissue injury, be it acute or chronic, seem to respond amazingly well to ART and physio-administered mobilization techniques. IMO, this seems to work better for chronic injuries, and issues related to mobility restriction. I personally have had great success in this area after multiple hamstring strains---ART done on my hip seemed to alleviate the issue and give me greater ROM and dynamic flexibility for roundhouse and side kicks.
Stability and Biomechanics: I fully agree, from an endurance athlete perspective (of which, I admit, I am not) that greater mobility and ROM can lead to inefficiencies, and reduced flexibility and ROM can lead to better biomechanics. Why would I take this inverse opinion? Repetitive motion and stretch-reflex; inflexibility increases efficiency through reduced energy required to move a limb; a hypermobile, or extremely flexible person doesn't have this advantage.
Do this mean that endurance athletes, specifically runners, bikers, and swimmers, shouldn't stretch, utilize massage, or foam roll? I'd say maybe yes to the first, personal preference to the second, and no to the third.
Foam rolling isn't the end-all-be-all like some folks think; I promote it at the beginning of a warmup for just that---an extremely low intensity warmup for the muscles, to localize bloodflow prior to engaging in dynamic mobility work. Will it cure ITB? Doubt it. Once you have it (and I did, years back, probably one of the most painful and frustrating injuries I've had), foam rolling, at best, will cause pain and increase inflammation, which obviously isn't warranted.
Foam Rolling as Active Recovery: Personally, I think in this capacity, it's a fantastic tool---once again, very, very low intensity work promoting localized bloodflow. Does it actually "treat" Fuzz? Honestly, I have no idea, but the theory seems sound. I think any mobility work, from light SMR to actual body-specific mobility drills are fantastic---but one has to have a focus and reason for doing so (going back to "beneficial" un-flexibiliy for certain athletes). From a health and longevity point of view, the adage of "use it or lose it" couldn't be more profound. I've seen it time and time again in sedentary geriatric populations. It truly scares me.
Stability: Strength is paramount, and I'm glad to see an endurance athlete appreciate this; it's the foundation of everything. Stronger athletes will have less technique degradation under fatigue than a weaker athlete---across all modal domains, be it pure ATP-CP driven sports or hours-long endurance events. On that note, though, I'm very, very hesitant to throw an athlete onto a BOSU ball in the name of stability training. This modality comes from the rehab profession, and has be misconstrued and carried over into athletic training with little to no success. I would much rather see an athlete increase poundage and improve core stability under movements like the front squat, deadlift, back squat versus getting on an unstable surface with a fraction of the weight.
Great question and topic, Ron; looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
Ron · 777 weeks ago
The hip/pelvis needs to perform stable in order for hamstrings to do its job. The hamstring must be able to perform isometric, concentric, and eccentric muscle contractions. If you massage/foam roll/stretch you will get immediate relief but what did you do to the stability to prevent it from happening again? NOTHING..lol. Its asking for strength and you are giving it massage=FUNCTIONALLY weak not overall weak. The literature cannot support ART. physiologically it doesnt have good rationale. What I have seen too often is someone who had bad PT, or bad chiro, and did not respond to ART, then get all the way better with attention to detail of the hip/pelvis stability. On the hamstring issue I hear people say that they have "multiple strains." I wonder if may be it is one very long episode of mis-conditioning. Can the muscle produce hundreds of repetitions? Can it perform under low load conditions? Can it perform in high load conditions? Proper conditioning is funny thing. Building symmetry in the agonist-antagonist muscle groups is paramount. I appreciate the passion, I hope this discussion spawns thought and forces us to think about things in a different way. looking forward to your response!!
Mike 58p · 777 weeks ago
A bit off topic, but what are your thoughts on teaching clients to engage effective glut activation? And for that matter, glut med/ and min? I have read that true activation doesn't occur until hyperextension happens, as in a full stride sprint---hip extension to 180 degrees is not enough. Thoughts?
As far as ART, though, I do have to disagree; while I have nothing more than anedotal data, I'm sure there's a group of chiros or massage therapist out there somewhere compliling actual patient data. In my case, was it conditoning leading to overuse? Yeah, it very well could have been, as it was early in my martial arts training. I never have dealt with a hamstring strain again. No doubt conditioning was an issue. But why unilaterally, and not bilaterally? And why did ART seem to clear the issue completely? One does have to ponder the effectiveness of the treatment. If I had formal training in ART, I could probably give more credible counter arguments. Does ART effectively treat adhesions, restrictions, and increase ROM? Yes it does. Can proper ROM lead to stability? I believe it can. If I had formal training in ART, I could probably give more credible counter arguments.
On a related issue, I dealt with a very stubborn case of what turned out to be bursitis (dx by exclusion, hindsight); my physio, who was trained in the US, did a lot of "manual therapy" work, which was quite painful, on a weekly basis. Not unlike ART. Interestingly enough, it wasn't until I STOPPED going that my shoulder inflammation subsided. I compare this to foam rolling a wicked case of ITB---the increased inflammation just aggravates the issue. In both cases, in my opinion, rest and anti-inflammatory treatment has the greatest efficacy, not mobility (nor stability) treatments.
In the end, though, an effective treatment is one that is treating the cause, not the symptom---this is true in any aspect of medical care, be it rehab or emergency medicine. A good clinician is more of a detective, and all the tool in the toolbox matter not if they can't be applied properly.
Great discussion, Ron; I wish we had more physios like you around, you insight and perspective would be very valuable to any athlete!
Ron · 777 weeks ago
Painful soft tissue work works for a completely different reason then they think. The studies done on inflammation say that the tendon does not contain one cell of inflammation. The sheath that covers the tendon though does. If it gets past acute inflammation then a different process occurs. By rubbing the ____ out of it you restart inflammation and take care of the problem which is why your shoulder got better after you stopped. A more humane, effective, predictable, and quicker version of treatment is out there. Identify etiology, progress it carefully, and BOOM healthy and my favorite part, MORE PRODUCTIVE. I think the ART folks are lucky. Id rather be good then lucky, lol. I could never say dont do something that makes it better though. I just would rather be on top of it then lucky.
I am enjoying myself. I have a lot of information in my head and if I never share it, WHO BENEFITS? No one. I like the passion. Keep it up...
Ron
david · 775 weeks ago
Mike 58p · 775 weeks ago
The video itself shouldn't be thought of as "scary"; what Dr Hedley is showing in the vid is normal tissue bonding---but he's using the cadaver to illustrate something that normally can't be seen. Pathological bonding of tissues can inhibit movement, and the point he makes is to "move" everyday.
I don't think one needs to put a regimented routine in place; personally, I use a foam roller as a very low intensity warmup prior to my dynamic, then movement specific warmup. On days off? Just M O V E. Think active recovery. The mere process of moving affects our tissues in a thixotropic manner---they become less viscous when heat is applied. Dr. Hedley didn't touch on this, but I'd hazard a guess he'd have lots to say about it in relation to the "Fuzz".
Some general thoughts, simplified:
-Move everyday. Walk. Squat. Roll around. Joint rotations
-Sore from a workout? Get a light sweat on, be it on a low intensity run, a few light sets of the same movement you might have done the previous day, or at minimum, foam roll your specific sore spots. Despite the conversation I had with Ron, and the fact I do agree that foam rolling as a therapeutic modality for actual treatment of severe restriction/ROM inhibition/adhesion is extremely limited, it is *NOT* limited in the fact it's a great tool for active recovery.
-Target your specific areas of known limited ROM (range of motion). Have tight hamstrings? Post workout, or on your rest days, statically stretch them. Thoracic mobility issues? Really really common. Look up some mobility drills---there's TONS on youtube.
I like to look at it from a primal point of view: We are animals. We are built to move, not built to be sedentary.