What Do You Do After Your Workout?

Many people will say they plop on the couch and wait for the sweat to stop pouring down, maybe drink some water or have a snack. Others run home, hop in the shower and head off to work. Did you know there is more you should be doing after your workout to maximize the benefits?

What you do after your workout is just as important as what you are doing during your workout. In order to optimize recovery, maximize muscle building and decrease soreness there are 4 main recovery techniques: Nutrition, Foam Rolling, Water Therapy and SLEEP.

Nutrition
When?:
30 minutes - 2 hours post workout

What?
Carbohydrate:
0.8 to 1.5 grams per kilogram of body weight (approx 0.4 to 0.8 grams per pound)

AND

Protein:
0.4 grams per kilogram of body weight (approx 0.2 grams per pound)

Example: Body Weight: 145 pounds/2.2 = 66 kgs
Carbohydrates: 66 kgs * 0.8 = 52.8 or 53 grams of Carbohydrates
Protein: 66 kgs * 0.4 = 26.4 or 26 grams of Protein
If you are watching your calorie intake multiply both the carbohydrate and protein by 4 to get the number of calories. 53 * 4 = 212 + (26 * 4) = 104 = TOTAL 316 calories)

Sample Supplements:
Greek Yogurt, Milk, Protein Powder (EAS, Muscle Milk, etc)
Most of your protein powders can be found at a local vitamin store or even at Target! Look for WHEY protein and no high fructose corn syrup.

Why?:
It is important to get the right nutrition after each workout in order for your body to repair the muscle and refuel your body both maximizing recovery. Your muscles store carbohydrates which is your quickest and basic form of energy. The building block of your muscles is protein. So get your protein and carbohydrates in after workout to help support your body and get the most out of your workout!


Muscle Massage
When?:
Right after you are finished exercising, hop on the foam roller or visit a massage therapist. If you're lucky, maybe you can persuade your significant-other to help your workout recovery!

What?:

If you don't have access to a massage therapist, there are tools out there to accomplish a full body massage without a therapist. The most common is a foam roller. They can be purchased at any sporting goods store or visit www.athleticadvantagept.com and click on the link for Perform Better. At the Perform Better website there is a list of exercises which you can access by clicking HERE. If you find a spot that is uncomfortable to roll, focus more on that spot in order for the muscle to relax. You can perform movements as long as you want or your muscles can tolerate!

Why?:
Foam rolling (massage) is another form of stretching the muscles enabling them to lengthen. Massage also helps to increase blood flow to the muscle. The more blood that flows to your muscle, the more nutrients can be carried to the muscle to help it repair and recover from your workout.

Water Therapy
When?:
Immediately after your workout while your having your nutritional shake!

What?:
If you have access to a cold pool, take a few laps around after your workout. If you don't have access to a cold pool, make one using your tub. Fill your tub with cold water and hop in! I know I can't stand cold water, so the other alternative is the shower. Cycle hot and cold water, trying to stay in the cold water longer.

Why?:
Why endure the madness of cold showers and baths? The cold water causes the blood to surge to your internal organs as a protective mechanism. This pushes blood into the muscles. Hot water bring the blood to the surface of your skin, bring the blood out of your muscles. In essences you are causing a flushing technique which will help flush out muscle waste from your workout and bring nutrients to your muscles. So hop in and be ready to freeze your bum off!

SLEEP

EVERY NIGHT for at least 6-8 hours. Many studies show that with a decrease in sleep it increase the potential for many diseases and obesity. Your body can't function properly without the right amount of sleep. I know many of us are busy and it's hard to get the proper amount of sleep. Do you have a lunch break at work? Supplement your lack of sleep the night before with a 20 minute power nap. If you can get 3 of them in, then you've made up for 1 lost hour of sleep the night before. Napping for 20 minutes will be difficult at first, but the more your practice the better you get! Another added bonus is that it will decrease your stress levels and increase your focus. So grab a pillow and blankie and get a nap in.

Resources: (1) Workout Nutrition CorePerformance.com (2) Q & A: Is a hot or a cold shower better after a workout? (2) Jeffreys, I. A Multidimensional Approach to Enhancing Recovery. National Strength and Conditioning Journal. Volume 27,Number 5,pages 78–85. (3)Bishop, J. Recovery from Training: A Brief Review. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. VOLUME 22, NUMBER 3, MAY 2008 (4)Chiu, L. Post-Training Massage: A Review for Strength and Power Athletes. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Volume 23, Number 4, pages 65–69

Decrease Your Risk for Cardiovascular Disease

"Exercise capacity is a more powerful predictor of mortality among men than other established risk factors for cardiovascular disease." (1)

WOW! What this is saying is that your cholesterol, triglycerides, etc are NOT the most powerful predictors for cardiovascular disease.

I'm sure some of you are saying "Well that's all fine and good, but what is my Exercise Capacity?"

Exercise capacity, as defined by the National Institute of Health, is "the maximum amount of physical exertion that a patient can sustain." Exertion is measured by how much oxygen is consumed and utilized by the body by the exchange of oxygen in the blood. (VO2) The more efficient the body is the better it utilizes the oxygen, letting more oxygen into the blood stream, increasing your VO2. It's like the body getting a better miles per gallon rating with oxygen being it's form of gas!

Your VO2 is measured in a clinical or exercise physiology lab by hooking you up to a metabolic cart with a face mask to breathe in to while running or walking on the treadmill or stationary bike. You do not need to have your VO2 measured though to learn how to improve it.

Thanks to GR8Fits on Flickr

IMPROVING EXERCISE CAPACITY
For cardiovascular fitness, many people get on a treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike or even go outside and run for 30 minutes to hours at a time at a steady pace and expect to see improvements in their bodies. I will be the first and hopefully not the last to tell you that this is 1. not good for your body and 2. you may make small improvements. Just like in the gym if you don't try to lift heavier, you will never make strength gains; if you don't push yourself in cardiovascular constantly changing up your program, you will not see improvements! Begin to add interval training, where you are working extremely hard for short, medium and long interval lengths. Incorporating intervals into your cardio program will help to increase your VO2 by recruiting different energy systems in your body, utilizing inhaled oxygen! For recovery days, you can still get that long distance run in. Exercising for 30 minutes at a time is more than enough. Play around with different programs on your cardio equipment. If you want more precise workouts begin tracking your heart rate, which is the best way to gauge how hard you are working. Look to our blog in the future for more on heart rate training.


We are made to move. So get up and get going!! Find something whether it's biking, swimming, dancing, walking or skiing that you LOVE doing and get out and do it. In 20-30 minutes a day 3 times per week, it can decrease your risk for cardiovascular disease.

Reference: (1) http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/346/11/793
(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=cm&part=A411

"Don't Be Old School"

This post is a bit different as I am featuring another writer, with the permission of Justin Levine. Enjoy and feel free to follow up with any questions.

Justin Levine
Why do people still perform crunches? Why do people still get on the leg press machine? Why do people still believe in long slow distance training to "burn fat"? Well, this is what we knew 20 years ago. Things change and so must people. Fitness has transformed over the past 20 years. There are many concepts that at the time we thought were the most efficient ways to get fit. We no longer live in a bodybuilding world where we design body part splits for our workouts. You know the workouts: chest/triceps, back/biceps, and legs/shoulders. If you are still doing this you are "old school". Program design has changed to training specific movements for proper function. We will get into that a little later in the article. The body is meant to function a certain way. Check out Michael Boyle's article and dvd, "A Joint by Joint Approach to Warm-up and Training".


We need mobility in certain areas and stability in others. If the hips do not move properly our low back will hurt. Does anyone out there want to blow a disc in their lower back? I am sure no one will answer yes but every time I walk into a "big box" gym people are always performing crunches, back extension and leg press exercises. Dr. Stuart Mcgill, a low back specialist, states that "any flexion or extension will create a disc to blow." It might not happen the 1st, 2nd, or 50th time you perform these exercises, but eventually your low back will "hurt".


This article will cover many old school concepts and methods that you should not be doing anymore. If you are just stop. I will also get into some specific cutting edge theories that you need to implement into your program design. Remember, you need an open mind when it comes to fitness. If you want to continue to get results you must learn to change your program. There is so much education out there for us to learn. Do not do the same thing you were doing 5-20 years ago. Step out of that bubble and step into the new age of fitness training and continue to learn.


1. Crunches are old school. Again, if you want a low back disc to blow then continue to perform crunches. The movement of crunching puts the spine into flexion. The spine does not want this load. The function of the spine is meant to be stable. When we move at the spine we cause low back pain. Read any of Stuart Mcgill's research. This guy is way smarter than I am and these are the concepts he talks about. Another exercise people need to eliminate from their program is back extensions. Start thinking stability exercises for the "core". Examples are plank variations, side plank variations, cable stabilization exercises, core rollouts, medicine ball training and cable chops and lifts. If you want a "6-pack", change your diet. If you want to lose weight, change your diet. Doing "abs" at the gym will not get you leaner. It is a mix of a properly designed workout program, consistent healthy nutritional habits and proper rest and recovery. We need to promote good postural habits and doing crunches puts our body in poor position for good posture. Stabilize the spine, stop doing crunches and you will see the difference in the way you move.


2. Bodybuilding splits are old school. In fact bodybuilding splits are probably close to 20 years old. This is what people did in the 80's and 90's. We went to the gym to work our chest for an hour. Then the next day was arms. Good ole biceps and triceps for the entire workout. We would leave the gym with a massive pump in our arms. Then the next day we worked back and shoulders. Then we would finish the week with a ridiculous leg routine. Some leg workouts left us unable to walk and we were sore for days after. If you are still working out like this, STOP! This is not an efficient way to get fit. You must incorporate specific movements and interval conditioning (I will get into that one on #4) into your workout routine. Horizontal and vertical pressing and pulling movements, bilateral and unilateral knee dominant and hip dominant movements and core stability exercises. Do not make it too complicated. Add balance to your routine. If you have two pressing exercises (bench press and push-up) you need two pulling exercises (chin-ups and DB row). If you have two knee dominant exercises (split squat and lunge) you need two hip dominant exercises (deadlifts and hip lifts). When you have imbalances it leads to injury. Who wants to get injured? Nobody! If you are trying to get fit, do not lift like a bodybuilder. Structure your workouts with these new concepts to build an ultimate fitness level.


3. Leg press, leg extension and leg curl machines are old school. In fact if you are working out on any machine, unless it is a Keiser cable system, then you are outdated. Machines do not build function. Your movement is constricted on a machine. Remember the old school Nautilus machines when they first came out. What year was that? 1976. Back then Nautilus was the "cutting edge" of fitness training. But we do not live in the past, we live in the future. Time to step into the new age of training. If your program is loaded with machine exercises and non-functional training then change your program. Implement deadlifts, squat variations, chin-ups, rows, push-ups, presses and core stability work. You will get results. In fact you will get the best results you have ever seen.


4. Long slow distance "cardio" for fat burning is old school. I was a culprit of this when I first started training clients. I would have my clients do cardio on their non-weight training days for at least 45 minutes. I wanted them to stay in the "fat burning zone" the entire time. Sound familiar? With the knowledge of guys like Alwyn Cosgrove, Mike Boyle and Mark Verstegen, I finally figured out that this was not the answer. I started having my clients do intervals. There are many different interval protocols. For deconditioned individuals an interval might be a walk on a treadmill at a 5% incline for 30 seconds and then back down to 1% for 1 minute. For fit athletes I usually choose the Tabata protocol. These are very intense and can be done as a medicine ball circuit or on a treadmill or bike. I do not use the word "cardio" to my clients anymore. We call it conditioning. Cardio is the word people use when they get on a treadmill for an hour at the same pace. Conditioning is when I have my clients perform 15 intervals of 20 seconds on, 40 seconds off. It sounds better. At the completion of every training session I add conditioning to the workout. It could be a metabolic circuit, treadmill sprints, or bike sprints.


5. The "5 minute walk on a treadmill" warm-up is old school. Do not walk on a treadmill for 5-10 minutes and think you are warmed up. You need to implement a dynamic warm-up to your workout routine. Not just once in awhile. Every time you workout you need to perform a dynamic warm-up. A proper warm-up will prepare you for your workout, increase flexibility, increase mobility, and elevate your heart rate. A walk on a treadmill only covers 1 of those traits. Your workout will be more intense and you will reduce injury.


6. Ok I saved the best for last. If you are still participating in step aerobics you are very old school. This was a fad in the 80's. All step class is going to do is give you knee pain. Yes, it is good that you are moving and staying active but there are better options than "step class". If you like group classes choose a strength training or circuit training class. At least now you can get some interval type training.


So the moral of the story is that things change. What we used to do does not work anymore. And what we know now may change. With the beauty of science and education we as fitness professionals continue to study the body and learn the most efficient ways to get fit. I personally will continue to learn the rest of my life. Thank you so much to guys like Mike Boyle, Alwyn Cosgrove, Mark Verstegen, Gray Cook, Stuart McGill, Todd Durkin and Martin Rooney who are always willing to share their knowledge to the world.


Justin has a reputation as one of the top fitness professionals in Central California. He owns and operates California Fitness Academy in Visalia, CA. He has worked with clients from all walks of life. From professional athletes, junior college athletic teams, high school athletes and the general fitness population, Justin's approach is to increase an individual's vitality of life through proper exercise and nutrition prescription. Justin received h is BA degree in Human Performance and Sport from New Mexico Highlands University. Justin is a professional member of the NSCA and the NASM. He is also an active forum contributor at strengthcoach.com. He is a free lance writer and his articles can be seen at strengthcoach.com, trifuel.com, and myfitnesschannel.com.

"Grandma to Skiers" . . ."Grandma to Skiers"

From Sugarbush SKi

My husband and I were up in New England skiing this past weekend. While waiting for a lift, I noticed an older woman stopped at the base on her walkie talkie exclaiming, "Grandma to skiers, grandma to skiers". Of course this caught my attention, so I turned around to see who this woman was. She was probably about 65 years old, had a one-piece snow-suit on circa the 1980s, and was in great physical condition. She was obviously trying to find out where her grand kids were on the mountain. It made me smile and I felt inspired to see a gracefully aging woman hollering into a walkie-talkie, on skis, at the base of a mountain.

From Sugarbush SKi

It made me think about what my fitness goals are in life: 1. Be a positive role model to my clients, family, friends and someday children of my own. 2. Make an impact in the field of exercise science. 3. Be like this older woman . . .nothing is stopping her.

Whether your goals are to keep up with your kids, lose weight to look better, win that game or race, or just to improve your quality of life, I hope you can set your own goals and find people in this world to inspire you!

Set attainable goals. Stick to them. If you get slightly off path don't stray too far and find your way back quickly. And most of all Don't Make Excuses!

Food for Thought: The Grocery Store

For my first nutrition post I couldn't decide what the topic should be, and then it dawned on me. What better place to start then where your first step in the decision making process of what to eat begins: the grocery store.

In general almost all grocery stores in the US are constructed the same way.

From Athletic Advantage Performance Training

If you notice less than 65% of the grocery store is fresh produce and meat. This is a disturbing percentage due to the simple fact that the less processed your food is, the better it is for you.

Before you ever go to the grocery store there are 2 main things you should make sure happens:
1. Create a list of items to pick up. - You can either determine these by creating a weekly meal chart and picking up strictly the ingredients you will need or by writing a list of your favorite foods you know you can consume in one week and figuring out your meal plan later. When creating your list, you should know that ALL FOODS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL. Three major guidelines to stick by when creating your list are: 1. When choosing meat - The fewer legs it has, the better it is for you. (fish better than chicken, better than beef) 2. The closer to the ground the better. (Raw potato better than boxed potatoes) 3. The less ingredients the better it is for you. (Watch out for High Fructose Corn Syrup, Modified, Hydrogenated, etc.)

2. Have a snack! - This may sound like a bizarre suggestion. If you enter the grocery store hungry you are more likely to stray from your list, purchasing your wants as opposed to your needs. People also tend to buy more junk food if they are hungry when they enter the grocery store.

When you enter the grocery store having a game plan, your list should guide your way through the store. Along with your list, you should have a "route" through the grocery store. As Americans, we tend to skim through fresh produce, hit up the processed deli counter, and stick to all the middle aisles. BIG MISTAKE!!! The best food for you are located along the perimeter, and you should only stray from the outside of the grocery store to get minimal things. When straying from the perimeter try to stick to organic products or minimally processed products. Remember just because it's organic, doesn't mean you can eat more of it!

In our next post we are going to dive into reading labels and a further discussion about why not all foods are created equal. Enjoy your new look at the grocery store, and remember: NEVER enter those doors without a game plan!


In the future look for labels starting with 'Food for Thought'. I am not a nutritionist, although I have taken a number of nutrition focused courses. Everything I present in these articles will be supported by scholarly journals, so note that I am not prescribing any particular diet only presenting you with advice!

"77% of Personal Trainers put clients on a fitness program WITHOUT assessing them first"

This to me is a scary figure. That means the majority of the people who go to the gym and pay a trainer hard earned money are getting ripped off.

There are a few questions that I hope this figure is stirring in your mind:

1. What type of assessment should my trainer do?
2. Is my training program made just for me, or is it a one-size fits all?
3. What do I do if my trainer didn't do any type of assessment?

My question to you is: Would you be comfortable with a physical therapist giving you exercises to do without examining your injury in any way? No you wouldn't. You would question his competence. You would question his competence further if while you felt pain somewhere or extreme fatigue, he told you to keep pushing. My next question for you is, why would you hire a personal trainer to do the same thing? Aren't they dealing with your body and how it works?

Before I answer these questions I am going to go over some things you need to consider before hiring a personal trainer, or asking your current trainer.
1. How long have they been in the field of exercise science (personal training)?
If they are a new trainer, the following questions are even more important.

2. Do they hold a degree in the field (exercise science, exercise physiology, athletic training, etc)?
While most trainers will not hold a degree in exercise science, continue answering the following questions to see if they are qualified enough to be working with your body.

3. How up to date are their certifications?
There any many certification agencies where all a person has to do to become a personal trainer is go online and take an exam. There are leading agencies that require continuing education and have a higher standard of certifying someone as a personal trainer. They are as follows: National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA); American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM); American Council on Exercise (ACE);and a couple others. Their certification should be no older than 3 years. Do not be afraid to request to see an official copy from your trainer if you are in doubt.

4. Did your trainer do any sort of assessment before they wrote you an exercise program?
At the bare minimum they should take a health history, assess your wants and take your body weight. This is still not enough grounds to write an adequate training program. There are many training tools out there to assess how your body is functioning. If you are an athlete it may be a vertical jump test, if you are an individual it may be a sit and reach test. In order to assess the body as a whole there are some tests that are superior to others. The preferred method that is slowly trickling down from the professional arena is the Functional Movement Screen (FMS), created by Gray Cook and Lee Burton. The FMS is 7 basic athletic movements that helps a personal trainer determine any strengths, weaknesses, imbalances or movement deficiencies that may be present in your body. This creates a solid baseline for which a trainer can write an adequate program designed specifically for you.

5. Are you using only machines?
If a trainer is bringing you from machine to machine they don't fully understand how the body works and are shutting down a majority of your stability muscles. Think about it: when are you ever being held in place against something solid and moving something around your body. Can't think of any? This should raise a red flag. Every movement that you do occurs without any external stabilization, so why should you work out with a built-in stabilization? Here's a great quote from a highly respected industry leader in fitness: “Although machine-based training may result in fewer injuries in training, the lack of proprioceptive input (internal sensory feedback about position and movement) and the lack of stabilization will more than likely lead to a greater number of injuries during competition.” – Michael Boyle So if your trainer is doing "balance" exercises with you on top of using machines, it's counterproductive.

6. How do you feel after your workouts?
A huge misconception in fitness is that you need to feel completely exhausted to consider it a "good workout". Legs buckling, not being able to lift your arms, and vomiting are sure signs that you have over done it! Being sore for more than 24-48 hours afterward means that you have worked out too hard. Don't get me wrong, you should be walking out of a gym with perspiration. There is a happy balance and if your trainer is crossing that line you should address it! Also, if you are ever in pain during or after your workouts and you continually inform your trainer with no prevail, it's time to find a new trainer.

To summarize, never be afraid to challenge your personal trainer with questions. If you don't feel confident in their answers, research it yourself. Be extremely cautious when hiring a trainer as there is a lot of rubbish out there. Remember you only have one body that you have to live with for the rest of your life, why should you trust it to just anyone?

For further reading: Core Performance ; Athletic Body in Balance ; Women's Health Magazine March 2009 issue Page 118

The Coach's Performance Clinic

This summer Athletic Advantage Performance Training will be offering clinics to sports coaches of all backgrounds. The purpose of the clinics is to help educate coaches on increasing their athletes' performances as well as helping to decrease potential injuries. The clinics will take place either at their facility or at Peak Performance Fitness located in Marriottsville, Maryland. We invite you to explore the brochure and contact us with any questions.

The Coach's Performance Clinic Brochure