recovery

[Gangsterfist]

Hey guys,

I just stepped up my work out regime and I am a bit sore, I was wondering what are some good recovery tips.

So far I keep massaging the sore spots and keep stretching to keep loose. What are some good dos and donts of muscle recovery?

Like I hear that icy hot is bad because it actually just numbs the pain and kills off the nerve endings wich makes your body actually heal slower.

[SevenStar]

Icy hot kills nerve endings? I've never heard that one. recovery methods can vary, depending on what you are experiencing - is there any bruising, or are you just sore?

[Gangsterfist]

I dont really have any brusing and I have some jow, I am just more worn out and sore from the extra hard work out I did.

Like should I increase my potassium intake? What other things are good for a faster, and better recovery?

I have read up on tons of stuff and I was just maybe looking for what really works and what really doesn't.

Yeah, by killing nerve endings, I meant it just numbs them up, which decreases circulation, which is bad. Not sure how true that is, just heard that from a sports medicine guy. The thing is western medicine can be so asinine sometimes by all the contradictory responses you get from doctors and physicians.

[Starchaser107]

Take at the very least a day or so off and do nothing but rest.
You can try applying rubbing alcohol to your sore areas, or maybe a jow of some sort to improve the circulation of your blood.
All the best with your training
I'm anxious to see if you get some interesting replies to this.

[SevenStar]

I dont really have any brusing and I have some jow, I am just more worn out and sore from the extra hard work out I did.

Like should I increase my potassium intake? What other things are good for a faster, and better recovery?


I suppose you could - potassium helps dissipate lactic acid buildup. spinach, mushrooms, raisins and banannas are decent sources of it.

Yeah, by killing nerve endings, I meant it just numbs them up, which decreases circulation, which is bad. Not sure how true that is, just heard that from a sports medicine guy. The thing is western medicine can be so asinine sometimes by all the contradictory responses you get from doctors and physicians.

gotcha. yeah, that's true. remember when people would say that the best way to forget about a pain is to have someone step on your foot? It's kinda like that. icy hot irritates the nerve endings. the irritations casues other sensations - the hot or cold feeling - and your body "forgets" about the previous pain it had experienced.
[/QUOTE]

like chase said though, the main thing is rest. you stepped yourself up to a level you weren't accustomed to. take it easy for a day or three, then hop back into the saddle.

[Gangsterfist]

Yeah, I am being serious here, and I hope to get some serious answers. I am going to work on my legs tongiht and rest my upper body. I always rest for at least a day or two after working out, with the exception of sometimes Ill work the abs several days in a row with out rest.

[red5angel]

The thing is western medicine can be so asinine sometimes by all the contradictory responses you get from doctors and physicians.


and northern, southern and eastern medicine is somehow more consistant?

[Gangsterfist]

Red5

NO, but with all of our technology and advancements western medicine, you think, would be better off than where it is today. See, there is so much money to be made, and we have turned ourselves into a pill popping nation. there are pills for everthing with side effects of course, and then there are more pills to take care of those said side effects.

I think that our medicine could be vastly improved over what it is now if they put money in the right places and did more advanced research in other places. I mean a weight loss pills? WTF ever happened to, " PUT DOWN THAT CANOLI AND SOME SOME PUSH UPS!"??? :confused:

[Chief Fox]

you could try some recovery drink. There's a lot of cyclists that swear by this stuff. http://www.coloradocyclist.com/common/products/productdisplay2_v2.cfm?PRRFNBR=32690&CGRFNBR=347&CRPCGNBR=347&CI=1,226,347&TextMode=0

[Gangsterfist]

you could try some recovery drink. There's a lot of cyclists that swear by this stuff. http://www.coloradocyclist.com/common/products/productdisplay2_v2.cfm?PRRFNBR=32690&CGRFNBR=347&CRPCGNBR=347&CI=1,226,347&TextMode=0


Interesting, but have you actually tried it, and does it really work? Also, does it taste like crap?

I mean I am not saying I wouldn't be open to using some supplements, but I don't like putting chemicals in my body, I have always been into natural drugs over chemical drugs.

[Chief Fox]

No I haven't tried it. When I'm sore, I rest. As far as the chemicals go, it's probably less harmful than the flouride in the tap water you drink.

here's a link to their site: http://69.94.64.50/enduroxr4.com/pages/description.html

[Mighty Mungbean]

Okay this is my understanding of the science of what happens when we overtrain. Your muscles can store about five minutes worth of ATP (one of the fuels your muscles run on). Once that's gone they switch over to secondary and tertiary forms of energy (don't ask me names right now, I'd have to look them up). Those second and third forms, especially the third forms involve lactic acid and eventually the breakdown of muscle tissue as the muscles "eat" themselves in their bid for energy. (Look at the difference in build between super long distance runners and sprinters. Long distance runners are usually super thin, with comparatively less muscle mass than sprinters who tend to be real thick and muscular). This is what causes muscle soreness, especially that soreness that sets in a day or two after working out. The key then is to feed your muscles what they need in order to cut down on the cannibalization that takes place.

One method to reduce muscle soreness is to feed them the right nutrients. The research I've seen recommends a mix of carb to protein, ideally about 4 grams of carb to one gram of protein. That needs to be taken in within 45 minutes of your workout as that is the time when the most muscle breakdown takes place as your body tries to replenish your energy stores. Also taking an anti-oxidant at this time can help. Not keen on supplements? Try gou chi zi (dried wolfberries) as they're full of antioxidants.

Another method is the cold plunge. Ideally a five to ten minute steam followed by a cold rinse in the shower followed by a return to hot is a nice way to accomplish this. This flushes the blood out to your skin back to your core and them back to the skin again, thereby flushing your muscles of built up lactic acid and other toxins that can cause soreness. No steam room? Try hot shower to cold shower to hot again.

Good luck and Happy training,
Dave

[red5angel]

for recovery I always make sure to eat enough and sleep enough. If you're working out harder or at a harder pace you may want to take in a few more calories.
I also do plenty of stretching and moving around.

[Chief Fox]

Another method is the cold plunge. Ideally a five to ten minute steam followed by a cold rinse in the shower followed by a return to hot is a nice way to accomplish this. This flushes the blood out to your skin back to your core and them back to the skin again, thereby flushing your muscles of built up lactic acid and other toxins that can cause soreness. No steam room? Try hot shower to cold shower to hot again.


I've actually used this method before. Not exactly as described but it does work. In my case I've done it after a long very hilly and pounding run. One time I just sat in a mountain stream (very cold, even in the middle of summer). The other time I went home and filled my tub with ice water and sat in it. Just enough to cover my legs.

Both times I sat in the water for about 20 minutes. The next day my legs were tired but not very sore at all.

[red5angel]

The other time I went home and filled my tub with ice water and sat in it. Just enough to cover my legs.


holy crap, I bet your junk shrunk up to nothing!! :eek:

[Gangsterfist]

thx for the tips guys. The tops and sides of my shoulders kill the most, they are probably the weakest part of my body atm and they got the hardest work out. I am going to get some potassium supplements and I have been stretching and rotating my arms. I worked out really hard on wednesday, recovered last night (thurs) and did nothing really, and tonight I have wing chun class(friday) so I won't do any physical conditioning outside of dummy work, chi sao, and forms. Then tomorrow I have my 6 elbows class at 8am. They are going to work out, but I may hold off if my shoulders are still this sore.

What about balms and such? anyone have any luck with any of those?

I will try the cold shower thing, I assume that icepacks would work in the same fashion?

Thanks again for the tips guys.

[SevenStar]

Another method is the cold plunge. Ideally a five to ten minute steam followed by a cold rinse in the shower followed by a return to hot is a nice way to accomplish this. This flushes the blood out to your skin back to your core and them back to the skin again, thereby flushing your muscles of built up lactic acid and other toxins that can cause soreness. No steam room? Try hot shower to cold shower to hot again.



I've been doing that ever since I was a kid. Back then, I imagined that I was tempering myself - making my body so that it didn't feel hot or cold. I could turn the hot water all the way on, or the cold all the way on and not be bothered. Now, I just do it out of habit.

[Toby]

G-fist, instead of worrying about recovery, what about treating the cause? I.e. I'm gunna put in a recommendation for PTP. I used to do a hypertrophic workout and it killed me come MA class time. PTP has almost no impact on MA class and you still get strong plus the bonus of minimal size gain. Of course, this is presuming you are getting sore from weights workouts - you were talking about starting weights a month ago or so, right?

[Gangsterfist]

Its all body weight exercises, and I just did them till my body pretty much gave out.

[Gangsterfist]

Well, just to update the thread it took me about 4.5 days to fully recover. I had some minor stiffness and soreness the last day, but after that nights sleep it all disappeared. I increased my potassium in my diet and it seemed to work. I seemed to heal up at a faster rate.

I am going to do a light work out tonight, and rest on tuesday, b/c wednesday is the day I work my a$$ off.

I wish I had a pool in my back yard for some cardio, I really don't wana join a gym just for a pool. I have enough expenses as is.