Q: I’m a drug-free bodybuilder. How
can I maximize by recovery between
workouts?
A: Recovery is the forgotten element in
most sports training. Pro teams such as the
Chelsea Football Club and the Leicester Tigers
Rugby Club in the UK and the Chicago Bears
here have finally begun to hire sports nutritionists
to develop recovery programs for their
players.
Attention to your recovery processes will
enable you to train intensely more frequently.
Here are five important tips for maximizing
growth.
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1) Four to five times weekly, stretch your muscles thoroughly. Besides the well-known injury prevention
and increased flexibility benefits, regular stretching
maximizes hypertrophy by elongating the fascia, making
room for the muscle to grow. After a very brief cardiovascular
warmup (two to five minutes, just enough to make
you break a sweat) stretch the targeted muscle group with
proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, a.k.a. PNF
stretching. (For details consult a physiotherapist or a coach
certified by me. You can locate a certified coach near you
at my Web site.) Finish off with four to six 15-second static
stretches. The combination of those two stretching methods
is more effective than using one method alone. Static
stretching makes permanent the rapid gains made with
PNF. |
2) Deep massage of the connective tissue is probably
the best recovery-boosting method. In my practice as a
strength consultant with various national teams, I’ve routinely
observed strength gains of 2 to 10 percent 24 hours
after such treatments, though why elite athletes experience
such a strength gain I don’t really know. Bear in mind that
deep massage has quite a few names—such as Rolfing and
neuromuscular reeducation massage. Warning: NRM is
painful, about as much fun as getting the inside of your
nostrils scraped with a mentholyptus-coated potato peeler.
The rewards, however, are worth it. If your strength doesn’t
increase at the following workout, seek a better therapist.
3) Don’t sleep more than eight hours in a row. If you
need more sleep, you’re not eating often enough. If your
schedule can afford it, have an afternoon nap ending 90
minutes before your workout. It will give you half an hour
to eat your preworkout meal and an hour to digest before
starting your session.
4) Abstain from alcohol. Alcohol will slow down your
muscle gains by:
• Inhibiting the enzymes that product energy for your
workouts.
• Messing up your sleep patterns. The reduced quantity
and quality of sleep will
minimize your recovery
for the following workout.
An evening partying on
a Friday will foul up your
sleep until the following
Tuesday.
• Decreasing your
natural testosterone production.
A study done in
Finland found that the
occasional alcohol binge
decreases your natural testosterone
production for
as many as three days.
5) Pay attention to your
sleep patterns, recording
quantity and quality
in your training diary. If
you have problems falling
asleep, your training
intensity may be too high,
and if you feel you can
never sleep enough, your
volume may be too high.
Many self-hypnosis recordings
are available. Try
them before falling asleep.
A number of athletes have
reported enhanced sleep
quality and diminished sleeping needs after using them.
Nutrients such as phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine
and magnesium improve the quality of your sleep.
If you follow these guidelines, you can achieve lean
bodyweight gains in record time.
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