I found this article when looking for information on muscle recovery. It is primarily for runners but could be used of martial artists who train hard.
New Study Points to Importance of
Muscle Recovery for Runners
By PoweringMuscles.com
A new study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research points to the importance of post-race muscle recovery in runners.
The study was performed at the Ball State University Biomechanics Laboratory and involved 10 experienced male distance runners.
The runners performed a 10K race at maximum effort. Before, immediately after, and 48 hours after the race, the runners engaged in a pair of leg strength tests. They performed 50 repetitions of a knee flexion exercise and maximum torque at three angles was recorded by an isokinetic dynamometer.
They also performed a vertical leap, and height was recorded.
Performance in the knee flexion exercise was significantly lower immediately after the race and remained well below baseline 48 hours after the race. Vertical leap was unchanged immediately after the race but fell substantially below baseline at 48 hours.
The researchers concluded that the runners' hamstring muscle group had not not recovered full strength and power within 48 hours of completing the 10K race.
It is fair to surmise that hard workouts also reduce hamstring strength and power in runners, to a lesser extent. If recovery is not completed within 24 hours, runners must perform their next workout with diminished hamstring strength and therefore cannot perform to full potential.
Clearly, if this scenario is often repeated, the overall quality of the runner's training will suffer.
Runners therefore need to do everything in their power to accelerate muscle recovery after exercise. First, in the first two hours after completing each workout, they need to take in water, carbohydrate, electrolytes, protein, and antioxidants.
This will promote rapid rehydration, replenishment of muscle and liver glycogen, and muscle tissue repair, and will reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness.
Runners should also stretch their running muscles immediately after each workout, as this accelerates the removal of metabolic wastes from the muscles and prevents tightening of the muscles.
And finally, at some point prior to the next workout, runners should engage in self-massage to reduce tissue swelling, increase bloodflow, and relieve muscular adhesions and trigger points.
By taking post-race and post-workout muscle recovery seriously, runners can shorten the interval of diminished muscle strength that is normal after intense running.
Copyright 2002 by Poweringmuscles. Published with permission. For cutting-edge sports nutrition info, visit www.poweringmuscles.com.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Breath work - Running Part 1
In qigong there are basically three or four types of breathing. The first is natural breathing. Observing this breath with awareness is one of the most beneficial forms of meditation. Other breathing techniques include the tonifying breath, dispersing breath, diaphragmatic breath, and reverse breath.
In meditation/neigong the following descriptions do not apply. For a scientific analysis (with references) of breathing physiology follow this link.
Tonifying breath: Longer inhale than exhale. Used to energize the body.
Dispersing breath: Longer exhale than inhale. Used to get rid of toxins and nervous energy.
After practicing diaphragmatic/dantian breathing for a number of years I thought I had the breathing thing down. But one of the first things I noticed about my breath when running is that I was still not taking a complete breath. The belly was filling up but the top lobes of the lungs were not. I was not getting the maximum amount of oxygen possible to feed the body.
Another interesting component of breathing is with regards to mouth vs nose breathing. Mouth breathing stimulates the fight or flight aspect of the nervous system. When this happens blood pools in the core of the body. As a result, less blood is flowing through the lungs to exchange CO2 for O2. Performance decreases. In contrast, nose breathing activates the rest and repair response of the nervous system causing more blood to flow through the body and lungs. Also the hormone response is more beneficial. (Source)
In meditation/neigong the following descriptions do not apply. For a scientific analysis (with references) of breathing physiology follow this link.
Tonifying breath: Longer inhale than exhale. Used to energize the body.
Dispersing breath: Longer exhale than inhale. Used to get rid of toxins and nervous energy.
After practicing diaphragmatic/dantian breathing for a number of years I thought I had the breathing thing down. But one of the first things I noticed about my breath when running is that I was still not taking a complete breath. The belly was filling up but the top lobes of the lungs were not. I was not getting the maximum amount of oxygen possible to feed the body.
Another interesting component of breathing is with regards to mouth vs nose breathing. Mouth breathing stimulates the fight or flight aspect of the nervous system. When this happens blood pools in the core of the body. As a result, less blood is flowing through the lungs to exchange CO2 for O2. Performance decreases. In contrast, nose breathing activates the rest and repair response of the nervous system causing more blood to flow through the body and lungs. Also the hormone response is more beneficial. (Source)
Half Marathon Training - 4th week
Training is moving along. One thing has improved...sleep.
Times are still pretty much the same. Running around a 10 minute mile or so. I spend more energy getting my stride right.
This week i have been focusing on pulling through and lifting with the hamstring. Calf's still sore and have not completely acclimated to running stride changes. Did 5 miles last weekend. That was the first time since I did a triathlon age 19. It was fairly easy.
Also working on harvesting the kinetic energy from the bounce when the foot/body hits the ground. For you Internal Martial Arts guys this is a lot like fajin training. The body relaxes as the foot strikes the ground. The elasticity of the body causes a rebound effect. If the body is relaxed it is possible to use that energy more efficiently than if you are holding the body in a rigid running position. Holding the body rigid wastes energy that could be spent running. It also causes way to much shock to absorb into the bones, tendons, and ligaments. There is also a "detoxifying effect" on the internal organs.
Times are still pretty much the same. Running around a 10 minute mile or so. I spend more energy getting my stride right.
This week i have been focusing on pulling through and lifting with the hamstring. Calf's still sore and have not completely acclimated to running stride changes. Did 5 miles last weekend. That was the first time since I did a triathlon age 19. It was fairly easy.
Also working on harvesting the kinetic energy from the bounce when the foot/body hits the ground. For you Internal Martial Arts guys this is a lot like fajin training. The body relaxes as the foot strikes the ground. The elasticity of the body causes a rebound effect. If the body is relaxed it is possible to use that energy more efficiently than if you are holding the body in a rigid running position. Holding the body rigid wastes energy that could be spent running. It also causes way to much shock to absorb into the bones, tendons, and ligaments. There is also a "detoxifying effect" on the internal organs.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Training Progress
Now three weeks into Hal Higdon's Half Marathon schedule. My muscles, bones and joints are starting to get used to the training. On his cross training days, i do my martial arts training focusing on Traditional Strength training, kf yoga, or fast walking.
Currently focusing on getting the figure four in my stride and maintaining the forefoot strike. The lungs are getting stronger.
Also working on the IMA principal of "Blurry The Vision". This cuts a lot of negative self talk and encourages mindfulness in movement. I will write more on this later. It is a fascinating aspect of running that I find to help out in many ways. Definitely more of an inner aspect of physical training.
Other mechanics that I am working on are:
Keeping the hips tucked, Chin tucked, Central Channel straight, relax all the is necessary to maintain pace instead of struggling to maintain.
Currently focusing on getting the figure four in my stride and maintaining the forefoot strike. The lungs are getting stronger.
Also working on the IMA principal of "Blurry The Vision". This cuts a lot of negative self talk and encourages mindfulness in movement. I will write more on this later. It is a fascinating aspect of running that I find to help out in many ways. Definitely more of an inner aspect of physical training.
Other mechanics that I am working on are:
Keeping the hips tucked, Chin tucked, Central Channel straight, relax all the is necessary to maintain pace instead of struggling to maintain.
Running - Pose technique
Here is a short youtube vid that explains some of the concepts I am shooting for when running.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Knife and Cane Seminar
The Chinese Martial Arts typically do not work with the short knife. In modern times it is most likely to be encountered in a self defense situation. Most likely a hand to hand confrontation in which everyone is unarmed and is standing in front of you is the least likely to happen. Yet most Traditional Martial Arts schools train almost exclusively for this type of encounter.
Some of you may know (my students) that I have been going through our curriculum in an effort to make it more applicable for modern life. Part of that process includes researching the types of movements that would be suitable for use against the knife, stick and clinch/takedown.
Part of this search lead me to meet some friends up in Michigan that host the Gathering of the Tribes every year. This gathering includes a lot of top silat and kali players among others. After last summer I invited Chuck and Don to come down to teach a Close Quarter Knife Combatitives class. He followed that up with a Cane class that was fantastic. It was similar to single stick work that I have done in the past but with some added benefits.
Here is Chuck's review of his trip down here:
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tennessee Trip
This past May, my good friend Chuck Sullivan dragged a couple of students (Jeff and Rob) with him to the 10yr anniversary of the Gathering of the Tribes. We had a good time during the weekend, and as usual, I wasn’t able to spend nearly enough time hanging out with them as I would have liked.
Chuck and I spoke later about the possibility of Don and I teaching a seminar for him in Tennessee. I was understandably reluctant…you all know how shy I am, and how much I hate sharing what we do…so I tentatively agreed to consider it. (Ok, stop rolling your eyes…geez!) The truth is, I was excited for the opportunity to visit with friends, and have a chance to share SYD with more people!
On the Thursday before we left, I decided to take it easy in class…Murphy being a relative and all. In spite of that, I managed to tweak my back a little, and so was fairly sore thru out the drive down.
Don and I left GR around 5:30am (Waaaaay too early) but we wanted to get there for dinner. (That way we’d have time to rest before having to earn our keep.) It was a beautiful day for a drive, and we switched off piloting duties on a fairly regular basis so neither of us would get too car-lagged. Starting in Michigan, it was a tad chilly in the morning, so I’d dressed for Michigan fall. Just about exactly 12 hours later, we were arriving in Tennessee to some beautifully warm, decidedly not Michigan, weather. I believe it was in the 80-90s the entire weekend…and actually reached 101F one day. I loved it!!
Chuck works at a Chinese Medicine practice, and later that evening after a very filling dinner, he offered to work on my sore back. I’d never had acupuncture before, but am definitely now a proponent of it. Thanks to Chuck’s work, I didn’t have any soreness to my back thru out the rest of the weekend that wasn’t associated with just good “worked muscle” soreness. Thank you Chuck!
In talking with Chuck about the next day’s activities, I discovered that Rob is a black belt at the school in Somerville where the seminar was to be held. It’s located a short distance away from where we stayed in Bartlett, with Chuck.
Saturday morning we woke up to a tasty breakfast prepared for us by Chuck…and left for the 40 minute drive from Bartlett to Somerville. We arrived a little after 8am to meet the Senior Instructor, Jack Dawson and some of his black belts. Rob’s instructor, Jack, opened his school to us, and even suspended the “no shoes” rule for the weekend.
Jack is a true Southern Gentleman. He’s an incredibly gracious host, quick to smile, very respectful, and genuinely interested in what you have to say. He’s also an extremely skilled martial artist and Teacher. I liked him immediately! “O.D.” Harris was the other Senior Instructor in the school, and is very quiet, and unassuming…if you don’t know him. You would never know that he works in Corrections if you didn’t ask him. When you see him move…or more accurately, teleport…any questions you might have about whether or not he can take care of himself vanish. Their black belts are equally respectful and open minded…and most definitely honor their Instructors by their conduct.
Saturday’s Seminar was largely about sharing the training methods we use in San Yun Do. One of the great things is that these methods are non-art specific. The focus of our seminar had to do with what we believe being a good training partner entailed. How do we ensure that the person we’re working with builds good muscle memory and a positive “Root/Foundation Level” reaction? If they’re flinching away, blinking, or if their overall structure/form is breaking down are we training this person properly? As a Coach (the person who’s feeding the attack), how do we learn what to watch for and provide feedback to help correct it? As the Trainee, how do I communicate with the Coach? This was the main topic of the seminar and we used ‘Empty Hand vs Blade’ as a context to train from. We had the participants switching rolls and training partners often thru out the seminar.
Twenty six showed up to play, many of whom hadn’t been in a martial arts school before. We started working from the ground up using the concepts of Structure, Mobility, and Directionality as a framework to build from. Everyone there put in such an amazing effort.
As the day progressed, we worked thru our 3 Phases of training (Structured, Intentional, and Contextual) which culminate in practicing situational scenarios. (That is to say, you get to apply the skills you’ve learned in the context in which they might have to be used.) These particular scenarios involved the attacker having a blade. Everyone was having so much fun we forgot to look at the clock. By the time we left for the day, it was two hours longer than we’d planned.
Looking back, I’d have to guess that our intention training drill, “The Increasing 5”, and the Scenarios were probably the favorites of the seminar. I was very happy with how everyone did. According to Jack, they were very proud of their bruises and had fun telling their friends about how they got them.
Saturday evening saw Don and I back at Chuck’s for an excellent dinner. According to Chuck’s wife, Angie, he hasn’t cooked this much in years. Fortunately, he proved to be as excellent a cook as he is a host. We ate well! After chatting with the family for a couple hours, we were off to bed.
Sunday, we got to sleep in a bit, as the Cane Workshop wasn’t scheduled to start till noon-ish. We arrived just after 11:30am to get situated and warmed up a little.
Just 6 people attended this session. All were experienced martial artists and teachers. (Anymore people and the room would have been very interesting to try to navigate safely) We began with talking about the cane as a tool (reach, impact, etc), and about how the training concepts we were going to be going thru were the same as we used the previous day. It helped that they were all in attendance on Saturday.
We went thru the 3 basic positions of the cane, Point Down, Point High, Point Middle, and why we used them. (The various “attitudes” of each position…)
Next we went thru the structure, mobility and directionality concepts as it pertains to the cane. (Noticing a similarity here?) ?
As the day progressed, we plugged the cane into the 3 Phases of Training we used the previous day…working thru to the point where Don and I introduced them to the Cane Game.
Our Cane Game is a free flow exercise designed to help build the attributes practiced earlier in the seminar, but in a more chaotic environment…the idea’s of position, mobility, and directionality are all mixed in and applied in a very dynamic environment. We used padded canes for safety, and also had fencing masks, sparring helmets, etc…to add to the safety. A padded cane might not break a bone, but it still smarts when you get hit…and they can still take out an eye.
The whole group loved this play…not only does it really drive home the necessity for good footwork and controlling your momentum, but it also is great cardio! Everyone was sweating by the time we wrapped this portion up.
The last portion of the seminar was devoted to putting the Cane into a more probable context. You’re not likely to go cane-v-cane on the street…and it wouldn’t be a ‘duel’ either. For this, we used Cane versus blade. One person (Coach) had a training blade. His/Her job was to touch the Defender (Trainee). The Trainee had to hit the attacker in areas that would diminish the attack and allow a safe retreat. The Coach wore protective gear, and the Trainee used a padded cane for safety.
This really seemed to drive home the idea that the cane’s greatest advantage was the distance it could reach…its outer range.
We wrapped up around 4pm(ish) and said our good-byes to our new found friends. Don, Chuck, and I then headed back to the Sullivan Ranch in Bartlett.
Again we benefited from Chuck and Angie’s culinary wizardry for dinner…and then the whole family curled up to watch “Over the Hedge”. After the kid’s went to bed, we kept Chuck and Angie up until around midnight just talking and hangin’ out. (Or did they keep us up? Hmmmmm….)
Don and I hit the road early the next morning, homeward bound. It always seems like the trip home is longer than the trip there. The weekend was a whirlwind of delight, and we were both still riding its wave, I believe. As much as we enjoyed our time there, we were both anxious to get home to our families.
San Yun Do has gone thru a few iterations, with regards to its curriculum, over the last 10 years. Some of them have been fairly drastic, especially early on. As time progressed, the changes were more subtle and refined. In preparing for this trip to Tennessee, I believe we turned yet another corner with the way we teach and present information. We are always striving to improve ourselves, to be better teachers/servants for our students. It’s our students, as well as sharing what we do at places like Somerville, that make it all worth the effort. Thank you for this opportunity to share a part of us with you.
Until the next time our paths cross,
Chuck Pippin, Innovative Martial Arts
Some of you may know (my students) that I have been going through our curriculum in an effort to make it more applicable for modern life. Part of that process includes researching the types of movements that would be suitable for use against the knife, stick and clinch/takedown.
Part of this search lead me to meet some friends up in Michigan that host the Gathering of the Tribes every year. This gathering includes a lot of top silat and kali players among others. After last summer I invited Chuck and Don to come down to teach a Close Quarter Knife Combatitives class. He followed that up with a Cane class that was fantastic. It was similar to single stick work that I have done in the past but with some added benefits.
Here is Chuck's review of his trip down here:
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tennessee Trip
This past May, my good friend Chuck Sullivan dragged a couple of students (Jeff and Rob) with him to the 10yr anniversary of the Gathering of the Tribes. We had a good time during the weekend, and as usual, I wasn’t able to spend nearly enough time hanging out with them as I would have liked.
Chuck and I spoke later about the possibility of Don and I teaching a seminar for him in Tennessee. I was understandably reluctant…you all know how shy I am, and how much I hate sharing what we do…so I tentatively agreed to consider it. (Ok, stop rolling your eyes…geez!) The truth is, I was excited for the opportunity to visit with friends, and have a chance to share SYD with more people!
On the Thursday before we left, I decided to take it easy in class…Murphy being a relative and all. In spite of that, I managed to tweak my back a little, and so was fairly sore thru out the drive down.
Don and I left GR around 5:30am (Waaaaay too early) but we wanted to get there for dinner. (That way we’d have time to rest before having to earn our keep.) It was a beautiful day for a drive, and we switched off piloting duties on a fairly regular basis so neither of us would get too car-lagged. Starting in Michigan, it was a tad chilly in the morning, so I’d dressed for Michigan fall. Just about exactly 12 hours later, we were arriving in Tennessee to some beautifully warm, decidedly not Michigan, weather. I believe it was in the 80-90s the entire weekend…and actually reached 101F one day. I loved it!!
Chuck works at a Chinese Medicine practice, and later that evening after a very filling dinner, he offered to work on my sore back. I’d never had acupuncture before, but am definitely now a proponent of it. Thanks to Chuck’s work, I didn’t have any soreness to my back thru out the rest of the weekend that wasn’t associated with just good “worked muscle” soreness. Thank you Chuck!
In talking with Chuck about the next day’s activities, I discovered that Rob is a black belt at the school in Somerville where the seminar was to be held. It’s located a short distance away from where we stayed in Bartlett, with Chuck.
Saturday morning we woke up to a tasty breakfast prepared for us by Chuck…and left for the 40 minute drive from Bartlett to Somerville. We arrived a little after 8am to meet the Senior Instructor, Jack Dawson and some of his black belts. Rob’s instructor, Jack, opened his school to us, and even suspended the “no shoes” rule for the weekend.
Jack is a true Southern Gentleman. He’s an incredibly gracious host, quick to smile, very respectful, and genuinely interested in what you have to say. He’s also an extremely skilled martial artist and Teacher. I liked him immediately! “O.D.” Harris was the other Senior Instructor in the school, and is very quiet, and unassuming…if you don’t know him. You would never know that he works in Corrections if you didn’t ask him. When you see him move…or more accurately, teleport…any questions you might have about whether or not he can take care of himself vanish. Their black belts are equally respectful and open minded…and most definitely honor their Instructors by their conduct.
Saturday’s Seminar was largely about sharing the training methods we use in San Yun Do. One of the great things is that these methods are non-art specific. The focus of our seminar had to do with what we believe being a good training partner entailed. How do we ensure that the person we’re working with builds good muscle memory and a positive “Root/Foundation Level” reaction? If they’re flinching away, blinking, or if their overall structure/form is breaking down are we training this person properly? As a Coach (the person who’s feeding the attack), how do we learn what to watch for and provide feedback to help correct it? As the Trainee, how do I communicate with the Coach? This was the main topic of the seminar and we used ‘Empty Hand vs Blade’ as a context to train from. We had the participants switching rolls and training partners often thru out the seminar.
Twenty six showed up to play, many of whom hadn’t been in a martial arts school before. We started working from the ground up using the concepts of Structure, Mobility, and Directionality as a framework to build from. Everyone there put in such an amazing effort.
As the day progressed, we worked thru our 3 Phases of training (Structured, Intentional, and Contextual) which culminate in practicing situational scenarios. (That is to say, you get to apply the skills you’ve learned in the context in which they might have to be used.) These particular scenarios involved the attacker having a blade. Everyone was having so much fun we forgot to look at the clock. By the time we left for the day, it was two hours longer than we’d planned.
Looking back, I’d have to guess that our intention training drill, “The Increasing 5”, and the Scenarios were probably the favorites of the seminar. I was very happy with how everyone did. According to Jack, they were very proud of their bruises and had fun telling their friends about how they got them.
Saturday evening saw Don and I back at Chuck’s for an excellent dinner. According to Chuck’s wife, Angie, he hasn’t cooked this much in years. Fortunately, he proved to be as excellent a cook as he is a host. We ate well! After chatting with the family for a couple hours, we were off to bed.
Sunday, we got to sleep in a bit, as the Cane Workshop wasn’t scheduled to start till noon-ish. We arrived just after 11:30am to get situated and warmed up a little.
Just 6 people attended this session. All were experienced martial artists and teachers. (Anymore people and the room would have been very interesting to try to navigate safely) We began with talking about the cane as a tool (reach, impact, etc), and about how the training concepts we were going to be going thru were the same as we used the previous day. It helped that they were all in attendance on Saturday.
We went thru the 3 basic positions of the cane, Point Down, Point High, Point Middle, and why we used them. (The various “attitudes” of each position…)
Next we went thru the structure, mobility and directionality concepts as it pertains to the cane. (Noticing a similarity here?) ?
As the day progressed, we plugged the cane into the 3 Phases of Training we used the previous day…working thru to the point where Don and I introduced them to the Cane Game.
Our Cane Game is a free flow exercise designed to help build the attributes practiced earlier in the seminar, but in a more chaotic environment…the idea’s of position, mobility, and directionality are all mixed in and applied in a very dynamic environment. We used padded canes for safety, and also had fencing masks, sparring helmets, etc…to add to the safety. A padded cane might not break a bone, but it still smarts when you get hit…and they can still take out an eye.
The whole group loved this play…not only does it really drive home the necessity for good footwork and controlling your momentum, but it also is great cardio! Everyone was sweating by the time we wrapped this portion up.
The last portion of the seminar was devoted to putting the Cane into a more probable context. You’re not likely to go cane-v-cane on the street…and it wouldn’t be a ‘duel’ either. For this, we used Cane versus blade. One person (Coach) had a training blade. His/Her job was to touch the Defender (Trainee). The Trainee had to hit the attacker in areas that would diminish the attack and allow a safe retreat. The Coach wore protective gear, and the Trainee used a padded cane for safety.
This really seemed to drive home the idea that the cane’s greatest advantage was the distance it could reach…its outer range.
We wrapped up around 4pm(ish) and said our good-byes to our new found friends. Don, Chuck, and I then headed back to the Sullivan Ranch in Bartlett.
Again we benefited from Chuck and Angie’s culinary wizardry for dinner…and then the whole family curled up to watch “Over the Hedge”. After the kid’s went to bed, we kept Chuck and Angie up until around midnight just talking and hangin’ out. (Or did they keep us up? Hmmmmm….)
Don and I hit the road early the next morning, homeward bound. It always seems like the trip home is longer than the trip there. The weekend was a whirlwind of delight, and we were both still riding its wave, I believe. As much as we enjoyed our time there, we were both anxious to get home to our families.
San Yun Do has gone thru a few iterations, with regards to its curriculum, over the last 10 years. Some of them have been fairly drastic, especially early on. As time progressed, the changes were more subtle and refined. In preparing for this trip to Tennessee, I believe we turned yet another corner with the way we teach and present information. We are always striving to improve ourselves, to be better teachers/servants for our students. It’s our students, as well as sharing what we do at places like Somerville, that make it all worth the effort. Thank you for this opportunity to share a part of us with you.
Until the next time our paths cross,
Chuck Pippin, Innovative Martial Arts
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