Training Advice

Training & Diet Advice

There are many myths surrounding training; with thousands of training methods it is hard to know what is right. Top that with the amount of ‘experts’ out there it can be very confusing. With this in mind, it is important to remember that science governs how the body works, so it stands to reason that scientific research proves a lot of these myths to be exactly that. However, no matter what you do in training and performance the body will respond. Think of it as a car, all types will get you from A to B but some will more efficient than others.

There are three stages to training; it’s as simple as 1, 2, and 3.

Stage 1 – Stimulus; this is where the biggest variants can happen; this is the type of training you choose. Some basic principles of training are;-

                          1.   Overload – you must always challenge the body with a level above what it is accustomed to for it to improve.
                          2.   Specificity – ‘what you train is what you gain’, the body responds to exactly what muscle or energy system is being
                                 used.
                          3.   Variety – work all the body evenly to get a good balance response.
                          4.   Individualism – everyone is different don’t try to mimic others, do what works for you.

It is very important never to over train, over time this can have a negative effect. Sometime less can be more.

Stage 2 – Recovery; this is the most important phase. When you have made a stimulus through training, the body enters a catabolic state. During the catabolic state, cells are being broken down. The ‘damage’ done to the body is natural but the quicker we can overcome this the better. Your body will not make effective responses until the body has recovered from the catabolic state to an anabolic state. Recovery can be aided by an effective cool down with stretches, compression clothing, cold showers and the use of warm and cool environments. In terms of nutritional help, there are 4 things happening during training that nutrition can help;-

                          1.   Use up energy stores – glycogen in the muscles must be replaced by simple carbohydrates.
                          2.   Breakdown of muscle fibres (known as micro tears) – quick absorbed proteins delivers essential amminos to
                                 reverse this.
                          3.   Dehydration – fluid from the muscle cells must be replaced by electrolytes and water.
                          4.   Build up of toxins (known as free radicals) – vitamins known as anti oxidants fight and remove free radicals.

You need all of this within the ‘window of opportunity’ which is the first 90 minutes after training or performance. This is when the body desperately needs nutrients so absorption is massively increased. Unfortunately food is not quick enough here and can slow the recovery down. This is potentially the most important supplementation and can benefit everyone at any level in any activity.

Stage 3 – Response; this is why we train, we all want the best response possible. Unfortunately, this is the stage that is hard to get exactly what we want. The body is very specific in the way that it responds to training. Firstly; it is important to know why the body changes. It is trying to make everything it does as efficient as possible, in science we refer to it as the cost of the movement (the cost is how much effort/energy it takes). The body will always look for the lowest cost possible, that’s why it changes to make this possible, think about lifting a weight and how it becomes easier over time to lift the same. The body very simply can make three types of response;-

                          1.   Grow muscle (hypertrophy) – Muscle fibre size can grow in order to overcome greater resistances.
                          2.   Muscle function improves – Neuro-muscular pathways improve in order to recruit more fibres during a contraction,
                                 the speed of recruitment can also improve.
                          3.   Energy storage and delivery increases – All energy delivery and storage systems improve.

If you remember about the principle of specificity then it stands to reason that the way you train directly affects the way you respond. If you lift heavy then the first response will be more likely. If you train to failure then the reason you fail is because the energy has run out, this is more likely to stimulate the 3rd response. This is basic theories and with a well planned periodised training plan you can use all methods and affect all three responses for the best gains.

Once again, all methods of training will give you a response but a more scientific approach can give you the best results. Changing the body permanently is a long term plan, there is no get big quick schemes that are 100% safe and effective so take some time and get your training plan right.

Contact us and we can give some more specific advice.