9 Restoration Tips That Will Make You Stronger
By John Paul Catanzaro
restore (r-stôr, -str) v 1: return to its original or usable and functioning condition;
“restore the forest to its original pristine condition” [syn: reconstruct] 2:
return to life; get or give new life or energy; "The week at the spa
restored me" [syn: regenerate, rejuvenate] 3: give or bring back;
"Restore the stolen painting to its rightful owner" [syn:
restitute] 4: restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or
broken; "She repaired her TV set"; "Repair my shoes
please" [syn: repair, mend, fix, bushel, doctor, furbish up, touch on]
[ant: break] 5: bring back into original existence, use, function, or
position; "restore law and order"; "reestablish peace in the
region"; "restore the emperor to the throne" [syn: reinstate,
reestablish] Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University
(http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=restore) “I've read so much about the importance of restoration, but to be honest,
my life is crazy right now! How can I realistically fit this stuff in?” Yes, that is a common dilemma and one of the primary reasons that
restoration tends to be neglected by many in our society. In a previous
article, I mentioned that “Russian and Eastern European lifters actually plan
for restoration in their periodization scheme. We, on the other hand, concentrate
so much on training that recovery gets overlooked. In fact, Russians do three
semesters on massage and restoration (in Kin or PE courses.) Guess how much
we do here?” If you guessed more than zero, try again! So how can we apply some effective restoration methods such as contrast
showers, stretching, soft tissue work, salt baths, electronic muscle
stimulation, and massage in our everyday life as I suggested. Well, here's
the way I personally do it. Contrast methods Seven years ago, I had a chance to spend some time with Dr. Mel Siff at his ranch in
According to Siff, “it is not simply the temperature of a given modality,
but also the level of difference between hot and cold temperatures, and the
time spent at each temperature that determines how one should use contrast
methods.” He claimed that this strategy worked very well with Russian
lifters, and he also used it quite successfully with his American athletes. Believe me, it does work quite well. After performing countless sets of
Olympic lifts, I had the pleasure to experience Siff’s lovely contrast
bathing method with EliteFTS founder, Dave Tate. Picture Tate and I jumping
from an 8-foot deep Jacuzzi (there were handle bars on the side to hold you
up—this allowed for complete submersion as well as decompression of the
spine) that was set at 110º F (yes you read that right) to a 62º F swimming
pool where we did a few laps (in the winter, Siff used to get his athletes to
roll in the snow!). Talk about contrast! And this was all done after
midnight. Needless to say, we slept like babies that night! Dr. Siff is no longer with us, but his methods live on. Today, contrast
showers have become a Sunday ritual for me. For contrast showers, Charlie Francis recommends three minutes as hot as
you can stand followed by one minute as cold as you can stand repeated three
times for the best results. This is performed once or twice per day. It is
important to cover the whole body though, including the head. Although in the
past, Siff has pointed out that showers with shower heads located only above
the body do not adequately heat up or cool down the lower parts of the body,
not all of us own a deep Jacuzzi and pool so a shower will have to do. This practice will make a big difference in your recovery. Trust me! The
key is the level of difference between hot and cold temperatures as well as
varying the time spent at each temperature. And for the most part, you should
end with cold. From The Bodybuilding Truth, here’s a method that
author, Nelson Montana, claims will naturally increase testosterone. It comes from one of the forefathers of modern bodybuilding, Angelo
Siciliani, better known as Charles Atlas. Did you know that the excessive
heat from a hot shower can lower your sperm count? In fact, the Aztec Indians
used this as a form of birth control (don’t ask). Anyway, Charlie recommends
finishing off your shower with cold water. Allow the cold water to flow from
the solar plexus onto the genitals. The belief was that these areas contain
the highest concentration of nerve endings. Therefore, the cold would
stimulate the nerves, which in turn strengthened the entire nervous system.
“Stimulate” is certainly the operative word here. I can attest to its effect
because I've been doing this for some time now. It takes a little getting
used to, but it sure is an eye opener! Stretching At least once a week, you should address the myofascial system. An
excellent way to accomplish this is (…dare I say it) yoga. Now, do you have
to necessarily put aside time to stretch? No, I don’t think so. I think you
can kill two birds with one stone. Why not stretch while watching television?
The average American watches over four hours of TV each day. You can easily
spare an hour of that time to stretch a bit. A great way to restore collapsed
arches and get a nice stretch for your quads, for instance, is to sit on your
heels. This is part of the hero pose in yoga. See how long you can last.
Practice other poses during this time and make watching TV somewhat healthy
and productive. Personally, I have my cute blonde yoga instructor visit the studio once a
week. Since incorporating a thorough warm-up before my workouts and
practicing yoga once or twice a week, I have not experienced any injuries.
Yoga will help to improve flexibility and enhance recovery, but if there is
another positive, it’s relaxation. It never fails. When we finish our session
and she puts me through her little relaxation phase, I am out! The second
that happens, the GH spike is equivalent to that of falling asleep at night!
Believe me, when you are running around all day long, you need a moment to
unwind, and I’ve found that yoga can help. Now if you can’t afford an instructor to come to your place, don’t sweat
it. There are a million videos/DVDs out there that will work just as well.
Pick yourself up one and try it out. Soft tissue methods Usually once or twice a month, my friends, Dr. Mark Lindsay, Dr. Bill
Wells, and/or Dr. Jay Mistry (all chiropractors), drop by my facility to give
me a treatment. Mark is considered the athlete’s secret weapon. Suffice it to say, he is a
soft-tissue specialist extraordinaire with a number of tools in his toolbox
including frequency-specific microcurrent (FSM), Erchonia cold laser therapy,
active release technique (ART), myofascial release, articular pumping, muscle
activation technique (MAT), proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF),
active-isolated stretching (AIS), electrostim acupuncture, and many more. I’ve written about the value of ART many times. I’ve seen it clear up a
number of nagging injuries in a single session. It can restore function,
reduce (and even eliminate) pain, and significantly improve flexibility (i.e.
range of motion) and strength in just one session. In fact, it can even
increase muscle mass as I discussed in my Pop ‘Em Out Muscles article
many moons ago. Bill is one of the best ART practitioners in Toronto. Jay is also a great ART practitioner and an excellent acupuncturist. He
often incorporates Graston technique in his treatment which is always a “fun”
experience! Vlodek Kluczynski is an osteopath, physiotherapist, and massage therapist
in one. This guy is unbelievable. I visit him on occasion. His work tends to
complement that of the practitioners mentioned above. One word of advice—if
you ever decide to experience a treatment from Vlodek, bring a small white
flag and a popsicle stick to bite down on! The point of listing all these guys is that you should be proactive and
find a practitioner in your area that performs soft-tissue work. Don’t wait
until injury happens to visit one. Go as often as you can afford. Once or
twice a month should be doable for most people. (Many healthcare plans will
cover treatment as well. Max out your limit if you can.) Not only will it
improve your recovery and performance, but it will definitely reduce the
likelihood of injury. Salt bath
Once a week (usually the night of a heavy leg workout), I sprawl out in
our massive bathtub for around 20–30 minutes. I do this about an hour before
I go to bed. Actually, I make a complete restoration soup out of it. The
recipe involves Epsom salts, Celtic or tropical sea bath salts, a mixture of
facial solution drops from the Garden of Life Clenzology kit, and finally an
aromatherapy concoction of lavender and chamomile. I simply keep pouring
everything in until the “taste” is just about right! Let’s examine each ingredient separately for a moment.
When magnesium sulfate is absorbed through the skin, it draws toxins from
the body, sedates the nervous system, reduces swelling, and relaxes muscles.
It also acts as a natural emollient and exfoliator and much more. One word of
caution though—don’t take an Epsom salt bath if you have high blood pressure
or a heart or kidney condition. 2. Celtic or tropical sea salts: These aren’t just for eating!
Adding these salts to a warm bath will help to draw impurities out of your
skin and invigorate the water. Salt baths also help with aches, pains, and
sore muscles, such as those associated with arthritis, muscle injury, and
weight training. We’ve been favoring tropical sea salts lately because they have a slightly
higher magnesium content. Note: Try adding a pinch of tropical sea salts and squeeze half a lemon
into your water. Drink at least half your body weight in ounces, and you will
notice a profound difference in your energy levels in mere days. It takes
some serious discipline to drink that much water on a daily basis, but doing
so can provide anabolic and anticatabolic effects. The water will help
lubricate the gut, the sea salt will aid digestion (by stimulating HCL
production), and the lemon will reduce acidity. All this will enhance
recovery and improve performance in the gym! 3. Facial solution: Believe it or not, I also add “some” drops of
the facial solution from the Garden of Life Clenzology kit to my concoction.
I do this not only for the deep cleansing and purification benefits but also
because it provides key minerals to aid restoration. Dunking your face
is optional!
4. Aromatherapy foam bath: When it contains chamomile and lavender,
it helps to relax the body, strengthen the spirit (it’s true—my spirit now
benches double its body weight), moisturize and cleanse the skin, and promote
a more peaceful slumber. But really, I just like playing with the
suds! You may not realize that the average skin absorption from bathing is much
higher than oral ingestion (see Table 1.) I find that this really helps
recovery, and it's great for your skin too if you care about
that stuff. Again, you will sleep like a baby after this. That is the second
time I’ve mentioned that phrase in this article! Where does it come from?
Obviously, not from someone who has any kids!
Table 1. Average skin absorption versus oral ingestion. These
calculations are based on hand skin absorption rates. The hand is a better
barrier against harmful substances compared to other skin areas, which are
highly sensitive. This means that the true absorption rates are significantly
higher (Fox 1998). I often combine salt bathes with cold water showers for a unique contrast
effect. We have a separate bathtub and shower in our suite so every once and
awhile I’ll just hop out of the (hot) tub into a cold shower and back into
the tub again. If you’re really stiff, you can end with a cold shower. Electronic muscle stimulation (EMS) Two methods that I predominantly incorporate are a) the Kotts method 4–6
hours after a workout as a double split method (i.e. 10 sets of 10 seconds
high intensity followed by 50 seconds of rest is Kotts’ protocol used by
Francis and others to promote strength gains of up to 20 percent) or b) the
primary method, which is a low intensity pulsating fashion that gently
massages the muscles (at low intensities, Siff and Verkhoshansky point out
that EMS provides a “massaging” effect facilitating removal of waste products
and delivering nutrition to the muscles through an increase in local blood
supply) usually the day after a body part. When do I do this? Actually, I’m doing it right now while I’m typing on
the computer. I’m on the computer at least an hour or two a day whether I’m
checking my emails, reading, writing an article, or scoping some porn! The
point is I’m making better use of my time by accomplishing two tasks instead
of just one. I’m so busy these days (delegating a million things to a million
people it seems) that time management is very important to me. Whether I’m
listening to an audio book while driving or stretching while watching TV (and
spending some “quality” time with the family…sssh don’t tell anyone) or using
EMS while on the computer, you get the picture… Massage Every Thursday afternoon, my massage therapist (ironically another blonde)
comes over to work on me. Generally, this is a deep tissue massage, and we
concentrate on a specific area that may be ailing me or that was worked hard
that week. If I’ve had a particularly stressful week, I’ll just get her to
give me a full body massage, and I try to clear my mind of everything that’s
going on (which is almost impossible). How about self massage? Well, if you want some neat suggestions, refer to
Hartmann and Tunnemann’s book, Fitness and Strength Training for All
Sports. One form of self massage that is fairly easy to administer involves a deep
stripping massage using a device called the Stick. Twenty moderate pressure strokes from origin to
insertion with the Stick will provide passive elongation/stretches, will
release toxins, and (you guessed it) will aid recovery.
The true master of restoration is a guy by the name of Jeff Spencer. He is
a huge advocate of the Stick. Spencer, for those who don’t know, treated
Lance Armstrong and the other members of the United States Postal Service Pro
Cycling Team before, during, and after each stage of each Tour de France
victory. As he puts it, “You must build a toolbox for recovery. Nothing does
it all!” There are so many tools in Spencer’s toolbox, but the one that may
interest EliteFTS readers involves earth-free electron transfer, which is a
way to connect to the earth and recover. It’s like magic really. Tension in
the system instantly normalizes as it restores natural cortisol rhythms and
decreases the inflammatory response. Do you need some expensive apparatus to enable earth-free electron
transfer? Not really. Taking your shoes off and standing on the bare earth
has the same effect! In fact, the fastest method of recovery is to take your
shoes off and walk on grass. Do this directly after training to quickly
quench all the free radicals that you produced during your workout. Aerobics Cardio, which is a slang term for aerobic training, can have many
drawbacks including increased oxidative stress and premature cell aging. It
shuts down the immune system and increases the incidence of mononucleosis. It
also lowers trace mineral levels, increases cortisol production, slows down
metabolism over time, negates strength, and decreases power and speed scores. Holy cow, the list goes on really. The increased cortisol production alone
can have several negative consequences such as a decrease in T4 to T3
production and an increase in a catabolic state (i.e. breakdown of muscle
tissue for energy). It can also cause immune suppression, a push of oxidants
to the brain, and increased abdominal fat. It’s enough to stress you out (pun
intended). For a real in-depth discussion on this topic, attend the Energy System
Training seminar held periodically by Olympic strength coach, Charles
Poliquin. You will wait an hour in any parking lot for a closer spot after
hearing what Poliquin has to say! The theory behind using cardio (or more specifically, low-intensity
steady-state aerobic activity) for restoration though is that the increase in
circulation will accelerate oxygen and nutrient delivery to your muscles to
speed up healing and recovery. According to Jeff Spencer, more rest is not
better. You need nutrients to heal, and you must pump the garbage out of the
body with active recovery! You know before I had kids, I would walk the dog for at least half an hour
every night. It was actually quite refreshing (except in the winter), and
many articles were born during those strolls. At times I would run home
because my mind was just filled with thoughts, but then I bought a Dictaphone
to keep my heart rate in check. I could swear those walks really helped my
recovery. What about feeder workouts? Many experts have touted the benefits of low
intensity strength training following high intensity work to enhance
recovery. However, a recent study by Zainuddin et al. revealed that light
concentric exercise has a temporarily analgesic effect on delayed-onset
muscle soreness but no effect on recovery from muscle damage induced by
eccentric exercise. Consider using one of the other restoration methods
mentioned in this article instead. Bottom line, an occasional walk may do the body and mind some good, but
don’t waste much time or energy on aerobic training or feeder workouts to
enhance recovery between workouts! Nutrition This is a huge topic that gets discussed quite a bit so let me just touch
on a few points to improve recovery. It is crucial to take in some protein every 2.5–3 hours to maintain a
positive nitrogen balance. The question is how do you do this with a busy
lifestyle? Well, most people will use the quick and convenient nutrition of
protein bars or drinks to get it in. The problem is that many bars are loaded
with binders and fillers, and they use inferior sources of protein. As far as
powders are concerned, most of the top selling (heavily marketed) brands use
cheap, raw materials. Most people do not rotate their powders (i.e. whey,
casein, egg, rice, pea, etc.) and consume this stuff several times a day,
every day of which could lead to allergies down the road. But there is a
simple solution… We know that we have time to eat (and hopefully prepare food for)
breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Why not make double the portion of each that
you’ll divide over two meals? Voila, six solid meals that you can consume
throughout the day. You can add a shake post-workout and you’re covered. The post-workout period is actually very important for recovery. This is
where you want to target most of your high-glycemic carbs to replenish
depleted glycogen stores, but most people overdo it! The average workout
consumes about 200–300 calories. Let’s assume that all those calories are
used from carbohydrates. Well, that means that we only need about 50–75 grams
of carbs maximum post-workout (remember, there are four calories per gram of
CHO). As mentioned above, the best carbs post-workout are high glycemic. We use
tropical fruits mixed with a fast-acting protein source like whey isolate or
hydrosylate. An hour later, move to a slower releasing protein like casein
and/or whey concentrate and use low glycemic carbs. Red meat (which is a stimulant) and eggs (which are high in tyrosine) are
great in the morning. Chicken and tuna are excellent at lunch. And choose
fish (which is higher in Omega-3s), turkey, and dairy (which are both high in
tryptophan) at night. We tend to go higher in saturated fat and mct’s in the morning (these are
high energy fats such as butter or coconut oil as well as the animal meats),
monounsaturated at noon (such as olive oil, olives, shaved almonds, and
avocados, which are all added to the chicken/tuna salad), and polyunsaturated
at night mainly in the form of Omega-3s (e.g. fish oil, flax seed meal/oil,
chopped walnuts, etc.), which will improve insulin sensitivity that tends to
decrease at night. Green vegetables are favored throughout the day and fruits only
post-workout as I discussed above. Occasionally, we’ll eat them at night as
the last meal of the day (e.g. a mixture of cottage cheese, ricotta cheese,
chopped walnuts, and mixed berries). Supplementation for recovery is another article for another time, but I
won’t leave you completely empty-handed. I’m sure you realize the importance
of vitamins for recovery. Well, we have experienced excellent results with
intramuscular water-soluble vitamin injections…more than oral ingestion…and
even more than IV administration. Dr. Larry Baker, a competitive bodybuilder
and medical doctor, has four versions that he has formulated with the aid of
a compounding pharmacist. This stuff works! That’s all I can say for now
until we finish our experiments, but it’s not often that you actually “feel”
something from your vitamins. For now, I’ll leave you with a tip that I picked up from Poliquin on what
to look for when purchasing a multivitamin/mineral supplement. Scan the
ingredient list for magnesium. If it ends in the suffix “_ate” (e.g.
magnesium citrate), then it’s good. Buy it. However, if it ends in “_ide”
(e.g. magnesium oxide), then it sucks! The former are generally Krebs cycle
intermediates and have a much higher absorption rate than the latter.
Magnesium is a relatively expensive mineral. If they use the “_ide” form,
then it generally indicates that they use cheap raw materials. This is the
form that you usually find in most drugstores. Sleep Last but certainly not least is sleep. Sleep is regulated by two entirely different systems—the sleep homeostat
and the circadian rhythms. The sleep homeostat “functions like a drive that builds up during
wakefulness in pretty much a linear fashion and is discharged when you
sleep…The homeostatic pressure to sleep depends not only on how long you are
awake but on how active you are while awake” (Marano 2003). Two of the best
methods to influence the sleep homeostat involve exercise and heating the
body such as by taking a warm bath before bedtime. When you do not get much sleep (which will happen occasionally on
weekends), you should still wake up at the same time but catch up with a
power nap. Naps should never extend beyond an hour or else you will enter REM
sleep, which will adversely affect your sleep that night. It’s best to take a
nap after eight hours upon awakening and for only 20–45 minutes. A trick that
I learned from Dr. Istvan Bayli is to simply soak the feet in cold water
right after napping. The feet contain many nerve endings, and this will perk
you up in no time. Just in and out is all it takes. The circadian rhythm, on the other hand, is tied to cycles of light and
dark. Darkness causes the pineal gland in the brain to secrete the
sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. Although bright lights or melatonin tablets
can be used to affect the circadian rhythm, my favorite method involves
tanning beds. Believe it or not, tanning beds are also useful to improve
circadian rhythms and increase vitamin D production, particularly in the
winter. It also gives you a bit of color, which improves muscularity and
enhances well-being. I like to “fake bake” once a week in the winter, usually
on a day I’m not training. Another piece of advice I can give you regarding circadian rhythm is to go
to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. Set your alarm for both!
Most people are watching television or on the computer during the time they
should be sleeping. Once that alarm goes off, stop whatever you’re doing and
just go to bed. You can always continue the next day. We should set our circadian rhythm around that of the sun. When it goes
down, so should we. When it rises, again so should we! But most get to bed
far too late, and this will inevitably wreak havoc on many key hormones. It’s
been said a thousand times that every hour before midnight is like two hours
after. So as my colleague, Chad Waterbury, has mentioned, it is best to
front-load your sleep before midnight. Variety in restoration and training is important. Siff notes that “it is
an important principle among the Soviets that intensive (i.e. near maximal
load) training alternates with a wide variety of passive and active
recuperation techniques…They caution against the use of only one relaxation
technique (e.g. massage) since the body rapidly adapts to relaxation as well
as exercise techniques.” I have presented a number of practical restoration techniques in this
article. Now go out there and recover! References 1. Archangel Health News. August/September 2005 Health Newsletter. 2. Catanzaro JP (2002) Pop ‘Em Out Muscles. T-Nation, http://www.t- 3. Catanzaro JP (2004) Stretching For Strengthening. T-Nation, http://www.t- 4. Chek P. You Are What You Eat. http://www.chekinstitute.com/cgi-
bin/at.cgi?a=258592&e=/products_specific.cfm?product=385 5. Fox M (1998) Healthy Water. Portsmouth, NH: Healthy Water Research. www.healthywater.com 6. Francis C (1997) Training for Speed. Australia: Faccioni Speed &
Conditioning Consultants. 7. Hartmann J, Tunnemann H (1995) Fitness and Strength Training for All
Sports. Toronto, ON: Sport Books Publisher. http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0920905420/qid=1035154897/bodyessence-20 8. Marano HE (2003) How to Get Great Sleep. Psychology Today Magazine. http://www.psychologytoday.com/rss/pto-20031028-000007.html 9. Montana N. The Bodybuilding Truth. http://www.elitefitness.com/ 10. Mysteries of Sleep. http://www.mercola.com/2006/feb/11/mysteries_of_sleep.htm 11. Poliquin C (2003) Biosignature Modulation and Energy System
Training. 12. Poliquin C (2000) Protocols to Gain Maximal Strength &
Muscle Size; Achieving the Ultimate Workout; and Customizing the Fat-Loss Approach
for Clients. 13. Serrano E (2005) SWIS International Weight-Training Injury
Symposium. 14. Siff MC (2000) Personal Communication. 15. Siff, MC (1969) Supertraining. 16. Siff MC, Verkhoshansky YV (1999) Supertraining, 4th Edition.
Denver, CO: Supertraining International. 17. Spencer J (2005) Recovery Strategies Used to Win the 2005 Tour
de France. Advances in Sports Medicine Leading Edge Update. 18. Supertraining Forum. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/ 19. Tate D, Siff MC (2000) Supertraining and Westside Strength Camp. 20. Zainuddin Z, Sacco P, Newton M, Nosaka K (2006) Light concentric
exercise has a temporarily analgesic effect on delayed-onset muscle soreness,
but no effect on recovery from eccentric exercise. Appl
Physiol Nutr Metab 31(2):126–134. John Paul Catanzaro, BS, CK, CEP is a certified kinesiologist and
exercise physiologist with a specialized honors bachelors of science degree
in kinesiology and health science. He owns and operates a private gym in
Richmond Hill, Ontario, providing training and nutritional consulting
services. For additional information, visit his website at www.BodyEssence.ca
or call (905) 780-9908. Check out John Paul’s DVD, Warm Up to Strength Training, for
some powerful techniques to increase strength and improve performance. It has
received a thumbs-up from many experts including Dr. Eric Serrano, Dr. Mark
Lindsay, and Dr. Ken Kinakin as well as Olympic strength coach, Charles Poliquin.
Visit www.StrengthWarmUp.com for more information. Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories,
visit us at www.EliteFTS.com. |
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