{"id":6595,"date":"2015-01-03T10:59:56","date_gmt":"2015-01-03T09:59:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/180.211.110.195:8082\/biestmilch\/?p=6595"},"modified":"2016-04-30T15:58:53","modified_gmt":"2016-04-30T14:58:53","slug":"recovery-a-lot-talked-about-topic-but-scarcely-explored","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biestmilch.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/03\/recovery-a-lot-talked-about-topic-but-scarcely-explored\/","title":{"rendered":"Recovery: a lot talked about topic, but scarcely explored"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"sleeping_4525\"<\/a>We cannot be more wrong, if we think that the body is idle during the recovery phase. On the contrary, periods of rest are highly active phases for the body build-up.<\/p>\n

You are probably pushing yourself as often into some more or less effective training session as your coach reminds you to take a rest.\u00a0Can you hardly bear\u00a0to make a break\u00a0from training\u00a0and tend to carry on with the training far too early?<\/p>\n

Siri Lindley<\/a> is a real protagonist coach\u00a0best-known in the world of triathlon, a real makeress of champions. She\u00a0confirmed my assumption saying that all her athletes are so damn nervous to lose their performance levels. “After 3 days of rest”, Siri\u00a0says, “my athletes start to become worried about their skills. <\/p>\n

To convince them to take a rest costs more effort than pushing them through the session. You won\u2019t believe it, but I also have to give them a program what to do, if they don\u2019t train.”<\/p>\n

You may utter that these are all pros and that for them things are different. But believe me during the 14 years I am working in triathlon now, I\u00a0met so many amateur\u00a0athletes\u00a0with exactly the same behavior\u00a0patterns.\u00a0In this article I want to give you some background knowledge that may help you to take\u00a0your off-time without running into a bad conscience.<\/p>\n

How are we supposed to assess the needs for recovery?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recovery is a very individual thing and needs lots of experience. How to gain this experience?\u00a0A good body perception is definitely inevitable\u00a0and the first door opener to interpret our\u00a0body’s signs that indicate whether we have recovered sufficiently. You can also put it another way: which criteria should we choose that enable us to make the decision to take a rest in time and like this learn step by step to trust our own observations. Even though science has tried to define parameters or body conditions such as heavy legs syndrome or heart rate the decision to carry on with the workouts is in the end primarily made by feel.<\/p>\n

Proposition 1:\u00a0The body is a regulatory system of intertwined feedback loops and interconnected circuits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Newton\u2019s mechanical view on the world that can be summarized in one sentence with\u00a0\u201caction equals reaction\u201d can hardly be transferred to our\u00a0body. But deeply engrained into our Western mindset\u00a0this so dominant\u00a0proposition makes it difficult for us to change our way thinking, observing and interpreting.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The body is a regulatory system.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Neither the images of scales nor of\u00a0containers are of any help when it comes to the point to interpret body conditions under stress such as intense workouts. Imbalances cannot be corrected by putting some more weight on the scale and measured deficits cannot not be re-assumed by refilling the containers (the containers\u00a0which not really exist). Only by accident it happens that substitution\u00a0works in the body\u2019s redundantly secured pathways of signals transmission and reception. Lactate is a good example. It indicates overreaching, but\u00a0it is not the cause.<\/p>\n

\"Intact<\/a>
Intact connections guarantee the body’s balance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The key for a balanced body condition is regulation. Regulation is\u00a0a\u00a0complex phenomenon – a whole body state\u00a0– from which balance emerges, oscillating between perfect balance and horrendous disintegration. It comprises the regulation of temperature, pH, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen uptake,\u00a0blood sugar\u00a0and many many more.
\nUntil today natural science has a hard time to tackle and investigate the various\u00a0states of regulation and its dysfunction.<\/p>\n

Proposition 2: Training incurs inflammatory processes.\u00a0Healing processes require recovery.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is common knowledge that the impact of endurance training are micro-injuries in muscles, sinews, connective tissue and the smallest blood vessels. These tiny injuries are required in order for the muscle to adapt to a higher performance level. The injuries can affect only muscle membranes, certain fibers or the whole fiber bundle. This makes the difference in the levels of muscle pain that you suffer from after training. Fiber ruptures also develop in the sinews and the connective tissue. The smallest vessels can tear.
\nThe reasons for these micro-injuries are not only due to mechanical forces but are also due to a rising and falling temperature in the tissue, disturbed blood flow, shifting of the pH, flooding with free oxygen radicals and\/or missing energy supply and exploited buffer systems. They\u00a0all influence the extent of the inevitable but necessary muscle injury.
\nThe injuries induced can be so tiny that the athlete does not even notice them or so bad that long lasting muscle pains arise. Creatinkinases and myoglobin levels above normal are typical in such cases.
\nAll inflicted injuries lead to inflammatory processes in the body regardless of where they may be located. The inflammatory processes are the foundation for all healing and adaptation processes that finally bring about the training effect as desired.<\/p>\n

Proposition 3: The immune system steers the inflammatory and healing processes<\/strong><\/p>\n

The immune system is involved at all times. It initiates, propagates, controls, and coordinates the inflammatory processes and brings forth healing. Immune cells migrate into the muscle. Soluble messenger molecules such as cytokines are released by muscle cells and immune cells and orchestrate the inflammatory processes. Both start and stop signals are generated by the immune system and control the process in the direction of healing. An intact immune system can heal micro-injuries within 3 to 5 days.
\nIf micro-injuries do not heal well due to a weakened immune system \u2013 this is the case, if your recovery times\u00a0are permanently too short \u2013 then muscle ruptures and injuries to the sinews may follow. Any form of inflammation takes its toll, be it an injury or an infection, by consuming energy and consequently leading to a drop in performance.<\/p>\n

\"Lesions<\/a>
Lesions are the foundation of adaptation processes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Due to the fact that never all muscle fibers are activated at once \u2013 studies speak of a maximum of 50% in competitive athletes \u2013 the muscle can tolerate an overload for quite a long time. Different\u00a0fibers are activated by a kind of rotary principle. The pattern of active fibers even changes during\u00a0one and the same training cycle. Parts of the muscle can find time to recuperate even if the muscle is not given the proper recovery time.<\/p>\n

Proposition 4: Build-up processes only happen during recovery<\/strong><\/p>\n

Intensive training and racing even more\u00a0are states of stress for the body.\u00a0Under this circumstances degradation processes prevail: Carbohydrate and fat stores are used primarily. If absolutely necessary even proteins are transformed into glucose. The\u00a0metabolism becomes consumptive (catabolic), the cortisone and catecholamines levels in the blood increase and the inflammatory components of the immune system are activated.
\nRecovery is dominated by build-up processes. The metabolism becomes anabolic. Now energy is used and needed for protein synthesis, and the adaptation of the muscles to achieve a higher level of performance can begin. Muscle build-up only happens during recovery and is the actual goal of the exercise. Sex hormones, insulin and growth hormones are strong build-up hormones (anabolica).
\nConditions within the cells change as well. The inflammatory stimuli are joined by metabolic stimuli. The cells and their environment are both highly active and protein synthesis runs on full speed, but only if you allow them to work by giving you some rest. This sounds like a paradox: you may have a bad conscience not training, but your body is not lazy, it is working hard.<\/p>\n

Remark 1: Mechanical forces get translated into biochemical signals<\/strong><\/p>\n

The mechanical forces that the\u00a0movements of the training inflict upon the muscle are an essential and integral part of the muscle adaptation process. These mechanical stimuli\u00a0are\u00a0transformed into biochemical stimuli and reconverted\u00a0into a movement that is mechanical per se. This process is nicely reflecting the loops and circuits the body consists of.
\nWhen a deformation like a\u00a0movement is imposed on the muscle, changes in the cellular and molecular conformations link the mechanical forces with biochemical signals.\u00a0Mechanical,\u00a0electrical, metabolic, and hormonal signals compose the movement, an orchestra that must be well conducted to achieve harmony not\u00a0to end up in cacophony.
\nNot only the muscles sinews, connective tissue and cells must collaborate perfectly to make this amazing translatory performance happen. If this is the case, then the muscle cells and their milieu receive the adequate signal patterns that are needed for the build-up, the\u00a0transformation and multiplication.<\/p>\n

\"Everybody<\/a>
Everybody is connected with everybody: That’s the body!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Remark 2: Muscles and connective tissue adapt their form and structure to raising demands<\/strong><\/p>\n

Muscle fibers multiply and grow thicker, connective tissue fibers increase, mesh more effectively and become stronger. The number of mitochondria in the muscle cells increase. Buffering\u00a0systems for protection against free radicals raise their capacity. The vessels also grow. A fine but tight net of blood vessels crosses the healthy muscle. It guarantees an optimal oxygen- and\u00a0energy supply because of its enormous ability to dynamically adapt the blood flow in the muscle.
\nAll the mentioned processes lead to an increase of our performance and are the well deserved result of training, if we can manage an optimal rhythm between workout and recovery. You\u00a0experience increasing muscle strength, speed and endurance as well as optimized energy\u00a0utilization.<\/p>\n

Remark 3: Body states you should monitor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Monitoring the quality of sleep, motivation,\u00a0mood and emotional state, state of mind, extent and duration of fatigue, duration and extent of muscles soreness, appetite, craving for sweets, body weight and temperature sensation can help you to assess your general fitness and well-being. If you\u00a0have problems to fall asleep or your sleep is fragmented, if you develop mood swings and you are emotionally imbalanced, if you lose the motivation for the training, if your appetite is not good, if you\u00a0are\u00a0excessively more tired than usual, if the muscle pains are protracted, if\u00a0you lose body weight or the contrary you can\u2019t lose weight despite the hard training or if you are highly\u00a0sensitive to temperature changes\u00a0– you are\u00a0sweating when it\u2019s cold or freezing when it\u2019s warm), then it is high time to take a break from training.<\/p>\n

My personal comment and plea for Biestmilch<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a condition of inflammation BIESTMILCH<\/a> works as an anti-inflammatory agent and the growth factors it contains influence the cells\u2019 regeneration. Cell lesions are manifold after intensive\u00a0training sessions and races<\/a>. These factors foster e.g. muscle growth, and repair of a disrupted mucosal lining of all outer surfaces be it the gut, the bronchi, or the stomach etc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We cannot be more wrong, if we think that the body is idle during the recovery phase. On the contrary, periods of rest are highly active phases for the body build-up. You are probably pushing yourself as often into some more or less effective training session as your coach reminds you to take a rest.\u00a0Can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2294],"tags":[1457,1452,1459,27,1453,1454,29,1048,113,112,735,784,1455,51,1458,754,75,1456,49],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biestmilch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6595"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biestmilch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biestmilch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biestmilch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biestmilch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6595"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.biestmilch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9846,"href":"https:\/\/www.biestmilch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6595\/revisions\/9846"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biestmilch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biestmilch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biestmilch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biestmilch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}