The Battlefield is in the Kitchen: Part I
Today's Blog Post is Brought to You By: Maria Halkiadakis
On the journey to become the best version of ourselves, it is important to remember that you absolutely cannot out-train a poor diet. If you have been successful in dedicating yourself to a good training plan, but still aren’t seeing the results you want, then you probably need to make some serious changes in the kitchen. You can lift, run, cycle, hike, or jump on a trampoline till you’ve sweat enough to fill a small swimming pool, but you aren’t going to get the results you want without suffering the perils of overtraining…
That doesn’t look like a good time now does it? Exercise is definitely part of the equation, but not at the expense of wearing ourselves down to the point of being dysfunctional for the rest of the day. Instead, we provide balance in our lives by doing a little less work in the gym, and a lot more work in the kitchen.
In this two part series, we’ll highlight a few things you can do in the kitchen that will be crucial to achieving your goals, be it performance-based or physique oriented. If you're read SAPT's blog long enough, you’ve figured out by now that most things in life aren't easy. If you want good grades in school, you are going to have to spend hours studying. If your name isn’t Kim Kardashian then you are going to have to do actual work to earn at least a six-figure salary. I've also heard Santa hasn’t left anyone a beach body under their Christmas tree this year so you are going to have to put in the work yourself. It will be worth it!
PLAN AHEAD AND PREPARE YOUR MEALS
Step 1: Plan a week's worth of meals and snacks.
In other words, be prepared! Take some time to sit down and plan out your meals for an entire week or two. Unless you married a chef, leftovers will be your new best friend. Be sure to have a small healthy snack readily available so you don’t over-indulge at mealtime or give in to temptation when you walk past a vending machine.
Don’t know how to cook? I bet you know someone who does! I bet you have Internet too! (Hint: Consult the Google for free recipes and cooking instructions.) You could also borrow cookbooks from the library, call your grandparents for recipes, or if your feeling rather brave, just start throwing things into a skillet and see what happens.
Where there’s a will, there is a way. There may be some trial-and-error in the beginning, but you can find a way to do things that works for you.
Step 2: Make a grocery list.
Once the meals are planned then you can make a grocery list. Don’t forget to actually bring it to the store with you and stick to it! Unless of course you find yourself drooling over a bunch of kale in the produce section and you realize you forgot to write it down. A very important note about grocery shopping: DO NOT GO GROCERY SHOPPING HUNGRY! Done it before…it was a bad idea wasn’t it?
Step 3: Pick one or two days a week to cook.
This really depends on how you feel about eating leftovers that have been in the refrigerator for almost a week. I like to do my grocery shopping on Saturday, cook on Sunday, and then my next cooking day is either Wednesday or Thursday. This helps spread out all planning and preparation work and I’m never eating five day-old leftovers. Do whatever works best for your schedule. You are going to be cooking food for half the week at a time, so make plenty!
Step 4: Enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Putting in the work to plan ahead and prepare meals will actually make your week much easier; most people don’t want to or have the time to cook everyday. It’s pretty nice when you get home at the end of a long day and have a healthy meal waiting to have a little rendezvous with the microwave. Clean up is much faster and you don’t have to endure the potential guilt that comes with devouring half a cheese pizza you decided to order to make the night easier.
PURGE YOUR PANTRY
Get rid of temptation. There’s no reason to deprive yourself from a treat every now and then, but there’s also no reason to keep a box of cookies in the pantry especially if you find yourself snacking on them occasionally. It adds up…
Do you have kids? If so, I bet they LOVE junk food. You don’t have to deprive them either, but by no means do you need to keep Oreo cookies, potato chips, and ice cream on hand. Save the goodies for special occasions. I know that jumbo box of Oreo cookies at Costco is such a good deal, but I promise you won’t miss it and neither will your waistline. You’ll feel a lot less guilty about indulging on some holiday goodies if it’s the only junk food you have eaten all week.
REMEMBER…
A goal without a plan is just a wish. If you want to see results whether it be looking stellar in that bikini this summer or becoming your team's VIP, you have to put in the work to get there. Stay tuned for part two of the Battlefield is in the Kitchen next Friday for more advice on how to win the war!
Sweat and Sacrifice: It’s OK to be Uncomfortable
Kidding! It's not Kelsey. Goose is back in the blogging world and has a solid post, just in time for the holidays!
Every now and then random people approach me asking, "How do I get abs?" "How do I lose weight?"
My answer: “Well, what are you doing right now?”
It’s surprising to me how much people underestimate the amount of time and hard work it takes for change to happen. Whether you’re an athlete not breaking a sweat in the weight room or a Desk Jockey who thinks walking 25 mins on a treadmill is a hard workout, the outcome is the same. If you don’t put in the work you don’t get any results!
NO RESULTS FOR YOU!!
A simple, yet extremely effective, rule to live by is: If you aren’t sweating you aren’t trying! Not breaking a sweat can be attributed to 1 or more of the following:
- Improper warm-up etiquette
- Moving too slowly
- Using too light of a weight
Wrong! Errr-body got time for dat!
Are you warming up properly? If you aren’t breaking a light sweat, lubricating your joints, or elevating your heart rate, what exactly are you doing?? A great quote by Olympic Weightlifting Guru, Greg Everett, “If you’re not warming-up, you’re not tough or elite, you’re lazy.”
If you skip or half-do youe warm up, well done! You've set yourself up for an injury or, at best, an unproductive workout!
How fast are you moving through your workout? If your workout speed can be described as “Slower than molasses on a winter day” we’ve got a problem on our hands! Going too slowly or taking too long between sets of exercises is not only a reason for the lack of perspiration but is also detrimental to strength gains.
Don’t be that guy!
Are you going heavy enough?? Once passed the learning period, where technique needs to be mastered, there is no reason to do “easy” weights. If the weight/load of an exercise isn’t in the least bit challenging there is no point in simply going through the motions.
Motivation: Somewhere in China there is a child warming up with you max!
Getting sweaty and uncomfortable are side effects of truly pushing the limits of your body in you quest for greatness! A concept that one of my coaches constantly drilled into my head was “If you are comfortable, you are not giving your 100%." Whether you are conditioning or resistance training, I believe this concept to be true.
The human mind is a very powerful thing; it is also incredibly lazy if you let it be. When things start to get tough, when your legs burn and you are breathing heavily, your mind likes to tell you that’s enough. However, the reality is that your body is still good to keep going, you’ve just got to find the resolve to push through the fatigue and finish whatever your objective is. That is mental toughness, that is what separates 1st from 2nd place. No one ever said getting better was a walk in the park. Getting better sucks, it’s painful, and super frustrating. But in the end when all the work has been done in the weight room and on the field, when you’ve lost countless ounces of sweat and winced through sore muscles, that’s when results will show. And that’s when PRs will be broken and victory will be gained.
Rant over. Happy Holidays!
Top 5 Dietary Changes
In case you haven't noticed, the theme of this month is oriented towards achieve the physical goals (be it body composition changes, athletic performance, or increasing levels of Jedi Mastery) that are most frequently established January 1. On Wednesday, Jarrett covered 6 rules/tips to enhance the overall efforts to achieving said goals. For those of you who like to click on links, this post is for you; for today, I have 5 changes specifically for the kitchen. Why the kitchen? Because what goes on in the kitchen can make or break your physical fitness goals.
Trying to train and perform (be it for physique or performance, or both) on a woefully crap-o-licious diet is like trying to throw a 10lb medicine ball from half court and expect to make the basket... try it and let me know if it works. Sure, you can get by on eating cheetos, candy, and guzzling soda and "feel fine," but sooner or later my friend (I'm looking at you teenagers...) it WILL catch up to you. If you don't believe me, just take a gander at this article about nutrition in the NBA. Just because you look invincible on the outside, doesn't mean you are invincible on the inside.
To our readers with some, shall we say, years of experience, who may be struggling to accomplish your goals but can't...seem...to...quite...get.....there.... BAH! (throws hands up in frustrated desolation) Do not give up hope! Today we'll lay out some simple, yet effective, dietary changes that can turn the tide when it comes to battles of the health nature. The following suggestions are applicable to the teenager who needs to fuel athletic competition and practice as well as their parent(s) who is seeking to improve overall health and stamina.
Public Service Announcement from the Desk of Kelsey Reed: These are all small changes. I would encourage to try one or two changes a week (or 2 weeks) in order to acclimate to the alterations. I don't recommend trying to overhaul everything at once, unless you're confident it won't drive you crazy, since incremental changes are much easier to adjust to than large ones. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is converting a not-so-healthy lifestyle into a healthy lifestyle. It takes time and patience. Read on!
1. Learn how to read food labels
Read this --> Kitchen Ninja Skillz. While this is not a direct food change, the ability to read and interpret food labels will greatly enhance your discernment when it comes to "healthy" foods. Many foods are labeled as such, but in fact, they lie. The ingredients is where the truth resides! Ignorance of what's in your food sets you up for failure. Knowledge is power! (and in this case, health!)
2. Reduce overall sugar intake
Now, you can go commando on all sugar and eliminate it entirely (with the exception of fruits. Some diets will tell you to do that, I'm not so sure about the wisdom in that. When a diet calls for you to eliminate an entire food group (outside of a medical need), there's something wrong with that.) or eliminate the extra processed sugar-laden foods first, and then work to replacing said foods with whole, natural foods. This is a 2-for-1 deal in that, if you're whittling down the amount of processes sugar you eat, you'll also be removing the fake food crap and increasing your real, whole food intake. Bonus!
There are numerous studies out there that demonstrate the negative effects of added/refined sugars (here's a small sampling). Imagine how great you'll feel if you take out all the junky-junk! This is applicable to both sides of the population (those seeking to gain weight and those seeking to lose) since a super high sugar intake can hijack glucose metabolism and processes (think back to the NBA article about Dwight Howard, he was having all sorts of neurological issues that were affecting his performance!).
Perhaps the first step is to not use creamer and sugar in your coffee, instead try either plain milk and a touch of honey. I prefer stevia with a little bit of coconut oil. Swap out baked desserts (like cookies and cakes) and instead try a baked apple, raw fruit, or maybe some yogurt with frozen berries (or if you wanna get snazzy with your yogurt). There's even a way to make your own sorbet! There are SO many options and recipes out there that do not use processed, refined sugar and are a sweet, healthy replacement for desserts and snacks. EXPLORE!
Take a gander at what you eat daily, it should be fairly easy to identify which foods contain the most refined sugar (since you know how to read food labels right?). Ensure that you examine what you drink as well. Fruit juices are, more often than not, the opposite the pancea of health. Replace those foods/drinks with whole foods, i.e. fruits for baked goods, water/tea for sodas, etc. Again, make the adjustments small and manageable.
3. Eat more vegetables
I've said it over and over and over. EAT MORE VEGETABLES! I'm not going to belabor this point too much, because, if we're honest with ourselves, we ALL KNOW THIS, but choose to ignore the little Jiminy Cricket of Nutrition on our shoulders.
Let's do a quick list on why this will make life better:
- Vegetables are bulky and will make you feel full on less calories (and the calories you do intake are JAM PACKED with nutrients that can only enhance your bodily functions). Eating less calories = weight loss.
- Phytochemicals, minerals, vitamins, and compounds with funny names are found in abundance throughout the vegetable world. I'm not going to get into all of them, you can read some specific things here and here if you're so inclined. Simply, if you're body's internal functions (think metabolism and all those various processes) are working properly, the more external functions (think exercise and recovery) are going to be a cinch.
- Fiber and well lubed tubes. Need I say more?
How does one go about this? Small start: Add one vegetable to each meal (that didn't already have one). This could be tossing in spinach and chopped veggies to your scrambled eggs in the morning, replacing rice with cauliflower "rice," (cauli "rice" instructions),ordering a side of steamed vegetables instead of fries at a restaurant, if you like to be sneaky you can puree some steamed cauliflower or broccoli and hide it in meatloaf, or simply, just adding some steamed or roasted vegetables to your meal. You can make a whole, huge batch of roasted veggies and just scoop out a few spoonfuls throughout the week.
4. Drink water, lots of it
Depending on where you read about the body, it's anywhere from 70-80% water. Don't you think that means we need to ingest a lot of it in order to function optimally? Water does the following:
- Hydrated joints are happy joints. Painful joints hinders training.
- Hydrated kidneys (which process toxins and such) are happy kidneys. Dehydrated kidneys cannot do their jobs well, therefore, they must call upon the liver to help out. Whilst the liver is busy processing toxins and such, stored body fat just hangs out (and accumulates depending on your caloric intake). Hydrate your kidneys!
- Promotes weight loss via appetite suppression. Sometimes the "hunger" cue gets confused with the "thirsty" cue thus you eat more than you need... and we know what that leads to.
How do we do this? Grab a water bottle, fill it, and drink at least two of them throughout the day. Combine that with the normal volume of liquid and you should be good to go. Essentially, you should be peeing a light yellow to clear. That's when you know you're drinking enough.
5. Get tougher
Seriously, the tips above aren't anything earth-shatteringly new. And they really aren't that hard to begin implementing into your daily life, especially if the changes are small, manageable, and incremental. Stop seeking the "quick fix," or the new "diet" that leads to miraculous body changes.
Suck it up. Life is tough and things worth having require hard work, sacrifice, and perseverance.
I'll admit (this probably makes me a horrid person according to some schools of thought) but I have very little compassion or sympathy for people who moan and groan about their lack of progress who do NOTHING to change. As a coach, my job is to help people reach their goals, I'm ALWAYS delighted to do so and love encouraging people to continue striving to better themselves. However, I don't coddle. If you're an capable, reasonably intelligent adult, you don't need me (or any coach for that matter) to hold your hand. I'm not Sam from above, I'm more like:
Elrond will fight with you, give you advice, but he won't lie to you. And he certainly won't hold your hands. How do you teach a kid to swim? You don't hold them up the whole time or give them floaty things forever do you? NO! You let them struggle and strive until they figure it out. The same principle applies to life-style changes. IF you're relying on others to "make" you change, you're setting yourself up for failure. You are responsible for your body, take ownership.
Are you going to have bad days? Yes. Will you mess up? Yes. So what? Shake it off, and get back on track. Wallowing helps you none.
Get up. Take action.
6 Rules to Resolve By
Every January it’s the same old thing, I see people buying new gym memberships, supplements and athletic clothes. Some go the distance, but far too many get lost before February even hits. It’s never easy to go cold turkey into a new regimen, but it’s even harder when done blindly.
So let’s not make things harder than they already are. Let’s set some parameters to help you to help yourself. Follow these 6 rules and it will easily compliment your training goals and give you no excuses to fail.
1. Always know what your next meal is.
Far too often I see great routines and diets crushed by poor planning. You will naturally crave fatty foods if you go too long without eating. By always knowing what/when your next meal is, you can eliminate any chances of grabbing that, “convenient” big mac. I don’t care if you have to be that guy/lady who brings a cooler to work. It’s cheaper, smarter and healthier than sooo many of the other options.
2. Always have ________ at hand.
I left the blank there because it really depends on your goals as to what you should always have available. If you’re trying to lose weight, it should be an apple or carrots. Life happens and you need to be prepared if your plans change or if you feel the need to stress-eat. These are both nutritious, low calorie, and full of fiber which will keep you full. Plus they make you poop, and pooping is the number two best way to lose weight…
Now if you’re trying to put on mass or just get stronger, then always keep a protein bar or shake on you. The more calories the better, because you never know when a coworker is going to treat themselves to the clearly marked leftovers in the fridge. Mixed nuts or trail mix are also great. Anything to keep the catabolism at bay.
3. Be in bed 8 hours before to need to get up.
Sleep is another killer to progress. I don’t think that I need to cite the numerous studies that link lack of sleep to obesity, but here’s an article on it anyway. Most of us don’t get the recommended 8 hours, but we should still try. If you find yourself constantly neglecting this rule, then it may be time to re-evaluate your time management or lifestyle.
Now for some, this may be borderline impossible even with perfect time management. This is why I said, “BE IN BED.” Just be relaxed, unwind and be comfortable. Sleep helps to turn down the sympathetic nervous system(fight or flight) and let the parasympathetic nervous system(rest and digest) do it’s job. So if you aren’t sleeping, at least relax to try to get some of the affects. You can also try:
How to battle sympathetic dominance in just 5 easy minutes!
4. Drink a ½- ¾ gallon of water a day
Peeing is the number one way of loosing weight, so let’s get the gears going. Not only does drinking enough water help with recovery, but it has the following effects:
- Helps fight skin disorders
- Removes waste and toxins from the body
- Increases metabolic rate
- Suppresses appetite
- Battles heart disease and certain cancers
- Helps to lubricate your joints
- Provides more energy
The list goes on, but I think you get the picture.
5. Limit alcohol consumption. Seriously.
No one seems to like to talk about this one, but it needs to be said. THIS IS CRUCIAL and don’t give me that, “oh beer is good for your colon,” crap. You need to really limit yourself if you want results. Though you may think that it’s helping you relax, alcohol actually turns up the sympathetic tone and puts your body in a stressed state. This can cause cortisol levels to spike, which is the last thing you want no matter what your goals are. Lets not forget that a gram of alcohol is 7 calories, where as a carbs and protein are 4 and fat is 9.
For those of you looking to get bigger and stronger, it’s even worse. Alcohol has negative effects on testosterone levels, motor programs and general recovery. So my recommendation is to limit yourself to 3 drinks a week and make it red wine if possible.
6. Get Evaluated.
Yes, get evaluated, especially for those of you who plan on training on your own. Most injuries happen in the first few weeks of the routine and will stop you dead in your tracks. A good trainer should be able to evaluate your movement quality and give you corrective exercises to ensure that you don’t pull that hamstring or mess up that rotator cuff. And if they can’t screen you, then find one that can.
Put these rules on your fridge, in your workout log, wherever. Adhere to them and they will be good to you. 2014 can bring it.
"That's A Load of...." Debunking Media "Fitness" Terms
Glance at the front of the magazines at grocery stores and you'll see a variety of "fitness" or "health" claims such as "tone," "fat-blasting," and other such nonsense as that. I find myself rolling my eyes so much that my occipital (eye) muscles are as big as a body builder's biceps. Sorry, strength coach joke.
Moving on, today I'm going to rip through debunk a few of those outrageous claims so that you too can strengthen your occipital muscles as you wait in the grocery check-out line. I can not possibly cover all the silliness out there, but I've narrowed it down to a few of the common ones (that seem to appear month after month on magazines such as "Self" or "Woman's Day"). A lot of these claims are found on women's magazines, mainly because I think we're fed more crap than the fellas, but they apply to both genders.
CLAIM: "Tone," as in "tone those jiggly arms"- First off, let me remind you that everyone's arm jiggles; that's what happens when a muscle is relaxed. The main definition of "Tone" in exercise physiology is: the normal state of elastic tension or partial contraction in resting muscles. For example, the postural are constantly contracting and relaxing to keep you upright (or slouched...stand up straight!). The fitness magazine "tone" refers to the ability to actually see the muscles' shapely form. (So really, they should say "definition" not "tone.")
In order for a muscle group to be defined, say your arms, two things must occur: 1) the muscle is big enough to be seen (so those stupid tricep kick-backs or bicep curls with 5 pound weight ain't gonna cut it when it comes to muscle growth.) and 2) there needs to be less subcutaneous (under the skin) fat. How does one accomplish bigger muscles with less body fat? Why, picking up heavy stuff and eating a vegetable and protein laden-diet! Glance through a women's magazine at those "arm toning" exercises and you tell me if you think they would actually succeed. As for eating healthy, the details look different for each person (i.e. paleo, vegan, omnivore, etc.), however it should be 90-100% REAL FOOD with minimal crap (though a Christmas cookie or two is ok.) 90% of the time.
FACT: "Tone" means: less fat, bigger muscles.
CLAIM: "Fat-blasting" food- The media makes it seems as if these foods (and it's a new one each week!) has heavy artillery and upon entrance to the body, starts blowing up fat cells left and right.
Uh, sorry, that's not how the body works. Fat cells, once formed, don't go away. They do however change size depending on how much fat is stored in them. So, in order to reduce the amount of fat in each cell, the body needs to be in a caloric deficit. This means you need to eat LESS than what you're using up, for the basic metabolic functions, exercise, and other activities. The body will burn it's excess energy, aka stored fat, to make up for the lack of energy intake. Altering body composition is a life style change; I guarantee you that just eating a serving or two of "fat blasting" foods will NOT be enough to reverse years of bad eating habits. There is a wealth of solid (and scientific) advice out there, and there are definitely more details than I plan on elaborating in this post (maybe another time...) however it boils down to this:
Stop eating crap, eat real food, and pick up heavy things. Take note that I put the nutritional advice first. You can not out-train a crappy diet, so clean that up first! There will be a blog post later on this month regarding that whole aspect of fat-loss.
FACT: Eating a whole-foods based diet, with minimal crap, and exercising regularly OVER TIME will reduce body fat levels.
CLAIM: "Target" body part, usually for fat loss- This myth just won't die! It keeps reappearing week after week on the covers of magazines and on the interwebz. People, YOU CANNOT SPOT REDUCE!!! The body doesn't say, "Oh, I see that you are doing thousands of crunches, I should reduce the body fat I store there so you can have a flat tummy." Really, it says, "For the love of all things iron, STOP CRANKING ON THE SPINE ! It HATES that!" Targeting is about as effective as trying to grow eye-stalks.
Oh, if grunting made it so!
For "targeting trouble areas" see the above two points: an overall body fat reduction will promote definition of muscles and those "problem areas" will be not so problematic. Again, it's a life-style change, not a quick fix.
*This is not to say that isolation work has no purpose. How else are you supposed to have guns for the ladies? Some isolation work thrown in to an already compound-movement heavy (lots of multi-joint exercises such as squats, deadlifts, pushups, pull ups etc) work out can provide some extra stimulation to a muscle group that can lead to hypertrophy (growth).
FACT: Compound movements should be the bulk of you training program. That combined with a diet of whole foods will reduce body fat levels and thus reducing the need to "target" certain areas. (anyone picking up on a theme?)
CLAIM: This is an actual quote from a celebrity trainer, who is a disgrace to our industry:
"Oftentimes, heavy weights can tear the muscle fiber causing it to bulk, but using a lighter weight for a longer duration and allowing your body to move in many different ways to target all of the muscles will lengthen them without tearing."
-Tracy Anderson
Multiple other coaches and trainers have ripped into this (and other nonsensical claims that spew forth from her mouth). Sadly, she is not the ONLY trainer out there who thinks this is true, she just happens to profess this poop where more people can read it. I'm not going to touch the first half of that statement except to say, uh, that's the method by which the body grows stronger...by tearing and repair muscles. Oi!
The phrase "lengthening muscles" is also found, unfortunately, in other fitness "experts" mouths and in their writings. It is physiologically impossible to lengthen a muscle without breaking the bones and extending them or altering the attachment points of the muscle. Yes, the muscles lengthen and shorten during normal movements, however, the actual length of the muscle doesn't change. Got a problem with that? Take it up with your parents, they passed the genes along.
I think that term is really just "tone" said in a different way. Ultimately, the phrase is intended to indicate "definition" just like the word "tone." If a trainer says/writes that claim, it's a pretty solid indication that the trainer/coach has absolutely NO idea how physiology works and therefore you should turn and flee. I'd also like to note her splendid use of the buzzword, "target."
FACT: "Lengthening" a muscle is impossible, and the intended implication is "definition" which is attained via the methods described ad nauseam above.
Now, my SAPT readers, you are armed with the knowledge to see through the baloney that fitness magazines and products proudly display and you have the ability to recall the truth: a great, healthy body is created by... do I really need to say it again? Don't allow the stupidity of the outrageous claims dissuade you from thinking that anything but consistent hard work (both in the kitchen and in the gym) will accomplish your performance and/or physique goals.
The Fallacy of More Is Better
Let us travel back in time... not that far, just to Monday's post. Building on the theme of "Magic Bullet" fitness, there's another fallacy that runs alongside Magic Bullet, kinda like those weird fish that attach themselves to sharks:
It's the mentality that more is better, if you're not gasping for breath and barely able to stand after the workout, then all is for naught! Oh, ho my friends! How far from the truth does that little fish swim.
This is not to say that I don't enjoy a good heart-pounding, sweat-pouring workout now and again (they're fun) or that you should never push yourself beyond your comfort zone. What I am saying is that progress and the value of a training session should not be measured on a) soreness b) tiredness c) vomiting. Matter fact, if the last one does occur, that's the signal your body gives you that you were an idiot and pushed it beyond it's ability to recover (both during the session and possibly after, depending on other stressors). Way to go, bucko.
Let's clear the air a bit and distinguish between soreness that leads to progress and soreness that leads to poop. (that's a technical term by the way.)
Most people, at some point or another, have experienced DOMS (the "Jaws" theme always plays in my head when I hear "DOMS"). DOMS is delayed onset muscle soreness. It usually manifests any where from 12-72 hours after a training session. There's a couple different theories on what contributes to DOMS but for the most part, it stems from microtrauma (itty bitty tears) to the muscle fibers during movements. The body repairs these tears to be more resilient to tears in the future, thus the muscle becomes bigger and stronger. It's similar to forming a callus: the skin is sore and tender, but eventually toughens up to prevent future damage.
This type of soreness is the kind we want for it leads to progress. Think about when you first start training again after a break or introduce a new exercise, at first whoooo buddy! Your muscles are pretty tender, but after a couple more sessions, those same exercises no longer leave you incapacitated afterwards. Those who train regularly, be it lifting, running, lightsaber dueling, will rarely be sore after a workout. This is a sign of progress since the muscles are now more resilient to the training stimulus (and they're stronger to boot!). Do you see how gauging a good workout on soreness is a rather inaccurate measure? The opposite is in fact true: the lack of soreness (over time) is an indication that the training program has a stellar balance of tearing the muscles and repairing them.
In contrast, workouts that cause soreness (or, one step further, real pain) either during or immediately after, are NOT ideal. Immediate soreness/pain is an indication that the body has been pushed too far, and potentially incurred more serious damage to the muscles, joints, or tendons that in can recover from. Over time, if the body isn't allowed to fully recover between training sessions, this could lead to actual injuries. This is bad. Instead of spending energy to repair the microtrauma of the muscles, the body is going to direct resources to repair the more serious damage.
For example, let's say you do a workout of 100 burpees, 400 m sprints, and 100 pushups. Your muscles will incur the microtrauma mentioned above (the kind that leads to strength gains), but you probably also had some damage done to the muscles and tendons surrounding your shoulders, elbows, ankles, and spine. All of which the body will prioritize in healing before dealing with the smaller tears in the muscles. Overall, you're probably not going to get much out of this workout in terms of strength and/or performance gains as your body is spending it's time with emergency repair crews at the joints and tendons (which, from your body's standpoint, are more important).
Therefore, if a workout that causes immediate soreness that's an indicator that the body has been pushed beyond it's limits (either at the muscles or joints or both) and will have a harder time recovering from the workout. As we learned from above, the recovery process is KEY to growing stronger and increasing performance. Thus, if recovery is impaired...fill in the blank, folks. (hint: progress is impaired)
So if you're feeling beat-up, exhausted, and shaky after each workout, I would say it's time to reevaluate your training. Sessions that lead to that are not sustainable over time. If the body can't recover, stress will pile up (even if you don't feel mentally stressed) the physical stress can actually inhibit your fitness goals by either a) cortisol, a stress-related hormone, is jacked up which hinders overall recovery (if it's too high. A little coritsol is part of the recovery process, but chronically high levels can eventually mess everything up). b) injury. Your poor body is just pooped. Bummer.
Take-Away:
1. Soreness is ok, especially in a new program or after a new exercise is introduced. Over time, the soreness will decrease and that's a mark of progress (the body becoming stronger and more resilient).
This is not to say that you should NEVER be sore; part of progressing is stressing the system a bit beyond what it's used to. There should be days throughout your lifetime of training that soreness occurs. But, it should not be....
2. Immediate soreness/pain, particularly around joints or the spine. This means the workout was perhaps more than the body could handle and, despite no actual injury you can see, the body IS injured and will require a longer recovery period. If that recovery time is absent, eventually injuries will manifest.
3. Basing the effectiveness of a workout on "soreness" or "tiredness" is not a fair gauge and often the wrong measuring stick. Instead, one should track progress by strength goals, clothes fitting (or not fitting. Growing some hamstrings can cause pants to be tighter), aerobic markers (such as, running a 100m faster, or the ability to rest less during a weight circuit), and other such performance markers over time.
A witty remark escapes me at the moment, therefore, just assume I said something that would be of a high caliber wit.
