Recently the Modern Wisdom podcast featured Brett Jones, who teaches strength training and is the Director of Education at Strong First. It’s a fascinating conversation on not just working out, but why you need strength and fitness and how it can be a foundation for all other aspects of your life.
I’m continually trying to figure out how to gain more power and strength in my workouts. Not only that, but over the long term, I’m focused on maintaining a quality of life by staying strong with weight training.
Brett talks about muscle development and different training science.
They talk about the three best strength-training moves, which Brett says he prefers the squats and or deadlifts. He also says the military press and the bench press for upper body strength.
Finally, Brett also includes the pull-up for the third essential requirement for building strength.
The podcast also discusses the benefits of kettlebell training and how it can be used as an excellent entry point to the world of strength because a broad audience can use it.
Brett talks about the difference between power and strength, where power is how quickly you can apply your strength.
He goes on to say real power means you are patient enough to allow that power to come to fruition.
The Modern Wisdom podcast is hosted by Chris Williamson, who describes his podcast as talking to the most interesting humans on the planet. Listen to all the episodes at the Modern Wisdom YouTube channel here.
Overcoming Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
One of the most challenging things to overcome when beginning a weight training routine is the challenge of overcoming delayed onset muscle soreness.
If you ask even the most disciplined and fit people out there, most of them will admit to having lapses in their training routines where they take a few weeks off.
Getting back into the routine can be difficult because of delayed onset muscle soreness.
Something I’ve observed over the years of working out and training is that everyone’s body is a little different when it comes to muscle soreness and recovery.
You may be noticing increased muscle soreness as you get older where in your younger years, it was never an issue. It’s challenging to work out properly when your muscles are so sore you can barely move them.
Learning the causes of delayed onset muscle soreness – and how to avoid it – will keep you feeling great and enable you to have your best workouts. Not only that, but it will help you get back into your routine when you’ve experienced an extended lapse in training.
Why Do Muscles Get Sore
Beginning a new training routine or new movements, you’re not accustomed to will cause muscle soreness.
A more difficult than usual workout will also cause pain. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACMS) explains that muscle contractions cause microscopic tears along with the muscle and nearby connective tissues. The small tears are not the cause of the soreness.
The pain you are feeling is a side effect of the muscle repair process.
An interview by Livescience.com with Dr. Michael Jonesco, who’s a sports medicine physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, says, “soreness is a by-product of healing.” When muscles are damaged, inflammation begins, and electrolytes, such as calcium, begin to gather around the muscle.
The Frontiers in Physiology report that the immune system is also involved where T-cells are sent to the damaged muscles. A combination of electrolytes and your immune system are working together to produce both pain and healing in an overworked muscle.
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
First described by physician Theodore Hough in 1902, there’s still some mystery that remains around delayed onset muscle soreness.
Experts agree that steadily increasing muscle soreness and discomfort occurring between 24 and 48 hours after activity is defined as delayed onset muscle soreness. Other experts might dispute the length of DOMS as somewhere between 24 and 72 hours or even as long as seven days.
The repair process of the muscle after small microscopic tears is the cause of DOMS. The pain associated with delayed onset muscle soreness is also referred to as muscular mechanical hyperalgesia.
Most researchers would agree that delayed onset muscle soreness can be reduced or prevented by a gradual increase in the intensity of a new workout routine.
Diet
There’s a massive amount of research out there attempting to identify the best diet to mitigate muscle soreness. Most experts will agree that whole organic foods with a decent amount of protein and carbs will help.
Post-workout foods recommended for muscle recovery and soreness prevention include watermelon, eggs, salmon, spinach, coffee, cacao, and turmeric.
Eggs are recommended because of the protein, which is the building block of muscles. It’s also recommended to eat protein with other nutrients rather than only protein on its own.
Salmon is believed to be a great source of anti-inflammatory omega 3 fats and antioxidants. Along with strong protein content, salmon is considered to be an excellent post-workout food.
Spinach has been regarded as an excellent antioxidant and known to resist free radical damage. It’s nitrate, and magnesium content also include benefits beyond muscle repair only.
Coffee was shown to reduce post-workout soreness in a recent study. It’s said that the caffeine found in coffee is an analgesic adjuvant.
The study indicated that patients required 40 percent less pain-relieving pharmaceutical drugs if taken with caffeine.
These foods, along with many others, are thought to give muscles a boost while recovering. Of course, along with foods that benefit the body and muscle recovery, there are a few you should avoid.
Two of most agreed on substances to avoid when recovering from a strenuous workout are alcohol and sugar. Both of these have been proven to cause inflammation, which can derail your recovery.
What Should I Believe
With so many different experts preaching so many different things, it’s challenging to know what’s best. One important thing to remember is the fact that everyone is different. We respond to strenuous exercise differently.
We push ourselves to different limits while working out. Also, we recover differently, and each person has different reactions to various foods. Not only that, but as we age, our body will change in response to exercise and muscle soreness.
From my experience, it’s essential to listen to your body as you get older but continue to push your workouts to the limit.
As you push yourself, keep in mind that injury prevention is the number one priority. I’ve found a gradual increase in intensity over many days, and even weeks is best for overcoming delayed onset muscle soreness.