Addressing the number one conditioning myth. As this article turned out much longer than I initially anticipated, I left out many aspects, supporting arguments and other related information. This is as it is not supposed to be a scientific publication or a thesis and merely gives a little bit of background of few aspect related to one of the the biggest myths in training.
Introduction
This article is written in reaction to a number of recent events, that just once again highlighted how certain individuals fail to study, research or gain knowledge in order to adapt or change training methods to benefit athletes. As a scientist, it is disturbing to see how people entrusted with the responsibility of training senior sports teams seem to be stuck in old-fashioned slogans related to training. For example, the myth of “no pain, no gain”, is still used with absolutely catastrophic results. Because they were coached in these methods in the 70’s and 80’s, they believe all athletes should still train in this manner. The individuals are pushed to train every day for lengthy periods, while nutrition of the athletes is not even taken into account. This is related to a real life example where the athletes come from backgrounds where their normal nutrition was questionable, at best and the minimum of 5 condition related injuries occurred in three weeks (I am not aware of any additional injuries, as I am not in contact with all the individuals from other clubs). This speaks volumes of the result of poor application of out-dated and rejected training methods. Added to the fact that there were a high number of injuries, the conditioning of a number of these athletes were approximately 50% below that of a “control group”, that tapered down their training a few (two) weeks before a tournament. The control group in this context was a group that trained at the club exclusively for the period leading up to the tournament. Except for the fact that their conditioning was worse, than the control group, the increase in injuries also indicate an increased probability of shortening their careers, caused by bad habits and related to poor form during training.
As comparison, I will list some data about my own training over a one year period, where I never once suffered a conditioning related injury. These figures will place some perspective concerning the gains that can be made with what I would term an intermediate training program. (I don’t need to train at an advanced level to participate in a specific sport).
Information
For the purposes of this article there will be two types of information given. The first is the feedback from the athletes regarding the training program they were subjected to. The second will be a some information on scientific methods and how it relates to effective sports specific training.
Feedback from athletes:
The following information was supplied, as it was directly reported by the athletes (players). The players immediately and at the start of the training session had to run a number of 400m’s. There was no warm-up and no dynamic stretching. They continuously had to run a number of 400m’s, the one after the other, to the point of extreme fatigue. Even while in this state of fatigue (or poor form), they were forced to continue further.
A lot of players were also for the first time in their life subjected to a gymnasium program, and deducing from the above it is highly doubtful that proper warm-ups were done before weights were loaded onto the bars. Added to that, it is highly doubtful that the players were taught the correct form for the various exercises with unladen bars, to initiate and trigger muscle memory. (This is not proven fact, but is easy to deduce from the fact that players were not even properly warmed-up for the fitness sessions.) This is also similar to what we experienced in the 80’s with military training, where it was called an “opfok” (to fuck someone up), where the object was to mentally and physically break down a recruit, so that it would be easier to brainwash and indoctrinate the recruits to be able to inspire them to kill other humans).
General Sports Information:
There is however a huge problem with this type of training, as it is proven to slow down development and gains. There is of course a legion of reasons for this and to understand it, one should understand the functioning of the body during the different stages of training and how the body recovers after an intensive training session. When looking at this one must also keep in mind the fact that the players nutrition was never addressed or supplemented and the lack of proper warm-ups. This is already ridiculous, but for now we will leave it at that.
During any extended training session an athlete’s training intensity will start to drop, due to fatigue. This is as the athletes will use aerobic and anaerobic energy sources (simplified for ease of understanding) in differing percentages, depending on a number of factors, which includes, genetics, the amount of fast twitch vs slow twitch fibres, the current strength training of the athlete and the current fitness level of the athlete, etc. As the athlete gets more and more fatigued, the form of the athlete will suffer, whether it is running, or lifting weights. When the form of an athlete suffers, it means the muscles are not able to fire “in the correct order” or as efficiently as they are supposed to fire. This means other muscles must compensate in order to attempt to “recover” some sort of form. When this happens, the muscles that are recruited incorrectly, memorises its activation and the next time the athlete trains, the incorrect muscles activate and fire earlier and compromises form sooner in subsequent training sessions. The body then starts to adapt. This is also why a marathon runner’s form is different from that of a sprinter and it is also why a sprinter will lose pace when you subject him/her to a “marathon club” during each training session.
The most significant side-effect from poor form however, is that when the muscles fire incorrectly when high explosive actions are required, the risk for injury increases significantly. An interesting factor is that the opposite does not appear to be true. When you train at higher intensities for shorter periods, your form for long distance running also improves. It therefore also appears that form suffers the most when fatigue sets in and in the end, the compensation to adjust form from fatigue becomes the main “muscle killer” and the main cause of training related injuries.
Now that we have already compromised form, we can add in the effect of poor nutrition. When training, one of the main reasons for fatigue, is related to the depletion of the glycogen stores in the muscles. When jogging slowly (not running), we mainly use our fat stores and oxygen (to burn the fat) to supply the energy and we can continue for long periods of time. But we still use energy from the glycogen stores at a lower rate. When the intensity increases, we use a greater percentage of glycogen and fatigue faster. (This section is also simplified for ease of understanding.)
In order to fill up “the fuel tank” after training, we need to consume the right balance of protein and carbohydrates, in relation to the training we did. But because we used more energy during training than normally, we would probably also need to increase our caloric intake, in relation to our energy expenditure. In short, it means you must change your diet and this must be done scientifically in relation to your targets. (I.e. Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to maintain weight and gain fitness or strength? Do you want to re-composition? Do you want bulk up? Do you want to gain speed and strength(power)?)
This means for each person, their nutritional needs must be determined on an individual basis, but as a whole, for the whole group any energy stores that are depleted though training should at the least be filled up. We always have to refuel!
A third important factor in relation to training is recovery. During training, we not only deplete our energy stores, but as we overload our muscles, we need to give them time to heal. When muscles are overloaded (a very basic principle in training), micro tears develop in the muscle fibres and these tears need to heal. It is for this reason that we do not train the same muscle groups two days in a row in strength training for example. The muscles need to recover. The same then also applies to training specific muscle groups related to running for example and it would be inadvisable (very soft word, maybe idiotic would be more apt) to do speed training on the day that follows a hard leg workout.
The complete training program therefore needs to be planned and structured to get the best gains and to prevent injuries. Added to that a rest period for some days in a week is also necessary to give our bodies’ additional time to recover and grow. This is even more important for people only starting a training regime, as their bodies are not used to the demands of a high intensity program. High intensity programs are only suitable for athletes or individuals that already have a good fitness basis. This fitness basis needs to be built first, so that one does not compromise form and health. This can be done by either using extended low intensity sessions that are mainly aerobic in nature, of with medium intensity intervals. The problem is, that some players are reasonably well trained, while others in training groups are mere beginners. When you increase the intensity at the start of a training program to suit the advanced individuals, you increase the risk of injury for the beginner. When we get injuries, the recovery periods are extended much more and any gains and benefits can be lost during long recovery periods for injury. It is much easier to properly plan by monitoring the athletes and to make provision for short recovery periods. During short recovery periods 2 to 3 days, there will be no loss of fitness, and you will have better conditioned players, but when you have injuries, the players will lose a significant amount of fitness and will have to recover lost fitness, after recovering from the injury itself. A double negative!
Because of the fact that our bodies need to recover for certain gains and from time to time, we also need to adjust our training through a number of cycles, which include micro-cycles for adjustments and short term management, for example a week cycle, meso-cycles, that are related to medium term targets or specific competitions, where we want the athlete to reach certain peaks, or where they need to recover and macro-cycles, which are related to the training program over the period of a year. Usually the athletes will be able to reach only one true peak in the year, but the proper management of the meso-cycles will ensure better control of the performances (slightly lower peaks) over a limited number of cycles, for example during a few tournaments a year. (An interesting point on this, is the fact that when we were preparing for an international tournament (where a taper down for recovery during meso-cycle is required), the specific coaches thought it wise subject those specific players to a training program where the volume was increased and nutrition and recovery was ignored.
Additional research also shows that the teams that have the most success, have training systems in place where training is based on shorter sessions, but at higher intensities. The All Blacks (rugby) have success with this technique and so does an athlete like Usain Bolt. The reasons are directly related to what is said above. When you are “fresh” and still able to maintain a higher intensity, you are able to keep the correct form and therefore get more benefit from whatever training you are doing. This is also the reason why High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is so effective. The recovery between bouts (the low intensity intervals) give you sufficient opportunity to regain “composure” or form. An added benefit is the fact that the neurological systems need to adapt continuously to higher and lower demands and it means your heart rate needs to adjust quickly to what you are doing. As fitness can also be defined as the rate at which your heart adjusts to the intensity of the work you do, we are training our nervous system to react to multiple changes throughout a session (sport specific training for a sport that involves sprinting and jogging at varying intervals).
If one also looks at the results of an athlete like Usian Bolt and compare it to the results of athletes that trained in the 70’s and 80’s, it is clear that training programs are improved by using principles with a scientific origin. So why would one want to use out-dated methods? One can argue that Bolt is an exceptional genetic specimen, but when one looks at the comparative data, there is a clear trend of an increased pace over time and the stars of the past are equal to below average athletes by today’s standards. So why would one want to train your athletes to be below average?
For the experienced trainer, it is easy to monitor the athletes in terms of form, but for the less experienced it becomes more difficult. It is therefore that we use the 10% principle. When the intensity of the training drop by 10%, it is likely that form will suffer. The more the intensity drops, the more form will suffer and we will start to train bad habits. Which basically means that when the intensity drops by more than 10%, we should stop that specific activity. One can always switch to a different activity, where the athlete can maintain correct form. (i.e. Switching from legs to upper body, or switching from high intensity to skills based activities). I have however observed first-hand how athletes are pushed to the extent that they can barely maintain 50% of the starting intensity and are still pushed further. (Of course add to the this the effect of poor nutrition and the lack of proper recovery between sessions.)
Related to all of the above, we come to the “meat of the myth”. Pain indicates injury or damage. While slight discomfort is necessary (the overload principle), pain is an indicator of damage that was cause. The same even applies to Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness/Stifness (DOMS). If slight, it is manageable and part of training and it should disappear within a day or two. If more severe, it indicates more severe muscle damage and longer recovery periods are required. Any other pain in joints, tendons, etc indicate injury and even longer recovery periods are required. Which basically transforms the slogan to “pain = zero gain”.
There are of course other types of discomfort, which includes the burning sensation in the muscles during certain high intensity activity. This occurs during the onset of blood lactate accumulation (OBLA). But it indicates non-aerobic activity and is related to the onset and cause of fatigue (to be kept in mind when form is monitored). There are specific training methods to delay OBLA through Lactic Acid Tolerance Training (LATT) and is for another discussion.
Before summing up, I will include my own data, just as a reference. To give perspective in relation to these figures, they were achieved without ever straining beyond slight to moderate discomfort. Of course as my fitness and Lactate Threshold improved, the training intensity could also be increased without any increase in discomfort. This was based in a training frequency on average of about 2.5 sessions per week only.
Initial data:
Age: 45
Height 1.79m
Weight: 95kg
Body Fat Percentage: 30%
Functional Capacity (VO2max): 30
Final data:
Age: 46 (over a one year period)
Height 1.79m
Weight: 80kg
Body Fat Percentage: 18%
Functional Capacity: 53
A very significant improvement, with training at an “enjoyable” level, where most of the gains were in fact in the initial two month period. The weight loss was however due to a dietary change, much later.
Summary
When one looks at conditioning, one has to take into account many different variables, where the biggest determining factor remains the individual. Generalised slogans don’t work and does not improve fitness or conditioning. Myths like “no pain, no gain” should be rejected off-hand as they do not contribute to the physical development and conditioning of sportsmen/women.
Rather base your training program on scientific principles and on things that are proven to work and that are tested and confirmed at the elite levels of sport. Always study, always research and always learn more and expand your knowledge. In training, when it is properly planned and structured, it often turns out that less is often more and quality of much more value than greater volumes or more extreme effort. Always choose quality over quantity.
As indicated in the articles on the introduction to physical conditioning, also focus on the individual and the specific needs on the goals of that individual, whether it is related to the personal goals, or whether it is related to the specific requirements of the sport or the position that person plays in.
Don’t be an idiot. Train smarter, not harder!