Rotate & Time Your Recovery Methods for Maximum Benefits

Originally posted on www.totalhealthperformance.com.au

There are a few things that everyone should make a habit of doing well to ensure they recover from workouts and competition optimally such as having a good bedtime routine and getting enough sleep. All other methods of recovery are specific to the individual and change depending on the type of work that was performed and the state the athlete is in. The effectiveness of any recovery method is also adapted to by the body like any other form of training, so different methods are required for long term progress.

The type and intensity of the recovery method used should change in response to the athlete’s reaction to them and the most intense types of recovery should be used when the hardest work has been done. There is no point doing intensive recovery protocols after light sessions as this just makes the body used to them and makes them less effective when they really are needed.

When you apply your recovery protocols is also very important. What I see a lot of the time is teams starting a recovery session as soon as possible after a game. Now performing a recovery session immediately after is a good idea if you need to back up and compete again quickly, let’s say a 9’s tournament or a BJJ competition but it isn’t the best choice if you are looking to recover for the next day.

Talyshev showed that applying recovery methods immediately after your workout or competition improved work capacity right after the treatment and 3 hours later but the next day athletes were worse of then if they didn’t do any recovery at all.

If you wait 3 hours for the system to calm down a bit and then apply the same type of recovery methods it was shown that work capacity increased 6 hours after the treatment and the work capacity was back to the initial level the next day. If the means of recovery were performed 6 to 9 hours after the workout then work capacity increased above the initial level the next day.

This means that it is important to time when you do your recovery sessions. If you need to work out the next day wait 3 hours before performing your recovery, if however you are having a day off in between workouts it is best to wait 6 to 9 hours after your work out as this will ensure that the phase of super-compensation occurs right in time for your next workout. If super-compensation occurs too early, when you aren’t going to work out, then its effects will be wasted.

For example if you train on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday split when you perform your recovery could look like this:

Monday – 3 hours post workout

Tuesday – 6-9 hours post workout

Wednesday – day off

Thursday – 3 hours post workout

Friday – 9 hours post workout if having the weekend off.

For my team we usually play our games on a Saturday and don’t train again until the Tuesday so I recommend my players perform their recovery session on the Sunday. They have plenty of time to recover between competition and our next training session but many are labourers so this helps them get through Monday at work and ensure they are ready for Tuesday.

The one recovery method I do start immediately is with post workout nutrition and hydration. I feel that getting in quality nutrients is the biggest factor for optimal recovery and other means are just an added benefit. If they don’t have this aspect down pat all other recovery methods are less effective. You can read more about Peri workout nutrition in this article.

I hope this helps.

Nathan Waters

Sprint Training Tips

Originally posted on www.totalhealthperformance.com.au 

Sprint training isn’t something I spend a lot of time on with my athletes. I spend more time in the gym correcting imbalances and getting the athletes strong. I feel this is the biggest bang for your buck when time is restricted as they get a lot of speed and agility work from the demands of their sport anyway. Their biggest limiting factor tends to be imbalances and lack of strength. If I were to perform more sprint sessions with my athletes then these are some general guidelines I follow.

When training for pure speed, it is important to focus on the quality of movements performed during the session and not just the quantity. You will see sessions performed where guys are just going through the motions with no attention to the details of each drill. This is pointless and you are just accumulating fatigue. You want to make sure each rep of each set is perfect. Training is about trying to ingrain the correct movement pattern into the brain so that when it comes time to compete and when you are under fatigue those are the movements you naturally resort to. If you perform them sloppy at each session then when you are under fatigue, how do you expect to maintain technique and speed?

Another thing to consider is how often you perform full speed or near full speed sprints and the distances you should cover. Personally for most field athletes I would keep the distances relatively short, working mostly on starts and maintaining speed over 30 to 60m max. If they are fast in the first few steps then they can beat defenders and accelerate away from them and if they can maintain that speed for 30 to 60m then generally they finish off and score points.

After each sprint session you must focus on complete recovery. The central nervous system (CNS) is heavily taxed when performing all out efforts so to keep the quality you must recover not only between drills and sprints but also between sessions. You will learn much better when you are fresh and you will also feel it in your performance feeling a much better flow in your technique then if you done it fatigued. Speed work should only be done twice a week in my opinion with about 72 hours rest between sessions.

During a sprint workout you have to know when to call it a day. It is the same as in the gym. We call this the critical drop off point. When the quality begins to deteriorate it is time to stop the speed work and move on to something else or go home. As they say garbage work equals garbage results. More is not always better.

When sprinting, it is also important to try and stay relaxed. Personally I find this very difficult but you should try to keep the face and shoulders relaxed and maintain correct arm action. They are the biggest tips I think most people, especially athletes get wrong. Leg turnover is generally quite good but the arm action is tough to master and needs to be focused on a lot during your drills and tempo runs.

This is far from an exhaustive list of tips but hopefully it sparks some ideas on how you can best implement sprint sessions into your program if you desire to.

Benefits of Weightlifting Shoes

Originally posted on www.totalhealthperformance.com.au

Squatting in weightlifting shoes has many advantages over squatting in joggers or runners. The main advantage is increased stability. Unlike most training shoes weightlifting shoes are very rigid which gives you a solid platform to squat from, they don’t crumble under you like runners when you have a heavy load on your back. You can think of it like this, if you had to squat on concrete or a mini-tramp which one can you lift more on? I’d pick the concrete as you can apply more force into the ground.

The biggest reason why I personally like weightlifting shoes is due to the elevated heel. Having suffered many injuries to my ankles during my sporting career ankle range of motion is pretty limited, although improving. Until I began wearing weightlifting shoes achieving full squat depth with an upright torso was very difficult. Combining my corrective based work that Gemma Smith gave me and wearing weightlifting shoes allowed me to reach full depth in about a month. The elevated heel allows you to reach maximum depth easier while staying more upright by taking ankle range of motion and tight calves out of the equation.

Weightlifting shoes also help align the ankle bones and feet which helps keep the knees in proper alignment when squatting. Reducing injuries is always a good thing. Many people trying to perform Olympic lifts in regular running shoes have rolled an ankle, weightlifting shoes help minimize this risk.

Weightlifting shoes are a great investment in my opinion. You can buy them from between $125-$250 depending on the brand and if you treat them well they will last you for years.

World Masters 2016 Final

Originally posted on www.totalhealthperformance.com.au

Had a great time looking back over some of the competitions Bruno Alves has competed in. Most people spend their Sunday mornings in bed but I can't. I got up, ate, done some work, and then watched footage of the boys from Sydney Jiu-Jitsu Academy so that I can write better programs for them. 

It isn't work when you are passionate about what you do. I know the boys would be doing something to improve their Jiu-Jitsu at the moment and I do the same to help improve my knowledge and skill set to help all of our athletes. 

Health is the Foundation to Performance

Originally posted on www.totalhealthperformance.com.au

*Note - I got this image from Christian Thibaudeau as it sums up my article clearly. Be sure to check out his work  https://www.facebook.com/christian.thibaudeau/?fref=ts

No matter the goal, whether it is to gain lean mass, lose body fat, play in the NRL, or become a world champion in any given sport, I believe improving health is the foundation.

If you are not healthy it is very hard to be performing your best in any field. Many people will neglect their health to try and achieve their goals. This is especially true when it comes to losing body fat and getting lean. Personally I don’t care how lean you can get depleting yourself and training excessively, especially if you have underlying health issues that aren’t being addressed. The results will be short lived even if you do manage to achieve them and in reality you will be no better off.

For example, if a woman comes in to see me and wants to get down to a low body fat percentage but has some kind of gut issue, has chronic fatigue, and has a host of hormonal issues, I am more concerned with trying to improve her overall health then I am to get her down to a low body fat percentage. By improving gut function and addressing the underlying causes of dysfunction many times this will help them get leaner anyway. The problem is people want instant results. The above approach may take a little longer but the results long term will be far better and will also last a lot longer.

I see figure models, or more often, the average women trying to emulate a figure model, starve themselves and take fat burners or even drugs to accomplish their goal, potentially ruining their long term health. Not only that, with the amount of time they train and how depleted most tend to be, they don’t have much time or energy for anything else in their lives. I respect the dedication but there are much better ways to go about it. If it is your sport and you are doing it for a short period of time then that’s what you have to do to win but if you are just an average person trying to look good you should focus on your health first so you can enjoy your life.

The same goes for a lot of men. The most common thing in a public gym is the bloke who starts training and after a few short months of gaining minimal muscle decides he is going to take steroids. They think it is the answer, a quick fix to short cut the hard work necessary. It isn’t, it is a disaster. The risk for this type of person far outweighs any reward. Often they have no idea what they are taking, why they are taking it, the best dosage, timing, nothing. They are just playing Russian roulette.

It would be rare to see an Olympic gold medallist with a chronic disease. It isn’t just about training hard or eating a super strict diet and neglecting all other areas of your health. It takes a total approach to health where all factors are considered.

What if you just want to have energy and be good at your day job? Same thing applies. Focus on improving your health. You will have more energy, better focus, and more motivation. Pretty much every successful business men I have read about all put a priority on maintaining and improving their health.

If you focus on eating clean whole foods, supplement to replenish nutrient deficiencies where necessary, remove exposure to toxic chemicals as much as possible, train smart, sleep well, give yourself enough time to recover, and do it consistently enough, you will be well on your way to achieving your goals. Once you have done that consistently for a while you can then start to move to more advanced strategies to further improve your performance. If you do this, when you go to work with a coach they will be able to progress much faster and start to individualise your nutrition, supplementation, and training programs, then if you have no base to work from at all or if they have to try and fix all the issues you may have created for yourself by looking for quick fixes or neglecting any underlying health issues.

The best advice I can give is to pay a reputable coach straight off the bat to help you achieve your goals. This will save you a lot of time and money. Think of it like this, there are millions of articles on the net saying what the best way to do xyz is, now for you to go through and trial all this out you could spend a lifetime and get nowhere and could also ruin your health in the process, or you could invest in a coach who has proven results. They could then put you on a path that will not only be best for your health but will also increase your performance. I see this with the young athletes I train. The results they are getting are far superior to myself at the same age because I have 16 years of mistakes and knowledge gained that I can pass on to them so they don’t have to go through the injuries and wasted training time that I did.

Posterior Chain Builder

Originally posted on www.totalhealthperformance.com.au

The snatch grip deadlift on a podium is one of my favourite exercises to use when trying to build strength of the posterior chain. It also activates the VMO which helps stabilize the knee, it challenges the grip, and even hits the lats and traps to some extent. It is a great bang for your buck exercise.

The first time one of my athletes does this exercise it is not unusual to see them shaking all over the place especially when prescribed slow tempo work in the early general preparation phases of training. Once athletes have the technique dialled in we overload the exercise further by adding chains or bands.

It is also a good exercise to use if someone wants to add some muscle mass. I find that because you use so many large muscle groups in this exercise it is one of the quickest ways to put on some size.

The biggest limiting factor I find is poor mobility so we often have to start with different types of progressions before we have the athlete get on the podium. Once they can get into a good start position then these are some of the tips that you should look for:

• Stand on a box (or weight plates if needed) that is about 4-6 inches high
• Drive with your legs first. Your back angle shouldn’t change until the bar is at mid-shin to knee level
• The bar should remain in contact with your shins and thighs at all times
• Elbows are to be locked and elbows pointing in line with the bar. Too often people want to try and bend at the elbow and use the upper body off the floor.
• Keep a slight arch in the lower back throughout the movement. It is easy to round while on the podium in the bottom third of the movement so stay tight throughout and concentrate on perfecting your technique
• On the way down be sure to hinge at the hip and not just bend forward at the waste. You should push your butt back first and load up the hamstrings on the eccentric component, maintain that slight arch in the lower back. The bar should remain in contact with the thighs and shins.
• Keep your chest up

Here is a video of Dmitry Klokov performing the snatch grip deadlift on podium:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXJA-7UyfY0

The snatch grip deadlift on podium is a great exercise to increase short term speed, increase your vertical jump, increase your conventional deadlift (if that is your goal), and even to pack on some muscle mass. Program it into your workouts and see how it works for you.

If you need some help with technique and need a strength coach in the Campbelltown, Camden or Macarthur area please feel free to come and do a session with me and I will help you out. If you are super keen like one of my athletes from the central coast drop in as well.

Girl Gang

Originally posted on www.totalhealthperformance.com.au