Experts say you need to listen to your body. TOJs can be hard of hearing when it comes to that advice because every day there are some aches and (small) pains. If you have a set exercise routine, most of the aches are the same old, same old. You do this, you can expect some DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) there. They are familiar and predictable.
But less predictable if you change your normal routine is the location and intensity of the new aches and pains. During these periods of change, sometimes your body screams loudly to be heard, as was the case with the two cramps.
A month ago this TOJ and my wife got American Council on Exercise certification as a personal trainers. It was amazing to discover after having been very physically active as long as I've been alive, and sort of a student of exercise, how little I really knew. We're going to start a business focusing on 50+ people. We wanted to get familiar with what's going on around our new community (moved from Colorado to Oregon last summer) so started attending some group classes at the excellent community fitness center in Bend, plus familiarizing ourselves with some of the newer resistance machines.
We have a really good home gym with weights, dumb bells, kettlebells, bands, TRX, stability balls, ab roller, jump ropes, pull-up bar, and large training mat. However, there are some advantages to the machines (a prime one being safety). The group classes can be good too because you get some solid coaching from experienced trainers and maybe push a little harder because you want to keep up with the rest of the group.
So on a Wednesday we did a low to medium difficulty class on Functional Conditioning - lots of core work on the ball, some Yoga postures, lateral movement, squats, body weight presses. I do more with heavier weights at home, but this was different and very worthwhile. New movements enlisted some muscles I hadn't used in awhile.
The next day I was walking from my car to the house when there was a sharp, painful cramp in my right calf. It hung around most of the day, but steadily bercame less intense and more intermittent.
Cramp #1 was gone by Thursday, when I did a double circuit routine of ten exercises on the resistance machines. One thing I really liked is I could do leg presses and squats with much more weight than I could at home. I cooled down afterwards with a few minutes on a treadmill. The workout felt great.
On Friday, my legs were a little tight from the presses and squats, but no pain in the right calf. It was a beautiful day outside, so I went for a low key trail run along the river for a few miles. The footing was not very good because of some uneven rotten ice and frozen foot-printed mud, so the lower legs did a lot of work to maintain balance. Still, it was a fun run, and afterwards I felt great. Sure, the usual tightness in the hips and sore quads, but no big deal.
That night my wife, daughter and I went to the Deschutes Brewery for dinner. I'd just finished a tasty Obsidian Stout and shifted slightly on my seat, lifting and bending my left leg. Suddenly there was a shot of pain in the left hamstring as Cramp #2 struck. I groaned,winced, and clutched my leg. My wife, seated to the left, gasped and asked what was happening, likely fearing a heart attack. My daughter, a nurse and Crossfitter, watched to see where this was going because she could tell the pain was intense.
I slumped down in the booth, trying to straighten my leg, and the cramp eased back. I noticed a young girl with a concerned look at the next table elbow her mom and point in my direction. Then the cramp returned (still count it as Cramp #2 because it was in the same place), even more intense, two more times separated by a couple of minutes. When the muscle spasmed the third time, I started to sweat and feel a little nauseous. I dug my fingers into the back of my leg and massaged it as hard as I could. Finally, the pain started to subside permanently, and the little girl at the next table was finally able to take her eyes off the old guy who she feared might be dying right before her eyes.
We speculated about what had just happened. My daughter suggested it was dehydration, and that I should drink bone broth or more water, knowing I drank coffee (a diuretic) all day long. My wife thought alcohol might be a factor. Both of these were probably right. Plus I didn't stretch at all during the past three days, which probably further set the pre-conditions up for trouble.
Actually, the experts don't really know what causes cramps. They guess that cramps are due to either causing electrolyte imbalances, over-stressed, i.e., under-rested, damaged tissue, or loss of neuromuscular control in the motor units.
Here's the take away lesson of this comic/pathetic tale: If you make a substantial change to your exercise habits, then anticipate increasing vulnerability until your body adjusts. To give yourself the best chance to avoid painful cramps or real injury: a) stay hydrated, b) cool down and stretch after strenuous exercise, and c) allow ample time between new exercise routines for your body to recover.
I got it. Pain has a way of making a lesson unforgettable. This TOJ vows to be a better listener. Better late than never.
Showing posts with label dehydration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dehydration. Show all posts
My Calves and the Denver Broncos
This week Denver Broncos and I independently discovered something important about physical training and the importance of rest.
On Saturday the Broncos won a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. The win was nice, but what was really notable is that the Broncos had no injuries. Last year by this time, the Broncos had lost a number of key players, including their two top running backs, to bizarre injuries in practices and games.
What was different between this year and last? Last year the young kid coach Josh McDaniels, a hard ass for the TV cameras, was pushing his players hard in two-a-day practices in 90 plus degree temperatures. Each day he had them do weight lifting and 40 yard sprints on top of practicing football skills in full contact scrimmages. Naturally, the players were fatigued and their bodies prone to injury. Dehydration and consequent depletion of electrolytes reduces inhibits reflexes and muscle performance, making a player prime for injury.
However, this year, with the strike ending late, NFL teams were restricted to one practice a day. The Denver Bronco trainer convinced the new coach Fox to postpone any weight lifting until later in the season. Instead, the trainer has had the players do brief push-up, sprint, push-up routines. In other words, short bouts of high intensity, functional body work. This has enabled the players to build some strength and endurance without exhausting them, especially when training in heat. They were fresh and ready to go when they stepped onto the field.
It's very possible that much of the way the NFL has approached training has been wrong. Most of their players are already very fit athletes who body build year round and all coaches and trainers with Marine Corps boot camp mentalities do is increase injuries, not make tougher players.
What does all this have to do with a decrepit TOJ?
Three nights ago at 11 pm I awoke with an cramp in my left calf. The muscle had contracted into a hard ball and the pain was excruciating. I tried to massage and stretch it, but nothing would stop it. All I could do was wait until it passed after a minute or so. Afterwards, it was tender to the touch, but I fell back asleep.
Then at 2 am, against all odds, I experienced a similar cramp in my right calf, not as intense, but also painful.
The next day I Googled and found out it's a common problem, especially with runners, that doctors cannot completely explain, but suspect the problem is caused by muscle fatigue and a lack of potassium.
I went to my training log. The day of the severe cramping I ran my local trail, which goes two and a half miles, steadily uphill. I ran in late afternoon, after work, when the temperature was 94 degrees. That day my legs felt lifeless, and it showed in my slower than usual time. The day before, again in the afternoon, I had done several sets of vertical jumps and lifted dumbbells, with the temperature at 90 degrees. And the day before that, when I worked out in the morning, I jumped rope for a long time with the temperature in the relatively cool 80s.
Bottom line: Three days in a row of hard exercise, very focused on my calves and in hot weather, had pushed them to their limits. I didn't even know it or intend to work them that hard. They had not hurt more than usual after those three days, they just felt tired. But they had been over-worked, which set off chemical imbalances leading to the severe cramping.
The Broncos figured out less is more and to respect what heat does to a body. I guess that's why they get the big bucks.
On Saturday the Broncos won a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. The win was nice, but what was really notable is that the Broncos had no injuries. Last year by this time, the Broncos had lost a number of key players, including their two top running backs, to bizarre injuries in practices and games.
What was different between this year and last? Last year the young kid coach Josh McDaniels, a hard ass for the TV cameras, was pushing his players hard in two-a-day practices in 90 plus degree temperatures. Each day he had them do weight lifting and 40 yard sprints on top of practicing football skills in full contact scrimmages. Naturally, the players were fatigued and their bodies prone to injury. Dehydration and consequent depletion of electrolytes reduces inhibits reflexes and muscle performance, making a player prime for injury.
However, this year, with the strike ending late, NFL teams were restricted to one practice a day. The Denver Bronco trainer convinced the new coach Fox to postpone any weight lifting until later in the season. Instead, the trainer has had the players do brief push-up, sprint, push-up routines. In other words, short bouts of high intensity, functional body work. This has enabled the players to build some strength and endurance without exhausting them, especially when training in heat. They were fresh and ready to go when they stepped onto the field.
It's very possible that much of the way the NFL has approached training has been wrong. Most of their players are already very fit athletes who body build year round and all coaches and trainers with Marine Corps boot camp mentalities do is increase injuries, not make tougher players.
What does all this have to do with a decrepit TOJ?
Three nights ago at 11 pm I awoke with an cramp in my left calf. The muscle had contracted into a hard ball and the pain was excruciating. I tried to massage and stretch it, but nothing would stop it. All I could do was wait until it passed after a minute or so. Afterwards, it was tender to the touch, but I fell back asleep.
Then at 2 am, against all odds, I experienced a similar cramp in my right calf, not as intense, but also painful.
The next day I Googled and found out it's a common problem, especially with runners, that doctors cannot completely explain, but suspect the problem is caused by muscle fatigue and a lack of potassium.
I went to my training log. The day of the severe cramping I ran my local trail, which goes two and a half miles, steadily uphill. I ran in late afternoon, after work, when the temperature was 94 degrees. That day my legs felt lifeless, and it showed in my slower than usual time. The day before, again in the afternoon, I had done several sets of vertical jumps and lifted dumbbells, with the temperature at 90 degrees. And the day before that, when I worked out in the morning, I jumped rope for a long time with the temperature in the relatively cool 80s.
Bottom line: Three days in a row of hard exercise, very focused on my calves and in hot weather, had pushed them to their limits. I didn't even know it or intend to work them that hard. They had not hurt more than usual after those three days, they just felt tired. But they had been over-worked, which set off chemical imbalances leading to the severe cramping.
The Broncos figured out less is more and to respect what heat does to a body. I guess that's why they get the big bucks.
Cool, Cool Water
This afternoon I skipped rope and swung a kettle bell outside for about an hour. It was a beautiful, hot summer day - 95 degrees. Though most times it's smarter to do workouts earlier in the day during the summer to avoid the added stress to your body from the heat, sometimes it feels good to exercise and get really hot, sweaty and exhausted.
Today was one of those days. Dripping with sweat and breathing in the hot air, I kept thinking about my favorite country and western song, "Cool Water" by the Sons of the Pioneers. Although it's about cowboys herdin' cattle out in the desert, not exercise, it perfectly captures that special feeling we have towards water, especially on a hot day because the human body is over 70% water. When at rest, the human body is at thermal equilibrium when the outside temperature is at 82 degrees F.
Dehydration is a side effect of exercise because our body heat rises with metabolic rate. Most times dehydration is no big thing, as it wasn't to me today because I could get to water in a matter of seconds - I working out on a deck right outside outside our kitchen and had a water bottle nearby. (But I've gotten in trouble in the heat; see "The Self-Made Road to Hell and Back" in a 2008 blog.)
Our bodies have an incredible system of controls to maintain our core body temperature at a normal 98.6 degrees F. Just 8 - 10 degrees above this, we are delirious or dead.
The body cools itself by routing blood to 3 million sweat glands that use a fine network of vessels near the surface of the skin to give off heat via sweat. If you're interested in learning more about all the processes, pick up a copy of "Surviving the Extremes: What Happens to the body and Mind at the Limits of Human Endurance" by Kenneth Kamler, M.D., who has been a physician on several expeditions into hostile environments. He explains in detail the body's response to heat in an incredible story of survival of an ultra-marathoner who got lost during a race in the Sahara Desert.
As long as we have the fluid in our systen to sweat, everything is fine. However, when you add intense exercise with hot ambient air, you begin to loose body fluid fast and start to be unable to dissipate your internal heat fast enough. Assuming you have been drinking enough water before you exercise, most times dehydration is not a major concern if you are working out, or even racing, for less than an hour. Longer than that, replacing fluids becomes more critical and challenging.
The key indicator of dehydration is loss of body weight. When you lose 1-2% of body weight, which is typical of a hard workout or run on a summer day, you're usually fine. At 2% loss you will start to feel some discomfort and performance is affected because dehydration begins to interfere with the utilization of glycogen (needed to produce physical energy) in skeletal muscles, the ones that lift, run or turn the crank on your bike.
Between 3% and 4% you start having severe cramping, and even dizziness or nausea. At 5% is the danger zone for heat exhaustion or sun stroke. Again, this is more likely to occur when you exert for more than an hour. Most of us don't get to this stage
As long as you're sweating, that's a good sign, but your body is still under stress. As you dehydrate, your blood plasma decreases, causing the blood to thicken which then causes your heart to beat harder. Your brain also dilates (opens) your blood vessels as wide as possible to help dissipate the heat, which also taxes the heart further to deliver blood to the muscles that need oxygen and nutrients. You see how this can lead to a vicious cycle.
Remember that as you exercise, you cannot replace all the fluids that are lost at the same rate. It takes time for anything you drink to get through your gut and into your bloodstream. But adding fluids as you exercise to offset losses works, especially if it's hot.
Thirst lags dehydration. For this reason, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends 1/2 to 1 cup of fluid for every 15 minutes during exercise, whether you are thirsy or not. You can speed the transit time from gut to bloodstream by adding a small amount of sugar. If you are working out or competing for more than an hour, you can also add some electrolyte like a little sodium or potassium, which is basically what's in sports drinks like Gatorade. Below you'll find a recipe for a rehydrating drink that works and tastes great.
Note that drinking fluid will not lower your core body temperature. Research shows that even drinking ice cold water has no impact, though it tastes good. The only way to lower your core temperature is to lower your metabolic rate, which means you either slow down or stop altogether.
A TOJ knows that as time or intensity of exercise goes up, along with the outside and core body temperature, so must fluid intake. Summer, heat, sun, sweat -- and cool, cool water.
Electrolyte Rehydrating Sports Drink
2 cups coconut water
2 tablespoons sweeter of choice (alternatives to cane sugar include agave nectar, honey, stevia, and medjool dates)
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Juice from 1/4 lime
Sea salt to taste
Blend all ingredients in a blender until well mixed.
Electrolyte Rehydrating Sports Drink
2 cups coconut water
2 tablespoons sweeter of choice (alternatives to cane sugar include agave nectar, honey, stevia, and medjool dates)
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Juice from 1/4 lime
Sea salt to taste
Blend all ingredients in a blender until well mixed.
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