Date: 02/06/03 04:58 PM
Author: Gavin Laird (no profile)
Subject: soreness etc
The relationship between training, soreness and progress (as I
see it) is as follows:
Training can provide a stimulus for progress.
Training can induce Delayed Onset Muscular Soreness (DOMS).
Different training means have different effects on short and
long term training effects.
Soreness does not equal progress in size or strength.
Progress in size / strength is not reliant upon soreness.
Soreness and progress can coincide, but there is not a causal
relationship between them. Sometimes the training means that
induce soreness also happen to be the same ones that provide a
stimulus for progress in strength at a particular time. Alas,
this is not always the case or training would be a simple case
of making yourself sore, waiting for the soreness to go away,
and then making yourself sore again. This "single factor"
approach to progression fails to take in to account that
although maximal efforts are not possible during recovery
periods, sub-maximal efforts are possible and can play a
useful part in enhancing progress further still, as can the
use of different training means. This is an integral part of
any dual factor training means.
Training means that are well known for inducing soreness
include emphasised eccentric (negative) movements, sudden
increases in training volume of a given body part or lift and
the introduction of a novel exercise that you have not
performed for a long period of time. Obviously at some point
in an athletes training negative emphasis movements, increases
in training volume and the use of novel stimuli can all play a
part in generating renewed progress, but the key is to utilise
these means at the correct time and in the correct context.
Merely using them to generate DOMS is pointless.
The problem with training means that are designed to cause
soreness is simply that they can hinder further training in
the short term and that eventually hinders long term progress
in strength. This is "catastrophe theory" of fatigue in
action. Microtrauma becomes culmalative over time and
eventually it all goes to shit
lol.
Admittedly this is more prevalent in beginning or intermediate
athletes, most Elite / sub-elite athletes are conditioned to
training despite muscular soreness and fatigue although this
rarely comes from deliberate attempts to cause DOMS. Careful
use of some of the restorative measures listed above in other
posts will serve to reduce microtruama (speed healing really)
and prevent the culmalative build up.
I am generally against training means that are deliberately
designed to cause exhaustion / fatigue (eg training "beyond"
failure, forced reps, drop sets etc)because of this, and also
because of their negative effect on the CNS.
These means (failure etc) can be used effectively from time to
time and are perhaps worthwhile when working with lower
loading schedules / low training frequencies but if these
means substantially reduce the athletes training frequency on
Fmax or circamaximal work then the possible benefits are often
negated. There is an old axiom that says "You can train hard
or you can train long...but you can't train hard for long"
that is often used to promote so called "High Intensity
Training (HIT)". A more useful axiom would be "You can train
to create soreness and fatigue, or you can train often, but
you can't train to create soreness and fatigue often". Both
methodologies are of value, at the correct time and in the
correct context, but this is a classic example of the conflict
between maximising training frequency and fatigue caused by
training reducing training frequency.
Why is it that most athletes, when given the choice, will
choose to utilise means that enforce low training volumes and
frequencies by creating large amounts of fatigue and soreness?
Many people would be better of making more use of the
submaximal repeated efforts method for hypertrophy and the
maximum effort method for increasing Fmax rather than
constantly trying to do both at once with the repeated efforts
method to the point of fatigue e.g. multiple sets to failure
on each lift.
Well, there ends my ramble on the matter, obviously I havent
exactly cleared up any of the relevant questions but i merely
wished to offer my thoughts on some of the matters brought up
and perhaps open the discussion up to encompass other points.
Cheers,
Gavin.
(
http://www.mesomorphosis.com/forums/...sage_ID=191416)