Self Myofascial Release Therapy Discussion 2 (Timing, Periodization, and Thermal Therapies)

   Today's article is about timing and periodization of restorative/regenerative techniques and methods of SMR + Thermal Therapies. Putting these two therapy methods together helps give some options to your SMR/mobilization/trigger point/awesomeness work. In Supertraining, Dr. Siff mentions that restorative methods (which SMR falls under, particulary when used in conjunction with Thermal therapy) are best used to generate a certain effect (and magnitude), and depending on how immediate the effect is needed, how soon the therapy should occur after training.

• When an immediate effect on recovery is necessary (such as between 2-a-days, or between morning/afternoon or afternoon/evening workouts), the restorative measures should take place immediately following training (should be after morning training but can take place after evening too, for example.)
• If recovery capacity is required to be highest on the following day (such as a Westside Method split, or bodypart split, or any training where you train only one a day or less frequently than that) then the recovery methods employed should take place 3 hrs after training. 6 hours after training is even more productive, and causes overrecovery, or supercompensation.
• The more specific the training is on bodyparts, the more specific the restorative method should be as well (on the same bodyparts). 

   Now that we understand that timing of recovery is an issue and when we should use it accordingly, there is also periodization of restorative methods to take into account. The more frequently a specific method is used (a lift/movement, a recovery method, a particular stretch, even applies to alcohol tolerance) the less of an equivalent magnitude of effect takes place. This is commonly known as the law of accommodation, and applies to a LOT more in life than we would guess. So, we know we cant use any one method too often now. We have several options now:

• Depending of how often you use a recovery method, you can switch methods every 3 weeks (2-4 weeks being an okay range). Examples here being: foam rolling (3 wks)> lacrosse ball SMR (3 wks)> travel stick/monster stick rolling (3 wks), etc.
• OR you can alternate every week/bodypart (A,B) and use 3 different methods (1,2, &3):

                  Monday: Foam rolling upper body (1A)
                  Wednesday: Foam rolling lower body (1B)
                  Friday: Travel stick rolling upper (2A)
                  Monday: Travel stick rolling lower(2B)
                  Wednesday: Hot Ball* rolling upper (3A)
                  Friday: Hot Ball* rolling lower (3B)
                  *this will be discussed in a few minutes, see later in the article.

• Using the second method you can dramatically increase the life of a particular method, but 3 cycles through this second periodization method is the max before you need to switch the methods again. In this example 3 cycles through would last you 6 weeks. Both methods allow one to skirt the edges of the law of accommodation, without losing effectiveness of the methods. There are plenty of other ways to periodize the organization of recovery methods (if the intensity is high enough with a particular method you could change weekly).

Regardless of what you think this is related to the topic matter. Just dont ask me how.

   Thermal Therapies are the use of temperature change as a therapeutic method. Examples include contrast showers, ice baths, heat packs, etc. Concurrent therapy of SMR AND Thermal Therapies is a terrific idea if you can handle it. This first method was developed by the innovative Joe Hashey (http://www.synergy-athletics.com/) and is a combination of cryotherapy (ice) and SMR (foam rolling of a sort). He describes how to use a 2-liter bottle, filled mostly with water and then frozen, as a foam roller derivative here:

   Now that cryoSMR is out there, we also have the opposite end of the spectrum, thermaSMR, and usually uses what I alluded to earlier as a Hot Ball, aka a hackey sack. For this therapy you need a homemade hackey, or one you can empty of plastic beads, and then fill with rice, dried peas, etc. Once sewn closed they can be heated up in a dry oven on a very low temperature (150-175 degrees F) or in a microwave (very quickly, 30 seconds). Once it is hot you can use it like a heating pad, but roll on it to push out knots, trigger points, or stubborn cramps, etc. BE CAREFUL! Overzealous heating can burn your skin pretty bad!
   One could also easily put one of these in the freezer and use it for cryoSMR. However, I would suggest using a raquetball or tennis ball filled with water (marinade injector with a smaller needle will fill these easily) and then frozen, as it will heat up and melt much slower, meaning more time to get effective SMR work done. These are VERY hard when frozen, and as such, can be quite discomforting to use at first. Once the ice numbs the skin its not nearly as bad.
   What about contrast methods? Yup, you can alternate cryo and thermoSMR. Just know that this is for the tough people. Kids shouldn't attempt it, as it would cause them to age 10 years roughly and complete a entire puberty growth cycle. Kidding, but it really is tough. Take a water-filled, frozen tennis ball and alternate with a Hot Ball every 30-45 seconds. Alternate on the same muscle group and hammer it pretty well. Nuke the Hot Ball again and switch to the other side (being most muscle groups have an analogous twin, one on each side of the body. If you didn't notice this kinda stuff how did you make it HERE?)
   Lastly, I don't pretend to know all there is to know about these methods. If you come up with something awesome and simple to make, please forward it to me and I will gladly take it and pass it off as my own invention. :) Kidding again. Post it in the comments so we can all benefit!

Self-Myofascial Release Therapy Discussion 1

   SMR (stands for Self-Myofascial Release) tools are EXTREMELY useful for loosening tight muscles, and can generally give a good indication of how much a particular issue needs work. The pain/discomfort typically felt upon certain tissues when using SMR technique and tools is a good indication of the quality of those tissues being worked upon. The higher the discomfort level, the greater the need for myofascial release. Foam rollers have become quite common in the fitness world, but most are familiar with white, marshmallow-soft foam rollers that have become practially ubiquitious. There are tools that are FAR ahead of the aggressiveness of therapy level than these and I will detail over the next series of articles some of the best ones, ways to use them (including cross fiber, and dual- and tri-planar methods of using them that you MAY not be familiar with), and how to make several kinds at home with simple materials.
Short primer on myofascial release and trigger point therapy: 

• Trigger points are knots of muscle fibers. See Figure 2.1 above.
• Tying knots in anything shortens whatever is tied: rule of physics - shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
• Shortening a muscle means whatever is attached to the muscle (at origin and insertion points), whether bone, tendons, metal screws, etc., is necessarily picking up the new, higher level of tension, since the two points that a muscle attaches to at beginning and termination are a fixed distance (not necessarily always true but for the good for the purposes of what we are describing here) at that particular point in a muscle's ROM.
• This stress transfers through fascia and ligamentous tissue to anything that is touching it. Fascia are interconnected webs of connective tissue from muscle to muscle, and transfer tension EXTREMELY well across seemingly unrelated parts of the body. Refer to study: "Epimuscular myofascial force transmission: A historical review and implications for new research. International society of biomechanics. Muybridge award lecture, Taipei, 2007."
• These stresses can literally "pull" joints and joint angles away from optimal or even healthy movement patterns. And as these joints change in response, so do the rest of the joints surrounding the primary affected one, in a somewhat predictable manner we will call "movement accomodation patterns." These forces/stresses can become magnified as translation through several tissues and joint complexes occurs, and at a terminal end of a kinetic chain can cause gross motor problems.
• The stresses and accomodations patterns are applied to not only joints, and soft tissues, but to skeletal structures as well. An excellent example would be hip, knee, and ankle motion/flexion inhibition, possibly due to trigger points in hip flexors (as well as a chronically shortened psoas, and hip capsular issues) or anterior tibialis and surrounding structures. These stresses force an accomodation pattern, which translates shear force along the tibia, and this shear force combined with linear loading to the tibia, is quite effective at producing stress fracture-inducing loads. This can occur easily through squatting, or for even higher force loading, look at running for extremely high stress loads applied to the tibia.
• When accomodation patterns have been ingrained, mobilizing the affected tissues will be drastic in changing the 'feel' of movement, almost as if one needs to learn how to run again, since tissues that have been holding the kinetic chain (hip, knee, ankle, etc.) in certain abbreviated ranges of motion are now suddenly freed.
• Massage of certain types, as well a direct pressure, literally "unties" these knots in muscle fibers through unknown mechanisms. Refer to study: "New Views of Myofascial Trigger Points: Etiology and Diagnosis, David G. Simons, MD."
• Direct pressure and massage are VERY close to replicating the effects of manual myofascial release, such as foam rolling, thera-cane work, or any of the redundant ball-on-a-wall techniques used in trigger point therapy and SMR.
• Notes: The tibia is commonly recognized as the strongest load bearing bone in the body (I would argue the femur but who am I) and if you have stress fractures occuring here there are serious biomechanical issues present, or repetitive blunt force trauma due to abuse through Muay Thai style kicking. (uses the shin bone as the operative weapon instead of the foot, and this trauma occurs through chronic methods, such as an unaccustomed high volume of kicking a heavy bag, or acute methods, such as a singular Thai kick to someone's skull or elbow, or any other sufficiently hard object.)

 Now that we have covered what they are used for, go here to see the many kinds and the (sometimes) high prices that they sell for: http://www.optp.com/Rollers/Soft-Tissue-and-Trigger-Points.aspx
Now, you should know that Kelly Starret has MANY unorthodox methods of using these tools and is very, VERY good at what he does with fixing problems with athletes worldwide at ALL levels of competition. Check out his blog here: http://www.mobilitywod.com/
We will learn how to make some of the tools he uses, as well as some he doesn't, at home for much less than retail. The one covered today is a type of "shiatsu-bag," which is basically a cloth bag with several kinds of balls, of varying sizes and densities contained inside it. Go here to see the original and price of retail: http://shiatsubag.com/

This is the original Shiatsubag

Now that you know what they look like, just know that this is just another tool that can be used. If you are familiar with lacrosse ball techniques for SMR you should immediately realize the potential/pain that this bag has. If you are NOT familiar with lacrosse ball use for SMR, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWfnAUsYUTI&feature=player_embedded for an excellent video from Joe Defranco.Watch, try, and cry.

Here is a homemade version. Please note that the circular/round shape of the original has no bearing upon the effectiveness of the device, but if you would like to replicate that, use an old soccer ball and cut it, then lace it up, instead of a cloth bag. This is just an old Crown Reserve bag, this works well since its easily tied closed and allows for removal and interchangeability of the balls inside for various applications (ie muscles of varying sensitivities).



As you can see here, its very simple, really, to take a few balls of varying sizes and densities and put them
inside this bag. 

 

Here we have a baseball, a lacrosse ball, a hackey-sack, and 3 other random sized balls of varying firmness. This doesnt indicate that you should use this assortment though. 3-6 tennis balls would work well for ppl with serious sensitivites, and a bag full of golf balls or baseballs for very desensitized tissues.

   Once you have assembled this in whatever way you would like, simply use it like Defranco has outlined in his youtube video, but for most muscles, not just the piriformis/glutes. Since this bag does not roll very well, it can be used excellently to displace tissues laterally (aka "cross-fiber myofascial release"). A foam roller, in comparison, does not have that quality.

This can be used as in figure 5.44 shown above, with literally any muscle group, and a elevated surface of any height, provided you can do it safely. I particularly like to hit hamstrings at a height a few inches higher than comfortable seating height, one leg at a time, and make small circles or figure-8s, and then try to move laterally on the ball and displace the hamstring tissues one direction at a time. Another technique, known as 'dual-planar' myofascial release, is fairly effective (and kinda painful); this is performed by displacing the tissue either laterally or longitudinally, and then displacing the tissue AGAIN from this lateral/longitudinal position at a RIGHT ANGLE to the original displacement. Most of these techniques can also be done against a wall, as similar in figure 4.13 below, applied to the trapezius, or seated on the floor, as Defranco's Agile 8 video shows for the piriformis.

Another area I find extremely sensitive and causing problems is the rhomboids, and every client/athlete I have had the pleasure to train has had issues with these. I will show you how to dig into these with this shiatsubag with some photos:

Details correct placement and body lean into the shiatsubag on the wall.

You should be having this much fun. This shows the digging in of the rhomboids, the area between the shoulder blade and the spine. Please note this is NOT fun, I was simply laughing because the photographer told me when I did it correctly that I grimaced and looked like I was trying to drop a deuce.

Once you lean into the bag after placing it in between you and the wall, it will find the trigger points without much effort. Simply raise up onto your toes and lean over, lower your toes and lean over to the other side, and you will be able to make figure-8s and circles, which will allow you to hit multiple trigger points from a variety of angles that you may not get with simple perpendicular compression/pressure. The next article should be coming soon!

Lean Mass Gain for NFL prospects

    I get this question a LOT. STILL. If you want to gain weight, eat. Its that simple. Really. Look at all the obese people around you everyday. If you want to gain lean mass, well, youre gonna have to eat a LOT. Of protein. By this I mean dense protein sources. Forget about the calorie, its a pretty bad measurement for a concept of how much heat a food will produce when burned. Were not burning food in an oven here. We are trying to pack on some extra leverage and armor with at least 15-20 lbs extra muscle. To do that we need protein. I mean TOTAL grams protein. Dense protein sources are usually one of two things. Meats and fish. Guess what. Youre gonna have to eat a lot of these. Wanna gain 20 lbs before the Combine next year? You need to eat to that size/weight. Im not advocating the use of anabolics/androgenics here; although they certainly would help, they wont be the end-all, be-all solution. The real world data shows that the results of AAS use just isnt what people think. No one gains 20 lbs in 4 (or even 8) weeks from just juice. If they gained 20 lbs in 8 weeks they tremendously upgraded the quality and quantity of protein they were eating daily. They HAVE to feed the body protein. Steroids simply increase protein sysnthesis (there are other things they do well but we're not going into those here). Without them, you can still achieve the 20 lb LBM gain (*given a longer timeframe, even 40lbs can be done as well while remaining athletic and drug-free, and allowing for accomodation to new leverages, new mass, etc.) Its simple, but not easy.

Think 20 of these slapped onto you is gonna be easy?

  Now, gaining this weight naturally is gonna take some getting used to. Is it possible your blood pressure is gonna go up a tad? It can, but once your body gets used to the bigger area it has to pump blood throughout, it will go back down. Think adding 20 lbs of muscle is natural? Its not, and your body can try to fight it a bit. Just remember we adapt to anything given enough reason, stress to do so, and time. Gaining 20 lbs fast can be tough to deal with at first, especially once youre eating a lot, and it can be tough to walk and breathe at the same time after big meals. But we are doing this for a goal, something bigger than today. Just remember you can and will adapt. Youre gonna need more fiber in your diet everyday too. Eating steaks 2-3 times a day, chicken twice, and eggs and bacon in the AM can slow your digestion down to a level that will not allow you to eat often enough. Keeping digestion quick and smooth is like a well-built and maintained AR-15. Give it good ammunition and watch it perform above and beyond your highest expectations. Same with digestion. There is plenty of data to indicate that the nerve endings throughout the digestive system act as a sort of secondary brain, and believe me, if you eat the wrong foods you will feel it in your REAL brain. See http://www.suite101.com/content/the-brain-bowel-connection-a27274. Keep everything moving fast enough to avoid rotting food and food byproducts, which the toxins they produce will cross the intestinal wall and be released in the bloodstream, causing all kinds of havoc throughout the body.

Your body better be as smoothly operating as this guy is deadly effective

    Ever heard of the paleo diet? Meat and veggies, pretty much. Start liking it, since thats what you will be eating MOUNTAINS of. By doing so you lower your insulin resistance as well and allow insulin to do what we want it to do. Become a natural anabolic for us. We will be incorporating some of Kiefer's carb-backloading concepts as well, but since we arent following his suggestions/guidelines to the letter, were not actually backloading. Its more like a combination of paleo, Dante's protein guidelines, Kiefer's backloading, Heckman's digestion guidelines, and Tim Ferris' ideas here and there. You could technically do this for the rest of your life and live damn well, but eating this much is tough, and spending this much $$$ on food for every meal, every day, for the rest of your life will possibly get tiring too. If you gain the weight that you need and continue to improve your athletic perfomance and strength development, and play in the NFL, just know that the $$$ concerns over food will be virtually a non-issue (most players are provided more than enough food during camps and in season, and anything outside of that you will be able to afford yourself) and that you need to remember that most players eat like this during their career, and almost definitely during camps and in-season (keeping weight on gets harder and harder as the season goes on, and noone wants to be weaker, smaller, and exhausted(er) at the last, and most important, games of the season.)

   For quite a few years, a man by the name of Dante (Trudell) has been quietly changing the rules of the game in the bodybuilding community. And the people he trains, well they blow up. His big thing is pushing 2 grams of protein per lb bodyweight. Is this effective? Ridiculously. Now im not saying we need to think, act, or train like a bodybuilder. But this method is tough to argue with in the face of all the proof he has. Is it hard to do? Kinda. Think about this. If you weigh 220 lbs, you need double that in your daily protein intake in grams (440g pro). This is knocked down a bit by the use of 2 large protein shakes (2 or three scoops each) per day, in between meals, but its still not easy. Most people are shocked to find out that they usually eat roughly 50-75g of protein a day. Fitday.com has a free nutrition calculator/tracker that is fairly easy to use once you learn it. Start tracking your baseline diet to see where you need to increase. Most people need to be eating a large portion of meat with every meal.

• For example, breakfast (eggs are a decent protein source) can be 4-6 eggs, several strips of bacon, (roughly 50-60g protein) and some (think 3) fish oil caps and fiber (with this much protein daily you will need it, trust me), good sources of this are mixed veggies (warm them up, you need handfuls), broccoli by itself, psyllium husk fiber, etc. or a moderate amount of all 3 (best way IMHO).
• Several hours later, a shake (2-3 scoops, good for 40-70g protein), but not with too much added in since whatever you add will necessarily slow digestion, which is NOT what we want (you should be hungry every 2-3 hrs if not more, and there will be plenty of times where you will have to eat when you are NOT hungry). 
• Lunch: Steak/Chicken/Fish (roughly 50-60g protein), plently of veggies whatever style u want, 3-4 more fish oil caps, and handful of almonds. 
• Another shake, same amount (40-70g protein). 
• Meal 3:Steak/Chicken/ or Fish (another 50-75g roughly, it will look like 6-8 oz steak), plenty of carbs (assuming this is after training, otherwise veggies), 3 fish oil caps, cup of coffee (or substitute, only needed w/ carbs). 
• Snack 1: handful of almonds/nuts, lemon wedge or two (at least try to bite into it if you cant eat them), half liter milk (~15g protein). 
• Meal 4: Chicken, steak, or fish, (~40g protein, smaller portion sizes than before, approx 4-6oz.), veggies (stir fry for this example). 
• Snack 2: handful of deli meats, a couple slices of cheese, half liter milk (15g protein) 
• Meal 5: Chicken, steak, or fish (40g protein), some sort of greens supplement, broccoli, peppers & onions, etc. 

Total is in excess of 450g protein. Is this hard to eat? Somewhat. But it can also be AWESOME. Think about how many times a day you can eat steak! You may wanna pick up a summer job or something to start affording all this food though. Personally, I think that the return on investment is pretty damn good if you make it into the NFL.

                                                                       Paleo Foods


  Since we follow paleo guidelines somewhat with this football eating hybrid, just remember that you are eating veggies with every meal (and protein better be there as a primary food) as a hunter-gatherer style of eating.  There is one exception. After training. You had better eat a TON of carbs for the meal following training. Technically, nothing is off limits, just make sure you get plenty of protein, and that the cleaner you eat the better off you will be. This is from Kiefer's backloading, and works extremely well for recovery and mass gain while staying lean. Pizza, french toast, hamburgers, whatever. Throw in a little caffeine if you are eating less clean, to keep yourself plenty insulin sensitive. This is effectively your one cheat meal per day, since you arent eating carbs the rest of the day, so make it worth it. If you train more than once a day, a large portion of carbs should be eaten after strength/resistance training, but you can have plenty after conditioning as well. Skill practice will not require carb back loading after, however, but to keep yourself sharp a little bit of honey afterwards is acceptable. Also, plenty of nuts here and there (I eat these with every meal) will allow for higher natural testosterone levels than without. Keeping these levels high through plenty of meats, fishes, eggs, and good fats is HUGELY important in gaining lean mass, as well as keeping you mentally sane and tough.

Keys to athletic lean mass gain:
1) 2x lb BW in grams protein
2) Paleo eating except after training (backload carbs then)
3) >10g fish oils/day
4) Lots of fiber - psyllium husk fiber is quick and painless, add in natural sources like broccoli too.
5) Plenty of nuts (almonds esp) and healthy fats
6) Cissus Quadrulangaris - excellent for building lean muscle, up to 7g/day (try to shoot for 45mg/lb bodyweight, good idea to take before meals spread out over several doses)
7) Slam plenty of milk (at least a liter a day, up to a gallon a day) everyday, I like it between meals if im not having a shake.
8) Gallon of water a day.
9) Some sort of greens supplement (Athletic Greens, Amazing Greens Superfood, etc.)
10) If you wake up at night (most top athletes do, at least once, especially to pee) and wanna get a jump start on protein grams, slam a protein shake (you could even keep it by your bed) with a little fiber in it (1/2 tsp metamucil or psyllium husk fiber) and you should wake up w/ a slightly increased recovery and a headstart on the protein requirements for the day.
11) Consider cold showers after training for improved fat burning, better feeling joints, and mental toughness.
12) Also consider fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, natto, kefir, some cheeses, and fermented fish (also, Asian fish oils).

    Closing notes: Just since you are eating like this does not mean to change your training style. Lift for power, rate of force development(RFD), and raw, nasty strength; condition w/ the prowler, tractor tires, hill runs, etc. Make sure you get enough mental training in each session as well as physical (mental toughness is DAMN important if you want to keep playing football after college), but this article is not about training for football after college. That will possibly come later with several other professionals well-versed on that topic, with special focus on energy system devlopment and the specific conditioning and strength needs for this particular sport.
Also, please note that the USDA requirements for protein as well as studies commonly quoted (remember these are done mostly on elderly, sedentary populations) give much lower values than 2x lb of bodyweight for total grams protein/day. This is ridiculous to assume that there is a danger in eating larger amounts of protein than some arbitrary level. Eating double your BW lbs in grams of protein is perfectly safe unless you have one of several rare genetic disorders (you would be aware if you did) or if your kidneys have been fried (fever of 106 or higher in your lifetime) or damaged, or if you have only one kidney total. The fever issue is individual; whether your kidneys were actually damaged by a fever that high or not - personally ive had fevers that high 3 separate times in my life and my kidneys work just fine.