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Many moons ago we had a moderator extraordinaire called Spatts. Just recently on her FB page she reposted this great old article on active recovery. This is a long, but fantastic article on AR. I highly recommend you take your time and read this
Over-training or Under-recovering: Active Recovery & Jumpstretch Bands
If you are serious about your training, then you are serious about results. Long term results require you to remain strong and healthy, and one of the best ways to stay strong and healthy is to help your body recover more efficiently. As a speed-strength athlete you know that your motor units are comprised of muscle fibers and nerves, and both need your attention to function optimally. Whether looking for size or strength, active recovery can help you reach your goals.
What is Active Recovery (AR)?
Just as the name would suggest, AR involves engaging in activities that promote healing in your body. In contrast, passive recovery involves lying around until you feel better. Why would you want to recover faster? Whether you’re looking to gain size, strength, or both, you can do more, and do it more
often, if you are recovering quickly. Most athletes are familiar with the process of ripping, and then allowing healing, as it pertains to weight training. This is why it’s rare to see someone training a muscle two days in a row. Unfortunately, some lifters seem to suffer from amnesia once they leave the gym, as they only tend to work for half of the results, completely ignoring the other side of the progress equation: recovery. Over-training/under-recovering can lead to symptoms such as decreased performance, chronic muscle soreness, weight loss, and lack of “fire” in the weight room. The resting heart rate and blood pressure may rise, and sleep
patterns are altered. Worst of all, the immune system is compromised and begins to fail. Not only does it fail to perform, but it fails to tell you what is wrong so that you can correct it. This is the onset of illness and injury,irritability, fatigue.
The idea behind AR is to get fresh blood and oxygen flowing through the muscle. A superior form of AR will allow you to avoid eccentric tension on themuscle, which is important, as this phase creates a catabolic environment. This catabolism initiates an anabolic repair response in your body. The last thing you want to do is interfere with this process, as this can mean impeding growth,progress, and potentially overtraining the muscle. So how can you work the muscle without interfering in the healing process? The most common way, until recently, was to simply lift very light weights, or engage in some light cardio like walking. Other forms of AR include massage, hot/cold therapy, stretching, and soaking. Different muscles heal at different rates for various reasons, but you can help them along in just 20-30 minutes a day. I would like to introduce you to a method of AR that has produced phenomenal rehab and prehab results forour crew: AR using Jumpstretch Bands.
What are Jumpstretch Bands and why are they special?
The Jumpstretch bands aren’t a new-fangled thing, but they may be new to you. If you are a powerlifter, you have probably used them for speed work. These are thick bands of rubber that come in various widths providing various amounts of tension. While you may use a great amount of tension for speed squats, you will find that mini, average, and light bands are suitable for AR purposes. Band AR should not feel like a workout. In fact, band AR feels very unique in that you are contracting the muscle, yet it feels like a stretch. The bands are also unique because they have no eccentric phase.
If you DO feel that you need to control the band eccentrically, you simply need to let off of the band to reduce the tension. Again, this should not feel like a “workout.” Because the bands have no eccentric phase, you can use them to your heart’s
content, and never have to worry about reripping those healing muscles. Bandsare portable, lending themselves to use in the home, gym, hotel, office,anywhere you can take a few moments to yourself.
How do I use the bands?
Generally when I use bands for AR, I work all the muscles that are sore or fatigued (which generally corresponds to what I worked the day before in the gym), and I always do work for my core. I do AR every day, and I can tell a difference in recovery speed if I miss a session. When choosing movements, I
like to mimic the moves that were used during training. For example, if I fatigued my triceps doing JM Presses, I will mimic that same move with a band when doing AR. AR is supposed to feel good; consequently, a higher rep range is easy and effective. I like to do 2 sets of 25 for most moves. If this makes you break a sweat, release some of the band tension. When nursing an injury, I will make a point of doing AR several times a day to keep blood and oxygen moving into the muscle, and toxins moving out, promoting repair. Here are some
examples of exercises you can do. Don’t hesitate to get creative and find new ways to use them. (Previously contained a link to 100+ pictures of AR sample moves from our team.)
Can the bands be used for rehabilitation?
Yes! In fact, this was my introduction to Jumpstretch bands. In January 2002, before I started training as a powerlifter, I was deadlifting for reps. During my second set, third rep, 225 pounds (with straps), I heard and felt a series of cracks, went numb from the chest down, and fell on the floor. As my trainer rushed me to the ER, I thought I was done lifting for good. After I got home from the hospital, I contacted Don Johnson, now one of my training partners, to tell him what happened. He took a red-eye out of Florida to bring me these bands. I thought he was nuts, as no one seemed to know exactly how or
why these bands worked so well, yet no one was going to argue with results either. He showed me how to do goodmornings (GMs) with the bands. At this point, it was still uncomfortable for me to walk, so I did partial GMs with the mini band. I worked up to full ROM GMs, and then started working up to the next
level of band tension. Over the next several months, I did these band GMs several times a day, every day. I started deadlifting again, and on July 7th,2002, after 5 months of rehab, I deadlifted 375 with only a belt. 3 months after that, I hit an easy 405.
When Don saved me from bodybuilding style workouts, I was also suffering from injured rotators. I started with basic rotator cuff rehab work, one or two externalrotations with the bands. I then advanced to light dumbbells. I kept doing band AR for the upper back and shoulder daily, while slowly adding more light weight rotator work to my bench days and extra workouts. In November 2002,after 8 months of rehab, I was finally able to start adding significant weight to my deltoid accessory work, and began moving away from rehab work. Just this last month, after a year of progressive rehab, I added overhead work back into my regimen. It’s unbelievable to me that I used to be in pain just benching the bar, or opening a door, or lifting a gallon of milk out of my trunk, and now I’m putting up a couple hundred pounds without a hitch. It was definitely worth the
wait, and the Jumpstretch bands were, and will continue to be, a regular part of my regimen.
How can AR help my nervous system recover?
Muscles contract because your brain tells them to, via nerves, so the nervous system is a critical aspect of strength. Think about this: between the time you decide to raise your arm, and actually raising your arm, a brain signal which is generated from sensory input is sent from the motor cortex of the brain
which passes through lower centers in the midbrain including the amygdala, pons,substancia nigra, red nuclei, and cerebellum and then it proceeds down the anterior tracts of the spinal cord. Once the signal gets to your arm, it then goes to the appropriate muscle and the electrical signal is converted to a
chemical one via calcium release. Once it makes it to the membrane, it binds to the acetylcholine receptor (Clark). This is ALL before you ever even move! The nervous system clearly needs to recover; however, the nerves need more time than
you might think. In many instances, the nerves need up to twice as long to fully recover. By aiding in muscle recovery, you allow the body to concentrate on other elements of repair, such as neurological repair. This is especially important for those of us who train for speed.
Relaxation is critical to recovery, as it engages the parasympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system. This system is made up of nerves that regulate breathing, digestion, heart rate, blood flow, and glandular secretion.The sympathetic system responds to needs during increased activity, and the
parasympathetic system responds to relaxation. These two systems work together.
Muscle recovery after a workout is best performed under the control of the parasympathetic system. Relaxing after your workout stimulates the parasympathetic system, allowing your body to recover (Martin). So where does AR come in to play? AR promotes both physical and mental relaxation. By
flushing toxins away from the muscles, you are creating an environment in which the muscles can more comfortably relax. Also, the element of taking action to promote your own healing can be very mentally satisfying, especially after a
grueling workout. Taking control of the situation, and working to promote a better situation that provides for continued training, is a very positive and rewarding experience for any lifter. This time can also be used for visualization, since you are already moving through the same motions as you would in training. Positive visualization is very calming, especially when preparing for competition.
Where can I purchase Jumpstretch Bands?
I ordered mine from Dave Tate at Elite Fitness Systems. He provides fast, efficient service, and stands behind his products before and after the sale. I have quite a collection of these bands. I reserve the newer ones for speed work, and the older, stretched out bands for active recovery. They have
held up to years of stress, and are worth every penny. If you would pay several hundred dollars for a machine to tear up your muscles, why not drop a few bucks to help them heal, since that’s when the magic takes place? Sure, you can do AR with weights, cardio, etc…but until you try it with the bands, you just won’t realize the difference.
S. Sharpe
Midwest Barbell
June, 2003
References:
Clark, Ron. NFPT Magazine.
http://www.nfpt.com/Library/Articles/neurologic_system.htm. 2002.
Deschenes, M.R. Neuromuscular disturbance outlasts other symptoms of exercise
induced damages. J Neurol Sci. 174:92. 2000.
Martin, Daniel. Recovery. TeenBodybuilding.com - Daniel Martin - Teenage Recovery!. 2003.
Moskva. Raastad, T. Recovery of skeletal muscle contractility after high- and
moderate-intensity strength exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol . 82:206. 2000.
Muscle Recovery for Muscle Growth. FT-Tip. 2002
Schmidtbleicher, D. Recovery following strength-training sessions with
different training regimen—intramuscular coordination vs. muscle hypertrophy.
Rome: Fourth annual Cong Eur Coll Sport Sci. 72. 2000.
Over-training or Under-recovering: Active Recovery & Jumpstretch Bands
If you are serious about your training, then you are serious about results. Long term results require you to remain strong and healthy, and one of the best ways to stay strong and healthy is to help your body recover more efficiently. As a speed-strength athlete you know that your motor units are comprised of muscle fibers and nerves, and both need your attention to function optimally. Whether looking for size or strength, active recovery can help you reach your goals.
What is Active Recovery (AR)?
Just as the name would suggest, AR involves engaging in activities that promote healing in your body. In contrast, passive recovery involves lying around until you feel better. Why would you want to recover faster? Whether you’re looking to gain size, strength, or both, you can do more, and do it more
often, if you are recovering quickly. Most athletes are familiar with the process of ripping, and then allowing healing, as it pertains to weight training. This is why it’s rare to see someone training a muscle two days in a row. Unfortunately, some lifters seem to suffer from amnesia once they leave the gym, as they only tend to work for half of the results, completely ignoring the other side of the progress equation: recovery. Over-training/under-recovering can lead to symptoms such as decreased performance, chronic muscle soreness, weight loss, and lack of “fire” in the weight room. The resting heart rate and blood pressure may rise, and sleep
patterns are altered. Worst of all, the immune system is compromised and begins to fail. Not only does it fail to perform, but it fails to tell you what is wrong so that you can correct it. This is the onset of illness and injury,irritability, fatigue.
The idea behind AR is to get fresh blood and oxygen flowing through the muscle. A superior form of AR will allow you to avoid eccentric tension on themuscle, which is important, as this phase creates a catabolic environment. This catabolism initiates an anabolic repair response in your body. The last thing you want to do is interfere with this process, as this can mean impeding growth,progress, and potentially overtraining the muscle. So how can you work the muscle without interfering in the healing process? The most common way, until recently, was to simply lift very light weights, or engage in some light cardio like walking. Other forms of AR include massage, hot/cold therapy, stretching, and soaking. Different muscles heal at different rates for various reasons, but you can help them along in just 20-30 minutes a day. I would like to introduce you to a method of AR that has produced phenomenal rehab and prehab results forour crew: AR using Jumpstretch Bands.
What are Jumpstretch Bands and why are they special?
The Jumpstretch bands aren’t a new-fangled thing, but they may be new to you. If you are a powerlifter, you have probably used them for speed work. These are thick bands of rubber that come in various widths providing various amounts of tension. While you may use a great amount of tension for speed squats, you will find that mini, average, and light bands are suitable for AR purposes. Band AR should not feel like a workout. In fact, band AR feels very unique in that you are contracting the muscle, yet it feels like a stretch. The bands are also unique because they have no eccentric phase.
If you DO feel that you need to control the band eccentrically, you simply need to let off of the band to reduce the tension. Again, this should not feel like a “workout.” Because the bands have no eccentric phase, you can use them to your heart’s
content, and never have to worry about reripping those healing muscles. Bandsare portable, lending themselves to use in the home, gym, hotel, office,anywhere you can take a few moments to yourself.
How do I use the bands?
Generally when I use bands for AR, I work all the muscles that are sore or fatigued (which generally corresponds to what I worked the day before in the gym), and I always do work for my core. I do AR every day, and I can tell a difference in recovery speed if I miss a session. When choosing movements, I
like to mimic the moves that were used during training. For example, if I fatigued my triceps doing JM Presses, I will mimic that same move with a band when doing AR. AR is supposed to feel good; consequently, a higher rep range is easy and effective. I like to do 2 sets of 25 for most moves. If this makes you break a sweat, release some of the band tension. When nursing an injury, I will make a point of doing AR several times a day to keep blood and oxygen moving into the muscle, and toxins moving out, promoting repair. Here are some
examples of exercises you can do. Don’t hesitate to get creative and find new ways to use them. (Previously contained a link to 100+ pictures of AR sample moves from our team.)
Can the bands be used for rehabilitation?
Yes! In fact, this was my introduction to Jumpstretch bands. In January 2002, before I started training as a powerlifter, I was deadlifting for reps. During my second set, third rep, 225 pounds (with straps), I heard and felt a series of cracks, went numb from the chest down, and fell on the floor. As my trainer rushed me to the ER, I thought I was done lifting for good. After I got home from the hospital, I contacted Don Johnson, now one of my training partners, to tell him what happened. He took a red-eye out of Florida to bring me these bands. I thought he was nuts, as no one seemed to know exactly how or
why these bands worked so well, yet no one was going to argue with results either. He showed me how to do goodmornings (GMs) with the bands. At this point, it was still uncomfortable for me to walk, so I did partial GMs with the mini band. I worked up to full ROM GMs, and then started working up to the next
level of band tension. Over the next several months, I did these band GMs several times a day, every day. I started deadlifting again, and on July 7th,2002, after 5 months of rehab, I deadlifted 375 with only a belt. 3 months after that, I hit an easy 405.
When Don saved me from bodybuilding style workouts, I was also suffering from injured rotators. I started with basic rotator cuff rehab work, one or two externalrotations with the bands. I then advanced to light dumbbells. I kept doing band AR for the upper back and shoulder daily, while slowly adding more light weight rotator work to my bench days and extra workouts. In November 2002,after 8 months of rehab, I was finally able to start adding significant weight to my deltoid accessory work, and began moving away from rehab work. Just this last month, after a year of progressive rehab, I added overhead work back into my regimen. It’s unbelievable to me that I used to be in pain just benching the bar, or opening a door, or lifting a gallon of milk out of my trunk, and now I’m putting up a couple hundred pounds without a hitch. It was definitely worth the
wait, and the Jumpstretch bands were, and will continue to be, a regular part of my regimen.
How can AR help my nervous system recover?
Muscles contract because your brain tells them to, via nerves, so the nervous system is a critical aspect of strength. Think about this: between the time you decide to raise your arm, and actually raising your arm, a brain signal which is generated from sensory input is sent from the motor cortex of the brain
which passes through lower centers in the midbrain including the amygdala, pons,substancia nigra, red nuclei, and cerebellum and then it proceeds down the anterior tracts of the spinal cord. Once the signal gets to your arm, it then goes to the appropriate muscle and the electrical signal is converted to a
chemical one via calcium release. Once it makes it to the membrane, it binds to the acetylcholine receptor (Clark). This is ALL before you ever even move! The nervous system clearly needs to recover; however, the nerves need more time than
you might think. In many instances, the nerves need up to twice as long to fully recover. By aiding in muscle recovery, you allow the body to concentrate on other elements of repair, such as neurological repair. This is especially important for those of us who train for speed.
Relaxation is critical to recovery, as it engages the parasympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system. This system is made up of nerves that regulate breathing, digestion, heart rate, blood flow, and glandular secretion.The sympathetic system responds to needs during increased activity, and the
parasympathetic system responds to relaxation. These two systems work together.
Muscle recovery after a workout is best performed under the control of the parasympathetic system. Relaxing after your workout stimulates the parasympathetic system, allowing your body to recover (Martin). So where does AR come in to play? AR promotes both physical and mental relaxation. By
flushing toxins away from the muscles, you are creating an environment in which the muscles can more comfortably relax. Also, the element of taking action to promote your own healing can be very mentally satisfying, especially after a
grueling workout. Taking control of the situation, and working to promote a better situation that provides for continued training, is a very positive and rewarding experience for any lifter. This time can also be used for visualization, since you are already moving through the same motions as you would in training. Positive visualization is very calming, especially when preparing for competition.
Where can I purchase Jumpstretch Bands?
I ordered mine from Dave Tate at Elite Fitness Systems. He provides fast, efficient service, and stands behind his products before and after the sale. I have quite a collection of these bands. I reserve the newer ones for speed work, and the older, stretched out bands for active recovery. They have
held up to years of stress, and are worth every penny. If you would pay several hundred dollars for a machine to tear up your muscles, why not drop a few bucks to help them heal, since that’s when the magic takes place? Sure, you can do AR with weights, cardio, etc…but until you try it with the bands, you just won’t realize the difference.
S. Sharpe
Midwest Barbell
June, 2003
References:
Clark, Ron. NFPT Magazine.
http://www.nfpt.com/Library/Articles/neurologic_system.htm. 2002.
Deschenes, M.R. Neuromuscular disturbance outlasts other symptoms of exercise
induced damages. J Neurol Sci. 174:92. 2000.
Martin, Daniel. Recovery. TeenBodybuilding.com - Daniel Martin - Teenage Recovery!. 2003.
Moskva. Raastad, T. Recovery of skeletal muscle contractility after high- and
moderate-intensity strength exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol . 82:206. 2000.
Muscle Recovery for Muscle Growth. FT-Tip. 2002
Schmidtbleicher, D. Recovery following strength-training sessions with
different training regimen—intramuscular coordination vs. muscle hypertrophy.
Rome: Fourth annual Cong Eur Coll Sport Sci. 72. 2000.
