"What Should I Do After A Workout? And Do I Need More Conditioning?" Damn fine questions.
What Should I Do After A Workout…
If you’ve just had it out with the prowler [or done “Fran” or some other disgusting, glycolytic conditioning piece], please don’t just collapse on the floor…
1. Your heart isn’t the only thing that moves blood around - your moving muscles pull blood into them. When your muscles stop moving, they stop assisting blood flow. If you’ve just hammered yourself with some hideous airbike malarky, your heart rate is going to be jacked AF. If you now flop on the floor in a sweaty heap, you take your muscles out of the equation, which basically forces your heart to do all the work…
Get up. Hold your head high. Walk about. Shake your muscles loose. Get your breathing under control.
2. The glycolytic system [high output, short to medium durations] produces a lot of metabolic waste. This shows up as “the burn” that everyone seems to want.
The burn is created by the build-up of hydrogen ions / metabolic waste - it’s the acidity in the muscles. A higher PH in the muscles causes:
- Creation of reactive oxygen species [the creation of free radicals]
- Decreased enzyme function [slower creation of ATP]
- Longer recovery time from training sessions
Get up. Hold your head high. Walk about. Shake your muscles loose. Get your breathing under control.
3. Collapsing on the ground is a sign of defeat.
Stand up straight like you’ve just won - like you’re a God damn sexual tyrannosaurus! - your nervous system responds in an entirely different way when you adopt winning posture, and not some floppy wet fish that’s taxing it’s heart, creating its own free radicals, and announcing to the world that it doesn’t deserve to reproduce.
Get up. Hold your head high. Walk about. Shake your muscles loose. Get your breathing under control.
Do I Need More Conditioning?
Maybe… But probably not.
First of all, why do you ask?
Your conditioning is s*** compared to what / who?
If you compare yourself to the typical people you see down the high street, you’ll likely find your strength and conditioning makes you f***ing elite - enjoy it! Compare yourself to what you see on instagram or to the top 60 men and women on the planet and you’ll never be happy...
Secondly, let’s say you double the volume of some conditioning piece… The goal changes from getting the right training effect to just surviving. You conserve energy, use less power - you pace yourself. You do not get the desired training effect, you get instead twice the number of reps but all performed with half the intent. You’ll probably just get good at performing things half arsed, basically.
Third, there’s the issue of recovery… It’s not unreasonable for me to suggest that twice the work means twice the time taken to train, twice the time taken to recover, and twice the calories needed to meet the conditions for growth… Training breaks the body down... Rest and recovery build the body back stronger. Fourth, is it conditioning you need? Or do you just need to tighten up your diet?
“Sit the f*** down and have a beer…”
~ Coach Collins
Copyright 2018
