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Ol' Vince Lombardi has been credited with
saying, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all." I hear different. I mean, it wasn't Vince who said
it first. It was General
Patton. Vince, you see, was
an avid fan of Patton. No
matter, though. They were
both wrong, wrong, wrong!
Phooey! I spit on
fatigue!
Fatigue is the spark which ignites.
It is the means to greatness.
It is the vehicle to success.
Fatigue only makes cowards of the uncommitted.
Lest thou goest off half-cocked or scratching your head over
another of those infamous Dr. Squat diatribes, let me explain why I feel
that way. First, let me tell
you about fatigue. Too much fatigue, you see, can
cause that dreaded scourge of powerlifters everywhere -- burnout,
overtraining, staleness, plateauing.
There are several such related names the scourge goes by. Whatever words you use, this
"general" (no pun intended) syndrome is of the sort that makes second
place finishers of us all.
That makes us uncommitted, stupid or ignorant. It doesn't necessarily follow that
we're cowards.
If you're uncommitted, you won't take the
time to find out what causes this sort of burnout syndrome. And, as a result, you won't be
able to take the necessary steps to avoid it or overcome it. If you're
stupid or ignorant, you're probably not interested anyway. So, I guess I'm writing this for
those powerlifters who are both committed and intelligent, right?
There are a lot of mechanisms believed to be
responsible for fatigue (long-term as well as short-term). By cursorily reviewing the
mechanisms of short-term fatigue (the kind Lombardi and Patton no doubt
alluded to), we can gain a more complete perspective of the dynamics of
long-term fatigue -- burnout.
You will see that short-term fatigue can involve any or all of the
various mechanisms involved in movement, from the thought process to the
final contraction of the muscle.
Follow the process in Figure One.
Back in 1978, exercise scientists in England
divided short-term fatigue into two groups: 1) central fatigue and 2) peripheral fatigue. The causes of central fatigue
include diminished motivation, impaired transmission of nerve impulses
down the spinal cord, and impaired recruitment of motor neurons.
The causes of peripheral fatigue, on the
other hand, involve impaired function of the peripheral nerves serving the
individual muscles, impaired transmission of electrical impulse at the
neuromuscular junction, and impaired processes of stimulation within the
muscle cell (including metabolite changes resulting in depletion of ATP
and thereby the function of the contractile machinery of the cell).
It's clear that central fatigue only happens
among the uncommitted. Ain't
none of those around here, right?
So, let's finish up with a more useful understanding of peripheral fatigue. Those same British scientists
sub-divided peripheral fatigue into two groups: 1) high frequency fatigue, and 2) low frequency fatigue.
High Frequency Fatigue (Electromechanical
fatigue):
In power training, where you perform sets of
reps involving rapid movement patterns for over 60 seconds, force output
losses are the result of failure of action potentials (the ability of the
membrane to conduct electrical impulses) along the surface membrane (sarcolemma) of the muscle
cell. It's the sarcolemma
(observe Figure Two) that transmits electrical impulses into the tiny
openings on the muscle cell's surface (called t-tubules), and on to the
individual actin/myosin filaments deep within the muscle
cell. The failure of the action potentials is believed to be due to a
buildup of potassium both
inside the t-tubules and between the actin/myosin filaments. It is not believed to be a result of
lactic acid buildup or too little oxygen.
High frequency fatigue (electromechanical failure) typically occurs most
readily in "cold" muscles, although maximal and repetitive movement over
about 60 seconds duration is also believed to cause such nervous system fatigue. It probably has little bearing on
short- or long-term fatigue of the type seen among powerlifters.
Low Frequency Fatigue (Mechanico-Metabolic
Fatigue):
Now, we're getting somewhere!
In this type of fatigue, low frequency force
output is limited despite adequate electrical stimulation. Everyone knows that it's the
buildup of lactic acid that causes this sort of
fatigue, right?
Not necessarily! Back in 1981, Ciba Corporation's
(remember these folks? They
manufactured "Dianabol") foundation funded research which showed that
short-term fatigue can be experimentally induced among individuals with
metabolic defects which influence energy pathways and lactic acid
accumulation. So, what is the
most important mechanism causing fatigue? Cellular damage!
Whoa!
Conjures up all sorts of wondrous theories, doesn't it? Now, here's where it all gets
interesting from the standpoint of how short-term fatigue (of the low
frequency variety) is the principal cause of long-term fatigue, or
"burnout."
It's quite simple, really. It is believed that low frequency
fatigue (especially involving eccentric muscle contraction as opposed to
concentric) results from tearing and rending of those very cellular
structures which carry the electromechanical impulses to such a degree
that (not unlike a torn or frayed electrical wire) the electrical impulses
are considerably weakened. If
you'll look at Figure Four, you'll clearly see that the decrease in force
output happens faster following eccentric contraction.
Long-Term Fatigue:
Here we are to the "burnout" stage. Here's what happens.
First, the microtrauma resulting from
eccentric contraction (and to a lesser degree with concentric contraction)
begins to accumulate because you're not taking proper restorative measures
between workouts, or you're engaging too heavily in eccentric work, or
both. The "cumulative microtrauma," being disruptive of
the electromechanical impulses that “drive” the contraction process never
get to the actin and myosin in sufficient intensity (twitches per second)
to generate maximum force.
This is what the British scientists refer to
as the "Catastrophe theory" of fatigue. Drs. Gibson and Edwards (the
British scientists) explained that, in aerobic exercise, the marginally
deficient rate of ATP supply resulting from such electrochemical
deficiency may indeed go unexplained. This being the case, cumulative
microtrauma is never tended to, and restoration is never complete, a
situation which may indeed result in an overtrained state over weeks of
time.
But among anaerobic athletes such as
powerlifters, it's a bit different.
Gibson and Edwards explained that after, say, an isometric
contraction; the recovery of both ATP and excitatory capabilities of the
muscles is rapidly restored.
If high frequency fatigue is stimulated, again recovery is
instantaneous (ruling out metabolic fatigue and supporting the lowered
excitation explanation).
According to Gibson and Edwards, what's left
as the most tenable explanation for fatigue is the catastrophe
theory. But they never really
looked at the long-term effects of continually eliciting countless
miniscule "catastrophes" inside the muscles, day after day, workout after
workout, for months on end.
Let's do that now.
Burnout & Overtraining Among
Bodybuilders:
Folks, listen up!
There are two ways to cope with cumulative
microtrauma. You can avoid it, or you can treat it. You avoid it NOT by avoiding lifting or by
avoiding a small amount of (normal) cellular destruction, but instead by
not letting microtrauma accumulate!
You do this the same way you treat cumulative microtrauma:
- Sensible, scientific weight
training which always employs "periodicity" or "cycling" of intensity
- Sensible, scientific
application of the many therapeutic modalities at your disposal
(especially whirlpool, heat, ice, massage and neuromuscular
re-education)
- Sensible, scientific
nutritional practice (especially maintaining an adequate amino acid pool
which must be high in the BCAAs, to effect protein turnover, adequate
energy foods to replace those depleted during intense training, and a
minimum of 5 meals daily)
- Sensible, scientific
nutritional supplementation (especially the branched chain aminos,
glutamine, adequate protein intake multiple times daily, vitamin and
mineral intake, and other state-of-the-art supplements and herbs designed
to aid tissue recovery and healing)
- Using good technique in your
lifting and skills (especially avoiding excessive eccentric contractions
("negatives") and uncontrolled ballistic movements (controlled ballistics
are reserved for special training during various periods of your training
cycle for maximum stimulation of the fast-twitch muscles, but not
excessively)
- Getting plenty of rest both
between workouts and at night (try to get at least 7 hours per night, plus
at least one or two short 20 minute "cat naps" during the day)
- Taking advantage of various
psychological techniques that promote restoration (especially
meditation,
visualization training, hypnotherapy or self-hypnosis
techniques).
So, it all boils down to a simple plan. The plan is to do things the best
way that science can provide!
The above list ought to at least get you thinking along some
reasonable pathway in that regard.
Remember that there is no decidedly "wrong"
way to train. If you are a
raw beginner just getting into powerlifting in a serious way, anything you
do, provided it doesn't kill you, will probably help.
But only for a while.
If you get the power bug, and begin training
at least daily, you're bound to overtrain eventually. And, if you're an inveterate
lifter, you've probably been operating at least a minimal state of
overtraining for your entire career (that is, unless the points outlined
above have been adhered to religiously).
So, "good, better, best" is how things go in
the gym. Which do you
prefer? If you're committed
(there's that word again!), there's only one way to go.
'Nuff said!
FIGURE ONE
POSSIBLE FATIGUE MECHANISMS
Adapted from Gibson, H. and Edwards, R.T.H., Muscular Exercise
and Fatigue, Sports Medicine, March/April, 1985,
quoting Edwards, R.T.H. Biochemical bases of fatigue in exercise
performance: Catastrophe theory of muscular fatigue: In Knuttgen, et. al.,
(Eds.) Biochemistry of Exercise, pp. 3-28 (Human
Kinetics, 1983).
FIGURE TWO
Illustration of how a muscle
cell is constructed. The
t-tubules which go deep into the muscle cell are extensions of the outside
surface -- the sarcolemma -- of the cell.
___________
FIGURE THREE
Comparison Between Force Output
and Twitches Per Second Between High Frequency Fatigue and Low Frequency
Fatigue
____________________________________________________________
Note the fact that in high frequency fatigue,
there's a direct relationship between force output and the number of
twitches per second. In low
frequency fatigue, however, there's a shift to the right in the curve,
indicating a fall in the ratio of force generated by low frequency
stimulation as compared to high frequency fatigue.
____________________________________________________________
Adapted from Gibson, H. and Edwards, R.T.H.,
Muscular Exercise and Fatigue, Sports Medicine, March/April, 1985,
quoting Chapman, et. al. Practical application of the twitch interpolation
technique for the study of voluntary contraction of the quadriceps muscle
in man. J.Physiology 353: 3P (1984).
____________________________________________________________
FIGURE FOUR:
The difference
in low frequency fatigue between concentrically and eccentrically
contracted muscles.
____________________________ _
Note that greater low frequency fatigue
occurs after eccentric contractions, an indication that cellular damage
caused the fatigue.
____________________________________________________________
Adapted from Gibson, H. and Edwards, R.T.H.,
Muscular Exercise and Fatigue, Sports Medicine, March/April, 1985,
quoting Newham, et. al. Pain and fatigue after concentric and eccentric
muscle contractions. Clinical
Science 64:55-62 (1983).
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