Keep on Rolling

Being sore from the gym comes with mixed feelings, at least for me.  It's a great thing to feel that you pushed yourself successfully to your limits, but it isn't so much fun to hobble into the gym the next day and desperately try to loosen up before lifting big once again.  The energy might be there, but the flexibility and drive certainly won't be.  While dynamic stretches pre-workout and static stretches post-workout will both greatly aid in maintaining flexibility and decrease the overall pain felt, they aren't miracle workers.  The good news is there's a very simple tool you can use to drastically reduce soreness and increase your flexibility at the same time!

What is this fantastic yet simple tool?

It's called a foam roller!  It's not a complicated piece of gym equipment, that's for sure, in fact it looks like just a giant rolling pin made of foam.  Actually, it IS a giant rolling pin made of foam.  Here's a picture:

You basically use this thing by placing it under your body in such a way that if you move back and forth across it, it will "roll" over the desired muscle.  By doing this, you're basically giving yourself one of the most effective, well documented, and powerful methods of recovery, a deep tissue massage!  Finally, you can massage yourself!  Sounds fun right?  Well after you read what this foam roller can do for you, I bet you'll think so.

Pre-Workout Rolling-  That's right, you can foam roll pre-workout!  Unlike static stretching, there isn't the risk of tearing or over-stretching your muscles when they're still cold.  In fact, foam rolling is a great way to warm muscles up, and decrease muscle density (a fancy term for priming them to be used).  I usually don't foam-roll pre-workout, but I have when I've felt particularly stiff in my hamstrings or hips, and the rolling loosened me right up.  This thing will prime you, prep you, loosen you up, and help to prevent injuries during your workout (unlike static stretching, which could actually CAUSE them.)  Try it out!

Post-Workout Rolling- After that amazingly tough workout there's no doubt your muscles will be tired, tight, and sore.  Foam roller to the rescue!  On many occasions, especially when I'm dealing with small hip and leg injuries, I static stretch AND foam roll problem spots after my workout.  I can't tell you how big a difference this giant poofy rolling pin has made for my legs.  My hamstrings have gone from immovable iron rods to loose, greased tendons, with a lot of thanks going to this blue wonder worker.

And there's one more BIG benefit of foam rolling after that workout of yours.  It helps to removes toxins from your muscles that might have built up, like perhaps....lactic acid?  That's right, the chemical that makes you so sore come the following morning.  By rolling around on a foam roller for a few minutes after your workout you can basically knead the lactic acid out of your muscles and therefore speed up recovery.  You'll also help blood flow throughout the muscle, and that can do all sorts of good for you, like increased nutrient absorption.  It's really amazing how such a simple tool can do so much.

So get yourself foam rolling!  Most gyms these days are equipped with foam rollers, and if they're not don't despair, these things are only like 20 bucks at Walmart.  And believe me, they're worth it.  Try it out!

And did you think I was just going to leave you with that lame explanation on how to actually use a foam roller!  HAH!  Fat chance.  Here's a great video explaining different rolling techniques.

Love the roller, keep loose, and as always, good luck!

Stretching: Before or After?

We all have our little routines at the gym, a nice mental checklist to follow so we can get in and get out having accomplished everything we needed to in order to feel good for the rest of the day.  I see people all the time come in to the gym, lace up those shoes, put on that sweatband, fire up that ipod, and head right over the stretching mat, where they tend to contort themselves for a good 5-10 minutes before hopping right on the elliptical and pumping away an hour.  Chances are you've seen similar things, if you're at the gym for any reasonable amount of time.  Is there anything wrong with it?  It doesn't appear so, but if you follow a similar routine (and don't be ashamed, as thousands upon thousands do), you might actually be hindering your workout performance without even realizing it.

How the heck are you doing that?  Stretching.  Specifically, static stretching.  This involves placing a leg or an arm or a foot or hand or WHATEVER in a position that lengthens the respective muscle to its highest tolerance, then putting pressure on it to go slightly further.  The pressure/light pain you feel is the stretch, and over time it can dramatically increase flexibility.  This is a good thing.  So what are most people doing wrong then?  

They static stretch BEFORE they work out.  Believe it or not, this is a big no-no.  Static stretching before a workout can actually decrease overall muscular strength by UP TO 30%!!!  Wow!  What the heck?  How's that possible?  I thought static stretching before a workout helped!  That's what everyone told me! 

And you'd have a valid point, because it's pretty common knowledge to stretch before working out.  But why should you work hard to break this trend?

Well you see, when you static stretch, you will be forcing your muscle to stretch further than it has before, and at the same time you're also basically de-loading your muscles, forcing them into a state in which they cannot contract with nearly as much intensity as was previously possible.  It's like stretching a rubber band, and holding it at near breaking point for an extended period of time.  When you finally do release the tension, it might be a little longer, thinner, and less springy overall.  It has lost a lot of strength, and so have you.  

And there's something else too, which can also be explained with a little rubber band analogy.  Imagine sticking a rubber band in the freezer for a while.  Now, after a few hours, take it out, and try to stretch it.  I bet it'll snap almost instantly.  That freezer represents your average lifestyle activities, slow, monotonous, and cold.  It may even represent sleep, where you are most likely at a state of zero movement.  Your muscles aren't being used, and so in a way they "freeze" into very inflexible positions.  Now imagine trying to stretch cold muscles, just like you tried to stretch that rubber band.  Doesn't sound like a good idea, does it?  It sure isn't!  And most likely, eventually you'll get the same result.  You'll experience a muscle tear.  So why do you go into the gym and stretch those cold muscles to the breaking point day in and day out?

  Bottom line: Don't static stretch pre-workout.

However after a workout, static stretching is a great idea!  Your muscles are warm, you're through with using them, and if you just let them sit in their tired, spastic state, you'll most likely LOSE flexibility.  So stretch them out!  It's been shown in all sorts of studies that those who stretch post-workout are most likely to avoid future injury.  It's a pretty simple concept, right?  

But there MUST be something you can do pre-workout, right?  I mean you don't just expect to hop on that elliptical without some sort of warmup?  Good news for you, there's a different kind of stretching that will not only warm up your muscles, but won't stretch them to the breaking point or lose you strength.  These kinds of stretches are called dynamic stretches or ballistic stretches.  They involve stretching muscles through movement, encouraging them to activate and work at their highest potential.  It's much easier to show rather than tell about dynamic stretches, so here's a YouTube video that goes through a great pre-workout dynamic stretch routine.

(By the way, that guy is probably one of the strongest and fittest and most shredded on all of youtube, and is sponsered by several high end supplement brands, so I definitely trust his word, or lack of them, on most things.  Check his videos out, verrryyy inspirational.)

I will vouch for dynamic stretching all day long, and it's exactly what I do before every Oly-lift workout.  Warm up those hips, legs, shoulders, back, arms and neck.  You want to stay loose and primed for any sort of upcoming activity.  

Oh, and make sure you take time to actually do a routine somewhat like the one above.  It's worth it, and can prevent injury.  And believe me, you DON'T want to be injured.  

Stay loose, stay flexible, and good luck!

Nitric Oxide and Caffeine, the Powerhouse Energy Duo

Imagine for a second a feeling of endless endurance.  A pure state where you feel like you are completely alert, excited, and ready to perform strenuous physical tasks for hours on end without ceasing to catch your breath.  Wouldn't it be great to go to the gym and for once not be staring at the clock, desperate for your workout to be over?  Wouldn't it be fantastic to lift more, run faster, and pump out a few more reps time after time, always ready to come back for another set?

Well such a feeling definitely is NOT fictitious, and there are many supplements on the shelves today available to gym-goers which will do exactly that: pump you up and keep you going.  They're called nitric oxide supplements, and in the most basic terms they rev up your body to be the most efficient blood pumping, oxygen moving, lifting, running, and overall active system it can possibly be.  Let's examine these supplements, what they're composed of, and whether or not they would be a good idea for you to try.

First, what is nitric oxide?  Sounds kind of like a strange chemical to be ingesting, in my opinion.  nitric oxide (or nitrogren monoxide) is simple in chemical composition, composed of nothing more than one nitrogen molecule bonded to one oxygen molecule.  Just to make my chemistry professors happy, nitric oxide has a molecular mass of 30.01 g/mol, and an enthalpy of formation of 90.29 KJ/mol (endothermic).  In our body, nitric oxide is released through the biosynthesis of the amino acid L-Arginine with Oxygen.  It is present in our bodies at some level constantly, and therefore can't be considered an unnaturally consumed substance.

What does nitric oxide do?  Well THAT'S going to be quite the list, but I'll break it down into it's most related/important functions.  In our bodies, nitric oxide has the tendency to cause blood vessels to dilate, or become larger in diameter.  This allows for increased bloodflow, which in terms of physical exertion/ working out has a whole HOST of benefits.  

Oxygen flow:  Dilated veins will increase the amount of oxygen your blood can carry to your muscles, allowing them to operate in an aerobic state for longer periods of time during strenuous exercise.  This will translate into vastly increased endurance, and hence why almost any athlete (including distance runners) can benefit from a dose of a nitric oxide supplement pre-workout.

Nutrient flow:  Again, dilated veins means better blood flow, which will also allow your body carry more essential nutrients to your muscles both pre and post-workout, catalyzing a more efficient recovery as well as an increase in eventual muscle size.

Alertness:  It all comes back to the veins.  More blood flow means more oxygen to your noggin.  You'll feel extremely alert after a dose of nitric oxide, and this feeling can last for up to six hours after the supplement is taken.  N-O is quite the grogginess removal tool.  

Besides these three very noticeable effects, nitric oxide also stimulates the immune system, helping to kill bacteria and infectious substances in the body.  It also stimualates the anti-inflammatory response in your body, which may relieve workout associated creaks and pains.  

Nitric oxide may even help one to have a better memory, because it enhances the quality of communication between cells.  There's no end to the benefits of this stuff!  

Nitric oxide alone is a fantastic workout tool.  Alone it can increase your strength, endurance, pumps, energy level, pretty much whatever you need most to get an awesome workout.  But nitric oxide alone isn't usually the whole story, at least not with many pre-workout supplements these days.  Often there's another chemical added to really take full advantage of your now dilated veins, bringing that optimally efficient bodily state that nitric oxide creates into full usage.  What's this other magic chemical, that'll really push you over the edge of power and performance?  Well, it's nothing you haven't taken before.  

Caffeine!  Yes, that's right, the same stuff that's in your morning coffee, or soda, or monster energy drink (Don't drink those, they're horrendous!).  Caffeine is a stimulant, which means it puts both your Central Nervous System and metabolism into high gear.  Your heart rate will increase, and your body will respond more quickly and readily to "exciting" or strenuous scenarios.  After consuming caffeine, you might notice that even something little, a thought perhaps of an exciting day coming up two weeks from now, will get your heart racing much faster than it ever would have normally.  When coupled with nitric oxide though, this effect is amplified to an even higher degree.

It doesn't take too much thought to understand why.  Nitric oxide=dilated veins=more bloodflow.  Caffeine=stimulated metabolism=faster heart rate=even MORE bloodflow.  Up the caffeine dosage to about 200-400mg per scoop and you've got yourself an extremely potent supplement.  I remember the first time I ever tried such a supplement, I was in the gym for two and a half hours, and awake all night.  It's powerful stuff!  And I suggest if you're going to try it, take only half a scoop your first time, especially if you have almost no caffeine tolerance like me (I don't drink coffee or soda).  Also, read the nutrition label, know how much caffeine you're ingesting.  Don't accidentally take 7 cups of coffee in one scoop by accident if you only wanted a little boost.

So that brings us to the final segment.  Are pre-workout N-O supplements right for you?  Well, it really depends.  If you're a gym rat, and you/re entering a phase where you really need a kick in the butt to get yourself into the gym, then yes, I suggest you try a LIGHTER Nitric oxide supplement.  It can really benefit your workout, and you'll feel great after having pushed yourself so hard.  And the thing is, many of these pre-workout supplements don't just have nitric oxide and caffeine, they also contain a whole host of other great muscle building tools, like a string of essential amino acids, and usually a creatine dosage as well which will help to volumize your muscles to a higher degree.  These pre-workout supplements are designed well, and most definitely are just what your body needs to create an optimal muscle building state.

Would I suggest pre-workout supplements to the more casual gymgoer?  Listen, if you just go to the gym to keep your joints moving, then this stuff probably isn't for you.  But if you're looking to build any sort of muscle, I wouldn't be against trying a small dosage to see if you like the results you get.  You can always give the stuff up immediately, and many companies sell small trial sizes just to see if you like it.  The stuff WON'T KILL YOU, so don't be afraid.

And the absolute last subject to address.  Are pre-workout NO/caffeine supplements addicting?  I won't lie here, sure they're somewhat addicting.  It's hard not to get hooked on something that helps your body perform so well in the gym (and caffeine is an addictive substance, no matter what people say about it).  I personally do NOT believe this addiction is a bad thing, but to those around you it may appear somewhat strange.  You won't get any more hooked on caffeine than they guy who drinks three or four cups of coffee a day, but you still want to manage your usage of pre-workout supplements.  The general rule of thumb for such supplements is to CYCLE THEM.  One month on, one month off.  That way, every other month you get the same effect as the first time you took the stuff.  The off months will start out SUCKING, because you seemingly have zero energy, but a good diet and good sleep habits can help to minimize the withdrawal. You can taper the dosages at both ends of the month too in order to more easily phase in and out of taking and cleansing.  

So there you have it, a basic explanation of one of the most powerful workout tools on the market today- Nitric oxide caffeine supplements.  They can do a world of good for your workout, and I'm 100% serious about that.  They can help you smash through those plateaus you've always been so frustrated by.  Go ahead and try one, but be smart about it, because they are definitely potent substances.

Lift hard, run fast, and stay healthy.  Good luck!

I've tried three nitric oxide supplements, all of them caffeinated:

Amplified N.O. Loaded (Advanced Muscle Performance)- .EXTREMELY POWERFUL STUFF  High caffeine dosage, over 400mg.  Definitely would only suggest half a scoop at first, if not every time you take it.  Too much will cause jitters and a heart rate that's not even useful for lifting.  This stuff has definitely given me some insanely long workouts though, and will easily give you the jitters if you're not careful.  Make sure you take this at least eight hours before you plan to sleep at all.

N.O. xplode (BSN)- This stuff isn't quite as powerful as N.O. Loaded, but still can give quite the kick.  I didn't find the recommended serving size quite as potent (probably because there's only a quarter of the caffeine, 100mg), and I also didn't find the flavor's to be quite as good.  It's still a great endurance tool though, and probably one of the most popular pre-workout supplements on the market today.

Assault (MusclePharms)- Definitely my favorite thus far.  It has a relatively low caffeine dosage (150mg) and gives sustained, powerful energy.  It's also loaded with other great things like creatine and a host of amino acids.  It never gives that incredible "hit" right off the bat, but instead surges on over time.  The orange-mango flavor is delicious, I swear I'm drinking an orange creamsicle.  *would recommend*.