What To Do On Days If You Are Sore

When you've been roughed up in the gym or have gone through a particularly tough workout, you'll feel sore for a period of time whether it's a few days or over a week it happens. I've put myself through nearly 3000 Reps worth of exercise over the course of the last few days or so and yeah being sore at the moment is an understatement. Being sore isn't fun but it is a lesson and it doesn't mean you take a complete day off. With me there's no such thing but how do you handle yourself when this happens?

First off, being sore is a sign that your muscles have broken down and the muscle fibers need the chance to reproduce and grow with greater muscle density so for your next training playout you'll be stronger. Sore however is not the same as pain, that's how a whole other sport basically, it takes longer to come back from pain than it is being sore. Now what options do you have? Unless you're a professional athlete, being sore means you need to lay off the typical intensity you use and focus on taking in some good stretching, deep breathing, some Isometrics and practicing very low impact exercise.

These are just ideas but to get the full benefit you must find that form of recovery because not everyone recovers the same way. When I have sore days, I like to do Animal Flow, where the intensity isn't very high but I do feel it and I'm getting stretched. DDP Yoga is another great option, don't need to do a full hour of ass kicking training but do enough to where it feels really good, your body is being lengthened and you're getting your heart rate up. If you do or attempt the same intensity while you're sore, you're risking breaking up more muscle tissue and not giving it a chance to grow and you'll end up more than just pulling a muscle, you could tear something or worse. Your body needs a chance to grow muscle and letting it do it's job. I've gone through days where I was sore and just kept pushing and I paid the price for it, I ended up with a minor injury to my shoulders and wrists because I didnt allow my body to do it's job.

Many people believe being sore is like having a badge of honor, it's not fun at all and on days where you're so sore you can barely get out of bed there's something wrong there. Some have gone to such extremes (crossfit anyone?) that being sore means nothing but something to push past and get that through the session; when that happens, your body can only be pushed so far until you finally end up in the hospital over stupidity and paying out the ass for torn muscles, a ripped tendon or worse a broken bone regardless of where it is (I've had broken bones so don't even try to argue with me). I do believe however that being sore doesn't mean you should stop training, just lower the intensity and letting your body heal and repair itself so when you go hard again, you'll be at a higher level than the last time.

Many times when I was sore over the last 12 years or so, I practiced Chi Kung; doing different styles, holds, hand movements and loosening the joints, this gave my body the ability to recover faster and always came back stronger and had a greater mindset and will to reach a goal or at times go beyond it or close to it. Recovery is the opportunity to give your body a chance to bring it to optimum levels of intensity, endurance and strength. Sore does not mean give up, it just means back off a bit and letting things breathe and rest.

Be safe while you train and always have a blast. Recover with the best intentions and be on a mission the next time.

Today's Herb, Titan Post Workout Formula

Hill Sprints: It Does A Body Good

The ultimate form of explosiveness and speed is through Sprint Training period. The funny thing is, you can do all sorts of exercises to play with that will give enormous fat burning effects but the cream of the crop, the big cheese and James Bond of all exercises to burn fat faster than the wicked witch screaming "I'm melting" is hitting Hill Sprints.

The very best athletes on the planet have used Hill Sprints to generate incredible speed, power and explosiveness. To name a few, Ricky Henderson, Marcus Allen, Kurt Angle & others. These types of Sprints are only done a maximum of 3x a week and within a short amount of time, you will burn flab like no tomorrow, have incredible surge of testosterone, recover with greater ease, sleep like a log and have an appetite that would make strength athletes blush (last one was slightly exaggerated).

Because of the way gravity works, the best way to keep solid form as you speed up the hill is stay leaned forward and bringing them heels to that ass. This will help you move with an extra spring and help prevent injuries. I use to do Hill Sprints for weeks nearly months at a time and always felt amazing each session. You don't need to do that many to get the full effect. Doing no more than 10 at 30 seconds per sprint is enough to really kick start your hormones. When you combine this type of training with a solid foundation of healthy foods and (optional) supplementation such as Pine Pollen, Muscle Gain, &/or Titan Post Workout Formula, it will make you feel like a young kid again.

Take a cold shower after session and burn even more calories; think what that can do to shed unwanted pounds, burn fat like butter to a hot plate, grow muscle like a sprinter and have energy that would make friends jealous and your woman or guy wanting you more because of your stamina in the sack. Believe me when I tell you it is the fastest way to burn off fat and you'll be doing far more recovery than running. The recovery should be up to 3x or longer than the sprint time because your body builds up an insane amount of lactic acid that needs to fueled by fresh blood that is being rushed throughout the body, get rid of bad cells and strengthening your tendons.

This is the season to get into Hill Sprints and if you don't have one, sprint on a field or track. Get outside and run like the Flash.

Never forget to....Playout, Not Workout.