Showing posts with label periodization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label periodization. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Training "On Cycle", Done Right - Women See Much Better Results When Periodization is in Line W/ Menstrual Cycle
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| Yes, I could have exploited the ambiguity and called this article "Training 'On Cycle', Done Right - Women See Much Better Results When Periodization is in Line W/ Their Period", but let's be honest: This is a science website and that's neither scientific, nor actually funny, is it? |
For many trainers, however, the estrous cycle is still a closed book. "Can you train, or not!?" Especially male trainers are not just insensitive when they ask their protégées this question, they may also be missing out on a chance to maximize their clients' training progress. That's at least what a recent 4-months study from the Umea University in Sweden (Wikström-Frisén. 2015) suggests.
Learn more about the (often ;-) small but significant difference at the waredownloadsoft
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| Figure 1: Relative changes in lean mass (DXA data), measures power and strength (torque) in 59 trained women in response two weeks of frequent leg-training in the first or second two weeks of their estrous cycle (Wikström-Frisén. 2015). |
What about women on oral contraception? The scientists recruited 32 young women on oral contraceptives and 27 women who didn't use oral contraceptives and a re-analysis of the data in Figure 1 didn't show significant inter-group differences between the two groups. In other words, the data in Figure 1 and thus the main findings are relevant for "all" resistance training young women, irrespective of whether they're taking contraceptives, or not. The only difference is that you go by the contraceptive (CC), instead of the estrous cycle and place the high frequency training period in the first, not the last two weeks of the CC cycle.
"Meaningless changes", however, are not meaningless results. In fact, the exact opposite is the case. These results tell trainers and female trainees, alike, that abandoning their protégées / their own- regular non-periodized training, i.e. three leg training workouts per week that consisted of leg presses and leg curls (3x sets @ 8-10RM, 1-2 minutes rest between sets; progressive increase of weight by 2-10% whenever the subjects could perform 3x10 reps with a given weight)
for 4-months and switching to a periodized 2-week high- vs. 2-week low-frequency training, where they would perform the same 48 workouts in either
- high-frequency first cycles, i.e. 5 workouts per week in the first two weeks, 1 workout per week for the last two weeks of each menstrual / contraceptive cycle, or
- high-frequency last cycles, i.e. 1 workout per week in the first two weeks, 4 workouts per week for the last two weeks of each menstrual / contraceptive cycle,
would have beneficial effects on their progress only if they increase the frequency during the early phase of the cycle.
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| Figure 2: Comparison of the relative changes in the periodization group (high frequency in the first two weeks of the menstrual / CC cycle) vs. control group (three workouts per week for 4 months | Wikström-Frisén. 2015). |
Ok, if you compare the periodization group to the control group which kept the regular "three workouts per week"-frequency (see Figure 2, green bars) was maintained, the "advantages" of periodizing "correctly" are not as pronounced as they are in comparison to doing it the "wrong" way. Even though, only the hamstrings appear to benefit to a large extent from periodization, though, benefits exist.
What's even more important, though, is the simple, but really important revelation (or for the few of you who have read about this before e.g. in Reis et al. (1995) "confirmation") that a woman's menstrual and similarly her contraceptive cycle must be aligned to her training schedule. Obviously, the implications will have to be further explored in future studies. Studies, of which I hope, that they will be using smarter periodization schemes which acknowledge that training only once a week is simply not enough... ;-)
What's even more important, though, is the simple, but really important revelation (or for the few of you who have read about this before e.g. in Reis et al. (1995) "confirmation") that a woman's menstrual and similarly her contraceptive cycle must be aligned to her training schedule. Obviously, the implications will have to be further explored in future studies. Studies, of which I hope, that they will be using smarter periodization schemes which acknowledge that training only once a week is simply not enough... ;-)
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| waredownloadsoft Classic: Train Like a Woman: Common Misconceptions About Training & Eating for A Cover-Model Physique - An Interview With Sports Nutritionist & Strength Coach Orit Tsaitli | learn more |
With that being said, I personally think of this study as one study in a series of studies that will hopefully elucidate how women can adapt their training regimen to the repetitive changes in the hormonal milieu of their bodies.
If we are honest with ourselves, the fact that Wikström-Frisén's results come as a surprise to most of us is only further evidence of how wantonly exercise scientists and trainers, alike, have hitherto neglected the peculiarities of the female physiology and endocrinology | Comment on Facebook!
- Reis, E., U. Frick, and D. Schmidtbleicher. "Frequency variations of strength training sessions triggered by the phases of the menstrual cycle." International journal of sports medicine 16.8 (1995): 545-550.
- Wikström-Frisén, L., C. J. Boraxbekk, and K. Henriksson-Larsén. "Effects on power, strength and lean body mass of menstrual/oral contraceptive cycle based resistance training." The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness (2015).
Overreaching A Promising, But Tricky Training Strategy - Here's How it Rewards Pains & Effort With 5% Higher Peak Power Gains After 12 Workout vs. Training W/ Adequ. Rest
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| No rest(-day) allowed - at least during the short (!) overreaching phase you will be training through the pain & fatigue if you are determined to succeed. |
You can learn more about overtraining and checking your training status at the waredownloadsoft
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- the overreaching-detraining (OR-DT), in which the subjects performed maximal cycle sprint training on 12 consecutive days, followed by 6 days of detraining (=no exhausting physical activity at all | like 12xA - 6xR) and
- the control (CON) group, in which a complete day of rest was provided after every 2 successive training days (like A-A-R-A-A-R- [...])
For both groups, the training sessions consisted of 2–4 sets of 30 s of maximal pedaling on an electromagnetic cycle ergometer (Powermax V3, Konami Sports & Life Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). Each set was followed by a 7-min rest period. The resistance for the first set was set 7.5% of BW, and it was reduced to 5.0 % of BW for the subsequent sets. During each training session, the subjects were verbally encouraged and instructed to give their maximal effort.
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| Figure 1: Overview of the study design - Training schedules and number of sets (Hasegawa. 2015). |
What do we already know about overreaching? Unfortunately, we don't know how to make sure it's not turning from overreaching to overtraining, but that's one of the many questions scientists will still have to answer (Mackinnon. 2000). What we do know, though, is supplements like creatine or 0.4g/kg body weight EAAs and likely whey can help conserve the performance during and thus improve the outcome after overreaching periods (Ratamess, 2003; Volek. 2004). We also know that overreaching attenuates the testosterone response to workouts in untrained, but not trained individuals and A.M. cortisol, but no the cortisol response to workouts in both trained and untrained subjects (Fry. 1994). Both, the amount of creatine kinase and glutamate in the blood which can be used as indicators of muscle damage increase during periods of overreaching (Halson. 2003). Lastly, the changes in the immune markers indicate that athletes may be particularly prone to infections during phases of extra-(=too)intense training (Gleeson. 2002).
That's truly unfair, but it's the reality of competitive sports (*). After all, you have the choice of training like the control group before the event to make sure that you're full of sap or, alternatively, to follow the OR-DT program and start on game day maximally refreshed and with an adaptational bonus in the peak-power domain that may make all the difference when you're sprinting towards and over the finish line (see Figure 2).  |
| Figure 2: Relative peak power and mean power during the pre- and post-test days as well as on the differently timed training days in the OR-DT and CON group (Hasegawa. 2015). |
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| The supercompensation of phospho-creatine stores may also explain the power gains in the overreaching + detraining group (Haegawa. 2015), but still, do not underrate the ergogenic benefits of the stress hormone cortisol - it's on the WADA list for very good reasons, esp. wrt endurance sports! |
For regular waredownloadsoft readers this should be as unsurprising, though as the fact that the OR-DT's ability to maximize their cortisol response at the post test is probably (one of the) reasons that they kicked their competitions a$$ when it comes to peak performance... unbelievable?
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| Figure 3: Cortisol levels in the Hasegawa study (2015) in the pre- and post-test (left); maximal endurance (T in min) in Katia Collomp's 2008 investigation into the effects of acute glucocorticoid administration on cycling endurance (right). |
Well, take a look at the endurance performance of the cyclists in Katia Collomp's 2008 study (Figure 3, right) - what did almost double the endurance of her subjects? Yes, it was synthetic cortisol - prednisolone at a dosage of 60mg to be precise. And just as it is important to point out that these benefits are restricted to acute short term increases, it is noteworthy, that, in the Hasegawa study, the cortisol response during the over-reaching phase was as, if not more blunted as it was in the CON group.
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| SV Classic: "Optimal Rest Between Workouts? Despite Inter-Personal and Exercise-Specific Differences 72h May be a Valid Rule of Thumb - Especially for Compound Movements" | more |
Unfortunately, there's also asterisk (*) number two you will find right after the information that we are not dealing with professional athletes. That's a problem, because it is unlikely that the ordeals a seasoned athlete can sustain and still gain are the same as those of a rookie. This does not mean that everyone needs more or longer hammering, though. In fact, many athletes are chronically overtrained. For them (Matos. 2011), the 6-day rest may be a good idea; to try to increase their performance by strategic overreaching,on the other hand, would be madness and obviously counter-productive.
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| Overtraining is real and it's blocking future and reversing past gains | more |
- Collomp, Katia, et al. "Short-term glucocorticoid intake combined with intense training on performance and hormonal responses." British journal of sports medicine 42.12 (2008): 983-988.
- Fry, Andrew C., et al. "Endocrine responses to overreaching before and after 1 year of weightlifting." Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology 19.4 (1994): 400-410.
- Gleeson, Michael. "Biochemical and immunological markers of over-training." Journal of sports science & medicine 1.2 (2002): 31.
- Halson, SHONA L., et al. "Immunological responses to overreaching in cyclists." Medicine and science in sports and exercise 35.5 (2003): 854-861.
- Hasegawa, Y., et al. "Planned Overreaching and Subsequent Short-term Detraining Enhance Cycle Sprint Performance." International journal of sports medicine (2015).
- Mackinnon, L. T., and S. L. Hooper. "Overtraining and overreaching: Causes, effects and prevention." (2000): 487-498.
- Matos, Nuno F., Richard J. Winsley, and Craig A. Williams. "Prevalence of nonfunctional overreaching/overtraining in young English athletes." Med Sci Sports Exerc 43.7 (2011): 1287-94.
- Parra, J., et al. "The distribution of rest periods affects performance and adaptations of energy metabolism induced by high‐intensity training in human muscle." Acta Physiologica Scandinavica 169.2 (2000): 157-165.
- Ratamess, Nicholas A., et al. "The effects of amino acid supplementation on muscular performance during resistance training overreaching." The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 17.2 (2003): 250-258.
- Volek, Jeff S., et al. "The effects of creatine supplementation on muscular performance and body composition responses to short-term resistance training overreaching." European journal of applied physiology 91.5-6 (2004): 628-637.
It's the Same (!) Time of the Day That Matters, If You Want to Excel - No Matter if You're in a Training or Detraining Phase
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| If you have a competition in the AM and usually train in the PM it may make sense to change your training schedule in the weeks leading up to the event. |
In a very recent study, scientists from the Sfax University, the Hellenic Army Academy, and other institutes and universities tried to determine, once again, how long it will take until the performance decrements become so relevant that they've eaten up all your gains (Chtourou. 2015).
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So, to test not just if you can keep your gains during a detraining period of 2-5 weeks, but also to evaluate whether the time at which you were training and are now retested would matter, Chtourou et al. recruited thirty-one healthy male physical education students (age: 23.1±1.9 yrs; height: 176.1±6.3 cm; weight: 74.9±10.9 kg). Initially 2/3s of the subjects participated identical leg training regimens for 14 weeks (knee extensor and flexor muscles of both legs | the rest served as inactive control) - with half of them performing their workouts in the AM, the other half in the PM (one group didn't train and served as control). This leaves us with the following three groups in total:
- a morning training group (MTG, who trained between 07:00 and 08:00 h, n = 10),
- an evening training group (ETG, training 17:00 and 18:00 h, n = 11) or
- a control group (CG, did not train, n = 10).
This study is also relevant for those doing research: As the results of the study show, it may make a significant difference if you test your subjects at the same time they are used to train (maximal gains) or 8-10 before or after. Eventually, one may even go so far as to say that all older studies, where the "test and train at the same time principle" was not adhered to may have underestimated their own results - slightly, but measurably. Whether that's actually relevant in view of the fact that comparing absolute gains from one study to another is questionable, but you could imagine a retest being done in the AM where all the training took part in the PM diminishing the performance increment to an extent that it doesn't reach statistical significance.
During the last two weeks, the training intensity was increased to 8-RM (8 repetitions with a weight that could only just be lifted ten times) and the recovery period between each set of exercises was increased to 3 minutes. Throughout the study, the RM (intensity at which you lift to failure) was kept in the desired training zone, by adjusting the weights according to performance improvements. To make sure this worked out, all resistance training sessions during the study were supervised by one ofthe investigators. This person also made sure that the obligatory 10 min of warm-up/dynamic stretching, the 10 min cool-down and the warm-up sets with 8-10 repetitions using a light weight
for all exercises were actually performed.
When the last set had been pumped out, the MTG and ETG group returned to their irregular and light (non-resistance training) physical activities for the remaining 4-6 week detraining week during which their performance was tested at the end of weeks 4 and 6 - once in the AM and once in the PM.
Now what is really interesting to see is that both training regimen appeared to have a "specialization" effect. While the MTG group which trained in the morning showed the most significant performance gains when they were tested at 7:00 am, the exact opposite was the case for the ETG group who had been training in the evening all along.
That's not relevant? Well, if take a closer look at the data, you will see that in both training groups, most SJ and MVC performances had returned to pretraining levels during the "non-accomodated" test. Significant performance gains over the pre-values were detected only in the 7:00 am test in the morning group and the 17:00 pm test in the evening group and thus at exactly the same time, the subjects were used to train.
for all exercises were actually performed.
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| Figure 1: Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) recorded at 07:00 h and 17:00 h in the morning training group (MTG), the evening training group (ETG) and the control group (CG) before (pre-training) and after (post-training) training period, 3 and 5 weeks detraining after the end of the training period. *, sign. difference between 07:00 h and 17:00 h. A, B and C: significant differences in comparison with pretraining, post-training and + 3 weeks detraining, respectively (Chtouru. 2015). |
Now what is really interesting to see is that both training regimen appeared to have a "specialization" effect. While the MTG group which trained in the morning showed the most significant performance gains when they were tested at 7:00 am, the exact opposite was the case for the ETG group who had been training in the evening all along.
That's not relevant? Well, if take a closer look at the data, you will see that in both training groups, most SJ and MVC performances had returned to pretraining levels during the "non-accomodated" test. Significant performance gains over the pre-values were detected only in the 7:00 am test in the morning group and the 17:00 pm test in the evening group and thus at exactly the same time, the subjects were used to train.
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| waredownloadsoft Classic: "Is Resistance Training in the PM More Anabolic Than in the AM? Time of the Workout Doesn't Influence Acute Hormonal Response or Circadian Pattern of Testosterone Production" | read the whole SV Classic article |
Ah, and yes, although the study doesn't really have the power to make a far-reaching conclusion, it would at least appear as if PM training was more effective. But as a I said, that's just a conjecture and not a promise that you will increase your gains if you start - all of a sudden - training in the PM. Why? Well (a) you would train to an unaccustomed time and (b) even the support from previous studies like Chtourou et al. (2012, 2013 & 2014) is not fully convincing when it comes to chronic resistance training gains vs. acute performance benefits. What appears to be a reliable though is that people who usually train in the PM may benefit significantly from a few weeks of training in the AM before a meet or competition at 7:00 or 8:00 AM, i.e. not their usually training time | Comment!
- Chtourou, Hamdi, et al. "The effect of strength training at the same time of the day on the diurnal fluctuations of muscular anaerobic performances." The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 26.1 (2012): 217-225.
- Chtourou, Hamdi, et al. "The effect of time-of-day and judo match on short-term maximal performances in judokas." Biological Rhythm Research 44.5 (2013): 797-806.
- Chtourou, Hamdi, et al. "Diurnal variation in long-and short-duration exercise performance and mood states in boys." Sport Sciences for Health 10.3 (2014): 183-187.
- Chtourou, Hamdi, et al. "Post-resistance training detraining: time-of-day effects on training and testing outcomes." Biological Rhythm Research just-accepted (2015): 1-22.
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