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 Recuperation Methods For The Advanced Strength Athlete: Part 2. By: Gavin Laird
Anyone who has trained for a long period of time knows the importance of the mind in the gym, but few trainees spend anything like a comparable amount of time on mental training as physical. This is a huge mistake. Most advanced lifters utilize some kind of mental preparation before they approach the bar, to help them to focus on the task ahead and increase confidence and aggressiveness; but mental training is equally valid for the purposes of recovery from hard training. To increase recuperative abilities, I recommend meditation without the religious content. It's the use of a mantra or "point of focus" to allow us to shut off our bodies and totally relax, as though asleep. Meditation, along with progressive relaxation, can clear the body of stress and muscular tension, and enhance recovery.
You're sitting there reminding yourself of why you do this, thinking of the bar, the weight on it, how it will feel to squat it and so forth. Your breathing changes and you get more focused; your crappy day at work becomes irrelevant. Now you're ready.
  Mental Preparation Can Get You Through Those Reps. That's informal meditation and visualization and it works to amp you up and create the right mind-set before training. It can also create the right mind-set to grow more tissue, recover faster and lift more weight.
Continue to focus on the mantra while attempting to progressively slow and deepen your breathing. I find a two-syllable mantra very useful, with one syllable for inhaling, and the second for exhaling. If you continue this breathing for 5-20 minutes you will find yourself greatly relaxed and you will feel calm and refreshed when you go back to your daily life. If you are meditating to rid yourself of stress before training, it is worthwhile to slowly readjust your focus to the training session ahead of you.
Once you are fully relaxed you can begin to use external or internal visualization to focus on your training goals for the week, month, year etc.
For example if you know you will be competing in 16 weeks and have particular targets in mind then turn your focus towards those targets. "See" yourself achieving them in your minds eye. Try to bring in as much detail as possible about the competitive environment: what you see, smell, hear etc. Now bring your focus back to the shorter term and focus on what you need to do today, tomorrow, for the next week in order to get to the long term-goal. Now get up and do it. If you are to train within two hours of your relaxation time, limit your relaxation techniques to the meditation described above. After a workout, or on non-training days, follow the meditation with the progressive relaxation techniques that follow.
Related to meditation, is progressive relaxation. The basic approach is to tense each muscle separately as hard as possible, then focus on the feeling as you release the tension and relax the muscle. Then tense the same muscle with half as much tension, relax and again focus on the feeling of relaxation as you let the tension go. Repeat with one quarter of the tension. Finally, perform it with just enough muscular tension to identify it. What you are doing is teaching yourself the skill of identifying muscular tension. Once you have learned to identify tension you can consciously make an effort to relax your musculature throughout the day. The actual movements are performed lying on a flat surface that fully supports your body. The best way I have found is to lie on a floor with a pillow beneath my knees. This allows me to relax completely and feel well supported by the floor. Allow your feet to splay out sideways slightly and let your arms rest by your sides, slightly bent at the elbows. Allow gravity to "sink" you in to the floor. This will ensure you are as relaxed as possible before you begin. This is especially easy to do if you have already meditated. Once you are in position you will need to follow the series of instructions below. After a while you will find it easy to remember them all, but at first you may wish to record them to tape for playback or have someone read them aloud to you.
The first lesson is on the hands and arm, and will take approximately 30 minutes at first. Each subsequent lesson takes a similar length of time, but once you are proficient it is possible to relax the whole body (perform all five lessons) in around 30 minutes. Master the lessons one at a time. It may take a week or so or so to master a given lesson. For the sake of space I have not repeated the complete instructions for each muscle group/lesson, but each lesson follows the same pattern as the first one. You first tense as hard as you can, then with half tension, then one quarter, then with just enough tension to identify. If there are no instructions about tension after a given movement is described, then that is the pattern you are to follow. If you are to train within two hours of your relaxation time, limit your relaxation techniques to the meditation described above. After a workout, or on non-training days, follow the meditation with the progressive relaxation techniques that follow.
Beginning with the dominant hand, attempt to touch your knuckles to the top of your wrist. Hold for ten seconds, then release the tension. Note where the tension is felt, then repeat.
 Step 1  Click To Enlarge.
Step 2 Attempt to touch your fingertips to the underside of your wrist. Hold, note the tension, relax and let go. Repeat this sequence for the non-dominant arm. Repeat for each arm in turn with half tension, quarter tension, then just enough to identify.
 Step 2 Click To Enlarge.
Step 3 Flex the dominant side biceps as hard as you can (without bending at the elbow). Hold for ten seconds, relax and let go. Note the tension, then repeat. Repeat with other arm, then for each arm in turn with half tension, quarter tension, then just enough tension to identify.
 Step 3 Click To Enlarge.
Step 4 Press both wrists in the floor to tense the triceps. Hold for ten, relax. Repeat with half tension, then quarter, then just enough to identify.
 Step 4 Click To Enlarge.
Step 5 Using both arms, tense and tighten all the muscles of the arms and shoulders without moving. Your fists will clench and the arm should be as tight as possible. Hold for a count of ten and then relax as slowly as possible until you are once again free of tension. Repeat with half tension, quarter tension and then just enough to identify.
  Step 5 Click To Enlarge.
Once you become proficient at these movements you will be able to perform the entire first lesson in 5 or 6 minutes. Only at this point should you begin work on lesson two, but always begin each session with the mastered lesson one. Master lesson two, and then move onto number three (but opening with 5 or 6 minutes each for the mastered lessons one and two). Continue in this manner until you can perform all 5 lessons in one session of about 30 minutes. This way, the longest session you will ever have to perform will be around 55 minutes long.
Bend toes of right foot towards the shin. Repeat sequence for left foot.
  Step 1 Click To Enlarge.
Step 2 Repeat the sequence while pointing the toes forwards, for right toes, then left, then both feet together.
  Step 2 Click To Enlarge.
Step 3 Repeat the sequence while holding feet one inch off the floor.
  Step 3 Click To Enlarge.
Step 4 Repeat the sequence pressing the feet as hard in to the floor as you can.
Step 4 Click To Enlarge.
Make a tight fist with both hands, hold, relax. Do not repeat sequence of contractions.
  Step 1 Click To Enlarge.
Step 2 Tense both arms throughout, hold, relax. Do not repeat.
 Step 2 Click To Enlarge.
Step 3 Tense both legs and feet, hold, relax. Do not repeat.
 Step 3 Click To Enlarge.
Step 4 Pull in abdominals. Repeat contractions as usual... full, half, quarter, etc.
 Step 4 Click To Enlarge.
Step 5 Tighten your buttocks.
 Step 5 Click To Enlarge.
Step 6 Arch back slowly. Imagine arching the back as high as you can, but do not move. Relax and let go of all tension. Take a deep breath, hold, identify tension and release the air normally. Take a deep breath, hold, identify tension and let breath out in a sharp puff. Continue to breathe normally and relax more as your breathing deepens.
 Step 6 Click To Enlarge.
If you are to train within two hours of your relaxation time, limit your relaxation techniques to the meditation described above. After a workout, or on non-training days, follow the meditation with the progressive relaxation techniques that follow.
Push right shoulder and right side of head in to the floor.
 Step 1 Click To Enlarge.
Step 2 Try to bring both shoulders together in front of chest.
 Step 2 Click To Enlarge.
Step 3 Shrug both your shoulders up to your ears.
  Step 3 Click To Enlarge.
Step 4 Press back of head against mat.
 Step 4 Click To Enlarge.
Step 5 Try to put your right ear on your right shoulder. Repeat entire sequence, using left side in place of right where appropriate.
 Step 5 Click To Enlarge.
Clench teeth tensing the jaw.
 Step 1 Click To Enlarge.
Step 2 Pucker lips as if whistling.
 Step 2 Click To Enlarge.
Step 3 Smile exaggeratedly.  Step 3 Click To Enlarge.
Step 4 Push tongue in to front teeth. Pull tongue back towards throat. Let the jaw go slack and breathe deeply.
 Step 4 Click To Enlarge.
That concludes our whistle stop tour of muscle relaxation. What I have provided is little more than an outline, but it's enough for you to try the technique and see how it feels. I realize that for many of you 45 minutes or so out of a day (once you're proficient at meditation and progressive relaxation, and longer until then) will be a long time, but even performed just once or twice a week, these exercises can make you feel better, recover better, and thus train better.
Gavin Laird Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here! Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
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Meditation: Not Just Touchy Feely Nonsense
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