The 50 Shades of Grey approach to exercise!

Just as Ana, the main protagonists in 50 Shades of Grey seems to get gratification from experiencing varying amounts of physical pain in the bedroom department, it would appear that many people have this same approach to exercise.

Just the other day I overheard a woman who had clearly not long finished an exercise class say to her friend “It was excellent, we did 500 squats and 500 sit-ups…twice. It hurt like mad but I loved it”. (As a slight aside, why on earth an obviously out of shape, deconditioned woman was doing 500 repetitions any single exercise is beyond me, but that’s a post for another day).

And this no pain no gain approach to exercise isn’t just confined to the woman in question. Go to any gym and you’ll likely see a muscle-bound body builder screaming like a parent on sports day desperately cajoling their training partner to ‘chase the burn’.  In the hope that this burning sensation (caused by the accumulation of waste products) will lead them to their fitness goals in double-quick time.

But what does the research say? Do you have to chase this pain to reach your goals?

An extensive review of the scientific literature showed that there is some evidence that muscle damage caused by exercise can help make that muscle grow larger. However, on the other hand there is evidence to show that muscle growth can occur in the absence of muscle damage.  It is just that muscle damage may well enhance muscle development further.

Great, so if you smash your body to oblivion in every session and make sure you damage to your muscles, you’ll get the quickest results?

Not quite, evidence seems to show that too much damage may interfere with the processes which cause your muscles to grow. Not only that but excessive damage and pain can impair your ability to train in the first place. For example, if a training session that you did three days previous was that hard that it leaves your whole body in pain (feeling as battered as a student’s liver during freshers’ week) will of course leave you unable to train. And this inability to train will have a detrimental effect on your muscle growth!

So how much damage should you aim for?

On balance current research indicates that training in a way that causes a moderate amount of damage, not too much, not too little, would be most appropriate for maximizing muscle growth. Perhaps we should approach muscle damage in the same way as we approach our wine intake. If you don’t have any at all you’re regarded as a bit of a kill-joy, if you have too much you’re seen as p***-head and having just the right amount leaves you the life and soul of a party!

However, bear in mind that the majority of studies have been carried out on novice gym goers, it is possible that muscle damage may be more important for building muscle in highly trained individuals…perhaps!

To book your free trial session, or for any fitness and nutrition advice please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Thanks for reading.

Matt

     matt@mlrpt.co.uk                               www.mlrpt.co.uk                              07939316401

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