The last time I gave advice to a bodybuilder was in 1981. I
was a freshman in high school, and I told a friends brother
to "slow down his reps." I thought that was good information,
seeing as how I had just read it in a n article by Arnold
Schwarzenegger. Well, this guy put the weight down and
kneed me in the thigh so hard I cudn't walk for an hour.
Twenty six years later I can still hear him clear as day asking
me, "who's BIGGER- me or you?"
If ever there was a significant emotional event in my life,
that was it. I gave up bodybuilding that day and set my
sights on being an extreme sports athlete. Over the past
26 years, I have climbed mountains, jumped out of
perfectly good airplanes, surfed every tropical storm to
hit the East Coast (untill I got married), and wreked my
mountain bike at speeds faster than most dare to think
about. Today, at age 40, I'm working on my blue belt
in Brazillian jujitsu with legendary professor Pedro Sauer.
26 years of abuse and still strong!
Why am I telling you this? Because years ago i learned
something that has helped me in every aspect of my
physical performance and, more importantly, my ability
to recover from the abuse I put my body through for
all those years. If ever there was a sport that needed
to hear what I'm saying, it's the sport of bodybuilding.
So let me ask you: Do you think you know enough
about bodybuilding to cointinue to make steady gains,
stay healthy, and recover from tendonitis? Because I can
talll you by the time you reach 40 you're going to wish
you had listened to me.
I'm about to break a 26 year silence and share with you
three very powerful tactics every bodybuilder not only
needs to know but employ on a regular basis.
I'm not going to tell you what to do!
One thing I have learned working with elite athletes is
that you can't tell them to stop doing what their sport.
Try telling a runner to stop running or a bodybuilder to
stop working out and we both know the response you
will recieve will not be complementary!
But I can tell you how unexpected limitations develop
that will hinder your ability to make gains and recover
from injuries.
One of the main reasons why bodybuilders hit a wall
and develop injuries is that they don't allow their
muscles to recover 100% before they work those
same muscles again. Ideally, as the body goes through
the recovery process, it should lay down nice elastin and
collagen tissue. Instead, with insufficient recovery time, it
starts to use fibrin, which is bad- VERY BAD.
Here's how it works:
If your body is overstressed, it instinctively tries to protect
itself by using fibrin, which is very strong, to achieve that
added element of stability that you need. In the begining,
that extra fibrin helps your muscles recover. But over time
(and I'm talking months and years) that same fibrin will
stop you in your tracks.
Strength gains and recovery have one enemy.
When your body adds fibrin, it's like adding rebar
to concrete; it makes something that is already strong
mush stronger. The downside is that you lose mobility
and start to develop postural imbalances. You also lose
"contractibility", which is another way of saying strength.
This is where many of your problems start. You see,
fibrin is scar tissue similar to what you will see on a
scab, and you do not want a scab on any of your
connective tissue.
Here's why:
1: Excess fibrin in your muscle tissue will limit your
contractability and, ultimately, your strength
through that range of motion.
2: Excess fibrin will limit your overall range of motion.
3: Excess fibrin in any of your connective tissue will
create postural dysfunctions, such as rounding of
the shoulders and tipping of the pelvis.
4: Excess fibrin will be responsible for many of the
acute and chronic injuries you suffer.
5: Excess fibrin will create fibrous restrictions in
all of your muscles that will keep you from
getting a better pump or prevent the blood from
entering that muscle.
6: Excess fibrin in your blood vessels and muscle
tissue will severely hinder your recovery time
and restrict how quickly you get back to 100%
during your off days from trainning.
Of the six reasons why you do not want excessProof in the form of an Incredible image!
fibrin in your body, number six is the most critical
as it relates to your ability to get bigger and
stronger. Blood flow is key. It affects every aspect
of your recovery.......not just fron injury but from
each workout.
Let me help you understand what I'm talking about when
I say we have fibrin in our blood vessels that can slow,
hinder, or even prevent the blood from getting where it
needs to go.
incredible image (left) of red blood
cells trapped in a web of excess
fibrin. The fibrin is causing physical
restriction. If you look closely, you
can see that the're stuck. Ultimately,
those red blood cells cannot get
into the capillaries to oxygenate and
nourish your muscles so they will do
the extra work you want them to do.
Without that little bit of extra blood, you can say goodbye
to that last rep.
I hope you can now understand how excess fibrin can
restrict the blood flow, prevent you from achieving your
best, and prevent you from recovering as fast as you want.
The problem is, the excess fibrin is systemic, meaning it
extends throughout your body and in and around all
connective tissue. To get more blood flow, your heart
has to work harder to get more blood where it's
needed..........this is bad. it's called high blood pressure!
Unfortunately I could'nt find an image of how excess
fibrin becomes scar tissue in muscle, tendons, or ligaments,
but believe me, it's there and you WILL feel it.
Immediate steps to take:
Again I will never tell you not to work out, but I want
you to understand that there are steps you can take to
help prevent or minimize the effects of excess fibrin and
impaired blood flow. If you are suffering from tendonitis
anywhere, it's not going to get better by working it. You
need to improve the blood flow so the pain and
inflammation can be flushed out and minimal fibrin will be
laid down. That way, the fibrin that is used during
recovery is gradually reabsorbed.
Whether you're looking to get a better workout, a
bigger pump, or increase your size, you need to have
better blood flow. Likewise, if you suffer from chronic
recurring injuries that just will not get better.
3 easy steps to improve blood flow:
1: Heat things up to get it moving.
Get your ass into a hot tub or sauna at least two or more
times per week. You see, heat does two things: one, it
relaxes the muscle, which allowa the blood to flow easier
and two: it causes the blood to come from the surface
of the skin to try to cool the body.
When this happens, more blood travels through the
smallest vessels you have, thereby improving your body's
overall circulation.
2: Unbind your muscles
This technique became popular back in the 1980's.
A guy named John Parrillo came up with something
called "facia stretching," which allowed some
bodybuilders to add more than an inch in diameter per
muscle group just minutes before the competition.
Nowadays, the big boys do on a weekly basis for
consistent gains and rapid recovery.
Fascia gives our muscles form, and when our fascia is too
restricted, it limits the ability of the muscle to expand and
fill with blood, limiting the amount of blood for the pump
and recovery.
My suggestion is to find a qualified massage therapist who
can perform cross-friction massage and myofascial release
techniques on you. One thing to rmember is that if you are
fascialy bound down, these techniques will hurt like hell
and you will be sore for up to four days after treatment.
The good news is that once you're free, your free. Trust
me, the results will be profound.
3: Let nature clean your pipes
The third technique is to use systemic-proteolytic enzyme,
an enzyme that breaks down excess fibrin throughout
your body, including your blood vessels and your musles.
Nothing else in the world can naturally break down the
excess fibrin in your blood vessels and remove the scar
tissue in your muscles.
The fact is, your body is constantly regulating fibrin. But
as you get older (late 20's), your body will have fewer
and fewer enzymes vailable to do the job. When we
train hard, there are simply noy enough enzymes to keep
up with the demand to regulate fibrin. That's how the
build-up of fibrin starts and how the limitaions begin.
Like most injuries or disease, the accumulation of excess
fibrin in ouy bodies is a process, and the removal of that
fibrin is also a process. one thing that makes enzymes
unique among all other supplements is that we know they
work.
These enzymes are not measured in milligrams but in what
are called "fibrinolytic units," which is the amount of fibrin
they break down in a set amount of time.
So if you know the fibrinolytic units of a product, you
know how much clearing or removal you will get. This
will help you compare products.
Don't be surprised if you've never heard of systemic
enzymes, because there are very few companies in the
world that sell them. They are somewhat, but they posses
exactly what you're looking for ......... the ability to
naturally increase blood flow.
To learn more about proteolytic enzymes and how they
break down excess fibrin, cleanse the blood, boost
immune system response and more, I suggest you read
this article: Learn more here
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