Could you be undoing your hard work at the gym?

It is certainly not uncommon for athletes to pop a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) after a hard workout, such as ibuprofen or aspirin. However, recent research tells us that this may be hindering the healing process in the muscle; therefore, degating your hard workout.

Basically, when you perform the eccentric phase (lengthening of a muscle) of any weight lifting activity, you are inducing damage to your muscles. When the muscle fibers heal, they essentially become stronger. So, it is in the healing process that actually makes your muscles stronger. NSAIDs suppress prostaglandin synthesis, which is necessary for protein synthesis. Without protein synthesis, your muscles cannot become stronger.

In summary, think twice before popping a pill to mask some muscle soreness. Instead, take it easy, give your muscles time to heal, and consider the soreness a workout well done!

There are some cases in which you may need an NSAID; and this should be discussed with your doctor.

Just a few research articles...

Effect of ibuprofen and acetaminophen on postexercise muscle protein synthesis.

Skeletal muscle PGF(2)(alpha) and PGE(2) in response to eccentric resistance exercise: influence of ibuprofen acetaminophen.

Motivational Monday:

I strength train to keep my bones from becoming brittle and prevent osteoporosis.

Getting Your Pre-Pregnancy Body Back

Whether you delivered your bundle of joy six weeks ago or six years ago, you may be looking to get that body back into shape! (There are just a few things in here that won't apply if you've given birth a while back!)

First, here are some points to consider:

1. Be sure to get clearance from your physician that you are healthy enough to begin exercising.

2. If you are breastfeeding, it is perfectly safe to exercise and lose weight. However, keep in mind that a healthy diet and plenty of fluids are necessary. If you are not getting these things, your milk supply will suffer.

3. Take it slow and steady. Just after giving birth, you need to ease back into your exercise routine. Also, aim to lose no more than one pound per week if you are breastfeeding.

4. Although you can lose weight and get back to normal, remember that sometimes pregnancy can alter your body shape a little bit. Accept this and consider it your badge of honor.


Now, let’s talk about getting that body back!

1. Breastfeed! On average, this requires an additional 500 calories per day. That is 200 more than when you were pregnant! Breastfeeding has so many benefits to mom and baby, including weight loss for mom.

2. Eat 5-6, small, well-balanced meals. That’s right, no crazy diets here! Eating plenty of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and lean protein are important to fuel breastfeeding and help you to shed pounds.

3. After giving yourself some time to get used to exercising again, incorporate interval and repetition training. This method is helpful in burning a lot of calories and reducing abdominal fat.

4. Take your baby out for walks often. When you can’t get out for interval and repetition training, take your baby for a walk. Babies love fresh air and this is a great way for you to move more.

5. Strength-train the abdominal muscles 2-3 times each week. Do not do this every day because it will only cause injury in the long run. It is better to get a really good workout 2-3 times each week than to train a little bit each day. Switch up your abdominal moves to avoid a plateau. This training will not reduce fat on your abdomen. However, all of that stretching of the muscles while you were pregnant caused them to become extremely weak and unshapely; and this will really help to improve their appearance.

6. Don’t forget overall strength training and cardiovascular exercise. The ideas mentioned above are especially helpful, but you need to be getting plenty of regular cardiovascular exercise. Strength training all of the muscles in the body helps to increase your metabolic rate as well. Increasing your metabolic rate will definitely help with weight loss.

7. Don’t expect results over night. Your belly didn’t become enormous overnight when you found out you were pregnant. Your belly will also not shrink back to that washboard look overnight either. Good things are worth working and waiting for!

Building Muscle Strength and/or Size

Last week, one of my lovely readers asked a question about specifics for repetitions/sets for increasing strength or muscle size. This post will answer that question and hopefully generate more questions!

Before discussing the issue at hand, I want to quickly explain what a repetition and a set actually mean. Let’s say you’re doing bicep curls. The number of curls you do without stopping would be the number of repetitions, or reps. When you stop, take a little break, then resume, that would be a new set. So if you did 10 reps, took a break, and then completed another 10 reps, you would have completed two sets.

Now, what I am about to say will surprise most of you. Doing a high number of reps (10-15) actually causes hypertrophy, or an increase in muscle size. If you were to do a lower number of reps (5-8), you would be increasing your muscular strength. Both scenarios will increase muscle size and strength to a degree, but the results I just explained are the primary results that occur with that number of reps.

You may be thinking, from personal experience, that I am wrong because your results were different. Remember that whether you are doing low or high reps, you should be working to volitional fatigue. Simply, your muscles should be so tired that you couldn’t possibly produce one more rep. So if you are doing 15 reps, but could still do more, you need heavier weights. If you are wanting to focus more on your strength, you should use even heavier weights so that you can not do more than 8 reps. If you are not working to volitional fatigue, you will not achieve the results you are looking for.

For those of you who are looking for a well-rounded exercise routine, both of the above methods are good to include. Some days you may do higher reps, and others, lower reps. If you are female, don’t fear the hypertrophy. It is very unlikely that your muscles will become much larger than they are. Estrogen prevents hypertrophy and higher amounts of testosterone are necessary for muscle building.

For those of you who like to medicate with ibuprofen to reduce inflammation and pain after a workout, you may want to rethink that. Studies have found that NSAIDS, which include ibuprofen and naproxen, interrupt the process of muscle fiber damage and repair. This process is necessary for increases in muscle strength and size.