Yeah, what Patricia said, I’ve always put it on pre workout. It seems work pretty well.
I know that capsaicin is the compound found in hot peppers that causes the perception of heat. It has been theorized that this compound may be beneficial in decreasing pain thresholds through some complex neurological pathway. Some studies show it to be minimally effective. That may be why that particular brand was recommended to you.
Any other brands I should look at?
Does everyone who posted beofre still recommend the same brand?
I’ve used things like Aspercream and Icy Hot. I also tried this OTC stuff for arthritis. The problem with this stuff - every shower I took for the next 3 days burned like hell. Ok, that was too strong!
I sell biofreeze and china gel in my office. The people love them, but I don’t see the point. I give out samples for them to try first.
I’ve also used nicoflex and jack’s blue and pink heat ointments. Again, they don’t really do anything for me, but piss off my fiancee with the smell. Sometimes I put more on then.
I was thinking about trying something on my legs. They can be sore for days after a day of hard cycling. I guess it’s slow twitch DOMS.
I’ve used liniments in the past for DOMS from weightlifting. Hot soaks in the tub seem to help, too. Liniment before a hot soak = fire!
My favorite liniment is this stuff called Androgel. Ahhhhh, never mind, that’s for a different forum. ;p
Seriously though. I’ve been using a couple of products that may have some merit. Neither is the usual hot feeling muscle rub but rather aimed at joint relief.
The first is Inflacin from the Life Extension Foundation. The premise is that excess production of arachidonic acid converts to prostaglandins and other proinflammitory compounds. Inflacin is supposed to reduce the production of arachidonic acid. My mother (age 82) and my sister (who suffers with arthritic knees after multiple surgeries) have found it to be beneficial.
The other is Glucosamine sulfate, MSM, Arnica lotion made by NOW. My Doc. suggested this for my achy (and noisy) knees and I do think it helps. Comes in a pump bottle and is definitely worth a try.
Thai boxing liniment rules!
i literally bathe in that shit after a hard session or when im injured or before a fight!
as most of you know, my hip has been messed up lately. Saturday before the meet, i took this rub that another guy had. I dont know what it was as the bottle was white with no label. But i massaged it on my groin and hip for about five minutes and it was the best my hip had felt in weeks. no pain at all while pulling sumo or squatting down.
Ko & Pat,
I used capsacian, you can get in the arthritis section of any drug store. I would recommend using it after you lift. When I put it on before a workout, and my pores opened, it burned white hot! I had to wash it off and I had a rash for two days. Very strong stuff you might want to work you way up to it. Now I use Mineral Ice for a kinder gentler pain relief. Bio freeze is good ass well.
In Faith,
Colin
I love having other guys give me rubs…oh…you didn’t mean that…
snipe, I wonder if the topical Glucosamine has any effect on your blood sugar level like taking it orally?
Goldberg, was it hot? Or did it numb the pain?
Ummm, I meant as well not Ass well, I have no idea what an ass well is, but I wouldn’t drink from it.
To me it sounds like liniments are for coping with pain/soreness more than preventing it. If your body joints/whatever is in pain that should be a signal that something is wrong right? That maybe you need to take a break, work with lighter weights, or perform a different exercise?
I guess after 15+ years of lifting I’d like to think I’ve learned a few things. When I go to the gym, I’m 100%. I don’t have anything that hurts. It’s not from lifting light, I put up repectable weights.
This is not to say I’ve never had an injury. At points I’ve injured my back, knees, shoulder, and wrists. I’ve tried working through chronic shoulder pain, and nothing except completely taking time off ever cured it.
Now that I’ve learned about balancing opposing muscle development to prevent injury, periodizing training so I’m not always working near the 1RM, etc.- I haven’t been injured in a long, long time. Another key has been taking time off when I need it - every 6-8 weeks or sooner if I feel beat up or that my recovery ability is compromised.
I guess my point is this: do you really need to push so hard you damage your body? I talk with people all the time that can’t bear to take the time off they need to recover. Instead of taking a month off from lifting to rehab an injury they keep at it and end up with chronic pain.
Once you’ve got that chronic pain (injury) your body limits the output of the offending muscles and that equates to loss of strength.
Just my $0.02
once you push towards your limits you are gonna have some aches and pain. no matter how well you plan and periodize your training. its gonna happen.
“Capsaicin, a derivative of the hot pepper plant, is effective in relieving minor pain associated with arthritis, muscle strain, bursitis, bachache, and other symptoms. Substance P, stored in the terminal endings of the sensory nerve fibers, is believed to be temporarily released when stimulated by the application of a capsaicin formula on the skin. Pain diminishes with continued treatment and returns when the treatment is discontinued.”
I used it on my elbows when boxing. When training hard my left elbow would get so bad it would hurt to jab. I would rub it on about a half hour before training. Helped quite a bit.
Warhorse, I was talking aobut using it for DOMS, not for joint pain.
DOMS is its own reward. I kind of enjoy it.
I just gotta add, that Ko and I never did purchase any of other liniment other than Icy Hot.
And we very rarely even used that. In the end, I didn’t mind the aches and pains from strongman; it was a given that at some point in training you would receive sometype of ache or pain. As long as I had either a heat pad, ice pack or beer ready for me at home, I’m fine. ;-))
Jeff, I suppose quite a bit would have to be absorbed to raise systemic levels. But, I wonder about the validity of the glucosamine/insulin sensitivity issue as I’ve read conflicting views. Cy thought it might hold true but, that was some time ago.