Is there any way to reduce soreness as much as possible? I’m training with Ian King’s Great Guns workouts, doing the first workout (plus some abdominal work) on Tuesday nights and then the second workout on Friday night and then my maintenance workout on Saturday (mainly consists of heavy deadlifts, power cleans, etc). The problem is, I will be doing training for my sport on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. I am worried that if I do my Great Guns plus Abs workout, that I will be too sore to perform well on Thursday. I have access to supplements like Ribose, Creatine and L-Glutamine (but no Biotest supplements) and I sleep plenty of hours (8+ each night) and I am also planning to stretch before and after my workouts and between sets. Is there anything else I can do to really restrict soreness as much as possible?
P.S. Anyone know any good stretches for the abs and obliques?
If you have access to a pool, I would hop in and swim around for 10-15 minutes. Nothing serious, but just enough activity to get blood flowing. Of course a good soak in the hot tub after will also help out. I like to do some of my stretching while I’m in a hot tub. Also, you could do a search about on the forum and through the previous issues for information about active recovery.
There are many things you can do to help alleviate soreness.
Make sure you warm up well
Make sure you get your stretching in.
hot tubs, saunas, contrast baths (hot & cold)
engage in light rhythmic activity for the trained muscles on the day following your training.
supplement with high doses of glutamine (20-40 grams per day) before and after your workout and bcaa’s along with the glutamine if you have them.
take 2-5 grams of vitamin c along with an anti-oxidant blend after your workout with your postworkout meal.
make sure you consume a postworkout recovery drink consisting of protein + carbs
A good ab stretch is to lie down on your stomach and support yourself on your hands and then arch back as far as possible until you feel a good stretch in the ab region.
-hope this helps
If you have access to a pullover machine, get on it right away. This is one of the few machines that is definately worth its weight. Your lats will be worked very well with this exercise and the biceps are not involved at all. You could also try dumbell or barbell pullovers, but they are much trickier. Check out some of Ian King’s 12 weeks to super strength articles for those descriptions. Also, you could try straight arm pulldowns. Stand in front of a lat pulldown station. Use a light weight to start. Stick your arms straight out in front of you and slightly angled up (hands about head level). With straight arms, pull down the lat bar until it hits your thighs. Give those a try and your lats will hurt, but you biceps will be minimally involved.
Sorry to put it this way but the best way to treat soreness is taking a more proactive role in the future. Ensure that each of your future workouts start with a good warmup period and finish with a static flexibility period. Also consider measures such as supplementation, modest GPP as well as elements as contrast showers and epsom salt baths. Hope you are feeling better & good luck! In faith, Coach Davies