Written by NFPT Staff Writer
The health benefits of performing muscle stretches and muscle massage are widely touted. Yet, much less has been said about the value to specific applications of these two 'recovery enhancers' during the performance of goal-oriented resistance exercises.
Both stretching and muscle massage have distinctly separate effects relative to 'post-set' recovery and 'pre-set' preparation. Stretching being most applicable to the performance enhancement of heavy resistance exercise, with massage being most applicable to enhancing the performance of lighter resistance exercise.
Target Muscle Stretches and Heavy Resistance Exercise
To identify first the effect stretching has on the individual muscle fiber would be appropriate. The contractile proteins inside a muscle fiber are called myofibrils. These structural proteins traverse the entire length of the muscle fiber and are comprised of actin and myosin. These long thin stringy components comprise the entire myofibril components. When a nerve impulse stimulates a fiber to contract, these tiny actin and myosin slide (pull) into one another forcefully, resulting in a contractile shortening of the host myofibril and consequently the entire working muscle fiber. When contractions are intense, an occurrence known as "jamming" or "tetanus" results. This simply means that the pulling together of the individual actin and myosin filaments have been so intense as to cause damage to them.
Natural post-contraction relaxation following jamming may sometimes be insufficient to allow the damaged actin and myosin to completely separate. In other words, actin and myosin may still be partially intertwined, in the absence of stretching, in the beginning of the following set causing premature failure. Stretching between heavy sets effectively pulls these damaged (jammed) actin and myosin fully apart allowing for greater recovery and full contractions in following sets. These between-set target-muscle stretches need not be extremely intense or of long duration to accomplish the above desirable separation of contractile proteins. Stretching between light sets is clearly not as important for immediate performance enhancement since jamming is rarely a concern at lower contractile thresholds.
However, fully stretched post-workout muscles, regardless of exercise intensity and/or the number of repetitions performed, have been shown to recover more efficiently and with a lesser incidence of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. In any case, post-workout stretching and between workout stretching results in recovery enhancement no matter what goal oriented resistance exercise is prescribed.
Target Muscle Massage and Light Resistance Training
Unlike the benefits of stretching, massage as a recovery enhancer is a seldom discussed topic. As we cover this topic in more detail, the advantages of performing between-set muscle massage during light high rep resistance exercise should become painfully clear. So clear, in fact, that the absence of its application from fundamental fitness education curricula across the board may leave you puzzled.
Several very popular fitness goals are best achieved by conforming to overall fitness prescriptions that include the performance of high repetition resistance exercises. In the resistance phase of any exercise prescription where multiple sets of the same resistance exercise are performed, or even when multiple sets of different exercises are performed (when performed for the same prime mover), the application of muscle massage is beneficial as a between-set recovery enhancer.
During the performance of these high repetition sets, oxygen and nutrient rich arterial blood is shifted from the main arteries of the cardiovascular system into the intramuscular areas where it surrounds the working tissues by means of collateral circulation (arteriole capillary beds).
During the performance of continued multiple muscle contractions, especially concentric contractions, not only can nothing enter or leave the working intercellular regions, the increased girth of the working tissues temporarily interrupts or "backs up" collateral bloodflow, in effect "pinching shut" these microscopic capillaries. Upon relaxation, these capillaries once again open and the back pressure is relieved immediately perfusing the working intramuscular regions with oxygen and nutrient rich blood. The working regions "swell" as a result because oxygen and nutrient poor blood cannot be moved out of these regions as fast as oxygen and nutrient rich blood is being provided. Most importantly, the prolonged presence of excessive amounts of blood in the working muscle regions (the pump), applies pressure against the muscle cell walls preventing the efficient movement of intercellular wastes out of the fibers. In addition to the many wastes referred to is the bi-product of muscle energy production, lactic acid.
Lactic acid considerations are crucial. In the case of high-rep resistance exercise, absolute positive contractile failure is reached when lactic acid builds up to a specific level. Once this lactic acid has reached its maximum tolerable level, the muscle fiber will stop contracting.
To understand this concept, let's evaluate "the pump". The pump, as described above, is unavoidable while performing high rep sets of resistance exercises. This means that during the pump, between sets, the blood surrounding the fibers is disallowing the removal of lactic acid. If a following set is initiated while there is still lactic acid in the muscle from the previous set, the muscle will exhaust sooner equating to fewer repetitions and hence an undesirable loss of repetitions when training to failure. This is where the application of muscle massage comes in.
Immediately following a high rep set of resistance exercise performed to absolute failure, apply massage directly to the working muscle regions, fluid movement (collateral circulation) will be enhanced, reducing the amount of pressure otherwise exerted against the fiber walls. The resulting reduced pressure means that more wastes as well as the all important lactic acid can be removed from inside the muscles prior to the performance of the next set for that muscle region. The less lactic acid present at the beginning of a set, the longer contractions can be sustained prior to reaching absolute failure. This massage application can easily be proven effective to your client.
Choose a movement such as the bench press. Have your client peform a few high rep warm-up sets. Then, have the client perform a set to absolute positive failure counting the reps performed. Do not massage the muscle region during a recovery period of 1 minute. Once again have the client perform a set to absolute positive failure.
The number of reps will be less than the first set. Now is when you can put the value of muscle massage to the test. This time, while the client is waiting the same 1 minute, have the client massage the working muscle region vigorously as earlier described (concentrate applied massage across the trained fibers).
When your client attempts the next set, with equal intensity, there will be an improvement in the number of repetitions the client is capable of performing to absolute failure. Clearly, the ability to do more total repetitions when applying muscle massage than without, indicates enhanced between set recovery, and performance. Since the only altered variable in this second set was the application of regional muscle massage, the massage must indeed be credited for the improvement in performance experienced.
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