What's New In Regeneration Training?
Regeneration or Recovery training has become a major focus for performance coaches lately. It only makes sense to plan a detailed restorative program to help ensure your athletes are fresh for their daily training sessions and competitions. Proper rest can also support performance gains. The following article discusses new technology and advancements in regeneration training. I will get as technical as my college degree will let me and as in depth as I can, but I have also included some websites that will provide you with more information. Enjoy!
Grounded beds
I learned about "Earthing" and "grounding" technology about 2 years ago. A friend explained to me that recovery at the biological level can be stalled and physical health can be compromised due to poor nutrition, contact with electronic devices, inflammation and in some cases clothing. All of those factors disrupt normal cellular function and cause havoc on the electrical balance within our bodies, thus halting the recovery process. A device that I was introduced to that helps to reduce the negative electrical charge and influence of the above factors is a "grounded bed" or "bed pad." The "pad" and "bed" are made of cotton with interwoven threads of silver (Silver can counter act any negative electrical charge that causes dysfunction in the body). Both can be plugged into a grounded wall outlet or staked into the ground so that the electric particles that carry a positive charge surround the body and allow the natural therapeutic processes of the body to be enhanced. It sounds like something from Star-Trek, but as you look into "Earthing" with greater detail you will find that by simply putting bare feet in the grass, sand, gravel or concrete, you will restore your body's natural electric state. The "Pad" lies at the foot of the bed and you can sleep with your feet on top of it. The "grounded bed" or "Barefoot bed" product is a sleeping bag of cotton/silver material that you can put in your bed or on the couch. The portability of these devices is awesome! When I travel with our team I pack two for our players to use in the hotel. Each beds carrying case is the size of a travel shaving kit, so it does not take up much room in your luggage. It is important that you read the directions before using these products. You want to be sure you have the right circuits to handle the device. Also, wearing cotton clothing while using this device helps to enhance the effect because polyesters and other types of material commonly carry the negative charge we talked about earlier. Cotton comes directly from the ground so its charge is healthy. I have promoted the use of the "beds" during bedtime to combine the healing effect of the bed and the restorative effect of sleep, but it can be used if you are just lounging around too.
Compex
I have come to use the Compex Neuromuscular Stimulation Machine in both our performance training and with any of our rehabilitation cases. There is a program on the unit that is strictly for recovery. During this program the unit produces low level excitation the musculature to create a "pumping action." The pumping action increases the flow of nutrient rich blood to the designated area whether it is a case of injury or muscles soreness from training. Compex lists several pad placements for the unit for both the upper and lower body. There are parameters for the use of the Compex unit which should be explored by every user before implementing the Compex into a training or rehabilitation program. Keep in mind that when you have multiple users, charge the unit fully so that no program is interrupted because of a failed battery pack. Also, purchase multiple placement pads so each user has their own.
We use the Compex as a recovery pump post game, post practice, during down time and on our plane flights. It has been a very portable and efficient tool for our players to use for muscular recovery during the season.
Vasper
I learned about Vasper about three years ago and it intrigued me because of its claims to increase endogenous growth hormone levels in the body post exercise. Now a quality strength training program should elicit an anabolic hormone release for up to about 1 hour post workout. Vasper has found that with their combination of grounding, vascular compression exercises for 20 minutes and post exercise cooling, hormonal levels remain high for more than 2 hours post session. They have also found there is a sleep benefit that night after you have performed the exercise.
Now let me explain each component of the program. The first component is "grounding" technology. I spoke on this earlier with the grounding bed and the importance of removing negatively charged particles from your body. Vasper does this by exercising barefoot on cooper plates that are grounded. The Second component is exercise with blood pressure cuffs on the upper arms and upper legs. This form of vascular compression is called Katsu training and was created in Japan. There are contraindications to this form of exercise which need to be explored if an individual is interested in performing it. The vascular compression restricts blood flow, thus sending a message to the brain to produce more blood vessels to shuttle blood around. The brain does not understand blood pressure cuffs are restricting blood flow, it just knows blood is not getting to the area it needs to. One of the first ingredients to create the blood vessels that the brain wants is growth hormone. So now you have just performed a workout on an elliptical or Nu-Step push-pull machine for 20min and you have this huge release of Growth factors to build and recover from. The final component is core cooling. You Core Cool the system by laying on a cooling bed for 20min post exercise so you can lower your core temperature and facilitate the movement of growth hormones throughout the body. This is vital for healing. Research has shown Growth Factors can be shuttled around the body better when it is cooled.
We have used Vasper as a recovery tool, a training tool and rehabilitation tool and found it to be very effective for each situation. My interest in the product is in its ability to manipulate endogenous growth factors. One of the biggest concerns in the area of performance and fitness is the use of banned substances to produce anabolic effects. With Vasper you are not using foreign sources of anabolic hormones; you are using the most natural sources, those from within your body.
Compression Garments
The business of compression garments in sports for recovery and performance has exploded in the last 2 years!!! Three years ago the only company I knew of with a solid reputation within the endurance sport community and with the research behind its product was "Zoot Sports." Since then I have been solicited by two companies for our athletes to use their garments and I found four other companies that just began a business in compression garments. Compression garments are common in the medical world both for diabetics with circulation issues and for reduction of swelling post surgery. Now there are garments that claim to reduce lactic acid accumulation, increase VO2 max and promote recovery. I for one am concerned with how recovery can be enhanced from the use of these garments not the effects on performance. The basic principle is to promote circulation and prevent blood pooling in the lower body. If we can do that, especially when traveling, we can get nutrient rich blood to circulate to the recovering musculature.
I have come to believe that just because the garment is woven to have "graded compression" does not mean it's effective for recovery. I look for the following in the garments that I suggest our players purchase; 1) is the material woven to mirror how the musculature you are trying to compress? I believe if this mirror stitching is present it will form to the body better. 2) How breathable is the material? 3) How is the garment sized? This is critical because if the garment is too small it may be compressive but very uncomfortable. If the garment is too big then it is not effective for recovery or performance. Zoot has a specific sizing system that requires you to know how to take circumference measurements of three different sites for the lower body.
We have several players wearing compression pants post game and even on our plane flights. At the least, we encourage the use of compression socks for our plane flights.
Sleep Analyzers
I have been lucky enough to have been introduced to Cheri Mah at the Stanford Sleep Research Center. Cheri's research is not only with how much sleep we should get, but her research is athlete based and how performance metrics deteriorate with insufficient sleep. She also makes a huge case for an athlete's inability to recover physiologically from training sessions, games and traveling when having poor sleep habits.
In short, lack of sleep (Deep Sleep) prevents our bodies from releasing natural hormones that help repair tissue, nerves, injuries, fatigue, etc..... When a healthy person or athlete does not get enough sleep or gets a disrupted sleep, then they are cutting off their recovery potential. It would be like driving across the country and when you stop for gas you would only fill up your tank half way! You are not going to get far and when you stop again you are not gassing up enough to go further on your journey.
There are two devices that measure sleep on the market that I think can be very useful to athletes. The "ZEO" sleep manager measures brain waves to determine how restful and rejuvenating your sleep was. It can also determine if you are functioning on too little sleep and are in "sleep debt" that you need to catch up on. The second device which is a heart rate variability measurement tool that your wear during sleep is called the "Body guard" by first beat sports. Measuring Heart rate variability can determine if you are over trained and under recovered.
Both tools are expensive but worth every penny. I do like that both units need an entire night of sleep to analyze and gather quality data. I think some analyzers claim they can determine one's sleep quality from a 1 to 2min test in the morning when you awake. I believe you need a longer segment of data and multiple recordings to see what is going on through the entire sleep process. Both products provide this.
http://www.firstbeat.fi/work-well-being/firstbeat-bodyguard
Sleep Apps
Another sleep tool that I encourage our players to use post game to help to quite their system and relax them is the "Sleep Machine" app which can go on your apple iPhone, iPad, or iTouch. They have several sounds that you can play throughout your sleep that will help get you into the deepest realms of sleep which release natural growth hormones. It works great when traveling and for those athletes who need sound to help them sleep. The app costs $1.99.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sleep-machine/id323061162?mt=8
There are many tools for recovery on the market. Some work great and some don't. I would further research the above tools and look into others that best fit your athletes and performance environment. I have come to believe that we need multiple recovery tools to enhance the body's ability to recovery from training, travel, injury and competition. We have many workouts and training programs to enhance performance. Why not have several regenerative tools and programs to enhance your recovery?
