GETTING STRONGER

There are ‘product’ people and there are ‘process’ people.  A product person is one who basks in the end result—the product—of effort—like winning the contest or achieving top market share, or being judged # 1 in whatever they had set out to accomplish.  A process person, by contrast, is one who enjoys the struggle on the road to success maybe more than the victory itself.  For me, I enjoy the process; that is why I love to practice, to work out, to research and write the talk or the article, to take the hike sometimes even more than arriving at the destination—because destinations are not permanent—they are just stepping-stones to further growth.

Becoming Strong is a Process

I believe that every person has or once had a desire to be as fit or attractive or strong as was the person or the ideal they admired.  They soon learned, however, that they, themselves, had some limitations.  Money, time, anatomical structure or other circumstances would put limits on their aspirations. If not these, age eventually would. Or other interests would change their focus.  Or maybe their self-imposed limitation was their ignorance that the ‘product’ they desired (an improved self) was achieved by a process that needed to be understood and adhered to.

But assuming that most people would like to be strong as they could be, regardless of their age, I would like to suggest that many who actually do submit to a training regime leave out a key component of success. That component or ingredient is the need to take recovery as seriously as they do their training or the vision of their goal.

A person does not get stronger when they train; they get stronger when they recover from hard training. 

The Stress, Recovery, Adaptation Cycle

When the body is exposed to stress (physical or mental), it will begin a biological process to deal with that stress, recover from it, and then adapt and compensate so that it is better prepared to handle it if exposed to the same or similar stressors again.

When it comes to getting strong, your training is the stress.  And according to the Stress-Adaptation-Recovery Cycle, you’re not getting stronger while you’re exposed to the stress; in fact, when you lift weights (whether of iron or your own body weight) the stress it produces causes the microfibers of your muscles to tear and break down if your workout is of sufficient intensity.  Indeed, you are temporarily weaker.  The more fibers that are engaged—the harder you train—the stronger you become provided you allow the muscle to recover between exercise bouts.  And recovery itself is a process.  You get stronger when you rest and refuel—the day (at least) or two or three you need to recover and repair and rebuild your muscle fibers and supporting tissues. This process makes the person stronger than they were before.

Resting and Refueling

Besides intense workouts, there are two things you need to make your recovery effective: proper nutrition and sleep.

Food. To build itself back up and adapt to the stress of training, your body requires plenty of fuel.  You need to eat good food and lots of it, especially if you are desirous of putting on muscular body weight. Be especially meticulous about getting enough protein each day: at least one gram per pound of body weight. Egg whites and fish are especially good sources of protein. Non-sugary dairy products are also good. (Examples of sugary dairy products are milk shakes and ice cream.)  Avoid processed food!  Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits, grains and nuts.  And drink lots of water. The reason most men stall in their training is that they’re not eating enough food—they are worried about getting fat. But you get fat by eating fat—or by not exercising enough.  You get fat by taking in more calories than you burn.   If you’re looking to get stronger, you must not neglect your nutrition. If you want to get ‘shredded’ (a high definition muscular appearance) you’ve got to do everything I’ve said above but just take in a little less total volume of food and put in a few more reps or a little more time into your workout.

Sleep. Sleep plays a vital role in our recovery from exercise. When we enter the deep sleep state, our pituitary gland releases a pulse of human growth hormone to help with tissue repair and growth. When we enter REM sleep, testosterone levels increase, which also aids in tissue repair and growth. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night.  As you get older you sleep less at night so try to get in a short nap during the day if, like me, you are over 50.  Avoid caffeine late in the day or—better yet—eliminate it altogether. Avoid screens (phone, tv, computer) at least a half an hour before bed. Sleep in a dark, cool room. Don’t do heavy workouts too late in the evening—it raises metabolism, sometimes for a couple of hours, which is good for fat burning, but it also keeps you awake until it slows down to your normal rate.

Remember, you don’t get stronger when you train. You get stronger when you recover. So take the time you spend in bed and at the table just as seriously as the time you spend in the gym!