Thursday, February 04, 2010

Sore, Hungry, & Slow


There are a few indicators that let me know a training program is working. The big three are getting sore, getting hungry, and then getting slow. You can’t avoid this scenario if you are incurring any kind of serious body composition change. In this article I explain the process in some depth.

Sore, Hungry, and Slow: 3 Signs That Show Your Program Is Working

I wrote it a few weeks ago, back in my hypertrophy phase, but I couldn’t post it then because the newsletter I wrote it for is new and the archive page wasn’t set up yet. It’s an important piece of information because too many people back off their training instead of pushing through and allowing their body to adapt. There are times when you shouldn’t push through pain but there are times when it’s essential.

I’m still getting sore adapting to longer and longer runs but my climbing training is in power mode, where soreness means injury. During power training you should finish your workout feeling as though you didn’t do much. Slowness, too, has vanished. When your muscles are growing during the hypertrophy phase you get slow. Power is training these new muscles to get strong, or fast. You should get faster and faster as you train power, and never be sore.

You can be hungry in any training cycle but it’s also a part of the hypertrophy stage. Your muscles are hungry because they are growing. I was very sensitive to the changes in the ABCDE diet during hypertrophy. All three symptoms would increase during my low calorie phases, almost instantly; an indicator that training is on the rivet, where it should be.

pic: an obvious indication of a family in hypertrophy phase.

6 comments:

TheThinker said...

good article. I started the ABCDE diet (as part of the experiment in the hypertrophy phase) a few days ago. Right now I feel pretty good and with excess calories, I have more energy than I usually do.

screwdestiny said...

I love when an exercise program leaves me sore regularly. I haven't experienced "getting slow" in a while, but then I don't do programs like P90X.

Steve Edwards said...

You probably are slow but you may not notice it unless you're doing something explosive. As your muscles are growing they simple can't recruit high threshold muscle cell motor units and, hence, are slow.

bob banks said...

I'm guessing that "Slow Family Living.com" doesn't include the Florine family (or any of us) as a member.

Kenji Haroutunian said...

Um, I resemble that remark.

Dawson Ransome said...

im all three, thankfully this week is a recovery week. Im wrecked