Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

“Athletic performance and preparation are typically impaired when an athlete is sore or injured.  Thus, any practice that limits the extent of damage or hastens recovery would be of interest and practical value to the coach, trainer, or therapist.”                                                                                                                                                 - Connolly (linked below)

Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is defined as the pain and stiffness felt in muscles several hours to days after unaccustomed or strenuous exercise.  The soreness is felt most strongly 24 to 72 hours after exercise and is caused by eccentric (lengthening) exercise, which causes microtrauma to the muscle fibers. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_onset_muscle_soreness)

Research

Here are two articles I found interesting with regards to researching DOMS – the mechanism for injury and pain, training considerations after experiencing DOMS, and common prevention/treatment strategies:

Snatch Set-up (Part 1): Overview

In the coming weeks I plan on releasing a series of short, easily understandable blog posts about the snatch starting position in weightlifting.  I want to take you through my research as it pertains to the snatch starting position in hopes that you can learn along with me, peeling back layer by layer of the set-up to my favorite lift.

What I hope to accomplish is to first paint the general picture of what a proper set-up should look like (Part 1), then dive into specific aspects of the set-up such as foot position, shoulder position, hip angle, etc.  The goal is to provide the reader with resources from knowledgeable and/or informed sources, supported by science if and when possible, about all things related to the most efficient starting position.

As I dive into targeted research about different aspects of the starting position, my hypothesis is that certain considerations (such as hip angle) may ultimately differ from athlete to athlete due to bio-mechanical considerations (i.e., length of femur, total height, etc.).  An aim of this research, however, is to expose the most efficient starting position for the average athlete to highlight this as an ideal for each lifter.  My hopes are that we can all analyze our current starting position, understand where we need to be for maximum efficiency (the “ideal set-up”), then dissect why there may be differences between where we are and where we need to be – for example, is your ankle mobility holding you back from achieving a better set-up?  I will do my best with including remedies for poor positioning considerations when available.

So let’s look at a few starting positions snagged from a good ol’ Google search.

Exhibit A: Bryan Diaz – Starting Position (Snatch)

http://fubarbell.tumblr.com/post/47701459780/bryan-diaz-2012-crossfit-games-competitor

Why Pay Attention to Form During a Workout?

Good form = good workout.

Better form = better workout.

The O-Face in Weightlifting

[Photo: http://www.catalystathletics.com/articles/article.php?articleID=37]

I’ve noticed many weightlifters (“olympic weightlifters”) open their mouths wide right before starting the lift.  This made me wonder if there was a true purpose to this practice or if people were merely mimicking what they saw in a few experienced lifters.  After researching the interwebs and discussing the topic with a few credible lifting sources, I’ve come to the conclusion it’s a little bit of both.

O-Face with a Purpose

My research shows the wide open mouth just prior to lifting has a legitimate purpose regarding breathing.  This coincides with what many advanced lifters have told me: that they open their mouths wide to draw in a large, lung-filling breath.  According to Greg Everett of Catalyst Athletics, the weightlifter should draw in a large breath just prior to lifting to maintain “the structural integrity of the torso while under heavy loads”*.  Stated as such in his article titled “Breathing and Breath Control for Olympic Weightlifting”, Everett expands on the need for a large, deep breath prior to lifting:

Shiny Object Syndrome: Purposeless Workouts Impede Goal Achievement

I enjoy exercising, working out, training, weightlifting, etc.  My enthusiasm comes from the endorphins that pump mid- and post-workout, from the goal setting and goal achievement aspect, from the love of the barbell and how “200 lbs. is always 200 lbs.” [quote by Henry Rollins*].  Unfortunately this love of movement and personal challenge has gotten in the way of achieving various goals I’ve set for myself.  I often find myself doing things at the gym that I want to do instead of following a plan set forth before stepping foot in the arena.  It’s the whole “Look! Shiny object!” effect that distracts me from a program or calculated workout plan.  Sure I squatted yesterday and yes my hips are tight and sore, but look! – no one’s in the squat rack and man I’m so close to adding on those 10 lbs. to my squat.  Maybe I’ll just rep out a few and see how 75% feels…

Next thing I know I’m pissed off that my 75% feels heavy and how I’ve already blown the precious 30 minutes I had to dedicate to training today - and now it’s too late to switch to deadlifts and now I definitely can’t squat for another few days and now I’m even more upset at how an impulsive workout screwed my whole week of programming.

Does this sound familiar?  Do you find yourself veering off a training plan and doing things because you thought they sounded fun in the moment when in fact they push you off track from your goals?

Shoulder Impingement

Has CrossFit or weightlifting caused you to experience constant shoulder pain, stiffness, or pinching?  Here's another great link for shoulder issues:

http://www.p2sportscare.com/pain-relief-huntington-beach-ca/how-can-this-help-my-injury/impingement-syndrome-shoulder-pain/

The link above explains "shoulder impingement" or Impingement Syndrome - a pinching pain often combined with restricted range of motion.

There's a good video embedded in the link above that explains how the shoulder works and how injury may have occurred.  Check it out!

Anterior Deltoid Shoulder Pain: Infraspinatus Trigger Points

Infraspinatus (black) and Corresponding Pain (in red dots)
[Image credit: www.round-earth.com]

I've suffered from recurring pain in the anterior deltoid (front shoulder cap) region for many months now.  After icing and mobilizing were no longer enough to fight the crippling tightness and tension, I finally got an MRI on my left shoulder and discovered small, partial tears in the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and bicep tendon.  With my right shoulder flaring up soon after my left shoulder calmed down, I have a feeling these injuries are symmetrical and are the cause of both my front shoulder caps - or anterior deltoids - having consistent pain.

What the MRI revealed was of great interest to me as I had assumed the point of pain was the point of injury; that I had somehow injured my front shoulders.  Instead, the imaging reminded me how our body works as a system, and that pain 'over here' is often caused from injury 'over there'.

Barbell Trajectory

Garhammer, J. (1988) Weightlifting performance and techniques of men and women. In: International Conference on Weightlifting and Strength Training. Ed: Komi, P.V. Lahti, Finland: Gummerus Printing. 89-94.
[Accessed through Sean Waxman of Waxman's Gym in Lawndale, CA]

Some Functional HIIT programs teach lifters to keep a "vertical bar path" during lifts such as the snatch or clean.  I started using the concept of a vertical bar path when coaching athletes new to weightlifting since many beginners allow the barbell to travel too far in front of their body through the second pull or over-correct the barbell path behind their bodies while punching/catching the bar overhead - both being mistakes that make the lift less efficient.

The figure above was posted through social media and caught my eye since it contradicted the coaching cue of "vertical bar path".  While I'm hardly qualified to breakdown the nuances of weightlifting technique, I'll run through a few things I can add for consideration when studying the figure regarding bar trajectories.

1.  Note where the barbell is starting: over the mid foot where the knuckle of the big toe meets the foot.  The barbell is NOT in contact with the shin but is two -four inches (approximately) away from the shin.
2.  Most lifts will begin by bringing the barbell "into you" (reference trajectories A and B) as you lift from the floor and clear the knees.
3.  The point the barbell changes direction is when it makes contact with the upper thigh just prior to full hip extension.

Correcting my coaching cues, I'll now replace "vertical bar path" with a description of how the lifter must minimize the "horizontal distance between the bar and hips" (see link to reference article below).

These concepts are better explained in Sean Waxman's article titled "A Technical Description of the Pull in Weightlifting".

Lift Calculator

Link to lift calculator:

http://www.qwa.org/Resources/Calculators.aspx

Link above takes you to a lifting calculator provided by the Queensland Weightlifting Association that calculates what your other lifts "should be" based off one input.  For example, if I input that my back squat is at 190 lbs (~86 kg), the calculator estimates the following:

     Back Squat = 190 lbs (~86 kg)

     ...then...

     Snatch = 117 lbs (~53 kg)
     Power Snatch = 96 lbs (~43 kg)
     Clean & Jerk = 147 lbs (~66 kg)
     Power Clean = 120 lbs (~54 kg)
     Front Squat = 164 lbs (~74 kg)

This information can help gauge the progress of an athlete and can reveal weaknesses in both training and technique.  See "Shut Up and Lift" Volume #23 (a newsletter published by Waxman's Gym) for more information about what a shortfall in projected lifts could mean (symptoms and prescribed training fixes).