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Endurance training, periodisation, efficiency, plyometrics and immune considerations

Martin Krause (2003)

Endurance = "time to fatigue"

Training - "you need to stress, not strain the system to create change"

Quality of movement, and hence performance breaks down as fatigue sets in.

Fatigue is the stressor which affects change, however excessive fatigue  from one bout of exercise or from successive repeated bouts of exercise without adequate recovery can cause strain. A failure to plan is a plan waiting to fail. 

Training - "you need to stress not strain the system to create performance enhancing change"

A common symptom of over-training is non-restorative sleep, immune compromise and stress fractures

The 3 B's Rule - if you meet one bastard in a day that is just unfortunate, if you meet 2 then it is very unfortunate, however if you meet three bastards in a day then you are in over-training!!

Recovery may involve analysis of technique, examination of training load (duration, frequency, intensity), adequate rest and nutrition, as well as a sound state of mind (mental strength)

Sleep plays a critical role not only in recovery but also in the restoration of function of the immune system. Immune system can be discussed in terms of cellular (T helper cell Type I) and hormonal (T helper cell Type II) components. Each part has a counter-balancing regulating effect on the other. Th1 has an active role in fighting pathogens such as viruses and some bacteria (common in travelling teams and sports where open wounds can occur) as well as a role in fighting inflammation. Whereas, Th2 cells play a role in fighting against most bacteria as well as parasitic worms (Clow & Hucklebridge 2001 Ex Immun Review 7; 5-17, and Miyazaki et al 2005, Biol Psychol, 70, 1, 30-37). Cortisol, Prolactin, Melatonin and Growth Hormone have all been implicated in have a balancing affect on Th2 cells. During the early phases of sleep the immune system is pushed towards the Th1 profile which is associated with inflammatory processes. During the early phase (30-45minutes) of waking cortisol levels rise between 50 -150% creating a Th2 bias (Cutalo et al 2005, Autoimmunity Reviews 4, 8, 497-502) and hence a bias away from a pro-inflammatory profile. This may be why people may feel stiffer in the morning as a result of injury or over-training..

Frequently, when a team or an athlete is underperforming the tendency is to train harder, more frequently and stress mentally about the underperformance.  During my time as a physiotherapist to Swiss professional and elite athletes we demonstrated time and time again that good preparation, support and analysis of underperformance usually resulted in a quick return to optimum results.  However, sometimes it was difficult to convince a Swiss National downhill skiing champion that she needed to spend a couple of weeks on the beach, just before their world championships!  

At a competitive level, an endurance event is all about the conservation of energy, maximisation of efficiency, predictability, and maintaining some redundancy in the system for those unexpected moments in a race. Ultimately, it is about knowing yourself and learning to know your strengths and weaknesses as well as those of your competitor. The more multifactorial the training approach, the more experience which is gained and the greater the feedback for improvement. However, the immediate goals need to be attainable and be in synchrony with the long term goals (SMARTA - specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timely, aligned).

Endurance training - periodisation

Periodisation of training allows the athlete to gradually build up their training volume and/or intensity, whilst allowing time for regeneration. Gradual increments of loading can occur, whilst reducing the risk of excessive over-loading and hence injury.  Additionally, training of various intensities allows the metabolic systems to develop in parallel.  Thereby the anaerobic and aerobic metabolic systems can be used to drive endurance. 

The development of endurance may take months and up to years.  Strength is required to develop power, as power is equal to the product of force times velocity.  Power is important for speed.  Frequently, endurance athletes train slow and stay slow.  

Maximising strength also enables the body to enhance the firing of impulses to the muscles by the central nervous systems. 

 Since power = force x velocity then strength training to attain power requires velocity.  However, an inverse relationship exists between force and velocity.  As velocity increases, the force of contraction decreases.  Soft sand running or running in knee deep water may be a good compromise in the quest to attain power.  Additionally, these forms of training help reduce over-striding

 

Biomotor abilities specific to running ability may be attained using for examples eccentric (muscle lengthening) quadriceps, calf and hip muscle loading in lunging.

Understanding muscle biomechanics and length-tension relationships (Hill model) allows for more specific training stimuli. Ultimately, the optimisation of power requires a balance between velocity and force since P=Fv. Similarly, efficiency may be improved by considering Power as Work over time P=W/t

Plyometric exerices designed to improve power use the concepts of elastic and kinetic potential energy to improve energy absorption and movement execution. The following equations are taken from Wikipedia (7May2008)

(right click on graphic to replay)

This allows better utilisation of the stretch-shortening cycle of the lower limb muscles, in addition to reducing excessive muscle hypertrophy.  Stair and hill work should further tune the biomotor abilities. Core stability exercises for the abdominal region using a Swiss Ball or Body Blade may be another example of specific strength training, which should enhance efficiency through improved lumbo-pelvic rhythm. Poor technique can lead to inefficiency and injury (eg hip-low back pain). This principle applies equally to road cyclists and mountain bikers who need to obtain some dynamic stability.  In fact, when I was working with elite and professional cyclists in Europe, we commonly had road cyclists go running in the forest during the winter months to obtain greater strength and agility.  Equally, we frequently asked skiers to mountain bike during the summer. In some cases, cross training only consisted of road cyclists getting on the track and track cyclists getting out on the road, as well as flat riders doing hills.  Although specificity of training is of paramount importance, such cross training can reduce the risk of 'staleness' and excessive fatigue from doing too much of the same thing.  Importantly, these strategies were employed during the off-season and/or in athletes who were still in their developmental phase of learning.

       

 

Improved thoracic function through lateral diaphragmatic breathing for enhanced blood flow, improved eccentric iliopsoas and superficial abdominal oblique muscles efficiency, as well as enhanced scapula positioning and improved pelvic floor function.

Peripheral muscle contractile efficiency may be enhanced if the the muscles origin at the pelvis is stabilised by core stability muscles such as transverse abdominis and internal oblique. Additionally, the 2 joint muscles acting as 'energy straps' between body segments eg knee - pelvis will require stabilising actions in the trunk based on Newtons third law of action-reaction. Importantly, these forces only occur in the same plane of motion. Therefore, muscles which act in multiple planes of motion are inherently better stabilisers of multidimensional joint motion than muscle which act solely in single planes of motion. Naturally, in a functionally unstable spine, it would be better that the reaction force is anticipated by the appropriate bracing beforehand. This would require 'feedforward' motor control of movement. Additionally lack of pelvic control would result in reduced lumbopelvic rhythm making leg movements not only inefficient but also potentially injury producing through 'misuse'. Therefore, the hamstring, quadriceps, gluteal, ITB-Tfl muscles would need to act synergistically with the abdominal muscles. Regardless of how strong the core muscles are, 'the tail ends up wagging the dog' if the correct co-ordination and timing between muscle groups isn't present. Similarly, based on the 'energy strap' hypothesis even calf muscle tightness can produce increased anterior tilting and rotation of the pelvis making a person appear to be walking with their 'tail wagging in the air'. It is therefore important to provide verbal and visual feedback to the person so that they become cognisant with reasons for their ongoing problems of pain and/or reduced sporting performance.

Gym workouts using large muscle mass usually requires 48 hours rest between bouts of training.  However, large amounts of concentric exercise with emphasis on 1 rep max will result in adverse weight to power ratios due to excessive hypertrophy of the muscle group. Therefore, 3 sets of 7-15 repetitions may be more beneficial, especially when eccentric contractions are used.

More precise monitoring of the rate of recovery can be achieved by examining 'Heart Rate Variability' whereby the response of the heart from 3 minutes prone to 2 minutes of upright posture is measured. High variability dictates a fresh response - low variability indicates a 'stale response' or high stress related fatigue. This allows the athlete to more objectively determine which days should be recovery days and which ones are days where they can train a little harder. Importantly, chronically reduced HRV is suggested to be a 'red flag' for sudden cardiac arrest in otherwise fit and healthy individuals. Such individuals should have further testing by a cardiologist before recommencing their training regime.

Training phases may be separated into various stages depending upon the age of the athlete and whether the athlete is a novice or an experienced athlete.  General physical abilities may include multilateral development of endurance eg using cycling and swimming or even a team sport like soccer as an adjunct to running training.  Specific physical suggests more time devoted to the particular run eg 5000m vs 10000m vs marathon vs orienteering and less time devoted to other sports.  

However, during the regeneration phase of periodisation or during an injury the other sporting abilities may play a greater role.  

Specific biomotor abilities relates to those aspects of the sport which relate to specific training regimes to enhance co-ordination, strength and agility.  Plyometrics using depth jumps and rebound is an example of such a specific training regime and should only be used in the already well trained athlete.  Sports such as Orienteering require endurance, power and agility in terrain and therefore utilises speed work on various ground, in various vegetation and on different slopes.

Don't increase your training volume by more than 10% in a week

Remember the 3B's Rule

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As training proceeds into the competitive phase some athletes place a higher proportion of their loading on intensity whilst reducing the total volume of training.  Cycles such as this one may be biannual or biennial.  Importantly, periodisation and cyclic loading is not restricted to any particular time frame. Although,  it does place  emphasis on incremental loading moreover it places emphasis on optimal regeneration and recovery. Additionally, such a methodology provides a 'base' for the next cycle of training activities. Each macrocycle may be made up from microcycles which can last days, weeks, months or years. Remember, each time you train to change your bodies abilities you are stressing the system and therefore recuperation is important.

Motor learning theory devised by Bernstein suggests that the body will use the momentum of the limbs to optimize the degrees of freedom in the system.  Similar to a mass-spring analogy where the perturbations of the mass will be dependent on the damping characteristics of the spring,  the brain will introduce muscle tone to dampen the angular velocity and hence acceleration of the system.  Therefore, instead of the muscles of the leg lifting the limb, the antagonistic muscles are decelerating the limb towards the end of trajectory.  Moreover, by using eccentric (muscle lengthening and contracting) muscle contractions the system becomes efficient through these decelerating movements through enhanced visco-elastic rebound as well as the conservation of momentum.

 

Changing speed of training, not only allows the use of various metabolic energy systems, but it also trains mechanical efficiency and therefore should reduce the rate of energy expenditure.  The more efficient the system the greater the time to fatigue may be.  Importantly, acceleration places an emphases on the changing velocity.  Sprint training, Fartlek training (progressive increases and decreases in speed), counterjumps (plyometrics), eccentric-concentric leg pressing, eccentric-concentric lunging, undulating hills, running-jumping are all exercises which may improve angular momentum and therefore efficiency.

Besides training implications, there are also clinical considerations when for example a component of the kinetic chain isn't functioning in it's stretch-shortening cycle and energy dissipation function as it is supposed.

Cooling muscles will also profoundly affect the rate of contractile responses to neural input

Finally, recent investigations into the immune system of endurance athletes suggests that inflammation and immune sensitivity may be inversely proportional.  For example, upper respiratory tract infections are common amongst runners.  This may be due to irritation of the airways by air.  Alternatively, it may be due to the irritation set up by the mechanical loading of the musculoskeletal system during training.  Periodisation of training allows the body to recuperate, it provides a learning experience for the athlete of what they can tolerate and how to peak at the required time (see below).  Some of the recent investigations have highlighted the lack of salivary immunoglobulins in the period up to 2 hours after the cessation of training.  These investigators have suggested the use of carbohydrate nutritional supplementation immediately after exercise.  During my time in Switzerland, leading up to the Barcelona Olympic Games, there was an emphasis placed on carbohydrate supplementation (multodextrene), as well as magnesium for tired muscles in addition to regular blood checks of ferratin levels for women. The supermarket and gym shelves are full of nutritional supplements.  With such a wide variety of choices available, it would seem appropriate to seek a consultation with a sports nutritionist.  Some information regarding carbohydrate supplementation can be found elsewhere on this website. Additionally, aging and vitality have been related to the capacity to enhance the immune system through exercise elsewhere on this website

Link to Training and Rehabilitation

 

Plyometrics and eccentric muscle adaptation 

(Martin Krause 2003)

The eccentric component to this exercise cause more profound changes to the connective tissue of the muscle (broadening and streaming of Z bands).  Investigations into eccentric exercise revealed pain 8 hours after initial exercise which was maximal 48 hours later (Newham, Mills, Quigley, Edwards 1983).   These investigators found low frequency fatigue 10 minutes after a 20 minute period of stepping (Newham et al 1983).  Additionally, they demonstrated progressive increases in IEMG during the exercise in the rectus femoris (160% increase) and vastus medialis (140% increase) in the eccentric contracting leg (Newham et al 1983).  Mechanical damage to the sarcoplasmic reticulum resulting in less calcium release for each excitatory action potential was suggested as the cause of the low frequency fatigue (Newham et al 1983).

However, a number of sites in the myofibrillar complex such as reduce binding sensitivity and capacity of Troponin C for calcium, altered troponin-tropomysosin interaction to impaired binding and force generation by actin and myosin have been implicated in impaired force generation (Green 1990).  Indeed, in the absence of any association between relaxation rates and Calcium kinetics raises support for the notion of a rate-limiting process controlling the relaxation of fatigued muscles being located in the contractile proteins (Hill et al 2001).  During fatigue the relaxation times can be prolonged as much as 50% (Bigland-Ritchie et al 1986) thus resulting in increased force generation during submaximal stimulation due to tetanic fusion despite a substantial fall in the maximum tetanic force (Bigland-Ritchie et al 1986).   

The initial overall loss of force production seen may be due to Desmin and Titan damage (Lieber & Friden 2002).  Desmin acts as an extra-sarcomeric mechanical stabilizer between adjacent Z discs and the attachment to the costomere at the sarcolemma (Lieber, Shah & Fridén 2002).  The costomere complex contains Talin, Vinculin & Dystrophin which attach to the trans-sarcolemmal proteins Integrin and Dystrophin associated proteins.  These proteins allow the lateral transmission of force from actin to the basal lamina containing type IV collagen which is contiguous with the endomysium (Kovanen 2002).  Desmin loss after eccentric exercise can occur within 5 minutes, possibly as a result of increased intracellular Calcium leading to Calpain activation and selective hydrolysis of intermediate filament network (Lieber & Fridén 2002).  This may result in the ‘popping of sarcomeres' of different length thereby potentially loosing their myofilament overlap of actin and myosin (Lieber & Fridén 2002).  Hence, reduced force production would be expected.  Additionally, the release of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) which may degrade the extramyocellular type IV collagen (Korskinen, Kovanen, Komulainen et al 1996).  However, this effect occurs many days after exercise (Korskinen et al 1996) and could even effect torque production 28 days after exercise (Lieber & Fridén 2002).  This has significant implications in exercise training prescription. 

flash file created by Martin Krause 2003

Titan molecules span the gap between the ends of the thick filaments and Z-bands. At the 2007 MPA conference in Cairns, Rob Herbert, provided the AJP oration whereby he explained the significance of Titan as a major determinant of extensibility in muscle fibres. Additionally, he stated that Titan is differentially expressed in human skeletal muscle as short stiff fibres and long compliant fibres

  • Costomeres are 15 different proteins
  • Low oxidative muscles have a tendency to tear during eccentric exercise
  • Loss of desmin proceeds loss of fibronectin membrane
  • Fibre strain results in increased intracellular and extracellular calcium which ?may lead to desmin hydrolysis through calpaine?
  • Sarcomere shortening occurs to the detriment of tendon lengthening
  • Excitation-contractile coupling may be the area disrupted rather than pure sarcomere disruption
  • Structural changes of the disruption of the cytoskeleton include dystrophin (sublaminal membrane protein), sometimes desmin and titin, whereas alpha actin is always OK ?suggesting that calpaine is not the enzyme responsible for protein dysruption?
  • Creatine Kinase has no correlation with these cytoskeletal changes
  • Inflammatory process important for tissue cleaning and remodelling
  • Mechanism for muscle adaptation may be myosin gene regulation - heavy chain myosin isoform upregulation
  • Oxygen into the Mitochondria and through the electron transfer chain (ETC) results in ATP use of 20% for power and 80% for heat, therefore people producing less heat may be producing more power?
  • Slow twitch muscle fibre concentration varies with the years of training
  • Cycling cadence velocity at peak efficiency for slow twitch muscle fibres is 80rpm

 

Vibration fatigue is probably reduced through enhanced transverse forces by wearing pressure garments such as SKINS (non-sponsored link). Additionally, venous return is probably also improved through the pressure gradient which these garments provide.

Also check out the 'tensegrity model' as it applies to microbiomechanical and macrobiomechanical structure, flexibility and integrity - the new way of the future

tensegrity model

http://jcs.biologists.org/cgi/content/full/116/8/1397

http://fig.cox.miami.edu/~cmallery/255/255chem/tensegritymodel.htm

http://reality.sculptors.com/~salsbury/Synergy/largest-synergy-ball.html

An example from cycling

 

REFERENCES:

Bigland-Ritchie B, Bellemare F, Woods JJ (1986) Excitation frequencies and sites of fatigue.  In : Jones NL, McCartney N, McComas AJ (Eds) Human Muscle Power . Human Kinetics Publisher, Champaign Ill , pp197-213.

Green HJ (1990) Manifestations and sites of neuromuscular fatigue.  In:  Taylor AW, Green HJ, Ianuzzo D, Sutton J (Eds). Biochemistry of Exercise Human Kinetics Publisher,  Champaign,  Ill., pp 13-25

Hill CA, Thompson MW, Ruell PA, Thom JM, White MJ (2001).  Sarcoplasmic reticulum function and muscle contractile character following fatiguing exercise in humans.  Journal of Physiology , 531.3 , 871-878.

Koskinen S, Kovanen V, Komulainen J, Hesselink H, Kuipers H, Vihko V, Takala T (1996).  Type IV collagen, MMP-2, and TIMP-2 mRNA levels in skeletal muscle subjected to forced eccentric contractions.  Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise , 28 , 153

Kovanen V (2002).  Intramuscular Extracellular matrix: complex environment of muscle cells.  Exercise Sports Science Reviews , 30 , 20-25

Krishnathasan D, Vandervoort, AA (2000).  Eccentric strength training prescription in older adults.  Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation , 15 , 3, 29-40.

Lieber RL, Fridén J (2002).  Mechanisms of muscle injury gleaned from animal models.  American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation , 81 , 11, S70-S79

Lieber RL, Shah S, Fridén J (2002).  Cytoskeletal disruption after eccentric contraction-induced muscle injury.  Clinical orthopaedics and related research , 403S , S90-S99.   

Newham DJ, Mills KR, Quigley BM, Edwards RHT (1983).  Pain and fatigue after concentric and eccentric muscle contractions. Clinical Science , 64 , 55-62

Immune System and training

Title Overtraining effects on immunity and performance in athletes.[Article]
Author MACKINNON, LAUREL T

Institution School of Human Movement Studies, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Source Immunology & Cell Biology. 78(5):502-509, October 2000.

Abstract Summary: Over-training is a process of excessive exercise training in high-performance athletes that may lead to over-training syndrome. Over-training syndrome is a neuroendocrine disorder characterized by poor performance in competition, inability to maintain training loads, persistent fatigue, reduced catecholamine excretion, frequent illness, disturbed sleep and alterations in mood state. Although high-performance athletes are generally not clinically immune deficient, there is evidence that several immune parameters are suppressed during prolonged periods of intense exercise training. These include decreases in neutrophil function, serum and salivary immunoglobulin concentrations and natural killer cell number and possibly cytotoxic activity in peripheral blood. Moreover, the incidence of symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection increases during periods of endurance training. However, all of these changes appear to result from prolonged periods of intense exercise training, rather than from the effects of over-training syndrome itself. At present, there is no single objective marker to identify over-training syndrome. It is best identified by a combination of markers, such as decreases in urinary norepinephrine output, maximal heart rate and blood lactate levels, impaired sport performance and work output at 110% of individual anaerobic threshold, and daily self-analysis by the athlete (e.g. high fatigue and stress ratings). The mechanisms underlying over-training syndrome have not been clearly identified, but are likely to involve autonomic dysfunction and possibly increased cytokine production resulting from the physical stress of intense daily training with inadequate recovery.

Endurance training

Exercise, Immune System, Cytokines, Heat Shock Proteins, Glutamine and muscle mass

allostasis

Exercise and fine-tuning the immune system through the development of sympathetic nervous system control over allostasis - implications for over-training, stress, pain management and cognitive behavioral therapy

Sun Tzu : The Art of War

mastery of energy, mastery of the heart, mastery of strength, and mastery of adaptation

they who know themselves and know their adversary will always win

Last update : 26 January 2009

 
 




No responsibility is assumed by Back in Business Physiotherapy for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of product liability, negligence, or from any use of any methods, products, instruction, or ideas contained in the material in this and it's related websites. Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, the author recommends that there should be independent verification of diagnoses and exercise prescription. The information provided on Back in Business Physiotherapy is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and their treating health professional.

Copyright Martin Krause 1999 - material is presented as a free educational resource however all intellectual property rights should be acknowledged and respected




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