You don’t have to limp around after exercising to be assured you had a fruitful workout. Pain does not necessarily equal gain. As a teenager, I assessed my workouts based on my subsequent level of soreness. I assumed if I was gingerly walking around the day after a tough training session, I was getting bigger and stronger. I was mistaken. From muscleevo.net: Exercise can … [Read more...]
Making Progress or Overtraining
I’m four days into my master plan to acquire behemoth calves. Because I’m doing this workout in addition to my usual schedule, I’m training twice a day. Even though the daily calf routine requires only ten minutes, it’s still technically a workout and is by no means easy. Y’all know I encourage appropriate rest between workouts. Remember, you’re repairing tissue and building … [Read more...]
Cryotherapy – Why “Get Some Ice on It” is Wrong
Sometimes it seems as if there aren't enough hours in the day. I found 720 that I would like to get back. I gather I wasted 30 hours a year from the time I became a serious athlete until the day I retired as an MLB player on a single, worthless pastime – icing injuries and sore muscles. The worst part of this? I knew better. Jason Varitek, my spectacular teammate in … [Read more...]
Out of the Training Room, into the Kitchen
Major league baseball training rooms are a popular spot for guys looking to get their daily drug fix. The drug of choice? Advil. Over the course of 162 games, plus spring training, plus the post season, an inflamed muscle here and there is impossible to avoid. I have clear recollections of taking 12 Advil a day for weeks at a time. Hundreds of throws, swings of the bat, face … [Read more...]