dietary supplements

[skwashie]

Pro- I am trying to get in shape for MSP testing, and everything was going well. Lately, I have been sluggish and unable to work out for long periods of time. I feel like i am not making any more progress holding at the same level and im not confident to pass the test. This is dampering my progress... A bud of mine who is into fitness suggested protein shake powders, and to drink a few of them a day to get protein to the muscles I am building. Do these protein shakes work? Is there any benefit to them? I also heard that creatine would benefit if i use weights, or increase the resistance in my training. Does this work? Lastly, I was wondering about dietary supplements, such as metabolite and ephedra free stacker type stuff to boost my metabolism and energy. Do these serve any purpose?

By sluggish I mean, when i workout i get tired rather quickly, and my endurance is down the drain.

[ProWriter]

Skashie, let me just add the details from our PM exchanges so this info also makes sense to anybody else reading it, too:

...the push-ups are getting there, but lately ive been maxing out around 12, i dont know why, i can do tons of sets of 12 but not at one time. gotta get it up to 18, but i still have a little under a month. Sit-ups are proving to be a bigger problem than i expected, and very little progress there. running is so so but my lower leg muscles hurt when i run long distances. I was thinking of trying to use tiger balm on exam day if this doesnt improve. good idea or bad idea? thanks again for everything

First, it sounds like the pushup routine has worked pretty well for you to be doing sets of 12 already, from where you started off before you started training. I would try doing them less often now, with more rest days between pushup days...that's probably all you need to do to reach 18 from 12 in the next month.

If situps are still that much of a problem and you're not getting much cross-over benefit from other abdominal stuff like crunches, try a version of negative resistance similar to what I suggested for pushups that seems to have worked pretty well for that:

Rig some method of pulling yourself back up by tying a rope or towel to a door knob or dresser handle so that you can assist your abdominals in getting off the floor, by hand. Pull yourself up mostly by the rigging and then slowly resist on the way down mostly using your abdominals. These "negative" situps should work as well as the negative pushups did and you can also do some "positive assisted" situps by using the rigging just to help on the way up as much as necessary. I'd try doing them separately in different sets or even different workouts where you do all sets of negatives one workout and all sets of pulley-assisted situps the next workout. Isometrically holding a midway position for 30 seconds or so should also help, and I'd try that at the end of your situp workout. Make sure you're not trying to do them without anchoring your feet, too, because that's almost impossible.

For the leg pains, first make sure you're in bona-fide running shoes, and stretch your calves before you run. I have the same problem in that the only thing limiting my running distance is a calf "pump" and cramping of all the little muscles on the front of my shins. Massaging the muscles on the front of your shins in long, firm, downward strokes before and after you run seems to help, as do the warming type ointments, but I wouldn't experiment with anything new on the day of the test. You might also find that if you stop running and just walk for a minute or two, the cramping subsides enough to resume running without a problem. The running times on most police fitness tests are long enough that you can get away with walkinjg for a minute or two during the actual test if you make up a little time going faster for the last few minutes, if necessry. Icing them after running and the days between runs also helps them heal faster.

I disagree with the emphasis on protein shakes because the most protein you can really assimilate is about 1 gram per kilogram of bodyweight per day. I eat about a gram per pound of bodyweight, which leaves a 2/1 margin of error. Generally, when sluggishness is the issue the problem isn't protein: To the extent it's a dietary issue at all, it's more likely a deficit in (complex) carbohydrates, not protein. More likely it's an overtraining issue of working out too often and before you're fully rested from the last workout. Listen to your body and give yourself an extra day if you feel less than 100% ready to workout again. For long-term training you can shift over more to weights, but for this specific short-term goal of doing 18 pushups I'd just keep working on different versions of pushups until after the test and don't do anything else for your pectorals, especially on the days between pushup training.

I'm not a big fan of the supplements you mentioned, although a few other guys on here do like creatin. As I said though, chances are any dietary issues are more likely to be functions of too few carbs, so you don't need to start with metabolite or any other supplements for that situation at all.

I think all you have to do now is keep up the pushup routine, make sure you get enough sleep and rest days between workouts and work up to running distances gradually and you'll probably do fine next month.

[yangnome]

instead of supplements, let me offer a couple things that might help with preparation for your test.

It sounds like your pushup block at 12 is mental. If you can do multiple sets of 12, btu can't pull your first one past there, perhaps you have created a mental block for yourself. Try this, every night before you go to bed (or every morning when you wake up, or even both), drop and do pushups until you can't physically do another one (only do it in one set with no rest between pushups). Write this number down or remember it. The next night, try to beat this number, even if it just by one pushup. Once you finish your set of pushups, rest for about 2 minutes and then roll over and do a set of situps the same way. I bet after you break that mental block, you will see your score shoot up by at least 5-10 pushups. Even if you don't shoot up in numbers, keep doing this every night. After a month, you can easily increase by more than 25 pushups in your set. I don't know what your requirements are to pass the test, but don't aim for the minimum or stop once you achieve it. In the army, this drill helped me increase from barely passing to gettimg my max in a very short amount of time. All you need to do is train your muscles to give a good burst for about a minute.

[ProWriter]

Yangnome, here's the exact routine I suggested that helped him get to sets of twelve:

PUSHUPS

Let me first tell you what NOT to do: don

[yangnome]

for your leg pains, make sure you check and make sure that you have the proper running shoes for your style feet. Not all running shoes will be appropriate for you. How is your arch? I have flat feet and therefore very poor pronation. It causes alot of knee pain for me, especially if I am wearing the wrong shoes. If you are unsure of what your feet are like, it is easy to check, wet your feet and step on concrete. How visible is your arch? If there isn't one you need shoes that pffer alot of arch support. If your arch is huge and the dry area almost extends teh entire width of your footprint, you need shoes that offer flexibilty. If your arch is normal, most shoes should be OK for you.

If you don't want to get your feet wet, you can also check by lookinhg at the sole of an old pair of shoes. Where is the wear on your shoes? If it is on the inside, you are likely flatfooted, on the outside, your arch is likely too big.

Wearing the wrong type shoes can do alot of damdge to your legs. Once you figure out what your foot build is, ask at teh store to see what shoes support your style foot...if they don't know, go somewhere else. Running shoes are not something you want to skimp on.

As for other leg pains. Always make sure you stretch before and after running. Don't just go through the motions either. Stretch each muscle group and hold it at least 30 seconds. This can help prevent alot of injuries. If your muscles are sore after workouts, try using some bengay or flexall. This will help you recover quicker. I also used to use it on my legs prior to PT tests and it seemed to help.

If you need further afdvice on shoes, stretching or anything else, feel free to ask.

[yangnome]

Good advice on the pushups and situps. My suggestions were in addition to that just to get your body and mind used to knocking out large sets rapidly. Doing this should not hurt your muscles even if you have done a large pushup workout that day (though you may see a slight decrease in performance if your muscles are sore) I knwo I did this exercise on top of regular army PT where we were routinely working to muscle failure....

Also, another thing that might help you for situps. If you are a member of a gym or have a place where you can do it, try knocking out situps on an incline bench. This will put alot more focus on your hip flexor muscles. If you are doign normal situps, it is likely that your hip flexors will wear down prior to your abs... If you have to run for your test, find out if the run will be before the situps or after. Practive this way. If your run is after, do a test simulation set of sit ups every time before your run (give about 10 minutes rest (while you stretch your legs) before your run. This will get your legs used to running on worn out hip flexor muscles.

[skwashie]

thanks for the response, recently ive been having problems with shin splints... I have been using tiger balm and ben gay to relieve these for the time being. A buddy of mine in the state police suggested a shoe wedge??? I have no idea what this is, do you? and will it help?

[ProWriter]

I've posted information before on shin splints, but I should have also explained that what feels like shin splints can also be what's called anterior tibial compartment syndrome, for which you can't really do anything besides stop running and walk until the pain goes away and then resume running (during your run, I mean, not between runs). Shin splints can't be "walked off" and require rest from running and gradual resumption.

All those muscles I referenced in the shin splints post are contained within a band of tissue (fascia) which is that thin membranous material encasing chicken thighs, for example, under the chicken skin.

In some people (like me), those little muscles swell too much when you run and there's no way for them to expand within that tissue and that causes pain. If you stop running and walk it off, it usually goes away and then you can resume running. The only real treatment is a surgical procedure where they slice that tissue covering open from ankle to knee to release the pressure. They diagnose this by inserting a needle into the area before and after a short run to gauge internal pressure changes.

The main difference between bona-fide shin splints (which I get also), and anterior CS is that shin splints usually hurt on the inner aspect of the shin and the pain continues long after you run, and it's localized in a specific spot; ACS is on the outer aspect of the shin, it goes away soon after you stop running (if not immediately), and the only persistent pain is a general muscular soreness than runs the length of those muscles.