MOVE: September 12, 2014

We're so specialized it hurts....maybe it's time to change it up

Spoiler Summary - is it better to know a little about a lot of things or a lot about a relative few things?  Neither....and both.

I got to spend some time with two workgroups today that couldn't be more different.  One job requires lots of very awkward postures, high repetitions (at times) and now-and-again high force - a classic injury-risk job classification.  The other is almost the complete opposite - and also a classic injury-risk job class.....how can that be?  How is it that two totally different scenarios could produce very similar levels of risk? The short answer is - they have one very important thing in common - they are highly specialized.

There is a physiological concept at work here - the double edge sword of specialization.  Specialization, or in physical-function terms "specificity of training" describes, in physical terms, the phenomenal impact of patterns on our body.  Every single time we do something, we become more efficient at it, becoming close to automatic (the "lower brain" function I described last week) after enough reps.  It's one of those truly amazing human capacities but....this level of specialization can sometimes be the very thing that gets us.

I lined up for the start of the marathon last Sunday knowing the time I had to run was faster than I ever had in that particular event.  I also knew that I had been training for months and was happy with my fitness.  Although anything can happen on race day, I was confident that I could meet the goal.  The race started like most do.....with a few miles too fast - the freebies of adrenaline.  I settled in and ran the next 18-20 miles at a hard, but steady pace.  At mile 22 (i.e. 4.2 miles to go) I was hurting....at mile 24 (2.2 to go) I was dying.....and a day after pushing that last 1/2 mile really hard to barely meet the goal (cutting it WAY closer than I thought I would).....I couldn't take even a single step without significant discomfort - OK, it was pain.  How is this possible?  Six weeks ago I went 140.6 miles, which included a 26.2 run - why was 26.2 so hard this time?

The working tissues of the body (i.e. the "movement system") respond to three critical training variables:  frequency, duration and intensity. Based on the balance of those three, the body is tuned to perform somewhere between the maximum potential capacity required and absolute minimum capacity needed - in fitness terms, the "functional threshold".  In the case of the work-groups I described, the frequency is daily for both, the duration is probably similar (8-12 hours on most days) for both, but the intensity is completely different between the two.  One group runs the risk of overuse (higher intensity stimuli repeated over time) and the other runs the risk of under-use (low intensity stimuli repeated over time).....and both run the risk of breakdown - all because the body attempts to match the "request" (variables) - but not a thing more.

If you use a complete range of movements everyday and you'll stay flexible......use only a partial range and you'll get tight in some areas but not others.....sit for hours with your hips at 90 degrees with a flexed posture and eventually even just getting fully upright will be an achy chore.  On the other hand, finding a way to counterbalance work with proper exercise, nutrition and rest (MOVE-FUEL-RECOVER-ENDURE-CONNECT) and the body will stay strong and balanced. 

For me, my discomfort was both reasonable and predictable....I had asked my legs to push a pace that was faster (more intense) than I had trained, for longer (duration) than I was ready to maintain it. I asked a body that was specialized to run for a longer time (at a lower intensity) to go at a higher intensity for a shorter duration.....and the six weeks I gave it to switch from one specialty to another wasn't enough. Ouch.

There's a reason why "weekend warriors" are more likely to get injured than people who balance their training over the course of the week.  There's also a reason why seasonal injuries (raking leaves, shoveling snow and walking on ice) catch a few of us by surprise.....every single year.....and people who push beyond their training limits get to whimper their way up and down the stairs for a few days......the body is not a weak machine - but it does have reasonable limits.  The best news is - our actions (which can be changed/altered/balanced whenever we want) largely determine them.

Have a great week,

Mike E.