Kinetic Energy Accumulation Training

Some hotness by Christian Thibaudeau.

We will now discuss a special form of strength training that I call“kinetic energy accumulation training” (or KEAT). It involves trainingmethods in which there is an important kinetic energy build-up duringthe yielding phase of a movement and the consequent use of this energyto potentiate the overcoming portion of the exercise. This type oftraining has been known under various names: shock training (in Russianliterature), plyometrics (by Western coaches) and powermetrics (a morerecent term by Dr. Mel Siff).I’d rather use the denomination kinetic energy accumulation training asit explains the nature and the reason for effectiveness of this type ofexercise. Namely, by increasing the amount of kinetic energy producedduring the yielding phase, and transferred into the execution of theovercoming phase, you increase power and force production and youimprove the neural, reflex and muscular factors involved in forceproduction.Most coaches limit this type of exercise to the classic plyometricdrills (depth jumps of various kinds) and regular jump training. Howevermany more methods are included in this type of training. Before Ipresent them and explain the reason for the efficacy you must understandthat KEAT is basically a form of accentuated eccentric training.However, instead of accentuating the eccentric stress by maximizingeccentric tension (lowering very heavy loads or lowering moderate loadsslowly) we are going to use a very fast yielding action. The objectiveis not to increase eccentric stress, but rather to build-up as muchkinetic and elastic energy as we can. To do so, the yielding action mustbe very fast and the coupling time (time between the yielding andovercoming phase of a movement) must be very short.The types of exercise that we will include in this category of methodsare:1. Depth jumps2. Altitude landing3. Overspeed eccentrics
Depth jumpsDepth jumping, also known as shock training, has been developed by YuriVerkhoshansky in 1977. The objective of this method is to increaseconcentric power and force output by stimulating the muscles andreflexes via a “shock stretching” action preceding the overcomingportion of the movement. This is accomplished by dropping from a certainheight (0.4m to 0.7m. Heights of up to 1.1m have been used but only byvery advanced athletes) to elicit a powerful stretch activation andjumping up as high as possible immediately upon landing.It has been well established in both Eastern and Western studies thatdepth jumping, or shock training, can significantly increase powerproduction and the vertical jump. This is mostly due to these factors:
1. An increase in reactive strength. Reactive strength refers to thecapacity to rapidly switch from an eccentric/yielding action to aconcentric/overcoming action. Lack of reactive strength will lead to alonger coupling time and consequently a lower force and power productionduring the overcoming portion of the movement (Kurz 2001).
2. Neural adaptations. Viitasalo et al. (1998) have found a differentneural response with in athletes doing a lot of jumping and regularindividuals when doing a depth jump: jumpers were able to activate moremotor units during the movement (greater EMG) and plan the motor commandfaster (higher and more rapid pre-action EMG). Kyröläinen et al. (1991)have also found that 16 weeks of depth jump training led to a betterjumping efficiency. Schmidtbleicher (1987 and 1982) found that trainedsubjects were better able to use the kinetic energy produced during theeccentric portion of a depth jump while in untrained subjects thiseccentric period was actually inhibiting instead of potentiating!Finally, Walshe et al. (1998) concluded that the reason for thesuperiority of depth jumping training over regular jumping was due to“the attainment of a higher active muscle state”, meaning that the fasteccentric portion of the movement increased muscle activation.
3. Structural adaptations. Depth jumps have been reported to cause somemuscle soreness and muscle damage (Horita et al. 1999). This isunderstandable since the eccentric force production is very high, albeitrapid. So this could indicate that depth jumps are a powerful stimulusto stimulate structural adaptations. Obviously, depth jumps do not leadto significant hypertrophy. So the nature of the structural adaptationsfollowing depth jumping is not quantitative in nature but ratherqualitative: an improvement of the strength and contractile capacity ofeach muscle fibers.Soviet literature gives the following guidelines when practicing depthjumps:
1. The joint position upon landing should be as close as possible tothat of an important sport action (Laputin and Oleshko 1982).
2. The amortization phase should be short enough to avoid loosing theelastic energy produced but long enough to allow for the shockstretching to occur (Laputin and Oleshko 1982). Research indicates thatthe elastic energy from landing is stored for up to 2 seconds. So intheory you have a window of 2 seconds between the landing and take-offphase, However to maximize the training effect, you should not spendmore than 1 second on the floor.
3. The height of the drop should be regulated by the preparedness of theathlete: the heels should not touch the ground during the landing phase,if they do the height of the drop is too high (Laputin and Oleshko1982). A height varying from 0.5 to 0.7 appears to be ideal for moststrength and power athletes (Roman 1986).
4. Depth jumps have a very powerful training effect so the volume ofwork should be low: no more than 4 sets of 10 repetitions (or 40 totaljumps spread over more sets), 2-3 times per week for advanced athletesand 3 sets of 5-8 repetitions (or 15-24 total jumps spread over moresets), 1-2 times per week for lower classes of athletes (Laputin andOleshko 1982). The problem with coaches and athletes is that they dofeel that depth jumping is hard: it’s not very tiring compared to othermeans of training. Because of that they do way too much volume of depthjumps.
5. Still because of the very powerful training effect of depth jumping,it is idiotic to perform this type of training systematically throughoutthe year. The shock method should be used in blocks of 3-4 weeks with atleast 4 weeks between blocks (Roman 1986). In fact some coachesrecommend no more than 2-3 such blocks per year (Medvedyev 1996) andthat these blocks should only be used when a rapid rise in power andreactive strength is needed to further performance gains. Remember thatevery training method, regardless of how effective it is, will looseit’s effectiveness over time. Shock training is no different. So if youuse it year-round there comes a point where you will get no addedbenefits from it. However by using short “shock” blocks you can give aquick boost to your performance and since you only use depth jumps for ashort period, everytime that you use such a shock training block youwill get the same performance boost.
Altitude landingsA recent paper by David Kerin (2002) concluded that it is the eccentricportion of a depth jump that actually has the greatest training effectas far as increasing vertical jump and lower body power. It makes sensewhen you think about it. It is during the landing portion that theeccentric stress is at its highest as all the kinetic energy accumulatedduring the fall is transformed into muscle loading. So this can greatlyincrease your capacity to break your fall and absorb this kineticenergy. If you are weak in the eccentric portion of the depth jump whatwill happen? The coupling time (time it takes you to switch fromyielding to overcoming) will be very high and the resulting jumpingcapacity will be low. The shorter the coupling time is, the higher willbe the subsequent jump. And to reduce coupling time you must increaseeccentric strength and the capacity to absorb the kinetic energy.Depth jumps obviously do this, but doing only the eccentric portion(landing) and practicing “sticking the landing” (i.e. immediatelybreaking the downward movement as soon as you hit the ground) canactually be more useful in that regard. And this way you can use higherdrop heights (up to 0.75-1.25m). Once again, the key point is to land ina position specific to your sport. For example football linemen andlinebackers should stick the landing with the knee bent at approximately90-110 degrees.Just like depth jumps, altitude landings have a very powerful trainingeffect and should only be used for short periods of time and at a verylow volume of work. While they can sometimes be used in the sametraining block as depth jumps, I don’t recommend it. Rather I like thefollowing progression:Block 1 (4 weeks)Altitude landingsBlock 2 (4 weeks)Low intensity jump trainingBlock 3 (4 weeks)Depth jumpsBlock 4 (4 weeks)Low intensity jump trainingThis progression will ensure for constant and rapid progress in verticaljumping capacity. You can repeat that 16 weeks cycle three times duringthe year for fantastic improvements.
Overspeed eccentricsThis type of exercise could almost be called shock training with weightsand it’s the brainchild of powerlifting coach Louie Simmons and isdescribed in his training videos “Reactive method” and “Specialstrengths”.Simmons explains that to take advantage of eccentric training formaximum strength gains in lifting exercises you should use it (theeccentric/yielding portion) to accumulate kinetic energy that you willtransform in elastic energy, reflex energy and ultimately a greaterforce production in the overcoming portion of the lift.To do so two things must be present:1. A fast yielding phase: by lowering the bar or your body faster youproduce more kinetic energy. There is actually some research to back upthis technique, not that the results from the Westside powerlifting crewdoesn’t already speak volume for the its efficacy! For example a studyby Farthing and Chilibeck (2003) found that “eccentric fast training isthe most effective for muscle hypertrophy and strength gain”. This is inaccordance with the findings of Paddon-Jones et al. (2001) thatfollowing a fast eccentric training program led to a decrease in type Ifibers (from 53.8% to 39.1%) while type IIb fiber percentage increased(from 5.8% to 12.9%). In contrast, the slow eccentric group did notexperience significant changes in muscle fibre type or muscle torque.2. A rapid switch between the yielding and overcoming phases. The bestexample of this break in the yielding/overcoming chain is the use of thebox squat. When you land on the box you immediately halt the yieldingportion of the movement, converting the kinetic energy into elasticenergy and reflex action.One doesn’t have to use the box squat. You can simply lower the bar asfast as you can and break it in a heart beat before lifting itexplosively.Using Jump Stretch elastic bands attached to the bar also have a verypositive effect because the bands will actually try to “blast” the bardown, bringing it down faster than if only gravity was acting on it.This is one benefit that you don’t get from using chains, chains areonly acting as additional weight, while the elastic bands increasekinetic energy.

The Ultimate Neck Training Exercises for Combat & Contact Athletes

For the neck training lovers out there like myself, this is an awesome article.

The Ultimate Neck Training Exercises for Combat & Contact Athletes

TA Athlete Christian Stokes

Congrats to Christian Stokes on her signing with the University of Kentucky to play softball. Christian is an amazing athlete and an even better person. It's a great day for UK.

Neck Training 101

Neck Training 101

Stay Hydrated

Below is a great article from Elitefts.com. When our performance starts to suffer, we often look at the more complex solutions rather than making sure we have covered the basics. High performace comes down to this: good training, good resting, and good diet. Proper hydration is an important component of diet. The guidelines in the article below are a great starting point, and will likely be all you will ever need to achieve optimal hydration.

DRINK UP

By Joe Giandonato, MS, CSCS

Is your performance lagging and your workout dragging? Well you might not be properly hydrated. Read up on these reasons why you should drink up before you jettison your training program.

Metroflex Gym is considered the modern Mecca of bodybuilding. Champion bodybuilders Ronnie Coleman and Branch Warren have trained within its walls, crafting physiques that earn the admiration of millions of fans and their fellow competitors. But we forget that Metroflex, which is located in the heart of Texas where temperatures during the summer can easily eclipse 100 degrees, isn’t air conditioned.

It isn’t like Brian Dobson can’t afford to install central air. It’s kept that way so only people with intestinal fortitude—hardcore bodybuilders, focused powerlifters, and serious athletes—stick around. The people who aren’t as dedicated and don’t appreciate training hard can drive down the road to Bally’s or 24-Hour Fitness, where they can enjoy daytime television between their sets of machine bench presses in a climate-controlled environment instead of seeing people with unshakable dedication regularly rip 600- and 700-lb raw deadlifts off the floor during their lunch break.

For the Metroflex brethren or for people sweating it out in their garage gyms, hydration is vitally important. They know this. People who don’t properly hydrate become quickly accosted by impeded performance. Dehydration, which occurs when fluid intake doesn’t sufficiently replete fluid losses, can cause decrements in performance as low as one percent of one’s body weight. The hulking 250-lb bodybuilder busting his ass off in the squat rack, literally, may notice decreased performance at a weight loss as little as two and a half pounds. It’s at this loss that the osmoreceptors, sensory receptors that detect changes in cellular fluid balance located in our hypothalamus, trigger the thirst sensation, which serves as an early warning to rehydrate. Things worsen beyond one percent, and everything with the exception of contracting a venereal disease can occur.

Here’s a continuum of the bad things that can happen to you—dry mouth, fatigue, thirst, headache, constipation, decreased focus/mental acuity, extreme thirst, extremely dry skin so devoid of water in the dermis that it sticks up when pinched, low blood pressure, increased heart rate, difficulty breathing (rapid and subcostal), fever, delirium, unconsciousness, coma, and death. In addition, your first fantasy football pick will shred every ligament in his knee on his first play of the season, which can spoil your workplace football cred and bragging rights. This can be worse than death. Dehydrated individuals are predisposed to rhabdomyolysis, hyperthermia, and heat stroke.

Let’s focus on not going beyond one percent unless you’re really stupid or decide to vacation in a developing nation and gulp handfuls of water in one of its tributaries and come down with cholera. Grab a pen, a piece of paper, pull up a chair, and take notes. Or more conveniently, print out this list of knowledge bombs.

1. Dress appropriately. If you’re training at Metroflex during the summer, it wouldn’t be wise to hit the stepper while wearing your winter garb consisting of sweats to hide the Tony Siragusa-esque fatness you’ve acquired over the holidays. Also, to the high school football players out there, “cold gear” is to be worn in the cold, not the heat! Read the tags of the compression gear you’re purchasing and save them. Refer to the instructions while you suit up for practice. Also, to all the Goth kids out there, you’re still going to sweat your pasty, sub-triple digit ass off while you chain smoke your cigarettes wearing a trench coat during the summer as you wait for mommy outside to pick you up from the mall. But the trench coat wearers may be good because they might have acclimatized, which brings us to number two.

2. Allow yourself to adapt to the heat. Someone who trains in an air-conditioned Gold’s Gym won’t be able to hit the ground running when training at Metroflex for the first time. The crowd there is used to it. You aren’t. Research indicates that it can take up to two weeks before getting adjusted to the heat.

3. Drink. This prudent piece of information is pretty straightforward. However, this is where most go wrong. People simply don’t know how much fluid they need to consume.
The amount of fluid that’s consumed depends on pre-workout hydration and urine output. A human’s average urine output is roughly 1.5 liters per day and should always be the color of slightly diluted lemon juice. Strength coach and fellow elitefts™ contributor Harry Selkow has stated that you “should be pissing clear by noon.” Darker colored urine usually, but not always, indicates dehydration.

The amount you should drink also depends on exercise intensity and duration. I know those two variables coupled together seemingly appeared as an answer to every question on the CSCS exam I took last year, but exercise that’s more intense produces more heat via muscle action. For example, let’s take Kroc rows and an exercise featured in a Curves’ circuit. The Kroc rows will be far more intense unless granny is strapping up for a 3-lb dumbbell row to failure at Curves.

Members at Metroflex already have the extreme temperatures working against them so their muscles are already warm—much warmer than the members doing the same exercises and same loads down the street at Bally’s. Obviously, exercise that is more intense, such as anaerobic training, will require carbohydrates. So unless you’re pre-contest, reach for a Gatorade instead of another bottle of water during your pre-workout stop at the convenience store. A carbohydrate mixture of 4–8 percent is ideal. Anything beyond that can produce flatulence or increase your chances of blowing out a batch of fecal tadpoles while grinding a 20-rep set on the leg press. Also, the amount you hydrate should be proportionate to the length of each session. If you’re hammering out a workout that consists of 20 or 30 work sets, it would be in your best interest to keep hydrated throughout the session. You should ideally alternate a carbohydrate containing, electrolyte-enriched sports drink with water throughout your workout.

Hydration guidelines:
Prior to exercise: The adage of ingesting a minimum of a pint of fluid two hours before exercise still holds true, but if you’re practicing in football pads in the 85 degree weather at sunset in Florida, drink a little more. Maybe up to 1.5 pints or greater at two hours out. Make sure you’re hydrated before you hit the practice field or gym. Exercise scientists suggest that individuals who are about to workout, especially in the heat, should be “hyperhydrated.” Studies show that fluid absorption rates range from 0.8–1.2 liters per hour, meaning that pre-workout hydration is crucially important.

During exercise: Sweat losses during one hour of exercise can easily exceed one’s daily urine output. So an individual should drink throughout the session, preferably in amounts of over 8 oz, as it empties from the stomach more rapidly, thus replenishing the body of fluids that are lost during exercise.

Following exercise: While it may make little sense to suggest this now because you’ve read what you should do prior to and during exercise, you should weigh yourself each morning upon awakening and before each session so you know exactly how much to drink afterward. Every client I train, including weight loss clients, is required to track his or her weight and be a part of a sweat rate test.

Here’s an example of what I use to figure out a weight loss client’s fluid losses and an ideal amount to replenish fluids following a session:

Upon waking, the individual was weighed using an accurately calibrated scale and registered a weight of 229 lbs. This weight was recorded at 8:48 a.m. by the client who was only wearing boxer shorts, which weigh 0.5–1.0 oz.

Prior to the workout, the individual, who is also one of my clients, weighed 231 lbs. This weight was recorded at 6:39 p.m. Because the weight was recorded in a busy gym locker room, my client again was weighed while wearing boxer shorts, which weigh 0.5–1.0 oz. The increase in weight is due to food and fluid intake throughout the day.

The individual will complete an exercise regime typical for him lasting 45–60 minutes. During the bout, record the amount of fluids ingested (if any fluids are ingested). Try to avoid the consumption of solid food during this bout.

During the workout, my client consumed 8.0 oz of lime G2 Gatorade diluted with 16 oz of water. My client also drank a 16.9-oz bottle of water. Though no solid food was consumed, my client ingested 15 BCAA tablets throughout the workout. The tablets weigh 1g a piece, totaling 15 g. The total fluid consumption was 40.9 oz. I should note here that my client was sweating profusely throughout the workout and between sets. We had to wipe the floor and/or equipment down.
Post-exercise, remove clothes, towel the sweat off, and reweigh to nearest half pound if possible.
My client, following a 60-minute session which included a 5-minute cardiovascular warm up, five minutes of dynamic stretching and foam rolling, 30 minutes of lifting (using alternating supersets), and 20 minutes of interval training, was weighed post-workout. The weight recorded was 227 lbs. Though the client was wiped down with a towel following the session, he kept his boxer shorts on. I should mention that he was drenched in sweat, which could alter post-workout weight.

Calculate fluid loss per hour.
For example, if the beginning weight was 231 lbs (60 minutes of varied exercise at varying levels of intensity, 41 oz fluid consumed), the ending weight was 227 lbs.
The fluid loss is 231 lbs – 227 lbs + 2.5 lbs = 2.5-lb weight loss or 40 oz of fluid lost in 60 minutes.

Then convert to a per hour value: 24 oz/60 minutes = 40.0 oz sweat rate per hour
What’s the main take away from this piece? Keep hydrated so your lifts—and health—won’t suffer.

Joe Giandonato, MS, CSCS, is a Philadelphia-area personal trainer, corporate health coach, and freelance writer. More of his content can be found at joshstrength.com.

Power and Rate of Force Development

Yesterday I was watching some old UFC highlights and came across the clip below. Pay attention to the video at 1:38 forward. Look at Emerson's body position. Notice how he delivers the devastating left hand. I am amazed at the amount of power Rob Emerson displayed at such and awkward and unstable position. Not to mention he KOs his competitor with the same hand that was supporting the majority of his body weight. Looks as though Mr. Emerson has been programming some upper body pressing DEs into his training.



As many of you know I have a huge interest in Selective Recruitment as it pertains to DEs and rate of force development. THIS is a nice article on motor unit recruitment for dynamic tasks. Definitely worth reading.

Jim Smith and Joe DeFranco have recently released their new product called POWER. POWER is a manual and DVD comprised of content (over 90 exercises) specifically designed to improve RFD. The manual and DVD show how to properly design a program and incorporate the exercises. Something I noticed was the high number of athlete friendly exercises for developing power. By athlete friendly, I mean exercises that will help improve the athlete at their given sport while keeping the risk of injury to a minimum. I have seen several athletes come to my gym that have wrist injuries. They range from discus throwers to baseball pitchers. It makes no sense to have an athlete risk injuring their wrists trying to catch a heavy power clean when there are safer and more effective alternatives. Yet, their college coaches continue to Rx these high risk exercises. My advise, if you can't train at TA, get THIS to develop extreme power safely. Trust me, you will love it.

In other news, TA just got in some new equipment. All from the greatest equipment manufacturer in the world WILLIAMS STRENGTH. Got hella sets of chain, THIS and THIS. Very exciting.

I know I have been slack in updating the blog. Cameron and I are going to try to produce a new post at least bimonthly. Stay tuned.

Iron Radio

Below are three links to the greatest podcast of all time...IRON RADIO!!!! Hosts Dr. Lonnie Lowery, Phil Stevens, and Rob "Fortress" Fortney bring tons of education and experience to every show. These guys are the best of the best. Best of all, it's FREE!!! Enjoy.

Remember, the episodes below automatically updated. So, below are always the three most recent episodes.

KB Ladders

Yesterday was our vertical push/pull day. I have been reading Pavel's Enter The Kettlebell and decided to try one of his workouts. You perform 5 ladders of 5 rungs. Example: C&P the KB with left hand, then swing and switch hands, C&P with right hand. Then, perform one pull up. Next set is two C&Ps with each arm followed by two pullups. This continues till you reach 5 reps. That is one set. Do 5 sets.

5 x 1/2/3/4/5 C&P and pull ups. This was hard.

Chest Crank x 1

Prowler races x a lot. This was Jason's idea...

Then Matt challenged me to a nice little finisher of 50 DUs, 10 burpees, and 1 rope climb. And I'm done.

Later that day I got the bright idea to go play full court basketball. My HR was immediately through the roof. 45 min was all I could stand. Needless to say I was in the bed by 9:30.

Today is 5 min of KB get ups. Tomorrow is a mix up of things, but the highlight is the AMRAP KB swings in 12 minutes. Hope everyone is having fun with their training.

This guy is silly strong.

Hating Dan John Today

Thanks to Shelby Starnes my weight is now down to 183 from 195 in 5 weeks. Diet is moving along steadily. The key here is that I have not lost any strength. So, my strength to weight ratio is steadily climbing.

Yesterday I did a workout that left me feeling as though I had been hit by a car.

Warm up with 100 DUs and some moves from Amped.

Deadlift 531 (this was my 1RM week) Yay fun I got a new PR (2.27 x BW) I know that is nothing major, but considering my body is the genetic toilet bowl I am happy with the improvement. Just a side note, if you are one of those weird people that is interested in continual improvement then I suggest you get 531 and DO EXACTLY WHAT THE BOOK SAYS!!!

Now the pain begins. This article is by the Legendary Dan John. In it he discusses the value of various types of loaded carries. So this was the progression for the rest of the workout:

Waiters carries for 100 yards each hand.

Repeat with 50 lb vest added.

Suite case carry for 100 yards each hand with 50 lb vest added. This hurt so bad that I did it twice.

Sand bag carry 100 yards with 50 lb vest.

Trap bar carry with 225, 275, 315 x 50 yards. And I'm done!

It was all pretty tough, but the suit case carry was by far the most painful. I encourage all of you to try it out. Just grab a 100 KB or DB in one hand and walk for 100 yards. Set it down and come back with the other hand. And no, you cannot use wrist straps. In the article, Master Blaster John talks about immediately recognizing an obvious weakness when you first try these carries. True! The suit case carry showed that I have a serious issue with midline stability, especially with laterally supported loads. Anyway, we are gonna continue to do these once a week. I have a feeling that my squat and DL will improve with this added stimulus. I heart you Yoda, I mean Mr. John.

This is a video of my boy Matt at the Strength Shop showing some serious athleticism.

Iron Radio

We had an awesome session this AM at Triumph Athletics.

Dynamic Warm up

Weighted pull ups working to a 2 RM with a backoff set at BW

Unilateral KB press 5 x 6

KB snatches 3 x 5

Finisher was 10 KB swings, sprint 50 yards, 10 push ups, sprint back. We did this AMRAP 10 minutes. (As Many Rounds As Possible in 10 minutes) This was a hard finisher.

Everyone is encouraged to subscribe (FOR FREE!!!) to Iron Radio on itunes or at www.ironradio.com. One of my favorite strength and conditioning gurus is Dr. Lonnie Lowery. He is the host of the show. It is a wonderful source for intelligent discussion on all aspects of strength.

Below is a write up from a seminar Dr. Lowery recently attended. Very interesting! Enjoy.

Heretics in the High Country
Not all scientific conferences are of interest to strength athletes. Sometimes I find myself wading through oceans of obscure biochemistry or data with unsure applicability. Sometimes the topic matter veers too far into food and nutrition, or some clinical treatment, with no immediately apparent implications for those who are laser-focused on bigger guns or a broad back. But when I go to ski country in Barrie, Ontario in late January each year, I expect cutting edge science and an element of controversy that is sure to intrigue most bodybuilders. This year I saw some early data that seemed absolutely heretical; if the physiology and nutrition labs up there weren’t absolutely world class, I wouldn’t even have sat through some of the lectures. Some of the data and audience discussion flatly flew in the face of what many of us have long-accepted.

As a preview, here are some of the topics:
• Cortisol: friend or foe to body fat?
• New insight into satellite cells and muscle size
• The optimal number of sets beyond which one is wasting time
• The pros and cons of clenbuterol
• Why women are tougher than men
• Stacking stimulant drugs for maximal performance and alertness
• The importance of insulin compared to leucine in muscle gain
• The single best training intensity for muscle hypertrophy

If you’re interested, read on for a brief synopsis of some of the outside-of-the-box thinking I saw and what it might mean to scientific training recommendations in coming years. Of course, not every little study warrants an immediate change in your training or eating regime; nonetheless, I‘ll make some speculative or clarifying comments after each section as food for thought. Whether or not a particular study is revolutionary or game changing, having new knowledge is always good in my opinion.

Cortisol: friend or foe to body fat?
Glucocorticoids, as stress hormones, have long been known to increase lipolysis (fat breakdown and mobilization) and yet cause fat deposition on the torso. This study helped explain this seeming contradiction. It revealed how basal concentrations of corticosterone (think “rat cortisol”) enhance certain lipolytic enzymes in adipose tissue (which sounds good for leanness) but high concentrations induce fat cell hyperplasia (multiplication) over time. If the same holds for humans - and it probably does (consider the appearance of Cushing‘s Syndrome patients) - I personally don’t want high levels of stress causing new fat cells to slowly start appearing across my torso. Further, these researchers suggested that a high-fat diet (they weren’t specific about which type of fat) doubled corticosterone in rats. To me, this offers some insight into why stressed-out, fast food-swilling Americans (and Canadians) are sporting giant bellies and uni-pecs.

What this could mean to you: We now have even more understanding of why cortisol in excess (which is elevated by emotional stress, coffee, potentially diets high in total fat, and overtraining) is not the friend of the physique athlete. Keep in mind that the data above are from rats, not humans, but that this is indeed a valid model that offers solid information which is probably relevant to humans. It looks as though cortisol - although necessary at modest concentrations - could lead to more detriment than simply degrading muscle tissue or temporarily storing fat in certain anatomical regions; it could literally multiply one’s number of fat cells making future dieting attempts harder.


New insight into satellite cells and muscle size
Exercise, especially eccentric lifting (“negatives”) not only causes muscle soreness but is also great at activating satellite cells. Among other things, these are cells that lie among the mature muscle fibers and “wake up” to donate their nuclei to help maintain a larger muscle fiber. They can also fuse together themselves into a new entity. This research group was showing a new lab technique that can quickly count how many muscle building satellite cells get activated in response to a new anabolic stimulus. In a matter of hours this automation will offer valid results, eliminating the weeks and weeks of forcing a hapless grad student to physically count stained muscle samples under a microscope.

What this could mean to you: New training techniques can now be tested for this aspect of hypertrophy (increasing muscle cell number or muscle cell “permanent size” in a sense) at a realistic pace. This could mean less speculation and more rapid progress in the science of muscle gains. Cool.

The optimal number of sets beyond which one is wasting time
A graduate student from Stu Phillips’ noteworthy lab shared insider data that three sets appears to maximize the protein synthetic response in a muscle. Earlier work from a partner lab showed that six sets were no better than three and these grad students were taking it a step further: looking at three sets versus one. Using a 70% of one-rep max (moderately heavy weight) protocol, combined with 20g whey protein immediately post-exercise, their data was such that significant elevations in fractional synthetic rate (read “anabolism”) was possible at 5 hours post-exercise from either three sets or one set, but that only the three set protocol still had anabolism kicking at 29 hours post-exercise. Note that although they’re looking at just synthesis here and not breakdown, it is muscle protein synthesis that’s largely responsible for net gains post-workout.

What this could mean to you: If you are the kind of person who performs many many sets for each muscle group in the gym, it might be worth planning certain mesocycles to purposefully cut back on the total number of sets you do, perhaps down to just three per muscle group. This is strictly from a protein synthetic (muscle size) perspective. This is not to say that extra sets might not be good for overall leanness of other benefits. Also note that they used one particular, common intensity level (70% of max) and other intensity levels may alter the picture to some extent. I think this study does make one wonder how much time he or she might be wasting in the gym if strict bodybuilding (size gains) are the immediate goal.

The pros and cons of clenbuterol
Yes, there was actually a study on the usually taboo bodybuilding drug clenbuterol - in rodents. The inhumanly large doses often given in animal studies were again present here: 30mg per liter of drinking water. The study revealed a decrease in mitochondrial (aerobic) function, including less fat oxidation (“burning”). There was also a rise in glycolysis (carb breakdown) capability. It was all suggestive of a switch toward a faster muscle fiber type. What struck me during this session was a comment from the audience (to paraphrase): “So, this stuff is bad. If it is given clinically to patients, we need to warn them of the aerobic declines and risk of fatigue.” After witnessing hard data on increased muscle mass and a significant drop in body fat, the main conclusion from this attendee was “so this stuff is bad”? Maybe I’m biased toward bodybuilding but I for one saw a few pros among the cons.

What this could mean to you: If you are someone who has used clenbuterol or are considering it, this study suggests that you may shift toward a faster, more carb-focused muscle fiber type, possibly meaning less aerobic (endurance) capacity. Of course, this is an arena where self-administering bodybuilders and even Hollywood celebrities probably know more on a practical level than do the cautious scientists: At tolerable microgram (not milligram) doses, body fat can indeed decrease dramatically (for gross calorie expenditure reasons) and strength can climb significantly. (Sheer muscle mass is not altered very much at human-tolerated doses.) In any case, I sure hope researchers start giving clenbuterol a closer look in humans before any stigma creates a bandwagon of negativity that‘ll keep its possibilities in the dark forever.


Why women are tougher than men
Many readers know that women exhibit less post-exercise muscle damage than men. Estrogen is a big part of this. These researchers went further, showing data that exercised women also exhibit less fatigue during recovery days than men do - at least when it comes to “lighter intensity“ (lower frequency) testing. The study had an almost comical title: “The effects of sex on human skeletal muscle fatigability” and used repeated bouts of electrically-stimulated isometric knee extension exercise as the initial stressor. They concluded: “These results suggest that females are more fatigue resistant than males and are able to recover force at an accelerated rate following an acute bout of intermittent isometric exercise.” Wow.

What this could mean to you: If you’re a woman, this talk provided evidence that not only do you resist muscle damage better than guys but in some respects, you outperform them. I’ve often wondered why we don’t see a sport designed around less intense but more punishing, ongoing demands. It looks like women would dominate such an event.

Stacking stimulant drugs for maximal performance and alertness
An ironically calm student was sharing a proposal to stack caffeine (in an extra strength military gum) with a drug called modafinil to max-out alertness and performance among emergency workers and/or military personnel. Earlier work from his mentor suggested 22% increased time to exhaustion with modafinil and other data suggest around 5-30% improvements on cognitive tests of memory, reaction time, etc. after sleep deprivation. We all know caffeine has similarly energizing effects. The researchers weren’t very concerned that a dose of caffeine typically peaks at 60 min. (entry into blood is fast, starting in about 5-15 min.) while modafinil doesn’t peak until 120 minutes; both drugs have lingering improvements for a few hours.

What this could mean to you: Although at the proposal stage, this talk offered information on the pharmacokinetics (onset of action, blood levels over time) of these stimulant drugs and how they might “stack“ (additive effects). I may live under a rock, but I haven’t heard much about modafinil before. It’s cognitive and physical performance benefits are intriguing. Stay tuned for future results.


The importance of insulin compared to leucine in muscle gain
Many of us know that insulin and the amino acid leucine both stimulate the protein synthetic “mTOR pathway” in skeletal muscle. This group wants to see just how crucial the insulin aspect really is. They compared the anabolic effects of leucine in mice with and without pancreases (surgical removal in half of the animals). What happened? The normal pancreas-sporting (and thus insulin-capable) animals responded as expected to leucine, with a full anabolic response. The muscles of the insulin-lacking critters were not uniform in their ability to respond to leucine, however. It looks like different muscle groups (probably due to slow- versus fast-twitch fiber differences) react differently to leucine when insulin isn‘t around. Some can respond (at least on some level) and others cannot. Particular aspects of the mTOR pathway responded well in slow twitch muscle fibers but not in fast twitch fibers. Of course, fast twitch (and moderately fast-twitch) fibers are what strength athletes typically value for size and strength, so this suggests insulin remains an important part of the picture for us.

What this could mean to you: If you’re an endurance athlete or just interested in maintaining slow-twitch muscle fibers, leucine in a fasted state seems like an effective strategy for you. Of course it’s very preliminary (i.e. new research) but it will be interesting to see if endurance guys or those trying to hold on to endurance muscle fibers can get away with leucine-only meals at otherwise unfed times of the day. (I realize some dieting bodybuilders already try this.) If you‘re all about fast twitch muscle fibers, however, it currently looks as though regular meals throughout the day maintain insulin levels that help leucine induce fast-twitch-specific growth. A final caveat: even in a fasted state you have basal (“single digit”) concentrations of insulin and not essentially zero insulin as in the pancreas-free animals; it’s an experimental model trying to tease apart mechanisms. I for one am very interested in how important leucine is versus insulin. Perhaps one day we’ll see a consensus that humans can get away with leucine-only meals during periods of fasting.

The single best training intensity for muscle hypertrophy
This presentation from Nick Burd in Stu Phillips’ impressive lab at McMaster University was almost blasphemous. Here’s the title: “Low intensity-high volume resistance exercise promotes greater anabolic signaling and myofibrillar protein synthesis versus traditional and work-matched resistance exercise paradigms”. Come again? I’m going to get bigger with light weights? It appears so, based solely on protein synthesis data. These guys compared heavy, 90% of one-rep max lifting (subjects failed at five reps) with a work-matched set at just 30% of one-rep max (subjects were stopped at 14 reps) and finally a set to failure with 30% of one-rep max (subjects failed at 23 reps). Although protein synthesis was up at four hours-post exercise in all groups, muscle protein synthesis was still elevated at 24-hours only in the 30% to failure group. Longer periods of lingering heightened protein synthesis sound good to me.

What this could mean to you: You may benefit from (at least considering) periods of the year in which you cycle-in light, 30% of max lifting exclusively to max-out muscle size. This may be doubly true if you’re an intensity hound like me and haven’t done a set over 8 reps in ages. I was so intrigued by the protein synthesis data and with subsequent talks with Nick on www.IronRadio.org, I’m trying a “two week light (30%) / two week heavy (85-90%)” type of periodization. (A recent and timely snowboarding accident sort of forced me away from heavy lifts for a couple weeks anyway.) I’m still trying to get my head around barbell curls with an empty Olympic bar and benching with 95-135. I’ve got to admit, this one is tough to swallow but a combined effort from universities like McMaster and Nottingham has me suspending my disbelief until their planned training study is completed. It’s then that we’ll know with more certainty whether the very light, roughly 23-rep per set protocol will be as effective or even more effective than the heavy training for mass gains.

Dr. Lonnie Lowery is a former regionally-competitive bodybuilder, exercise physiologist and nutrition professor who travels to scientific conferences often, looking for new data and new ideas that may progress the field of bodybuilding and sports nutrition. He can be reached and listened-to by way of www.IronRadio.org.

This guy is silly strong!