The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness http://www.brinkzone.com The No#1 Science Based Performance Resource Wed, 16 May 2012 13:37:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.5 Review Of The Sports Supplement Bible http://www.brinkzone.com/supplement-science/review-of-the-sports-supplement-bible/ http://www.brinkzone.com/supplement-science/review-of-the-sports-supplement-bible/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 15:11:42 +0000 Will Brink http://www.brinkzone.com/?p=4908 Review Of The Sports Supplement Bible is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> Review: Will Brink’s The Sports Supplement Bible

By Dr. Peter Chiang

Author Will Brink’s The Sports Supplement Bible dives into what matters in the vast supplement business and clarifies what really works and what does not, and presents it in an easy to read format.  With all the “new” and “improved” supplements available, it’s often overwhelming for anyone who walks into a store or  browses online looking for an effective product to enhance performance, or strength, or recoup from tough workouts. Without any knowledge of the products and the ingredients used in these products, it’s easy to buy into the hype, or the bodybuilder posing on the packaging.  But will it work?  What do the studies reveal? Will Brink breaks down the facts and recommends what works, and what is just a waste of money.

Back in the day,  I too was  guilty of following some friends’ advice without taking the time needed to research if it was even  worth using, or if there were better alternatives that would save time and or money. When a person is training competitively or just working out, we have this competitive drive to be the best; one more rep, few more pounds; I too made the mistake of  looking to the top guy as to what I should be taking.  It wasn’t until I did my own research and realized that majority of the supplements I had used were just a waste of money.  Doing my own research involved too much time and effort going through large databases and stacks of studies, and all the more frustrating was the fact that I either could not find anything, or one study showed promise, and another showed it was irrelevant!

Will took the time and did the research and presented it in his book.  The Sports Supplement Bible and set it up in an easy to follow format.  Each supplement covered is set up like so:

What is it?

What is it suppose to do?

What does the research have to say?

What about real world athletic performance?

Recommendation

The Sports Supplement Bible is an excellent reference work for both users of sports/performance related supplements, or for clinicians and medical professionals who want a well referenced book on the topic that’s up to date and “real world” oriented.  Once you have read it through, it becomes a great book to refer to over and over again.  Will’s breakdown of the scientific studies are insightful, his expertise in nutrition really shows through in this book. The Supplement Pyramid is a great tool to get an understanding why foundation supplements are so important to a person’s health and performance.  Even-though not all the supplements are covered; all the common ones you see on the shelves  are covered well, and truth be known, most products on the shelves are simply a mixture of what gets covered in this book.

It does not matter if a person is a professional, recreational athlete, or just wants to know what works, The Sports Supplement Bible will benefit anyone and everyone who has thought about taking a supplement to enhance their performance.  The result? Less time and money wasted on worthless supplements, which was clearly the goal of this book. Highly recommended

- Peter Chiang, DC, CCSP®

Dr. Chiang is a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician (CCSP®), who focuses on working with athletes and sports rehabilitation. He runs Northeastern Chiropractic located in Framingham MA.


For more information on The Sports Supplement Bible go HERE.

Review Of The Sports Supplement Bible is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> http://www.brinkzone.com/supplement-science/review-of-the-sports-supplement-bible/feed/ 0 The Anabolic Vs. Catabolic Metabolism http://www.brinkzone.com/general-fitness-info/the-anabolic-vs-catabolic-metabolism/ http://www.brinkzone.com/general-fitness-info/the-anabolic-vs-catabolic-metabolism/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 13:52:43 +0000 Will Brink http://www.brinkzone.com/?p=2796 The Anabolic Vs. Catabolic Metabolism is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]>

I see this as a continuum going from Anabolic <—> Catabolic with people tending to fall on either side of point 0, tending toward one or the other. Me, I’d say I’m a 2 on the right side of point 0.

Anabolic
Metabolism 5- 4 – 3 – 2 – 0 – 1 -2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Catabolic Metabolism

Hallmarks of the Anabolic Metabolism:

• Put on muscle easily
• Has difficulty getting lean
• Will respond well to lower carb intakes (approx 30%)
• Responds well to higher training volumes

Hallmarks of the Catabolic Metabolism:

• Has difficulty adding LBM
• Gets lean easily (but has difficulty retaining LBM)
• Responds well to higher carb intakes (approx 50%)
• Responds best to lower training volumes

Where do drugs factor in?

The above is based on non drug using people. Drugs are the great genetic equalizer: those who add muscle easily but can’t get lean are able to do so, and those who have great difficulty adding LBM, but have no problems staying/getting lean, can do so while retaining LBM. Obviously, genetic traits still play a role (or everyone would look identical and respond identical, etc) but drugs allow for genetic limitations in the above, faster recoup, ability to tolerate higher training volumes, etc.

The Anabolic Vs. Catabolic Metabolism is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> http://www.brinkzone.com/general-fitness-info/the-anabolic-vs-catabolic-metabolism/feed/ 19 Whole Body “Gauntlet” Training With Courtney Joline! http://www.brinkzone.com/training-programs/whole-body-gauntlet-training-with-courtney-joline/ http://www.brinkzone.com/training-programs/whole-body-gauntlet-training-with-courtney-joline/#comments Thu, 10 May 2012 21:45:45 +0000 Will Brink http://www.brinkzone.com/?p=4904 Whole Body “Gauntlet” Training With Courtney Joline! is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> Bikini competitor Courtney Joline Survives The Gauntlet!

Latest person to go through the BrinkZone Gauntlet, Bikini competitor Courtney Joline shows what effective efficient whole body  GPP, conditioning, endurance, and metabolic work looks like. No “toning and firming” nonsense here, just hard work  that yields results.

If you want to see more victims of the BrinkZone Gauntlet, check out competitive bodybuilder Janet Esterkes and figure competitor Andrea Kalligheri, HERE.

Whole Body “Gauntlet” Training With Courtney Joline! is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> http://www.brinkzone.com/training-programs/whole-body-gauntlet-training-with-courtney-joline/feed/ 2 Red Meat – good or bad for fat loss and body fat control? http://www.brinkzone.com/uncategorized/red-meat-good-or-bad-for-fat-loss-and-body-fat-control/ http://www.brinkzone.com/uncategorized/red-meat-good-or-bad-for-fat-loss-and-body-fat-control/#comments Wed, 09 May 2012 22:42:24 +0000 Monica http://www.brinkzone.com/?p=4877 Red Meat – good or bad for fat loss and body fat control? is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> Consumption of red meat has been associated with fat gain (and weight gain) because of its high energy and fat content. Even though the role of fat intake as a causative factor for obesity recently has been seriously questioned, and rightly so, red meat still is a food that’s on the forbidden or avoid list of most diet plans. And while there are studies showing an association between meat intake and obesity [1-3], there are also studies not showing this [3-5]. And when digging deeper in the data, many of the studies that have reported a significant association with meat intake and fat gain / obesity have several flaws that invalidate their conclusions….

Meat consumption and long term weight change

One of the latest, and largest study to date on this topic, concluded [6]:

“Total meat consumption was positively associated with weight gain in men and women, in normal-weight and overweight subjects, and in smokers and nonsmokers. With adjustment for estimated energy intake, meat intake of 250 g/d (eg, one steak at approximately 450 kcal) would lead to a 2-kg higher weight gain after 5 years compared to the same diet with less meat. Positive associations were observed for red meat, poultry, and processed meat”.

This is a pretty bold statement! However a closer look at its methodology and data reveals major weaknesses:

First; usual dietary intake was assessed only at baseline and not during the subsequent years. It is well recognized that peoples food habits often change over time. And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that in order to track changes over time, at least two measurements are required. And the baseline food intake assessment was done with questionnaires, which are infamous for being inaccurate [7-9]. Using a methodology that begs the question “how bad is good enough” will obviously not provide very reliable data [8].

Second; in several centers, participants who consumed more meat actually had less weight gain, whereas those with lower meat consumption had higher weight gain. Despite this, and despite the very large number of participants (about 103,000 men and 270,000 women), the researchers behind this study lumped them all together in the statistical analysis. Also, the assessment of physical activity, which is strongly related to food habits [10], was done via self administered questionnaires, which do not accurately reflect objective physical activity or fitness data [11, 12]. Therefore, the stated adjustment for a possible influence of physical activity on the observed weight change, cannot be relied upon.

Third; the researchers reported an effect based on a combination of meat sources, but their analyses indicate that after exclusion of participants with chronic diseases and those likely to misreport energy intake at baseline, the following was found:

- red meat is not the villain in the association of meat intake and weight gain

- the association with poultry was attenuated

- processed meats were the strongest predictor of weight gain

This indicates that processing, or factors associated with consumption of processed

foods are involved rather than meat per se.

Fourth; and probably the most important shortcoming is that the observed weight changes may be due to changes in either lean body tissue or fat mass or both [13]. Meat is a high-quality source of protein for

building and maintaining lean body mass. Consequently, the noted association between meat intake and weight change may partly be due to gain of lean body mass in participants with high meat intake. It is well known that dietary protein plays a major role in developing and maintaining lean tissue mass in the body during growth in infancy, through adulthood while dieting, and particularly in preventing loss of lean body tissue and sarcopenia in elderly individuals over 50 years of age [14]. The loss of lean body mass is a particular problem in individuals over 60 years of age. In older individuals, a higher intake of high quality protein, such a red meat, helps to prevent loss of lean body tissue, resulting in better muscle strength, bone density, and physical functioning [15]. Thus, it is interesting that the association between meat intake and weight gain was stronger in participants that were over 45 years of age. An alternative interpretation of this finding is that a higher intake of red meat preserves lean body mass (including muscle mass), and that the weight gain seen with higher intakes of red meat is not fat gain. This interpretation of the results is congruous with other studies showing that an increase in protein intake from meat and other sources enhances diet induced fat loss [16-19],  contributes to weight control [20, 21] and prevents gain of body fat [21, 22].

Thus, studies that don’t measure body composition don’t tell much about the role of meat for body fat control. Because of all these methodological flaws, the conclusion that “a decrease in meat consumption is recommended for body weight management and improvement of health” is totally misleading. So if you come across any anti-meat proponents who bring up this study to support their position, take them out to dinner and get them a huge juicy steak!

Lean red meat (beef and veal) compared to white meat (poultry and fish)

White meat contains much less fat than red meat, and also less fat than lean red meat, so intuitively it should be better for fat loss and body fat control than red meat, right?! Not so fast…

In a long-term study, two groups of subjects (both men and women) were instructed to eat 170 g (6 oz) of lean red meat or white meat per day, 5 to 7 days per week [23].  This dietary change resulted in the following differences among the two groups:

Caloric intake:

Lean red meat eaters:     1828 cal/day

White meat eaters:          1650 cal/day

Total fat intake:

Lean red meat eaters:     29.3 % of total energy

White meat eaters:          26.7 % of total energy

Thus, the lean red meat eaters consumed almost 200 cal (178 cal to be exact) extra per day. No changes in physical activity were reported. However, after 36 weeks (9 months), there were no differences in body weight between the two groups [23]. Theoretically, since the energy content in 1 lb of body fat is about 3500 calories, this daily caloric excess of 48,000 calories (178 x 30 x 9) should have resulted in a fat gain of almost 14 lb (48,060 / 3500). No explanation for this finding was provided. And this study, in contrast to one above, was well done and used detailed food records, which are one of the best tools for estimating dietary intakes [9, 24]. Thus, because a food contains more fat and calories doesn’t necessarily have to mean it will cause fat gain.

Lean beef compared to lean fish or poultry

Another study compared intake of beef with that of lean fish and poultry [25]. Three groups of male subjects each rotated in a crossover design through 3 experimental periods that lasted 26 d each. All the diets were planned to provide 2800 calories per day, of which 18% came from protein, 53% from carbohydrate, and 30% from lipids (polyunsaturated-to-monounsaturated-to-saturated fatty acid ratio: 1.0 : 1.1 : 1.0); 268 mg cholesterol/d; and 29 g fiber/d.

The 3 experimental diets had no differences in food composition with the exception of the protein source tested, which was:

1. lean beef (lean ground beef, exterior round, sirloin tip)

2. skinless chicken and ground turkey

3. fish (pollack, cod, sole, and haddock)

69% of daily proteins came from beef, fish, or poultry, and the remaining was from vegetable sources. This corresponded to about 400-500 g of the respective protein foods.

Body weight was taken every 2 days. Subjects were informed that they had to avoid alcohol consumption and that they should maintain the same activity level throughout the study. They were also asked to consume nothing besides the prepared meals they were given by the food lab. It was found that no experimental period resulted in any body weight differences [25]. That is, on iso-caloric diets, the protein source did not affect body weight, meaning that there is nothing inherently bad with red meat for weight control, which is a common misperception. This is supported by other studies [26, 27].

Red meat and dieting

There are conflicting recommendations regarding the appropriateness of red meat versus white meat consumption during fat loss diets. An interesting study examined changes in body weight in overweight women who followed an energy restricted diet (500 calories per day less than usual) with lean beef or chicken as the primary protein source, while participating in a fitness walking program. Body weight, body composition (by hydrodensitometry), were measured at baseline and after 12 wk.

The results showed a significant weight loss that was similar between the beef group and the chicken group. Both groups showed significant reductions in body fat percentage, with no significant differences between groups. This study demonstrates that weight loss and fat loss can successfully be accomplished through diet and exercise, whether the dietary protein source is lean beef or chicken [28].

Bottom line

For all meat lovers, these are good news; whether your goal is to pack on muscle or get in shape, you can enjoy your steak without worrying. If you are on a diet and struggling to cut you calories, try some lean beef cuts, like the ones you can find on Eat To Grow.

“But doesn’t red meat cause heart disease, diabetes and cancer?” you might be thinking. I will cover this in depth in an upcoming article. If you cannot wait, there is good news; as long as you exercise regularly and eat your veggies you don’t have to fear that your meat intake will jeopardize your health. Especially if you are choosing the kind of high quality meat that you can find at
Eat To Grow.

Monica Mollica – www.trainergize.com

Monica has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Nutrition from the University of Stockholm, Sweden, and is an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer. She works a nutrition/diet consultant and health journalist, and is also a fitness model and web designer.

As a young athlete, Monica realized the importance of nutrition for maximal performance at an early, and went for a major in Nutrition at the University of Stockholm.

During her years at the University she was a regular contributor to the Swedish bodybuilding magazine BODY, and she has written the book (in Swedish) “Functional Foods for Health and Energy Balance”, and authored several book chapters in Swedish publications. During her University studies she also worked as an ISSA certified personal trainer.

After having earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Nutrition, she completed one semester at the PhD-program “Exercise, Nutrition and Preventive Health” at Baylor University Texas, at the department of Health Human Performance and Recreation.

Having lost her father in an heart attack at an age of 49, she is specializing in cardiovascular health, and primordial and primary prevention. She is a strong advocate of early intervention in adolescence and young adulthood, and the importance of lifestyle habits for health promotion at all ages.

Today, Monica is sharing her solid academic and real-life experience by offering nutrition/diet and exercise consultation services and writing about topics related to fitness, health and anti-aging.

She is currently in the process of writing a book “Successful Aging – it’s your choice” and developing the related website www.SuccessfulAging.me


References:

1.            Kahn, H.S., et al., Stable behaviors associated with adults’ 10-year change in body mass index and likelihood of gain at the waist. Am J Public Health, 1997. 87(5): p. 747-54.

2.            Kahn, H.S., L.M. Tatham, and C.W. Heath, Jr., Contrasting factors associated with abdominal and peripheral weight gain among adult women. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, 1997. 21(10): p. 903-11.

3.            Rosell, M., et al., Weight gain over 5 years in 21,966 meat-eating, fish-eating, vegetarian, and vegan men and women in EPIC-Oxford. Int J Obes (Lond), 2006. 30(9): p. 1389-96.

4.            Parker, D.R., et al., Dietary factors in relation to weight change among men and women from two southeastern New England communities. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, 1997. 21(2): p. 103-9.

5.            Halkjaer, J., et al., Food and drinking patterns as predictors of 6-year BMI-adjusted changes in waist circumference. Br J Nutr, 2004. 92(4): p. 735-48.

6.            Vergnaud, A.C., et al., Meat consumption and prospective weight change in participants of the EPIC-PANACEA study. Am J Clin Nutr, 2010. 92(2): p. 398-407.

7.            Brown, D., Do food frequency questionnaires have too many limitations? J Am Diet Assoc, 2006. 106(10): p. 1541-2.

8.            Byers, T., Food frequency dietary assessment: how bad is good enough? Am J Epidemiol, 2001. 154(12): p. 1087-8.

9.            Kristal, A.R., S.A. Beresford, and D. Lazovich, Assessing change in diet-intervention research. Am J Clin Nutr, 1994. 59(1 Suppl): p. 185S-189S.

10.         Gillman, M.W., et al., Relationships of physical activity with dietary behaviors among adults. Prev Med, 2001. 32(3): p. 295-301.

11.         Aadahl, M., et al., Self-reported physical activity compared with maximal oxygen uptake in adults. Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil, 2007. 14(3): p. 422-8.

12.         Tudor-Locke, C.E. and A.M. Myers, Challenges and opportunities for measuring physical activity in sedentary adults. Sports Med, 2001. 31(2): p. 91-100.

13.         Newman, A.B., et al., Weight change and the conservation of lean mass in old age: the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study. Am J Clin Nutr, 2005. 82(4): p. 872-8; quiz 915-6.

14.         Paddon-Jones, D., et al., Role of dietary protein in the sarcopenia of aging. Am J Clin Nutr, 2008. 87(5): p. 1562S-1566S.

15.         Campbell, W.W., et al., The recommended dietary allowance for protein may not be adequate for older people to maintain skeletal muscle. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, 2001. 56(6): p. M373-80.

16.         Devkota, S. and D.K. Layman, Protein metabolic roles in treatment of obesity. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care, 2010. 13(4): p. 403-7.

17.         Layman, D.K., Protein quantity and quality at levels above the RDA improves adult weight loss. J Am Coll Nutr, 2004. 23(6 Suppl): p. 631S-636S.

18.         Layman, D.K., et al., Dietary protein and exercise have additive effects on body composition during weight loss in adult women. J Nutr, 2005. 135(8): p. 1903-10.

19.         Layman, D.K., et al., A reduced ratio of dietary carbohydrate to protein improves body composition and blood lipid profiles during weight loss in adult women. J Nutr, 2003. 133(2): p. 411-7.

20.         Paddon-Jones, D., et al., Protein, weight management, and satiety. Am J Clin Nutr, 2008. 87(5): p. 1558S-1561S.

21.         Clifton, P.M., J.B. Keogh, and M. Noakes, Long-term effects of a high-protein weight-loss diet. Am J Clin Nutr, 2008. 87(1): p. 23-9.

22.         Larsen, T.M., et al., The Diet, Obesity and Genes (Diogenes) Dietary Study in eight European countries – a comprehensive design for long-term intervention. Obes Rev, 2010. 11(1): p. 76-91.

23.         Davidson, M.H., et al., Comparison of the effects of lean red meat vs lean white meat on serum lipid levels among free-living persons with hypercholesterolemia: a long-term, randomized clinical trial. Arch Intern Med, 1999. 159(12): p. 1331-8.

24.         Thompson, F.E. and T. Byers, Dietary assessment resource manual. J Nutr, 1994. 124(11 Suppl): p. 2245S-2317S.

25.         Beauchesne-Rondeau, E., et al., Plasma lipids and lipoproteins in hypercholesterolemic men fed a lipid-lowering diet containing lean beef, lean fish, or poultry. Am J Clin Nutr, 2003. 77(3): p. 587-93.

26.         Roussell, M.A., et al., Beef in an Optimal Lean Diet study: effects on lipids, lipoproteins, and apolipoproteins. Am J Clin Nutr, 2012. 95(1): p. 9-16.

27.         Hunninghake, D.B., et al., Incorporation of lean red meat into a National Cholesterol Education Program Step I diet: a long-term, randomized clinical trial in free-living persons with hypercholesterolemia. J Am Coll Nutr, 2000. 19(3): p. 351-60.

28.         Melanson, K., et al., Weight loss and total lipid profile changes in overweight women consuming beef or chicken as the primary protein source. Nutrition, 2003. 19(5): p. 409-14.

Red Meat – good or bad for fat loss and body fat control? is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> http://www.brinkzone.com/uncategorized/red-meat-good-or-bad-for-fat-loss-and-body-fat-control/feed/ 23 Killer Strength-Building Technique – Single-Rep Cluster Training http://www.brinkzone.com/strength-training/killer-strength-building-technique-single-rep-cluster-training/ http://www.brinkzone.com/strength-training/killer-strength-building-technique-single-rep-cluster-training/#comments Wed, 09 May 2012 00:50:35 +0000 Nick Nilsson http://www.brinkzone.com/?p=4892 Killer Strength-Building Technique – Single-Rep Cluster Training is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> Cluster Training is an extremely useful method for strength building. It’s essentially a way to mitigate fatigue, allowing you to get more reps with a certain weight than you could with a straight-through set. You perform a small cluster of reps, take a short ret, then another small cluster of reps, then a short rest, then repeat for whatever framework you’re doing overall. Then you take a longer rest, then you can repeat the cluster again.

It’ll be easier to understand with numbers. Here’s what it might look like. For this one, you’d use a weight you could normally get 10 reps with.

Mini-set #1 – 4 reps
rest 10 seconds
Mini-set #2 – 4 reps
rest 10 sec.
Mini-set #3 – 4 reps
rest 10 sec
Mini-set #4 – 4 reps
rest 10 sec
Mini-set #5 – 4 reps
rest 10 sec
Mini-set #6 – 4 reps

rest 2 minutes then repeat.

That would be one Cluster set. By resting 10 seconds between each mini-set (and the first 4 or 5 mini-sets, you’re not getting close to failure, you delay the build-up of lactic acid and other waste products. You also allow for a bit of recovery.

This allows you to hit more reps within a shorter period of time.

It’s a VERY effective way to build muscle mass.

THIS style of training is Single Rep Cluster Training…and it’s a very effective way to build STRENGTH (and muscle, if you do higher-rep clusters).

It’s the same idea, only instead of sets of 4 reps (as in the example above), you’ll be doing sets of 1 rep (and I like to aim for 15 to 20 seconds rest here, because the weights will be heavier).

Here’s what it might look like:

Mini-set #1 – 1 rep
rest 15 seconds
Mini-set #2 – 1 rep
rest 15 sec.
Mini-set #3 – 1 rep
rest 15 sec
Mini-set #4 – 1 rep

done

And this could done with a weight around 90% to 93% of your 1 RM (ish). In the demo video, I show you 3 Single Rep Cluster Sets.

The first is 4 reps with 545 lbs.

Then 2 reps with 565 lbs.

 

 

Then 10 reps with 495 lbs (I did this as a “back off” set to increase the overall workload of the training session). I took about 3 minutes rest in between these cluster sets for maximum strength levels.

 

 

By taking those short rests in between single reps, you allow some degree of recovery…more so than trying to do reps following right away.

The 10 rep set allows for greater training volume at a certain workload. It’s a VERY effective way to train and build strength and it allows you to spend more time working with heavy weights…which gets your body accustomed to doing so both in the connective tissue and the nervous system, in addition to your muscles.

I would suggest doing this style of training no more than once a week as it is challenging to the nervous system, especially when you get into heavier weights.

You can work with any rep range between 2 and 10, depending on the amount of weight you’re using and your primary goal (lower reps for strength, higher for muscle mass/strength).

I would recommend no more than 3 or 4 sets done in this fashion per bodypart/exercise (you won’t need more than one exercise when you do this with heavy movements like deadlifts, squats or bench press).

Also, I would stick to compound exercises for this style of training.

Killer Strength-Building Technique – Single-Rep Cluster Training is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> http://www.brinkzone.com/strength-training/killer-strength-building-technique-single-rep-cluster-training/feed/ 0 BrinkZone Gauntlet Claims New Victims! http://www.brinkzone.com/general-fitness-info/brinkzone-gauntlet-claims-new-victims/ http://www.brinkzone.com/general-fitness-info/brinkzone-gauntlet-claims-new-victims/#comments Sat, 05 May 2012 19:17:39 +0000 Will Brink http://www.brinkzone.com/?p=4867 BrinkZone Gauntlet Claims New Victims! is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> The Gauntlet claims two new victims! 8-)

Latest victims of the BrinkZone Gauntlet, competitive bodybuilder Janet Esterkes and figure competitor Andrea Kalligheri, which shows what a whole body functional killer calorie “burning” workout looks like!  The BrinkZone Gauntlet: For GPP, conditioning, endurance, metabolic work, and functional strength, it’s efficient and hard work…

The BrinkZone Gauntlet consists of two complexes:

Complex One consists of 3 cycles of:

Sand bag lunges/zercher squat
Hand over hand sled pull
ball push ups

Complex Two consists of 3 cycles of:

Standing  press
battle ropes
High/low Prowler

See figure competitor Kati Bloom doing The Gauntlet HERE>

BrinkZone Gauntlet Claims New Victims! is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> http://www.brinkzone.com/general-fitness-info/brinkzone-gauntlet-claims-new-victims/feed/ 5 The Sports Supplement Bible! http://www.brinkzone.com/supplement-science/the-sports-supplement-bible/ http://www.brinkzone.com/supplement-science/the-sports-supplement-bible/#comments Thu, 03 May 2012 14:07:58 +0000 Will Brink http://www.brinkzone.com/?p=4424 The Sports Supplement Bible! is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> The Sports Supplement Bible Now Available!


This comprehensive book covers over 60 supplement ingredients used to create many well known sports supplements. I use my 20+ years in the supplement industry (see author bio page for more info) to break through the hype, mystery and bro-science surrounding these ingredients and get to the nuts and bolts of what works and what doesn’t; using objective scientific data and “real world” feedback, in a way that is easy to understand for those new to supplements, or those who have been buying them for years.

It’s also an excellent reference guide for medical professionals and clinicians who want access to objective information on nutritional supplements commonly used – and not so commonly used – by athletes to improve performance, strength, or alter body composition.

This info is what most supplement companies wished you didn’t have access to, because a truly informed and educated consumer is not what they want!

Using this book to choose your next supplement purchase allows you to discern the “good” supplement ingredients from the “bad,” and understand why some ingredients are added to supplements in such minute amounts that doing so is known in the industry as “label decoration” and other tricks of the trade.

I have a level of experience and knowledge of the industry that few, if any possess, and even fewer willing to write about it honestly. I’m an industry insider who pulls no punches; I have learned from consulting to major supplement companies, designing supplements, and writing extensively many years  for the many international and well-known health and fitness magazines.   This information is what I give to  the reader of The Sports Supplement Bible.

Remember, there’s many people on the ‘net pushing books or vids or what ever claiming to know the ‘inside info’ on supplements who have never stepped foot into a supplement manufacturing facility, much less have been hired to design supplements! Their info generally comes from third party sources and gets packaged and sold to you.

This book will pay for itself 100 times over with what you will learn in it, and the smart decisions you will make from it.

Get the real scoop on the best foundational supplements you should have in your arsenal, and what you should add if you’re ready to take your training to the next level and most important perhaps, what is total junk!

This book comes in all popular e reader formats as well as hard copy/print version, so you can choose your preferred method of reading.

Hard Copy/Print => HERE

Kindle Reader => HERE

Nook Reader => HERE

ITunes => HERE


Read professional Reviews HERE


BTW folks, you don’t need a Kindle or a Nook reader to read these books. Apps to read them on any comp, Droid, etc, etc can be found on Amazon or Barnes & Noble web sites.

The Sports Supplement Bible! is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> http://www.brinkzone.com/supplement-science/the-sports-supplement-bible/feed/ 28 Are There Hormones in Your whey? http://www.brinkzone.com/articles/are-there-hormones-in-your-whey/ http://www.brinkzone.com/articles/are-there-hormones-in-your-whey/#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 15:33:04 +0000 Will Brink http://www.brinkzone.com/blog/?p=1111 Are There Hormones in Your whey? is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> “All natural” grass fed whey better then “regular” whey?

The latest trend in the highly saturated whey market is to push some “all natural” whey that’s grass fed and talk about the evils of supposed hormones in “regular” whey and then over charge for your “natural” whey. Is there any truth to it? Should you pay excessive amounts for this “natural” whey that’s grass fed and blessed by the Dalai Lama? There’s a number of issues to address regarding those claims, but in this write up I’m going to address the hormone claims and antibiotics as that seems to be of greatest concern to people.

One question that has popped up a few times in my email ‘in box’ relates to the issue of hormones in whey protein supplements. Are there hormones in your whey? It’s not a simple “yes” or “no” answer I am sorry to say, but the short answer is, people have nothing to fear.

Being an animal based product derived from milk, whey, like any animal based product, could potentially contain some naturally occurring hormone(s). The issue is, which hormone and in what amounts? Modern testing abilities being as sensitive as they are today, being able to search for things in parts per million (ppm), parts per billion (ppb) or even parts per trillion (ppt) in some cases, some hormone of some kind can be found in virtually anything we humans ingest, especially if it is derived from an animal source (though plants also often contain some naturally occurring hormones or hormone-like compounds).

So what’s the scoop on whey? The major concern seems to revolve around:

* Steroid based sex hormones (e.g., testosterone, etc.)
* Growth hormones and or growth factors (e.g., IGF-1, bovine growth hormone or bovine somatotropin, etc)
* Non-hormonal compounds such as anti biotic contamination.

I will attempt to address those in particular to clear up any fears or confusion over the matter.

Are there any steroids in your whey?

Steroid hormones being highly lipophilic (soluble in fat) will be found in the lipid (fat) portion of whey, or any milk based product for that matter. Any high grade whey isolate (WPI) is essentially fat free (read my article “The Whey it is” to understand the differences in the types and quality of whey proteins)

For example, CFM? isolate contains less than one tenth of one gram of actual dairy fat per 20 gram (20,000 milligrams) serving, which is approximately one standard scoop found in most products. The additional fat listed on the can of most whey isolate products generally comes from the addition of small amounts of lecithin, which is not an animal based lipid, and or the flavoring system being employed. An ion exchange whey – though not an optimal whey protein in my opinion as explained in “The Whey it is – will contain even less fat.

So, the reality is sex hormone levels in the lipid portion of milk fat and or fat in whey is so low as to be either non -testable or virtually non testable. Add to that fact that whey isolates are virtually fat free, and it’s easy to see this is a non-issue.

Are there any growth hormones in your whey?

As for growth hormone(s) such as bovine somatotropin (BST) and IGF-1, etc., that’s a bit more complicated. Growth factor hormones (e.g., BST, IGF-1, etc.) are protein based hormones (versus steroid based hormones discussed in the previous section) and thus, can be found in the protein fraction of animal based products, such as muscle, milk, etc. However, we will keep the discussion of these hormones specific to whey as that’s what this article is about right? Milk, and thus whey protein, does contain minute amount of BST.

BST is simply the bovine (cow) form of growth hormone cows produce naturally. In humans, it’s called Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which is produced in the pituitary gland and is also a popular anti aging drug many people are using to fight the effects of aging.

However, and this is the essential point, BST is not found in higher levels then would be found if the animals were not treated with BST. That is, whether they treat the animals with BST or not, they find the BST levels in milk to be found in minute amounts and in the normal “background” levels. What are the levels of BST found in milk? It ranges from approximately zero – ten parts per billion (PPB) and typical level found in milk is 3ppb. That translates into approximately 1 mcg (one millionth of a gram) per liter. That ladies and gents is what we call a truly miniscule amount.

To add to the above, protein based hormones such as BST-naturally occurring or otherwise – are quite delicate and digestion of these proteins means they are destroyed when ingested. To sum up, I consider the risk from BST to be again, a non-issue. Don’t forget, the issue has been looked at extensively by the scientific community.

For example:

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) looking at this issue stated “The composition and nutritional values of milk from bST-supplemented cows is essentially the same as milk from untreated cows… (M)eat and milk from rbST-treated cows are as safe as that from untreated cows.” (NIH Technology Assessment Conference Statement on Bovine somatotropin. JAMA. 1991:265:1423-1425).

* The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) said on the issue “The FDA has answered all questions and concerns about the safety of milk from bST-supplemented cows…” (JAMA. 1990:264:1003-1005).
* The journal Science stated “The data evaluated by the FDA documented the safety of food products from animals treated with rbGH.” (Bovine Growth Hormone: Human Food Safety Evaluation. Science. 1990:249:875-884.).

Yes folks, no matter what hysterical issues some people have tried to raise with BST, the data and the facts simply does not support the hysteria. It’s a non-issue to human health. However, and it should be noted, that may not be the case for the cows themselves, just as large amounts of HGH can be problematic for humans, and that issue is currently being evaluated.

They may stop giving cows BST due to the health issues it presents to cows, but not due to any health issues to humans. So read my lips here gang, it won’t matter if the milk is taken from “organic” non BST treated cows or not, the BST levels appear to remain the same and are (a) found in miniscule amounts and (b) in all probability are destroyed during digestion. Yes, there can differences in the amounts of some compounds (pesticide for example) between some organic foods (e.g., fruits and vegetables) and non-organic foods, but BST simply is not one of them.

As for Insulin-like growth factor one (IGF-1) that’s more interesting and relevant, though it still appears to be a non issue to human health. Different whey product will have varying levels of IGF-1 depending on many variables such as: whether it’s a concentrate (WPC) or an Isolate (WPI), how it’s produced, and even what time of the year the milk is taken from the cows, and so on. So, I can’t give the levels for every form and type of whey (see aforementioned article above “The Whey it is” to understand different types of whey).

As an example (cause I have the numbers handy on my desk and it’s the form of whey I personally use!), CFM? isolates have approximately 35 micrograms (mcg) of IGF per 100g of powder (recall standard scoop is 20g). Remember, we are not talking gram amounts here but micrograms, which is one millionth of a gram! 35 micrograms could not even be seen by the human eye. Could there be any negative physiological effects to consuming this amount of IGF-1?

Add to the reality how unstable and sensitive to digestion protein based hormones are, it’s highly unlikely. Being a well-known anabolic/anti catabolic hormone, I bet most bodybuilders wished the levels of IGF-1 in whey where much higher! :mrgreen:

Recall that IGF-1 was made a bit of a boogieman hormone when a link (correlation) was found between IGF-1 levels and prostate cancer. However, that association was not found in later studies and any cause and effect relationship between the two is fuzzy at best, and even contradictory according to some studies.

For example, some doctors find that PSA levels (used as a predictor of prostate cancer) often drops when giving older men growth hormone (which increase IGF-1 levels) which is not what one would expect to find if IGF-1 was a cause of prostate cancer nor is IGF-1 levels correlated to PSA levels.

Of course being a growth factor, able stimulate cell division and cell differentiation, it has been theorized that like other growth factors (e.g., GH, epidermal, transforming, platelet derived, fibroblast, nerve, and ciliary neurotrophic growth factors and others) IGF-1 could stimulate the growth of some cancers.

This is far from proven however and far far more complicated then it appears on the surface. For example, IGF-1 levels, as well as GH, are intimately connected the immune system, and have a wide range of essential effects on the body, such as keeping bodyfat levels low and muscle mass levels up, bone formation, and 1000 other effects. So, painting IGF-1 as a bad guy hormone is both unscientific and simply incorrect.

Would a person with a hormone dependent liver cancer want to inject (versus eat) large amounts of IGF-1 or GH? Probably not, but even that is unclear at this time. Let’s not forget the incidence of prostate cancer increases with age in men but blood levels of IGF-1 and GH decline significantly with age. The etiology of prostate cancer is a highly complex, and not fully understood interaction between diet, genetics, an inflammatory process, and hormones such as testosterone, DHT, estradiol, and other physiological variables and hormones both known and yet unknown.

The bottom line here is, microgram amounts of IGF-1 found in whey poses minimal (because no thing on earth we eat poses zero risk!) to a non-existent risk, and may even help us in some ways. For example, IGF-1 has been shown to improve some gastrointestinal diseases and pathology, reduces muscle loss during certain disease states and other beneficial effects.

It’s also essential to remember from the many articles that have been published on whey (written predominantly by yours truly) that whey has been studied extensively for it’s effects on cancer specifically, and across the board has been found to prevent various forms of cancer in animals (with human data strongly suggesting the same effects in people), improve immunity, and other positive effects, such as possibly improve performance and treat over training syndrome (OTS) in athletes.

Thus, it’s clear any increased risks from ingesting miniscule amounts of IGF-1 found in whey–if there are any at all–are offset by the many positive health effects of this well studied protein.

Are there any anti biotics in whey?

Finally, we can address the possibility of any contamination from the anti-biotics given to the cows that may find it’s way into the milk and then the whey. Several studies have found that in a small number of cases anti-biotic residues could be detected in commercial milk. This has caused some people to use organic non-treated milk. Having done extensive consulting work in the whey industry, I can tell you all major manufacturers of whey protein powders test constantly for anti biotic residues, as the milk industry in general does.

The major whey manufacturers I have worked with test every single batch of incoming milk for anti-biotic residues and reject any batch that finds any amount, no matter how small. Only milk that gets an ND (non detectable) stamp of approval after testing is used to produce the whey.

Thus, there are no anti biotic residues in your whey supplements. I can’t personally vouch for all whey manufacturers as I have not done consulting work for all whey manufacturers, but the handful I have worked with had an extreme level of quality control over the issue, and I have no reason to suspect other companies are not just as anal about it.

Conclusion

I hope the above clears up any fears or confusion regarding questions people may have had regarding whey. Considering how much research is out there on whey and its many positive effects on such a wide range of things, such as immunity, possibly preventing some cancers, improving performance, etc., I know whey will remain a staple part of my diet for many years to come. It’s off to blend up some whey for me!

Are There Hormones in Your whey? is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> http://www.brinkzone.com/articles/are-there-hormones-in-your-whey/feed/ 11 BrinkZone Gauntlet with Kati B! http://www.brinkzone.com/training-programs/the-brinkzone-gauntlet-with-kati-b/ http://www.brinkzone.com/training-programs/the-brinkzone-gauntlet-with-kati-b/#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2012 13:22:57 +0000 Will Brink http://www.brinkzone.com/?p=4853 BrinkZone Gauntlet with Kati B! is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> Killer whole body training with The BrinkZone Gauntlet!

The BrinkZone Gauntlet consists of two complexes:

Complex One consists of 3 cycles of:

Sand bag lunges/zercher squat
Hand over hand sled pull
ball push ups

Complex Two consists of 3 cycles of:

Standing push press
battle ropes
High/low Prowler

For GPP, conditioning, endurance, metabolic work, and functional strength, it’s awesome. You can also see fitness model Kelly D doing The BrinkZone Gauntlet HERE

BrinkZone Gauntlet with Kati B! is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> http://www.brinkzone.com/training-programs/the-brinkzone-gauntlet-with-kati-b/feed/ 0 Is there a place for high-rep sets in serious weight training programs? http://www.brinkzone.com/bodybuilding/is-there-a-place-for-high-rep-sets-in-serious-training-programs/ http://www.brinkzone.com/bodybuilding/is-there-a-place-for-high-rep-sets-in-serious-training-programs/#comments Sat, 28 Apr 2012 16:54:56 +0000 Monica http://www.brinkzone.com/?p=4830 Is there a place for high-rep sets in serious weight training programs? is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> Recent studies have shown some controversial findings that high-rep training is as effective as the traditional medium rep training for muscle growth. If you missed it, check out my two previous articles:

Training for maximal muscle growth – is heavy low-medium reps really the best way to go?

Muscle growth with high rep training – has time come to challenge our egos?

In this article I will show some examples of how high-rep sets can be implemented in a serious weight lifting program, and look at the results of some studies that have investigated this.

Periodized weight training and training variety – a necessary strategy for continued progress

I will save an in-depth discussion on periodized weight training for a separate article. The take home from studies on periodized weight training is that training periodization, or variation, is key for breaking through training plateaus and for making continued progress in both strength, power and muscle growth 1. Benefits with periodized weight training have been seen in both beginners 1-4 and experienced athletes 1, 2, 5-9, but it is especially critical for advanced weight lifters, bodybuilders and other athletes.

Training periodization can be accomplished in many ways; the training variables that are most commonly manipulated are intensity (weight lifted and number of repetitions), number of sets, rest between sets, and lifting speed. In this article I will cover training intensity and lifting speed, since these training variables are directly related; the slower you lift the lighter the weights you can move, and vice versa.

High-rep finishing sets after heavy, high intensity workouts in a periodized training program – how does it affect gains in muscle mass and strength?

An interesting study investigated muscular adaptations to a combination of high- and low-intensity resistance exercise in a periodized training program 4.

The following 3 different types of workouts were tested:

- Hypertrophy type

9 sets of medium intensity (10 repetition maximum [RM]) short inter-set rest period (30 s) with progressively decreasing load.

- Strength type

5 sets of a high-intensity (90% of 1RM) and low-repetition exercise.

- Combi-type

1 set of low-intensity and high-repetition exercise added immediately after the last (5th) set in the strength-type regimen.

The hypertrophy type phase consisted of nine sets at 80–40% of 1RM. The each workout was divided into three parts with three sets each, and the rest periods between sets and parts were 30 seconds and 3 minutes, respectively. In each part, the intensity was gradually lowered set-by-set (multi-poundage or descending set system).

The diagrams below outline the training periodization, and the workout protocol in each phase.

The subjects were young men (20-23 years) with a couple of months of recreational resistance training experience, but they had not taken part in any regular training program for at least 6 months prior to the study.

Before the start of the 10 week training program, acute changes in blood levels of growth hormone (GH) were measured after one bout single of each workout type, using leg extension. As illustrated in figure 2, there were significant differences in post-exercise increases in GH levels: hypertrophy-type > combi-type > strength-type.

Next, the long-term effects of a periodized training protocols with these different types of workouts was conducted. The subjects were assigned to either a hypertrophy/combi (HC) or hypertrophy/strength (HS) group and performed leg press and extension exercises twice a week for 10 weeks.

During the first 6 weeks, both groups used the hypertrophy-type training to gain muscular size.

During the subsequent 4 weeks, the HC group performed combi-type training, and the HS group performed strength-type training.

Muscular strength, endurance, and cross sectional area (muscle size) were examined.

After the initial 6 weeks, no significant between group differences was seen in the percentage changes in any of these outcomes.

However, after the subsequent 4 weeks, 1RM of leg press and muscular endurance of leg extension showed significantly larger increases in the HC group than in the HS group. In addition, increases in muscle growth (cross sectional area) after this period also tended to be larger in the HC group than in the HS group. It was also found that adding low-intensity high-repetition set didn’t interfere with neuromuscular adaptations 4.

Lifting speed and time under tension – another variable to consider in high-rep sets

High-rep sets differ from low-rep sets in that they allow more control of lifting (repetition) speed, due to the lower weight lifted. And lifting speed deserves way more attention than it has been getting…

Lifting speed is important because it determines time under muscle tension, which is the amount of time muscles must contract to complete a set. According to the most successful strength coach in the world, Charles Poliquin, to develop maximum muscle mass, the muscles should contract 20-70 seconds during a set 10.

Am interesting recent study compared the effects of difference lifting speeds on synthesis of different muscle protein fractions 11. The subjects (recreationally resistance-trained young men) did an exercise bout consisting of 3 sets of unilateral leg extension (one leg lifting slow, the other fast), at 30% 1RM, with 2 min rest between sets:


Slow lifting speed:            6 seconds up and 6 seconds down, no pauses until failure

Fast lifting speed:             1 second up and 1 second down, no pauses


The fast lifting speed condition was matched to the slow condition for contraction volume (meaning that the leg performed an identical number of reps at the same load), but not to failure.

Participants ingested 20 g whey protein immediately after the exercise bout. The number of repetitions performed was 12, 7 and 6 for set 1, 2 and 3. As planned, the muscle time under tension (measured in seconds) was greater for each set in the slow condition compared to the fast:


Slow lifting speed time under tension:       set 1 – 144 s (12×12); set 2 -84 s (12×7) and set 3 – 72 s (12×6)

Fast lifting speed time under tension:        set 1 – 24 s (2×12); set 2 -14 s (2×7) and set 3 – 12 s (2×6)


The interesting finding in this study was that myofibrillar protein synthetic rate was about 30% higher in after the slow lifting speed bout versus the fast lifting speed bout after 24-30 h recovery, and correlated to p70S6K phosphorylation (which is a marker for anabolism and hypertrophy 12). The slow lifting speed bout also significantly increased both sarcoplasmic and mitochondrial protein synthesis rate 6 hours post-exercise, compared to the fast lifting speed bout.

A slightly faster lifting speed than used in this study, 3 s up and 3 s down (this is still slower than the usual 1 s up – 1 s down), with a slightly heavier load (around 40-50% of max strength) would be more anabolic towards the myofibrillar fraction (which is the muscle protein fraction that is responsible for muscle growth) 13. This agrees nicely with Poliquin’s suggestion that muscles should contract 20-70 seconds during a set to develop maximum muscle mass.

Another study compared a slow lifting speed of 3 seconds up and 3 seconds down at an intensity of 40% 1RM to failure, with a fast lifting speed of 1 second up and 1 second down at an intensity of 80% 1RM to failure, in 5 sets of leg extension 14. The subjects were heavy-resistance exercise trained young men. A striking finding in this study was that the slow lifting speed bout resulted in almost a 3 fold higher elevation in free testosterone than the fast lifting speed bout 14.

It has also been shown that low-intensity exercises with different slow lifting speeds on the up (concentric) and down (eccentric) phases of contractions (3 s up – 3 s down, 5 s up – 1 s down, 1 s up – 5 s down) all significantly result in greater GH elevation compared to fast lifting speeds (1 s up – 1 s down), regardless of the time to complete up and down actions 15.

Finally, there are indications that going faster on the lowering (eccentric) part of contractions than the lifting (concentric) part, leads to greater hypertrophy and strength gains than slow lengthening contractions 16.

Practical implications

Oki, let try to make sense out of all this…

All the above mentioned studies, in conjunction with the findings that high-rep training is as effective as the traditional medium rep training for muscle growth:

Training for maximal muscle growth – is heavy low-medium reps really the best way to go?

Muscle growth with high rep training – has time come to challenge our egos?

…underscore the effectiveness of incorporating lighter (lower intensity) higher rep sets, preferably with slow lifting speeds, into your workouts.

 

In a periodized training program, adding some light high reppers to the end of heavy lifting sets actually increases strength more than just doing the heavy lifting sets alone. However, this might only apply to novice trainers. However, in recreationally resistance-trained men, light high reppers, especially when performed with a slow lifting speed, have been shown to stimulate muscle growth. It is not necessary to follow that classic linear periodization model where one trains in a specific way for several weeks. Actually, making program alterations on a daily basis is more effective in eliciting strength gains than doing so every 4 weeks 17. The increase in exercise induced elevations of GH seen with lighter high rep sets done with a slow lifting speed is especially interesting for you if your goal is to lose fat, since GH plays a key role in metabolism and boosts fat burning and energy expenditure18-22.

To add variety to your typical workouts, doing lighter high rep sets with a slow lifting speed, especially on the up (concentric) part of the contractions, not only markedly increases exercise induced elevations GH and free testosterone, but also leads to greater hypertrophy and strength gains. This can be explained by a greater muscle time under tension, which increases muscle protein synthesis. For maximum muscle mass development, aim for sets that keep your muscles contracted at least contract 20-70 seconds.

Ok, here’s the final exam question:

- what’s the difference between an exercise novice old fragile lady who does 30 rep sets, and a muscular bodybuilder who does 30 rep sets?

Answer; the old lady does light high rep sets in order to practice correct exercise form, develop basic conditioning, and avoid injuries. The muscular bodybuilder does light high rep sets in order to add variety to his relatively intense training program and thereby get muscle stimulus from a new type exercise stress, which is necessary for continued training progress. Even though both the old lady and the muscular bodybuilder might periodically be working out at the same relative intensity (that is, the same percentage of their respective 1RM), the bodybuilder will of course be mover much heavier weights than the old lady because his maximal strength is so much higher. Hey guys, remember that when your egos start acting up!

When looking at bodybuilders and other athletes, it’s important to keep in mind that the type of training they did in the past to get where they are in the present isn’t necessarily the best for taking their physiques and performance to the next level. Training variety is essential for continued physical (and mental!) development.

Bottom line, lighter high rep sets with slow lifting speeds, when taken to failure, are not a waste of time in the gym, like many bodybuilders and strength athletes think. To the contrary, lighter high rep sets with slow lifting speeds add two new training variables to your workout, which can help you to break through training plateaus and boredom that arise from constantly doing the same thing in the gym. Thereby, high reppers and sets with slower lifting speeds will help ensure continuous training progress and propel you towards your weight lifting goals.


Monica Mollica – www.trainergize.com

Monica has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Nutrition from the University of Stockholm, Sweden, and is an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer. She works a nutrition/diet consultant and health journalist, and is also a fitness model and web designer.

As a young athlete, Monica realized the importance of nutrition for maximal performance at an early, and went for a major in Nutrition at the University of Stockholm.

During her years at the University she was a regular contributor to the Swedish bodybuilding magazine BODY, and she has written the book (in Swedish) “Functional Foods for Health and Energy Balance”, and authored several book chapters in Swedish publications. During her University studies she also worked as an ISSA certified personal trainer.

After having earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Nutrition, she completed one semester at the PhD-program “Exercise, Nutrition and Preventive Health” at Baylor University Texas, at the department of Health Human Performance and Recreation.

Having lost her father in an heart attack at an age of 49, she is specializing in cardiovascular health, and primordial and primary prevention. She is a strong advocate of early intervention in adolescence and young adulthood, and the importance of lifestyle habits for health promotion at all ages.

Today, Monica is sharing her solid academic and real-life experience by offering nutrition/diet and exercise consultation services and writing about topics related to fitness, health and anti-aging.

She is currently in the process of writing a book “Successful Aging – it’s your choice” and developing the related website www.SuccessfulAging.me


References:

1.            Kraemer WJ, Fleck SJ. Optimizing Strength Training: Designing Nonlinear Periodization Workouts Human Kinetics 2007.

2.            Rhea MR, Alderman BL. A meta-analysis of periodized versus nonperiodized strength and power training programs. Research quarterly for exercise and sport. 2004;75(4):413-422.

3.            Kraemer WJ, Fleck SJ. Designing Resistance Training Programs Human Kinetics 2003.

4.            Goto K, Nagasawa M, Yanagisawa O, et al. Muscular adaptations to combinations of high- and low-intensity resistance exercises. Journal of strength and conditioning research / National Strength & Conditioning Association. 2004;18(4):730-737.

5.            Kraemer WJ. A Series of Studies – The Physiological Basis for Strength Training in American Football: Fact Over Philosophy. Journal of strength and conditioning research / National Strength & Conditioning Association. 1997;11:131-142.

6.            Stone MH, O’Bryant H, Garhammer J. A hypothetical model for strength training. The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness. 1981;21(4):342-351.

7.            Willoughby DS. A comparison of three selected weight training programs on the upper and lower body strength of trained males. . Ann J Appl Res Coaching Athletics. 1992;March:124–146.

8.            Willoughby DS. The effects of meso-cycle-length weight training programs involving periodization and partially equated volumeson upper and lower body strength. . J Strength Cond Res. 1993;7:2-8.

9.            Monteiro AG, Aoki MS, Evangelista AL, et al. Nonlinear periodization maximizes strength gains in split resistance training routines. Journal of strength and conditioning research / National Strength & Conditioning Association. 2009;23(4):1321-1326.

10.         Poliquin C. The Poliquin Principles: Successful Methods for Strength and Mass Development 1997.

11.         Burd NA, Andrews RJ, West DW, et al. Muscle time under tension during resistance exercise stimulates differential muscle protein sub-fractional synthetic responses in men. The Journal of physiology. 2012;590(Pt 2):351-362.

12.         West DW, Burd NA, Staples AW, et al. Human exercise-mediated skeletal muscle hypertrophy is an intrinsic process. The international journal of biochemistry & cell biology. 2010;42(9):1371-1375.

13.         Burnd N. Muscle time under tension – personal communication.  2012.

14.         Goto K, Takahashi K, Yamamoto M, et al. Hormone and recovery responses to resistance exercise with slow movement. The journal of physiological sciences : JPS. 2008;58(1):7-14.

15.         Goto K, Ishii N, Kizuka T, et al. Hormonal and metabolic responses to slow movement resistance exercise with different durations of concentric and eccentric actions. European journal of applied physiology. 2009;106(5):731-739.

16.         Shepstone TN, Tang JE, Dallaire S, et al. Short-term high- vs. low-velocity isokinetic lengthening training results in greater hypertrophy of the elbow flexors in young men. J Appl Physiol. 2005;98(5):1768-1776.

17.         Rhea MR, Ball SD, Phillips WT, et al. A comparison of linear and daily undulating periodized programs with equated volume and intensity for strength. Journal of strength and conditioning research / National Strength & Conditioning Association. 2002;16(2):250-255.

18.         Bak JF, Moller N, Schmitz O. Effects of growth hormone on fuel utilization and muscle glycogen synthase activity in normal humans. The American journal of physiology. 1991;260(5 Pt 1):E736-742.

19.         Moller J, Jorgensen JO, Moller N, et al. Effects of growth hormone administration on fuel oxidation and thyroid function in normal man. Metabolism: clinical and experimental. 1992;41(7):728-731.

20.         Moller N, Jorgensen JO, Alberti KG, et al. Short-term effects of growth hormone on fuel oxidation and regional substrate metabolism in normal man. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism. 1990;70(4):1179-1186.

21.         Moller N, Jorgensen JO, Schmitz O, et al. Effects of a growth hormone pulse on total and forearm substrate fluxes in humans. The American journal of physiology. 1990;258(1 Pt 1):E86-91.

22.         Moller N, Schmitz O, Porksen N, et al. Dose-response studies on the metabolic effects of a growth hormone pulse in humans. Metabolism: clinical and experimental. 1992;41(2):172-175.















In a periodized training program, adding some light high reppers to the end of heavy lifting sets actually increases strength more than just doing the heavy lifting sets alone. However, this might only apply to novice trainers. Light high reppers, especially when performed with a slow lifting speed, also stimulates muscle growth. It is not necessary to follow that classic linear periodization model when one trains in a specific way for several weeks. It has actually been shown that making program alterations on a daily basis is more effective in eliciting strength gains than doing so every 4 weeks 17.

Is there a place for high-rep sets in serious weight training programs? is a post from: The Final Frontier In Bodybuilding , Fat Loss, Health & Fitness

]]> http://www.brinkzone.com/bodybuilding/is-there-a-place-for-high-rep-sets-in-serious-training-programs/feed/ 38