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Stimulating Reps
A Stimulating Rep is a repetition in which maximum activation occurs with a slow contraction velocity. Follow the steps on the infographic for maximizing muscle activation – both heavy weights or light weights taken to failure can produce high amounts of activation. Movement velocity will also slow... -
The Anabolic Window
While the, “Anabolic Window,” is certainly wider than initially thought, studies do show that this window is much smaller in trained individuals than untrained individuals. And this particular study found this effect after only 8-weeks of training! Therefore, highly-trained individuals may exhibit an... -
Adaptions to Training
One variable of research that’s always important to consider is the training status of the subjects used. Untrained subjects will make gains of all kinds with pretty much any type of exercise – this is because exercise in general is a new stimulus to them! However, trained subjects follow the SAID... -
Protein Blends
Protein blends are becoming a popular choice for protein supplements, and for good reason. This study found that blending whey and casein proteins led to better gains throughout a 10-week training protocol compared to just whey protein alone. This could be due to the combination of the large spike in... -
The 15% Rule
Intense training programs will significantly increase energy expenditure which means, if you want to maintain weight, you’ll need to eat about 15% over your maintenance calories. If your goal is to gain weight, this should be a minimum requirement! However, if you want to lose weight, eating at or slightly... -
Concentric Training.
Muscles can produce much more force eccentrically than concentrically. Therefore, a limiting factor in strength performance is concentric force production - you can lower a weight but can't lift it! This study confirmed the specificity of strength gains in finding that subjects using concentric-only... -
Isometric Training Benefits
Lifters often forego isometric training as they feel it won’t have much impact on hypertrophy. While that may have some truth to it, isometric training is incredibly beneficial for joint health. This study found that isometric training significantly increased patella tendon stiffness compared to normal... -
High Protein Diets.
This study compared a typical bodybuilder’s diet (~1g/lb protein) with a diet even higher in protein (~1.5g/lb). Both groups underwent an 8-week training program and had similar gains in muscle mass. However, the high protein group lost significantly more fat mass even while taking in about 400-500... -
High Fat Breakfast for Fat Loss
This study compared a high fat (45% of calories) breakfast to a high carbohydrate (60% of calories) breakfast. Both groups underwent the same activity and diet throughout the rest of the day. It was found that the high fat breakfast led to significantly more fat burning throughout the day than the high... -
Deadlifters Advantage
Last but not least, use your natural build for a deadlift advantage. Lifters with longer legs and shorter torsos will usually be able to lift more weight in a sumo stance - this is why women are typically better sumo deadlifters than conventional deadlifters. If you have a long torso and shorter legs,... -
Beetroot
Beetroot is a common addition to many pre-workout blends as it has been shown to increase nitric oxide production which can enhance blood flow and pumps. This can also benefit endurance performance, but likely won’t have any immediate effect on strength or size gains. There are several ways to take... -
How to improve your deadlift.
Biomechanical analysis of elite powerlifters showed that these athletes produced significantly less force in the starting position compared to other positions of the deadlift. Train exercises like deficit deadlifts and speed deadlifts to improve your strength and power off the floor to overcome this... -
Eccentric vs Concentric Training
Many trainers and coaches preach the importance of the lowering portion during lifting as they believe it to be more important for growth. The reality is that many of the studies that show this to be the case used greater loads during eccentric-only training compared to concentric-only training. Since... -
Protein post workout is a must.
This study found that 20-40g of protein post-workout was more effective than 0 or 10g at increasing protein synthesis in trained individuals. If gaining muscle mass is your goal, adequate protein intake is incredibly important - consuming less than optimal amounts of protein can impair your muscle gains.... -
Lower vs Upper Body Training
This study found that lower body muscle groups recovered from damaging isolation movements more quickly than upper body muscles. For bodybuilders, isolation days can be important for bringing up lagging muscle groups, and this study shows that you can add in more isolation days for the lower body than...