Uncategorized

April 8, 2012

News and Notes

It’s been a busy past few weeks! With everything that’s been going on, I haven’t had much time to breathe, nevertheless post. Sooooo….in the meantime, I wanted to get everyone up do date with what’s been doing:

First off, I’m finishing up the semester for my PhD with a sea of papers and tests currently due. Thankfully, I’m just about half way through my doctoral coursework. Yes it’s been *a lot* of work so far, but overall a very rewarding experience. Beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel! I’m in the process of finalizing my dissertation research and very much looking forward to furthering our understanding of the mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and how we can best train to optimize muscular development. I’ll be posting info about my findings as they become available. Stay tuned…

I lectured at the ACSM Fitness Summit last week in Las Vegas. My main session was a seminar on “Is Functional Training Really Functional?” The seminar challenged many of the commonly held beliefs on what constitutes ‘functional fitness.’ Bottom line is that we need to get away from the polarizing belief that exercises are either ‘functional’ or ‘non-functional’. In fact, all training can be functional. Functional transfer exists on a continuum (I’ve dubbed this the ‘Functional Fitness Continuum’) and its application to program design ultimately depends on the needs, abilities, and goals of the individual. In addition to this session, I also participated in an expert panel about high-performance conditioning. The panel was moderated by Dr. Len Kravitz, and I served as the expert on muscle hypertrophy (i.e. growth). This was a really fun experience. The turnout was great (I was told over 500 were in attendance), and there were some very thought-provoking questions from the audience. I’m looking forward to speaking at the event again in the future.

After ACSM, I flew to NSCA headquarters in Colorado Springs to finalize initiation of the Certified Special Populations Specialist (CSPS) exam. This was the culmination of over a year of work that went into developing the exam, which was spearheaded by my friend and colleague Chat (Chopper) Williams. In short, the CSPS is designed to distinguish those trainers who have the competency to work with a wide array of special populations, including those with musculoskeletal disorders, cardiopulmonary disease, and pretty much any other condition that requires knowledge beyond that needed to work with healthy populations. The first exam will be held at the NSCA National Conference in July. For those interested, here is a link to info about the certification.

This coming Saturday I will be lecturing at the NSCA Personal Trainer Conference at the M Resort in Las Vegas on one of my favorite topics: Facts and Fallacies of Fitness. The lecture will debunk many of the common fitness myths and misconceptions that abound in the exercise field. This is my sixth time speaking at the event, and the NSCA always puts on a first-class conference. Lots of other great speakers, too. Hopefully you can attend. Here is a link to the schedule of presentations.

Finally, my good friends, uber trainer Nick Tumminello and uber journalist Lou Schuler, have teamed up to write an excellent primer on creatine. In case you don’t know, creatine is one of the only supplements that has been found to have any efficacy for building muscle and increasing strength. Yet a great deal of controversy and uncertainty exists about the supplement. Nick and Lou have done an outstanding job cutting through the hype and providing the no-nonsense facts about pretty much everything you need to know on the topic. It’s a must read for those interested taking or considering taking creatine. And best of all, its free! Here is a link where you can download a copy of the report.

Stay Fit!

Brad