Cold water immersion (a.k.a., “ice baths”) has become a popular method amongst exercise enthusiasts and athletes to enhance recovery after an intense training bout. The strategy involves exposing either the trained limb or the whole body to very cold liquid temperatures. According to p...
Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D, C.S.C.S., is an internationally renowned fitness expert and widely regarded as one of the leading authorities on body composition training (muscle development and fat loss). He is a lifetime drug-free bodybuilder, and has won numerous natural bodybuilding titles.
For those who’ve read my books and/or articles on fitness, you’ll know I constantly preach the fact that you can’t escape genetics. Specifically, you can’t get “Platz’s thighs” or “Schwargenneger’s biceps” unless you happened to be born to said parents. Genetics are unique to the individual. Your fitness goal therefore should be to optimize your own God-given attributes. Everyone can have a terrific physique within their own genetic framework provided they’re willing to work for it.
My friend and colleague Bret Contreras wrote an excellent article on the topic of genetics in bodybuilding. Bret reviews the research on the subject, and explains how genetics affect results. It’s a very insightful read that pulls no punches. Here is a link to the article:
Feeling sore after a workout? What do you do? Perhaps pop a couple of Advil, Motrin, Aleve, or some other brand of non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and wait for the discomfort to subside? If so, you might want to reconsider. Here’s why…
These drugs work by blocking an enzyme called cyclooxygenase (COX). COX catalyzes the production of various prostanoids that play a role in inflammation and algesia. Theoretically, reducing prostanoids should help to alleviate localized muscle muscular pain.
Most research, however, fails to support the efficacy of NSAIDs in reducing muscle soreness. For instance, creatine kinase levels (a marker of muscle damage) have not been shown to be significantly different between those taking NSAIDs and a placebo group, indicating that NSAIDs have little effect on attenuating the root cause of pain. Moreover, the majority of studies show no differences in self-described pain ratings associated with muscle soreness after taking NSAIDs. This is particularly true in severe cases of muscle soreness, which is when a pain reliever would be of greatest value.
While a lack of effectiveness in reducing post-workout pain is certainly reason enough to avoid NSAIDs, there is a larger issue here for those who are serious exercisers. Namely, prostaglandins are known to regulate protein metabolism. Specifically, they help to stimulate protein synthesis, which is the mechanism by which muscles repair themselves and grow stronger. Studies have shown that post-exercise protein synthesis is virtually non-existent following consumption of NSAIDs. And if your muscles don’t synthesize protein after a workout, you won’t see any appreciable improvements in muscle development.
If that wasn’t enough, there is emerging evidence that NSAIDs may impair satellite cell activity. Satellite cells are muscle stem cells that have a number of functions in promoting muscle development. When activated by exercise, they multiply in number, become more specialized, and then fuse to existing muscle fibers to provide the precursor materials needed for repair and subsequent growth of new muscle tissue. Perhaps more importantly, they donate their nuclei to the stimulated muscle fibers so that protein synthesis can be increased to support growth.
Bottom line: Try to steer clear of NSAIDs whenever possible. Understand that the inflammatory response following an intense training session is part of the healing process that is necessary to develop your muscles. Shortchange healing and you shortchange muscular development.
So what to do about the pain from soreness? The best advice is to stay active—don’t just lie in bed or sit around at your desk all day. An active recovery will help to maintain blood flow to the affected muscles, which will aid in healing. There is some evidence that massage can help to restore muscle function and reduce achiness. It’s certainly worth a try. If nothing else, it can provide temporary relief by taking your mind off the pain.
If you want to learn about muscular anatomy, I highly recommend you visit the Get Body Smart website. It’s an excellent interactive site that goes into intricate detail on the major skeletal muscles of the body. The anatomical drawings are well done and there’s a wealth of information provided, including the respective joint actions for each muscle. Enjoy!
A colleague forwarded me the following link to a video of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Workout. Ordinarily I would just get a laugh at the horrendous form being used and dismiss it as simply another clueless trainer in a largely unregulated industry. However, Gwyeth’s trainer, a woman named Tracy Anderson, goes on to make perhaps the most asinine statement ever uttered by a so-called fitness professional. “We use three pound weights and only three pound weights,” Tracy exclaims. “No woman should ever lift more than three pound weights!”
Huh???
I spend the better part of my life preaching to women about the importance of hitting the weights hard and dispelling the myth that they will get “bulky” from doing so, and some “celebrity” trainer–a person that Gwyneth Paltrow calls the “exercise genius of all time!”–tells them they’re going to turn into a she-male if they lift anything heavier than a a pink dumbbell. Please!!!
With all due respect, Gwyneth Paltrow doesn’t even look like she works out. Sure, she’s thin. But chalk that up to genetics and diet. Body-wise, she has no noticeable muscle tone (not surprising given that she doesn’t lift anything heavier than three pounds!), and not much shape, either. That despite claiming to train two hours a day, six days a week! I’d say that’s a pretty poor return on investment. Look at the two photos posted here. Compare Gwyneth’s physique to a fitness or figure competitor and you tell me who has a better body.
Ladies, don’t be fooled. The only way to develop a fit, strong body is to challenge your muscles beyond their present capacity. This is called the overload principle, and it’s a central tenet of exercise. If you don’t progressively overload your muscles, they won’t develop and you won’t have muscle tone! Moreover, adding a few pounds of muscle to your body won’t make you look big or bulky. Rather, it will give you pleasing shape and definition. It will prevent areas from sagging with age. It will make you strong and give you better posture. And it will help to keep you lean (read: less body fat). Bottom line: Ditch the pink dumbbells and don’t be afraid to lift real weights!
In a blog post titled, What’s Your Squat IQ?, the Cooper Institute did a solid job providing practical applications for squatting based on my recent review article appearing in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. However, one issue I have with the article was the recommendation that “if you can’t see your toes” when squatting then “you need to sit back more.” The general idea behind the advice is sound. Certainly you should try to minimize forward translation of your knees as much as possible to decrease forces acting on the knee. But this should not be done at the expense of greater forward lean, which significantly increases stresses on the lower back region–an area that is highly susceptible to injury. Moreover, the belief that you’ll somehow damage your knees as soon as they go past your toes during the squat is not supported by research. Ultimately body type will dictate squatting kinematics and some people simply will not be able to maintain a position where the knees stay behind the plane of the toes. Provided you do not have existing knee pathology, you shouldn’t worry about this as the detrimental effects of knees-over-toes during the squat are overstated.
Nutritionists generally promote the belief that alcohol is detrimental to maintaining low body fat levels. “Lipogenic” (fat promoting) is a term often used. This is what I was taught in my nutritional coursework at both the undergraduate and at the graduate level, and what continues to be perpetuated in the texts I use as a nutritional professor. A closer look at the research, however, shows that it’s not quite as simple as you may think.
Studies consistently show that alcohol intake blunts fat burning (1, 2, 3). This clearly suggests that drinking is taboo for anyone who aspires to get lean, right? On the other hand, those who consume a moderate amount of alcohol don’t seem to be any heavier than those who are teetotalers. What gives?
In an editorial appearing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition some years ago, Eric Jequier wrote about this apparent paradox. Jequier concluded his paper by stating: “How can we resolve the above-mentioned paradox? Is it really true that alcohol intake is associated with increased energy intake in daily life? Have we sufficiently taken into account the influence of confounding factors such as underreporting of energy intake in obese subjects and the frequent association between smoking and alcohol intake? Clearly, the complex relation between alcohol intake and body weight regulation needs to be studied further by using a combined approach of epidemiology, psychophysiology, and metabolic investigations.” Amen!
Based on my early studies, I was a staunch advocate for strictly limiting alcohol intake in those who wanted to reduce body fat. It seemed consistent with the research. More recently, however, an extensive review of the literature as well as ongoing anecdotal evidence has caused me to temper my stance. Here’s the bottom line: Unless you are physique athlete in the last few weeks before a competition, the net effect of moderate consumption (1 to 2 drinks a day) on body composition will be negligible. What’s more, emerging evidence shows potential health benefits, particularly for the cardiovascular system, associated with moderate intake. All things considered, the risk/reward is actually pretty good.
So here’s my take: a drink or two a day is generally fine (and perhaps beneficial from a health perspective) for the majority of people provided overall caloric balance is not increased. But the last part of the sentence is key here. Consider the caloric content in some popular alcoholic beverages: a margarita has 600 calories, a martini 250, and a beer 150. The calories can really add up quickly. What’s more, consumption of alcohol has been shown to increase appetite (4), and tends to supplement rather than displace calories (5). Ultimately, if you take in more calories than you expend, you will gain weight. And binge drinking clearly has a detrimental effect on body composition–if you pound down a slew of drinks, you will seriously impair fat loss.
Martin Berkhan did a nice job simplifying the research on the topic in a recent blog post. If you’re interested in the science, I’d encourage you to give it a read.
Stay Fit!
Brad
1) Suter PM, Schutz Y, Jéquier E. The effect of ethanol on fat storage in healthy subjects. N Engl J Med 1992;326:983–7
2) Murgatroyd PR, Van de Ven MLHM, Goldberg GR, Prentice AM. Alcohol and the regulation of energy balance: overnight effects on diet-induced thermogenesis and fuel storage. Br J Nutr 1996;75:33–45.
3) Sonko BJ, Prentice AM, Murgatroyd PR, Goldberg GR, van de Ven ML, Coward WA. Effect of alcohol on postmeal fat storage. Am J Clin Nutr 1994;59:619–25.
4) Westerterp-Plantenga MS, Verwegen CRT. The appetizing effect of an aperitif in overweight and normal-weight humans. Am J Clin Nutr 1999;69:205–12.
5) De Castro JM, et al. Moderate alcohol intake and spontaneous eating patterns of humans: evidence of unregulated supplementation. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990 Aug;52(2):246-53.
1. Squat depth should be consistent with the goals and abilities of the individual. Because peak patellofemoral compressive forces occur at or near maximum knee flexion, those with patellofemoral disorders should avoid squatting at high flexion angles. For those with existing injury or previous reconstruction of the PCL, it is best to restrict flexion to 50° to 60° so that posterior shear is minimized. Quadriceps development is maximized by squatting to parallel, with no additional activity seen at higher flexion angles. Hip extensor moments increase with increasing squat depth, so full squats may be beneficial for those seeking to maximize strength of the hip musculature.
2. Speed of movement should be based on goal-oriented specificity to the force-velocity curve. However, given that speed of movement has been shown to significantly increase both compression and shear forces, there is a tradeoff between optimal transfer of performance and risk of injury. This is especially true on the eccentric aspect of the move where rapid deceleration generates exceedingly high joint forces at the knee. Failure to control descent can result in the ballistic contact between the hamstrings and calf muscles, which can cause a dislocating effect on the knee ligaments. Therefore, unless athletic goals specifically dictate otherwise, squat descent should always be executed in a controlled fashion, with a 2 to 3 second eccentric tempo considered a general guideline.
3. A wider stance squat is preferable for those seeking optimal development of the hip adductors and hip extensors, whereas a closer stance is more appropriate for targeting development of the gastrocnemius. Stance can also be varied to alter joint-related forces: a narrow stance helps to minimize patellofemoral and tibiofemoral compression while a wider stance results in less forward knee translation and thus reduces shear.
4. Low bar back squats tend to produce greater hip extensor torque and less knee extensor torque compared with high bar back squats. However, the magnitude of forces for both movements are well tolerated by the associated joint structures, making either position suitable for the majority of lifters. The front squat produces significantly lower knee compression and lumbar stress in comparison with back squats, making it a viable alternative for those suffering from various knee and back ailments. Front squats also can be particularly beneficial for those competing in weight lifting events because it is an essential component in performance of the clean.
5. Fatigue can have a deleterious effect on squatting technique, potentially leading to knee instability and increased lumbar shear. If the lifter opts to squat to momentary muscular failure, it is advisable to have a spotter to ensure safety.
In addition to the aforementioned joint-specific recommendations, some joint-specific recommendations can be made as to squat-related performance variables.
Ankle Joint: Significant strength and mobility is required at the ankle for proper squat performance. Feet should be positioned in a comfortable stance that allows the knees to move in line with the toes. Because the feet are outwardly rotated approximately 7° in anatomic position, this can be considered a good starting point to ensure proper patellar tracking. If the lifter’s heels rise off the floor during the eccentric phase of movement, efforts should be made to improve flexibility around the talocrural and subtalar joints. Orthotics can be worn to help correct joint imbalances and misalignment. If necessary, a barbell plate or other flat object can be placed underneath the heels to aid in stability.
Knee Joint: Given the fact that shear forces are increased as the knees move past the toes during the downward phase of the squat, attempts should be made to avoid significant forward knee translation on descent. However, this should not be done at the expense of compromising form at the hips and spine, which can place the lumbar region in a biomechanically disadvantageous position and significantly increase spinal shear. To reduce tibiofemoral and patellofemoral moments, the lifter should sit back into the squat during descent and resist pushing the knees forward. There should be no varus or valgus motion throughout exercise performance.
Hip Joint: Given the close relationship between movement at the hips, pelvis, and lumbar spine during dynamic squatting, hip mobility is extremely important for proper squat performance, especially at higher flexion angles. Poor joint mobility can lead to greater forward lean and thus increased spinal shear. Although some lifters attempt to increase hip flexion by using posterior pelvic movement during squat descent, this can heighten lumbar stress and is thus not advisable. Flexibility training specific to the hip musculature can help to increase hip mobility and facilitate better squat performance.
Spine: The spine is the most vulnerable of the joints during squatting. Because the lumbar spine is better able to handle compressive force than shear, a normal lordotic curve should be maintained in this region, with the spinal column held rigid throughout the movement. Proper spinal alignment is facilitated by maintaining a straight ahead or upward gaze, which reduces the tendency for unwanted flexion. Although some forward lean is sometimes necessary to maintain stability especially when performing deep squats, attempts should be made to keep the trunk as upright as possible to minimize shear. No lateral movement should take place at any time.
My friend and colleague, Mike Bates (who is owner/director of the terrific training facility, Refine Fitness), did a nice job summarizing some of my findings on functional training in a recent article appearing in the Windsor Star newspaper. Below is a link to the article. Happy reading!
In a previous post, I discussed the evidence that supports the ability to target the upper vs. the lower abdominal region. For those who still aren’t convinced, check out the video below. It shows a bodybuilder actively “rolling” his abdominal wall, sequentially controlling the different segments of his rectus abdominis.
Still skeptical that this proves cause and effect? Well, a recent study showed that such movements, in fact, do indicate preferential recruitment of the upper and lower rectus (1). Researchers studied middle-eastern belly dancers, using EMG to assess muscle activity in the rectus abdominis. Results showed significant differences in activation levels between the upper and lower abs throughout dance movements. It again clearly indicates that provided you have muscular control over your abdominal region, the rectus abdominis does function as semi-independent units that can be selectively targeted depending on the choice of exercise.
Stay Fit!
Brad
1) Moreside JM, Vera-Garcia FJ, McGill SM. (2008). Neuromuscular independence of abdominal wall muscles as demonstrated by middle-eastern style dancers. J Electromyogr Kinesiol. 2008 Aug;18(4):527-37
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