Fitness

July 25, 2010

Wrap Up of NSCA National Conference

As mentioned in a previous post, I lectured this past weekend at the 2010 NSCA national conference held in Orlando, Florida. While there, I was fortunate to be able to attend several presentations from some of the leading experts in exercise and sports nutrition. Here is a brief rundown of some of the highlights:

• Mike Waller and Tim Piper presented on “Teaching and Understanding the Snatch and Squatting Techniques.” They did a solid job covering proper form in performing these exercises. With respect to the snatch, they proposed various progressions for learning the exercise. These progressions involved breaking down the movement into components (i.e. overhead squat, pull from floor, high pull, etc), which ultimately leads to performing the movement as a whole. This is a popular technique in motor learning and works very well with complex moves such as the snatch. Overall a very informative session.
• Dr. Jeff Stout presented on ” The Performance Enhancing Power of Milk.” This was an interesting lecture that made the point that milk is actually an excellent post-workout drink. Dr. Stout is one of the foremost researchers in nutrition, and he did a good job covering the science of the nutrients contained in milk and their benefits for those who exercise. An important point made was that the two fractions of protein contained in milk (whey and casein) have an additive effect with respect to increasing protein synthesis post-workout. It is often believed that whey is the superior protein to consume after a workout since it is “fast acting” and thus gets to the muscles more quickly. However, recent research indicates that a combination of whey and casein actually provides even greater benefits, as their actions are synergistic with respect to increasing protein synthetic rate.
• Dr. Andy Fry presented on “Sports Nutrition Needs and Supplements for Overtraining and Recovery. Dr. Fry took a refreshingly scientific approach to the topic, and discussed the drawbacks when looking at studies on the topic. My favorite part of the lecture: the four things to consider when evaluating a research study. 1) Could results be taken another way? 2) What methodological flaws are evident? 3) How generalizable are the results? 4) How do these study results fit with what we already know? Bottom line: don’t just look at the results of a study and take them at face value; instead, look deeper into the specifics about how the study was conducted.
• Dr. Morey Kolber presented on “Shoulder Disorders Attributed to Weight-Training: Preventative Implications.” This was an extremely well-researched presentation that looked at the incidence of shoulder injuries in those who lift weights regularly. One of the most salient points made was that a majority of lifters have excessive internal rotation, which places the rotator cuff under significance stress when lifting overhead (i.e. shoulder presses, etc). Dr. Kolber presented various strengthening exercises for the external rotators (i.e. infraspinatus and teres minor), as well as stretching exercises for the internal rotators to improve shoulder joint range of motion. Sound advice that should be embraced by those in the fitness field.

There were many other excellent speakers, but given that many of the sessions ran simultaneously as well as other time commitments that I had at the conference, I was unable to attend all the presentations that I would have liked. Next year’s conference will be at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas and promises to be another terrific event. Hope to see you there…

Stay Fit!

Brad