MASS - Volume 1 - Issue 6 - Monthly Applications in Strength Sport

88 Pages·2017·7.259 MB·English

by  Greg Nuckols, Eric Helms, Michael Zourdos, Eric Trexler

ISSUE NO. 6 SEPTEMBER 2017
M A S S
MONTHLY APPLICATIONS IN
STRENGTH SPORT
ERIC HELMS | GREG NUCKOLS | MICHAEL ZOURDOS

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The Reviewers
Eric Helms
Eric Helms is a coach, athlete, author, and educator. He is a coach for drug-free strength and
physique competitors at all levels as a part of team 3D Muscle Journey. Eric regularly publishes
peer-reviewed articles in exercise science and nutrition journals on physique and strength
sport, in addition to writing for commercial fitness publications. He’s taught undergraduate-
and graduate-level nutrition and exercise science and speaks internationally at academic and
commercial conferences. He has a B.S. in fitness and wellness, an M.S. in exercise science,
a second Master's in sports nutrition, and is a strength and conditioning Ph.D. candidate at
Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand. Eric earned pro status as a natural bodybuilder with the PNBA in
2011 and competes in the IPF at international-level events as an unequipped powerlifter.
Greg Nuckols
Greg Nuckols has over a decade of experience under the bar and a B.S. in exercise and sports
science. Greg is currently enrolled in the exercise science M.A. program at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He’s held three all-time world records in powerlifting in the
220lb and 242lb classes. He’s trained hundreds of athletes and regular folks, both online and
in-person. He’s written for many of the major magazines and websites in the fitness industry,
including Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Bodybuilding.com, T-Nation, and
Schwarzenegger.com. Furthermore, he’s had the opportunity to work with and learn from
numerous record holders, champion athletes, and collegiate and professional strength and conditioning coaches
through his previous job as Chief Content Director for Juggernaut Training Systems and current full-time work on
StrongerByScience.com.
Michael C. Zourdos
Michael (Mike) C. Zourdos, Ph.D, CSCS, is an associate professor in exercise science at
Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton, FL., USA, with a specialization in strength
and conditioning and skeletal muscle physiology. He earned his Ph.D. in exercise physiology
from The Florida State University (FSU) in 2012 under the guidance of Dr. Jeong-Su Kim. Prior
to attending FSU, Mike received his B.S. in exercise science from Marietta College and M.S.
in applied health physiology from Salisbury University. Mike served as the head powerlifting
coach of FSU’s 2011 and 2012 state championship teams. As an associate professor at FAU,
Mike is the director of the FAU Muscle Physiology Research Laboratory. He also competes as
a powerlifter in the USAPL, and among his best competition lifts is a 230kg (507lbs) raw squat
at a body weight of 76kg. Mike owns the company Training Revolution, LLC., where he has coached more than 100
lifters, including a USAPL open division national champion.

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Letter from the Reviewers
e are excited, proud, and grateful to be presenting the sixth issue of MASS.
W Believe it or not, we’re at the half year mark and you’ve been a big part of
that. As subscribers who have willingly given us feedback, you’ve helped
us continually mold MASS to make it better each month. First of all, thank you!
Secondly, we’ve got more things in store to keep making MASS better, so stay
tuned!
Taking our eyes off the future and looking at the present, we’ve got a great
roundup of content in this issue. Greg reviews the latest meta-analysis on strength
development in what seems like a veritable season of meta-analytics getting pub-
lished in the area of physique and strength enhancement. Eric touches on dietary
supplements this month, discussing the nuances of caffeine tolerance and also
addressing a recent publication on the effect of capsaicin on resistance training
performance. Mike answers the question “what is ‘CNS fatigue’?” as he reviews an
article that compares heavy sets of squats to heavy sets of deadlifts to see which
one requires more recovery. In addition, we review articles that explore how time
of day and exercise type (endurance or resistance) interact, the effects of splitting
training into multiple shorter sessions per day, and whether the time course of
recovery for work capacity and maximum force production are different. To round
out the content with video, Mike goes through part two of his three-part series
on program design for strength, with a discussion of progression strategies and
autoregulation. Finally, Eric starts a two-part series on nutritional peaking for
strength and physique athletes by covering the ins and outs of changing weight
classes for strength athletes, including some emerging research on water loading.
This is a jam-packed issue full of complementary content and emerging research
that covers many topics we previously had to discuss in the absence of empirical
data. We learned a lot and had a lot of fun making this issue, so we think you’ll
enjoy reading, listening, and watching it too.
Until next time,
The MASS Team
Michael, Eric, and Greg

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Table of Contents
6 B Y G R E G N U C K O L S
Does It Matter What Time of Day You Train, and Should You Do
Strength Training Before Cardio?
If you’re doing cardio and strength training in the same session, does it matter which
comes first? And does it matter what time of day you train if you want to make gains?
Two papers from a recent study address these questions.
20 B Y M I C H A E L C . Z O U R D O S
High-Intensity Deadlifts Do Not Cause Greater Central Fatigue Than
High-Intensity Squats
Does the deadlift really cause more “central fatigue” than the squat? And what does central
fatigue even mean? This article tackles the often-asked, but rarely answered, questions.
B Y E R I C H E L M S
33
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Not Just Training Music, Now a Training
Supplement
Capsaicin has been previously investigated for its weight management and fat
loss properties, but this is the first study to assess its efficacy for improving lifting
performance.
42 B Y G R E G N U C K O L S
Is It Better to Split Your Workout Into Multiple Daily Sessions?
Training multiple times per day may have practical benefits for some people, but it
may not actually lead to larger gains.

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50 B Y M I C H A E L C . Z O U R D O S
High-Volume Training Decreases Both Strength and Volume Capability,
But for Different Durations
The term “volume” gets thrown around a lot. But how long does it take to recover
from a single high-volume session? Consider that too much volume in one session
may prolong recovery, resulting in less total volume per week. This article examines
the time course of recovery and provides recommendations for volume allocation to
avoid excessive fatigue.
63 B Y E R I C H E L M S
Should I Stop Drinking Caffeinated Drinks So My Pre-Workout
Supplement Works Better?
Most of us drink caffeine in one form or another, and many of us also take a pre-
workout supplement with caffeine as a primary ingredient. Is the latter impeding the
effect of the former?
B Y G R E G N U C K O L S
74
How Much Does Training Volume Affect the Rate of Strength Gains?
We know that training volume strongly influences hypertrophy, but low volume training
is still quite popular when training for strength. Should powerlifters also jump on the
high volume bandwagon?
B Y M I C H A E L C . Z O U R D O S
84
VIDEO: Comprehensive Program Design, Part 2
In part 1 of this series, we covered the basics of integrating various types of
periodization. Part 2 takes a more in-depth approach to designing volume and
intensity blocks, progressing weekly training load, and what individual factors may
affect repetition performance. These principles set the stage to examine programs in
practice in part 3.
B Y E R I C H E L M S
86
VIDEO: Nutritional Peaking for Strength and Physique Athletes Part 1
Weight class-restricted strength athletes have a tough task getting on the platform
as strong as they can possibly be, while making weight for the class they will be the
most competitive. In part 1 of this two-part series, Eric talks about the ins and out of
changing weight classes in strength sport.

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Does It Matter What Time of Day You
Train, and Should You Do Strength
Training Before Cardio?
B Y G R E G N U C K O L S

ost of us simply need to train
M when our schedule allows Studies Reviewed:
us to, so what ends up being
Neuromuscular Adaptations to
practical may not be optimal. However,
Combined Strength and Endurance
if you do have more flexibility in your
Training: Order and Time-of-Day
schedule, it’s worth asking whether your
gains will be affected based upon the time
Effects Of Morning Versus Evening
of day you train. Similarly, if you need to
Combined Strength And Endurance
do both strength training and cardio, and
Training On Physical Performance,
your schedule doesn’t allow you to do
Muscle Hypertrophy, And Serum
them in different sessions or on different
Hormone Concentrations.
days, it’s worth considering whether your
strength gains will be affected depend-
Küüsmaa-Schildt et al. (2016, 2017)
ing on the order in which you do your
strength work and cardio.

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KEY POINTS
1. If you do cardio and strength training in the same session, doing your strength
training first may be better for strength gains. However, the order of your cardio and
strength training may not matter much for hypertrophy.
2. People may experience more hypertrophy when training in the evening instead of
training in the morning.
3. Doing cardio before strength training tended to be better for improving aerobic
fitness than doing strength training first.
A recent study, summarized over two evening tended to do slightly better than
papers, helps shed some light on these the groups training in the morning, and
questions. The participants were split the groups doing strength training first
into four training groups: two groups tended to do slightly better than the
that trained in the morning, and two groups doing aerobic training first. Final-
groups that trained in the evening. ly, the groups doing aerobic training first
Within each time window, one group experienced larger gains in measures of
performed strength training before car- aerobic performance (peak wattage and
dio, and the other group performed car- time to exhaustion during a ramped cy-
dio before strength training. The study cling test) than the groups doing strength
lasted 24 weeks, helping us see both the training first.
shorter term (12-week) and longer term
On the whole, this study supports the
(24-week) effects of these four configu-
idea that training order should reflect
rations.
training priorities: If you want to prior-
Ultimately, training in the evening was itize aerobic fitness, do cardio first, and
found to be superior for hypertrophy, if you want to prioritize strength, do
with most of the advantage showing up strength training first. Furthermore, this
over the last 12 weeks of the training pro- study suggests that if you want to maxi-
gram. Furthermore, performing strength mize hypertrophy, you may make larger
training before aerobic training produced gains by training in the evening instead
larger gains in isometric knee extension of the morning, with the difference be-
force, with most of the advantage occur- coming increasingly noticeable over time.
ring in the first 12 weeks. There were no However, you can build strength and gain
significant differences between groups muscle if you do cardio first (and vice
for increases in one-rep max (1RM) leg versa), and you can build muscle training
press, but the groups that trained in the in the morning, so if those configurations

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match your schedule or preferences bet- es morning performance more, and
ter, they’re still viable options. evening training would increase
evening performance more).
Purpose and Research
Subjects and Methods
Questions
Subjects
The researchers wanted to examine
72 subjects were recruited, and 52 com-
three questions:
pleted the study, attending at least 90%
1. Would training adaptations differ
of training sessions. They were mostly in
based on the time of day the train-
their late 20s to late 30s (32.3±5.6 years
ing took place? The introduction of
old) and were described as physically ac-
the first study seemed to suggest that
tive, though they hadn’t engaged in any
the authors expected larger strength
dedicated strength or aerobic training
gains for the groups training in the
for at least a year prior to the start of
evening than the groups training in
the study. The subjects’ chronotypes (13)
the morning.
were also assessed, and none had extreme
2. Would adaptations differ based on
morning or evening chronotypes; none
whether a combined cardio-and-
worked night shifts or took medication
strength training session was initi-
that could affect their circadian rhythms.
ated with cardio or strength train-
They were split into four groups.
ing? The authors hypothesized that
Group 1, performing aerobic training
performing aerobic training be-
before strength training in the morning
fore strength training would limit
(ASm, n=9), trained between 6:30 and
strength gains, but that the ordering
10:00 a.m.
of strength and endurance training
Group 2 (SAm, n=9) trained in the
wouldn’t affect gains in aerobic per-
morning, performing strength training
formance.
before aerobic training.
3. Would changes in performance be
Group 3 (ASe, n=11-12) trained in
influenced by the time of day of the
the evening (between 4:30 and 8:00
testing (i.e. would morning train-
p.m.), performing aerobic training before
ing cause large increases in morning
strength training. Note: This group was
performance than evening training
listed as having 11 subjects in one study,
would)? The authors hypothesized
and 12 in the other. The discrepancy is
that increases in performance would
likely due to one subject not completing
show time-of-day dependency (i.e.
one of the tests required to be included in
morning training would increas-

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Table 1 Summary of the strength training program for lower extremities
Week 1-4 Week 5-8 Week 9-12 Week 13-14 Week 15-20 Week 21-24
Training Type Circuit Hypertrophic Maximal Circuit Hypertrophic Maximal
Intensity (% of 1RM) 40-70 70-85 75-95 50-75 75-85 80-95
Sets 2-3 3-4 3-5 3-4 3-4 3-5
Repetitions 10-20 10-15 3-8 10-15 10-15 3-8
Rest (min) no 1.5-2 2-3 no 1.5-2 2-3
1RM, 1-repetition maximum
the analysis for one of the studies. weeks of each block consisted of heavy
strength work, utilizing 75-95% 1RM
Group 4 (SAe; n=12) trained in the
loads for sets of 3-8 reps. Full details of
evening, performing strength training
the strength training setup can be seen
before aerobic training.
in Table 1. The exercises relevant to this
Training
study were leg press, knee extension, and
Training lasted for 24 weeks, making leg curls (as all strength and hypertro-
this quite a long study. For the first 12 phy measures were exclusive to the lower
weeks, the participants trained twice per body). However, the subjects also did bi-
week. They trained five times per two ceps curls, triceps pushdowns, pulldowns,
weeks (i.e. frequency increased by 25%) seated military press, DB flyes, and trunk
in the second 12 weeks of the study. flexion and extension exercises.
Strength Training Aerobic Training
Strength training followed a linear pe- Aerobic training consisted of both
riodized setup, using two 12-week blocks. steady-state cardio and interval training.
The first four weeks of each block used The steady-state cardio involved cycling
circuit training focused on strength en- at 65-80% of heart rate reserve for 30-50
durance, utilizing 40-70% 1RM loads for minutes. The interval training involved
sets of 10-20 reps. The next four weeks four rounds of cycling at 85-100% of
of each block consisted of typical hyper- heart rate reserve for four minutes, in-
trophy training, utilizing 70-85% 1RM terspersed with four minutes of lower
loads for sets of 10-15 reps. The final four intensity cycling at 70% of heart rate re-

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Figure 1 Study design and measurements
Study Measurements Procedure Measurements taken pre-training, mid-training, and post-training
36h 36h 36h 36h 36h
Venous blood Strength Strength Incremental Incremental Ultrasound
samples measurement measurement cycling test cycling test
(drawn during one day)
1 RM — Maximal Knee 1 RM — Maximal Knee T T CSA of Vastus
exh exh
7:30h ± 30 min Extension Force Extension Force Lateralis
Peak Wattage Peak Wattage
9:30h ± 30 min Neuromuscular Neuromuscular
(in the morning or (in the morning or
16:30h ± 30 min Testing Testing evening) evening)
Maximal EMG, %VA Maximal EMG, %VA
18:30h ± 30 min
(in the morning or (in the morning or
evening) evening)
Study Timeline
Combined Training
Combined Training Weeks 13-24
Weeks 1-12
Pre-Training Mid-Training Post-Training
Measurements Measurements Measurements
1RM, 1-repetition maximum in the dynamic leg press; CSA, cross sectional area; T , time to exhaustion during the incremental cycling
exh
test; %VA, knee extension force during a maximal voluntary contraction as a perfectage of force during an evoked contraction
serve (14). For the first 12 weeks of train- the study, after 12 weeks of training, and
ing, the subjects performed one session after 24 weeks of training. All perfor-
of steady-state cardio, and one session of mance tests were completed in both the
interval cardio per week. For the second morning and the evening on different
12 weeks, when training frequency was days.
increased, additional circuit training ses-
The flow of the testing can be seen in
sions were added, so that every 2-week
Figure 1.
period included two steady-state sessions
Hormone levels and diurnal fluctuations
and three interval sessions.
Testosterone and cortisol concentra-
Testing
tions were assessed from venous blood
A familiarization session preceded the
draws that took place at four time points
initial round of testing to get the par-
throughout the day.
ticipants comfortable with the proto-
Hypertrophy
cols. Since all of these results were pub-
Vastus lateralis cross-sectional area was
lished over two studies, the order of the
estimated using ultrasound scans of the
tests isn’t entirely clear, but it’s likely the
quads at 50% of femur length.
strength and neuromuscular testing was
done together and all endurance testing Strength and neuromuscular perfor-
was done together on different days. All mance
tests were completed before the start of

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