MASS - Volume 4 - Issue 4 - Monthly Applications in Strength Sport

119 Pages·2020·7.771 MB·English

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

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 4 APRIL 2020
M A S S
MONTHLY APPLICATIONS IN
STRENGTH SPORT
ERIC HELMS | GREG NUCKOLS | MICHAEL ZOURDOS | ERIC TREXLER
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, a Ph.D. in strength and
conditioning, and is a research fellow for the Sports Performance Research Institute New Zealand at
Auckland University of Technology. 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 earned his M.A. in exercise and sport science from 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, has specializations 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. 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.
Eric Trexler
Eric Trexler is a pro natural bodybuilder and a sports nutrition researcher. Eric has a PhD in Human
Movement Science from UNC Chapel Hill, and has published dozens of peer-reviewed research
papers on various exercise and nutrition strategies for getting bigger, stronger, and leaner. In addition,
Eric has several years of University-level teaching experience, and has been involved in coaching since
2009. Eric is the Director of Education at Stronger By Science.
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Table of Contents
8 B Y G R E G N U C K O L S
Matching Resistance Curves and Strength Curves: Great in Theory,
but Iffy in Practice
If the resistance curve of an exercise matches the strength curve of the target muscle, that should lead
to larger gains, right? As a recent study shows, it’s not quite that simple.
19 B Y M I C H A E L C . Z O U R D O S
You Want to Get Better at Something? Do it First.
Most lifters tend to perform multi-joint exercises before single-joint exercises in a training session.
Does this actually matter for hypertrophy and strength adaptations? This article covers a new meta-
analysis that analyzes every angle of this discussion.
31 B Y E R I C H E L M S
Does Breakfast Burn More Calories than Dinner?
The meal timing winds blow seasonally in the fitness industry. “Eat six meals a day, breakfast is the
most important meal, and don’t eat after 6pm” became “it doesn’t matter how many meals you eat,
skip breakfast, and eat your largest meal before bed to help you sleep.” Let’s step out of the wind
tunnel for a moment and examine the data.
49 B Y E R I C T R E X L E R
Asparagus Racemosus Supplementation: Big Effects on Strength, but
a Small Degree of Confidence
A new study found that asparagus racemosus supplementation increased bench press 1RM and
strength endurance to a pretty impressive degree. However, there are some really important details
to consider before we rush to buy a lifetime supply. Read on to find out if asparagus racemosus
supplementation is worth considering.
62 B Y G R E G N U C K O L S
The Tortoise and the Hare: People With More Fast Twitch Fibers Fatigue
Faster and Recover Slower
Fast twitch muscle fibers can contract more powerfully and grow more following resistance training,
but they have their drawbacks. Namely, they fatigue faster and to a greater extent than slow twitch
fibers, and people with a larger proportion of fast twitch fibers may take longer to recover from
training.
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74 B Y M I C H A E L C . Z O U R D O S
The Battle of Autoregulation: Velocity 1, RPE 0
Two main methods of autoregulation exist: velocity and RPE. Each has previously compared
favorably to percentage-based training as a load prescription method. How do they stack up
against each other? This article reviews the first ever study on the topic.
85 B Y E R I C T R E X L E R
Tart Cherries With Sweet Recovery Effects
Oxidative stress and inflammation play a role in promoting training adaptations, but too much can
impair your recovery. A recent study found that tart cherry juice expedited recovery from strenuous
exercise. So, do you need to choose between short-term recovery and long-term adaptations?
Read on to find out.
98 B Y G R E G N U C K O L S
Hyperventilation: More Effective Than Bicarbonate, With Less Diarrhea
Hyperventilating before busting out a set of bench press or leg press may sound weird, but a recent
study found that doing so can have pretty large effects on acute recovery and strength endurance.
It also makes sense physiologically.
112 B Y M I C H A E L C . Z O U R D O S
VIDEO: Implementing Light/Power Training Days
The best way to recover or to maximize performance the next day is to rest, right? Well, maybe not.
Some research suggests that performing light training days or power-focused sessions might help
you recover faster and lead to better performance the next day as opposed to just resting. This video
provides specific examples of how to implement those practices.
114 B Y E R I C H E L M S
VIDEO: Overtraining in Resistance Exercise
We’ve discussed how intro weeks provide graded exposure to training so you can complete what’s
programmed, how to implement deloads when mesocycle stress gets high, and how to functionally
overreach. However, we haven’t yet defined and discussed over training. In this video, we do just
that.
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A Message
Regarding COVID-19
ll over the world, the COVID-19 pandemic is at the top of everyone’s mind, and right-
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fully so. First and foremost, the MASS Team hopes that you and your loved ones are
safe, healthy, and doing well. While the effects of this pandemic are wide-ranging
and impacting numerous aspects of daily life, one notable impact is that countless people all
over the world have temporarily lost gym access. While this presents a new challenge for
our training goals, the challenge is not insurmountable. In the weeks to come, you can still
make plenty of progress toward your strength and physique goals by utilizing home-based
workouts that require little to no equipment.
Fortunately, many articles have emerged, including one on Stronger By Science, detailing
exercises and training strategies that can be implemented at home, without a gym. One infre-
quently discussed aspect of bodyweight training is how to incorporate some basic progres-
sion schemes when performing bodyweight training. Thus, here are a few basic progression
examples, which can be applied to many exercises in addition to the examples given.
1. Program 100 total pushups. Do as many push-ups as you can consecutively and take
two minutes rest every time you need to stop. Every time you do push-ups, see if you can
add a couple reps per set, and eventually it will take you fewer sets to reach 100 push-ups.
Then, once it takes you fewer sets to complete 100 push-ups, go ahead and bump the total
number up to 150. This could be done with any push-ups variation, bodyweight dips (using
chairs or counters), or other bodyweight movements (i.e. lunges).
2. Simply adding sets is another way to go. If you completed 5 sets of 10 on dips, then
next time you could try 6 sets. Once you reach, say 8 sets, you could then go back to 5 sets,
but do 12 reps per set.
3. Maybe you have filled some canvas bags with items to do lateral raises or a backpack
with books for squats. In this case you have resistance, so you can simply add weight, reps,
or sets like you would normally do when training.
4. Progressing to a more challenging exercise is a great way to increase intensity when
doing bodyweight exercises. For example, handstand push-ups against a wall are great for
training the same muscles involved in an overhead press, but many people can’t do hand-
stand push-ups. So, you could start with a pike press from the floor, then progress to a pike
press with your hands and feet elevated (in order to increase range of motion), then prog-
ress further by elevating your feet even more. Once you can do sets of 10-15 pike presses
with your feet elevated a couple of feet above your hands, you should be able to attempt a
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handstand push-up. When you can only do a couple of handstand push-ups, you can put a
stack of books under your head to limit the range of motion. Gradually decrease the height
of the stack until you can do strict handstand push-ups. From there, you can increase the
challenge even further by gradually elevating your hands. In this progression, you started
with an exercise that’s quite easy (pike press from the floor) and progressed to an exercise
that’s quite hard (handstand push-ups with hands elevated), increasing intensity every step
of the way, without ever adding external resistance.
In addition to progression schemes, we wanted to add that you can be inventive in lifting
by searching for items around your home. Paint cans always make for good curls or lateral
raises. Filling a canvas bag with items could serve a similar purpose to paint cans, and lots
of items could be constructed to do goblet squats. If you don’t have any door frames strong
enough to hang onto (and if you do, just to be sure, wedge the bottom to increase the sta-
bility and structural integrity) and you have a yard, perhaps there’s a tree branch or even a
spot on your kid’s playground at the right height for pull-ups and chin-ups.
As fears surrounding COVID-19 susceptibility have increased in recent weeks, the fit-
ness and wellness industries have become inundated with unreliable information about im-
mune function. As a result, we wanted to set the record straight. It’s critically important to
realize that, according to health officials that are far more knowledgeable about infectious
disease than the MASS reviewers, the most important things you can do to reduce your risk
of contracting COVID-19 are social distancing, frequent hand-washing, and good overall
hygiene.
When it comes to immune function, there is little we can do to boost function; rather, we
should be focusing on avoiding things that impair immune function. Generally speaking,
immune function can be impaired to some degree by lack of sleep, excessive stress, key
micronutrient deficiencies, excessively large energy deficits (especially for people that are
already pretty lean), and excessive training stressors, such as an overly aggressive over-
reaching phase or a single bout of extremely unaccustomed exercise (like running a mar-
athon with insufficient training). No powders or potions, no expensive eBooks with some
special secret to keep you safe, just basic stuff: eat well, eat enough, exercise, recover from
exercise, get enough sleep, and try to manage stress as best you can. Most importantly, fol-
low the guidance provided by global and national health authorities, which currently seems
to focus on social distancing, hand-washing, and hygiene.
Lastly, no matter what you do, it may still be a tough time. We are all cooped up in our
homes as well. Here are a few things we have been doing to help stay sane during this time.
We would love to hear from you as well in the Facebook group, and perhaps we can all
help each other.
Greg: I’ve been cooking a lot and trying to learn and master new cooking techniques. I
also don’t generally play many video games, but I’ve been playing a fair amount of Mario
Maker 2 on the Nintendo Switch. There are literally millions of user-created levels, so if
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you enjoy 2-D platforming games, it’s a fun way to kill an enormous amount of time.
Eric Trexler: My answer is definitely the least exciting of them all. I had some research
projects to catch up on, which kept me busy for a while. Once I worked my way down
the to-do list, I started catching up on some of the television shows I had been meaning to
watch for ages. So, if you’re one of the people glued to the couch watching Netflix, I’m
right there with you. Outside of that, I’ve been sure to take a long walk each day, which
has given me the opportunity to explore a number of different trails and walking paths in
my area.
Eric Helms: In life, I always look for silver linings and try to find ways to turn stumbling
blocks into stepping stones. In New Zealand, we’re on quarantine, so I’ve used my addi-
tional free time to catch up on reading, take up a regular meditation practice (which has
been shown to be beneficial for health and wellness here), cook our meals, and also to find
creative ways to train at home (see my Instagram post here). Hopefully this can be a time
of reflection, self-betterment, and connection with loved ones, and despite the quarantine,
you will be able to focus on the things that can enhance your life and the life of those you
care about.
Mike: Like many, we have decided not to leave the house unless absolutely necessary. I
am fortunate to have a home gym, so in addition to keeping up with workouts, my family
and I have been cooking food from scratch, which takes time and is fun. We always have a
lot of flour, bread flour, and eggs on hand since we are always preparing for hurricanes in
Florida (southern USA). We make bread and pasta from scratch every few days in addition
to trying out many different recipes. We also have a 4-year-old, so we have a set “school”
schedule every day, which takes up a large chunk of the day. The set schedule is mixed with
a lot of fun activities in addition to just learning, so it definitely keeps us in a positive mood
and gives us something to look forward to in our house each day, besides we just enjoy
spending time as a family. Lastly, if you have really wanted to read a certain book or study
something new, this may be the perfect time to do it.
The MASS Team wishes you good luck, good health, and good training in the weeks to
come.
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Study Reviewed: Effect of a Strength or Hypertrophy Training Protocol, Each
Performed Using Two Different Modes of Resistance, on Biomechanical, Biochemical
and Anthropometric Parameters. Staniszewski et al. (2020)
Matching Resistance Curves
and Strength Curves: Great in
Theory, but Iffy in Practice
B Y G R E G N U C K O L S

If the resistance curve of an exercise matches the strength curve of the
target muscle, that should lead to larger gains, right? As a recent study
shows, it’s not quite that simple.
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KEY POINTS
1. For eight weeks, subjects either did hypertrophy-type or strength-type training for
their biceps, with machines designed to either provide resistance that matches
the strength curve of the biceps, or a constant level of resistance throughout the
movement.
2. Hypertrophy-type training (four sets to failure with a 10RM load) unsurprisingly led
to larger increases in arm circumference than strength-type training (six maximal
singles).
3. Gains in 1RM strength were similar in all four groups. However, the hypertrophy
group that trained on the machine designed to match the biceps’ strength curve
experienced the largest increase in isokinetic peak torque.
4. Overall, matching the resistance curve of the exercise to the strength curve of
the biceps may have provided slightly better results, but findings are far from
conclusive.
our muscles don’t produce the the typical strength curve of the biceps.
Y
same amount of force through All four groups had similar gains in
their entire range of motion. 1RM strength, and the two hypertrophy
They’re weaker at some muscle lengths groups experienced larger increases in
and joint positions, and stronger at oth- arm circumference than the two strength
ers. In theory, matching the resistance groups, but overall, the resistance curve
curve of an exercise to the strength of the machine didn’t seem to majorly
curve of the target muscle(s) should lead influence results. Read on to learn when
to larger strength gains and more muscle it’s likely important to match strength
growth, right? and resistance curves, and when it
doesn’t matter as much.
The present study tested that idea (1).
Four groups of people trained biceps
curls with two different machines on
Purpose and Hypotheses
two different programs. Two groups did
hypertrophy-style training. Two groups
Purpose
did strength-style training. One hyper-
trophy and one strength group trained The purpose of this study was to in-
on a machine where the resistance was vestigate the effects of training styles
the same throughout the entire range of and resistance curves on biceps strength
motion. The other two groups trained and hypertrophy following eight weeks
on a machine where the resistance of training.
curve of the machine was matched to
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Figure 1 Participant on the training machine
A B
C
A = participant on the training machine; B = shape of the specially designed cam; C = shape of the disc plate
The active angle of the cam and disc (grey area) and rotation direction are indicated
Hypotheses participated in this study. The authors
note they “had not engaged in regular
The authors hypothesized that training
sports training for at least 6 months be-
with a resistance curve that more close-
fore the study commenced,” but the au-
ly matched the biceps’ strength curve
thors’ English is a bit rough in places,
would lead to more muscle growth and
so I assume “sports training” extends to
larger strength gains.
resistance training as well.
Subjects and Methods Experimental Design
Subjects were split into five groups
Subjects consisting of 15 subjects apiece. Two
groups used a hypertrophy program,
75 presumably untrained young men
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