SuppVersity - Nutrition and Exercise Science for Everyone

If you have a competition in the AM and usually train in the PM it may make sense to change your training schedule in the weeks leading up to the event. Alright, in previous SuppVersity training I've already discussed that it's pointless to try and train at maximal volumes and intensities on 365 days a year and 90+ years a life. In addition it's often simply mandatory that you take some time completely off the gym. That may be hard for some, but we know from previous studies that this does not mean that you will have to start anew when you're back on the grind... well, at least if this "being back on the grind" doesn't happen after months of doing nothing. In a very recent study, scientists from the  Sfax University , the Hellenic Army Academy, and other institutes and universities tried to determine, once again, how long it will take until the performance decrements become so relevant that they've eaten up all your gains (Chtourou. 2015). You...

"That's not 90°, yet. Do deeper!" I guess you will be remembering last week's post on the superior growth effects of full vs. partial squats, hah? Now, the results of the Bloomquist study certainly raise the question, whether the same or similar effects must be observe with different exercises or even different body parts, as well. After all, it would be bro-science at its best to generalize the result "full squat = full quad development" to "partial ROM  = partial strength and hypertrophy response" without the least hint of evidence that this hypothesis is more than just the "proposition or principle put forth or stated (without any reference to its correspondence with fact) merely as a basis for reasoning or argument" ("hypothesis, n.". OED) the word "hypothesis" implies - right? The good news is that it appears as someone has heard my lamentations about the scarcity of respective research, or - what's i...

This rodent obviously knows about the value of detraining as a means to restore the signaling protein response that gets blunted over weeks of continuous training (photo from livescience.com) Ah, some really good stuff in the news, or rather in the journals as of late (for the news version of the articles, you obviously got to come here, to the SuppVersity ;-). So, let's skip any lengthy preludes and let's start with a simple question pertaining to the topic of the day: "When was the last time you took 2 weeks or more off?" What? Last year, when you were down with the flu? No, that does not count. I am talking about detraining , here; so only voluntary off-times will be reckoned as off time... I thought so, you haven't taken off in years, right? Well, what if I told you that this may be the reason your gains have not taken off either? Interested? Yeah, that's what I thought. Chronic resistance training reduces its own anabolic effect, detraining resto...

"Is everyone at home taking some time off to recover + prime future muscle growth?" Human beings are creatures of habit. This is particularly true, when it comes to those things and procedures we either like or enjoy or have found to be highly conducive to our goals, in the past. Just like some people simply won't drop their beloved Twinkies and Ding Dongs , although they know that these sugar bombs are bad for them, and others tend to stick to whatever dietary regimen has allowed them to lose 20lbs of body weight in the past, despite the fact that this "trick" has long ceased working for them, many "recreationally active" individuals (aka gymrats) are totally reluctant to any form of carefully planned deviation of their training regimen. Six weeks on, three weeks off - for better or for worse!? If anything, switching gears from a more hypertrophy to a more strength training oriented program, or vice versa, is probably the one modification most...

Image 1: This dog obviously knows how beneficial it is to take 3 weeks off and detrain. If we go by his physique, he did probably not realize that without (pre-)training and re training the distinct line between detraining and laziness becomes as blurred - as blurred, by the way, as many it is for training junkies like me ;-) I plead guilty! Guilty of not taking enough time off - against better judgment. In that, it is not the idea that I would "lose muscle" that urges me to the gym, it is not that I would be afraid to get fat and I could probably even stifle my desire to lift heavy objects, if it was not for the little man in my ear who keeps telling me: "Well, you won't get fat and you won't lose muscle, but think about it: You are fit, young and strong! Why waste your time idling around? Go for it hit the weights and let the veins pop" ... and alas, his words are too convincing to put my gymbag back into the locker and write one of the 237 blogpos...