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Does stretching make you weaker? New meta-analysis 
A new meta-analysis of 14 studies found that the addition of stretching to weight training programs reduced strength development.
Technically, the effect was not statistically significant in the main analysis but became significant when including all literature regardless of quality. The negative effect of stretching also became significantly greater with time.
Is sumo cheating? We did a study to find out
Is it cheating to use a wide sumo stance for the deadlift? Officially, the sumo stance is accepted, but unofficially, many people claim that sumo is cheating. The idea is that it's easier to lift a given weight with a sumo stance than with a conventional stance.
Many arguments have been put forth about this question, usually citing powerlifting records or biomechanics. However, to my knowledge, our study is the first to test sumo and conventional deadlift 1RM strength within the same subjects.
What are the biggest and smallest muscles in the body?
Most people’s idea of which muscles are small and which are large is based on their outward appearance. This is like trying to determine how many square feet an apartment has by only looking at it from the street.
My research team has compiled the data from all studies we could find that measured or estimated muscle volume in various muscles of the human body. These data are in untrained individuals to exclude confounding the measures by training experience.
New study says:
red meat not unhealthy &
high protein diet not uniquely satiating
red meat not unhealthy &
high protein diet not uniquely satiating
A new 3-month study with over a 100 participants compared eating 25 vs. 125 g of unprocessed beef daily. The researchers reported 2 interesting findings.
First, "changes in cardiometabolic risk factors were not different between groups", indicating the extra beef has no measurable adverse health effects.
Intermittent fasting (IF) diets are worse for your blood sugar and blood pressure, new meta-analysis finds.
In yesterday's post I discussed a large-scale study showing that IF diets are no better for fat loss than other diets, given the same macronutrient intakes. Many people are aware of this now, but many people still practice IF diets for their proposed health benefits.
A new meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials finds that intermittent energy restriction diets are actually not healthier than diets with constant energy restriction.
Many people are under the impression that keto diets are better for fat loss but worse for muscle growth than higher-carb diets.
Last week I posted a review on the ketogenic diet for concurrent athletes that concluded keto diets are actually equally effective for both fat loss and muscle growth.
Now a new meta-analysis specifically on strength trainees, both male and female, concluded that keto diets are indeed equally effective to gain muscle.
How close to failure should you train?
A new meta-analysis of the scientific literature sought to answer this question by looking at velocity stops.
A new meta-analysis of the scientific literature sought to answer this question by looking at velocity stops.
During a set, your velocity gradually decreases until it reaches 0 in the biomechanical sticking point when you reach momentary muscle failure. The level of velocity loss can thus serve as an objective measure of how close to failure you are.
However, one problem with the use of velocity-based training is that the relationship between proximity to failure and velocity loss is highly individual and context-dependent. It differs per exercise, training intensity and individual.
A new systematic review of the literature investigated how fast you should perform your reps. Their conclusions were:
A new systematic review of the literature investigated how fast you should perform your reps. Their conclusions were:
For strength development: 1 second concentric (upward phase typically), 2-4 second eccentric (lowering phase typically), no pauses.
New meta-analysis says 1.5 g/kg protein is enough to maximize strength development
One of my first articles was about the myth of 1 gram protein per pound of bodyweight. I argued 0.82 g/lb was more than enough to optimize our gains based on the research, in contrast to virtually every other source in fitness at the time.
This article stood the test of time extremely well. In 2017, I participated in a meta-analysis of the literature that found 1.6 g/kg/d was the break-off point of further benefits in gains.
After a single with 90% of 1RM, you can perform more reps across 4 sets of squats at 70% of 1RM.
That's what a new study by De Freitas et al. found. This phenomenon is called post-activation potentiation and it's one of my favorite advanced training techniques.
I use it in particular for these 2 groups of clients:
1) Powerlifters, obviously. If you're going to do heavy singles anyway, PAP(E) is a nice way to get some free extra volume for your hypertrophy work. It also helps you be explosive during the lighter sets.
1) Powerlifters, obviously. If you're going to do heavy singles anyway, PAP(E) is a nice way to get some free extra volume for your hypertrophy work. It also helps you be explosive during the lighter sets.
The researchers had 2 groups of women and 2 groups of men train to either a 20% velocity loss per set or a 40% velocity loss per set. In other words, one group trained closer to failure than the other by performing more reps per set.
Overall, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups, but the magnitudes of improvement differed between groups. Women showed greater effect size gains from training closer to failure than men for 1RM strength and power.
I agree with the overall conclusion of the researchers, although we need a lot more research on strength training women.
Raw eggs are often listed as a poor protein source due to their poor digestibility. We digest barely half of the protein in them.
Yet somehow they stimulate just as much muscle growth as boiled eggs, according to this new study.
Yet somehow they stimulate just as much muscle growth as boiled eggs, according to this new study.
Anabolic signaling (mTOR) and myofibrillar muscle protein synthesis (MPS) over the 5-hour post-workout recovery period were similar after eating 30 g of protein from either raw or boiled eggs.
This finding surprised me, as well as the authors. It's plausible that raw eggs are indeed an inferior protein source, but the study was underpowered to detect the difference or that MPS hit a ceiling effect.
Are the #powerlifts powerlifts overrated for #bodybuilders? Which parts of the shoulder does overhead pressing actually work?
In this episode of ReviveStronger, Steve Hall and I discuss underrated vs. overrated #exercises.
In this episode of ReviveStronger, Steve Hall and I discuss underrated vs. overrated #exercises.
Timestamps
• 00:00 Intro
• 09:00 How to deal with severe injury and general injury advise
• 15:36 Exercise selection: Overrated vs. Underrated exercises
• 20:21 Overhead pressing any good?
• 23:40 Deadlifts for hypertrophy
• 00:00 Intro
• 09:00 How to deal with severe injury and general injury advise
• 15:36 Exercise selection: Overrated vs. Underrated exercises
• 20:21 Overhead pressing any good?
• 23:40 Deadlifts for hypertrophy
