For this week’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering a question that came in response to my previous post on teens and creatine usage. Should women take creatine? Are there any differences in creatine metabolism between men and women? Does creatine work the same in women? And, the age-old question, will creatine make women bulky?
Let’s dig in.
Hi Mark,
I’m wondering if creatine is as helpful for women as it is for men. You don’t really hear much about it out there regarding women. What do you think?
Ultimately, we are all humans. We all produce the same hormones, process the same three macronutrients, utilize the same micronutrients, and require the same nourishment regardless of whether we’re men or women.
However, there are measurable, objective differences between the average man and the average woman. We know, for instance, that even individual cells can be “male” or “female.” A kidney cell from a female looks and functions differently than a kidney cell from a male. The kidney still performs the same role in the body regardless of sex, but there are differences in the margins. Subtle nuances that have an effect.
So it’s natural to wonder whether creatine has the same beneficial effect in women that it does in men. Well, does it?
Creatine for Women
To answer your question: yes, creatine is helpful for women. Just like it does in men’s muscles, creatine helps provide energy for women’s muscles in the form of ATP, or adenosine triphosphate. For short, intense bursts of speed or strength—if you’re going to be lifting cars off children, sprinting to avoid a giant boulder rolling your way, or eking out a few extra reps at the end of the set, for example—it behooves you to be able to generate more ATP quickly. Creatine facilitates that.1
What Does Creatine Do for Women?
Studies have shown that creatine has many of the same effects in women as in men:2
It improves muscular endurance.
It improves muscular power.
It improves strength.
It can increase muscle hypertrophy.
It can improve both aerobic and anaerobic performance.
It increases performance in repeated sprinting (though not so much single sprints).
Combined with resistance training, it may improve bone health.
Plus, creatine doesn’t just enhance physical performance. Creatine is also found in the brain, where it maintains cognitive function by recycling ATP to maintain energy stores:
Creatine can improve mood, memory, and cognitive function, and women may get an especially beneficial boost to brain energy from creatine.
Creatine reduces the effects of sleep deprivation, a condition from which women are more likely to suffer.3
Are There Any Sex Differences in Creatine Production, Storage, or Metabolism?
There are differences in how men and women process and store creatine.
Women tend to have 70 to 80 percent lower levels of endogenous creatine storage than men. Muscle tissue represents the largest storage depot for creatine, and women usually have less muscle tissue.
Women tend to get less creatine from their diet, but that’s mostly due to their lower meat intakes. This doesn’t apply to every woman, of course. It depends on the amount of red meat (and to a lesser extent fish) you eat.
Women have higher resting concentrations of intramuscular creatine than men. Their muscles are smaller, but more heavily laden with creatine.
Since women have less room to store creatine, and the storage depots they do have are “fuller,” some researchers have hypothesized that women may not respond as strongly to creatine supplementation. The evidence doesn’t really support this, though. Creatine still works in women, as I discussed in the previous section.
Do Menopause, Menstrual Cycles, or Pregnancy Change Creatine Metabolism or Dosing?
Menopause, menstruation, and pregnancy are three uniquely female physiological processes or states. How does creatine affect them?
Creatine in Pregnancy
Pregnancy reduces creatine stores, not because the body is triggering a self-defense mechanism that sheds “dangerous” creatine or anything, but because it’s used in growth and development of the fetus. You need extra creatine during pregnancy. A woman can get it through dietary sources, like red meat or lean white fish, or she can take a little extra through supplementation.
Supplementation hasn’t been studied in pregnant human women, but in animal models, creatine supplementation protects the fetus from certain types of brain damage. Human studies show that low creatine levels during pregnancy predispose babies to low birth weights, so I’d imagine it’s quite safe (and possibly important).4 As always, talk to your doctor before adding any supplements during pregnancy.
Creatine and the Menstrual Cycle
During the follicular phase, creatine is at its lowest along with estrogen. This is also when most premenopausal women report sleeping poorly. Since creatine is known to improve one’s mental resilience to sleep deprivation, taking extra creatine is probably a good idea for premenopausal women—and not just leading up to and during the follicular phase.
Post-menopause
Combined with resistance training, creatine supplementation is a promising strategy for counteracting some of the negative effects menopause can have on muscle tissue, strength, physical performance, and muscle atrophy.
Will Creatine Make Women “Bulky”?
Probably not an issue. Whereas creatine has consistently been shown to increase the muscle hypertrophy response to resistance training in men, the same thing doesn’t really happen in women who take creatine. They don’t gain the muscle water weight that men do, and they don’t get the boost in muscle size—at least not any more than they’d gain from just lifting weights. One study in women found that creatine usage combined with resistance training increased fat-free mass without changing actual bodyweight.5
Women still derive a lot of performance benefits from creatine usage, seeing boosts to both strength and power without a big change in size.
How Much Creatine Should Women Take?
Dosing guidelines are the same as men’s: 5 grams a day.
If you want to speed creatine uptake in the muscles, you can do a “loading phase” of 20 grams a day (split up into 4 doses) for a week before dropping down to 5 grams a day.
Make sure to drink extra water, as creatine requires water for storage in the muscle, albeit not as much in women.
For all the women out there, have you ever tried creatine? Would you?
Thanks for reading, everyone, and be sure to throw in any questions you might have down below.
Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss
The classic sit-up is one of the first exercises most people learn to perform. Sometimes on their own at home as an early attempt to get into better shape or in school during gym class where it was less painful than dodgeball and more fun than square dancing.
The sit-up remains a time-tested fitness evaluation and is an extremely simple and effective way to develop core strength. It’s also developed a debatable reputation for being “bad for your back”. Let’s learn how to perform it, safely and correctly for better abs, more strength, and less pain.
All you need to perform the sit-up is your body and a chunk of floor space. As simple as the exercise may appear, there are a few technique tips to make sure you’re getting results most efficiently.
Step 1 — Lie Down
Credit: Hananeko_Studio / Shutterstock
Begin lying on the floor facing up. Your feet should be flat on the ground with your knees bent. Move your feet slightly forward, away from your glutes, and set them hip-width apart. Having your feet too close to your body, or too close together, reduces leverage and makes it difficult to achieve a full range of motion.
Some lifters choose to have the feet held down in place, either by a partner or an immovable object. This should be avoided because it can decrease abdominal focus, recruit alternative muscles (like the hip flexors), and may encourage poor technique.
As opposed to the classic “hands clasped together behind your head” position, keep your fingertips on either side of your head gently touching your ears or temples. This prevents you from pulling on your head and straining your neck. The back of your head and shoulders should be touching the ground before the first rep begins.
Form Tip: To make the exercise less challenging, begin the set with your torso sitting up, not lying on the ground. This helps to work the “stretch-shortening cycle”, which improves a muscle’s strength immediately following a stretched position. (1) Be sure to lower yourself under control without “bouncing” your body off the floor.
Step 2 — Sit Up
Credit: Hananeko_Studio / Shutterstock
Keep your fingertips in contact with your ears and your feet in contact with the ground. Bring your torso towards your knees by contracting your abdominal muscles. Your head and neck should remain neutral, not pointed up or down, as you move. You should feel muscular tension throughout your entire upper body, particularly in your abs.
To maximally activate your ab muscles, your upper body should curl and “crunch” as you rise up, rather than keeping a straight line from your shoulders to your hips. In the top position, your upper body should be close to your knees and thighs.
Form Tip: If you feel lower back strain during a set, move your feet slightly farther from your body and slightly wider apart. Be sure to start the movement by flexing your torso and “crunching” your abs. Keeping your torso straight de-emphasizes ab muscle recruitment and shifts the muscular stress to the hip flexors, which can worsen back pain.
Step 3 — Lower to the Ground
Credit: UfaBizPhoto / Shutterstock
Begin the descent by reversing direction and “un-curling” your upper body while lowering yourself to the ground. Resist the urge to rebound immediately off the floor, which increases injury risk and decreases muscle involvement. Quickly reset before transitioning smoothly into the next repetition.
Form Tip: In the bottom position, take a deep breath into your belly, not your chest (also known as diaphragmatic breathing). Beginning a rep with this deep breath and steadily releasing it while sitting up can help to increase muscular stress and power output.
Sit-Up Mistakes to Avoid
Many lifters underestimate seemingly simple bodyweight exercises like the sit-up and, as a result, end up performing them incorrectly which lessens any potential results and reduces the overall effectiveness. Here are the most common training mistakes to avoid.
Pulling Your Head Forward
Your torso should be moving up and down during each rep. Your chin shouldn’t be. One big reason for avoiding the popular hands-behind-your-head position is that, deliberately or accidentally, it can encourage you to pull your head with your hands as if you were lifting your entire body with your skull as a handle.
Credit: CrispyPork / Shutterstock
Not only does this not actually help anything, but it can put significant strain on the small muscles of your cervical spine and overall neck. If you feel any increasing strain on your neck during a rep, you’re likely pulling with your hands instead of flexing your abdominals.
Avoid It: Don’t put your hands in a position to help in the first place. Keep your fingertips touching, or nearly touching, your ears so they’re not in a position to pull on anything. Alternatively, you could cross your arms in front of your chest or clasp your hands in front of your chin. Both options remove the urge and ability to pull your body up.
Using Momentum, Not Muscle
Many lifters consider the sit-up to be ideal for performing high-rep sets, which it can be. However, some fall into the trap of using any method necessary to complete extra repetitions. The “easiest” way is to begin using momentum, not muscular force, to get moving.
Credit: Flamingo Images / Shutterstock
By swinging the arms as if throwing an imaginary beach ball, kicking the legs, or incorporating hip movement by raising and lowering the glutes off the floor, it’s possible to “swing” the torso up to the finished position. This not only reduces muscle activation in the abs but also increases strain on the joints of the hips and lower back.
Avoid it: Very simply, don’t exchange technique for extra reps. Maintain a controlled crunch of the torso going upwards. Keep your glutes touching the floor throughout the entire set. Keep your fingers touching near your ears.
Benefits of the Sit-Up
For years, sit-ups were the quintessential “workout exercise.” Gotta get in shape? Start with sit-ups. Gotta get stronger? Do your sit-ups. Wanna lose weight? Sit-ups will burn that fat fight off.
Credit: Stephen McCluskey / Shutterstock
Some of these were on the right track, others were a bit misguided. Here’s what the exercise really offers.
Core Strength
The sit-up is an extremely effective exercise for building total core strength. The abdominal muscles are worked through a significant range of motion while the lower back, glutes, and even the hamstrings are recruited as stabilizing muscles.
Ab Muscle Development
Training the abs is, unsurprisingly, a really effective way to build abs that look great. While a variety of ab exercises like crunch variations and twists can also be effective, the standard sit-up remains among a popular and effective choice for activating the ab muscles.
Muscles Worked by the Sit-Up
The sit-up may be one of the most well-known ab exercises. Its straightforward performance, long history, and wide-spread popularity have helped to cement it as one of the few exercises many lifters and non-lifters are familiar with. Here’s a deeper look at the muscles involved.
Credit: rangizzz / Shutterstock
Rectus Abdominis
This is the main ab muscle running down the front of the torso which makes up the “six-pack” and it’s the primary muscle people are referring to when they talk about the abs.
It’s responsible for flexing the torso in a curling motion to bring your sternum (mid-chest) closer to your hips. This is why keeping your torso straight as you rise up decreases the abs’ ability to contract.
The rectus abdominis is sometimes referred to separately as the “upper abs” above the belly button near the lower chest and “lower abs” below the belly button near the belt-line. While it is one single muscle, research shows that two separate sections can be activated to varying degrees by certain exercises. (2)
Ab exercises with torso movement, like the sit-up, typically emphasize the upper abs while ab exercises with leg movement, like the hanging knee raise, emphasize the lower abs.
Hip Flexors
The hip flexors are a collection of several small muscles found near the top of each thigh connecting to the pelvis and lumbar spine (lower back). They serve to bring the upper leg closer to the chest, in a movement similar to bending at the waist.
The hip flexors are recruited during sit-ups, more so when the torso is kept straight or when the feet are weighted down and held in place during the movement. (3)
Because the hip flexors connect to the lumbar spine, they are heavily associated with contributing to, or relieving, back pain depending on the muscles’ strength, flexibility, and mobility. (4)
Who Should Do the Sit-Up
The sit-up remains a fundamental movement for building core strength and abdominal muscle. It can be incorporated into almost any type of training plan.
Training for Strength
Core strength and endurance have been shown to help improve strength and athletic performance. (5)(6) For this reason, sit-ups can play a key role in any training program designed to build total-body strength or power.
Training for Muscle
All muscles of the body can be stimulated for muscle growth, including the abdominals. The sit-ups are a simple and effective exercise for targeting the abs.
Some lifters mistakenly believe direct ab training may create a “blocky” or bulky-looking waistline, but this isn’t a valid concern because that appearance has more to do with excess body fat than muscle growth.
Similarly, some lifters avoid any direct ab exercise, believing that ab definition is simply the byproduct of a general fat loss plan combined with basic compound exercises. But getting good-looking abs requires some direct work, not just reduced calories, running, and squatting more.
Training for Performance
The sit-up is a popular fitness assessment with some law enforcement and military organizations, often tested for maximum reps in a set timeframe. For this reason, training the sit-up would be considered “sport-specific,” since the most direct way to improve performance is to practice the exercise itself.
How to Program the Sit-Up
The sit-up can be programmed in a number of different ways to accommodate the specific training goal. As with many bodyweight exercises, adding external load such as a weighted vest, weight plate, or dumbbell can increase resistance and allow more programming options.
Unweighted, Moderate to High Rep
Performing the sit-up with your own bodyweight for two to three sets of 10 to 20 reps with 30 seconds rest between sets can be a quick and effective addition to any training program. This approach could even be incorporated into a general warm-up, rather than a workout, for experienced lifters.
Light Weight, Moderate Rep
Add external resistance and perform three to four sets of six to 12 reps with one minute between sets. This would be an intense workout to build core strength. Exercise technique with and without weight should be identical. Adding weight should not compromise form.
For Time
As one part of a physical fitness test, typically in law enforcement or military organizations, sit-ups are required to be performed for maximum reps in one to two minutes. The key with this training approach is to maintain proper technique for the duration and not allow form to get sloppy in order to rush through low-quality reps.
Sit-Up Variations
Because the sit-up is a relatively straightforward exercise (literally and figuratively), simple adjustments to the basic movement can recruit or emphasize different muscles for a more diverse stimulus.
Twisting Sit-Up
Sometimes called knee-to-elbow sit-ups, incorporating a twisting motion recruits the oblique muscles running along either side of the rectus abdominis.
Rather than ending with your chest directly in front of your thighs and knees, end each repetition with your chest pointed toward one knee. Alternating sides on each rep is common, but reps may be performed all to one side followed by the same reps to the opposite side.
Janda Sit-Up
Created and popularized by physiotherapist Dr. Vladimir Janda, the Janda sit-up activates the hamstrings to deactivate the hip flexors. The result is a significantly increased abdominal contraction.
This works by a neurological and physical mechanism technically known as “reciprocal inhibition.” Essentially, it’s a phenomenon which prevents muscles on one side of the body from contracting if the muscles directly opposing it are already intensely contracting.
Straight-Leg Sit-Up
The straight-leg sit-up, like it sounds, is performed with your legs straight and heels on the ground instead of with your legs bent and feet flat on the ground.
This adjustment increases the overall range of motion and significantly increases recruitment of the hip flexors. The straight-leg sit-up is very similar to the Pilates exercise known as a “roll-up.”
Two-Arm Overhead Sit-Up
Keeping both arms raised perpendicular to the ground, rather than close to the body, alters leverage and significantly increases the difficulty. This variation is performed by keeping both arms straight and pointed towards the ceiling throughout the rep.
As an even more advanced variation, you can hold a light dumbbell in each hand or one weight plate with both hands. This will also increase shoulder recruitment, specifically in the smaller stabilizer muscles of the shoulder and upper back.
Sit-Up Alternatives
Some lifters are unable to perform sit-ups, typically because of pre-existing back problems or general difficulty achieving a full range of more. These are some of the most effective options.
Crunch
The crunch may have been the one exercise to bump the sit-up from its prominent spot as the go-to ab exercise. It’s been shown to be one of the most effective ways to specifically target the abs. (7)
The crunch does have a significantly shorter range of motion compared to the sit-up, but that’s one reason why it’s an effective ab exercise. The movement is deliberately restricted to avoid involvement of other muscle groups.
Hanging Knee Raise
Using either a pull-up bar or specialized knee raise station (sometimes called a captain’s chair or Roman chair), the hanging knee raise emphasizes the lower abs. Be sure to curl the entire hip region upwards, rather than only moving the legs, to recruit more ab muscles.
The hanging position also helps to “decompress” the spine by allowing a stretch and relieving tension. This exercise can be made more challenging by using straight legs or eventually progressing to the “toes to bar” position with a full range of motion.
V-Up
The v-up, sometimes called a jackknife sit-up, is a high-intensity total-body core exercise involving the ab muscles while incorporating the arms and legs together. By raising your legs while reaching upwards with your arms, significant stress is placed on the lower abs as well as the upper abs.
This is one of the most challenging bodyweight ab exercise alternatives because it requires high levels of strength, coordination, and mobility.
FAQs
Will doing sit-ups specifically burn belly fat?
Fat, regardless of where it’s stored on the body, is most efficiently burned with a specialized nutrition plan (including a calorie deficit) coordinated with an intense training program. Performing sit-ups and other ab exercises does not lead to any drastic “spot reduction” by significantly increasing abdominal fat loss. (8)
Several decades of research have investigated this persistent idea, as well as countless hopeful lifters over the same time period, and the results have been inconclusive at-best. Any results showing spot reduction to work have been measured in millimeters, not inches.
Time and effort are much better spent on a comprehensive fat loss plan rather than over-relying on spot reducing the abs.
Why does my back hurt during and after a set?
Lower back pain is the most common reason for avoiding sit-ups. This may be due to the hip flexors involvement during the exercise, which stresses the lumbar spine, or the pain may be due to the flexion (crunching) motion aggravating lower back strain. (9)
Modifying sit-up technique by widening the foot stance and shortening the range of motion may help. If pain persists, removing sit-ups from the workout program and incorporating an alternative may be the most effective solution.
References
Seiberl W, Hahn D, Power GA, Fletcher JR, Siebert T. Editorial: The Stretch-Shortening Cycle of Active Muscle and Muscle-Tendon Complex: What, Why and How It Increases Muscle Performance?. Front Physiol. 2021;12:693141. Published 2021 May 20. doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.693141
Duncan M. (2009). Muscle activity of the upper and lower rectus abdominis during exercises performed on and off a Swiss ball. Journal of bodywork and movement therapies, 13(4), 364–367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2008.11.008
Burden, A. M., & Redmond, C. G. (2013). Abdominal and hip flexor muscle activity during 2 minutes of sit-ups and curl-ups. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 27(8), 2119–2128. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e318278f0ac
Avrahami D, Potvin JR. The clinical and biomechanical effects of fascial-muscular lengthening therapy on tight hip flexor patients with and without low back pain. J Can Chiropr Assoc. 2014 Dec;58(4):444-55. PMID: 25550670; PMCID: PMC4262809.
Kocahan T, Akınoğlu B. Determination of the relationship between core endurance and isokinetic muscle strength of elite athletes. J Exerc Rehabil. 2018;14(3):413-418. Published 2018 Jun 30. doi:10.12965/jer.1836148.074
Shinkle, J., Nesser, T. W., Demchak, T. J., & McMannus, D. M. (2012). Effect of core strength on the measure of power in the extremities. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 26(2), 373–380. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e31822600e5
Escamilla RF, Lewis C, Pecson A, Imamura R, Andrews JR. Muscle Activation Among Supine, Prone, and Side Position Exercises With and Without a Swiss Ball. Sports Health. 2016;8(4):372-379. doi:10.1177/1941738116653931
Paoli A, Casolo A, Saoncella M, et al. Effect of an Endurance and Strength Mixed Circuit Training on Regional Fat Thickness: The Quest for the “Spot Reduction”. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(7):3845. Published 2021 Apr 6. doi:10.3390/ijerph18073845
Sutanto, D., Ho, R., Poon, E., Yang, Y., & Wong, S. (2022). Effects of Different Trunk Training Methods for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Meta-Analysis. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(5), 2863. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19052863
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Robert “The American Monster” Oberst has been a fixture in competitive strongman for nearly a decade. By late spring next year, the American athlete will hang up his lifting belt for good.
On April 16, 2022, Oberst shared his plans for the coming year on his YouTube channel. Amongst a plethora of updates, Oberst announced that he will retire from competitive strongman following the 2023 World’s Strongest Man (WSM).
Off Into the Sunset
Oberst hasn’t competed since he tore a tendon in his shoulder in August 2021. That injury knocked him out for the remainder of last year’s season. It is also why he won’t participate in the 2022 WSM this May. He admits losing this opportunity isn’t easy.
“It’ll be hard to sit this one out,” Oberst said in the video. “I will be back next year. I will be back competing in the 2023 World’s Strongest Man. Then, after that, I’ll be done.”
Oberst didn’t mince words in explaining why he wanted to walk away. It’s understandably challenging to give up an endeavor from such a sizable portion of his life. At some point, the physical risk outweighs the reward.
“It’s time for me to thank God that I haven’t beaten up and torn up more than I already have,” Oberst says.
Indeed, while Oberst’s recent shoulder injury is one of the more significant ailments of his career, it doesn’t mean it stands alone. The nature of professional strongman — in lifting variations of incredibly heavy weights, repeatedly — can be demanding on every aspect of the body. That sort of attrition can add up over time.
This’ll be my riding off into the sunset, guys.
While still strong and able-bodied, at the age of 37, Oberst might not want to subject himself to those rigors anymore. Instead, as he discusses, it’s time to look ahead to the next ambitious phase of life.
“I’m building a ranch I am super excited about,” Oberst says. “I’m basically gonna spend my time out there. We’re gonna have hunting, and training, and courses for kids.”
A Monster Career
Before he was a strongman, Oberst played Division II college football at his alma mater, Western Oregon University. Once he graduated in 2009, he tried his hand at the NFL but couldn’t gain traction with any team. Oberst then shifted to bouncer work at nightclubs in San Francisco. There, one of his friends told him about the merits of strongman competition.
The rest was history.
Oberst first burst onto the professional scene as a 27-year-old in September 2012. He’s been a regular around the central strongman sphere ever since. Here are some of the more notable results of Oberst’s career to date, according to Strongman Archives:
2012 America’s Strongest Man (ASM) — 3rd place
2013 All-American Strongman Challenge — 3rd place
2013 ASM — 3rd place
2013 WSM (Final) — 9th place
2014 ASM — 2nd place
2015 Arnold Australia (AA) — 3rd place
2017 International Strongman Federation (ISF) ISF1 — 1st place
2017 Giants Live World Tour Finals — 6th place
2018 WSM (Final) — 8th place
2019 Giants Live World Tour Finals — 9th place
One Last Ride
After sitting out most of the 2022 season, Oberst will likely have to fare well in at least one Giants Live event over the next approximate year to qualify for the 2023 WSM.
Right off the bat, the strongman will compete at the 2022 Giants Live World’s Strongest Nation (WSN) on November 26, 2022, in Liverpool, England. There, Oberst will serve as captain of Team USA.
While Oberst hasn’t offered any more detail on upcoming competition plans, he does have a bevy of potential options. In addition to the WSN, Oberst could consider The Giants Live Open on August 6, 2022, in Cardiff, Wales. There’s also the Arnold Strongman UK in Birmingham, England, on September 24, 2022, and the Giants Live World Tour Finals on October 8, 2022, in Glasgow, Scotland.
Whatever path Oberst does end up choosing, this likely won’t be the last time we see the American athlete. Between his upcoming ranch and YouTube channel with over 338,000 subscribers, Oberst will assuredly stay busy and visible in retirement. Before those days arrive, he’ll have to see what his final strongman hurrahs hold in store.
Featured image: American Monster Productions on YouTube
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During the 2022 Iran Bodybuilding Federation (IranBBF) National Classic Powerlifting & Bench Press Championships on April 12-17, 2022, Iranian powerlifter Shahram Saki came in first in the 120-kilogram+ weight class. At the same time, he turned a few heads with his strength.
First, Saki captured a raw 440-kilogram squat (970 pounds) — the highest in the history of Asia, per Open Powerlifting. Then he notched a 235-kilogram bench press (518.1 pounds), another number enough for the Asia record. By the meet’s end, he totaled 1,025 kilograms (2,259.7 pounds), yet again the highest in Asian powerlifting history.
Check out a video of Saki’s record-breaking squat — where he donned a lifting belt and lifting straps — via his Instagram profile:
In addition to the three Asia records, Saki is now in possession of all four Iranian powerlifting records (squat, bench press, deadlift, and total) for someone competing in the 120-kilogram+ weight class. Naturally, these marks are also now his all-time best competition PRs.
American powerlifter Ray Williams previously held the Asian records for the squat, bench press, and total. Williams logged a 425.9-kilogram squat (939.1 pounds), a 229.9-kilogram (507 pounds), and a 1008.4-kilogram total (2,223.3 pounds) at the 2015 AsianPF (APF) Asia-Oceania Raw Championships. After his remarkable week, Saki has now eclipsed that squat by 14 kilograms (30.9 pounds), the bench press by 5 kilograms (11 pounds), and the total by 16.1 kilograms (36.4 pounds).
Note: Aside from Saki’s squat, there is no other video documentation, so any equipment he wore during his other lifts is unconfirmed. Here are Saki’s full stats from this recent meet:
Shahram Saki — 2022 IranBBF National Classic Stats
Squat — 440 kilograms (970 pounds) | Asian Powerlifting Federation Record | Iranian Record | PR
Bench Press — 235 kilograms (518.1 pounds) | Asian Powerlifting Federation Record | Iranian Record | PR
Total — 1,025 kilograms (2,259.7 pounds) | Asian Powerlifting Federation Record | Iranian Record | PR
On the Rise
Saki’s strength feats are impressive, considering he doesn’t have much professional powerlifting experience.
Including the 2022 IranBBF National Classic, Saki has just three full power meets to his name. His first time on a pro platform was at the 2017 World Powerlifting Congress (WPC) Amateur European Championships, where he finished first. The other was the 2021 IranBBF International Club Classic Powerlifting Championships, where he also came out victorious.
Saki’s performance in the 2021 IranBFF International Club Classic might provide an excellent comparison of what he’s capable of when fully dedicated to the powerlifting craft. To provide a better picture, here are his stats from that meet:
Shahram Saki — IranBBF International Club Classic Stats
Squat — 425 kilograms (936.9 pounds)
Bench Press — 217.5 kilograms (479.5 pounds)
Deadlift — 337.5 kilograms (744 pounds)
Total — 980 kilograms (2160.5 pounds)
In roughly four months, Saki improved upon his squat by 15 kilograms (33.1 pounds), his bench press by 17.5 kilograms (38.6 pounds), his deadlift by 12.5 kilograms (27.6 pounds), and his total by a staggering 44.9 kilograms (99.2 pounds). As Saki’s career unfolds, it will likely be challenging to keep up that progression from meet to meet. Still, his meteoric leap forward in recent months is worth noting.
At the time of publishing, Saki has not formally announced his next powerlifting competition. If Saki’s recent precedent is any indication, he may break even more records whenever he steps onto a platform again.
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Weights, by their very definition, are heavy. That would explain why lifting weights is a good way to get stronger. Pick up a weight. If it’s easy, pick up more. If it’s too hard, try until it’s easy…then pick up more.
While many lifters train to improve their physique, working to enhance sheer strength will always appeal to a fundamental instinct. Like muscle-building workouts, the right strength-building program requires a specialized plan to achieve maximum results and move hefty weight. Here’s what you need to know.
While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, “strength training” and “muscle building” are interpreted differently by the body. Muscle building is relatively straightforward: A target muscle is put under stress, which triggers muscle protein synthesis, and new muscle tissue is created, making that muscle grow in size.
Strength training is slightly more complex. Strength can be built in several ways. The first is physical, practicing the skill of performing a specific exercise and building the muscles that function during that exercise. The second response to strength-building is neurological — the central nervous system (CNS) essentially “learns” which muscle fibers need to be recruited to move a specific load in a particular exercise. (1)(2)
Credit: Satyrenko / Shutterstock
The CNS is composed of the brain and spinal cord and is responsible for activating, well, everything else in the body. The CNS determines which muscles and muscle fibers need to be recruited to perform any physical activity, whether it’s lifting a 600-pound barbell or picking up a newspaper from the front porch.
Similar to a muscle, the CNS can perform better in response to certain training but it can also be overstressed, resulting in delayed results and potentially counter-productive workouts.
To develop maximum strength, you need to develop your muscles as well as allow your CNS to become more familiar with the movement. Neglecting one or the other will not allow you to lift the heaviest weights possible. Your training program not only needs to address the muscles moving the weight but also the brain that’s telling which muscles what to do.
This is why building strength requires a combination of the proper training volume (sets and reps), training intensity, and exercise choice.
How to Train to Build Strength
The training program of a lifter focused on getting as strong as possible can, and should, be very different from a lifter who wants to build as much muscle as possible. Everything from exercise choice to how many reps are performed to how much weight they lift will determine their results.
Here are the details of setting up a workout routine specifically designed to build strength and allow recovery for optimal results.
Establish a Training Split
The first step to building strength is establishing a plan, and that plan usually starts with knowing what you’re training and on what days (known as a training split). There are a lot of ways to divvy up your training, but not all of them are efficient for gaining strength. For example, a body part split — wherein you train one or two body parts per workout — is a popular choice for bodybuilders or anyone looking to get larger. You can accumulate more muscle-building tension on a specific muscle with body part splits, but by hyper-focusing on isolation movements and a couple of muscles, you leave strength gains on the table.
A popular strength-training approach is to break up your training based on specific movements. If you’re a competitive powerlifters, those movements should be a back squat, bench press, and deadlift — since those are the lifts you’ll perform at a powerlifting meet. If you’re not a competitive powerlifter, you’ll still most likely benefit the most from prioritizing a primary pushing, pulling, and squat movement.
Planning your training days around a specific lift tends to give way to what’s known as a push, pull, legs split, which is exactly what it sounds like. On the days you train the bench press (or another similar compound exercise), you’ll also perform pushing movements like overhead presses, skull crushers, push-ups, and dips. A pull day may start with the deadlift and then end with movements such as pull-ups, cable rows, and back extensions. And for legs, you’ll prioritize squats and then isolate different parts of you lower body with more specific exercises like hamstring curls, leg extensions, and calf raises.
Credit: Dean Drobot / Shutterstock
Some lifters like to double-up their push, pull, legs split so they hit each category twice per week. Typically, a lifter will dedicate one push, pull, legs cycle to high-intensity, low-volume training for strength and then focus on high-volume, low-intensity work for the second round of push, pull, legs to develop muscle mass. If you’re a new lifter looking to get strong, it’s suggested to train only three times per week. Six days of training is a lot, and if you’re not used to it you risk overtraining, which can lead to lackluster results or, at worst, injury.
A close alternative to the classic push, pull, legs split is to focus on specific movement patterns — horizontal and vertical pushing and pulling, hip hinging, and squatting. Following this split, you’d have four training days (see below) that are primarily built around strength-building compound movements. Your main movements for horizontal and vertical push and pull days may be the bench press, Pendlay row, overhead press, and weighted pull-up. Then, you’d deadlift on hip hinge days and squat on squat (or nee-based) days.
Another key consideration for organizing your workout split is rest and recovery. Intense workouts can require up to 72 hours of recovery time between repeated sessions to avoid a negative effect on performance. (3) So, training an exercise any more than once every three days (meaning no more than twice per week) would compromise strength and power output, resulting in less efficient training.
You won’t run into this issue following a push, pull, leg split. Though, if you opt for a different approach, workout structure concerning recovery should be top of mind.
The Best Exercises to Build Strength
If your car was stuck in a ditch, would you instead try pushing it out yourself, or would you want a team of five people helping you? The same basic premise applies to exercises. If you have a 300-pound barbell, would you instead try to lift it with only your biceps or with your biceps, triceps, shoulders, lats, upper back, glutes, and hamstrings?
Multi-joint (compound) exercises activate numerous muscle groups during an exercise, each of which contributes to strength output. In comparison, single-joint (isolation) exercises are more beneficial as accessory or “assistance” training to strengthen weak points and support larger movements. For example, the triceps during a bench press or the hamstrings during a deadlift.
The exact exercises to focus on are essentially up to the individual lifter. Other than competitive strength athletes who perform specific exercise in competitions, very few people in the gym “must” do any specific exercise.
Credit: DmitryStock / Shutterstock
Despite what gym lore says, not every lifter in the gym is required to do the “big three” powerlifts — barbell flat bench press, barbell back squat, and conventional deadlift. Those exercises can certainly be effective for building strength, but so can the overhead press, front squat, and trap bar deadlift, for example.
The priority is to choose multi-joint exercises to recruit the most total muscle to move a heavier weight while allowing for consistent load progression. Choosing exercises which don’t accommodate increased weight from week to week won’t allow the type of progression needed for long-term results.
For example, isolation exercises like leg extensions, lateral raises, or barbell curls aren’t well-suited to adding five to 10 pounds (or more) each and every week because maintaining safe and effective technique becomes nearly impossible at a certain point. Sacrificing exercise form to move heavy weights isn’t a reasonable plan for getting long-term results.
Choosing Sets, Reps, and Intensity for More Strength
A popular saying from weightlifters in the early-1900s was “train for strength and size will follow.” Meaning, a focus on building strength will incidentally lead to muscle growth without requiring specific hypertrophy (muscle building) training.
Many lifters, especially beginners, will build a combination of size and strength from most weight training programs. However, to reach one single goal, a training plan needs to be tailored towards one specific target. (4)
A workout designed to build strength requires a very different approach from a workout designed to build muscle size. While muscle-building workouts require a certain amount of total volume (sets and reps) to stimulate growth, building strength requires performing fewer reps per set, resulting in lower overall volume.
Strength is most effectively built when performing three to five sets of one to six reps with an appropriately challenging load. (5) (6) “Appropriately challenging” are the keywords there.
For muscle-building, reaching muscular failure in a set is often required. For strength-building, muscular failure is counterproductive. This is a serious mind-shift lifters need to adopt in order to get stronger.
Training between 75% and 90% of your one-rep max (1RM) has been shown to develop maximal strength given the required volume. (7)
Lifting a given weight while avoiding muscular failure is necessary to achieve the required CNS stimulation and muscle fiber recruitment, and avoid negative training effects. Basketball players might never end practice on a missed shot, but strength-focused lifters should never miss a lift in the first place.
Credit: Motortion Films / Shutterstock
Achieving muscular failure and not being able to successfully complete a repetition can trigger an unwanted response, essentially telling your body to not “want” to lift the weight, making progress more and more difficult. (8)
Ensure You’re Progressing Each Week
Some parts of weight training can be complicated. Fortunately, some parts can also be easy. When training to build strength, progression really can be as simple as “add more weight to the bar each week.”
Adding either a predetermined weight (often five to 10 pounds, regardless of the exercise or lifter’s experience) or a specific percentage (typically two to 10%, with lower percentages being more appropriate for experienced lifters) can both be effective weekly approaches.
The key consideration is to maintain a training intensity below muscular failure. Adding reps each week is suboptimal for strength gains because it increases the total training volume at a relatively lower intensity and shifts the priority towards building muscle.
For example, on Monday you performed barbell rows with 205 pounds for three sets of five. Next Monday, use 215 pounds and again aim for the same three sets of five. If you feel extreme muscular fatigue and grind to complete rep four, avoid muscular failure by not attempting a fifth rep.
One overlooked but highly effective progression method, however, is to perform the same weight with the same reps to reinforce or improve exercise technique.
This is sometimes referred to as “owning the weight,” being able to perform the same volume with the same load using better form. With this approach, adding weight every other week, or even every three weeks, is best.
This would be achieved, for example, by performing barbell rows with 205 pounds for three sets of five. The following week, again use 205 pounds again for three sets of five while focusing on applying more bar speed, maintaining strict form, and not allowing any technique errors. In the next workout, use 215 pounds for three sets of five, and repeat.
This method can be particularly effective for competitive lifters or any lifter who’d benefit from improved technique, as well as lifters managing joint pain for whom weekly weight increases may be too much.
How to Eat for Strength
Training for strength has an unfortunate reputation for minimizing the importance of nutrition. If you’re not trying to build muscle or lose fat, then you can eat anything, right? No. Very wrong.
Not only will an inattention to diet affect recovery, but it’s too often associated with fat gain. While some lifters may not be concerned with adding body fat, there are fundamental health issues connected to excessive fat gain worth caring about, ranging from arthritis and cardiovascular issues to cancer and diabetes. (9)
Credit: Lenar Nigmatullin / Shutterstock
Nutrition plays an important role not only for recovery, but for performance. Here’s how to complement strength-building workouts with a diet plan that supports heavy lifting.
Plenty of Calories, But Not Too Many
A caloric deficit may be beneficial for fat loss goals, but to build strength, sufficient total calories are required to fuel performance and optimize recovery. Anywhere from 15 to 20 calories per pound of bodyweight per day (from a combination of protein, carbohydrates, and fats) is an effective starting point, dependent on the lifter’s size and overall weekly training plan. (10)(11)
While total calorie intake is one factor, overemphasizing “more calories” at the expense of strategic macronutrients is a mistake which can interrupt maximum results. Here’s how to setup the details of a performance-focused, strength-building diet plan.
Protein for Muscle Growth… and Recovery
Protein is most commonly associated with muscle growth. However, protein intake is essential for muscle recovery, as well.
Daily intake as high as 0.9 grams per pound of bodyweight have shown to be beneficial for supporting maximal strength. (12)(13) Rounding up to the more simplified “one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight” is a more well-known, more convenient, and equally effective guideline.
A higher protein intake also serves a secondary benefit of adding total daily calories without contributing significantly to fat gain. (14) So if you want to take in plenty of calories while still having some regard to limiting body fat, pack in the protein.
Carbohydrates for Fuel
Carbs are typically considered the preferred fuel source for athletic performance. This is because, essentially, muscle contractions, whether it’s sprinting around a track or throwing a ball or picking up a heavy barbell, are fueled by carbohydrates.
Two to three grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight per day is an effective guideline to fuel high-intensity training. (15) For better performance, consistent energy, and improved recovery while avoiding excessive calories, nutrient-dense sources such as grains, fruits, and root vegetables are preferred to highly processed, nutrient-void options. (16)
Some top-tier athletes are able to get away with less-that-strict nutrition practices. This is more a testament to their genetic eliteness and super-high workload (sometimes 30+ hours of exercise per week) than it is a template to follow.
Don’t Avoid Fats
Dietary fats are where many nutrition plans take a turn for the worse, either limiting them strictly or allowing an excess. Either extreme can create problems ranging from hormonal disruption to simple (and quick) fat gain.
Fat intake has been shown to support optimal sports performance when kept to roughly 30% of total daily calories, rather than a grams-per-pound guideline used with protein and carbohydrates. (17) For example, if you’re a 180-pound lifter eating 3,600 calories per day, fat intake should be roughly 120 grams (1080 calories) per day.
How to Recover to Build Strength
Lifting heavy weights without recovering is like driving cross-country without stopping for gas. You’re not going to make it very far. Here are two of the most important factors in recovery to ensure that your work outside the gym encourages results from the training done inside the gym.
Rest Days Are Necessary
When it comes to heavy lifting, rest days are often welcomed even by the most enthusiastic and dedicated lifters. Moving heavy weights can take its toll not only on the muscles of the body, but also on the CNS. (18)
Incorporating non-training days can allow full recovery and adaptation, which coincides with maximal performance during workouts. One way to potentially improve recovery without complete rest is known as “active recovery”. (19)
Credit: baranq / Shutterstock
By using lower intensity training such as cardiovascular exercise, stretching, or lower intensity weight training (such as technique practice with lighter weights), overall recovery may be improved compared to total rest, making it an ideal approach for lifters who need to “get up and do something” every day.
Plenty of Sleep Every Night
Like a day of rest, a good night’s sleep is something many lifters look forward to after a hard workout. Pushing your body hard during the day makes resting at night even more important.
Hopefully, getting seven to nine hours per night is achievable for your schedule. That range has been shown to be ideal for ensuring adequate recovery and optimal athletic performance. (20) Getting enough sleep can be just as important as getting into the gym to train when it comes to reaching big goals.
Sample Strength-Building Program
Building strength doesn’t need to be complicated, but it does need to follow the programming principles you’ve just learned. Here’s one example of a workout plan focused on moving big weights, recovering well, and then moving even bigger weights.
Credit: Jacob Lund / Shutterstock
Sunday
Cardiovascular exercise (walk, run, or bike), 30 minutes.
Monday
Hip Hinge Workout
Deadlift: 5 x 3
Seated Leg Curl: 4 x 8-10
Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift: 3 x 6-8
Tuesday
Vertical Push & Pull Workout
PushPress: 5 x 3
Chin-Up: 5 x 5
Lateral Raise: 4 x 10-12
Single-Arm Pulldown: 3 x 10-12
Wednesday
Stretching or mobility training, 30 minutes
Thursday
Squat Workout
FrontSquat: 5 x 3
ReverseLunge: 3 x 10-12
StandingCalfRaise: 4 x 12-15
Friday
Horizontal Push & Pull Workout
BenchPress: 5 x 3
BarbellRow: 5 x 5
Dip: 4 x 8-10
Bent-Over Dumbbell Flye: 4 x 10-12
Saturday
Cardiovascular exercise (walk, run, or bike), 30 minutes.
Test Your Strength
What good is building strength if you don’t know how strong you’re getting? Testing your 1RM can tread the fine line between assessing your progress and feeding your ego.
However, as long as you approach a 1RM test as a deliberate section of your overall training plan and not a spur-of-the-moment whim, it can be an essential part of your progress. Testing one to three times per year, with several months of uninterrupted training leading up to each test, will give plenty of insight as to how your training is progressing.
The most effective approach is to take several days throughout one week to test your primary lifts, ideally focusing on just one lift per day to minimize cumulative fatigue.
Go through a general warm-up and then commence the test, performing six to eight progressively heavier sets of one rep. Be sure to extend rest periods as weights get significantly heavier, resting up to five minutes between each set. (21)
As with standard training, be sure to avoid muscular failure. The nature of the test itself may mean you do eventually reach failure (be sure to have a spotter on call), but do your best to gauge performance and anticipate your capabilities.
Time to Get Stronger
Training for strength is one of the most fundamental goals in the gym. Even lifters who prioritize muscle-building can benefit from time spent focused on improving their strength. If you’re not interested in fine-tuning your physique and want to be lifting all the plates in the gym, set up a plan and go for it.
References
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Thompson, S.W., Rogerson, D., Ruddock, A. et al. The Effectiveness of Two Methods of Prescribing Load on Maximal Strength Development: A Systematic Review. Sports Med 50, 919–938 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01241-3
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As a former elite triathlete, I’ve spent more time in the saddle (the bike saddle, that is) than I care to remember. Hour upon hour up and down mountains, through countryside and towns, cranking away on the pedals. That might sound like a cool gig—and it was for a time—but those training sessions slowly wore down my body to the point where I eventually had to walk away from triathlon.
It was a long time before I could enjoy being on a bicycle again. That’s a shame because bicycling is fantastic for many reasons. Commute or run errands on your bike, and you start and end your workday with physical activity, reduce your carbon footprint, and never need to find parking. Mountain biking gets you out into nature, hitting trails you might never reach by foot. Road cyclist ride in packs and then relax at the coffee shop or pub after, so they are getting social interaction along with exercise (the benefits of which are somewhat mitigated by the beer…).
My current passion is fat tire biking on the beaches of Miami. It delivers an outstanding workout entirely unlike Ultimate Frisbee and standup paddling, my other favorite activities. You can’t beat flying down the beach, the air coming off the ocean, sun on your skin. Riding in sand is surprisingly technical. You have to stay completely engaged in what you’re doing. I return home sandy and exhilarated, feeling sharp rather than depleted like I used to be after my long, grueling training rides. I love it.
Suffice it to say, I’m back on the biking bandwagon. Biking is mostly great—with a few downsides. Let’s discuss.
Benefits of Biking
Cycling Builds Fitness
Biking will net you the same health benefits as any other form of cardiovascular exercise:
Fat burning
Muscle building
More endurance
Improved heart disease risk markers like triglycerides, HDL, and blood pressure1
More positive mood, mental health, and overall well-being
That’s true whether you prefer biking indoors or outdoors, on roads or trails.
A nice, leisurely ride provides low-level aerobic activity that I’m always going on about. You can easily dial the intensity level up or down on a bike, especially when cycling indoors. Just turn the resistance knob, and you’re riding up a hill. Pedal as hard as you can for 20 or 30 seconds, and voila, you’re sprinting. (For safety reasons, I don’t recommend doing bike sprints outdoors. It’s too easy to hit a rock or root and go flying.)
However, cycling shouldn’t be your only form of exercise. You’re not going to get a full-body workout from cycling since your legs do most of the work. The rest of the body is engaged too—core for balance and stability, upper body to hold yourself upright unless you’re riding a recumbent bike—but it’s definitely lower-body dominant.
You get more and different muscle activation by occasionally standing in the pedals (safer on stationary bikes). Likewise if you’re doing something like aggressive mountain biking where you’re working hard to control the bike with your whole body. But biking is never going to take the place of resistance exercise. It’s still important to lift heavy things.
Can Cycling Ever Be “Chronic Cardio?”
Absolutely, any form of cardiovascular exercise can veer into chronic territory.
If you don’t know, chronic cardio is my term for cardiovascular exercise that is too hard, too frequent, done too often, or all of the above. Instead of imparting the desired cardiovascular health benefits, it is depleting, pro-inflammatory, and physiologically stressful. Chronic cardio leads to injury, illness, and burnout if you’re not careful.
If you’re riding most days and keeping your heart rate pegged in the so-called “black hole”, where it’s too high to be considered aerobic but not high enough to be truly high-intensity, you’re doing chronic cardio. No question about it. Indoor spin classes where an enthusiastic instructor urges you to push harder and “leave it all on the bike” are especially likely to be chronic cardio, particularly if you’re going more than once or twice a week.
To avoid chronic cardio on your bike, the usual rules apply:
Strategically add intensity. When it’s time to go hard, go hard, but keep it brief.
Balance stress and rest, listen to your body, and take time to recover between hard rides.
Is Cycling Safer Than Running?
It depends on what you mean by “safer.” Cycling is lower impact than running, which is both good and bad. While cycling might be easier on the body, higher-impact load-bearing exercise does more to promote bone mineral density. On the other hand, lower-impact cycling is often better for people who are rehabbing injuries. It’s also a safer option for folks who can’t do high-impact exercise due to osteoporosis or other issues.
With cycling, your body is held in a more or less static position. Sure, you can change your grip on the handlebars, drop into aero if you have aerobars, or occasionally stand up, but the basic body position and leg rotation stays fairly constant. Bike posture can be hard on your lower back, shoulders, and neck with the weight of your helmet. Overuse injuries can and do occur with cycling thanks to the repetitive movement.3 It’s not much different than running in that regard.
Also, the risk of serious, even catastrophic, injury is considerably greater on the bike. If you fall while trail running, you’re probably walking away with skinned knees and a bruised ego, maybe a broken wrist. Going over your handlebars while you’re bombing down a mountain on your bike will land you in the hospital.
Biking Lets You See the World
When you’re out on your bike, whether on pavement or dirt, you have to pay attention to the world around you. You can’t zone out like you might while walking or riding a stationary bike. You have to be vigilant, watching for cars, potholes, rocks, roots, or rogue squirrels looking to take you out. Mountain biking, cyclocross, and even fat tire biking require you to think about your next move and look for the best track.
It taps into our primal nature to be out in our environments, scanning for danger, keeping our eyes and ears trained on what’s happening around us.
Riding in a car might get you where you’re going faster, but all you’ll see are the cars in front of you and the world whizzing by. Walking allows you to take in your surroundings, but you won’t get to your destination any time soon. Biking offers the best of both worlds.
Benefits of Indoor Versus Outdoor Cycling
I unquestionably prefer riding outdoors, but indoor cycling has some distinct advantages. You’re not going to crash, for one thing. Riding a stationary bike is safer for people who can’t ride traditional bikes due to balance, coordination, or vision issues, for example.
People are probably more likely to hop on the Peloton for a quick 20-minute spin between meetings than put on all their cycling gear, pump up their tires, and hit the road in that same amount of time. Under-desk cyclers can help counteract the effects of sitting in front of a computer all day.
Furthermore, there’s obviously something about indoor cycling classes that appeals to people. Much credit to my friend Johnny G, who launched the spinning craze 30 years ago. He was really on to something. Dark rooms filled with blaring dance music and sweaty people aren’t really my cup of tea, but to each their own. I know tons of people who love these classes and find the pounding music, plus the social aspect of the group fitness environment, motivating.
(Lest you think I’m just a curmudgeon who can’t handle the SoulCycle revolution, there’s actual cause for concern here. Hearing specialists have been sounding the alarm regarding the ear-splitting noise levels in some spin classes for years. There’s a real danger of hearing loss from prolonged or repeated exposure to music that loud. 4)
Any Downsides of Biking?
Bikes aren’t cheap, although you can find good deals on used bikes. They require regular maintenance. Once you get serious about cycling, you’ll find more and more stuff you “need”—padded shorts and jerseys, clip-in shoes, accessories for your bike, upgraded wheels, new cassettes. None of that is necessary to go for recreational rides on your local bike trail, but I’ve seen more than a few friends fall into this money pit.
As I already mentioned, cycling on the road can be very risky, now more than ever thanks to distracted drivers. The U.S. is notoriously not set up for biking. I envy those of you who live in bike-friendly areas. Here, “bike-friendly” usually means a narrow, unprotected bike lane on the side of busy roads frequented by drivers who honk and make rude gestures to let you know you’re in their space.
Finally, let’s not forget that biking is active, but it’s also sitting. It’s far better than spending all day in a chair, but you’re doing little to counteract the shortened, tightened hip flexors and relatively weak glutes that result from too much sitting. (Pedaling does utilize the glutes somewhat, but not as much as you might think.) Recumbent bikes and trikes are fantastic options for people who feel safer or better accommodated with the greater stability they offer. Otherwise, I don’t generally recommend them because they keep your body in a typical sitting position, more so than a typical bike.
In any case, I strongly recommend mixing up your activities and getting out of that bent-hip position. Walk, lift weights, swim, do yoga, throw in some Primal Essential Movements, play tag with your kids, do microworkouts, sprint.
Are EBikes Primal?
Someone asked me this recently, and I think it’s an interesting question. Is it “cheating” to have your physical activity augmented by horsepower?
Most eBikes, if you don’t know, still require you to pedal; the motor is there to assist. Others allow you to cruise without pedaling. You can also turn off the motor and ride it like a regular bike. That puts eBikes in a gray area, exercise-wise.
Ultimately, I suspect that eBikes have a lot of the same benefits as regular cycling—and at least one study looking at cognitive function bears that out5—but not all. They have their own advantages and disadvantages, but I wouldn’t classify them as “not Primal.” More like “modern conveniences.”
Bike Safety Tips
I’d love to see more people out biking instead of riding in cars, as long as they do so safely. First and foremost, get to know traffic laws or mixed-use trail etiquette. Follow the rules for your own and others’ safety.
If you must ride on the street, opt for roads with well-defined lanes for cyclists. Wear bright clothing and use reflectors and lights to make yourself as visible as possible. Stay vigilant, and don’t wear headphones or use your phone.
Wear your helmet.
Lastly, ensure that your bike fits you correctly to avoid putting your body in awkward positions that cause undue stress on joints. When you hop into a spin class at the gym, arrive early enough to adjust the bike settings. Ask the instructor to check that you’re set up correctly. If you’re planning to spend a lot of time on your road, tri, or mountain bike, it’s worth spending the money for a professional bike fitting.
You’re ready get out there and explore! Where are your favorites places to bike? Do you have a favorite style of biking?
Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss
Professional bodybuilder Joe Mackey has officially joined the 900-pound deadlift club. On April 16, 2022, the IFBB Pro League Men’s Open athlete completed the staggering deadlift and attained what had once been one of his lofty goals. It’s a feat that could likely stand as the heaviest ever deadlift by a bodybuilder.
Check out the lift below — where Mackey dons a lifting belt and lifting straps — courtesy of his Instagram profile:
Mackey could not contain excitement over finally reaching the staggering mark in the caption of his Instagram post.
“It was not the prettiest, but I told you and myself I was going to do it, and I did just that,” Mackey wrote. “I know I don’t say this often, but holy sh*t, that was heavy!”
Indeed, Mackey does appear to show strain in pushing through the lift — understandable, given the weight. The feat would likely not have counted in a meet due to Mackey hitching the barbell, but he persevered and locked out the rep anyway.
“If you look midway thru the lift, you’ll see I shake my head no because doubt kicked in and said drop it,” Mackey said.”But that wasn’t going to happen without a fight.”
After expressing gratitude for his achievement, Mackey finishes the post by dedicating the 900-pound feat to his friend, the late Cedric McMillan. McMillan’s death was initially reported on April 12, 2022.
Rest in paradise big bro
Shortly after news of McMillan’s passing circulated around the bodybuilding community, Mackey shared a few private message interactions he had with his friend. The overarching sentiments centered around McMillan making sure Mackey took care of his health.
A fact certainly appreciated by Mackey — before and after.
“I appreciate it, big bro,” Mackey wrote back to McMillan. “I’m going to go for the goal in the deadlift, and then I’ll back off the extreme heavy weight.”
Mackey has documented his journey to the 900-pound deadlift quite well of late.
In January of 2022, Mackey completed an 855-pound deadlift that ESPN’s SportsCenter highlighted on Instagram. A little over a month later, Mackey notched an 870-pound pull that he said was a then-PR. With roughly two more months of steady progress, Mackey can now boast a deadlift that is 30 pounds heavier.
There is no thorough database of lift records for bodybuilders to check where Mackey officially stands amongst his peers. Nonetheless, Mackey assuredly knows his deadlift likely enters a rare territory. Here’s where Mackey stands compared to other notable top deadlift marks that were recorded for famously strong bodybuilders:
While it’s not possible to check for any official record, Mackey can at least share his deadlift feat with some incredibly esteemed company.
The Next Level
It could be fair to say Mackey is still seeking a significant breakthrough as a bodybuilder. In five career IFBB Pro League competitions dating back to 2017, Mackey’s highest result is an eighth-place finish at the 2022 IFBB Tampa Pro while competing in the Open division. During his last competition, in the 2021 Chicago Pro last summer, Mackey finished 12th overall.
There is no word on when Mackey’s next bodybuilding competition will happen. He’ll have to place high in several proceeding shows or even notch his first career victory if he wants to qualify for the 2022 Mr. Olympia — set to occur on December 16-18 in Las Vegas, NV. In the meantime, Mackey can bask in joining an exclusive, impressive club of deadlifters.
On April 17, 2022, the French athlete exceeded a total raw world of 435 kilograms (959 pounds). In addition, Chapon locked out a 100-kilogram bench press — which eclipses Hanna Rantala’s 95.5-kilogram (210.5 pounds) world record set at the 2017 IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships.
Both marks are unofficial because they occurred in training and not in competition. Check out each of Chapon’s lifts below, via her Instagram profile:
Here are each of Chapon’s stats from this productive training session. Note: Chapon didn’t state how much she weighed at during this session, but considering she’s nearing competition, one could assume she’s close to 47 kilograms.
Total — 435 kilograms (959 pounds) | Unofficial World Record
In addition to exceeding the current world record by 4.5 kilograms, Chapon has now improved upon her personal best bench press from the 2022 Fédération Française de Force (FFForce) Championnats de France Élite de Force Athlétique by 8.61 kilograms (19 pounds).
Meanwhile, with Chapon already in official possession of the squat and total IPF World Records, she’s free to continue stacking onto them. While her squat remained static from her last workout, it’s still higher than her world record mark of 155 kilograms (341.7 pounds) by 10.02 kilograms (22.1 pounds). As for Chapon’s total, it’s now a staggering 17 kilograms (37.5 pounds), better than her all-time recorded top total of 417.9 kilograms (921.5 pounds).
As for her deadlift, Chapon is still 22.5 kilograms shy of Heather Connor’s all-time world record of 192.5 kilograms (424.4 pounds).
Real Hype
It might only be a matter of time before Chapon is a household powerlifting name — if she isn’t already.
As with any IPF meets, Chapon certainly hasn’t shied away from other powerlifting competitions organized by the Fédération Française de Force (FFForce) and European Powerlifting Federation (EPF). To date, the 20-year-old can boast a stellar six victories with two other podium finishes.
Here are Chapon’s complete results thus far:
Tiffany Chapon — Career Results
2020 FFForce Silent Worker Meet — 1st overall
2021 FFForce Test Match Eleiko — 1st overall
2021 FFForce Silent Worker Meet — 2nd overall
2021 FFForce Championnats de France Jeunes et Élite de Force Athlétique — 1st overall
2021 IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships — 1st overall
2021 FFForce Girl Power — 2nd overall
2021 EPF European Classic Powerlifting Championships — 1st overall
2022 FFForce Championnats de France Élite de Force Athlétique — 1st overall
2022 IPF Worlds Await
Chapon’s upcoming goals aren’t ambiguous anymore. After sharing her recent marks in her Instagram post, she references the upcoming 2022 IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships on the horizon.
Now that Chapon has revealed her next competition, it seems it’s only a matter before all of her records become official. The 2022 IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships will take place on June 6-12 in Sun City, South Africa.
You probably already cook with coconut oil. Maybe you enjoy big flakes of toasted coconut in your trail mix or shredded coconut in your grain-free Primal “oatmeal.” But have you tried the richest, most decadent coconut product of them all: coconut butter?
What is coconut butter, you ask? It’s simply dried coconut blended until it forms a smooth, creamy paste. Since the only ingredient is coconut, it’s naturally dairy-free and gluten-free.
Our favorite way to enjoy it is making the world’s easiest two-ingredient keto treat: dark chocolate with a schmear of coconut butter. Or just eat it with a spoon. We’ll never tell.
How to Make Coconut Butter
Servings: 1 to 2 cups
Time in the kitchen: 10 to 20 minutes
Ingredients
4 or more cups of unsweetened, dried coconut flakes
Directions
There’s only one necessary step: blend!
But if you want to make the best coconut butter ever, follow these 10 no-fail tips.
10 Tips for Making the Best Coconut Butter Ever
Tip #1: Use large unsweetened dried coconut flakes. These are easier to turn into butter.
Tip #2: For a deeper, nuttier flavor, toast the coconut.
Lay the coconut out on a sheet pan and place in the oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit (150 degrees Celsius) until the coconut is lightly brown and toasted. This elevates the flavor of the coconut butter, and it will also make it easier to turn the flakes into butter.
This is not a necessary step but if you have a weak food processor, it might be a better option. If you choose to toast the coconut, the final product will be light brown instead of white, as shown in the photos later in the post.
Tip #3: Use at least 4 cups of coconut flakes and place them into a food processor. You can also use a high-speed blender, but a food processor typically makes it easier to scrape down the sides and remove the coconut butter when it’s done processing. Blenders will make a somewhat smoother finished product, but some blenders will overheat before you’re done blending the coconut.
Tip #4: Take your time! It takes anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes to get a nice smooth butter.
Tip #5: Once you turn the food processor on and let it begin to grind the coconut, stop every so often to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spoon or spatula to pick up any flakes on the sides.
Tip #6: The coconut flakes will go through multiple transformations as it turns to butter. First they will look like coarse sand.
Next, it will become liquid-y but still look grainy.
Last, it will be a smooth, thick sauce. The end result will still be thin, but it will firm up as you store it.
Tip #7: Pour the butter into an airtight jar and let it cool. Optionally, store it into multiple small containers, which makes it easier to warm up and use later on.
Tip #8: Coconut butter can be stored at room temperature, but keep in mind that toasted coconut butter will go rancid much more quickly than non-toasted. Consequently, we recommend storing toasted coconut butter in the fridge.
Tip #9: Coconut butter hardens at cooler temperatures. To use hardened butter, set up a warm water bath and let the jar sit in it for a few minutes to help soften the butter, stirring occasionally. We don’t recommend directly heating or microwaving the butter as this can mess with its consistency, but you can do it in a pinch!
Tip #10: Use the coconut butter for almost anything! We love dunking fruit or nuts in softened butter. Try adding a spoonful to savory options like curries, soups, or even to mashed veggies.
Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss
On April 14, 2022, International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Pro League bodybuilder Hunter Labrada showed off his strength and stamina in the squat rack. After attaching resistance bands to his rack and barbell, and elevating his heels on small platforms, Labrada squatted 495 pounds for 17 unbroken reps.
Check out the lift below — where Labrada donned a lifting belt, lifting straps, and knee sleeves — via his Instagram profile.
Like many IFBB Pro League bodybuilders, Labrada is in the middle of his off-season. Whatever he does to train and recover has appeared to work out quite well for him throughout his career. Here are Labrada’s complete competition results to date, per NPC News Online:
2016 National Physique Committee (NPC) Branch Warren Classic (Heavyweight) — 1st place
2016 NPC San Antonio Extravaganza (Super Heavyweight) — 1st place
2017 NPC Europa Dallas (Super Heavyweight) — 1st place
2018 NPC Junior USA Championships (Super Heavyweight) — 1st place
2018 NPC National Championships (Super Heavyweight) — 1st place | Earned Pro Card
2020 IFBB Tampa Pro (Men’s Open division) — 1st place
2020 IFBB Mr. Olympia (Men’s Open division) — 8th place
2021 IFBB Chicago Pro (Men’s Open division) — 1st place
2021 IFBB Mr. Olympia (Men’s Open division) — 4th place
It’s not hard to find a potential reason why Labrada became a professional bodybuilder. His father is the legendary Lee Labrada — the 1985 Mr. Universe and a member of the IFBB Pro Bodybuilding Hall of Fame. His mother, Robin, also once competed as a bodybuilder.
It appears Labrada decided to follow in his parent’s footsteps by becoming one of modern bodybuilding’s more notable active athletes.
Benefits of Banded, Heel-Elevated Squats
A traditional squat is already a quality way to activate and develop lower-body muscles. If an athlete adds bands into the mix — which, when pulling against the athlete’s strength, can add more resistance to reps — they’re usually aiming for a stiffer challenge. The benefits are even more foundational when utilizing bands during a high-repetition set like Labrada’s.
Research shows that using bands in high-repetition weight lifting leads to significant improvements in isokinetic strength — where the speed of a movement is consistent while the resistance stays constant. Athletes who actively work on their isokinetic strength could rehabilitate a preexisting injury by exerting control over the resistance of their lift. (1)
Today I was still a little gunshy, not going to lie, but there wasn’t any pain like last session, just a little awareness in the previously injured area.
In Labrada’s case, he wrote in his Instagram caption that he strained his quad lightly the last time he tried squatting. Utilizing banded squats could have been a means for him to ease back in.
The same injury prevention rationale can apply to heel-elevated squats, too. One study showed that athletes who occasionally squatted elevated heels saw better hip mobility and ankle flexibility over a consistent training period. (2)
By using bands and elevating his heels, Labrada’s squat might have been about taking care of his quads and trying to improve aspects of his lower body stability.
Road to 2022 Mr. Olympia
After a fourth-place finish in the 2021 Mr. Olympia, Labrada will again likely be one of this year’s top contenders for the title. The Open division, in particular, should feature a stacked field with names like defending champion Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay and runner-up Brandon Curry. Provided Labrada stays diligent with his training, he may find himself supplanting his competitors this time around.
The 2022 Mr. Olympia will take place on December 15-18, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV.
References:
Jee, YS. (2015). Usefulness of measuring isokinetic torque and balance ability for exercise rehabilitation. Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation. 2015 Apr; 11(2): 65–66.
Sriwarno, A.B., Shimomura, Y., Iwanaga, K., Katsuura, T. (2008). The Effects of Heel Elevation on Postural Adjustment and Activity of Lower-Extremity Muscles during Deep Squatting-to-Standing Movement in Normal Subjects. Journal of Physical Therapy Science. 2008 Feb; 20(1): 31-38.
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As a former elite triathlete, I’ve spent more time in the saddle (the bike saddle, that is) than I care to remember. Hour upon hour up and down mountains, through countryside and towns, cranking away on the pedals. That might sound like a cool gig—and it was for a time—but those training sessions slowly wore down my body to the point where I eventually had to walk away from triathlon.
(@jmackey33_ifbbpro)
You probably already cook with 
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