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In the spring on 2023, powerlifter Inderraj Singh Dhillon put himself within shouting distance of one of strength sports’ more hallowed marks — the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) raw World Record deadlift in the 120-kilogram division. When the athlete successfully pulled 385.5 kilograms (849.8 pounds) for the British powerlifting record and matched the World Record in the process in late March 2023, it was suddenly a distinct possibility that his name would dot the top of the global record books. That possibility is now a clear-eyed reality.
On June 11-18, 2023, during his debut at the 2023 IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships in Valletta, Malta, Singh Dhillon locked out a raw 386-kilogram (850.9-pound) deadlift while competing in his 120-kilogram class. The milestone is officially an IPF World Record. The number surpasses Singh Dhillon’s peer, Bryce Krawczyk, who deadlifted 385.5 kilograms (849.9 pounds) at the 2021 edition of the IPF World Championships. Singh Dhillon wore a lifting belt and completed his massive pull from a conventional stance while utilizing a mixed grip.
Thanks to his record pull, Singh Dhillon would eventually finish with third place in the 120-kilogram division. Singh Dhillon’s countryman, Tony Cliffe, took home the top title in the category. Nevertheless, for Singh Dhillon to finish on the podium and score a monstrous record in his IPF Worlds debut is no small feat.
Here’s an overview of the top stats from Singh Dhillon’s performance:
Inderraj Singh Dhillon (120KG) | 2023 IPF Worlds Top Stats
Deadlift — 386 kilograms (850.9 pounds) | IPF World Record
Total — 906 kilograms (1,997.3 pounds)
While he still has a ways to go, Singh Dhillon has now put himself within official earshot of becoming the first 120-kilogram powerlifter ever to deadlift at least 400 kilograms (881.8 pounds) raw.
In a post on his Instagram, Singh Dhillon reflected on his performance. The athlete seemed taken aback by the gravitas of the moment on an international stage but appeared appreciative of what he just experienced and accomplished.
“What an incredible experience surrounded by the strongest from around the world,” Singh Dhillon wrote. “The speed of the competition was astounding, and we capped it all off with a 120-kilogram World record deadlift at 386 kilograms and the biggest pull of the competition! Thank you, Maharaj!”
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The closer a car gets to having six-figure mileage, the more important basic care and maintenance becomes. Our bodies are, unfortunately, pretty much the same — even more so for those of us who lift weights regularly.
Most of us understand that it’s a bad idea to roll back the car’s odometer and pretend everything’s still in perfect working order. What we sometimes have trouble admitting is that being “middle-aged” means it’s time to take inventory of which of our own parts are no longer in factory-fresh condition.
Credit: Ground Picture / Shutterstock
Nobody’s saying you need to give up the gym. The opposite, really. You need to keep training, but you also need to support that training with some tips, tricks, and hacks that will boost a recovery ability that just isn’t as quick as it used to be. Here’s where to start.
You shouldn’t necessarily revamp your entire training program, but adjusting a few variables can definitely crank up your recovery. Better recovery means better performance when you train, since you’re going into each workout feeling fresher.
Improved recovery also means better results, since your body is better able to respond to the training stimulus and adapt by adding strength and muscle.
Rethink the “Need” for Muscular Failure
Grinding out a set until the bar doesn’t move an inch can be an intense highlight of any workout. However, hitting muscular failure comes with a physical price.
Reaching muscular failure also prolongs post-workout muscular fatigue, as well as neuromuscular fatigue. (1) When you dial up the intensity to that level, your body will demand a similar level of recovery.
Research has repeatedly shown that stopping sets before reaching failure can trigger the same degree of strength gains and muscle growth with a lower degree of cortisol (an inflammatory stress hormone), compared to taking sets to failure. (2)(3)(4)
Credit: Slava Dumchev / Shutterstock
Leaving a rep or two “in the tank” on each set might feel counterintuitive, especially if you’ve been training to failure ever since Frank the Tank tried to go streaking through the quad. If you can get over the mental hurdle, put yourself through a not-to-failure experiment for a few weeks and see if you notice the same results with less joint stress.
Volume vs. Intensity vs. Frequency
Every training plan has three fundamental components. The first is training volume — the sets and reps or how much you do in a workout. The second is training intensity — how close to muscular failure each set is performed or how hard you’re training. And the third is training frequency — how many times per week you train a given exercise or body part, or how often you train.
Manipulating those three factors will influence your training program and they will also determine how much general recovery you need. You can’t go full throttle on all three — doing a ton of very high intensity sets every day of the week — or you’ll burnout.
You can, at best, put the pedal down on just one at a time. It’s sometimes possible to increase two of those factors at the same time, but it needs to be used as a short-term approach to avoid overtraining.
For example, grease the groove training is highly effective because it relies on high frequency, low intensity, and low volume. Trying to train with high frequency and high intensity, such as heavy squatting every day, would require low volume (using 1-3 sets of 1-3 reps). And even then, it’s best-suited for a four to six week specialization phase rather than a prolonged, multi-month routine.
Take a look at your current training plan. Make sure you’re not pulling yourself in three directions at once. You can either train a lot or you can train super-hard or you can train very often. You can’t, sustainably, do all three at once.
Soreness Doesn’t Mean a Workout Worked
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is that all-too-familiar muscular twinge that can rear its head a day or two after a hard training session. You often notice DOMS while doing something innocuous like lifting a leg into your pants or brushing your teeth.
That’s when those formerly targeted muscles enthusiastically speak up like the lost kids from “Beyond Thunderdome.” “‘Member this? Triceps from pushdowns. ‘Member this? Quads from leg press. ‘Member this? Abs!”
Some hardcore lifters actually take a sigh of relief when DOMS kicks in because they’ve accepted the old ‘no pain, no gain’ mantra as gospel. These gluttons for punishment almost demand to feel sore after a workout. Unfortunately for them, DOMS is not a necessary evil.
Research has shown no reliable connection between feeling post-workout muscle soreness and the productivity of a workout. (5) Not only can productive workouts sometimes deliver no muscle soreness but, more importantly, non-productive workouts can often lead to soreness.
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Certain types of training and certain exercises — particularly using slow eccentric (stretching) phases and exercises with a deep stretch component — are shown to trigger more soreness than other training methods. Some people may actually be genetically predisposed to feel more soreness, regardless of their training. (6)
So if you’re regularly performing movements like incline curls, dumbbell flyes, or deep squats, you can expect to be sore whether or not your workout was productive overall. While muscle tissue damage — the kind of damage which causes DOMS — can be one component of the growth stimulus, it’s not the only way to trigger muscle growth. (7)
Track your results objectively, whether it’s with a logbook or tape measure. More importantly, treat DOMS with less regard than more reliable, definable progress markers.
Mandatory Mobility
Most lifters in the gym like to do just that — lift weights. Hopping on a treadmill is often a low priority, while stretching or mobility drills are usually an even lower priority. But that type of narrow focus leaves gaps in your physical development by neglecting flexibility and joint mobility. It also misses an opportunity for restorative exercise, using the mobility session as a way to reduce any lingering aches and pains. (8)
Just like you change your car tires every 60,000 miles, or sooner depending on how much you use them, consider putting yourself through a mobility session every 48 hours… or sooner depending on how much you do.
You don’t need to feel overwhelmed when finding a mobility routine. You can see and feel benefits by emphasizing bang-for-the-buck movements that focus on your upper back (thoracic spine) and hips. Those are two zones that are notorious for causing issues — shoulder twinges, pinched traps, lower back pain, tight hips, etc.
“The world’s greatest stretch” is a good place to start. Because, really, if most personal trainers on the planet agree to label something “the world’s greatest,” it’s at least worth trying. You’d probably want to try the world’s greatest burger and you’ll likely enjoy a movie starring the world’s greatest actor. This is the same idea, only with a full-body mobility drill.
Perform two to five repetitions per side, after a general warm-up but before any weight training. This is a great way to target nearly every joint in your body, along with the majority of muscle groups. The cat/camel (sometimes called the cat/cow) is another relatively simple and very effective way to target your upper back and hips in just a few repetitions.
If you truly can’t bring yourself to do these yoga-looking movements, grab a very light dumbbell and do the Turkish get-up for two sets of two reps per side before each workout. That should appease any desire to “just lift weights” while still working on mobility from head to toe.
Nutrition Tips for Recovery
Just like an army marches on its stomach, a lifter gains with their stomach. Hopefully that’s with their stomach, and not on their stomach. Underestimating the importance of nutrition is probably the most common and most easily fixable mistake many people make.
A workout in the gym takes an hour or so, but nutrition is something that requires 12 to 16 hours of your attention every day — whether it’s knowing what to eat, what not to eat, or when to eat. With a few simple adjustments to your current diet plan, you can make sure you’re recovering from whatever you put yourself through in the gym.
Focus on Daily Protein Intake
Muscle protein synthesis — the rate at which your muscles repair and rebuild — is arguably the most important physiological factor when it comes to actually building muscle. (9) While hard training increases your body’s demand for muscle protein synthesis, you can support the process by, you guessed it, ample protein intake.
Protein-rich foods including meat, poultry, and dairy contain the amino acids your body “puts to work” building new muscle tissue. Without enough of this literal building block, you’ll be left spinning your wheels.
Aiming for roughly .75 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight has been shown to be an effective guideline. (10) For the sake of simpler mathematics, there’s no harm in rounding up. The time-tested call for “one gram per pound of bodyweight” has been a reliable, if sometimes hard to hit, target.
To reach this daily goal, plan on a generally equal split throughout the course of the day. While not necessarily inefficient or ineffective, overloading your protein into a single meal and filling in with additional protein-sparse meals can be impractical, and likely indigestible.
Every time you eat, be sure to have a serving of high-quality protein. Ideal sources are animal-based products including meat, eggs, poultry, fish, or dairy. Protein shakes can also be a convenient way to get a significant serving of protein quickly and relatively easily, especially for those with busy schedules who can’t necessarily cook, prepare, or pack three or more meals every day.
Have Your Workout Shake
Protein shakes aren’t necessary to see results, they can be incredibly useful under the right conditions. Just like barbells aren’t necessary to see results, but they, too, are incredibly useful under the right conditions.
When you train hard, you deplete your body’s glycogen stores and begin muscle breakdown. A workout shake containing protein and carbohydrates is an easy step toward kickstarting recovery as soon as possible.
Whether you grab a whey protein smoothie from your gym, mix up a shake in your own “blender bottle” on the way to the car, or walk from your garage gym into the kitchen for a legit high-protein blender bomb, it’s critical that you get quality nutrition into your body ASAP.
Credit: Miljan Zivkovic / Shutterstock
Research has repeatedly shown recovery benefits of a carb-protein mix shortly after, or sometimes before, training. (11)(12) Even something as simple as a large glass of chocolate milk, which is loaded with high-quality protein, has been shown to be beneficial. (13)
In terms of practicality and efficiency, workout shakes have a leg up on solid foods, both in terms of easier digestion and simplicity. Not too many people want to go to town on a Tupperware full of chicken breast and rice in the locker room or in their car, but a protein and carb shake couldn’t be much easier.
Supplement Wisely
It’s the 21st century. Sport supplements have come a long way from desiccated liver tablets and overhyped, underdosed nonsense (even though, unfortunately, you can still find both of those being sold today).
To maximize recovery between training sessions, consider strategic supplementation with science-backed ingredients. As a gray-haired lifter, that means nutrients like collagen for the joints (plus some nice skin and hair benefits) and creatine which has been shown to benefit everything from strength and recovery to brain health. (14)(15)
Staples like vitamin D and fish oil should also be on your radar for consideration, as both have been shown to have myriad benefits for overall health.(16)(17) Improving your recovery from weight training is one thing; improving your overall health is another, arguably more foundational, priority.
Some lifters become begrudgingly set in their ways, seeming to flaunt a sense of misguided superiority over not taking any supplements. “Those helpers? Oh, I don’t use those.” Ultimately, that approach only shoots yourself in the foot by deliberately overlooking a verifiably beneficial addition to your nutrition plan.
In the training world, you don’t win bonus points for making things unnecessarily difficult for yourself. Electricity has been around for more than 150 years and, odds are, you turn the lights on in your gym. It’s okay to rely on modern sports science for research-based supplements that can improve your health, recovery, and results.
Lifestyle Tips for Recovery
The things you lift and the things you eat are still only part of the recovery picture. There are a few additional steps you can implement into your regular routine that can boost overall progress.
Sleep: Quality Over Quantity
It’s easy for researchers to recommend “sleeping at least eight hours per day.” What’s not easy is to actually follow-through on that advice when you’ve got overtime at work, kids to put to bed (or kids to expect home by curfew), late-night arguments with your partner about paying the bills, and a dozen other factors weighing on your mind.
The data is fairly conclusive. Getting seven or more hours of mostly uninterrupted sleep each night can help with strength, muscle mass, recovery, overall health, hormone production, and a number of other health markers. (18)(19)
Unfortunately, that data only goes so far when it’s 1:26 a.m. and you’re staring at the ceiling because your brain wants to remember the name of the Lone Ranger’s nephew’s horse. (It was Victor).
Rather than overfocusing on how many hours you sleep each night, even though it’s irrefutably important, you can focus on steps to improve your sleep quality, sometimes called “sleep hygiene.” This includes things like creating a dark room by covering any windows with blackout curtains, considering effective non-prescription sleep aids like ZMA (zinc-magnesium) or melatonin, cutting off caffeine by mid-afternoon, using white noise like a fan, and making your bedroom relatively cool.
Credit: Dario Lo Presti / Shutterstock
One final sleep hygiene tip, and likely the most challenging for some, is avoiding electronics for at least one hour before bed. (20) No scrolling on the phone, no reading on the tablet, nothing that creates “blue light” — a particular wavelength of light that essentially tells your brain, “It’s daytime, so don’t go to sleep yet.”
While you may not have total control over your sleeping hours, you can set yourself up for sleeping success by practicing good hygiene.
Learn to Love Contrast Showers
Speaking of hygiene, you (hopefully) shower off after a hard workout. If so, you’re perfectly set up for a relatively low effort technique that can reduce muscle soreness, improve overall recovery, and maybe even boost your immune system. (21)(22)(23)
Alternating hot water with cold water during a standard shower has been shown to provide all of those benefits — reduced muscle soreness, improved post-workout recovery, decreased perception of fatigue, and more.
You don’t need to alternate between Johnny Storm and Jack Torrance, but switch between a noticeably hotter than normal temperature (within a safe and tolerable range) and a distinctly colder than normal temperature. Do your best to maintain a normal, or deeper than normal, breathing pattern.
Hold each temperature for at least 30 seconds, or 15 to 20 slow, deep breaths. Ideally aim for approximately 90 seconds, or roughly 50 slow, deep breaths and eventually work up to three or four “rounds” at each temperature. It can definitely take some getting used to, but you’re likely to notice the fatigue-reducing benefits almost immediately.
Active Recovery Sessions
This potential solution might technically be better suited for this article’s “Training” section, except for the fact that, if it’s done right, it’s not actually training. Active recovery is a general term for sub-maximal exercise performed on “rest days” that can stimulate overall recovery rather than tapping into the body’s already taxed energy supply. (24)
Credit: Krakenimages.com / Shutterstock
Active recovery could be taking a 30-minute walk, playing nine holes of golf, doing an online yoga class, or performing a light weight, low volume, low intensity workout. Just be careful with that last one.
Any type of weight training must be low intensity and relatively low volume in order to stimulate recovery. If you think you’ll have trouble reeling it in, either don’t tempt yourself or stick with only bodyweight exercises. For the majority of experienced lifters, basic bodyweight training will be relatively low intensity as long as you avoid reaching failure. So go ahead and knock out some push-ups and lunges.
Active recovery is different from passive recovery because you’ve reframed a “rest day” as a “recovery day.” If you can boost your overall recovery, increase blood flow, and improve mobility by doing something, instead of doing nothing, seize the opportunity.
Get to the Doctor
This is likely the least popular piece of advice in the list. You’re probably overdue for a doctor’s checkup. If you’re not, excellent. Stay on schedule. But the reality is, when you’re over 40, the yearly check-in with your primary is a bare minimum.
Find a reputable cardiologist to keep tabs on your ticker. Possibly look into a qualified endocrinologist, since men’s and women’s hormones are naturally decreasing by this age, whether it’s the start of andropause or menopause.
Monitoring basic bloodwork and cardiovascular health will help you set up an appropriate training and nutrition plan. More relevant to lifters, it’s time to finally diagnose any problematic joint pain that you’ve been “tolerating” for far too long.
Whether it’s a chronic shoulder issue, cranky knee, or troublesome ankle, it’s time to have it looked at by an expert and treated properly — even if it means a few weeks of physical therapy and a temporarily altered gym routine.
Putting out these smoldering fires before they become raging infernos is just good long-term planning, and you do want to keep lifting for the long-term, right?
“Act Your Age” Isn’t an Insult
You can dye the hair, Botox away the wrinkles, and take any other cosmetic steps to try not looking over-40. Your body still knows how long it’s been around and it’ll remind you when you train, and after you train. The sooner you start treating your body with the respect it deserves (or maybe even a little more than you think it deserves), the sooner you can align all your systems toward getting serious results while avoiding unnecessary, self-inflicted obstacles.
References
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The keto diet may have achieved mainstream popularity as a weight-loss strategy, but it has also piqued the interest of athletes looking to optimize performance as well as body composition.
As you might imagine, this has caused no small amount of pearl-clutching in sports circles. Keto diets require you to strictly limit carb intake—the antithesis of the standard sports nutrition advice.Fueling strength workouts and endurance training sessions without loading up on carbs?! Is it even possible? Safe?
I can personally attest to the power of switching from being an obligate carb-burner to a fat-burning beast. Likewise, I could point to many examples of high-performing athletes who eat a low-carb or keto diet (at least sometimes throughout the year) with great success. There’s KetoGains cofounder Luis Villasenor and “Keto Savage” Robert Sykes—both impressive physical specimens whose physiques are walking answers to the question, “Can you build muscle on keto?” (Yes.) Record-breaking ultrarunner Zach Bitter and Ironman champions Dave Scott and Jan van Berkel use ketogenic and low-carb diets to enhance their training. Virta Health founder Sami Inkinen and his wife Meredith Loring rowed a small boat from San Francisco to Hawaii—2,400 miles in 45 days—on ultra low-carb, high-fat selections like dehydrated beef, salmon, and vegetables, along with fruit, nuts, and olive oil.
But these are all anecdotes. Maybe these athletes are just freaks of nature (and they’re probably blessed with genetic gifts). Just because THEY can do it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s possible for every athlete, nor that it’s advantageous for athletes to limit their carb intake… but I think it is. Or at least it can be.
Here’s why.
Why Should Athletes Consider Trying Keto?
Five good reasons to think about doing a Keto Reset if you’re serious about your sport:
1. Being fat-adapted will benefit every athlete, regardless of sport, competitive ambition, and current fitness level.
I’ve long preached the benefits of becoming fat-adapted for athletes:
Access to nearly unlimited energy stores in the form of body fat
Less reliance on carb refeedings before and after exercise
Less reliance on sugary fuels like gels during prolonged workouts, which are a common source of gastrointestinal distress
Often improved body composition
However, many athletes and coaches alike still worship at the altar of carbs. For decades, conventional wisdom has preached that fat is the preferred fuel at low-level, aerobic exercise intensities but that glucose burning predominates once you hit intensities around 60 percent of VO2max. (An imperfect proxy for that is the point at which breathing through your nose only would start to become difficult—a moderate-to-brisk jog for many people.)
Furthermore, say the physiology textbooks, once you hit the upper levels of effort of 85 or 90 percent VO2max, you’re basically burning only glucose. Thus, athletes “need” carbs if they want to go fast or hard. If you don’t eat carbs before, during, and after exercise, you can’t be competitive and won’t reach your full potential. Or so the story goes.
However, more recent studies have called that paradigm into question. Take Jeff Volek and colleagues’ landmark 2016 FASTER study, which looked at elite male ultrarunners and triathletes who had been doing keto for two years on average.1 Compared to similarly trained and fit athletes eating a typical carb-fest, the keto athletes were twice as efficient at burning fat for fuel. They burned more fat at higher exercise intensities than was supposed to be humanly possible. These guys were topping out around 1.5 g/min, whereas the peak fat oxidation rate was thought to be closer to 1 g/min. (Although Stephen Phinney, an author on this paper, had documented the same peak fat oxidation of ~1.5 g/min in keto-adapted cyclists three decades earlier.2)
In short, these guys were the definition of fat-burning beasts, yet—and this is key—their performance on endurance tests was the same as their carb-fueled counterparts. Plus, muscle biopsies showed that both groups had comparable levels of stored muscle glycogen. That means that the fat-fueled athletes did have access to glucose when and if they needed it.
Lest you think the FASTER study was a one-off, a dozen or more other studies have likewise found that when athletes adopt a low-carb, ketogenic diet, their ability to burn fat skyrockets, even at exercise intensities well above the aerobic threshold.3 In short, the evidence is clear: fat is a viable fuel for athletes—with other clear benefits, like…
2. More, and more efficient, mitochondria.
You don’t have to eat a strict ketogenic diet to train your body to use fat for fuel, although it sure does help. The lower your habitual carb intake, the less insulin your pancreas will be releasing on a 24-hour basis (lower insulin AUC, or area under the curve). Fewer carbs plus less insulin equals more fatty acids in circulation, which leads to more fat (and ketones) being used for energy.
To utilize those fatty acids and ketones, you need more, and more efficient, mitochondria. Mitochondria are the cellular organelles where fat is metabolized to ATP, the body’s energy currency. Two things that reliably spur mitochondrial biogenesis (the creation of new mitochondria) and make existing mitochondria work better? Exercise and ketogenic diets.45
3. Faster recovery? Yes, please.
I’ve already said that breaking free of the sugar train enhances recovery, a phenomenon that I experienced myself as an athlete. Once I went Primal, the aches and pains I considered an inevitable part of elite-level training virtually disappeared. Countless readers have reported the same over the years. I always chalked that up to a Primal diet being less inflammatory than the Standard American Diet—fewer gut-busting grains, more omega-3s, that sort of thing. That’s true, but there’s more to the story. Ketones also have direct anti-inflammatory properties.
4. Athletes benefit from not carrying around excess body fat.
Keto is a highly effective tool for losing excess fat while protecting lean mass.67 Protein and fat, the core macronutrients of a keto diet, are highly satiating, and ketones themselves tend to suppress appetite. Weight loss can feel almost effortless. This can also become a double-edged sword for athletes, though, for whom proper fueling is paramount. More on this later.
5. All those general health perks.
Let’s not ignore all the other good stuff that happens when you regulate blood sugar and insulin, reduce inflammation, and provide your brain with ketones. For athletes who are trying to train their bodies into well-oiled machines, these can be especially appreciable.
In one study, researchers asked ten highly trained male runners to do a month of keto and a month of eating a typical high-carb diet.8 Three of the athletes had fasting blood glucose in a prediabetic range to start despite being lean and fit. These three also had the most profound response to the ketogenic diet condition, showing the greatest drops in blood glucose and the highest rates of fat oxidation.
In another small pilot study, five athletes did keto for ten weeks. Despite a few hiccups, by the end, “athletes were keen to pursue a modified low-carbohydrate, high-fat eating style moving forward due to the unexpected health benefits [enhanced well-being, … improved recovery, improvements in skin conditions and reduced inflammation] they experienced.”9
Does Keto Improve or Impair Endurance?
All these arguments in favor of keto are all well and good, but some athletes are mostly interested in the bottom line: finishing time and whether they nab a spot on the podium. These folks are taking a bigger gamble by switching up the tried and true carb fueling paradigm in favor of fat—or are they?
Rumor on the streets is that keto hurts high-end power and endurance. Without carbs, you can’t eke out that last little bit that can spell the difference between a top-10 finish or a middle-of-the-pack time. But the data don’t actually back that up. In controlled research studies comparing high-fat, low-carb (HFLC) diets to low-fat, high-carb (LFHC) diets, high-carb sometimes outperforms keto, and keto sometimes outperforms high-carb;10 but the bulk of the evidence finds little difference. One 2021 review, for example, concluded that the two diets were equivalent in 10 out of the 13 studies they analyzed. 11
Other recent reviews reach similar conclusions. Furthermore, the minority of studies that show decrements on keto usually measure endurance performance via brief time to exhaustion tests (Wingate tests, which if you’ve ever tried one, you know are brutal) or repeat sprints. That doesn’t really reflect the type of endurance the average “endurance athlete” is going for. They’re grinding out sessions that take an hour, two hours, half a day at 60 or 70 percent VO2 max, maybe even less. Realistically, most everyday endurance athletes rarely or never reaching for that top-end power anyway.
Why then did keto get a reputation for being “bad” for endurance athletes? Probably because keto-adaptation takes time. Energy, performance, and “oomph” often tank for the first month or two. After that, if you tough it out, energy and performance rebound, and keto athletes do just as well as sugar-fueled athletes.1213 I suspect many athletes quit before the magic happens.
Can You Build and Maintain Muscle on Keto?
Ok, you’re thinking, keto might work for endurance athletes, but what about strength athletes? Is it possible to get strong and ripped without a ton of carbs?
Unequivocally yes, you can build and maintain muscle on keto. Study after study comparing keto to conventional high-carb diets finds no meaningful difference between the two provided that you (1) eat enough food overall, (2) eat sufficient protein to hit your leucine threshold and provide the necessary amino acid building blocks, and (3) deliver the appropriate stimulus in the form of lifting heavy things.141516
Mistakes Athletes Make When Trying Keto
Clearly, it’s possible to be strong and have excellent cardiovascular and muscular endurance without shoveling hundreds of grams of carbs down your gullet each day. Still, I hear from athletes all the time who are struggling in training and competition after going keto. Almost universally, this is a problem with execution, not due to any inherent inferiority with keto itself. These are the most common mistakes I see:
Mistake #1: Not eating enough
Carb restriction and caloric restriction often go hand-in-hand, whether intentionally or not. While you can rely on body fat to make up a deficit, there’s a limit to how much you want to draw on those reserves, especially if you’re already lean.
Mistake #2: Not supplementing electrolytes
Nine times out of ten, when an athlete complains about headaches, low energy, muscle fatigue, cramps, or brain fog, they need more electrolytes. Sodium especially, but also potassium and magnesium.
Mistake #3: Not giving it enough time to work
Many of the most-cited studies supposedly showing that keto “hurts performance” or “doesn’t work” for athletes have ludicrously short adaptation periods—like less than a week. It takes minimally three to four weeks for the process to really get going. Athletes, who require a lot of energy to sustain their training, may need several months to feel totally normal again.17
Mistake #4: Going keto at the wrong time
Because it takes time to adapt, I recommend that athletes who are brand new to keto, or who have been away for a long time, save a Keto Reset for the off-season. Wait until you can reduce the volume and/or intensity of your training as needed. Don’t completely switch up your diet a month before your A race. You will almost certainly regret it.
Mistake #5: Fearing carbs
Carbs are not the enemy here. I’ve said over and overagain that athletes who “burn and earn” carbs can and should replenish them—but that they should opt for Primal carb sources, and they should, in my opinion, strive to find the minimum effective dose that supports their training load (even if they choose to exceed it sometimes).
While a more sedentary person typically needs to limit intake to 30 to 50 grams of carbs per day to stay in ketosis, hard-charging athletes can probably consume several times that. They’ll still spend much of their time in ketosis because those carbs are used for fuel immediately during their workouts and for replenishing glycogen stores after.
To find your personal carb tolerance, use a blood or breath meter to measure your ketones at different carb intakes.
Mistake #6: Adding back carbs too soon
Hard-charging athletes might ultimately prefer a targeted or cyclical keto approach where they titrate carbs up or down depending on the volume or intensity of their current training cycle. In fact, many successful “low-carb” elite athletes reportedly consume hundreds of grams of carbs per day when they’re really pushing their training. While that might sound like a lot, it’s still considerably less than their conventional peers who might consume two, three, even four times that amount. It’s all relative. Plus, low-carb athletes might still be in ketosis even consuming a couple hundred grams of carbs per day since they are regularly depleting glycogen.
I have no problems with using carbs strategically, but I recommend waiting until you’re fully keto-adapted and feeling “normal” again on keto before experimenting with a targeted or cyclical keto approach. Otherwise, you’re just delaying the adaptation process.
What about Female Athletes? Can Keto Work for Them?
Yes, but with caveats.
Premenopausal females’ bodies are more attuned to dietary restriction, and relative energy deficiency is already a significant problem for high-level female athletes. I’d exercise caution here. Female athletes who are interested in keto must be very conscious of their overall food intake and be alert for signs that they are restricting too much. These include decreased energy or motivation to train, sleep issues, hair loss, or menstrual irregularities.
For the same reason, I wouldn’t recommend that (premenopausal) female athletes also engage in intermittent fasting alongside carbohydrate restriction. Choose one or the other.
The Bottom Line
The majority of the evidence finds keto to be just as effective for endurance and strength athletes as a conventional high-carb diet. Plus, with keto, you get all the anti-inflammatory, fat-burning, recovery-supporting perks.
Yes, there is a chance that you might lose some of your maximal power, speed, or strength, especially during the adaptation period. For most people, that seems a worthy sacrifice. The vast majority of people who toe the starting line of a half marathon or ironman triathlon aren’t there to win. They want to finish in a time that is respectable for them and not be totally wrecked after. Unless you’re being paid to be at the absolute top of your game, competing with the best of the best in a sport demanding all-out strength or speed, trading a little bit of top-end power for all the benefits of being a fat-burning beast is a good deal. Nay, a great deal.
When you feel better, sleep better, and recover more quickly, you’re also able to train more efficiently. It’s that much easier to motivate yourself to lace up your shoes and get out there. Everything feels easier and more enjoyable. Isn’t that what you ultimately want? To enjoy your sport? I know there are some masochistic athletes out there who are in it for the pain and the grind, but I think most of you are in it for fun, health, and camaraderie with other athletes.
And remember, you don’t need to be keto full time to reap the benefits.
In fact, I don’t believe anyone needs to be keto year-round except in specific medical circumstances. You can enjoy metabolic flexibility and everything that comes with it by doing a Keto Reset a couple times a year and otherwise moving between keto and Primal as you wish. Just as I encourage athletes to be intuitive, not rigid, with their training decisions, don’t be overly wedded to one way of eating.
Summary: How to Make Keto Work as an Athlete
Eat enough calories (energy). Embrace fat.
Get sufficient electrolytes! You’ll almost certainly need to supplement.
Give yourself enough time to adapt. Minimum three to four weeks, but six to eight weeks is probably a more realistic minimum (and it may be longer).
Ideally, start keto during the off-season or at a time where you can scale back training if needed.
After a period of strict keto, optionally experiment with adding carbs back in a strategic manner.
To build muscle on keto, do all of the above and…
Consume enough protein, which is really a good idea for everyone.
Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss
On an international level, the year 2022 was a coming out party, of sorts, for Polish powerlifter Agata Sitko. The athlete placed second in the 76-kilogram division at the 2022 International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Classic Powerlifting Championships, won the Junior division of that contest, and then took home respective wins in the 2022 Arnold Sports Festival and the 2022 European Powerlifting Federation (EPF) European Classic Powerlifting Championships. Sitko is picking up where she left off.
During the 2023 IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships, which took place from June 11-18, 2023, in Valletta, Malta, Sitko scored a 153-kilogram (337.3-pound) raw bench press on her second attempt. While Sitko would come in second place in the 76-kilogram Open class to rival Karlina Tongotea, the mark is officially an Open and Junior IPF World Record in the 76-kilogram division. The press eclipsed Sitko’s own previous World Record in both divisions when the athlete lifted 146 kilograms (321.8 pounds) at the 2023 Sheffield Powerlifting Championships.
A powerhouse of strength at just 20 years old, the bench press is undoubtedly Sitko’s calling card. According to the IPF database, not only does the athlete possess both the Open and Junior IPF World Record bench press in the 76-kilogram category, that is also the simultaneous case for the 84-kilogram division where Sitko has complete upper-body dominion.
In addition to her bench press milestone, Sitko recorded a 240-kilogram (529.1-pound) raw deadlift for an IPF Junior World Record in the 76-kilogram class. The powerlifter’s final raw total of 590.5 kilograms (1,301.8 pounds) was also an IPF Junior World Record. The athlete’s top squat was 197.5 kilograms (435.4 pounds). Here’s an overview of Sitko’s best stats from the 2023 IPF Worlds:
Agata Sitko (76KG) | 2023 IPF Worlds Top Stats
Squat — 197.5 kilograms (435.4 pounds) |
Bench Press — 153 kilograms (337.3 pounds) | IPF Open and Junior World Record
Deadlift — 240 kilograms (529.1 pounds) | IPF Junior World Record
Total — 590.5 kilograms (1,301.8 pounds) | IPF Junior World Record
To date, Sitko has now won 13 individual competitions, some of which were where she competed as both an Open and Junior athlete. When factoring in her name all over the IPF World Record books, that is quite the rap sheet to possess for any established strength titan.
At the time of this writing, it’s unclear where and when Sitko will bring her talents to a sanctioned lifting platform again. The athlete clearly makes it a point to travel worldwide to showcase her excellence with a barbell in hand. For the most part, this young star hasn’t failed in her mission.
Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss
84-kilogram powerlifter Amanda Lawrence is now a four-time International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) Open World Champion. Lawrence entered the 2023 IPF World Classic Open Powerlifting Championships in Valetta, Malta on the week of June 11-17, and she finished the meet with her fourth world title.
As part of her championship performance, Lawrence broke her own IPF raw squat World Record by squatting 249 kilograms (549 pounds). The IPF acknowledged Lawrence’s success in an Instagram post.
Lawrence totaled 636.5 kilograms (1,403.2 pounds) across all three lifts, and she went eight for nine on her attempts. She only missed one of her deadlift attempts.
Amanda Lawrence (84KG) | 2023 IPF Worlds Top Stats
Squat — 249 kilograms (549 pounds) | IPF World Record
During the squat, she wore knee sleeves and a weightlifting belt, as well as wrist wraps. She descended into the hole under control and immediately began coming up. The ascent was slow at first, and it appeared the left side of the bar was slightly ahead of the right, but she stood tall at the end of the attempt with a smile on her face as the referee instructed her to rack the barbell. The video doesn’t show how many white lights she got, but the lift was confirmed as good.
According to Open Powerlifting, Lawrence extended her own world record with that lift. Her previous record was set in March 2023, when she squatted 246.5 kilograms (543.4 pounds) at the IPF Sheffield Powerlifting Championships in Sheffield, England. At that meet, she also set the IPF raw deadlift world record by pulling 268.5 kilograms (591.9 pounds). Those two lifts helped her claim the world record for total, as well, with a combined 645 kilograms (1,421.9 pounds).
Lawrence has also won the 84-kilogram IPF World Championship title in 2022, 2021, and 2019. There was no 2020 meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of this writing, it’s unknown which meet she intends to enter next.
Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss
When it comes to buying cardio machines for home gyms, rowers are often overlooked in favor of treadmills, exercise bikes, and ellipticals. But few exercise machines offer as challenging or effective of a cardio workout as the rower. Despite being low-impact and easy on the joints, it works multiple large muscle groups in the upper and lower body and can burn hundreds of calories in just 30 minutes.
Buying a rower can feel overwhelming because there are so many options available with different types of resistance and unique sets of features. Most rowers aren’t cheap, which can further complicate things if you’re on a strict budget. Fortunately, I’ve done the research for you and compiled a list of the best rowing machines, so you can find the right one for you regardless of your fitness goals.
Doesn’t need to be placed near an outlet because it’s battery-operated
Minimal maintenance required
Smooth-gliding seat
Cons
No instructor-led classes
Very rarely will you find a list of the best home gym equipment that doesn’t include the Concept2 rower. Its durability, high-quality build, and strong brand reputation make it a popular choice amongst home gym owners who want a solid, reliable rowing machine that can last a lifetime.
The frame is made of sturdy, heavy-duty aluminum that can take a beating. I have a Concept2 rower in my home gym, and I’ve accidentally had a loaded barbell roll into it and banged it against my squat rack when moving it around, and there are virtually no signs of damage. I don’t recommend mistreating it often, but if you did accidentally knock it against something, it’s unlikely that significant damage would occur.
The Concept2 RowErg, previously called the Model D, comes with a PM5 Bluetooth-enabled performance monitor that tracks metrics such as stroke rate, watts, calories, and distance. It doesn’t offer instructor-led classes, but you can put your phone or a small tablet in the device holder and stream classes from there.
You can also create custom workouts in the ErgData mobile app and sync them to the monitor. I use the app often for rowing interval workouts, and I love not having to keep track of my intervals myself since the app does it for me.
It uses air to create resistance via a flywheel at the front, and how hard you pull determines how much resistance you feel. The damper setting you choose also dictates how much resistance there is because it controls how much air flows into the machine. Lower damper settings allow less air to flow through the flywheel cage and makes rowing easier, while higher damper settings allow more air in and force you to work harder to get the flywheel to spin.
The seat glides effortlessly along the monorail, and the chain doesn’t snag. The ergonomically-designed seat has contoured areas for your legs and tailbone. The handlebars have a 10-degree bend to allow a more natural grip and are covered with molded rubber to help absorb sweat. However, the handlebars may cause blisters, especially for newer rowers who don’t have calluses built up yet.
To store it, you can break the rower down into two pieces. I do this frequently with my Concept2 rower, and it takes just a few seconds to break down. Putting it back together takes some getting used to because the flywheel piece is cumbersome to handle, but once you get the hang of it, that process also takes less than 10 seconds. Concept2 doesn’t recommend storing the rower vertically, but I’ve been to many CrossFit gyms that store their rowers this way and never had any issues.
Best Budget Rowing Machine: YOSUDA Rowing Machine 100R
Comes with balance regulators to make it more stable
Takes up just 2.22 square feet when stored upright
Foam-padded handles for extra comfort
Accommodates users up to 6’2 tall
Cons
No pre-programmed workouts
Basic display and stats tracking
Resistance levels may not go high enough for advanced rowers
The YOSUDA Rowing Machine 100R comes with a low price tag, but it doesn’t skimp on quality. The frame consists of commercial-quality alloy steel, and the foot pedals and flywheel cage are made of heavy-duty plastic. It also has wide, long legs that give it a stable base and prevent it from wobbling. If the room you place it on has uneven flooring, you can use the balance regulators (rubberized feet that screw into the bottom of the legs) to make the rower more level.
It’s a magnetic rower, so it’s quieter than other types of rowers because it doesn’t use air or water for resistance. This is a plus for those who work out early in the morning or late at night while other people in the home are sleeping. It also allows you to watch TV or listen to music without the sounds of the machine drowning out your entertainment.
The foot pedals can accommodate nearly any shoe size and have a non-slip texture, so your feet will stay in place even if you don’t strap them in. The foam-padded handle is comfortable to hold for long workouts and helps prevent blisters on your hands, and the 42-inch long monorail allows users up to 6’2 in height to straighten their legs all the way during the drive (the portion of the row where you open the hips and lean back slightly).
The built-in monitor only displays strokes per minute, calories, time, and stroke count, so this rower isn’t suitable for experienced rowers who want to track more advanced metrics like watts or 500-meter splits. But for those who want a challenging at-home workout without spending thousands of dollars, the YOSUDA Rowing Machine 100R is a solid choice.
Best Beginner Rowing Machine: Aviron Impact Series
Requires a membership to get access to all of the workout programs
The impressive number of interactive programs offered on the Aviron Impact Series Rower makes it the best rower for beginners. It includes guided workouts, coached programs, and scenic rows from picturesque locations like Lake Atter in Austria. Having a large variety of workouts to choose from can help prevent boredom and make working out feel more exciting, which is a plus for newbies.
If the regular workouts start to feel stale, you can participate in virtual races or play games instead. For days when you just want to zone out to some entertainment while on the rower, you can stream content from Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and other compatible streaming services.
The Aviron Impact Series Rower also tracks a wide range of metrics, such as meters, stroke rate, total time, watts, and calories burned.
The rower consists of heavy-duty steel and aluminum, and while it weighs 97 pounds, it’s easy to move around thanks to its four wheels and foldable design. It has a rotating handlebar for optimal wrist positioning and an adjustable footplate to accommodate nearly any shoe size. Compared to other rowers with seat heights of 14 or 15 inches, the padded seat on the Aviron rower is 20 inches off the floor, so you don’t have to bend too low to get on it.
A unique feature of the Aviron Impact Series Rower is that it uses both air and magnetic resistance. This dual resistance system allows you to enjoy the quietness a magnetic rower offers while experiencing the real-world feel of rowing on open water that an air rower provides.
To take advantage of everything Aviron offers, you need a monthly membership. You get a 30-day free trial of it with your purchase, but once it expires, it costs around $24 per month. The machine alone costs nearly $2,000, so this isn’t the most budget-friendly option, but the price may be worth it for those seeking an immersive rowing experience.
Best Water Rowing Machine: WaterRower Natural Rowing Machine S4
Requires more maintenance than air or magnetic rowers
Water tank may leak
No built-in programs or classes
If you want to experience the feeling of rowing on open water, the WaterRower is the machine for you. It features a water tank at the front with paddles inside it connected to a chained handlebar, and you can adjust the resistance by adding or removing water. The sounds of the water sloshing around the tank also help provide a soothing and pleasant rowing experience. The machine has a 700-pound weight capacity and supports users with an inseam of up to 37 inches, so it’s suitable for a wide range of body types.
The sleek wood construction can elevate the aesthetic of your home gym, though it’s not as durable as steel or aluminum. The contoured seat glides smoothly over the rails, but you need to have good mobility to sit on it and get back up because it’s only 12.2 inches high. There are four rubber feet on the frame to provide traction and protect your floors. However, the water tank is prone to leaking, so if you leave the rower on wood floors, you may want to put a rubber mat underneath it.
During your workout, the LCD monitor provides information about your intensity, stroke rate, duration, and distance. It also measures how you’re performing against customized intensity, stroke rate, or heart rate zones. There are no pre-programmed workouts available, but you can purchase a device holder separately to easily follow along with classes streamed from a mobile app (such as Ergatta) on your phone or tablet.
The WaterRower requires regular maintenance to keep the water and tank clean. You get four water purification tablets with the machine, though, which helps cut back on the amount of manual cleaning you have to do. Once you get through those four tablets, you can contact the company for more.
30 percent lighter and smaller than the original Hydrow rower
Affordably priced for a smart rower
Available in black or your choice of four other colors
Cons
Vertical storage anchor isn’t included
Needs to be plugged into an outlet
Requires a monthly subscription
Magnetic resistance rowers are excellent for home gyms because they are quieter than air or water rowers, and the Hydrow Wave is no exception. It’s virtually silent, so you can row early in the morning or late at night without disrupting anyone else in your home. You also won’t struggle to hear the instructors during one of Hydrow’s guided workouts.
The Hydrow Wave features a durable thermoplastic polymer frame, a cushioned ergonomic seat, and an angled handlebar to enhance wrist comfort. The 80-inch long stainless steel track can accommodate users with up to a 36-inch inseam, and the machine has a 375-pound weight capacity, making it suitable for most individuals.
You’ll need a monthly membership to the Hydrow app, which costs around $44 per month, to get the most out of this rower. While more expensive than subscriptions to other smart rowers, the Hydrow app offers access to over 4,000 immersive workout options, including interval training programs, steady-state endurance rows, and scenic rows through lakes and rivers from all over the world. When you need a break from the rower, you can take one of Hydrow’s yoga, strength, or circuit training classes instead.
Despite having a smaller footprint than the original Hydrow, which measures 86” L x 25” W x 47” H, the Hydrow Wave is still a large machine. It doesn’t fold, and you need a ceiling height of at least 83 inches to store it upright since it’s 82 inches high when lifted vertically. You also need to purchase a vertical storage anchor separately to keep it secure when it’s upright. And at 102 pounds, it’s not the easiest to move around, but there are caster wheels at the front for portability.
26 levels of resistance that auto-adjust based on your intensity
Oversized, pivoting foot pedals with quick-release nylon straps
10-year frame warranty
Cons
Requires an iFIT membership
Takes up a lot of space when open
One of the reasons home gym owners shy away from rowing machines is that they take up so much space. At 87 inches long and just over 47 inches high, the NordicTrack RW600 is one of the larger rowers on this list. But the foldable design makes it ideal for small gyms, as it can easily fit into a corner when not in use.
The NordicTrack RW600 also comes with several features to accommodate a wide variety of users. The pivoting pedals allow for natural movement of the feet and remove pressure on the ankles, a plus for those with mobility issues. The soft-touch handlebar is beneficial for preventing blisters, and the molded seat helps reduce discomfort on the tailbone during long rows. The seat is about 19 inches off the ground, so most people can get on and off it without much of a struggle.
The machine offers 26 levels of magnetic resistance, but it also has an inertia-enhanced flywheel to produce varying levels of air resistance. The dual resistance allows you to get a more challenging workout than you could get with one type of resistance alone. Plus, if you follow along with a guided workout on the 10-inch touchscreen monitor, the machine will automatically adjust the resistance level for you based on how hard you’re working.
You get a 30-day free trial to iFIT with your purchase. An iFIT membership costs about $39 per month after the trial period, but the rower itself costs just under $1,000 — much lower than other smart rowers we’ve come across. If you like the idea of built-in live and on-demand classes but don’t want to pay a premium price, this may be the rower for you.
Best Rowing Machine For Seniors: Sunny Health & Fitness SF-RW5515
Weighs just under 61 pounds and has front roller wheels for portability
Pivoting, non-slip foot pedals and adjustable foot straps keep your feet secure
Magnetic resistance provides a smooth and quiet stroke
Stabilizers on the back help prevent tipping and wobbling
Cons
Basic display monitor
The Sunny Health & Fitness SF-RW5515 is as straightforward as you can get in a rowing machine. Advanced athletes will find it lacking, but it’s suitable for seniors who don’t need all the bells and whistles of a fancier rower. It doesn’t have a fancy, high-tech monitor or offer built-in workouts and only offers eight resistance levels, but this is likely sufficient for seniors who aren’t interested in high-intensity workouts.
The seat sits almost 12 inches off the ground, which is low compared to other rowers, but it has extra cushioning to keep you pain-free during your workouts. The pivoting pedals can help seniors who may have poor mobility achieve sufficient ankle dorsiflexion during the catch, and the padded slip-resistant handlebars offer a comfortable grip.
At 61 pounds, the Sunny Health & Fitness SF-RW5515 is among the lightest rowers we’ve seen. It folds vertically and has two wheels at the front, so it’s not too challenging to move out of the way when not in use — another plus for older individuals who may struggle to move heavy and bulky items on their own.
How We Chose the Best Rowing Machines
We evaluated many different factors in selecting the best rowing machines, including resistance type, noise level, built-in programming options, and stats tracking. To help as many people as possible find a rower that fits their budget, we included options ranging from less than $300 to over $2,000. We also looked at construction quality and durability to ensure you get a lot of value out of your machine and can have it for years to come.
Different Types of Rowing Machines
The four main types of rowing machines are air, water, magnetic, and hydraulic. Each type has its advantages and disadvantages, which can factor into your decision of which one to buy.
Air
Air rowers like the Concept2 RowErg use air to create resistance. They have handles that are chained to a flywheel, and pulling the handle circulates air throughout the flywheel cage. The air then creates drag and requires you to use more force to keep spinning the flywheel. Pulling on the handle faster creates more resistance.
Some air rowers also have damper settings that determine how much air circulates through the flywheel. A higher damper setting opens up the cage more to allow more airflow, thus creating more resistance. A lower damper setting does the opposite.
Water
Water rowers like the WaterRower Natural Rowing Machine S4 have water tanks with paddles inside that are connected to a chain and handlebar. As you pull the handle, the paddles move water around the tank, which creates resistance. Rowing faster will provide more resistance because it forces the paddles to move more water. How much water is in the tank can also determine how much resistance there is.
Many people find that water rowers best simulate the feeling of rowing on open water and enjoy the calming sounds of water sloshing around the tank. Some water rowers require a lot of maintenance because the water can get cloudy and the tank can get moldy, but many brands provide purification tablets with their rowers that help keep the water clean for several months.
Magnetic
Magnetic rowers like the YOSUDA Rowing Machine 100R use magnets and flywheels to create resistance. They often have a dial at the front that adjusts how close the magnets are to the flywheel and, thus, the level of resistance provided. The closer the magnets are to the flywheel, the harder it becomes to spin the wheel.
Magnetic rowers are quieter than air and water rowers, which is beneficial if you want to listen to music, watch TV, or not disturb your family members while rowing. They also offer a smooth stroke and more consistent resistance levels, allowing for a more enjoyable rowing experience.
Hydraulic
Hydraulic rowers are simpler machines than air, water, or magnetic rowers. In many cases, they don’t have a seat that slides back and forth along a rail or a single handlebar attached to a chain. Instead, they have arm handles on either side that move back and forth and are attached to hydraulic pistons.
Because you use little to no leg drive on a hydraulic rower, it doesn’t truly replicate the motion of rowing in a boat or provide a total-body workout. We didn’t include hydraulic rowers on the list above for these reasons.
Benefits of Rowing Machines
Rowing machines offer a way to train the entire body while improving stamina and endurance. You can bump up the resistance to work on your strength or use them for steady-state or high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts — but more on that below.
They’re Low-Impact
Rowing machines are suitable for people of all fitness levels because they are low-impact. Since they don’t put a lot of stress on your joints, they can be used by older individuals, those rehabbing an injury, or anyone who needs a break from high-impact activities like running and jumping.
They Provide a Full-Body Workout
The pushing and pulling motions of rowing work nearly every major lower and upper body muscle group, including the quads, hamstrings, glutes, biceps, triceps, shoulders, upper back, and core. It’s not the same as resistance training, but for anyone who wants to strengthen the entire body (including the heart) with one machine, a rower can be a great choice.
They Burn a Lot of Calories
A 30-minute moderate-intensity rowing session can burn up to 300 calories. This makes rowing an excellent exercise for those trying to lose weight, though you should note that diet is also an important element of weight loss. You can burn hundreds of calories on the rower but still not lose weight if your caloric intake is too high.
They Help Increase Cardiorespiratory and Muscular Endurance
Rowing is an excellent way to improve your muscles’ ability to perform repetitive motions for longer periods. It can also help strengthen your cardiorespiratory system so you can sustain bouts of physical activity for longer durations.
They Are Versatile
Like most forms of cardio, rowing can sometimes feel monotonous. But what’s great about rowing machines is that you can easily use them for intervals to make your workouts more engaging. Examples of interval workouts you can do on a rower include:
One-to-one intervals – rowing for 30 seconds and resting for 30 seconds for 20 to 30 minutes
Tabatas – rowing as hard as you can for 20 seconds, then resting for 10 seconds for a total of eight minutes
Fartleks – alternating between easy and hard paces for randomly timed intervals
Many at-home rowing machines also offer built-in workout programs, and you can stream instructor-led classes on the monitor or your mobile device. Furthermore, on rowers with fixed resistance levels, you can crank up the resistance to get more of a strength training workout. The variety can help prevent you from getting bored and encourage you to stick with your fitness routine.
What To Look For When Buying a Rowing Machine
Choosing a rowing machine for your home gym is no simple feat. You have to consider the cost, durability, the resistance type, how well it will fit into your space, and how comfortable it is to use. If you’re a competitive rower, you’ll need to find a machine that tracks the metrics that are most important for your training. How well-suited the rower is for your body proportions and whether or not it provides built-in workouts can weigh into your decision, too.
Price
Indoor rowing machines range in price from around $300 to $2,500 or more. The more expensive rowers come with advanced features, such as Bluetooth connectivity and touchscreen display monitors with built-in classes. But you can just as easily buy a less expensive rower and stream workouts from your TV, phone, or tablet to save money.
Build Quality
A rowing machine’s construction quality and price often go hand in hand. Look for materials such as commercial-grade aluminum or steel, as these will last the longest. Cheaper rowers consist of lesser-quality materials that may break or malfunction after just a few months, so if you have the budget, it’s worth it to spend more money on a rower that will last for years.
Resistance Type
As you saw above, rowing machines offer water, magnetic, or air resistance. Water rowers are great for those who want to zone out to the sounds of swooshing water during their workouts, but some require more maintenance than others to keep the water and tank clean. Due to their quiet operation, magnetic rowers are ideal for those who live with others. They’re also good for beginners because they offer a smooth and consistent rowing stroke. Air rowers make a lot of noise due to the air circulating around the flywheel cage, but they tend to be cheaper.
Which type of resistance you get depends on your budget, the rowing experience you’re looking for, how quiet you want your machine to be, and how much maintenance you’re willing to put into it.
Size and Storage Options
If you don’t have enough room to keep your rower out all the time, look for a compact option with a shorter monorail, like the Aviron Impact Series rower. Folding rowers like the NordicTrack RW600 are also great for small home gyms. There are even rowers like the Concept2 RowErg that break down into two pieces for easy storage.
Weight Capacity
Every rowing machine comes with a maximum weight capacity, so be sure to choose one that can support your body weight. It’s also a good idea to look for a rower that can handle much more than your current weight to avoid excess wear and tear on its parts.
For example, if you weigh 240 pounds and buy a rower with a 250-pound weight capacity, you may put excess stress on the machine because you’re nearing the upper limit of its weight threshold. A rower with a 300-pound weight capacity may be a better option.
Display and Stats Tracking
At the very least, your rower should track distance, total time, and stroke count and display them in clear, easy-to-read numbers. Most rowing machines also display heart rate and calories burned. These numbers can be off by as much as 30%, but you can still use them as a reference for how hard you’re working.
Also, consider what metrics you need for the types of workouts you do most often. In CrossFit, for example, workouts that include rowing for a certain distance are based on the meters on a Concept2 RowErg. You can use a different rower, but it may over or underestimate the number of meters you covered.
Similarly, if you’re a competitive rower looking for an indoor rowing machine to train on, you may want one that tracks advanced metrics like split times or watts.
Comfortable Seat, Foot Pedals, and Handlebars
Sitting on a row erg will never be as comfortable as lounging on a recliner, but it shouldn’t feel like torture. Ergonomic foot pedals allow for more ankle flexion during the catch portion of the stroke, and foam- or rubber-coated handles can help prevent blisters. Many rowers have a contoured seat, but if it’s still too uncomfortable, you can buy a padded seat cushion to keep the tailbone area pain-free.
Monorail Length
The rail on a rowing machine should be long enough for you to extend your legs all the way on the drive. To check for this, you’ll need to look up the rail length of your preferred rower and compare it against your inseam. Height alone isn’t always a good metric to use because two people can be the same height but have different inseams.
Additional Features
If you struggle with motivation or just don’t know how to create an effective rowing workout, you may want a rowing machine that comes with pre-programmed workouts or allows you to stream virtual classes from its monitor. As mentioned above, you can stream workouts from another device if your preferred rower doesn’t offer that functionality. But in that case, you should look for one with a device holder so you can easily follow along with the classes.
Rowers that sync to mobile apps are also worth considering if you want to track and monitor your performance over time or engage in some healthy competition with other athletes.
How To Use a Rowing Machine
Rowing isn’t a highly technical exercise, but many people don’t know how to use proper rowing form. Therefore, they don’t get as much out of their workouts as they can and make themselves more susceptible to injury.
There are four phases or stages of rowing:
The catch is where you begin your rowing stroke. Hold onto the handlebar with straight arms and maintain tension in your upper back. Lean forward slightly while keeping your chest up, and avoid rounding your shoulders. The seat should be about six to eight inches away from your feet, and your shins should be as close to vertical as possible.
The drive occurs as you push your legs to move the seat backward. With your quads, glutes, and hamstrings engaged, drive your heels to begin straightening your legs. Keep your arms straight and chest up until your legs are fully extended, then open the hips and lean back slightly.
The finish is the phase in which you pull the handlebar into your body. Keep your wrists in line with your forearms and the elbows aligned with the handle. A good reference point to pull to is around the lower portion of the ribs.
The recovery is when you return to the starting position. As you saw from the previous steps, the sequence of the first three phases is legs-hips-arms. In the recovery, the sequence goes arms-hips-legs. Straighten your arms until they’re past your knees, then bend your knees and slide the seat forward until you’re back in the catch position.
As you row, maintain a smooth and consistent stroke. If you pause at any point, you’ll lose power and momentum. It’s better to row with a lower stroke rate (strokes per minute) but be able to keep moving consistently than to strive for a high stroke rate and not be able to hold a steady pace.
The rower is an often overlooked piece of fitness equipment, but adding one to your home gym can help you make some serious gains in your cardiovascular fitness. Because it also offers some level of resistance and recruits all of the large muscle groups in the body, it can also help you get stronger and improve your muscular endurance.
Rowers can be long, bulky pieces of equipment, but there are several foldable options and models that break down into two parts for when you need to stow them away. If you’re worried about getting bored, you can choose from one of the several smart rowers on the list above that offer hundreds (or even thousands) of workout options. And if comfort is a concern for you, look for a rower with an ergonomic seat and padded handles to help make your rowing experience more pleasant and enjoyable.
FAQs
What kind of rowing machine is best for home use?
Magnetic rowing machines like the YOSUDA Rowing Machine 100R are best for home use because they’re quieter and more compact than water or air rowers. If noise isn’t a concern but space is an issue, foldable rowers like the NordicTrack RW600 or those that can break down for easier storage, like the Concept2 RowErg, are good options.
Can you lose belly fat on a rowing machine?
Rowing can help you lose belly fat if you’re also in a caloric deficit, or eating fewer calories than you burn each day. It will not help you lose belly fat if you have a poor diet. It’s also important to note that you can’t control where you lose fat from. Depending on your genetics, you might not lose belly fat from rowing alone.
Is 30 minutes of rowing a day enough?
Whether 30 minutes of rowing a day is enough depends on your goals. If you’re rowing for overall health and wellness, 30 minutes a day at a moderate intensity is sufficient. If you compete in a specific sport and are using rowing to increase your endurance and stamina, you may need to row for closer to 45 to 60 minutes.
Is it okay to use a rowing machine every day?
You can use a rowing machine every day, but it’s best not to train hard every day because it can lead to overtraining or burnout. Alternating high-intensity, moderate-intensity, and low-intensity workout days on the rower will allow you to train daily while still recovering properly.
However, rowing every day may become boring after a while and can lead to overuse injuries since you use the same muscle groups repeatedly. You may want to incorporate other types of training into your routine, such as running, lifting weights, or cycling, to prevent boredom and offer your muscles a different training stimulus.
Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss
If you hit up your local commercial gym on any given Monday evening, you’ll see that chest training is one of the most popular workouts for many lifters. Two classic lifts regularly used in this high-priority session are the time-tested flat bench press and its close cousin the incline bench press.
Whether it’s right or wrong, when most people think about “chest muscle” or “upper body training”, they think about the bench press. And when they’re ready for some variety, forget about dumbbell benching. They’ll often stick with a big barbell lift and hit up its companion — the incline bench press.
Credit: Benoit Daoust / Shutterstock
Despite the fact that these lifts may be at risk of being overhyped or oversaturated, they’re still both great and highly effective training options when it comes to adding strength and muscle to your upper body. Depending on your goals and your starting point, they’re actually worth a place in the right program.
Both exercises make it easy to gauge progress and see consistent results. But if you really want to get the most from them, you need a thorough understanding of what makes these two basic chest-builders different, what unique benefits they each offer, and you’ve got to know how to perform them effectively.
Differences Between the Incline Bench Press and Flat Bench Press
To be thorough, it’s important to understand that the differences go beyond just using a slight angle. Each exercise is its own muscle-building monster and requires an understanding of what it can, or cannot, offer.
Muscle Recruitment
The flat bench press and incline bench press are both upper body presses that bear load for the shoulder joint and attached muscles. Being on an incline and pressing relatively closer to an overhead position will recruit a bit more of the clavicular pectoralis muscles (“upper chest”). (1) In comparison, the flat bench press will involve a bit more of the sternal pectoralis (mid or “lower” chest).
Credit: Hryshchyshen Serhii / Shutterstock
Incline pressing will recruit more of the deltoids (shoulders) — especially the front deltoids — compared to a flat bench press. Again, this is due to the arm angle relative to the body. This shoulder recruitment can be greater or lesser depending on the angle of the incline. A higher incline bench press will be more deltoid-dominant compared to a lower incline bench press. (2)
Joint Stress
Both of these lifts are bench press variations, and both will generally involve much of the same efforts. However, the incline bench press will be a bit more biased toward the shoulder joint and more contingent upon overall shoulder health.
Not only does the incline bench press bring your shoulder into a greater degree of extension at the bottom of each rep, but it also finishes each rep in more of an overhead position. For many lifters, this will be more taxing on the rotator cuff and shoulder joint, which is already a relatively limited in its stability compared to other joints.
Bench Angle and Arm Position
The flat bench press — the more popular and glamorized of the two lifts — is performed while lying horizontally on a flat bench. A lifter will likely have the capability to move a bit more weight due to the body’s orientation relative to the barbell and its path.
The incline bench press is performed on a bench that’s typically inclined to 45-degrees. This angle is fixed for incline bench stations, however it can be higher or lower if you’re using an adjustable bench placed in a squat cage, a Smith machine, or another customizable setup.
Since your torso is, as expected, more inclined during the incline bench press, your arm and shoulder position will be more flexed (closer to an overhead position) during the movement. In comparison, the flat bench press will ask more of a healthy shoulder capsule to lift the weight through a full range of motion.
Hand Position and Grip Width
Many find that using a slightly narrower grip on the flat bench press compared to the incline bench press is not only more comfortable, but also friendlier to their shoulder joints. The closer your upper arms remain to your torso, the easier it is to protect the relatively delicate shoulder joint while moving deep into extension through bottom-end ranges.
Credit: evgeny varlamov / Shutterstock
Because these bottom-end ranges are more exaggerated on the incline, as your elbows can move far below your body, using a slightly wider grip with the incline press can help prevent the elbow from traveling too far below the body’s line. That can sometimes mean stopping a couple of inches shy of an “ideal” bar-to-chest range of motion.
Seat Position and Footing
The incline bench press will have a much deeper seated position. This will be significant and noticeable, especially for taller lifters or those with relatively longer legs.
This can affect things like foot placement relative to your body and floor drive. It may not be quite as easy to achieve a “tucked” position when incline bench pressing. Because leg drive is reduced, the incline bench press is slightly more dependent on the force produced from the upper body alone. In contrast, the flat bench press can benefit from increased total-body tension created by a strong leg drive.
Point of Contact on the Body
Due to the differences in torso angle, even though the vertical line of the bar remains consistent, the point of contact on your body will indeed be different. In both lifts, the goal should be to maintain a vertical forearm so your elbow always remains under the bar at the bottom of the rep and your straight arm is under the bar at the top.
Doing this while changing the torso angle from one lift to another means the bar will most likely make contact somewhere around the mid-chest line during the flat bench press (depending on your arm length) and somewhere around your collarbones with the incline bench press. The incline pressing position may also result in slightly more outwardly flared elbows due to the higher point of contact.
Similarities Between the Incline Bench Press and Flat Bench Press
As founding members of the barbell bench press family, both the incline and flat bench press share several major similarities.
Horizontal Push Pattern
By classification, both the flat and incline bench press belong to the same movement pattern known as “horizontal pushing.” Both exercises focus on your upper body and both use your shoulder capsule as the primary load-bearing joint.
Credit: MDV Edwards / Shutterstock
To some degree, your chest, shoulders, and triceps will be key players from a muscular perspective, even though the bench angle will determine the degree to which each muscle is recruited — as explained earlier.
Total Body Involvement
From a technique standpoint, the incline bench press and flat bench press both require focus to keep the bar path relatively vertical and perpendicular to the floor.
That involves setting a “target” in the same place on the ceiling for every repetition. It also involves placing tension throughout your entire body, including your upper back, glutes, and quads. One cue that proves invaluable for both lifts is “Aiming to “driving your feet into the floor,” especially as weight becomes heavier.
Available Variations
In both the incline bench press and the flat bench press, the opportunity exists to use kinds of barbells, like a neutral-grip football bar or cambered bar. Both movements can also be performed with different apparatus such as dumbbells or kettlebells to suit a lifter’s preferences or needs.
Furthermore, even if using a traditional barbell, there are options to add bands or chains to the bar. This will change the resistance profile to favor certain portions of the lift without altering basic setup or technique.
How to Incline Bench Press
The majority of cues for each type of bench press are virtually transferable. The most significant difference with the incline bench press is a change in the point of contact between the bar and your body.
Otherwise, you’ll find a similar checklist between the two movements. Regardless, be sure to treat the incline bench press as its own exercise and don’t try to simply copy “flat bench press technique using an incline bench.” Perform an incline bench press properly and deliberately.
Set up the bench pad and rack so your eyes start under the bar.
Assume four points of contact — feet on the floor, glutes on the bench, upper back on the bench, and head on the bench.
Create a “tucked” position — pulling your feet toward your glutes and planting your toes into the ground.
Grab the bar at a comfortable width that keeps your forearm vertical during the movement.
Drag the bar out, rather than “lifting” it, into a starting position over your eyes. Remember, it’s an incline so the bar should start and finish over your eyes rather than over your shoulders.
Lower to a full range of motion, toward your collarbones, without bouncing in the bottom position.
Remain tight and drive your feet into the ground as you exhale and press the weight up.
How to Flat Bench Press
Some lifters take the bench press for granted, assuming that “they know how it’s done” or that it can’t be too complicated because everyone does it. Unfortunately, that approach often leads to bad shoulders, poor strength gains, and limited muscle growth.
Exactly because it’s popular, and because it has so many potential physical benefits, is why the flat bench press should be performed properly.
Lie on the bench so your eyes start under the bar. If possible, adjust the bar hooks to start roughly six inches below full lockout to allow a good unrack.
Assume four points of contact — feet on the floor, glutes on the bench, upper back on the bench, and head on the bench.
Pull your shoulder blades together to get tight in the upper back and allow your lower back to create a natural arch.
Create a “tucked” position — pulling your feet toward your glutes and planting your toes into the ground.
Grab the bar at a comfortable width that keeps your forearm vertical during the movement.
Drag the bar out, rather than “lifting” it, into a starting position over your shoulders.
Lower to a full range of motion, ideally reaching your mid-chest, without bouncing in the bottom position.
Remain tight and drive your feet into the ground as you exhale and press the weight up.
When to Do the the Incline Bench Press vs. Flat Bench Press
Though these lifts are potentially bordering on overuse in the classic gym community, they still have utility in a training program for both general lifters and athletes. Training the horizontal pushing pattern with either the incline bench press or flat bench press can be highly effective, especially if you employ loading variety like dumbbells, neutral-grip barbells, chains, or bands.
When pressing strength and muscular development is the goal, and a novice or intermediate lifter has no major history of shoulder trauma, the bench press and incline bench press can be placed into the routine.
Since training this pattern (particularly for strength) is a higher-output, CNS-based movement, program them earlier in a workout session rather than later, so they can be trained before fatigue sets in. Alternatively, if the lifts are being performed for relatively higher rep ranges (10 to 12 reps or more), either movement can efficiently be programmed later in any given workout.
Credit: Vladimir Sukhachev / Shutterstock
However, because the incline bench press is inherently more strenuous on the shoulder joint, it’s a poor choice for very heavy, low-rep programming. If your ultimate goal is upper body pressing strength, the flat bench press is be the preferred choice.
While both movements can be ideal for beginners and intermediate lifters, neither might actually be the best choice for very experienced lifters. The further along a lifting journey a you get, the more you might realize the incline bench press and flat bench press, performed with a typical barbell, aren’t exceptional for building muscle beyond a certain point.
Other exercises may create relatively less stress on the shoulder joint, while doing a more efficient job of isolating the chest, based on the actual biomechanical function of the shoulder and muscle action of the pectoralis. Dips are a top contender in that regard.
If awesome chest development is the name of the game, some variety outside these two bench press variations will eventually become necessary, and that’s important to know. Employing that kind of variety will also likely have your shoulders thanking you over time.
Pick Your Press
Whether you’re looking to boost your pressing power or build a serious set of pecs, either bench press variation can play a role in your training plan. Don’t rely solely on engrained habits or some long-running “tradition” of emphasizing the flat barbell bench press if it isn’t the most effective tool for your personal goals in the gym. Take an objective look at which barbell chest exercise really suits your needs, and then start discovering better results.
References
Rodríguez-Ridao, D., Antequera-Vique, J. A., Martín-Fuentes, I., & Muyor, J. M. (2020). Effect of Five Bench Inclinations on the Electromyographic Activity of the Pectoralis Major, Anterior Deltoid, and Triceps Brachii during the Bench Press Exercise. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(19), 7339. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17197339
Campos, Y. A. C., Vianna, J. M., Guimarães, M. P., Oliveira, J. L. D., Hernández-Mosqueira, C., da Silva, S. F., & Marchetti, P. H. (2020). Different Shoulder Exercises Affect the Activation of Deltoid Portions in Resistance-Trained Individuals. Journal of human kinetics, 75, 5–14. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2020-0033
Featured Image: Hryshchyshen Serhii / Shutterstock
Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss
Four-time Classic Physique Olympia champion Chris Bumstead is in the early stages of his offseason as he prepares to compete for a fifth straight Classic Physique Olympia championship at the 2023 Olympia Weekend in Orlando, FL on Nov. 2-5, 2023.
Bumstead has been open about his training, as shown in a recent YouTube video documenting a leg workout he took on with Christian Guzman, Bumstead’s business partner and occasional training partner.
The title of the video — “This Leg Day Really Sucked” — apparently expressed Bumstead’s feelings about the workout but, in strength sports, if a workout “sucks,” it can be a good thing in the long-run.
The intense training session took place at the Revive Gym in Stuart, FL, and it kicked off with Bumstead walking on a stepmill while facing backward, to warm-up. Walking backward can help target everything in the upper thighs, especially the glutes, while reducing knee strain.
Leg Extension
Bumstead began the lifting session with leg extensions, which are an effective way to isolate the quadriceps and warm-up the knees. You can also see that he isn’t wearing shoes, which is typical for the four-time champion. He has previously said that the unconventional habit helps him feel more stable on leg day and improves his mind-muscle connection.
At one point, the machine was loaded with a total of 134 kilograms (295 pounds) and Bumstead can be seen powering through 10 repetitions. Throughout the workout, Guzman followed Bumstead with his own sets.
How to Do It: Sit on a leg extension machine and place your legs behind the pad. Sit back on the seat and hold on to the handles. Lift the pad with your legs and flex your quads once your knees are close to the locked out position. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.
Hack Squat
The second movement of the day was the hack squat. Bumstead performed a long range of motion, dropping deep into the hole with each rep. This technique places even more stress on the quadriceps muscles. The bodybuilder worked in the 10 to 15-rep range, ending with 245 kilograms (540 pounds) for six repetitions before quickly reducing the weight to 163 kilograms (360 pounds) for a drop set and completing seven additional reps.
How to Do It: Place your feet evenly on the foot platform and place your shoulders underneath the support pads. Once you feel solid and stable in position, lift the sled by straightening your knees and unlock the safety handles. Go as deep as you safely can into the bottom position — ideally achieve your hips below your knees. Drive your feet into the footplate and push yourself back to the starting position. Repeat for the desired reps and return the handles to their original location to lock the machine back into place.
Leg Press
The third quad-focused movement was the leg press. Bumstead explained that he has shifting his focus to use a relatively wider stance than in the past, to target his adductors (inner thighs) and outer quadriceps muscles. Bumstead worked up to a top set with 367 kilograms (810 pounds) and performed 10 reps, followed by a drop set down to 285 kilograms (630 pounds) where he did 15 more reps. He then has more weight removed, down to 204 kilograms (450 pounds) and he goes to failure with 20 agonizing repetitions.
How to Do It: Sit with your back firmly against the pad. Place your feet evenly on the footplate and push it forward to release the safety handles and take control of the sled. Bend your knees and lower the footplate as deep as you comfortably can. Keep you feet flat and press the sled back to the starting position. Repeat for the desired reps. Lock he sled into place with the safety handles.
The next movement of the workout was the dumbbell walking lunge. Bumstead was on marked turf with a pair of dumbbells. He focused on taking large steps forward and lunged down as close to the floor as possible. He then returned to a standing position and took his next step with the opposite foot. Only one set is performed on camera, but Bumstead later said they did two. As a spectator might expect, he was showing clear signs of exhaustion at this point in the workout.
How to Do It: Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand tall. Take a step forward and lower your rear knee toward the floor, getting as low as you can. Push through your lead foot to return to a standing position and bring your back foot forward. Take your next step with the opposite foot and perform a repetition the same way. You’ve now done one rep for each leg. Repeat for the desired reps or distance you wish to complete.
Seated Calf Raise and Adductor Machine
The tail-end of the workout shifted the focus to the calves, specifically the soleus muscle. Bumstead performs a set of seated calf raises with one 20-kilogram (45-pound) plate. He then finishes the session on the adductor machine, to give even more attention to building his inner thighs, before calling it a day.
How to Do the Seated Calf Raise: Sit with your knees under the pads. Position your feet with your toes on the footplate and your heels hanging off. Push through your toes to contract your calves and lift the weight up to release the safety handle. Lower your heels as far as you safely can to stretch your calves. Drive through your toes to lift the weight as high as possible and maximally contract your calves. Briefly hold the top position. Repeat for the desired reps, but finish with a contraction so you can return the handle and lock the machine into place.
How to Do the Adductor Machine: Sit on the machine with the pads on your inner thighs. Release the weight so you have control of it. Squeeze your thighs together to bring the pads in as close as possible, ideally touching the pads together. Slowly release tension to allow your legs to spread out. Once you feel a stretch, repeat for the desired reps.
The full details of Bumstead’s intense leg workout weren’t shared in the video, but you can try a sample version of this workout by following the guide below:
Classic Physique Olympia-Style Leg Workout
Leg Extension — 3 x12
Hack Squat — 3 x 12-15
Leg Press — 2 x 12-15, 1 x 12-15 followed by a double drop set to failure
Walking Lunge — 2 x 12 per leg
Seated Calf Raise — 2 sets to failure (20 or more repetitions)
Adductors — 2 sets to failure (15 or more repetitions)
“Ten years ago in grad. school I typed into Google “Are Poptarts healthy?” (I was seriously asking this) and stumbled upon MDA. Now I’m lifting weights twice a week, exercising every day, my fridge is filled with whole foods, I sleep well, get sun, talk to my mom. I listen to Attia, Huberman, Rhonda, Wolf, Greenfield, Jaminet, Naiman, Saladino, Kendall, on and on. I can’t stop learning more and more. It’s been.a fun ride. And it all started with this critical, independent thinker, experimenter, athlete, businessman, satirist, and cave man, Mark Sisson. Thanks Mark..“
Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss
The ability to build muscle in response to training is a part of our physiology. It’s deeply encoded in our DNA and persists throughout our lifespan. Meaning, lifters of any age and experience level should be able to add noticeable muscle to their frames.
Credit: MDV Edwards / Shutterstock
If you’re deliberately and dedicatedly hitting the gym in the hopes of adding muscle mass, but still not seeing results, it’s time to step back and think. Which of these twelve common mistakes are sabotaging your gains?
Beyond the obvious need to schedule time for the gym, many lifters fail to make progress toward muscle-building goals because their training is disorganized. Haphazard workouts might burn some calories, stimulate a decent pump, and deliver a nice hit of “feel good” neurotransmitters, but real progress is made when your training is intentional and thought-out.
The Problem
By failing to plan your weekly training, you leave your workouts to chance. Some body parts may receive less-than-optimal training volume (sets and reps) while others are overworked.
Unlike specialized hypertrophy programs that intentionally underload one area to allocate more training to a lagging muscle group, unplanned training tends to be consistently inconsistent, resulting in inferior gains all around.
Training loads may go untracked, resulting in failure to recognize leading indicators of progress, such as the ability to perform more repetitions with a given weight or the ability to lift more weight. You may also miss leading indicators of accumulating fatigue and under-recovery, which might otherwise be addressed by program adjustments or a deload.
The Solution
Lifters serious about building muscle must structure their training, and following an effective training split is a good start. Training splits help lifters get organized and stay organized by assigning a focus to each workout.
For example, in a push/pull/legs split, your first workout of the week focuses on upper body pushing movements, which would tend to target chest, front delts (shoulders), and triceps. The second workout hits upper body pulling exercises, such as rows, pulldowns, and pull-ups, along with biceps and rear deltoid (shoulder) work. And, you guessed it, the third workout is leg day.
Once each workout has a focus, even if that focus is a full-body workout, the desired weekly training volume for each body part can be allocated to each body part. Appropriate training volume for building muscle is discussed in the next section, but if you’re not planning or tracking your training volume, you’ll never know whether you hit the target.
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Once you’ve established your split, you need to plan and track the specifics of each workout. At a minimum, this should include:
Exercise selection
Number of sets and target repetition range for each exercise
Actual number of sets and repetitions performed
Weight used
Keep records in your phone (i.e. using an app) or use a tried and true pen and notebook.
Volume Control
Resistance training volume refers to the amount of work accomplished in training. “Volume load” includes the number of sets, number of repetitions, and load for each exercise performed. (1) Volume load is a key determinant of hypertrophy (muscle gain). (2)
Weekly training volume load, rather than daily volume load, is a more important factor in hypertrophy training. (3) That is, whether each muscle group is trained once, twice, or three times per week, the recommendations below on appropriate weekly training volume still apply.
The Problem
Lifters run into trouble when they overshoot or undershoot effective weekly resistance training volume. Like many biological processes, the relationship between weekly volume and muscle gain appears to follow a two-tailed, bell-shaped curve — a “Goldilocks” scenario.
Perform too little volume and you’ll fail to make progress or even backslide. Perform too much volume and you’ll run the risk of non-functional overreaching, or declining performance that only rebounds to baseline after prolonged recovery. (4)
The Solution
To avoid missing out on gains due to insufficient volume or unsustainably high volume, you first need to have an idea of baseline training volume. A simple way of calculating volume is by totaling the number of weekly sets per major muscle group. (1)
According to an expert consensus statement on hypertrophy, 10 weekly sets per major muscle group is a good minimum target for trained individuals. As a general rule, total weekly sets should not increase more than about 20% per month of training. (5) While greater increases in volume may be sustained during planned “overreaching,” these temporary periods are typically followed by a deload, or a pre-planned reduction in training volume and intensity.
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Don’t fear deloads. During a deload, dramatic reductions in training volume are common. Weekly volume may be reduced by approximately 50%. Lifters may be wary about aggressively reducing volume during deloads for fear of losing muscle; however, research shows trained individuals maintain strength and size for at least two weeks of no workouts. (6) During a deload, you’re still active and training.
Deloads are time-limited — typically one week or so. Deloads allow for recovery from hard cycles of training. Following a deload week, lifters are anecdotally more sensitive to training volume, allowing them to “reset” weekly training volume back toward moderate volume (e.g. 10 to 16 weekly sets).
The question of top-end weekly volume may be of interest, too. Although some lifters may benefit from higher training volumes, it is likely not necessary for most to push past 20 or so weekly sets per muscle group, especially if other training variables are progressive over time.
Lack of Progression
The same sets, reps, and weights that built your current body will not build your dream physique. This is because our muscles, like all biological systems, reach equilibrium (i.e. homeostasis) quickly if not provided with progressive training stimuli.
The Problem
Informed by the tenets of the general adaptation syndrome (GAS), which describes how living organisms respond to stressors, non-progressive stimuli result in an eventual plateau of biological responses. (7) For hypertrophy training, this means non-progressive workouts will eventually become non-productive workouts and you’ll stop seeing muscle gains.
The Solution
The simplest solution to non-progressive training is to ensure you are either adding volume (sets and/or reps) or load to your lifts regularly.
Although any decent, ready-made program will already incorporate progression, a simple method of progression for building your own program is to start by identifying a weight for each exercise that allows you to perform a number of repetitions toward the bottom of your target repetition range for moderate effort sets.
For example, a lifter wishing to program neutral-grip lat pulldowns in the eight to 12 repetition range might determine she is able to use 165 pounds (75 kilograms) for 8 reps while having two or three repetitions left in reserve.
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Now, each week, she can either add one repetition per set or add 2.5% to 5% more weight — she can either progress to 165 pounds for nine or more reps or 170 pounds for eight reps. She will continue to add repetitions or weight until she’s unable to remain within the target repetition range. Then it’s time to take a deload period of approximately one week and restart.
Alternatively, if you feel you are not ready for a deload, simply adjust your target repetition range to accommodate a longer period of progression (12 to 15 repetitions, in this example).
Quasi-Cardio Workouts
Working up a sweat and getting the heart pumping are features of many intense sessions, and most liftersvalue that type of training. Supersets, which pair exercises back-to-back thereby minimizing rest, are a mainstay of many of these intense workouts. (8)
But some lifters take “minimal rest” too far. If rest between sets is limited to the point where workout quality or performance suffers, the workout may fail to achieve its ultimate purpose: building muscle.
The Problem
To be clear, the problem isn’t lack of rest between sets, per se. It’s the resulting loss of training volume and/or intensity that inevitably occurs after not taking enough rest. (9)
Reducing rest periods will play up the cardiovascular challenge of the workout. While cardio is very good for overall health, it is not the ideal type of training for building muscle. Moreover, “lifting light weights fast” or “lifting with minimal rest” is unlikely to be optimal cardio for most. Rhythmic or cyclical exercises tend to be more suitable (e.g. rowing machine, jogging, cycling, swimming, etc.).
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“Frankensteining” a cardio-like, resistance training workout will not allow adequate recovery of the phosphagen and anaerobic alactic energy systems which predominantly fuel traditional resistance training. This results in lost repetitions and/or necessitates use of lower loads. Since volume load drives hypertrophy, short rest intervals ultimately lead to inferior growth. (9)
The Solution
Outside of very specific scenarios such as supersets, ensure you are getting adequate rest between sets to maintain desired training volume throughout your hypertrophy workout. Take a minimum of two minutes rest between sets of multi-joint exercises and 60 to 90 seconds between sets of single-joint exercises. (5)
Tip-Toeing Around Tension
Those with hypertrophy goals lift weights to expose their muscles to tension. When exposed to tension, muscles experience a complex cascade of mechanical, neural, and chemical events that culminate in elevated rates of muscle protein synthesis and protein turnover. (10)(11) The end result, ideally, is bigger muscles.
The Problem
Mechanical tension is thought to be a key driver of hypertrophy. (11) However, lifters can be very efficient at working around mechanical tension, especially when sets get challenging. By using compensations or work-arounds that make repetitions easier, they end up taking tension off the target muscles.
The Solution
Develop a strong mind-muscle connection and don’t cheat yourself out of tension. From the beginning of each set, focus on controlling the negative (or eccentric/lowering) phase of the exercise. You might even linger a bit slower during the most challenging portion of the motion. For example, when lowering dumbbells during a lateral raise, focus on controlling the initial descent.
As your set continues, disallow any compensations — don’t cheat! Keeping your form clean in the face of fatigue, burning muscles, and impending muscular failure is challenging, no doubt, but it can be mastered.
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If, for example, you are performing dumbbell front squats as a quadriceps-focused leg exercise, continue to drive your knees forward as you squat down, shifting tension into your quads. Do not allow yourself to sit back into your hips during the final challenging repetitions.
If you are new to the skills of pushing through tension or still developing the mind-muscle connection, consider certain machine-based exercises, which instill confidence and include built-in safety measures.
Always Testing, Never Training
Some lifters can’t resist training too heavy, too often. For many, nothing feels better than hitting a heavy personal best or maximum on a squat, bench, press or deadlift. But maxing out is not necessarily the same as productive training. Unplanned “YOLO sets” can sap energy, rob you of volume load, interfere with readiness to train, and ultimately detract from your hypertrophy gains.
The Problem
While there is an appropriate time and place in any program for maxing out, it is typically during a period of planned overreaching or testing to establish percentages and working weights.
Heavy singles, doubles, even triples can result in lower volume loads, a key driver of hypertrophy. (2) This is because maximum or near-maximum low-rep sets may detract from, or take, the place of sets in the five-to-30 repetition range, which are most efficient for accumulating volume load.
Performed too frequently, heavy maximum sets might spur non-functional overreaching. Researchers reported non-functional overreaching (i.e. lack of gains) among trained squatters performing three sessions per week of two singles at 95% of one-repetition maximum (1RM) and three singles at 90% 1RM after only three weeks. (12)
Another study compared a volume load equated program using three sets of 10 repetitions versus seven sets of three repetitions. The groups gained equivalent muscle over eight weeks, but the group performing heavy triples for seven sets reported more symptoms associated with overtraining, like joint pain. (13)
Ultimately, heavy training can sneak up on you. Although it may be possible to achieve equivalent volume load and growth with heavy maximum sets, they may not be as efficient in the long-term as “hypertrophy-style” sets in the moderate to high-repetition range.
The Solution
Heavy, maximum effort sets (i.e. less than three repetitions) should be few and far between when you’re in a dedicated hypertrophy program. You do not need to max out every week.
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True 1RM testing may not even be necessary for the hypertrophy-focused lifter. Programming based on multiple repetitions maximum (i.e. 5RM, 8RM, 12RM, etc.) is just as effective as percentages of 1RM, and arguably more specific to the repetition target of the sets commonly performed during training.
Plan to regularly test 8RM to 12 RM for your primary lifts approximately once or twice per four-to-six-week training cycle. On days your program does not call for maximum effort sets, resist the urge to max out.
Program Sampling
Countless training programs have potential to help you reach your physique goals. However, constantly sampling from the endless menu of workouts circulating through social media and fitness publications is a sure-fire way to slow your progress.
The Problem
With each new exercise or exercise variation, we ask our neuromuscular system to tackle a novel movement skill. Motor learning, or the process of learning a new movement skill, takes time.
If you’re constantly changing up your workout, you never approach the crest of the learning curve. Meaning, you will not get the most of your training because you haven’t spent enough time with each exercise to maximize technique, repetitions, and loads. (14)
The Solution
Think of each exercise in your workout as an investment. Keep an exercise in your workout portfolio long enough and you will experience compounding interest in the forms of technical proficiency and muscular adaptations associated with the exercise.
Keeping relative consistency allows for progressive overload, an essential feature of effective training. For hypertrophy, progressive overload is accomplished by gradually exposing your muscles to greater demands over time.
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Once you develop or identify a workout program you enjoy that’s specific to your goals, see it through for at least four to eight weeks. How do you know when it’s time to shake things up? When training gets stale. And this next section just so happens to explain more.
Stale Programming
Variation, while potentially counterproductive if applied excessively, may play an important role in preventing stalled progress. (14)(15) Variation can take the form of changes in programming variables such as sets, repetitions, and load. (16) Or, variation can be accomplished via exercise selection. (15) Your program should include both sources of variety.
The Problem
Without some variation in your training, stagnation is likely to occur. Stagnation can be mental or physical. Repeating the same workouts week-in and week-out can drain motivation to train, while highly varied programs are shown to enhance motivation. (17)
Physically, our muscles will become accustomed to the stale stimulus, as discussed in the previous “Lack of Progression” section. Moreover, muscles may grow preferentially at specific regions in response to certain exercises. With varied exercise selection, more robust growth throughout the muscle has been shown. (14)(18)
The Solution
Vary your training systematically, not haphazardly. Consider a planned, or periodized, program. If you are drawn to lots of variation or need frequent changes to stay motivated, consider a program with an undulating periodization scheme — In these programs, volume and load are varied frequently (e.g. daily or weekly). (19)
For example, one workout might call for three sets of 12 repetitions, the next workout might be four sets of eight, and a third workout might be five sets of five repetitions. Although not specifically designated as a hypertrophy program, one example of a daily undulating program is the Conjugate Method popularized by powerlifters at the famed Westside Barbell.
For others, a more traditional approach, such as linear periodization, may suffice. Programs that are linearly periodized gradually increase load while gradually reducing volume. (19) A systematic review comparing undulating periodized training programs with linear programs showed no difference in hypertrophy outcomes between the two periodization styles. (19)
Credit: Merrick Lincoln, DPT, CSCS / YouTube
Periodization seem too complicated? Fortunately, true periodization may not be necessary for hypertrophy. (16)(20) But variation is still important. First, make sure your program is progressive by adding volume or load when training gets easy.
Next, consider including multiple exercises for each body part. Not only does this decrease boredom, but it may also lead to fuller muscular hypertrophy. (14)(18) For example, you might include spider curls and incline dumbbell curls, either in the same workout or throughout the week, to hit your biceps at different muscle lengths.
Finally, switch out your exercises for different variations when you begin to plateau — Changes might be as often as every four to eight weeks, or as seldom as every twelve to sixteen weeks.
Forgetting the Food
As the saying goes, you must eat big to get big. Elevated rates of muscle protein synthesis following resistance training are thought to be the key driving force of muscle gain among consistent lifters. (10) The raw materials for elevated rates of protein synthesis largely come from dietary protein, the most important macronutrient for hypertrophy-focused lifters.
The Problem
Although 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram body mass per day is commonly cited as a target for maximizing muscle gain, resistance trained individuals may benefit from substantially higher intake. A target of 2.0 to 2.2 grams protein per kilogram body mass may be more appropriate. (10)(21) Many lifters fail to consistently reach this target.
The Solution
While many lifters are not interested in tracking all macronutrients, focusing on optimizing protein intake may be the most practical and impactful step. A simple strategy to reach a protein target of 2.0 to 2.2 grams per kilogram body mass — roughly one gram per pound body weight — is to divide target protein intake across the number of meals you plan to consume each day.
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For example, a 200-pound lifter might plan to consume four meals containing approximately 50 grams of protein each. Alternatively, this lifter could consume three meals at approximately 50 grams of protein each, a post-workout shake containing 30 grams protein, and a snack containing another 20 grams.
To effectively meet your protein target, you will need to familiarize yourself with the protein content of the foods you commonly consume. Before long, you’ll begin to memorize the protein contents of foods you commonly eat.
For example, a single egg has six grams, a quarter-pound of beef has approximately 25 grams, and a small can of tuna fish also has 25 grams. Those with health conditions, those seeking meal plans, and those looking to optimize other facets of their nutrition, such as nutrient timing, should consult a registered dietitian, ideally one with experience with physique athletes.
Sleep Struggles
When it comes to fat loss, a common platitude goes: “Abs are made in the kitchen.” But when it comes to building muscle, a more correct claim is: “Muscle is made in the bedroom.” Recovery between workouts enables consistent high-intensity training, and recovery depends on adequate high-quality sleep.
The Problem
Sleep deprivation is known to blunt muscle protein synthesis (the building of new muscle). Just a single night of sleep deprivation has been shown to reduce the rate of overnight muscle protein synthesis by 18%. (22)
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Another study showed five nights of partially restricted sleep (four hours in bed) resulted in significantly reduced muscle protein synthesis compared to matched groups getting a full night’s sleep (eight hours in bed). (23)
Over longer periods of time, even modest restrictions in sleep duration may have profoundly negative effects on your ability to gain muscle. Beyond sleep duration, the quality of sleep may also affect adaptations from hypertrophy training.
The Solution
To improve sleep, focus on three areas: Preparation, duration, and conditions.
First, ensure you are “winding down” in the hours prior to bedtime. Whether it’s the blue light from electronics or the highly stimulating nature of the information and activities performed with these devices, minimizing screen time before bed seems pertinent. Moreover, avoid alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine in the afternoon and evening hours. (24)
Make every effort to get into bed early enough to allocate approximately eight hours to sleep. Yes, there are likely individual differences in the total duration of sleep required, but eight hours is a good baseline goal for most.
Finally, ensure the conditions of your bedroom are conducive to sleep. Make every effort to create a cool (i.e. approximately 64 degrees Fahrenheit or 18 degrees Celsius), dark, and comfortable environment for sleep. (24) Blackout shades, earplugs, fans, and/or air conditioning units can be helpful.
Ideally, the bedroom is kept free of electronics which might interrupt sleep. Sleep can be improved with planning and attention, resulting in a fuller night’s sleep and ultimately, a fuller muscular physique.
Excessive “Advanced” Training
Drop sets, forced reps, rest-pause, heavy negatives, and supersets are typically categorized as “advanced training techniques,” a classification that may sound alluring. Equally alluring is the fact that more than 80% of competitive bodybuilders use these techniques in “most but not all sessions.” (25) Advanced training techniques are fun and can increase motivation to train. (5)(26) But here’s the rub. You might already be using these techniques too often.
The Problem
Most lifters interested in building a muscular physique do not engage in competitive bodybuilding, a sport characterized by common use of anabolic androgenic steroids that likely allows individuals to tolerate (and thrive) under punishing training regimes. Therefore, most lifters should not attempt to train like competitive bodybuilders.
While research on advanced training techniques is sparse in some areas, studies on drop sets and supersets tend to show similar muscle gain to traditional set configurations. (5)(26)(27) Keep in mind, training studies on advanced training techniques are time-limited — typically six to ten weeks in duration.
Because many advanced training techniques push the lifter past failure or dramatically reduce rest intervals, it may be difficult to sustain frequent use of these techniques in the long term without accumulating fatigue. With accumulated fatigue, performance in subsequent workouts begins to suffer, which may ultimately hinder gains.
The Solution
Advanced training techniques should be used judiciously. Limiting use of advanced training, particularly techniques that extend sets beyond failure (i.e. drop sets and forced reps), to primarily single-joint movements and machine-based exercises may help to manage the burden of fatigue. (5)
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It may be wise to limit use of advanced training to the final set of a given exercise or to a defined period of intentional overreaching, such as the final week of a training cycle. (5)
Finally, while survey data indicates most competitive bodybuilders use advanced training techniques, they tend to use these techniques with primarily single-joint exercises. Biceps curls, triceps pushdowns, and pec flyes are the most common. (25)
If you wish to employ advanced training techniques frequently, go ahead and take this lesson from their playbook: Use advanced training primarily when training smaller muscle groups and for isolation-type exercises.
Impatience
Real talk: building muscle is painfully slow. Young, healthy newbies (individuals beginning an organized hypertrophy program for the first time) are a population expected to make the most rapid gains in muscle mass.
This is the “newbie gains” phenomenon. However, as your training experience increases, gains are slower and harder to come by.
The Problem
Rates of hypertrophy are relatively slow and highly individual. In a clever study design, variability in hypertrophy between individuals performing the same progressive training programs was 40-times greater than variability within individuals when the individuals performed different progressive protocols on left versus right limbs. (20)
Further emphasizing variability within individuals, a small study on 24 “newbie” lifters reported a 10.7% average increase in muscle cross sectional area after ten weeks of hard training. But this average is somewhat misleading, as “high responders” grew nearly 15%, while just under a third of the individuals (“low responders”) lost muscle size throughout the study, albeit this change did not reach statistical significance. (28)
Altogether, research hints that individual features are more important than the specific nuts-and-bolts of the hypertrophy program.
The Solution
Fortunately, there are no non-responders to progressive hypertrophy training. (20) But if you are a low responder, also known as a “hard gainer,” or even an average responder to training, you’d better get comfortable playing the long game.
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Practice setting expectations and goals in terms of longer timeframes. For example, an average experienced lifter not enhanced by anabolic steroids might reasonably set a goal of gaining four or five pounds of primarily lean muscle mass per month.
However, for a known low responder, a more realistic goal might be to add two pounds of muscle per month. Or better yet, aim at twelve solid pounds of muscle in a year. Rather than frantically seeking the next best program or supplement, most lifters would be better served thinking about gains in terms of months, years, even decades. Settle in and enjoy the progress.
Finally, there’s one silver lining for “hard gainers.” Although they tend to gain muscle more slowly, “hard gainers” shed muscle more slowly during periods of detraining. (28)
Avoid Roadblocks on Your Journey to “Gainzville”
Building muscle is an arduous journey but a rewarding one. A muscular physique affects your self-esteem, how you are perceived in the world, and your overall health. If you’re not getting where you want to go, now’s the time to re-examine and tinker with your programming, your habits, and even your mindset.
References
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Carvalho, L., et al. (2022). Muscle hypertrophy and strength gains after resistance training with different volume-matched loads: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 47(4), 357-368.
Grgic, J., Schoenfeld, B. J., & Latella, C. (2019). Resistance training frequency and skeletal muscle hypertrophy: A review of available evidence. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 22(3), 361-370.
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Iversen V.M., et al. (2021). No time to lift? Designing time-efficient training programs for strength and hypertrophy: a narrative review. Sports Medicine, 51, 2079-2095.
Longo, A. R., et al. (2022). Volume load rather than resting interval influences muscle hypertrophy during high-intensity resistance training. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 36(6), 1554-1559.
Joanisse, S., et al. (2020). Recent advances in understanding resistance exercise training-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy in humans. F1000Research, 9.
Wackerhage, H., et al. (2019). Stimuli and sensors that initiate skeletal muscle hypertrophy following resistance exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology.
Fry, A. C., et al. (2000). Impaired performances with excessive high-intensity free-weight training. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 14(1), 54-61.
Schoenfeld, B. J., et al. (2014). Effects of different volume-equated resistance training loading strategies on muscular adaptations in well-trained men. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 28(10), 2909-2918.
Kassiano, W., et al. (2022). Does varying resistance exercises promote superior muscle hypertrophy and strength gains? A systematic review. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 36(6), 1753-1762.
Fisher, J. P., et al. (2018). Periodization for optimizing strength and hypertrophy; the forgotten variables. Journal of Trainology, 7(1), 10-15.
Grgic, J., et al. (2018). Should resistance training programs aimed at muscular hypertrophy be periodized? A systematic review of periodized versus non-periodized approaches. Science & Sports, 33(3), e97-e104.
Baz-Valle, E., et al. (2019). The effects of exercise variation in muscle thickness, maximal strength and motivation in resistance trained men. PloS one, 14(12), e0226989.
de Vasconcelos Costa, B. D., et al. (2021). Does performing different resistance exercises for the same muscle group induce non-homogeneous hypertrophy?. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 42(09), 803-811.
Grgic, J., Mikulic, P., Podnar, H., & Pedisic, Z. (2017). Effects of linear and daily undulating periodized resistance training programs on measures of muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PeerJ, 5, e3695.
Damas, F., et al. (2019). Myofibrillar protein synthesis and muscle hypertrophy individualized responses to systematically changing resistance training variables in trained young men. Journal of Applied Physiology, 127(3), 806-815.
Mazzulla, M., et al. (2020). Protein intake to maximize whole-body anabolism during postexercise recovery in resistance-trained men with high habitual intakes is severalfold greater than the current recommended dietary allowance. The Journal of Nutrition, 150(3), 505-511.
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Angleri, V., Ugrinowitsch, C., & Libardi, C. A. (2017). Crescent pyramid and drop-set systems do not promote greater strength gains, muscle hypertrophy, and changes on muscle architecture compared with traditional resistance training in well-trained men. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 117, 359-369.
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