CB
ATHLETIC CONSULTING TRAINING REPORT - www.cbathletics.com
ISSUE
#66
INSIDE
THIS ISSUE...
-
"MASSIVE ACTION: A Nutrition Plan to Get Big!"
- "American College of Sports Medicine Preview!"
: Weight loss
: Health
: Training
: Nutrition
1
- MASS ACTION: NUTRITION FOR GAINING LEAN BODY MASS
If
you are tired of being skinny or weak, or if you need to
add some mass to improve sport performance, or even if you
just want to get massive for no reason at all then this
is the nutrition plan and training program for you. The
"MASSIVE ACTION" program will guide you towards the most
effective techniques for gaining lean body mass and will
identify the whole foods that are best for weight gain.
You
will also learn what the best and most effective supplements
are to meet your goal. Determine how long to use a particular
supplement before "cycling it" or before moving on to the
next supplement. Discover what supplement loading, depletion,
and rebounding are and how they relate to gaining muscle
mass. Finally, find out what the "scam" supplements are
and why they won't help you gain weight but will only make
you lighter in the wallet!
This
nutritional program is not for beginners that want to add
2-3 pounds. If that is your goal, you can find all the answers
in the "CB ATHLETIC" newsletter archives. However, if you
want to put on 10, 15, 20 pounds of mass or more, or if
you are an advanced natural athlete or bodybuilder having
an extreme difficulty adding that final 2-3 pounds of muscle,
then order this program and you will not be disappointed.
Nutrition
experts and guarantees of "10 lbs in 10 days" are a dime-a-dozen.
So what makes these guidelines different from other programs
based in science? Well, to be honest, not much. Most important,
remember that they are based on scientific FACTS and the
theories are steeped in physiology. "MASSIVE ACTION" was
designed so that every variable is accounted for. Every
meal, every supplement, and every workout is addressed in
accordance with applicable principles of nutrition and physiology.
Like
any other successful and exclusive product, 20 lbs of muscle
doesn't come cheap. The information provided is worth every
penny. The info in this program is so valuable and precise
that a price had to be placed on it. If you want a step-by-step,
meal-by-meal, supplement-by-supplement, workout-by-workout
outline, then go after "MASSIVE ACTION".
For
a limited time, the first 10 people to buy the program will
receive it for only $50. After this the price will go up
to $100. Furthermore, if you choose to purchase both MASSIVE
ACTION and "GET LEAN!" then you will receive both programs
for only $150! You will also receive free updates that make
it a better program!
Please
understand that MASSIVE ACTION does not contain guidelines
from a medical professional and that everyone should have
medical clearance before joining this program. This program
is for individuals 18 years and older only. Contact CB at
cb@cbathletics.com for details.
2
- SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE REPORT: ACSM
The
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) is one of the
most prominent sport nutrition and sport medicine conferences
in the world. There are literally thousands of exercise
scientists (AKA "buffed geeks") in attendance and presenting
on weight loss, creatine, training, nutrition, sports injuries,
etc. Below are a number of abstracts that have been chosen
and summarized that would be of most interest to the CB
ATHLETIC newsletter readership. Each one comes with a bottom
line message (apologies to Dr. Marty Gibala for stealing
his catch-phrase).
WEIGHT
LOSS
The
benefits of weight training on energy output:
Thornton,
K., et al. A comparison of two different resistance-training
intensities on exercise energy expenditure and excess post-exercise
oxygen consumption.
If
you are looking for a great mode of exercise that will improve
your body composition, resistance training may be for you.
In this study, females currently training with weights underwent
2 individual weight workouts at different intensity levels.
In session 1, they performed 2 sets of 15 repetitions (for
9 exercises) while in the other session they performed 2
sets of 8 repetitions (for 9 exercises). The results showed
that the high intensity resistance training (2 sets of 8
repetitions) resulted in greater overall daily energy expenditure.
The
bottom line: Heavy resistance training has long been under-rated
by those seeking to lose body fat. However, heavy resistance
training may be the best type of exercise to improve your
body composition because it promotes both energy expenditure
and muscle growth!
The
influence of different exercise methods on weight loss:
Hulver,
M., et al. The effects of 6-months of aerobic exercise vs.
resistance exercise on resting metabolism.
Overweight
middle-aged men performed either 6-months of aerobic exercise
or resistance training for 4 days per week. All subjects
were instructed to decrease their caloric intake by 500
kcal per day (that's comparable to the combination of a
soda, a juice, and a potato). The researchers found no difference
in the amount of weight lost between the 2 modes of training.
However, the group performing aerobic exercise while dieting
had a significant decrease in their resting metabolic rate
(RMR).
This
decrease in resting metabolic rate may have occurred due
to a loss of muscle mass and could theoretically lead to
impaired weight loss in the future. The key to keeping your
RMR elevated (or at normal levels) is to keep or gain as
much muscle as possible.
The
bottom line: Unfortunately, aerobic training doesn't provide
the stimulus for muscle growth and thus if you are using
only aerobic training for weight loss, you may be losing
muscle, decreasing your RMR, and compromising your success.
The
influence of different exercise intensities on weight loss:
King,
J., et al. A comparison of high intensity vs. low intensity
exercise on body composition in overweight women.
Overweight
middle-aged women performed either high intensity interval
training (2 minutes at ~95% of VO2max interspersed by 3
minutes at ~25% of VO2max) or low intensity continuous training
(~50% of VO2max). You might consider this a crude comparison
of "sprint training" and "distance running". Each subject
burned only 300 kcal per session (that's not really a lot
of energy). Body composition, fitness and resting metabolic
rate were measured.
The
sprint-training group increased fitness by 13% but surprisingly
there was no increase in fitness of the distance-training
group. There were no changes in the body fat levels of either
group, although body fat was starting to come down slightly
in the sprint-training subjects. The sprint-training group
also had a slightly elevated resting metabolic rate for
24 hours after exercise.
The
bottom line: It appears that sprint training, like resistance
training, has the ability to raise your metabolic rate for
several hours after exercise. Therefore, it may lead to
more energy expenditure over the course of a day and thus
may lead to greater fat loss in the long-term. Sprint training
can also increase fitness!
For
guidelines to help you improve your body composition, check
out the "GET LEAN" program at: http://www.cbathletics.com/whatsnew.htm
Body
image
Henry,
R., and T. Michael. The effect of aerobic and aerobic/strength
training on body image in females.
The
purpose of this study was to determine the effect of aerobic
and aerobic/strength training on body image in females.
Body image was assessed with a Body Self-Image Questionnaire.
Young females performed either aerobic exercise, aerobic
& strength exercise, or no exercise for several weeks.
The
results indicated that the combined aerobic-strength training
group had greater improvements in strength and fitness than
the other 2 groups. This group also had a better decrease
in body fat. Most importantly, the combined training group
had significantly more positive body image profiles than
the no exercise group.
The
bottom line: Females should perform both aerobic and resistance
training for health and body image reasons.
BIA
machine
Dotson,
C., et al. The effect of hydration level on percent fat
estimation by NIR, BIA and skinfold techniques.
Subjects
had their body fat tested with different techniques after
being dehydrated and hyper-hydrated (given excess fluid).
BIA (Bio-electrical impedance analysis) will significantly
underestimate your body fat percentage if you are dehydrated
and it will significantly overestimate your body fat percentage
if you are "hyper-hydrated". Skinfold measurements changed
very little despite large changes in hydration status. Thus,
BIA demonstrates large variability in % fat estimation.
The
bottom line: It is very important to be consistent with
your hydration status if you are having repeated BIA measurements
performed for body fat analysis. Also, don't alter your
fluid levels if you want the most accurate BIA analysis
of your body fat possible.
HEALTH
Insulin
sensitivity:
Insulin
sensitivity is defined as the amount of insulin necessary
to transport a particular amount of glucose from blood into
muscle and fat tissue. The more insulin required, the poorer
your insulin sensitivity. Poor insulin sensitivity is associated
with diabetes and obesity.
Factors
promoting poor insulin sensitivity include a sedentary lifestyle
and a diet high in high-glycemic carbohydrates and fat.
Without exercise, muscle tissue does not develop the capacity
to transport lots of glucose into the cells. High-glycemic
carbohydrates are often processed, high sugar foods that
quickly elevate blood glucose and cause very high increases
in insulin. Dietary fat also impairs glucose transport.
Some
(but not all) research shows that aerobic and resistance
training help increase glucose disposal (transport into
muscle). Thus, in theory, exercise should contribute to
an increase in insulin sensitivity. Unfortunately, studies
are often conflicting when it comes to determining which
is the best mode for increasing insulin sensitivity. The
best advice is to find an activity you enjoy and follow
a healthy diet (low in high-glycemic carbohydrates and saturated
fats).
Check
out the next 2 studies:
Insulin
sensitivity improves with aerobic exercise but not resistance
training:
Short,
K., et al. Insulin sensitivity changes with aging, abdominal
adiposity, and aerobic but not resistance training.
Older
adults underwent a resistance-training or aerobic training
program. Resistance training increased strength but not
insulin sensitivity while the aerobic training increased
insulin sensitivity but not strength. Furthermore, insulin
sensitivity was found to decrease with age. In addition,
individuals that had higher levels of abdominal obesity
had lower levels of insulin sensitivity.
The
bottom line: Perform a combination of aerobic and resistance-training
to achieve optimal health levels. Also, alter your diet
to reduce your abdominal fat.
Insulin
sensitivity does not improve with aerobic or resistance
training:
Fraser,
A., et al. Effect of resistance and aerobic training upon
insulin sensitivity and muscle histochemistry in humans.
Healthy,
older males performed resistance training or aerobic training
for 45 minutes, 3 times per week for 10 weeks. Each group
burned the same amount of calories per workout. Unfortunately,
body composition and insulin sensitivity did not change
in either group. The results of this study are very frustrating
to fitness professionals who believe that exercise helps
improve insulin sensitivity. The problem with some research
is that diet is not controlled for and this may play a big
role on the adaptations to exercise. In addition, this research
never mentioned the subject's original insulin sensitivity
level!
In
theory, if you combine both aerobic and resistance training
and you consume a healthy diet (less sugar and saturated
fat and more fruits and vegetables and lean meats), then
the subjects should have a greater chance at improving their
insulin sensitivity.
The
bottom line: Perform a combination of aerobic and resistance-training
to achieve optimal health levels. Also, alter your diet
to reduce your abdominal fat.
For
more information on diabetes, obesity, and the preventative
role of exercise, check out CB ATHLETIC newsletter ISSUES
#49, 63, & 65.
TRAINING
Electrical
Muscle Stimulation (EMS)
Porcari,
J., et al. The effects of electrical muscle stimulation
(EMS) on body composition,
muscle
strength, and physical appearance.
EMS
is advertised as a method to increase muscle strength and
to help lose body fat. In this study, subjects underwent
EMS 3 times per week for 8 weeks on the hamstrings, quadriceps,
arms, and abdominals while the control group underwent "pretend"
stimulation. Subjects were tested for body composition and
strength before and after the 8-week training period. Results
showed that EMS had no effect on body composition or strength.
The
bottom line: Claims relative to the effectiveness of EMS
are not supported. Only 2 questions remain. Are these results
surprising? Was a study really necessary?
Fiber
type of sprinters
Parcell,
A., et al. Myosin heavy chain composition and myosin ATPase
fiber type in elite female track athletes.
A
biopsy was taken from the gastrocnemius (calf muscle) of
7 elite female sprinters (a biopsy is a small piece of muscle
taken with a needle). The muscle was then examined for proportion
of fiber types (slow-twitch & fast-twitch) by 2 different
measurement techniques ("histochemistry" & "gel electrophoresis").
Using
the older traditional method of histochemistry, it was shown
that the athletes had 43% type I fibers (slow-twitch), 48%
IIa fibers (fast-twitch), and 9% IIx ("fastest"-twitch).
Histochemistry is a very simple method of analysis, but
gel electrophoresis allows an in-depth analysis of the functional
structures of a muscle fiber. In particular, gel electrophoresis
measures the amount of a myosin heavy chain (MHC) type in
a fiber. Myosin heavy chains determine the speed and possibly
force of contraction of a muscle fiber.
Researchers
believe that there are "intermediate" fiber types that contain
a blend of fast and slow-twitch MHC. Thus, when the same
muscle sample was tested using the more in-depth analytical
method (gel electrophoresis), there were 42% type I, 19%
IIa, and 0% IIx. Note that this does not add up! This is
due to 39% of the fibers expressing multiple MHC types (17,
16, and 6%, type I/IIa, IIa/IIx, and I/IIa/IIx, respectively).
These are termed "hybrid fibers".
Of
note, the tissue sample was taken 14 weeks into the training
season. Previous research has shown that muscle adapts quickly
to periods of training and detraining. The researchers state
that it is odd to see such a well-trained group have such
a high preponderance of "hybrid fibers", as these are generally
common only in sedentary populations. Also note that this
new method is more sensitive and does not show any IIx fibers
to be present. This abstract was a little technical! For
more information on fiber type analysis, please see ISSUES
#50, 51, 52, & 55.
The
bottom line: Become an expert in exercise physiology if
you want to understand this abstract!
SPORT
NUTRITION
Creatine
& muscle growth:
Louis,
M., et al. Effect of creatine and guanidion-propionic acid
on myotube growth.
Creatine
has been reported to increase lean body mass. Researchers
and the popular media have attributed this to both water
retention and muscle growth. In this study, researchers
grew muscle cells and supplied the muscle cells with creatine
to determine if creatine supplementation would help the
cells grow more. The researchers found that creatine supplementation
helped increase the diameter of the growing cell and concluded
that creatine promotes growth. The authors believed that
creatine regulates growth because it increases the energy
status of the cell.
The
bottom line: Don't rule out muscle growth as a direct consequence
of creatine supplementation.
Post-resistance
training supplementation:
Miller,
S., et al. Post-exercise muscle protein anabolism: Stimulation
by amino acid plus carbohydrate vs. amino acids or carbohydrate
alone.
Research
has shown that post-workout muscle growth occurs when protein
(PRO) and carbohydrate (CHO) are provided. Based on this
type of research, anyone that weight trains should have
a convenient drink/snack prepared for immediate post-workout
consumption. The carbohydrate component is greatly responsible
for an increase in insulin that helps to decrease muscle
breakdown. Protein provides amino acids, the building blocks
of muscle, and thus stimulates muscle growth at this time,
although it also helps increase insulin output.
In
this study, subjects worked out on 3 different occasions
and consumed a CHO drink (0.5g/kg), a PRO drink (0.086g/kg),
or a mixed CHO-PRO drink. All subjects waited 1 hour after
exercise to have their drink, but in a practical situation,
the sooner you have your post-workout drink, the better.
The mixed CHO-PRO drink resulted in greater measures of
protein synthesis than the CHO drink. In addition, the mixed
drink resulted in greater insulin levels than the amino
acid drink.
The
bottom line: Always have carbohydrate and protein in your
post-workout shake! This is a fundamental rule for muscle
growth.
For
more practical advice on post-workout nutrition and eating
to gain muscle, check out the "MASSIVE ACTION" program:
http://www.cbathletics.com/whatsnew.htm
Pre-endurance
workout nutrition:
Diedrich,
D., et al. The effect of pre-exercise carbohydrate ingestion
on maximal neuromuscular power during moderate intensity
exercise.
Confusion
still exists on the best pre-exercise meal. This study examined
the effects of pre-exercise sugar on cycling performance.
The sugar was provided so that it would cause "hypoglycemia"
in the subjects. Hypoglycemia refers to low blood sugar
levels and is often associated with fatigue, dizziness,
and impaired workouts. Hypoglycemia occurs after sugar intake
because insulin, released in response to the sugar, drives
sugar from the blood into the muscles, resulting in low
blood sugar.
18
trained cyclists ingested ~35-40g of sugar (~120 kcal -
similar to that in a Gatorade type drink) or placebo 30
minutes prior to a cycling test. The sugar resulted in the
subjects having high insulin levels and hypoglycemia occurred
within 14 minutes of exercise. Subjects performed worse
when they drank the sugar beverage before exercise.
The
bottom line: It is not wise to drink sugar 30 minutes prior
to endurance training.
Females
and sport drink consumption during exercise
Andrews,
J., et al. Carbohydrate loading and supplement in trained
female runners.
Many
research studies have shown an inability of female athletes
to "carbohydrate load" according to traditional methods.
Carbohydrate loading (glycogen loading) refers to the muscle's
ability to store more energy/carbohydrate (in the form of
glycogen) than normal. In traditional carbohydrate loading,
glycogen-depleting exercise is performed followed by a super-high
carbohydrate diet for several days. This helps many endurance
athletes prepare for competitions.
The
problem is that females just don't eat enough in their diet
to supply sufficient carbohydrate (~400g per day) for glycogen
loading. In this study, 7 trained female endurance athletes
performed three separate 15-mile runs (each separated by
1 month). In trial A, they consumed a regular diet (50%
carbohydrate) for 4-days prior to the run. On the day of
the 15 mile run, they received 6g/kg of a 6% CHO beverage
(similar to Gatorade) immediately before and 3g/kg every
20 min during exercise. For trial B, they consumed a high-carbohydrate
diet for 4 days and then on the day of the run they received
the same beverage protocol before and during exercise. For
trial C (the control), subjects consumed a placebo beverage
during exercise after 4 d of a mixed diet. Got all that?
When
the females consumed the carbohydrate drink during training,
they had higher blood glucose (sugar) levels and used less
fat in exercise. That is not surprising. However, there
were no differences in performance times across the different
conditions. NOTE: Because the subjects consumed the sugar
drink immediately (5 minutes) before training, they did
not suffer from "hypoglycemia" (see above).
The
results of this study suggest that a "Gatorade-type" drink
is not of benefit to females during a 15-mile run. Benefits
of additional glucose may not be seen until race distances
broach or become greater than 18-20 miles. Also, there was
no effect of the high-carbohydrate diet on performance.
The
bottom line: A tough one to interpret, because it really
isn't a reflection of carbohydrate loading (there was no
glycogen depletion). Stick to tradition: Eat a high-carbohydrate
diet and drink lots of fluids before, during and after training.
The
conference is at the end of May and perhaps will warrant
a full review. Until then...
CB
ATHLETIC CONSULTING
www.cbathletics.com
cb@cbathletics.com
