German Volume Trainng

Something I’ll have to incorporate because I’m on a unflinching pleateu. I’m curious to here opinion from people who have tried this workout.

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure — or pain — of ever having tried GVT, it involves, rather simply, doing 10 sets of the same exercise, with the goal being to do 10 reps per set. Of course, the goal is more or less theoretical, because if you can actually do ten full sets of ten, you’re not using a heavy enough weight.

Scientifically speaking, by exposing a group of motor units to such a high volume of work, the body adapts to the incredible amount of stress by growing the targeted fibers at a pretty fast rate. And, along the same lines, the large training volume appears to contribute not only to increased mass, but decreased body fat (Hather, et al, 1992; Stone, O’Bryant, and Garhammer, 1981).

Read more here.

Stop buying excessive protein whey

The following key points summarize the current recommendations for  competitive athletes in this position paper.

Protein recommendations for resistance and strength-trained athletes are 1.6 to 1.7 g/kg bodyweight per day. It has been recommended that experienced male bodybuilders and strength athletes consume 1.6 to 1.7 g/kg bodyweight per day to allow for the accumulation and maintenance of lean tissue.

Athletes should be aware that increasing protein intake beyond the recommended levels is unlikely to result in increases in lean tissue

because there is a limit to the rate at which protein tissue can be accrued.

The Top 10 Post Workout Nutrition Myths

I love reading these articles for number of reasons.  It dispels myths that these ignorant gym rats rant about.  It helps understand what is happening at a scientific level rather than understanding from trial and error as most of these myths are derived from. Without further ado, I present you the first one…

  Consuming the drink immediately following the workout will elicit the greatest protein synthesis.

It’s amazing to see how more advanced, and often experienced, people behave in the gym when it comes to getting their post workout meal. Some guys even sit there, right after their last set, and slug back a drink! In fact I’ve even heard “as soon as the weight hits the floor” touted as the war cry for the hardcore. While this is actually a sub-optimal practice for muscle growth and recovery, not to mention borderline obsessive compulsive, it’s good to see their heart is the right place.
Comparing research that used drinks consumed immediately after a workout (Tipton et al., 2001) versus those ingested an hour after training (Rasmussen et al., 2000), the results are surprising: it seems that post workout meal ingestion actually results in 30% lower protein synthesis rates than when we wait! So every time we thought that we were badass for drinking “as soon as the weight hit the floor, we were actually short changing ourselves. Not a big deal. Let’s just learn, adapt, and move on.
Strike two for the one hour post workout window.

You can read more here.

Whey and Casein Protein and Aminos Acids

Here is a great study on the results produced when using Whey and Casein protein and aminos over a placebo of Dextrose. Look at the values that increased.

This study examined 10 wks of resistance training and the ingestion of supplemental protein and amino acids on muscle performance and markers of muscle anabolism. Nineteen untrained males were randomly assigned to supplement groups containing either 20 g protein (14 g whey and casein protein, 6 g free amino acids) or 20 g dextrose placebo ingested 1 h before and after exercise for a total of 40 g/d. Participants exercised 4 times/wk using 3 sets of 6-8 repetitions at 85-90% of the one repetition maximum. Data were analyzed with two-way ANOVA (p<0.05). The protein supplement resulted in greater increases in total body mass, fat-free mass, thigh mass, muscle strength, serum IGF-1, IGF-1 mRNA, MHC I and IIa expression, and myofibrillar protein. Ten-wks of resistance training with 20 g protein and amino acids ingested 1 h before and after exercise is more effective than carbohydrate placebo in up-regulating markers of muscle protein synthesis and anabolism along with subsequent improvements in muscle performance.

PMID: 16988909 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

Protein Absorption Rate in Humans

According to this study, A Review of Issues of Dietary Protein Intake in Humans,written by Shane Bilsborough and Neil Mann, it states…

Absorption rates of amino acids from the gut can vary from 1.4 g/h for raw egg white to 8 to 10 g/h for whey protein isolate. Slowly absorbed amino acids suchas casein (~ 6 g/h) and repeated small doses of whey protein (2.9 g per 20 min,
totaling ~ 7 g/h) promote leucine balance, a marker of protein balance, superior tothat of a single dose of 30 g of whey protein or free amino acids which are both rapidly absorbed (8 to 10 g/h), and enhance amino acid oxidation.

Quite interesting. It drives home the point that eating smaller portioned meals of less than 15-10 grams of protein is optimal. It also tells us that ingesting 40 grams of protein whey for post-workout drink is not only a waste of money as it gets excreted or is converted into carbs and then stored as body fat, among other things.