Performing a Deep Squat is Valuable for Multiple Reasons

There are a few exercises that are beneficial from both a functional perspective as well as an assessment standpoint. The deep squat is one such exercise. To be able to perform it or not perform it correctly is indicative of someones overall quality of movement. When an individual has difficulty performing a bodyweight deep squat, avoid loading the body with heavy back squats would be prudent.

This exercise can also tell you if there is any asymmetry throughout the body, meaning muscle imbalance, or mobility issues between the right and left sides of the body.

Squats at any depth are beneficial because they activate many different muscles since it’s a compound movement. Someones form and technique will depends on mobility, flexibility, range of motion, strength and training goals. Let’s look at why this exercise is in fact so valuable?

Four Benefits of Performing a Deep Squat

  1. More than Just a Leg Workout – Starting with the ankle joint and moving up through the legs, hips, core, back and shoulders. The muscles and connective tissue for each of these areas gets stressed and overloaded during the movement.
  2. Better Knee Stability – Years ago some though going below parallel would harm the knee joint; the opposite is actually true, lower is better. The end position actually strengthens the ligaments and improves stability in the knee.
  3. Hips Lower than Knees is a Good Thing – Dropping into a deep squat overloads the gluteus maximus and hip extensors more than a traditional squat would.
  4. Decreased Forces in Knee – While in a deep squat the forces acting on the knee ligaments are less because the knee is more stable in that position.

The Overhead Deep Squat Can Double as a Functional Assessment Tool

Many of the well-known movement experts like Gray Cook, MSPT, recommend using a bodyweight overhead deep squat as an assessment tool. He and many others use it along with four other exercises as part of their functional movement screening assessment. This one exercise turned into an assessment tool can gauge “bilateral symmetrical mobility of the hips, knees, and ankles.” When it’s combined with the hands held overhead, the test will also assess “bilateral symmetrical mobility of the shoulders, as well as extension of the thoracic spine,” according to Cook.

Movement Execution

  • Position the feet shoulder width apart, keeping both feet pointed straight (don’t angle your feet out at all).
  • Raise the shoulders overhead, flexing and abducting the shoulders keeping the elbows fully extended.
  • Slowly lower the body as deep as possible into a squat.
  • Make sure hand position and length does not change during the movement.
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Functional Movement Screen (FMS). If you have an opportunity to perform a FMS with a qualified coach/trainer or in my case, a physical therapist, do so. It offers a wealth of information about the current health of your body. There are 7 different tests including: (1) Deep Squat (2) Hurdle Step (3) Inline Lunge (4) Shoulder Mobility (5) Straight Leg Raise (6) Trunk Stability Push-up (7) Rotary Stability. A maximum score is 21 and you’re rated a 1 through 3 for each movement. Pictured is the first test – the Deep Squat – that my PT, Pat @spauldingrehab had me attempt. It’s important to have an understanding of where your body is at in terms of mobility/stability/flexibility. Once you know where the weak links are you can begin to address them. As business expert, Peter Drucker, likes to say, “How can you manage something if you don’t measure it.” Personally, after scoring 16/21 – my goal is to work more on shoulder #mobility and #rotarystability (core). Where does your body need more work? Simply going to the gym trying to build strength where your body has #movement deficiencies is an accident waiting to happen. #fms #testing #tests #functionaltraining #functionalpatterns #movement #movementpatterns

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The author is being tested (pictured above) to look at hip mobility issues during an overhead deep squat. This was my first attempt. Two issues were corrected on subsequent attempts. Can you see my two mistakes? I’m using too much external rotation in the hips that results in a “flared” angle seen in both of my feet. My feet should be straight. Next, I’m too rounded in my low back (lumbar spine). This is lumbar flexion and I need more lumbar extension. A few good points to look at though – adequate ankle dorsiflexion as well as lumbar extension and shoulder flexion. This is why a picture or video is so helpful.

The goals are to determine if there is any pain during the movement. Where was the pain coming from? Could the movement be executed fully? If possible, have a picture taken of you or the person you’re working with from straight on and from a side angle too. Gray Cook notes, “the ability to perform the test requires closed-chain dorsiflexion of the ankles, flexion of the hips and knees, extension of the thoracic spine, and flexion and abduction of the shoulders.”

Like all great exercise assessment tools there are various progressions dedicated to the overhead deep squat that can be found in Cook’s book Athletic Body in Balance if needed. Hopefully, this article shed some light on the many benefits of the deep squat, both as an exercise and assessment tool. Stay Strong!

Recommended Reading

Cook, G., Athletic Body in Balance, Human Kinetics, 2003.

Boyle, M., Advances in Functional Training, On Target Publications, 2010.

Cook, G., Movement: Functional Movement Systems, On Target Publishing, 2010.

Tabata: The Best Workout You’re Most Likely Doing Wrong

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First, some background on the well-known Tabata workout. The workout almost ended up having a name other than Tabata associated with it. The Japanese researcher did not design the exercise protocol he just showed how good it was at improving work capacity in athletes. The head coach of the Japanese speed skating team brought in Izumi Tabata, PhD, to work with the team back in the 1990’s. The coach wanted Dr. Tabata to analyze the efficacy of their training program. The training program used short 20-second bouts of high intensity exercise with brief 10-second rest periods. It was Dr. Tabata who subsequently showed the world, through his research, how effective this type of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) actually was.

Misunderstanding in a Tabata Workout is Intensity Level

To begin with, most individuals end up performing a Tabata protocol incorrectly because they choose a low intensity. Looking back at the original research published in 1996 by Dr. Tabata you can see that his original training intensity was very high.

ATHLETE GROUP 1

Subjects pedaled on a cycle ergometer for 60-minutes at a moderate intensity (70 percent of VO2 max). This is comparable to a long, slow jog. Subjects were male amateur athletes in their mid-twenties. Subjects exercised 5 hours a week. The anaerobic capacity did not change. The VO2max increased significantly during the training in this group.

ATHLETE GROUP 2

Subjects pedaled for 20-seconds, followed by 10-seconds of rest, repeated 7-8 times for 4-minutes. This was performed at a maximal effort. The key word here is maximal, subjects worked at 170 percent of VO2 max. Subjects exercised 20-minutes a week. Anaerobic capacity increased by 23 percent after 4 wk of training. It increased further toward the end of the training period. After the training period, anaerobic capacity reached 77 ± 9 ml/kg/min. or 28 percent higher compared to pre-training capacity.

Both subject groups performed the exercise protocol for 6-weeks. During that time, subjects worked out either 5 days a week for a total of 5 hours a week or 20 minutes. After the training period, aerobic capacity or VO2max increased by 7 ml/kg/min. while anaerobic capacity improved by 28 percent.

Tabata Workout Protocol

The athletes used in the early work of Dr. Tabata were tested on a cycle ergometers. Therefore, certain exercises like a plank typically don’t elicit a high enough training intensity. Jump squats, on the other hand, work nicely because more muscle mass is involved. Finally, to mimic a true Tabata protocol, select exercises that utilize a large percentage of muscle mass not isolation type movements. A couple of suggested cardio products that would work are explosive bodyweight exercises, rowing ergometer, versa climber or running stairs.

Tabata Protocol

  • Warm-up (suggested time 5:00) – Use a 2:1 work-to-rets ratio x 8 rounds
  • 20-seconds of HIGH INTENSITY work
  • 10-seconds rest
  • 20-seconds of HIGH INTENSITY work
  • 10-seconds rest
  • 20-seconds of HIGH INTENSITY work
  • 10-seconds rest
  • 20-seconds of HIGH INTENSITY work
  • 10-seconds rest
  • 20-seconds of HIGH INTENSITY work
  • 10-seconds rest
  • 20-seconds of HIGH INTENSITY work
  • 10-seconds rest
  • 20-seconds of HIGH INTENSITY work
  • 10-seconds rest
  • 20-seconds of HIGH INTENSITY work
  • 10-seconds rest
  • Cool-down (suggested time: 5:00)

14-minute total time, 4:00 High Intensity work

The idea is to complete as many repetitions of the exercise or movement in 20-seconds, rest briefly for 10-seconds and repeat this format 8 times. Lastly, the idea is to repeat the same exercise or movement or choose different exercises for each round.

Use the Jefit App to Build, Log & Track Your Workouts

The Jefit app now has the ability to perform and log interval based workouts like Tabata Protocol. Stay Strong!

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How to Return Safely to the Gym Following Time Off

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Just about everyone has felt like their life has been turned upside down over the last six months resulting from the pandemic. Moreover, everyone is now looking for ways to get back to their regular routine and that includes exercise. We all want to get back at it and we want to return safely to the gym. If there was ever a time to reap the psychological and physiological benefits of aerobic exercise and strength training it would be now!

This article will address how to return safely to the gym from an exercise standpoint rather than from a gym safety pandemic point of view.

How Quickly Does the Body Begin Detraining?

The body begins to lose cardio and strength gains made at the gym in as little as 2-3 weeks. The good news, though, is any gains lost due to time off can be redeveloped quickly. As long as you’ve been healthy. You can typically maintain strength levels for 3-4 week after a hiatus. Where you really begin to see the effects of missing workouts though is with the loss of muscle mass. This can occur in as fast as 3 weeks. The key is to always listen to your body before/during/after workouts. If you need to back off on the weight or mileage during a workout because you don’t feel 100 percent, then do so. If you experience any stiffness, tightness or pain, that’s your bodies way of telling you to back off and watch out.

Gradually Increase Workout Volume

When starting out or coming back from a hiatus, strive for 20-60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise according to the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines. On the strength side, aim for 1-2 sets of an exercise using 12-15 repetitions with moderate resistance. As time moves forward, slowly decrease the amount of repetitions while increasing the amount of resistance and the number of sets. Increase the amount of resistance each week by about 10 percent for lower body and 5 percent for upper body exercises once you’re able to reach 12 repetitions. Begin with bodyweight exercises like push-ups, squats, lunges and split squats before moving to machines or free weights. In both instances, 3 days a week is plenty, eventually progressing that to 4-5 days if and when needed.

Pay Special Attention to Recovery

On the off days you’re not strength training focus more on stretching and mobility. In addition, spend time on your foam roller to release any tight muscles and connective tissue. Also try using a recovery product like Hyperice to help in that area. In fact, think about adding a few days of either yoga, stretching or a mobility class to your weekly routine. If you like to run, closely monitor your weekly mileage building it back up slowly.

Document Your Workouts

A valuable tool is documenting how your time is spent in the gym or at home during each workout session. Monitoring training volume (sets x reps. x load) on a daily and weekly basis will help prevent overtraining and you’ll get better gains. Research has shown that you’re 2-3 times more likely to stick to a new habit when a plan is in place and a record is kept. To help you plan, log and track your strength training workouts, download the award-winning Jefit app. One of the great training tools featured on the Jefit app is the ability to record 1-RM for each exercise. In fact, if you come back after time off, choose a lighter percentage of your 1-RM initially before building back up slowly. This will help keep overtraining type injuries at bay. Stay Strong!

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Improve Your Balance and Functionality Doing More Single-leg Exercises

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They may take a bit longer, but the many benefits of doing single-leg exercises, or unilateral exercises, far outweigh that one issue. Moreover, performing these types of leg exercises regularly can improve balance, functional ability, correct muscle imbalances, and increase core strength. Knowing that, the better question might be why would you not do them? Unilateral exercises require only a single-leg or single-arm to perform.

Just about everything we do is based off a single-leg movement. Movements such as walking, running, skipping, forms of jumping and climbing a flight of stairs all utilize one-leg. In fact, Michael Sylvester, owner of TheFitnessDocs, states, “when we walk or run, 60 percent of the gait cycle is bearing our entire bodyweight on one-leg.”

Single-leg Exercises Mimic The Way We Move

Leg exercises, especially single-leg exercises, mimic the way the body moves naturally (i.e. gait pattern) in everyday life and during athletic events. We want to train the body the way we move in life and in sport. Using lower body unilateral exercises in a workout will check off those two boxes. Compound exercises, also known as bilateral exercises, like a squat or deadlift are of course important. If an athlete is trying to improve their vertical jump, for instance, then those types of exercises are applicable.

Think of the way you and your clients move throughout the day. Watch a video of any sporting event and observe how each athlete moves up and down the field, court, track or ice. Every movement requires unilateral or single-leg action; running down the field, cutting on a court, a lay-up, running the bases, or pushing off on the ice. The body therefore needs to train in a similar manner replicating those types of movements in the gym in order to improve performance.

Single-leg Exercises Helps Correct Muscle Imbalances

Many people use their dominant side most of the time. If your dominant leg is your right leg, this is typically the one you’ll use to start running up a flight of stairs or kick a soccer ball. Likewise, the same thing applies to the upper body. Think about how strong the arm of a tennis player or baseball pitcher’s dominant side is. This is why it’s so important to train the opposite or non-dominant side and using unilateral exercises work best in most cases.

Performing barbell bilateral exercises can help someone become stronger but not correct imbalance issues; unilateral dumbbell exercises on the other hand will. Each one of us has as area or a side of the body that is typically weaker and less flexible. Further, if not corrected over time, dysfunctional movement will occur and lead to injuries. Speaking of injuries, this can be a major problem when coming back from a leg or foot or injury that as a result, leads to changes in gait pattern. If not corrected, in-efficient movement patterns can take hold or what I like refer to as, get “ingrained in the brain” and become the norm. Unilateral movements will help bring the body back to its original state after this has been corrected.

According to, Gray Cook, MSPT, you “must develop sound movement patterns long before worrying about performance enhancement. These movement patterns are not possible in the presence of poor flexibility or poor body control – that is, poor mobility and stability.”

Improves Balance

Working off one-leg makes the involved leg work that much harder and the smaller intrinsic muscles around the ankle ultimately become stronger. Consequently, the muscles around the knee and hip joints also get stronger resulting in better balance. Continuing to use single-leg exercises like split jumps, pistol squats, step-ups, and Bulgarian split squats in workouts force you to spend more time balancing on one leg while working different single-leg movement patterns. This in turn improves kinaesthetic awareness leading to better balance through postural awareness and new found strength.

Added Bonus on Core Strength

When you work one side of your body as a result of using unilateral exercises, like a single-leg Romanian Deadlift, you activate more core muscles in order to maintain balance. The by-product is the stabilizing muscles end up working much harder and become stronger. The primary core stabilizers include the deep trunk muscles like the multifidus, internal obliques, external obliques, tranverse abdominis and pelvic floor muscles. The purpose of these muscles is to support and protect your spine and improve your posture.

For best overall results, try adding more unilateral leg exercises to your workouts if you’re not already doing so. As an example, combining bilateral (Squats) and unilateral (DB Bulgarian Split Squat) exercises in the same workout will help take your strength gains (and more) to the next level. Stay Strong!

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Healthiest Fruits and Vegetables for a Strong, Vibrant Body

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As many as 1 in 10 Americans are not getting the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables each day. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) recommends we consume an “average” of about 2 1/2 cups a day for both fruits and vegetables. If that number reaches 3 cups a day on the vegetable side, even better. Further, how do you begin to choose the best fruits and vegetables to eat from the many options available? By looking at the nutrient density of each.

Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables

The CDC has already ranked all fruits and vegetables by their nutrient density for you. Nutrient-dense foods are rich in nutrients relative to their calorie content. What wasn’t a real surprise was the fact that the top fifteen foods on that list are green vegetables. The number one spot went to watercress, followed by Chinese cabbage, chard, beet greens, and my personal favorite spinach.

Some of the most nutrient-dense fruits that made the list were Lemon, Lime, Strawberries and Oranges. For a complete list of the top 41, see table 2, found here. Eating 2 1/2 cups of fruit a day is smart because it’s loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Fruit also contains natural sugar versus added sugar that is found in high processed foods, sports drinks and candy. There were a few surprises that did not make the CDC list however; including, raspberry, tangerine, cranberry, garlic, onion, avocado, and blueberry.

Healthy Nutrient-Dense Options: Vegetables & Fruits

  • Beet Greens
  • Spinach
  • Leaf Lettuce
  • Kale
  • Red Pepper
  • Arugula
  • Broccoli
  • Brussel Sprouts
  • Cauliflower
  • Carrot
  • Lemon
  • Lime
  • Strawberry
  • Orange
  • Grapefruit (white, pink & red)
  • Blackberry

If You Had to Eat Only One…

On the vegetable side it might be spinach which many nutrition experts agree is a great choice. It’s so healthy because of the nutrient makeup it would be really hard to pass up on. Green leafy vegetables provide more more nutrients than just about any other food on earth! One cup of raw spinach provides 56 percent of your daily vitamin A needs not to mention your entire daily vitamin K requirement — and it contains only 7 calories. Now you know why it’s a staple in so many salads at lunch time. One study in adult women showed the more spinach women ate, the lower their incidence of breast cancer.

In contrast, on the fruit side, a good option would be an orange. Eating an orange is better than drinking orange juice. You get 3.4 grams of fiber in a whole orange, which has 69 calories and 12 grams of natural sugar. In addition, oranges are loaded with vitamin C (64 mg) and considered a premier antioxidant, according to Johnny Bowden, PhD, CNS. Oranges also have “more than 170 cancer-fighting phytochemicals, and 60 flavonoids,” making it a perfect choice before or after a workout.

In order to increase your chances of maintaining a strong, healthy body, make sure you have multiple servings of fruits and vegetables in your diet each day. Stay Strong!

Reference

Bowden, J., The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, Fair Winds Press, 2007.

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Make Your Coaching Business More Profitable With Jefit Coach

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There are tens of thousands of coaches and personal trainers who are trying to gain a foothold with their business. With all the competition, especially now in the Covid era, it can be difficult to grow and be successful. This is where Jefit Coach comes in. In these changing times, more and more coaches are trying to gain traction with some type of hybrid or online business model. Compounding the problem is no current activity at gyms and health clubs. This is where Jefit Coach can help coaches and personal trainers manage and scale their businesses. The Jefit Coach platform can help a coach or trainer transform a business in the following four ways.

TRAINING

Coaches and trainers have the ability to create customized exercise plans from Jefit’s premium exercise library that includes more than 1400 exercises. There are also thousands of exercise programs already developed that coaches can recommend to their clientele. Trainers can also build their own strength training workouts and track their clients progress over the course of a training program. The training options are plentiful, like the ability for clients to try interval-based programs, split routines, choose programs with supersets, at-home workouts, or even sport-specific programs.

An exercise program can easily be manipulated by a coach for a client. There are many tools and unique features that Jefit Coach offers. For example, based on a clients 1-RM scores, a coach can adjust training volume in a workout, add or replace an exercise, or even suggest exercises to test a client or athletes on. This can be done for an individual, a group of clients or even a team. A coach can build a periodized strength training plan based on their clients short and long-term training goals. A coach can then monitor that program and track a clients progress over time and even suggest a test like a 225-lb. bench press test for repetitions.

INSTANT MESSAGING

Communication is paramount for any coach or trainer and their clients. The Jefit Coach platforms is a communication tool that allows coaches to have a dedicated channel to talk with one or hundreds of clients at a time. Just having the ability to stay connected to clients remotely 24/7 regarding aspects of a workout or training program is well, priceless.

COACH BRANDING

Trying to separate yourself and your business from the rest of the pack can be a full-time job. Having a seat at the table with the Jefit Coach platform will help both you and your brand stand out. You can build an online profile and presence that highlights your expertise and experience.

ELITE MEMBERSHIP FOR ALL

An added bonus, coaches and all their clients have access to Jefit Elite, a premium training package upgrade. This allows coaches to have the ability to use all the Elite functions and health & fitness content to share with their clients.

Check out Jefit Coach and sign-up for a FREE 7-Day Trial now. For more information, please email product@jefit.com and Stay Strong with Jefit.

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Five Proven Exercise Strategies to Improve Mood and Anxiety

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Packaging the health benefits of exercise into a bottle or pill would be comparable to finding the Holy Grail. Though that won’t happen any time soon, you can still take advantage of what exercise has to offer. According to a study published in the Lancet Psychiatry, people report an average of 3.5 days of poor mental health in a given month. The amazing thing is we already know that there are exercise strategies for improving mood and anxiety. More of us just need to take advantage of doing these types of exercise on a regular basis.

The good news regarding this topic is any form exercise – from walking to housework – will reduce that number by an average of 1.5 days a month. Playing any type of team sport, in addition to aerobic exercise, and strength training seem to have the biggest affect on mood; with reports of these activities reducing the number of mental health days by 20 percent.

Amount of Exercise Needed

Individuals who exercise for 20 to 60 minutes a day, three to five days a week, receive the most benefit, compared with those who exercise either less or more. In fact, people who exercised 23 times a month and for longer than 90 minutes per workout, actually had worse mental health compared to those who exercised less often or for shorter periods of time, as noted in the study.

The following list includes five different activities that are proven exercise strategies that will improve mood and decrease anxiety. The goal is to get more of people doing some type of daily activity. Only 23 percent of Americans, over 18 years old, exercise on a regular basis. Meaning, they perform both cardio and strength training during the week, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Walking is a man’s best medicine.”

Hippocrates

Manageable Exercise Strategies to Improve Mood: Walking & Hiking

These are grouped together for no particular reason other than hiking is a more challenging progression of walking. Both are great for reducing stress and improving mood. This is especially true if you happen to be walking or hiking in the forest. The Japanese actually have a name for their strolls in the forest, they call it “Shinrinyoku.” They regard their walks or hikes in the forest as being similar to natural aromatherapy.

Newer research seems to reinforce the idea that spending time out in nature can be good for your mental health. A 2015 study published in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning, as an example, discovered that when young adults went on a 50-minute walk out in nature, they felt less anxious and had improved memory function.

In a study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, research scientists found a single bout of exercise – walking for 30-minutes – could instantly improve the mood of someone suffering from a major depressive order. Some scientists believe the reason for this is more neurobiological than anything.

“Walking and hiking works on stress by increasing arousal and energy levels and secondarily by reducing tension. The energy boost is immediate, while the tension reduction reveals itself later and over time. The enhanced energy enables you to better cope with stress, so that you are less likely to become tense in the first place.”

Running is a Big Stress Buster

Aerobic exercise, such as running, can produce positive changes in mood at least on a short-term basis across both young and older adults. Running 30-minutes during a week for three weeks has been shown to boost sleep quality, mood and concentration during the day according to a study in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Additional research showed a positive affect on trained runners who ran on a treadmill compared to untrained subjects; moderate-intensity running versus high-intensity running was shown to be have the best impact on “mood states.”

The mental benefits of running can be especially powerful for people who suffer from high anxiety and even depression. In a 2006 review published in the Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, researchers found evidence that exercise, like running, can work in a way that is similar to how antidepressants work.

Yoga Benefits

You have probably heard before how important your breath is, especially nasal breathing. No other activity focuses more on breath than meditation and yoga. The simple act of sitting or lying supine for even a few minutes, focusing on your breath, can make an impact on both mood and stress levels. Asanas work on stretching, lengthening, balancing and releasing stress in the muscles. These various postures can help release built-up muscle tension and stiffness in the body.

According Harvard Medical School, “by reducing perceived stress and anxiety, yoga appears to modulate stress response systems. This, in turn, decreases physiological arousal — for example, reducing heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and easing respiration. There is evidence that yoga also increases heart rate variability, an indicator of the body’s ability to respond to stress.

Strength Training Goes a Long Way

We know regular bouts of strength training can benefit our muscles, connective tissue and bones. The affects of regular training can go well beyond that. For instance, JAMA Psychiatry, reported “people with mild to moderate depression who performed resistance training two or more days a week saw “significant” reductions in their symptoms, compared with people who did not.” The research looked at 33 randomized clinical trials involving more than 1,800 subjects, and the findings “suggested that resistance exercises may be even more beneficial for those with more severe depressive symptoms.”

Research published in American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine (2010) reviewed seven resistance training studies to determine if training could be used as an intervention for people with anxiety. Their review on this topic demonstrated that resistance training is in fact a meaningful intervention for people suffering from anxiety. Two of the seven studies compared the effects of high-intensity resistance training (80% of 1-RM) to moderate-intensity (50%-60% of 1-RM). The results indicated that anxiety was reduced more with moderate-intensity resistance training. Stay Strong with Jefit.

References

Yanker, G., Burton, K., Walking Medicine. McGraw-Hill Publishing, 1990.

O’Connor, P.J., Herring, M.P. and Carvalho, A. Mental health benefits of strength training in adults. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 4(5), 377-396., 2010.

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Protein at Each Meal is Required for Muscle Growth

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Research has shown that it’s important to eat protein at each meal. Many Americans eat a diet that consists of little to no protein for breakfast. This is followed up with a small portion of protein at lunch and an overabundance of protein at dinner. In fact, as long as they get their recommended dietary allowance of about 60 grams, it’s all good, right? Not according to research from a team of scientists led by muscle metabolism expert Doug Paddon-Jones, PhD, of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB). This research shows that the typical cereal or carbohydrate-dominated breakfast, a sandwich or salad at lunch and overly large serving of meat/protein for dinner may not provide the best metabolic environment to promote healthy aging and maintenance of muscle size and strength.

“The study, in the Journal of Nutrition, shows that the potential for muscle growth is less than optimal when protein consumption is skewed toward the evening meal instead of being evenly distributed throughout the day.”

Doug Paddon-Jones, PhD

Age-related conditions such as osteoporosis (bone weakening) and sarcopenia (muscle loss) do not develop all of a sudden. The researchers believe rather, that they are gradual processes triggered by poor lifestyle habits starting in early middle age.

Review of Research

The UTMB researchers provided volunteers with a generous daily dose of 90 grams of protein a day; consistent with the average amount currently consumed by healthy adults in the U.S. Very active individuals may benefit from a slightly higher protein intake. For the majority of adults, additional protein will likely have a diminishing positive effect on muscle metabolism says the researchers. Just as important, any less may fail to provide support for optimal muscle metabolism.

When study volunteers consumed the evenly distributed protein meals, their 24-hour muscle protein synthesis was 25 percent greater than subjects who ate according to the skewed protein distribution pattern.

An Eating Strategy for Protein

“Usually, we eat very little protein at breakfast, a bit more at lunch and then consume a large amount at night. “So we’re not taking enough protein on board for efficient muscle building and repair during the day, and at night we’re often taking in more than we can use, says Paddon-Jones.”

A more efficient eating strategy for building muscle and controlling total caloric intake would be to shift some of the extra protein consumed at dinner to lunch and breakfast.

“You don’t have to eat massive amounts of protein to maximize muscle synthesis. You just have to be a little more thoughtful with how you apportion it,” Paddon-Jones said. “For breakfast consider replacing some carbohydrate, particularly the simple sugars, with high-quality protein. Throw in an egg, a glass of milk, yogurt or add a handful of nuts to get closer to 30 grams of protein. Try doing something similar to get to 30 grams for lunch, and then moderate the amount of protein for dinner. Do this, and over the course of the day you will likely spend much more time synthesizing muscle protein.” Eat healthy and stay strong with Jefit.

Reference

Madonna M. Mamerow, Joni A. Mettler, Kirk L. English, Shanon L. Casperson, Emily Arentson-Lantz, Melinda Sheffield-Moore, Donald K. Layman, and Douglas Paddon-Jones, Dietary Protein Distribution Positively Influences 24-h Muscle Protein Synthesis in Healthy Adults, J Nutr. 2014 Jun; 144(6): 876–880. Published online 2014 Jan 29. doi: 10.3945/jn.113.185280

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Know the Difference Between Added Sugar and Sugar Alcohols?

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Poor nutrition, as in eating too much added sugar, can easily ruin all the hard work someone puts in at the gym. Sugar is in just about everything we eat and drink. For instance, take a look at the food labels on those protein bars and protein drinks. Heck, read the labels on the different sports drinks while you’re at it. Gatorade has added sugar, it’s just in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Many of these foods and drinks contain so much added sugar and sugar alcohol they could found in the candy isle…seriously. According to JAMA Internal Medicine, sugar-sweetened drinks are the single largest source of added sugar (37 percent) in the American diet.

Does Eating Too Much Fruit Mean I’m Eating Too Much Sugar?

To begin with, fruit does contain sugar but its natural. The source of sugar found in fruit is fructose. As mentioned, fruit contains natural sugar as opposed to added sugar or sugar alcohols. One key ingredient found in fruit is fiber. Basically, fiber slows down the speed of glucose entering into the blood stream. As a result, it won’t raise blood sugar level quickly. When you eat a candy bar, though, which has no fiber and is loaded with added sugar, your glucose level will spike. In fact, the body releases insulin from the pancreas to bring down the glucose level. “The amount of insulin released usually matches the amount of glucose present.” This is important to understand. If this happens often throughout the day, there is a high probability that the body will begin storing more body fat as a direct result.

Many people consume a high percentage of sugar (carbohydrates) over three meals during their waking hours. When this happens, they end up with the scenario mentioned above. Now that you have a better understanding on fruit and natural sugar, let’s look at the differences between added sugar and sugar alcohols.

Added Sugar

Added sugar is in 74 percent of all packaged foods. Think about that for a moment. In order to make foods low fat, many of the food companies replace added fat with added sugar. Americans currently eat about 76 pounds of different forms of sugars each year. Even though we have seen a 15 percent decrease in added sugar consumption since 1999, according to government data, the typical person still eats about 94 grams (or 375 calories) on a daily basis (U.S. Department of Agriculture). Lastly, Dr. Robert Lustig, author of Fat Chance, and his colleagues, have shown through their research that every additional 150 calories (38 grams) of added sugar consumed above daily requirements, was associated with a 1.1 percent increase risk of type 2 diabetes.

Sugar Alcohols

Added sugar and sugar alcohols are carbohydrates but with slightly different chemical makeups. Sugar alcohols are considered less sweet and contain fewer calories than sugar; they also affect blood sugar levels less significantly. They are also known as polyols, which are ingredients used as sweeteners and sugar replacers. If you have diabetes you want to stay clear of sugars and lean towards sugar alcohols …if you must. Keep in mind they may also cause bloating and an upset stomach in some people. Best advice, stay clear of all three forms of sugar.

Read Food Labels When it Comes to Protein Bars, Sports Drinks and Protein Shakes

So, the next time you want to order your favorite box of protein bars on Amazon or get a protein or sports drink at the gym, read the food label first. If either has more than a few grams of added sugar, then avoid it. The goal should be 0 grams of added sugar. Many of the bars say they contain zero or <1 gram of added sugar but don’t be fooled. Added sugar likes to hide its toxic self under more than 60 different names like the HFCS mentioned above found in Gatorade. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but the total grams of added sugar consumed over a day can add up fast. A candy bar and a Coke has more than 75 grams of added sugar. Men should consume about 38 grams/day while women need about 25 grams/day.

One study showed subjects who got 17-21% of their calories from added sugar had a 38% risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to those who consumed 8% of their calories from added sugar. The risk more than double for those who consumed 21% or more of their calories from added sugar (D’Adamo, 2015).

Bottom line, any form of sugar, other than what’s found in fruit, is potentially harmful to your body. In addition, eating too much sugar will zap your energy level which you’ll need during workout time. One thing that really loves added sugar is body fat. If you want a lean, hard body, reduce the amount of sugar you eat! If that’s not enough – read the quote above one more time. Stay strong!

References

Berardi, J., et al., The Essentials of Sport and Exercise Nutrition, Precision Nutrition, 2017.

D’Adamo P.J., The Many Consequences of Sugar Imbalance, 2015.

Additional Reading on the Topic

Shanahan C., Deep Nutrition (2nd Ed.), 2017.

Taubes G., The Case Against Sugar, 2016.

Fitzgerald M., Diet Cults, 2015

Ludwig D., Always Hungry?, 2016.

Freedhoff Y., The Diet Fix, 2014.

Duffy W., Sugar Blues, 1986.

Lustig, R., Fat Chance, 2012.

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Maintaining an Active Lifestyle Now Impacts How You Age

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When we’re young we can feel invincible, but as we age, that invincibility can slowly deteriorate. The short-term goal for many is to maintain an active lifestyle throughout their twenties and thirties. The thinking behind this is that if you start young, the habit will carryover into the golden years. One of the key ingredients in this scenario is sustainability. The long-term goal should be to maintain a healthy lifestyle no matter what decade of life someone is in.

An Active Lifestyle is a Mindset

In its simplest form an active lifestyle incorporates physical activity into every day life. The time invested in activities like walking, biking, running and strength training are well worth it. Maintaining a consistent routine with such activities will keep chronic disease at bay. A physically active lifestyle is beneficial for the body and the mind. The by-product of an active lifestyle improves everything from quality of sleep to

Three Types of Physical Activity

Physical activity consists of three components, muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance and flexibility. It’s important to focus on these individual components and add each one into your weekly training program.

  • MUSCULAR STRENGTH

Muscular strength is defined as the maximum amount of force a muscle or group of muscles can produce during a single bout of exercise. There are many reasons why this is so important to maintain throughout ones life. One of those big reasons is lean muscle mass. If you don’t engage in regular strength training you lose muscle mass. Period. If you do not strength train regularly, as you age, you become part of a statistical group that loses approximately 5-8 pounds of lean muscle mass with each passing decade starting at about age thirty-five. Let’s just end by saying those numbers get much worse after fifty.

  • CARDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE

Is the ability to move the body over a sustained period of time. It’s critical to improve and maintain cardiovascular fitness throughout your lifetime. By doing so, you’ll reduce your risk of developing heart disease by increasing the efficiency of your heart, lungs, and blood vessels.

  • FLEXIBILITY

This is the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to move through a range of motion. Flexibility is a component of mobility.

“Given what we know about the health benefits of physical activity, it should be mandatory to get a doctor’s permission not to exercise.”

~ PER-OLOF ASTRAND, MD, PHD, KAROLINSKA INSTITUTE, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

Benefits of Maintaining a Lifelong Active Lifestyle

Here are a few examples of the benefits associated with enjoying an active lifestyle.

  • Research published in 2013, in the journal Lancet, reported among people with early signs of pre-diabetes, taking an extra 2,000 steps each day, or the equivalent of a 20-minute moderate-paced walk, helped lower their chances of heart problems.
  • Over the course of a yearlong study, an additional 8 percent lower risk of heart disease was observed for every 2,000 steps walked a day.
  • Scientists from University College London performed a meta-analysis of peer-reviewed journals between 1970 and 2007. The studies evaluated 459,833 test-subjects who were absent of cardiovascular disease at the start of the investigation. The subjects were followed for an average of 11.3 years with all cardiovascular events recorded. Their analysis makes a strong case for the benefits of good old walking. The study showed walking reduced the risk of cardiovascular events by 31 percent and decreased the risk of dying by 32 percent.
  • The Harvard Alumni study found men who average at least eight flights of stairs a day enjoy a 33 percent lower mortality rate compared to men who are sedentary.
  • Research shows that people who sit the most have a 112 percent increase in the Relative Risk (RR) of diabetes and a 147 percent increase in the RR of cardiovascular events compared to people who sit the least.

Review of Physical Activity on Awareness & Mood Levels

A research paper published by Berger titled Psychological Benefits of an Active Lifestyle looked at the key benefits derived from an active lifestyle. According to Berger, “exercise has many benefits…, it is important to explore ways in which exercise might become something one “wants” to do several days a week. Possible sources of enjoyment and motivation for physical activity may include “feeling better” or mood alteration; stress reduction; and enhancement of self-concept, self-awareness, and even self-knowledge.”

Adding the components of physical activity (strength, endurance, flexibility) into your workouts will allow you to make the most of each day. Finally, turning this into a habit now when your young will pay back stronger dividends when you’re older. Stay Strong!

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“Strong” Benefits of Reverse Pyramid Training

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Reverse pyramid training (RPT) is great training option to use when looking to gain muscle size and strength. This type of program design features high-intensity sets but low volume workouts. Reverse pyramid training is simply a lifting style. RPT involves the heaviest weight used early in each overall sequence of sets for a particular muscle group. The reason this type of training works so well is because it takes advantage of a persons high energy level early in a workout. As a result, the muscles are not fatigued (yet) and, therefore, have the ability to handle heavier loads early in the workout. The idea is to do as many repetitions as possible (AMRAP) without going to failure during each set.

Reverse Training Pyramid Example

Here are a few examples of what an upper and lower body RPT would look like following an efficient warm-up. This would be an example for an intermediate lifter who is looking to build strength and hypertrophy. Rest between sets is approximately 2-3 minutes using a tempo of about 4-seconds/repetition, 2-seconds each for concentric and eccentric phase. Decrease the weight between subsequent sets by approximately 10-15 percent.

1A – BENCH PRESS

(*Perform 2-3 warm-up sets for each exercise*)

225 x 6

185 x 10

160 x 12

1B – INCLINE BENCH PRESS

155 x 8

125 x 10

105 x 12

2A – SQUAT

(*Perform 3 warm-up sets for each exercise*)

315 x 3

275 x 6

235 x 8

2B – DEADLIFT

345 x 4

295 x 6

250 x 8

Research Review on Reverse Pyramid Training

There are few studies in the research literature that look at the benefits of RPT. But in that same breath, know that RPT is not better than traditional training. It offers you another training option but with a nice caveat – it can be used to help break through training plateaus. According to research published in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, training with repetitions around the 8-12 range allows for gains in muscle size compared to training with less repetitions, such as 2-4 repetitions, will elicit more of a strength gain. The outcome, as it relates to RPT, is the lifter receives both benefits (size and strength).

Changing Training Stimulus is Important in Reverse Pyramid Training

One way to bust through a training plateau is to change the training stimulus. This could be done by switching in/out exercises, changing repetitions, sets, or adjusting volume or rest between sets to name a few. This could also be a good time to add in RPT. Every few months, think about how changing things up a bit could benefit your overall program. Remember, the body continually adapts to the training stimulus provided. Your goal is to periodically measure how you are doing on the program, adjust, pivot if necessary, and continue to push through.

Newly Released RPT Program on the Jefit App

Please visit the Jefit app to download this free, beginner Reverse Pyramid Training program that accompanies this article. You can find it here. Thanks and Stay Strong with Jefit.

Please feel free to share this post on social media and with family & friends:>)

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Best Bodyweight Exercises for Strength? Do the Dip

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When you do your next workout make sure you add a few sets of bodyweight dips into the mix. This effective, multi-joint exercise is considered one of the best bodyweight exercises available. Talk about getting a lot of “bang for your buck” from one single compound movement. Let’s take a deeper look at this exercise.

Exercise Technique
  • Take hold of each handle with a firm grasp. Extend both arms until they are almost locked out and the body is vertical.
  • Engage the core by drawing the navel in towards the spine.
  • Inhale as you lower the body downward by flexing the arms.
  • Slowly lower the body until the triceps are parallel to the floor while keeping forearms vertical. Arms should be at a 90-degree angle.
  • The upper body is leaning forward slightly throughout movement. Pause and return to the starting position as you exhale.
Targeted Muscle Groups

The exercise is ideal for building strength and muscle mass in both the chest (pectoralis major, pectoralis minor) and arms (triceps brachii). There is also demand placed on the shoulders especially the anterior head of the deltoid. In addition, the back also gets some work (latissimus dorsi, rhomboid and trapezius). This is one reason why it’s considered by many as one of the best bodyweight exercises you can do!

Exercise Options

One of the great things about this particular movement is its versatility. The options and exercise variations are many.

  • Machine-based dips
  • Machine-assisted dips
  • Bench dips (feet on the floor)
  • Bench dips (feet elevated)
  • Traditional dip (as pictured)
  • Weighted dip (*hold off until you can perform 10-12 bodyweight repetitions using good form*).
Muscle Recruitment During the Exercise

The great thing about performing dips is depending on how you position the body will dictate the load placed on different muscle groups. Meaning, as you lean forward slightly (45-degree angle), on the upward and down phase, you’ll put more demand on the chest muscles. When the focus is the chest, the arms are angled away from the body slightly. In contrast, when the body is positioned and held more vertical, the demand shifts more towards the triceps. If the goal is to target the triceps more, then keep the arms closer to the body. As seen in the left photo below.

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How Dips Help Other Exercise (like “Boost Your Bench”)

By doing dips periodically, you end up getting not only stronger, you’re able to push through plateaus better, for exercises like bench press. Research shows that exercises that require you to move your body through space, versus stationary exercises, require more muscle recruitment. This is why an exercise like a squat will always be superior to a stationary or supported movement like a leg press. A dip exercise also develops a large proportion of muscle that sits on the upper body. Personally, in addition to getting my chest and arms stronger, I feel like my shoulder muscles – used as stabilizers – get that added bonus of also getting stronger as a by-product of doing dips. If you have any type of shoulder issues or have been told you have a shoulder impingement, this should be a contraindicated exercise. Stay Strong with Jefit.

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