štvrtok 27. februára 2020

Effective limitation of blood flow in muscles | Steroids4U.eu

Effective limitation of blood flow in muscles. A crazy nonsense or an effective aid for muscle and muscle growth?


Seven bodybuilding techniques, which have been in the fitness world for some Friday, we only recently discussed in more detail and then supplemented by the use of cheating (cheat repetitions). Today we will introduce a still relatively new technique called Blood Flow Restriction (hereinafter referred to as BFR), and thus purposefully restricting blood flow in the desired muscle. As with all the lesser-known and new not only in the strengthening world, two extreme camps were immediately formed, with one group without any knowledge immediately starting to blindly execute the BFR, and on the other hand incredulous people who consider this method a first-rate stupidity . Since the whole issue was of interest to us and, frankly, to a large extent, we have a comprehensive article on whether this strange method is just a dangerous madness or has a serious use.

Who invented it and what is it about?

The “father” of BFR training (also known as Occlusion Training) is Jeremy Loenneke, who also dealt with his PhD work on this topic. It was not the one who invented the BFR, but the one who studied and worked on BFR. It is not a method that it is trying to sell, it simply started to solve it in detail and examined every study that has ever dealt with this technique.

Basically, it is the use of a bandage or elastic rubber or something similar to prevent blood flow in the hands or feet. Care should be taken that blood pressure in the veins (which will prevent the flow of blood in the limb) should be considerably lower than the blood pressure in the arteries (which will lead the blood to the limb), so you simply apply a bandage to keep the blood flowing as little as possible, but at the same time to get inside. Warning! The point is not to completely block the flow of blood to the limb, by no means!

Now if you ask yourself why you should do it at all and look like Rambo with bandaged bikes, the answer is simple. Improved muscle growth with lighter weights. The reason for this type of training is also the increased metabolite formation. With limited blood flow, metabolites (such as lactate, inorganic fasphate) accumulate and thus have a greater effect on muscle formation. However, the available data speaks more about "Swelling" of cells, which we will discuss more in the article later. However, the whole mechanism and functioning of BFR is much more complicated, but in combination with strength training, BFR seems to be an extremely helpful technique for even better stimulation of muscle growth. Win, or? With greater muscle damage with BFR training, you only need ∼ 20 - 50% of your maximum. All the other benefits are mentioned in the lines below, but it is already clear to everyone what the greatest asset of this technique is. You exercise with lighter weights that also save your joints, while maintaining a set progress that you would otherwise achieve only by using "heavier weights."

Effect of BFR training on strength increase and hypertrophy (muscle formation)

From the beginning, we recall that, according to research, BFR training with lighter weights appears to be similar in terms of strength and hypertrophy to classical strength training. We have a confidence interval of 0.35 for hypertrophy and 0.8 for strength in strength training and 0.39 for hypertrophy and 0.58 for strength in BFR training. But beware! BFR training was performed only as uphill walking on the belt. The fact that we have approximately the same muscle growth when using BFR with lighter weights as well as in weight training is not such a miracle, because we have long known that many heavy series / repetitions are the main engine of hypertrophy. An interesting fact, however, is that when using BFR training with lighter weights, we have the same increase in strength as in heavy weight training.

You're right, the study where the treadmill was an exercise was a little off and uninteresting. Therefore, we will look at further research to address the increase in strength and muscle in the most important muscle - biceps! There were 20 to 24-year-old men who had spent at least a year in the gym (to avoid "noob gains" in body mass). Two groups were created where the first group practiced biceps using BFR training (3 series) , 30 reps with 30% 1RM), the following month they performed 3 sets of 15 reps with 60% of their 1RM.

The second group did the same, only in reverse order, ie first heavy and then light weights with the help of BFR training. Both groups experienced an identical increase in biceps muscle mass at month 1 as well as at month 2, and an identical increase in muscle mass after the study.

There are of course more studies, for example here, here and here. In short, they dealt with athletes (American football as well as rugby) and again the increase in strength and muscle was measured using lighter weights and with the help of BFR training. However, the third study was even more interesting in that the substance was applied to the legs, but an increase in strength and muscle was also observed in the muscles of the upper body, although on the other hand heavier weights (up to 70% 1RM) were used - interesting observation.

Does such training have other advantages?

He seems to have. Although, the potential increase in strength and muscle seems to be a sufficient reason to try. Namely, applying BFR training without a force load promotes regeneration, and also speeds up preparation for the next exercise, where only 2 sets of 3 minutes are sufficient immediately after the exercise. To make matters worse, it reduces muscle atrophy (muscle wasting) in a wounded muscle while also contributing to an earlier recovery of strength after a long break from exercise.

How does it all work? BFR training is based on six basic mechanisms


1. Metabolic stress - in addition to muscle tension and muscle damage, metabolic stress is also identified as a major mechanism for the formation of hypertrophy. Its role is to signal the muscle to grow. The use of BFR training and constant retention of the substance we use to stop blood flow, on muscle and between sets, has the same level of metabolic stress as training with 65% of its 1RM (maximum weight per repetition) without using BFR.

2. Engaging Motor Units - Studies (here, here and here) have shown that light weight training also fails, does not involve as many motor units as we do in strength training, using higher percentages of our 1RM. However, this does not apply to the use of BFR training, when with a lighter weight we engage approximately the same number of motor units as with a larger weight. This is considered to be one of the biggest advantages of BFR training.

3. Cellular Swelling - similar to metabolic stress, muscle cell swelling has been shown to cause hypertrophy. In the BFR training, an increase of 11.5-12% of the cells in the muscle was measured immediately after completion.

4. Increased gene expression and improved muscle signaling pathways - in simple terms, signaling pathways (mTOR) and genes (myostatin), which are key to hypertrophy, are more affected by lightweight BFR training than without BFR training. Specific investigations from 2007, 2010 and 2012.

5. Creation of satellite cells and addition of myonuclei. Muscles grow until they reach the limit of myonuclea. The addition of new myonuclei to satellite cells is critical to muscle growth. Incorporating BFR training is the possibility to increase the number of these myonuclei, when again you just need a lighter weight.

6. Growth Hormone Release - Using BFR training with less weight to failure caused growth hormone up to 4x more than training with the same weights, but without limiting blood flow.

Application in practice
# Use any fabric, bandage, elastic rubber, bandage (the narrower the better).

# Be careful - the substance should not completely block the blood flow!

# Always wrap it at the end of the muscle (lower limbs = around the groin, upper limbs = just below the shoulder)

# On a bandage strength scale of 1 - 10 (where 10 is the strongest you know), wrap it around 7 - 8.

# Take a lighter weight, approximately 20 - 50% of your maximum per repetition.

# Perform 3 sets of 20-30 reps with 30 seconds of rest.

# Just get ready for an incredible pump. Attention, it's not just about her. The effect of BFR training is not short-lived.

Interesting, what do you say? As we mentioned in the introduction, we were also interested in this issue, which has been solved abroad for some Friday. It is gaining in popularity and according to research to date, BFR training seems to be a very, but very good tool on the way to bigger muscles. Negatives do not occur, only the recommendation not to apply BFR training if someone has problems with blood pressure. Otherwise, the method is safe and the data does not suggest otherwise. Either way, you don't have to use this method. No way. Continue to lift heavy weights, progressively increase the load and stick to your training plan. You don't have to change anything in your old plan, just add a few reps with limited blood flow in the muscle or the whole exercise, maybe two. As we have already found out, BFR training is very easy to regenerate and is not so demanding for your body. Use this technique as a tool from a box full of tools available to you. It seems that we will hear a lot about BFR and the benefits that have been shown so far are worth it! But remember, the basics and consistency is always, we repeat, always in the first place.


utorok 25. februára 2020

Every (good) ass can charm: The best butt exercises # 1 | Steroids4U.eu

Every (good) ass can charm: The best butt exercises # 1


Every anus can charm, they say. But even the flat, without shapes and muscles? Probably not, at least most gentlemen. Even so subtly, I would like to start the first episode of the new series for all women who are still hoping over what they can incorporate into their workouts to have their asses the way they want.

Every woman would like to answer the question what is the best ass exercise. However, this is impossible to say. Not only would we need long-term studies comparing hypertrophy (muscle growth) in different exercises, their combination, using different subjects (gender, length of training, etc.) that do not yet exist, but there is the fact that the best exercise for one person may not be the best exercise for another. Among other things, anatomy plays a role in determining a kind of tolerance within the exercise. Not everyone has hips designed for heavy squatting, not everyone can do heavy corpses with their spine, and not everyone can do hip thrusty seamlessly.

It should be emphasized that the ass must be struck from different angles within different exercises with different number of repetitions. Yes, normal and classic squats or lunges are great exercises, especially on the thighs, but some individuals do not interfere with their ass so much. The reason is mainly not the most correct technique in which the activation of glutals decreases, but sometimes it is simply the type of character, which somewhat prevents the individual to activate these muscles to the maximum, even if they have excellent technique. These were just a few interesting things, and we always say a few new in the next and next episode as follows. It should be noted that a perfect ass is not just about squats, as many think. Squats are great, but when you see a beautiful, strong, sculpted butt, squats are in 99% of cases just one of the elements that enrich this complex. So let's take a look at the most effective (based on experience, studies, meta-analyzes, etc.) ass exercises in this series of articles.

LUNGES

Let's start with every known lunge. With good technique, the activation of the muscles of the ass is guaranteed, mainly due to the huge stretching / loading of the lower part of the gluteal. The ideal step length is important when lunging. This should be at least so long that the knees do not exceed the toes enormously. A slight clone of the fuselage forward allows for increased butt activation. The depth should be as close as possible to the ground, but without touching it. Subsequently, we should rise again from this position while maintaining the torso angle. We push the movement through the heels and make sure that the knee stays in the direction and in accordance with the position of the feet. Since once seeing is better than a hundred times to hear, with every exercise you will find a video guide how to do it.

HIP THRUSTS

I do not know if I am naive, but after being the first ever portal on fitness in Slovakia to comprehensively report on hip thrusts, its popularity is growing at a rapid pace. Many comments, recommendations, forum discussions and, most importantly, more and more women in strength doing this less known exercise in our country. Technique, the most common mistakes you should avoid and a few tips can be found in the article above. One of the kings exercises for a really strong and especially shaped butt!

GLUTE BRIDGE

Just a simple variant with your own body is an excellent stimulus to gluteal, especially for those who have a weaker ass. Even the greatest beginners can do this in the comfort of home. However, it would be a shame not to add weight, especially when we know that the glute bridge is one of the exercises that uses very high activation of the butt muscles. Many feel the erect and hamstrings when doing this exercise, mainly because they have weak buttocks. But when they get stronger, you'll feel much more powerful.

The knees should be bent to about 90 ° during movement. Dorsiflexia (pulling the tip up) is not an extreme problem, but is also not required. But forget about plantar flexion (pulling, bending the tip down) while moving up. Weight print up over your ass, not hamstrings and lower back. Of course there is also a solid center of the body and plus will be a brief pause in the top position. The large dumbbell glute bridge is a simpler variant of hip thrusts as the range of movement is reduced. So we can use more weight. This will allow the building of strength just for the hip thrusts, which are generally considered a more effective exercise.

DONKEY KICKS

Favorite exercise Jen Selter. Not only do donkey kicks belong to the most effective exercises for the big sciatic muscles (even some of them most definitely the most effective), but you will also include hamstrings and quite a lot of body center. In addition, findings about butt activation suggest that a custom version with your own body is 5 times more efficient than your own body squats in many individuals and is probably the most effective butt exercise you can do with your own body.

Officially they should be carried out on the so-called. Pendulum machines, but you probably will not find it anywhere in Slovakia. We therefore recommend looking at the different options. The best known and easiest is the classic in the form of using your own body. Keep a solid center of your body, do not twist, stop in a high position for a moment and control the movement of your foot. Swing and uncontrollable movement minimize muscle activation. When using some version, where you have a certain load, respectively. weights, such as when using a pulley, press the middle of the foot and check your body. This should not be dialed but should remain stable and firm throughout the movement. In addition to the lightweight version with your own body we recommend weights. You can exercise on the lower pulley, which is in every gym and, at worst, on a tripping machine. You can also find this exercise under names such as Quadruped Hip Extensions, Glute Kickback or Kneeling Butt Lift.

KETTLEBELL SWINGS

Surprise? Many would definitely not say that kettlebell swings are among the top ass exercises. One of the reasons may be that quite a few women do this exercise very poorly and the activation of the butt is at a minimum. The first and important thing that everyone should realize, kettlebell swings are not squats. This is probably the most common mistake most people make. They bend their knees and squat with a kettlebell. What you have to do, however, is to push the hips back first, and as the kettlebell points up again, try to take advantage of the hips and moments that eject the kettlebell into the air. It's not like squatting, watch out! Swings are also a little help to deadlifts, squats or hip thrusts. Watch the video carefully and squeeze the technique on this excellent exercise.




nedeľa 23. februára 2020

Your weight is a liar, but don't throw it away! | Steroids4U.eu

Your weight is a liar, but don't throw it away!


Many people rely on one single figure. The one who blinks on their weight display in the morning. The only number after which they would rather wipe their eyes again and ruin many not only in the mood but also throughout the day. But many people still ignore one essential fact, the body composition - the ratio of muscle to fat. Because, as we said in the article on lean obesity, and what we have outlined in the post about fat measurement, weight is not like weight and 56 pounds can look any way and much higher weight will prove even nicer and better.



However, weight is not evil, it is a great help if we can use the feedback in the form of a two-digit (or even three) number correctly. Getting upset and ruining your day just because of this number, without realizing the fact of body composition, is where the problem begins. Weight itself is deceiving you. And why is he lying to you?

Weight does not equal the amount of fat

First, perhaps the most important point why weight is deceiving you. The number it shows will tell you nothing about how much of your total weight is fat and how much muscle is. Weight simply tells you the total weight, regardless of fat, bones, muscles, organs, water, glycogen, etc. Many times we can especially find women thinking that gaining weight is something wrong. But what if the vast majority of weight gain is muscles? That's wrong? And we have the other side of the coin. What if most of the weight loss consisted of muscles? Should we rejoice in losing important muscle mass? In short, if you weigh 75kg, you can be a champion but also a skinny-fat unfortunate.

What you eat will not just disappear

Weight is deceiving you, because it also depends on the contents of the intestines. We cannot solve this in detail, but the weight of excrement can be somewhere on the level of one solid kilogram. Getting up in the morning after taking a hill of food, especially in the evening (and not just carbohydrate), can also affect the final weight, and the kilograms you pick up don't have to talk about fat. To put it simply, as after a “heavy” meal, you may have more weight in the short term the next morning, and it may not be fat or lean, but you may lose some weight by not eating, yet again not losing fat, but not losing muscle.


Water turnover. Fluktu… what?

Simply change or fluctuation of weight due to the fact that the body maintains water. Each gram of stored carbohydrates maintains an additional 3 grams of water, so the weight can vary by more than 2 kilograms from day to day. Many would immediately accumulate that they had gained 2 kilos of fat yesterday, but that is not true. We each react a little differently to water retention, but it is important to realize that this is a very important factor.

Carbohydrates & Glycogen

Carbohydrates make you fat! You've heard this pointless claim, right? And do you know what is one of the many nonsensical theories behind it? After adding some carbohydrates, they are stored as glycogen in the muscles or liver. Remember the fluctuation of water, and the result? Weight gain. After 2 days, however, many are unaware that they have gained fat from carbohydrates. This is not true. Of course, do not misunderstand me, fat can be taken from carbohydrates, but it is also possible from other macronutrients that are enough to create a calorie surplus that will lead the body to gain weight. In this, your balance can fool you, because the amount of carbohydrates consumed can affect what you see on the balance display. And the number may not only be higher, but also lower, by depleting glycogen.

Magic diets

You know the various "revolutionary and magical" diets, including detox, that naive women can withstand usually only a few days. They are also enchanted that they really lose weight and probably found a diet that really works (by the way, every diet works because diet = calorie deficit = weight loss). What is actually happening is the fact that they have lost the amount of water retained, at the same time they have been in a huge deficit, which is not suitable right from the start, and possibly removed carbohydrates from the diet that bind the water. Not to mention that they probably lost enough important muscle mass, because similar "diets" are built on the head. Yes, there may be a wanted and expected weight loss, and after weighting you say you did it, but first, it doesn't have to be a lot of fat, and second, it is very easy to scatter hormones, metabolism, health and normal healthy long-term functioning of the organism. This will cause you to start eating less, you can only have a decent calorie deficit, but the body has gotten such KO over time that just nothing will work as it should and will eventually fatten. However, based on the number on the scale showing less value, you can think of how the diet and detox greatly helped. Fart.

The number you get is the number you get ... but this number doesn't tell the whole truth. In general, the balance is a good aid, many use regular weighing and the weekly average of the weighed values. It is also a great helper for people who have their food, training, periodization and simply know what this figure is talking about and can control their weekly, monthly progress. Another extreme problem is that many weigh in the demotivation. For example, they start to work for a month, exercise, they are happy and at the same time have a goal to put down a kilometer. After a month of drudgery, they stand on the scale and see only half a pound down. But you know what they can't see? That they could gain muscle and lose fat! The composition of the figure, ladies and gentlemen, do not forget. Sometimes it is better to orient yourself by regular photography under the same light and angle, and perhaps by centimeters, especially in the waist, not by the number on the scale.

Clearly, there are a lot more minor factors that also have something to say. It is worth mentioning the time we appreciate, extreme temperature fluctuations, hormonal issues that are especially known to women, illness or stress. Either way, the weight, like BMI, is deceiving, and some don't realize it.



štvrtok 20. februára 2020

What is the secret to training to maximize muscle growth | Steroids4U.eu

What is the secret to training to maximize muscle growth


You know what Ronnie Coleman once said, right? Everyone would like to have big muscles and be a bodybuilder, but no one wants to lift heavy weights. Yes, we all want proper muscles, and we need to lift heavy weights to have proper muscles. Consequently, the processes of progressively increasing the load over time create tension and force the muscles to adapt, thus forcing them to grow even more. More weights, more tension, more muscles. A simple equation, right? But beware! Heavy weights alone are not enough to build muscle properly. The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth) speak of the three basic "secrets" behind large muscles. Mechanical stress, metabolic stress and muscle damage. Let us very simply say what is what and how to apply it to training.

Mechanical stress

Do you know the feeling when you lift really heavy weights and your muscle literally breaks off your bone? This is mechanical stress. If the muscle is subjected to a tension such that the muscle is stretched passively without being contracted, this tension is called a passive elastic strain. If there is a strain on the muscle by completely stretching the muscle and exposing it to the isometric contraction, that tension is called active. When you lift dumbbells over the entire range of movement, you expose muscles to both active and passive tension at the same time. Research shows that stretching and isometry are essential for hypertrophy (muscle growth), so that tension alone does not provide maximum muscle growth. It is also worth mentioning TUT (time under tension). One maximal contraction once every two weeks does not lead to maximization of muscle growth, it is not simply a sufficient stimulus for optimal anabolic processes. But we wrote more in the article how often we should train for optimal muscle growth.

Metabolic stress

Do you know the feeling when your muscle is really burning and you have a proper pump? These are at least 2 mechanisms that fit into a box called metabolic stress. It is caused by several factors, such as decreased venous flow through persistent muscle contraction, preventing blood from escaping, hypoxia (lack of oxygen in the muscles), building metabolic by-products such as lactate and increasing hormonal overvoltage, and "swelling" of cells or pump thanks to the accumulated blood.

These factors are synergistic with tension and progressive load increases and can help build muscle. These are also some of the reasons why BFR works, ie training with limited blood flow despite a lower level of muscle tension compared to conventional strength training.

Muscle damage

For example, do you know the leg pain that reaches the peak about two days after training? This is indicative of muscle damage. Damage is created either by something that the body is not accustomed to, or for example by focusing on the eccentric phase during exercises, or by stretching the muscle while it is activated, thereby causing a large amount of tension. For this reason, a component called training diversity, which ensures different involvement of motor units in the muscles, is important for muscle damage.

But there is one big link between all this

For example, a large curve within the active tension in longer muscles creates the greatest muscle damage. In other words, tension is very effective at damaging muscle fibers as long as the muscle is expanded and activated at the same time. On the other hand, high tension throughout the full range of motion is very effective in producing metabolic stress. The famous pump is also important because of the so-called. “Swelling” of the cell. These mechanisms may increase activation of satellite cells (muscle stem cells) as well as activation of important mTOR pathways. All mechanisms are simply intertwined.

There are several neuronal (not hypertrophic) mechanisms by which the muscle can be strengthened without increasing. This is a key element in powerlifting. But if you want you to maximize your muscle potential, you don't have to rely solely on heavy weights. It is necessary to rotate certain exercises, to incorporate various variations into the training and to try to be stronger in small, medium and higher repetitions.

Choosing and mixing the right tools in training. How to do it?

Some exercises are better to induce a proper pump, some to create tension, others to damage the fibers. In general, by performing squats, deadlifts, benchpress, shoulder presses, pulls, and the like, you will maximize the mechanical stress. However, this is not enough. You will not benefit from maximizing stress across the entire spectrum of fibers within a muscle in one exercise.

Therefore, exercises such as bench press on inclined bench, parallel bars, biceps strokes, shoulder crouching, shoulder straps, leg press or glute ham raises will serve as an excellent and necessary supplement to maximize muscle growth as they strike unique fibers over conventional basic exercises. And when we talk about those variations, the same goes for individual exercises. The squats can also include the front squats, bench press can be a spell and, for example, in the case of dead moves can incorporate a number of corpses.

The movements that create a constant tension or induce the greatest strain on a muscle of shorter lengths (in a contracted position) are great to create a pump. Furnace, pullover, kneeling, tripping, hyperextension, butt bridge, strapping, triceps rope pulling. Medium to high reps, shorter pauses and you'll know what pump we're talking about.

The movements that create a constant tension or induce the greatest strain on the muscles longer (in a contracted position) are great to create muscle damage. Stretching on breasts, but also pullover, lunges, good mornings, triceps extension from above. Or, for example, the use of dumbbells in compression / pulling exercises to create greater stretching. Or also concentrating on the eccentric phase. In any case, muscle damage is difficult to define in some way whether it is large enough or already too large. Sometimes he can make more charades than benefits. Here, stimulate - nothing. Having 5 days of muscular tissue and feeling your muscle “tear” while washing your dishes is not unfortunate.

Väčšina energie by mala smerovať na vykonávanie základných komplexných cvikov, ale časť energie venuj aj ďalším veciam, ktoré sme si v článku opísali. Aj keď z dlhodobého hľadiska ti postačí pre hypertrofiu silnieť pri týchto základných cvikoch pri rôznych počtoch opakovaní, je to možno zdroj cca 80 % prírastkov svalov, pričom ostatných 20 % nevyužívaš. A práve tých 20 % a zameranie sa na spomínané veci môže byť obrovskou čerešničkou na torte. Vykonávať výhradne len ťažké série alebo len obrovské počty opakovaní – to nevybuduje optimálnu postavu, preto je potrebné uchmatnúť si z každého rožku trošku.
Svaly nereagujú len na napätie, reagujú na napätie, metabolický stres a poškodenie pre maximalizovanie hypertrofie, no ideálna kombinácia sa bude líšiť od človeku ku človeku. Doterajšie výskumy nehovoria o jasnom, presnom a jednom vzorci, takže čo ti zostáva je, zamerať sa v tréningu na základné cviky na začiatku tréningu a skombinovať ich s ľahšími cvikmi na vyvolanie metabolického stresu, alebo si poskladať tréning v rámci týždňa tak, aby malo cvičenie hlavu a pätu a kombinovalo všetky faktory. Ako si poskladať optimálny tréning sa už dozvieš čoskoro v našej novej sérii článkov.

utorok 18. februára 2020

Exercise belt - a possibility to help but also hurt yourself | Steroids4U.eu

Exercise belt - a possibility to help but also hurt yourself

You cannot simply answer yes to this topic, the belt must be used or not. It depends on the context. Again, as with any fitness argument, two camps with radical opinions face each other. One group of people perceive the exercise belt slowly as part of their body and wear it while performing isolated exercises, arguing that the belt is a prevention against any injury, but on the other hand there are individuals who are even morbidly against the use of the belt, because they say "it makes the center of the body weaker" and "you are using something that is not natural". As always, the truth is somewhere in between. What is true about the belt and what is not? Makes exercise safer? Are we making him stronger? Does the middle of the body weaken?

Power in the gym

With a belt you are stronger. No doubt about that. It is hard to limit this “help” to a specific number, but many experts and based on more research have agreed that using a belt will add about 5-15% to our performance. Of course, here too everything depends on the individual, on his / her technique of breathing, on the type of belt used, etc. Now we will recall a few studies on the speed of the barbell and the completion of the exercise with the belt versus without it. This showed that the belt in deadlifts helped achieve a 0.3 second faster generation of force. Thanks to another, we could learn that the use of a belt in squats accelerated this exercise in advanced exercisers by an impressive 6%, even in this 2001 research it was an acceleration of up to 9%.

Although dumbbell speed is not a direct indicator of greater strength, we can still say with certainty the following. The two most important factors that directly influence the adaptation to training (ie, increase in strength and muscle formation) are the amount of training units and intensity. With a belt, you can lift / squat about 5-15% more weight with the same number of series and reps as without a belt, or exercise with the same weight, but do 1 to 3 reps in a series, or make less effort with the same weight and the same number of repetitions. Simply, with a belt you are stronger.

Training effect (on legs, spine erectors, abdomen)

Unfortunately, no study has been conducted to directly examine and compare two groups of exercisers in the long run, where one half would exercise exclusively with a belt only and the other half would not use a belt during the same period. This means that some conclusions can be drawn from at least EMG data (electromyography - a method to find out a lot of information about nerves, muscles, etc.), which is not a problem at all, since EMG is a relevant indicator of expected longer-term training effects.

On the feet - the use of the belt in deadlifts seems to have no effect on the main muscles involved. When squatting, the belt increases activation of the thighs through the sticking point, and may also increase the activation of hamstrings during the last repetitions in the series, but this is probably not the case with just one or two reps.

On spine erecters - wearing a squat belt increases slightly EMG activity at lighter weights and beginners, but with more advanced lifters who squat heavier weights, there is no major difference.

On the abdomen - as a whole, the waistband may (but does not) increase the activation of the direct abdominal muscles, and probably does not activate the oblique abdominal muscles at all. Again, it is very unlikely that a squat / corpse belt would make the "center of the body weaker". However, research on this issue is quite crooked. So we have a definite conclusion for another time.

Security

First of all, it is very difficult to determine precisely how much impact the use of a belt has on the prevention of injury, since some more relevant studies in good conditions have not been carried out. However, the main effect of the belt is an increase in intra-abdominal pressure. This has two effects, good = lower back pressure, bad = can cause more radical firing of blood pressure during exercise (also depends on the type of belt - thinner produces less pressure than a thicker belt, although this study shows that it may not be as prominent difference). In squats, the height of the abdominal pressure is up to about 30 - 40% greater when using heavier weights than without the belt. For deadlifts, the use of the belt in this exercise increases intra-abdominal pressure by 15% (however, if I use the belt for deadlifts, be careful to bend the spine too much).

As far as security is concerned, we have recognized the pros and cons. So what to do? To wear or not to wear a belt? There are two ways to look at this issue in terms of security.

1. If you are more comfortable with your belt and feel more “safe”, continue to use it.

2. The second option is to further work on dynamic neuromuscular stabilization to improve the “comfort” of belt use. The ideal solution is to combine these two options and thus work on dynamic neuromuscular stabilization and subsequently use a belt. Dynamic neuromuscular (core - core) stability is essential for optimal sports performance, when it is not only achieved by sufficient strength of the abdominal muscles, gluteal or erecters. However, stabilization of the center of the body occurs through precise coordination of the aforementioned muscles together with regulation of the intra-abdominal pressure by the central nervous system. In short, specifically work on the core and do not neglect it!

Who, when and what belt?

Who should not wear a belt? If you have problems with your blood pressure, and also if you are experiencing difficulty due to huge fluctuations in the abdominal pressure (rhinitis, rupture, or folk stripe), using a belt is not the best option for you. However, here too, if you feel comfortable and work out better with your belt, you feel better about lift itself, go ahead.

Who, on the other hand, should? Powerlifters, bodybuilders and simply everyone who wants to improve and move forward. We have already described all the benefits above, but with a belt you can do the same number of reps with more weights or more reps / series with the same weights. You just get stronger and you can exercise more.

When to start using your belt? At any time. There is no magic number that you need to lift / squat before you can wear your belt. Of course, we recommend that you first learn the technique perfectly, know how to breathe properly and work on a solid center of the body! Only then choose a suitable belt (comfort, thickness, size…)

We do not recommend corsets and similar nonsense, as many women have hups to this trend and even recommend wearing such a corset instead of a classic exercise belt. It's better. No, such babies, please don't listen. We thank you. They probably also drink their detox tea with him.

Maj na pamäti, že použitie opasku je jedna z ďalších schopností, ktorú sa taktiež treba správne naučiť a obetovať jej potrebný čas. V každom prípade, sprístupnili sme ti nejaké relevantné informácie na základe ktorých sa už ty rozhodneš, ako ďalej postupovať. V každom prípade, opasok je dobrá voľba, najmä u ľudí, ktorí už majú čo-to odcvičené a majú vypilovanú techniku cvikov. Väčšina ľudí by mala z používania opasku profitovať.



nedeľa 16. februára 2020

Optimum repetition rate: The slower, the more muscles, or is the reality a little different? | Steroids4U.eu

Optimum repetition rate: The slower, the more muscles, or is the reality a little different?


In the fitness scene, there are also distinctive names, which always guarantee the most objective and quality information. And specifically today, we are referring to training information, and more specifically, to a person who is a specialist in hypertrophy, that is, muscle growth. Brad Schoenfeld. Recently, in cooperation with other prominent pros (Ogborn, Krieger), they looked at a very interesting topic. How fast should we do repetitions in strength training to maximize muscle gain? Is it better to do the exercises slower or is there a surprising conclusion that at some stage we have to focus even on a higher speed? You can find out everything in the rows below.

We will talk more about this very up-to-date meta-analysis (that is, it is a summary of all available research). The team selected specific criteria to determine the effect of different tempo on muscle growth - the study had to last for a minimum of 6 weeks, only by healthy exercisers, and both groups performed repetitions up to muscle failure in specific studies. So, of course, no mice, no very brief studies, obese people, but something that is related to all readers. A total of 8 relevant studies from all available studies conducted on this issue, which together tested over 204 subjects, met these criteria.

Let's start with the heat, there was no significant difference between the duration of the exercise 2-6 seconds in terms of better hypertrophy (greater muscle mass) in strength exercises with dumbbells or machines. Also, within the facts found to the so-called. “Speed ​​Threshold” where the duration of the exercise over 10 seconds is more than suboptimal in terms of increased hypertrophy. This statement is confirmed for example by this study, which found that when performing the traditional length of movement (2-6 seconds) increased muscle size at its cross-section by 39%, which was due to undergoing super slow (over 10 seconds) repetitions increased only 11%.

Research that followed the previous study confirmed everything to us again, and at the same time made it clear that by performing classical work time versus super slow, myonuclei and satellite cells were increased in muscle. The third examination shows that these very slow repetitions (at least 5 seconds concentric and 5 seconds eccentric phase of movement) activate our muscles by up to 36% less! So we can see that even at nearly five times the time in which the muscle spends under “pressure”, the claim does not apply, the longer the repetition, the greater the muscle growth.

Recent research shows that a full range of exercise duration can be used to maximize hypertrophy. However, given the limited number of studies and their diverse methodologies, this topic is far from clear and closed. However, based on the aforementioned statements and the things studied so far, we can say that spending more than 3 seconds in the concentric part of the movement (as opposed to gravity - that is, when you push the dumbbells up). The eccentric phase of the movement (triggering the dumbbell) should be done in such a way that the load is controlled by releasing it in a controlled manner and not just dropping to the ground (or chest). Because in the uncontrolled “fall” the dumbbells lack sufficient muscle tension, which is one of the bases for muscle growth and there is also a higher risk of injury. Something similar is also in the concentric phase of movement, when again, if this part of the movement is more than 3 seconds long, we will not notice any increase in muscle growth, on the contrary (at the higher time intervals). For muscle growth, it is particularly important that the repetition should be done with sufficient control in order to produce a so-called. the connection of mind and muscle, when during repetition we think of engaging the affected or practiced muscle. But this is also a very intricate subject that we will talk about again

Surely this issue deserves some research, but we can already say that spending as long as possible under the barbell during the eccentric or concentric phase of movement just due to increased muscle growth is invalid. Not only is it not decisive to spend a long time under tension in hypertrophy, but first of all it is necessary to focus on the correct technique of performing the exercise or following the exercise plan. Once again, it's about personal preferences, where each one of us should find our "optimal" time interval. However, one whose deliberately lasts more than 10 seconds does not do well. As a training game it can be okay, just for that feeling.

štvrtok 13. februára 2020

Energy flow: Who is successful in maintaining weight after weight loss? | Steroids4U.eu

Energy flow: Who is successful in maintaining weight after weight loss?


The first question that you probably thought after reading the title is probably what is the energy flow. Unfortunately, in our country this term is not well known, but abroad it is called energy flux. It represents a combination of energy expenditure and energy income (TEI + TEE). This is the amount of total energy turnover while maintaining energy balance over a period of weeks to months. It can therefore be expressed in absolute numbers (such as TDEE) or relative (TDEE / REE). Of course, different people have different calorie values ​​that they need / have to take daily. Everything depends on their physical parameters and activity. Anyone who has lost weight in the past and wanted to maintain this weight had to make one of the following two alternatives

either - maintain energy balance at reduced body weight by combining lower daily energy intake with low daily energy expenditure (low energy flux)
or - combine higher energy intake with higher energy flux (high energy flux)

Basically, these are two energy balance scenarios (maintenance). Because if expenditure were higher than income, one would lose weight and vice versa, if income was higher than expenditure, it would gain. Logically, therefore, it should not matter whether we maintain maintenance using a low or high energy flux / flux approach. But as usual, reality is treacherous.


The study showed an interesting trend. The higher the energy flow, the lower the percentage of body fat after 3 years. 253 young people were included in the research (17-20 years old, two groups, one for girls and one for girls, the first for healthy body fat, the second for slightly higher fat). To avoid a paradoxical situation, anyone whose calorie intake was more than 33% different from its expenditure was discarded. After three years of follow-up, only the high-energy group showed a loss of 2.2% body fat. Other groups, namely low energy flux, mid energy flux and out-of-balance, increased their body fat by 2.3%, 2.7% and 3.7%, respectively. These results were also consistent with the idea that homeostatic weight control is more efficient if energy balance is maintained at a high level of energy intake and expenditure. Obviously, moving more and eating more is better in the long run.

Although the extremely high level of physical activity may be limited by a compensatory reduction in energy expenditure (the constrain energy model discussed in another article), its slight increase in weight loss increases energy flow and promotes favorable physiological adaptation to maintain new weight, including better regulation of appetite. Similarly, observational or other studies have shown a significantly higher level of physical activity (higher energy flow) in people who retained weight compared to those who recovered it. For example, even in a recent experimental study, they found that a high energy flow (using a treadmill for 3 days) leads to an acutely greater appetite control, while a low energy flow resulted in the exact opposite, an energy surplus of 17.5% during eating and libitum, or whatever your throat likes. Conversely, a reduction in physical activity did not result in a natural decrease in energy intake.

Thirdly, Rebecca Foright has elaborated an interesting research in her thesis where the (obese) participants in the low energy flux group (2450 Kcal,> 3000 steps) were significantly more hungry and felt less satiated at the end of the day compared to high energy flow (3200 Kcal, 7500 steps + 500 actively burned Kcal). The average weight loss was almost identical with a target of 7%. This means that both approaches were equally effective, but one "hurt" more.

Low-energy intake associated with low energy expenditure, ie low energy flux, predetermines fat gain and vice versa (1,2,3)

People who lose weight must restore their energy balance with their reduced body weight (set up new maintenance). Of course, this can be achieved with low but also high energy flows. However, a higher energy flow requires that we move more, do more sports, eventually gain some muscles, and thus improve the quality of our lives. Achieving high energy flux through physical activity is also associated with improved metabolic flexibility. It will also enable us to better manage the pitfalls of the modern world. Simply, the more we eat and the energy we spend (movement, sport), the greater the assumption that we retain a new weight. We have more calories available to better manage not only our hunger but also social, emotional and casual eating. Our caloric flexibility increases, and overall adherence goes hand in hand. Anyone have a pizza? And as a bonus, appetite can be better regulated at higher calories and higher physical activity, which in turn favors high energy flow.

utorok 11. februára 2020

Many people are just joking about cardio and only lifting dumbbells | Steroids4U.eu

Many people are just joking about cardio and only lifting dumbbells. Who needs cardio, for whom it is unnecessary and the reasons to do it

Is that so. Often some people make fun of cardia and when they see a friend in a gym on a treadmill or bike, they make him feel it. You only need to lift dumbbells and cardio is for women. You lose your muscles. You know ... what are you crazy? You do cardio? And surely you know the sentence from the strength meme pictures: "Cardio, is that Spanish?" And I think there are people who just don't climb the bike because they don't want anyone known to see them do cardio. Well, that's a mistake in their braided head. Today we'll talk a little bit more about why doing cardio, who should definitely do it, who it's basically unnecessary for; cardio.

Z kardia si už mnohí robia iba srandu a riešia len zdvíhanie činiek. Kto kardio potrebuje, pre koho je zbytočné a dôvody, prečo ho robiť

Just exercise? That's the question!

Everything is good for something, but for many years research has told us that strength training is simply great and thanks to it we gain the benefits of endurance performance. It has turned out that, thanks to the weights, our performance simply improves much more than if we only did cardio without resistance training. Clear adaptation of resistance vs. Endurance training is a little different to gain muscle and maintain muscle mass, but we are not talking about it now. It is hard to say whether such training is better than that in terms of fat loss, which is also said in science, but you will not be surprised when we write that strength training is better for maintaining lean muscle mass. But what about cardiovascular health?

If we look at various recommendations from associations such as the American Heart Association (AHA), the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), we find that their recommendations for "overall optimal cardiovascular health" are quite similar. Of course, we will see some differences here, for example, HHS puts activities related to muscle growth and strength, while ACSM adds activities related to flexibility and mobility. All in all, however, organizations agree on at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week, or 75 minutes of cardio per week at a higher intensity, plus at least 2 resistance training sessions per week. And to know if you meet the requirements below and you're over 20, at least according to AHA you have "ideal cardiovascular health".

Now the question - is it possible to acquire these values ​​without cardio, ie only by strength training? Yes! In short, when we look at Alan Aragon's Research Review covering 33 researches to address this issue, we find it really possible. Exercise relieves risk factors including metabolic syndrome and increases muscle mass, is important in muscle protein, whole body metabolism, acute response to critical illnesses, chronic illnesses, improving and preserving bone tissue, but also enhancing immunity. If we do not intend to increase the volume of training or reduce caloric intake and achieve stagnation, further physical activity (cardio) is basically necessary. If we enjoy cardio, fulfill and help us achieve our goals, it is also essential. However, a summary of the research says that if we do not have the endurance goals and the desire to do normal cardio, it is not necessary for health purposes if we follow regular resistance training that has head and heel. However, this is not the whole story because other factors need to be considered!

Z kardia si už mnohí robia iba srandu a riešia len zdvíhanie činiek. Kto kardio potrebuje, pre koho je zbytočné a dôvody, prečo ho robiť
We may agree that the above recommendations of the associations are acceptable to the general population, but this is not so relevant for us who visit the gym at least 4 to 6 times a week, and we prefer gym training over cardio (associations prefer cardio). Suppose we do not have any endurance goals and our training has a head and a foot. Doing cardio or not? Hard to say, but one thing is for sure. We also need to consider one of the most important factors, and that is the old known NEAT, which we have already written about. In short, off-gym activity.

And why NEAT?

Because general recommendations about the need for normal cardio for cardiovascular benefits simply ignore it. As well as ignoring the volume of training in individuals. In the graph below on the left you can see the effect of NEAT on energy expenditure in sedentary people. On the right is something similar, but this time the graph also includes thermogenesis from exercise. Either way, you can see in the picture that NEAT plays a very important role. And now the shocking fact. Looking closer at the study, we find that the difference between the highest and the lowest NEAT is 2000 calories, which is equivalent, for example, to 3-5 training sessions (depending on length and intensity). Do you already know why NEAT is so important? For two people of similar weight, the difference in energy expenditure can be as high as 2,000 calories!

Z kardia si už mnohí robia iba srandu a riešia len zdvíhanie činiek. Kto kardio potrebuje, pre koho je zbytočné a dôvody, prečo ho robiť
Including regular cardio for strength training is worthwhile if:

your goal is to focus on building perseverance
you have a low NEAT both in your job and in a lifestyle outside of work (for example, little walking, no other sport, no hobbies requiring physical activity…)
you have a low volume of strength training (less than 3 hours per week), especially if the workout does not include any or only a minimum of failures, a small number of repetitions or longer breaks
Conversely, you can skip normal cardio if:

you have a high NEAT in employment
you have a high NEAT in your lifestyle (regular walking, walking, hikes, hobbies requiring physical activity, a lot of housework…)
you have a higher volume of training (6+ hours per week)
you have a high number of repetitions in training, or short rest periods or other endurance component (4 hours a week or more)
Do you have heavy weight workouts with a lot of work, where you sometimes use a series of failures (4 hours a week or more)
It is clear that there are various other scenarios where you might think you belong to the “gray zone” and cardio may or may not bring benefits to cardiovascular health. Here, however, it depends on your personal preference, but maybe the reasons below will affect you.


Performing cardio has other nice reasons

You can eat a little more, respectively. you don't have to eat less. However, having the same caloric intake and increasing your daily activity is probably more enjoyable than reducing food intake. And some of this cardio will allow you to reduce the amount of specks in the body of adipose tissue at higher caloric intake. Doing cardio can also help you lift your dumbbells. When people make fun of cardio, most of the time they are absolutely the ones who are absolutely destroyed at the last repetitions in the series because they just can't rule. Having a little more developed endurance will certainly not hurt to do more repetitions or overall with increased training intensity. In addition, you can increase the so-called. work capacity. This is the total amount of work you can do, recover and adapt to. In addition, let's take a sprint, for example. It requires speed, improves the strength of hip flexors and so-called. posterior chain ("chain" consisting mainly of tendons and ligaments on the back of the body), which can help butt muscles or hamstrings, and ultimately can help squats. Building speed is also an important component of power. As a bonus, cardio can positively affect regeneration. Active regeneration tells you something, right? There is still the possibility to just relax, play the Playstation and watch movies during the days off, but during the days off it is worthwhile to include active regeneration - low intensity, low impact on the body. Putting some blood into damaged tissues by doing this and improving recovery is no harm. Of course there may be more reasons, such as clearing the head, mental relaxation, and some cardio simply enjoy.

To conclude, one thing to think about, said Pavel Tsatsouline, is especially useful for people with a lower NEAT and a sedentary lifestyle whose only activity is strength. "If you sit or lie 23 hours a day and only stand for an hour (even if that hour is spent practicing), what do you think your body is adapting to?"