Muscle Made Easy: The 3 Proven Keys to Maximising Your Gains

Building muscle is not rocket science. Supplement websites and bodybuilding magazines like to imply that the key to your goals is to take the latest cold-process, micronized "special-blend" protein or "skin-tearing pump-inducing" pre-workout; however, the truth is much simpler. Unless you are an Olympic athlete or competitive bodybuilder, looking for that extra 3%, there is no substitute for the 'true' method to building outrageous muscle - hard work.

Let's consider, for a second, the following statues of Laocoon, housed in the Vatican museum (left), and the Farnese Hercules (right):

These sculptures were carved, based on real models centuries before the invention of creatine, WPI or anabolic steroids. This suggests that we have always known how to build our bodies and achieve our true genetic potential.

The secret hasn't been lost, it's just been slightly misplaced as we've become increasingly impatient to achieve results - shoved underneath a large pile of shiny new supplements and training techniques that promise slabs of muscle in weeks.

However, I feel it's time to dust off the classic techniques that worked for our fore-fathers of physical culture and put them to good use. In fact, if I could step into a time machine and pass anything back to my younger self with regards to training / diet / supplementation, it wouldn't be a bottle of Jack3d or Muscle-Milk, it would be a training template that consisted of compound movements, combined with a clean, diet comprising of 35% PRO, 45% CHO, and 20% FAT (which is right for my body-type) and the advice that I should stop having so many late nights out, and make sure I get regular and sustained 8 hours of sleep!

That's right folks, you read it here first - the secret to building large amounts of muscle, fast is to stick to the basics:

• Training: Don't be the guy that does 3 types of bench press, 2 types of flys and 'finishes' off his chest-day with a few dozen pushups for a good pump. You can get great results in the gym by adhering to the 'less is more' rule. Try a 1 day-on, 2-days off regimen, which will see you hit the iron 3 times a week. Choose compound exercises and remember, stimulate DON'T annihilate your muscle. Also - I have often found that a 5 sets, 5 reps model works best as it allows you to go heavy enough to see some strong gains in size and strength.

• Diet: You need to find the right diet for you; however,one thing is for sure, clean is inevitably better than dirty. You may be 18 with a metabolism that can clear anything now; however, why abuse the body you've been given. Starting at the good-old fashioned 40-40-20 diet is a good foundation for your experiments. If you are the type of person that responds best to a lower-carb or ketogenic diet, go with that. If you require a higher carb load, then listen to your body. I have done both in the past and made tremendous progress using both a keto-approach, and my current 35-45-20 model. If you're really looking for some lean-gains, try cycling your calories with a higher intake on training days and lower intake on 'rest' or cardio and conditioning days to really see some striking physical changes.

• Rest & Recovery: This point is key. So many people think they can function without adequate rest and recovery. Not every day needs to be a high-intensity day. Seriously, it's OK to mix things up. Doing steady state cardio is good for your heart, and taking up a martial art won't hinder your gains to the point that 'bro-science' would have you believe given you allow your body both the adequate diet and rest it requires. Have you ever seen a UFC fighter? I don't think many people will complain with having not only that physique, but also that level of performance and power output! While it's true that sleep requirements are an individual element, 8 hours is definitely a great starting point. Make sure to get into a routine with your sleep, don't go to bed at 8.30 one night at 12.30, another. Your body accumulates sleep debt, and that isn't a debt that is easily paid off. Remember, the body enjoys homeostasis, and will try to get back to a set point with regards to sleep so why fight that particular element of biology? 

If you have tried and successfully implemented the following for 6-months and still see no progress, you can start to look for alternate ways of building additional muscle - supplements, advanced training techniques, etc; however, I guarantee that anyone reading this post, who is serious about training and takes the above advice to heart will see tremendous progress, debunking the myth that 'muscle building is rocket science'.

The Benefits of Juicing: The Juicy Truth

The popularity of juicing has spread like wildfire in recent years, with the juice cleanse industry drawing customers like fruit flies to nectar. Backed by celebrities and celebrity doctors, and promulgated by countless entertainment and media sources, juicing claims to do everything from help you lose pounds, to rid your body of those harmful toxins you've been lugging around. However, even a cursory search of the medical journal databases will quickly reveal that the benefits of juicing may be more anecdotal than scientific.

Though it's hard to argue with the star-power of Demi Moore and Gwyneth Paltrow, it's important to note that juicing may not be all it's cracked up to be, and we may in fact all be drinking nothing but Kool Aid.

Juicing and Weight Loss

While many start a juice cleanse hoping to drop some extra pounds, it is important to note that the simple act of liquefying your fruits and greens won't guarantee that you'll fit into that bikini or drop the beer gut by summer. At times, some weight loss is observed (particularly in more stringent juicing programs); however, this is often a short-term solution, as the scale creeps back up after solid food is reintroduced, and old (unhealthy) habits take over. This yo-yo effect is observed in many crash diets, and let's face it - isn't a juice cleanse just that ... a seemingly healthy crash diet. 

Juicing and Satiety

As Bolton et al's (1981) study showed, participants who eat whole fruits and vegetables experience far greater satiety than those who juice. Indeed, juicing vegetables and fruit will remove a key component that provides a feeling of fullness - fiber. Remember, fiber is filling, not fattening. Claims such as 'drinking juice gives the digestive system a break from fiber' are anecdotal, and false - fiber is a key component to aiding digestion.

It should be noted that some vegetables (and most fruit) such as carrots, beets, oranges, bananas, etc are high in sugar. Juicing these will lead to quick spikes in blood sugar, making juicing diets not recommended for diabetics.  

Keeping blood sugar and insulin stable will help keep you full and satiated and keep the ravenous hunger that often overtakes juicers, post-cleanse, away!

Juicing and the 'Detox Effect'

Our liver and kidneys are already highly tunes detoxification machines. As such, going on a juice fast is unnecessary for ridding your body of toxins. Many will choose to do a juice cleanse after some particularly bad eating (such as over the Christmas period, for example); however, this is not so much a way of helping your body rid itself of the additional chemicals, as a psychological crutch to help you 'feel' lighter and healthier.

If you really want to detox your body rid yourself of the following:

1. Alcohol
2. Drugs
3. Cigarettes / E-Cigarettes
4. Processed Sugar
5. Drink more water
6. Get more sleep
7. Exercise
8. Meditate
9. Hit the Sauna
10. Say no to processed foods

Detoxing your body is certainly not rocket science; however, it required a level of commitment and discipline. Keep in mind that though juicing may be appealing because it does not require you to make real changes, it is also over-promises on it's detoxifying effect significantly.

To Juice or Not to Juice?

Ultimately, if you're looking for a silver bullet to help you lose weight or detox your body, then juicing is not it! If additional health and well-being are your goals, then the best recommendation would be to eat more vegetables and fruits, rather than to juice them. 

Though juicing will increase the presence of some antioxidants through sheer volume, the process is also subject to rapid oxidation, meaning that the juice needs to be drunk immediately for you to realise the benefits of the additional vitamin boost. However, be mindful of the fact that juicing also removes some crucial elements of the produce, found in the pulp and skin.

Juicing is not cheap and, in my eyes, adds little value in the context of health and well-being. Thus, my verdict: not to juice.

References:

R.P.Bolton, K.W.Heaton, & L.F.Burroughs (1981). The role of dietary fiber in satiety, glucose and insulin: studies with fruit and fruit juice, Am J Clin Nut, 34, 211-217.

 

Fasted Cardio For Faster Fat Loss - Fact or Fiction?

Fasted Cardio! I have heard many a personal trainer swear by this as a method of accelerating and maximising fat loss during periods of caloric deficit. In theory, when training after an overnight fast, low glycogen and insulin levels cause the body to shift away from using carbohydrates as energy, allowing greater mobilisation of stored fat for fuel.

Despite having a sound theoretical basis, there is little evidence investigating the loss of fat, over time, in a fasted compared with a 'fed' state, particularly during periods of caloric deficit. It was against this background that Brad Schoenfeld et al. (2014) conducted their research.

The Method (in a Nutshell):

The researchers recruited 20 young, healthy and non-obese females. Thereafter, they assigned 10 to a FASTED group, that performed exercise after an overnight fast, and 10 to a FED group, that exercised after consuming a meal. Participants performed:

• 1 hours steady-state cardio, 3 times a week

They were also provided with customised dietary plans to ensure that they were within a caloric deficit (500 calorie), required to log calories daily via MyFitnessPal and were provided with nutritional guidance to ensure they adhered to the protocol.

The Results:

If we break down the above table, we see a reduction in weight for both the FASTED and FED group, along with a drop in body fat %, waist circumference, and fat mass (kg). However, there were no significant differences in the rate of fat loss between the groups.

Key Take-Aways:

For the time-being, I would say that this novel study has 'busted' the claim that training fasted will accelerate the loss of fat during your 'summer shred' (at least for the general, healthy and non-obese population).

However, I would be highly curious to see the results of the study replicated with a larger sample size, to add further statistical power to the results, as well as for future research to broaden and build upon the question of whether fasted training produces accelerated results in physique athletes in the lead up to competition.

Until that study comes along, we can generally assume that the Average Joe and Jane are free to perform their cardio, whenever they please without fear of 'hindering' their fat loss results.

Reference:

B.J.Schoenfeld, et. al (2014) Body composition changes associated with fasted versus non-fasted aerobic exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nut, 11(1); 54.

Redefine 'The Pump' With Glycerol!

In the movie Pumping Iron (1977), Arnold Schwarzenegger famously compared 'the pump' to the satisfaction of sexual gratification. While he later acknowledged that this statement was made as part of the eccentric character he wished to portray on-screen, the term 'the pump' has remained, and it's physiological acquisition for trainees has become a well-targeted section of the supplement industry's marketing machine.

Whether it's Superpump 250, Amped or White Floor, the market has become inundated with 'breakthrough' energy / muscle pump inducing supplements. L-Arginine and Citrulline Malate have become favourites of the gym-rat.

However, one cheap and efficient supplement is often ignored by a large demographic of the fitness community, who believe N.O. products to be the gold standard of achieving a vascular and pumped look.

Glycerol:

Glycerol, though not as sexy as Arginine or Citrulline Malate is perhaps the single most effective ingredient I have ever had the fortune of stumbling across with regard to creating a more chiselled look during everyday training.

Glycerol or glycerine is a colourless and odourless liquid (or powder, depending on preference) substance that is used widely in the pharmaceutical and food industry. Due to it's sweet taste, it is often used as a sugar substitute in baking. As glycerol is a sugar alcohol, it is insulinogenic, so no need to fear on that front. However, each gram of glycerol contains 4 calories, making it the most calorically dense sugar alcohol.

Moreover, topical application of glycerol is highly effective as a moisturising agent to hydrate the skin.

Benefits:

The benefits of glycerol in relation to performance are several-fold:

• As an ergogenic for endurance athletes, hyper hydration with glycerol has been found to improve performance. In one study, loading with glycerol improved the performance times for cyclists by 5%, compared to the placebo group (Hitchins, et. al., 1999).
• Skin-tearing pumps and vascularity (OK, now this just sounds like an ad).

In terms of mechanism of action - glycerol helps the body hold on to water. It can also slow the removal of excess water from the body and draws water from tissue into the blood, imparting that sought-after cosmetic effect.

Points of Consideration:

Glycerol is on the WADA list of prohibited supplements since 2012. Thus, if you are a WADA controlled athlete, it only makes sense to avoid glycerol. The reason, you ask? Glycerol can increase blood volume, thereby acting as a 'masking agent' for other performance enhancing substances such as testosterone, etc.

Glycerol requires the ingestion of large quantities of water to work effectively, for both hyper hydration or 'the pump'.

In terms of specifics, an effective protocol for hyper-hydration comprises 1 - 1.5g / kg glycerol + 25 - 35 ml / kg of fluid. For an 80kg individual that means you would require no less than 80g of glycerol + 2 litres of water!

For me, I find that 1.5 tablespoons of glycerol in liquid form, coupled with 1 litre of water will bring about a salacious pump that will last at least as long as your workout. To make the substance more palatable, I would suggest mixing it into a nice cup of black coffee.

I recommend taking it 60 minutes prior to training, but for your early risers, 30 minutes will do in a tight spot. That magical pump might just be delayed a few sets into your routine.

Remember, you don't need to fork out on expensive products - you can easily pick up bottles of this stuff from your local pharmacy, cheap. For those a little more health-conscious, I would suggest to try to source the glycerine from a company who does not use GMO vegetable sources in production.


Reference:

S. Hitchings, D. T. Martin, L. Burke, K. Yates, K. Fallon, A. Hahn, & G. P. Dobson (1999). Glycerol hyperhydration improves cycle time trail performance in hot humid conditions. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology, 80 (5), 494 - 501.

The (Underestimated) Caloric Cost of Anaerobic Exercise

For some readers, the findings of this article will come as no surprise. For others (particularly those that count caloric expenditure), this post may just be the cue that you needed to incorporate some anaerobic exercise into your regime without the guilt of feeling as though you weren't maximizing your energy output.

Traditional May Not Always Be Best

Traditionally, the energy expenditure of anaerobic exercise (a.k.a. weights, etc) has been calculated by measuring oxygen uptake during a trial. Critical thinking should lead us to the obvious that this method would drastically underestimate the effect that anaerobic (coming from the Greek word meaning 'no air') exercise has on participants in comparison with aerobic exercise.

A New Method?

I will grant the researchers originality points for their novel way of measuring energy expenditure in anaerobic exercise. Basically, oxygen uptake was assessed during recovery rather than activity. 

Now, readers should be aware that the reason that I don't like the idea of counting calories expended is due to the flaws in the measurement systems. The calorie counter on your treadmill won't give you accurate numbers, and even your heart-rate monitor can only provide a ball park. 

As such, I believe that real-world results are the gold standard for measuring calories burned. The weight-loss and health benefits achieved by those performing anaerobic or high-intensity interval exercise would, in my mind, support the notion that our current understanding of the extent to which these exercises tax the human body (energy-wise) is under-stated.

Figure 1. Energy expenditure due to bodyweight exercise based on oxygen uptake during exercise (traditional) and at rest (improved). Taken from SuppVersity

As you can see in the figure above - the researchers in this study found that traditional methods of calculating the energy-burning impact of anaerobic exercise was underestimating it's impact by nearly half.

Take-Away

What all of this hullabaloo would translate to in the real world is a typical 120 pound (54kg) woman burning not 150 calories (as shown below), but approx 300 calories in 30 minutes of weight training, which trumps the 259 calories burned by the same amount of jogging.

So next time you feel that going into the weights room for some resistance training would be a waste of calories, think again and make a decision that, long-standing real world results have shown us, will take you to the body of your dreams.

Reference:

Vezina, Jesse W., et al. (2014) An Examination of the Differences Between Two Methods of Estimating Energy Expenditure in Resistance Training Activities. Journal of strength and conditioning research/National Strength & Conditioning Association. Epub ahead of print.

PDCAAS - Not All Protein is Created Equal

Have you ever wondered which protein sources rank among the most useful in your aspirations to build a better body? Well, the 'Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score' (PDCAAS) can give us a reliable measure of exactly how useful various protein sources are for humans.

The formula, for those who are interested, is -

(mg of 'limiting amino acid' in 1g of test protein / mg of same amino acid in 1g of reference protein) x fecal true digestibility percentage.

Though the PDCAAS was originally designed to evaluate the ideal sources of protein for malnourished children, it is perhaps one of the most useful tools we have in this regard (for now).

Don't be scared by the decimal points, etc. Basically, we can convert this into a percentage score by multiplying the PDCAAS by 100%.

As such, we can see that casein (milk protein) and egg whites are perhaps most useful to the human body, while everything else begins to drop thereafter.

The Takeaway:

We can see from the PDCAAS that the most useful forms of protein come from animal products. Regardless of it's intended use, one of the most important points to take away from the PDCAAS is the superiority of certain sources of protein in comparison to others.

Though the human body does receive and utilise some portion of the protein found in vegetarian sources, these figures are indicative that vegans and vegetarians may want to be particularly careful in their selection of complementary protein sources, given the lack of certain amino acids in vegetarian foods.

For your convenience, perhaps the most common way to complement  a grain based mean (for a vegetarian / vegan), for example, is using nuts / seeds.

Grip Strength - Your Key to a Bigger Deadlift

Though the squat is often hailed as the 'king of exercises', I contend that the deadlift imparts just as many benefits for trainees, if not more, making it comparably useful as a powerhouse movement in one's training repertoire.

The deadlift strengthens the entire back and surrounding muscles, making it a god-send for both rehabilitation and prevention purposes; builds core strength, and is a significant calorie burner through it's simultaneous usage of multiple muscles in the body.

 

The Weakest Link

Unfortunately, for many, the limiting factor for a strong deadlift is grip strength. Assuming proper form and flexibility are established and maintained throughout a lifter's life cycle, grip is the remaining factor in the trifecta that can skyrocket your successes in many a movement.

The Soft Option

Many fitness enthusiasts, frustrated with their less-than-instantaneous progress, turn to lifting aids such as wrist wraps and lifting belts to barrel past such obvious weaknesses as grip strength and form. However, I would argue that an over reliance on these, sometimes beneficial, tools creates more problems in the long run than it fixes.

The Right Option

Fortunately, there are several practical ways in which grip can be improved, translating in a better deadlift that can continue to develop your physique  and strength to the maximum possible extent.

Hanging:

As simple as this sounds, hanging can be used to overcome weaknesses in grip. Just jump onto a pull up bar and allow the forces of gravity to take their toll. Aim for increasing your hanging time to 60 seconds before looking to move to more difficult progressions such as the one-arm hang.

Farmers Walks:

Another deceptively simple exercise. This involves picking up a pair of heavy dumbells and walking a length of distance while carrying them. Many of us will willingly carry 20 shopping bags in each hand following our weekly supermarket run, rather than make two trips to the car; as such, apply the same principles in the gym. As well as being a great grip builder, you will find that heavier weights will also impart a cardiovascular workout.

Plate Pinches:

Stack two plates together, with the smooth sides facing each other, and hold them between your thumb and remaining fingers (See below).

Programming

Like any body part, you want to ensure that you are not taxing your CNS with grip training to a great extent. When programming the above movements into your workouts, I would suggest dedicating one day a week (when grip-heavy exercises are not on the agenda) to grip training. Utilising a 5 reps of 5 sets method will ensure outstanding strength gains.

Alternatively, you can use the above exercises as supplemental movement at the end of a workout. For example, after your workout has finishes, get on the pull-up bar and perform 5 minutes of hangs before hitting the shower and your post workout meal!

Good luck!