Archive for January, 2008

Aim First, Before You Shoot.

Thursday, January 17, 2008 17:32 No Comments

Do you lift weights? If you do, do you also take a statin (such as Zocor or Lipitor)? If so, you may be shooting yourself in the foot (from a muscular standpoint), and not doing yourself a whole lot of good from a health standpoint. In fact, you’re likely worsening your health.
Bold words; I know. [...]

This was posted under category: Health and Wellness

Muscles, On The Cheap.

Sunday, January 13, 2008 18:04 2 Comments

Seen today in the local sporting goods store:

A mere $60 for the “travel” version.
I’ve got a better idea - how about you do some honest-to-goodness, old-fashioned, non-accessorized pushups in your hotel room and save yourself $60?
Every year, hundreds of gizmos and gimmicks are invented to purportedly improve fitness and make exercises more effective - and [...]

This was posted under category: Gizmos

Cholesterol is Necessary…For Building Muscle.

Thursday, January 10, 2008 17:36 2 Comments

Thanks to Chris from Conditioning Research for this article:
Surprise - Cholesterol May Actually Pose Benefits, Study Shows.
Yes, indeed; surprise, surprise. 
Chris has already done a very thorough write-up of the study’s results; let’s reference his comments and explore this topic a bit deeper:
1) “The team studied 55 men and women, ages 60-69, who were healthy non-smokers and were able to [...]

This was posted under category: Research (Studies, Reports, etc.)

Predicting Your One-Rep Max.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008 0:57 No Comments

“Hey, whadduya bench?”
What if you never tested your max?
What if you didn’t care to?
One of my clients asked me recently what I thought he could maximally lift in bench press based on his current level. While it’s impossible to know what his true one-repetition maximum (the maximal amount of weight he can bench just [...]

This was posted under category: Muscle and Strength Gain, Strength Training

What Rocky IV Can Teach You About Exercise.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008 0:32 No Comments

Ignore the use of isokinetic (read: useless) equipment. Ignore Dolph Lundgren’s atrocious form (especially on those power cleans - yuk). Ignore the behind-neck pullups (ouch).What’s truly interesting about this montage is this:
While both men are using vastly different methods and equipment (can snow be considered “equipment?”), both have two common things with their training methodology:
1. [...]

This was posted under category: Exercise Science, The Mental Game