A question of strength Strong and defined

Q: How can I maintain my strength while I define?

A: Many things can contribute to strength. Therefore, you can lose strength while dieting for many reasons. The two main reasons for losing strength as you get leaner are:

1. You lose muscle. This is the most obvious reason. But this should never happen unless you're trying to get below 8 percent body fat. If you continue to train hard (but smart), maintain a high protein intake (2.7 to 3.5 grams per kilogram of body weight) and keep to an acceptable calorie deficit (no more than 1 kilo weight loss per week), you won't lose muscle.
2. You will lose tension. This is the most common reason for loss of strength. Usually you will get weaker on the big multi-joint exercises (bench press, overhead press and squats), but your strength on isolation exercises will stay the same or even increase.

As you lose muscle glycogen, intramuscular fat, water and fat, your strength leverage ratios will get worse while your joints will be less compressed. When you accumulate a lot of glycogen, water and fat within the muscles, you generate a certain amount of pressure around the joints that stabilizes them. This passive stabilization makes you stronger. If you lose it, your body feels less secure and strength production is more easily inhibited as a protective mechanism.

Let's address the muscle loss thing

The reason people lose muscle while dieting is NOT calorie restriction. To maintain or even increase muscle mass, your body needs protein and adequate amounts of calories to fuel the repair process. "But if I'm in a calorie deficit, then I don't have enough calories for the repair process," you might be saying.

Really? If you're in a calorie deficit, you're still walking around, moving and exercising, right? Of course you do! But you're in a deficit... by definition, you're not eating enough calories to fuel all that. How can you still function?

Well, by using stored energy. And you can do the same to get energy for muscle repair and the growth process. Even in a strict calorie deficit, as long as your protein intake is adequate, you should still be able to repair your muscles and even build some muscle by relying on stored energy and the protein you consume.

I'm not saying that you can build as much muscle mass as you normally would during a deficit. If you eat less - especially if your carbohydrate intake is lower - then you will have lower mTOR and IGF-1 levels, which can make it harder to build muscle. But you should still be able to maintain what you have. So why do people lose muscle when they're dieting and it's not due to a calorie deficit? Because they are afraid of losing muscle. This leads to the fulfillment of this fear.

Let's say an exerciser decides to get defined. He reduces his calories and perhaps also starts doing cardio training. In the beginning, he feels thinner in his clothes without looking defined. It is also harder to get a pump (due to the reduced carbohydrate and sodium intake). In his mind, this must all be related to losing muscle.

So what does he do? He trains with higher volume and higher intensity. He goes to muscle failure more often, uses a plethora of intensity techniques such as descending sets, rest-pause and supersets in 90 to 120 minute workouts with short rest intervals.

The higher volume and higher intensity both dramatically increase cortisol levels. Cortisol levels are already elevated during a diet anyway (since cortisol is involved in mobilizing energy). And this chronic increase in cortisol secretion greatly increases the risk of muscle loss, as cortisol breaks down muscle tissue.

You also generate a lot more muscle damage. Under normal circumstances this would be good, as you need this muscle damage for muscle growth. However, if you cause so much damage that you can't fully repair it before the protein synthesis rate drops again (24 to 36 hours after your workout), then you may lose muscle.

If you are dieting, you should not try to use your weight training to burn more calories (by increasing volume), nor should you panic and increase volume. When you diet, your capacity to tolerate volume and grow is lower. You need to do less rather than more. Instead, just make sure you give your sets your all.

The loss of tension or joint stability

This is probably the main cause of strength loss during a diet - especially at the beginning of a diet.

The more stable a joint involved in an exercise is, the stronger you will be. If the joint is more stable, then there will be less 'leakage' in strength development. In addition, if your body feels insecure, it will not allow you to use your full strength potential.

During a fat loss diet you lose...

• Subcutaneous fat
• Intramuscular fat
• Muscle glycogen
• Intramuscular water
• Extracellular water

When you lose intramuscular fat, muscle glycogen and intramuscular water, you "let the air out of the muscles". As a result, the muscles no longer put as much pressure on the joints. The bigger your muscles are, the more stable the joint is.

If this happens, you will lose strength in multi-joint exercises - primarily in pressing exercises, as the shoulder joint is a very unstable joint.

Your performance on squats will also decrease, whereas deadlifts and pulls will not be affected as much. Interestingly, despite the loss of strength in the big multi-joint exercises, you will be just as strong or even stronger in isolation exercises or machine exercises for muscles involved in the heavy multi-joint exercises. Your bench press performance will decrease, but you'll probably be just as strong as before on exercises like tricep presses, butterflies and side raises.

With less stable joints, every weight will feel heavier from the moment you take it off the rack. You will feel it in your bones. The eccentric/negative part of the movement will also be significantly heavier and more painful than before.

I once lost 3.5 kilos in three days due to dehydration. My bench press performance promptly dropped by 30 kilos.

But what can you do to prevent this from happening?

1. keep your sodium intake high

When you start a diet - or if you simply want to optimize your current diet - your sodium intake will usually drop significantly. This can lead to a loss of water and pump. Therefore, keep your sodium intake high if you want to maintain your strength (and your pump).

Sodium will help keep your muscles fuller and is also involved in muscle contraction. I like to use an electrolyte mix here to help me maintain the ideal amount of intramuscular water. In addition to this, I recommend consuming Himalayan salt with meals.

2. include exercises that focus on eccentric and isometric training in your training program

Using slow eccentric repetitions (negative repetitions) in your heavy multi-joint exercises (anything between 5 and 10 seconds) will help you improve your motor control and keep everything tight. This type of training also strengthens the tendons.

Both elements will make the body feel more secure and, as a result, allow you to use a greater proportion of your strength. Perform additional isometric holds during the eccentric phase of the movement (1 to 3 pauses per repetition lasting 2 to 6 seconds depending on the number of pauses).

During an isometric action, the synergist and antagonist contract more than during concentric actions. This develops the capacity to stabilize the joint, which increases your capacity to use your strength potential.

For example, we had the professional beach volleyball player Diana Gordon perform 6 repetitions with 100 kilos and an eccentric repetition lasting 5 seconds.

I recommended the following for the break:

• (usually in the middle range) 5 to 6 seconds, 1 pause per repetition
• (usually in the middle range and just before the lowest point) 3 to 4 seconds, 2 pauses per repetition
• (upper third, in the middle range and just before the lowest point) 2 to 3 seconds, 3 pauses per repetition

3, Use a higher frequency for the heavy basic exercises

The more often you perform the heavy basic exercises, the more efficient you will become and the more likely you are to maintain or even increase your strength. The approach I use is to train the three key basic exercises three times a week. One day I focus on the eccentric part of the movement, another day on the isometric part and the third day on regular training.

4. don't panic

When you are dieting there will come a time when you feel lean, you find it hard to get a pump and you don't look any better. Don't be too emotional. Keep your head down and resist the urge to increase your volume or perform nonsensical exercises.

Maximizing performance in powerlifting

Q: I am a powerlifter at competition level and eat six meals a day. What should I do about carbs and unloading to maximize my performance?

A: A lot of the information we find about achieving maximum performance for a competition revolves around supercompensation. You dramatically increase your training volume and intensity for 7 to 14 days before reducing your training stress and increasing carbohydrate intake a week before the event to achieve supercompensation. This leads to an increase in performance.

It sounds scientific and intelligent, but does it work?

Well, that all depends. If you're an endurance athlete, then it might work. It seems to work pretty well for swimmers. However, if you're a strength athlete, then it won't do anything. It will give you the illusion that it works, but it won't. Here's the reasoning.

When we talk about supercompensation, we're really talking about increasing the amount of glycogen stores in the muscles. The theory? By dramatically increasing training volume and reducing carbohydrate intake, the body will upregulate the levels of the enzymes responsible for glycogen storage. If you then flood your body with carbohydrates and reduce your volume for 3 to 7 days before the competition, the body will store more glycogen than normal and without this depletion.

By storing more glycogen (supercompensation) you should theoretically have more energy available for a competition and be able to perform better. This can work if your sport is dependent on the amount of stored glycogen you have.

Endurance athletes can benefit from a larger glycogen store and glycolytic sports will certainly benefit from this. But strength sports such as powerlifting and weightlifting are not dependent on glycogen stores, as ATP-CP is the primary source of energy in these sports.

Although glycogen supercompensation could help with bench presses and possibly squats by leading to increased passive joint stability, it is certainly the primary driver of performance.

Does this mean you shouldn't unload? No, you should. But you need to understand what unloading does in order to plan it properly. It also means that you shouldn't do one to two weeks of stress with increased volume and intensity before unloading to achieve a supercompensation effect.

You cannot supercompensate the nervous system. The same applies to the endocrine system or your muscle mass. Just because you can beat up these systems by training too much in a short time does not mean that there will be a rebound with better performance. The nervous system and the endocrine system do not work in the same way as the glycogen storage system.

Here's what happens during an unload that can give you the illusion of a supercomposition of neurological resources.

First, you need to understand two things

1. the link between cortisol and adrenaline

Cortisol increases the conversion of noradrenaline to adrenaline. The more cortisol you produce, the more your adrenaline levels will rise.

Four primary training variables can lead to an increase in cortisol levels (and therefore adrenaline levels) during training:

1. The volume: the more energy you need, the more cortisol you release.
2. Intensity: The closer you get to the point of muscle failure during your sets, the more cortisol you will produce.
3. Psychological stress: This point is the least related to your training.
4. The neurological demands: Learning new exercises, using more complex exercises, or using a complicated training structure.

2. beta-adrenergic downregulation

When you overstimulate the beta-adrenergic receptors, they are downregulated. In layman's terms, this means that these receptors downregulate their sensitivity when you produce large amounts of adrenaline. As a result, you respond less and less strongly to adrenaline.

Since adrenaline increases strength, contraction speed and motivation, your strength will decrease if you are less responsive to adrenaline. On the other hand, the more sensitive your receptors are, the better you will respond to adrenaline and the more strength your muscles will produce.

Putting it all together

When you dramatically increase training volume and intensity (stress week), you produce more cortisol. This leads to high adrenaline levels. These high adrenaline levels can downregulate the beta-adrenergic receptors, reducing your strength potential.

After this week of stress, you feel low and your performance drops. You then carry out the unloading, reduce the volume, intensity and perhaps also the frequency. You also cut out supportive exercises, which also reduces the neurological demands.

All of this leads to a reduction in cortisol levels and, in turn, much lower adrenaline levels. The beta-adrenergic receptors are now much less stimulated and return to their normal reactivity. Now you respond to your adrenaline again. You regain your strength and motivation. You think "My discharge has worked, I have achieved supercompensation.

No, you haven't. You have merely restored your reactivity to adrenaline, which you had previously lost through too much training.

A study by Fry et al (2006) found a 37% downregulation of beta-adrenergic receptors after just two weeks of very high-intensity/high-frequency exercise. After only one or two weeks of high-intensity training before a competition, this downregulation can cause a significant reduction in performance of 5 to 10%.

But why would you intentionally cause such a downregulation just to bring the sensitivity of the receptors back to normal levels by unloading? There is no benefit in doing so and you risk not being able to fully restore the sensitivity of your receptors. You also risk injuring yourself during this phase of high volume/high frequency training.

In addition to this, there is a good chance that some down-regulation has already taken place before the stress week(s). And the stress of the upcoming competition will further increase cortisol release (psychological stress), which will further increase your adrenaline levels - which in turn will lead to further desensitization.

My recommendation is to unload to make your beta-adrenergic receptors as sensitive as possible, but not to precede this unloading phase with a phase of dramatically increased training stress.

Such an unloading phase would look like this

Run your regular program and unload one week before the competition as follows: Assuming the competition is on a Saturday, skip all supportive training one week before.

• Saturday (seven days until the competition): Work your way up to your first set of work on squats and bench presses. Perform three single repetitions of deadlifts at 90% of your first working set.
• Sunday (six days until the competition): No training
• Monday (five days until the competition): Squats 3 x 2 with 90% of your usual first work set, bench press 3 x 2 with 90% of your usual first work set, deadlift 3 x 1 with 80% of your usual first work set.
• Tuesday (four days until the competition): No training
• Wednesday (three days until the competition): Squats 3 x 2 with 80% of your usual first work set, bench press 3 x 2 with 80% of your usual first work set
• Thursday (two days until the competition) no training
• Friday (one day until the competition): Activation - squats 3 x 1 with 70% of your usual first work set, bench press 3 x 1 with 70% of your usual first work set
• Saturday: Competition

For the unload we have:

• Extremely low volume
• Zero complexity (minimalist workouts)
• Low intensity (each exercise with 3 to 4 repetitions in reserve)
• Low psychological stress
• Low neurological demands

You will minimize your cortisol response as much as possible, which lowers adrenaline levels and increases beta-adrenergic receptor reactivity.

Nutrition and supplement strategies

Here are some strategies you can use to maximize the reactivity of these receptors:

Workout days

• Reduce stress: Take 200 mg of Rhodiola in the morning. As an adaptogen, it allows the body to cope better with stress. It does this, among other things, by balancing the levels of dopamine, serotonin and adrenaline.
• Promoting the function of the nervous system: A combination of tyrosine, phosphatidylcholine and DMAE will optimize the function of the nervous system. During unloading, dopamine levels drop and the nervous system becomes sluggish. This leads to a reduction in performance.
• Pre-workout: Consume carbohydrates - e.g. in the form of cyclic dextrins -, EAAs and citrulline before training. This can help to train the release of cortisol during training.
• Magnesium or ZMA: Take magnesium or ZMA after training and in the evening. Magnesium will reduce the binding of adrenaline to the beta-adrenergic receptors. This will calm you down and make it easier for the receptors to restore their sensitivity. The less adrenaline binds to the receptors, the faster the upregulation will take place. Use 500 mg of magnesium. This dose should be sufficient for this purpose, although you can go up to 1000 mg in the evening.
• Glycine: Take glycine after training and in the evening. Glycine inhibits (calms) the nervous system by lowering cortisol and adrenaline levels. Glycine also increases mTOR activation after training, which can increase the rate of protein synthesis and accelerate muscle repair. Take three to five grams after training and in the evening.

Non-training days

Only take rhodiola, tyrosine, phosphatidylcholine and DMAE, as well as magnesium or ZMA in the evening.

Note: Creatine could also help you, which is primarily based on an increase in cell volumization, which can help with passive joint stability and make you stronger. If you are already taking creatine, continue to take it until the competition. If you have used it in the past and tolerated it well, then take 10 grams per day during the week before the competition.

If you have suffered from digestive problems when taking creatine in the past, do not use creatine. Even if you are just under the weight limit for your weight class, you should avoid creatine as it can add a kilo to your body weight.

As for your food intake, a lot depends on where you are relative to your competition weight. Ideally, you should keep carbohydrates high during this week to lower cortisol levels and keep glycogen stores full. Fuller glycogen stores will help generate passive stability - which is especially true for the shoulder joint and should help you move more weight on bench presses and squats.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/question-of-strength-58

https://www.t-nation.com/training/question-of-strength-59

By Christian Thibaudeau