Tip of the week Tip: How tall exercisers can improve their mobility during squats

Mobility for tall exercisers

Mobility problems can only be solved by training for better mobility. Most of the time, people do this type of training without weight in a dynamic way. There's nothing wrong with that, but as a guy who is pretty darn agile for his size (around six feet at 120 pounds of bodyweight), my form looks far less good doing squats with an empty bar than with a loaded bar. Why? Because resistance forces the body to go through a stretch under load. This means that paused repetitions can be very important for tall exercisers.

Paused reps

People usually attribute paused reps to stopping the stretch reflex and any momentum or transfer of forces so that you can train pure strength from the lowest point of the repetition. Now, in addition to this, paused reps at the lowest point of the range of motion can really help and internalize proper technique.

Spending a few seconds in the hole at the lowest point of the movement on each repetition can have a huge impact on how steady you feel at the lowest point of the movement. This is invaluable for a tall exerciser who tends to lean too far forward on classic squats or front squats. Anything between 2 and 5 seconds pause is acceptable.

Keep your muscles tight while you remain in the lowest position. If you don't yet have the mobility to go far down, work with reasonable ranges of motion until you are ready. The second you allow yourself to loosen up your joints by striving for a greater range of motion is the moment the movement becomes unsafe.

Tip: Don't forget your micronutrients

Sure, macronutrients - protein, carbs and fat - are important, but bodybuilders shouldn't overlook their micronutrients either. Here are the reasons why.

By TC Luoma

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/tip-dont-forget-your-micros/

Macronutrient micromanagement

From the moment most exercisers get serious about iron, they spend their days counting with their fingers and toes how many grams of protein, carbs and fat they've just eaten or plan to eat. In doing so, they completely - or almost completely - forget about the micronutrients their bodies need. Fruit and vegetables are of secondary importance to them.

To be completely accurate, most exercisers are mainly obsessed with how much protein they eat. In their mind, the amount of protein equals their muscle gain - the more the better - and they spend most of their time looking for the next protein boost. Carbohydrates and fats are also naturally on their radar - but not to the same extent as protein.

Many of these exercisers still develop great bodies and they often present themselves as a symbol of health, but very often these seemingly healthy bodies are just a facade. I can't tell you how many of these guys - many of whom are very well known - have secret and terrible health problems - health problems that are atypical for their age. They suffer from serious heart problems, serious digestive tract issues, lab values that would make their cardiologists' hair stand on end - and much of this is related to focusing solely on their macronutrients at the expense of their micronutrients.

Of course, not all exercisers fall into this extreme, but who knows how many of them get sick early if they don't pay attention to their nutritional needs?

Hunt some plants

These exercisers see themselves as carnivores, but perhaps they need to be reminded that from a genetic perspective, they are simply hairless apes wearing their baseball caps backwards. Instead of hunting nothing but meat, they should occasionally go after an onion, chase some celery or hunt down some green beans.

They avoid this plant stuff because their physical appearance is more important to them than their health. Maybe they don't want to eat too much fruit because they're worried about getting fat from the fructose. Maybe they think vegetables taste disgusting. Maybe they think they can cheat nature by eating a vitamin gummy bear a day. Or maybe they're just completely ignorant.

They are like the Golem from Jewish folklore - a powerful and terrifying creature formed entirely from clay and mud. If only the golem had eaten its fruit and vegetables! What kind of person could he have been? And what if the average exerciser had only spent more time thinking more about foods with a high nutrient density! Then they would have a body that is just as healthy as it looks. People who eat a complete diet don't have to worry about getting fat because they have good insulin sensitivity. They don't have to worry about their estrogen levels because they consume idols and other estrogen-lowering phytochemicals through their fruits and vegetables.

And they certainly don't have to worry about sagging tails because their plumbing is free of vascular inflammation thanks to their nutrient-dense, micronutrient-overloaded diet.

Admittedly, it is possible to eat a healthy diet consisting only of protein - but it must not consist only of muscle meat. To stay healthy on an all-meat diet, you must follow a complete Eskimo diet and eat all animal offal including liver, kidneys, brains and even eyeballs. These are the components where the nutrients are found. However, if you are not willing to follow this path, you must eat nutrient-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables.

Finally, even predators often eat the innards of their herbivorous prey, as these are usually overloaded with predigested vegetables, showing that these supposedly dumb animals know more about nutrition than the average exerciser.

Spend as much time thinking about where you're getting your boost of fruits and vegetables as you spend time thinking about your protein intake.

Tip: Eat these beans to get lean

Beans are a magical vegetable. Well, at least one type of bean is. Check out the science.

By Lonnie Lowery

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/tip-eat-these-beans-to-get-lean/

Eat more kidney beans

Kidney beans are a perfect example of a functional food. They have been shown to reduce body fat and increase relative muscle mass, at least in animals. This is no joke. Here's a quote:

"Long-term consumption of a diet containing small amounts of kidney beans was able to significantly alter body composition in rats. Fat levels in the body were significantly reduced. As a result, the rats' bodies contained a higher proportion of muscle and protein than the animals in the control group."

That's just plain cool. This interesting effect may have something to do with the capacity of beans to increase the insulin sensitivity of skeletal muscles - primarily the large, rapidly contracting muscle fibers. Scientific research suggests that both the amount of insulin receptor mRNA and glucose transporter (Glut-4) levels increase dramatically after eating kidney beans.

An increase in the amount of messenger RNA suggests that said receptors and transporters will soon take shape and due to the potential of temporarily reduced nutrient availability/food conversion (i.e. food becoming body mass), I immediately start thinking about dieting. Losing fat or preventing fat gain while building lean body tissue is the holy grail of sports nutrition. Still not interested? Apparently the lectin contained in beans looks promising enough for scientists to consider it as a therapeutic agent to stimulate gut function and reduce obesity, if a safe and effective dosing range can be established in human subjects.

I definitely would not plan to supplement with any amount of bean lectins, nor would I try to use beans of any kind to replace my consumption of animal protein. But just eating more well-watered and then cooked kidney beans as a side dish every week? Yes, I could do that.

For soaking (several hours, e.g. overnight) and cooking time (which can vary), you should follow the instructions on the package. Of course, people don't eat beans raw, which puts the lectin effect into perspective, as it is partially destroyed during cooking.

But lectin or not, the overall nutritional bonuses of prepared kidney beans, ranging from useful amounts of fiber to slow-release carbohydrates and potentially beneficial phytochemicals, make kidney beans a functional food worth eating in my eyes. Scientific studies also suggest that kidney beans do not have the long-term effects on pancreas size that soybeans are known to have. After reviewing the scientific literature, I went out to buy some kidney beans. It's time to get muscular and defined, or at least half a step closer to that goal.

References:

1. Grant, G., et al. Consumption of diets containing raw soya beans (Glycine max), kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) or lupin seeds (Lupinus angustifolius) by rats for up to 700 days: effects on body composition and organ weights. Br J Nutr. 1995 Jan; 73(1): 17-29.
2. Pusztai, A., et al. Lipid accumulation in obese Zucker rats is reduced by inclusion of raw kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) in the diet. Br J Nutr. 1998 Feb; 79(2): 213-21.
3. Knott, R., et al. Alterations in the level of insulin receptor and GLUT-4 mRNA in skeletal muscle from rats fed a kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) diet. Int J Biochem. 1992 Jun;24(6):897-902.
4. Grant, G., et al. Pancreatic enlargement is evident in rats fed diets containing raw soybeans (Glycine max) or cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) for 800 days but not in those fed diets based on kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) or lupinseed (Lupinus angustifolius). J Nutr. 1993 Dec;123(12):2207-15.

Tip: Build mass with the 3-50 method

Use this set and repeat pattern with any exercise and build new muscle. But be warned, it's brutal. Check it out.

By Paul Carter

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-build-size-with-the-3-50-method/

If hypertrophy is your goal, then try this load pattern. This is a very effective (and painful) way to do a lot of reps. It works great with almost any exercise.

The 3/50 method

Choose a weight and try to perform a total of 50 repetitions over the course of three sets. For most people, this corresponds to a weight with which they can do 18 to 22 repetitions on the first set. Once you are able to perform a total of 50 repetitions over the course of 3 sets, increase the weight.

I tried this with the incline bench press and found that when my weight increased on 3-50 sets, the weight on my other press also increased. I initially chose 100 kilos as my weight for 50 reps. Generally, my sets fell into these types of repetition ranges:

• 100 x 22
• 100 x 13
• 100 x 8
• Total reps = 43

I stayed at 100 kilos until I could do 50 total reps. Then I tried to do 50 total reps with a heavier weight. Try it out for yourself.

Tip: Creatine and water retention

Is the weight gain from creatine mainly water or muscle? Here are the facts.

From TC Luoma

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/supplements/tip-creatine-and-water-weight/

Are my creatine gains just water?

Most people gain weight so quickly after starting creatine that common sense tells you that most of those gains must be primarily water. This may be true to a large extent after you start taking creatine, but even then the increase in water weight seems to be proportional to the overall weight gain. Muscle is 73% water. So if you gain 10 pounds from creatine, 7.3 pounds of that will be water.

In addition to this, creatine actually causes cellular volumization and this is an important determinant of protein breakdown and synthesis in skeletal muscle (and other cell types). Exercise activates protein synthesis while simultaneously degrading protein, but creatine shifts the balance towards protein synthesis.

Creatine provides an additional phosphate group that helps regenerate ATP during high-intensity muscle contractions, but cell volumization is an even more important cause of creatine's muscle-building effects.

Long-term creatine use is a slightly different scenario, as this is a scenario in which creatine increases lean body mass without an accompanying increase in total body water. Muscle cross-sectional area increases along with strength, which seems to mean that long-term effects are mainly due to increased muscle mass.

What should I look for in a creatine product?

Make sure it comes from a reliable manufacturer. Often very cheap creatine in large doses is of inferior quality. If possible, look for micronized creatine. And good old creatine monohydrate is all you really need.

Tip: Don't train like a professional bodybuilder, stupid

Sure, a pro can inspire, but here are 4 things steroid-free exercisers need to know.

By Christian Thibaudeau

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-dont-train-like-a-pro-bodybuilder-dummy/

Blindly following the workouts of a top bodybuilder won't work well for the average steroid-free exerciser. Their body is simply different.

Pros vs. Naturals

• Bodybuilders who use performance-enhancing drugs have an increased level of protein synthesis. This is not the case with steroid-free exercisers. The natural trainee must stimulate protein synthesis with their training, whereas a chemically enhanced bodybuilder uses their training primarily to deliver nutrients to their muscles to benefit from increased protein synthesis.
• The large amount of anabolic hormones used by professionals can counteract excessively elevated cortisol levels. In a steroid-free exerciser, an excessive increase in cortisol will not only kill protein synthesis, but also cause expression of the myostatin gene, both of which will stall any potential muscle growth.
• Anabolic steroids increase glycogen storage and thus negate or prevent the depletion of glycogen stores. Glycogen depletion itself is very catabolic and steroid-free exercisers are at higher risk.
• Because of these differences, chemically supported bodybuilders - especially if they also have good genetic predispositions - can tolerate more volume and also respond better to light pump training. They can also train one muscle group less frequently.

Tip: Use pyramid repetitions for broad shoulders

This will hurt so much that you'll do it again and again. Because you're kind of crazy like that.

By Paul Carter

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-do-pyramid-reps-for-wide-shoulders/

Yes, you need to be very strong on overhead presses to build big shoulders, but volume and time under tension also play a role. Add the following to your workout using side raises. Here is the repetition scheme

25, 15, 10, REST, 10, 15, 25

1. Take a fairly light pair of dumbbells and perform 25 repetitions.
2. Without pausing, take a slightly heavier pair of dumbbells and perform 15 repetitions.
3. Without pausing, take a slightly heavier pair of dumbbells and perform 10 repetitions. If you get a little sloppy on the last set, that's not a problem. Just don't fake it so much that you look like a guy who danced at a rave and took too much ecstasy.
4. Take a break for 3 minutes. Then reduce the weight and do it again the other way around.
5. Perform 10 repetitions with the heaviest pair of dumbbells from the previous round.
6. Perform 15 repetitions with the next lighter pair of dumbbells without resting.
7. Then perform 25 repetitions with the lightest pair of dumbbells without resting.

The first time you try to do this, you may find that you haven't used the right weights. No problem. Make a note in your training log and use lighter weights for the next training session.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-how-tall-guys-can-improve-squat-mobility/

From Lee Boyce