Science
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Belief only takes you so far – know your limit.
We’ve all heard the phrase “mind over matter,” and we’ve all had moments when our mental powers were the only thing that got us to the end of a tough set. But in these desperate spots under a heavy bar, we have to ask: Was it really “mind over matter” that got us through – or something else? Researchers wanted to find this out by looking at the effects of using attention span as a way to change the perceived difficulty of a workout. In other words, they wanted to see if changing the way that you use your attention...
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Lifting heavy burns fat
It’s been known for years that lifting heavy is the best way to build big, strong muscles that make you look great with clothes on and even better with them off. And, research consistently shows that lifting heavy can help you drop fat by burning a ton of calories. Now, scientists are saying that lifting a ton of weight cuts you up like nothing else because a hard workout not only improves your insulin function – making you more sensitive to insulin – but also increases your muscles’ efficiency at using fatty acids for fuel. In other words, a hard...
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Maximizing your power
When it comes to muscle growth, nothing is more important than power. But have you ever wondered just how strong your muscles are – in other words, how much you can lift to hit your maximum power threshold, driving your muscle growth even further? Now you can find out. Scientists investigating the relationship between load and muscle power output had 55 males and 48 females do power movements such as squats and bench press at various percentages of their one-repetition maximum lift (1RM). They found that the optimal muscle output range is between 50 and 70 percent of 1RM. Further,...
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Overtraining can make you sick
Busting your butt in the gym and breaking down muscle fibers under a ton of iron isn’t easy, but it’s the only way you’re going to get the big and beyond-ripped physique that makes you the envy of everyone you know. But there’s a fine line between doing too little and doing too much. And, unless you can do just enough work to grow – unless you can get it right – all your hard work will be for nothing, and you’ll end up getting sick. And how, exactly, does doing too much exercise make you sick? A study looked...
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Prevent cardio fatigue to keep you going
Ever wish you could do cardio, get beyond ripped and totally avoid cardio fatigue? Until now, this was seemingly impossible – a bodybuilder’s pipe dream – but breaking research shows that you can now do cardio, burn a lot of fat and still be amped after your session. And here’s the best part: It’s easy to do! Scientists found that running speed and blood glucose levels were related. When study participants ran faster, the total amount of sugar in the blood decreased by a predictable rate. As this happened, concentrations of lactate also increased, leading to fatigue. Simply put, blood...
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Take control, believe and achieve
We’ve all heard the maxims: If you can see it, you can achieve it. We see the lift before we do it, feel the pain that comes from stretching muscle and relish the growth pains afterward. We use visualization because it actually works. But what can you do if you’ve switched up your program but simply can’t get the results you want? It’s simple: Get inside your own head and switch it up! A ton of psychological research shows the connection between what you believe happens in the gym and your workout success. More specifically, researchers have shown that the...