Science
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Beware if a little cardio makes you feel rough
Read more →Do you hate cardio? Do you have problems doing it? If you’ve always disliked cardio for unknown reasons or you felt overtrained in a hurry, you may have an underlying cardiovascular problem. We know a lot about exercise’s effects on muscle; eat and train right, and you grow. But exercise’s effects on the cardiovascular system have been less understood – until now. Researchers examined how much muscular oxidative stress and pulmonary oxidative stress was occurring during exercise for people with prior cardiovascular problems. They had participants work out for 20 minutes at 40 percent of their calculated 1RM and studied...
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Ballistic stretching promotes tendon injury recovery
Read more →Let’s face it: injuries suck, but they’re going to happen when you train all-out for unparalleled muscle growth that makes you the envy of everyone in your gym. For many bodybuilders – especially the top-level professionals – injuries are chronic and are an accepted side effect of being the best. Many different kinds of injuries exist, but the most common are muscle, nerve, joint and tendon injuries, with tendon injuries being among the most annoying, painful and debilitating for bodybuilders. Thankfully, new research shows that rather than sitting still and quitting training, going ballistic is the answer for fast recovery....
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Dumbbell step-ups for big quads
Read more →If you want a powerful physique, you need big quads. Your quads are the largest muscle group in your body and comprise half of your physique, so skipping that leg workout can lead to disproportional development and a lack of functional strength and muscular symmetry. Ultimately, this can lead to injury. While squats are undeniably effective not only for leg development but for overall development and strength, science shows that dumbbell step-ups are, in fact, superior to all other leg exercises for quadriceps strength development and muscular growth. How so? It’s simple: squats place the weight load across your back...
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Exercise can be an addiction
Read more →Can’t stay out of the gym? Describe yourself as a “gym rat?” Every so often, a study is published examining exercise addiction. This particular animal study is especially interesting because of its implications for bodybuilders. Tufts University researchers had 44 male and 40 female rats either run for several weeks on an exercise wheel or remain inactive. The rats were then divided into two groups. The first was given food for an hour a day, and the second was fed around the clock. All rats were then given naloxone, a drug that simulates immediate heroin withdrawal symptoms. After the injections,...
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Flat feet can cause injury
Read more →Many bodybuilders have flat feet – poorly formed arches – and this can affect balance, weight distribution, spine health and, ultimately, your performance in the gym. Fact is, with flat feet, your balance is out of whack and your body isn’t correctly distributing weight to the muscles. Translation? Your muscles can’t handle the forces generated from your workout because of improper force distribution. You could get injured. Researchers have reviewed the existing research and have found that by getting orthotics, you could notice dramatic results, with a massive decrease in your risk of getting injured. Here’s what the researchers said,...
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Irregular exercise can make you fat
Read more →You hear it all the time: “You have to be consistent with your workouts if you hope to build muscle and burn fat” and “being consistent is the only real way to make any gains.” While we all know that this advice is true for muscle building and fat burning, new science is shedding light on the age-old practice of taking breaks between training phases. It’s common for bodybuilders to take a one-week break or rest period at the end of bulking and cutting cycles. This is done primarily to rest the body and allow it to “normalize” in anticipation...
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