journal

unilateral lower body exercises induce greater core activation than bilateral exercises. This is likely due to the inherent instability of the movement which will cause greater oblique activation in order to maintain torso position. Using lower body unilateral exercises can be a great strategy...

Developing a massive and detailed pair of quads not only takes years of hard training, but it will also likely requires a healthy amount of unilateral work. Both lunges and step-ups have been shown to be more effective at activating the outer quad as opposed to squats. Therefore, unilateral...

Many often preach the importance of carbs before training. However, these sermons are often based off of needs for endurance athletes; resistance training causes much less glycogen depletion. Therefore, carbohydrate availability is rarely a limiting factor in performance during resistance...

Whey protein has been shown several times over to be the top choice for supporting muscle growth with training. However, many people have milk allergies that make consuming whey, well, uncomfortable. Luckily, egg protein has a similar leucine content and excellent digestibility ratings which...

The Ultimate Guide to CBD: Everything You Need to Know About the Miraculous Health Benefits of Cannabidiol BY LEONARD LEINOW AND JULIANA BIRNBAUM CBD for Health Concerns The ancient doctors and healers across the globe who prescribed cannabis thousands of years ago did so because they...

Gains in muscle size are specific to the range of motion used. Partial range of motion movements will only isolate a specific portion of the muscle whereas full range of motion typically develops the entire muscle – both quarter and full squats resulted in similar upper thigh growth but only...

The length-tension relationship of skeletal muscle is well-known; however, scientists and fitness professionals rarely realize its relevance to muscle growth. We know that mechanical tension is the main stimulus for muscle growth and the length-tension curve shows us that muscle fibers...

The macronutrient content of a meal can influence how many calories you burn throughout the day; this is referred to as, “diet-induced thermogenesis.” While this particular study is a little older, it is well-accepted that higher protein meals will induce greater energy expenditure than high...

Consuming carbs or fat after your workout depends on both your nutrient adaptations and goals. Obviously, keto-adapted individuals should stick to fats post-workout, whereas non-keto trainers will shoot for carbs instead. Resistance training will cause some moderate glycogen depletion, so follow...

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A Stimulating Rep is a repetition in which maximum activation occurs with a slow contraction velocity. Follow the steps on the infographic for maximizing muscle activation – both heavy weights or light weights taken to failure can produce high amounts of activation. Movement velocity will also...

While the, “Anabolic Window,” is certainly wider than initially thought, studies do show that this window is much smaller in trained individuals than untrained individuals. And this particular study found this effect after only 8-weeks of training! Therefore, highly-trained individuals may...

One variable of research that’s always important to consider is the training status of the subjects used. Untrained subjects will make gains of all kinds with pretty much any type of exercise – this is because exercise in general is a new stimulus to them! However, trained subjects follow the...

Protein blends are becoming a popular choice for protein supplements, and for good reason. This study found that blending whey and casein proteins led to better gains throughout a 10-week training protocol compared to just whey protein alone. This could be due to the combination of the large...

Intense training programs will significantly increase energy expenditure which means, if you want to maintain weight, you’ll need to eat about 15% over your maintenance calories. If your goal is to gain weight, this should be a minimum requirement! However, if you want to lose weight, eating at...

Muscles can produce much more force eccentrically than concentrically. Therefore, a limiting factor in strength performance is concentric force production - you can lower a weight but can't lift it! This study confirmed the specificity of strength gains in finding that subjects using...

Lifters often forego isometric training as they feel it won’t have much impact on hypertrophy. While that may have some truth to it, isometric training is incredibly beneficial for joint health. This study found that isometric training significantly increased patella tendon stiffness compared to...

This study compared a typical bodybuilder’s diet (~1g/lb protein) with a diet even higher in protein (~1.5g/lb). Both groups underwent an 8-week training program and had similar gains in muscle mass. However, the high protein group lost significantly more fat mass even while taking in about...

This study compared a high fat (45% of calories) breakfast to a high carbohydrate (60% of calories) breakfast. Both groups underwent the same activity and diet throughout the rest of the day. It was found that the high fat breakfast led to significantly more fat burning throughout the day than...

Last but not least, use your natural build for a deadlift advantage. Lifters with longer legs and shorter torsos will usually be able to lift more weight in a sumo stance - this is why women are typically better sumo deadlifters than conventional deadlifters. If you have a long torso and shorter...