Just a thread to toss some ideas around tonight and on Thursday. Let 'er rip.
I’ll get the ball rolling with tonight’s research update.
More support for EMS:
[quote]
Brocherie F, Babault N, Cometti G, Maffiuletti N, Chatard JC. Electrostimulation training effects on the physical performance of ice hockey players. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2005 Mar;37(3):455-60.
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine the influence of a short-term electromyostimulation (EMS) training program on the strength of knee extensors, skating, and vertical jump performance of a group of ice hockey players. METHODS: Seventeen ice hockey players participated in this study, with nine in the electrostimulated group (ES) and the remaining height as controls (C). EMS sessions consisted of 30 contractions (4-s duration, 85 Hz) and were carried out 3x wk for 3 wk. Isokinetic strength of the knee extensor muscles was determined with a Biodex dynamometer at different eccentric and concentric angular velocities (angular velocities ranging from -120 to 300 degrees .s). Jumping ability was evaluated during squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), drop jump (DJ), and 15 consecutive CMJ (15J). Sprint times for 10- and 30-m skates in specific conditions were measured using an infrared photoelectric system. RESULTS: After 3 wk of EMS training, isokinetic torque increased significantly (P<0.05) for ES group in eccentric (-120 and -60 degrees .s) and concentric conditions (60 and 300 degrees .s), whereas vertical jump height decreased significantly (P<0.05) for SJ (-2.9+/-2.4 cm), CMJ (-2.1+/-2.0 cm), and DJ (-1.3+/-1.1 cm). The 10-m skating performance was significantly improved (from 2.18+/-0.20 to 2.07+/-0.09 s, before and after the 3-wk EMS period, respectively; P<0.05). CONCLUSION: It was demonstrated that an EMS program of the knee extensors significantly enhanced isokinetic strength (eccentric and for two concentric velocities) and short skating performance of a group of ice hockey players.[/quote]
Wow, protein supplements around training actually help you build muscle and perform better. Go figure…
[quote]
Andersen LL, Tufekovic G, Zebis MK, Crameri RM, Verlaan G, Kjaer M, Suetta C, Magnusson P, Aagaard P. The effect of resistance training combined with timed ingestion of protein on muscle fiber size and muscle strength. Metabolism. 2005 Feb;54(2):151-6.
Acute muscle protein metabolism is modulated not only by resistance exercise but also by amino acids. However, less is known about the long-term hypertrophic effect of protein supplementation in combination with resistance training. The present study was designed to compare the effect of 14 weeks of resistance training combined with timed ingestion of isoenergetic protein vs carbohydrate supplementation on muscle fiber hypertrophy and mechanical muscle performance. Supplementation was administered before and immediately after each training bout and, in addition, in the morning on nontraining days. Muscle biopsy specimens were obtained from the vastus lateralis muscle and analyzed for muscle fiber cross-sectional area. Squat jump and countermovement jump were performed on a force platform to determine vertical jump height. Peak torque during slow (30 degrees s-1) and fast (240 degrees s-1) concentric and eccentric contractions of the knee extensor muscle was measured in an isokinetic dynamometer. After 14 weeks of resistance training, the protein group showed hypertrophy of type I (18% +/- 5%; P < .01) and type II (26% +/- 5%; P < .01) muscle fibers, whereas no change above baseline occurred in the carbohydrate group. Squat jump height increased only in the protein group, whereas countermovement jump height and peak torque during slow isokinetic muscle contraction increased similarly in both groups. In conclusion, a minor advantage of protein supplementation over carbohydrate supplementation during resistance training on mechanical muscle function was found. However, the present results may have relevance for individuals who are particularly interested in gaining muscle size.[/quote]
Ec, question for you, the importance of VMO development for strength atletes and performance, thoughts?
I have a couple Qs about trigger point therapy. I seem to have just about every trigger point imaginable in my back and glutes. Doing the therapy seems to help, but I seem to have hit a sticking point with it. I was wondering if there is any benifit to coupling the trigger point massage with ohter things like stretching, heat, or even exercise.
Thanks for any thoughts.
[quote]bigpump23 wrote:
Ec, question for you, the importance of VMO development for strength atletes and performance, thoughts?[/quote]
Extremely important for everyone, athletes included. I actually listed VMO weakness as one of the top ten biomechanical weaknesses one sees in athletes in an article series at charlespoliquin.net recently.
I’m a big fan of deep squatting and single-leg exercises for this purpose, and more recent research suggests that ordinary folks can derive considerable benefit just by manipulating their foot position while cycling.
You know, with all due respect to the researchers, this is why execrcise science is dead. Researchers don’t believe anything unless it’s been published, so a lot of funding goes to largely useless projects.
No more funding where that came from…
[quote]Eric Cressey wrote:
Wow, protein supplements around training actually help you build muscle and perform better. Go figure…[/quote]
Bumping this up for tonight. Go wild, folks.
hey there,
I have decided to do Ian King’s Great Guns workout(not just for vanity, I think my arm size/strength is limiting my upper body strength at the moment) which is 2 days a week. After reading your Fixing the Flaws articles I was thinking of doing just that on a third(and maybe a fourth) day for much of the summer. My week would look something like this:
Monday-Great Guns
Tuesday-Conditioning/core work
Wednesday-Flaws workout:
VMO variation
Post chain variation
Upper back/shoulder girdle circuit
Grip and neck work
maybe some rows/pullups
Thursday- hill sprints/core work
Friday-Great Guns
Saturday-maybe extra workout
Is this a good idea? Logic tells me that if I strengthen all the common weak links that when I return to heavy compound lifting I will benefit. Or am I off base? Will I just get weaker
by putting the big lifts aside? I would really appreciate your opinion on this and if you do think its a good idea could you suggest a rep scheme for the flaws workout? Thanks a lot.
Hi Brad,
What you have actually looks pretty good, although you really need to be careful about specializing on too many things at once. I’d recommend getting in at least a few of the compound movements twice a week.
You’re in luck, though; as I recall, King uses quite a few close-grip bench, dip, and chin-up variations in that series, so you’re probably covered from an upper body standpoint. I’d hit one lower body movement on MWF - deadlifts, lunges, and full front squats. Just keep your volume low and you shouldn’t interfere with the arm specialization too much.
Good luck!
[quote]BradS wrote:
hey there,
I have decided to do Ian King’s Great Guns workout(not just for vanity, I think my arm size/strength is limiting my upper body strength at the moment) which is 2 days a week. After reading your Fixing the Flaws articles I was thinking of doing just that on a third(and maybe a fourth) day for much of the summer. My week would look something like this:
Monday-Great Guns
Tuesday-Conditioning/core work
Wednesday-Flaws workout:
VMO variation
Post chain variation
Upper back/shoulder girdle circuit
Grip and neck work
maybe some rows/pullups
Thursday- hill sprints/core work
Friday-Great Guns
Saturday-maybe extra workout
Is this a good idea? Logic tells me that if I strengthen all the common weak links that when I return to heavy compound lifting I will benefit. Or am I off base? Will I just get weaker
by putting the big lifts aside? I would really appreciate your opinion on this and if you do think its a good idea could you suggest a rep scheme for the flaws workout? Thanks a lot.
[/quote]
Sorry I missed this the first time around…
It really depends on the movement. The hip abductors and neck are going to be mostly higher reps as activation work (and because it’s tough to really load these areas). You can really move some good weights for the posterior chain and VMO movements, though, so use plenty of variety for those: medium to high reps to teach activation and promote hypertrophy through volume, and low reps to build strength.
[quote]BradS wrote:
I would really appreciate your opinion on this and if you do think its a good idea could you suggest a rep scheme for the flaws workout? Thanks a lot.
[/quote]
Eric, just wondering if you have ever tried 1 legged squats on the balance side of a bosu? I do deadlifts, goodmornings and squats 1/2 legs on it. Been doing them for 2 years now and have noticed much improvement in balance as well as relative strength on the ground. Being only 190 I can get away with 315 on the bosu, without worrying about it breaking.
Eric- I’ve been having some issues with my full squats that I’d like to run by you…
-
On most, but not all sets, my heels have a tendency to come a bit off of the ground.
-
I start with a narrow stance and my feet are angled slightly outward…however with each rep my left foot seems to myseteriously open up further and further while the right foot seems to remain in the same position. Even if I conciously try and keep that left foot planted, it still somehow always opens up!
-
For the last few months while squatting, I’ve been getting a pain right below the vastus lateralis towards the bottom portion on the eccentric and on the initial part of the concentric. It hasnt been excruciating enough to prevent me from doing squatting, but enough to hinder my progress.
I’m thinking that a lot of these problmes are interelated…whaddya think?
Thanks Eric.
[quote]Mack wrote:
Eric, just wondering if you have ever tried 1 legged squats on the balance side of a bosu? I do deadlifts, goodmornings and squats 1/2 legs on it. Been doing them for 2 years now and have noticed much improvement in balance as well as relative strength on the ground. Being only 190 I can get away with 315 on the bosu, without worrying about it breaking.[/quote]
Wow, there’s a big can of worms to open!
Let’s just say that I finished data analysis today and have enough statistical significance to justify my views on how and when unstable training surfaces should be used. I can’t give it away just yet, though! 
[quote]Mack wrote:
Eric, just wondering if you have ever tried 1 legged squats on the balance side of a bosu? I do deadlifts, goodmornings and squats 1/2 legs on it. Been doing them for 2 years now and have noticed much improvement in balance as well as relative strength on the ground. Being only 190 I can get away with 315 on the bosu, without worrying about it breaking.[/quote]
PS - I should note that you are an “n” of 1. There is no control group, you didn’t account for your pre-training status from an experience standpoint, and you made no mention of your history (or lack thereof) of lower extremity injuries.
[quote]philco wrote:
Eric- I’ve been having some issues with my full squats that I’d like to run by you…
-
On most, but not all sets, my heels have a tendency to come a bit off of the ground.
-
I start with a narrow stance and my feet are angled slightly outward…however with each rep my left foot seems to myseteriously open up further and further while the right foot seems to remain in the same position. Even if I conciously try and keep that left foot planted, it still somehow always opens up!
-
For the last few months while squatting, I’ve been getting a pain right below the vastus lateralis towards the bottom portion on the eccentric and on the initial part of the concentric. It hasnt been excruciating enough to prevent me from doing squatting, but enough to hinder my progress.
I’m thinking that a lot of these problmes are interelated…whaddya think?
Thanks Eric.[/quote]
I think you’re right! Do a bunch of stretching and foam rolling for your TFL/ITB, iliacus, piriformis, psoas major, quads, calves, peroneals, and the lateral aspect of your hamstrings - especially on the left side. You can find photos of the stretches in Mike’s “Hardcore Stretching” article and photos of the foam rolling in our “Feel Better for Ten Bucks” article.
Some dorsiflexion and glute activation exercises (supine bridges and mini-band sidesteps) would also definitely help you.
Feel free to drop me an email if I can help out with anything else. Good luck!
I’ll pm you.
Eric, I have been having a hamstring problem when lifting for the last little while and was wondering if my self-diagnosis is correct.
Sometimes when I ‘sit down’ into a deadlift position(sitting back on my hamstrings) a small section of my hamstring feels extremely tight like it is almost about to snap; Sort of like someone is pulling the muscle at both ends and putting it under very high tension just at that one spot(I would say it is an inch across). After heavy squating this same spot sometimes feels tensed the day after but not really sore, sort of like it is constantly being stretched.
I assumed this was just a flexibility issue so I have been doing more dynamic stretching and static stretches on days off. Is this correct? Is their anything else I could try? I have also been foam rolling the same area extensively every night to see if that helps.
I do have a little bit of external rotation in my feet though flexing my glutes doesnt seem to bring my knees in all that much. My knees also buckle a little when I squat wide and heavy though I am not sure either of these are related to my hammy problem.
Thanks for the input!
Eric,
Both of my knees buckle inward when I squat heavy.
I also feel pain on the top left part of my left knee after squating.
Do you have any routines that address these issues.
Thanks
[quote]blam wrote:
Eric, I have been having a hamstring problem when lifting for the last little while and was wondering if my self-diagnosis is correct.
Sometimes when I ‘sit down’ into a deadlift position(sitting back on my hamstrings) a small section of my hamstring feels extremely tight like it is almost about to snap; Sort of like someone is pulling the muscle at both ends and putting it under very high tension just at that one spot(I would say it is an inch across). After heavy squating this same spot sometimes feels tensed the day after but not really sore, sort of like it is constantly being stretched.
I assumed this was just a flexibility issue so I have been doing more dynamic stretching and static stretches on days off. Is this correct? Is their anything else I could try? I have also been foam rolling the same area extensively every night to see if that helps.
I do have a little bit of external rotation in my feet though flexing my glutes doesnt seem to bring my knees in all that much. My knees also buckle a little when I squat wide and heavy though I am not sure either of these are related to my hammy problem.
Thanks for the input![/quote]
It could be a few things: adhesion in the soft tissue, referred pain from elsewhere, or even a small strain. Have you checked the alignment of your pelvis? If you’re elevated on one side, it can definitely lead to tweaks in the hamstrings very easily.
Could you please describe in a little more detail where the pain is located? Medial? Lateral?