Launching A New Blog Series on Muscle

I'm launching a new blog series – Muscle & You, Why You Need It and How To Get It. Below is Part One. I hope you find the series informative, enlightening, and motivating.

I'm well versed on the subject of muscle and weight training and keep up with the latest research and techniques. I’ll cover diverse topics including strength training and its different approaches including free weights versus machines, high intensity training (HIT), Super Slow, isometrics, resistance bands, and alternative strength training methods including the Bar Method, Fluidity Method, and Pilates.

Early on, I’ll cover the many benefits of training no matter what your sex, age, weight goals, or general health issues may be. I’ll also delve into the value of diverse training, muscle mass supportive nutrition and recipes, and myths and misconceptions about muscle mass and strength training. And I’ll cover the role your mind plays in successful strength training, and the psychology behind optimal training.

First up, I’ll discuss the main myths people believe about strength training. Later we'll get to what strength training is, but first we'll look at why many people avoid strength training all together, overlook it as highly beneficial, or believe it has no value in their health, weight loss, or fitness goals.

Many otherwise active or weight conscious people, particularly women and people over forty, overlook the value of strength or resistance training. Their reasons include myths, misunderstandings, and misinformation. I will attempt to correct this with accurate information, and with luck, get readers excited about what training can do for them as well as prepare them to start a strength training program that suits their goals, physical condition, health, and personality.

First, a few common myths will be debunked. Read on.

Myth Number One - The biggest myth of all concerning weight training is that women who train with weights will get too bulky.

Fact - If I had a penny for every time I’ve heard this myth used as an excuse I’d be able to buy out Donald Trump. This muscle bulking is virtually impossible in women unless you have rare genetics AND train extremely hard with very heavy weights AND inject anabolic steroids AND take male hormones (which many female professional bodybuilders do to get that bulky look.) A woman who strength trains drug and hormone free, as well as reasonably hard and often, will look lean and toned with small yet well defined muscles. They achieve that sleek and sexy look most people never achieve with aerobics alone.

Myth Number Two – I have to strength train in a gym or buy expensive equipment for my home gym such as free weights or machines.

Fact – While strength training with free weights or machines is beneficial and can speed your progress, neither is necessary to build muscle. Muscle grows when it is stimulated, or more accurately, stressed. Free weights and machines are excellent methods for achieving muscle stimulation that leads to growth (as long as other supportive factors
including nutrition and adequate rest are in place.) But muscle can also be stimulated with diverse methods including isometric training, using your own body weight (such as pull ups and push ups,) Pilates, Bar Method, and resistance bands.

Also, the book ‘YOU: On A Diet’ by Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen has an easy and effective strength building program that involves no weights, no equipment, and you can do it in your living room, in front of the television, at the office, or just about anywhere.

Other reasons people avoid strength training is a fear of free weights and weight machines. One solution is to spring for a session or two with a knowledgeable personal trainer who can instruct you on proper and safe use. But if your goal is not to become a competitive bodybuilder or fitness model, you can achieve phenomenal results without free weight or machines. Stay tuned for a future blog entry on this subject.

Myth Number Three - I’m too old to build muscle.

Fact - Studies show even elderly people as old as 90 can build muscle and strength with as little as one or two 30 minute strength training sessions a week. If you're in your 30’s, 40’s, or 50’s you should be able to achieve excellent progress with a few short training sessions a week, which is easier to fit in to a busy schedule than you think.

Myth Number Four – I don’t have the time to dedicate many long hours at the gym to get results.

Fact - As long as you're healthy (have no muscle diseases,) eat adequate protein and get at least one or two 20 to 30 minutes strength training sessions a week you will make progress and achieve muscle growth. How often you train and eat properly can equal faster muscle gain for some, but even adding a single pound of muscle improves your metabolism and calorie burning efficiency by approximately 50 calories a day. Add 10 pounds of muscle over a year and you can burn 500 calories more a day. If you maintain your weight now and change nothing else, you can burn a pound of body fat a week just by adding 10 pounds of muscle.

Myth Number Five – I’ll have to lift weights every other day to maintain progress and not lose muscle mass. I’ll be chained to the gym and never take a break or vacation.

I can see why this myth abounds. I read this today at another popular blog, Livin La Vida Low Carb, in a letter to Jimmy Moore from an obviously misinformed reader. I quote:

"The general rule of thumb when it comes to muscle building is that you work the same sets of muscles only every couple of days, not every day, but if you go more than 3 days without working those muscles, you're losing ground."

Fact - That part about going more than 3 days without working your muscles and you'll lose ground just is not true. I don't know who wrote that or what, if any, credentials in training that person might have but they are incorrect. I've read literally reams of material on weight training and muscle over the years, not to mention putting what I've learned into practice.

Generally, if you're actively weight training on a regular basis of at least two 30 minute sessions a week and you're making progress, you can take a break as long as 3 to 6 weeks and not lose muscle strength or size as long as you’re eating adequate amounts of protein and are otherwise active. And I have the fitness log book with the numbers to prove it. I've had to take long breaks, (once four months during pregnancy,) and also up to six weeks due to illness or injury and came back to lift even heavier than my last session right out of the gate.

You likely won’t build additional muscle on your breaks, unless you’re doing an activity other than weight lifting that stimulates muscles adequately for growth, but you should not lose ground either.

Many people, especially those over forty or heavy lifters, find their muscles need a longer recovery period between sessions than the usual recommendations of one, two or three days for optimal results. An excellent example of this type of training is Mr. Olympia Mike Mentzer's effective High Intensity Training (HIT). He recommended a minimum of five days rest between training sessions and he achieved phenomenal results. I favor this system when working with weight machines, as well as the Super Slow technique.

While there are more myths circling the atmosphere and blogo-sphere regarding strength training and muscle building, these five are the chief suspects that derail people from staying with a program or even starting in the first place.

Next – Muscle & You Part Two – What Is Muscle, What Does It Do For Me, and Why Do I Need To Maintain It or Build More?

Part Three – Reviewing The Strength Programs, Choosing A Strength Program That’s Right For You & Getting Started


IN THE NEWS

Caffeine may halve pain after exercise - study

By Stephen Daniells

22/01/2007 - Having a caffeine supplement, equivalent to about two cups of coffee, an hour before exercise may reduce muscle pain afterwards by 48 per cent, says researchers.

“This experiment found that caffeine (equal to about two cups of brewed coffee) could produce a large reduction in pain resulting from eccentric exercise–induced, delayed-onset muscle injury,” wrote lead author Victor Maridakis from the University of Georgia.
“This finding may improve the quality of life of individuals who experience skeletal muscle pain after engaging in unaccustomed, eccentrically biased exercise.”

But the researchers warned that the study, which only involved nine women with low caffeine intake, may not be applicable to the more general population, particularly regular caffeine users.

The average worldwide daily coffee consumption of one and a half cups, while the US average is more than three and a half cups.

Writing in the Journal of Pain, the Georgia researchers report the results of their experiment with nine university-age women with regular low caffeine consumption. The volunteers were assigned to receive either caffeine or placebo 24 and 48 hours after exercise session that caused moderate muscle soreness in their thigh muscles (quadriceps).

The volunteers than performed two different quadriceps exercises, one designed to produce a maximal force, the other designed to generate a sub-maximal force. The researchers report that the women who consumed caffeine one-hour before the maximum force test had a 48 per cent reduction in pain compared to the placebo group, while those that took caffeine before the sub-maximal test reported a 26 per cent reduction in pain.

“This experiment found that caffeine (equal to about two cups of brewed coffee) could produce a large reduction in pain resulting from eccentric exercise–induced, delayed-onset muscle injury,” wrote the researchers.

Maridakis said in a statement that the findings may be particularly relevant to people new to exercise, since they tend to experience the most soreness.

“If you can use caffeine to reduce the pain, it may make it easier to transition from that first week into a much longer exercise program,” he said.

Co-researcher Patrick O'Connor said that caffeine might even be more effective in relieving post-workout muscle pain than several commonly used drugs. O'Connor said that previous studies have reported that the pain reliever naproxen produced a 30 per cent reduction in soreness, while aspirin produced a 25 per cent reduction, and ibuprofen has produced inconsistent results.

“A lot of times what people use for muscle pain is aspirin or ibuprofen, but caffeine seems to work better than those drugs, at least among women whose daily caffeine consumption is low,” he said.

The Georgia-based researchers added that people should use caution when using caffeine before a workout since too much caffeine can produce side effects in some people.

“It can reduce pain,” Maridakis said, “but you have to apply some common sense and not go overboard.”

Zoë Wheeldon, spokesperson for the British Coffee Association (BCA) told NutraIngredients.com that all new research was interesting but that the BCA would like to see more studies before it is known if the results of this small sample can be applicable to the wider population.

Wheeldon said that the other studies have shown that having coffee before exercise may help us to exercise for longer and harder, and that the drink is actually recognised as an important source of fluid in the diet.

She also noted that the drink is a rich source of antioxidants, improves performance and alertness, and may be used to assist sports training.

Source: The Journal of Pain
Published on-line ahead of print; doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2006.08.006
“Caffeine Attenuates Delayed-Onset Muscle Pain and Force Loss Following Eccentric Exercise”
Authors: V. Maridakis, P.J. O'Connor, G.A. Dudley, K.K. McCully