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$: Muscle-Science Roundupep.yimg.com/ty/cdn/homegym/IM6601-MuscleScience.pdf · Muscle-Science Roundup 106 JANUARY 2007 \ \ JANUARY 2007 107 1) Extend Your Sets for Pain to Gain Training$
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RoundupMuscle-Science

10 Recent Research ReportsThat Can Help Accelerate

Your Muscle Gainsand Fat Loss

C o m p i l e d b y S t e v e H o l m a n

P h o t o g r a p h y b y M i c h a e l Ne v e u x

It’s our January 2007 issue, which means it’s time to look back at some of the key scientific studies of the past year that can have significant impact on your size, strength and fat loss. Much of the following was researched by IRON MAN’s number-one science scribe, Jerry Brainum. Okay, hand me that sleeveless

smock, and let’s hit the gym, er, um, lab.

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Muscle-Science Roundup

106 JANUARY 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JANUARY 2007 107

1) Extend Your Sets for Pain to Gain

Training may induce muscular growth by promoting the release of anabolic hormones, such as growth hormone, insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and tes-tosterone—but it’s got to be the right kind of training. For a long time scientists have been looking for the type of training that best elicits increases in anabolic hor-mones. Some studies show that using a weight you can lift for 10 reps, then resting no longer than one minute between sets leads to the greatest rise in both growth hormone and testoster-one. In contrast, using a weight that you can lift for only five reps and resting three minutes or more between sets results in no change in anabolic hormone release. That partly explains why many powerlifters and Olympic lifters are strong but don’t have dramatic muscle size.

Scientists have found that the primary impetus for promoting the release of anabolic hormones is stress induced by the accu-mulation of metabolic waste produced in the muscle during exercise. Such waste includes lactate and hydrogen ions, which produce the familiar burning sensation in a muscle during an intense set. Studies also show that occlusion of blood ves-sels during training results in greater gains in muscle size and strength, again because of the buildup of waste products in the muscle that sends a signal to release anabolic hormones.

A recent study examined the effects of induced metabolic stress in relation to promot-ing gains in muscular size and strength.1 Twenty-six healthy young men, average age 22, all of whom had training experience, were divided into three groups: 1) no rest, 2) with rest and 3) control. The control group didn’t exercise, but the no-rest and rest groups trained with the same exercises, using the same level of intensity. Both groups did the same routine: three sets of 10 reps of lat pulldowns, three sets

of 10 reps of shoulder presses and five sets of 10 reps of leg exten-sions. The no-rest group, despite the name, rested one minute between sets.

While the rest group used the same routine, participants rested between the fifth and sixth rep of each set. That protocol was designed to reduce the amount of metabolic waste products that would otherwise have accumu-lated in their muscles during a set.

The no-rest group showed elevations of lactic acid, growth hormone and norepinephrine, while the rest group did not. Further, muscle growth occurred only in the no-rest group, with an average 13 percent increase in the muscle cross section.

Strength gains were also far greater in the no-rest group. That led the researchers to note, “The current results clearly indicate that continuous repetition with-out pause is an important factor for strength gains following resis-tance training.”

The increased acidity in muscle during intense training not only promotes anabolic hormone release but also appears to in-crease the level of muscle fiber recruitment. The brain apparently senses the heightened metabolic stress and compensates for it by recruiting additional fibers. More fiber recruitment translates into more muscle used, and that in turn leads to greater gains in mus-cular size and strength.

That may explain why extended-set techniques, such as drop sets and end-of-set X-Rep partials, are so effective at triggering a muscle-growth response—more muscle burn and occlusion, as well as more muscular-force production.

Note: See www.X-Rep.com for more on extended-set training, occlusion and max-force generation for muscle-mass increase.

1 Goto, K., et al. (2005). The impact of metabolic stress on hormonal responses and muscular adaptations. Med Sci Sports Exer. 37:955-963.

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The burn promotes anabolic hormone release and appears to increase the level of muscle fiber recruitment.

(continued on page 110)



http://www.x-rep.com



2) Forskolin: Fat-Burning, Testosterone-Churning Compound

Forskolin is an extract made from the roots of Coleus forskohlii, a peren-nial herb with fleshy fibrous roots that is a member of the mint family. A study published in Obesity Research examined the effect of forskolin on body composition, testosterone, metabolic rate and blood pressure in overweight and obese men. Thirty subjects participated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled ex-periment for 12 weeks. They reported to the laboratory on a weekly basis to receive forskolin (Forslean: 250 mil-ligrams of 10 percent forskolin extract twice a day) or a placebo. What did the researchers find?

The forskolin group had a sig-nificant decrease in bodyfat from baseline (35 percent) to final mea-surement (31 percent). The placebo group showed no significant differ-ence in bodyfat. Fat mass dropped significantly in the forskolin group with no change occurring in the pla-cebo group. There was a trend toward a significant increase of lean body mass in the forskolin group. Serum free testosterone was significantly increased in the forskolin group com-pared with the placebo group. The change in serum total testosterone concentration was not significantly different between the groups, but free testosterone increased 17 percent in the forskolin group and decreased 1 percent in the placebo group. There were no changes in blood pressure for either group.

So 250 milligrams of 10 percent forskolin extract taken twice a day for 12 weeks favorably altered body com-position while concurrently increas-ing bone mass and free testosterone in overweight and obese men.1 To get that fat-to-muscle effect, look for a fat burner that contains the right dosage of forskolin. You’ll get leaner faster and build more muscle too, thanks to its testosterone-increasing effects.

1 Godard, M.P.; Johnson, B.A., and Richmond, S.R. (2005). Body composi-tion and hormonal adaptations asso-ciated with forskolin consumption in overweight and obese men. Obes Res. 13(8):1335-1343.

110 JANUARY 2007 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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The forskolin group got a big boost in serum free testosterone as well.

The forskolin group had a significant decrease in bodyfat.

(continued from page 107)




3) Muscle-Fiber Division: Split to Be

Sized

Jose Antonio, Ph.D., is a propo-nent of the muscle-fiber-splitting theory of hypertrophy.1 In other words, he believes hyperplasia oc-curs. Here’s his latest summation:

“Muscle physiologists have long been fascinated with what those who have taken muscularity to ex-treme heights look like at the cellu-lar level. In a study published in the Journal of Physiology, researchers took needle biopsy samples from the outer-quad muscles of five male bodybuilders, average age 27, who’d been performing heavy resistance exercise for at least two years, and from five male active but untrained control subjects, average age 30.2 In the bodybuilders a preferential hy-pertrophy of fast-twitch fibers took place, which was to be expected, but there was more.

“The very large hypertrophy of the outer-quad muscles could not be fully accounted for by single-muscle fiber hypertrophy. In fact, the cross-sectional area of the muscle was 54 percent larger in the bodybuilding group than in the control group, whereas mean fiber area was only 14 percent larger in the bodybuilding group. What does that mean? That bodybuild-ers likely had to increase their fiber numbers in order to account for the much larger total size of the muscle.

“It appears that the increase in muscle fiber numbers, or hyperpla-sia, may account to some degree for the extreme muscle size the bodybuilders attained.”

In a study Antonio was involved with, he achieved a 300 percent mass increase in the latissimus muscle of a bird via stretch over-load. That triple-mass increase ocurred after only 30 days of stretch overload, with appropriate rest

days, and was accounted for by a 90 percent increase in muscle fibers. That’s impressive stuff!

It leads us to believe that if hy-perplasia exists and can be trig-gered with progressive-resistance exercise, the obvious way to do that would be with stretch-posi-tion exercises, such as stiff-legged deadlifts for hamstrings, flyes for pecs and overhead extensions for triceps.

Note: Stretch-position exercises for each bodypart are included in 3D Positions-of-Flexion programs. For the latest on that training, visit www.3DMuscleBuilding.com.

1 Antonio, J., and Gonyea, W.J. (1993). Skeletal muscle fiber hy-perplasia. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 25:1333-45.

2 D’Antona, G., et al. (2005). Skeletal muscle hypertrophy and structure and function of skeletal muscle fibres in male bodybuilders. J. Physiol. 570:611-627.



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Stretch-position exercises like overhead extensions and stiff-legged deadlifts may help trigger fiber splitting.

Peak contraction is probably less important for hyperplasia.





4) Gene, Gene, Mass Machine: Customize

Your Muscle-Building Workouts for Big Gains

The best mass training for you may depend on your genes. In a new study 99 subjects were ran-domly assigned to three groups: 1) single set, 2) multiple set and 3) control. Both training groups used a periodization system to create variations in training intensity and volume. During the first three weeks they used loads that were 60 to 70 percent of maximum, which permitted an average of 12 to 15 reps per set. For the next three weeks they upgraded to using 70 to 80 percent of maximum weight, with a rep range of eight to 12. For six weeks they trained three times a week, working nine to 11 muscle groups per session, with the single-set group doing one set of each exercise and the multiple-set group doing three.

The subjects were genetically

tested at the start. Those with the ACE-2 variant, or the endurance gene, responded best to the mul-tiple-set system using 12 to 15 reps. When doing the slightly heavier eight to 12 reps, however, that group showed no difference in strength.

Those with the ACE-DD vari-ant showed similar gains for both types of loads and systems. They also made the greatest strength gains—and made the same gains no matter how they trained. Still, the DD group made the most gains from the heavier training, implying that they respond best to that kind of weight work.

The ACE-2 subjects responded to the higher reps more favorably because of their inherent endur-ance capacity. Such people are more likely to also respond to the experi-mental “hypoxia training,” during which blood vessels are purposely occluded, somehow leading to greater gains in muscle size. People who have the ACE-2 variant get greater tissue oxygenation, which can elevate the contractile proper-ties of heart and skeletal-muscle

tissue. They would also have less lactate buildup, reflecting reduced muscle fatigue.

It appears that those who make exceptional gains with high-intensi-ty, heavy training have the ACE-DD variants. They’d gain from just about any type of training program. Those with the ACE-2 variant wouldn’t respond favorably to a workout that features heavy weights and low reps; their physiology is geared toward endurance. For them a program that features multiple sets and a rep range of 12 to 15 per set would pro-duce the best results.

If you’re a skinny hardgainer, you probably have the ACE-2 variant. The big mistake most hardgainers make is to plug away on a few sets of low reps. They should do the op-posite—a few more sets with higher reps and/or extended-set tech-niques like drop sets and X Reps.

1 Colakoglu, M., et al. (2005). ACE genotype may have an effect on single vs. multiple-set preferences in strength training. Eur J App Physiol. 95(1):20-26.

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JANUARY 2007 117

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Your genetic

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5) Belt Up for Leg-Size Blastoff—and Less

Oblique Development

Should you wear a lifting belt or not? Some say wearing one can weaken midsection muscles be-cause a belt relieves the abs and lower back of stability duties. But the intra-abdominal pressure a tight, wide belt creates may be more important.

One study found that IAP was 25 to 40 percent greater when a lifting belt was worn during heavy squats. That would both stabilize the spine and decrease spinal compression. Another study found that wearing a belt during heavy lifts decreased the

perception of effort during the ex-ercise, thus making the lifting seem easier. Wearing a lifting belt leads to greater activation of both the lower-back muscles and the abdominal muscles, both of which increase lower-back support.

Another study looked at the effect of wearing belts during two styles of deadlifts and found that not wearing a belt produced greater oblique muscle activity. The obliques are the “love handle” muscles that frame the abdomi-nals. The same study also showed, however, that the shift of muscular activity transferred to the abdomi-nals. That’s a positive finding: The abdominals help stabilize the lower back, and the obliques stabilize the abdominals and trunk muscles.

Yet another study looked at muscle involvement during squats and found that the belt increased the muscular involvement of the prime muscles in the thigh—both front and rear. It also found a 23 percent increase in the involvement of the lower-back muscles when subjects wore a belt. The belt likely increased the thigh-muscle involve-ment because of improved lower-back stability, which enabled greater focus on the targeted muscles. In addition, wearing a lifting belt leads to increased exercise speed, which would increase muscle activation.

So wearing a lifting belt during heavy exercise makes sense on a number of levels, especially if you’re after bigger quads.



Wearing a lifting belt during squats was found to activate more fiber recruitment in the lower body.


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6) Anabolic Amino Ammo: Derail Overtraining

A new study found that most of the adverse hormonal effects of overtraining and overreaching are blunted if you use amino acid supplements. A high level of amino acids in the blood is associated with increased muscle protein synthesis and a blunting of muscle catabo-lism.

In the study, 17 men with weight-training experience were randomly assigned to either an amino acid or placebo group. They underwent four weeks of purposeful overtrain-ing. Those in the amino acid group took 0.4 grams per kilogram of bodyweight of a supplement con-taining essential and conditionally essential amino acids. They took the supplement one hour before meals and two hours after meals, as well as one to two hours before and after training. Those in the placebo group got an inert supplement on the same schedule.

As expected, after one week of overtraining, those in the pla-cebo group experienced a loss of strength, but those in the amino group did not. Levels of substances indicating muscle damage were elevated only in the placebo group. The amino group maintained levels of total and free testosterone, but not the placebo group. In addition, those in the placebo group showed higher blood levels of sex-hor-mone-binding globulin, a protein that locks on to free testosterone, rendering it inactive. The placebo group, however, showed elevated levels of growth hormone. The authors suggest it was the body’s attempt to offset the lowered levels of other anabolic hormones that resulted from the overtraining.

The authors note that “amino acid requirements to maintain op-timal repair and recovery of skeletal muscle may be greater during high-volume or high-intensity resistance training.” Earlier studies showed that amino acid supplements pro-mote increased muscle protein synthesis when taken after intense

training. Recent studies show that the effect occurs with as little as six grams of essential aminos. The greater availability of amino acids appears to decrease muscle dam-age incurred by hard training. That’s how you maintain strength.

Other studies show that branched-chain amino acids can reduce muscle breakdown by inhib-iting proteases, or enzymes that de-grade protein in muscle. In addition, the maintenance of optimal testos-terone levels during intense training exerts a potent anabolic effect that is also conducive to building muscle size and increasing strength.

Those in the placebo group showed decreased levels of hemo-globin, the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. A loss of hemo-globin could adversely affect both energy and muscular endurance while promoting premature fatigue during training.

Bottom line: While purposeful overtraining isn’t a good idea for most people, you can negate many of its effects with a judicious intake of amino acids.



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Amino acids can thwart many of the negative effects of overtraining.





7) L-Carnitine: Sexy Supplement and

Anabolic Receptor Increaser

A six-month study compared testosterone undecanoate with propionyl-L-carnitine plus acetyl-L-carnitine and a placebo in the treat-ment of sexual dysfunction among aging men. A total of 120 patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Group 1 was given testosterone undecanoate, 160 milli-grams per day; the second group got propionyl-L-carnitine plus acetyl-L-carnitine, two grams per day. The third group got a placebo.

Results: The researchers assessed a whole host of variables related to mood and penile function. They discovered that testosterone and the carnitines significantly improved the

peak systolic velocity, end-diastolic velocity, resistive index, nocturnal penile tumescence, International Index of Erectile Function score, Depression Melancholia Scale score and fatigue scale score. The carni-tines proved significantly more ac-tive than testosterone in improving nocturnal penile tumescence and International Index of Erectile Func-tion score. Yes, carnitines were bet-ter than testosterone at producing erections. Testosterone significantly increased the prostate volume and free and total testosterone levels and significantly lowered serum luteiniz-ing hormone; the carnitines did not.

So there were no hormonal side effects with the carnitines. No drug significantly modified prostate-specific antigen or prolactin. The carnitines and testosterone proved effective for as long as they were ad-ministered; cessation of treatment resulted in a return to baseline. According to the scientists, “Tes-

tosterone and, especially, carnitines proved to be active drugs for the therapy of symptoms associated with male aging.”

So what does that have to do with building more muscle? It’s been shown that carnitine also increases anabolic receptors in muscle tis-sue.2 Anabolic-receptor proliferation is one way anabolic steroids help speed muscle growth. Try two to three grams of L-carnitine a day, if you can afford it. It is pricey.

1 Cavallini, G., et al. (2004). Carni-tine versus androgen administration in the treatment of sexual dysfunc-tion, depressed mood, and fatigue associated with male aging. Urology. 63:641-646.

2 Ratamess, N.A., Kraemer, W.J., et al. (2005). Androgen receptor con-tent following heavy resistance ex-ercise in men. J Steroid Biochem Mol Bio. 93(1):35-42.



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Better sex and more anabolic receptors? Pass the L-carnitine!





8) Cardio Timing for Fat-Burn Priming

Should you do aerobics before or after your weight workout? Many prefer to do their aerobic exercise first to get it out of the way and as a general warmup. A recent study, however, suggests that the best time to do aerobics is after a weight workout and that how long you rest between the two can make a differ-ence in both hormone release and fat oxidation.1

Presented at the 2006 American College of Sports Medicine meet-ing, the study featured 10 healthy men who did three types of exercise regimens on different days:

1) Endurance exercise only (EE)2) Endurance exercise after

weight training and a 20-minute rest (RE20)

3) Endurance exercise after weight training and a 120-minute rest (RE120)

The weight workout consisted of six exercises, each done for three to four sets of 10 reps. The endurance exercise consisted of stationary cy-

cling for an hour at low intensity (50 percent of maximum heart rate).

Doing the weight workout before aerobics led to marked increases in lactate, norepinephrine and growth hormone. Before the endurance exercise those in the RE120 group had the highest levels of free fatty acids in their blood, while those in the RE20 group had higher levels of norepinephrine and growth hor-mone. During the endurance and weight exercise, blood levels of free fatty acids and glycerol were higher in both weight groups than in the endurance-only group, meaning that those in both weight groups were burning more fat during the exercise.

The study clearly shows that doing a weight workout before aerobics leads to hormonal changes that favor increased fat oxidation during the subsequent aerobic workout.

1 Goto, K., et al. (2006). The ef-fects of prior resistance exercise on lipolysis and fat oxidation during subsequent endurance exercise. Med Sci Sports Exer. 38:S545.


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Do your cardio after your weight training for better fat oxidation.






Moderate beer consumption appears to lower estrogen synthesis in men.

9) Block Estrogen, Build Testosterone, Pack On Muscle—With Beer?

Bodybuilders and athletes on ste-roids counter the effects of elevated es-trogen in two ways. The older solution blocks estrogen receptors with a drug such as Nolvadex. A better solution inhibits the activity of the aromatase enzyme itself. Drugs that accomplish that were developed to treat estrogen-dependent breast cancers, especially in older women. Aromatase-blocking drugs are now the most popular means of controlling estrogen.

What’s not generally known, how-ever, is that natural aromatase blockers exist in certain foods and supplements. Red wine, green tea and grapeseed extract all contain polyphenols that have aromatase-inhibiting properties. A new study identifies another aromatase blocker: beer.1 The particular ingredi-ents responsible for the effect are hops and barley malt.

Hops add bitterness to beer, while malt is a flavoring compound. So-called prenylflavonoids in hops are thought to offer cardiovascular protection and protection against cancer. They don’t interfere with the synthesis of aro-matase (as do the drug versions) but instead seem to throw a biochemical monkey wrench into its activity. The net effect, however, is lower estrogen synthesis.

What isn’t clear from the study is how much beer is effective against aroma-tase. That’s because the study design was in vitro, involving isolated cells. Earlier research showed that a flavo-noid called chrysin was just as effective as anti-estrogen drugs. Later studies, however, showed that while chrysin works great outside the body, a living human being has difficulty absorbing it.

That doesn’t mean the active ingredi-ents in beer suffer a similar fate. Beer’s many benefits indicate that natural substances are indeed absorbed. The information shouldn’t be construed as a license to drink vast amounts of beer. Too much alcohol can lower anabolic hormone levels and directly destroy muscle fibers. Drink beer in modera-tion.

1 Monteir, R., et al. (2006). Effect of hop (Humulus lupulus) flavonoids on aromatase (estrogen synthase) activity. J Agric Food Chemist. 54:2938-2943.





Beta-alanine gets you further into the pain zone so you get more key growth reps on every set.

10) Creatine Plus Beta-Alanine:

The New Muscle-Building GasolineA study presented at the

2006 meeting of the ACSM investigated the effects of combining creatine with beta-alanine, a new supplement that increases levels of L-carnosine, a dipeptide amino acid, in muscle.1 Carnosine is a major intramuscular buffer that neu-tralizes the effects of the higher muscle acidity produced dur-ing anaerobic metabolism. Researchers examined the combined effects of creatine and beta-alanine on strength, power, body composition and hormone changes in strength and power athletes during a 10-week weight-training program. Hormones tested included testosterone, growth hormone, IGF-1 and sex-hormone-bind-ing globulin, which is bound to testosterone and estrogen in the blood.

Thirty-three male athletes were randomly assigned to one of three groups:

1) Placebo (P)2) Creatine only (C)3) Creatine and beta-alanine

(CBA)The CBA group gained more

lean mass and lost more body-fat than the P and C groups. The CBA group also gained greater strength than the other two groups, as measured by maximum squat and bench press lifts. The creatine-only group had the only hormonal change—an increase in resting testosterone levels.

This preliminary study shows that creatine and beta-alanine appear to work to-gether in promoting gains in muscle strength and a loss of bodyfat.

And let’s not forget the lean-mass increase. Beta-alanine enables you to keep pushing past nervous system failure, extend tension time and get

at many more fast-twitch fibers. It has to do with the size principle of fiber recruitment. During any set to exhaustion you recruit the low-threshold motor units first, the mediums second and the important high-threshold motor units last. Those highs trigger the most fast-twitch growth. The more you can continue fir-ing the muscle during high-threshold recruitment—into the so-called pain zone—the more hypertrophic stimulation you’ll get in any one set. Beta-alanine makes that pain zone more bearable—or at least more accessible—and every all-out set becomes more ana-bolic. So when you combine beta-alanine with creatine’s ATP-boosting power, you’ve got a super muscle-building smart bomb!

Muscle biopsies have revealed that the biggest bodybuilders have loads of carnosine in their muscles. (Remember, beta-alanine converts to carnosine, which accumulates in muscle tis-sue.) Scientists surmise that because they do so many pain-zone sets, the biggest body-builders adapt to that training by stockpiling carnosine, so they continue the adaptation process—they get bigger and stronger. If your body is ineffi-cient at that process or doesn’t have the raw materials to make it happen—or you lack the pain tolerance to force that adaptation—your gains will be much slower. Taking beta-ala-nine solves the problem and gets you there much faster—it automatically increases mus-cle carnosine, giving you the ability to blast the muscle into the growth zone more often.

1 Hoffman, J., et al. (2006). Effect of creatine and B-alanine supplementation on performance and endocrine responses in strength/power athletes. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 38:S126. IM

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