Ask the Exercise Scientist

[J431S]

Well I am not to sure what area of the neck you mean, is it the front, side or back of the neck. I know sometimes lifters will strain the Platysma muscle while making faces when lifting which is not uncommon actually. It could also be the Sternocleitomastoid muscle or one of the scalenes. Is it on both sides of the neck or just one side?

it is one side; what do u suggest I do? turning head side to side at the same angle, say 90, sometime is a problem. thanks

[MuscleScience]

it is one side; what do u suggest I do? turning head side to side at the same angle, say 90, sometime is a problem. thanks

Stretching and heating before lifting but I would suggest you have it looked at by your Chiro again. Diagnosing over the net is not exactly the best way to get healed up....

[MuscleScience]

Bump, anyone got anything?

[DSM4Life]

Bump, anyone got anything?

If i can squat more than you would you give me a kiss ?

[MuscleScience]

If i can squat more than you would you give me a kiss ?

Everyone can squat more than me!

[DSM4Life]

Everyone can squat more than me!

Pucker up buttercup !

[MuscleScience]

Pucker up buttercup !

Believe me I am puckered more than you think when your around...

[DSM4Life]

Believe me I am puckered more than you think when your around...

[Swifto]

Is going beyond failure bad for joints, ligaments and tendons?

[MuscleScience]

Is going beyond failure bad for joints, ligaments and tendons?

If done a lot yes, also going beyond failure raises the risk of acute injury while lifting. If a person is highly trained they can perform these types of exercises with relative safety. (powerlifters,ect) For body builders going beyond failure frequently is probably not the best idea for continued health and injury free training.

[mho]

Does viagra somehow target the penis only, or will the drug effect the entire body?

[Matt]

How important are pull ups for back developement, and im talking wide grip?????

[MuscleScience]

Hey guys just a heads up I am at the lake for the weekend I will answer all questions as best I can when I gets back and am not posting on my labtop that is now out of battery or my Iphone.

Thank a Soldier this Memorial Day Weekend, and everyone have a good Memorial Day!!!

MS.

[Matt]

^^ This is just not good enough, next time your thinking of taking a break i would like it in writing two weeks in advance...

[MuscleScience]

Does viagra somehow target the penis only, or will the drug effect the entire body?

I dont have a lot of pharmacology in my background but I know a little bit about viagra types drugs mechanism of action. They are a inhibitor of a pathway called the cGMP specific phosphodiesterase type 5. This pathway is responsible for degrading cGMP which releases NO in the Penis. The only reason I now this is because sometimes people with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension are treated with viagra to help alleviate symptoms of the condition. My first year of grad school we had a person come in for a graded exercise/stress testing that said he was on viagra for his heart. I never heard of that so me and a couple other students researched this and found out that indeed it is sometimes used.

Some people think if they take viagra that it will cause a release of NO throughout the body specifically the muscles. I am not sure if in fact this is true or not but I am aware that some use it. From what I know the cGMP specific phosphodiesterase type 5 pathway is mainly present in the arterioles of the penis and lungs.

Interestingly Viagra was being developed for treatment of ischemic heart disease. The drug failed to produce sufficient results but it was noted that it did produce erections significantly, so Pfizer decided to use it as a treatment for ED. It is kind of a famous story in the exercise phys world.

[MuscleScience]

How important are pull ups for back developement, and im talking wide grip?????

I think pull ups are a very good base exercise, as long as they are done properly. Lat pull downs mimic the pull ups to an extent. The one thing about pull ups that I dont like is when one becomes fatigued they tend to lose good form.

[Matt]

Ok what would you say is the best mass building exercise for the back???

[MuscleScience]

Ok what would you say is the best mass building exercise for the back???

Thats a tough one, I think for overall muscle mass including back it would be dead lift. Now keep in mind I am talking about and including all the muscles responsible for extension such as those in both the legs and the back. For muscles that cause retraction I would say either pull ups or bent over row. Somewhat of a personal preference for some on this I would guess.

[eatrainrest]

If done a lot yes, also going beyond failure raises the risk of acute injury while lifting. If a person is highly trained they can perform these types of exercises with relative safety. (powerlifters,ect) For body builders going beyond failure frequently is probably not the best idea for continued health and injury free training.

told ya so =)

[Nicotine]

frequency of doing ab workouts?

i see people doing them daily and look fantastic. i see people doing them once a week - they look great too. and i just feel mine are lagging behind (doing them every 3 days)

[Matt]

Thats a tough one, I think for overall muscle mass including back it would be dead lift. Now keep in mind I am talking about and including all the muscles responsible for extension such as those in both the legs and the back. For muscles that cause retraction I would say either pull ups or bent over row. Somewhat of a personal preference for some on this I would guess.

Thank you for your great advice again lol....

[MuscleScience]

frequency of doing ab workouts?

i see people doing them daily and look fantastic. i see people doing them once a week - they look great too. and i just feel mine are lagging behind (doing them every 3 days)

Thats probably a good spread. Great abdominals are more a product of a good diet, cardio and of course good genetics.

I personally only do abs specifically once or twice a week. Since I do lots of athletic type training I do multi-joint close chain exercises so I get some sort of abdominal workout every workout. As far as doing sit ups every day, just like all other muscles the abs need rest too. They can in-fact be overtrained just like any other muscle.

[eatrainrest]

hey muscle i know we discussed your take on waxy maize and your not a fan of having that much simple carbs PWO.. but is this product marketing scam, ON says with the additive of trehalose they have immediate and intermeidate absorption times..

total carb-35g
sugars-3

ingredients-waxy maize, trehalose, carbogen (digestive enzymes to enhance utilization)"

[Matt]

What are your views on the slingshot training system???

[MuscleScience]

hey muscle i know we discussed your take on waxy maize and your not a fan of having that much simple carbs PWO.. but is this product marketing scam, ON says with the additive of trehalose they have immediate and intermeidate absorption times..

total carb-35g
sugars-3

ingredients-waxy maize, trehalose, carbogen (digestive enzymes to enhance utilization)"

Well anytime you add a substance that has a low GI it cause the absolute GI of other substances to be lowered as well. For example if you take in oatmeal with a simple carb source say glucose. The fiber in oatmeal effectively acts as a GI buffer if you will. What ends up happening is that the glucose will take longer to absorb by the body than it normally would. Now how drastically it changes the GI of the other substance is relative to the proportion that each is taken in to each other.

Digestive enzymes if they make it to the duodenum simple enhance the digestive time for a particular nutrient. I dont know particularly how effective they are at this as I really havent looked into all the different ones on the market. For example persons that suffer from lactose intolerance will often take lactase to help them digest dairy products. Lactase is nothing more than a digestive enzyme. I think there is merit for some on the market and probably not for others. Again I am not versed particularly well to make comments on specific ones.

[MuscleScience]

What are your views on the slingshot training system???

My personal take on it is that if you adhere to any program that it will more than likely work, given that the program is based on sound fundamentals. The biggest problem for most exercise regimes is not its setup or philosophy its the persons individual adherence to the program. As you know a lot of people want to see instantaneous result. When in fact it takes a full 12 weeks for the average person to get full physiological adaptation to an exercise program. It is no accident when you read scientific studies on exercise that most programs are set up based on a 12 week time frame. P90X is a prime example of the 12 week setup, the guy that came up with the workout didnt do so out of thin air. However again, for a lot of people 12 weeks is to long for them to wait.

For me I am not very smart and STS is too complicated for me to follow. Ronnie gets very good results from people who can follow and understand it and the philosophy and setup that I have read in the workouts is sound.

[Pocketbattleship2B]

So do you concentrate on muscles and how things affect them (training, nutrition ect.) in your studies or do you have a general interest in all of the body and everything that happens in it?If you understand whar I am saying.

[eatrainrest]

Well anytime you add a substance that has a low GI it cause the absolute GI of other substances to be lowered as well. For example if you take in oatmeal with a simple carb source say glucose. The fiber in oatmeal effectively acts as a GI buffer if you will. What ends up happening is that the glucose will take longer to absorb by the body than it normally would. Now how drastically it changes the GI of the other substance is relative to the proportion that each is taken in to each other.

Digestive enzymes if they make it to the duodenum simple enhance the digestive time for a particular nutrient. I dont know particularly how effective they are at this as I really havent looked into all the different ones on the market. For example persons that suffer from lactose intolerance will often take lactase to help them digest dairy products. Lactase is nothing more than a digestive enzyme. I think there is merit for some on the market and probably not for others. Again I am not versed particularly well to make comments on specific ones.

good stuff, ill give it a shot and see how it works for me

[MuscleScience]

So do you concentrate on muscles and how things affect them (training, nutrition ect.) in your studies or do you have a general interest in all of the body and everything that happens in it?If you understand whar I am saying.

I enjoy all things science, especially if it has something to do with the body and I can relate it to exercise. I do not get to caught up on anatomy and biomechanics much as that stuff to me is nothing more than rout memorization. I particularly like to study physiology, which for all that we know about how the body works there is still a lot we dont know if you catch my drift. Even though I do training on the side, my passion is metabolism. I enjoy putting someone on a treadmill or a windgate bike and seeing where we can improve their performance based on there individual needs. I also enjoy working with special populations such as older adults or those who are not healthy enough to exercise without supervision. Simple because it is challenging and is more about improving someones quality of life for the remaining years that they have left.

[Pocketbattleship2B]

I enjoy all things science, especially if it has something to do with the body and I can relate it to exercise. I do not get to caught up on anatomy and biomechanics much as that stuff to me is nothing more than rout memorization. I particularly like to study physiology, which for all that we know about how the body works there is still a lot we dont know if you catch my drift. Even though I do training on the side, my passion is metabolism. I enjoy putting someone on a treadmill or a windgate bike and seeing where we can improve their performance based on there individual needs. I also enjoy working with special populations such as older adults or those who are not healthy enough to exercise without supervision. Simple because it is challenging and is more about improving someones quality of life for the remaining years that they have left.

Yea I get you,thanks.And thanks for anwering all my weird questions,it's just that I don't have a lot of information about the condition I have and what effect it will have on me training/nutrition wise and you have already helped me alot.Thanks.

[MuscleScience]

Yea I get you,thanks.And thanks for anwering all my weird questions,it's just that I don't have a lot of information about the condition I have and what effect it will have on me training/nutrition wise and you have already helped me alot.Thanks.

No thanks required, I enjoy answering questions that I feel I am qualified to answer, which is probably very narrow....

[Pocketbattleship2B]

No thanks required, I enjoy answering questions that I feel I am qualified to answer, which is probably very narrow....

I wouldn't say that.

[Swifto]

Extreme stretching PWO...

Talk to me...

[MuscleScience]

Extreme stretching PWO...

Talk to me...

Stretching good, ballistic and Extreme stretching (whatever that is) is in my opinion is somewhat risky and not worth the little if any benefit unless it is for a sport specific purpose. However even then there is conflicting data on ballistic stretching and performance.

To think that you can stretch the fascia enough to cause the muscles to grow more is kind of laughable. The fascia is so intimately attached to the muscle that there really is not functional separation between the two. Who knows one could probably find and obscure study somewhere that shows a benefit but if I was training my self or others I am not going to risk causing injury for something that is not really proven to be of any benefit at all.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...gdbfrom=pubmed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...gdbfrom=pubmed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...gdbfrom=pubmed

[Pocketbattleship2B]

Is there any truth to a claim I heard that if the abdominal wall is cut through(the inside of the abdomen is exposed to the outside) that it can cause it to become or make it more prone to becoming distended?

[MuscleScience]

Is there any truth to a claim I heard that if the abdominal wall is cut through(the inside of the abdomen is exposed to the outside) that it can cause it to become or make it more prone to becoming distended?

I am sure it could, it depends on how it heals and such. If you are referring specifically of a incision across the rectus abdominis, from what I understand they tend to heal relatively well. However I have only seen one case were someone had a full transection of the abs, and a few women with lower uterine segment C-sections and they all seemed to heal normally.

What I have seen more is people that suffer from Diastasis recti, or separation of the rectus abdominis. There is usually a fairly obvious deformity that happens either in Premature newborns, postpartum women or pregnant women for that matter. Generally in women there are specific exercise protocols that can help reduce the severity of the condition after giving birth.

Sorry I couldnt help you more I dont have much experience or education in this area other than the obvious implications and contraindications to exercise that I learned in school.

[Pocketbattleship2B]

I understand that with vague questions you can only realy give vague answers.In my case I have 2 footlong vertical scars about half an inch to the left side of my bellybutton,another about 4 inches long horizontal and right over my pelvis on the left side and another on the right side 4 inches long ,starting 2 inches from my bellybutton and sloping down towards the top or my pelvis.I believe the two horizontal ones do cut through atleast some of the muscle itself but am not entirely sure.

[MuscleScience]

I understand that with vague questions you can only realy give vague answers.In my case I have 2 footlong vertical scars about half an inch to the left side of my bellybutton,another about 4 inches long horizontal and right over my pelvis on the left side and another on the right side 4 inches long ,starting 2 inches from my bellybutton and sloping down towards the top or my pelvis.I believe the two horizontal ones do cut through atleast some of the muscle itself but am not entirely sure.

I remembered from your previous question from awhile back ago. The sort and simple answer is that it can, having said that really only your surgeon could answer your question with relative confidence. I know I should have been a surgeon, but 14 hours surgeries and being on call all the time never appealed to me....

[Pocketbattleship2B]

I remembered from your previous question from awhile back ago. The sort and simple answer is that it can, having said that really only your surgeon could answer your question with relative confidence. I know I should have been a surgeon, but 14 hours surgeries and being on call all the time never appealed to me....

Yea pitty the man is dead.Ah well.Thanks.

[peachfuzz]

I have a big problem with disproportionate sides. what is the best way to go about correcting this. do i cheat my overdeveloped side each workout? focus on hitting each side seperately? what do you think the best way to go about this is.