Ask the Exercise Scientist

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

Alright. Lets see...I skimmed through a few pages and did this in like 15 minutes, so cut me some slack lol


Monday & Thursday: Circuits

Squats - 12 reps
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press- 12 reps
Barbell Rows- 12 reps
Dead lifts- 12 reps
Incline sit ups – (max in 1.5 mins)
5 Minutes intense cardio (bike)

Repeat 4 times.
Then hit stair master for 30 mins w/pack (low-moderate intensity)


Tuesday & Saturday: Circuits

Lunges 12 reps
Bench Press 12 reps
Lat Machine Pull downs 12 reps
Incline Reverse Crunches (max in 1.5 mins)
5 minutes intense cardio (bike)

Repeat 4 times
Then hit stair master for 30 min w/pack (low-moderate intensity)


Wednesday & Friday (Or maybe just 1 day?): Interval Training

-Warm up: Five minutes of jogging
-Run for 3 minutes at the fastest pace you can maintain
-3 minutes of walk/power walk
-Repeat steps 2 and 3 for a total of 6-10 intervals
-Cool Down: 5 mins


How does this look? Does this look like over-training?
Thinking of starting it 3 months before the hike, and taking a week break right before the hike.
As you can tell, I focused on back/legs/core. Should I throw in a couple more exercises for arms or anything?

[MuscleScience]

Alright. Lets see...I skimmed through a few pages and did this in like 15 minutes, so cut me some slack lol


Monday & Thursday: Circuits

Squats - 12 reps
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press- 12 reps
Barbell Rows- 12 reps
Dead lifts- 12 reps
Incline sit ups – (max in 1.5 mins)
5 Minutes intense cardio (bike)

Repeat 4 times.
Then hit stair master for 30 mins w/pack (low-moderate intensity)


Tuesday & Saturday: Circuits

Lunges 12 reps
Bench Press 12 reps
Lat Machine Pull downs 12 reps
Incline Reverse Crunches (max in 1.5 mins)
5 minutes intense cardio (bike)

Repeat 4 times
Then hit stair master for 30 min w/pack (low-moderate intensity)


Wednesday & Friday (Or maybe just 1 day?): Interval Training

-Warm up: Five minutes of jogging
-Run for 3 minutes at the fastest pace you can maintain
-3 minutes of walk/power walk
-Repeat steps 2 and 3 for a total of 6-10 intervals
-Cool Down: 5 mins


How does this look? Does this look like over-training?
Thinking of starting it 3 months before the hike, and taking a week break right before the hike.
As you can tell, I focused on back/legs/core. Should I throw in a couple more exercises for arms or anything?

I am not in love with deads and squat on the same day. Thats a lot of punishment on the lower back.

Plus 6 days a week may be a little much, I would take out a day or two and just do the stair stepper. After all the idea of circuit training is both strength and cardio at the same time. So I see no reason to do cardio after a circuit if your doing it right. doing five exercise in five minutes rest a minute and run through it again.

You may check out cross fit training which is very similar.

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

I am not in love with deads and squat on the same day. Thats a lot of punishment on the lower back.

true true.
switch out dl's with lat pull downs, and vice versa
and throw in some chin ups somewhere

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

I am not in love with deads and squat on the same day. Thats a lot of punishment on the lower back.

Plus 6 days a week may be a little much, I would take out a day or two and just do the stair stepper. After all the idea of circuit training is both strength and cardio at the same time. So I see no reason to do cardio after a circuit if your doing it right. doing five exercise in five minutes rest a minute and run through it again.

You may check out cross fit training which is very similar.

Yeah, I thought it was a bit much when I looked at it at first.

Back to the drawing board.

[MuscleScience]

Yeah, I thought it was a bit much when I looked at it at first.

Back to the drawing board.

In fact I dont think you have to do it for three months prior to. You can do whats called a micro period where you do a more traditional training protocal that is somewhat specific, you know focusing on legs and your core like you wanted. Then a month prior to your trip, go ahead and do some circuit training.

A really great book to get for all this is NSCA's book called Essentials of Strength and Conditioning, which I think just came out with a new addition you may be able to get the older addition for cheap. That is a really great book, not to be confused with a similar one on personal training which in my opinion is not as good.

http://www.nsca-cc.org/online_store/...ml?pi=142&ci=1

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

In fact I dont think you have to do it for three months prior to. You can do whats called a micro period where you do a more traditional training protocal that is somewhat specific, you know focusing on legs and your core like you wanted. Then a month prior to your trip, go ahead and do some circuit training.

A really great book to get for all this is NSCA's book called Essentials of Strength and Conditioning. That is a really great book, not to be confused with a similar one on personal training which in my opinion is not as good.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/boo...omas-R-Baechle

cool. Thanks. That link isn't working for me, but I'll look into it.

[MuscleScience]

cool. Thanks. That link isn't working for me, but I'll look into it.

yeah sorry I got it fixed.

[sizerp]

Oh I see, 10g/days seems to be the magic number for sides. Just take 6-7 g/day. That is all that is recommended, plus you get lots of B5 from the food you eat anyway.

Ok thanks. Will try down-dosing.

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

I seem to get these little muscle spasms every so often.
Like I will be watching tv, and any one of my muscle, left bi for example, just starts pulsating, like a mini spasm???

Do you understand what Im trying to say?
What is going on?

[peachfuzz]

well sir im not sure if this question is up your alley or not but ill ask it anyway. I started Anavar about ten days ago and ever since my appetite has been toast. my question is tho, no matter what i eat or when i eat it about ten minutes later i start to feel really weird. im talkin dizzy, weak, shakey, ringing ears, vertigo type of stuff. i feel extremely hypoglycemic. it happens with or without carbs so i dont think its a blood sugar type of thing. I have been diagnosed with POTS in the past (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) and since i started the var my blood pressure has been less than ideal so im thinking this may be the culprit.

what are your thoughts wise one?

[MuscleScience]

I seem to get these little muscle spasms every so often.
Like I will be watching tv, and any one of my muscle, left bi for example, just starts pulsating, like a mini spasm???

Do you understand what Im trying to say?
What is going on?

I believe your talking about fasciculation aka muscle twitching...



Are you drinking lots of bottled water?

Bottled water unless otherwise noted tends to not have as high a mineral content as tap water (This assumes you buy the good stuff that isnt just tap water that is bottled....). This does not help replace electrolytes that you may otherwise get by drinking a sports drink or even regular tap water. A lot of times in athletes, they will tend to have electrolyte imbalance from intense training and sweating. This is a common sign we look for during training and during competition with athletes.

The next thing to look at is what kind of stimulants your taking. Caffeine can cause muscles twitches. I get them a lot after drink redbulls....

Lastly fatigue can also cause muscle twitches.

I would look at your diet first and see if your getting adquate hydration post training.

There is also medical conditions that cause fasciculations, generally motor neuron diseases. I have also read in the literature that some anxiety medications can cause these as well. Though the medical side of these causes are not in my area of expertise.

[MuscleScience]

well sir im not sure if this question is up your alley or not but ill ask it anyway. I started Anavar about ten days ago and ever since my appetite has been toast. my question is tho, no matter what i eat or when i eat it about ten minutes later i start to feel really weird. im talkin dizzy, weak, shakey, ringing ears, vertigo type of stuff. i feel extremely hypoglycemic. it happens with or without carbs so i dont think its a blood sugar type of thing. I have been diagnosed with POTS in the past (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) and since i started the var my blood pressure has been less than ideal so im thinking this may be the culprit.

what are your thoughts wise one?

I would suggest you talk to your doctor about this. Sorry i cant be of more help but these symptoms are concerning and should be checked by a medical professional, as I am not a medical professional just a physiologist....

[sizerp]

On third week of H-Drol, and today is my off day. Woke up with small pumps in my arms/back. Sustained pump throughout day so far, and am a little fatigued. Have gotten normal rest and energy. Any ideas? My First PH cycle so dunno if it's a side or what.

[MuscleScience]

On third week of H-Drol, and today is my off day. Woke up with small pumps in my arms/back. Sustained pump throughout day so far, and am a little fatigued. Have gotten normal rest and energy. Any ideas? My First PH cycle so dunno if it's a side or what.

I cant find anywhere in the literature where a compound would caused a localized blood shunting effect. At least as far as a steroid or prohormone is concerned. NO2 and other stimulants is another story. I cant really give any advice accept to say to make sure your hydrated. Other than that I do not know...

I will look through a few more databases if I can find something I will post it up.

[Lemonada8]

ok i have a ?...
I have long arms, so tryin to build bi's is difficult...

my question is this:

Which do you think i should do? for 6 weeks when i do bi's, i do partner bi's (its with a partner, and u have a empty EZ bar and he pulls down and i try to hold it up, and vise versa but the other direction (i pull up he hold down) so its more of a isokenetic lifting)

or stick to the rotation of types of curls? (typical isotonic)

ive been doin them (like 4 isotonic:1 isokeneitic) currently...

[thegodfather]

MS...please check your PMs I have a real legit question that Im not posting in the open...

[MuscleScience]

MS...please check your PMs I have a real legit question that Im not posting in the open...

Replied,

[MuscleScience]

ok i have a ?...
I have long arms, so tryin to build bi's is difficult...

my question is this:

Which do you think i should do? for 6 weeks when i do bi's, i do partner bi's (its with a partner, and u have a empty EZ bar and he pulls down and i try to hold it up, and vise versa but the other direction (i pull up he hold down) so its more of a isokenetic lifting)

or stick to the rotation of types of curls? (typical isotonic)

ive been doin them (like 4 isotonic:1 isokeneitic) currently...

The eccentric phase of contraction is not generally considered to have a overly hyperthropic effect. It is very good at increasing muscle soreness and improving isometric breaking strength. It has a good place in sports like grappling and such.

If you want to increase your bicep size you might try switching up a bit and using some heavy weight for a few less reps. Most people train in the typical 3 sets of 10 on biceps. This can cause a training adaptation and cause you to plateau. However its going to be one of those things you play around with to see what works best for you.

[thegodfather]

Which of the following spinal dermatome level corresponds with the landmark of the inguinal ligament?

A. T10
B. L1
C. L3
D. L5

[MuscleScience]

Which of the following spinal dermatome level corresponds with the landmark of the inguinal ligament?

A. T10
B. L1
C. L3
D. L5

Depends on if you look in netter or Grays I think they have a difference. I have learned it as L1 however. Some say T-12 if I am not mistaken.

L1's myotome is hip flexion. and its reflex is cremateric.. If I am not mistaken on the reflex...

[thegodfather]

Kaplan says L1.....L1 it is...

[MuscleScience]

t-10 is umbilicus
L3 is anterior distal thigh
L5 is anterior lateral leg along with the first second and third toes.

[MuscleScience]

Kaplan says L1.....L1 it is...

I would go with L1, cant go wrong with that. There is another tricky one on the dermitomes which is C-7 that varies widely. Usually it is the second and third digit.

Oh what is the C-8 reflex?

[Lemonada8]

damn.... have yall ever taken the mkat? im about to take it this spring... :/

[MuscleScience]

damn.... have yall ever taken the mkat? im about to take it this spring... :/

Yeah,

I thought you were going into Pharmacy?

I took the PCAT, or whatever the Pharm D entrance exam is.

[Lemonada8]

Nah, imma be a DO.... or if i get in a MD ill go there cause there are more schools and my lady needs to finish her school to...

[MuscleScience]

Nah, imma be a DO.... or if i get in a MD ill go there cause there are more schools and my lady needs to finish her school to...

I didnt really know what a DO did. I wish I would have I like their approach to medicine a little more. I like the CAM types of medicine, even though I am heavily influenced by my science background but I was suprised to see a lot of evidence base literature that DO's and DC's have out. I was biased for sure about both but part of being in science is being open to all theories which gets lost a lot in the biomedical field.

Numbers can lie, they dont tell the whole story and one paper is not considered strong evidence until it has been reproduced and built upon by others. Which again gets lost on many people. I am guilty of that as well.

[thegodfather]

Nah, imma be a DO.... or if i get in a MD ill go there cause there are more schools and my lady needs to finish her school to...

What cycle are you applying for? You realise the only reason to apply DO is if your grades are borderline for being accepted into lower tier MD schools. The typical matriculant is a 3.7/31 MCAT. Typical DO matriculant is a 3.5/28 MCAT...Of course that means 50% of matriculants are below those averages, but I would say unless you are sitting on a 3.7+ and 31+ MCAT with at least 200 hours of volunteering and 100 hours of shadowing, and some other quality EC's, that you should apply to 20 of the lowest tiered MD schools, avoiding schools that take less than 1.5 OOS, and then at least 10-15 of the osteopathic schools that you have a shot at. The MSAR is a valuable tool for looking up this info and finding out where you might be competitive. Of course numbers are only half the battle, if you have the interviewing skills of a rock, you can have perfect numbers and get in nowhere...

[Lemonada8]

Well, that is another reason i am prefering a DO school, i dont have a 3.7, i have like a 3.5 ( at myu current school and 3.1 cum wit all schools) i play football, so im not even close to the hours of volunteering and shadowing, but my dad is a DO, and im goin to follow someone else for some hours but i can use fball as a extracaricular activitie... and they are starting to look for more balanced applicants ( i know a doc on the board of Mizzous med school) i am taking the MCAT this spring and ill prolly do good, i usually do really well on standardized tests when i study... they have actually saved my grade for my ochem.... and i have god interviewing skjills so I just need to do good on th test....

What cycle are you applying for? You realise the only reason to apply DO is if your grades are borderline for being accepted into lower tier MD schools. The typical matriculant is a 3.7/31 MCAT. Typical DO matriculant is a 3.5/28 MCAT...Of course that means 50% of matriculants are below those averages, but I would say unless you are sitting on a 3.7+ and 31+ MCAT with at least 200 hours of volunteering and 100 hours of shadowing, and some other quality EC's, that you should apply to 20 of the lowest tiered MD schools, avoiding schools that take less than 1.5 OOS, and then at least 10-15 of the osteopathic schools that you have a shot at. The MSAR is a valuable tool for looking up this info and finding out where you might be competitive. Of course numbers are only half the battle, if you have the interviewing skills of a rock, you can have perfect numbers and get in nowhere...

[thegodfather]

Well, that is another reason i am prefering a DO school, i dont have a 3.7, i have like a 3.5 ( at myu current school and 3.1 cum wit all schools) i play football, so im not even close to the hours of volunteering and shadowing, but my dad is a DO, and im goin to follow someone else for some hours but i can use fball as a extracaricular activitie... and they are starting to look for more balanced applicants ( i know a doc on the board of Mizzous med school) i am taking the MCAT this spring and ill prolly do good, i usually do really well on standardized tests when i study... they have actually saved my grade for my ochem.... and i have god interviewing skjills so I just need to do good on th test....

How are you scoring on practice tests? You want to be scoring consistently 1-2 points above your goal on the practice tests before you take the real thing. I'd also do a variation of Kaplan, Princeton, & ExamKrackers...

[BrokenBricks]

I had a rough night before the exam and scored 2-3 points lower than my practice tests. fyi.

[sizerp]

Does eating a lot of food (for bulking say) increase the size of your stomach? And if so, does it stay that way forever, or shrink and expand in concordance with your BMR?

[Phate]

if someone injects in their thigh and gets shooting pains to their knee is that referred pain? if so could you define what is referred pain?

[MuscleScience]

Does eating a lot of food (for bulking say) increase the size of your stomach? And if so, does it stay that way forever, or shrink and expand in concordance with your BMR?

Your stomach can expand due to repetitive mechanical insult from being chronically overloaded. It is independent of your BMR, at least how I think your talking about it.

It will normally expand when food stuff is present. In fact the stretching effect of the stomach is normal and causes hormonal changes to decrease apetite.

Where this becomes a problem is when the stomach is again chronically overloaded. The tissues of the stomach will adapt to the constant overloading, this may be a permanent state. Just like skin can be overly stretched so can to the stomach. This is on the far end of the spectrum and unless someone is constantly overloading this should not be a huge problem.

I heard a lecture on gastric bypass surgery a few years back. They were talking about how some individuals were gaining weight back because they were engorging themselves causing the smaller bypassed part of the stomach to stretch out again.

I read and awesome article on competitive eating by a physiologist back when Takeru Kobayashi, the little ripped up guy from japan was dominating competitive eating. I dont remember who wrote it but It was entitled something to the effect Science behind competitive eating or something like that. He talked about how these athletes consume large amounts of food and liquids in a short period of time to increase their stomachs capacity. It was laid out just like a typical bodybuilder plan of gradual progression and such.

[MuscleScience]

if someone injects in their thigh and gets shooting pains to their knee is that referred pain? if so could you define what is referred pain?

It sounds like who ever may have hit a branch of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. That is assuming they injected lateral thigh. Often pain is felt below the level of insult, there are exceptions. An example is when you traumatize the Ulnar nerve when you strike your elbow (funny bone) you get a burning sensation down your arm clear to your fingers.

Referred pain in is simplest definition is pain that presents at a distance from the original site of trauma. The best example is the pain associated with MI and how the back, neck and limbs experience shape shooting pains. Another example is kidney problems presenting as low back pain.

I do not think that there is a clear consensus on what the actual mechanism. A lot of work on the subject was done by Dr. Janet Travell, she mapped out common referred pain charts sometime ago. You may web search her work if your interested.

[Jfew44]

What's the deal with EMS? (Electronic Muscle Stimulation) I'm not talking about the infomercials for the Ab belts. I mean for fast-twitch muscle fiber recruitment for sprinters and other explosive athletes. I had it used on me for muscle soreness in high school by my trainer. Just wondering if it's all crap.

[MuscleScience]

What's the deal with EMS? (Electronic Muscle Stimulation) I'm not talking about the infomercials for the Ab belts. I mean for fast-twitch muscle fiber recruitment for sprinters and other explosive athletes. I had it used on me for muscle soreness in high school by my trainer. Just wondering if it's all crap.

I idea of Electrical Stim is that you take out the neural component and can contract a muscle at the will of the device. It is used a lot in rehab work because it is thought to help break up scar tissue, release trigger points, move toxins out of the muscle.....ect. I think it depends on what type of professional (PT, DC, MD, OT) is using E Stim as to what they feel the best use of the device is.

In the exercise realm there is evidence that E stim can help augment weight training as a means of improving muscular strength. I read the Journal of Strength and Conditioning every so often and they usually will have a paper or two on this subject. From what I have seen so far E Stim can increase muscular strength in athletes but has not been shown cause significant muscle hypertrophy.

Sorry it took so long to reply to your question I completely missed it I guess.


Here is a link that can better explain the basics of how it works better than I can.

http://muscle.ucsd.edu/musintro/es.shtml

[Rugger02]

Question for ya.

I was doin a hell of a lot of running this weekend; like probably 30 miles more than I normally do. And I woke up today and it feels like my achilles tendon is starting to rip away from where it connects to my heel.
I can still walk pretty well but I have to have a slight limp. I'm just wondering if I really screwed myself up or if I take it easy for a little while will it be okay?

Should I wrap it? Ice/Heat it? Or do you think I should bite the bullet and go to the doctor (No health Insurance....)

[MuscleScience]

Question for ya.

I was doin a hell of a lot of running this weekend; like probably 30 miles more than I normally do. And I woke up today and it feels like my achilles tendon is starting to rip away from where it connects to my heel.
I can still walk pretty well but I have to have a slight limp. I'm just wondering if I really screwed myself up or if I take it easy for a little while will it be okay?

Should I wrap it? Ice/Heat it? Or do you think I should bite the bullet and go to the doctor (No health Insurance....)

You may have just over did it, Icing and rest would be the standard treatment I would emphasis the Rest part strongly. Of course if it does not start to improve in a few days and if there starts to be any swelling or bruising then you may certainly want to consult professional as I am not a doctor.

[Rugger02]

Thanks, I'l be able to take it a lot easier as of tomorrow since today is my last day of work till January 5th Woooo!
It felt really hot today so I did ice it and it felt quite a bit better until I had to walk all over hell and back at work.

It's just good to know that I probably didn't do something irrepairable to myself LOL.