Ask the Exercise Scientist

[Matt]

Just thought id put this in aswell, thanks.

MYTH 1. Specific portions of a muscle can be trained

The gist of this myth goes something like this, "You can hit the lower portion of your pecs with decline presses." Any statement similar to this is pure B.S. The implication is that doing decline presses will make the lower portion of your pecs larger. This is physiologically impossible. The pectoralis major are the two muscles that we commonly refer to as the chest. There are also the pectoralis minor which runs underneath the upper portion of the major. The pectoralis major, when stimulated with exercise and allowed to recover will grow. It will grow as a whole (as with all muscles), not in sections. So doing an incline, decline, or flat bench press will not make your pectoralis major grow in different fashions. The shape of your muscle is genetically determined by its origin and insertion points and no training will change this. If individual muscle cells (within a specific fiber type) grew at different rates you would have very lumpy muscles. Think about it! When selecting an exercise for a specific muscle, you should pick the one that most closely mimics the muscle's primary function (i.e. the pectoralis major's primary function is to pull the arm across the chest and downward--- so a decline press would be best amongst the presses). Another important factor in exercise selection is your own anatomy, the length of your bones and where your muscles insert and originate. Through experimentation, most experienced lifters learn which exercises work best for them.

[MuscleScience]

If you have answered this in a previous section, please advise and I will read it.

What causes altitude sickness? And why is hydration more important in a higher atltitude versus lower?

Altitude sickness is generally caused by the decrease in oxygen in the air as elevation in increased. Unless you live in the higher altitudes your body is not adapted to function on the lower levels of oxygen. People who live in higher altitudes generally have a higher red blood cell count, this increases the amount of oxygen that the body can deliver to the tissues to counter act the decrease in oxygen content.

It generally takes a person about a week to start seeing significant increases in RBC counts and within two or three months they have fully adapted. However, people who go to elevation to train to increase RBC count will lose almost all of these adaptations within a week or two when they return to lower elevations.

In the past water was recommended to counter act muscle cramping.Correctly or incorrectly it was assumed that muscle cramping was due to dehydration. It is more thought now that its more a response in decreased oxygen in the muscle tissues. Although I have not kept up on the literature as well on this specific topic as I have in other areas. There is a school of thought that dehydration can occur more rapidly at elevations because of the relative decrease in moisture in the air. The thinking is that this causes the body to lose more water through respiration than at lower more humid climates.

[Swifto]

Why does HGH have to be run for such long peroids of time to become fully effective?

For fatloss and muscle gain.

[MuscleScience]

Just thought id put this in aswell, thanks.

MYTH 1. Specific portions of a muscle can be trained

The gist of this myth goes something like this, "You can hit the lower portion of your pecs with decline presses." Any statement similar to this is pure B.S. The implication is that doing decline presses will make the lower portion of your pecs larger. This is physiologically impossible. The pectoralis major are the two muscles that we commonly refer to as the chest. There are also the pectoralis minor which runs underneath the upper portion of the major. The pectoralis major, when stimulated with exercise and allowed to recover will grow. It will grow as a whole (as with all muscles), not in sections. So doing an incline, decline, or flat bench press will not make your pectoralis major grow in different fashions. The shape of your muscle is genetically determined by its origin and insertion points and no training will change this. If individual muscle cells (within a specific fiber type) grew at different rates you would have very lumpy muscles. Think about it! When selecting an exercise for a specific muscle, you should pick the one that most closely mimics the muscle's primary function (i.e. the pectoralis major's primary function is to pull the arm across the chest and downward--- so a decline press would be best amongst the presses). Another important factor in exercise selection is your own anatomy, the length of your bones and where your muscles insert and originate. Through experimentation, most experienced lifters learn which exercises work best for them.

That first article is pretty much what I said although there are some inaccuracies in some of the authors statements. He is not correct that the body has no mechanisms to sense tension. The Golgi Tendon Organs(GTO) located in the tendon itself can directly sense tensile forces produced by the muscle. In a sense you can not train a specific part of a muscle group with a with different exercises. However you can use specific exercises that elicit more motor unit recruitment. This is misconceived as being able to train a specific part of the muscle. As I said before depending on the exercise and the position of the arm there can be slight differences in tension on individual muscle fibers. If you think about it there would have to be. What different exercise can do is elicit more motor units to fire per given exercise relative to another. For example if you perform a closed grip bench, The Tricep is more dominate as the prime mover than that of the pecs. Less motor units are required for recruitment in the pecs to perform the exercises.

EMG studies at least the ones I have seen, show that decline bench in-fact recruits more motor units to fire than that of flat bench. Now does that work a different part of the muscle. No not really, it changes the tensile forces and dynamics in the muscle slightly. It does however cause the muscle to have to fire more motor units to perform the exercise. Which is the ultimate goal in exercise anyways.

One other thing the author fails to mention is that the pec is innervated by two different nerves. Now some could argue that these two nerves could fire independently of each other. I do not know if that is the case or not, but its an inaccuracy to say that the muscle is elicited to fire by the nerve and all the muscle will contract. When in-fact there are two nerves.

Lastly the author never really states what his degree is. That makes me question his qualifications to make statements without inserting references in text. For all I know he could have a degree in business and took a few general science classes for fun. So be careful when you read stuff and consider your source of information even if it comes from me....

[Matt]

Thank you for your time again MuscleScience, i shall find the authors of these studies..
I also put a bulking thread in the diet forum, not my work but something i thought was good, could you pls give me your opinions...

[MuscleScience]

Thank you for your time again MuscleScience, i shall find the authors of these studies..
I also put a bulking thread in the diet forum, not my work but something i thought was good, could you pls give me your opinions...

Do you have a link, I am not seeing it for some reason.

Also I edited my last post I had some typos that were pretty important. Sorry I got a last second call to play some bball.....

[MuscleScience]

Why does HGH have to be run for such long peroids of time to become fully effective?

For fatloss and muscle gain.

Honestly that would be a good question for Gear, I could only speculate on that and I am sure you guys expect more from me than that......

I will have to think on this one for awhile, my curiosity is peaked.

Here is the famous HGH paper that was put out by a lab in Stanford:

http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/148/10/747

[Matt]

Here it is lol..

http://forums.steroid.com/showthread.php?t=374132

[Matt]

Ok MuscleScience, could you please tell me what is happening. If ive not done abs for say aweek, and i then do them and hit them hard i get what feels like a pulled muscle. But the pain is incredible, i have to curl up and rub the offending muscle. The muscle feels like, real hard or like marble, after a few mins the pain goes. Any ideas please...
Someone did mention a hernia, but like i said it goes after a short time and the muscle goes back to normal..

[scibble]

question for Manmuscle Science lol:

why is my guy dead in the water? taking exemestane to lower est cause it came back 165. took cialis last night. still taking test and recently started hgh low dose. i can wake the willy when absolutely necessary but he's just not what he used to be, no no, this is not good.

[MuscleScience]

Ok MuscleScience, could you please tell me what is happening. If ive not done abs for say aweek, and i then do them and hit them hard i get what feels like a pulled muscle. But the pain is incredible, i have to curl up and rub the offending muscle. The muscle feels like, real hard or like marble, after a few mins the pain goes. Any ideas please...
Someone did mention a hernia, but like i said it goes after a short time and the muscle goes back to normal..

Sounds like you have a cramp going on. Check your hydration levels and limit your intake of stimulants if your taking any.

[MuscleScience]

question for Manmuscle Science lol:

why is my guy dead in the water? taking exemestane to lower est cause it came back 165. took cialis last night. still taking test and recently started hgh low dose. i can wake the willy when absolutely necessary but he's just not what he used to be, no no, this is not good.

Maybe your prolactin levels are out of whack???

[scibble]

Maybe your prolactin levels are out of whack???

good thought. been taking caber at usual recommended twice weekly dosage for a few weeks. makes a big diff with the touchdowns but not so much running plays up the field. LOL

[peachfuzz]

Blood pressure?

Or maybe psychological now?

Do you drink often?

Hormone imbalance is only the cause in less the 5% of people.

Sorry if i imposed on your thread musclescience.

[scibble]

true peachers,

but much higher incidence in the sub-group of people who are fvkking around manipulating their hormone levels LOL

not psychological because everything works, just doesn't work like it did upon initially starting up with testosterone.

I would've expected cialis to have a greater effect, but then who knows the quality of the cialis i used

Addendum: dudes comin back! I think the cause was still high estrogen. I think that the exemestane takes a good week to ten days to have full effect and for estrogen effects to turn around.

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

BUMP


Just 'cuz I love MS

[gst528i]

How long do think it takes for muscle loss to start. I havent been in the gym in a week and half. I believe over train lead to total destruction of the muscles in my forearm. Still havent healed fully after a week.
So in relation to lack of working out, does the body immediately start reducing muscles?


Also how long should person do HIT cardio. By how long i mean not minutes. Should one alternate between HIT for best results in keeping bf level low.

[seriousmass]

I have an artificial left knee cap (it's a prosthetic)

I finished my rehab of the knee, and it has been working well.

I'm starting to get slight shooting pains in my knee recently though. which shouldn't be happening.. seeing as it isn't freaking real! What should I do?

(I know I should probably go to the doctor... but I hate him. lol.)

[MuscleScience]

How long do think it takes for muscle loss to start. I havent been in the gym in a week and half. I believe over train lead to total destruction of the muscles in my forearm. Still havent healed fully after a week.
So in relation to lack of working out, does the body immediately start reducing muscles?


Also how long should person do HIT cardio. By how long i mean not minutes. Should one alternate between HIT for best results in keeping bf level low.

Strength and muscular gains generally last a lot long than endurance gains. You will not see much in strength within the first month. After about three months the body will start to really lose some of its training adaptations. At about six months strength and muscular gains are almost completely lost in some individuals and by a year off its like you never really trained at all.

In contrast to aerobic endurance which starts to diminish within a week.

As far as hit training, its a matter of philosophy. However most training programs are changed every three months after the body has fully adapted to that routine.

[MuscleScience]

I have an artificial left knee cap (it's a prosthetic)

I finished my rehab of the knee, and it has been working well.

I'm starting to get slight shooting pains in my knee recently though. What should I do?

(I know I should probably go to the doctor... but I hate him. lol.)

Going to see your doctor is probably the only smart move, even if you hate him....LOL

[gst528i]

Strength and muscular gains generally last a lot long than endurance gains. You will not see much in strength within the first month. After about three months the body will start to really lose some of its training adaptations. At about six months strength and muscular gains are almost completely lost in some individuals and by a year off its like you never really trained at all.

In contrast to aerobic endurance which starts to diminish within a week.

As far as hit training, its a matter of philosophy. However most training programs are changed every three months after the body has fully adapted to that routine.

u made me feel better. I was feeling guilty of lack of training time.

[MuscleScience]

u made me feel better. I was feeling guilty of lack of training time.

Taking a bit of time off is usually a pretty good idea. Especially after a long exercise program. I personally recommend to athletes and in fact use it myself. I generally say that for a competitive athlete that no more than a week be taken. That next week back I typically slowly work back into it followed by full on workouts by the second week back.

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

How does one go about decreasing red blood cell count?

[MuscleScience]

How does one go about decreasing red blood cell count?

Not much you can do naturally that will decrease RBC's in a healthy way. If your on steroids you could stop taking them and very quickly the body should start to decrease RBC production. Some people give blood but that is really a temporary fix and may or may not be to effective at decreasing blood pressure over for more than a few days.

[jimmyinkedup]

Not much you can do naturally that will decrease RBC's in a healthy way. If your on steroids you could stop taking them and very quickly the body should start to decrease RBC production. Some people give blood but that is really a temporary fix and may or may not be to effective at decreasing blood pressure over for more than a few days.

agreed - usually the cause of high red blood cell count is treated (its usually a symptom). No medicine that im aware of will solely do this. HOWEVER the key to the success in keeping rbc lowered as long as possible post blood giving is to immediately replace the fluid lost. Now you can try to stay hydrated which should help the process however the only true way is to replace the blood taken with plasma ..not a very likely option (this is how they sometimes treat polycythemia ). Point is if you try the giving blood ..id drink ALOT of fluids to try to extend the effects of a lowered rbc count.

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

Could taking a diuretic increase red blood cell count?

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

Its weird. All of a sudden, my rbc count jumped up...

[MuscleScience]

Could taking a diuretic increase red blood cell count?

Why are you taking diuretics???

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

Why are you taking diuretics???

Well, I'm taking hydrochlorothiazide

[jimmyinkedup]

Yes it could and most often does! (sorry for jumping in MS ...i apologize )

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

Yes it could and most often does! (sorry for jumping in MS ...i apologize )

Im a little confused.
I'm taking it for slightly high bp.
But if it increases my rbc count, doesn't that raise bp?

[jimmyinkedup]

its a little tricky - there is something called apparent erythrocytosis which is an increased concentration of red blood cells ...not necessarily in the # of red blood cells. This is actually more common when taking dieuretics. It should be monitored however b/c if it doesnt stabilize then it may leed to a true increase in rbc count.

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

So should I be worried?

My doc said my tests were fine as in everything is just dandy...

[jimmyinkedup]

Then i wouldnt be worried ....a slight increase in rbc isnt necessarily bad ...and if your bp is good - then i wouldnt worry.

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

cool.

thanks jimmy.. I mean * cough*... MS!

[MuscleScience]

Yes it could and most often does! (sorry for jumping in MS ...i apologize )

No Worries, I know very little about Pharmacology.

Im a little confused.
I'm taking it for slightly high bp.
But if it increases my rbc count, doesn't that raise bp?

Now it all makes sense, I thought you were taking it for a show or something. Damn bodybuilding mind set...LOL

its a little tricky - there is something called apparent erythrocytosis which is an increased concentration of red blood cells ...not necessarily in the # of red blood cells. This is actually more common when taking dieuretics. It should be monitored however b/c if it doesnt stabilize then it may leed to a true increase in rbc count.

Thats what I was thinking

cool.

thanks jimmy.. I mean * cough*... MS!

Glad I could help *cough* Jimmy could help..

[wenis piggler]

Dear Muscle Science:

What signals the hypothalamus to shutdown endogenous testosterone production when on TRT? Is it the increased estrogen alone, via aromatase, or is it the increased exogenous testosterone (TRT) itself, or both or something else? If it is only the increased estrogen that shuts-down the endogenous testosterone, then wouldn't endogenous testosterone start working again if estrogen is lowered, via an AI, while on TRT?

In the absence of estrogen, via an AI, would endogenous testosterone production start up again, even while one were still on exogenous testosterone (TRT)?

Will either estrogen or exogenous testosterone (TRT) suppress/shutdown the endogenous testosterone production?

Sorry for the redundant questions, but I had a hard time posing the question; therefore, I took the "shotgun approach."

Thanks a million!

P.S. Any links or articles would be great!!

[bulldawg_28]

Hey MS, I have an interesting scenario. I have a friend who's been suffering from continuing growing of gyno with slight lactation. His test levels have been fluctating these past couple of months. Last october it his test was at 850, january-116, and february 450. He hasn't had his results back in for March yet. His free and bioavailable test were low in january (20-40). He was taking cabergoline (under the guidance of his endo) to reduce his prolactin production, even though his prolactin was within normal ranges. He said that his endo said that his prolactin production was enough to sustain gyno growth. Now both his prolactin and progesterone are within normal ranges. Estrogen was also within normal ranges. He hasn't taken any suppliments for a long time. But he has done a cycle of Havoc (epistane) awhile back. My guess is that this is what had started, or progressed his current problem. He used nolvedex for pct. Since Havoc is a mild anti-estrogen (SERM?), perhaps his glands started making more estrogen receptors, or upregulated his progesterone/prolactin receptors. I remember reading on here awhile back that nolvadex also can upregulate the prolactin receptors in the breast tissue. What do you think caused the problem? Any advice on treating this? His endo isn't really wanting to help him so much since he believes that my friend brought this upon himself by using Havoc.

[MuscleScience]

Hey MS, I have an interesting scenario. I have a friend who's been suffering from continuing growing of gyno with slight lactation. His test levels have been fluctating these past couple of months. Last october it his test was at 850, january-116, and february 450. He hasn't had his results back in for March yet. His free and bioavailable test were low in january (20-40). He was taking cabergoline (under the guidance of his endo) to reduce his prolactin production, even though his prolactin was within normal ranges. He said that his endo said that his prolactin production was enough to sustain gyno growth. Now both his prolactin and progesterone are within normal ranges. Estrogen was also within normal ranges. He hasn't taken any suppliments for a long time. But he has done a cycle of Havoc (epistane) awhile back. My guess is that this is what had started, or progressed his current problem. He used nolvedex for pct. Since Havoc is a mild anti-estrogen (SERM?), perhaps his glands started making more estrogen receptors, or upregulated his progesterone/prolactin receptors. I remember reading on here awhile back that nolvadex also can upregulate the prolactin receptors in the breast tissue. What do you think caused the problem? Any advice on treating this? His endo isn't really wanting to help him so much since he believes that my friend brought this upon himself by using Havoc.

Regardless of the reason his endo should be helping him as that is his duty.

The estrogen/progesterone balance is a complicated and many things can effect them. Maybe not as much as in males but in females simple stressors in life can cause changes. The reason I say this is because I do not completely understand how it all works, granted I am not an endo.

One feature about all sex hormones {SH} (testosterone, estrogen, progesterone...ect)and their receptors is that under high levels of SH the receptors do start to be up regulated and expressed more. It seems counter intuitive that high SH levels would cause this because since these hormones work on a negative feedback loop on the hypothalamus if anything one would think that the receptors are down regulated as well. However during puberty when SH levels are very high, so to are receptor levels.

I say this with a grain of salt because not all authors completely agree that estrogen/progesterone receptors are up-regulated. Some believe that they merely lay dormant until E or P are presented to them, in case anyone reading wants to argue that point. Which I concede that I know relatively little about.

In males the major source of E is from the conversion of T via the aromatase enzyme. There are two sources of T, one being the testis and the second being the adrenal glands to a lessor extent. Estrogen for the most part is at minimal levels. Until there is an increase in T levels. This increase in T levels causes an increase in the expression of aromatase in the body which will produce an increase in estrogen as well. Now two process can effect his, one being high T levels will decrease LH releasing hormone production of the hypothalamus and cause the testis to stop producing so much T or higher estrogen levels can, specifically estradiol will inhibit LH production in males. I have even read in Robbins Pathology that estradiol is more important than T is regulation of LH.

Progesterone is the derivative that SH are made from after cholesterol. You can also have high Progesterone production cause by some of these compounds, along with prolactin. High estrogen can promote increase in prolactin production thus the use of AI's.

Now to the fun part. Progesterones effects are amplified in the presences of estrogen. Again high estrogen may increase the expression of both the Progesterone and estrogen receptors. High progesterone since it is the precursor to all SH can increase T, and E similarly. Throw in the mix that High E causes increase in prolactin and you can see the jumbled mess that these hormones can cause.

I hope this has helped some, my brains hurt now.

Let me know if this helped at all.

[MuscleScience]

Dear Muscle Science:

What signals the hypothalamus to shutdown endogenous testosterone production when on TRT? Is it the increased estrogen alone, via aromatase, or is it the increased exogenous testosterone (TRT) itself, or both or something else? If it is only the increased estrogen that shuts-down the endogenous testosterone, then wouldn't endogenous testosterone start working again if estrogen is lowered, via an AI, while on TRT?

In the absence of estrogen, via an AI, would endogenous testosterone production start up again, even while one were still on exogenous testosterone (TRT)?

Will either estrogen or exogenous testosterone (TRT) suppress/shutdown the endogenous testosterone production?

Sorry for the redundant questions, but I had a hard time posing the question; therefore, I took the "shotgun approach."

Thanks a million!

P.S. Any links or articles would be great!!

Please see the reply to bigdawgs post above as I wrote certain parts of that post to answer yours. If that doesnt answer your question to your satisfaction then let me know and I will see what I can do....