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Ironslave's training tidbits

Ironslave

Ironslave

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I havent posted that much lately due to major time constraints, but i figured I'd start this thread with a bunch of random tips and facts that i've learnt/come accross. It will include little tricks using science that will help you achieve your physique goals faster and more efficiently!

This will NOT be a Q & A thread, like CWU's and Tim's threads are, so please refrain from asking general questions, and post whoring. If you have general questions, starting a topic about it in the training or nutrition forum would be the best.

With that said, here's the first tip

1. At some point in our lives, im sure most of us have somehow purposely cut off blood flow to an area to make it look bigger and more vascular (ie. tassels around the biceps like the Ultimate Warrior,squeezing your forearm, etc. But..... recent research shows that actually training with this restricted blood flow actually increases the hypertrophic response to exercise!!

We all know that exercises that have a high load (squats and deadlifts) promote muscle growth, while isolation exercises pretty much suck, in comparison. But, a study found that just plain WALKING, 1 KM/day for 3 weeks, caused significant thigh hypertrophy with a restricted blood flow condition (Kaatsu walking, google it). This is just one of a few new studies that have came out demonstrating the increased muscle growth with restricted blood flow.

The exact molecular mechanisms involved arent fully established, and i wont bore you with what is theorized, but it definately works. But the take home point is that maybe at the end of a workout for a body part such as arms, forearms, or legs, restricting the blood flow should definately cause more muscle growth.
 
tim290280

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Interesting. I read a similar thing about creating the muscle engorgement (pump) at the end of a routine encouraged growth too. It hypothesised that it was due to increased nutrient mobilisation, and waste removal PWO (not studied though).
 
Ironslave

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tim290280 said:
Interesting. I read a similar thing about creating the muscle engorgement (pump) at the end of a routine encouraged growth too. It hypothesised that it was due to increased nutrient mobilisation, and waste removal PWO (not studied though).

Inhibited blood flow during exercise= increased active/reactive hyperemia leading to more oxygen/nutrient delivery after (by the blood).
 
BigBen

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AWESOME THREAD BRO! REPPED!

I must try this for my calves!
Thanks again IS!

Godbless
Beno
 
CJU

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awesome thread. repped. i'm REALLY looking forward to updates. i looked up kaatsu walking and i'm going to try it next bulk since i wont be able to put on muscle while i'm cutting right now.
 
Canabalistic Turnip

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weird and u would think it was the other way round with all the dudes who talk about the pump being the b end of it all
 
philosopher

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Ive read a similar thing. So the pump might be more important than i used to think. In the article they wrote something about hormones. It was suggesting that when your doing an extra set just to get a pump more hormones could be delivered to the muscle. Again not a scientific article.
I always thought that because a hormone is present in the bloodstream does not mean that it will successfully reach the receptor site. A pump wont ensure more hormones in your bloodstream so is this still relevant..?
 
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Yup, Kaatsu seems to work really well (Abe, Kearns & Sato 2005, Beekly, Sato & Abe 2005). What I'd like to know is how to technically apply it to our personal training...? Are there any compression devices in production yet? Methods are worthless if they cannot affect...
 
philosopher

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Can some1 send/PM me that paper..?
 
Ironslave

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Philosopher, not exactly sure what you're getting at with your post above, i think you're missing the picture. The increased hypoxia is going to change a whole load of cellular expression and hormone release facillitating growth. There are a bunch of studies, go a google for "venous occlusion AND hypertrophy". Here is the above paper.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BE9Z9DFA

Keep in mind, this seems to work best with low intensity exercises, so probably take 30-40% of your 1-RM when doing this technique.
 

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philosopher

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Ironslave said:
Philosopher, not exactly sure what you're getting at with your post above, i think you're missing the picture. The increased hypoxia is going to change a whole load of cellular expression and hormone release facillitating growth. There are a bunch of studies, go a google for "venous occlusion AND hypertrophy". Here is the above paper.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BE9Z9DFA

Keep in mind, this seems to work best with low intensity exercises, so probably take 30-40% of your 1-RM when doing this technique.

Thanks for the study :xyxthumbs:

And after reading my post again i missed the picture indeed. :xmasohnoes:
I must get some more sleep lately.
 
Ironslave

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Today's tip, the role of AMPK in fat metabolism.

Pretty much everyone who works out (minus a few power lifters who enjoy not seeing their penis) would love to have a lower body fat then they do now. Not only that, but they wish there was a way to change your metabolism to rely more on fats as a substrate for energy; well good news, there is. One of the hot topics in exercise science today deals with what is known as AMP activated Protein Kinase (AMPK). This molecule is activated during high intensity exercise.

A protein kinase is an enzyme that modifies other proteins by a process called phosphorylation (addition of a phosphate ion). Before talking about its role, we need to understand how it is activated:

We all know ATP (adenosine tri phosphate) is used for energy production. The breakdown of ATP is known as ATP hydrolysis. In order to keep producing energy, ATP must be resynthesized, the reactions are as follows:

ATP --> ADP+ Pi (produces energy)
ADP+Pi--> ATP (ATP reproduced).

The actual levels of ATP in our muscles rarely declines, because it is so efficient at resynthesizing. But, at high intensity exercise, ATP concentration can start to decline. Therefore, another reaction must assist in resynthesizing ATP. It is:

ADP+ADP--> ATP + AMP

This reaction leaves us with a molecule known as AMP. AMP, then activates its protein kinase, AMPK.

Once activated (by high intensity exercise), AMPK begins to cause the body to increase the use of fats, rather than carbs, as a source of energy. This effect becomes more and more efficient as time goes on. Ultimately, the end result is your body becomes a much more efficient fat burning machine, therefore, it becomes easier for you to lose fat than it was before!

Reccomendations for application: high intensity cardio!! Good examples are 800m-1600 meter runs (so you are dead by the end), treadmill intervals, anything along those lines. Happy cutting.
 
Future

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Great thread! Adding to favs.
 
CJU

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^^ great read, now i know for sure that my 10 min sprint intervals are good for fat loss. 10 mins is long enough, right? i do 30 sec sprinting/60 seconds walking for 10 mins
 
Ironslave

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thanks future and cju!

I dont imagine 10 minutes being enough to get the full benefit. The paramaters i listed would take around 3-4 minutes for the 800m, maybe like 8 minutes for the 1600. But by the end, your ass should be kicked, plain and simple. Maybe do the 800M 4-5 times, or the 1600M two times.

So, after this, we know fat burning is going to be through the roof, right? Well, to take further advantage, try something like incline treadmill walking at a steady pace for 20-30 mins, fat should fly off.
 
CJU

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ok, so basically bump it up to 15-16 mins? got it.

so incline treadmill walking huh...by 'fat will fly off' do you mean i'll burn alot of calories? or do you mean i will metabolise fat very well? 2 very different things...one of them i really want to hear
 
Ironslave

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^
moderate intensity cardio after the high intensity will partition it so you use fat very efficiently, but its a way so you can burn more cals on top of the intense part.
 
CJU

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thanks alot! i'll be doing that tonight. repped!
 
Ironslave

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No problem bro, theres a lot more detail behind the reasoning , but science and my own experiences accounted for, it works very well.

Basically, the long slow cardio period after the high intensity will use all those fats in the blood stream, to prevent them from re-esterifying.

Note, if you are on a contest diet and want to keep every last pound of muscle/ glycogen so you can keep your lifts up, i'd reccomend dropping the high intensity down to like 400 Meters, which should take you a bit over a minute, but it should be running as fast as you can the whole time.
 
CJU

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wait...so only do 1 min of sprinting, followed by 20 mins of medium intensity cardio?
 

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