M&F asked some of the industry’s best minds to bring us up to speed on some of the most useful research that the fitness-inclined can put to work for better results.
We’ll admit it: We totally geek out on new research that we think can help us out in the gym. And credit the labcoats for their never-ceasing quest on delivering the best new methodologies for building a stronger, faster, leaner physique. It provides our fix.Luckily, we have some of those experts in our speed dial. So we had Siri dial ‘em up to see what research they’ve been latching on to these days to help peeps like us get more out of our workouts, meals and supplement budgets.It’s not bro science. It’s science, bro.
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ADVANCE NO. 1 | Bike for Bigger Legs
When a group of researchers looked at all the available evidence in 2012, they came to the conclusion that combining aerobic training and lifting certainly did not totally negate strength and size gains. In fact, when they examined different kinds of aerobic activity, they found that most of the anti-anabolic effects could be blamed upon running and its repeated impact, and that adding cycling to a strength training program didn’t hinder gains in size or strength at all. Later that year, researchers in Finland found that, in fact, adding cycling to a strength training program could actually increase hypertrophy, with a group of Swedish researchers getting the same result this year. If you want to pack as much size onto your legs as possible, hopping on a bike isn’t going to hurt you, and it may just help you out.
3 of 11
ADVANCE NO. 2 | Press Faster for Faster Gains
A group of Spanish researchers trained two groups of people for 6 weeks on the bench press. One group they told to press the bar as fast as they possibly could for every single rep. The other group pressed every rep at half of their maximum speed. However, both groups did the same sets and reps with the same percentage of their max. At the end of the study, the trainees who pushed every rep as fast as they possibly could gained, on average, about twice the strength. This is an eye-popping result, since every other factor was the same. Lifting the bar (concentric, not eccentric) as fast as possible doesn’t just make a difference…It makes a big difference.
4 of 11
ADVANCE NO. 3 | Don’t Just Squat for Size
The squat may be the king of all exercises, but every king needs his court. A recent study from a group of researcher in Brazil showed that, in fact, you can gain more squat strength by supplementing your squat training with other lower body exercises like the leg press, lunges, and deadlifts. All the trainees did the same amount of lower body training but some only squatted, and some used a variety of other exercises in addition to the squat. Not surprisingly, more variety led to more well-rounded quad development (size gains in the vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, and vastus medialis) and was also shown to be superior for increasing the trainees’ 1RM squats.
5 of 11
ADVANCE NO. 4 | New Mass-Gain Super Supp?
A very recent, to-be-published trial shows that arachidonic acid supplementation boosts both strength and hypertrophy along with a lifting program, compared to placebo. This is interesting for a couple reasons: the trial is big enough to show an effect, unlike some earlier research and arachidonic acid as an n-6 fatty acid is sometimes looked down on for those trying to optimize their omega-3 to omega-6 ratio, but may be particularly beneficial for athletes.
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ADVANCE NO. 5 | Cissus for Joint Relief
A 2014 study shows that cissus can improve joint pain considerably and not just in people with a very specific pain condition. While more high-quality research needs to be done, this is one of the first direct studies of cissus on pain improvement. And a reduction in pain can do more for strength and muscle gains than can most (if not all) actual performance boosters. Two things stick out about cissus: it has a quick onset unlike many other pain-targeting supplements and the dose attainable by supplementation is enough to have a positive effect. Plus it can help with lingering bone issues. This may supplant products like glucosamine and chondroitin as the best supplement to keep your joints healthy, lubed and lifting.
7 of 11
ADVANCE NO. 6 | Burn More Fat with GLP-1
Everyone losing weight wants to maintain or increase their resting energy expenditure. One of the most underutilized ways to do this might be taking in more GLP-1 agonists in your diet. Fermentable fiber and milk proteins are examples of these. GLP-1 has been investigated and used as a treatment for type-2 diabetes due to its strong physiological effects. Eating more foods that stimulate this “incretin” hormone can encourage the body to act as if you have eaten a properly satiating diet and respond with a greater energy burn.
8 of 11
ADVANCE NO. 7 | Beets for Greater NO Production
Theoretically, increasing nitric oxide (NO) levels in the body can boost exercise performance. Unfortunately, the usual suspects lining supplement store shelves do little to increase nitric oxide for a long enough period to have any effect at all. That’s where the common beet comes into play. Certain plant foods (most commonly beets and kale) can be juiced to provide enough dietary nitrates to actually boost nitric oxide levels and turbo-charge performance. Beets happen to also be a healthy food plus a great source of betaine, which may also be an ergogenic aid.
9 of 11
ADVANCE NO. 8 | HMB, Enhanced!
For a long time, HMB overpromised and underdelivered in terms of results, except for in beginners. Then a few months ago, everything changed. A slightly different formulation of HMB — the free acid form — showed extraordinary results for strength and muscle gain in a trial. This form of HMB is more bioavailable and is absorbed more quickly, which is theorized to be the reason for better results. While the results need to be replicated to be assured of these large effects, free acid HMB products are arriving on the market and may soon be a central part of weightlifters’ arsenals.
10 of 11
ADVANCE NO. 9 | The Case for More Protein When Dieting
When people “diet,” they tend to make macronutrient cuts across the board. New research is showing that you can spare more muscle by jacking up your protein intake while saving the cuts for elsewhere. Researchers from the United Kingdom placed two groups of resistance-trained athletes on a diet for two weeks. Both groups reduced their caloric intake but one of the groups ingested a small amount of protein (15% of total calories) and the other group ingested a larger amount of protein (35% of total calories). The athletes consuming the lower protein diet lost approximately 3 pounds of muscle mass, while the athletes consuming the higher protein diet lost less than a pound of muscle mass. The take home message is to make sure that you increase the protein content of the diet when calories are restricted in order to preserve lean muscle mass.
Researchers from Taiwan studied the effects that active or passive recovery would have on the testosterone/cortisol ratio and what they found was very interesting. Immediately after a whole-body resistance exercise workout, males performed one of the following recovery routines: Moderate-intensity running (but still able to hold a conversation)Low-intensity running (barely jogging)The testosterone/cortisol ratio was more than two times higher in the low-intensity running group as compared to the higher intensity running group. The authors concluded that resistance exercise followed by low-intensity aerobic exercise maximizes the anabolic response from the workout.Our esteemed panel of experts on this article:Greg Nuckols is one of the top drug-free powerlifters in the country, and is pursuing his Masters of Science in Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at the University of Tampa. You can find more of his training insights at www.gregnuckols.com or you can follow him on Facebook or YouTube.Kamal Patel is the director of Examine.com and is a nutrition researcher with an MPH and MBA from Johns Hopkins University. He has published peer-reviewed articles on vitamin D and calcium as well as a variety of clinical research topics. Kamal has also been involved in research on fructose and liver health, mindfulness meditation, and nutrition in low income areas.Bill Campbell, PhD, CSCS, FISSN is an Associate Professor of Exercise Science at the University of South Florida. He has published over 100 scientific papers and abstracts and is the author/editor of three sports nutrition books. He is also the Director of the Exercise and Performance Nutrition Laboratory.
We’ll admit it: We totally geek out on new research that we think can help us out in the gym. And credit the labcoats for their never-ceasing quest on delivering the best new methodologies for building a stronger, faster, leaner physique. It provides our fix.
Luckily, we have some of those experts in our speed dial. So we had Siri dial ‘em up to see what research they’ve been latching on to these days to help peeps like us get more out of our workouts, meals and supplement budgets.
It’s not bro science. It’s science, bro.
ADVANCE NO. 1 | Bike for Bigger Legs
When a group of researchers looked at all the available evidence in 2012, they came to the conclusion that combining aerobic training and lifting certainly did not totally negate strength and size gains. In fact, when they examined different kinds of aerobic activity, they found that most of the anti-anabolic effects could be blamed upon running and its repeated impact, and that adding cycling to a strength training program didn’t hinder gains in size or strength at all. Later that year, researchers in Finland found that, in fact, adding cycling to a strength training program could actually increase hypertrophy, with a group of Swedish researchers getting the same result this year. If you want to pack as much size onto your legs as possible, hopping on a bike isn’t going to hurt you, and it may just help you out.
ADVANCE NO. 2 | Press Faster for Faster Gains
A group of Spanish researchers trained two groups of people for 6 weeks on the bench press. One group they told to press the bar as fast as they possibly could for every single rep. The other group pressed every rep at half of their maximum speed. However, both groups did the same sets and reps with the same percentage of their max. At the end of the study, the trainees who pushed every rep as fast as they possibly could gained, on average, about twice the strength. This is an eye-popping result, since every other factor was the same. Lifting the bar (concentric, not eccentric) as fast as possible doesn’t just make a difference…It makes a big difference.
ADVANCE NO. 3 | Don’t Just Squat for Size
The squat may be the king of all exercises, but every king needs his court. A recent study from a group of researcher in Brazil showed that, in fact, you can gain more squat strength by supplementing your squat training with other lower body exercises like the leg press, lunges, and deadlifts. All the trainees did the same amount of lower body training but some only squatted, and some used a variety of other exercises in addition to the squat. Not surprisingly, more variety led to more well-rounded quad development (size gains in the vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, and vastus medialis) and was also shown to be superior for increasing the trainees’ 1RM squats.
ADVANCE NO. 4 | New Mass-Gain Super Supp?
A very recent, to-be-published trial shows that arachidonic acid supplementation boosts both strength and hypertrophy along with a lifting program, compared to placebo. This is interesting for a couple reasons: the trial is big enough to show an effect, unlike some earlier research and arachidonic acid as an n-6 fatty acid is sometimes looked down on for those trying to optimize their omega-3 to omega-6 ratio, but may be particularly beneficial for athletes.
ADVANCE NO. 5 | Cissus for Joint Relief
A 2014 study shows that cissus can improve joint pain considerably and not just in people with a very specific pain condition. While more high-quality research needs to be done, this is one of the first direct studies of cissus on pain improvement. And a reduction in pain can do more for strength and muscle gains than can most (if not all) actual performance boosters. Two things stick out about cissus: it has a quick onset unlike many other pain-targeting supplements and the dose attainable by supplementation is enough to have a positive effect. Plus it can help with lingering bone issues. This may supplant products like glucosamine and chondroitin as the best supplement to keep your joints healthy, lubed and lifting.
ADVANCE NO. 6 | Burn More Fat with GLP-1
Everyone losing weight wants to maintain or increase their resting energy expenditure. One of the most underutilized ways to do this might be taking in more GLP-1 agonists in your diet. Fermentable fiber and milk proteins are examples of these. GLP-1 has been investigated and used as a treatment for type-2 diabetes due to its strong physiological effects. Eating more foods that stimulate this “incretin” hormone can encourage the body to act as if you have eaten a properly satiating diet and respond with a greater energy burn.
ADVANCE NO. 7 | Beets for Greater NO Production
Theoretically, increasing nitric oxide (NO) levels in the body can boost exercise performance. Unfortunately, the usual suspects lining supplement store shelves do little to increase nitric oxide for a long enough period to have any effect at all. That’s where the common beet comes into play. Certain plant foods (most commonly beets and kale) can be juiced to provide enough dietary nitrates to actually boost nitric oxide levels and turbo-charge performance. Beets happen to also be a healthy food plus a great source of betaine, which may also be an ergogenic aid.
ADVANCE NO. 8 | HMB, Enhanced!
For a long time, HMB overpromised and underdelivered in terms of results, except for in beginners. Then a few months ago, everything changed. A slightly different formulation of HMB — the free acid form — showed extraordinary results for strength and muscle gain in a trial. This form of HMB is more bioavailable and is absorbed more quickly, which is theorized to be the reason for better results. While the results need to be replicated to be assured of these large effects, free acid HMB products are arriving on the market and may soon be a central part of weightlifters’ arsenals.
ADVANCE NO. 9 | The Case for More Protein When Dieting
When people “diet,” they tend to make macronutrient cuts across the board. New research is showing that you can spare more muscle by jacking up your protein intake while saving the cuts for elsewhere. Researchers from the United Kingdom placed two groups of resistance-trained athletes on a diet for two weeks. Both groups reduced their caloric intake but one of the groups ingested a small amount of protein (15% of total calories) and the other group ingested a larger amount of protein (35% of total calories). The athletes consuming the lower protein diet lost approximately 3 pounds of muscle mass, while the athletes consuming the higher protein diet lost less than a pound of muscle mass. The take home message is to make sure that you increase the protein content of the diet when calories are restricted in order to preserve lean muscle mass.
Researchers from Taiwan studied the effects that active or passive recovery would have on the testosterone/cortisol ratio and what they found was very interesting. Immediately after a whole-body resistance exercise workout, males performed one of the following recovery routines:
Moderate-intensity running (but still able to hold a conversation)
Low-intensity running (barely jogging)
The testosterone/cortisol ratio was more than two times higher in the low-intensity running group as compared to the higher intensity running group. The authors concluded that resistance exercise followed by low-intensity aerobic exercise maximizes the anabolic response from the workout.
Our esteemed panel of experts on this article:
Greg Nuckols is one of the top drug-free powerlifters in the country, and is pursuing his Masters of Science in Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at the University of Tampa. You can find more of his training insights at www.gregnuckols.com or you can follow him on Facebook or YouTube.
Kamal Patel is the director of Examine.com and is a nutrition researcher with an MPH and MBA from Johns Hopkins University. He has published peer-reviewed articles on vitamin D and calcium as well as a variety of clinical research topics. Kamal has also been involved in research on fructose and liver health, mindfulness meditation, and nutrition in low income areas.
Bill Campbell, PhD, CSCS, FISSN is an Associate Professor of Exercise Science at the University of South Florida. He has published over 100 scientific papers and abstracts and is the author/editor of three sports nutrition books. He is also the Director of the Exercise and Performance Nutrition Laboratory.
